Chapter 49 - Sen
“Man—! You’re seriously the most understanding Master I’ve ever met! This is great, really great!”
“Haha! You’ve got some fascinating insights yourself, Bugu-kun (TL/N: Bugu is Weapon in Japanese). As expected of the world’s largest dungeon core! I’ll prep more stuff like this for next time, so don’t be a stranger.”
“Oh, I’ll definitely be back! Never thought I’d get introduced to something this amazing.”
Peta-chan had been watching with a puzzled look as I chatted away with the Weapon Dungeon Core like we were old drinking buddies.
Sure, she had told me to try and prolong the conversation—since the more we talked, the more points we’d earn—but she hadn’t expected this.
She definitely hadn’t imagined I’d end up feeding the core a book and getting him so hooked he said he’d come back again.
“Uh, is it really okay to keep you reading for this long? At this rate, the points could be enough to build a whole new floor in our dungeon, you know?”
“Hm? Ah, I hit the growth cap at twenty-seven floors a while back. But I’m still pulling in a steady stream of intruders, so the points just keep piling up with nothing to spend them on. Honestly, I don’t mind at all.”
The Weapon Core said this with complete indifference, calmly flipping through the book I’d given him, utterly unconcerned about how many points he was burning through.
He had the air of a billionaire landlord with too much time and not enough to do—money flowing in endlessly, nothing meaningful left to work on, bored out of his mind.
And honestly, I kind of got it. I’d been there. Like in games where you hit the currency cap and end up blowing mountains of gold just to max out on 99 completely useless items for no reason other than bragging rights.
The book I’d handed him was a battle manga—modern shōnen style—based on the stories from his own dungeon about knights and their duels.
I’d basically taken the content from the books he’d shown me and remade it into a slick, punchy manga format.
At first, he stared at it with a baffled look like, “What the heck is this?”
But after a few pages, his expression turned to stunned awe... and before long, he was absolutely hooked.
Dynamic compositions. Smooth visual flow that guided the reader’s eye through action, movement, and the passage of time—all choreographed beautifully.
It was unlike anything he’d ever seen.
This core had always admired the knight stories he’d archived, drawn to the cool factor, even role-playing knight battles on his own.
So of course, once I handed him a manga version, I knew he’d fall headfirst into it.
While he sat there completely absorbed in his manga, Peta-chan—possibly out of boredom from watching me make mangas—started cooking in a corner of the master room.
Before long, the rich aroma of coffee and the warm, buttery scent of toasted bread filled the air.
“Hmm? What are you doing, Food Core?”
So lost in the manga that he’d forgotten Peta-chan was even there, the Weapon Core finally glanced up in her direction, curiosity piqued.
“Cooking,” she replied. “I’m learning all sorts of things about food from Master, so I can improve the meals in my dungeon.”
“Ooh, cooking, huh? Nice, Peta-chan! Gimme another cup of that dangerously hot coffee, would you?”
“Sure, sure. Master, you’d better whip up some new sweets too, okay?”
And so, the two of them carried on like that—him sipping the scalding dungeon-master-grade coffee she brewed, her snacking on the sweets I pulled from out of nowhere.
Meanwhile, the Weapon Dungeon kept reading his manga, occasionally watching us as we moved about.
“Huh... So if a human dungeon master’s desires are tied to the core’s soul like that, it lets you do all this? That’s kinda fascinating.”
“I had the desire for food linked into me,” Peta said, smiling as she plated something. “It’s surprisingly fun. If you’re interested, you could try acquiring a human master yourself, Weapon.”
“...By the way, what’s ‘Peta’? Your name, Food Core?”
“Yep. Master gave it to me. When the name comes from your master, it strengthens the soul bond. So I always go by the name he gave me.”
“Huh, neat. Then hey, Hot Spring Master—what’s your name?”
He asked it casually, like it was no big deal... but didn’t Tanya once say that if I told my true name to another core, it could completely unravel our contract?
“I’ve been told by the Gem Dungeon Core that sharing your true name with another core is strictly forbidden.”
“Knew it.”
The Weapon Dungeon just grinned, like, Heh, worth a shot. I figured the Food Core would block it anyway.
Peta-chan, meanwhile, narrowed her eyes at him with the sharp glare of someone who just caught a thief in the act.
From what I’d been told, having another core learn my real name was sort of like giving away my login credentials for my entire account’s admin panel.
That was my best guess, anyway.
Yeah... This shota-core might look harmless, but he was kind of terrifying in his own way.
“But hey, don’t you think ‘Master of the Sepans Hot Springs’ is kind of a mouthful? Mind if I just call you Onsen from now on?”
No thanks.
“What a luxurious name—four whole syllables. Just call me Sen. Two characters, the same as Peta-chan (TL/N: In Japanese, both Sen and Peta have two characters.). You’re Bugu, too, so it works out nicely, doesn’t it?”
“I see. Then your placeholder name will be Sen. That alright with you, Sen?”
“Yeah, that’s fine.”
...Well, I had ended up with a name that sounded suspiciously like a heroine from some otherworldly hot springs anime, but whatever.
It wasn’t like it was gender-specific or anything. Worked either way.
While we were having that exchange, Peta-chan looked at us with wide, stunned eyes, like—Seriously?
“Bugu... Are you for real? If you give Master a placeholder name like that, you’ll start forming a soul link with him. Are you okay with that?”
Wait, what? That’s what giving a name meant?
“It’s fine. I don’t need humans meddling in my dungeon management anymore anyway.
Besides, having one of those ‘human desires’ installed—like yours for food—that sounds a whole lot more fun.
Honestly, I’ve talked with a few human Masters before.
There was that craftsman who only cared about gemstone polishing, and that merchant who wouldn’t shut up about the glory of fabric and thread... Frankly, I was bored out of my mind.
Even if I recruited another human, I doubt anyone more interesting than your Master would come along.”
“Whaat...? Peta-chan, is this really okay?”
“Well... as long as it’s just a provisional name and he doesn’t know the Master’s true name, the soul connection’s pretty weak. Nothing serious will come of it.
“At most, if he keeps eating meals like we do, he might gradually develop a desire for food. That’s about it.”
“So basically, Bugu-kun’s thinking: ‘If I can experience your senses as a way to pass the time, that’s good enough for me.’”
“Yup, that’s pretty much it. Next time I show up, I want to be able to eat those snacks and drinks too—so don’t slack on your meals, okay?”
“I don’t really care if it’s just that much. But if you try anything shady, I’ll cut the link immediately.”
“I get it, I get it. I’m not planning anything. I’m just bored, that’s all. The only entertainment I’ve got is reading about knights fighting. But lately, even that’s started to feel repetitive. If I can get some new kind of amusement, I’ll take it.”
Even though Peta-chan still looked a little suspicious, she didn’t seem intent on cutting Bugu-kun off completely.
Probably because having a huge dungeon core like him take interest in us meant a great source of income—er, points.
And to be fair, nothing he asked for had seemed like it would cause us any harm. There was no hidden catch I could sense.
“Well then, I’ll be heading back for now. I want to try recording Captain Touji and the others’ battles using this new manga style you showed me.”
“Sure, come again. I’ll have another version ready for you next time—done in a different artist’s style.”
“I’m looking forward to it. See ya!”
And with that, the Weapon Dungeon Core vanished, taking every last one of the manga I’d made him.
“Hey! That guy took all the books Master made! So even a weak soul link from a placeholder name lets him take stuff created by Master, huh?
Sheesh, if you’re gonna read them, at least pay the points and read them here!”
Peta-chan muttered, sounding more stingy than angry.
Well, it wasn’t a big deal. I could just recreate the manga using different visual styles, and it’d still catch Weapon Core’s interest.
His appetite for stories wouldn’t run dry anytime soon.
Eventually, he’d probably develop a taste for actual food, too. As long as we kept our meals varied, the Weapon Dungeon’s attention would stay hooked.
If some silly manga books were all it took to entertain him, he could take as many as he liked.
But... from now on, whatever I created would be learned by him too, right? That meant I had to be careful what I showed him.
For now, I’d better keep things like real-time adventurer monitoring via dungeon monitors, or my casual game-like management interface, hidden from Bugu-kun.
After all, he was the top dog in this world when it came to dungeon management—my ultimate rival.
I couldn’t just go around casually revealing the strongest card in my hand—modern knowledge.
He might think twenty-seven floors was the natural limit due to human strength and was enjoying a quiet retirement, but I had no intention of stopping there.
As I imagined a future where my Hot Spring Dungeon had thirty full floors, I settled in to brainstorm the benefits and features of the next level’s hot spring.
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