The new Doll opened her eyes, her azure blue irises as clear and calm as the sky.
She calmly surveyed the bedroom, her gaze sweeping over the tidy floor and soft sofa before finally settling on the ornate crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling.
Thanks to Arianna's meticulous care, Labrynth's room was always kept spotlessly clean, which earned an approving nod from the new Doll.
Just as she was about to speak, a white figure pounced toward her, accompanied by a sweet fragrance.
The Castle Lord descended from above!
"My Lord?"
"Hehehe..."
Labrynth clung to the new Doll, her small hands pinching the other's smooth cheeks and pulling them left and right as she let out a mischievous, incomprehensible giggle.
The new Doll's cheeks were stretched into odd shapes, but her azure eyes remained serene, simply watching her Lord's antics.
After playing to her heart's content, Labrynth finally released her grip with satisfaction. Placing one hand on her hip and pointing a finger at the other with the other hand, she declared solemnly yet playfully.
"From today onward, your name shall be Arias! From now on, you are the steward of our Silver Castle!"
With the naming complete, Labrynth designated her as the second secondary Mind Node of Silver Castle.
As the connection was established, flowing blue rings of light ignited within Arias's azure eyes.
The intricate patrol routes of three hundred small Dolls within the Labyrinth, the linked parameters of hundreds of traps at the seven main entrances, and the per-minute feeding rhythm and production efficiency of the Thunderfire Furnace...
A vast, chaotic flood of pending tasks surged into her mental space like a bursting dam.
Yet, faced with this torrent of information sufficient to drive any sentient being to madness, Arias's consciousness integrated perfectly, without feeling the slightest pressure.
In less than half a minute, she completed the preliminary categorization and prioritization of all the information.
"My Lord," Arias's voice was clear and pleasant, carrying a unique intellectual charm, "regarding the Labyrinth's operations, I have several optimization suggestions.
"Currently, the traps at the seven entrances operate independently, resulting in significant functional overlap.
"I recommend integrating them into a linkage mechanism, which is expected to reduce Emotion Points costs by thirty percent.
"The patrol network of the Dolls also suffers from computational power waste. Patrol density is excessively high in some areas, while certain key nodes have blind spots that require re-planning.
"Additionally, the feeding interval for the Thunderfire Furnace can be shortened by seventeen seconds, increasing production capacity by twelve percent without raising losses."
One clear, precise suggestion after another, each striking at the core of the issues, flowed from her lips, leaving Labrynth standing beside her in stunned silence.
Oh my goodness! What kind of divine steward is this! I've truly struck gold! d(ŐдŐ๑)
Labrynth was moved beyond words and immediately gave Arias an official appointment. Then, transforming into a koala, she buried her face directly into the other's soft yet resilient chest.
"Arias! You are my super-duper chief steward! From now on, Silver Castle depends on you!"
Feeling the adorable, acting cute manner of her Lord in her arms, Arias silently revealed a gentle smile.
Just then, the room door opened, and Arianna, having just completed her perimeter patrol duty, walked in.
She immediately spotted the unfamiliar face dressed in a crisp suit with silver-gray short hair, as well as her own Master, who was currently buried in the other's chest, playfully nuzzling.
Arianna's tail stood on end, her emerald eyes filled with vigilance.
"My Lord!"
Hearing the voice, Labrynth reluctantly lifted her head from Arias's chest. Seeing Arianna's tense, battle-ready expression, she quickly wiped the drool from the corner of her mouth and introduced,
"Greeny, don't be nervous. This is our new family member, Arias!
"From today onward, we are a loving family!"
Upon hearing it was "family," Arianna lowered her guard. She walked up to Arias and extended her hand.
Arias also smiled and reached out, politely shaking her hand.
"Hello, you must be Arianna." Arianna nodded expressionlessly in response.
"So cute~"
Arias suddenly smiled and praised, then very naturally reached out with her other hand, gently patting Arianna's head.
Arianna stiffened, her face still expressionless, but a faint, suspicious blush crept onto her pale cheeks.
After the brief family meeting, Arias officially took up her duties.
Within just five minutes, she had fully taken over and integrated all the chaotic reconnaissance data sent back by the exploration Dolls.
The holographic map projection in the center of the bedroom became crystal clear.
A silver-white area covering about thirty percent, representing the regions currently fully controlled by Silver Castle, was clearly marked.
Beyond the silver-white area, the vast plains to the east, the massive canyon to the south, and the abandoned mining area to the west were all displayed on the map in different colors.
"My Lord, your Skills have already covered these new areas, but because they were just upgraded, we haven't yet fully incorporated them into our actual management scope."
Arias's fingers lightly traced across the light screen, generating a virtual expansion route map.
"Based on our original control methods, we can steadily expand the actual territory control area to forty percent within two weeks.
"My Lord, do you want to become someone who controls the life and death of all creatures on this land?"
Labrynth, who had been nodding along with a sense of awe without fully understanding the complex data Arias had mentioned earlier, was suddenly taken aback by the abrupt change in topic. Why had it suddenly become so chuunibyou?
"Not really," Labrynth pressed a hand to her cheek, tilting her head as she thought seriously.
"Since crossing over, I haven't had any particularly grand ambitions. What I want... is probably just fun?"
Watching real-life mini-movies every day, teasing the little Dolls, harvesting Emotion Points… how joyful such days are! (๑´ㅂ๑)
"I see," Arias nodded, her azure gaze settling on Labrynth's pure white pupils.
"My Lord, since your goal is to pursue fun, I have a new idea about Silver Castle's current development approach."
"Hmm?"
Labrynth looked up at Arias's suddenly inspired head, signaling her to continue.
"Your handling of adventurers is quite good," Arias first gave her approval.
"By combining suffering and rewards, we can continuously attract adventurers to come, generating Emotion Points for us steadily.
"However, on the other hand, our current method of control involves either killing all the Monsters within the territory or driving them all into the Labyrinth to farm Emotion Points.
"There is no complete ecosystem inside the Labyrinth. This greatly damages the Monster ecology of the Dungeon and is entirely a practice of draining the pond to catch all the fish.
"Adventurers also have different needs for various types of Monsters, such as materials and Crystal Cores. Over time, as the variety of Monsters on the sixth floor decreases, adventurers will gradually dwindle as well."
Labrynth listened, nodding earnestly with a serious expression on her small face.
This was a blind spot she had never considered before.
Because her soul was essentially still human, her attitude toward Monsters and humans held subtle differences she hadn't even noticed herself.
It wasn't until Arias pointed it out today that she suddenly realized.
So, subconsciously, I've still been treating Monsters as ordinary monsters and materials...
Then, what should we exactly do?
In the past, I had to think because I had no other choice, but now... I don't want to think anymore! I'm slacking off! (╯‵□′)╯︵┻━┻
…It's time to activate my super intelligence!
Labrynth cleared her throat, adopting a dignified posture as if testing a subordinate.
"Arias, what do you think?"
Arias saw right through her Lord's little scheme to slack off, her gaze fixed on Labrynth's small face, which feigned composure but actually looked a bit guilty.
"My Lord, as the ruler, you need to use your brain more!"
"Ehe~ Just this once! I just wanted to test you, that's all!" Labrynth stuck out her tongue, acting shamelessly.
Arias sighed helplessly, a doting glint flashing across her glasses as she continued with her topic.
"Silver Castle's development can shift toward coexisting with the Dungeon's ecosystem. We will create enough small Doll units, changing the practice of only treating areas within the reach of your Skills and physical infrastructure as the sole territory.
"Let these small Dolls scatter throughout the Dungeon, creating traps, obstacles, puzzles, and rewards. We only need to keep this core Labyrinth as the main base.
"After all, places capable of absorbing Emotion Points aren't limited to the coverage of your Skills.
"Moreover, Emotion Points aren't all negative; joy, greed, and excitement are equally valuable resources.
"Of course, My Lord, you also need to play a key role.
"Your Skills have great potential to be explored. For example, using your [Mind Node] Skill, you can divide those unintelligent ordinary Dolls into primary and secondary nodes in squad formations, allowing them to cooperate in combat more efficiently.
"And then there's the [Soul Brand] Skill-"
Arias's eyes sparkled with wisdom. "My Lord, you could try developing the usage of this Skill, branding the native Lord-level Monsters in the Dungeon, and making them special Mind Nodes as well.
"This way, we can provide thrilling, dungeon-style branch Boss challenges for the adventuring teams that come.
"Next, we'll turn Silver Castle into a popular adventure destination; there will be casualties, but also rewards. High risk often comes with high returns, and we'll gain even more Emotion Points."
"...Wow!!"
Labrynth grew more and more excited as she listened, her little head nodding frequently, the light in her pure white eyes intensifying until they nearly sparkled.
Yes, this was exactly what she had in mind!
Every idea Arias proposed opened a new door to a whole new world for her!
After Arias finished speaking, Labrynth could no longer contain her excitement. She threw her arms around Arias's waist and buried her head once more in that comforting softness.
"This is wonderful! Creating you, Arias, was the best decision I've ever made!"
...
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