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! - Chapter 31: Peace and Determination

In a familiar room within the Core Room, the brick-walled space is adorned with nothing but Gothic-style candle holders and an iron door. However, the uninviting room is filled with cherished memories and a comforting scent.

“Ah, I’m tired. Going outside after such a long time is exhausting.”

I dove into the bed that I first summoned when I came to this dungeon. 

As I buried my face in the pillow, I thought it might be time to name this bed.

“Man, going outside really never leads to anything good. Home sweet home is the best,” Hazel, who had entered the Core Room at some point, said as she jumped onto the bed. She’s very light and loves lying on the bed, so it wasn’t a problem.

However, something was different this time. Her blue twin tails covered my face. Her hair even entered my mouth.

“Ugh, woah, Hazel, that’s a lot of hair.”

“Hehe, these are the twin tails you wanted, Boss.”

Hazel rubbed her head against mine. She smelled nice, but it was more like a cloying scent of cinnamon, perhaps from hair oil. It wasn’t arousing; it was suffocating.

“I don’t remember asking for this. I can’t even remember the monster settings I wrote a decade ago.”

—Many things have changed since my encounter with the Goddess Nanaya, but the most significant change is that my monsters have transformed into beauties, thanks to Nanaya’s blessing. Their appearance seems to somewhat adhere to the monster settings I wrote when I summoned them. But I don’t remember the details since I wrote them on a whim.

Besides, there’s no way I could have explicitly imagined such beauties. Even without my bias as their master, they’ve become beauties on a level I’ve never seen on Earth. ’They’ve all transformed into beauties because they’ve been dreaming of beautiful human forms daily.

Of course, they were beautiful even in their monster forms.

“Well, of course, you wouldn’t remember. We can always read the settings you wrote for us, but you never wrote about us having such sexy bodies.”

She chuckled and sat up from the bed, thrusting her chest before my eyes. She wore a gothic Lolita dress that accentuated her curves, and I couldn’t help but be taken aback. 

However, she had been busy even when she was a faceless zombie, so I had some level of resistance to it. I think I managed to hide my reaction.

“Ah, I’m pretty sure I never wrote ‘busty’ or anything like that in the settings. Even if I did, it would be too embarrassing, so I’d rather forget it. But I guess the skin color and stitches are your preferences, right, Hazel?”

“Yeah, I like the unhealthy and unbalanced look. What do you think, Boss?”

Hearing that, I took a closer look at her as she looked up at me with a smile. The first thing that caught my eye was her massive twin tails. They were a vivid aqua color, which seemed unnatural to me, who had lived in Japan. But perhaps her pale, snow-white skin made it work, turning it into one of her avant-garde charms.

Her twin tails were as voluminous as her face, and she had them tied with a belt due to their sheer volume. They had large waves and gradually turned silver towards the tips. She was about the same height as me, around 170 cm, and her waist was so thin it looked like it could snap. It probably reflected Hazel’s admiration for an unhealthy appearance.

However, she didn’t have the dry, cracked skin you’d expect from someone so thin. Instead, her skin was soft, like a wax figure of a young girl. On the other hand, her ample bust seemed out of place on her slender frame, creating an unbalanced impression that reminded me of delicate glasswork on the verge of breaking.

Her face was so perfectly crafted that it could be displayed as a work of art if she signed it. Her eyes were large and round like a bisque doll’s, and her eyelashes were long and feathery, exuding a strong presence. Despite her adult features, her face still had a childlike quality, probably due to the size of her eyes.

She had stitches on her upper arms, which were not off-putting but seemed like a fashion statement. After observing her entire body, I could say that even without my biased view as her master, she was stunning.

Taking all that into account for an impartial evaluation…

“You’re cute.”

“Cute, you say?”

“You were cute before, and you’re still cute now.”

“…Hehe, that makes me happy.”

When I honestly praised her, Hazel blushed and said so.

Hazel used to speak in the underworld language used by the undead, but her voice in Etena language, now that she’s in human form, was lively and cute.

She continued with her beautiful voice, “Anyway…”

“You’ve had it tough, too, Boss. Taking care of those girls, well done.”

She must be talking about how I comforted the 12 others, excluding Hazel, who was down after the encounter with Goddess Nanaya.

After the meeting with Goddess Nanaya, I cheered everyone up, and they regained their smiles momentarily. But a few hours later, they started avoiding me.

I kept talking to them from the other side of the door, but they stopped coming out. I’m worried because this has never happened before.

…I think they’re strong kids and will bounce back.

“I get that they’d be down after all that, but honestly, I don’t even know why they’re upset. They hardly talk to me except for Hazel.”

“…Everyone else seems to have their issues. You probably don’t need to worry too much… So, what do you want to do from here?”

Hazel asked, tilting her head while saying such irresponsible things.

“From here?”

“You know, all that stuff Nanaya said about maintaining the balance of the world.”

Ah, that.

What to do about what Goddess Nanaya asked is already decided.

“Hmm. I do want to try to maintain the world’s balance. I owe her, and all I have to do is crush a bunch of organizations plotting world domination, right? I’m not willing to risk my life, but it’s not a bad thing to do.”

According to Goddess Nanaya, if I work hard, I can maintain the world as it is, preventing it from falling into chaos.

I don’t want to intervene in the wars of this world as someone from another planet, but if it’s about hunting down those from other planets, it might save more lives.

“…If there are lives to be saved, I’ll save them. That’s one of my policies, no matter how roundabout or absurd the method may be.”

However, it seemed that Hazel didn’t like my approach.

“…You shouldn’t act, Boss. We’ll do everything you want to do.”

Her words were gentle as if forgiving everything, yet they were filled with a strong desire.

“I don’t want you to do everything. I’ve got this cheat-like blessing, so we should have fun doing things together.”

“The enemy might have the same kind of cheat.”

Hazel’s voice had a sulking tone, tinged with a hint of blame. But this is not something I can give in on.

“Even so, if I, who probably became the strongest through the blessing, fight, then the damage will likely be minimized.”

I honestly don’t fully understand the blessing from Goddess Nanaya, but the chants come to mind when I think of them. From those chants, I can roughly understand the content of the blessing… and maybe a little about what Goddess Nanaya herself is thinking.

Hazel, usually so lazy, seemed unwilling to budge on this point.

“I finally became stronger than you, Boss. I don’t want to be the one being protected again. Besides, Jacqueline said that if you keep getting hit by charm spells, you risk losing all your romantic feelings… I want you to stop using that blessing.”

She wrapped her arms around my back and gripped my shirt tightly. She must be really worried about me.

I stroked her soft hair to convey my affection.

“I had already given up on love. Did I ever tell you why I was so desperate to find love in my previous life?”

Well, it’s too childish to call it trauma, but I’ve hurt women deeply three times because I couldn’t fall in love.

“There’s no way I could forget. It’s about you, Boss.”

She should have only heard it once, but she remembered. As She buried her face deep into my chest, she didn’t want to remember; it was troublesome. Hazel was the most energetic after returning from the temple, but now, even she is down.

“I see. Well, I originally thought I could never love anyone again. If my dependent nature of wanting to be in love can be useful, then all the better.”

I crossed my arms behind my head and looked at the candlelight.

Certainly, love was an important factor in my previous life. But that was because I couldn’t stand a boring life without ever knowing love. Now, the future of “Ragnel’s Labyrinth” weighs much more heavily than my own life. Thirteen lives are at stake, after all. It’s only natural.

But now, I’m having much more fun than when I was wandering around looking for love. Just greeting the girls every morning makes me feel the reason for my existence.

With that in mind, maintaining the world’s balance seems like a fulfilling task.

“…Anyway, if it comes down to a pinch, we’ll call you Boss. So initially, we’d like you to leave it to us. That’s what Dungeon Masters usually do.”

Hazel looked about to cry, so I finally gave in.

“Alright! But in return, I want you to avoid killing as much as possible, whether monsters or humans. Sure, we’re now on equal footing, and what you all do is up to you, but I can’t forgive myself if lives are lost because I didn’t go.”

“Understood. As always, ‘If there are lives to be saved, it’s better to save them.’”

Having been together for ten years, they’ve memorized my catchphrases. But thanks to that, the important message seems to have gotten through.

“Also, if you find something important or don’t want to do something, feel free to abandon your roles. I can even break the contract… After all, I’m the one who made the contract with Goddess Nanaya.”

“Understood. I’ll pass it on to everyone.”

As Hazel stood up to leave, I hurriedly stopped her.

“Ah, I’ll leave the methods up to everyone, but I’d like a report. And because I’m worried, please tell them I’d like them to come see me again, even if it’s in monster form.”

“Okay, got it. …And there’s one more thing I want to tell you.”

She turned back and said it with a serious face.

“What is it?”

“We won’t get hurt no matter what you do to us, Boss.”

Her eyes were incredibly serious, so clear they seemed to draw me in.

She’s probably concerned about my previous life. About the girls, I hurt because I couldn’t fall in love. I don’t consider it trauma… it’s a thing of the past. But I was genuinely happy that Hazel accepted it.

“I appreciate it, but you don’t have to lie. You almost cried just hearing about my previous life, didn’t you?”

“Ugh! That’s not what I mean! I’m saying that doing something to us makes you happy, Boss; we’ll accept even the worst!”

Hazel leaned in, her face turning a bit red.

“That’s… the same for me. So let’s help each other out when we’re in trouble.”

I said with a smile, causing Hazel to slump her shoulders.

“Sigh! You really are a tough one, Boss. If only you were more self-centered and less kind, we wouldn’t have to worry so much, you know?”

“Then let me be selfish! I want to be the one to protect the world’s balance, so stay out of it!”

I said, half-jokingly, causing Hazel to snap finally.

“…I hate you, Boss.”

“Oof!”

Hearing the one phrase I never wanted to hear from Hazel, I collapsed onto the bed. Her voice echoed endlessly in my mind.

“Don’t worry, Boss. We’ll tell you if we’re in trouble. Just relax. We’ll go out and protect the world’s balance.”

I couldn’t get up due to the shock of being told she hated me, even if it was a joke. I couldn’t find the words to stop her and just reached out towards the door.

It wasn’t until the door closed and I heard a deflated voice say, “I don’t hate you~,” that I felt like I had been left behind on a moonless night.