Reject Humanity, Return to Monke

We both entered the hut where we were supposed to have our 'important' discussion. Now, when I say "important," I mean the basics: Is there anything I could do to better accommodate them, such as how they were living in my dungeon, or perhaps what they would like to contribute to my dungeon for better accommodations?

Not the 'looking at my face like the world was ending' face I was getting from the leader of the arachnes.

"So," I began as I was provided a seat, where I promptly sat my ass on, while Aratella sat across me on a couch that was specifically made for an arachne's unique biology, "First of all, why are you looking at me like that?"

I asked the arachne, who in turn grimaced at my question. She hesitatingly opened her mouth, then closed it right back. A few moments of silence passed, with me looking at her with curious eyes. Aratella, meanwhile, kept on opening and closing her mouth, no sound coming out of it every time she did so.

I grew tired of waiting and sighed, before narrowing my gaze at her. Aretella flinched and I was sure her spider legs tensed up for an attack.

"Look, I don't have all day. Just spit it out, and we can continue our conversation.." I said to her with a low growl escaping my throat. She looked at me with visible fear, but still refused to speak. Sighing once more, I leaned forward and tapped the table that divided the two of us. "Where's that seductive arachne I met the last time I saw her? Last I knew, she wasn't like this, a shivering coward who wouldn't even say what was on her mind."

I leaned back on the backrest of the chair as I regarded the arachne with contempt. Aratella, for her part, shivered slightly, before she looked at me with a resigned expression.

"When do you want my children to bed you?"

"… Excuse me?" My previously domineering aura vanished, and in its stead, a plain shocked and confused expression appeared. Seeing that my reaction wasn't one Aratella was expecting, she also had a confused expression on her face, her previous shivering grinding to a halt as she froze in her spot.

"Did… did you not want Qhandi and Qhithish as concubines, Dungeon Master Jionni?" I had the urge to smack her in the face, and slap my forehead so hard I would forget this ever even happened.

Qhandi is fine, but I don't have a monster fetish… yet… But Qhithish is a whole other story.

I mean, come on, she's a child for fuck's sake! About ten or eleven fucking years old!

I looked at Aratella like she was the biggest idiot in the whole goddamned world. Under my scrutinizing gaze, she fidgeted like some kind of newborn fauna that was still learning how to walk.

"… No, I do not want Qhandi and Qhithish as bed partners. Instead, I want to fuck them silly and treat them as my slaves- What the fuck do you think I was thinking when you saw me with the two of them, huh!?" I stood up and raised my voice. The hut started to shake due to the intensity of my voice, while some giant cobwebs nearly disintegrated out of existence. "Do you think I'm some kind of horny pedophile that would get a boner due to a child clinging to my back!? Or do you think I would stoop low enough to force myself on some innocent adolescent!?"

With every word, my voice got higher and higher as I grew closer and closer to the terrified arachne. Around the hut, most, if not all, arachnes gathered around to see the situation unfolding.

I huffed once I was done with my rant and forcefully sat on the chair behind me, my breathing a bit ragged, but not much since I hadn't let out all of the words I wanted to let rip on the woman in front of me.

Calming myself as the silence grew thick, I looked at Aratella once more with narrowed eyes.

"I may not be a saint, but even I have a line I wouldn't dare cross because it would be unpleasant for everyone involved." I said with a scowl, my voice low due to wanting to calm myself even further. Raising my voice like this would lead me to shouting even more, which I'm sure the arachne in front of me wouldn't want to happen.

"M-My apologies t-then… Dungeon Master J-Jionni…" Aratella bowed once more, her body still shaking as she pitifully submitted herself to me. "Please punish me in any desire you see fit because of my transgressions and hideous assumptions."

Her head was still bowed, refusing to lift it even once until I gave her an order. Nodding at her words, a punishment would be fitting for this kind of behavior.

Carrot and the stick, but this time, a much bigger stick is needed. I didn't need a misunderstanding in my Dungeon that would lead to me being disliked by the general populace. In the short-run, it may as well be inconsequential, but in the long-run, various horrible possibilities may arise, such as a rebellion, which would be easy to quell with my fully armed primates, but that didn't prevent them from leaving my Dungeon.

Which would then lead to a loss of workforce, which means lower DP income and lower defensive properties of my Dungeon. If that wasn't enough, that would make the monsters that escaped who were once my subordinates to create another group hostile to my Dungeon.

This was a scenario I didn't want to have, so I had to put a stop to it here and now before it spreads.

Was it a little too much? Maybe. Was it necessary? Incredibly so.

Some may call it paranoia, but it isn't paranoia if it really would happen, which might as well happen due to emotions being finicky in all sentient beings.

I mean, look at me. I'm a prime example of having finicky emotions, what with me denying refuge for Lennon and Kayla who were now dead, who I also had a high probability of recruiting into my Dungeon.

"A punishment is indeed in order." I stood up menacingly, Aratella still refusing to move her head due to the fear present inside her. "Then, I have three punishments for you."

She tensed when she heard the number of punishments she would have to do to appease my anger.

"Number one, apologize to your children. I'm sure they would feel betrayed if they heard their mother giving both of them so freely to a stranger, as sex partners, no less." She visibly flinched, but tilted her head slightly upwards, her gaze meeting mine as she opened her mouth but formed no coherent words to speak about. "Number two, make sure you govern over this village, which I will now name Silk Valley Village, and no, the name isn't negotiable."

She looked perplexed at the second punishment, but nonetheless nodded her head, her mouth still open at the light punishments she was receiving.

"And as for number three," I held out my hand, three fingers poking out ominously as I grinned menacingly at her. "You will be supplying the monster city with double the thread production for the next week. Don't lie, I know the silk you're producing isn't nearly enough for your maximum output."

"… I-Is that all, Dungeon Master Jionni?" She asked me weakly, a mixture of confusion, relief, shock, and fear present in her face and voice.

"Do you want me to increase the number of punishments?" I asked and she quickly shot up and shook her head frantically.

"N-No! That is not needed. I assure you I will carry out your orders with utmost faith and loyalty!" Aratella rushed out her words as if her life depended on it. I nodded and turned my back to her.

"Then, if there isn't anything else, I bid you farewell." I waved my hand at her as I walked to the door. "Next time, don't jump to assumptions. You never know what type of character you're dealing with."

I exited the door, leaving a flabbergasted but relieved Aratella slumped on her modified chair. Waiting for me at the exit were all the arachnes, all of them numbering 12, Aratella, Qhandi, and Qhithis included.

None of them said a word as they gave me passage through the wall of bodies. At the end of the passage, I saw Qhandi and Qhithish looking at me with nervous gazes.

I walked towards them, nary a sound echoing through the artificial (at least in my eyes) forest village. Arriving at the two girls, who looked at me with quivering gazes, I reached out my hands and slowly moved them to their heads.

They flinched and closed their eyes, but the moment they felt my hands softly patting their heads, they opened their eyes and looked at me, a caring smile adorning my face.

"Sorry you had to hear that. Your mother, I believe, made some daring assumptions which tested my temper." When I retracted my hands, Qhithish, the curious child that she was, looked at me with a curious gaze as to why I wasn't punishing them along with their dear old mother. "Don't worry, I didn't give her too much trouble, but I'm sure all of you will pull through."

I spread my gaze throughout the body of arachnes, each of them looking at me anxiously.

"Just make sure you don't make the same mistakes, and we'll be fine." I said with a low growl, my point getting across the arachnes. "Do that, and I will reward you all if you contribute enough to my Dungeon."

They all nodded and I huffed, satisfied with their answers. I looked at the two sisters who I had somewhat grown attached to in the few moments I was with them.

"I'll be going now, and you, you little munchkin," I patted the head of the young arachne, who once again leaned into my touch with a satisfied smile, "It won't be long before I give you a sneak peek at the advancement plan I have going. I'm sure both of you will love it."

I retracted my hand, Qhithish letting out a whimper as I left the Silk Valley Village, a cringey name I know, which is why I named it that, and made my way out of the forest.

Once I was out of sight and earshot, I opened the Dungeon Menu and contacted Chip once again, the edgy chimpanzee saluting at me like a loyal soldier.

"I have another job for you."

After relaying to him my intentions, he saluted back and I ended the call. It wasn't anything too hard, just monitor the arachnes and make sure they were following my orders, which was doubling their silk yield for the week.

'Oh well, enough stressful situations, I want to rest and take a fucking nap…'