Lazy Dungeon Master

ice pitfall traps like these… rather, bein’ able to move so fast around these, as expected of Meat-senpai.”
“All of the pitfalls in this dungeon, I know them all.
Fufun.”

She was bragging.
Well, she did make the pitfalls after all.

“All of them… Huh? Isn’t this the [Ordinary Cave]? But the guild said… nothin’ was here?”
“That’s, well… the guild’s information is outdated.
That’s how it was a month ago.”
“Heeh, so then now… it turned into this.
Guess it was a transformation period.”

A transformation period was the rapid growth a dungeon went through that was explained in the [Introduction to the Study of Dungeon].
According to Haku-san’s addition, she only said it to hide the effects of a dungeon battle.

“You’re pretty knowledgeable.”
“It’s important stuff to know.
I heard it from a guy studying dungeons a while back.”
“I’ll be counting on you in the future, seriously.”

“Leave it to me! … Wait, come to think of it, Goshujin-sama? I was bought as a chore slave yeah? By chores was it for bein’ a dungeon conquerin’ meat shield?”
“That’s not it.
I want Ichika to work at the inn so you don’t have to help with adventurers… ah, don’t touch those spears sticking out there.”
“Uoh—wait up, Goshujin-sama! Ku—looks like this really is his base… you’d have to know of everything to advance that well.”
“Goshujin-sama doesn’t lie.”

Meat was walking smoothly in front of Ichika, she’d perfectly memorized the traps’ positions.
… I just realized.
Couldn’t I have went in from the separated goblin room if I used dungeon core castling?
Or rather, couldn’t I be retrieved to the core room if I asked Rokuko?
Hmm, my head is hurting.

“Oooi, Rokuko.
Can you hear me~? If you can, retrieve me~”
“Rokuko? Is that Goshujin-sama’s comrade? Where?”

My vision was filling with white light as Ichika asked.
I felt a sensation of floating, my field of view blurred, and I was suddenly in a right room.
Right, it was the master room.
Looks like Rokuko was able to retrieve me.
Of course, Meat and Ichika also here… Ichika was still being shown as an intruder on my map, though.

“Welcome home, Kehma!”

Turning towards the voice, I saw the blond-haired little girl-type dungeon core, Rokuko.
She was smiling with her arms linked in an imposing stance.

“I’m back.
Feels like it’s been a while since I’ve seen your face, Rokuko”
“Really? Hasn’t it just been one or two days?”

A simple answer.
Since Rokuko was a dungeon core, her longevity was also long.
Her sense of time was probably different from a human like me.
Haku-san said she was alive around a hundred years.

“So, Khema.
That’s the new slave?”
“Yeah.
Her name’s Ichika.
Well, please get along well with her.”
“Alri~ght, pleased to meet you.
I’m the dungeon core, Rokuko.”
“Wai-wait up, my head isn’t keepin’ up… dungeon core? This cute Ojou-sama isn’t human?”

Ichika was holding her temples.

“A human-type boss monster core combination…? I’ve heard of it… no…?”

Though she was trying to figure it out somehow with her common sense, it couldn’t be helped since the information her common sense was giving her was wrong to begin with.
Unable to hold back any longer, I called her.

“Hey, Ichika.”
“Hey! Is Goshujin-sama… perhaps… the demon king!?”

Why’d I turn into something like that?