Before bringing the items, I made graves for the humans.

While I felt some sympathy and mercy for the humans, there was no real reason to make graves. But I needed to make graves not for the humans, but for our dungeon's monsters.

Ghoul leveling and meals.

Unlike the slimes who procured magic stones through dungeon construction, the ghouls didn't have many spaces to gain experience. So if there were humans who needed to be killed, or dead humans, I immediately gave them as food to the slimes and ghouls.

But yesterday there were no ghouls.

Not slimes or ghouls—just Eila and the stud hunters. They didn't have any particular feelings about other monsters' deaths, but felt considerable sympathy for their own kind's deaths.

Kinslaying.

That condition for high elf Lune to fall into a dark elf felt like a taboo I should never commit. Though it was strange that slimes became big slimes by devouring their own kind, slimes weren't intelligent beings.

"How could anyone with their head on straight think of killing and eating their own kind?"

In other words, killing your own kind was an unwritten law that applied equally across all species in this world. Killing or devouring your own kind was something only mindless monsters would do.

Therefore, you shouldn't kill your own kind. At least having your own kind directly kill was problematic in many ways.

"Then as long as your own kind doesn't kill them, it's fine, right?"

Truly a genius idea.

So today I organized all expedition members except Lune with only ghouls. And the first place we visited was the ruins where we'd taken the items.

The grave.

Krrk.

The ghouls were already drooling. I checked the ghouls' numbers and pointed to the grave. Fortunately, the grave was exactly as I'd packed the dirt yesterday, and the people's faces had my mark drawn in blood.

A sign that I'd come back to collect. The ghouls clicked their teeth and shook their heads like bobbleheads, and I gave them orders.

"You guys won't get many chances like this from now on."

I rolled across the ground once and escaped from the hole.

"Dig and eat yourselves."

Kieeeek!!

The ghouls eagerly started digging. The humans were lying diagonally exactly as I'd neatly placed them yesterday. I prayed once more for their souls.

"May you be reborn in a good place as a good being in your next life."

"Mm... I think this is what they call crocodile tears!"

"You're smart, aren't you?"

I was hit right in the mark and couldn't answer, and Lune scratched her cheek with a giggle.

"I don't really care. Elves also kill humans who invade the forest and throw them as food for wild beasts."

"That's a pretty extreme disposal method."

"It's the fastest and simplest principle of returning them to nature. Wolves might come eat them, crows might come peck them, monsters might wander by and carry off the corpses."

That was true. By elf standards, there was no obligation to hold funerals for human invaders. But I addressed the part that concerned me in what Lune said.

"Monsters appear in the elf forest?"

"Nearby. When we throw invaders' corpses outside the forest, the fastest ones to find them are monsters. Wolf-like guys called gnolls. Goblins too."

"Then to catch them, I'd have to go that far?"

"Mm... it's completely opposite from here, so it'd be difficult? And if you enter the forest, there'd be big trouble."

"Seems there's no detour either. Tsk. Elves, scary species."

Not forest fairies but forest hardasses. That's why they raised a kid for 160 years so sexually innocent. 160 years old. Five times older than me. In this world's lifespan, easily 50 times.

"Lune."

"Yes."

"How old do elves usually live to?"

"Mm... 1000 years? Even that's only the grand elders who lived extremely long, usually they finish their lives around 600 or 700. They return to the forest."

If humans are in the 100-year-old era, maybe just multiply by 10 for age. Then Lune would be 16, and Luna would be 47—

'No. The calculation method must be different.'

If that was 47, elves were definitely broken characters. The ghouls still had a long way to go before finishing their meal, and I checked inside the grave. The ghouls were eagerly tearing flesh.

"Lune."

"Yes."

"You can fight right now, right?"

"Of course."

"Good..."

I pointed to the ghouls behind me. Whether ghouls or high ghouls, all were devoted to eating.

"Then leave them and take a little trip, just the two of us?"

"Where?"

"A dungeon."

"...?"

I pointed to the long trail of footprints from the Andras corpses. Lune looked at the traces and was surprised.

"There are footprints?"

"Yeah. Tracks left by those guys captured as prisoners in our dungeon."

Since it was muddy ground that got damp from rain, the Andras's footprints clearly remained on the ground.

"Hases."

Krrk.

Hases lifted his head from being stuck in the ground. I covered my eyes with my hand and gave Hases orders.

"When you guys finish eating, clean up here and stand by."

Krrk.

Hases even brushed off his hands as he stood up. His gestures screamed 'Are you planning to leave us behind?', bursting with dissatisfaction.

"They say they can't keep Master busy when they're eating such delicious food."

"Really? Goodness."

As expected, Hases must have been a loyal knight in a past life. I felt oddly touched and my nose tingled, but Hases's mission was to eat diligently.

"Just eat. And if you have time, eat this too."

I pointed to the Andras who'd died with bird heads stuck in the ground. Their bellies had warning messages I'd written in blood yesterday.

"Is this one hard to eat?"

Krrr.

Hases stared at the Andras for a long time, then shook his head.

"He says this one seems inedible."

"It's the same corpse but you're picky."

Krrk.

"He says they can't eat anything but humans."

"Even though it looks exactly like a human?"

Krrrk.

"He asks even if it looks the same, isn't it clearly a different being from humans? He hasn't tried eating it, but doesn't want to."

"Hmm..."

I didn't know what the difference was but I wasn't inclined to argue. Orcs have orc eating habits, ghouls have ghoul eating habits. I had to respect that.

"Then finish eating, and if you want a bite, you can have it."

Krrk.

Hases nodded vigorously and stuck his head back into the ground. I left the ghoul group and Andras behind, put Lune on my shoulder, and followed the footprints.

"Lune, do you sense anything?"

"Mm... seems we need to go a bit further. There's nothing here right now."

Lune and I kept walking following the footprints. The footprints continued, but while they continued, no particular enemies appeared.

"Master, here."

"Right. The place we found yesterday."

The place where we first discovered the Andras. The hill where we hid was up there. That was proof we'd found the path correctly.

"Let's keep going."

"Master. But..."

Lune held her bow and hesitated. I'd instructed her to shoot immediately upon spotting enemies, but Lune was quite scared.

"What if the enemy's strong?"

"I'll tell you the enemy criteria."

There happened to be an appropriate standard Lune could understand.

"If the enemy's stronger than Luna, we run. If the enemy's as strong as Luna, I'll somehow handle it alone. If the enemy's weaker than Luna, we kill them all."

"Ah... so clear!"

Lune grinned and raised her bow toward the opposite side of the path.

"Master?"

"Yeah."

On the opposite side of the downhill path we were descending.

Beyond the three-way fork turning right from the straight path, new Andras we hadn't met before were dragging humans as prisoners somewhere.

Fortunately, they hadn't noticed our presence yet.

"Um... but can I just shoot?"

"Why."

"A human might get hit."

"Lune. Don't you have confidence?"

At my provocation, Lune shook her head. I cheered for Lune, and Lune took a deep breath and drew her bowstring.

Screeech!

The wind arrow flew across the air toward the Andras group—

Thud.

It stuck in the belly of a human hostage. Lune trembled on top of me.

"..."

"Lune."

"Yes."

"You got experience, so it's fine."

"Hnng..."

Lune jumped down making a tearful face, and I rubbed my fingers crosswise to awaken my whole body's vitality. What I needed to use was [Blood Flow Acceleration].

"It's an enemy attack-ras!"

"Be careful-ras!"

The Andras still didn't know where the arrow came from. I pointed right to Lune and ran left.

"I trust you."

"Yes...!"

No way she'd shoot right when I told her to and have it fly left. I ran following the left path, and Lune jumped onto a tree branch and drew her bowstring.

"Enemy attack-ras!"

Three Andras raised their claws and charged at me. All three exposed something dangling from their lower halves, and I momentarily enhanced my strength to grab the first Andras's beak.

Crack!

The Andras's beak shattered. The Andras was so weak its beak shattered from grip strength alone, and I kicked the Andras's belly to fold it like a folder.

'1-star.'

The Andras's back had no wings. I immediately picked up the shattered beak pieces and kicked the Andras.

"Unforgivable-ras!"

"Too many words!"

I tossed the beak piece over my shoulder and threw it forward. The Andras charging toward me was startled and dodged right.

Thwack.

A wind arrow flew cutting through the air and stuck in the Andras. Of the two arrows, one stuck in the Andras's heart, and the other stuck in the Andras's unfortunate place.

"Gahk."

The Andras screamed strangely and fell to his knees. I kicked the Andras, then kicked off toward the last remaining Andras.

"Kiyaak!!"

The one with the sturdiest lower half had the highest-pitched scream. I landed stepping on the Andras's back and slammed its beak into the ground.

"Alright, let's eat. Goo goo goo goo."

I repeatedly stepped on and released the Andras's back to crush it. The Andras resisted by moving its body left and right, but it wasn't very effective. I stepped on the Andras's back and pulled the beak stuck in the ground out.

"From now on, if you answer my questions, I'll spare your life."

"...Speak-ras!"

"Is your boss pretty?"

"...The most beautiful person in the world-ras!"

The Andras yelled with a face asking what kind of obvious question that was, and I grabbed the Andras's back of the head and lifted it.

"Then introduce me so I can see that face. Come on, let's go forward."

"W-wait a moment-ras! Don't tell me?!"

"Yeah. You need to be my guide. She's pretty, right? Can't go see her? Maybe she's incredibly ugly?"

"Th-there's no way-ras!"

The Andras passionately praised Andras's beauty. The more it did, the more dissatisfied I became.

'Must be a really pretty bird.'

The beak must be very beautiful. I gently stroked the Andras's nape and pointed ahead on the path.

"Guide me now."

"The mistress won't stay quiet-ras..."

"That's why let's make a bet? When I bring you into the dungeon, whether your master rescues you or not."

The Andras's eyes were shaking. But its steps looked like they'd walk forward.

"...The mistress will definitely rescue me-ras. I'm a monster the mistress personally birthed-ras."

"Whoa."

Andras.

I definitely need to catch her. I gulped down the drool in my mouth and pushed the Andras forward.

"Right. Let's check. But you know what?"

I cast a magic spell in the Andras's ear.

"Eggs can just be laid again-ras."

The Andras's eyes were shaking violently. What kind of reaction would mother Andras show? I headed to the dungeon with the Andras as hostage, my heart pounding.

Time to plunder.

***

"Ugh, huugh, haah...!"

The woman in black feather clothes moaned and panted. From between her spread legs, a black egg emerged from the woman.

"Haah, haah..."

The woman rolled up her sleeves and personally lifted the egg she'd laid. At the deeper luster than ever before, the woman squeezed her eyes shut.

"...3-stars!"

The woman was certain. An egg she'd never laid even once until now, and after recovering stamina, all that remained was hatching.

"Haah, haah. How does Lord Solomon lay so many... haah."

The woman could only respect Solomon. And she held the egg in her arms and lay on the bed.

"As expected, having humans plant seeds is the best... hm?"

Solomon's system rang a warning. The woman's heart sank as fog flowing from the magic circle drew a message.

[Notice: Intruder detected.]

"...Hmph, humans again? Ha, annoying..."

[Warning: The opponent has declared 'Seizure Battle'!]

"Huh...?"

The woman's expression turned deathly pale.

"There's no demon who'd pick a fight with me...?"

The woman trembled her lips while clutching the black lustrous egg.

"E-everyone gather! Gather-s... Gather!"

So flustered her old habit came out, the woman—Andras—trembled in fear.

"Defend with your lives!!"

All Andras inside the dungeon rushed out.

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