Maki kept hugging me tightly. In a way, it felt as if she was telling me not to bother going into the mansion anymore. She was so close I could smell her scent of coconut.

“Anna, I do not understand.” I said. “Why did you not tell me that Maki was the dungeon core? If you knew all along, this might have been valuable information for our mission.”

“What difference would that make?” Anna said. “The dungeon core needed to observe how you reacted to the world. I have told you before, anything you build with lies will not last. This also applies to your behaviour. If you knew your daughter was watching you - you for sure would have put up an act. ”

“D-daughter!? I do not recall being a mother,” I responded.

“Well, technically you are. The dungeon core is your creation, and your responsibility.”

My cheeks were ablaze. I was only 19, oh no. Was I officially a teen mom now? My grandma would beat me for this.

Anna laughed. “If you were to formally accept my proposal for adoption, that would make Maki my granddaughter. Wouldn’t that be cute? All three of us could be a family and have tea together!”

This was all the dungeon core’s fault.

“My sincere apologies, it was not my intention to deceive or confuse you,” Maki said. “If you had asked me anything back at the school, I would have confessed everything.”

That sounded like a lame excuse for her dishonesty. I am sure I have heard this same excuse before. I stared at The Witch and grunted.

“You told me the core would learn from me!” I said, letting Anna know about my indignation. “So why does it make excuses like you do!?”

“Oh, shush it, Darling. If I had not showed you how to brew potions, you would still be picking little rocks right now.”

I pulled my tongue at the witch.

“Alright, can we end this farce now?” I asked. “I want to get out of the dream world. This is a waste of time.”

“I agree,” Maki said. “But first, I want to show you something.”

In the blink of an eye, we were teleported behind the cover of some overgrown green bushes overlooking a kid’s playground.

“As you can see, Mom, Henrietta is really easy to understand,” Maki said. Her tone was so monotonous that I could not tell if she was mocking me or looking at Henrietta with disdain.

I was not surprised to see a teen Henrietta bullying other kids smaller than her in the playground.

“I am the queen of the hill, and this is my realm!” Henrietta said, as she mercilessly shoved, kicked, and scared them out. “Ufufufu.”

She had won, but at what price?

After the kids left, Henrietta began crying. I could not bear to see her lonely and miserable.

I left the cover of the bushes to hug her.

“Hey, it’s alright,” I said. My attempt to calm her down seems to have worked, if only for a second.

Henrietta kicked me in the knee, then shoved me, causing me to plunge into the sand below.

“Hey! What the hell!”

I tried to get close to Henrietta again, only to receive another kick in the leg.

“Help! An old hag is trying to abduct me!” Henrietta yelled.

“A hag!?” I asked. “Who are you calling a hag!?”

“You!” she said.

Maki pulled me aside, and Henrietta began to cry again.

“Mom, You have misunderstood this situation, Henrietta is not crying because she is alone.”

“No?”

“She is crying because there is no one to praise her for her total victory. Allow me to show you how to deal with her,” Maki said.

As I saw Maki walk towards the young Henrietta, something told me that I needed to stop her.

Rapidly grabbing her by the arm, I ended her advance.

“Why are you stopping me?” She asked.

“Sorry, but I have the feeling you were going to do something that I would regret allowing you to do.”

Maki tilted her head slightly. “Did you not say you wanted her to stop crying?”

Maki’s eyes were difficult to read. I could not tell if she was angry or curious.

Anna was nowhere to be found.

“I want her to be happy. Do not misunderstand my intentions,” I responded.

“Very well.”

The world suddenly turned dark. Within a blink of an eye, I was standing in Henrietta’s dungeon.

The sphere that not long ago had sucked me into a dream world was now shinning with a blue light.

The system suddenly threw a notification at me.

[Welcome back Mom]

“AAAAAAAAAAAA.”

[I took the liberty to take over your system. Do not worry, this task only takes about 2% of my administrative capacity. If you are looking for Henrietta, she stormed out a few seconds ago. Given her state of mind, I think she wishes to be alone.]

Without Henrietta around, I had no idea what to do next. We had spent most of the day collecting the crystals for the core, and now that we had it, I had no idea what to do with it.

“Where did Anna go?,” I asked.

[She entered the dream world through other means than the ones you and Henrietta used. As such, I could only assume that she was back to where she came from. Nevertheless, there are more important matters at hand. Now that I am online, my presence will attract adventurers. You must level up as fast as you can.]

“How?”

[Take a look outside]

Upon exiting the dungeon, the huge geographical change blew me away. The ruined city was gone.

When Elvin saw me, he barked.