Upon figuring out that we could actually use the authority of Greed and Resurgence in a way that allowed us to reincarnate into a desired vessel, under the condition that the said vessel was a baby, instead of a random newborn human in Fiendfell, several of my fellow Dungeon Masters were reincarnated through that method.

For the most part, they were like Dungeon Master 06, reincarnated into non-humans, as we also discovered it was possible to have Dungeon Masters reincarnate into other sentient races and much more, provided we had an available vessel of the desired race. With the perfect vessels prepared, four of my fellow Dungeon Masters were reborn as non-humans—those being Dungeon Master 06, Dungeon Master 03, Dungeon Master 13, and the first of them all to go through this, Dungeon Master 09. Although they were reincarnated into races with different life cycles from humans, growing at different paces, there was one thing that made this type of reincarnation similar to the conventional one we were used: as babies, they were as vulnerable as their human counterparts, and they still needed as much care as any normal child.

I took over that role, raising the four of them. Considering what they each were, I believed the right way to raise them was to immerse them in environments familiar to the races they had reincarnated into. Therefore, I didn't raise them in the Voidborne Catacomb where most of my experiments with the authority had taken place. Instead, I made sure they were exposed to elven, demonic, and therianthrope cultures as much as possible. Of the three, it was the elven culture that they spent the most time around, mostly because it seemed to fit them better than the other two. This mansion, in the middle of nowhere, was where they grew up, more or less.

***

After dealing with Alexander, though not exactly as I had planned, and fixing our little issue with the half-breed princess, I, along with the others, returned to the mansion we had left in a hurry after being briefed by Goblin on what they had done without me. We were back, seated at the large table in the kitchen, where we were earlier presented with a not-so-appetizing meal, but now things were different. A lovely-looking young girl with golden hair tied in a high bun served us a meal that looked and smelled wonderful—far different from the morning’s offering.

"Heartshire hare with accompaniments, Ivan's specialty, the Forest Feast," Blondie said, introducing the dishes.

The main course was tender rabbit, pan-seared with herbs like thyme, rosemary, and wild garlic. It appeared roasted over a fire, with a crispy, rustic skin that kept the inside juicy. It was served with wild mushrooms, roasted root vegetables like parsnips and carrots, and a light herb sauce made from foraged greens, such as nettles and dandelion leaves, with a splash of mead or wine for flavor. I was eager to start eating, but I wasn’t about to do so without the cook joining us. I was about to praise Blondie for the meal and ask her to sit with the three of us when Goblin let out what sounded like a moan of approval.

"Blondie, you're the best," he praised.

"You like it?"

"If I like it? Of course I do—it's even better than Bortz's original! I’d say you've surpassed him by miles."

Blondie smiled, her eyes shutting briefly as she replied, "There you go, exaggerating again."

"I'm absolutely not exaggerating," Goblin insisted.

I backed him up. "He's right. I haven’t even tasted it yet, but it looks far better than Bortz's."

"Ma'am," Blondie responded, sheepishly. The way she spoke, bashful at the praise, brought a nostalgic smile to my face.

"I'll get some refreshments," she declared before asking, "Ma'am, red?"

"You know me well," I answered with a nodded. She nodded and left to get some red wine. As soon as she left the room, Goblin spoke up, bluntly saying what I had also noticed.

"Buddy," he began, looking at Dungeon Master 05, who sat beside him, "you're staring too much."

Dungeon Master 05 flushed and stammered, "I... I was—"

Goblin interrupted, "She might not be able to see you, but she can still sense the gaze you’re throwing at her. I know she’s the perfect image of the ideal woman, but at least try to be subtle about it."

Dungeon Master 05 turned redder, attempting to deny the claim. "I... I wasn’t doing that!"

"Spare him, Goblin," I scolded. Goblin returned his focus to his meal, while I added, "He’s messing with you," to Dungeon Master 05. "Still, you were staring a bit too much. Though I know why you're staring that that much."

With a tinge of annoyance, Dungeon Master 05 asked, "If you two know why I’m staring, then why not answer the question that made me stare in the first place—who is she?"

Before I could respond, Blondie returned with a bottle of wine. At the sight of her, Goblin immediately said, "Since Ma’am hasn’t introduced you two, I’ll do it my way. Sharonne, this guy glaring at you over there is Licht. He’s a human, an adventurer—a well-known one in the land of men, in fact. He’s an older brother, of sorts, to me, Bortz, and White, a little brother to Luci, and arguably an older brother of some sort to Ma’am too. But that’s too convoluted to explain, so just understand that he’s one of us, like Charlie was. Peace to his soul."

Sharonne nodded, "looking" in Licht’s direction before acknowledging him. Goblin continued, "That beautiful girl over there is Sharonne. She’s human too—an adventurer, albeit a low-ranked one because of the time she’s spent away from the land of men. But that’s no reason to look down on her; she’s a friend and... family."

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

Dungeon Master 05 seemed to barely hold himself in place, confused by Goblin’s casual naming of several Dungeon Masters the girl clearly recognized. When Goblin referred to her as family, Dungeon Master 05 shot me a look, his eyes demanding an explanation. I whispered, "Don't worry, I’ll explain, but it's a long story. I'm not doing that on an empty stomach."

With that, I took my first bite of the meal, and it was even more delicious than it looked. Though Dungeon Master 05 seemed impatient, I ignored his gaze. As Blondie deftly uncorked the wine bottle and poured my glass, I said, "Thanks, love." She nodded and moved to Dungeon Master 05, who seemed in no mood for wine, but with Goblin practically staring into his soul, he didn’t dare refuse. Blondie poured his glass while I thought about the awkward atmosphere—then decided to ignore it.

"You're not eating?" I asked, noticing Blondie hadn’t sat down to eat.

She shook her head. "I’m fine."

"She said she’s trying to lose some weight," Goblin added.

I looked her up and down and asked, "What weight?" I wouldn't say she was petite—she stood over 170 cm—but compared to the giants she was surrounded by, she indeed looked small. Even so, there was nothing about her that suggested she was over her ideal weight—in fact, she seemed to be under it.

"I was wondering the same thing," Goblin added.

"I did put on some weight recently," she said, "it just doesn't show."

Goblin and I exchanged shrugs, and I said, "Alright then."

After we finished eating, Blondie announced she was going for a bath, while Goblin, whom I had assumed would assist me in answering Dungeon Master 05’s questions, left to apparently fetch towels for Blondie—claiming our arrival on Veilleuse-19 had messed up the batch he’d left out to dry. It was an excuse, and I could tell, but I didn’t blame him. If I could’ve avoided the conversation, I would have too.

Deciding to take the discussion to one of the rooms, I chose the one that had once belonged to me and had been prepared by Goblin and Blondie. "So are you finally going to answer my question?" Dungeon Master 05 asked, standing in the corner of the room, arms crossed.

"Alright, alright," I sighed, preparing myself. "I promised to tell you, so I will tell who Blondie is."

Dungeon Master 05 had almost immediately realized that Blondie wasn’t like Goblin, Bortz, Luci, or even White, that she wasn’t a Dungeon Master. To help him understand who she was and how she became so involved in our affairs, I had to start at the beginning---her birth. No, even before her birth, over a century and a half ago.

Several decades after I figured out the alternative reincarnation method through the Greed and Resurgence authorities, having mastered the craft, I decided to finally put my knowledge to practical use. Until then, I had mostly been experimenting—pushing the boundaries, making discoveries both groundbreaking and tragic. But then, I was ready to use that knowledge toward our grand goal. The idea was to provide Dungeon Masters with vessels that suited their missions or roles.

It was around six years after my successful experiment with the vessel given to Dungeon Master 13 that I set out to do the same for Dungeon Master 14. Dungeon Master 07 had plans for Dungeon Master 14 to be born as a Highbreed, to infiltrate the faith and be raised to a position of influence. So, I began my search for the perfect vessel. Though there was nothing concrete that indicated heredity played a role in how successful a reincarnated vessel would be, I believed it mattered. I sought out noble families known for producing talented children. One particular family stood out, and since they were vassals to the royal me of that time, I decided that Dungeon Master 14’s vessel would come from them.

I waited for news of a pregnancy in that family, so I could take the mother and soon-to-be child to the Voidborne Catacomb to finalize the process. During that time, I heard a quieter piece of news—a child was indeed expected, but it was a child that'd be expected out of wedlock, the result of an affair between the heir and a girl of no status. It wasn’t what I’d planned, but I figured it could work. I could always pull strings to have the child recognized and integrated into the family if necessary.

I stealthily took the mother and brought her to the Voidborne Catacomb. Things went well until the day of delivery, and then everything went wrong.

First, the birth didn’t go smoothly, resulting in the mother’s unfortunate death. The second problem was that the child was female. All of us Dungeon Masters, Dungeon Master 14 was no exception, had lived their previous lives as male. Despite being genderless as Dungeon Cores, the idea of reincarnating as a female vessel was uncomfortable for them, especially as it meant all subsequent reincarnations would also be female. And then, the third problem: the child was frail. Frailer than any I had seen, and something was clearly wrong with her eyes.

Dungeon Master 14 couldn’t bring himself to reincarnate into a vessel like that. As frustrated as I was, I couldn’t blame him. Feeling bad, he offered to use the usual reincarnation process instead—and did, ironically reincarnating as someone else’s daughter.

"So she was supposed to be Dungeon Master 14’s first vessel?" Dungeon Master 05 asked after I explained everything.

I nodded. "That was the plan. But things don’t always go as expected. To be honest, back then, I didn’t expect Blondie to last beyond her first day. She was small, frail, and visually impaired. I couldn’t have been more wrong."

I had several options for what to do with her, but none felt right. She was blind, frail, and seemed destined to die like her mother. Maybe it was because I had already associated her with Dungeon Master 14, but I couldn’t just abandon her. I decided to raise her alongside the then-young Dungeon Masters—Dungeon Master 13, Dungeon Master 03, and Dungeon Master 06. And much to everyone’s surprise, mine included, she grew up healthy. She didn’t recover her sight, but she adapted, striving to follow in their footsteps. She leveled up, acquired the Longevity skill, and even kept up with them.

"—which is why, as you’ve seen, she’s so involved. She’s practically family," I explained.

"Does Dungeon Master 07 know about—? No, if he knew, he’d have told me."

I chuckled. "You’re right. He would’ve, if he knew. To be precise, he knows about her, but not that she’s still around."

"Who else knows?"

"There’s me," I began, "Goblin—Dungeon Master 06, Bortz—Dungeon Master 13, Luci—Dungeon Master 03, and in recent years, Charlie—formerly Dungeon Master 10. Dungeon Master 00. And now you."

Dungeon Master 05 rubbed the bridge of his nose, as if dealing with a headache, which was understandable. I waited in silence for him to process what I’d said. Eventually, he asked, "What do you expect me to do with this information?"

"Me? Nothing. You wanted to know, so I told you. What you do with it is up to you. But if you want to know how I’d like you to react, I’d say I hope you react like Dungeon Master 10 did."

"How did he react?" Dungeon Master 05 frowned.

"He didn’t complain—not to me, not to White, not to Goblin or Bortz. Not even after getting to know Sharonne personally. She’s proven herself to us."

Truthfully, Dungeon Master 10 didn’t complain because he was a newborn at the time. By the time he could speak, he had nothing left to complain about. But Dungeon Master 05 didn’t need to know that.

After a moment of contemplative silence, Dungeon Master 05 said, "There’s one thing I’d like to know. Does she know that what you told me is her story?"

I smiled. "What do you think?"