The Dancing Dolls Pavilion, the employee break room.

There, Rei and Kinue were taking a break and chatting leisurely.

"… You know, Kinue, there's been a lot of talk about romance lately.

"

"Yes, indeed.

"

The topic was the recent love boom. With basic needs met and safety ensured, the natural course for living beings was to move towards romance. However, Rei and the others, being dungeon monsters born from DP, were exceptions to this flow…Except for Nerune, who'd started dating the hero Wataru.

"First Master and Rokuko-sama, and now Nerune with Wataru… Even Soto-sama doesn't come begging for socks as much as before.

"

"Our princess is also experiencing spring, I suppose. Hm.

"

Rei nodded, pleased with Soto's happiness. Then, she suddenly thought about something.

"Kinue, doesn't Niku-senpai have an engagement, too?

"

"Yes, indeed. She has Maiodoru-sama.

"

"And Narikin and Rokufa are married, right?

"

"Yes. Master has decreed it, and they seem to be okay with it.

"

Come to think of it, there were quite a few stories about such relationships.

"… I envy them. I'm starting to want a lover too.

"

"Huh? Wait a moment. Rei, are you and I not lovers?

"

"Huh?

"

Kinue tilted her head.

"… W-When did we become such a thing!?

"

"It's a joke. Just a joke.

"

"Oh, I see. You surprised me there.

"

Kinue teased and laughed playfully. Rei was a bit surprised that Kinue would make such jokes.

"What about the Silky's… You don't have lovers, right?

"

"We Silkies love all household chores, so if I had to say, the inns and the village chief's house are our lovers.

"

"With buildings… and polygamous at that.

"

"I want to wash every nook and cranny of its body with my own hands. Poof!

"

Kinue placed her hand on her cheek, blushing.

"As for Ichika-senpai… well, meals are her lovers, aren't they?

"

"She repeats new encounters and breakups with each meal—a woman of many loves.

"

"She's an amazing villainess, devouring her love interests.

"

"The children I have birthed…!

"

"Oh, so Kinue is a mom.

"

As she cooked them, she was the mother. As for Ichika who ate that food—well, there's really nothing more to think about. In fact, she was grateful that Ichika always ate her food with gusto.

"Oh, speaking of which, Ichika-senpai did propose to me.

"

"What did you say to that!?

"

"I answered, 'Let's continue to be good colleagues.' Ichika-senpai was joking too.

"

"True.

"

It was a not-so-sexy story for the sake of a meal.

"What about you, Rei?

"

"I've pledged loyalty to Master.

"

"That goes for me and Nerune too. Is there anyone good at the church?

"

"Even if you ask, there are only Succubi. Work is our lover.

"

And for Succubi, since romantic affairs were nearly synonymous with meals for them, it seemed their conversations don't develop into particularly seductive ones.

"Anyway, it means we don't have suitable partners, huh?

"

"That seems to be the case. Oh, so are you suggesting we become a couple, Rei?

"

"It's too late to call us lovers, so I'll pass.

"

Yet, randomly choosing a villager and making them a lover wasn't an option either. Becoming romantically involved with someone who didn't understand the dungeon's situation would only cause harm.

"Kinue, Nerune found a good partner, didn't she…

"

"Yes, and her body is the closest to a human's, plus she has a partner approved by Master… Rei, it would be great if you could find someone approved by him as well.

"

"… A concubine for Master?

"

"Master already has Rokuko-sama and Niku-senpai.

"

"Then I'll refrain. Unless Master proposes to me.

"

The feelings Rei harbored for the Master, Kehma, were not of romantic nature but of reverence.

"I've come up with a good idea. Let's create lovers.

"

"… Huh? Kinue, what do you mean?

"

"With DP, you know. We receive DP as our salary, don't we?

"

"Hmm.

"

Rei nodded.

"So, you're saying create a partner who aligns with your values yourself… I see.

"

"By the way, I've only got about 500 DP since I've invested it in ingredients.

"

"If you were a Goblin, you could have 25 boyfriends. Congratulations.

"

"Hehe, thank you? So, Rei, how much have you saved?

"

"Just a moment.

"

Rei opened the menu to check her savings. … She had accumulated about 20,000 DP.

"I have 20,000.

"

"Wow, each of us could use around 10,000 to 15,000 DP, right? That's quite a bit!

"

"… Certainly!

"

This DP was given as free-to-use DP. In other words, it can be interpreted that they were free to spend it on creating boyfriends!

"Shall we try creating a vampire lover?

"

"What about the attack power?

"

"Of course, since it's my ideal lover, attack power must be present in the right direction!

"

Despite utilizing various things, Rei had a complex about having zero attack power. She wanted her lover to have proper attack power to protect her. So, with the ideal parameters in mind, Rei started incorporating them—

"…It costs an insane amount of DP?

"

"I see. So having attack power costs this much…

"

With the same resistance, performance, and skill composition as Rei, but with normal attack power, it easily exceeded 1,000,000 DP.

"So that's why I had zero attack power… Ugh, life is tough!

"

"We just have to save up DP.

"

"I don't feel like I can save it up on my own. Kinue, let's save up together!

"

"Oh, I'm fine. My lovers are the inn, the village chief's residence, and the dungeon.

"

"Three-timer!

"

Would spring ever come for Rei? It seemed like nobody would be troubled either way.