Dungeon of Pride, Laplace

Now that he looked back, it was a huge risk on his part to bring them on the main floor at that time. If by any chance they had some malevolence hidden, his dungeon core would have been compromised.

Although he had the white palace to protect his dungeon core it was still a considerable risk. It did not matter if the race was the Forest Sring Sprits considered to be the blessings of the nature and had nothing to do with violence, he cannot be acting all trusting and gullible and have to consider many factors before allowing anyone to his main floor.

To put it bluntly, Simon did not trust the [Role] function of the dungeon fully yet. Thus he only wanted those subordinates living on his main floor that he could wholeheartedly trust.

This notion did not occur to him when summoning Irene or when he brought the Forest Spring Spirits here. It was too inconsiderate of him and would have put his life in jeopardy had any of them bore ill intent towards him.

In the end though, fate worked in his favour and after living with them, he could trust them fully. However, it did not mean that he would commit the same mistake again, the current Simon was different, he had undergone a huge shift in character and temperament and was no longer as trusting as before.

That is why…

"I guess I'll make new floors to summon new subordinates and when I have any visitors in the future" Simon stated looking at the five emblems produced by his dungeon sitting on his inventory.

His dungeon produces an emblem each month, five of them meant that it had been five months since he was away from his dungeon. Though for a demon like him who had a considerable lifespan, it couldn't even be considered much.

However, he who had lived the life of a human in his previous world, felt it was a long time.

'Five emblems.. huh' Simon recalled the time when he summoned the Null elemental now named Wisp and frowned. The [???????] function of his [Main Menu] had become something unique by summoning weird beings after another.

Null Elemental for the case, who in Irene's perspective was something exorbitantly rare and wasn't something that should exist in their plane of world. However, to Simon, it did not strike as something super broken and only seemed like a ball of light with an ego.

In any case, his earlier experiment to see if the option can take in four emblems at once was a success. So this time, Simon wanted to try his luck and see if he could get something good with five emblems.

"Come to think of it, on Irene's insistence I created a floor for it, I wonder what happened to it".

The last time he left it there, it disappeared into the ground. After that, the events unfolded in a way that left him no choice but to leave the dungeon. Now that he was back, there were lots of things to pay attention to, the Null elementals floor and the forest spring spirit village was some of the few amongst them.

Just as he was about to open the dungeon function of his [Main menu] and see if there was any change that he could spot in the layout of the floor, Irene's beautiful figure abruptly appeared in front of him.

A lovely fragrance that could make one delve in it endlessly, wafted from her. It has been more than a month since he last saw her figure, it would be a lie if he said that he didn't wish to see her once again.

Now face to face once again, her crystal blue eyes which for some reason felt distant, landed on him. Her gaze scanned his body for a second or two before she shifted it away without saying anything.

What was with that behaviour, why did she suddenly act all distant and cold, Simon was confounded.

On the contrary, Cecilia understood why Irene was being like that. She laughed and muttered "Fufu, Big brother, it seems that big sister Irene is angry at you".

'What?!... But why' Simon thought internally, he had just arrived in the dungeon not long ago so how could he possibly anger Irene?

Looking at his puzzled face, Cecilia pouted and tugged his clothes.

"Why does big brother looks so confused? It's your fault, it's because you were absent from the dungeon so long that big sister is angry. And even when you came back, you decided to roam at the upper levels without even bothering to come to the main floor. Naturally, I'm angry too… hmph".

Cecilia crossed her hands and looked away.

Ah!!… Realising the reason behind why they were angry, Simon felt guilty and at the same time, this sudden foreign feeling of warmth gushed over his body. He lightly apologised before telling them that he would make up for it by cooking something delicious for them.

Although he could just use the [Shop] function of the main menu and dish out some food, Irene and Cecilia who had the authority to use the function were already used to eating such foods. Thus, buying food from that option wouldn't work for them.

In that case, the only option he had left was to cook himself. Additionally, if the matter could be solved with food, he was more than willing to cook.

It's been a while since he came to the kitchen, the last time he cooked something was when he was still a human and had yet to undertake the game that would become his legacy.

Recalling all those days, Simon smiled, he donned an apron which by the way he got as a gag item from the [Ga??????] in one of his pulls and entered the kitchen. What effects did the apron have? Obviously, there was none. It wasn't like it increased the efficiency of cooking or the taste of the food, it was just a normal apron.

Cecilia and Irene as a matter of factly, made themselves comfortable on the dining table while the Bloodthorn demonic warhorse exited the palace to guard it. Although there was no need for it to do that, Simon's felt its loyalty through its actions and allowed it to do whatever it wanted.

Plus, the build of the Bloodthorn demonic warhorse was different thus it did not eat the same food as them.

Under the curious gaze of two pairs of eyes, Simon took out the ingredients from the kitchen and supplied the rest from the [Shop]. Sea Crabs, Potatoes, garlic, onions, mushroom and pork lined up as the ingredients.

Since the white palace was set up in a way that replenished the items inside it on its own, Simon did not have to worry about running out of ingredients as long as he had DP.

Simon took out the knife from the holder and skilfully wielded it evoking a peal of surprise from Cecilia. Although he rarely cooked, he had no shame in saying that he was a skilled chef.

He thinly sliced the meat, and chopped the vegetables while simultaneously boiling the crab in a pot of water. After about seven to eight minutes of boiling it, he left the crab to cool.

Next, he took out a pan, put it on the burner, poured oil and heated it up at the right temperature for a while before frying the ingredients. He didn't forget to boil the pork and season it too.

Seeing the figure of Simon diligently cooking them a meal to quench her anger, Irene couldn't find it in herself to stay angry at him any longer. A beautiful smile that hardly appeared on her face, bloomed at this moment but was quickly concealed by her.

She supported her chin with her hand as she gazed at the back of the man who seemed to have grown dramatically from this trip outside. His back was wide, his shoulders broad and his eyes carried an unconcealed determination.

Also, the way he conducted himself now, spoke volumes of his renewed confidence. Unknown to even herself, Irene found herself lost in her thoughts as she gazed more and more at the back of Simon who had undergone a pleasant transformation of some sort.

Looking at that expression of hers, Cecilia smiled craftily, her notorious eyes were knitting their own plans.

After about half an hour, Simon decorated the plates and served them to the two eagerly waiting customers of his.

Sniff Sniff… a delicious smell wafted in the air enticing their appetite. Cecilia, grabbed her silverware and smiled blissfully, she had long awaited for a day where they dined together like this.

Seeing the eagerness and the drool coming from the corner of Cecilia's mouth, Simon nodded in appreciation and presented the dish he prepared for them.

"Crab Stuffed Pork fillet with spring sauce" Simon recited the name of his dish like a master chef who was proud of his work.

Pffft… seeing his goofy attitude, a laugh leaked out from Irene.

"Nom… Nom… Big bobur dis iz delizaous… Spring Fillet Crab sauce" to his surprise, Cecilia had already started munching on her food.

Simon wanted to retort that she had completely butchered the name of the dish, but when he saw her enjoying her food, he felt the name of the food didn't matter anymore.

Unlike the voracious style of Cecilia, Irene was much more refined in her conduct while eating. She grabbed the crab tongs, carefully dissected the meaty parts of the crabs before dipping it on the sauce and taking small size bites.

Simon too served himself a plate, grabbed a seat and sat down. The three of them sat around the dining table, peacefully enjoying their food.

"Hehe… I must say, big brother is quite the cook" Cecilia commented finishing her plate clean.