Chapter 72 - 146-148

Chapter 146: Our nation will return to being an ordinary kingdom

With the defeat of Bugitas, who had become an incarnation of Ravovifard, the evil god of release, the army of Buzazeos and Gerazorg, who still had plenty of numbers remaining, were easily defeated as well.

The effect of Bugitas's False Guidance: Beast Path had disappeared, and the Noble Orcs under Buzazeos's command had lost the bonus to their Attribute Values. Since Gerazorg's god had been defeated, he had lost his Divine Protection and the ability to use the Familiar Spirit Descent Skill, and though his Rank, Skills and Level were still intact, he had become remarkably weaker.

Of course, False Guidance: Beast Path's side effects, the amplification of instincts and desires as well as the loss of the ability to think and reason, were also undone. But they would have been happier if the side effects had stayed.

"BUHIIIIIH?!"

"Ravovifard! Why have you abandoned us?!"

"It's hopeless, it's over, we're finiiiiished!"

The only reason they had been able to hold out against the allied army of the nations was because of the high morale maintained by False Guidance: Beast Path and the belief that Bugitas would be able to turn the battle around.

Now that those had vanished and the soldiers had regained the reasoning to understand how hopeless the battle was, the army's morale was shattered to pieces.

Abandoning command, Chief General Buzazeos had shouted, "I shall at least die a glorious death!" and then led several of his close aides in a suicide attack. He was defeated as a result of a fierce battle with Gorba, the leader of the Black Fang Knights' Order.

Gerazorg cried and fled, but the angry king of the Majin nation, Godwin, chased him down on his own and captured him alive.

There were some on Bugitas's side inside the city in addition to Buzazeos's army, but they were merely guards; they weren't powerful or many in number, so they were exterminated by the people on Budarion���s side once it was known that Budarion had defeated Bugitas.

Some had surrendered, but it seemed that whether their surrenders were accepted or not depended on their previous actions.

Of course, there were some who'd had no choice but to obey Bugitas, but the majority of them had joined up with Budarion's side the moment Bugitas was defeated.

Since these events took place very quickly, Vandalieu didn't really have anything to do. He had made sure that the buildings and evacuated people were not affected by the shockwaves from the battle against Ravovifard's incarnation in Bugitas's body, so all he had to do was fix the ground, which had broken stone paving and holes all over it.

After that, he accompanied Budarion as he held up the barely-recognizable head of Bugitas and his broken scythe, pressing those loyal to Budarion to take action and meeting up with the allied nations' army.

Vandalieu was riding on Budarion's shoulders for most of the time, so it was very easy.

After that, he went outside the gate to gather the remains of Budirud and the rest of the Undead army to use as food. However, flavoring and eating the meat in the Noble Orc empire would have been a bad idea, so it was decided that the feast held with the meat of Bugitas and the rest of the Noble Orcs would take place on a later date.

But Vandalieu did deal with the Noble Orcs' souls.

"In light of your achievements in battle, I will exempt you from having your souls broken," Vandalieu said to Budirud and his army, who had returned to being spirits, raising a commotion that only Vandalieu could hear.

Now that they had died twice, much of their forms from while they were alive had been lost, but even so, they were trembling with what was immediately recognizable as delight.

"Now then, I'll have you start working right away. Get up." Vandalieu turned them into Golems, one after another. And then he gave orders to the new Earth Golems and Stone Golems. "Now then, each of you, please dig yourselves holes that you can fit into. Once you have, bury yourselves in them and return to normal. After that, please repeat that task over and over until Prince… Emperor Budarion or I give you a new command."

"UOOOOOOOHN!"

The Golems let out a groan-like roar as they began their entirely meaningless task.

"After half a year, I think their souls will be worn out, their memories and personalities gone, and they will simply become a power source for the Golems. Is that alright?" Vandalieu asked.

The Ghoul nation's king, Princess Lulu and Prince Zorgo were here to represent the victims. All three of them nodded.

"… My wives will not object. I shall obey Great-aniki," said the Ghoul nation's king.

"I do not object, either. For the acts of betraying my father and brothers and oppressing the people, this is a worthy punishment," said Princess Lulu.

"Neither do I. Gobairyo, thank you," said Prince Zorgo.

Incidentally, Vandalieu still had things he wanted to ask the spirits of those who had only recently died, including Chief General Buzazeos, so he was keeping them around.

As for Bugitas's spirit, it seemed to have been broken at some point as Vandalieu attacked Ravovifard's incarnation with the Soul Break Skill, so it was nowhere to be seen.

General Bumogan was supposed to have been suppressing the Centaurs, Harpies and Lamia, so why had these races managed to form an allied army along with the Majin race at that timing? This was the doing of Queen Donaneris of Zanalpadna.

Around the time Vandalieu and his companions had taken over the Noble Orc empire's frontline base, Queen Donaneris had sent fast-running messengers to investigate the situations in each nation.

And then she had exchanged information with those nations, with the exception of the Ghoul nation, whose entrance was occupied by Budirud's army, and the High Kobold and High Goblin nations, which had been taken over entirely.

And with this information, King Godwin of the Majin nation had personally led his royal guards to pursue Gerazorg, who had become a traitor to the nation. On the spur of the moment, he had joined the allied nations' army to crush Bumogan's army and then marched on towards the Noble Orc empire with them.

And this was how Bugitas and Ravovifard had been trampled not only with violence, but in terms of military might as well.

After repairing the gate with the Golem Creation Skill, Vandalieu headed to the Noble Orc empire's Job-changing room.

This was an empire where the main rulers and manual labor workers were Noble Orcs and Orcs that could not acquire Jobs, but a Job-changing room had been established here because the humans, Dwarves, Elves and the other races that made up the citizens needed one to acquire production-related Jobs.

"Now then, let's get my Job-change out of the way while everyone is preparing for the victory celebration feast."

Eleanora and the others had apparently already gone through with their Job changes, so Vandalieu, not wanting to be late, reached out for the crystal in the center of the room.

Since the room was designed to be used by the citizens rather than the Noble Orcs, the crystal was positioned at a height that Vandalieu could reach, and he was grateful for this.

"Well, I've already decided on my next Job, though."

Vandalieu had decided to choose the Demon King User Job this time. Due to the effects of the Demon King's scent glands and luminescent organs that Bugitas had activated, the Demon King's fragments in his possession had gone on quite the rampage, and he had almost lost control of them.

In the end, he had regained control over them and nothing serious had happened. The problem was that he had absorbed the scent glands and luminescent organs, which were now a part of him.

But as it was unknown as to how many other Demon King fragments existed, there was no guarantee that there wasn't another fragment that had similar powers to the scent glands and luminescent organs, causing the fragments held by others to run rampant.

"If that hadn't happened, I would have chosen one of the Guider Jobs," Vandalieu murmured.

『Jobs that can be selected:[Disease Demon][Spirit Warrior][Whip Tongue Calamity][Vengeful Berserker][Dead Spirit Mage][Dark Healer][Labyrinth Creator][Demon King User][Magic Cannoneer][Dark King Mage][Divine Enemy][Dark Guider][Creation Guider][Fallen Warrior][Insect Nin]』

"… There aren't any new ones. I select Demon King User." Confirming the information displayed to him inside his head, Vandalieu chose Demon King User.

At that moment, his body became so hot that it felt like his blood would boil.

『You have acquired the Surpass Limits: Fragments Skill.』

『The Levels of the Superhuman Strength, Status Effect Resistance, Magic Resistance, Automatic Mana Recovery, Venom Secretion (Claws, Fangs, Tongue), Body Expansion (Tongue), Enhanced Physical Ability (Hair, Claws, Tongue, Fangs), Mana Enlargement, Bloodwork and Demon King Fusion Skills have increased!』

『Rapid Healing has awakened into Rapid Regeneration, Soul Break has awakened into the Unique Skill Soul Devour, and God Slayer has awakened into God Devourer!』

Name: Vandalieu

Race: Dhampir (Dark Elf)

Age: 9 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: Demon King User

Level: 0

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

Attributes:

Vitality: 2791

Mana: 1,290,442,646 (+516,177,058)

Strength: 1182

Agility: 854

Stamina: 1303

Intelligence: 2725

Passive skills:

Superhuman Strength: Level 7 (LEVEL UP!)

Rapid Regeneration: Level 1 (Awakened from Rapid Healing!)

Dark King Magic: Level 1 (Awakened from Death-Attribute Magic!)

Status Effect Resistance: Level 10 (LEVEL UP!)

Magic Resistance: Level 7 (LEVEL UP!)

Dark Vision

Demon Path Enticement: Level 3

Chant Revocation: Level 6

Guidance: Demon Path: Level 5

Automatic Mana Recovery: Level 7 (LEVEL UP!)

Strengthen Subordinates: Level 8

Venom Secretion (Claws, Fangs, Tongue): Level 6 (LEVEL UP!)

Enhanced Agility: Level 4 (LEVEL UP!)

Body Expansion (Tongue): Level 6 (LEVEL UP!)

Strengthened Attack Power while Unarmed: Large

Enhanced Physical Ability (Hair, Claws, Tongue, Fangs): Level 5 (LEVEL UP!)

Thread Refining: Level 3

Mana Enlargement: Level 4 (LEVEL UP!)

Active skills:

Bloodwork: Level 4 (LEVEL UP!)

Surpass Limits: Level 9 (LEVEL UP!)

Golem Creation: Level 3

No-Attribute Magic: Level 9 (LEVEL UP!)

Mana Control: Level 8 (LEVEL UP!)

Spirit Form: Level 9 (LEVEL UP!)

Cooking: Level 5

Alchemy: Level 7

Unarmed Fighting Technique: Level 7 (LEVEL UP!)

Multi-Cast: Level 8 (LEVEL UP!)

Long-distance Control: Level 8 (LEVEL UP!)

Surgery: Level 7

Parallel Thought Processing: Level 7 (LEVEL UP!)

Materialization: Level 6 (LEVEL UP!)

Coordination: Level 7 (LEVEL UP!)

High-speed Thought Processing: Level 6 (LEVEL UP!)

Commanding: Level 7 (LEVEL UP!)

Thread-reeling: Level 5

Throwing: Level 6 (LEVEL UP!)

Scream: Level 4

Dead Spirit Magic: Level 6

Artillery Technique: Level 6 (LEVEL UP!)

Shield Technique: Level 3 (LEVEL UP!)

Armor Technique: Level 3 (LEVEL UP!)

Group Binding Technique: Level 2 (LEVEL UP!)

Surpass Limits: Fragments: Level 1 (NEW!)

Unique skills:

God Devourer: Level 1 (Awakened from God Slayer!)

Grotesque Mind: Level 8 (LEVEL UP!)

Mental Encroachment: Level 7

Labyrinth Construction: Level 7

Demon King Fusion: Level 7 (LEVEL UP!)

Abyss: Level 4

Hostility

Soul Devour: Level 1 (Awakened from Soul Break!)

Demon King fragments:

Blood

Horns

Suckers

Ink Sacs

Carapace

Scent glands (NEW!)

Luminescent organs (NEW!)

Curses

Experience gained in previous life not carried over

Cannot learn existing jobs

Unable to gain experience independently

"A bunch of Skills improved and changed all at once… as expected of Demon King User."

It seemed that there were many Skills that received bonuses from Demon King User. Of course, the skills that had improved all seemed to be quite strange ones. They were all Skills that most ordinary people didn't possess.

The Surpass Limits: Fragments Skill was, as its name suggested, likely to be something that applied the effects of the Surpass Limits Skill to the Demon King's fragments. Vandalieu had come to use the Demon King's fragments more frequently, so this was probably going to be useful.

And there were numerous awakened superior Skills…

"I don't really mind the Dark King Magic and Rapid Regeneration that have transformed from Death-Attribute Magic and Rapid Healing."

The Dark King Magic Skill had awakened immediately after the battle against Ravovifard. Jobs didn't exist in Origin where Vandalieu had spent his previous life, so he couldn't be sure, but he suspected that he had surpassed the ability he possessed when he was known as the 'Undead' in Origin.

But although the name had changed, the Skill itself was unlikely to be significantly different. Even when he was creating Golems, there hadn't been any changes other than that the amount of Mana spent in doing so had decreased a little.

But it was unclear as to what he could do now that he hadn't been able to do before. Even when referring to his previous life, everything from here on out was unexplored territory, so he would probably need trial and error like he had done when developing the Death Bullet spell.

There were even less problems and doubts concerning the Rapid Regeneration Skill. It was a Skill possessed by all of the Vampires, including Eleanora and Bellmond.

Simply put, Rapid Healing was a Skill that increased the speed at which wounds healed. But it was not all-powerful; severed limbs would not regrow, nor would bones with compound fractures return to normal. It only healed wounds.

But if severed limbs were stitched back on and bones broken in multiple places were put back together correctly, one would have a far greater chance to make a full recovery with the Skill than without.

On the other hand, Rapid Regeneration was a Skill that allowed the regeneration of missing body parts exactly as they were before. Of course, the time required for the regeneration depended on the condition of the wound and which body parts were missing, but generally, fingers, arms and even eyes would return in their normal states. This wasn't always the case when afflicted by special curses, diseases or poisons, however.

Of course, even when it came to healing regular wounds, a Level 1 Rapid Regeneration Skill would heal faster than a Level 10 Rapid Healing Skill.

But although Vandalieu wasn���t really aware of this, it wasn't normal for Rapid Healing to transform into Rapid Regeneration, even after reaching Level 10.

Lambda was a world where the Skill system made most things become a reality if it was possible to do so with hard work, but large biological changes couldn't be made.

"The problem is Soul Devour and God Devourer. Hmm, is it like an effect where I can absorb souls after breaking them? It seems unlikely that it just provides nutrients and makes me feel full… If it makes me absorb their memories, that would be really unpleasant."

The Noble-born Vampire Sercrent who had killed his father, High Priest Gordan and the 'Green Wind Spear' Riley who were responsible for his mother's death, the 'Gungnir' Kaidou Kanata, the Pure-breed Vampires as well as Raymond and Rick, who had committed a series of bizarre murders for their own self-centered causes. And, most recently, the 'Death Scythe' Konoe Kyuuji.

These were the main people whose souls Vandalieu had broken, and although he had wanted information from them, they were scum and he would never want to share their memories.

Vandalieu thought that memories were a part of the mind that formed the personality. That was why he didn't want any portion of their memories becoming mixed with his own.

But it wasn't certain that the memories of the souls he broke would become mixed with his.

"I can confirm this by actually using this Skill and experimenting with it, but… there are ethical problems with breaking souls just for the sake of experimenting. I suppose I'll ask the gods what state the Demon King was left in after his soul was broken the next time I meet them. It should be a useful point of reference," Vandalieu said to himself as he left the Job-changing room to join in on the feast's preparations.

The entire townscape of the Noble Orc empire was used to host a feast to celebrate the victory of the allied nations' army and Budarion's return to the throne.

The important people ate together in the plaza, where Bugitas's head and the tied-up Gerazorg were put on display, but today, every single house would be having a feast, and drinks would be exchanged in every neighborhood and busy street.

The meat of the Noble Orcs under Bugitas's command couldn't be used, but even so, the dishes eaten in the southern region of the continent were quite impressive even for Vandalieu and his companions.

"You can't start a victory feast without hoof-kneaded udon!"

"No, no, it's got to be Gante mochi."

"What are you saying, it's gotta be sushi and tempura!"

Knowledge from Zakkart, Hillwillow and the other creation-minded champions had been left behind in the southern region of the continent, where Vida's gods and the races and monsters that obeyed them had fled.

But most of the information left behind by the champions were written as notes or diaries, not as documents to be read by others, so they were unreliable or incomplete.

But unlike in the human societies outside the Boundary Mountain Range, they had remained after the passing of a hundred thousand years. The inside of the Boundary Mountain Range had been stable enough for these records to be used as references to recreate a number of technologies and form cultures.

Unlike the human societies outside the Boundary Mountain Range, there hadn't been any wars large enough to cause the destructions of nations in the past hundred thousand years. And each nation had adhered to the teachings of the creation-minded champion Zakkart, who had told them to not let technicians and craftsmen die out, working hard to ensure that technology and culture did not come to an end.

Also unlike the outside of the Boundary Mountain Range, the influence of the Church of Alda, who banned the use of knowledge and technology that came from foreign worlds, didn't exist to hinder the passing on of technology and culture.

That was why the Samurai and Kunoichi Jobs existed, why thread-tatami existed in Zanalpadna and Japanese-style concrete was made in the High Kobold nation.

As a part of that preserved culture, things that didn't exist outside the Boundary Mountain Range such as udon… udon, mochi, sushi and tempura, existed inside the mountain range.

"Hmph! Nuoryaah! Seiyaaah!" A representative from the Centaur nation, an individual with a sturdy, tattooed body with brightly-colored feather decorations in his hair, let out what sounded like war cries as he used his cleanly-polished hooves to stamp on and knead the udon batter.

"Sei, haah! Sei, haah!" The Ghoul nation's king pounded mochi with his fists. The finished, steaming mochi… or rather, the fruit of a tree resembling a chestnut tree with no thorns, was probably hot, but the Ghoul nation's king swung his long, flexible arms and kneaded it directly with his large hands.

"YAAAAH!" shouted a female Drakonid warrior next to him. She was holding a curved blade in each hand, turning fresh seafood and reptile meat into sushi ingredients with incredible spirit.

This Drakonid warrior was someone who had been sent from the Drakonid nation even though it was still working hard to suppress the monster rampages even now. Her swordsmanship displayed her great skill… even though she was cooking.

"UOOOOH!" came yet another spirited shout from the Majin race's representative next to her, boiling tempura with his bare hands. He was thrusting his hands directly into the boiling oil, lifting out vegetables, fish, insects and meat.

… Vandalieu and some others had wondered whether these people needed to return to their own nations, which were exposed to monster rampages, but there were apparently no problems. They had been told that there were battle addicts in both nations that were engrossed in fighting the rampaging monsters.

Incidentally, the representative from the Dark Elf nation and his companions were boiling mushroom tea in a large pot. He was quieter than the other representatives, but it couldn't be said that he was being reserved.

"Kukukukuh…"

There was something far too suspicious about the way he chuckled as he stirred the pot.

"What an incredible cooking scene," Eleanora murmured as she watched everyone cook.

"It is partially a performance as well, after all," Zadiris explained. "Each of these dishes are apparently used to celebrate victory in battle."

Japanese cuisine such as udon, mochi, sushi and tempura had remained in the region within the Boundary Mountain Range, but the methods of creating them had changed considerably.

None of these dishes were food enjoyed by the citizens; they had all become dishes created by the warriors of the nations in a heroic manner to be eaten in feasts celebrating victory in battle.

The dishes were eaten on occasions other than after battle, but other than the mushroom tea, the cooking process was so harsh that one needed a well-trained body and considerable swordsmanship to create them. Thus, they weren't common enough to be called staple dishes.

In the case of tempura and sushi, however, it was also because cooking oil and ingredients fresh enough to be eaten raw were far more expensive products in Lambda than in modern-day Japan.

"Well, Vandalieu-sama seems to be happy, so it's fine, but… still, even if we're making food to celebrate the victory, I don't think Vandalieu-sama needs to be making food as well," said Eleanora, who was cutting onions to be made into vegetable tempura.

Onion vapor was wafting into her eyes and nose, but what rose to her eyes was not tears, but doubt. That was thanks to her Status Effect Resistance Skill.

"Prince Budarion… Ah, he is already emperor. The emperor tried to stop him, but… it cannot be helped," said Zadiris as she sliced a cabbage.

"Drink," said Eisen, who was standing next to Zadiris.

As ordinary vegetable graters wouldn't work for the fruit growing from the branches growing on Eisen's back, Vandalieu had created a vegetable grater using the Demon King's carapace, and Eisen was using that to grind the fruit into a juice and serve it.

"Those dishes are apparently thought of as food spoken of only in legends, so he can't be blamed for changing his mind about stopping Van," said Basdia, chopping spring onions and boiling eggs at the same time.

The feast that Vandalieu was making to celebrate victory was… katsu curry and ramen.

When Vandalieu had tried to start cooking, all of the nations' representatives, including Budarion and Kurnelia, had stopped him, saying that the hero who had taken the enemy general's head couldn't be allowed to do such a thing.

And then, Vandalieu had said, "Then let's leave the katsu curry and ramen for next time."

The moment he said this, the nations' representatives had started earnestly requesting that he continue instead.

While tonkatsu had been successfully recreated, the documents left behind by the champions were incomplete, so curry and ramen had not been recreated, known only by their names as dishes that the champions liked.

"Well, it's not unheard of for normal households to handmake curry from the spices and ramen from the flour, but it's quite unusual," said Vandalieu.

From the new information that he'd learned, Vandalieu had concluded that Zakkart had been a former manager of a small-town factory, Ark a liberal arts student at university, Solder a science student and Hillwillow an actor in the making.

Though they had some differences in ability between them, they all seemed to have been able to cook for themselves, but… perhaps because they hadn't had the knowledge of a professional chef, even though they had written things like "I want to eat katsu curry" and "I saw ramen in my dreams" in their diaries, they hadn't written how to create these dishes.

In Origin, Vandalieu had had the opportunity to gain the knowledge from the spirits of the chefs of the research facility and the spirits of the other experimental subjects that had formerly been chefs, but even so, he had gone through a lot of trouble to figure out how to create curry and the lye water needed to make ramen.

However, it had been impossible for these dishes to have been recreated here with nothing but their names and a vague description, even after a hundred thousand years.

"So, these are the noodles of ramen… they're yellow. They're different from udon and soba after all," said Gizania.

"Vandalieu-dono, could it be that you are able to create tare with kabayaki*? If you are, then please do so the next opportunity you have!" said Myuze.

Note: Kabayaki is broiled loach/eel.

Gizania and Myuze's eyes were shining as noodles came out of the noodle-making Golem in order and were boiled.

"Very well," said Vandalieu. "But I don't have mirin… Is it alright if I use something to replace it?"

"Katsu curry made from mammoth meat. It's ready, so everyone please line up!" said one of Vandalieu's spirit form clones created through Out-of-body Experience.

"The ramen is ready, too," said another.

With the garnish made by Eleanora and the others added on top, the dishes were complete.

With bloodshot eyes, looking like saliva could drip from their mouths at any moment, the Noble Orcs serving Budarion and the people of the allied nations' army lined up in front of Vandalieu's spirit clones, outside the makeshift kitchen that had been set up in the plaza.

Today, Vandalieu and his companions had made mammoth meat katsu curry with potato. The reason potatoes had been used instead of rice was that variants of potatoes were the staple food in the Noble Orc empire, and they didn't cultivate much rice and only had small amounts of imported rice.

And Vandalieu had thought it would be a bad idea to use tonkotsu for the ramen, so it was mammoth-kotsu ramen.

Note: Tonkotsu is pork and bone, where ton = pork.

"This is curry… the dish that the champion Zakkart was said to eat in his home world before facing any great trial."

"Oh, ramen. The dish said to have given the champion Solder her wisdom in her home world… the legendary dish!"

The members of the allied nations' army and the Noble Orcs accepted their bowls as if receiving communion, and then returned to their seats, trembling with emotion.

"I suppose they wrote in their diaries that they wanted to eat curry and ramen?" Vandalieu wondered.

It seemed that the champions hadn't been free to eat whatever they wanted. They were in a time of war, so it couldn't be helped, however.

"Bukyupbupuh," said a woman…-shaped flesh-wife, whose sensual figure was visible through her loosely-fitting clothes.

"Oops. Yes, you wanted a katsu curry, right?" said one of Vandalieu's spirit clones.

"Kyubububuh."

The flesh-wife received a plate of katsu curry for two, gave a short bow and then returned to where her Orc husband was.

Flesh-wives were monsters that were divine messengers, created by Mububujenge, the evil god of degenerate corpulence, to be used as wives. Vandalieu had learned of their existence from Budarion, but this was his first time seeing one.

Her appearance was such that it was clear why Legion had been called "the Holy Son's flesh-wife," and her face had contours but no features, her skin a light, flesh-colored pink… if she were to hold a knife in one hand, she would resemble a creature from a horror game or horror movie.

But it seemed that flesh-wives' personalities were gentle like those of the Orcs… though if they caused anger, they would return home (to the Church) where they would be remonstrated by Mububujenge's priests.

Incidentally, they could only speak the Orc language, so they used gestures and written communication to communicate with other races.

"These noodles have a tender texture that udon does not have!" exclaimed the beautiful female Drakonid warrior… or rather, the beautiful female Drakonid samurai, who possessed impressive horns and features and bright blue wings. She slurped her soup. "A rich mammoth stock and… what is this? Could it be the legendary soy sauce, or is it eel tare sauce?"

"No, that should be soy sauce," said Basdia.

"I see. So, this is soy sauce. In our nation, we were able to create miso, but we couldn't make soy sauce." The Drakonid took out a piece of paper from a pocket and made a note of this information.

"Drakonid, the curry is even greater!" said the representative of the Kijin nation who had a club for a weapon and was wearing a tiger-striped fur; his appearance was that of a red ogre straight out of a picture book. "I can't get enough of this hunger-inducing scent! I can't get enough of this sauce that has not only spice, but a refreshing sweetness and sourness! The sweetness of the katsu coating and the chewy texture of the meat! Ah, I want rice! It's not that the empire's potatoes are bad, but I want to have these on rice as it is said to be eaten in legends! Or pour it on bread to make it curry bread!"

"According to the boy, curry bread is not a dish where you pour curry on bread in place of rice," Zadiris told him.

"What? I see… then what in the world is curry bread…?" The red-skinned Kijin was dumbfounded by Zadiris's words.

"Holy-Son-dono's cooking is wonderful," said Budarion.

"Not at all, everyone else's cooking is delicious as well," said Vandalieu, who was munching on the feasts created by the people of the southern region of the continent now that he had finished making katsu curry and ramen.

The springy udon, vegetables and the sushi that used sashimi made from fresh fish and insects were healthy. The heroically-fried tempura's coating was crispy, its contents juicy.

And the fruity scent and the bittersweet flavor of the mochi ingredients were pleasant.

"Vandalieu-sama, the Gante mochi that you have been eating is awfully… purple. Is it delicious?" Eleanora asked, watching Vandalieu eat mochi of a poisonous-looking purple that she seemed to have associated with the warning colors of venomous creatures.

"They are," said Vandalieu. "The purple color is from the color of the Ghouls' paralyzing venom."

"Is it really delicious?! Isn't it just that the venom isn't having any effect because you have Status Effect Resistance?!"

"The Gante fruit neutralizes the paralyzing venom, so it's apparently not poisonous… mostly."

The Gante fruit, which could only be found on trees native to Zozogante's Great Forest, the D-class Dungeon that was the Ghoul nation. This fruit was the staple food of the Ghoul nation, as the Dungeon had a forest layout so it was difficult to cultivate rice and wheat.

When boiled, it had the effect of neutralizing paralyzing venom, so it had medicinal uses as well.

The Gante mochi that the Ghouls made with their bare hands was bright purple, but it had almost no poison. But this was not always true for mochi made using small quantities of Gante fruit or made by those with a high Level in the Paralyzing Venom Secretion (Claws) Skill. And even when the Ghouls who prepared the mochi tasted it themselves, there were some cases when they didn't notice that there was venom left in it.

Thus, it was treated as a food for tough warriors that children and the elderly of other races shouldn't eat.

And Vandalieu was a child, but at the same time, he possessed such a high Level in the Status Effect Resistance Skill that most poisons were ineffective on him. That was why he was eating the mochi without any hesitation.

"Then it's fine, I guess… okay, say aah~♪" Eleanora's expression changed into a smile as she offered to feed Vandalieu some Gante mochi.

Vandalieu opened his mouth and… took the mochi with his extended tongue to eat it.

Eleanora's smile grew deeper.

"Holy-Son-dono, these fried hornworms are delicious!" said Myuze.

"The teriyaki made from the hind legs of Giant Locusts are not bad, either," said Gizania.

The two of them began feeding Vandalieu, as if competing with Eleanora. As expected, it seemed that Empusa and Arachne, who had the characteristics of praying mantises and spiders, enjoyed eating insects.

And then Basdia and Zadiris returned, starting to feed Vandalieu other dishes.

For them, this was the act of feeding each other often seen between men and women who were intimate with one another, but if an outsider were to see this with no knowledge of the circumstances, it would appear as if they were feeding some unusual animal.

Incidentally, Kasim, Gorba and the others were also taking part in the feast. They had been fighting Buzazeos's army alongside the allied nations' army rather than participating in the battle against Bugitas, and they had completely opened their hearts to the people of the continent's southern region.

"I didn't think there would be any humans with as much backbone as you!"

"Let's compare our skills when we can! You saved me during the battle, but I won't hold back!"

"No, I'm telling you, I'm not all that great. I still have a long way to go," said Kasim.

Kasim was particularly popular… he had been surrounded by the Centaur and Ghoul men, having alcohol poured into him.

"Hahaha, how modest! If you hadn't saved me, my rear half would have been cut off and I'd only have two legs!" said a Centaur.

"I was only able to block that Noble Orc's attack because of this shield. It would have been impossible with just my skill alone. It's thanks to my equipment," said Kasim.

"Making the best use of exceptional equipment is another quality of an exceptional warrior! I am a shield-bearer as well, but the way you handled your shield isn't easy," said a Ghoul.

"I-is that so?"

The smile on Kasim's face was growing gradually broader as the Centaur and Ghoul men continued to compliment him. But there were simply too many men around him.

Centaurs were a race where both their men and women could become warriors, but there was apparently a tradition where the men would fight in battles far away from their nation, while the women remained behind to protect it.

As usual, the Ghoul women were making their moves in the direction of Vigaro, as well as Gorba and the Orcuses.

Things aren't going as I wanted them to, Vandalieu thought as he noticed Kasim. Kasim himself doesn't seem to think much of it, so maybe I'm reading into things too much?

Chewing on a fried hornworm, Vandalieu looked around for Fester and Zeno and saw that they had their own company.

"Won't you come on a hunt with me sometime?" said Gaol with flushed cheeks, probably… asking Zeno on a date.

"Us? I'll have to ask Kasim and the others," said Zeno.

"If possible, just you and I…"

"If it's just the two of us, we'll only have you as a frontline fighter and me as a scout, so isn't the party a bit imbalanced?"

Vandalieu had heard from Myuze that Gaol had been conscious of Zeno ever since he saved her during the battle in the High Kobold nation.

However, it seemed that Zeno didn't understand Gaol's intentions. Rather than him being thick-headed, he seemed to be unable to realize that this was a date invitation because of his lack of experience in love and the way that Gaol was inviting him.

"You said your name's Fester, right? There's a girl called Cassie working in my house right now. I don't have a daughter, so I've come to think of her as my own. But she was taken from me by Gargya… could you take her? I would be relieved if she were to have a man as great as you…" an old High Kobold was saying to Fester.

"No, I have a wife called Lina, so that's…" Fester was flustered by this marriage proposal.

"I see, so that girl is also a poor victim… No, forget it. I'm sorry to bring up such a gloomy topic at a feast."

"Wait a second, what'll happen to that girl if I refuse?! And does it have to be me?! Hang on, where did Kasim go?!"

Incidentally, according to Cassie-san herself, Gargya hadn't laid his hands on her. However, at this rate, she would be viewed as a victim of the usurper and looked upon with eyes of pity, placing her in an awkward position as a young woman of marriageable age.

And apparently, she had fallen in love with Fester at first sight when he rushed to the High Kobold nation's palace with Budarion and the others to rescue Princess Lulu and Gargya's other victims.

Thus, it was only natural for the High Kobold who considered himself her father to bring this talk to Fester first rather than Kasim.

Incidentally, the women of the High Goblin nation who had found themselves in similar circumstances to Cassie had brought talks of marriage to Borkus, Bone Man as well as Kurt, who had been going back and forth between Zanalpadna and Talosheim between battles inside Legion.

"I'm telling you, I'm already an Undead! I even have grandchildren, you know! Even if you want to be my wife, what do you want me to do?!" shouted Borkus.

"I am extremely grateful for your proposal, but as I am a royal servant, it would be unwise of me to give my reply here," said Kurt, playing innocent and declining the flood of proposals for marriage interviews. It seemed that he intended to consult his brother and Vandalieu later.

I don't have the resources, tolerance or any interest in being served by multiple women like His Majesty! he thought to himself, though Vandalieu would likely object if he could hear these thoughts.

"As you can see, I am made of naught but bones, so I believe that it would be impossible. Since you are ojou-sans with a bright future ahead of you, why not try and marry into another nation? If it seems that you will not be able to marry before it is too late, there are always methods such as transforming into Vampires or Ghouls. Of course, if you are to come to Talosheim, we will do our utmost to meet your needs," said Bone Man, convincing the High Goblins with such politeness that it was difficult to believe that he was originally made of the spirits of mice.

But on the other hand, Borkus seemed to be at a loss as for what to do.

"Kid! Do something!" he said.

"Hmm? Ah, I think it will take over ten years, but if research into the new material Life Gold continues, the problem of making children might be solved. But I can't really make any firm promises now," said Vandalieu.

"That's not what I want you to do something about!" Borkus moaned.

"Borkus, you are known to take care of others, are you not? With that being the case, how about you choose a few of your acquaintances to have marriage interviews with those ladies?" Zadiris suggested.

"Zadiris-jouchan, do you really think anyone would ask someone like me to act as a marriage interview mediator? I've only ever done that once in my life! And after that one time, I've been constantly getting told to stop meddling in their business!"

"Is that something to be proud of!"

It seemed that Borkus, who had been quite a famous person in the old Talosheim, had once failed in some way while mediating a marriage interview.

On the stage where Bugitas and Buzazeos's heads had been put on display and Gerazorg had been tied to a log, his face swollen from having been punched so many times, Budarion addressed the people present here.

"Everyone, there is something I would like to say," he said.

Come to think of it, he did say that he had something important to say, Vandalieu remembered, listening in.

Budarion's speech seemed to be an apology for being unable to stop his brother Bugitas's coup d'état, as well as thanks to everyone for cooperating in suppressing him.

If that was all, Vandalieu wouldn't have really thought of it as that important, but Budarion's words towards the end were shocking… probably.

"The imperial family has undone the peace of the southern region of the continent and spilled its people's blood. This nation no longer has the right to call itself an empire. It is my opinion that it should take responsibility, relinquish its title as an empire and begin as a kingdom once more," Budarion announced.

The members of the allied nations and Princess Lulu gasped.

"… What do you mean? It doesn't seem like you're saying that the nation will disappear or that you will not become emperor," said Eleanora.

"Perhaps he is saying that the Noble Orc empire will become not an empire, but a kingdom, so he will become a king rather than an emperor?" said Zadiris.

"Indeed. Prince Budarion will become not an emperor, but an ordinary king," said Myuze.

It seemed that the difference between a nation being called a kingdom and an empire held a special meaning in the southern region of the continent.

"But I don't know anything about this matter…" said Vandalieu.

Job explanation:

[Corpse Demon Commander]

A Job that can be acquired by a user of death-attribute magic who possesses the Coordination and Commanding Skills, as well as experience in conducting large-scale battles while commanding tamed Undead.

It does not provide great increases in Attribute Values, but it provides high bonuses to the acquisition of the Corpse Binding Technique Skill as well as the development of this Skill and the Coordination and Commanding Skills.

Monster explanation:

[Flesh-wives]

The following is an excerpt from Luciliano's research notes.

Monsters directly created by Mububujenge, the evil god of degenerate corpulence. They could be considered 'clones' of Mububujenge in a broad sense, or perhaps as a type of familiar spirit.

They are Rank 1, and they generally cannot acquire combat-related Skills, and other than their physical abilities, Vitality and Stamina, they are like ordinary people.

Their appearance resembles Legion's separate personalities (Isis, Valkyrie, Ereshkigal and Izanami) to the point that Legion was mistaken as a flesh-wife.

But regarding their physiques, they are often very tall compared to human women, as they have been made for two-meter-tall Orcs.

Each Orc is given a single flesh-wife at the Church of Mububujenge. The flesh-wives' intelligence and their abilities in housework and cooking increase as the Level and Rank of the Orcs they are given to increase.

Also, they are capable of reproducing, giving birth to and raising Orc children.

Their personalities are reserved and feminine, and they are obedient towards their Orc husbands. However, there are some who scold their husbands from time to time as well.

Flesh-wives are unbelievably weak when considering that they are monsters directly created by an evil god, but there have been periods of time since the foundation of the Noble Orc empire where the flesh-wife population reached multiple tens of thousands, and it can be assumed that their combat abilities were sacrificed in order for them to be distributed evenly to tens of thousands of Orcs.

Naturally, these are monsters that do not exist outside the Noble Orc empire, so the Adventurers' Guild and Mages' Guild are unaware of their existence.

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Chapter 147: An audience with the gods - a suggestion to become emperor and a delicious snack

The races created by Vida and the races of monsters who worshipped evil gods who had left the Demon King to join Vida's side, except for the Pure-breed Vampires who protected Vida's resting place, had each created their own nation that worshipped their god in the southern region of the continent.

The Zanalpadna Kingdom was named after its god as it was the only nation to be ruled by two races - the Arachne and Empusa - but the other nations were all named after their races.

Only the Noble Orc empire called itself an empire. Leaving aside the rumors and legends told outside the Boundary Mountain Range, it really was an empire.

As for why only the Noble Orc nation was an empire, that was because it was the leader that united all of the other nations in the Boundary Mountain Range.

"In other words, returning to a kingdom rather than an empire means relinquishing that role of leadership," said Vandalieu.

He was proceeding through the Great Flesh Den, a B-class Dungeon in the depths of the Church of Mububujenge, as he had these circumstances explained to him.

"Yes. As a result of my failure to stop Bugitas's treason, the High Kobold and High Goblin nations in particular suffered great losses. And the power of our nation has decreased drastically as well. In this state, it is impossible for my nation and I to fulfill the duty that is expected of us as an empire," said the newly-crowned Emperor, or rather King, Budarion, as he walked along with light steps.

During the battle against Ravovifard, his Rank had increased and he had become a Rank 12 Noble Orc Abyss High King, the same Rank as the wise Emperor Buugih of the past. He had obtained enough strength to be called one of the most powerful beings in the Boundary Mountain Range other than the Pure-breed Vampires, but it seemed that he and his vassals did not believe that the fighting ability of a single ruler was enough to solve the problems within the nation.

"I am sorry to the nations who tried to stop me from doing this, however," Budarion continued.

Following his announcement of his nation's new title at the feast, the nations' representatives that were present at the feast had tried to talk him out of it. In a heartfelt, earnest, desperate way.

If these were human nations outside the Boundary Mountain Range, this would be a chance for them to make great advances. Each of them would try to wrest themselves free of these relationships of power that had remained steadfast for over fifty-thousand years and try to establish dominance over the other nations.

Even if the rulers of those nations didn't have such thoughts, there would be some noblemen who would form factions, aiming to obtain greater rights and more land for themselves and their heirs; there was no doubt that some would try to spur the nation into action.

There would also be nations that would take action because they thought it would be bad if the position of leadership was taken by a nation that they had a bad relationship with.

However, the circumstances were different for the nations within the Boundary Mountain Range.

The ruler of each nation also acted as a priest for the god that their nation worshipped, and they would be reprimanded directly by their god if they were to take unreasonable actions. The gods worshipped by the nations considered the flourishing of their own people to be important, but since the maintenance of the barrier protecting this land from Alda and his subordinates was more important, they avoided causing harm to other nations that would weaken the gods of those nations.

And in this environment, where these city states existed inside a dangerous Devil's Nest, the benefits of being dominant over the other nations was minimal.

Most importantly, while one would expect the second greatest nation after the Noble Orcs to begin a struggle for power, the races that lived in that nation had a sense of values that were different from those of royals and nobles in human societies.

"Queen Donaneris is troubled. It is likely that the duty of leadership will fall onto us," said Gizania, who was proceeding through the Dungeon under Vandalieu's protection, as B-class Dungeons were still difficult for her with her current abilities.

"Indeed," agreed Myuze, who was also being protected by Vandalieu. "We people of Zanalpadna are flourishing plenty as it is… and we will likely flourish more from now on."

Arrangements had already been made for Princess Kurnelia to marry Budarion, and her younger sister Gizania and Myuze who was related to the previous queen would marry Vandalieu. It was expected that Zanalpadna would get by just fine even if it did not rise to the position of being an empire.

In fact, the nation was likely full of those who thought that the duties that came with that position would be troublesome.

"By the way, may I brush this?" asked Vandalieu, who was sitting on the back of the large-build Arachne Gizania, touching her lower body half's fur, which was stiffer than its appearance suggested.

"… I don't mind, but I would like you to leave it for later," Gizania replied with flushed cheeks, covering her eyes.

"Vandalieu-dono, what about me?" said Myuze.

"Myuze, you don't have any fur… maybe I could help you look after your wings and sickles?" Vandalieu suggested.

"Oh, please do!" Myuze looked delighted.

The Majin king Godwin, who was listening to this conversation from behind, let out a sigh. "Stop flirting in a time of crisis like this…"

Godwin was a mass of muscle as large as a Titan with two twisted horns, blue skin and a tail with a triangular tip. Every nation knew that he was a powerful warrior.

But right now, his face looked very thin and haggard.

"I thought that I'd be able to toss my successor onto my throne the year after next and return to the sweet days of drowning in combat and alcohol… I'm definitely not becoming the emperor," he muttered.

"… Godwin-dono, I do have to question your choice to speak such words while I and the others are listening," said Budarion.

"Budarion, if you want me to be more considerate with my words, then go back to being an emperor," Godwin said in response.

Godwin seemed to be a selfish, stubborn old man, but such people were common among the Majin race.

The Majin race was a race of strong individuals whose lifespans were unlimited, like those of Vampires. Perhaps because of this, the great majority of Majin did things at their own pace and followed their own paths… or rather, prioritized their own hobbies and interests.

The thing that they all had in common was that they considered individual strength to be important. Even when the kings of their nation were elected through a tournament or battle royale between the candidates. This was true for both the Drakonid and Majin nations, but the Majin nation had a broader definition of strength, so they sometimes elected kings through board games, drinking competitions and contests of wit as well.

Despite that, the Majin felt a firm sense of companionship with each other, with bonds between those who shared hobbies and interests being particularly strong.

That was the kind of race the Majin were, so the position of king was mainly an honorary one, its role being like that of a class representative on Earth, keeping everyone unified.

"If we'd left that fool Gerazorg alone for any longer, he would have brought dishonor to the Majin race," said Godwin. "That fool… we sent him to study abroad in the empire, hoping that he would at least gain some shred of decency."

"… What did this Gerazorg person do?" Vandalieu asked.

"Something that can be described as not being suitable for a child like you to hear," Godwin replied vaguely with a deep frown. "The kinds of crime he committed were all minor, so we weren't able to keep him locked up in prison for long periods of time up until now. His great-grandmother took good care of me in the past, so I tried to rehabilitate him, but… he was deceived by a strange one."

Godwin's tone was so bitter that Gizania and Myuze looked at Vandalieu with eyes that said, "Don't ask any more."

It seemed that Gerazorg was so despicable that news of him had even reached Zanalpadna, which was distant from the Majin nation.

Leaving aside Bugitas, the other two that Ravovifard had chosen as his priests, Gargya and Gido, had both been quite the problem children as well. Not only in their abilities, but in their personalities in particular as well.

It seemed that when Ravovifard was selecting those he wanted to give his divine protection to, the important factors were not the individuals' talents or abilities, but rather whether they had the kinds of personalities that would easily lose their reasoning and release their desires if he were to grant them his power.

"And becoming emperor is definitely out of the question. Mediating disagreements between nations and organizing meetings… I'd be able to provide reinforcements in times of need, but even then, I wouldn't be able to dispatch our army to multiple places. Unlike the Kijin, we Majin are few in number, after all," Godwin continued.

The Majin race had long lifespans. Perhaps because of this, their birth rates were extremely low… their reproductive ability was not much different from Elves and Dark Elves, but it seemed that the Majin race had little interest in leaving descendants behind.

Like Vampires and Ghouls, they had a ritual to turn humans and other races into members of their own race, but apparently it was troublesome in various ways and not something that was conducted proactively.

As a result, while members of the Majin race were individually strong, there were only a thousand or so of them on the inside of the Boundary Mountain Range; they were the race with the smallest population.

However, the Majin outside the Boundary Mountain Range lived in groups of about a dozen or so, so a thousand Majin were more than enough to be called a large group.

"Godwin-dono, the gods will likely deliver their own words on this matter," said Budarion.

"Muh… I always thought you were a promising youngster, but you've really settled down now that your arm and eye have turned black, haven't you," Godwin remarked. "It'll be fine as long as the gods don't say anything strange."

Why were Budarion, Godwin and the others going through the Great Flesh Den immediately after the feast? That was because they had received Divine Messages from the gods.

"Come to the nearest holy grounds."

And the closest holy grounds were the deepest chamber of the Great Flesh Den that existed inside the deepest part of the Church of Mububujenge.

Generation after generation, the Noble Orc empire… or rather, kingdom, had been ruled by those who possessed the strength to solo-clear this Dungeon and the acknowledgement of Mububujenge, who would come to this Dungeon's treasure chamber for audiences with the goddess and hear her words of wisdom.

This was an arrangement that all of the nations on the inside of the Boundary Mountain Range had in common, but… normally, the gods would not summon their priests to the holy grounds of another nation.

Though Godwin had lived for several thousand years, even he could not remember such an event happening. It was possibly the first such event since the founding of the nations.

"While it is true that Queen Donaneris is not present in this nation, I wonder why it is us that have been summoned?" said Myuze.

"Princess Kurnelia is here as well, but leaving that aside… does Zanalpadna have something in mind?" Gizania wondered.

Perhaps because this was unprecedented, Myuze and Gizania had been bewildered as well. There had been cases of those other than the king challenging this Dungeon, clearing it and stepping foot into the holy grounds. But in these cases, the gods would almost never descend upon the world and show themselves, so it seemed that Myuze and Gizania couldn't erase their doubts. Why had they been summoned? Was it really alright for them to go?

"If all of this is a misunderstanding that we have made… if we were mistaken in thinking that we have received a Divine Message… would we not be very out-of-place?" said Gizania.

"Gizania-dono, I would like you to not say such terrifying things!" said Myuze. "And I think it is quite unlikely that both of us would have made such a misunderstanding. With that being the case, there is likely no mistake that these were indeed Divine Messages."

"But even though it was a Divine Message, I could only hear, 'come'… What about you, Myuze-dono?"

"I… could only hear 'holy grounds.'"

It seemed that Gizania and Myuze didn't have much ability for receiving Divine Messages.

"Well, that's how it is for your first time receiving Divine Messages. I was daydreaming and thought my first Divine Message was just in my imagination and ignored it. My predecessor then received a Divine Message from our god Xerx, beat the hell out of me, dragged me to the holy grounds, and then Xerx himself punched me directly," Godwin said with a hearty laugh.

These words didn't seem to make Gizania and Myuze feel any better, however.

"Godwin-dono, I believe that if we were to receive such a punishment, we would simply die," said Gizania.

"Our bodies would break in an instant," said Myuze.

"No, what I was trying to say is, even if it was a misunderstanding, the gods probably won't be that angry…" said Godwin, his words becoming incoherent.

"I have heard that Xerx was a subordinate god of Zantark, the war-god of fire and destruction, so he has a violent personality. You are unlikely to be punched by Zanalpadna," Budarion said, unable to let the conversation end like this, and Gizania and Myuze looked a little relieved.

"If it is a mistake, let us apologize together. I'm sure we'll be forgiven," said Vandalieu, taking over the conversation in a carefree manner.

The Divine Message that he had received from Merrebeveil was, "Excuse me, there is something that I would like to speak with you about, so I would like to request for you to come and meet me."

"If a fist comes your way, I'll object to it," he said.

Violence wasn't good. Violent people should be fought with violence.

"Thank you… but please be gentle," said Gizania.

"Indeed," said Myuze. "This only applies if it was indeed a misunderstanding. So please be calm."

"Yes, I ask this of you as well," said Budarion.

The three of them proceeded as they tried to pacify Vandalieu, who seemed to have been stimulated by some kind of strange trauma.

Perhaps reflecting the personality of the one who had created it, the monsters appearing in the B-class Dungeon called the Great Flesh Den didn't proactively search for and attack those trying to clear it. Instead, the vast majority of them were races that set traps and disguised themselves using camouflage and such, looking to ambush their foes.

Thus, with Budarion leading the way, as he already knew the correct way to go to reach the end as quickly as possible, the party was able to keep the number of battles they needed to fight to a minimum.

And as for the traps and ambushes, Vandalieu could see through them with the Labyrinth Construction Skill and the Danger Sense: Death spell, so even the few battles that they did need to fight were easily won.

Of course, this Dungeon had been designed to turn away those who were below Rank 10, so there were no difficulties with Budarion present, as he had already reached Rank 12.

Even the Dungeon boss on the bottom floor was killed by Budarion in a single instant.

The party would enter the place beyond the boss chamber, the treasure chamber that also served as holy grounds for gods to descend upon, but before that, Budarion explained the rules of the holy grounds.

When a god descended upon the Great Flesh Den, the Dungeon would become a space resembling a Divine Realm. Thus, those granted an audience with the god would be in a state similar to having their bare souls exposed, allowing them to appear before the gods.

Thus, they must not look up under any circumstances. The minds of those with mortal souls would not last if they looked upon the gods. They had to kneel on the ground and look down for the entire duration of the audience.

"Muh, as expected of the former emperor. The way you approach holy grounds is special as well," Godwin murmured.

Without any particular doubts, Vandalieu obeyed Budarion's instructions.

He had already directly met gods such as Fidirg, Merrebeveil and Zozogante, but there was no guarantee that he would be fine after looking directly at Mububujenge.

And Vandalieu was currently in a position where he was intruding on another land. It was true that he was the one responsible for suppressing the coup d'état, but that didn't give him an excuse to disrespect the rules of Budarion's nation.

Thus, he kneeled on the ground and looked down, but he then noticed that Budarion, Gizania and the others who were supposed to be next to him weren't there. Instead, on the ground that he was staring at, there were people, small enough to be placed in the palm of his hand, and there was a strange being on the edge of his vision.

The silhouettes appeared to be Gizania and the others. He couldn't see their faces, as they were on their knees as well (with Gizania being in a posture similar to kneeling), looking at the ground. But it was likely them… though Vandalieu didn't know why they had become smaller.

And he didn't recognize the strange being entering his field of vision. The silhouette resembled a plump human, lying down with their chin in their hands.

But its body surface was covered in writhing masses of flesh and tumors that were repeatedly expanding and contracting, and there were enormous lips shaped like those of humans around its abdomen; this being could not be called a human.

In fact, it wasn't even clear whether this could be called a person, but Vandalieu could see that this 'thing' was looking at him and trembling for some reason.

��Thank you for coming, Vandalieu," said the familiar voice of Merrebeveil.

"Yes. It is an honor to be invited here," said Vandalieu in greeting, still keeping his eyes pointed downwards.

"Not at all, it is we who are grateful to you for responding to our impudent summons," said Merrebeveil.

"I-indeed."

"Welcome, and thank you for coming."

"Make yourself at home."

It seemed that Fidirg was here as well. With his face still pointed down, Vandalieu looked around him, and something resembling a tree's root entered the edge of his vision. It seemed that Zozogante, the evil god of the dark forest, the god of the Ghoul nation, was here as well.

Vandalieu could relax, knowing that many of his acquaintances were here, so that was convenient.

"Please look up. Of course, only Vandalieu may do this," said Merrebeveil.

"The rest of you, please ensure that you do not look up."

"Also, it would be best to not look behind you."

"Don't ever look. And especially directly above you, don't look there."

"Is it all right for me to do that?" Vandalieu asked Merrebeveil. "I've been told that this is the rule of these holy grounds."

Merrebeveil tapped the 'thing,' which had remained completely still this whole time, with the tip of a tentacle. "We do not mind. Do we, Mububujenge?"

It seemed that the 'thing' was Mububujenge.

"Bujuh… Yes. Please make yourself comfortable," said Mububujenge, startled. Her lips, the only attractive part of her, were trembling.

She was a goddess; her voice was similar to a woman's.

Though this is apparently a space similar to a Divine Realm, I'm glad that gods don't seem to be able to read what's going through the minds of humans within it, as is often told, Vandalieu thought as he looked up to see that there was a countless number of gods in the holy grounds.

… They were not actually countless, but the evil gods had such peculiar appearances that it was impossible to tell through a single glance where one god ended and the next began.

A god with a body covered in carapace that was differently-colored on the left and right sides, looking like a combination of a crustacean and a beetle, with jewel-like compound eyes in multiple places.

A god that appeared to be a mass of various organs entwined around each other to form the shape of a large, carnivorous beast.

A god whose right side of his body was that of an attractive young man while the left side of his body had no skin, leaving his muscle fibers exposed.

A god consisting of a headless monkey riding a headless cow, holding an enormous eye in its right hand and an enormous nose in its left.

In contrast, a god who had the appearance of heads of all kinds of animals… a mountain of severed animal heads.

The sight of Elder Dragons, as well as gods with the appearances of ordinary humans, standing among these evil gods was quite shocking.

This is incredible, Vandalieu thought, but the gods were thinking the same thing. They were thinking this because they were looking directly at the shape of Vandalieu's soul.

There were numerous eyes and mouths positioned randomly around his head, and his arms were made of multiple human arms joined together in bundles. And the Demon King's fragments were growing from his body in a chaotic manner. Horns, carapace and coagulated masses of blood protruded from his body. His arms were covered in countless suction cups, and he was glowing ominously here and there.

He looked like an evil god himself, and despite looking directly at the gods, his only thoughts were, "this is incredible." Something ran through the gods' minds. The thought that this was not a human. Most of the gods, including Mububujenge, were astounded to the point of being lost for words.

In fact, Merrebeveil, who had seen Vandalieu's soul once before, looked composed, but she was discomposed as well. He has become worse… no, changed, since that time, she thought.

Incidentally, Fidirg was nervous, but not discomposed. It was his first time seeing Vandalieu's soul, but he had never considered Vandalieu to be a human to begin with, so despite the appearance of Vandalieu's soul, he simply thought, "As I expected."

"So, what is the matter that you wanted to discuss?" Vandalieu asked.

"Ah, Yes," said Mububujenge, her voice trembling and high-pitched. "As a result of discussion between us gods, we wished to bring up Ravovifard's plans and his current state. And we wished to express our gratitude and make some requests…"

"Mububujenge, I shall take over from here. That is why you made the effort of contacting us despite not having had any contact with us for a hundred thousand years, is it not?" said Merrebeveil, taking the role of leading the meeting.

And then Merrebeveil gave an explanation of Ravovifard's ambitions, supplemented by the conjectures that the gods had made here and there, and explained how everyone had been unable to make any proper movements, as Ravovifard had been holding them back.

Budarion and the others listened to this explanation quietly.

When Budarion had an audience with Mububujenge in the past, she had revealed her dignity as a goddess… if he were to describe her without holding back, he would have said that she had a self-important, lazy attitude.

He was astonished that she was so clearly nervous when speaking to Vandalieu. He felt the desire to look up multiple times, but each time he did, Fidirg would tell him, "Don't." And so, he had managed to endure it.

"I see, I understand the circumstances. Things were hard for both us and yourselves, weren't they," said Vandalieu after listening to the explanation.

Mububujenge and the other gods were relieved to hear this response. Merrebeveil, as well as Zozogante who had met Vandalieu once before, gave a sigh, muttering, "We told you that there's no need to be so afraid."

Even though his incarnation in Lambda had been incomplete, Ravovifard had been powerful enough to suppress the gods, and Vandalieu had defeated him. Not only that, but he possessed the ability to break souls just like the Demon King Guduranis, whom the gods still feared. Mububujenge and the others were relieved that Vandalieu was on their side, but at the same time, they feared him.

The gods had a general idea of what Vandalieu's personality was like through how their believers perceived him, especially Mububujenge and Zanalpadna. They also knew that he was an important being to Vida, whom they revered as their master. But even so, they hadn't been able to feel relieved until actually meeting and speaking with him.

At this point in time, Vandalieu possessed power rivaling or perhaps even surpassing those of low-ranking gods like Fidirg and Zozogante; the formation and strengthening of a favorable relationship with him were absolutely necessary.

And then the gods had contacted Fidirg, as well as Merrebeveil, who had started to become worshipped in Talosheim's wetlands and could be contacted even from the inside of the Boundary Mountain Range. They had wanted Fidirg and Merrebeveil to mediate a meeting between them and Vandalieu.

"So then, what is it that you wish to request of me?" Vandalieu asked.

"There are several things… Mububujenge, Zanalpadna," said Merrebeveil, motioning for the other two gods to speak.

"As a result of these events, my priest, Budarion, has stepped down from being emperor. We wish for you to become the next emperor," said Mububujenge.

"All of the gods present here have nominated you… could we ask you to consider it?" said Zanalpadna, whose voice sounded like the creaking of a carapace.

Zozogante and the other gods nodded in agreement.

"Err, is it alright for the gods to skip over the kings of the other nations and decide on the emperor on their own?" Vandalieu asked, slightly bewildered.

He quickly looked down and saw Godwin, who happened to be one of those kings, clenching his fist in a triumphant pose.

Ah, that's right. The emperor of this place is just an honorary position, Vandalieu remembered.

The kings other than Godwin were unlikely to oppose, either.

"Honorable gods, I beseech that you do not request any more from the Holy Son who has aided us so much -" Budarion, who had a strong sense of responsibility, began to protest.

"I would like to consult our nation's general before making a decision, but let us continue this discussion assuming that I will accept," said Vandalieu.

"What?!"

"Ah, I'm sorry."

Vandalieu had replied with a "yes" before realizing that Budarion was speaking.

The truth was that he had been wondering whether the role of emperor would fall onto him.

The role he had played in the war and the size of his achievements. And though there were differences between the nations' resulting states, they were all exhausted, while Talosheim was completely unaffected, of course.

In fact, the combat abilities of those who had participated in this expedition, including Vandalieu himself, had increased, so Talosheim's power as a nation had actually increased slightly overall.

And although Zanalpadna and the Majin nation were city states as well, Talosheim included the Lizardmen and Scylla settlements, as well as multiple towns. The population was still not that large, but in the future, it would certainly exceed that of Zanalpadna and the nation would develop in a way that would rival the old Noble Orc empire.

"Though it is strange of me to say this myself, there will be almost no benefits to you," said Budarion. "My ancestors served as emperor because of their desire to preserve the peace in this land."

"Well, I think it's alright. Honorary positions have their own benefits as honorary positions," said Vandalieu, speaking in the direction of the back of Budarion's head.

"Eh, they do?" Godwin blurted out.

"Seriously?" said Fidirg.

"Be silent, Godwin, Fidirg," said a male god carrying a battle flag on his shoulder, reprimanding them. Vandalieu wondered if this was Xerx, the god of battle flags who was worshipped in the Majin nation.

"There are," Vandalieu said, answering the question.

As one might expect, an honorary position would allow Vandalieu to keep a certain amount of influence and authority among the nations within the Boundary Mountain Range. Especially because he was being asked to take the position of emperor by the gods worshipped by those nations. He would certainly have more power than any emperor of the former Noble Orc empire.

As long as he didn't say anything extremely bizarre, wouldn't he be able to do almost anything?

Chezare was unlikely to object, either.

Even outside of ulterior motives like this, Vandalieu had become on good terms with the people of the nations inside the Boundary Mountain Range during this war, so he very much wanted to maintain these friendly relationships.

Things would be hard for Budarion, the High Kobold nation and the High Goblin nation from now on. The nation of Zanalpadna was interesting, and Vandalieu was interested in the Dark Elf nation, too. The Ghoul nation's king idolized him as well, calling him "Great Aniki."

And these were companions who cooperate and stand up with him against the influence of Alda.

Thus, it was actually convenient to become emperor.

They'll probably be much easier to get along with than the royals and nobles of the Orbaume Kingdom, too.

"Ah, but mediating disagreements between nations and things like that will be difficult for me to do alone," Vandalieu said. "I have no experience in such things. I don't have any subordinates that are proficient in negotiating, either."

"Do not worry so much about that. Disagreements are not things that happen very frequently. This land would have continued to have peaceful relationships between nations if it were not for Ravovifard's interference," said Xerx.

It should be fine, then, Vandalieu thought. "So, what are the other things you wished to request?" he asked.

"First of all, we want for you to visit every nation and interact with the citizens in particular. Just as you did in the nation that I am the guardian of, the High Kobold nation," said Rishare, the god of hunting, who was holding a bow in one hand and a balance scale in the other.

Vandalieu was perplexed by this request. "For post-war recovery?" he asked.

"No, it can be anything. Sightseeing, ceremonial meals or even preaching in the street. To be more straightforward, it is fine as long as you guide the people."

"Huh… I understand."

Are they alright with that? Vandalieu wondered, still perplexed, but he agreed. He understood that Rishare and the other gods were expecting things from the effects of the Guidance: Demon Path Skill, but even so, he couldn't understand why they were prioritizing the citizens.

Even Budarion and the others were perplexed by what they heard. However, there was an important reason behind this for the gods.

The souls of the citizens, the humans, Dwarves and Elves, were managed by Rodcorte's circle of transmigration system. Thus, the records from these people, who lived in the nations within the Boundary Mountain Range, were seen by Rodcorte.

Rishare and the other gods had heard of the dangers of this from Vida before she fell into slumber, and they had set up a barrier to prevent this. However, even that barrier could not affect the souls of those who had died and returned to the system.

Thus, in the end, Rodcorte gained information about the region enclosed by the Boundary Mountain Range, even though there was a time lag of years, decades or sometimes even centuries.

But even the gods didn't think that Rodcorte had been examining the records of each individual person in detail. In fact, nothing devastating had happened to date.

But now, the circumstances were different. Vandalieu, who possessed the ability to break souls, was a being that Rodcorte could not ignore. It was only natural for the gods to believe that even Rodcorte, who undoubtedly thought of humans as nothing more than livestock or products running down an assembly line, would be examining records in detail now.

To prevent this, they wanted Vandalieu to guide the citizens with Guidance: Demon Path and transfer their souls to Vida's circle of transmigration system. That was the gods' true intent.

Of course, they had no way of confirming what was happening inside Rodcorte's circle of transmigration system.

However, the evil god Mububujenge had confirmed that the souls of guided monsters such as the noble Orcs had been transferred from the Demon King's circle of transmigration system to another one. Thus, the gods had determined that it should be possible for Vandalieu to do the same to the citizens.

These actions bewildered Vandalieu and his companions, as they were still mortals and could not be told the secrets regarding reincarnation, but Rishare was relieved to hear Vandalieu's words of agreement.

"The other thing that we would like to request is -" Rishare produced a trembling, pulsating, fist-sized lump of flesh and held it out to Vandalieu.

"Ah, thank you. Itadakimasu." Vandalieu suddenly took the lump of flesh and instinctively ate it.

His eyes opened wide as he experienced a wriggling texture and an indescribable deliciousness that spread throughout his mouth as he chewed. Was his sense of taste different because he was eating something while in a pure, soul-only form?

Rishare stared at Vandalieu in surprise, completely frozen in the same position with which he had offered Vandalieu the lump of flesh. "He ate it…"

"He ate it? That… even if it was sealed…"

"Seriously? Did he seriously eat it?"

"I knew that he could break them, but…"

"Come to think of it, the presence of an evil god who was close to the Boundary Mountain Range disappeared unnaturally several years ago, could that have been…?"

"No, even he… but, this child is capable of encroaching upon people��s minds just like him."

"Huh? Could it be that I wasn't supposed to eat it?" Vandalieu asked.

It had been so delicious, and he'd thought that he was being told, "Please eat this," so he had eaten the lump of flesh reflexively, but perhaps it had been ill-mannered of him to do so.

But the gods all shook their heads simultaneously. "No, if you like, please eat more!" they said.

And then Rishare produced more lumps of flesh, identical to the first, one after another.

"Oh, really? Excuse me, these are so delicious. Ah, would everyone like to eat them with me?" Vandalieu asked.

"No, please do not pay any attention to us!" Myuze said hastily.

"Then I should save some to give away -"

"I believe that you should eat them here rather than take them with us!" Gizania shouted.

"I see. It's best to eat them while they're still fresh."

Myuze and Gizania had guessed what Vandalieu was eating.

It was likely the sealed pieces of Ravovifard.

Half of Ravovifard had been destroyed by Vandalieu and he had lost his power, and then the gods had sealed him. The gods had then decided that it would be best to have Vandalieu destroy the remaining parts rather than continue to keep them sealed, since they had invited him here. This would remove the potential of Ravovifard becoming a threat again in the future and the running costs of continuing to keep him sealed forever.

They certainly hadn't expected Vandalieu to start eating them like snacks, but perhaps because they thought that there was no difference between him breaking them and eating them, they simply kept offering Vandalieu all of the parts of Ravovifard they had.

Of course, it was only natural for Myuze and the others to be flustered as well. Though evil gods were far below the Demon King in status, they couldn't handle being given fragments of one.

"This food has reminded me to ask," said Vandalieu, suddenly remembering something. "Did the Demon King eat the people whose souls he broke? And if he did, did he absorb the memories of the souls he ate?"

The gods were perplexed by this question.

"The Demon King was also a god, so it was not necessary for him to eat meals normally… did he ever eat anything?"

"No, not really. He sometimes ate to make a display or for his own amusement, but I've never heard of him eating souls."

Unexpectedly, it seemed that the Demon King Guduranis had never eaten souls.

"… I suppose I have no choice but to examine the God Devourer and Soul Devour Skills on my own later. So, what else do I need to do now?" Vandalieu asked, still heartily eating Ravovifard.

Rishare was in a half-dazed state, so Merrebeveil took over once more.

"Yes, there are two… no, there is one more request," she said, correcting herself as one of the requests would be finished in two more mouthfuls. "We want you to absorb the fragments of the Demon King that Mububujenge, Zanalpadna and the others have sealed. If they are freed from the burden of keeping the fragments sealed, they will apparently be able to put more of their power into the barrier."

"I understand," said Vandalieu. "But before that, I'd like to ask, is there a pressing need to strengthen the barrier beyond its current state? If there's a threat coming, I'd like to know in advance."

The gods exchanged looks and nodded.

"… Alright," said Xerx, speaking for the rest of the gods. He was wearing a sour, twisted expression. "This is something that happened fifty thousand years ago. Farmaun Gold, our master who became a heroic god, the champion chosen by Zantark-sama, once closed in on the edge of the barrier."

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