n

n

n

nA week after Guduranis’s defeat, the rebuilding of Orbaume city was proceeding at an unbelievable speed. With the walls and gates protecting the city rebuilt, and the Guild facilities restored to their original state, expressions of relief returned to the people’s faces, and the streets were starting to become lively again.

nBut the housing situation had changed drastically.

nStanding on Cuatro’s deck, the Four Dead Sea Captains had their arms crossed, deep in thought as they faced a group of youths in their teens and twenties. These were some of the people who had been rescued by Cuatro.

n“Come on. You seriously want to live here?” one of the Four Dead Sea Captains asked.

n“Yes, please!” one of the youths said.

n“You damned brats. If you want to keep living here, you won’t be living here as guests. You’ll have to do your share of the work! Do you really understand that?”

n“We do! We’ll scrub the decks and do whatever you want! Please let us stay!”

n“I would also like to ask you to consider their request,” said a nearby Demon King Familiar.

nAccording to the youths, they had been working as merchants’ assistants, apprentice servants, or low-ranking thugs. They had been mistreated quite terribly at their workplaces and bullied like slaves.

nHaving been rescued by Cuatro, they had managed to separate themselves from their cruel employers, and they were now trying to use this opportunity to escape those employers and seize control over a new life for themselves.

nBut the Four Dead Sea Captains were not so soft that they would easily allow anyone to come and work for them just because it seemed easier than their previous workplaces.

n“The work here won’t be so easy, either,” one of them warned. “After all, Vandalieu-sama doesn’t hesitate to rule with an iron fist when needed. And Cuatro is also a warship. Naturally, you will need to prepare yourself to share the ship’s fate when the time calls for it.”

n“Of course!” one of the youths said.

n“We will have you train for combat, but given that you’ll be starting off doing menial labor, know that there won’t be any opportunity for you to shine. And by Vandalieu-sama’s command, we strictly enforce that you can only work eight hours per day during times of peace! And you must take at least one day’s rest per week! If you work any longer than eight hours, or work during your day off, you must receive compensation for that! You will not be allowed to refuse!” another Dead Sea Captain said sternly.

nOne of the other Dead Sea Captains chuckled. “You will be exempt from such limits during times of emergency like the recent crisis, but even so, you will be forced to take compensation. Working endlessly like us is a privilege of those of us in managerial positions! Don’t go thinking you’ll be allowed such a privilege anytime within the next ten years! But what we can guarantee you is that you’ll be given three meals a day, and a bed to sleep in with no more than four people per room! Women won’t receive any special treatment! So what do you say? Do you still want to work here?!”

n“Yes, we do!” the youths all replied in unison.

nFor those working in the Orbaume Kingdom as merchants’ assistants or servants of nobles, it wasn’t rare to have to work for over twelve hours a day, and they generally had no days off. Naturally, they would never receive any extra compensation.

nIt was also common for them to only have two meals a day, with numerous people sharing a room when they slept.

nAs for the low-ranking thugs, it wasn’t uncommon for them to struggle to even get anything to eat for the day.

nTo these youths who had lived this way, the conditions given to them by the Four Dead Sea Captains sounded like heaven.

n“Very well, then! We’ll have you start working right away, starting from today! We’ll contact your former employers to let them know,” one of the Four Dead Sea Captains said.

n“Now then, come up onto the deck! I’ll get started on having you scrubbing it right away!” said another.

n“Yes, sir!” the new sailors said energetically as they clambered onto the deck.

nThe Demon King Familiar watched them with its enormous eyeball rotating in puzzlement. “Are you sure about this? You accepted them more easily than I thought you would.”

n“It’s not a matter of whether we’re sure or not. You said, ‘I would also like to ask you to consider their request,’ so we couldn’t exactly refuse them, could we, Boss?” one of the Four Dead Sea Captains said.

nTo them, Vandalieu – the person behind the Demon King Familiar – was their master whose orders were absolute, and he was the one who had created Cuatro. If he asked them to do something, they had to do it.

n“I suppose you’re right… More importantly, Captains, you said that there’s no limit on overtime for those in managerial positions, but I’m sure the rules I decided still mandate that you take days off,” the Demon King Familiar reminded them.

n“What?!” one of the Four Dead Sea Captains exclaimed. “We messed up…!”

n“I’ll be having you take turns to have days off starting this week, alright?” the Demon King Familiar said, stretching out tentacles to grab the Four Dead Sea Captains and drag them away.

n“T-telling Undead to rest is an act of crueltyyyy!” one of them screamed.

nShelters other than Cuatro also had a surprising number of people who refused to leave. Silkie Zakkart Mansion had numerous people who wished to change Jobs after having worked for nobles who treated them terribly. There were even some maids shouting, “I’ll even become an Undead right now if necessary!” which prompted Vandalieu’s nearby companions to hastily stop them from carrying that out… though less haste was needed to deal with the angry nobles shouting, “You intend to steal those who belong to my house?!”

nThe Dungeons that had been created as shelters had interiors similar to buildings and were equipped with the bare minimum furniture; with the exception of several downsides such as there being no sky, it was easier to live there than outside to those who had lived destitute lives prior to the evacuation. Thus, there were quite a number of people who didn’t want to leave and people who expressed a wish to continue living in the Dungeons even after they were released. However, living long-term inside a Dungeon would require regular culling of the monsters that spawned inside. Even Dungeons created by Vandalieu spawned monsters that didn’t contain souls. And if they were left alone without culling them, they would spill over outside the Dungeon. And once they left the Dungeon, spirits floating around nearby would inhabit their bodies and the monsters would exhibit their usual ferocious behavior and go on a rampage.

nThus, despite feeling sorry for those wishing to live in the Dungeons, Vandalieu had them leave and live in Knochen House, a hastily-made temporary housing complex. This housing complex was quite pleasant to live in, other than the furniture provided being made of bone, and the occasional “ooohn” groan from Knochen that could be heard. Because it was entirely white, it also had a sense of cleanliness to it.

nIn both the low-class and high-class nobles’ districts, the nobles were salvaging their assets at a remarkable pace. There were family treasures, works of art such as paintings, items that proved their nobility, and even assets that they were guilty of concealing, so they were desperate to get this finished as quickly as possible.

nOf course, Prime Minister Tercatanis’s mansion was being salvaged by the city guards, with everything being added to the national treasury, down to the last broken scrap of furniture.

nKing Corbitt had also announced that any assets salvaged from the mansion of the Corbitt house of dukes, his original home, would be used to fund the rebuilding of the city. Following his example, the other dukes’ houses and nobles of Orbaume Central such as the house of Marquis Dolmad donated a sizable quantity of assets as well.

nAnd in the former slum district, where redevelopment was progressing, the buildings were already complete and the construction of their interiors was finished as well. The companies that had been doing business in Orbaume previously were expressing a great deal of interest in the rentable stores there.

nDue to firm opposition and political objections raised by the one planning the district’s redevelopment, ‘Vandalieu Town’ was not used as the district’s name. In the end, this new commercial district was named ‘Zakkart District,’ and it was sure to become a pillar upon which Orbaume’s economy, which had collapsed along with the city itself during the incident, would be rebuilt.

nThere was also a showroom for products from the Demon Empire of Vidal here. Numerous food carts would line the streets, and the plaza where the dishes provided by the food carts could be enjoyed would have food carts with owners and employees who were Demons, Undead, and members of Vida’s races.

nZakkart District would become a town of the Demon Empire of Vidal within Orbaume, and it would facilitate much interaction between the two nations.

nIt was also decided that Selen and the Thundering Armaments, the A-class adventurer party tasked with her protection, would return to the Farzon Duchy for now.

nThere had been no contact from the Five-colored Blades, who had been transported somewhere by Nineroad, so it seemed that they would wait for contact from them in the Farzon Duchy, which had deep ties to both Heinz and his companions personally, as well as the peaceful faction of Alda.

nHaving heard this, Vandalieu had earnestly felt relieved. He had asked prominent nobles such as King Corbitt, as well as people with ties to the Churches, to bring down the reputation of Alda and the Five-colored Blades. Selen and the others who had connections to Heinz would have felt displeasure at this if they had stayed in Orbaume.

nJust in case, Vandalieu had also asked that they ensure that this didn’t cause riots or attacks targeting worshipers of Alda, or attempts at attacking or assassinating Selen and the adventurers protecting her in order to try to curry favor with Vandalieu. In regards to the latter, Vandalieu had declared that if anyone were to carry this out, he would remove all of their bones and add them to Knochen’s connection while they were still alive.

nVandalieu intended to stay vigilant for things like this as well. But it was the nature of the world and the nature of humans that things did not always go perfectly according to plan.

n“Thank you for all that you’ve done for us,” said Selen with a firm expression that masked her childishness, perhaps trying to conceal her nervousness or other emotions.

nVandalieu responded in his usual manner. “Not at all. It was Duke Jahan who ran the shelter that you evacuated to. I didn’t really do anything.”

nHe found himself surprised that he could respond to her so calmly. The simple absence of the Five-colored Blades caused him to not feel any anger, hatred, or irritation towards Selen or any of Heinz’s acquaintances.

nOf course, Vandalieu’s empty, blank expression and flat-toned voice made it impossible for Selen and her guardians to read what he was thinking; they couldn’t tell if they were being coldly rejected or simply being dealt with in a businesslike manner.

n“As impertinent as it may be of me, I have prepared a farewell gift for you. Please accept it,” Vandalieu said.

nA teleportation gate opened, creating a hole in space, and a four-horse carriage appeared from within.

nNaturally, this was not Sam. It was nothing more than a carriage with four perfectly ordinary horses.

n“The carriage contains various daily necessities and such. Please feel free to use them,” Vandalieu said.

n“We’re very grateful for this,” said Rembrand, the leader of the Thundering Armaments, with a surprised expression. “With the city being in the state it’s in, we were wondering how we should get the things we’ll need for the journey.”

nNaturally, procuring a carriage and the supplies necessary for a journey would be difficult with Orbaume’s current state, and even products from its neighboring cities and villages were being purchased and gathered for the rebuilding of Orbaume, so the available supplies were limited.

nEven Vandalieu had been forced to use teleportation to procure this carriage from the city of Morksi… That was how smoothly he wanted Selen and her convoy’s journey out of Orbaume to go.

nOne of the members of the Thundering Armaments peeked under the carriage’s canopy and made a surprised noise. “This is… a coffin?”

nThere was a coffin, separate from the things that would be needed for the journey.

n“That’s the body of the ‘Ash Blade’ Edgar,” said Vandalieu. “It’s been preserved with magic, so I suggest you bury it in the Farzon Duchy or wherever you see fit.”

nThe coffin contained Edgar’s corpse, which had fallen to the ground below after his chest was impaled by Rikudou and his head was blown off by Vandalieu’s spell. Vandalieu had gone to retrieve it after the battle.

nHe had then used magic to restore it to a point where it was recognizable as Edgar’s, then placed it in this coffin and preserved it.

n“Edgar-oniichan!” Selen cried, running towards the carriage and leaping inside it.

n“… We are greatly obliged to you for this act of kindness,” Rembrand said as he bowed his head, speaking for Selen as well.

n“Not at all,” said Vandalieu, shaking his head. “It didn’t take much effort, so please don’t mention it.”

nMaking Edgar’s death known for certain to the public achieved several things. It would make the people have less expectations for the Five-colored Blades, prevent troublesome fakes claiming to be Edgar, and created the positive public image that Vandalieu paid respect to the remains of even those he was on bad terms with; that he wasn’t someone who just turned every corpse he saw into Undead. He hadn’t done this out of pity for Selen or Edgar’s friends and acquaintances.

nAnd most importantly, Vandalieu had already devoured Edgar’s soul and destroyed him. With just his corpse left, there was no chance whatsoever that he could be brought back to life.

nEven if he were to turn the corpse into an Undead, he would need to use someone else’s spirit, so its performance would drop drastically. And the bigger reason not to do that was that Vandalieu had already shown Jane Doe to Heinz and his companions, so repeating what he had done with Martina would likely have no effect.

n“Even so, I thank you… I feel awkward for saying this, but I thought that you hated us,” said Rembrand.

nDuring the incident with Rikudou’s appearance and Guduranis’s resurrection, Vandalieu’s companions had allowed Rembrand to use the shelters they had prepared, and they had fought alongside him in battle, but Rembrand had thought that his might have simply been due to the chaos of the situation.

nAfter all, he had been present when Vandalieu had used a Demon King Familiar to warn Heinz and his companions to stay away from Orbaume.

nThe crab-like Demon King Familiar’s cold rejection, and its rage that had caused it to lose its mind and its body to act on its own – These were so shocking that Rembrand had assumed that Vandalieu also hated him and his party because they were friends of Heinz.

nHe remained unaware that Vandalieu had requested King Corbitt and his subjects to bring down the reputation of Heinz and his party. But even if he did, he would probably have just given a wry smile. After all, the reputation of Heinz and his party would fall even if Vandalieu hadn’t done such a thing.

nVandalieu and the Five-colored Blades had fought against the resurrected Guduranis, and even though Edgar had fallen in battle, they had succeeded in defeating the Demon King. That was all that was known about what had happened during the battle to many of the people in Orbaume.

nHowever, when the Demon King was defeated, it was not the God of Law and Fate Alda, but the Goddess of Love and Life Vida, who celebrated this achievement. And the one who was celebrated was not Heinz, but Vandalieu. Everyone knew this.

nAnd Heinz and the rest of the Five-colored Blades had vanished from Orbaume without a trace after the end of the battle, while Vandalieu had remained and was sparing no effort (though in reality, he was not exactly doing everything he possibly could) to rebuild and restore the city – along with members of Vida’s races, Undead, and Demons.

nWith this much of a disparity between them, the people would naturally lean towards Vandalieu’s side, despite Heinz being an S-class adventurer.

nThe balance of power between the Churches, which had remained more or less the same since the foundation of the nation, would not change so easily. But this incident had undoubtedly had such a great impact on the people that even something that would not change so easily could be changed.

nAnd if the influence of Vandalieu and his companions were to remain in Orbaume, it would become a firm current that would wash away all who tried to stop it.

nAfter all, it was only natural for the people to be more grateful to the hero who stayed and the goddess who lent her strength than to a hero who had departed and a god who had done nothing.

n“I thought that I hated you too, but that turned out not to be the case,” said Vandalieu.

nAlthough the Thundering Armaments and Selen were friends of Vandalieu’s enemies, they were not Vandalieu’s enemies themselves. Vandalieu had come to realize this.

nAfter killing High Priest Gordan and the ‘Green Wind Spear’ Riley, who had been a member of the Five-colored Blades, he had continued to thoroughly ruin their image in society. But he didn’t feel any desire to do the same to Edgar now.

nA part of the reason was because he had a position in society himself now, and he had come to think of lowering the reputation of others as a disreputable act itself. And another part of the reason was because he didn’t want to invite opposition from the worshipers of Alda in the Orbaume Kingdom.

nBut the biggest reason was for the sake of his own happiness.

n“I might feel hatred for Edgar himself, and those who praise what he did to us as ‘accomplishments,’ but it would be tiring to hate all of his relatives, friends, and acquaintances who have nothing to do with that and simply want to mourn his death,” Vandalieu said. “There’s a mountain of things I’d rather do instead.”

n“Ah, yeah. I’m sure there are,” said Rembrand.

n“And please don’t misunderstand,” Vandalieu continued. “Although I don’t hate you, I don’t feel anything else for you people, either. If I see you in trouble, I won’t do anything silly to help you… I might lead you to shelter and lend you some spare supplies, but I won’t be worried about you and check up on how you’re doing.”

n“No, that’s more than enough, and I’m grateful for it… I think that you’re a more good-natured person than you think you are,” Rembrand said.

nVandalieu blinked several times. “I’m just acting based on what I think is right,” he said.

nFollowing this conversation in the morning, Vandalieu held a consultation in the food cart plaza of Zakkart District in the early afternoon. The people of Orbaume came to him with their great range of questions, inquiries and troubles – Queries about the project to restore the city, petitions regarding the construction, requests from companies to rent the rentable stores, the Demons’ insistence that a statue of Vandalieu be built, and even a certain woman asking for counseling on what to do now that her boyfriend had become a Demon.

nVandalieu was working as one of the consultants hearing these inquiries and troubles… And in the meantime, the Demon King Familiars that were pretending to be Demons and Vandalieu’s familiars were working hard on the construction.

nIt would have been faster to use ‘Golem Genesis’ to restore the buildings to their original form, but it was possible that this would later leave construction workers out of work, and Vandalieu wanted the people of Orbaume to work for themselves. He was also restraining himself, telling himself that going too far for the sake of another nation wouldn’t be a good thing.

nAnd currently, it was a teary-eyed Miriam and Amelia Sauron who were in a consultation session with Vandalieu.

n“Why, Vandalieu-san?! Have I done something wrong?!” Miriam cried.

n“Indeed, this is really not acceptable, Dear,” said Amelia.

n“Miriam, I’m the one who wants to ask whether I’ve done something wrong,” said Vandalieu, deciding that he would deal with them one at a time.

nWhat Miriam had to say was actually something that was worthy of celebration, in a way.

n“When I went to change Jobs… ‘Heroic Guider’ appeared. ‘Guider!’ You know, the Job that makes people treat you like a hero among heroes, write your name in history books, and build statues of you in your hometown! Not Arthur-san or Simon-san, but me! Don’t you think that’s crazy?!” Miriam cried hysterically.

nMiriam had acquired a Guider-type Job, making her the fourth to do so after Vandalieu, Kanako, and Zadiris.

n“I would think it strange for Arthur and Simon to become Guiders, but since it’s you, all I can say is ‘About time,’” said Vandalieu.

n“Why?!” Miriam exclaimed. “I mean, it’s me we’re talking about here!”

n“Do not talk so badly about yourself. Even I have heard of your deeds. You apparently did some very admirable things, didn’t you?” said Amelia, chiding Miriam for her low self-worth and giving her praise.

nMiriam let out a small groan. “Thank you. But…”

nShe hid her face and groaned again, seeming to be unable to accept it.

n“When I first became a Guider, I also wondered, ‘Why me?’” said Vandalieu.

n“I think it’s only reasonable for you to be a Guider, Vandalieu-san,” said Miriam.

n“That’s right, dear,” said Amelia.

n“… It seems that nobody will agree with me for some reason,” Vandalieu said, tilting his head back to look up at the sky in frustration.

nBut he decided to explain the conclusion that he had reached, for the sake of his troubled friend.

n“This is just my own theory, but hear me out. You’ve always been a leader for Arthur and the others, Miriam. And after arriving here in Orbaume, you acted as a leader for numerous potential heroes like Hendricksen. When you did, do you remember preaching anything to them?” Vandalieu asked.

n“Preaching?” Miriam repeated. “Hendricksen-san and the others were confused and depressed about Rodcorte, so I tried to convince them to pull it together… Just because of that?”

n“I think it was indeed just because of that,” said Vandalieu. “Even if someone preaches their thoughts, whether it’s accepted depends on the listeners. There are plenty of cases where the listeners are deeply moved, even though the speaker doesn’t think that they’ve said anything noteworthy.”

nVandalieu didn’t know what Miriam had said to Hendricksen and the others back then. But the concept of gods making mistakes and the concept that not being entirely reliant on gods and paying them respect not being mutually exclusive were entirely novel to the people of this world.

nTo the inhabitants of this world, gods were great beings. They granted their divine protections to their chosen heroes, and commanded familiar spirits. They provided great wisdom and advice to the people in the form of Divine Messages.

nIt was difficult for people to imagine that such gods made mistakes and failed. Historically speaking, given that the gods had been forced to summon champions from another world because they alone lacked the power to protect this world from the Demon King, they had failed. But many Churches portrayed this as an act of wisdom.

nThat was how ordinary people saw gods, so Hendricksen and the others couldn’t be blamed for seeing gods as absolutely powerful beings, especially given the fact that they had received divine protections and Divine Messages from gods themselves.

nHowever, Miriam was personally acquainted with Vandalieu, Darcia (through whom she sometimes saw Vida), Luvesfol, Talos, and more. Thus, she had naturally formed the idea that gods should be worshiped but not relied on completely.

nIt was also an important factor that Miriam had been acknowledged not only by heroes of the gods of Vida’s faction, such as Arthur, but heroes of the gods of Alda’s forces as well, such as Hendricksen.

nMiriam had likely become a ‘Heroic Guider’ because she had preached her thoughts and they had been acknowledged by people regardless of which gods they worshiped.

n“But everyone’s always asking for Arthur-san’s help as well, and even Randolf-san…” said Miriam.

n“Arthur never preached anything to Hendricksen and the others, and Randolf-sensei is generally solitary and doesn’t even talk to many people, let alone preach anything to them, so I think becoming a Guider would be difficult for him,” said Vandalieu. “More importantly, why did you think the reason you got a Guider Job was because of me?”

n“Oh, I was just thinking that you might have cast a weird curse on me like Zadiris-san…” Miriam mumbled.

n“… May everyone become Guiders, and may more Guider Jobs appear for Miriam,” said Vandalieu, as if reciting an incantation.

nMiriam let out a tragic cry. “Vandalieu-san, you meanie!” she said as she ran away.

nVandalieu looked at her fondly as she left.

n“So, Amelia, what’s the matter you wanted to discuss?” Vandalieu asked.

n“Apparently you kissed Zadiris-san and the others, so I thought it was unacceptable that I’m the only one you haven’t kissed and decided to come and raise a complaint,” Amelia said.

n“Amelia, those weren’t kisses. I sucked their blood.”

n“Eleanora-san informed me that for Vampires, they are like the same thing.”

n“No, that apparently depends on the person.”

n“But it’s true for you, isn’t it?”

nTo Vampires, the act of sucking blood was an act of feeding, and it was also an expression of love and hate. However, the extent of the latter depended on the person. In Vandalieu’s case… it depended on whose blood he was sucking.

nWhen he sucked the blood of bandits when he was hungry, he felt nothing more than as if he had plucked a bunch of edible wild grass from the dirt. When he sucked the blood of people like Darcia or Bellmond, he felt a deep gratitude for them and a sense of satisfaction.

nNaturally, despite the fact that he had sucked the blood of Zadiris and the others because it was necessary, it still fell into the latter category.

n“That is true, but it might cause problems with your health,” Vandalieu said. “Zadiris and the others have more durable bodies than you, Amelia.”

nTo be more specific, their Vitality number was completely different from Amelia’s. Amelia had been increasing her Levels with Vandalieu, but she was still weaker than a D-class adventurer – though that was plenty of progress, given that she had been hospitalized and essentially imprisoned in her room until just a few months ago.

n“… Not even a little?” Amelia asked.

nWhen she put it that way, Vandalieu couldn’t refuse. He took out a Blood Potion, which he always carried on him, then extended his tongue and pierced a blood vessel in Amelia’s neck with its tip to suck her blood.

n“Ah…” Amelia whispered, sounding seductive.

nAnd at that moment, her daughter, who was the leader of Vandalieu’s party, Elizabeth Sauron, came running over.

n“Hey! What are you doing with Mother in the middle of the day?!” Elizabeth demanded.

nAmelia let out an alarmed noise. “No, Eli-chan. It’s too early for you to see this!”

n“Mother, if you really think that way, then don’t do it outdoors!” Elizabeth said angrily.

n“I mean, it’s not too unusual to see men and women holding hands or binding each other with their legs or vines,” said Vandalieu.

n“You’re the only one who does that with legs and vines!” Elizabeth shouted.

nAfter scolding her mother and her stepfather who was also a member of her party, she cleared her throat.

n“More importantly!” she said, deciding to forcibly take this opportunity to get her own business here resolved. “You know that Dungeon that released monsters all over Orbaume? The Adventurers’ Guild has requested that we be the ones to explore that Dungeon. What’s the meaning of this?!”

n“Ah, that was done at my request,” said Vandalieu.

n“Why?! We’re still students at the Adventurers’ School, and in terms of the system, we’re still at F-class!” said Elizabeth.

nThe Hero Preparatory School was an Adventurers’ School attended by boys and girls with talent, but this didn’t change the fact that they were still registered as apprentices in the Guild’s system. Thus, students of the school were prohibited from entering any Dungeons other than the one managed by the school unless they had a teacher leading them.

n“It’s alright. Randolf-sensei will lead the way for us,” said Vandalieu. “I’ve already made the appropriate requests to the Adventurers’ Guild.”

nThe rules had been bent by Vandalieu’s sheer power of influence.

n“Having our teacher who turned out to actually be an S-class adventurer lead us, and pressuring the Guild to accept your demands… Why did you even do such a thing?” Elizabeth asked. “I do think that investigating the Dungeon is important, but rather than sending inexperienced people like us, you could have sent the ‘Heart Warrior Brigade’ or the people who are your familiars… I mean, your subordinates, couldn’t you?”

nElizabeth was among the most exceptional students at the Hero Preparatory School, but she was still only about equivalent to a C-class adventurer. It would be too great a burden to investigate a Dungeon that spawned monsters that could not be easily defeated even by an A-class adventurer… though this likely wouldn’t be a problem with Vandalieu and the S-class adventurer Randolf present.

nHowever, with that being the case, Randolf and Vandalieu could simply go on their own. There was no need for Elizabeth and the others to go with them.

n“It will be good to increase your and everyone else’s Levels, and it will act as a replacement for the long-term Dungeon exploration practical training that was canceled,” said Vandalieu.

nThe long-term Dungeon exploration practical training was a practical training at the Hero Preparatory School in which participants spent about a week inside a Dungeon. It had been supposed to take place in summer, but due to the recent incident, it had been canceled.

n“It seems that the school won’t be operating for a while longer, but let’s spend this time to grow even stronger and surpass Alex,” Vandalieu said. “This break from school is our chance.”

n“Y-you… Do you really intend to continue going to school?!” Elizabeth exclaimed, opening her eyes in shock at the reason why the Dungeon’s exploration was necessary – or rather the reason why she and her other party members needed to be there.

nVandalieu, the emperor of the Demon Empire of Vidal, ‘Demon King Slayer’ and ‘Savior,’ still intended to continue his attendance at the Hero Preparatory School as a student.

n“Of course I do. Even if I had all the necessary credits, graduation would be in autumn,” said Vandalieu. “Come now, let’s do our best and aim to graduate at the top of our class.”

n“I think if you pressured the principal like you did to the Adventurers’ Guild, she’d let us graduate right away!” said Elizabeth.

n“Eli-chan! I won’t allow such high-handed methods! Make sure you graduate properly on your own. I know you can do it, Eli-chan. Isn’t that right, dear?” said Amelia.

n“She’s right, Elizabeth-sama,” said Vandalieu.

n“Thank you. But that’s not what this is about, Mother!” said Elizabeth. “And what are you going to do about running the country and the restoration of the city?! You have a lot of other things to do in addition to those as well, don’t you?! Do you really have time to be a student?!”

n“I’ll be carrying all of these things out simultaneously, so it won’t be a problem. And I’ll make time, so it’s fine… Thankfully, it seems that I’ll be able to make more of me,” Vandalieu said.

nIt was likely that Principal Meorilith wished for Vandalieu to graduate right this instant, but it seemed that Vandalieu intended to continue attending the school until he graduated, no matter how much Elizabeth screamed about it.

nIt seemed that the chaos that occupied Orbaume intended to remain at least until autumn.

nJob explanation (Written by Luciliano):

nUnderworld God Mage

nPresumably a superior version of the ‘Death-Attribute Mage’ and ‘Dark King Mage’ Jobs. It is not unusual for a superior version of a Job that is already a superior version of another to appear. For example, Vigaro has acquired ‘Axeman,’ ‘Axe Master,’ and ‘Great Axe Master.’

nHowever, it is very rare for one to awaken not only a superior version of a superior Job, but a superior version of a superior Skill to go with it.

nJob explanation (Written by Luciliano):

nDark Demon King

nPresumably a Job that can be acquired by someone who has already acquired the ‘Demon King’ Job and tamed a large number of Undead. However, although it is difficult for us to imagine a Demon King who cannot use death-attribute magic… there are no records of Guduranis having intentionally created and used Undead particularly more than other monsters, so he was likely one such Demon King.

nJob explanation (Written by Luciliano):

nPandemonium

nPresumably either a Job that allows one to store an army inside one’s own body, or a Job that allows one to use one’s own body to create servants and split entities of oneself to use in battle.

nIn either case, the Job would be difficult for anyone other than Master to acquire. I am somewhat interested as to what would have happened if Master had acquired this Job before ‘Qliphoth.’

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