Stella looked at the slime she’d spawned, then narrowed her eyes at Daiyo. “No.”

“Stella,” Aster warned.

Stella pouted. She put her hands on her hips. “He hasn’t apologized yet!”

Aster turned to Daiyo expectantly.

“My apologies, young child. I just wanted to be king,” Daiyo said.

“It’s not a very good apology,” Stella grumbled, grabbing Aster’s leg again.

“But is it good enough?” Aster asked.

Stella considered for a moment, then pointed at Daiyo. “You won’t kidnap me again, will you?”

Daiyo shook his head. “I don’t like violence. I simply thought I had a chance to be something more than strange old Daiyo, tucked away in a corner.” Daiyo sighed dramatically and sipped from his empty teacup at the same time. “Alas, I am fated to obscurity, as I already knew long before this day.”

Stella frowned at him, then peered at Aster. “What did he say?”

“He said he won’t kidnap you, and brought up his self-esteem issues for some reason,” Aster said bluntly.

Daiyo flinched. “That last part wasn’t necessary.”

“I agree,” Aster replied. We really didn’t need to hear about your self-esteem in the first place.

“Ah.” Stella tilted her head, then nodded. She pointed at the slime. “Go! Go to the others.”

The slime perked up. It hesitated for a moment, listening, then wobbled away, sliding along like a snail. Occasionally, it gathered itself and leaped forward, alternating between sliding and bouncing. Daiyo flinched away from it, backing further into the corner. It slunk through the table’s legs, scorching the underside of the table. Scooting close by Stella and Aster without attacking them, it turned the corner and vanished from sight, leaving them in darkness save a few small crystals in the upper corners of the room.

“So? The tables?” Aster prompted, rapping his knuckles on the stone surface.

“Oh, yes. They’re based off of a tea set one of your rich citizens lugged into this dungeon. I like to sneak to the early chambers and watch humans, you know. Well, one day, some rich old man came in with a whole entourage, complete with servants, a silver teakettle and porcelain cups… it was very impressive. He even had a table and chairs. I saw that, and I said, well, you know, Daiyo, you could definitely make that yourself and look a bit civilized, perhaps. And what do you think?” Daiyo asked. His expressionless face turned to Aster, but Aster got the impression he was beaming.

“It’s very impressive, truly. I’ve never known a golem to be as delicate as yourself,” Aster said honestly. A rich citizen? Does he mean a noble? To be fair, I could see nobles lugging an entire tea set into a dungeon. I’ve heard of a noble who brought his tea set all the way up to the top of the tallest mountain, after all. Nobles can’t be without their tea.

“All the other ones who were born like me were big and rough and stupid. I couldn’t communicate with them at all. I don’t know why I’m like this, either,” Daiyo sighed.

“All the others?” Aster asked, alarmed. How many golems are in this dungeon? How dangerous is it? It’s currently a C-rank danger zone, but should we re-rate it?

Daiyo gestured downward. “In the deep places. The dark, where no humans ever go.”

“The deep places?” Aster muttered. Unexplored zones of the dungeon, maybe?

Stella tugged on his shirt. He glanced down. She nodded at him. “Humans only contaminate the very top of the dungeon. There’s lots and lots of stuff down deeper.”

“Contaminate, that’s a big word,” Aster murmured. He frowned at her. “Lots and lots?”

Stella held out her hands as far as they could reach. “Lots.”

“And you control all that?” Aster asked, shocked.

Stella shook her head. She moved her hands very close together. “I control this much. The rest of the zones have their own bosses that don’t follow me, so I can’t do anything to the dungeon or the monsters there.”

Aster frowned, raising a hand to his chin thoughtfully. Zones, plural, and bosses, plural, as well. If they have their own zones and bosses that she can’t control, is she sensing other dungeons? Can dungeon cores do that? But… how far away is the closest dungeon? Are all dungeons connected? Or… is this dungeon actually much larger than we thought?

After a moment, Aster waved his hand. Thoughts for later. He turned to Stella, who blinked up at him, white hair falling back from her face. “Let’s head on up, then.”

“Could I ask a favor? I’d like to go to the surface as well. I really want to study humans,” Daiyo requested.

“Study?” Aster asked, quirking a brow.

Daiyo nodded. “See them, touch them, if possible… please, I won’t do any harm. I’ll sit in the background and watch quietly. They won’t even know I’m there.”

“Okay,” Stella said.

“Okay? There’s several problems with that!” Aster replied, shaking his head. A monster studying humans? All I can see are gory, stripped-down corpses with their parts labeled hanging up all over the ceiling. And no one will know he’s there? Is he some kind of stalker? A creepy stalking serial killing monster, who tears apart humans in search for their inner mechanisms…

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This is bad. No matter how I look at it, it’s bad! Before I even start to fix this dungeon, it’s already started down the path of the hardcore triple-S rank horror dungeon! There’s already one Slasher Caverns, we don’t need a second!

Daiyo tutted. “I’m not going to kill humans. I haven’t killed a single human. Stella, tell him.”

Stella looked at Daiyo, then at Aster. “He’s killed a dozen humans.”

“Oh, hey,” Daiyo complained.

“But he only killed in self-defense. He’s never attacked a human,” Stella continued.

“Researching humans, though?” Aster asked skeptically.

“I watch. I learn. I want to see their behavior and social standards. My dream is to leave the dungeon one day and become accepted in human society,” Daiyo proclaimed.

Well… if that’s the case, it isn’t like cutting people open can reveal their behaviors. Aster crossed his arms. “That’s going to be a very difficult thing to accomplish.”

Daiyo nodded. “I understand that. After all, you’re the first human who’s spoken to me rather than trying to kill me. Even so, I want to try.” He gestured at himself. “I’ve already made myself this human-like. With more understanding, maybe I can shape myself into something nearly as exquisite as a human.”

“Besides, I need more protectors! More!” Stella insisted.

Aster rubbed his forehead, suddenly tired. “Stella, you really have to rearrange your floor bosses. You need humans—”

“No! No humans!” Stella replied stubbornly.

“If you let humans in, you could spawn things more powerful than fire slimes to protect yourself,” Aster said, crossing his arms.

“E…excuse me, is the dungeon running out of mana?” Daiyo asked, suddenly nervous. He looked at Stella, concern written all over his flat rock of a face.

Stella pressed her lips together. She shook her head. “It’s not.”

“It is. Stella, don’t lie,” Aster replied flatly.

“It isn’t, it isn’t. It isn’t if I say it isn’t,” Stella insisted.

Aster glared at Stella. “Show me your core.”

Stella hugged her chest and shook her head. “No!”

Daiyo took a step forward. His stone feet scraped over the stone floor. “Stella, if you run out of mana… we’ll all lose our home. Many of us will die. Please, don’t run out of mana.”

“I don’t want humans to come in. They’ll kill you,” Stella said, crossing her arms. Tears welled up in her eyes.

“That’s fine,” Daiyo said.

Stella stared. “Fine? But you’re—”

Daiyo shook his head. “Stella, most of us in your dungeon are beings born from mana as much as flesh… or stone, in my case. As long as you have mana, you can respawn us. You function as a miniature reincarnation hub for us monsters. But if you run out of mana and we die, that’s it. We’re dead forever. It’s the same if we have to leave, unless we manage to find another dungeon to take us in. There isn’t enough mana to support us on the surface anymore. Dungeons are the only safe place for beings like you and me.”

Aster blinked. Is that all true? There’s been a lot of debate on those statements in the world of human academia, but…

But, well, how many academics walk into a dungeon and actually talk to monsters? Most of them are lazy nobles who’d rather sit at home and debate their academic friends than walk outside, let alone into a dungeon!

When it comes to adventurers, aside from Dungeon Keepers, their only goal is to kill as many monsters as fast as they can, gather resources, beat the boss, and head home with riches and glory. I’m probably not the first adventurer to ever find a talking monster or speak with a dungeon core, but there can’t be many who can claim one or the other, let alone both.

Outside of Dungeon Keepers, that is. Maybe. Much of their job is cloaked in secrecy. Aside from ‘keeping the dungeons’ and ‘keeping peace among adventurers,’ no one really talks about the Dungeon Keepers’ daily work. I wonder…

Stella stared at Daiyo, stunned. “No. That’s not true!”

“It is true. If you want to keep us alive, letting humans in is the fastest way. Though they can kill us, it’s only a temporary farewell, as long as you continue to exist,” Daiyo replied earnestly.

“What about you? A variant, like yourself, with conscious thought. Will you come back? What about memories, thoughts? Are they preserved, or do they vanish?” Aster asked.

“Do any of us know for sure what happens after death? As long as our mistress wishes it, though, anything is possible,” Daiyo said, looking at Stella.

Stella blinked back, brows furrowed in confusion.

Daiyo bowed his head. “That is… what I choose to believe, in any case. It’s wonderful to finally meet our mistress, by the way. And sorry again about attempting to become the boss. I didn’t know you’d already picked one.”

“Picked… a dad. Not a boss,” Aster corrected. Subconsciously, he rubbed his forearm where he’d glimpsed the armor before. I’m not sure if that was real or not, but I don’t want to let anyone start thinking of me as a boss, in case Stella really can make that reality. I’m quite happy as a human, thanks.

Stella gulped. Her voice quavered. “I… I need to let humans in? Is that the only way?”

Daiyo walked over to Aster. He looked at Aster, silently asking for permission.

Aster nodded. Sometimes, she needs more than just my guidance.

Daiyo knelt. He reached out to Stella. Stella flinched back, tightening her grip on Aster’s pants leg. He paused there, hand left hanging out toward her. “It is. But we’ll protect you, Stella. No matter what.”

Stella shook her head. “But everyone, all the little ones, the humans will—”

“Kill them, yes. But you can bring them back. Respawn them. As long as you stay alive and have mana, we can continue to live in this dungeon together,” Daiyo said, nodding.

“Are they the same? Are they…” Stella’s voice trailed off, swallowed by her fear.

Daiyo shook his head. “Can you tell? Can any of us?”

Stella might be able to. She can talk to quite a few of the monsters, Aster thought to himself.

Stella’s hair lashed around her face as she shook her head harder than ever. “Then, I don’t want to let them die, if, if…”

“You know, humans risk their lives in this dungeon, too,” Aster commented.

Stella looked up at him, her star-strewn eyes glittering with tears. She sniffled. “So?”

This brat… Aster sighed quietly and pressed on. “Both the humans and monsters stake their lives on this dungeon. You, too, live and die with this place. Instead of shutting all humans out of it and forcing all your monsters to slowly starve along with you, you should allow the monsters to make their own choice to live or die.”

“Rather than consigning us to a slow death together, let us fight and determine our own survival,” Daiyo declared.

Stella squirmed. Gripping her skirt tight, she cast her eyes aside. “…Maybe.”

Aster sighed. That’s as good as we’ll get for now. He looked at Daiyo. “I’ll let you come with us, but the first time you show any aggression toward me or Stella…” He slapped the hammer into his palm again.

Daiyo chuckled. “I understand if you don’t believe me, but I don’t mind being someone’s subordinate. It’s that old dragon I had problems with.”

“Stupid,” Stella muttered under her breath.

Aster smiled at Daiyo. “That ‘old dragon’ was her mother.”

Daiyo stared at Aster. Although he had no eyes, he still expressed blinking in shock.

Aster coughed abruptly. “Er, adopted. In, in both cases.”

“Oh! Yes, of course. Although I’ve heard that humans are very flexible, I’m not aware of human-dragon pairings being viable,” Daiyo said, nodding.

“What’s he talking about?” Stella demanded.

“Nothing at all.” Shooting the golem a glare, Aster hefted his hammer and headed for the exit to Daiyo’s nook.