“I… I… don’t know…” The catgirl whimpered as she brought a hand to her head, a look of hysteria gracing her young face. “I-I-I remember a fire… Bells…? No, Eron… Where is Eron…?”

She whipped her head towards my direction, crying in near panic.

“Eron! WHERE IS ERON! WHERE IS HE!?” She tried to lunge at me, but her weak legs made it impossible. Instead, she flopped down on the grass as she slowly crawled towards me with a crazed look on her face. “ERON! WHERE ARE YOU! DID YOU KILL HIM!? DID YOU!?”

I nearly stepped back in pure disbelief. Did her trauma cause this? No, something else is bothering her. She’s not solely focused on the events that happened in the goblin settlement, but she seems to be looking for something… Wait, I think she is looking for someone.

I approached her slowly, her crawling speed only intensifying as I got closer. Once she was close enough to grab my arm, she quickly wrapped her arms around it and looked up at me. Her crazed look was now one of begging, tears and snot dripping down into the ground.

“Eron… Where is he…? Where is my little brother…?” she cried softly as she mumbled to herself. “Where are you… Eron… Where are you…?”

Her words were on repeat, her arms losing strength as she cried all on her lonesome. I pitied her, and somewhat envied her because of her how she regards her own flesh and blood.

I grabbed and hoisted her up, laying her back on the soft bed so she could get comfortable. During my action, the catgirl calmed down as she regarded me with cold, lifeless eyes.

The same eyes the other awake woman had.

“Are you alright? Do you need a glass of water?” She was silent, but after a moment, she nodded her head with the tiniest of efforts. It was at that moment that Domino returned with a glass of water from the pristine lake in my Dungeon Core Room.

I took the glass of water from Domino – who had a pout on her face the whole time – and slowly brought it to the catgirl. Slowly, the catgirl took the glass of water and drank just a sip.

We stood there in silence for a few more minutes because I didn’t want her panicking again. I probably rushed her too much earlier, and as a result, had her turn into a nervous wreck, and now an emotionless puppet.

“What’s your name?” Silence was her response. “Do you want to talk about it?”

Silence…

I left her to wallow in her expressionlessness and moved beside Domino.

“How can we help them…?” I asked while my eyes twitched. How the hell am I supposed to help them when they won’t even talk about their experiences.

Therapists need a raise if this is their job.

“Mu… Unknown process… Do not know…” She shook her head from side to side. “Still suggest… Elimination or breeding…”

I cringed once again. Seriously, Domino needs to let go of her misanthropy.

“You know I can’t do that, Domino,” I patted her head as she leaned in to my touch. “We need them alive so they can be an asset to my Dungeon.”

“Mu…” Domino sank into silence, furiously thinking up ways of how to rehabilitate the humans and demi-humans so they could be useful to her father.

“… I guess all we can do for now is let them rest,” seeing no possible methods, I chose the oldest method in the book when dealing with this type of stuff. “Time heals all wounds. Let’s just hope they heal quickly.”

Domino nodded at my suggestion and climbed up onto my back. I let her and browsed through the Market to see if I could but a shack for the Dungeon Core Room. There was one that could fit around 5 people, and it only cost 100 DP.

I quickly bought it and had it located next to the lake where water is abundant. The small shack appeared after some glowing, as always, and I lifted the bed with the human still staring at me with those dead eyes.

It made me uncomfortable, to say the least.

Domino climbed onto my shoulders as I walked bipedal to the small shack with the bed and woman in my arms. The door was big enough for me and the bed to fit – which I was thankful for – and promptly entered the shack.

The room was barren, as with buildings that were just built. I could put some furniture in here, but that would put a damper on my DP resources, so no. Save DP first, furniture later.

Looking for a spot, I spotted the corner where it would be a nice place to put the bed. I laid the bed down gently, the woman still giving me that 1000-yard stare, sending a shiver down my spine.

Once done, I left her to her own devices and headed for the next girl. The catgirl was next, and with a heave, I lifted her and the bed up, Domino once again climbing up my shoulder instead of hanging off my back.

Entering the shack once again, I saw the woman staring me down once more. I ignored her gaze, however, and promptly laid the bed a few feet beside her, along with the catgirl.

I did the same for the other woman still asleep. Looking at her, however, allowed me to guess her species as a demi-human.

Either she is a lizard beastman, or a dragonewt, either of those two. As for how she got captured by the goblins when she is part dragon, I may never know.

Also, she looked like she was in her early 20’s…

Good lord, the goblins here are sick fucks that need an exterminator to the highest bidder, or rather, why do the countries not address this problem early on…?

Things I may never know…

Once the three of them were sitting cozy in the shack, I left with Domino riding on my back. Actually, riding isn’t the correct answer. She was napping. Her soft snores reaching my ears sounded like a sweet lullaby as I made my way to my personal hammock.

I’ll deal with problems tomorrow; I am fucking tired… I need my rest…