The Insectfolk, having no particular attachment to their home, quickly prepared to leave the forest.
In a way, they’d lucked into freedom, trading their status as slaves for membership in the Mugan Seven Palaces.
Even if that membership was based on my bluff, it was still a remarkable turn of events for them.

Unlike Balutak, one of the Insectfolk seemed unusually familiar with the Mugan Seven Palaces and couldn’t contain their excitement.

"Ki-riik! Mugan Seven Palaces! Keltak knows them well! The Great Chief is an unstoppable force! Keltak will follow the Great Chief forever!"
"Mugan Seven Palaces? What’s that?"
"Such things exist. Foolish ones like you wouldn’t understand, but clever ones like Keltak do!"

This guy’s got a superiority complex.

I’d had my suspicions about him back when his name was still Buraltak. The arrogance suits him.
Well, at least now it’s easier to remember him as Keltak, the self-important Insectfolk.

"We’ll summon Golgol."

We mounted Golgol, the skeletal horse, and retraced our path toward home.
The Insectfolk were fast-moving in the forest, so I figured they’d keep up. If not, we could adjust our pace.

Whinny!

Golgol reared up before breaking into a gallop.
My expectations for the Insectfolk proved overly optimistic.
After a short distance, they started falling behind.

From far behind, I could hear their frantic cries, but I didn’t pay much attention.

"Ki-riiiik! Great Chief! Don’t leave us behind!"
"We want to stay with the Great Chief!"

The only one managing to keep up was Balutak, flapping his newly evolved wings with ease.
He followed alongside Golgol without a hint of exhaustion. A true DLC-tier boss in action.

"Ki-riik! Chief! Even the Chief is leaving us behind!"
"Chief! We must stay together! Together, we’ll grow stronger!"
"Ki-riik. The strong move ahead. The weak are left to fade away...."

Oh, for crying out loud.

For a fleeting moment, the thought crossed my mind: What if I just ditched these golden children and bolted?

"Boss," Charlotte said, her voice tinged with hope. "Perhaps we could just leave them behind?"

"...."

"...I misspoke. My apologies."

No, you didn’t. I was just thinking the same thing.

***

"Boss! I missed you so much!"

Thud, thud, thud—

Isabella darted toward me, as excited as a puppy greeting its owner.
From her enthusiastic welcome, I assumed the dungeon had faced significant trouble in my absence.

But her expression didn’t match her apparent health—she looked distraught, yet completely unharmed.

"Welcome back safely, my lord."

Behind her, the Night Minions, led by a succubus, greeted me with proper decorum.

When I asked about the situation, they assured me there had been no attacks or disturbances from the raiding parties.

Then why does she look so upset?

Had the Night Minions bullied her? Unlikely. They wouldn’t dare pull such stunts while staying in someone else’s dungeon.

Looking at them, I couldn’t help but wonder if I’d made a mistake by asking Valencia Roseshar for reinforcements.
It made sense to secure the dungeon during my absence, but now, knowing it had been unnecessary, I regretted the decision.

I gently pried Isabella off me and turned to the succubus.

"When you return, tell Valencia that I’ll repay her favor as soon as possible."

"I will deliver the message promptly," she replied.

The Night Minions left through their portal, and as if to fill the empty space, the Insectfolk marched in.

"Introduce yourself, Balutak. This is Isabella, a vampire, and her subordinates."

Isabella, seeing the Insectfolk for the first time, looked confused. She awkwardly smiled and extended her hand.

"Umm... My name is Isabella. You’re Balutak, right? Let’s get along."

"Ki-riik. Vampire looks weak. Balutak thinks eating vampire will make Balutak stronger. Eating vampire will help Balutak evolve."

"...What?"

Isabella’s face turned pale as she realized what he meant.

Called it.

"Balutak," I said sharply. "There are no weak or strong here. Everyone in this dungeon is an ally. We coexist as equals."

"Ki-riik. Balutak does not understand. The weak are eaten by the strong. The strong grow by consuming the weak."

"Then are you saying I can kill you right here, and you’ll accept it?"

"Ki-riik... Balutak would not like that. Balutak will not eat the vampire."

Fear alone wasn’t a sustainable way to manage relationships in the dungeon.
I needed to give Balutak a compelling reason to cooperate with the vampires, something he could accept.

I remembered what he’d said earlier.

"Think differently. Didn’t you say the strong protect and take responsibility for the weak? Use that mindset to get along with the vampires."

"Ki-riik. Balutak eats the weak but also takes responsibility for them. The Great Chief is right. Vampires are weak. Balutak will protect them."

"Good. To help you settle in, I’ll give you a tour of the dungeon."

"Ki-riik. Balutak will adapt. Balutak will evolve. Change is easy for Balutak."

Charlotte stepped forward.

"I’ll handle this, Boss."

"No need. Rest up. You’ve earned it."

Supporting a subordinate’s rest while taking on tasks personally? A surefire way to inspire loyalty.

"May I at least accompany you?" she asked. "These creatures are still undisciplined. They might show their claws to you."

Way to make me nervous.

I hid my unease and nodded.

Thankfully, Charlotte’s concerns were unfounded.
As I guided Balutak and the Insectfolk through the seven layers of the dungeon, they followed with wide, curious eyes, taking in every detail.

Our last stop was the mining base, where the Insectfolk would work.
It required more explanation than any other area.

I showed them the shelters, watchtowers, handcarts, supplies, and water sources.
Some of them seemed to catch on quickly, nodding in understanding.

"Balutak will serve as the Sentinel for the fifth layer, defending against raiding parties. The rest of you are too weak. Against raiders, you’d be nothing but cannon fodder."

"Ki-riik...."

"In this dungeon, the weak survive by working. Prove your worth here."

They clearly understood what work entailed, likely recalling their time as slaves.
Their spirits sank, and they looked visibly deflated.

What can you do?

I felt a pang of pity, but I’d spent ten million cells acquiring them.
Their upkeep would cost even more. They needed to contribute.

"Your primary task will be mining. If necessary, you’ll also assist with construction and repairs."

The Insectfolk exchanged glances before lowering their heads in resignation.

"Ki-riik... Construction?"
"Keltak knows construction. We did it so much. It was hard, hungry, painful."
"I lost an arm. I don’t want to do it again. It hurts...."
"Ki-riik...."

Even so, letting them laze around wasn’t an option.
If I wanted to develop the dungeon into a fortress worthy of the Mugan Seven Palaces, I had to be practical.

"Work shifts will be twelve hours a day, split into four three-hour sessions. Rest and eat at the shelters as needed. Outside of work, you’ll have free time.
Charlotte."

"Yes, Boss."

"Tomorrow, we’ll organize shifts and rotations. Once the schedule is ready, put them to work."

"Understood."

The Insectfolk looked at me, stunned.

I knew twelve-hour shifts were grueling, especially for manual labor, but it couldn’t be helped.

"We’ll start with twelve hours. If you perform well, I might reduce it later."

A small concession, but the best I could do.

Their forlorn gazes tugged at my heartstrings, but I ignored them and left before I could waver.

***

"Did I mishear that?"
"Ki-riik. Twelve hours is half a day. The Great Chief said the workday would be twelve hours. That makes no sense."

Even after the Boss left, the Insectfolk were buzzing with disbelief.
They murmured among themselves, glancing at the retreating figure of the Boss with a mix of shock and awe.

"This place... is paradise! We get to rest for half the day!"
"Ki-riik! Coming here was the best decision ever! So much rest! So much happiness!"
"We even get guaranteed survival! We don’t have to evolve just to stay alive! Just half a day of work, and we can live in peace!"

Their astonishment quickly turned into jubilant cheers.

When they had served under the Beastmen, working twenty hours a day had been the norm.
For an entire month, they toiled without proper sleep or clean water, constantly on the brink of collapse.

Though they had fled from that torment, they had expected a similar fate in the dungeon.
Instead, they found themselves facing less than half the workload they were used to.

"Ki-riik! Everyone, come quick! There’s food!"

The cry came from one of the Insectfolk who had wandered into the shelter.
When the others followed and saw the provisions and water stocked inside, they could hardly believe their eyes.

"Ki-riik! What is all this?"
"Open it! There’s food inside! Taste it! It’s delicious!"
"Ki-riik! So tasty! And there’s so much more left!"
"There’s plenty of water too! We can eat and drink while we work!"
"This is paradise! Long live the Great Chief!"
"The Great Chief is so kind! We’ll follow him forever!"

Charlotte, watching the scene unfold, turned her gaze toward where the Boss had disappeared.
She, too, was surprised.

"...He really is different."

Most dungeons treated their workers as expendable slaves.
Workers were the lowest caste in dungeon society, viewed as nothing more than tools.

In mining bases, it was standard practice to deny workers even basic rights like shelters or rest areas.
Efficiency might improve with proper facilities, but the entrenched culture of disdain and exploitation for the weak persisted.

For centuries, dungeons had upheld a survival-of-the-fittest ideology.
Be they Beasts or dungeon monsters, they all shared the same tendency to neglect and exploit the weak.
This mindset was deeply rooted in dungeon survival culture, and no one questioned it anymore.

No Boss had ever treated their workers as anything other than slaves.
While workers hired from the Dungeon Merchants were treated fairly, those bound to the dungeon were invariably abused.

What kind of Boss is he, really?

But the Boss of this dungeon was different.
Whether his decisions were driven by a focus on efficiency or genuine altruism, it was clear he stood apart from other dungeon masters.

Charlotte, a pragmatic thinker, had considered suggesting that the workers’ basic rights be upheld for better results.
However, she hadn’t voiced it, fearing it might come across as presumptuous.
To her astonishment, the Boss had implemented these measures on his own.

"...This dungeon would fall apart without him."

The dungeon had been a single-entity structure from its inception.

From his unparalleled combat prowess, having slain a Hero, to his keen sense of efficiency, the Boss was unmatched.

But his subordinates? A clumsy lieutenant, an unhelpful vampire, and a swarm of bug-brained simpletons....

"It’s humbling, really...."

If not for the Boss, no one would ever believe this dungeon belonged to the Mugan Seven Palaces.

Charlotte thought this with genuine conviction.
Deep down, her respect for the Boss grew even stronger.