After a filling meal, Zephyr descended into the mine. Clearing out out the barricades, he found some desperate elves.

"Prais the mother goddess!''

"We haven't had a breath of fresh air for days!"

"Search for the others, they still might be alive."

"If I find them, I'll send them out." Zephyr reassured the freed elves as he let them be on their way. Moving deeper into the mine, he saw what looked like a giant three-eyed slug devour an entire mine cart full of gold. It was trying to eat two dwarves before continuing its chase of them.

"Poor things going to get a tummy ache. Best to put it out of its misery, sire!"

"Right on it, dear." Zephyr then stopped dead in his tracks. Did he just call Rose dear? He just shook it off and moved on. Finding the giant slug feasting on dwarf meat, he had his minions attack the beats. Greens on its back, browns were attacking its sides, and reds keeping a distance, pelting it with fire. The moment the slime blob was done melting, Zephyr willed his minions to collect the gold. Some of the minions began to lick the slime off of their hands and weapons, to Zephyr's disgust. They seemed to enjoy it. For once, he was happy for Gnarl's blabbering to help distract him from such a repulsive display.

"All evil domains need funding, master. This should do nicely!"

"Indeed it will, Gnarl. I plan on putting this mine to good use after I've cleared it." As the minions carried the gold off, one of the gates opened, two elves stepping out.

"If it gold you seek, there is plenty deeper in the mine."

"I'd rather die in a slug's belly than let Goldo have it. His greed cost too many lives." Yet another name Zephyr knew, this one had emotion behind it however, hate. He hated Goldo Golderson, no idea why, but he did.

"Well, I'm more than happy to take that gold off of your hands." Zephyr then moved on, clearing out minors slugs and crossbowmen along the way. Every nook and cranny was searched, and two minecarts were found, one hidden away in a side tunnel, one was in plain sight. The fourth one was guarded by two slug queens and a cage full of elves on the side.

"Help us... Help us!"

"The gold is yours, we don't want it."

"Slay those beasts, and free us."

"Needy, that is what elves are. I mean, I'm going to help you, but you should know that you all better bow down and worship me for this!" Zephyr activated the legion of terror spell and let his minions do what they do best. Afterward, he let the elves out and collected the minecart.

"Everyone likes gold, sire. But this Goldo seems obsessed with it! Hmm. There's nothing to buy around here... I wonder what he's doing with it?"

"Knowing him, probably jacking off onto it, then licking it clean so he could do it again... Anyway! I want minions in this mine within the hour. Every speck of this gold should be in my vault as soon as possible. And minted with the overlord symbol on it, your only a country when you start melting down your own currency."

"As you command, my lord." Zephyr then returned to the tower, and it was clear the renovations were done. Golden guardian and winged beast statues, white marble, and red carpet formed a path to the new throne. And it was far more comfortable than the last one, as well as more imposing.

"Have to say, Rose, your little pet project has done wonders for my mood."

"Your certainly welcome, sire. Or should I call you sweetie?" Zephyr moved his palm to his face, he knew this would happen.

"I suppose you could, ya."

"How about... Precious?"

"That is too much!" Rose laughed at how flustered Zephyr was getting. He slumped into his throne, clearly not amused. And the most worrying part, he was glad for Gnarl taking the opportunity to make his opinion known twice in one day.

"Changing things to a less... cute subject. The warrants of trade have all be taken. Merchants are tacking the enchanted tools made in the Spree factory and are tacking them back to Heavens Peak to trade. We will be racking in the gold in no time!"

"Excellent, once we have a good economy going, our domain will prosper. Now, unless you two have anything else to bother me with, I will spend the rest of the day in the dungeon farming life force." Zephyr got up from his throne but was stopped from leaving by his hideous adviser raising his hand.

"Actually, sire. We have found some slug eggs in the first gold cart you brought back. And we think we can grow them to maturity."

"And why in the world would we do that? Last time I checked, vermin were not something we are interested in cultivating."

"Glad you asked, sire. I thought we could use it to supplement our food supplies by farming them. The minions seemed to have greatly enjoyed the taste of the slimy beasts."

"Are those things even healthy for them? I mean, you little freaks can eat whatever the hell you want. But do try not to poison my army."

"As you command, sire. We will have a testing process to make sure that the slugs are edible."

"See that you do." Zephyr then left the room, spending the rest of the day farming lifeforce in the dungeon and trying to clear his head, but no luck. All he could think about is why he called Rose dear.