Violet woke up feeling refreshed.

“Huh? I feel great for some reasons.”

She processed the situation with her mouth agape. Her bed was cleaned spotless. Her skin was smooth and radiant, as if she had returned to her young self.

She probed her face, poking her cheeks and rubbing the spots that should be wrinkly. But it was as smooth as a baby’s butt.

‘I didn’t accidentally drink all my potions, right?!’ Violet glanced at the shelf where her medicine was stored.

Of course, the bottles were untouched. Healing potions only mended broken tissues together without revitalizing the body, leaving her muscles weak and degraded from old age and sickness. However, Violet just woke up without the usual crippling exhaustion and pain.

Expensive elixirs and panaceas could have such rejuvenating effects. If it wasn’t for the mana core, which was impervious to all magic, trueborns like Violet could live eternally using these remedies.

Indeed, the mana core was a vital organ of all living beings in Hekalys, where magic could reshape reality at will. Functioning similarly to an immune system, it was the organ that prevented animals from being taken over by all the spirits and magic that permeated the world. As a side effect, it allowed all living beings to perform magic.

Though the mana core was a resilient organ and could endure physical wounds, it couldn’t endure the passage of time, limiting humans to an approximate maximum of 250 year lifespan if they had unlimited access to elixirs.

It was unfair compared to rooks, whose consciousness was grafted on top of pawns. The Blessing could replace their body and grant them unlimited lifespan as long as they served a sovereign. In fact, rooks from the weakest species could switch pawn bodies at will.

Because of this, Violet saw countless mages searching for immortality, lured by the circumstances of rooks.

Violet couldn’t help herself from entertaining the possibility of eternal life. ’How did this miracle happen? Could it heal my mana core?’ However, she didn’t get her hopes too high. She had already come to terms with her nearing end.

The immaculate state of her bed was in stark contrast with the disgusting floor. Only a single pink slime stood out on the bed. There was little doubt as to who was responsible for it.

“Slade, did you do that? It’s astonishing!”

Violet squeezed the slime in a tight embrace. She showered him in gratitude by rubbing her cheek on its soft body.

She wanted to do nothing but take care of her pet like a precious baby. There was nothing else to do in her empty town since she ran out of ingredients. Now that she had the friend she had already wished for, she had no motivation to study summoning magic any further.

“Thank you! I’m horrible at anything but Earth Magic. Staying clean in an underground dungeon is so much trouble. I am soooo grateful to you.”

Slade made a thumbs up, trembling in exhaustion.

‘Oh no, it looks like it’s about to die. It must have worked so hard for me!’ Violet was deeply moved, oblivious to the fact that the slime was only trying to melt her in acid to regain its freedom.

It was a vain effort though, since Violet had embedded safety measures in her summoning spell.

“Let’s give you something to eat.” She took Slade on a little walk in her dungeon, springing on her feet with miraculous vitality. She had forgotten how it felt to walk without constant pain and exhaustion.

Crystals and stalactites glowed in the distant ceiling. They lit up a cave that was wide enough to host a dozen football stadiums.

Even though it was the usual sight, it never looked as beautiful in her eyes.

She sneakily rubbed the tears of joy that welled up with each of her steps. Gratitude bloomed in her once empty heart.

She clenched her fist, determined to give Slade a great meal.

Unfortunately, her mood tanked down when she found her three rooks in a dispute. ‘Gosh, what is it again?’

Violet cut in, not wanting to take part in it. “Shaki, do you still have the corpse of the dead pawns? It’s urgent.”

The rooks froze in surprise. Violet looked healthy and young.

Milia and Shaki exchanged a glance. ‘Did she finally snap and binge on potions? She won’t last long if she doesn’t pace her medicine,’ they thought.

The troglodyte rook led Violet to a shallow pit filled with the dead troglodytes without wasting time on questions.

“Go ahead, Slade! Feast on those corpses.” Violet threw the slime in the shallow pit. She watched, mesmerized by the slime gobbling the troglodyte flesh.

Violet’s loving smile full of affection attracted Lorely’s attention.

“Mistress, what is this creature?”

“Hehe, that’s the Toilet Slime I made. Put it in a chamber pot, and it can eat urine and stool!” Violet stuck out her chest in expectation for praises at her revolutionary breakthrough in artificial life magic.

“Toilet slime…?” Milia and Shaki muttered at the same time.

The troglodyte sighed, and the minotaur looked at her in utter contempt.

“And there I was wondering what could be urgent. Is this a joke?” Milia flicked her hair and walked away, losing interest.

Violet frowned. ‘What was more urgent than taking care of her starving baby?’

“Take better care of the dungeon instead of wasting time. Anyway, I’m busy digging the tunnel so bye.” Shaki expressed her annoyance and left. She was mad about being the only one who dug the tunnel.

“Lorely, do you think the same?” Violet scratched her head. She didn’t expect the newcomers to react positively considering their relationship but it was still disappointing.

“Erm… I think taking care of your hygiene is a wonderful step forward. I’m glad that I won’t have to worry about your well being!” She stroked Violet’s back, thinking she needed comforting. “Oh, you smell pretty good.”

’Well fuck! She doesn’t seem to like it that much. And here I wanted to give it to her to help her out with her future kids!’ Violet smiled wrily. “By the way, what was your dispute about?”

“A horde of gnolls already occupied the ore mine that I found. Milia and Shaki were chewing me out for almost getting us killed and wasting their time… I’m sorry for being so useless, mistress!”

‘Milia wanted to go outside but now she complains because it’s too hard?’ Violet shook her head. ’Maybe if she didn’t waste so many pawns, our forces would be big enough to take it without effort, what an idiot.’

She felt sorry for Lorely, who wanted to fulfill her scouting duties. Unlike her, Lorely had a future and wanted a good track record to find another sovereign after Violet was gone.

But Violet thought that Lorely was overzealous. After interacting with Umbrine and her two minions, she realized that Lorely’s value as a rook was extremely high even if she didn’t partake in battles.

’Why are you trying so hard? Is it to keep up with your lies?’ Violet sighed, thinking that Lorely was downplaying her value to deceive Violet.

After years of incarceration and thinking, Violet understood something about Lorely. As long as it was for the sake of Violet’s feelings, Lorely could spout a torrent of lies.

Rooks were always supposed to be army commanders, and never personally involve themselves in battles. For each summoned rook, sovereigns could promote a trueborn to knight for a relatively cheap price. Knights were the heroes who got their hands dirty, not the rooks.

In other words, rooks were valued for their tactical mastery and their survivability. The latter was both dependent on combat strength and speed.

Lorely’s survivability was unparalleled. She could be dropped in the middle of enemy territory, and she would be able to forage her food and escape without any problem.

In the tactical department, Violet remembered that Lorely acted as her partner for tactical lessons. The Dungeon faction had board games to teach children military tactics, and Violet used to play with Lorely. ’Well, maybe we both sucked.’ They were both reluctant to sacrifice pawns.

The final reason that made Lorely so precious was her arrest for being too loyal towards her sovereign rather than the monarch. Such loyalty was extremely valued, and placed Lorely among the highest value rooks on the market.

That meant that Lorely never had any need to stick with Violet. She followed Violet because she wanted to. She pulled Violet out of prison to spend time with her. Perhaps, she had a deal with Umbrine to become her successor’s rook after Violet died.

Lorely lied to Violet about their interdependence to relieve her guilt of leeching off.

’I was always such an idiot.’ Violet didn’t blame Lorely. After all, Lorely voiced her grief about Violet being unable to accept pure affection and unconditional support.

But now, Violet didn’t know what to do with Lorely. She wanted to spill out her feelings and talk about it. But… It was so awkward.

In the end, all that mattered to Violet was Lorely’s desires. If she wanted a perfect track record even if Violet didn’t see any value in it, then so be it.

’Let’s help her!’ Violet swung her arm, warming up her shoulder. Maybe it was time for her to personally act and flex on those weak newcomers. “Don’t worry, I will personally move out and acquire the mine.”

“Mistress!? Sovereigns shouldn’t head out to battle!” Lorely gasped, her face aghast.

“A-aren’t you overreacting? I should be fine if it’s only gnolls.”

”No, definitely not! Your powerful destruction spells mean nothing if you get a stray arrow in the head! We don’t have enough soldiers to protect you on the battlefield yet.”

“If you say so...” Certainly, Violet came with cheap warding artifacts. Underestimating the enemies wouldn’t do her any good.

“There’s no helping it, I will continue to scout for easier targets.” The harpy took off with a relieved smile and headed for the surface.

Violet watched Lorely with guilt. She should have spent more time with her precious friend, but she always ran away to her bedroom.

‘Someday, I will open my heart to her.’ She thought, even though it was dubious whether she would ever be brave enough.

“What should I do, Slade… Hmm?” Violet looked for her pet and witnessed a strange sight.

The slime had grown bigger after eating a troglodyte corpse. It climbed out of the pit and wobbled next to Violet. Stumps protruded out of the blob with great efforts, turning into limbs. In the end, it had turned into a shaky little troglodyte. Unfortunately, it wasn’t strong enough to support its weight.

It fell down and reverted into a round blob.

“How cute! You turned into a little troglodyte.”

Violet was delighted and picked it up, when a realization struck her.

‘If he can transform into a troglodyte, can he shapeshift into a human?’ A grin emerged on her face as she imagined turning it into the perfect man.

She had to find a way to make him bigger.