Reincarnated as a Dungeon Master, I Became Unstoppable by Doting on My Monsters—My Gorgeous Monsters Have Started to Conquer the World on Their Own!

Our departure took place in the dead of night. The reason for this was the need for secrecy. We ensured that the entrance to the dungeon would not be discovered by fully utilizing the monsters’ skills to check our surroundings for safety.

“Alright then, Egrentine, it’s up to you.”

We boarded her one by one on a slightly remote beach from the forest—she was the ship itself.

“Leave it to me, my Lord! I will surely take you to Goddess Nanaya!”

“Voice! Your voice is too loud, Egrentine!”

Hazel warned Egrentine, who usually spoke in a ladylike manner.

Egrentine was an aquatic monster. Her monster name was Nauplius, one of the creatures recorded in Earth’s “Natural History.” She looked like a colossal spiral shell, equipped with tentacles that served as oars and outer and inner lips that acted as sails.

She was larger than Rozina and could even fly through the sky. But aside from tasks she could perform with her tentacles, she couldn’t do much else. However, she would be pretty helpful for a large-scale movement like thisl.

Thanks to her enormous, sturdy shell, we could fly through the sky safely. However, Jacqueline resisted entering her body, complaining about the ‘beachy’ smell.

True, it smelled of the sea, but I thought it was something everyone should expect from an aquatic monster. It was a physically draining experience to spend several hours inside the shell. I got used to it fairly quickly—was this a privilege of being Japanese?

That said, only Jacqueline couldn’t ride on Rozina. The idea was rejected for valid reasons: Rozina was big, and a dragon would attract attention and become a subject of rumors. Rozina, though a unique monster, looked exactly like a dragon.

In contrast, the peculiar appearance of a flying snail-like Egrentine would likely be dismissed as a tall tale or treated merely as an unidentified flying object without prompting severe concerns.

So, with Jacqueline nearly throwing up inside Egrentine’s speeding shell, we aimed for the Temple of Goddess Nanaya.

XXX

We arrived at a location perched atop a rugged mountain. While it was an imposing temple, it had seen better days in places, indicating that its upkeep was quite challenging. One could say that moss was beginning to grow here and there. “Why would they build it in a place like this?” was a thought that naturally occurred to me.

I asked Jacqueline if all temples were built in such locations. Not; temples are usually made in the center of towns. From this conversation alone, it became apparent that the deity of this temple had a complex character that wouldn’t easily be understood.

When we reached the temple entrance, a woman—perhaps a priestess—dressed in a robe was already waiting for us. Her demeanor suggested she knew exactly when we would arrive. But then, considering she served a god, it wasn’t shocking.

“Welcome. Please, Wit and Jacqueline, come this way.”

The priestess, whose voice had a calming allure. However, her face was covered with a cloth, making it difficult to see her features. Her face’s outline, glimpsed briefly through the fabric, seemed more insect-like than human.

“Am I also to go with you?”

Before Jacqueline could finish her question, the priestess had already started leading the way.

“Yes. Furthermore, refrain from speaking unless given permission.”

The priestess curtly stated.

Yikes.

The priestess seemed quite severe and the kind of person who would genuinely get angry if provoked. Therefore, I reluctantly had everyone wait outside the temple and entered with Jacqueline.

Inside the temple, all the walls were lined with what appeared to be circuits emitting a blue light in straight lines. For a moment, it felt like a scene from a near-future setting. Upon closer consideration, I realized the blue light was similar to the magical energy I always see in cores. Could it be for channeling magical power? Or perhaps for absorbing it?

With such minor thoughts in mind, we proceeded down a linear corridor. Although the priestess had forbidden us from speaking, she remained silent, leading to an awkwardly quiet atmosphere.

After a while, we reached an area where strands of black hair were entangled across the temple walls. However, unlike the dried, brittle hair often seen in Japanese horror stories, this hair possessed a noble luster and brilliance that almost compelled one to touch it.

Why was the hair so long? Why did it cover the corridor? These questions crossed my mind, but since we were prohibited from speaking, we followed the priestess silently.

We must have walked more than 100 meters along the hair-covered corridor before finally reaching the inner sanctuary where the goddess Nanaya resided. The room was overflowing with treasures made of gold and silver, along with fresh fruit. The walls were entirely made of gold, but there was no sense of vulgarity. The various paintings and characters on the walls erased such impressions, their mystery elevating the space.

However, what captivated my attention the most was undoubtedly the beauty of the goddess herself. She was so beautiful that the golden walls seemed modest. She was lying on a bed with complete dignity, not even bothering to conceal herself. She was even completely naked.

Her otherworldly beauty took my breath away. Her eyes, filled with sorrow, were captivating enough to make any heterosexual man falter. They reminded me of that adolescent period when being disliked by the popular girl in school would be enough to lose all confidence, even if you didn’t like her. Her eyes had a kind of magnetism that would make anyone think they were done for as a human being if disliked by her.

I then noticed the length of her eyelashes, the beauty of her nose, and the perfect balance of her lips. For the first time, I felt the urge to keep looking at someone’s lips.

She was exposing her entire body, except for the parts covered by her hair. Her skin was youthful, yet she also had the mature charm of a grown woman. The way her body was sculpted was so perfect that no 3D model could ever capture it.

I tried not to stare rudely and quickly looked away, but the balance and the way her body was built made me understand why ancient sculptors were so obsessed with the human form.

However, my admiration was only my own. The moment the goddess Nanaya saw me, her eyebrows twitched in annoyance.

“You’re late.”

… was all she muttered.

I was left without words.

I wanted to apologize, but I kept silent until I was given permission to speak.

‘Listen, sweetie. It’s not like I summoned you to this world out of charity. One would think the least you could do is greet me first. I mean, I could overlook it, but not for ten years. Ten years.’

I felt incredibly guilty for making her wait ten years, so I lowered my head even more instead of speaking. Or rather, I prostrated myself. It didn’t work on Jacqueline, but would it work on her?

Miraculously, it did.

She couldn’t bear to see me humbling myself so pitifully. ‘Haa…’ she sighed and turned off her sermon mode.

‘Fine, whatever. I never expected much from humans anyway. Now listen, I’ll tell you what I need from you. Keep your questions to a minimum; it’s annoying.’

…Or maybe she just couldn’t be bothered to sermonize me any longer.

Without permitting us to speak, she unilaterally communicated her demands.

“Firstly, I want you to rule over humans… Rather, I want you to act as my proxy in ruling humans. That’s what I want you to become.”

Her demand was so outrageous that I honestly thought she was joking. She had just casually thrown out something that would be impossible, even if I were to dedicate my life to it.

… She could so readily impart such a momentous request because she believed in me; she likely didn’t expect anything from me and was speaking out of a sense of obligation.

And as expected, her following words were delivered astonishingly emotionlessly.

“First, kill the Dungeon Master and his minions who have infiltrated human society. But be aware, if you’re discovered as the Dungeon Master, you’ll be killed too. So, be prepared.”