Chapter 56 - 118-120

Chapter 118: Objectives are about 70% complete

March. It was still cold, but a spring-like warmth could be felt in the sun's rays as Vandalieu served cooked Sauron rice onto a plate.

The moment he inhaled the aroma contained in the steam rising from the white, glossy rice, emotion swept over his entire body.

"Oh…" Vandalieu let out a noise of wonder.

His body trembled spontaneously at this smell, which stimulated his hunger more than any other spice possibly could right now.

Vandalieu had never trembled other than in anger, even during battles to the death against Pure-breed Vampires. Seeing him react like this now, those watching him were shaken.

"… Privel, wasn't it? That substance, it's just food, isn't it?" asked Eleanora, who had remained in Talosheim while Vandalieu went to the former Sauron Duchy.

"That should be the case, but… I've started to lose the confidence to say that," Privel muttered.

"Incidentally, is this some kind of ritual, perhaps?" Nuaza the Lich, clergyman of the Church of Vida in Talosheim, was watching Vandalieu in confusion. "The Holy Son has created and reproduced countless food items in the past. But I do not believe he has ever shown such happiness."

"Indeed," said Zadiris in agreement. "He was happy when he made miso, soy sauce and curry, but never to this extent."

But these words had a different impact on Privel and the other Scylla.

"… That's Vandalieu-kun being happy? Orbia-san, were you able to tell?" Privel asked.

"No~ not at all," said Orbia. "Just because I've become a Ghost doesn't mean I can see auras or… spiritual things?"

"He's a surprisingly easy-going child, but it's hard to tell what he's thinking when he's quiet, isn't it?" said Periveil.

As Periveil said, one would become able to read Vandalieu's emotions quickly after getting to know him to a certain extent. His expressionlessness never changed, but he wasn't a quiet person and often expressed his emotions through gestures.

However, it became impossible to read his inner thoughts once he stopped doing that.

"You still have a long way to go, don't you?" Tarea remarked.

"You don't understand Van's habits," said Basdia.

"You won't be able to serve as Vandalieu-sama's servants at this rate," said Eleanora.

The three of them, who could still read Vandalieu's inner thoughts in this situation, were wearing proud expressions.

Privel let out a noise of frustration.

"No, I'm not a servant," said Periveil, and then she turned to her daughter. "Privel, don't just stay quiet and feel bitter about it!"

"But I can't forgive them for having bigger chests than me!" Privel complained.

"Eh? That's what we were talking about?!" Orbia exclaimed in surprise.

"No, we didn't mean that it's a matter of having a bigger chest," said Basdia.

"I won't lose when it comes to the number of legs!" Privel shouted, not listening.

"There's no way we can win against Scylla who have eight legs, is there?!" Eleanora exclaimed.

"Could you please not wrap these around me?!" said Tarea, who had become entangled in the tentacles that Privel had been flailing around unconsciously.

"Serves you right. But the only ones who could compete with them are Arachne," Zadiris muttered as she gave a sidelong glance at her rival, her daughter and Eleanora, who were engaged in a pointless argument - or rather, were being one-sidedly covered by Privel's tentacles.

And then Zadiris sniffed the white rice as Vandalieu was doing.

"It is indeed a pleasant smell, but…" she murmured.

Southern rice, which was similar to Indica rice, had a slight smell to it when it was cooked with the rice alone. But the Sauron rice, which was similar to Japonica rice, certainly had a pleasant aroma to it.

But is it really enough to make him so happy… no, make him tremble with emotion? Zadiris wondered, but then she got the feeling that she knew the reason behind this.

"This is it, this is real rice!" exclaimed Kasim.

"Mmm, it's so nostalgic!" said Fester.

The two of them, having once cultivated this rice in their farming villages in the Sauron Duchy, were moved to tears. Zeno was silent, but that was because tears of emotion were wordlessly flowing down his cheeks.

"I see, so it is emotional attachment," Zadiris murmured in understanding as she took a mouthful of white rice with the chopsticks that she had recently become completely accustomed to using. "… Mmm, well, it is delicious."

But not delicious enough for her to continue eating it on its own like Vandalieu, Kasim, Fester and Zeno.

As Vandalieu munched on the Sauron rice, a flavor different from that of southern rice spread through his mouth. Compared to the white rice of Earth, it was a little inferior… perhaps.

"The truth is, I don't really remember it," said Vandalieu. "It's already been about thirty years since I ate Japonica rice."

His uncle on Earth hadn't gone as far as to say that white rice was a luxury, so he had been eating white rice like an ordinary person.

However, in the military nation in Origin that had the research laboratory, where Vandalieu had spent his second life, the culture was similar to the European culture of Earth. It wasn't that they didn't have rice, but there had been no need to go out of their way to provide rice for Vandalieu, an experimental animal. Vandalieu got the feeling that when he had been given food that was properly food-like, it had been mostly bread, with a few occasions where he had been given pasta.

He had indirectly wished for rice, but this wish had never been granted, as the researchers had believed that negative feelings would have a good effect on the death-attribute magic. The food after that had been block-shaped nutritional supplements, and, in the end, either liquid food made to be deliberately unpleasant or intravenously-administered food.

And as a matter of fact, even when he had lived as Amamiya Hiroto on Earth, Vandalieu's staple food in the mornings had been bread. Since there wasn't an enjoyable dining table to be at for him, he had preferred bread that could be finished quickly.

Even so, Vandalieu thought that the rice of Earth had tasted better, but that was probably a matter of how it was cooked. The performance of Japanese rice cookers had been too outstanding.

"That's why I can't compare them, but I think it's delicious," Vandalieu said. His physical body craved rice, so he had used Out-of-body Experience to have his spirit form slip out and thank Privel.

"Hearing you say that makes me happy," Privel said with a smile.

Now that he thought about it, obtaining this Sauron rice had been the reason for Vandalieu's visit to the Scylla.

… The other objective of establishing allies on the outside hadn't been entirely fulfilled, however, as the Scylla race had migrated here.

But Vandalieu decided to be satisfied with having made connections with the Sauron Liberation Front led by Iris.

"Privel-san, Periveil-san, all of you Scylla, really, thank you," said Darcia. "Vandalieu has always been saying that he wanted to eat rice, ever since he was a baby…"

"How splendid this is for you, Bocchan," said Sam. "This servant of yours remembers when you heard from Darcia-sama that there is rice in the Orbaume Kingdom, and you responded with, 'Seriously?!'"

"We remember it too. We couldn't talk like this back then, though!" said Rita.

"How wonderful," said Saria. "I prefer bread, but you really did say, 'Seriously?!' How truly wonderful!"

"… Mom, everyone, it's fine to be happy for me, but I think it would also be fine for you to forget a few more details," said Vandalieu.

It seemed that Darcia, Sam and the two sisters remembered the events from before Vandalieu stayed in the Ghoul village very well.

"To think that my lord has desired this rice for so long…" Bone Man murmured.

Knochen let out a confused groan.

It seemed that Bone Man, who had only contained the spirits of mice, and Knochen who had been a series of Bone Beasts back then, did not remember these events.

"Wow, so he says things like that as well?" Orbia said in surprise. "He always speaks in a polite tone that isn't childlike at all, so I've been wondering if he's been like that since he was a baby."

"His Majesty was a rascal once as well, wasn't he?" said Princess Levia.

"More importantly, I'm starting to get sick of eating just rice," said the Zombie hero, the Sword King Borkus, one of Talosheim's heroes.

"Me too. Can we cook some meat?" asked Vigaro, the young leader of the Ghouls who was also Basdia's father.

It seemed that the two of them wanted some side dishes.

"Then I suppose we'll go with curry and rice," said Vandalieu.

Thinking that it would be perfect since the rice was already on flat plates, the spirit form Vandalieu served up the rich-flavored curry that had been kept warm in a pot.

In the end, Kurt Legston, commandant of the small fort that served as a barrier adjacent to the Scylla territory, accepted Vandalieu's recruitment.

At first, he had intended to accept it, simply because he had been told that he would be turned into an Undead and dragged away if he didn't. But it seemed that learning that Thomas Palpapek had ties with the Vampires who worshipped Hihiryushukaka, the Evil God of Joyful Life, had changed his mind.

"I'm sure the marshal thinks that it's for the sake of the nation, but even so, there are lines that must not be crossed… Well, what I will do from now on is likely something that crosses the line from the marshal's perspective," Kurt had said as he swore loyalty to Vandalieu in exchange for a guarantee that the lives of his subordinates would be spared.

After that, he had explained things to the hundred or so subordinates and handed control over the fort to Vandalieu. Most of these subordinates were those who had been demoted in the previous war.

That was why when Vandalieu asked them whether they would prefer to be released after having their memories erased or to join Kurt in following him, over ninety percent of them had chosen the latter option.

Of course, there had been no small number who had only agreed because they were terrified of having their minds being altered after seeing Mardock and his men, who were now in vegetative states, rather than being drawn to Kurt's steady character and the conditions promised to them by Vandalieu.

After that, Vandalieu had brainwashed the few soldiers who had still refused and then began the task of helping the Scylla move.

"So, everyone, that's how it is, so let's move to Van-kun's country!" Orbia had told the Scylla, and the Scylla were welcomed into the marshlands to the south of Talosheim, where the Lizardmen lived.

Thanks to the Divine Messages sent by Merrebeveil, who was worshipped by all Scylla, and the fact that Vandalieu had resolved the Scylla serial-killing case, Vandalieu had already gained the trust of the entire Scylla race.

And the 'Tentacle King' Title that he had gained made the Scylla view him more favorably, so the discussions had proceeded in a smooth fashion.

And Vandalieu had tested the Insect Binding Technique skill to find that he was indeed able to equip Scylla, so he had used that ability to bring the chief of each Scylla village to the marshlands that they were moving to in order to present it to them. The Scylla had already been searching for a place to migrate to in order to escape from the Amid Empire's occupation of the Sauron Duchy, so they had approved of settling in these great marshlands.

All that was left to do after that was Vandalieu shuttling all of the Scylla across.

Of course, it would have troubled the Scylla race to have them move with nothing but the clothes on their backs, and there were also their husbands and sons whom Vandalieu couldn't equip, so he had Knochen, Sam and the newest addition to his subordinates, Miles and the Vampires who worked under him, to make numerous trips back and forth to carry the luggage across.

As for the route they took, the territory of the Hurricane Dragon that Vandalieu and his companions had defeated on the way to the Sauron Duchy was open. Since Knochen contained the bones of that Hurricane Dragon, monsters inferior to it wouldn't dare approach.

"Now that we've crossed the Boundary Mountain Range so many times, there isn't much to it, is there!" said Miles.

"Hahaha, indeed!" Sam laughed. "I have already surpassed Bocchan in the number of times I have crossed the Boundary Mountain Range!"

Knochen let out a satisfied groan.

Vandalieu had been wondering whether he should suppress his unpleasant feelings and turn Gubamon into an Undead in order to have him use space-attribute magic to move all the luggage across, but seeing how much Sam and Miles were enjoying the physical labor, he decided not to worry about it.

Also, Talosheim would now secretly support the Sauron Liberation Front led by Iris.

This was so that the Empire's army wouldn't gather strength now that the Reborn Sauron Duchy Army led by Raymond and Rick had collapsed.

The one who had mainly been in charge of the negotiations with Iris was Bellmond, whose poor ability to interact with others was now clear, but it seemed that Iris had been a very accepting person.

"It seems that she'd stopped being a follower of Alda after she became a criminal, so she happily agreed to a religious conversion. But it seemed that she won't yield on the release of her father," said Vandalieu.

The corpse of Iris's father, Lord Bearheart, had been retrieved by Gubamon's subordinates after he fell in battle during the war with the Amid Empire. And since he had been turned into an Undead, Vandalieu had recovered him.

"Well, I don't mind that," said Vandalieu. "But I don't know about sending him back to Rodcorte, so I suppose I'll destroy him, take out his spirit and leave it in her custody in a state where she can see him."

Vandalieu had no emotional attachment to Iris's father, so he didn't really feel any loss in releasing him.

It was up to Iris as to whether she would use the item containing her father's spirit or destroy it and pour holy water over it to purify it.

And so, Talosheim began assisting the Sauron Liberation Front with food and goods. Iris and her men would fight the Amid Empire as believers of Vida and the gods on her side, and as members of the resistance.

… Even if it was questionable as to whether they could win against the Empire, now that they had received Blood Potions and arms made of the Demon King's fragments, and were able to use the old Scylla territory as a base, they would not be annihilated unless something extraordinary happened.

Incidentally, Haj and the other fake resistance members had been taken to Talosheim and would be sent to support the Sauron Liberation Front after they were trained.

Once the Scylla race's immigration and other things had progressed to some extent, Kurt and his men left the small fort as well. Vandalieu had the Undead members of the extermination force and Knochen's Skeletons cause some damage to the fort, left Mardock and a few other corpses around and then had the Undead continue moving around as a pack. Anyone would assume that the fort had fallen to stray Undead.

The soldiers who'd had their memories erased would be the few survivors.

"But I am sure some of the higher-ups would notice," said Kurt, who constantly spoke in the tone of a retainer. "The marshal would certainly suspect that you are involved, Your Majesty."

"That will not be a problem," said Chezare. "Even if they notice and suspect this, we will have already returned to the southern region of the continent. Let us make the marshal, who is working tirelessly to reorganize the army, groan in frustration."

It seemed that the brothers had agreed to treat each other in the same way as they had done before.

The most troublesome thing for Vandalieu came after this.

The moving of the Scylla race didn't end at simply releasing them into the marshlands. They needed places to live, fields to grow their rice and facilities to raise the ducks and Huge Capybaras that were their livestock.

But there were some carpenters among the Scylla and their husbands, so Vandalieu simply needed to turn wood and other materials into Golems and move them as they instructed, assembling them into the shapes of houses.

"Your Majesty-san, is there anyone else who can do this? If there are, we'd have no choice but to close down our businesses," said one of the workers.

"No, I'm the only one who can do this," said Vandalieu. "And I can't always be busy building things, so please work hard and don't close down your businesses."

All of the workers felt a deep sense of relief at Vandalieu's words.

And then Vandalieu used Golem Transmutation again to turn the marshlands into water-filled fields. The climate and daylight hours were slightly different to the original Scylla territory, but the land was good, so it was possible to harvest crops here, even if they would taste a little different.

And learning from the poor example set by the relationship between the Sauron Duchy and the Scylla territory, it was decided that no race would be limited to certain areas. It was only natural that there were many Lizardmen and Scylla in the marshlands, but Vandalieu had decided to add Ghouls and Undead to these lands as well.

The reverse was also arranged; Lizardmen and Scylla chose representatives who would take turns to spend time living in Talosheim.

This was to have them remain involved in political, military and commercial matters through personal interaction. And, most importantly, to give everyone a sense that they belonged to this nation.

Vandalieu very much disliked the idea of the races separating in the future, starting independence movements that would divide the nation. This was especially true because Vandalieu would still be alive in that future, since he was a Dark Elf Dhampir with a long lifespan.

The Scylla race's family register still needed to be created and they needed to be taught things like how to pay income taxes, but these things were all settled around three months after the Scylla moved in, allowing for things like the rice-tasting meeting.

Things had settled down with the Scylla race's migration to Talosheim, but nothing had settled down anywhere else in Bahn Gaia continent.

First of all, the Sauron Duchy remained very stable even as spring approached.

Raymond and Rick Paris had been leading the Reborn Sauron Liberation Army, one of the two beacons of hope for the people who were unhappy with the Amid Empire's rule, but they were now dead.

There were still small-scale groups of their members scattered around the duchy, but there was nobody who was in any position to unify them and take command. They couldn't function as an organization anymore.

But these groups had been saved by the Sauron Liberation Front that still remained. Its leader, the Liberating Princess Knight, was gathering the members of the Reborn Sauron Duchy Army who had been isolated all over the duchy.

In addition to their great numbers, they also had the support of a mysterious benefactor who was providing them with materials.

But the loss of Raymond, who was the illegitimate son of Duke Sauron, had a large effect on the entire resistance movement; many worried about how things would be coordinated with the Orbaume Kingdom.

And things were going smoothly for the Empire's army after two important figures of the resistance had been killed - or at least, they made the duchy's people and the Orbaume Kingdom believe that this was the case.

An extermination force of elite individuals and a small fort adjacent to the Scylla territory had been annihilated, and now an Undead clean-up operation needed to be conducted. This was quite painful for the Empire's army.

But the most painful thing of all was that the Scylla race had vanished from their territory. There had been plans to slowly strangle them, incite them to rebel and then exterminate them one day, but according to the plans of Marshukzarl, Emperor of the Amid Empire, that would have been conducted over a hundred years from now.

The taxes that the Scylla would have paid during that time, as well as the benefits of the things they produced, had disappeared.

The plans of pretending to be friendly towards the Scylla race in order to acquire their technology and agricultural knowledge had vanished as well.

And the now-empty Scylla territory was a heavy burden on the Empire's army. Most of it consisted of empty mountains and marshlands, but there was also a Devil's Nest filled with monsters as well as a Dungeon. If they left it alone, the monsters would multiply and it was possible that the Devil's Nest would expand rapidly.

Since the large number of mysterious Undead had appeared and destroyed the fort, a budget needed to be set aside to manage this.

The higher-ups of the Amid Empire and Mirg shield-nation that had dispatched their armies to occupy the Sauron Duchy were groaning in frustration.

Emperor Marshukzarl had gathered all kinds of information, and the Mirg shield-nation's marshal, Thomas Malpapek, had received information through yet another different Vampire who acted as a mediator between him and the Vampires. Both of them were certain that Vandalieu was behind this series of events.

And in different places and at different times, both of them uttered the same words.

"Just how long is he planning to keep crawling around…!"

And a small commotion had been caused in the Orbaume Kingdom in the eastern region of the continent. The other dukes and military men who had connections to Raymond had lost their ally.

Those collaborating with Raymond were those who had been unable to make connections with the legitimate sons of Duke Sauron that had fled the Sauron Duchy, so even if things went well and the Sauron Duchy was taken back, they wouldn't be given any significant benefits.

This was why they had intended to make Raymond the new duke, even though he had given up his right to succeed the family despite possessing the duke's blood. To thank them, Raymond would have used his connections to give them many benefits.

That possibility had vanished, but it was far too late to make connections with Duke Sauron's true sons now, which was why they were flustered.

It was possible that the civilians of the continent who knew nothing had benefited from this series of events as well as the Scylla race.

Gubamon had been defeated and the number of his subordinates had dropped sharply, so there were far fewer fearsome monsters to be afraid of now.

"Come to think of it, when are we going to the Noble Orc empire?" Darcia asked.

"I suppose after this year's crop-planting is finished and the growth of the rice settles down," said Vandalieu, having been reminded of the Noble Orc empire's existence by this question. "I want to make adjustments to Zandia and Jeena in the meantime, too."

Vandalieu had stationed Lemures and surveillance Golems at the southern tip of the marshlands, but there hadn't been any visible movements.

Postponing the plan to visit the empire probably wouldn't cause any problems.

"Yes, yes, you want a meatball?" said Vandalieu.

He fed a specially-made meatball to the squealing larva resting on his head, the queen of the Cemetery Bees that had hatched not long ago. It looked difficult to digest at first glance, but the worker bees had mixed their saliva in and even the bones had been crushed into it, so it was actually very easy to digest.

As Vandalieu fed this meatball preserved with the Preservation spell to the white larva with a round abdomen, he suddenly remembered something. "Come to think of it, Mom, regarding Homunculi, Merrebeveil said that she could help if it was with making tentacles."

"Umm, what about the non-tentacle parts?" Darcia asked. "I don't mind having tentacles like the Scylla, but being made only of tentacles would be…"

"That's what I thought," said Vandalieu.

There would be a big difference between "a mother with tentacles" and "a mother made of tentacles."

Darcia's values had changed due to various external influences, but it seemed that she didn't want to become a creature consisting only of tentacles. That was true even if the scales of Fidirg, the Dragon God of Five Sins, was added to it.

"Ah, also, I'm planning to change Jobs to Zombie Maker after this," Vandalieu added.

With this, he would be able to make progress with making adjustments to the Undead heroes he had taken from Gubamon.

Name: Vandalieu

Race: Dhampir (Dark Elf)

Age: 8 years old

Title:[Ghoul King],[Eclipse King],[Second Coming of the Demon King],[Guardian of the Cultivation Villages],[Holy Son of Vida],[Monstrosity],[Scaled King][Tentacle King]

Job: Zombie Maker

Level: 0

Job history: Death-Attribute Mage, Golem Transmuter, Undead Tamer, Soul Breaker, Venom Fist User, Insect User, Tree Caster, Demon Guider, Archenemy

Attributes:

Vitality: 2066

Mana: 1,071,505,533 (+321,451,659)

Strength: 943

Agility: 698

Stamina: 1003

Intelligence: 1,919

Passive skills:

Superhuman Strength: Level 5

Rapid Healing: Level 9 (LEVEL UP!)

Death-Attribute Magic: Level 10 (LEVEL UP!)

Status Effect Resistance: Level 8 (LEVEL UP!)

Magic Resistance: Level 6 (LEVEL UP!)

Dark Vision

Demon Path Enticement: Level 2 (LEVEL UP!)

Chant Revocation: Level 6

Guidance: Demon Path: Level 4 (LEVEL UP!)

Automatic Mana Recovery: Level 6

Strengthen Subordinates: Level 7 (LEVEL UP!)

Venom Secretion (Claws, Fangs, Tongue): Level 5

Enhanced Agility: Level 3

Body Expansion (Tongue): Level 5

Strengthened Attack Power while Unarmed: Large (LEVEL UP!)

Enhanced Physical Ability (Hair, Claws, Tongue, Fangs): Level 4

Thread Refining: Level 3

Mana Enlargement: Level 3 (LEVEL UP!)

Active skills:

Bloodwork: Level 3

Surpass Limits: Level 7

Golem Transmutation: Level 8

No-Attribute Magic: Level 8 (LEVEL UP!)

Mana Control: Level 7 (LEVEL UP!)

Spirit Form: Level 8 (LEVEL UP!)

Carpentry: Level 6

Engineering: Level 4

Cooking: Level 5

Alchemy: Level 6

Unarmed Fighting Technique: Level 6

Soul Break: Level 8

Multi-Cast: Level 6 (LEVEL UP!)

Long-distance Control: Level 7

Surgery: Level 5

Parallel Thought Processing: Level 6 (LEVEL UP!)

Materialization: Level 4

Coordination: Level 4

High-speed Thought Processing: Level 5 (LEVEL UP!)

Commanding: Level 4

Plant Binding Technique: Level 5 (LEVEL UP!)

Thread-reeling: Level 5

Throwing: Level 5

Scream: Level 4

Dead Spirit Magic: Level 5 (LEVEL UP!)

Insect Binding Technique: Level 5 (LEVEL UP!)

Blacksmithing: Level 1

Artillery Technique: Level 4 (LEVEL UP!)

Unique skills:

God Slayer: Level 6

Grotesque Mind: Level 6

Mental Encroachment: Level 5

Labyrinth Construction: Level 6

Demon King Fusion: Level 4 (LEVEL UP!)

Abyss: Level 3 (LEVEL UP!)

Hostility

Demon King fragments:

Blood

Horns

Suckers

Ink Sacs

Carapace

Curses

Experience gained in previous life not carried over

Cannot learn existing jobs

Unable to gain experience independently

Job explanation:

[Archenemy]

A Job that can be acquired by a death-attribute mage who has been cursed by a god or has been recognized as an enemy by multiple powerful beings and organizations while he has also recognized them as enemies.

This Job grants the Hostility skill that increases damage dealt against all enemies. It provides great increases to the Vitality and Strength Attribute Values, while making it difficult to increase the Mana and Intelligence Attribute Values.

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Side Story Chapter 12: The gods watching from afar, and others

There is an expression, "eyeballs will fly out of their sockets*," that expresses surprise. The surprise that Alda felt was equivalent to this expression.

"There is no mistake with this, Curatos?" he asked.

"There is no mistake," said Alda's loyal subordinate god, Curatos, the God of Records.

"The simultaneous activation of multiple fragments of the Demon King… the blood sealed away by Nineroad, the horns that were in the possession of the Pure-breed Vampires and the ink that had gone missing…" Alda murmured.

"He has likely now acquired the carapace that Gubamon was in possession of," Curatos added. "I could not confirm this through Iris Bearheart's eyes, but he may already be in possession of other fragments as well."

The sealing of the Demon King's fragments had been conducted by Alda, Vida and the three surviving champions, one of whom was Nineroad. The locations of many of the fragments that Vida had been responsible for sealing were now unknown.

Alda and his followers suspected that Merrebeveil, the Evil God of Slime and Tentacles, had sealed some fragments, but they had never acquired any positive proof of this.

But the problem was not the locations of the fragments. It was the fact that there were at least four fragments inside the body of a single person with their seals removed. Under normal circumstances, that person should have lost their sanity and gone on a rampage long ago.

If they were anyone other than the Demon King.

"This 'Monstrosity' could potentially be the true second coming of the Demon King," said Alda.

These words sent a wave of unrest through the gods and Familiar Spirits present here, as if shaking the entire Divine Realm.

"That's impossible; the Demon King's soul was divided and its pieces were sealed by powerful gods! My lord, some of them should be with you!" shouted a heroic spirit whose name had echoed through the lands when he was still alive.

His voice almost sounded like a scream of terror. But his reaction was one of the better ones; there was no small number of Familiar Spirits who couldn't even speak.

That was how much the Demon King Guduranis was feared. Those present here were those without physical bodies who had ascended beyond mortal life, but because of this, it was easy for them to understand what having their souls broken would mean, deepening their fear.

"Precisely. Even now, some of the Demon King Guduranis's soul fragments are in my possession," Alda replied reassuringly.

An air of relief spread among those who had gathered in this Divine Realm. However, Alda suspected that the fragments of the Demon King's souls that he did not possess were, in fact, contained within that Monstrosity.

"So, Curatos, what of that Monstrosity?" Alda asked.

"Unfortunately, my lord, Iris Bearheart has stopped believing completely, so we are currently unable to determine his location," said Curatos. "As for Mikhail's soul that had been trapped…"

"I see."

Iris Bearheart had been a devout believer despite being young, but since she had renounced her faith in Alda, their mental connection had become weak. And just when she had sent Alda a strong prayer, this was how things had ended up.

"Could Heinz and his companions oppose this Monstrosity?" Curatos asked quietly.

"That is still currently impossible," Alda replied.

Heinz's party would likely deal Vandalieu a serious wound and even defeat some of the Undead, insects, plants and Vampires that were his subordinates. But defeating him in the end would be difficult. Alda saw things this way.

Heinz had finally acquired the Guider Job, very recently. The uneasiness from the fact that he was not the one who had truly defeated the Pure-breed Vampire Ternecia had obstructed his growth.

But since he possessed the Guider Job, he would develop significantly in the future.

"It will be possible one day," said Alda.

Just like Bellwood, who had withstood the Demon King army's onslaught with many sacrifices, but defeated Guduranis in the end.

Shimada Izumi and Machida Aran had been reincarnated in the foreign world of Origin and then killed by Murakami, another person who had been reincarnated in the same world, putting an end to their second lives.

The two of them chose to become Familiar Spirits of Rodcorte, the god of reincarnation, instead of being reincarnated to live their third lives in Lambda. Now, they existed within Rodcorte's Divine Realm.

They had divine-looking appearances; there were shining, golden rings floating above their heads, and pure-white wings extended from their backs.

"We're seriously just support staff. Being an angel is lame," Aran whispered in a serious tone.

He was gazing at a PC monitor with half-closed eyes; he simply looked like a salaryman cosplaying as an angel. No matter how high the quality of that cosplay was.

Izumi, who was wearing a suit, sighed as she spoke to him. "That's what he told us, isn't it?"

"That's true, but I didn't think it would be this bad," said Aran. "Don't you think it's a bit too much? In various ways."

"That's just how life is," said Izumi, dismissing Aran's complaints.

She didn't have an angel's halo or wings. Her appearance was exactly the same as it had been when she was alive in Origin.

The reason there was such a difference between Izumi and Aran's appearances was simply because of the difference in the images that they had.

Familiar Spirits were beings that consisted only of a mind; their appearances changed depending on their own wills and the images that others had of them when looking at them.

Aran's appearance drew strongly from his image of a western-style angel, while Izumi had maintained her own appearance from her life in Origin.

If they were acknowledged by people, their appearances would be further influenced by this; they could become things like komainu* or foxes depending on the religions and legends involving them.

But as Rodcorte wasn't acknowledged by anyone other than those he had reincarnated and the gods of the various words, Izumi and Aran were unlikely to be influenced by the people.

"By becoming Familiar Spirits, you were released from your physical bodies and ascended to beings of the mind," said Rodcorte. "The fact that you do not possess a physical body is the same as when you were merely spirits, but your essence is now different. Your current, unstable state will likely continue for some time. Make sure you remain close together until you stabilize."

Izumi and Aran obeyed the orders of their new master, taking turns to gather information about the worlds through the eyes of the people in Lambda and Origin while supporting the circle of transmigration systems.

However, the tool for performing this task was the PC in front of Aran. Of course, there was no way that there would really be a PC there.

The truth was simply that Izumi and Aran's powers as Familiar Spirits drew their forms from the images in their minds.

"If you don't like it, you could just make it a crystal ball or a magic book," said Izumi.

They were able to change their powers to take any shape. However, there was no guarantee that changing their shapes would allow them to perform the same tasks.

"Shimada-san, you're only saying that because you know it's impossible, right?" said Aran.

"I'm saying it because you've been making the same complaint over and over," said Izumi.

The images in their heads were not easy to change. When they tried to think of tools that were easy to use, they always came to PCs, tablets and mobile phones.

If they were only interested in the appearance of their powers, they could change them into crystal balls, stone slabs or even abacuses. But there was no avoiding the fact that they would find their work more difficult trying to use these.

This wasn't a problem of their dispositions or anything of the sort; this was something that almost always happened when people who had previously lived in technologically-developed civilizations ascended to become Familiar Spirits.

"Though I don't think there's a need to devote yourself to being mystical just because you've become an angel," Izumi added.

Unlike Aran, who repeatedly made the same complaints, she didn't seem dissatisfied at the fact that she wasn't very angel-like.

"It's fine to be the same as we have been up until now, isn't it?" Izumi continued. "In fact, I think it's easier than being told to use crystal balls to do the same work that we'd be able to do with PCs."

"That's true, but you know~…"

For Aran, becoming a Familiar Spirit had been such a small change that he only had these subjective complaints to make.

He hadn't lost any ability to feel emotions, nor had his memories from when he was a human faded. The only thing that had changed was his perception of time.

Of course, he no longer felt any physical fatigue now that he didn't have a physical body, but he did feel mental fatigue.

And most surprisingly, he was still able to eat and drink after becoming a Familiar Spirit.

"Well, I suppose I'll get used to it eventually," Aran said before taking a sip of his instant coffee.

The coffee was the same brand that he had consumed frequently in Origin.

Of course, the instant coffee from Origin hadn't been brought into the Divine Realm. Aran had reproduced it from his own memories.

Gods of legends from all times and places often held feasts; this was how the food and drink was served at such feasts.

"Hmm, Shimada-san, could you give me a coffee?" Aran asked. "The drip-brewed one."

The foods and drinks that gods could produce depended on their nature and divinity. New Familiar Spirits like Aran and Izumi could only produce things that they had been very familiar with when they were humans.

"Later," said Izumi. "You should have drunk something other than instant and canned coffee."

"… I have no response to that," said Aran.

The two of them were having this kind of meaningless conversation, but their hands were working. They were checking whether there were any problems with the circle of transmigration systems and fixing small errors.

In between doing this work, they were also gathering information on Murakami, Tsuchiya and the Eighth Guidance, the ones that they had been unable to find while they were still alive in Origin, as well as information on Vandalieu and his companions in Lambda.

They had thought that they would be monitored by their new master Rodcorte while they did this, but that wasn't the case. There were certain tasks that needed to be done, but it seemed that Rodcorte had no interest in saying anything about anything else they did as long as they did their work.

Well, it might just be because there would be no point in monitoring us, though, Izumi thought.

There was so little that the two of them could actually do. Even though they had once been reincarnated individuals, they were unable to send messages to the people of Origin and Lambda.

Of course, interfering directly was impossible as well.

They could see and listen to a great amount of information through the eyes and ears of the people belonging to Rodcorte's circle of transmigration systems, but that was it.

Of course, they couldn't manipulate the systems and arbitrarily decide where people would be reincarnated, either.

In the current situation, even their cheat-like abilities, Calculation and Inspection, were not of much use.

"What do you think of Murakami and the Eighth Guidance's movements?" Aran asked.

"It seems that Pluto is planning some kind of large-scale suicide," said Izumi. "As for Murakami, it seems that he killed us with motives that are even easier to understand than I'd thought."

"I see~ well, there's no other choice but to let things happen as they will."

Izumi and Aran felt anger towards Murakami and the others responsible for killing them, sympathy towards Pluto and her companions, and regret that they hadn't done what needed to be done when "protecting" Pluto and her companions from the research laboratories in the beginning. But these emotions wouldn't reach anyone now.

The only thing they could do was gather enough information to persuade them once they arrived in this Divine Realm.

"So, what about Lambda?" Izumi asked.

Aran put both of his hands on his head. "I give up," he said. "Vandalieu-kun is too good at leading people. They quickly get pulled into Vida's circle of transmigration system, so the footage just cuts off."

Like their master Rodcorte, Aran and Izumi could only gain information through the eyes of those belonging to Rodcorte's circle of transmigration systems. They couldn't gain information from the Scylla, who were a race created by Vida.

However, Vandalieu had exchanged words with several people in the former Sauron Duchy, including the Scylla's husbands.

But Vandalieu kept unconsciously guiding them to Vida's circle of transmigration system, so it was impossible to gather information continuously.

Even so, they had managed to learn of the events of the battle with Gubamon thanks to Iris Bearheart and Rick Paris.

And through the memories of people who were investigating Vandalieu from afar, such as the Amid Empire's emperor, Marshukzarl and the Mirg shield-nation's marshal, Thomas Palpapek, they successfully gathered information despite the large time lag.

There wasn't much news in this, however.

"I think we should stop letting our guards down against him just because he doesn't have any cheat-like abilities," said Aran.

"He's actually more of a cheat than us," Izumi remarked.

Vandalieu possessed five fragments of the Demon King and over a billion Mana. And though he didn't possess an aptitude for other attributes of magic, he could use the fire, water and wind (lightning only) attribute spells through the Dead Spirit Magic skill, where he utilized dead spirits, unlike spiritual magic*.

Vandalieu's abilities were strange. Even in Origin, being able to erase small mountains with ease was impossible except for legendary monsters and heroes.

"He intends to have him clash with Amemiya and the others, isn't he… our master, I mean," said Izumi.

"… Depending on how their abilities are used, they have a chance," said Aran. "The predictions of my Calculation ability are saying that, but…"

In Origin, Aran had been able to believe in the results produced by the calculations of his ability.

In Origin, if the organizational power of the Bravers was used and each nation lent its assistance, there was a chance for victory, even if there was no way to avoid horrific losses that would make one want to cover their eyes.

But those reincarnated in Lambda wouldn't be able to bring the equipment and weapons that they used in Origin, and they wouldn't have the social positions or connections needed to gain the assistance of all of the nations.

Izumi and Aran thought that it would be a high-difficulty mission right from the beginning, but Rodcorte seemed to have no intention of giving up.

"Well, the most more problematic thing is the way he acts, or rather, the principles behind his actions," said Aran. "He treats Undead the same as people… or if you look at it the other way, he only sees living people as equals to Undead. We already knew that, but… that's why he killed Raymond and Rick of the resistance in that situation."

Aran viewed the way that Vandalieu had killed Raymond and Rick as problematic.

Even Aran felt anger at what Raymond and his men had done to the Scylla race "for the sake of the people." He didn't like it at all, and he was comfortable in declaring that it needed to be stopped.

But he thought that Vandalieu should have made use of the brothers without killing them. Instead of punishing them, he should have negotiated and established a cooperative relationship.

On Earth and in Origin, justice was not always carried out and not all evil was punished. This was especially true in politics. This was common knowledge.

And the Bravers in Origin had operated with this common knowledge in mind. They fought terrorists and captured criminals. But they didn't do things like cause chaotic civil wars in military dictatorships by killing their leaders, nor did they reveal the dark sides of large nations' secret services, causing difficulties for those nations to manage themselves.

The world, nations and the many people could not be protected through pretty words and wishful thinking alone. In Origin, this fact had ingrained itself deep into Izumi and Aran's minds.

But what Vandalieu had done in the former Sauron Duchy, though the scale of his actions was quite different, was the opposite of what the Bravers did.

He had formed a cooperative relationship with Iris Bearheart and the organization she led, but the resistance movement had been set back considerably by Raymond and Rick's deaths.

"Before, I said that he is rational or at least tries to be rational, but that was wrong. He's very emotion-driven," said Aran. "I don't think that in itself is a bad thing, and it makes me think favourably of him as a person, though."

"This makes me more and more uncertain as to whether he will be willing to talk things out with the Bravers," said Izumi. "By the way, where is our master?"

"… He's busy dealing with the system faults that occurred when the souls of Rick, Raymond and his men were broken," said Aran. "I don't think calling out to him will get any responses for a while."

Rodcorte's work had become a little easier, but he still needed to devote a lot of time to the system when souls were broken.

"It looks like he hasn't noticed the letters that arrived from the gods of Origin and Lambda, either," said Izumi.

The Amid Empire's S-class adventurer, the Thunderclap Schneider, clicked his tongue as he read the letter that had been delivered by a bird-type monster that had been specially-trained by a tamer. And then he quickly wrote a reply.

"Tch, I took the effort of going out in a boat and they still go and send me these troublesome letters," he muttered.

His party member Lissana was actually the reincarnated form of Jurizanapipe, the Evil God of Degeneration and Intoxication, who had betrayed the Demon King and joined Vida and the champion Zakkart. A few months ago, she had received a Divine Message from Ricklent, the genie of time and magic.

As a secret believer of Vida, Schneider had set out on a boat towards the Dark Continent, a continent consisting entirely of Devil's Nests, with his companions several days ago. They were obeying the Divine Message's instructions to visit the war-god Zantark, who was widely considered a fallen god who had fused with an evil god.

Indeed, it had only been a few days since they set sail. Despite Lissana having received Ricklent's Divine Message months ago.

But that couldn't be helped, either. Even if Schneider behaved in unheard-of ways, he was still the only S-class adventurer in the western region of the continent. There were several A-class adventurers that were said to be his equal, but not a single adventurer who surpassed him.

In other words, he was unexpectedly busy.

In particular, Schneider had continued refusing to associate with the Empire using his numerous achievements and military value. Thus, his official social status was no different from an ordinary civilian. This meant that anyone could request things from him as long as they had the money.

Thus, many requests fluttered into Schneider's inbox.

Even after Lissana had received the Divine Message, he had finished requests that he had already accepted and completed the requests that he was unable to turn down. Finally, a few months later, the year had changed and Schneider had finally been able to set sail.

"What was written in that letter?" asked Dalton, the Dark Elf with a mohawk, who probably wouldn't have felt uncomfortable to be called one of the sailors of this boat.

Schneider snorted. "It's a request from some duke somewhere to hunt down the resistance in the Sauron Duchy that they invaded years ago, and investigate the source of some Undead that destroyed a fort," he said. "I can't deal with this stuff! Are they trying to work this old man to death!"

"Yeah, it's true that you can't deal with that. On top of it being a pain, you'd be resented by the honest lot who support the resistance," Dalton agreed. "Whether you're an old man or not is another question, though."

Schneider was currently scribbling his reply of, "Save your sleep-talking nonsense for when you're asleep!" His true age was that of an old person in Lambda, or a little past middle-age on Earth.

However, he had maintained the youthful appearance of a man in his twenties. He had platinum-blonde hair that he insisted was white, toned skin and muscles that covered his entire body like a suit of armor.

Lissana, who was sunbathing on the deck while having perfumed oil applied to her by a Dragon about the size of a person, and the Dwarf woman Merdin, the one with the most common sense among the members of this party, were in agreement with Dalton.

"I wouldn't call anyone who goes for walks on top of the sea 'for health reasons' an old man," said Lissana.

"Yeah, you were running around like an idiot, too. You should have just kept running all the way to the Dark Continent," said Merdin.

Saying that it was good for his health, Schneider had been taking walks on the ocean every morning. To be more precise, he had been running around on the water's surface without using magic.

"Seriously, I don't know why they can do something like that…" the Dragon whispered, remembering how nightmarish it was. The sight of Schneider, Dalton and Zorcodrio, who was actually a Pure-breed Vampire known by his nickname Zod, running around on the ocean's surface.

If they were using magic, it would be nothing more than a skillful performance. Mages capable of using wind-attribute magic to create masses of air beneath their feet or water-attribute magic to harden the water surface beneath them weren't uncommon.

But even from the Dragon's point of view, these three were monsters to be able to do this with pure physical strength alone. He definitely didn't want to be kicked by those ridiculously powerful legs.

"What, even Merdin and Lissana can do that," said Schneider.

"We do it with magic and Magic Items!" Merdin exclaimed.

"Don't think that I'm the same as you. I'm in charge of the brain work," said Lissana.

"Brain work…?" the Dragon repeated.

Lissana shot him a glare that seemed like it could kill someone. "Do you have something you want to complain about, Luves?" she asked, showing the pink scales and long tongue that were proof that she was an evil god.

"It's nothing!" shrieked Luves… or rather, Luvesfol, the Raging Evil Dragon God.

Luvesfol, the one who had sealed Fidirg, the Dragon God of Five Sins, in the marshlands south of Talosheim, created a Scaled King as his priest and stolen the faith of the Lizardmen from Fidirg. He was wounded after having his Spirit Clone destroyed by Vandalieu, and he had been making his escape to the Dark Continent, thinking that he would be killed if he stayed where he was.

However, the domains of slumbering gods such as Vida had been in his way, and since he was injured, he had been unable to move as he wanted. It had taken him time to make his escape, and unfortunately for him, the day he had finally managed to leave the Bahn Gaia continent was the day that Schneider and his party set sail.

Normally, there wouldn't have been any problems. It was almost impossible to do anything to Luvesfol, who existed in a Divine Realm with a mortal body. In fact, it would be impossible to even notice Luvesfol's existence.

"You sheetty, useless Dragon!"

"I've found you at last!"

"I don't really know what's going on, but you're in the way!"

Indeed, there wouldn't have been any problems if there hadn't been the reincarnated form of an evil god, a Pure-breed Vampire who possessed strength equivalent to a god's despite merely being a member of one of the world's intellectual races, and a Dragon-slaying adventurer.

Having lived in the continent's southern region for about a hundred years, Luvesfol had been slow to notice the presence of these three. His Divine Realm was breached and attacks were laid into him one-sidedly, and after that, Dalton and Merdin joined in to beat him to a pulp.

Lissana had once been an evil god of the Demon King's army, and Zod had fought the Demon King's army alongside the champions under Vida's command. Of course, they knew of Luvesfol, who had betrayed them and joined the Demon King's army after the Dragon-emperor god Marduke had fallen.

And they knew about everything that he had done afterwards.

Now, Luvesfol had materialized as a small Dragon. Gods could gain a weak physical body in exchange for being unable to use most of their divine powers. This would normally be incredibly risky, but Luvesfol had been forced into this state.

It was a seal, in a way.

"Luves, your hands have stopped," said Lissana. "Haven't I taught you that you need to apply the oil evenly?"

"I-I know!"

"Make sure to massage me properly as well, okay? Ah, and I haven't forgotten that you used your breath against me in your aim to profit from the battle between Vida and Alda."

"Ugh, you remember everything?!"

"Please keep in mind that I also remember that your betrayal during the battle against the Demon King's army caused the frontlines to collapse, forcing us into a hellish battle to try and retreat," Zod added.

Luvesfol screamed in terror. For Lissana and Zod, he was someone who certainly deserved to be killed. And there was a single reason he hadn't been killed yet… since he had betrayed the dragon god and joined the Demon King's army, if he were to die, his soul would return to the Demon King's circle of transmigration system and he would be reincarnated one day.

As the Demon King's system currently had nobody managing it in addition to having always been unstable to begin with, there was no guarantee that even gods could be reincarnated with their memories and personalities intact unless they made preparations like Lissana had. There was a high chance that they would be reborn as a Goblin or Giant Frog with brand-new memories and personalities.

However, the chance that they could be reincarnated as something new with their memories, personalities and power miraculously intact was not zero.

So normally, they would have completely destroyed Luvesfol's body and sealed his soul away, just as Schneider had done to the Elder Dragons that he had exterminated in the past, but… they hadn't been able to prepare the soul-sealing ritual on their boat voyage, so Luvesfol was in this state as a small Dragon now.

"It's not like I don't feel sorry for you, but every time I do, I keep remembering another evil thing that you did, so I can't sympathize," said Lissana.

"You're right," said Dalton. "Should I give him a punch then?"

"Dalton, he's weaker than a Wyvern right now, so he'd die if you punched him," said Merdin.

Luvesfol was being tormented by Lissana and Zod, but Merdin and Dalton didn't feel any sympathy for him, either.

They were treating him like a criminal slave.

But it seemed that Luvesfol had some knowledge regarding the Dark Continent and Zantark's whereabouts, so he was still being treated better than normal criminal slaves.

The clues he could give were on the level of, "He might be somewhere over there," but it was far better than nothing.

And thanks to him, they had managed to gain some information regarding Vandalieu.

"The Demon King's fragments, huh? Will he be alright, using things like that?" Schneider wondered.

"Hmm, the truth is that Zod and I don't know any details about them," said Lissana. "And I don't have any memories of a hundred thousand years ago; I can only remember events that happened after I was reincarnated in this Elf body -"

"I was also sealed a hundred thousand years ago, and was slumbering until recently," Zod added.

Nobody would have suggested trying to use the Demon King's fragments in the period immediately following the Demon King's defeat. Thus, Zod and Lissana didn't know much about them. They only knew as much about them as Schneider and the other two.

"We've fought monsters whose fragments of the Demon King were on a rampage, and Elder Dragons who kept them to use as trump cards, but they were surprisingly manageable," said Schneider. "They become unable to use elemental magic, and their movements become sloppy… normally, at least."

This had been the case for the enemies in possession of the Demon King's fragments that Schneider and his companions had faced. The fragments themselves had posed no problems either; Schneider and his companions simply needed to place strict seals on them after defeating their owners.

"Th-that Dhampir used the Demon King's blood to make gun barrels and fired projectiles made of the Demon King's horns using the Telekinesis spell. It's true!" said Luvesfol.

Vandalieu had calmly used magic, even if it was no-attribute magic, with two of the Demon King's fragments active at once.

It was probably dangerous for Schneider and his party to work under their previous assumptions.

"Well, there's no use in worrying about it. If things get really bad, I'm sure Ricklent will say something else to Lissana. More importantly, we need to find Zantark," said Schneider, turning his thoughts towards the still-unseen Dark Continent that was somewhere across the ocean. "According to the legends, the Dark Continent has a fountain of youth."

"Not that you need that fountain," said Merdin.

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Side Story Chapter 13: Luciliano's report - Upper section

The 'Degenerate' Luciliano, a former Class adventurer, is currently a life-attribute mage who conducts research on Undead.

But now, he is not known for his past, but for being the personal apprentice of Vandalieu, the king of Talosheim who possesses numerous 'king' Titles.

This story is a reorganization of the reports, research documents, dissertations and diaries that Luciliano has left.

Of course, 'mage' is a Job, but mages are also creatures that study diligently through reading references, training and conducting research and experiments, and then recording and consolidating the results of their research. I, Luciliano, who was essentially excommunicated from the Mages' Guild that I was studying at, am no exception.

There are some adventurers and mercenaries who have acquired skills at level 1 or 2 in order to use simple spells that could produce drinking water and light fires, as well as beginner-level offensive spells to fight against monsters that are resistant to physical attacks. However, these are generally not considered to be mages.

They are merely those who can use magic. They are those whom those of the Mages' Guild would ridicule as "magic-users."

Being a mage myself, I believe the important thing is tools for writing. I have previously struggled in this area. Paper is generally expensive. But with that said, it isn't a precious metal, either. What I mean is that it is not affordable enough to freely use as much as I would like on a daily basis.

And relatively inexpensive paper also exists in addition to the high-grade paper that nobles and royalty use for their letters and notes and the paper that is used for documents that must be preserved over long periods of time.

I use this inexpensive paper, enduring its unpleasant texture and how difficult it is to write on. Cheap paper is truly a third-rate product. It is not pleasant to use, and it does not preserve well. And in the end, it is still not affordable enough for large quantities of it to be used.

It is also common to use dried tree bark and leaves as a replacement for paper. The copied request forms posted on the request boards of the Adventurers' Guild and such are mostly done with these. It seems that there were some Guild branches that used real paper for this in the past, but many uncivilized adventurers tend to tear the request forms off the boards. The large costs of reprinting these forms is what led to the use of a cheaper replacement today.

And while that cheaper replacement may work for writing memos, it cannot be preserved and thus is not suited for recording the methods and results of experiments, so I do not use it very often.

As an adventurer, the cost of paper was a headache-inducing problem.

Compared to that, the nation of Talosheim that Master rules over is like heaven.

That apparently wasn't the case before I came to the nation, but now, straw paper is mass-produced. Mass-production is a wonderful thing, is it not? Though its quality is not quite as good as high-grade paper, I am able to obtain paper that is more than good enough for writing on, for a cheap price.

Since Master has acknowledged my research as a national project, I can obtain this paper as part of my research expenses.

Last year, there was a Golem factory that created high-quality paper, and even printing press Golems. The literacy rate of the citizens is increasing. In the future, Talosheim's production and demand will likely rival or surpass those of other large cities.

With that said, I am not a researcher of paper. I am a mage who researches the Undead.

So first, I will describe the Golems that Master has created.

All of the Golems created by my master, Vandalieu, are Undead.

Normal Golems are created by Alchemists who grant life to human-shaped materials using methods such as life-attribute magic. However, the Golems created by Master consist of inorganic materials with spirits haunting them to cause them to move.

They are similar to Cursed weapons and Living Armors, which are Undead consisting of weapons or suits of armor that are haunted by evil spirits.

This is why Master's Golems are weak to anti-Undead light-attribute magic spells, but… there would be none who would see that they have such a weakness upon seeing them for the first time.

Nevertheless, they are a source of endless interest.

But it seems that Master does not hold much interest in them.

"Are Golems really that interesting?" he asked.

It is likely that he sees them as things that he can move like his own arms and legs rather than as things that ought to be researched.

"Of course," I replied. "If it is possible, I would like to interview the spirits that you use to move the Golems. Would you cooperate with this?"

Recently, Master's Golems have been evolving on their own; some of them have gained the Absorption skill to absorb external materials of the same kind that their bodies are made of in order to repair damage that causes their body volumes to decrease.

Though the fibrous Golems in the paper factory reduce their own bodies to produce paper, it seems that more materials can simply be poured onto the Golems to return them to normal.

This is extraordinarily convenient, but what the spirits responsible are thinking and what kind of states they are in are questions of immense interest.

I asked Master to cooperate with me so that I can interview them in order to answer these questions, but Master told me, "I don't think you should have too much hope in the results."

And unfortunately, just as Master said, there were almost no results to speak of.

It seems that the spirits that inhabit Golems are heavily influenced by the inorganic materials that make up their bodies; their personalities from while they were alive are lost or altered within a short period of time. Perhaps I should have expected this, as becoming a paper-making machine or a printing press would be unbearable if they still possessed consciousness as people.

In the end, I was able to conduct the interviews with Master acting as an interpreter, but I shall record that there weren't any meaningful answers.

Recently, Master has acquired the Zombie Maker Job. Someone who makes Zombies… how wonderful.

I am also capable of creating Zombies with life-attribute magic, but it is likely that this Job must be acquired by creating Zombies through death-attribute magic.

In fact, the Zombies created through the methods that I have used so far cannot even compare to the Zombies created by Master in terms of performance. The Zombies are not so different when they are first created, but there is a large difference between their future potentials.

Leaving that aside, Master, after acquiring this wonderful Job, sat in the corner of the room, holding his knees.

"Have you acquired an inconvenient skill, perhaps?" I asked.

Even in the past, there are records of people who have acquired previously-undiscovered Jobs, only to acquire undesirable skills. Even though one can select their Job, they cannot select the skills that they acquire.

Dangerous Jobs often have unusual names, so if such Jobs are avoided, fatal situations do not usually arise. However, it seems that almost all of the Jobs that Master can acquire are dangerous, so there is no way to avoid them.

As I thought, it seemed that there was indeed something inconveniencing him.

Master raised his face with a more sluggish movement than usual and spoke in a grave tone. "I didn't acquire a skill, but… if I let my guard down, I unconsciously turn corpses around me into Zombies," he said.

"Hoh! What a wonderful yet fearsome thing that is, Master!" I exclaimed.

A mage who inadvertently turns the corpses around him into Zombies. If such a person were to be present on a battlefield… No, Master has always been capable of such things.

"In other words, you can create Zombies without casting any spells, and the Mana expended to do so is small?" I asked.

It seems that this summarized the extent of the changes; Master gave a nod.

Automatically creating Zombies without casting spells has a large effect.

But why in the world would this ever be a problem?

"I have to wonder why you are feeling sad about this, Master. It is true that you would be troubled as to what to do with the Zombies that rise if you were planning to travel across old battlefields, but are we not currently in the royal castle of our own nation? There should not be many corpses around," I said.

There are many Undead in Talosheim, but there are no corpses that are not Undead. There is good public order and the nation has no problems with food, so there are far fewer unexpected deaths than other cities.

Even those with serious illnesses are quickly cured by Master, and Potions are provided to those who are severely wounded.

Thus, I believe there is nothing for Master to feel sad about.

"That's true, but food ingredients and tanned hides and furs turn into Zombies as well, so I have become unable to go near the kitchen and the workshop where Tarea and the others work until I can control it," Master said.

"… So those are considered corpses as well."

It is true that food ingredients and hides are parts of corpses.

Even if the food ingredients become Zombies, it is not as if they begin decomposing immediately. But while that is true, it would certainly be unpleasant to have the ingredients squirming during the cooking process.

And it would be dangerous if the materials used to create weapons and armor were to thrash around while they are being processed.

"If this Job doesn't help with making adjustments to Zandia and Jeena that I stole back from Gubamon, the point of me taking this Job was…" Master muttered.

"Well, will it not be useful in the future?" I suggested.

In situations where there is a sudden need to create a large Zombie army, for instance. I believe it is certainly possible for such situations to arise in Master's case.

The knowledge that I am able to acquire at Master's side is precious. Among that knowledge, the second most precious knowledge is that of foreign worlds.

"I don't know if this knowledge is correct in this world, though," Master said as a preface before speaking of other worlds' knowledge of living organisms.

To me, this knowledge was far more precious than gold or jewels. It seems that this was also useful for Master; by talking to a life-attribute mage who has dissected numerous corpses, he was able to confirm the differences between the other worlds and this one.

Of course, as the advanced examining equipment that Master speaks of does not exist, there are also many things that we cannot confirm.

"In summary, it seems that the overall body compositions of humans, Elves, Dwarves, Ghouls, Titans and Beast-people are not very different from that of the humans of 'Earth' and 'Origin,'" I concluded.

Things such as the ears, eyes, nerves and the presence of venom glands are different, but the skeletons, the number of organs and their locations in the body, and the arrangement of muscles is largely the same. It is likely that Dark Elves are mostly the same as well.

The body compositions of heterogeneous races such as Drakonids and Scylla have many differences, but the humans that were the first to be created in this world, as well as the Elf and Dwarf races that followed, have almost identical structures to the humans of other worlds. This fact is also very intriguing.

"The humans of worlds that have enormous differences, such as the absence of magic, are so similar to the people of this world. This cannot be a mere coincidence," I said. "Perhaps information, such as the model used for creating humans, transcends the barrier between worlds and is shared by the gods? Or is it simply that it is easy to create humans, or that the worlds themselves have qualities in common that make the human form effective for living in them?"

"You don't hesitate to say things that might be taken as the words of a heretic by some people, do you, Luciliano?" Master remarked. "But it's true that the humans are mostly the same. Even the upper halves of Scylla are similar to humans. It could just be the result of Rodcorte choosing us humans from Earth because our forms and biology are similar to those of the humans of Lambda, though."

"I see; there is that possibility as well," I said. "It is a reincarnation conducted by the will of a god, after all. And there is also the example set by the world that the Demon King and his army originally existed in. The written legends say that only hideous, evil, cursed creatures existed there. Have you tried asking a god regarding this topic?"

My Master is acquainted with a god. Two, in fact.

If he were to ask them directly, we would be able to acquire clues to solve this mystery, but -

"If we go to the deepest part of the Dungeon, he'll come out for us, but I'd feel bad making him come out too much," Master said. "Merrebeveil, on the other hand, doesn't really summon me. She might be the shy type."

"… It seems that things don't really go as we want them to," I said.

I was unable to tear off the veil of sacred mysteries in one bound, but the knowledge that master has shared regarding the correct function of the skeleton, the muscles and the organs is significant to me, both as a mage and as a researcher.

The most precious knowledge that I can acquire after having become Master's apprentice is the knowledge regarding Undead. Even the knowledge from other worlds is overshadowed by this.

I worked as an adventurer while conducting my research, so I considered myself more knowledgeable regarding live Undead than those who kept themselves holed up in the archives of the Mages' Guild. But the knowledge that I am able to gain by observing the Undead at Master's side is of a completely different quality.

The Undead that come into existence spontaneously in Devil's Nests, Dungeons and old battlefields are, with almost no exceptions, natural enemies to all living creatures. It is impossible to observe them safely. In fact, most observations are dangerously made while battling them.

In fact, there is no chance of conversing or interacting with them.

The exception would be the Undead that I and similar practitioners are able to create, but they are merely corpses with false life bestowed upon them through magic. Though they bear similarities to Undead, they are different. There is almost no point in observing them at all.

But in the nation of Talosheim ruled by Master, the Undead are leading lives as citizens in society.

There are some with somewhat abnormal speech and conduct, but most of them still possess intelligence and personalities similar to those that they possessed while alive.

This is truly a utopia for me.

"Wait!" Borkus said.

"Did we not agree that there would be no waiting? Do men take back their words?" I asked.

"Grr, men don't take back their words! Take it all!"

"Well then, I will do so without reserve."

It is not because I defeated the Sword King Borkus in a game of shogi with money at stake that I feel that this place is a utopia. That was just part of my observations.

Incidentally, gambling is only permitted in Talosheim at publicly managed facilities.

It seems that in the world of Earth where Master spent his first lifetime, gambling was controlled by those with a firm footing in the underworld, held in shady places that no respectable individuals should approach.

It is likely that there is a considerable amount of prejudice in this view. After all, from what I have heard from Master, the country of Japan that he lived in had far better public order than this world.

That was why Master felt negatively about the idea of shogi and Reversi matches being played at gambling dens with money at stake, but it seems that he changed his mind after Eleanora suggested the establishment of regulated, publicly-managed gambling dens and casinos.

And it appears that Master does not hate gambling, either… though it seems that rather than liking gambling itself, he likes putting on an air of being a rich person.

And so, gambling dens and casinos with set limits on the maximum stakes and rates were established.

"How about one more match?" I suggested as I formed a mountain with my chips.

But Borkus let out a frustrated groan and declined. "I'll pass. Even if I'm just using small change, Gopher will yell at me if I waste any more."

I felt admiration for Borkus as he mentioned the name of his only daughter, and as a researcher, I made a note to remember his words and actions.

According to the Mages' Guild's knowledge regarding the Undead, their heads are either as empty as those of beasts or filled with hatred for the living. There is also a chance that they possess the intelligence that they had while alive, but have lost their sanity.

It is possible to converse with Undead whose memories from while they were alive still remain, such as Ghosts. However, even their memories are simply "remaining" memories that fade with time, leading them to ultimately become the natural enemy of all living creatures like other Undead.

These are the ideas that are advocated.

However, the Undead of Talosheim are different.

Their intelligence, memories and personalities are preserved in a state similar to when they were alive. None of the important people at the Mages' Guild would have imagined this. Undead who enjoy board games, gamble and restrain themselves due to the warnings of their family members!

Before I became Master's apprentice, I wouldn't have believed it even if I saw it with my own eyes.

Of course, everyone knows that Undead are not particularly unintelligent compared to other monsters.

There are plenty of records of Undead knights who wielded their weapons as masterfully as they had while alive and Undead adventurer parties whose ability to act with sophisticated coordination was still preserved. One could even say that Undead capable of casting spells, such as Liches and Skull Mages, are more intelligent than some lowly hoodlums.

At the very least, they should possess higher intelligence than Goblins and Orcs who are only capable of swinging sticks of wood around.

However, the world believes that this is due to the "remains" of their previous lives.

But observing the Undead of Talosheim, including Borkus, would allow one to quickly learn that they possess high thinking capabilities.

But as a researcher and as a mage, I can declare that this perception and experience is harder to obtain than knowledge from other worlds.

"By the way, have you heard anything about that thing from the kid?" Borkus asked.

This question pulled me out of my faint emotional, delighted mood and brought me to my senses. What he was pointing at had nothing to do with Undead, but even I had my questions about it.

"Bunny girls," I muttered.

The female employees that carry drinks and light meals around, clean up shogi boards, billiards tables and dart boards, and make all kinds of preparations while wearing sensationally bizarre clothing. Master has named them "bunny girls."

Their shoulders and backs are exposed, and the shapes of their cleavage (if present) and hips are unconcealed. They wear tights that Master has made, so their skin isn't exposed, but they cling tightly to their bottoms and legs. Does this not actually make them more indecent?

And most bizarre things of all are the hairbands with decorations that look exactly like rabbit ears and decorations that look like rabbit tails, attached just above the bottom.

"I do not know the details, but it seems that female employees in casinos on Earth, the world where Master once lived, dressed in this way," I said.

"Are you serious? Earth is a world with only humans, right? It's not like they could have been obsessed with rabbit-type Beast-people," said Borkus.

"It seems that even Master does not know why they are rabbits, but… there are apparently some regions of Earth that consider rabbits to be a symbol of good fortune, so perhaps that has something to do with it?" I suggested. "Also, it is likely a form of service to the male customers."

"Huh, I see. Well, they're sexy so I don't hate it, but… what happens if we get workers who are Beast-people other than rabbit-type?" Borkus asked.

He was concerned that it would be unsightly for Beast-people of other races who already possess their own ears and tails to dress as bunny girls.

"Who knows? Perhaps they would simply become fox girls, wolf girls and panther girls," I suggested with a bitter smile.

I gave a rather vague answer since I was not particularly interested in this topic, but Borkus seemed to be satisfied with this explanation. A convinced expression appeared on the remaining half of his face.

"I see. It's true that we don't have to limit ourselves to bunnies like Earth," he said.

Not that I think that Earth limits itself to bunnies, either.

Incidentally, I spotted Master sitting at a table with a plate reading "VIP seat" soon after this, so I tried asking him about bunny girls once more, but the answer I received was the exact answer I had expected.

"I don't know the exact reason or how they originated, but it seems that casinos have bunny girls."

Somehow, my master's desires for worldly luxuries… or rather, what seem like worldly luxuries, is so strong that he has gone full circle and become unworldly.

I began questioning his sanity when I heard that he had once tried and failed to take a bath in a tub filled with gold nuggets.

Even now, he was stacking golden chips into a mountain on the table, surrounded by Zadiris, Basdia and Eleanora who were serving him in bunny girl suits.

"By the way, Master, did you win in your gambling?" I asked.

"… I was utterly beaten," Master replied, collapsing forward onto the table.

It seems that Master is not very good at board games and gambling.

"Do not ask questions to tease him. I am sure you can tell by looking that the chips in this pile are toys made of fool's gold," said Zadiris.

Incidentally, fool's gold is a metal known as false gold, and it produces sparks when two pieces are struck together, so they are sometimes used as flint sparks. That is how worthless the metal is. In other words, Master is just acting.

Furthermore, the plate that reads "VIP seat" is also something that Master created and placed on the table himself.

"Vandalieu-sama, I've been thinking this for a long time, but I think you should educate this insolent apprentice of yours," said Eleanora.

"Luciliano is my advisor as well as my apprentice, so it's perfect that he's a little insolent," Master said. Thankfully, it seemed that he did not intend to follow Eleanora's fearsome suggestion.

"Spare me. I would certainly not wish to end up like those former fake resistance people," I said.

The last time I saw them, Haj and the other fake resistance members had become berserkers who licked their weapons with maddened looks in their eyes. Their Jobs are apparently also Berserker, making them equivalent to D-class adventurers at least in attack power.

"I have to question that, too. They probably won't live long at this rate," said Basdia, whose spectacular chest, latissimus dorsi and feminine legs were barely concealed by her bunny girl suit.

It seemed that she thought this would be problematic as well.

Master contemplated for a short while before suddenly raising his face to speak. "Well then, let's supply them with dependable partners so that they can live long."

"Partners?" I repeated.

Did he intend to have them work in pairs? But then, what did he mean by "supply?"

"I will provide them with Living Armors that will act as their partners, not as their instructors," Master said.

"I see. That would give them high-performance armor as well, so it's killing two birds with one stone," said Basdia. "And even if the enemy were to try to steal them, they would just run away on their own unless they were actually defeated."

"How wonderful. As expected of you, Master," I said.

Could Haj and his companions continue taming Undead that have been separated from Master for a long period of time?

What happens to Undead that are separated from Master for a long period of time?

Interested in the results of this experiment, I, like Basdia, agreed with Master's suggestion.

There are certain skills that the Mages' Guild considers Undead to have none, or very little of. These are creative, artistic and imaginative abilities, and sensitivity to emotion.

This has been concluded from the testimonies of adventurers who have fought Undead for many years and examining the remains of mages who have become Undead, and it is a believable theory to some extent.

From deciphering the records of research left behind by mages who turned themselves into Undead while they were still alive for the purpose of this research, it is very clear that their creative and imaginative abilities degrade over time.

The works said to be created by artists who have become Undead are either extensions of works they created while they were alive or mere scribbles.

I took this knowledge for granted, but intriguingly, there are Undead in Talosheim who engage in this kind of creative work.

These include Datara and Nuaza, who are Undead Titans. This does not need to be explained in the case of Datara, who swings his hammer at the forge. But as for Nuaza, in addition to being the leader of the Church of Vida, he also carves stone statues of Master and of the gods.

The two fields that they are working in are different, but both are Undead who perform creative work.

I asked them questions regarding the above-mentioned theory, but I received an unexpected answer.

"That's probably not wrong," said Datara.

"I think it is correct as well," said Nuaza.

I had firmly believed that the two of them would reject the commonly-accepted theory, but surprisingly, they agreed with it.

"What in the world makes you feel this way?" I asked them. "In my eyes, it seems to me that the two of you are conducting work no differently from the living."

"You see, that's just because you're watching us work from the side. I'm just managing by listening to advice from Tarea-jouchan and the other newcomers."

According to the blacksmith Datara who creates arms using the new materials brought in by Master and the others, he is simply using techniques that he cultivated in the past; it seems that he does not need to use his brain very much.

"Unlike you, I don't have any education so I can't say anything for sure, but creative power is, you know, coming up with new ideas, right? I'm bad at that. When things don't go well with the way I've been doing things up until now, I have to consult others," he confessed.

Despite being a pale-faced, stubborn-looking old man, he is surprisingly flexible and listens to the suggestions of others.

Nuaza gave a large nod of agreement. "I do not use my head very much while carving statues, either. I am simply carving things as they appear to me."

"Indeed, the stone statues of Master have not had any glorifications added to them; they resemble him so closely that one would not notice he were there if he were to stand next to them," I said.

Master really does blend in with them from time to time. Particularly after he acquired the Demon King's ink sacs, he has been camouflaging himself by covering himself in stone-colored ink, so it is difficult to tell unless one approaches him.

… I wonder if it is really alright to use a fragment of the Demon King for such a prank. What would the Demon King think if he knew that a part of his own body was being used in this way? I suppose I will have to set aside such idle thoughts.

"But how do you carve statues of gods that you cannot directly see?" I asked.

Nuaza has even created statues of Fidirg, the Dragon God of Five Sins, and Merrebeveil, the Evil God of Slime and Tentacles who is now the heroic goddess of the Scylla. Unlike Master, he cannot directly see these gods to create statues of them.

He has carved statues of beings that he has never actually seen before. There is no mistake that this is a creative task.

"Oh no, the Holy Son has used the Golem Transmutation skill to create large models to show me what they looked like," Nuaza said.

"… I see."

"It appeared that I simply needed to carve the statues using these as a reference."

It seems that Master, who has met the gods directly, provided a model to work with.

"Well, until I died, I really was a hard-headed old man," said Datara. "My creative power might have faded more than the youngsters back then. But now, I feel like I'm young again."

"That is because you have many Ghouls like Tarea-san helping you in the female working team, isn't it? Ah, Luciliano-dono, I only began carving statues after becoming an Undead, so I do not think that my answers would be of much use to you," Nuaza added.

It seems that the commonly-accepted theory cannot be affirmed or refuted just by listening to the views of these two.

I must be diligent in gathering more testimonies.

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