-Swish.
Leviathan, no—Levi, rubbed its head against my leg.
Judging by its actions, it was more like a puppy than a sea dragon.
As I gave Levi another oyster, I recalled the mermaid family who had asked me to wait.
‘So, if I create a gate using the power of Gluttony, it connects to the dungeon entrance. If I want to move to the sea, wouldn’t it be better to bring a portal linked to the ocean?’
Just as I was mapping out the movements in my head—
Hassan and Kyler finally arrived.
“It’s already over.”
Instead of me, Mammon stepped forward and explained what had happened. Kyler nodded as if he had expected it.
“As expected of Mr. Kyu-seong.”
“Huh?”
Why did he say that?
How highly does he think of me? I didn’t expect this outcome either.
-Swish.
Not that I disliked it, of course.
Just look at this adorable Levi.
If Seon-ah saw this, she would have lost her mind.
Despite being a sea dragon, it didn’t have a snake-like slender form. Instead, it had a plump body, short flapping fins, a round head, and big, bright eyes.
Yes, it looked like a baby harp seal.
With a slight mix of dragon traits?
“Ohh, Levi has grown a little?”
-Swish!
“Good job! You’ll keep growing into a big dragon!”
-Swish!
Seeing it interact with Ara was unbearably cute.
Thud.
The inner door opened.
The mermaid family, seemingly having reached a decision, approached.
“Thank you for waiting. Hm? I see new faces as well.”
“They are my companions.”
“I see. In any case, we have decided—we will go with you.”
Nice.
I had worried they might feel burdened, but they made the decision quickly, which was a relief.
“Honestly, making such a huge decision in just one day is absurd, but we are tired.”
“You’re tired?”
“Yes. We are sick of living in these polluted waters, constantly starving. Our population has been declining, and if this continues, we will face extinction soon.”
Hearing this sad reality, I remained silent.
Red Scale waved his hand with a smile, as if trying to lighten the mood.
“But now, we have someone willing to help us, so we can finally be at ease.”
“I will stake everything to bring you all to a much safer and better place.”
Talking to them, I could tell—
Mermaids were truly a pure-hearted race.
That must be why Levi was so innocent as well.
To be honest, considering how Levi suddenly followed me, forcing them to relocate, it was impressive they didn’t seem angry at all.
[The Mermaid King Red Scale and 2,311 mermaids have been added as your subordinates.]
A straightforward decision.
They were truly a race easy to scam.
Of course, I was a renowned monster welfare advocate!
I had no intention of exploiting them…
Okay, maybe just a little.
No! Not exploiting—just building a mutually beneficial relationship!
“Huff, huff.”
“Why are you suddenly short of breath?”
“Oh, nothing. I was just lost in thought.”
Feeling guilty, I almost overreacted.
Anyway, now that everything was settled, it was time to move.
Ah, but first, I needed to leave and come back.
Considering the limited duration of the pressure-resistant item, I had to return to the submarine before making the final move.
When I shared my plan, Hassan, Kyler, and the kids agreed.
“We’ll be back soon. We should finish the relocation today.”
“We’ll wait.”
The mermaid prince and princess clung to me, reluctant to part, but at Ara’s reassurance that we would return soon, they reluctantly let us go.
“Come back quickly!”
Ara waved both arms energetically.
We used the Dungeon Escape Stone to leave the Dungeon of Envy.
Poof!
Huh? My leg felt heavy.
“Huh? Levi came with us?”
At some point, Levi had latched onto my leg.
Such an affectionate little one.
-Swish.
“Since Levi is here, we’ll have to hurry back.”
With Levi being crucial to water purification, we had to return quickly.
Meanwhile, Levi, seeing the outside world for the first time, widened its already large eyes in excitement, happily swimming around.
-Swiii!!
“Kya-ha-ha! Levi is having so much fun!”
Following the connected line, we returned to the submarine.
After calming down the excited Levi—
-Swish! Swish! Swish!
“You really like it, huh?”
-Swish!
Even inside the submarine, Levi bounced around in joy.
Well, after spending so much time in polluted water, it must have been exhilarating to experience fresh water.
Levi could survive outside of water too.
However, unlike its swift swimming in water, it moved a bit awkwardly on land, bouncing around.
“Hehe, so cute.”
“What a cute little thing!”
As Ara and Mammon patted Levi, it happily swished its tail like a baby.
“Let’s depart immediately.”
“Understood.”
I swallowed another 30-billion-won item.
But at this point, the cost didn’t matter.
All I cared about was getting back quickly to move the mermaids.
This time, knowing the way, we reached the mermaid kingdom much faster.
Fortunately, Levi’s brief absence hadn’t caused significant pollution.
The mermaids were fine.
While we were gone, they had already finished packing.
Even the residents had lined up, carrying their belongings.
“Please take care of us.”
“Yes, just a moment.”
Since the mermaids had already used gates, there were several portals.
We chose the largest fortress gate to use Gluttony’s power.
Wuuuung—
As the Gluttony Gate activated, a portal appeared.
I turned to the others.
“I’ll go first and prepare the portal to the sea. Ras, can you come with me? I need some muscle.”
“Understood.”
Ras and I stepped through the portal first.
Ras immediately started digging the ground in front of the dungeon entrance portal.
Meanwhile, I retrieved the portal connected to the Slime Village by the sea.
Once Ras had finished digging, I set up the portal in the newly created pool.
Then, using Bokkeum, I drew in seawater and filled the pool.
One trip wasn’t enough, so we repeated it two, three times until the pool was full.
“It’s done.”
“Good work.”
Now, it was time to bring in the mermaids.
I stepped back through the portal and called out to everyone.
“You may enter now.”
-Gulp.
The mermaids looked tense.
Leaving behind the home they had known all their lives to move to an unknown place must not have been easy.
“I will go first.”
“I’ll go as well.”
The mermaid royalty took the lead.
I asked Ara, Mammon, and Ashu to send the mermaids one by one through the portal, then returned to Gluttony’s realm to wait.
Splash.
“Hmm, is this…?”
“Oh, not yet. You need to go through this portal again. This place is just a temporary water reservoir.”
“I see. That startled me for a moment.”
Once the mermaids arrived at the pool, I guided them through the portal leading to the ocean. Since I had already created a waterway connecting the beach to the sea, there shouldn’t be any issues.
“Hmm, I should go with them. Ras, I’ll leave things here to you.”
“Leave it to me.”
I stepped through the portal with the mermaid royals, arriving directly at the coastline.
“You can follow this waterway into the ocean.”
“This place is…”
The mermaid king lifted his head above the water, scanning his surroundings.
He stared in awe, lost in the scenery.
Not just Red Scale, but his family, too, had stopped to take in the view. The mermaid siblings were chatting excitedly, their faces glowing with joy.
“Wow!”
“Hehe!”
Seeing the excited children warmed my heart.
Before long, they resumed their journey toward the ocean.
As they followed the path I had prepared, the mermaids peeked above the water’s surface, waving at me from the shore.
“Hahaha! This is wonderful! Absolutely wonderful!”
“Thank you, benefactor. This place is perfect for our children to live!”
Haha, they seemed satisfied.
Well, that was only natural.
I had been to their previous home—it was truly awful.
Now, I needed to bring over the rest of the mermaids quickly.
The relocation continued smoothly.
For about four hours, I guided the mermaids from the beach to their new home, ensuring everyone made it safely.
“You’ve done a great job.”
“Not at all. You’re the ones who worked hard.”
Now that everyone had moved, we could continue our discussion later.
For now, I headed back.
“What a workout. Phew.”
Ara wiped an imaginary sweat drop from her forehead, despite wearing a diving suit.
Amused by her adorable grumbling, I lifted her up with a smile.
“You worked hard, so let’s go home and eat lots of good food.”
“That sounds great!”
As I held Ara, Levi wriggled between us, as if asking to be picked up as well.
“Levi, you too! Let’s hurry home and eat delicious food!”
***
Swish!
Meanwhile, the mermaid king, Red Scale, double-checked to make sure no one was left behind.
“Everyone is here.”
Nodding, he glanced around once more.
The scene before him was incomparable to his previous home.
Countless marine creatures roamed freely, vibrant coral and seaweed flourished, and crystal-clear water welcomed them.
Red Scale gazed at the scenery as if engraving it into his memory.
As the mermaid king, he had spent countless nights worrying about their survival.
“Your Majesty, are you all right?”
His queen, Blue Fin, asked.
Despite her name, she didn’t have a single blue scale.
“I’m fine.”
“Your Majesty, please don’t cry.”
“Ahem. When did I ever cry?”
Yet, as he spoke, he subtly wiped his eyes.
Understanding his hardships, Blue Fin patted him gently.
“This is truly wonderful. Look around—how beautiful this place is.”
“Indeed. It reminds me of my childhood. Even then, our sea wasn’t this beautiful.”
Red Scale recalled the time before his home became a dungeon. That ocean had been beautiful, but nothing like this.
“Mom! Dad! Look at this!”
The young prince had already befriended the local fish and was now dancing in sync with them, his younger sister twirling beside him.
Watching them, even Blue Fin couldn’t help but wipe her eyes.
After a while, the mermaids began preparing to build their homes.
The first step was choosing a location, but with the abundant marine resources, any spot seemed perfect for their new city.
“Your Majesty, the corals here have given us permission. We can begin construction.”
“Well done. Then let’s build our second homeland.”
Without hesitation, the mermaids started constructing their city using the coral.
It would take some time, but they would create a magnificent home of their own.
…Ah, but first—time to eat!
Cliche Novel 