The buildings and streets of the High Kobold nation, which had fallen into ruin after Gargya’s coup d’état, were being repaired at an astounding speed.

The stone and wood of the buildings, as well as the stone pavement on the ground, appeared as if they were turning into a clay-like form, the broken parts and cracks vanishing in the process.

“The town is returning to normal before our very eyes!”

“Wow, thanks!”

“WANWANWANWAAAN!”

The High Kobold nation’s people cheered as they watched this happen. Many of them were children, and the High Kobold children in particular were so excited that it was impossible to tell what they were saying.

They were wagging their tails, so it was clear that they were delighted, however.

Vandalieu was the one person waving to the people… or at least, he was supposed to be one person, but he had split himself into ten. He felt slightly dissatisfied.

“… I’d rather be cooking than doing construction work.”

“Shea nuts… shea butter…”

“Açaí berries…”

“Numerous fruits that didn’t exist on Earth, and the meat of animals that went extinct…”

Vandalieu’s interest was so much more inclined towards food than construction and repair that his spirit clones were muttering these words to themselves.

Gargya had been defeated, and the extermination and dismantling of the remainders of his subordinates had been finished. The lookouts left at the castle and around the town had been defeated quickly as well, and the civilians had been safely freed.

There hadn’t been any casualties on Vandalieu’s side; some had been wounded, but none had sustained heavy wounds such as lost limbs, so Potions and the healing magic of Zadiris and the others was enough to treat them.

Fortunately, the High Kobold nation had been taken back less than half a year after Gargya’s coup d’état, so none of the nation’s citizens were in seriously bad states. Considering Gargya’s behavior, he would have likely decided that anyone wounded and unable to make a full recovery wouldn’t be of any use and turned them into food rather than try to treat them, so things could have become disastrous if this matter had taken much longer to resolve.

And Princess Lulu, the only direct descendant of the previous king whom Gargya had left alive so that he could make her his wife, had been freed by Prince Budarion and those with him (Kasim and his companions barely made it in time). There hadn’t been any particular problems in this process, either… though spring didn’t arrive for Kasim.

And then Vandalieu had done what nobody else could do – assisting in the restoration of the High Kobold nation with the use of his Golem Creation Skill.

“It’s not really that it’s boring.”

“I’m happy that everyone is thanking me.”

“The High Kobold nation’s buildings have an unusual architectural style, so it’s interesting, too.”

“I can even learn all kinds of things about the High Kobold people, like how they like to live in groups and how the individual houses are large.”

The High Kobold nation was a nation in which High Kobolds, as well as human, Dwarf and Elf citizens and a small number of members of other races who had immigrated from other nations, lived together. After Gargya’s coup d’état, its total population was a little over ten thousand, and its population had decreased considerably, by a little over a thousand including those who had fled safely to Zanalpadna. Once those who had escaped to other nations returned, the population would increase a little again.

There were about ten thousand citizens. The humans were the most common race, while there were only about a hundred Elves. And there were a few hundred of the inferior Kobold race.

The society of this nation was similar to the Noble Orc empire’s; the High Kobolds, who had a base Rank of 5, were in charge of the defense of the city as well as hunting and gathering outside the nation and inside Dungeons, while the citizens were in charge of production work inside the nation.

And the inferior race of Kobolds was in charge of providing low-ranking soldiers, guards and physical labor. The remaining Kobolds in the nation now were all manual labor workers, however.

The Kobolds that were soldiers in occupation had approved of Gargya’s coup d’état, become like beasts and then loaned out to the Noble Orc empire ruled by Bugitas to be used as low-ranking soldiers.

The fact that the number of High Kobolds had dropped dramatically would make it difficult for a while just to maintain the nation. But fortunately, there were no high-difficulty Dungeons that would threaten the existence of the High Kobold nation if the monster numbers inside weren’t reduced periodically.

There was a single D-class Dungeon inside the nation, and there was nothing more than a few other D-class Dungeons nearby, so even with their numbers decreased, it wouldn’t be difficult for the High Kobolds to keep the monster numbers in check.

It would certainly be possible for the High Kobold nation to be restored once the biggest obstacle, the Noble Orc empire ruled by Bugitas, was gone.

If the buildings and walls could be repaired before then, the time needed for the nation’s restoration would be shortened a little.

Incidentally, Vandalieu had suggested things like gathering the souls of the dead High Kobolds to resurrect them as Undead and using the Labyrinth Construction Skill to create a new Dungeon or move existing ones, but these would likely be considered by the High Kobold nation’s new king and his aides one day, after Bugitas’s defeat.

To the High Kobold nation, Vandalieu was the savior who had defeated the usurper, but at the same time, he was the king of another nation. It was only natural for them to be cautious of allowing a king of another nation to do things like create large numbers of his own supporters and leave them in the High Kobold nation, or creating shortcuts that he could use to move in and out of the nation freely.

“And it seems like the victory feast will be after we defeat Bugitas,” Vandalieu said.

The Noble Orc empire’s army hadn’t established a network for delivering information. Bugitas was likely still unaware that the generals he had sent to various regions had been defeated.

The usurper Bugitas had been born in a land that hadn’t seen even small skirmishes for tens of thousands of years; he had never read any books written about military tactics because they didn’t exist, and now, he had started a full-scale war for the first time.

Before he started the war, the Noble Orc empire’s army’s duty was to defend the nation against monsters, as well as hunting and gathering outside the nation’s walls and inside Dungeons. Thus, they had never thought that large groups of hundreds or even over a thousand would depart the nation for more than several days at a time.

And Bugitas hadn’t seen the delivery of information or logistics to be a large problem, so there were almost no units acting as messengers.

Noble Orcs excelled in charging forward and were certainly not a dull race, but… they weren’t a race that was proficient at covering long distances quickly, and there weren’t many tamers that used monsters.

Bugitas was probably sitting on his throne right about now, waiting for reports from the now-deceased Budirud and Bufudin that would never come.

There was no way that this wouldn’t be taken advantage of; the plan now was for the swift liberation of all of the nations that had been affected by Bugitas’s evil influence and then close in on the nation just as swiftly, having Prince Budarion take Bugitas’s head.

Once that was over, yakiniku would be made with Bugitas’s ribs.

No, should I make roasted pork fillets? It’s hard to give up the possibilities of miso katsu and pork curry, though.

Vandalieu was lost in these thoughts, but a voice called out to him from below among all the cheering, bringing him back to reality.

“Excuse me! Can I have a moment?!”

“What is it?” Vandalieu asked.

Perhaps he had repaired a building incorrectly because he had been too lost in his thoughts. Thinking that this might have been the case, Vandalieu hastily stepped back onto the ground, but the Dwarf woman who had called out to him didn’t seem to be wanting to make a complaint or request.

“Umm, for repairing my house and… avenging Wan-san, I wanted to thank you,” she said. Her expression was sad for a moment as Vandalieu descended to the ground, but it quickly changed into a smile as she offered him a basket. “These are the fruits that Wan-san liked! Thank you very much!” she said.

“Thank you very much for this,” said Vandalieu.

Who was Wan-san? Before Vandalieu could ask, the Dwarf woman ran back towards her house.

As he watched her leave, he imagined that Wan-san was probably a High Kobold who had been in an intimate relationship with her.

“Monsters’ spirits return to the circle of transmigration quickly, after all… and it seems that Bufudin and Gargya don’t remember him, either,” Vandalieu murmured.

It seemed that Bufudin and Gargya didn’t remember. Wan was probably not an uncommon name among High Kobolds.

Leaving that aside, Vandalieu looked into the basket, thinking that he would gratefully accept these fruits, to see that they were fruits that Vandalieu had never seen or heard of before. He was perplexed by these red-skinned fruits with several hairs resembling catfish whiskers growing from them, about the right size to be held in one hand.

“Umm, how do you eat these?” he asked.

“Wanwanwanwan!”

“… Thanks.”

High Kobold children were cute, resembling puppies standing on two legs, but it was impossible to tell what they were saying. The Kobold language was just as unintelligible as the Orc language.

Vandalieu tried cutting the skin of the fruit with his nails to see that despite its appearance, it was filled with smooth, white flesh. He tried eating it and found the flesh to be soft, his mouth becoming filled with sweet fruit juice.

“I feel like it’s a little similar to lychees, which I ate on just one occasion on Earth. It seems that there are interesting fruits in Lambda, too. Wan-san, you have good taste,” said Vandalieu.

As he thought of the late Wan-san, his surroundings suddenly turned dark without warning.

“Vandalieu, the extermination of the usurper who was ruling the High Kobold nation and the general that was dispatched here, as well as the liberation of the nation, is complete. Budirud’s Zombie was very useful,” said a voice.

Legion had silently teleported into the sky above Vandalieu.

“UWAAAAH?! MAMA~!”

“KYAINKYAIN?!”

The children ran away immediately. It seemed that the appearance of Legion, who appeared to be a three-meter-wide sphere made of multiple flesh mannequins entwined around each other, was too stimulating for them.

“… I don’t think they need to cry as they run away. I even had fanatical fans in my previous life, too,” said Pluto, looking shocked.

“It can’t be helped; it’s their first time seeing you,” said Vandalieu. “How are Borkus and the others?”

“Borkus was complaining that things were too boring because the enemies are too weak,” Shade replied. “He defeated King Gido who was ruling the High Goblin nation and Bone Man defeated General Bugyap who was stationed there, but it seems that they didn’t put up much of a fight.”

“Of course, both of them were strong enemies that we wouldn’t have been able to defeat unless we made good use of Ereshkigal’s Counter!” Valkyrie piped up.

“Valkyrie, I don’t think you need to mention that,” said Pluto.

Vandalieu’s party had split into two armies, conquering the High Kobold and High Goblin nations at the same time.

This was because the two nations were close to the Ghoul nation, and because they had been under the complete control of the Noble Orc empire and used as sources of troops.

And though this had only been confirmed after defeating him, it was difficult to imagine that Gargya would reform after Bugitas’s defeat, so it hadn’t been a mistake to liberate these nations first.

According to Legion, it seemed that the one ruling the High Goblin nation and the general dispatched there were similar.

“By the way, what is that?” Pluto asked.

“A mysterious fruit,” said Vandalieu. “It seems to be native to Lambda, and I didn’t manage to ask what it was called. Would you like to try some?”

Legion took a fruit from Vandalieu and swallowed it whole, skin and all. And then another of their personalities surfaced to respond.

“… This fruit was on Earth and Origin as well. The appearance and taste is pretty much the same. Jack likes it, too,” said Hitomi.

“They’re called rambutan, right, Hitomi-chan?” said Jack.

“Seriously?” Vandalieu asked.

“Serious, serious,” both of them replied.

Rambutan. It was a fruit native to Southeast Asia. As Hitomi said, it was a fruit that had existed on Earth, but Vandalieu had no memory of it.

However, this fruit had been produced in the High Kobold nation, which had a climate that was a little similar to Africa’s, so it was likely to be a close relative of the rambutan, to be more precise.

Once Vandalieu had time, he wanted to create Immortal Ents to produce rambutan, but wouldn’t it cause problems to produce a specialty product of a nation that Talosheim would begin trading with in the near future?

Vandalieu was pondering this inside the Job-changing room of the High Kobold nation.

As monsters, High Kobolds could not acquire Jobs, but a Job-changing was necessary for the citizens to acquire production-related Jobs, so there was one in this nation as well.

“I haven’t done anything unusual this time, so I don’t think there will be any new ones, but…” Vandalieu murmured as he touched the crystal.

『Jobs that can be selected:【Corpse Demon Commander】【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*】』

TLN*: This 忍

/nin is the “nin” in “ninja”

“… Hmm, there are more. Are Guider Jobs supposed to be coming out like this so often?”

Isn’t this Job system bugged? Is it alright? Vandalieu silently asked in his mind, directing his question at Ricklent, the genie of time and magic who was thought to have created Jobs and Skills, but there was no reply.

It was unknown as to whether Vandalieu’s question hadn’t reached Ricklent or whether he had been deliberately ignored.

“Still, the other two are… Fallen Warrior refers to a fallen warrior, doesn’t it.* As for Insect Nin, maybe it’s related to the Insect User Job? But for now, I’ve already decided on the next Job I’ll take. I choose Corpse Demon Commander.”

TLN*: I have no idea how else to translate this. I’ve translated the Job title by its kanji, but note that Vandalieu’s “explanation” of fallen warrior is also a word that refers to a soldier that flees the battlefield. Not sure if it’s relevant.

Lately, Vandalieu had often been commanding everyone or standing at the front in group battles. So if he acquired the Corpse Demon Commander Job, which was read in the same way as ‘commander’*, perhaps he would acquire a Bonus to the Commanding Skill and things would proceed better. That was what he had thought.

TLN*: I think I mentioned this when the Job first appeared; “Corpse Demon Commander” is pronounced the same way as the word for “commander” but with different kanji.

『You have changed Jobs to Corpse Demon Commander!』

『The Levels of the Commanding and Coordination Skills have increased!』

『You have acquired the Corpse Binding Technique Skill!』

『The Corpse Binding Technique, Plant Binding Technique and Insect Binding Technique have fused into Group Binding Technique!』

Vandalieu had expected the Commanding and Coordination Skills to increase in Level, but he had also acquired the Corpse Binding Technique Skill, which had fused into the Group Binding Technique Skill.

“I can imagine what effect this will have based on Plant Binding Technique and Insect Binding Technique. I wonder if this means I can equip Borkus and Bone Man, too?”

The results seemed to be better than expected. Vandalieu left the Job-changing room in a good mood.

And then Gizania rushed towards him. “Holy-Son-dono! Prince Budarion says that his transplanted eye and arm are throbbing, and his body is not feeling well! Come quickly!” she said.

Have I made a medical blunder? Vandalieu thought as he hastily headed to Prince Budarion.

The cup that the tyrant threw at the floor in anger made a clear-sounding noise as it shattered.

“BUGAAH! BUKYABUGAGAH?!” Bugitas shouted, asking whether there were still not reports,

His Noble Orc subordinates were huddled up in fear.

One of them, visibly reluctant, opened his mouth to speak. “Your Majesty Bugitas, there has been no report from General Budirud who is conquering the Ghoul nation. Our regular communications with Gargya-dono and General Bufudin in the High Kobold nation, as well as Gido-dono and General Bugyap in the High Goblin nation, have stopped has well. Also, there have been no reports from General Buburin, who was building the frontline base for conquering Zanalpadna,” he reported.

Bugitas’s mood grew worse and worse the longer the Noble Orc Mage’s report continued.

The Noble Orc Mage didn’t want to deliver this report, and there was nothing he could use to try and improve Bugitas’s mood, but he couldn’t simply stay silent, either.

“What about the guys we sent to monitor the Majin nation and Drakonid nation?!” Bugitas demanded.

The Majin and Drakonid nations, which had military strength equivalent to the Noble Orc empire’s, couldn’t send their armies to the empire because they were dealing with the monster rampages caused by Ravovifard, the evil god of release.

However, considering the military strength of those nations, even if dealing with the rampaging monsters took time, Bugitas didn’t think that the nations would be overrun.

In fact, if a monster rampage on the scale that would inflict harm on the Majin and Drakonid nations would threaten the empire as well. Ravovifard had simply made the monsters inhabiting the Dungeons more ferocious; he was not controlling them. The monsters were simply attacking the enemies closest to them.

“About that, we have not heard from them after the first message they sent after they arrived… we believe it likely that they were found by a group of rampaging monsters and eliminated,” the Noble Orc Mage said.

“Those useless fools! Send in the next scouting unit! We must have a clear idea of the movements of those two nations! What about Gerazorg and Bugoba that we sent to the Majin nation, and Bumogan who is dealing with the other small nations?!” Bugitas shouted.

Bugitas had an ally in the form of a Majin by the name of Gerazorg who had once studied abroad in the empire; he had sent Gerazorg to the formidable but distant Majin nation with the intention of starting a coup d’état. It was the same plan as with Gargya in the High Kobold nation.

Gerazorg, who had acquired Ravovifard’s divine protection, was supposed to have gathered supporters within the Majin nation, join the army led by General Bugoba and, if things went well, take over the nation.

“They have gone completely silent… We believe that messengers were on the way, but they were unfortunate enough to encounter powerful monsters that eliminated them,” the Noble Orc Mage said.

There hadn’t been a single report. The nations were far, and the road in between was filled with danger, so there was nothing that could be done about that.

But suddenly, another Noble Orc Mage ran hastily into the throne room, falling over on his way in.

“Your Majesty! Your Majesty Bugitas! The general, General Bugoba’s…!”

“Has there finally been a report?!” Bugitas asked, standing up from his throne.

He thought that he would finally be able to hear a report. But what was delivered to him was the most terrible of news.

“N-no! The survivors of General Bugoba have returned!” the Noble Orc Mage said.

“WHAAAAAAAT?!” Bugitas roared like an enraged wild boar.

On the verge of soiling himself, the Noble Orc who had run into the room continued speaking. According to his report, the coup d’état in the Majin nation had ended in failure.

Gerazorg had tried to gather supporters in the Majin nation for the coup d’état, but surprisingly, he had been almost completely unable to gather any at all. There had only been a few supporters, and they didn’t possess any special abilities or high positions in society. Though some conspiracy or a single planned act of terrorism might have been possible, subversion of the nation hadn’t been within reach.

Despite that, General Bugoba had made a display of reckless loyalty, wanting to “live up to His Majesty’s expectations,” and attacked the Majin nation. With an army that was overwhelmingly outnumbered, he had put up a valiant fight, but in the end, he had been soundly defeated. General Bugoba himself had been killed in battle, and apparently the few survivors had returned to the empire.

Gerazorg was apparently among them, seeking asylum.

“… Impossible. It’s true that he was unsatisfactory when I reached out to him, and he is a fool that deserved being exiled under the pretense of studying in another nation, but he possesses Ravovifard’s divine protection. The High Kobold nation’s Gargya and the High Goblin nation’s Gido were similar, and things went well there!” Bugitas shouted.

But reality would not change. Bugitas would likely be able to hear the story from Gerazorg himself and the survivors of General Bugoba’s army, but it would unlikely that he would hear anything pleasant.

Though one the saving grace was that the Majin race was few in number, so even though Gerazorg’s coup d’état had failed, they wouldn’t be able to send their army out so soon.

However, the Majin race was a warrior race that transformed into fearsome fighters once angered. Even if it took them time, they would certainly send their army to the empire one day.

So, it seems that the same method that I used with the High Kobolds and High Goblins doesn’t work on the Majin race, who are nothing but whimsical individuals… Bugitas convinced himself forcibly, successfully managing to suppress his anger.

“Which means that there’s no report from Bumogan?” he asked with bloodshot eyes.

“N-no! A report just arrived!” the Noble Orc Mage replied in a stiff-sounding voice.

“What?! It isn’t a report that they’ve been routed and want assistance in retreating, is it?!”

“No! It’s a request for reinforcements! The Lamia, Centaurs and Harpies were stronger than they expected, and for some reason, a small number of Majin have joined the enemy forces! The report says that they have sustained large losses of low-ranking soldiers, and that they are also lacking materials…”

Bumogan hadn’t possessed a pawn to start a coup d’état, but he had been leading an army to suppress the countries that posed less of a threat, ensuring that they didn’t form an allied army with Zanalpadna and the Ghoul nation.

This was a plan made under the assumption that the Lamia and Centaur nations were small, not being of much threat unless they joined forces with Zanalpadna or the nation of Ghouls, of whom it was no exaggeration to say that they were all combatants excluding the elderly and the children.

However, the three nations had joined forces and become stronger than expected, and it seemed that the Majin nation, who had destroyed Bugoba’s army, had sent a few elite units to aid them as a preliminary act of retaliation against the empire.

“Buguguh…! Give them the reinforcements! Tell Bumogan to not return until he forces the small fry back and overruns the enemy nations!” Bugitas ordered.

“But we do not know who we should put in charge of the reinforcements…”

“You go! Right now!”

“Hyih! A-as you will!”

“Get out!” Bugitas shouted at the rest of his subordinates, chasing them out of the throne room.

He felt like if he continued to look at their faces from up close, he would kill them in anger.

It was no simple task to become a Noble Orc Mage; they were different from women, who were easily replaced… There had been dozens of them to begin with, but most of them supported Prince Budarion.

Most of the mages remaining in the empire were those serving Bugitas reluctantly out of fear of his power. The only mages that had sworn loyalty to him and worshipped Ravovifard were the few individuals who had been in the throne room until moments earlier.

Thus, even Bugitas couldn’t simply kill them as he pleased.

All of these fools are useless! Even though they have gained the power of my Guidance… are their heads nothing but decorations?! Bugitas cursed in his mind as he lifted a bottle of alcohol to his mouth and chugged its contents.

His throat felt like it was burning, but the heat suppressed his irritation.

That’s right, there is a saying that no news is good news. The fact that there are no reports from Budirud, Bufudin and Bugyap is proof that things are going well. There’s no doubt about that, Bugitas thought, nodding at the convenient delusions given to him by the alcohol.

But his happy moment came to an end.

“BUHIH?!”

Bugitas felt a sensation similar to when Familiar Spirit Descent was activated, but with an even more powerful being descending, erasing his drunkenness in an instant.

And through a Divine Message from Ravovifard, the evil god of release, he learned of a terrifying situation.

“Impossible… Is he that powerful a being?! So, what am I supposed to do?! … Is that even possible?! If I do that… I can win! Even if the enemy possesses the Demon King’s fragments, I can win!”

Listening to the solution given to him by Ravovifard, Bugitas felt certain in his own victory.

Job explanation:

【Golem Creator】

The superior version of the Golem Transmuter Job. It can be selected by those who have experienced the Golem Transmuter Job and fulfill other conditions such as Level requirements in production-related Skills and having created new materials.

It provides low increases in Attribute Values, but provides a bonus to all production-related Skills.

The effect of the Job allows one to spend Mana to create new materials such as metal, but it is likely difficult to make full use of this ability unless the user possesses Mana that exceeds that of a human’s limits.

However, the fact that one can acquire this Job means that one already possesses Mana that exceeds a human’s limits, so this may not be much of a flaw.