‘Huh… Didn’t think I would see that kind of outfit anytime this early…’ I scratched my chin. ‘Well, the technology in this world is confusing in and of itself, what with the guns, medieval architecture, modern architecture, and other stuff mixed in…’

I stopped that process of thought for the moment. I can mull over the inconsistencies of the world era in the future, but for now, I should tackle the problem at hand.

I approached Luke, who was now standing on his feet with a bit of a grimace, his eyes seldomly shifting towards the muscled man who was tightly gripping the shoulder of the office lady with enough force to not cause harm.

“S-sir Jionni…” Luke stammered out, still probably out of it from the teleportation. “I-I have brought Lord Bentley and his wife, as well as the Hunter’s Association Branch Manager, Sir Nicholas Gallagher, and his daughter, Alexa Gallagher.”

The moment the term Hunter’s Association Branch Manager entered my ears, my curiosity piqued immensely.

‘Hmm… The Mass Dungeon Return Stone was supposed to only transport those deemed by the user, “Friendly,” and if that is the case, then these two should mean no harm…’ My gaze met the muscled man, who was now known to me as Nicholas. ‘That doesn’t mean I should let my guard down around them. I’ll have to assign some patrols around the Human area, just to make sure that no malicious intent goes haywire.’

‘That said, why would the Branch Manager of the Hunter’s Association in that town be willingly transported here…?’ I hummed. Luke’s gaze was brought to my own form due to the humming sound I made. Having his attention, I had him deal with one of the problems I currently have that should not be put off any longer.

“Luke, get Lord Bentley…” I trailed off when I saw his prone, unmoving form. Fortunately, I was able to see his chest moving up and down, with his wife fearfully looking around the area. “… I take it he was being unreasonable…?”

“… Quite, Sir Jionni.” Luke sighed in response to my question, facepalming in the process.

“… Very well. Take Lord Bentley towards the shack and lay him down on the bed provided. Bentley’s children should also be there waiting for your arrival.” Luke nodded and proceeded to gently lift Lord Bentley’s unconscious form into a princess carry and gestured for his fearful wife to follow.

I should probably get to know her name, but that can be held off for now. Right now, the most pressing matter is getting the demi-human to accept my offer, and with Nicholas arriving, it should probably not be that hard.

If he is here, as well as his daughter, then the town must be a shithole that even the HUMAN branch manager of the Hunter’s Association wanted out.

I approached the muscled man, only to be stopped by a tiny tug at the fur on my left leg. Looking down, I spot Domino, who came out of her hiding spot due to the sudden teleportation, who I also forgot was beside me the entire time I was talking with Luke…

Did he not see her…? A question I should probably ask later when he returns…

“Oh my god! She’s so cuuttee!!!” And a shout quickly had my attention, my eyes directed towards the person who made said shout. The gnome, Lara…

She bolted off and gave Domino a big hug, which caused her to snarl and resist the physical contact that breached her personal space.

“Let go… Of Domino…” The girl spat out, her emotionless visage breaking ever so slightly, but with how flat her voice was, the female gnome wasn’t able to detect said hostility.

“No! You’re just too cute to let go!” Domino flailed her arms, using every ounce of her strength to get out of the hug, which failed, by the way.

‘Hmm… It looks like Domino really isn’t physically strong…’ I mused in my head, a tiny voice inside my mind telling me to rip off the female gnome’s head off of her shoulders for displeasing Domino, but I was able to chuck that voice into the garbage bin because if I did just that, then I could say goodbye to extra manpower.

“Papa… Help me… Help Domino…” Domino pleaded, her emotionless eyes staring into mine.

“All right, enough.” I towered over the female gnome, my shadow encompassing her entire body, and then some. Lara froze up, resulting in Domino being able to escape her clutches and running into mine. I obliged and lifted her up, causing her to lie on my back while blowing a raspberry at the female gnome. “Please, do not disturb my daughter.”

Lara had her jaw hung wide open, along with Merethyl, Anduin, Krag, and Alexa. Alice, the human child, only had a confused expression on her face, while Nicholas had an eyebrow raised.

“D-daughter…?”

“That’s right. Domino is my daughter.” My declaration caused Domino to bury her face in my back, a faint blush on her cheeks. “Anyway, enough of that. Nicholas, I presume you wanted out from the town due to their oppression. Am I right?”

“Hit the nail on the head there, Jionni.” Nicholas gave off a laugh. “When I heard about a new Dungeon rising, I didn’t think the Dungeon Master would be as intelligent, if not, moreso than the average person.”

The demi-human group and Alexa, bar Merethyl, had their faces pale due to the revelation. Well then, I was hoping to hide that fact for a bit longer, but it wouldn’t even be that long to hide that fact since this forest is located inside a cave.

“Well, thanks for the compliment.” I nodded, affirming the suspicions of everybody here that I am, indeed, a Dungeon Master. “Moving on, you wanted to leave that place then?”

“Very much so.” Nicholas gave a one-handed hug to his daughter, who squirmed for a moment before stopping. “You see, the town was barely hanging on, what with the majority of demi-humans, as well as some humans, being killed for bullshit reasons.”

The demi-humans nodded solemnly at that, while Alexa gritted her teeth.

“And then, they decided to lay their hands on the hardworking members of the Hunter’s Association.” Nicholas scowled. “If it wasn’t for them holding the entire town hostage, I would’ve gone and killed every single one of those assholes. Actually, maybe I should’ve just killed them all even if the entire town was hostage, ’cause the damned fanatics kept on killing their own hostage…!”

Nicholas’ voice continued to grow, his face twisting into anger, rage, and guilt for his inaction. Suddenly, all that vanished and all that was left was a man who was tired of the bullshit that came into his life.

“I see…” I hummed. A problematic situation, not that I care, but problematic indeed. ‘Hm, maybe… I wonder…’

“Nicholas, can I ask you a question?” Nicholas nodded at me, who was now silent with Alexa hugging him with a one-handed hug. “When is this supposed Monster Surge?”