I Am Your Father

"Naiyuan seems to really like Mare. Is it because he is an NPC created by Bukubukuchagama?"

Herohero slowly approached Naiyuan and asked.

"Lord Herohero!"

Seeing a pitch-black humanoid Slime come before him, Mare said with a tremble.

Compared to the gentle Lord Naiyuan, Lord Herohero, whose voice carried a sense of gravity, made him very nervous, causing him to involuntarily turn his head to look at his sister, who was watching the scene from the side.

Aura noticed his gaze, but could only return a helpless expression. After all, as a Floor Guardian, she dared not comment on the Supreme Beings.

"Alright, Herohero, you're scaring Mare."

"As for why? It's probably because I helped Bukubukuchagama when she was creating Mare. If you count it up, Mare could be considered the child of Bukubukuchagama and me!"

Naiyuan withdrew his hand from the boy's hair and said in a nostalgic tone.

"Is that really the case? Though, if you say that to Bukubukuchagama, she's going to beat you up."

Herohero was somewhat surprised, then teased Naiyuan. He understood Bukubukuchagama's personality; after all, as the only two Slime players in the guild, they had a decent friendship. Given her temperament, she would likely have already charged over to challenge him to a duel.

"Eh, I'm not saying anything wrong."

Naiyuan shrugged and said nonchalantly.

"Is Lord Naiyuan my father?"

Mare, listening from the side, was somewhat agitated. After all, their creator, Lord Bukubukuchagama, was no longer around. Naiyuan's words made him unable to endure the torment in his heart, and he couldn't help but ask.

"Hmm, in a strict sense, yes. After all, when you were created, Bukubukuchagama and I completed it together."

"And Aura, although I didn't help much with your creation, as Mare's sister, it is the same for you."

Naiyuan smiled and ruffled Mare's hair, while speaking gently to Aura, who was standing to the side.

"Can I... can I be included too, Lord Naiyuan?"

Aura, who had been standing to the side watching her brother and Lord Naiyuan with a hint of jealousy, felt dizzy with joy, her speech becoming slightly incoherent.

"If you are willing, I have no objections."

Naiyuan said with a smile, then opened his arms and slowly pulled the two figures into an embrace, gently stroking their hair.

"Lord Naiyuan, may I call you Father?"

"Mare wants to too!"

"You may."

"Then, Father?"

"Hmm."

"Father?"

"Hmm."

"That's great, Sister, we have a father."

"Don't cry, Mare, you'll dirty Father's clothes."

"Waaah... but I can't help it, Sister."

"There, there, it's alright. If you want to cry, just cry."

Standing to the side, Herohero and Momonga were covered in black lines.

Good grief, is this a family reunion? They're putting on such a show right in front of us.

"Momonga, to be honest, Naiyuan is quite impressive. In just a few words, he successfully won over the NPCs created by Bukubukuchagama."

Herohero watched Momonga, who was enjoying the show with great interest, and spoke in an amazed tone.

"Well, I can only say as expected of Naiyuan. To think he could pull this off—if it were me, I wouldn't be able to do what he did."

Momonga also had to concede defeat to his friend's performance. They had originally come just to check on the NPCs' loyalty, and yet the other party had inexplicably gained two children. Truly, the world is full of wonders.

But as the image of Albedo flashed through his mind, he felt a headache coming on. She was very loyal, but he really couldn't stand her gaze; it made him feel as if he were being seen right through.

"Alright, alright, don't cry anymore. Momonga and Herohero are still here."

Naiyuan patted their backs and whispered into their ears. After all, his two friends were still watching; it wouldn't be good if they felt he was neglecting them.

"Ah, my apologies, Lord Momonga and Lord Herohero. It is a capital offense to have kept you both waiting."

Upon hearing this, Aura hurriedly stood up and bowed to the two of them. She couldn't even imagine the consequences if they were to harbor resentment toward Father because of her.

"Ugh, sorry, Lord Momonga and Lord Herohero."

Mare reluctantly left Naiyuan's embrace and hurriedly bowed to apologize to Momonga and Herohero.

Momonga looked toward Naiyuan and Herohero, as if asking what they should do next.

"This guy could clearly handle it himself, yet he still asks us. As expected, even though he's become an Undead, he's still the same old guy at heart."

Watching him act like this, Naiyuan activated Communication Magic and secretly complained to Herohero.

"Don't say that. Momonga must be panicking after suddenly becoming a ruler. It's only natural for him to want to rely on his friends. If he were left alone, he'd probably be worried to death."

Herohero replied with a laugh.

"How am I supposed to slack off happily if he's like this?"

"Hey, Naiyuan, you're really bad, wanting to push all the tasks onto Momonga just so you can slack off yourself."

"You've got some nerve saying that to me. Aren't you the same? Didn't you secretly laugh when you let Momonga take the lead back then? You want to slack off just as much as I do, yet you have the audacity to lecture me!"

"Tsk tsk, you actually caught me. It seems I didn't hide it well enough!"

"Get lost."

On the surface, everything was calm, but after a friendly exchange with Herohero, Naiyuan finally looked at Momonga, who was standing to the side, and spoke to him via Communication Magic.

"Respond to them with the demeanor of a ruler. That will help you establish an image of authority."

Momonga was stunned after receiving the message. Good grief, how was that any different from what he was already doing?

"An image of authority? I'm just a salaryman; how would I know anything about that?"

Momonga said to Naiyuan, feeling frantic.

"Momonga, just think about how your old boss used to feed you empty promises. Just say it like that."

Naiyuan thought for a moment before saying to Momonga.

"That's a good idea. You could try that, Momonga. I see the two little ones are almost scared to tears."

Herohero, who had been secretly eavesdropping on their private conversation, couldn't help but chime in.

"How could even you, Herohero..."

Momonga looked at Herohero, who was snickering on the side, and then at Naiyuan, who was comforting Mare and Aura. The way the corners of Naiyuan's mouth curled up made him frown—wait, he didn't have eyebrows. Never mind, his bone-brows furrowed.

There was no other way; he had to do it. Momonga sighed internally, then immediately shifted into character, putting on a majestic expression as he looked calmly at Mare and Aura.

A dignified voice slowly emerged from the skeleton's mouth.

"Mm, very good. You both look quite spirited."

"Pfft."

Naiyuan almost couldn't hold back his laughter as he looked at Momonga. Good grief, that line from Momonga almost broke his composure. Beside him, Herohero had already turned around, his back to the group; judging by the shaking of his shoulders, he was already secretly laughing.

"Of course, Momonga-sama. This is the essential state for us Floor Guardians, isn't that right, Mare?"

Aura reported her situation earnestly, though her eyes frequently darted toward the figure standing nearby.

"Yes!" Mare chimed in vigorously. Beside him, Naiyuan was gently stroking his hair, as if to say he had done a great job and this was his reward.

That should be enough, right?

Looking at the two in front of him, Momonga sighed—or at least, he thought he did. He then froze. Wait, he was a skeleton now; it seemed he could no longer breathe.

Momonga felt a bit depressed. He couldn't breathe, his emotions were forcibly suppressed, he probably couldn't eat, and sleep was likely out of the question—after all, he had never heard of an Undead needing to sleep. But the most critical part was...

Momonga looked down silently, then closed his eyes in despair... well, he didn't even have eyes anymore, so there was no need to close them.

I'm tired. Just destroy everything!