Dungeon of Pride, Laplace

'Huh? Why are they glaring at me'¦ could it be they wanted to bathe together? There is no way that's true right? They aren't mature enough to think about all those things. Then the only possibility is that'¦ they are wary of me' Simon thought.

Especially the boy named jarred whose name he heard Cecilia mention once and who was the oldest one among them was blatantly glaring at him. It seems that the boy didn't trust him at all.

Well, Simon couldn't blame him after all the suffering he and his clansmen had gone through after the betrayal of one human they had brought inside their village.

Just when he was thinking about how to mask his words properly, Jarred spoke up first. "Why did you help us? What motive do you have behind saving Cecilia?... please don't say something as hypocritical as it was your duty or how could I leave a girl behind? I want to know the real reason".

As Simon thought this boy didn't believe a word that he had said earlier. Looking around, he could see all the boys having the same question flashing in their eyes.

Jarred stared at the demon who had saved them from their predicament go silent. The demon had taken care of all of them and even provided them with shelter and food. As far as he knew, it could also be a trap laid elaborately for them to let their guard down.

After what happened to their village, Jarred's thinking turned a total 180° and he didn't believe that there would be someone selfless who would help them with no strings attached.

The demon who was also the dungeon master of this dungeon opened his eyes and stared directly at his own. The crimson eyes of the demon gave chills down his spine and his body shuddered intensely. However, Jarred still resolutely matched the gaze of the demon and stared at the crimson eyes that could devour one's soul.

Simon found the determination of the boys praiseworthy and he couldn't help nod his head in approval. There was no such thing as a selfless person. Even if he told them the real reason was that he couldn't leave behind a heavily injured girl who was about to drown in her sorrow and sought help desperately, they wouldn't believe him.

That being the case, Simon just had to tell them the reason that would convince them.

"Of course the real reason I helped you guys was because of Cecilia. She is a royalty with a one in a million chance of being born in your race. As you can see I'm a dungeon master, there is no way I would leave this chance to gain a precious subordinate. There was no compelling reason for me to save you guys but since it would gain me her favour and loyalty I decided that it was worth bringing you here".

"As for your spirit orbs, I have no interest in these things that have been exaggerated by the people of this world as treasures. As long as you guys help me manage the dungeon you are safe".

All of the boys had a stunned look on their faces after they heard the demon but at the same time, they looked convinced too. Since the demon believed that they were useful, he wouldn't hurt or plot against them.

Especially since he was trying to win the favour of Cecilia.

Once they knew the reason and were satisfied with it, they finally came to terms and relaxed.

If the demon was speaking the truth, he would keep them as subordinates and in return, they had to manage the dungeon for him. If they did a good job, they might even be able to live a peaceful life inside the dungeon.

In the end, they were children after all. They didn't realise that Simon didn't have to do all those roundabout things if he wanted to harm them or plunder their spirit orbs. They were a race unsuitable for combat, how could they be a match for Simon? The only reason he saved and sheltered them was because he took pity in their plight.

Since they were satisfied with his reasoning, Simon didn't have to explain anymore. Now then it was his turn to ask the question.

"What I want to ask is that the lot of you are the only ones that survived from your village?" his question immediately turned the mood in the hall sombre. Some of the boys even had a look of anguish whenever they recalled the scenes from back then.

How those cruel adventurers laughed as they massacred their village, their parents who gave their lives away to save them. The memories were so bad that they wanted to forget them if possible.

Even Jarred who was the oldest amongst the boys, had an agonizing face whenever those memories flashed in his mind.

Simon knew that the question would bring their bad memories; however, he had to know if there were others from their village who had survived. It would be best if there was any adult amongst them after all, the forest spring spirits that he had saved were all children less than seven years of age.

A presence of an elder is needed to educate and guide these children. These forest spring spirits were young and were not even aware of the abilities that made each of them a [B] rank according to the result of his Analysis.

Simon couldn't guide them since he wasn't from the same race and as for Irene, well she had her own mysteries and might be able to guide them. However, that would consume all of her time and she would not be able to perform her duties as one of the Guardians of the dungeon.

Plus the children might not be willing to listen to her since Irene wasn't a Forest Spring Spirit. That left only Cecilia but she herself was in the stage of awakening her powers so how can she help the others?

If any other forest spring spirits managed to survive the massacre, Simon wanted to bring them into his dungeon. As for whether they would be willing or not, Simon would think of that later.

Finally, one of the boys decided to answer his question as the boy nodded fiercely and said "Our race is protected by the Ancient Treants. My parents once told me that if a calamity befalls us, the treants are duty-bound to protect us".

"The ruler of the Ancient Treants lives deep within the territory and according to rumours possesses the power to even trample a country single-handedly. I think some of our clansmen ran towards the depth of the forest thinking that the ruler of the Ancient Treants would protect us".

Simon nodded, surprised by the knowledge of the boy. It seemed that some of the Forest Spring Spirits ran towards the Ancient Treants territory.

'The Ancient Treants territory huh' Simon mused. If that was true then it made the situation rather difficult. He had tangled with the Elder Treants once in the place where he found Cecilia unconscious and knew how strong they were.

Plus Simon had to use all of his energy and even resort to using his amalgamation magic just to penetrate the unimaginable defence and healing of the Elder Treants. Although those treants were sitting atop a mystical vein, it would be just an excuse if he said they weren't strong.

Ancient Treants were the next evolution of Elder Treants and were dozens of times and maybe even more powerful. There was now stronger ones would be roaming at the edge of the territory. That is to say, if he encountered a strong Ancient Treant, he wouldn't be able to progress any further and would have to retreat.

The territory of the Ancient Treants was located in the western region of the Ghastly Winding Forest where only the strongest monsters lived. As for the ruler of the Ancient Treants, Simon suspected that it might be one of the seven kings of the west.

Similar to how the northern region of the forest had the three overlords such as the Earth Splitting Lower Dragon, the western region which was the strongest and the biggest region had its own territorial rulers.

However, it didn't mean that the Seven Kings and the Three overlords were on the same level. Previously when Simon explored a tiny portion of the western region, he became aware of the colossus presences deep inside the forest that were the Seven Kings.

Each of these kings monitored their own territory and didn't interfere with the others until unless their territory is intruded upon. In a way, these Seven Kings have formed a balance that kept each other in check.

From their standpoint, the three overlords were nothing but children playing house. The presence of these Seven kings was what made the Ghastly Winding Forest so dangerous that the surrounding kingdom didn't dare to invade.

If the ruler of the ancient treants was one of them, then intruding on their territory would be quite reckless.

Simon audibly sighed. He didn't have any other choice but to give up on this matter. The existence on the level of the Seven Kings was far beyond the current him.

After the girls, it was the boys turn to bathe. After all of them took a good refreshing bath, they all gathered in one of the halls downstairs.

It seemed that his idea had worked as the children who had entered the bath were much more relaxed and less wary of him.. It might even be the work of Cecilia who had somehow convinced them.