She had to give the dungeon credit where it was due, it and its speaker were handling the request much better than either of them had expected. Rather than respond in anger or disbelief, it simply asked for clarification.

  And to their own credit, Edward and she were willing to give it, despite the oddity of their request.

  "We understand how it sounds, and to clarify, we aren't asking your master to help raise the child, rather we are asking if you would help with a somewhat... difficult issue we've discovered."

  The creature raised an eyebrow, assuming that was an eyebrow.

  "While I was stuck in the inner portions of your dungeon, my... child and I were exposed to too much magic."

  There was a shift in the mana, becoming more turbulent for a moment.

  "The master wishes to know if there is something he may do to help!"

  "It's not that simple, I'm afraid, nor as dangerous as your master may be thinking. While straining, this is a relatively common thing when exposed to intense magic."

  "Then what is it you are asking of the master?"

  "Ideally, we are asking if Helvina may venture into the dungeon without difficulty; it will be necessary for the child. And just in case you are wondering, when a child develops under these conditions, it enhances the child, letting them be stronger and magically gifted."

  She joined in.

  "It is like the young men Arthur had trained here, but starts from birth."

  "The master is unsure, he has had, less than positive encounters with those drunk on mana."

  Hmm? OH!

  "If you speak of those twisted by mana, do not worry, while uncomfortably similar to that, it is entirely safe. Any danger usually comes from finding areas with enough magic to support this process, generally the interior of dungeons less merciful than yours."

  The process of bathing a developing child in such high amounts of magic was never a comfortable one, but such children also had the most magic, the most strength. They either lived much longer than their peers would or died historically before lifespan became an issue. Not that she'd let any child of hers be that foolish, but still.

  "Further explanation is requested."

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  "As you ask."

  Edward gestured to her.

  "Ahem, the process is, quite simply, called mana birth, an expecting mother will bathe their child in raw magic, the more the better. It's an old tradition from before the Collapse that remains to the present, the benefits are numerous."

  "And you would do this willingly?"

  "Well, uh, not quite..."

  The air took a razor quality to it, and the scraping of the metal golems could be heard coming up the hallway.

  "But please don't misunderstand!"

  The scraping paused.

  "While the intrigue of noble houses is... not always clean, once the process is started it must be followed through, by waiting as long as we had in the deeper levels, I no longer have a choice in the matter."

  "The master is confused."

  "If the process is not followed through, the child may... may perish before they are born."

  A heavy silence fell on them, Edward even made a distant face, like he'd seen the very horror she was trying to explain.

  She wasn't sure how to feel, in all honesty, when she learned of her condition, more thoughts than she could count went through her head. Good, bad, happy, sad, worried, and calm, all these and more flowed through her when she learned, and one of the last things among them was a mana birth. Oh sure, she knew that she would do it if she ever decided to have children, and she didn't mind it in the slightest that it was accidental, nor that it was with a lord. What upset her was that it was all forced to happen before she made the choice herself, something he cursed (but not an actual one) the paladin for. Helvina didn't blame the dungeon either, it helped her survive, and letting her child reach an apex few would was hardly a price. It's just that the suddenness of it was the irritating point.

  "He asks what you need of him."

  "My thanks, as said before, I need only stay in your great dungeon for several hours each day, the deeper the better."

  ...

  "You shall be allowed this; however, the final level is forbidden as it would be harmful to you no matter how much power there is, and that you be accompanied by another outsider."

  That presented some issues, but not any big ones, the process didn't last until birth, only until she had enough to trigger the change, which was very obvious to a mage like herself. And from what little she could see of the final level, she agreed with their restriction, a whiff of that foul air was all she needed to know it would kill her long before the mana did. She also didn't mind the part about having a guard either, just that they would need to be rotated often to avoid mana sickness, something that she was able to avoid thanks to her child.

  "I agree to these terms dungeon."

  "Excellent, is that all you wanted to bring up, or is that it?"

  "No, good dungeon, that is all we needed to discuss right now."

  They got up and were through the doorway when the creature called for them again.

  "The master has said that he shall begin sending out monsters to begin finding your lost brother, so inform your men of them."

  "I will do what I can, speaker, oh, and before we go, Helvina will be in later on for the first day, if possible, I would ask that she be given an appropriate area to rest herself."

  "The master will see to it."

  They turned to leave, traveling through the halls and down the lift, Edward sighed heavily as they made it to the small stone platform that extended from the keep.

  "At least it wasn't anything more important."

  She gave him a pointed look.

  "Ok, important, but still, it could have been something more dangerous that I'd have to deal with."

  "Uh huh, and what do you mean deal with?"

  He looked even more stressed at that.