This Dungeon Grew Mushrooms

Inside Inanna’s room, the magic staff lay alone on the carpet.

Beside it, one pink puji and two gray-green pujis had their heads pressed together in a tight little circle.

“So you really are a puji!” No. 4 stared in awe after witnessing Inanna’s transformation. “What was that just now? Some super-powerful disguise? How can you get so big?”

“It was shapeshifting magic,” No. 10 answered.

“Ohhh, that’s how!” No. 4 understood instantly, but another question followed. “But why turn into a mushroom attendant? And that name ‘pink puji’… you don’t have an official designation granted by the mycelium lord?”

Its mental tone carried a faint note of pity. A fellow of the Mushroom Tribe without a number—tragic indeed.

No. 10 chose silence.

It refused to waste energy explaining to this simple-minded mushroom that “pink puji” was likely a special title bestowed by the mycelium lord.

And anyway, the divine decree was simply to protect her.

Nowhere did it say No. 10 must indulge No. 4.

“Ten… Four…” Inanna softly repeated their names, curiosity overflowing. “You two seem… different from the other pujis?”

“Other pujis?”

No. 10 activated the detection skills embedded within its resurrected body. It sensed the ordinary pujis wandering outside the room and immediately understood.

“Those are merely extensions of the mycelium lord’s will—his tendrils. We, however, are true Mushrooms—beings with independent will.”

“Mushroom Tribe… And the mycelium lord is… boss?” Inanna asked carefully.

“How can you call him ‘boss’ like the mushroom attendants do!” No. 4 puffed up, posture stiffening with pride. “Addressing the mycelium lord by title is the exclusive privilege of our tribe!”

Inanna found these two unusually lively, talkative pujis both delightful and fascinating.

She asked question after question.

Most were answered by No. 10 with efficient, concise mental explanations—except for anything the mycelium lord had explicitly forbidden. In that case, it remained silent.

And whenever No. 4 started saying something dangerous or stupid, No. 10 promptly cut it off.

The three—one pink, two gray-green—chatted cheerfully for quite a while, until footsteps sounded from the hallway outside…

…

“Arama, the newly regenerated arm from the healing potion isn’t showing any abnormalities, right?”

Lorenzo’s voice arrived ahead of him.

He strode into the room and pulled a vial of glowing green liquid from his robe.

“I refined a new nutrient solution. Should help your recovery. Honestly, you warriors who specialize in body-forging have such troublesome healing needs compared to us casters…”

His voice tapered off.

Something was wrong with the room’s atmosphere.

Arama sat alone in a shadowed corner, head buried in his hands, motionless like a statue—completely ignoring Lorenzo’s entrance.

Lorenzo frowned in puzzlement, stepped up, leaned down.

“Hey, what’s with you this time?”

Arama slowly lowered his hands and lifted his head.

His gaze was empty.

Lorenzo had seen this man face demon armies without flinching.

But never—never—had he seen such soul-deep doubt and despair in his eyes.

“I suddenly realized…”

Arama’s voice was hoarse, drained of spirit.

“…I am a complete failure of a father.”

Lorenzo exhaled in relief.

Ah. So it was something domestic.

He’d feared some irreversible injury.

“What makes you say that?” Lorenzo sat beside him, trying to soothe. “Inanna did great this time. Yes, she relied on external help, but she really did save us. Much better than my two sons, who only ever cause trouble.”

“I just went to see her…” Arama croaked, “and found her in the room… quietly… with… with…”

Seeing Arama unable to even speak the rest, as if his worldview had shattered, Lorenzo instantly understood.

He adopted the universal “I get it” expression of middle-aged men.

He patted Arama’s shoulder with the air of a veteran parent.

“Sigh… Children grow up. Some things really can’t be avoided. When I discovered my eldest son fooling around with the maid who took care of him, I was so angry I nearly—well, anyway. Young people are impulsive. Not unforgivable. So tell me—who did your girl fall for? That lieutenant who came with her, Warren? If it’s him, that’s acceptable. Not much background, but capable, decent looks—has maybe eight-tenths of my charm from my younger years. You can talk to them properly, arrange things formally—”

“It was a puji!”

Arama cut him off.

This stalwart warrior—normally unshakable—was on the verge of collapse. His voice trembled.

“I saw her—she had turned herself into a pink puji! And she was head-to-head with two other pujis! Why… why would things turn out like this?!”

Lorenzo froze mid-sentence.

His comforting expression turned to pure confusion.

“Ah?”

…

Elsewhere, Inanna was also suffering a blow.

“What am I going to do…”

She sat curled up on her bed, hugging her knees, long pink hair hiding her mortified face.

Living conditions inside the valley were limited. Having her own room was already a privilege of her rank.

Locks, however, did not exist.

The moment she heard footsteps outside, she panicked—lunging for her staff on the floor, desperately trying to dispel her transformation before the door opened.

She was one second too slow.

Arama opened the door and saw everything.

Thankfully, her shapeshifting technique had improved, now including clothes in the transformation.

If she had reverted to human form naked in front of her father…

She would rather die on the spot.

This was already humiliating enough.

Arama had said nothing, but that frozen expression…

That trembling back as he walked away…

Disaster.

Absolute disaster.

Beside her, No. 10 was drowning in guilt.

It had failed miserably.

After resurrection, it should have immediately trained its sensory skills.

If it had been proficient, it would never have allowed someone to walk all the way to the doorway without noticing.

If the intruder had been an enemy, the mycelium lord’s mission would have failed instantly.

“This kind of mistake must never happen again.”

No. 4, meanwhile, could not comprehend Inanna’s despair.

After Inanna explained that “being seen by father in a strange-looking form is very bad,” No. 4 suddenly remembered the glorious identity recently granted.

“We are the incarnations of the Great Puji Will! Honorable Mushroom Tribe members!” it declared proudly. “How can we hide? Come—we’ll go explain everything to those non-mushrooms and show them how noble you truly are!”

Saying so, it extended a tentacle toward Inanna—hesitated slightly upon seeing her human hand—then reluctantly wrapped her wrist, guiding her toward the door.

No. 10 followed immediately, ready to prevent No. 4 from escalating the disaster.