Milo knelt. “Let me recharge my mana, so I can attempt to resurrect Alice.”

“If he does, should I make her a mana battery for her sentence?” Stella asked.

Milo froze. He turned to Aster.

“I don’t see why not. She tried to kill you, too. If anything, she should be a mana battery for longer than Silas,” Aster replied.

“Mhm, yeah!” Stella agreed, nodding enthusiastically.

Milo hesitated. He opened his mouth, then sighed and shook his head instead. Resting his staff across his knees, he closed his eyes.

“What’s he doing?” Stella asked, pointing at Milo.

“Oh, he’s gathering magic. If mages rest and focus on channeling mana, they can recover their magic more quickly,” Aster explained.

Milo twitched. “That’s… a bit simple, but…”

“I don’t have any magic, so I don’t really understand it,” Aster excused himself.

Stella looked up at Aster. “You don’t have magic?”

Aster shook his head. “Nope.”

She gaped. “Isn’t that hard?”

“Uh… well, I’ve never had magic, so…” Aster said, rubbing the back of his head.

“No magic? And you’re a solo adventurer?” Milo asked, peeking his eyes open.

“Don’t you have to focus?” Aster asked.

Milo frowned at him.

Aster laughed. “Yeah, yeah. It isn’t easy, but I manage.”

“What about slimes?”

“Ever tried salt?” Aster asked, winking and shooting a finger gun at Milo.

Milo shook his head and closed his eyes.

“What? It’s true,” Aster muttered.

Stella yanked on his shirt.

“Hmm?” Aster asked, looking down at her.

“I’m sleepy,” Stella complained.

Aster turned toward Milo. Seeing him continue to rest, eyes shut, he nodded. “Hold up a second. I brought you a bed, and a tent.”

“A bed?” Stella asked.

“Well, it’s more of a bedroll…” Aster shrugged. “It’s better than sleeping on stone.”

Stella tipped her head to the side.

“Hold on. You’ll see.”

Aster hurried back to his huge bag and dug through it, shoving aside food and his own gear, digging deeper, deeper. His brows furrowed. Where is it? Come on…

A little bundle of canvas and batting sat at the bottom of the bag. Aster drew it out and gave it a shake, unrolling the canvas. Poles clattered to the floor.

Stella wandered over, curious. She picked up the poles and handed them to Aster.

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“Thank you.” Aster took the poles and tucked them under his arm. He unfolded the canvas and began to shape it, then took the poles and threaded them through the holes. Propping the poles against nooks in the stone, he set the tent upright.

“It’s a little cloth room!” Stella said, excited. She scurried inside and looked out from within the canvas, her eyes wide.

“Hold up, hold up. I still haven’t set up the bedroll yet,” Aster said.

“There’s more?” Stella asked, flabbergasted.

Aster unrolled a soft, batted mat on the ground outside the tent, then spread a flannel-lined cotton blanket over it. Carefully, he adjusted it to fit over the mat, tucking the blanket under the edges of the mat.

Stella crawled out of the tent to take a look, sitting upright with her legs under her. As Aster finished spreading the blanket, she rolled over onto the mat. “Soft!”

“Yeah, yeah. If you climb off for a moment, I can put the mat in the tent, and you can sleep in the tent, on the bedroll,” Aster suggested.

Stella rolled onto her back and stared at the ceiling for a long moment, considering. At last, she rolled off the mat.

Aster chuckled under his breath. He dragged the mat into the tent, then stood back. “Go ahead.”

Chirping in happiness, Stella hopped onto the mat and scooted into the tent. She sat upright and released the flap, vanishing behind the canvas.

“What do you think?” Aster asked.

A little thump emanated from the tent as she dropped onto her back. “Soft,” Stella replied, humming to herself.

“Must be nicer than that stone floor,” Aster said.

“Mmm,” Stella sighed, already half-asleep.

Snorting, Aster shook his head. “Alright. Goodnight.”

The room fell silent. After a while, quiet snoring emanated from the tent.

Time passed. Aster practiced with his hammer and his sword, then ran a few laps of the room as a cooldown. He stretched, then went back to his bag and pulled out his own tent. He set it up in front of the exit door, close enough to keep an eye on Milo as well. Sitting in his tent, he dug in his bag and pulled out some salted pork and a hard biscuit alongside a flask of water. He gnawed at the rations, watching Milo and Stella. Doesn’t taste great, but it’ll tide me over for a while. He looked over at his bag again and went digging once more, searching for an apple this time.

Milo looked over. His stomach rumbled.

Aster glanced at Milo. He bit into the apple with a loud, juicy crunch.

Milo swallowed. He licked his lips and stared silently at Aster.

Juice ran down Aster’s arm. He licked it off and took another bite. Another crunch echoed in the boss room.

“Er… could… could I…” Milo started.

Aster looked up, his eyes narrowed and voice low. “Huh?”

Milo looked away. “Nothing.” His stomach grumbled again, and he hugged himself. Ugh. Resist it! Hold out! I can’t ask for food from the guy whose dungeon I broke into!

Raising his eyebrows, Aster frowned at Milo. What’s he getting all worked up for? If you’re hungry, just say so. He shook his head and went back to his apple.

Milo stole one last longing glance at the apple, then shut his eyes and clenched his hands on his staff. Focus. I won’t let Alice turn into a monster. Focus, and gather magic to res her! Faster!

Aster finished his meal and stretched, yawning. He laid back, watching Milo casually, his head in his hands. Time crept on, hours crawling by. This isn’t really a solution, is it? Even if I’m here, I have to sleep sometime. I’m going to send Milo and the other kids… who survive, out eventually, but even then, there’s no guarantee everyone else will obey the dungeon closure. I can’t be vigilant at all hours of the day. It’s just not possible for a human.

I need to strengthen Stella’s position, and soon. But strengthening her dungeon means more mana, and more mana means letting people in.

Aster twisted his nose. Maybe I should just let her put Milo into a mana battery too, and recharge a bit off these interlopers. It’s not a permanent solution, but it at least moves things in the right direction.

A shiver ran down Milo’s spine. He sat up and rubbed his neck, looking around. What was that?

“You done?” Aster asked.

“Eh? Oh… yes. I’m ready.”

Aster hopped to his feet. He looked at the smaller tent. “Stella, you awake?”

The tent trembled. Small hands fumbled with the flap, and a sleepy Stella wobbled out of the tent. She yawned big and stretched her whole body upward, then tipped to the side. Her eyes half shut, she stared dazedly at Aster, not fully awake. “’m up.”

Walking to her side, Aster chuckled and offered her a hand. Stella reached up with both hands. Aster hesitated, then picked her up and propped her on his hip. He turned to Milo. “So? Go on.”

Milo licked his lips. He nodded, clenching his staff so tight his knuckles turned white. “This is my first time to try the resurrection spell. If I succeed… I’ll be considered an A-class healer.”

“Good luck,” Aster said.

Stella yawned and rested her head on Aster’s shoulder, her eyes drifting shut. “Can I monster her yet?”

“Not yet. Wait just a little longer,” Aster said.

“I see you’re confident in me,” Milo muttered.

“Huh?” Aster asked, looking over.

Milo stiffened. “Nothing!” He scurried over to Alice’s body.

Aster twisted his lips. “Weird kid.”

“Yeah,” Stella agreed, nodding.