---
Afterward, Dante left the basement, uninterested in watching the humans defile one another...
——————
"That was fast!" Malenia exclaimed, standing in front of the dungeon entrance.
She had asked Dante to take her back to the dungeon, and since he couldn't teleport anyone other than himself, he picked her up in his arms and sprinted there at a speed unimaginable to her.
"I could go even faster, but for Mistress's comfort, I held back my speed." Dante said.
"Well, thanks for that, I guess." Malenia replied. It was kind of unexpected from him.
She wondered if Dante said that to impress her or if he simply stated it for her to know more about him.
"Mistress, don't thank me. I'm just a servant who wants to serve you with my everything."
"So, you're telling me to follow your order?" Malenia asked teasingly.
Though she was only joking, Dante didn't realize it and quickly got on his knees to apologize to his Mistress.
"Jeez... I'm just kidding. No need to be so serious all the time, okay?"
"Also, you should go back to the baron's house and keep an eye on them. Don't worry, if anyone enters the dungeon, I'll contact you first." Malenia told Dante.
She was going to give birth in a few hours. Even though she wanted to do it in the luxury of the baron's house, the system only activated when she was inside the dungeon, which was why she had come here to deliver her first child.
Plus, she felt more at ease inside the dungeon, and after that slave incident, she wanted to experience the relaxing sensation of being back in her domain.
On the other hand, Dante, hearing her, wanted to argue about her safety but decided against it due to her joke, simply following her order.
• • • • • • •
After Dante left, Malenia went inside her dungeon. Unlike before, there were no other beings in the dungeon except for her.
She was alone, but that didn't bother her as she prepared for her delivery.
"Hello, system. There won't be anything special or weird with my delivery, right?"
[Mistress, don't worry. Due to your abilities, it will be very normal and easy. You won't even feel intense pain like others.]
"Really? That's a relief. Also, you mentioned before that I'd receive many rewards upon the birth of my first child, right?" Malenia asked curiously.
[Yes, that's correct. Furthermore, to upgrade your class rank, you will need to give birth three times.]
"Two more... I see. Gob isn't even alive now, so I'll need to find new minions."
"Sigh... I need other powerful minions, like Dante." Malenia sighed.
She needed more powerful monsters. She couldn't rely on Dante completely. Just three days without him were hellish; she couldn't imagine what would happen if he evolved again, leaving her without him for even longer.
Also, Dante's current rank was only equal to that of a count, which worries her because if any higher force than baron encountered her, she would get into huge trouble again.
"System, how do I get powerful minions? Summoning is locked, and I don't have any minions I can use for breeding..." Malenia asked.
[Mistress will need to explore and acquire minions from the wilderness. There are countless monster races on this continent.]
Hearing the system's reply, Malenia felt helpless and asked again.
"And how do I make them my minions? They're probably much stronger than me and Dante."
[Mistress needs to find monsters and make them willingly submit to her, then feed them any bodily fluids.]
"Ugh, you're not really answering me directly! Whatever, I'll just figure it out myself."
After the conversation with the system ended, Malenia headed to her personal room and lay down on the bed she had bought from the breeding shop.
It wasn't a normal bed; it had the ability to absorb any waste liquids and had unlimited durability for... that.
She waited for her delivery while reflecting on her life and how much it had changed. She was going to have a child soon, something that hadn't been possible before due to her infertility.
While thinking about all this, after a few minutes, she drifted off to sleep...
• • • • • • •
"Uwahh… Uwahh…"
The sound of crying filled the room, waking Malenia from her deep sleep. Her eyes fluttered open, and she looked around, disturbed by the noise.
Her gaze fell on a small, green-colored baby lying next to her. Malenia blinked in surprise—the child was fully human-like, not at all the goblin-like creature she had imagined.
But confusion set in as she tried to recall when did she give the birth. 'When did I deliver?' she wondered, her mind racing to piece things together.
Then it hit her—she must have given birth in her sleep, completely unaware, thanks to her breeding body's ability to suppress pain. The system was right—she didn't feel any pain.
As the initial shock faded, her focus shifted to the newborn. Despite the green skin, the baby's soft, delicate features looked more human than she had expected.
She reached out slowly, carefully picking the baby up in her arms. Almost instantly, the crying stopped as the baby snuggled into her warmth, finding comfort in her embrace.
"Wow, you became so peaceful in my arms." Malenia whispered, a mix of amazement filling her voice. She stared down at the child—her firstborn. Emotions she hadn't anticipated swelled inside her.
The system's voice broke her thoughts.
[Mistress, congratulations on your first delivery. You received the following rewards:
500 breeding coins!!
Skill upgrade card!!
Inv...]
Malenia let out a soft sigh as she closed the system notifications for now, looking down at the baby, who now blinked up at her with curious eyes. "It's strange… I thought you'd look more like your father." she muttered.
The baby blinked again, its tiny fingers wrapping around one of hers, causing her to laugh softly. For a brief moment, all thoughts about minions, power, and dungeon faded from her mind. It was just her and this new, innocent life she had brought into the world...