Chapter 20 - 38-39

Chapter 38: The Dungeon boss is disappointing

The seventh floor of Garan's Valley.

The reason the Titan population had grown to over five thousand and prospered enough to build a city-nation was in this place.

「The rock salt! Mine the rock salt!」(Titan)

『There aren't any monsters to hinder us, are there?!』(Titan)

「Searching for the enemy, all clear~!」(Titan)

Indeed, high-quality rock salt could be harvested from the cliffs on this floor.

Salt was an important product, a necessity. Talosheim had relied on this Dungeon as its salt supply.

In this land trapped inside a mountain range containing numerous Devil's Nests, there was no trading with outside nations until the tunnel leading to the Orbaume Kingdom was discovered, reaching the sea would have required the Titans to journey through multiple Devil's Nests.

Thus, the seventh floor of Garan's Valley had been the only place that salt could be obtained.

If the Titans had never discovered this Dungeon, Talosheim wouldn't have existed and the Titan population would have remained in the hundreds.

Of course, this was still a part of the Dungeon so monsters would still appear. And since the monsters appearing on this seventh floor were Rank 4, not 3, it was more dangerous than the sixth floor.

Monkeys that possessed rocky carapaces, Rock Monkeys.

Kobold Mages able to cast spells and Kobold Generals capable of using martial skills.

And Stone Golems that were even larger than the Titans.

All of these were monsters that would require at least middle-class adventurers to take them on.

The way the Titans had mined salt from such a dangerous place was to have the laborers become at least as proficient in battle as middle-class adventurers.

『I won't let you interfere with our mining!』(Titan)

The armored, pickaxe-wielding laborers fighting heroically against monsters had been a sight to behold, and later when adventurers from the Orbaume Kingdom came to Talosheim for trading, they were told that the miners didn't need escorts.

That hadn't changed even after the Titans had become Undead.

『UOOOOH! MISO! THE SOURCE OF MISOOOOOO!』(Titan)

『I want fish sauce!』(Titan)

『If any monsters get in our way, we'll fry them in miso and eat them!』(Titan)

No, perhaps they were even more ferocious than they had been in the past.

The idea that Undead do not eat is a misconception.

It is true that lowly Skeletons and Ghosts do not feel hunger or possess a sense of taste. However, Zombies and Undead of a certain Rank and above feel hunger and have a sense of taste.

Of course, as the biological processes of Undead have stopped, they do not need to eat. They have no problems continuing to function even if they do not eat for years at a time.

However, they cannot escape the restrictions of having once been living creatures entirely. They still retain some of their primitive needs.

Out of the three main needs*, the need for sleep is the one that disappears entirely. Undead do not tire, so they do not need sleep. If they try to sleep they can reach a state similar to being asleep, but this is in carried out in order to recover from mental fatigue rather than physical, and is done more for self-satisfaction.

Interestingly, the need to reproduce remains. As the body has already died, there is no desire to leave offspring behind, but the deed is still physically possible. It is carried out by some to absorb spirit from the living and by those that died with a strong liking for engaging in intercourse.

And the need that remains in its entirety is hunger. This desire that remains in the souls of the Undead drives Zombies to eat the flesh of the living and drink their blood to absorb the Mana contained within and gain experience.

Skeletons and Spirit-type Undead can also increase their Rank to become superior versions of Undead, gain the[Spirit Form]skill to gain a replacement for flesh and consume the flesh and blood of the living or even absorb their Vitality in a more direct way.

The Undead Titans of Talosheim were no exception; they ate as much as they liked. Most of the food they had been eating was the flesh and blood of monsters brought into the city, but from time to time they also ate the surrounding grass, tree branches and rock fragments.

But after Vandalieu and the Ghouls had arrived, they had been eating tasty foods such as spit-roasted meat, food baked in leaves and things covered in walnut-and-basil sauce.

And the things that had recently made an impact among them were the「fish sauce」,「walnut miso」and「acorn miso」that Vandalieu had created.

These were the seasonings that the champion Zakkart had tried and failed to reproduce, things that hadn't existed in Lambda before. They had caused a culture shock on the Titans' tongues and one by one, they had charmed those who tasted it.

『Miso miso miso MIIIIIIISOOOOOOO!』(Titan)

『FISH SAAAAAAUUUUUCE!』(Titan)

『My head hurts! I'm seeing things! Miso, give me misoooooo!』(Titan)

… Perhaps it was just an addiction.

「Van, could it be that those seasonings you made have addictive properties?」(Basdia)

「No… At least, they shouldn't. Right?」(Vandalieu)

Vandalieu answered Basdia's question with his eyes fixed on the Titans who were mining the salt in a bloodshot-eyed frenzy, but it was clear even with his expressionless face that he had no confidence in that answer.

「I think I made it with the same recipe as on Earth, and I never heard of the fermented foods I created with death-attribute magic in Origin having any addictive properties… No, maybe I just didn't know about it? Or maybe the walnuts and acorns I used contained compounds that I don't know about, and that's what's causing these strange effects…」(Vandalieu)

『Even Father was delighted with its taste. Isn't it possible that it is just very delicious?』(Saria)

Sam had recently increased the level of his[Spirit Form]skill and had become able to taste food. Saria suggested a possibility based on Sam's reaction when he had first tried the miso.

『It's unfair for only Father to be eating it, isn't it?』(Rita)

The dissatisfied Rita and Saria were indeed suits of Living Armor with no mouths. They were still unable to eat or taste food.

「I wonder if that's true. Well, the one called Baridge who was saying that his head hurts apparently has hallucinations regularly so, it might be.」(Vandalieu)

「Van, I can't really feel at ease about that. Is Baridge alright?」(Basdia)

「Who knows? Apparently while he was alive, his hands would start shaking if he ran out of alcohol, so I think there is nothing that can be done about it.」(Vandalieu)

『Even if you consume alcohol, do not allow it to consume you.』(Saria)

「Yeah, I'll make sure not to drink too much alcohol.」(Vandalieu)

As Vandalieu said this, they passed by the Undead Titans who were spiritedly mining the rock salt and decided to set up camp for the night on the seventh floor.

What Vandalieu could really call a Dungeon clearing began from the eighth floor.

There was nobody training on this floor, nor were there any Undead Titans mining rocks and salt, so they could encounter monsters with normal frequency.

And in Garan's Valley, where the floors had fundamentally simple layouts, it was impossible to hide from the monsters unless the entire party was made of scouting-type members like Thieves or someone was capable of using illusion magic.

『Bocchan! I thought these were those rock-like monkeys, but they are just Stone Golems!』(Saria)

「They're so hard; can't you do something about them with[Golem Transmutation?]」(Basdia)

「No, I can only manipulate Golems I created myself, so let's have Bone Monkey and the others mow them down.」(Vandalieu)

『Oooooh!』(Bone Monkey)

From this floor onwards, multiple Rank 3 monsters could appear simultaneously. There was a difference between Golems that had only numbers with no coordination and groups of Kobold Knights or Kobold Archers that had excellent coordination, but the battle was definitely more difficult than any encounter on the seventh floor.

『Uooh!』(Bone Monkey)

If an average adventurer were to face the Stone Golems that Bone Monkey had beaten down, they would find it to be a considerably difficult battle. D-class adventurers might think that it would be fine if they just used their weapons, but using weapons consumes Mana.

Many frontline-fighting adventurers do not possess an abundant amount of Mana.

In that regard, Vandalieu and his party possessed more than enough strength to clear Garan's Valley. All of them were Rank 4 and above except for Vandalieu. And if he really needed to, Vandalieu would simply make use of his vast Mana pool to push his way through.

In fact, it could be said that there was no way that they would have difficulty in this Dungeon.

「Fuh… The feeling of gaining Experience Points for the first time in about two years is quite pleasant.」(Vandalieu)

Well, if he had to risk his life every time he wanted to gain Experience Points, no number of lives would be enough, so this was perfect.

『Jyuh, my lord, how is your level?』(Bone Man)

「Hmm… I still haven't even reached level 10.」(Vandalieu)

However, the amount of crucial Experience Points that he could gain was only this much.

Vandalieu currently possessed the[Death-Attribute Mage]Job, but it seemed that leveling up this Job was difficult. He still hadn't reached level 10 yet.

「How about you, Basdia?」(Vandalieu)

「I underwent a Job-change from[Apprentice Warrior]to[Warrior], and now I'm level 14.」(Basdia)

「Hmm, let's ask Borkus and the others when we return to Talosheim.」(Vandalieu)

Borkus would likely know whether different Jobs required different amounts of Experience Points to level up. He was an A-class adventurer who had been praised as the[Sword King.]

He had lost his Job after becoming an Undead, but there was no doubt that he had mastered several Jobs beginning from an Apprentice Job.

Since that was something that happened about two hundred years ago, it was possible that he had lost his memories regarding that, however.

「My Attribute Values are increasing, though only little by little, so let's proceed without being too impatient.」(Vandalieu)

『How much have they increased by?』(Saria)

「Each of my Attribute Values have increased by one to ten points. My mana has increased by about two percent.」(Vandalieu)

『I see. There is still a long way to go, isn't there?』(Saria)

「… If we're talking about your Mana, it's increased by two million? It never fails to amaze me.」(Basdia)

Vandalieu continued fighting the monsters that appeared with everyone else, holding back so that he didn't deal the killing blow. The[Unable to gain Experience Points independently]curse was truly inconvenient.

Incidentally, this curse still allowed him to gain around a tenth of the Experience Points earned by his allies and servants, and he had gained a general understanding of the conditions for this.

It seemed that the fundamental requirement was that Vandalieu's allies or servants gained experience within his field of vision. Borrowing Bone Bird's vision to watch Bone Man defeating monsters in a faraway location did not gain Vandalieu Experience Points.

It seemed the condition wasn't met if Vandalieu didn't witness it with his own eyes. Apparently there were no binoculars or telescopes in Lambda; would using those to see further perhaps not count? What if he was wearing vision-correcting glasses?

There were apparently Magic Items that acted as glasses for farsightedness, so Vandalieu had decided to test them out if he ever obtained such an item.

Depending on the results of such a test, Vandalieu's eyes might become an important lifeline for him, so this needed to be verified as soon as possible.

… He didn't know how to create binoculars or a telescope, so he couldn't test those, however.

「Ah, but if I made Golems out of glass, maybe I could at least create lenses? If their magnification is low, then perhaps…」(Vandalieu)

「Van! It's dangerous to contemplate things in the middle of battle!」(Basdia)

「It's alright; I'm finished now.」(Vandalieu)

「Ugageh?!」(Monster)

Even finishing off the occasional enemy himself to increase his[Unarmed Fighting]skill, Vandalieu finally reached the tenth floor. This was the deepest floor in Garan's Valley.

「GUOOOOOH!」

A Rock Gorilla even larger than a Titan let out a roar, baring its fangs. It made loud, crashing sounds by drumming its thick chest with its fists as an intimidation tactic.

It was Rank 4, but it was one of the more powerful Rank 4 monsters. It had no special abilities, but it was as hard and strong as it appeared, and was actually more intelligent than its appearance suggested. It was capable of casting multiple earth-element spells.

However -

「It's weak for the big boss of a D-class Dungeon, isn't it?」(Vandalieu)

「So it seems. It's probably a mid-boss.」(Basdia)

As if aware that Vandalieu and Basdia were insulting it, the Rock Gorilla let out a short roar and ran towards them on all fours at a speed that they hadn't expected considering its appearance.

『UOOOH!』(Bone Monkey)

Bone Monkey stood in its way to prevent it from reaching them. A monkey of bone and a monkey of rock collided with a crash.

『UBOOH!』(Bone Monkey)

Bone Monkey's bones creaked. They were even in physical strength, but the Rock Gorilla who had flesh covered in a carapace had an advantage over Bone Monkey who was made of only bones and a little spirit-form.

「Gufuh.」(Rock Gorilla)

Confident in its victory, the Rock Gorilla let out a strangely human-like sneer.

『BOOOOOOH!』(Bone Monkey)

As it sneered, it took Bone Monkey's poisonous breath directly in the face.

「Vugih?!」(Rock Gorilla)

With its eyes and nose that weren't protected by its carapace struck by the poison, the Rock Gorilla let go of Bone Monkey and clutched its face.

『GAAAAAAAH!』

『GRUOOOOH!』

『Teyaaaah!』

The resulting events were very one-sided. The Rock Gorilla was certainly a powerful monster, even for a Rank 4. However, looking at it another way, its strength could not even match a Rank 5 monster.

But it was facing eight Rank 4 monsters. Basdia didn't step into the fight, but even so, it was more of a lynching than a battle.

If the Rock Gorilla had kept its distance without charging in and used its earth-attribute magic as its primary way of attacking, it could have at least put up a proper fight. However, perhaps because of the Dungeon's influence, it had become more ferocious and aggressive.

After defeating the Rock Gorilla, Vandalieu cast[Disinfect]to remove the poison. Its Magic Stone was collected, its meat that had a strong, peculiar taste but made a good soup when boiled with herbs was collected,[Sterilization]and[Bug Killer]were cast on its organs and these became ingredients for today's lunch.

Also, the carapace could be used as a catalyst to create armor that granted increased resistance to earth-attribute magic, so they took that with them as well.

After casting[Preservation]on these harvested materials, Vandalieu turned them into a Flesh Golem and had them move on their own. With this, Vandalieu's party could maintain their mobility while proceeding through this dangerous Dungeon.

More effort was needed to guard the mass of materials that had been turned into a Flesh Golem and preventing it from eaten by monsters, but since the party had many members, it was not really a problem.

「Now then, shall we go down?」(Vandalieu)

Garan's Valley had originally been a shallow, D-class Dungeon with ten floors. However, perhaps because it had been abandoned for over two hundred years, there were three more floors.

That was why a mid-boss had appeared here.

Dungeons with eleven or more floors spawn mid-bosses. They appear roughly every ten floors, and they are known as mid-bosses because they are stronger than regular monsters but not as powerful as bosses.

For example, a Dungeon with twenty-seven floors would have a mid-boss appearing on the tenth and twentieth floors, and then a boss on the twenty-seventh floor.

It is common for an adventurer party in the midst of clearing a Dungeon that has never been cleared yet defeating a powerful enemy and thinking,「This was definitely the boss of this Dungeon」, only to discover a staircase leading further down instead of a treasure storage chamber, revealing that the powerful enemy they defeated was merely a mid-boss.

「I heard from Borkus and the others that once you defeat a mid-boss, the difficulty of the Dungeon increases. Let's proceed with caution, everyone.」(Basdia)

『Yeah!』

With renewed enthusiasm, Vandalieu's party descended to the eleventh floor.

From the eleventh floor onwards, Rank 4 monsters leading Rank 3 monsters appeared.

They were all groups of monsters that coordinated well with their allies, such as Kobold Knights led by a Kobold Mage and Rock Monkeys under the command of a Rock Gorilla.

And on the thirteenth floor, multiple Rank 4 monsters began to appear simultaneously. Even Vandalieu's party began having some difficulty dealing with these.

When they encountered a group of Hell Hounds that kept their distance and spat flaming breath attacks at them, Vandalieu fired several[Mana Bullets]at them, turning some of them into lumps of meat, knowing that some of the Experience Points and materials would go to waste.

When multiple Rock Golems appeared at once, everyone had to go all-out with the use of their martial skills and then recovered their Mana through Vandalieu's[Mana Transfer]afterwards.

And there was the occasional trap laid out starting from the eleventh floor. A triggered trap had caused a boulder to fall down on them, but Vandalieu held nothing back as he used his Mana to crush it. The boulder wouldn't have given them Experience Points either way.

However, they were able to gather a considerable harvest from the treasure chests that had begun to appear.

「Even though the Dungeon is close to Talosheim, the weapons inside the treasure chests are human-sized, huh.」(Vandalieu)

Looking at the handle of a steel sword, it was clearly a human-sized broadsword rather than a Titan-sized short sword.

This was a Dungeon in a land inhabited by no people other than Titans for the past hundred thousand years; why did the treasure chests contain weapons for human use? As Vandalieu wondered this, Basdia, who had been into multiple Dungeons, explained why.

「This is the first time I've gone this deep into a Dungeon, but I've heard that this isn't that uncommon.」(Basdia)

Adventurers had discovered that the contents of treasure chests in Dungeons change depending on the person who opened it and that person's allies.

Of course, it isn't as if Dungeons understand what the adventurers want and prepare it for them inside the chests. They simply change the size and specifications of the item.

For example, a party made entirely of Titans would find Titan-sized weapons and armor. Conversely, if a party was made entirely of Dwarves whose height only reaches a human's chest, they would find Dwarf-sized equipment.

A Dwarf party wouldn't find Titan-sized armor inside a treasure chest, or vice-versa.

There is a theory that evil gods had created the Dungeons and made it like this to tempt adventurers more easily. There is another explanation that the genie Ricklent, who created the Dungeons for people to use as places to train, made it this way to provide more motivation for those who used them.

「… It's true that nobody would be tempted or have any motivation to get treasures that didn't meet their needs. Well, it's convenient, so either explanation is fine for me.」(Vandalieu)

Vandalieu shared the thoughts of many adventurers in regard to the debates that happened between scholars as he made the Flesh Golem hold the steel sword.

And the monsters that appeared in the boss chamber of the thirteenth floor were an Orc General and four Orc Knights.

「I thought it would definitely be some kind of rocky monster.」(Vandalieu)

『What will we do, Bocchan?』(Saria)

「What will we do, you say… There's no way we will leave without defeating them, right?」(Vandalieu)

None of them could hide their disappointment, as they had killed plenty of Orcs during the winter of this year. Unaware of this, the Orc General became enraged with the pride of a Dungeon boss, but it was an easy victory for Vandalieu and his party.

「Well, it is Rank 5 so I did get a lot of Experience Points, their meat tastes good and I was thinking of getting some lard, so it's perfect, I suppose.」(Vandalieu)

「But even the pack of Hell Hounds was more of a tough battle.」(Basdia)

「You're right.」(Vandalieu)

The party was in strangely low spirits as they harvested the treasure from the treasure storage chamber. The Undead Titans and Ghouls had been forming parties together and clearing this Dungeon over and over recently, so it was nothing outstanding.

Furthermore, the Adventurers' Guild of two hundred years ago had installed items that allowed teleportation in each of Talosheim's Dungeons.

These items allowed them to return from the treasure storage room to the surface in an instant.

Depending on the Dungeon, they apparently allowed one to return to the surface from any floor or teleport from the surface to any previously-visited floor.

What a convenient world this was.

[Basdia has become a Rank 5 Ghoul Amazoness!]

「How was the Dungeon-clearing, boy?」(Zadiris)

Vandalieu had returned to Talosheim and was taking a bath in the royal castle when Zadiris came in.

「It was alright, Mother. Van is currently able to defeat a Kobold Knight without using his magic.」(Basdia)

Basdia, who was in the bath with him, answered for him.

If one were to ask why this had become a mixed bath, the reason was because Vigaro had revealed that he had discovered Vandalieu with his head completely submerged in the water.

The idea that allowing Vandalieu to bathe on his own would be dangerous was shared by everyone, so it had been decided that someone should be in the bath with him at all times.

It was often Vigaro or Borkus accompanying him, but this time, the two of them were busy clearing a different Dungeon.

Both Basdia and Zadiris were aware that Vandalieu possessed the memories of his previous life and the one before that, having lived for forty years in total, but perhaps the concept of shyness was different in Ghoul culture. They showed no signs of embarrassment at all.

『Well, my appearance is that of a three-year-old and my physical body is actually that of a three-year-old, so I suppose they don't feel anything.』(Vandalieu)

He was sharing a bath with a tall, outstandingly beautiful woman and a beautiful young girl. The Vandalieu who had lived on Earth would have been staring at them with bloodshot eyes, suffered from a nosebleed from the excitement or perhaps he might have curled into a ball and averted his eyes instead.

After Basdia left the Dungeon, her Rank had suddenly increased and she had become a Ghoul Amazoness. It was a race that had never been reached by anyone in her village, but Vandalieu thought that the word "Amazoness" suited her.

In fact, her increased Attribute Values were apparently suited for a Warrior. Her Rank had likely increased because she had reached level 100 and met the requirements of leveling up multiple martial-type skills.

Though Basdia's appearance hadn't changed much, red tattoo-like patterns that looked as if they might have magical properties had appeared on her body.

As tattoos, they looked cool. Though they made her look more impressive, they also seemed to highlight her abundant curves.

Zadiris looked like a young girl, but she had a charming appearance… probably. With his three-year-old eyes, Vandalieu didn't have the confidence to say for sure.

Even so, he knew that she was lovely and pretty.

But perhaps his mind was affected by the age of his body; he thought nothing other than,「Ah, they're naked.」His heart didn't begin throbbing, nor did he feel any arousal.

He was still at an age where most children would be unaware of things happening around them, and even his first love was still at least two or three years away, so this was how things were for now.

Could it be that ten years from now, he would regret not taking a better look?

「Hooh, that is quite impressive.」(Zadiris)

「Yeah. His skill is still level 1, but that's probably because he receives no bonuses to the skill from his Job. His magic looked as if it had become stronger than before as well.」(Basdia)

「Come to think of it, it seems that your Rank has increased as well. These patterns that look as if they may be related to magic have appeared on your body; have you finally decided to learn magic?」(Zadiris)

「It seems that this is how Ghoul Amazonesses are. Maybe because of these patterns, I've gained resistance to magic. I don't know if they have any other effect, but magic, huh… I'll think about it after I have a child.」(Basdia)

「Ah, that reminds me, how is the Magic Item? It should increase the chance of a successful pregnancy when worn.」(Vandalieu)

The three-year-old boy casually changed the topic of conversation to baby-making. It seemed that the problem of Ghoul fertility would be solved with the distribution of these Magic Items, but it was true that they couldn't become careless yet… If things went too well and too many children were born, they might face problems as there were no nurseries here, unlike on Earth.

Vandalieu asked the question with this in mind, but Basdia turned pale.

「It isn't going well. Both my partner and I have been wearing the Magic Items, but…」(Basdia)

It seemed that they were simply not having an effect.

The Magic Items only made the egg cells and sperm survive about as long as those of humans, giving Ghouls the same chance of becoming pregnant as humans, but that didn't mean that they guaranteed pregnancy.

Considering that, it wasn't strange for her to still not be pregnant yet. Even healthy human couples sometimes took some time to conceive.

「Well then, I'll use[Spirit Form]to have a look just in case, shall I?」(Vandalieu)

However, it was possible that there was some kind of problem. It was probably best to investigate it when there was time.

「Thanks, I'm counting on you.」(Basdia)

「It's fine. I promised that I would spend a week in the city after I came back from the Dungeon, and I've also promised that I'll be making some more Reversi sets later today.」(Vandalieu)

「Hmm, it seems that you have not forgotten about your promises with us. That is good, in more than one way.」(Zadiris)

Rules had been decided to prevent Vandalieu from becoming a black worker again.

Chapter 39: With honor and fame, without land or a successor. That's the kind of nobleman I want to be.

「I want coffee milk.」(Vandalieu)

Vandalieu whispered this as he got out of the bath and remembered a promise that he had made at a bathhouse on Earth.

Apparently there was coffee in Lambda, but it wasn't a major drink; it seemed to be a drink for only a small portion of the wealthy.

The wealthy. In other words, celebrities; the bourgeoisie*.

Thinking about that only made him want to drink it more. Wouldn't there be coffee trees growing somewhere?

Basking in the breeze created by an electric-fan-shaped Golem that he had made himself, he remembered that coffee could be replaced by dandelion roots.

「I wonder if I can make it using the dandelions in this world. Well, if I find any, I'll give it a try.」(Vandalieu)

He had been unable to drink coffee at some point on Earth because his uncle had declared that coffee was a luxury, so he had read a book in his middle school's library called『Edible Wildflowers in the City』and tried it out.

If it turned out to be delicious in this world as well, he would recommend it to everyone.

「Now then, I guess it's time to go. Stop spinning.」(Vandalieu)

Ordering the electric-fan-shaped Golem to stop spinning, Vandalieu left the bathhouse to begin the medical examination of Basdia's body.

Incidentally, the dandelion coffee that Vandalieu would create in the future would turn out to be not very delicious, perhaps because the plant itself differed from the dandelions on Earth. It did not become popular in Talosheim.

However, he made electric-fan-shaped Golems from the surplus wood that could obey certain commands such as rotating their propellers, setting their rotation speed to one of three levels and swaying left and right across a bed. These became popular in Talosheim instead.

「Now then, I'll start the medical examination.」(Vandalieu)

「Yeah, I'm counting on you.」(Basdia)

Wearing a white fur in place of a white doctor's gown, Vandalieu immediately used[Spirit Form Transformation]on his arms, which then penetrated Basdia's body as she was lying down.

It was his first time examining Basdia with this method, but he had done it plenty of times to other Ghouls so he was very accustomed to doing this.

『Hmm, maybe it's because her Rank increased. Her body is the embodiment of health.』(Vandalieu)

There were no problems with her blood, her blood vessels or the function of her major organs. In fact, everything was very vigorous.

There was also no problem with her uterus. Vandalieu couldn't see any injuries, inflammation or disease. Could it be that pure coincidence or perhaps stress was the reason that she couldn't get pregnant? So he thought, but he checked her ovaries as well just in case.

『… Hmm? This is strange, what is this?』(Vandalieu)

And then he felt a strong, uncomfortable feeling.

「What's wrong, Van? It seems that your hands have stopped…?」(Basdia)

Basdia was enduring the sensation of some foreign objects creeping around inside her, but she noticed that Vandalieu's behavior had changed and spoke out to him.

「Hmm… I'm going to examine you a bit more, so tell me if it feels unpleasant.」(Vandalieu)

As he said this, Vandalieu concentrated on examining her two ovaries.

Normally, the ovaries and testes would contain strong signs of life. Vandalieu perceived that life as heat.

With healthy ovaries and testes, touching them with his spirit-form hands would even feel like plunging them into boiling water, but… Basdia's ovaries didn't feel hot.

『Are her ovaries dead? No, it's not to that extent. But they're not functioning normally.』(Vandalieu)

So what was causing this problem? Vandalieu examined them again, but there was no injury or disease. Vandalieu consulted his knowledge that he had learned on Earth and the information that he had overheard in Origin.

『Now that I think about it, those researchers did say that my death-attribute magic contributed to the fields of obstetrics and gynecology.』(Vandalieu)

They were unpleasant people who would constantly be muttering things in an indistinguishable tone and then shout at Vandalieu when he failed to hear them. Well, Vandalieu didn't care about the researchers right now.

『If I recall, abortion, contraception, prevention of sexually-transmitted diseases… Ah, infertility treatment.』(Vandalieu)

Though not every case had been successful, there had been some occasions in Origin where Vandalieu's death-attribute magic had been used to treat infertility. There were numerous methods such as prolonging the life of the egg cells and sperm as the Magic Items that he had created for the Ghouls did, and using[Youth Transformation]on the egg cells.

But there were also cases that were difficult to treat with death-attribute magic.

『Basdia's case is one of those. If the egg cells aren't mature, they can't be fertilized. It would be simpler to treat this using life-attribute magic.』(Vandalieu)

The ovaries were functioning sub-optimally and the egg cells were not maturing. With that being the case, it would just be a matter of using life-attribute magic to make the ovaries work more vigorously, but Vandalieu possessed no aptitude for the life attribute.

Fortunately, there were individuals capable of using life-attribute magic in Talosheim, like Nuaza. There was the option of asking him to help. However, there was a problem in that Vandalieu didn't know how knowledgeable Nuaza was about physiology.

Magic is strongly influenced by the caster's knowledge and imagination. If a mage who has spent his whole life in a country that is perpetually in the season of summer and a mage who has spent his whole life in a country with harsh winters were to both create ice using magic, the one from the snowy country would be able to do so more skillfully.

In the same way, Nuaza casting some vague magic without knowing how the organs function wouldn't be very effective.

Vandalieu could teach Nuaza what he knew, but unlike basic arithmetic, it would take time for Nuaza to understand physiological concepts.

「Well then, I'll give it a try first, and if that doesn't work then I'll ask Nuaza to help.」(Vandalieu)

「Hmm? What are you saying about Nuaza… Kuh, ah, ugh.」(Basdia)

This method was very roundabout and many steps would have to be followed. The gist of it was that Vandalieu would suck out the negative components of the ovaries and transfer his own Vitality to them, making them function normally.

Though the overall process would be difficult to control using life-attribute magic, it would be completed in one step, while doing it with death-attribute magic required the process to be divided into dozens of separate steps. Without the[Chant Revocation]skill, it would likely take over an hour.

『I'll activate[Surpass Limits.]I wish I had three… or at least two more brains.』(Vandalieu)

He began complaining internally about the fact that his head was becoming feverish even with the use of[Surpass Limits], but quickly put those thoughts aside.

「It feels kind of warm?」(Basdia)

「It's because of my[Rapid Healing]skill and[Healing Power Enhancement.]」(Vandalieu)

Even the process of transferring his Vitality to her needed him to transform his arms with[Spirit Form Transformation], fuse them with Basdia and trick her body into thinking that they were a part of it, trigger his[Rapid Healing]skill and cast the no-attribute spell[Healing Power Enhancement]at the same time.

Around ten minutes passed and the[Rapid Healing]skill stopped. It seemed that things had healed for now.

Both the left and right ovaries were now overflowing with enough Vitality to burn Vandalieu's spirit form hands.

Vandalieu wasn't sure whether they had completely recovered or whether the effects of this treatment were temporary, but it should be fine for… at least a month.

「I've finished treating you for now. Let's see how things go from here.」(Vandalieu)

「It's over, huh… Th-thanks.」(Basdia)

With sweat on her face, Basdia let out a sigh of relief. As Zadiris had experienced when Vandalieu applied[Youth Transformation]on her, it seemed that the sensation of his spirit form hands crawling around inside the body was not a pleasant one.

「I'll inspect you again in a month from now. If anything happens before then, let me know.」(Vandalieu)

As Vandalieu said this, he felt a vague feeling that he had become a doctor. As this thought ran through his mind, his stomach growled. It seemed that this work had taken a toll on not only his Mana, but his body as well.

「I'm hungry as well. Alright, I'll make something. We brought plenty of ingredients with us from the Dungeon, after all.」(Basdia)

「I'm counting on you.」(Vandalieu)

It had been several months since Vandalieu had become three years old, but Darcia still didn't allow him to cook using a fire… even though he did possess the[Cooking]skill.

Vandalieu removed the wooden lid and gently lifted her out.

With a wet cloth he had sterilized with[Disinfect], he wiped her smooth skin, taking care not to cause any scratches to it. Using[Sterilize]would only kill microorganisms; it wouldn't remove any dust.

『Bocchan, what are you doing?』(Sam)

「As you can see, I'm taking care of Zandia by hand.」(Vandalieu)

Sam had an indescribably confused expression, but Vandalieu answered his question while caring for Zandia, of whom only the left hand and wrist remained.

「Now that I think about it, you've started to make quite a lot of different facial expressions, haven't you, Sam?」(Vandalieu)

The previous Sam… the spirit form of Sam that had sat on the carriage was mist in the shape of a person and the horses pulling the carriage were only mist in the shape of horses. It had been impossible to distinguish any kind of facial expression.

However, now that Sam's[Spirit Form]skill had leveled up, he definitely appeared to be a human at a glance, albeit one with pale skin and red eyes. Each hair of his beard had been reproduced realistically; if he wore a hat to cover his eyes, he would look just like a regular, pale-skinned person.

The horses were the same; if they closed their red eyes, they would look like normal horses… No, they might appear too ominous to be called normal, but in any case, they did appear to be horses.

『Haah, thank you very much. More importantly, why are you performing such a noble deed? I would understand if it were an Undead, but I do believe that it is but a hand.』(Sam)

Vandalieu had cast[Preservation]on the hand to prevent decomposition, but it wasn't Undead or anything; it was still just a hand. Sam apparently found it strange that Vandalieu was taking care of it.

「If I didn't treat it well, she would get angry at me when we meet, won't she?」(Vandalieu)

If Zandia had become a sentient Undead, she wouldn't be pleased to learn that her hand had been treated poorly. That was why Vandalieu was caring for her hand.

Hearing this, Sam gave a sigh of relief.

『So that is how it is. I had presumed that you might be the kind of person with a strong interest in certain body parts of the opposite sex, Bocchan…』(Sam)

「No, I don't have a fetish for hands.」(Vandalieu)

What an outrageous misunderstanding. Vandalieu didn't have a taste for such things.

『I see. I have heard that there are many noblemen who have peculiar tastes, so I thought that perhaps…』(Sam)

『If anything, Father, Bocchan prefers muscles.』(Saria)

『The problem is that we don't have either muscles or hands. Our hands are pieces of armor, after all.』(Rita)

It seemed that noblemen were sinful people in this world as well.

『Speaking of noblemen, there's something I wanted to confirm.』(Darcia)

Darcia spoke as she smoothly appeared and joined the conversation.

「Mom, I definitely feel hesitant to be discussing things like this with you -」(Vandalieu)

『Not that. I mean regarding the kind of nobleman that you want to be in the future.』(Darcia)

That side of things, huh. Vandalieu breathed a sigh of relief.

『You said that you'll make a child with Basdia when you become an adult; are you serious about that?』(Darcia)

He had breathed that sigh of relief too early.

「I was thinking that things might turn out that way.」(Vandalieu)

In any case, Vandalieu was still in a three-year-old's body, unable to feel lust or feelings of love, so he wasn't sure. But he was thinking that things would end up that way in more than ten years from now.

He thought well of Basdia, she was beautiful and he didn't feel any negative feelings at being desired by such a person.

She was a member of a different race, but Vandalieu himself was a child of mixed blood. It was apparently possible for them to have children, so he couldn't see a reason to refuse.

He had always yearned for a warm family, anyway.

『Don't get me wrong, I think that Basdia is a great person too. She's sturdy, and I can believe that she would protect you, Vandalieu.』(Darcia)

「… Yes.」(Vandalieu)

Vandalieu felt a strange desire to object, but considering that he was a young child and Basdia was a Ghoul Amazoness, he understood that this was easy to imagine.

『But I think that many people would loudly disapprove of that if you wanted to become a nobleman. The Orbaume Kingdom is much more tolerant than the Amid Empire, but there will be people who hate Dhampirs as well…』(Darcia)

It seemed that Darcia was concerned with the events leading up to and after Vandalieu becoming a nobleman.

Indeed, when Vandalieu thought about it, it might become a problem if Vandalieu were to have a child with Ghouls who were treated as monsters by human society.

There had been people who would start baseless rumors even on Earth, and there would be some who would be displeased with a Dhampir becoming a nobleman.

『There would also be problems regarding succession.』(Saria)

As Saria said, having children would directly lead to having problems with succession. This was only natural, as noble families were families that continued generation after generation.

And whether the Orbaume Kingdom would accept the possibility of a half-Ghoul child being the next generation's successor to Vandalieu's family was largely questionable.

Of course, even after Vandalieu became a nobleman, neither he nor Basdia would think of making their child a nobleman as well, but there would be those who would make a fuss over the mere「possibility」even if Vandalieu himself didn't desire that.

Vandalieu had never given this proper thought or consideration, but he had something of an idea.

「About that, I'll alter my course and aim to be not a nobleman, but an honorary nobleman.」(Vandalieu)

『If I recall, honorary noblemen are noblemen only for one generation who cannot be succeeded, right?』(Darcia)

『Yes, it is a title bestowed to people who were made noblemen because of their achievements and those who cannot succeed their noble families due to being born after the first son.』(Sam)

As Darcia and Sam said, honorary noblemen were noblemen who could not have a successor. They generally did not govern over land and would receive an annuity for the rest of their lives, but they were mostly noblemen only in title.

But this only-in-title nobility would be convenient for Vandalieu.

『Would you be content with that, Bocchan? Well, most people would consider that to be a great success in life.』(Sam)

『I've heard that the annuity that such noblemen would receive is several times the income of a normal person, but…』(Darcia)

This was how honorary noblemen were generally treated. There were plenty of stories of individuals who had strived to become noblemen but only managed to become honorary noblemen.

「Yes, because just receiving an annuity without having land, an official position or a successor is much more convenient.」(Vandalieu)

Naturally, Vandalieu had no need for land. He had no knowledge of how to make a region prosper. He could simply find and employ a reliable vassal to do it for him, but doing that on his own would be difficult. No matter how he thought about it, he could only imagine that it would be more than he could handle.

He did think that he would be able to do various things with[Golem Transmutation]if he owned land with people living in it, however.

An official position would be too much to handle as well. Vandalieu had lived for around forty years in total, but he had no experience in regards to society. He could probably fill the position if someone taught him how, but he couldn't imagine that it would be enjoyable work.

As for having a successor, when he had seen how long Dhampirs' life-spans were at the Adventurers' Guild before, he had thought,「Ah, that would be impossible.」He estimated that he would live for three thousand years as long as he wasn't killed; there was no way that he would become an nobleman that would be succeeded.

That was why he was aiming to be an honorary nobleman. He would have no land, official position or successors. But those around him would still respect him as a nobleman.

It would also be much easier to reach this position than a court rank where he would have land and require a successor.

「The reason I wanted to become a nobleman was so that the guys who will be reincarnating here from Origin will hesitate to kill me, and because I want enough money to live in luxury. I'm alright with being either a nobleman or an honorary nobleman as long as I have the reputation that comes with it.」(Vandalieu)

『What will you do to gain the required sum of money?』(Sam)

「I'm thinking I can just earn it normally as an adventurer. Let's do our best, everyone.」(Vandalieu)

Even just the materials that they had obtained from clearing Garan's Valley today would sell for a considerable amount at an Adventurers' Guild. Vandalieu figured that if he could earn this much as a three-year-old, he would eventually be able to earn more than a lowly nobleman if he continued working hard.

「And I'm sure that giving up my nobility would also be simple if I were an honorary nobleman.」(Vandalieu)

『Eh?! You're going to give it up?!』(Saria)

「Yes. I think I'll consider it once I come to an understanding with the others who will be reincarnated.」(Vandalieu)

For Vandalieu, gaining the status of nobility was nothing more than a means to an end.

It was true that being a nobleman would be convenient. It would certainly feel good to exercise his influence and special rights, and he had no doubt that there would be delicious foods that only noblemen could eat, high-quality goods that only noblemen could obtain and pieces of art that only noblemen could see.

But what if the burdens of being a nobleman became greater than those privileges? What would he do if it hindered his interactions with the Ghouls and Undead, or he were to get involved in some troublesome power struggle?

It was simple. He would simply return the tool that had already served its purpose.

「A nobleman wouldn't be able to give up his position easily if he is in charge of land with people living in it, but an honorary nobleman wouldn't have responsibilities or anything. I would just need to give up my position, stay low for a hundred years or so and then wait for things to calm down.」(Vandalieu)

Sam and his daughters were at a loss for words.

In this world, noblemen were special people; they were treated as completely different creatures even if they were members of the same race. In fact, there were more than a few noblemen that wouldn't hesitate to say that they were superior beings to commoners.

『It's certainly exactly as you say. That's amazing, Vandalieu. To think that you had put so much thought into it; I'm seeing you in a new light now~♪』(Darcia)

Darcia's reaction was like this, but only because she had been raised in a Dark Elf village whose society was nothing like an aristocracy.

For those like Sam and his daughters who had once served noblemen, Vandalieu's view on things was astounding.

But this was something that Vandalieu could say because he possessed the values of modern Japan. He wouldn't go as far as to say that all of humanity were like brothers and sisters, but he would only give a scornful laugh at those who said that noblemen were beings who were superior to commoners.

Sam and his daughters were still completely silent, and Vandalieu became worried that his statement based on his own values had caused them unpleasant feelings.

『I see… As expected of you, Bocchan.』(Sam)

But it seemed that this wasn't the case. As Sam opened his mouth to speak after having been completely still for a while, he seemed to have a deeply moved expression on his face.

『So you are saying that the status of being a nobleman would be nothing but a hindrance to you, Bocchan!』(Sam)

「… Eh?」(Vandalieu)

『It is just as the goddess prophesized. An extraordinary individual must have extraordinary ambitions!』(Saria)

「Wait a -」(Vanadlieu)

『And you even said that you are the Holy Son to Borkus-san! So you really are planning to use Talosheim as a foothold to unite the entire continent?』(Rita)

「You're joking or teasing me, aren't you?」(Vandalieu)

It somehow seemed that there were various independent rumors and exaggerated truths. I don't plan to do anything that outrageous, thought Vandalieu as he scratched his head.

Even if he were to do something like that, at most, it would be the restoration of Talosheim.

『I'm sure it will be fine; Vandalieu is the type who grows when people praise him. Given a thousand years, I'm sure that he'll be able to unite the continent.』(Darcia)

「I think you're a little too patient.」(Vandalieu)

Vandalieu didn't feel any enthusiasm for the idea of spending a thousand years uniting the continent. The continent wouldn't be unified so easily, anyway.

Things don't always go as planned in life, but Vandalieu thought that becoming an honorary nobleman was a reasonable goal.

The next day, Borkus's party still hadn't returned so Vandalieu joined Zadiris and her group in training, deciding to ask questions about Jobs later.

「Since you are joining us today, boy, we will be doing special training.」(Zadiris)

They were outside Talosheim's walls. The Ghoul mages led by Zadiris, the Black Goblins and the Anubises including Memediga were gathered here.

「Now then, we will begin training with the aim of acquiring the[Chant Revocation]skill.」(Zadiris)

Everyone gave a cheer. The[Chant Revocation]skill is a skill that allows the user to cast spells without the necessary incantations.

The effects of this skill could be described in one word as tremendous.

It removes the need for the actions normally taken to cast spell, causing spells to require no time to prepare. It allows for consecutive casts of spells that pushes the caster's Mana and Intelligence to their limits and even removes the risk of a spell's incantation of giving away which spell is being cast or being interrupted to make the spell misfire.

It is a remarkably more difficult skill to acquire than the[Chant Reduction]skill that shortens the time needed to make an incantation, but its effect is also remarkably different.

But the method of learning the skill is exceedingly simple. One simply needs to continue casting spells without incantations.

But casting a spell without an incantation consumes at least several hundred times the amount of Mana and produces an effect that is less than a tenth of the original spell. Even skilled mages cannot perform this task repeatedly.

And so Zadiris and the others were casting spells silently to try and learn this skill.

A light resembling that of a firefly so small that it was almost invisible in the sunlight appeared at Zadiris's fingertip.

Small droplets of water appeared at the fingertips of the Ghouls and Undead Titans to dampen their surroundings, pinky-fingertip-sized flames appeared and vanished and small gusts of wind blew around them.

As this process was repeated, one by one, they ran out of Mana.

「We're counting on you, boy.」(Zadiris)

「Oka~ay.」(Vandalieu)

Vandalieu had been watching up until now, but now he used[Spirit Form Transformation]on his arms and changed their shape so that they became bundles of tubes. And as these pipes reached the mages, his Mana pool of over 100,000,000 was poured into them through[Mana Transfer.]

This was the crucial point of the training. Zadiris and the others lacked Mana, so even if they did training to learn the[Chant Revocation]skill, it would take far too long for them to achieve their goal. And for Vandalieu to do the training of using up his entire Mana pool of over 100,000,000 to increase its size, it would normally take more than an entire day.

And so Vandalieu was providing the mages with Mana. This allowed Vandalieu to quickly and easily use up all of his Mana.

「Alright, we will continue the training!」(Zadiris)

With this method, the mages could perform ten days' worth of training to gain the[Chant Revocation skill]in a single day.

The problem was…

「I'm surprisingly free.」(Vandalieu)

The problem was that he didn't get the feeling that he was training just by acting as a Mana source, so he seemed quite free. If he crossed his legs and meditated, then perhaps it would seem more like training.

Name: Basdia

Rank: 5

Race: Ghoul Amazoness

Level: 0

Job: Warrior

Job level: 24

Job history: Apprentice Warrior

Age: 27 years old

Passive skills:

Night Vision

Superhuman Strength: Level 4 (LEVEL UP!)

Pain Resistance: Level 2

Paralyzing Venom Secretion (Claws): Level 3

Magic Resistance: Level 1 (NEW!)

Intuition: Level 1 (NEW!)

Active skills:

Axe Technique: Level 4 (LEVEL UP!)

Shield Technique: Level 3 (LEVEL UP!)

Archery: Level 3 (LEVEL UP!)

Throwing: Level 3 (LEVEL UP!)

Silent Steps: Level 2 (LEVEL UP!)

Coordination: Level 3 (LEVEL UP!)

Status Effects

Infertility → Completely recovered

Monster Explanation:

[Ghoul Amazoness]

When a Ghoul woman with qualities suited for magic learns and diligently studies martial skills instead of magic and continues to do so after becoming a Ghoul Warrior, she can increase her Rank and become this race.

There is no significant change in appearance, but tattoo-like patterns appear on the body. Physical ability increases significantly and the patterns on the body grant the[Magic Resistance]skill and enhances inherent magic-oriented qualities.

As it is a considerably rare race, there are never two Ghoul Amazonesses in a single village. They typically act as leaders of groups and groups with a Ghoul Amazoness tend to have other women in powerful positions.

It is said that there are groups of Ghouls entirely made of women led by a Ghoul Amazoness in the depths of some Devil's Nests, though this has not been confirmed.

It is unknown what Ghoul Amazonesses become if they increase their Rank further; no such case has been confirmed up until now. However, it can be assumed that individuals who master not only martial skills but magic as well may increase their Rank to become an even superior race.

Chapter 40: Human society is in good shape, but more importantly, I want seaweed

The region ruled by Viscount Balchesse was experiencing an unexpected period of prosperity.

This was because the project to reclaim the Devil's Nest forest three days' journey from the town was proceeding smoothly.

Most of the powerful monsters living there had already been hunted down, and even when monsters did appear, it was usually an Orc or two wielding thick tree branches as clubs. The hired adventurers had no problem dealing with them.

The soldiers cut down the trees and earth-attribute magic was cast by mages to make the ground flat and to crush the rocks into smaller pieces, making them easier to transport.

It hadn't even been half a year since the reclamation began, but not even a quarter of the original Devil's Nest remained.

The reclamation would continue until snow began falling and the rich soil would be cultivated. Water wells, reservoirs and irrigation channels would be dug into the ground and the preparations to set up multiple farming villages would be complete.

With the coming of spring, people would immigrate and gather here; houses would be built and seeds would be planted in the ground. Considerable harvests could be expected on the first year cultivating the land of the Devil's Nest, so the inhabitants cultivating the land would need little assistance.

Once the tax exemption period ended, plenty of taxes would enter the purse of Viscount Balchesse. In ten years' time, not only would he have recouped the costs of reclaiming the land, he would have made a profit.

It had even been decided that the viscount's third son would take the position of governing the reclaimed land.

Of course, it was not only the viscount and his vassals that were making a profit here. Those immigrating to live in the farming villages that would soon be built, the inhabitants of slums who were unable to find jobs, sons of farming families who couldn't inherit their families' fields because of the order in which they had been born, adventurers who had been forced to retire due to reasons such as injury or age and other people like these would also benefit.

Thanks to this reclamation project, they would be able to own their own houses and fields, get married and have families.

And building farming villages would mean that guards would need to be organized to protect them, so the budget and number of available positions in the army would increase. Churches for Alda, the God of Law and Fate, would also be built so there would be more positions available for those involved with the Church.

The viscount's region had been reliant on trading with other regions to obtain produce up until now, but if they people could harvest their own crops, they would be able to obtain fresh produce for cheaper prices.

And the town closest to the reclaimed land would be supplying the villages with goods and daily necessities, lining the people's pockets even further.

Everyone would be receiving the blessings of this time of prosperity.

Even people living outside Viscount Balchesse's region were benefiting; immigrants were being recruited from slums elsewhere in an effort to reduce poverty.

The ones not benefiting would be the adventurers and Marshal Palpapek. However, even though they were not benefiting largely, that didn't mean that they were being set back by this project, either.

The adventurers had lost the Devil's Nest forest as a place they could earn money, but there had always been a larger Devil's Nest that was even closer to Viscount Balchesse's town. It wasn't a large problem for a small Devil's Nest with no Dungeons that took three days to reach on foot to disappear.

Marshal Thomas Palpapek had been criticized harshly by the finance minister and resigned from his position of marshal in order to clear away the accusations that he had some kind of illegal backroom deal with the reclamation project.

But though the shield-nation's government couldn't publicly commend Palpapek due to how things had turned out, it was true that the nation had benefited from these events. And though his failure had been an unprecedented event, it didn't produce any casualties.

So it was expected that he would be reappointed to his position after the commotion surrounding the reclamation project died down, or even if it didn't, he would be reappointed within the next ten years.

The Palpapek family of earls didn't have a monopoly over the position of marshal; three families of earls would take turns filling the position in periods ranging from a few years to over a decade. This was because if the position was owned by a single family and that family's head and his heir were to be suddenly assassinated, the army would lose its chief executive.

With other families filling the marshal position generation after generation, marshals supported by knowledgeable vassals could be prepared if such a thing were to happen.

It seemed like a callous approach, but the nation had been at war repeatedly with neighboring nations since its foundation. There was no room for naivety.

The Palpapek family of earls had produced the most exceptional marshals among the three families that filled this role; even now, Thomas was striving to be known as a protective god of the nation.

In fact, several vassals of the Palpapek family of earls were planning to enlist to become guards for the new farming villages that would be built. Even they were benefiting from these events.

That was why nobody was at a loss from this reclamation project; everyone was benefiting.

On the surface, at least.

「Has a route through the mountain range still not been mapped out yet?」(Eleanora)

In a room of an inn in the town reserved for the upper class, the red-haired Noble-born Vampire Eleanora was sitting in a chair with a seemingly… no, a very clearly scornful gaze directed at Sercrent, who was wearing a sour expression.

The wounds on his face and body from the merciless punishment that Birkyne had inflicted on Sercrent had healed completely, leaving no scars behind. However, it seemed that he found the rage induced by the words spoken by the woman in front of him to be more unbearable than the pain of that torture.

「Do you even understand how difficult the request you are making is?」(Sercrent)

However, Sercrent exercised the all of the patience he possessed to control his rage. Though this was a high-class establishment, it was still just an inn, not a castle or building owned by Vampires. He couldn't raise his voice to be heard in the nearby rooms and corridors.

「Oh, but didn't the humans accomplish that just two hundred years ago?」(Eleanora)

「Two hundred years ago is different from now, and why do we even have to avoid monsters as much as possible in the first place? That is where we are different from the humans!」(Sercrent)

Sercrent and Eleanora were both Noble-born Vampires. Their ability in battle surpassed that of lesser Dragons, and could even be compared to Fire Dragons and Ice Dragons.

They also possessed various special abilities that Dragons did not have, and as their bodies were in the same shape as those of humans, they were able to move around very dexterously.

Of course, they had weaknesses as well. The sun, silver, offensive light-attribute spells and anti-Vampire Magic Items created by the followers of the god Alda. However, when crossing the mountain range, the only thing they would have to be careful about was the sunlight. There were monsters that cast light-attribute spells, but most of these spells would be flashes of light to blind the enemy, deceiving illusion spells and spells that removed all light from a space in order to create an opportunity for a surprise attack in the dark. These wouldn't be a threat for Vampires.

Even if they didn't bother finding a route that would let them avoid monsters, they would probably lose a few Subordinate Vampires crossing the mountain range, but that would be the extent of their losses.

However, Eleanora gave an exasperated sigh.

「Sercrent… Your foolishness is beyond help.」(Eleanora)

「What did you say?!」(Sercrent)

「How skillful of you to shout while still keeping quiet. But it would be troublesome if you don't use your brain more than just for that.」(Eleanora)

Eleanora treated Sercrent with none of the ladylike behavior that she had displayed in front of Birkyne; this was her true self.

She was showing that there was no need to keep up appearances with Sercrent.

「Did you forget the information that you reported yourself? The target Dhampir is a Spiritualist, isn't he? With that being the case, he'd be able to obtain information about us from the spirits of the monsters we kill, won't he?」(Eleanora)

「Th-that may be possible, but that would normally be quite difficult. Didn't you conclude that Spiritualists aren't capable of anything significant with your own investigations?」(Sercrent)

There weren't many who possessed the Spiritualist Job. It is a Job that is completely unsuitable for battle, and it does not enable the creation of items or products, either. It only enables communication with the dead, fortune-telling and small exorcisms.

Because of this, the number and popularity of Spiritualists was quite low. That was why Eleanora was planning to use her inherent skills to obtain information about Spiritualists from the Adventurers' Guild and a Spiritualist in person while Sercrent was to find a route across the Boundary Mountain Range.

「And do you think that the spirits of the monsters would seek the Dhampir of their own accord?」(Sercrent)

Spiritualists are capable of seeing and conversing with spirits, using Necromancy to summon the spirits of the dead and reading residual memories.

Though it was impressive that they overturn the rule of "dead men tell no tales", it is not as if all spirits are friendly towards Spiritualists and they are unable to tame Undead.

Sercrent thought that a Spiritualist wouldn't be such a large threat if caution was taken against them, but Eleanora had a different opinion.

「And what will we do if he is capable of something significant? The information I gathered only applies to normal Spiritualists. This Dhampir has been accomplishing unprecedented things one after another, hasn't he? Doesn't that make you think that he might not be a normal Spiritualist?」(Eleanora)

Sercrent had no response to these words other than to nod.

For example, what if he was able to summon only spirits that met certain conditions among a large group of spirits?

If the Dhampir was able to summon spirits holding malice against those who meant to do him harm, the Boundary Mountain range was not only a sturdy wall but a garrison of faithful guards for him.

Eleanora did think that such a thing would be impossible, but this Dhampir had already done plenty of things that were considered impossible, and as a result, the man before her eyes was on the edge of a dangerous cliff.

If she underestimated the Dhampir, she would be joining him on the edge of that cliff.

「So make sure you plan our route properly. To think that you wouldn't understand these things if I didn't explain them to you… If you don't understand things, can you at least have the obedience to listen to what I say despite not understanding?」(Eleanora)

Being reprimanded in a way even worse than simply being told outright that he was incompetent, Sercrent ground his fangs together.

But for the Vampires who followed the teachings of the[Evil God of Joyful Life], this kind of conversation was extremely commonplace.

Their personal relationships with each other generally only amounted to whether the others were superior or inferior to themselves. They used words like equals, companions, brethren and siblings, but they only judged and thought of others as above or below them.

It was simple when the hierarchical difference was clearly established, like the difference between a Pure-breed and a Noble-born or the difference between a Noble-born and a Subordinate. However, things got very bloody very quickly between Pure-breed Vampires or Noble-born Vampires.

With others in better positions than them, they would take any opportunity they could to bring the others down and raise themselves above.

With others below them, they would emphasize their superiority and make the others obey, trampling them underfoot to make sure they didn't get any funny ideas.

And when those hierarchical differences of who was superior and who was inferior had not yet been decided, they fought in various ways to establish those differences.

And though Eleanora was a genius, only several years had passed since she had become a Vampire while Sercrent had spent a considerably long time as a Vampire. Though Eleanora was a little stronger than him, the difference between them wasn't a large one.

However, Sercrent had been criticized harshly for his failure by Birkyne and almost all of the important figures in the community had seen him in an extremely pitiful state. He had received no protection or support from Gubamon, his「parent」; there were orders that he was to be killed if he failed again. That was why he was in a vastly inferior position to Eleanora.

As long as he was in an inferior position, Eleanora would have to keep kicking him down. If she didn't, then that would mean that she wasn't superior to this fallen man. In short, she would be viewed as inferior to him.

「… Alright. I'll make the Subordinates work faster.」(Sercrent)

「If it seems that it will take some time, perhaps you should ask Elder Gubamon for any suggestions. He was involved with the events of two hundred years ago, wasn't he? He might know something that would be helpful here.」(Eleanora)

「… I'll take that into consideration.」(Sercrent)

Seeing Sercrent say these words over his shoulder and leave the room, disappearing behind the door, Eleanora whispered.

「Sorry. But I don't want to be dragged down with you.」(Eleanora)

Eleanora no longer felt hunger and had gained the power that would allow her to fight against even a Dragon without dirtying her own body in the process. But the color of fear was visible in her eyes.

Because she understood that if she failed, she would be the next to stand in Sercrent's position.

The final day spent training to acquire the[Chant Revocation]skill was the seventh day of training.

「Ooh! I have finally acquired the[Chant Revocation]skill; this is yet another warm gift of generosity from the Holy Son!」(Nuaza)

Nuaza raised his arms that were supposed to be made of skin and bone but were now thick and muscular up in the air as he let out a happy shout.

「Huh, it seems that I have been beaten to it.」(Zadiris)

「Hahaha, though I am a Lesser Lich, I am still a Lich, after all.」(Nuaza)

「Well, I am a Ghoul Mage. And I even possess the Mage Job.」(Zadiris)

Zadiris seemed envious of the proud Nuaza. She still hadn't managed to learn the trick behind using the skill.

Monsters do gain bonuses and penalties to skills based on their race. They aren't as remarkable as the bonuses a person would get from acquiring a Job; it is simply a matter of being suited or unsuited to certain skills.

Orcs are strong, Kobolds are agile and so on.

So the fact that Nuaza had acquired the[Chant Revocation]skill before Zadiris meant that he possessed more aptitude for the[Chant Revocation]skill than her, or that he possessed more relevant knowledge.

Incidentally, it is a fact that talent in this world allows those who possess it to level up more easily, increase their Ranks quickly and learn and develop skills more quickly than normal. However, that doesn't mean that hard work isn't important.

Both people and monsters level up through training and diligent study, and can increase their Rank by meeting certain conditions. They can even learn skills through hard work.

However, it was a matter of when.

Even if someone with genius talent in wielding a sword were to acquire a level 5 skill in Swordsmanship within a year, a normal person might be able to reach the same level with years or decades of dedicated training.

Even a particularly unintelligent, weak Goblin would be able to become a Goblin King. Though that would require it to put in tireless effort for almost its entire lifespan, it is possible.

When an adventurer with a superhuman talent studies diligently and gains experience with various things, he becomes an A-class adventurer capable of defeating Dragons and fully clearing high-difficulty Dungeons.

An adventurer with meagre talent may only end up as a D-class adventurer even with the same amount of hard work and experience. However, if he puts in ten times or even a hundred times the work of the adventurer with superhuman talent, his hard work and tenacity may be rewarded with the achievement of becoming an A-class adventurer.

In the majority of cases, the hard work is interrupted before it can be rewarded.

There are few who can obstinately strive for the top while sacrificing everything else in their lives to do so; there are plenty who give up and turn their attention towards other endeavors.

In the case of adventurers and monsters, many die or are forced to retire due to serious injury before their hard work produces any results. The law of "survival of the fittest" applies to everyone.

(I did like the type of protagonists who overcome genius with hard work when I was on Earth, though.)

As Vandalieu absentmindedly made acorn powder while supplying everyone with Mana, he realized that to everyone else, he must seem like a genius rather than an ordinary person.

Having a vast amount of Mana was a great talent in and of itself.

He had been an ordinary person on Earth and his talent had never been rewarded in Origin, so he didn't really get the feeling that this was the case, however.

「Now then, I think that if you use[Chant Revocation]to cast spells the skill will level up, so please return to your normal training.」(Vandalieu)

「Muh, now that it has come to this, I feel a little reluctant…」(Nuaza)

「Fufufu, you can go to the Dungeons and Devil's Nests anytime now.」(Zadiris)

Nuaza seemed disappointed, while Zadiris gave an ill-mannered laugh. It seemed that Vandalieu's Mana made those under the influence of his[Death-Attribute Charm]feel a very pleasant sensation.

「Well, since my one-week break is over today, I'm thinking of going into a Dungeon tomorrow.」(Vandalieu)

「What?!」(Zadiris)

Zadiris was surprised, and Nuaza was the one to give an ill-mannered laugh this time. Their positions had been reversed.

「Boy, do you not think that it would be wise to rest a little longer?!」(Zadiris)

「I want Experience Points, not rest. And there are materials that I want to get my hands on as well.」(Vandalieu)

The next Dungeon Vandalieu planned to clear was Doran's Aquatic Cavern. It was a D-class Dungeon like Garan's Valley, but it also had many floors and its monsters were considered stronger than those of Garan's Valley and dangerous traps appeared more frequently.

It was also the Dungeon that had supplied Talosheim with its marine products.

Many of the floors in Doran's Aquatic Caverns were arranged as caves containing underground lakes with islands of various sizes and underground rivers, but the water of the rivers was saltwater and inhabited by creatures that would normally be found in oceans.

Vandalieu hadn't been particularly fond of seafood on Earth, but right now there was an ingredient that he had to get his hands on no matter what.

He wanted kombu, wakame1 or any kind of seaweed that could substitute for those.

(I tried making miso soup with the acorn miso, but it didn't turn out well for some reason. That reason is because I don't have dashi2!)

Vandalieu had made miso soup for himself as a student on Earth, but he didn't use dashi back then either. He had tried to reproduce that miso soup in Lambda, but for some reason it was clearly worse than when he had made it on Earth.

Perhaps there was a problem with the tools he was using to make the soup, or perhaps the miso made from walnuts and acorns weren't suited to be used in soups. Giving it some thought, he had come to a sudden realization.

The miso soup he had on Earth had contained dashi!

The miso he had used back then contained dashi to begin with. But the miso soup he was making now was handmade, dashi-less miso. There was no way that he could create delicious miso soup this way.

He had come to the conclusion that to make delicious miso soup, dashi needed to be used as a base.

And with dashi, he would also need katsuobushi*, dried sardines and kombu. He had to obtain these from Doran's Aquatic Caverns. The kombu was the most important one.

It was possible that the culture of eating seaweed didn't exist in the continent of Bahn Gaia. At the very least, it didn't on the Amid Empire side of the continent.

Darcia, Sam and the others had never heard of eating seaweed before, so Vandalieu wanted to at least try spreading the idea.

Even on Earth, only certain regions and people had the culture of eating seaweed including Japan, so there couldn't be many people eating seaweed in this world.

Since it seemed unlikely that he would be able to obtain these ingredients in the Orbaume Kingdom, he needed to obtain them and experiment while he could. Katsuobushi would need preparations in order for the smoking process, so he wanted to obtain the kombu first. Also, wakame and… nori1! Nori was a necessity for sushi, ramen, soumen2 and onigiri.

He also wanted tengusa3 to make vegetable gelatin.

「Zadiris, I need kombu. I need it to make delicious miso soup.」(Vandalieu)

「No, I think it is plenty delicious as it is.」(Zadiris)

「I think so too, but the Holy Son seems to have a strong ambition to reach new heights.」(Nuaza)

「I would say the boy is quite the glutton rather than that he has strong ambitions.」(Zadiris)

It seemed that Vandalieu's passion for food wasn't shared by the others.

However, everyone's opinions would change once they tasted miso soup containing dashi. In fact, Vandalieu himself had given a strong reaction upon trying miso soup before he tried making it himself.

(Ah, I forgot to think about the tools for making it.)

The next day, Vandalieu entered Doran's Aquatic Caverns.

The members joining him this time were Sam, Braga, Zran*, Kachia and Vigaro.

Sam had been brought along because of his ability to carry things and because he wanted to test his new equipment. The Black Goblin Braga had increased his Rank and was joining him to test out his strength. Zran, who had formerly been a rare Scout among the Titans, was acting as Braga's supervisor. Kachia had been brought along as a frontline fighter.

And Vigaro, who was clearly excess firepower to bring into a D-class Dungeon, was here for safety reasons just in case anything happened.

They entered the first floor to find…

「Fish, catch the fish!」(Titan)

『Fish sauce, FISH SAAAAAUCE!』(Titan)

The Undead Titans catching small fish using nets.

「I've seen this scene before…」(Vandalieu)

『We can't help it, Holy Son. It's all for the fish sauce.』(Titan)

「The one making it is me, though.」(Vandalieu)

The hunters of Talosheim had originally ignored the small fish. Fish smaller than fifty centimeters in length were incredibly small to Titans, had few edible parts and didn't sell for much. They had been better off spending their time catching the big ones that were over two meters long.

That was apparently how they had thought back then.

Fish sauce was the thing that had overturned the large-fish-supremacy movement. Undead Titans charmed by its taste had appeared one after another just like they had after being charmed by miso, and there were many who had been farmers while they were alive but had now become fishermen instead.

Incidentally, they were still reliant on the rock salt in Garan's Valley as a source of salt.

The water in Doran's Aquatic Caverns was seawater, so it was possible to make sea salt from it. But unlike the rock salt that could simply be carried off and used after being mined, sea salt would take time and effort to make.

If they simply let the water dry off they wouldn't be able to remove the impurities from the salt, and it would be impossible to build salt evaporation ponds inside the Dungeon. Sunlight didn't even reach inside the Dungeon in the first place.

With that being the case, the next logical step would be to carry the saltwater outside the Dungeon, but that would be difficult, of course. It would be fine if it were a just a few sacks full of water, but transporting the saltwater en masse would require containers like barrels, and the Titans would be defenseless if monsters were to attack them while they were carrying those barrels. And if the barrels were damaged and the water was spilled, it would all be for naught.

That was why the Titans of Talosheim hadn't used the saltwater here for their salt. Though there was one occasion in the past in which the Second Princess Zandia had used space-attribute magic to transport seawater outside to turn into salt.

「With that being the case, I'll collect some saltwater before we clear the Dungeon.」(Vandalieu)

『Huh…』

Why was he going out of his way to do this when there was rock salt available? As this question passed through the minds of everyone here, Vandalieu nimbly rolled the barrels that were loaded in Sam's carriage.

「Get up, get in.」(Vandalieu)

Turning the pure saltwater running down next to the path into Aqua Golems, he ordered them to enter the barrels. It was difficult to maintain the shape of Golems made of liquid, but it was possible to have them enter these nearby barrels that were lying on their sides.

Now he just needed to carry them, but…

「Get up.」(Vandalieu)

With a loud rumble, the wall of the corridor began to move and became Rock Golems that picked up the barrels.

「Now then, please head to Talosheim.」(Vandalieu)

And then they lumbered off.[Golem Transmutation]was a truly convenient skill.

「Vandalieu, what are you going to do with the saltwater?」(Vigaro)

「Rock salt has a different taste from sea salt.」(Vandalieu)

「Really?」(Vigaro)

Vigaro gave Vandalieu a puzzled look, but Vandalieu assured him that he would notice the difference if he tried both.

He was going through this effort to turn the saltwater of a Dungeon into salt not only because its taste would be different, but also because since salt was such an important seasoning, he thought that it would be better to have multiple ways to acquire it.

At any rate, there were many Undead Titans addicted to miso and fish sauce. It was important to have a steady supply of the salt needed to make them.

However… he did wish that he could get his hands on soya beans or some kind of sweet flavoring.

「I wonder if there's any sugarcane growing somewhere.」(Vandalieu)

Well, he couldn't expect to acquire it from this Dungeon.

Name: Braga

Rank: 3

Race: Black Goblin Scout

Level: 7

Passive skills:

Dark Vision

Status Effect Resistance: Level 2

Enhanced Agility: Level 3

Intuition: Level 1

Detect Presence: Level 2

Active skills:

Short Sword Technique: Level 2

Throwing: Level 1

Silent Steps: Level 2

Trap: Level 1

Dismantling: Level 1

Unlocking: Level 1