As I stood there, trying to arrange the new information I acquired, I couldn't shake off the feeling that Dungeon Master 02 was far more composed than expected.

"Sure, at first, it did sound like he tried to get under my skin, but all in all, he didn't feel antagonizing."

Hearing my own words, I couldn't help but chuckle self-deprecatingly.

"Of course he is... What's happening, did I start to forget who I was somehow? I am a Dungeon Master just like he is; there should be no reason for him or any other Dungeon Master to antagonize me... unless I gave them one, and I did. But from Dungeon Master 02's stance..."

I could still right that wrong. I just had to right that wrong. Glancing down at my hands, I saw the notebook in one and the spatial ring on my thumb on the other. Seeing the notebook, I instantly considered carefully reading it. But upon consideration, and especially upon remembering Dungeon Master 02's earlier talk about the importance of a good sleep schedule, I decided to reschedule that for tomorrow night instead.

But that being said, I didn't immediately go to bed. Instead, what I did was through the spatial ring, tore a rift through space and placed the notebook into it. It seemed like the wisest decision considering the circumstances, and I couldn't help but feel a sense of relief as I watched the rift close, taking the notebook with it.

_____________________________

Inventory:

Inventory (Ring):

- Eyewear container

- Dark Scimitar

- Ballade

- Shortsword (x3)

- Caliburn

- Raw Manacyte

- Runic Sheet (x72)

- Purified Manacyte Sample (x52)

- Virgin Scroll (x36)

- Node Inscribing Quill

Currency:

- Eldrin : 122₠

- Dracorn: 2Ɖ

_____________________________

On that note, I climbed into Aiden's bed, heaving out a sigh of relief. I was relieved to finally know that I, by being left in this orphanage, didn't walk into... Well, now that I think of it, what exactly was I dreading?

Dreading, huh? That's the word, I was dreading something—no, someone, Theta...

"No, that can't be... I'm not afraid of her, if anything I was just..."

"Hahaha, right, this is absurd, of course I'm not afraid of her. The anguishing part was mostly of not knowing what she is up to; now that I know what it is, there is no longer a place for that anymore," I muttered to myself climbing into Aiden's bed.

Sure, I wouldn't go as far as to say that I'm completely relieved and happy to be here. After all, this place is still related to Theta. But at the same time, from what Dungeon Master 02 revealed to me suggested that this place, while being closely monitored by Theta through her Ascetics, there seems to be no plans for her to directly interact with the orphanage. That would literally defeat the very purpose of the orphanage, which means I don't have to worry about her coming up midway through with yet another of her rogue experiments or programs. Well, now that I think of it, she still could if she wanted to, but I doubt she would take it to a very questionable extent, considering what's expected of the product of this orphanage.

Dungeon Master 02 mentioned that she was interested in seeing what kind of change proper training could bring about in these children. So, I suspect that in the future, she would have these children be raised following a plethora of uptight and carefully-chosen instructions, training. Now that I think of it, it could already be the case, with how they're raising the girl and Aiden.

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

Tsk.

I don't like that. But at the same time, it's harmless enough for me to have no reason to mind it.

"Sigh... let's stop thinking about this or anything closely related to Theta, I'm going to give Aiden a headache," I told myself, allowing my body to sink deeper into Aiden's bed. I tried to find sleep but I was momentarily unable to find it.

To sleep, I could either sleep the conventional way or surrender full control to Aiden, allowing myself to almost instantly enter a slumber-like state. I presently struggle to do the former.

As for the latter, doing so would without a doubt wake Aiden up, so I had no other choice but to conventionally fall asleep on his behalf. While trying to do so, I found myself pondering what I should be doing next.

From what Dungeon Master 02 said, as humiliating as it is to say, I can still try to win my honor back like Dungeon Master 20 did after what he pulled off, and that without having to go through the same punishment as he did back then, though it can be argued that being here was a form of punishment.

A little more than one decade and half ago, Dungeon Master 02, in the span of just one night, had managed to acquire the commonly-agreed title of the “worst Dungeon Master”, that by not only messing his first mission but also directly causing the death of a fellow Dungeon Master.

He was punished for that, but even then his punishment was not enough to clean his name. He was always referred to as the worst Dungeon Master, with his current position and his approach to his current persona making it clear that he was trying to clear his name. But even then, he would always be given small tasks, none of them directly involving another Dungeon Master. In his newly acquired persona, he was mostly "used" by Theta, who, in spite of Dungeon Master 20's reputation, didn't mind sending the poor fool on little "special" missions.

The fact that Dungeon Master 07 even considered and actually had him accompany Dungeon Master 02, the one whom we Dungeon Masters are the most protective of due to the valuable power he monopolizes over, suggests that Dungeon Master 20, in Dungeon Master 07's eyes, actually managed to clean up his name, at least to a sufficient extent that he would actually trust him to protect Dungeon Master 02. Well given his strength, that shouldn’t be a complicated task, the only issue was his mind which was, let’s be honest, a mess.

While what I did was not as bad as what Dungeon 20 was convicted guilt of, it couldn't be argued that right now, I might be the one holding the second worst Dungeon Master title, both due to how low my current contribution to our cause is and how my runaway from Theta's side and Aiden's existence most likely appears to any other Dungeon Masters.

I didn't like that I had to fall this low, but if this is what's to be done, then I will do my best to clean up my name just like Dungeon Master 20 did.

As to how exactly I do that, a vague outline manifested in my mind.

To make amends for what he did, Dungeon Master 20 compromised himself by taking over small assassination missions issued by Theta. To do so, he joined the according official organization for such kind of jobs, thus agreeing to a public persona for himself. By doing so, he capitalized on something he was confident in: his lethality.

I believed it would be wise of me to take inspiration from what he did. Of course, I wasn't going to follow his path to the letter; I just planned to draw inspiration from it. I doubt Dungeon Master 07 needed another Dungeon Master 20; one was plenty enough already.

Considering an asset of mine I could capitalize on, the only thing I could think of is my strength—or rather, what used to be my strength, as I currently didn't have access to it. But even so, I was confident that if given the opportunity, I would be able to raise myself back to what I used to be.

Sure, it involved a strange variable that, a couple of years ago, I would've never believed I would have to one day take into account, but I was confident in being able to do that. After all, while my skills, abilities, title-granted and innate ones, seemed to have gone through an almost-complete reinitialization, there seemed to be nothing inherently wrong with me that would be hindering me from leveling these skills back to what they used to be.

So I thought, perhaps this is my opportunity—my opportunity to take on that one suggestion Dungeon Master 07 once made for me to adopt the public persona of an adventurer, but was not able to seize onto due to a title I had unlocked: kinslayer—a title that made it, while not impossible, very difficult for me to join the organization backing adventurers of this world.

However today I could join organizations as I was suggested without arousing suspicion, not because I lost the title; it was still there, branded on me. It was just that today there was something different with me that made it that I might no longer need to worry about that title making me look suspicious. That something being none other than with whom I share this body: Aiden.

The interface overriding the power of Fiendfell seems to consider Aiden and me as different entities, even though he and I literally share the same body, making it so that his stats, attributes, skills, abilities, and most importantly, title do not intertwine with mine. While I, when manifesting myself as the one in control of this body, bear the mark of the kin-slayer, Aiden, when taking control, simply does not. This means that if I were to take advantage of that uniqueness, I should be able to have Aiden register us as adventurers on my behalf without arousing suspicion. The more I thought about it, the more plausible it sounded.

"Adventurer it is then," I declared, a smile on my face. But then, as I pondered what that implied, the smile vanished.

If I were to steer us onto the path of adventurers, it would require the involvement of Aiden. And how could I get him involved when he isn't even aware of my presence?

Just as I had said to Dungeon Master 02, I had yet to reveal my presence to Aiden, but indeed I planned to. I just failed to find the right opportunity. I couldn't just manifest as a voice in his head, declaring, "Hey, Baby it's me Maa. I'm now a sentient voice that is in your mind and can take over when I wish to." Well, I actually could, but to be frank, I didn't want to. So, I've been waiting—for the right opportunity to tell him that I'm actually still there, though in a very unconventional way. I suppose just doing it made it feel like I had been procrastinating on the matter, and in some way, I was. But now has come the time for me to actually do it.

The thought of doing it here and now crossed my mind, but before I could manifest that thought into action, I changed my mind. "It's a little too late at night for that. I'll do it when I have a better opportunity. For now it’s just time for us to sleep."

On that resolution, I closed my eyes, allowing sleep to claim me, and this time around, it finally came swiftly.