I had a dream after a long time.
Was it because of all the built-up stress?
Or perhaps due to extreme exhaustion?
A dream drenched entirely in flesh tones.
The fact that the faces around me were familiar brought a slight sense of guilt—
but also a much greater thrill of betrayal and excitement.
From Rumi, wagging her tail with an unusual energy, her eyes sparkling with hearts, going “Juin-nim! Grrr-woof woof nyaaao!”
To Ellis, licking her lips with half-lidded eyes, sending me a seductive smile—”Fufu, the day has finally come, hasn’t it?”
Then Johanna, her cheeks flushed red, covering her face with both hands—yet peeking through her fingers, her eyes gleaming, unable to tear her gaze away from my lower half—”T-this is blasphemous…!”
Even Saha, drenched in water, looking up at the sky with reverence—”Mother, are you watching? Your daughter has finally…!”
Hmm.
If heaven exists, wouldn’t it be this place?
Of course, the moment I spotted Tina and Neb peeking from the far end of the bed with their bright, curious eyes, that creeping sense of guilt surged up again.
But I’m not so much of a fool that I’d let a prepared feast go to waste.
“Grrr, I can’t hold back…!”
I abruptly sat up in bed—
Or at least, I tried to sit up…?
I wanted to, but my body wouldn’t obey.
As if someone had tightly bound me, rendering me completely immobile—my limbs heavy, as though weighed down by boulders.
The only part of me still functioning properly was my little soldier, standing at full attention in frustration.
“Well then, let’s begin…?”
A languid voice—Arachne’s—drifted from the head of the bed, just out of my line of sight.
And then—
“Urk…!”
A sensation of all strength leaving my body, followed by my consciousness spinning wildly—
***
“Ugh…!”
A dull, aching heaviness pressed down on my entire body as I finally woke from the dream.
Of course…
The sensation of sleep paralysis still lingered, sending shivers down my spine.
After spending the entire night in a frantic chase and then enduring a lengthy debriefing upon returning, exhaustion was only natural.
But.
The moment I forced my unwilling eyelids open and returned from dreamland to reality—
“…?”
I saw it.
Myself, tightly wrapped in Arachne’s silk.
What?
Betrayal?
Had she finally decided to treat me as prey…?
***
Dawn.
After a heated debate (with plenty of shouting), the heroes finally reached a consensus.
First.
We shall respect the Seer’s autonomy as much as possible.
This agreement was reached only after a fierce argument between the “Plunder Soul” faction—represented by Saha and Renatel—and the “Pure Love” faction—led by Johanna and Ellis.
But in the end, the straightforward, pure love approach resonated more with the “Others” faction than the “attack first, ask questions later” method.
The combined logical assault of the Saintess and the Witch played a decisive role.
Of course, Tina’s critical remark—
“Then… wouldn’t the Master just die?”
— A sincere concern for their physically fragile Master, also helped sway the majority.
Second.
We shall grant “priority access rights” based on past contributions.
This agreement was reached surprisingly smoothly, likely because it was blatantly unfair to latecomers—yet none of them objected.
Arachne, for instance, simply stated, “I’m fine as long as I get food,” embodying the purest form of food-driven devotion.
Renatel tried to protest, but the moment Rumi let out a low growl, she immediately lost her voice.
As for Neb—
“I’m a criminal.”
“Huh?”
“You too, brat.”
— She dropped this cynical remark and dragged Tina down with her, effectively surrendering in the battle for the “first night” rights.
Third.
All other matters shall be decided by the Emergency Response Committee.
Everyone understood that if the heroes fought in earnest, this decrepit guild hall would collapse instantly.
Thus, they agreed to build a consensus to achieve lasting peace in the coming era.
However.
An agreement did not necessarily translate into unwavering trust, so it was quickly concluded that a surveillance system was needed to prevent anyone from acting out of turn.
One of the physical measures for this was—
Assigning a neutral guard to oversee Ark’s “safety,” compensated with a portion of the heroes’ snack rations.
“Me. Hungry. Food.”
Arachne, armed with a white whip, expressionlessly unraveled the silk binding Ark’s body.
“What… is this…?”
Ark, abruptly awakened in such a fantastical manner, looked utterly bewildered.
Of course.
“Food.”
“Alright… I’m sorry…!”
Ark quickly soothed Arachne, who was growling like a breakfast-deprived puppy (which was 99% accurate).
At that moment, Ark had no idea—
That this would become a daily morning routine.
The stalemate among the predators wouldn’t last much longer—and perhaps that was the only silver lining.
***
After hanging a “Temporarily Closed” sign on Celestia’s General Store, we went into full battle mode.
This wasn’t the time for cheerful business-as-usual songs about making a living.
After a full night’s sleep, blood finally started flowing to my brain again—and now, the thought of not dropping a meteor on those damn lizards felt unbearable.
No morals, no manners—
Who throws the first punch like that?
This was entirely different from Enya kidnapping me.
That was part of the script—predetermined.
This was an outside force distorting the scenario I knew.
“Thus, I shall now brief you on the ‘Dinosaur Extinction Plan.'”
Gathering the heroes, I poured all my gaming knowledge into outlining the strategy for conquering the 23rd floor.
While some details might deviate due to the altered scenario, I minimized variables so that on-site commanders could adapt as needed.
“Therefore, Party 2 will be led by Renatel. Everyone, applause!”
Clap clap clap!
“Ahaha, ahahaha…”
Renatel smiled awkwardly, embarrassed.
We should’ve done this sooner.
Unlike our ragtag group of heroes, Renatel had already led a resistance against overwhelming forces—a true elite, no, heroic-grade leader.
Though her methods were childish, the fact that she survived and grew her faction spoke volumes about her leadership.
“The remaining Party 2 will consist of Johanna, Saha, Rene, and Ari—five members total.”
Seeing the Saintess’ cheeks puff up in protest, I quickly added—
“Neb may not be as skilled as Johanna, but she’s still an excellent healer. So Johanna can handle more variables this way.”
“Ehe, heh.”
A single compliment was enough to make the foolish Saintess wag her imaginary tail, quelling her rebellion.
“…You know what I’m going to say, right?”
“Ahem.”
“Hehe…”
A pointed glance at Saha and Ari—the two with the highest incident rates—reinforced Renatel’s authority.
With this, I’d minimized the chances of things going haywire due to reckless actions.
…Now, the only thing left—
Was keeping Party 1 in check, resuming from where we left off yesterday.
“No grabbing collars, no random biting, no punching flying objects, no growling at strangers…”
“Nyaaa…”
“Myaa…”
After implanting some basic scolding, I recalled—
“For research purposes, hand over your sperm to me.”
That line from yesterday—
The mad scientist’s demand for my multi-barrel rocket launcher’s ammunition.
How could I navigate this without the heroes causing chaos?
I ran one last mental simulation.
In the end.
That simulation was meaningless.
“You’ve returned. Are you ready to cooperate?”
There she was—Ryua, lounging lazily in the same chair as yesterday.
“Fufu, of course. Here it is.”
A beaker filled with a strange, viscous white liquid flew from behind me, landing perfectly in Ryua’s hands.
For a moment, my language center was short-circuited.
Pop—
As Ryua uncorked the beaker and sniffed its contents, her face flushed slightly.
“Mmm. Interesting. You’ve already been intimate, I see?”
After applying what seemed like an authenticity seal, she tucked it away.
What kind of reaction is that?
What did I just witness?
What just happened?
With a creak, my neck turned stiffly toward Ellis.
“Fufufu.”
Ellis merely wore the same bewitching smile she always gave me.
…Seriously, what the hell?