Seems like that was the end of the monster horde as no other monsters appeared from the Dungeon entrance, which was literally just a doorway in a rock.
But it seems like they weren't done yet as several of the soldiers surrounded the Dungeon entrance to stand guard while several workers started to build walls around the entrance.
Looks like they're planning to fortify the entrance of the Dungeon. Are they expecting another horde to appear from the Dungeon?
Suddenly, a black mass flew towards me and landed right in front of me, the shadows melting off to reveal Mother standing there with King Justinia.
I didn't even know she could do something like that.
"Ara, ara~ There you are my little one~ Ufufufu~ Did you enjoy the show?" Mother giggled.
While Mother was obviously not surprised to see me there, the King was a different matter.
"Aster? What are you doing here?"
I gave Mother a questioning look.
"Ufufufu~ I didn't see a need for little Justi to know as well, that's why I didn't tell her~"
Justinia hastily added, "Not that I have a problem with you being here, of course, Aster. I was just surprised, that's all."
I chuckled, "That's alright, Sister Justi. Mother was the one who called me here."
She nodded before turning to Mother, "So... Any reason why you asked Aster to be here?"
Mother tilted her head, "Ara? Didn't you want to know what is happening to the Dungeons?"
"And you believe Aster knows the answer?"
I raised my hand slightly, "I... Er... I actually do..."
Justinia turned to me in surprise, "You do?"
"Yeah... But I think we should go somewhere private to talk about this..."
Mother and the King shared a look before the King turned back to me.
"We can go to my tent then."
Mary then appeared out of a portal at that exact moment before gesturing towards it, "Right this way, Madam, Your Majesty, Young Mistress."
Justinia nodded at me, "I'm afraid that's just how Goddesses like Goddess Hiandoca see things... For Divine beings like that... The death of several hundred people is not even worth mentioning... As long as the world continues to exist, it would be seen as acceptable for them."
I hadn't even thought that this could be what Hiandoca meant when she said that...
I just thought that even the weakest of people here could at least pick up a pitchfork to fight back against a goblin but now that I think about it... There was no way a rural village would be able to stand against a horde of goblins without any casualties especially when they did not receive any warning about the attack.
"So... What happens now? Isn't this problematic?" I asked.
Justinia turned to me, "Goddess Hiandoca said that there will be an oracle issued to the various temples around the world about this, right?"
I nodded, "She did say that, yes."
"In that case... I suppose it would not be strange for us to take action before the temples announce the oracle... We'll have to return to the capital and cut this inspection short. No... Madam Nilm, could I trouble you to continue this inspection in my stead?"
"Ara, ara? Does little Justi trust me this much?"
Justinia made a face at Mother, "Please don't tease me, Madam Nilm... We're in a serious situation right now."
"Ara, ara? Is little Justi saying that I'm not taking this seriously? Ufufufu~"
Justinia sighed, "I am not, Madam Nilm... I understand... If Aster wishes for it as well, you can bring her along with you and you have my authority to make use of any resources to make sure the inspection goes smoothly. You can deal with any problems however you see fit."
Mother giggled, "Ufufufu~ That sounds like a lovely idea, little Justi~ So how about it, my little one? Would you be interested in following Mama to do some inspection and punishing bad little boys and girls?"
I turned to the King, "Eh? Umm... Before that... Could I ask what Sister Justi intends to do?"
"It's no big secret. I'll make a formal announcement about this and issue a Guild request for Adventurers to map out and explore the regions around the Kingdom to find and mark any undiscovered Dungeons. Most likely I will need to set up a new committee to watch over these Dungeons in case of a Dungeon breakout like what we just saw earlier."
"We're not going into Dungeons to clear out the monsters?"
Justinia gave me a wry smile, "Of course we will be. I'll have the soldiers work together with Dungeoneers and Mercenaries to start diving into these new Dungeons to make sure the numbers inside it are culled to prevent such a thing from happening. But I don't expect all Dungeons to be found and there will definitely be breakouts occurring in places that we might not expect... Hmm... We'll need to have more soldiers deployed around the points of interest around the Kingdom in that case... I might need to send some letters to Shendhala and Nekinumi to let them know we're not planning an invasion..."
Mother giggled, "Ufufufu~ If little Justi wishes to make use of the Nilm Family's network, all you need to do is just make a request to the manor~"
"Yes... Thank you, Madam Nilm. I'll be sure to keep that in mind."
"Ufufufu~ Even if it's to assassinate one or two troublesome people, we can do it, you know?"
"Yes, I am aware of that, Madam Nilm... But right now we do not need to do that. Anyway, I shall leave things out here to you. Aster, please feel free to stay if you would like and don't worry about this. And before I forget, thank you for sharing this with us. If we had to wait for the temples to interpret the oracle sent by their Gods, we might have been a little too late in responding and lost a village or two by then."
Damn... Sounds like Justinia has her work cut out for her... Being a monarch sure is tough...