Coran rushed down the hall, his heart filled with concern for Alicia.

He could not bear to even think about something happening to her.

If it did, it would be completely his own fault- nobody else but him would be able to take the blame.

Coran would have to live knowing that he gave his subordinate an impossible task. One which ended in her death.

This would make him no worse than Kota- that despicable fishman whom his masters loathed.

It filled him with terror. He didn't want to become that type of slavemaster. He wasn't even certain if he was allowed to have a slave, but he wanted to treat her in the same way his masters treated him.

As an equal.

As someone who held worth as a fellow person. Far more so than someone he met on the side of the road.

And so, he ran down the hall.

He then heard the sounds of footsteps.

An odd popping sound, followed by the penetration of flesh.

"Alicia!?!? Are you alright!?!? I miscalculated!!!", Coran shouted as he rushed down the hall.

Soon, his beloved slave came into view.

She was standing there calmly with her two insectoid hands on her hips, as her wings slightly twitched.

In front of her was a woman, pointing a crossbow directly at her.

But Coran was not worried about that woman, because he could tell from the way she trembled and her aura that she was merely an upper third tier archer- an opponent that Alicia would have no issue with.

More importantly, was his slave alright? Was she wounded?

Coran rushed over, and began grabbing Alicia with all six of his arms, inspecting her from top to bottom.

"Are you ok!?! Are you wounded!?!? Is everything alright!?!?!"

Coran inspected Alicia's body while seeming to crawl around her, touching every nook and cranny only to find that there were no wounds.

"W-w-w-w....what!?!? W-w-w-why are you touching me like that.... C-Coran!?! I-is there something wrong!??!"

Coran stepped back facing Alicia, his back to the woman who held the crossbow, who was still trembling but now filled with confusion as her eyes flickered back and forth between the two. He was now blocking the path to any bolt which could be aimed for his slave.

Coran looked at Alicia, who now seemed to be squirming oddly, and her face was as red as a beet.

"Ah, it's nothing I suppose. I just.... I suppose I was concerned for you. I just fought a group of opponents who were far stronger than you, and I.... I was worried that you might get hurt if you faced a similar group."

Looking back at the dead bodies around him, Coran's worries were dispelled.

"But, I suppose there wasn't any cause for concern. Well, either way I should apologize. I'm sorry, Alicia. I didn't take into account that you might have to face strong enemies, and I underestimated the humans. I care for you. I don't want you to get hurt, no matter what. I'm glad.... I'm very glad that you're alright."

Alicia's face was now in a disastrous state as her eyes could not possibly meet with Coran's. At this blatant profession, she could not calm her beating heart, which raced forward gushing blood through her body like a rapid stream.

"I-I.... I... I... um..."

Alicia then spoke out in a quiet whisper.

"T.... thank you.... Coran... but.... I'm ok.... you don't need... to apologize or anything...."

Coran then turned back to the woman.

"Ah, so I suppose I should ask then. Have you made a decision on this last woman? Is she worth saving, or is she just one of the riff raff scum that need to be eliminated?"

"Um..."

Alicia spoke very quietly like a shy schoolgirl.

"I think... she might be good...."

"Oh, I see. Then, I suppose I'll ask her myself."

Coran turned to the woman holding the crossbow.

The woman, who was previously filled with terror now had a look of utter confusion on her face.

'Uwah... I've never seen anyone make that expression before. What's it supposed to mean?', Coran thought.

"So uh, are you good or are you bad? I guess asking directly is a bit awkward, but hey, I suppose if you can find it in you to talk to us without attacking and calling us monsters then I don't really care. So, what will it be? Are you gonna fire that thing or not?"

----

Niri's mind was in a state of utter chaos.

In such a small amount of time, she had gone through every emotion she could possibly imagine.

Anger, hatred, and disgust at the men who tried to convince her to go back and have 'fun' with them, only to attack her when she rejected their offer.

Relief at seeing that they were nothing more than amateurs at combat which she could easily take out.

Terror, in hearing the crisp yet somewhat beautiful voice of the wasp queen- and the sight of which further plunged the heart of Niri into despair. She had entered the cave expecting to see a single male spider, and so when she encountered not just a wasp- but the very queen of wasps, it could only mean one thing.

There was a nest in here. Perhaps this entire cave was filled with hundreds or thousands of wasps similar to the ones which she witnessed before.

Despair, after realizing that she was too frightened to even move before this queen of wasps, as she helplessly was teased by this monster, who almost seemed more like a deceptive woman than a beast.

Confusion at seeing this spiderlike creature rush up and start spouting off apologies to the wasp queen. At first, she believed that he was perhaps merely a subordinate to the queen, but their conversation suggested something else.

Niri could tell.

It was.... almost like a human relationship?

A boyfriend and girlfriend?

What was this strange dialogue she was witnessing!?

However, the spider then turned to her with a question.

"So uh, are you good or are you bad? I guess asking directly is a bit awkward, but hey, I suppose if you can find it in you to talk to us without attacking and calling us monsters then I don't really care. So, what will it be? Are you gonna fire that thing or not?"

'What the hell!?! What is he asking me? Why is he talking to me!?! This... this isn't how monsters should act, right??'

Niri was so overcome by confusion that she forgot to answer the question, and merely stared blankly, looking back and forth between the spider and the wasp, who seemed to be fidgeting like a shy girl.

The spider walked over to her, and knocked on Niri's head.

"Helloooo??? Is anyone in there!?! I'm asking you a question here! It's pretty rude to ignore people when you're being spoken to, you know."

Coran looked right into the blank eyes of Niri, which spun back to life.

"You-you're talking!!", Niri exclaimed while pointing at Coran. "You're really talking!!! I'm not hallucinating, right? Is this some sort of hallucination!?! If it is, then I must be under some crazy drug, cause I just heard you speak words! Hahaha! Like, human words!! Isn't that crazy? But wait, if this is actually a hallucination, then I must be talking to myself, right? Well shucks. But if this is a hallucination, then I suppose I've already fallen deep into your trap, isn't that right Mr. Spider and Mrs. Wasp queen? Who know's where my real body is right now. But... I don't feel woozy, and everything feels so real. Let me see...."

Niri pinched her own skin after sheathing her crossbow to check if what she was experiencing was real.

"Ouch! That hurt. Wait a minute, that hurt! Is this hallucination that powerful, or is this real?? Hey, what do you think, Mr. Spider? Is this real?"

Coran seemed to be looking at Niri like she was a weirdo.

"Don't look at me like that, Mr. Spider!! You're just a figment of my imagination, so why do you have to look at me that way?"

Alicia, who seemed to have calmed down, was also now looking at Niri strangely.

"Uh... I think we've found a strange one. What should we do with her, Coran?"

Coran started pacing back and forth.

"Good question. But.... actually, now that I think about it, my masters did say something before.... it was a story about when they were able to get a certain insane woman on their side. 'It was only because of her insanity that she was able to see through our monstrous appearances, and see who we truly were.' I don't know if that exactly applies to this woman, but...."

Coran smiled.

"I'm willing to give her a chance."

"Maybe this is a long lucid dream? This would be a pretty detailed dream then.... well, whatever. I might as well see where this goes."

Niri seemed to nonchalantly put her arms behind her back, leaving herself completely defenseless.

It was because she truly didn't believe the two in front of her to be real.

Or at least, the way she perceived them.

It was absurd. Ludicrous.

How could two monsters suddenly start speaking the human language and questioning her? How could they have a conversation with humans like this? The possibility of this being some sort of hallucination was far more likely, and so she accepted that as the truth.

Coran quickly spun a cocoon, encasing Niri, and then picked her up, flinging her behind his back.

"Come on, darling. We need to go check on the children. I hope they're all getting along well with the others who have passed the test."

"O...ok!"

The wasp queen timidly followed behind the spider, and they made their way back to a campfire.

Niri then saw at the campfire something which could only further confirm that she was in a dream or a hallucination.

Children playing with each other. Some eating, others drinking, a few resting.

All of them getting along as if nothing was wrong.

And next to them were two people, lying on the ground, tied up in cocoons just like Niri.

Coran threw Niri next to the two others, and she rolled over to see the two faces.

It was Patrick- the boy who happened to work as a mail courier, and Dr. Kraven, the town doctor.

This certainly was a strange dream. She barely even knew these two people. She had only seen them around town here and there, and the only reason she knew of them was because of how tightly knit the town as a whole was.

Niri was raised in the town of Porta and resided here normally, but often was traveling for her work as a mercenary, so she wasn't exactly someone who everyone knew.

"What are you two doing here as well? This is a really strange dream. Talking monsters, children jumping about and playing in this cave."

Patrick and Kraven looked over to Niri with concerned faces.

"I'm sorry to say, miss... but this is no dream."

----

Johnathan recalled the words of Mrs. Fera after visiting her just earlier this day.

"For every child you bring back, I'll give you 10 pieces of silver."

In terms of money, this was a large sum- even for a mercenary.

Jonathan was the head of a small group of mercenaries based out of the town of Porta.

Their jobs mostly consisted of acting as bodyguards for caravans that went in and out of the town.

At first, Jonathan had no reason to go on such a dangerous raid. As a leader of a band of mercenaries, whether or not there was a monster in Porta meant nothing to him. If worst came to worst, he would pack up and head to another town where they would resume their work.

Knowing this, Mrs. Fera had silently approached him, after seeing him walk away from the meeting just this morning- disinterested in the raid.

Needless to say, Jonathan now had the motivation he needed.

Him and his boys attended the raid and were currently walking down the sixth path in Coran's lair.

"Hey boss, do you think we'll actually find anything down this path? I mean, there were so many. What are the chances of this being a dead end?". one of his men asked.

"Idiot. There's a greater chance of this being a trap. Why else would there be so many paths?", another chipped back before Jonathan could reply.

"No need to get fussy on each other, but that's right. I would say that the entire reason there were so many pathways is because there are likely a lot of traps, so we should try to be extra careful here. If we sense any danger, we get out. There's no point sticking around risking our lives for a bit of extra gold.", Jonathan stated.

"As you say, boss!"

The five walked down the pathway in the darkness.

Minutes passed.

It seemed to Jonathan that they had already fallen into a trap.

They were just going in circles, without anywhere to go.

"Boys, we should start looking for an exit."

"An exit? But we haven't even encountered anything dangerous, boss."

"No, something is off... I can tell. Let's head back."

"Alright boss. Whatever you say."

The group turned back and began walking, to no avail. They were of course trapped within a loop.

Jonathan feared what would happen to them, but what he was more concerned about was something else.

'There's no way a monster could set up a trap this complex. Are there humans working with this thing, or.... even worse... could it be intelligent?'

Jonathan was actually right on the dot, but there was no way he could know this.

Suddenly, he heard the rumbling of the ground, and looking ahead, it seemed that a wall had opened up.

"Sorry for the wait. I just finished up with the last group. Please, come in! It won't be long before we come to an agreement. Of course, if you insist on staying there, then I can wait here all day."

The voice was that of a young boy.

A young human boy.

'So it was a human working with a monster!?! I have a bad feeling about this. Maybe I can negotiate with them, but.... if they've already sold their soul like this, then who knows what type of person I'm dealing with.

Jonathan stepped into the room.

"Boss, are you sure we should be going in there?", one of his subordinates beckoned.

"Are we going to get anywhere if we don't? Get in here. Let's get this over with."

"Alright, boss..."

The subordinates followed their leader, trusting in him. After all, he had led them out of many dire pinches before due to his good judgement- so perhaps once more he would be able to do so.

The door shut behind them.

'Yep... I've got a real bad feeling about this one...', Jonathan thought.

His boys looked shook and concerned, but Jonathan put on a front of bravery.

"Don't falter. Just follow my lead."

"Yes, boss!"

"Ohh?? A boss, with some loyal subordinates this time?? Interesting. This should make things much simpler than the last group. They were all a bunch of individuals, with their own motives and no sense of cooperation. Then, I'll make the deal simple this time, just for you. Take a look in front of you."

Some lights turned on to reveal two glass panels.

Behind one glass panel was five children, sitting in a small room.

Behind another was a pedestal made from Coran's string, just as everything else in this maze was.

And on the pedestal was a single gold coin.

'Dad said that his masters went through a lot of trouble gambling to obtain this coin, and then they proceeded to entrust it to him for his own use in his mission.', Nathan thought. 'I'll help him put this to good use.'

"To be honest, the monster inside this cave is quite concerned about the invaders. So, I've decided to make a deal with you all. Instead of sticking around and fighting, I'll give you a choice. You should see a lever next to each glass panel. The lever will open up the glass panel, and you will be free to leave the room after opening a lever. If you leave this place without trying to fight us, then you can take exactly one of the two options. Either free the children on the right side, or take the money on the left side and go. If you really desire to fight, then there's nothing more I can do to negotiate, but won't you accept one of these things and leave?"

Confusion ran through Jonathan's mind.

'He's... offering us either money or the children, and asking us to leave? Why!? Is this monster truly scared of taking on so many people? Well, I suppose that sounds about right, but that would imply that the monster is intelligent enough not only to work with people, but also that the monster understands the disadvantage he is at against our numbers. I suppose the reason why we're being offered either money or the children is because there are really only two reasons why we might be here.'

Jonathan's subordinates seemed to be getting rowdy.

"Boss! Boss!! Look, it's a gold coin!!"

"Haha!! Wow, a real one! We didn't go on the campaign recently because you said you had a bad feeling about it, but it looks like it paid off!"

"We can become rich even without going on that campaign!"

'There are two types of people attacking the monster in here. Those who are trying to save the children, and those who are in it for other reasons, such as financial profit. The kid speaking through some strange method- maybe magic- must understand that, and has offered to us an opportunity to just leave that will appeal to us, no matter what type of person we are. It's a fine plan, and eliminates almost anyone who wants to take on the monster, aside from maybe those who are bent on killing it. But....'

Jonathan looked over to his subordinates, who's eyes were gleaming as they stared at the coin.

'Something is off. I have a bad feeling.'

"Boss, let's take the coin and leave! Screw the children!"

'I would be a bit guilty about just leaving the orphans... but I came here to make money anyways. We would only receive 50 silver coins- half the amount of that gold if we just took the kids and ran.'

Jonathan walked over to look at the kids in the eyes.

They seemed lifeless.

Dead.

Had the monster done something to demoralize them?

What was Jonathan thinking? Of course it had. It was going to eat them, after all.

Jonathan felt somewhat bad for the children.

But his boys ran over to him.

"Boss, what are you doing looking at those children?! You'll just start feeling bad for them and wanting to save them! Hurry up and select the money!!"

"Yeah, boss!!"

Jonathan walked over to pull the lever on the left, to collect the money and go.

"Alright boys."

Jonathan reached out and grabbed the lever.

As he touched it, a cold chill came down his spine.

Jonathan had good intuition, and he felt like he shouldn't pull this lever.

Jonathan let go of it, reeling back.

'I shouldn't pull that lever. I just got a real bad feeling about it....'

"Boss, what's wrong?"

"Boss, are you alright?"

"Boss?!"

"Boys, I don't think we should pull that lever."

"Why not, boss!?!"

"I just... got a bad feeling."

One of the subordinates then stood up.

"Boss, don't tell me your emotions are getting in the way of profits. I've trusted your intuition because you're usually right up to this point, but I think this time is different."

The subordinate stood forward, and grabbed the lever himself.

"I think you're feeling some guilt for those children, and don't want to pull this lever yourself."

"Wait!! That's not true!! I really had a bad feeling about pulling that lever!!"

"As if. Sorry boss, but we're gonna take this money and get out of here. I'm not about to take a smaller cut because of your emotions. If you wanna stay and save those children, then you can do it without me."

The subordinate pulled the lever.

"Bad choice. And it looks like betrayal is the conclusion of the day! An incompetent subordinate who failed to listen to the orders of his boss led to the failure of the entire team!!"

'What!?', Jonathan thought, hearing this.

However, the glass panel opened.

The subordinate ran in to grab the gold coin, but as he did so a tube seemed to be extending from the walls.

Out of the tube came a poisonous gas, which quickly filled the room.

"Is this!?!"

Jonathan barely had time to mutter out this statement, realizing that it was poison gas only a bit too late before him and all the men in the chamber started puking their lungs out.

Foam formed at their mouths, and their eyes bulged and rolled back into their eyes as they fell to the ground in seconds.

"And that takes care of the last of them. At the end of the day, there wasn't anyone who was able to pass any of my tests. Were they too hard? Ah well. I don't think my father will be cross with me."