Prologue

There was a dungeon called the [Cave of Greed].

It opened with a basic floor containing traps, Goblins, and a few treasure chests here and there. [First Area: Entrance]. Things proceeded with a labyrinth containing wandering Golems and a trial room containing a Magic Blade. [Second, Third Areas: Labyrinth]. Once you got past that, a staircase awaited to take you back up all the way to the second aboveground floor. Said second floor was filled with riddles which tested your knowledge and wit. [Fourth Area: Puzzles and Riddles]. Nobody had ever gotten past that floor.

But if anyone did get past the puzzle area, they’d be greeted by the [Spiral Staircase Area] that would take them from the second aboveground floor to the third underground floor. As the name would imply, you could find Golem Blades—handmade Magic Blades—in the chests of that area.

Beyond all those floors awaited the fourth underground floor... which contained the [Boss Room Area]. (I was planning to keep adding more floors below that one while generally expanding the dungeon towards Tsia City.) This all being relevant because, at the time of me narrating this, the Boss Room was exceptionally crowded.

...That said, aside from the armored Golems forming pristine rows on either side of a stone pathway, the only people in the room were me, the Dungeon Master, Rokuko, the Dungeon Core, and my slaves, Niku and Ichika. Rokuko was wearing a white dress that showed off her slender body perfectly. It was modeled after Haku’s dress, so Rokuko liked it quite a lot. Niku and Ichika were both wearing maid uniforms, but not their normal ones. I had given them new ones for this occasion.

In other words, we were all in full dress. Of course, I was no exception. I had on a glittering set of full, silver plate armor with a red cape. The golden designs made from a crushed gold coin were a key feature. Though, truthfully, it was steel armor with a surface covering of silver. And, just to be fully honest here, it was so heavy I couldn’t move in it on my own. The whole set was actually one big Golem so I could technically move, but a single slip up would lead to me getting hurt pretty bad.

I was sitting on my throne. It was made from heavy stone, which made for some uncomfortable sitting, but I had given up on sitting comfortably the moment I put on a heavy suit of plate armor.

Rokuko was standing right next to me, while Niku and Ichika were one step below on either side of the pathway. Said stone pathway stretched from the door of the Boss Room to my throne, and on either end of it was a row of armored Golems with their swords raised dramatically in the air. I was going for the image of a king giving his people an audience. Me being the king, of course. And I mean, I was the Dungeon Master of this dungeon, which basically made me a king of sorts.

I “placed” the three newcomers right outside of the door. With that, the preparations were complete. I had told them beforehand that I’d be holding a naming ceremony for them, but I hadn’t said a word about it being this extravagant. Heheh. I can’t wait to see the look on their faces.

“Enter!”

I called out and a Golem opened the boss door... that is, the two large steel double doors with eagle decorations carved into them. The three girls who had been waiting behind the door looked towards me. A look of shock washed over them for a brief moment, but it quickly faded and they entered the room with serious expressions. Oh? I’m impressed. They know how to carry themselves.

“Stop there and kneel before me.” The Vampire in the center kneeled as ordered. In turn, the Silky on her left and the Apprentice Witch on her right kneeled as well.

The Vampire had silver hair and crimson eyes like glittering rubies. The freckled Apprentice Witch wore a robe and wizard hat, with a simple staff. The Silky was basically just a light green maid. Those three individuals were my dungeon’s new recruits.

“The naming ceremony shall thus begin.” I tensed my stomach to speak as powerfully and regally as possible. This is getting pretty fun. By the way, naming ceremonies weren’t actually a thing, so I had no template to follow. I was just winging it.

“Listen well, for I will now impart thy names upon thee.” I stood up slowly, using the Golem’s assistance, and drew the sword on my hip. It was a sword with a clear blade made from potion bottles. The way it bent light while gleaming gave it a very mystical aura. Uh... What’s its attack power like? I’m pretty sure it’d shatter the second I hit anything with it. What can I say? It’s ceremonial!

“Vampire. Raise thine head.”

“As you wish!” The Vampire raised her head as ordered.

...Uhhhh, alright, let’s see here. Her new name should be...

“To thee I grace the name of Rei.”

“Understood! My gratitude is boundless!”

Man, I sound like a medieval asshole. Hahaha. Well, whatever. Too late to back out of this act now. I based her name on the fact that, due to customizing her spawn a little, she had an attack power of zero. Since “Rei” means “zero” in Japanese, it’s really easy to remember.

...Er, she looks really happy about that name. I-I, uh... Now I feel kinda bad for just lazily thinking it up on the spot. Sorry. Anyway. Next up.

“Silky. Raise thine head.”

“Understood.” This girl looked a lot more calm and gentle than the Vampire... rather, than Rei. I guess the word graceful would fit her better than anything else. She kinda gave off some older sister vibes. Maybe some married woman vibes. Basically, she felt a little mature.

“To thee I grace the name of Kinue.”

“I will gratefully accept this name.”

Silky. Silk. “Kinu” means “silk” in Japanese. Thus, Kinue. I thought about just calling her Kinu, but Kinue sounded more like a real name in this world, so I rolled with that instead. Huh? What am I gonna name the next Silky? I’ll cross that bridge when I get to it.

Next up was the last one.

“Apprentice Witch. Raise thine head.”

“Okaaay.” Yeaaah. Yep. This girl’s a lot more “calm” than Kinue... Really, she’s just totally laid back. She’s definitely the kind of girl that doesn’t give any fucks about anything.

“To thee I grace the name of Neruneh.”

“Thank you sooo much, Teacher Masteeer.” Her name came from her being a witch, obviously. Huh...? What does “Neruneh” have to do with witches? Uh, I mean, witches are always stirring stuff in pots, right? Well, the word for “stir” in Japanese is “neru.” Witches stir stuff so much they basically do it all day, am I right? Yeah. I’m right. Also, I haven’t agreed to be her teacher yet. C’mon.

I pretty much gave them all half-assed names, but since they all came from a language that didn’t exist in this world, I should be safe. Though they might actually be happy to know their names come from a different world, like Rokuko was.

Thus ends the naming ceremony. Alright, all I gotta do now is wrap this up by giving them their first orders. I went out of my way to set up a naming ceremony this elaborate all to tell them that there’s a job I wanted them to dedicate their lives to. A duty so meaningful that they were utterly indispensable. A duty so vital that they would need to give it their absolute all day in and day out.

“Now then. I shall impart upon thee three my orders...”

“Understood! Lay upon us whatever order you may wish, Master!”

I let out a dramatic cough to set the tone. And then, when all eyes were on me, I spoke.

“Hereafter, thou all shall assist this dungeon... by becoming employees of the inn I built near it.”

“Understood! As you... wish?!” Rei’s stunned voice echoed through the room.