Chapter 54: They approach as I'm playfully bitten and creating forests
"So I've made a new Undead," Vandalieu announced.
"Congratulations!" Saria exclaimed. "It is the first time you have made an Undead that other than insects and dinosaurs since you created us, isn't it?"
"Wah, I'm happy that we're going to get a kouhai!" said Rita.
Bone Chimera gave a cry for attention.
"Knochen, you were transformed rather than created, so you're a little different, aren't you?" said Saria.
Incidentally, Bone Chimera's name was Knochen, which means "bone" in German.
"In any case, this is an auspicious event," said Sam.
The new person(?) was quietly unveiled before Saria and the others.
Vandalieu had decided to create Undead from the corpses of Mikhail's companions.
He thought that even without the original spirits of the bodies, he could make Undead who would be powerful right from the beginning if he used the bodies of a hero's companions and a large amount of Mana as the materials.
First, Vandalieu used the female mage's corpse that was the least damaged as a base. He would use brown-skinned female warrior's head to replace the missing head. Fortunately, they weren't too different in size.
He cut off the lower jaw that was remaining on the mage, making sure to get the cutting angle right, and then attached the head of the female warrior.
However, below the female mage's neck, certain hard-to-see parts of her body had broken bones and torn muscles. Organ damage to some extent wouldn't cause any problems if Vandalieu was turning her into a Zombie, but since the state of the stomach would affect the Zombie's experience gain, he wanted to have everything in a clean state if possible.
Vandalieu had heard on Earth that focusing on the interior was the secret to creating a good product.
However, the female warrior's body had been torn to pieces; there were no parts of her body apart from her head that were intact. This also went without saying for the other corpses.
Thus, Vandalieu decided to go to the ruins of the Adventurers' Guild to get a supply of monster organs.
He used Golem Transmutation to change the shapes of sturdy Trihorn horns to use as bones, replaced the liver and kidneys with those of a Hydra and replaced the lungs with the resized lungs of a plesiosaur, a creature that appeared occasionally in Doran's Aquatic Caverns.
And because he wanted a companion with the ability to fly, he attached the wings of a pterosaur to the mage's back. This proved to be very difficult; he had to conduct a major surgery in which he altered the shape of the mage's shoulder blades and created the musculature needed to move the wings from muscle fibers and tendons he had taken from the Ogre.
Also, he decided to have a tail growing from the tailbone. To that tail, he attached the stinger and venom gland of a Cemetery Bee that had died of old age, and added the venom glands of a Venom Wyvern, a Hydra and a Shark-eating Anemone so that it would be able to choose which venom it would inject its victim with.
And then he replaced the arms from the elbow down and legs from the knees down with parts from the Ogre. Wouldn't this result in greater strength?
As the female mage lacked the muscles to support this body, he took the necessary muscles from the female warrior and the Ogre while replacing the parts of her skin that had been burned with the female warrior's. Finally, he inserted the Magic Stones of monsters into her body.
"And so this what I built as a result," said Vandalieu.
There was a faint, groaning sound.
The female Zombie, who Vandalieu had named Rapiéçage, emerged from below a cover. The name meant 'patching' to Vandalieu's knowledge. It was a word that had been used in Origin, so the actual fine meaning might be a little different.
She had the beautiful face of a girl of an age in between being a child and an adult, combined with the mature, well-trained body of a warrior with feminine curves. But the limbs below the elbows and knees were those of an Ogre, powerful enough to easily crush a person's skull.
Membranous wings sprouted from her back, and a serpent-like tail with the stinger of a bee extended from her hips. Her skin was a mixture of pale skin, brown skin and the dark green skin of an Ogre joined together by stitches, giving her a strange beauty that could be called the beauty of the afterlife.
At first glance, she appeared to be a beautiful and yet strange, unidentifiable Zombie.
And her Status was as follows:
Name: Rapiéçage
Rank: 4
Race: Patchwork Zombie
Level: 0
Passive skills:
Dark Vision
Rapid Regeneration: Level 5
Deadly Poison Secretion: Tail: Level 5
Physical Resistance: Level 3
Magic Resistance: Level 3
Superhuman Strength: Level 1
Active skills:
Electrify: Level 2
High-speed Flight: Level 1
Her specs were quite high. She had great regenerative abilities because Vandalieu had given her the organs of a Hydra, and she was capable of switching between paralyzing venom, neurotoxic venom or hemorrhage-inducing venom. And perhaps because the female mage or the female warrior had possessed them, or perhaps for some other unknown reason, she possessed resistance against both physical and magical attacks.
She had also inherited the Ogre's Superhuman Strength at level 1.
The unexpected thing was that she possessed Electrify, a skill likely possessed by Trihorns. She had probably acquired the skill because Vandalieu had used their horns in her bones. Touching her carelessly would result in a numbing shock.
Because Vandalieu had used parts of the Ogre's limbs, the female mage who was the base of the Zombie had become slightly taller than before and appeared to have poor balance, but overall, Vandalieu's craftsmanship wasn't bad.
"She's quite muscular, as would be expected," Saria observed. "She is also quite voluptuous."
"If I made her thin, she wouldn't be able to control her movements, would she?" said Vandalieu. "And anyway, muscles are power."
"I'm sure Gubamon would feel bitter about this. After all, even if they were nameless, you have stolen the corpses of a hero's companions from him, Bocchan!" exclaimed Rita.
"It is indeed quite pleasant to imagine what kind of expression he would have," Vandalieu said in agreement. "Though I've never seen Gubamon's face before," he admitted.
She was Rank 4 to begin with, ready to fight, and she was versatile. Though she would need to train as she did not possess any martial-type skills, the experiment had been a huge success.
On top of that, she could even inflict emotional damage upon Vandalieu's future enemy.
"She is wonderful, Vandalieu-sama," said Eleanora, her eyes moist with emotion. "Not only can you combine multiple corpses, you can even draw out their original functions! You are already capable of doing the same things as Gubamon and Tenecia!"
"I see. I'm still only able to do the same things as them…"
As to be expected of beings who had lived for a hundred thousand years. It seemed that they were still a step ahead even when it came to the creation of Undead. They likely knew methods and secrets that were still unknown to Vandalieu.
Vandalieu didn't know when he would face them, but he decided to make sure to ask them before breaking their souls.
Rapiéçage let out a groan, and then a biting noise.
"You bastard! Don't eat Vandalieu-sama!" shouted Eleanora.
Rita laughed. "Rapiéçage is being spoiled by Bocchan."
"It seems to be a playful bite," said Sam.
"It kinda feels a bit painful for a playful bite -" Vandalieu began to say, but then Knochen made a noise. "Wait, Knochen, stop it!"
As if provoked by the way Rapiéçage was munching on Vandalieu's arm, Knochen began pressing its monkey and wolf heads against him as well.
These events made Vandalieu decide not to make any plans to produce Zombies in large numbers in the near future. He knew that he wasn't quite in the predicament that Dr. Frankenstein was in, but having large numbers of Zombies biting him playfully would be painful indeed.
[You have acquired the Surgery skill!]
Vandalieu made Rapiéçage train its Unarmed Fighting Technique in battle while he distributed Orichalcum equipment to everyone else.
And in order to become more experienced with Golem Transmutation as well as to be better prepared against the Vampires, he began repairing the city's defense installations. The Mirg shield-nation had been sloppy when it came to destroying them, and the installations themselves hadn't degraded over the past two hundred years.
So fortunately, Vandalieu was able to repair them using Golem Transmutation. The Vampires would never dream that they would have been repaired, so they were certain to become an ace up his sleeve.
Meanwhile, numerous Dragons were fought. Borkus engaged in multiple fierce battles against Storm Dragons, Vigaro fought fiery battles against Burst Ogres that were mutant Ogres emitting flames from all over their bodies, and Zadiris fought battles of magic against Great Treants, tree-type monsters that could cast spells.
These were very profitable in terms of both materials and Experience Points. Storm Dragon sashimi went well with wasabi, Burst Ogre hides could be used in heat-resistant armor and Great Treant lumber could be turned into good staves.
The greatest find of all was the discovery of wild garlic.
As it was wild garlic, the smell was harsher than cultivated garlic, so Vandalieu decided to use death-attribute magic to apply selective breeding to it.
"I suppose I'll have to make items that can remove bad breath… I have a feeling it would be easier to make Magic Items with the Deodorization spell than to produce mint goods," said Vandalieu.
"You're going to make Magic Items just to remove bad breath?" asked Basdia.
"Isn't that pretty luxurious?" asked Borkus.
"Bocchan, even noblemen don't have Magic Items like that, you know?" said Saria.
"It's a luxury, is it…? Right, I'll definitely make it then," Vandalieu decided.
And so he began his work to cultivate garlic and produce Magic Items to remove bad breath.
By the time the season could truly be called summer, there had been numerous developments.
First, the cultivation of garlic was going incredibly well. With the soil of Talosheim that was a semi-Devil's Nest and manure that Vandalieu had created with Fermentation, the garlic was growing with incredible vigor. The garlic could be harvested as often as once a week.
As a result of selective breeding, garlic the same size as the garlic used on Earth with less of a smell had been produced. But the nutritional value and the main components probably wouldn't change… or so Vandalieu thought. That was what he felt after examining it with magic, but since he didn't have proper equipment for examining it, he couldn't say for sure that this was the case.
Garlic was added as another flavoring commodity at the ruins of the Adventurers' Guild, and the demand for fish sauce decreased ever so slightly.
Vandalieu had also successfully created Magic Items to remove bad breath. They were large and barrel-shaped. Water stored in them would turn into gargling water that possessed the effects of Deodorization and Sterilization.
These were placed in the city's plazas, every bathhouse and all the main buildings. The people would take water from these barrels to wash their hands and rinse their mouths after eating.
Braga's Rank increased and he became a Black Goblin Ninja.
After hearing about ninjas from Vandalieu, Braga had used those stories as a basis for his training and pestered the blacksmith Datara to make him shurikens, kunais and curved swords resembling ninja's katanas. After he leveled up and some time had passed, he had become a magnificent monster bearing the title of Ninja.
Even Vandalieu was surprised by this. He hadn't expected Braga to become Lambda's first ninja after listening to his stories that almost certainly contained fictional elements.
This was likely the result of the Black Goblins' incredible physical abilities and, more importantly, their characteristically quick development.
"King, I can fly like this! Nin-nin!*" Braga looked to be enjoying himself as he hopped around, each of his jumps being over five meters high.
Would he be the first in the world to acquire the Ninjutsu skill, summon giant toads or transform into things like special effects in movies? … After talking to him, Vandalieu got the feeling that he'd be able to do any of them.
"I can't lose either!" For some reason, Zran, the Undead Titan who was Braga's Scout instructor, was getting fired up as well. He was training to become a ninja as well, so it was possible that the birth of Lambda's second ninja was close.
One day, the Anubis Zemedo and the Ghouls led Vandalieu to a corner of the city where a tree was growing, bearing blue fruits the size of babies' heads. He had seen this fruit numerous times in the Devil's Nest forest.
"King, there's a Kobol tree growing here!" said Zemedo.
Even in Devil's Nests, Kobol trees normally only grew where Kobolds lived. But there was a Kobol tree growing here.
"These blue things are Kobol fruits, huh. It's my first time seeing them," said Memediga.
"Can you really eat them?" asked Zemedo. "They're really blue."
There were no Kobolds nearby, so the two of them were seeing Kobol fruits for the first time and were bewildered by their color.
However, the reason Kobol trees were growing was clearly because the Anubises were present. As there wasn't a single Kobold in the city, there was no other explanation.
Vandalieu hadn't thought that Anubises could cause Kobol trees to grow.
"Thinking about it another way, the reason the Kobol trees haven't grown up until now has been there weren't many Anubises considering they city's size, or maybe just by chance," said Vandalieu. "Or maybe a Kobol seed from a fruit eaten by someone who ventured far away dropped here by chance. Well, there's no use in thinking about it too much," he concluded.
What was certain was that Kobol trees that didn't grow outside of Devil's Nests were growing in Talosheim, and that their fruit could be eaten.
"But it's still small, King," said Zemedo.
"Indeed it is," said Vandalieu.
The Kobol tree was still only a meter and a half tall, and it hadn't even produced ten fruits yet.
There weren't enough.
"Hmm, let's try supplying it with Mana for now," Vandalieu decided.
In Devil's Nests, even normal plant life grew faster than usual, not just monsters. This was due to the Mana contaminating the soil.
With that being the case, would the growth of the Kobol trees be accelerated if Vandalieu deliberately provided more Mana to the soil?
With this idea in mind, Vandalieu discharged a large amount of Mana into the soil around the tree and, while he was at it, he also applied the fertilizer he had created with Fermentation.
The next day, the Kobol tree was over three meters tall and there were dozens of fruit growing on it.
Not only that, but there were more Kobol trees growing around it.
Getting carried away by this success, Vandalieu decided to cultivate trees of other fruits in different places.
The space between the first and second outer walls didn't have a single building there yet, so he planted seeds for various fruits including acorns and walnuts to begin his experiment here.
He used Out-of-body Experience to branch his arms out like tentacles, combined with his physical body and used Mana Transfer on the ground. Holding nothing back, he poured Mana into the soil starting in the morning, straight through the afternoon all the way into the evening. He had recovered some Mana in between, so he had ended up pouring perhaps about 300,000,000 Mana into the ground.
This was because the number of spells he could cast at once had increased due to the Long-distance Control and Multi-Cast skills.
However, the next day, nothing had changed.
Thinking that Mana alone didn't work, he applied his handmade fertilizer and then poured his Mana into the ground.
"If this goes well, we can eat all kinds of fruits every day. When I go to the Orbaume Kingdom, I can bring back rare fruits and seeds… Talosheim will become a kingdom of fruits… Fufufufu." With these ambitions rising up within him, Vandalieu poured 300,000,000 Mana into the ground today as well.
And the next day, Vandalieu headed to the site of his experiment expecting trees to have grown, only to find that they had grown beyond his expectations.
"Wow, I've done something incredible, if I do say so myself," he remarked.
Vandalieu made sure there was no poison in the fruits just in case, then headed straight back to the city to report the results of his experiment.
"Oh, how wonderful!" exclaimed Nuaza. "Holy Son, you have recreated the legends of Vida, who was said to have transformed the barren wastelands into lush forests for the sake of the people! This is a miracle! Truly divine work!"
"No, no, it's not a miracle or divine work. I'm a person, after all," said Vandalieu.
"But it really is amazing," Darcia told him. "I'm sure you'd be able to turn even deserts into forests, Vandalieu."
"Mom, it took me two days to create a single thicket," Vandalieu reminded her.
"That's plenty fast enough. Forests normally take hundreds or thousands of years to form, after all."
Not everyone had gone mad with excitement and religious fanaticism like Nuaza, but everyone did give Vandalieu moderate praise, putting him in a good mood.
"What is this flower used for?" asked Basdia.
"It is a Defeat flower," replied Zadiris. "If I recall, the boy said oil can be taken from this tree's seeds."
This flower was similar to camellias, and until now, there hadn't been large amounts of this flower available. It had been named the Defeat flower because when the flower fell from the tree, it resembled the severed head of a general who had been defeated in battle falling to the ground. The tree provided them with oil.
The fruit that formed after the flowers fell could be steamed and squeezed to produce oil that could be used as fuel or food.
There wasn't much demand for lighting in Talosheim as its inhabitants possessed the Night Vision skill that allowed them to read just fine with just the moonlight, or the Dark Vision skill that let them see in complete darkness as if it were the middle of the afternoon. But Vandalieu had actually wanted oil to use in food.
"With this, I can make tempura and suage*, and also mayonnaise…"
It was possible to take oil from acorns, but the demand for acorn powder had been greater, and taking lard from Orcs and other monsters took more time and effort than extracting it from plants. So now he could make foods and flavorings that he had been unable to make before -
"Bocchan, isn't that tree moving?" asked Rita.
"Eh? No way, there's no way a tree would move, right?" said Vandalieu, coming back from his delicious fantasies that had spread its wings to look at the tree that she was pointing at. But a moment later, he was perplexed. "Huh? Was there a tree in that spot when we first came here?"
Right before Vandalieu's eyes, the tree's roots moved like legs to produce a sluggish motion.
"… It did move, didn't it?" he said.
"It does seem like it moved," said Zadiris in agreement.
"See, I told you it moved, didn't I!" exclaimed Rita.
"It looks like an Ent… Where did it sneak in from?" asked Zadiris.
"Well, if it's just one tree coming at me, I'll turn it into lumber right away." Thinking that it would be best to fell the tree just in case, Vigaro, who was now a battle lumberjack, raised his trusty axe.
As he did, the entire thicket squirmed with the loud rustling of leaves.
"… Did all the trees we can see just move?" asked Rita.
"Could it be that all of the trees in this thicket are Ents?" Kachia guessed.
Her guess was entirely correct.
Ents are Rank 3 plant-type monsters.
They use their roots as legs to move and possess faces resembling those of humans on their trunks. Their strength is proportional to the size of their bodies and their trunks are as hard as iron. As they are made of wood, they may look weak to fire, but they possess the Fire Element Resistance skill, so they are difficult to burn.
However, their movements are dull and they are only able to swing their branches and roots around in battle. Because of their folk-tale like appearance and their human-like faces, they are imagined to be intelligent, but their intelligence is not significantly different from that of Goblins.
However, as they possess the characteristics of plants, they do not attack other creatures except in self-defense or if they are in extremely dry, barren land. Even in Devil's Nests, as long as they are not carelessly approached and no fires are lit nearby, they are relatively unthreatening, rare monsters.
Their fresh leaves can be used to make poultices, and their trunks can be used as high-quality wood. Their faces are used as proof of their extermination.
Incidentally, the cause of their appearance has long been a source of puzzlement for researchers. The leading theory is that there are 'Ent seeds' that grow into large trees and form Ents. However, the existence of such seeds is still yet to be proven.
Another theory is that normal trees become Ents when polluted with Mana. Renowned mages have tried pouring Mana into soil in experiments to test this theory, but in the end, no trees transformed into Ents in these experiments.
"So, Van, how much Mana did you pour into them?" asked Basdia.
"If I recall, I recovered my Mana as I worked so it was around 300,000,000 Mana yesterday," replied Vandalieu.
"… Your Mana is amazing as always, isn't it, Van?"
Upon hearing the mention of Mana in the hundreds of millions, Kachia, who was more open with her feelings these days, let out a sigh. She had been training in magic recently, but her Mana was just over one hundred.
In a single day, the five-year-old boy in front of her had poured three million times that amount into the ground. Wasn't it simply too extraordinary?
"I wish you'd share some of that Mana with me," she said. "Well, you do share it with me from time to time," she added.
"Indeed," said Zadiris in agreement. "No matter how renowned a mage is, they would not possess a hundred million."
It seemed that as a result of an incredible amount of Vandalieu's Mana being continuously poured into the ground, all of the previously very ordinary seeds had grown into Ents.
This made the truth behind the appearance of Ents very clear.
It did seem like it would be years before this was announced to human society, however.
"By the way, is it alright with the plants like this?" Vandalieu wondered.
"You walked around before you brought us here, didn't you?" said Vigaro. "Isn't it fine, then?"
"It does not seem that they will attack us when we come near," said Sam.
"Holy Son, how is your Death-Attribute Charm?" asked Nuaza.
"Hmm… It seems to be working."
Why was Death-Attribute Charm having an effect on plant-type Ents who didn't have death or cemetery in their names?
It was unclear, but there was no denying that it was affecting them.
But Appraisal revealed…
[Rank: 4, Name: Immortal Treant, Summary: Mutant Treants who have been showered in death-attribute Mana as seeds. However, they do not possess evil natures. They are resistant to all kinds of conditions, physical attacks and magical attacks, and they possess excellent self-restoring abilities.]
In other words, they were Ents that were incredibly difficult to kill.
"Well, I suppose we have more fighting forces and an additional source of food," said Vandalieu.
For now, he needed to refine the Defeat flower oil. He decided to make Golems and establish a production system right away.
A group of seven people proceeded through a large, dark corridor.
The group of men and women holding lanterns to light the way, wearing various kinds of equipment, looked like adventurers in the middle of clearing a Dungeon ruins.
This would be half-correct.
"There's less resistance than I expected, for great ruins that were supposedly sealed off a hundred thousand years ago," said a man in his late twenties wielding a spear as he stabbed a Demon* to death.
Demons are coagulations of contaminated Mana with evil wills that turn into monsters. The Lesser Demon with the head and legs of a black goat that the man just defeated was the weakest kind, but even that was a powerful Rank 6 enemy. However…
"It's nothing but small fry; this doesn't even make for good exercise."
"You are absolutely right, Riley-Aniki!" said a small man in light equipment who appeared to be a scout.
The unamused face of the Green Wind Spear Riley twisted in a small smile.
"There is no helping it; there is no way that a suitable opponent for someone like you who is an A-class adventurer with a Title would be easily to find," said a woman whose cleavage was visible through her revealing top, who would appear to be a prostitute rather than a mage if she were not holding a staff.
Riley's smile grew wider.
"Do you think so as well, Flark?" Riley asked.
There was no response.
"Ah, come to think of it, your collar is set so that you can't talk, isn't it? Well, whatever."
The man called Flark was a Shield-bearer wearing plate armor and a helmet made of black steel harder and heavier than iron, holding a shield larger than the smaller man. As Riley spoke to him, he didn't even so much as glance at Riley. But Riley showed no signs of concern as he chuckled and continued.
"Well, I suppose there's no helping it," said Riley. "I'm not foolish enough to think that heroes who leave their names in history are constantly doing flashy work. They have to do this kind of dull work as well. Especially when it's requested by Earl Mauvid."
"The words of a hero are really something else!" said the small man in admiration.
"Kyah, how wonderful!" squealed the female mage.
Flark said nothing, letting out only a small, short sigh. The other two praised Riley and flattered him even more unabashedly than before.
This conversation alone would be enough to indicate that the adventurers of this party were not all of equal standing, but the collars worn by Flark and the others made it very clear.
The three of them were wearing hard, black collars on their necks. They were slaves owned by Riley. The marks engraved on the collars showed that they were criminal slaves.
Unlike slaves of debt who would be released and return to becoming normal people once their debts were paid off, criminal slaves could be legally treated in any manner and they wouldn't be released until their deaths.
There was no way that these were companions of equal status. Riley held their lives and possessions in his hands. With a party formed with just these slaves, it was not unnatural for Riley to become carried away.
However, there were three more people other than Riley and his slaves. They were three individuals with pale skin and crimson eyes, giving wry smiles at the conversation they were hearing.
"Do you guys think so as well?" Riley asked them.
One of the red-eyed individuals smiled even wider as he answered.
"We are grateful that we were able to make this exchange, Riley-dono."
There were fangs visibly protruding from his mouth.
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Chapter 55: Sometime after autumn, insects will be drawn to the light
Other than his talent, the Green Wind Spear Riley was a normal adventurer that could be found anywhere.
He came from a commoner background, and he had become an adventurer because he had confidence in his own skill. His objective had been to earn gold. And though he never said this out loud, he held the hopes and dreams of becoming like the protagonists of the heroic tales he had heard as a child.
When Riley was still a novice, he happened to witness Heinz registering as an adventurer. He got on well with this younger man and decided to form a party with him.
And then a female Dwarf Shield-bearer, an intellectual young male Scout who wielded a bow and a beautiful Elf woman who used Spiritual Magic were added to the party and they became known as the Five-colored Blades.
Just like in folk songs about heroes, the four members other than Riley had abundant talent as well. After a hard year of completing Goblin extermination requests, they were comparable to veteran D-class adventurers.
In the next year, they were promoted to Class, a little superior to average adventurers. In their third year together, they cleared a previously undiscovered Dungeon, acquiring valuable Magic Items and fame, and Heinz, the party leader, was promoted to B-class. He was bestowed with a Title, the Blue-flamed Sword, originating from the magic sword he acquired from the Dungeon.
Around that time, before he knew it, Riley found that he held dark feelings towards Heinz.
Riley had talent himself; he was just as handsome and strong as Heinz. Though Heinz was the party leader, Riley wondered, why was he being treated as a bonus addition to Heinz?
Heinz was the only one to be promoted to B-class after clearing the Dungeon. Riley had acquired a Mythril spear with an emerald-green jewel that controlled the wind, but he hadn't gained a Title.
Noblemen and merchants were frantic to form connections with Heinz, the individual with such talent that he had become a B-class adventurer in his teenage years. There were numerous talks of officer and specialist contracts and, best of all, he was approached by good women. Even the receptionist at the Adventurers' Guild looked at him with moist eyes.
In contrast to that, Riley was only known as 'one of Heinz's companions.' It was as if there was a sign with those exact words hanging around his neck.
And then Riley came to the realization that it was not him, but Heinz who had become the protagonist of the heroic folk songs.
It was the greatest failure and humiliation he had experienced in his life. But this alone would likely not have made Riley leave the Five-colored Blades. He might have simply accepted that this was how things were, like many other adventurers, and continued to be Heinz's party member.
But the final crack was one particular request the party received.
That request was to capture a Vampire and a Dark Elf witch who had succumbed to his temptations and given birth to a Dhampir. It was an unusual request, but when they actually accepted it, they quickly succeeded in completing it.
The witch's archery and magic were no match for them, and the Vampire was nowhere to be found. Heinz thrust his sheathed sword into her stomach and that was the end of it.
They received their reward and put that town behind them.
However, after completing that request, Heinz began to brood upon his thoughts often and say things that Riley couldn't understand.
Riley had a bad feeling about it, but he remembered how Heinz had done the same when he had just become an adventurer after cutting down a pregnant female Goblin. Riley forced himself to believe that Heinz would overcome it like before.
He realized that he was mistaken when Heinz turned down an invitation to a party sponsored by an important nobleman.
"Tonight is the Festival of Alda. I would certainly like to hear the heroic tale of how you cleansed the land of that evil witch," the nobleman's messenger said.
Heinz replied with a "No."
That important nobleman was one of the most prominent figures in the Mirg shield-nation, and he was particularly influential at the Adventurers' Guild.
"Why did you refuse an invitation from someone like that? We can't stay uninvolved with high society if we want to increase our Ranks, even if it's a pain! How many times have we said that?!" Riley demanded.
"I can't believe that she was a witch," replied Heinz. "I've started to doubt whether this country… whether Alda is right."
Ah, it's hopeless. I can't follow this guy anymore, thought Riley, the moment he heard Heinz's response.
Riley was an adventurer. He accepted requests, fought monsters and earned gold. He would be promoted, gain fame and honor, retire at an older age after a successful career and then live out the rest of his years in comfort.
Riley wouldn't tell Heinz not to have his ideals and chase his dreams. After all, Riley himself had dreamed of becoming the protagonist of a heroic folk song. That was why he wasn't so concerned about others.
So I don't really care about Heinz's ideals, dreams or sense of justice. But why do I have to suffer for them?
Yeah, sure. You're a genius. I'm sure all the bards in the future will sing heroic tales with you as the protagonist.
Even if you refuse an important nobleman's invitation, I'm sure you'll be fine. Even if you doubt the nation's sense of values and national religion, even if you go to the Orbaume Kingdom where Dhampirs are treated as people, I'm sure you'll overcome any problems you face with the powers you believe in and the bonds you have with others.
On top of that, you'll rush to A-class and S-class, and fame, gold, status and women will come to you one after another.
But I'm definitely different. I don't believe I can go to an enemy nation that we've been warring with for hundreds of years to uphold the unspoken law that nations have nothing to do with adventurers. Even if I overcame the difficulties and somehow followed you, even then, I'd just be 'one of Heinz's companions,' right?
Don't [censored] with me!
After leaving the Five-colored Blades, Riley signed a specialist contract with the aforementioned important nobleman, Earl Palpapek.
After that, he reached B-class and acquired his Title, becoming known as Riley, the Green Wind Spear. It was all due to Earl Palpapek's influence, however. But Riley didn't care. He had always possessed the ability that deserved such recognition, and the only reason he hadn't received that recognition was because he had been in Heinz's shadow. In Riley's heart, this had become the absolute truth.
However, not having the same luck that Heinz had been blessed with, he was unable to gather reliable companions.
The more capable ones were audacious and didn't listen to him. Those who didn't listen to him were of no use.
Left with no other choice, he worked solo or in temporary parties to become more well-known and have others begging him to become his companions.
During this time, he joined forces with the High Priest who had been involved in the business with the witch, in order to slay the Dhampir who had escaped at that time and his subordinate Ghouls, which ended in wasted effort. But this was a trivial matter.
However, misfortune befell Riley once more after that.
Frustrated at the fact that he couldn't gather companions, Riley came up with the idea of purchasing slaves and raising them as adventurers.
He had heard the stories of the legendary champion Bellwood, who had rehabilitated criminal slaves at the time, turning them into reliable companions who constantly protected him on the battlefield.
Riley used the money he had saved up until that point to purchase slaves to use in battle and began training them as adventurers. Unlike the adventurers he had encountered so far, the slaves were obedient and quite useful. However, their superficial skills were nowhere near enough to keep up with those of Riley, a B-class adventurer.
Even after acquiring the Slave User Job and acquiring the Strengthen Slaves skill, the improvements were moderate at best.
And in the Mirg shield-nation, a nation of the Amid Empire, slaves possessed rights as humans. If Riley used the slaves in reckless ways, he would be accused of abusing them and slaves of races created by Vida who had no human rights were few and far between in the western regions of the continent.
And then Riley had arrived at the idea of using criminal slaves. This had caused him to be ostracized by Earl Palpapek, his employer, but Riley himself never noticed this.
Rather than believing that the earl had shuffled him away as a card, he believed that it was he who had shuffled the earl away.
"Earl Palpapek is an idiot, isn't he!" exclaimed Riley. "Holing up in his mansion like a turtle when he could return to being the marshal if he put more achievements to his name in this expedition. I don't really care that he's being a coward, but I don't want him to take away my opportunities to increase my fame as well."
"But thanks to that, Marshal Legston introduced us to General Mauvid, didn't he?" said Messara, the female Mage with an overly sensual appearance. "You are capable of more than ending up as the employee of a vassal nation's earl, Riley-sama."
Messara had become a master of the Mages' Guild at a young age, but in order to preserve her youth and beautiful appearance, she practiced the evil sorceries detailed in the forbidden archives. At least ten children were confirmed to have been kidnapped from the village and murdered by her. She had been a bizarre serial killer who had covered her entire body in the fresh blood of her victims.
"Heheh, you're completely right," said Gennie, the small Scout who was a former Class adventurer. "The entire nation is expecting Aniki to become the successor to the tragic hero, and if things go well, he'll be able to get his hands on the magic spear Artifact, won't he? With that, surpassing A-class to become S-class won't be a mere dream."
Gennie had been an excellent adventurer who worked solo, but the hidden side of him was that he was a fiend who did evil acts such as setting traps for other adventurers and rob them of their achievements, their fortunes and their lives, and tricking new adventurers to sell them to underground slave traders.
Flark, the Shield-bearer, remained silent.
He looked to be more decent than the other two at first glance; however, that didn't change the fact that he was a criminal slave. He was the leader of a mercenary band who would earn their living as bandits during times of peace. He had personally killed more people than the other two members of his current party.
In spite of the requests that Riley successfully completed, he had gained a bad reputation by forming a party made entirely of criminal slaves.
He came to the incorrect conclusion that this was why he wasn't being promoted to A-class. Just as he decided to gather more achievements to his name in the upcoming expedition to turn things in his favor, Earl Palpapek, who had signed a specialist contract with Riley, told Riley that he wouldn't participate the expedition and would offer Riley no assistance if he wanted to participate in the expedition on his own.
As Riley searched for ways to continue gathering achievements to his name, he overheard that Earl Legston, the current marshal, was searching for skilled adventurers to join the expedition. When Riley accepted, things proceeded so smoothly that everything seemed like some kind of joke.
He was promoted to A-class, his specialist contract with Earl Palpapek was nullified so that he didn't have to pay an enormous fine for breaching his contract and his interview with Marshal Legston was a success.
And then he had been hired by General Mauvid, the commander of the expedition. And the beings behind that general were…
"But are you fine with this?" asked Riley. "I'm the second coming of Mikhail, the Divine Spear of Ice. I'm Riley, the Green Wind Spear. Won't your bosses be mad at you for doing business with me?"
The Vampires gave wry smiles in response to his question.
"We don't mind. We are companions with common goals in this expedition. Isn't that right?"
Taking advantage of Riley's ambitions, the Vampires working for the Pure-breed Vampire Ternecia had made him an offer. They had asked him, "Don't you want to become a hero?"
And then Riley had accepted that offer.
"Yeah, there's no doubt that I do," he had replied.
Riley wanted gold, but achievements came first. That was why, as advance payment, he had been given the honor to be the first to clear the tunnel in the Boundary Mountain Range.
And then during this expedition, he would gain the achievements of having exterminated the fiendish Dhampir and the two Noble-born Vampires who were traitors to the Vampire community.
If things fared well, Riley would sign a specialist contract with the Mauvid family of earls. By the time he retired he would have a court rank and be able to live a resplendent life in the Amid Empire.
He wasn't concerned that his home country would suffer as a result of this expedition.
The Vampires had gained the convenience of having an influential ally involved in the expedition, someone to act as bait for their Dhampir target, and, of course, someone who could be used in battle.
"Or perhaps you wish for immortality?" one of the Vampires had asked Riley.
Messara had an expression of desire on her face, but Riley had shaken his head with a wry smile.
"I'll pass. I quite like the honor of living an earthly life," he had replied.
Who'd want to become a Vampire? I'd rather not live hundreds of years and still be ordered around by someone else.
This was how Riley saw the Vampires.
"How unfortunate."
Seeing through Riley's intentions, the Vampires had quickly withdrawn their offer. Making use of him just on this expedition was sufficient for them, so there was no need to be persistent.
"Aniki, we're almost at the exit!" said Gennie.
The tunnel had been sealed off by countless boulders ahead, where Gennie was pointing. But his nose hadn't missed the smell of fresh air coming from the gaps in between the boulders.
Messara examined the other side of the boulders with magic. She felt a small response.
"There are a few Undead," she said.
"Are they strong?" asked Riley.
"No. They are Rank 2 at best."
"Then there's no problem. You guys step back, it's time for Zephyr, my magic spear of wind, to shine." Riley raised Zephyr, his prided magic spear. Wind gathered to him from within the tunnel and -
"Hundred Rending Screw Thrusts!"
He unleashed an advanced martial skill with Zephyr, a rapid series of twisting thrusts with their penetrating power enhanced by the Wind-attribute Mana imbued in the spear.
Letting out deafening sounds, each thrust of Riley's spear easily broke and blew away a part of the wall of boulders that likely weighed dozens of tons.
Flark leapt through the hole that formed as a result, ensuring that the other side was safe.
He looked around silently.
"What, there aren't any Undead after all," said Riley.
Only ruined fields and forests were to be found on the other side of the boulders; there was no sign of anything that resembled an Undead.
"Oh? How strange… I wonder if they were hit by the boulders you sent flying?" Messara suggested.
Fragments of the boulders that Riley had destroyed were scattered around. Though they were fragments, the larger ones were the size of human heads, large enough to defeat Rank 2 monsters if they were hit.
"I suppose so…" Riley exhaled. "So this is the air of a land unexplored by people. The wind is quite good; how should I describe it in my autobiography?"
"We must ask that you do not write about us in that autobiography," said one of the Vampires.
As Riley stood there with a smirk on his face, the Vampires walked past him. They took Magic Items resembling compasses from their pockets, poured a red liquid onto them and began measuring something.
"Master Vampires, what might those be?" asked Gennie.
"It is a device that detects the location of Vampires," a Vampire replied. "With this, we can find out where the traitors are."
Even the Vampires didn't know the exact location of the Dhampir and the Vampire traitors. That was why they were using these devices to find their destination.
If Earl Palpapek learned of this, he would laugh at the crudeness of their plan and the fact that they hadn't investigated the Dhampir's location beforehand, and then feel disappointed in himself for not being able to stop this plan.
"There's no response for Sercrent's blood," said one of the Vampires. "Has he been killed?"
"The search radius reaches all the way to the Orbaume Kingdom from here," said another. "I suppose we should assume that he's dead."
"What about Eleanora?"
"Wait, I'm taking measurements now."
They poured Eleanora's blood that they had stored onto the Magic Items and looked at the response.
"There she is. Northeast of here… The area near where Talosheim should be, according to the records."
"What? Then does this mean that the Dhampir and his Ghouls are in those ruins?"
"Heh! That's convenient!" Upon hearing the Vampires' conversation, Riley's lips twisted in a good-humored smile. "The failure of the Mirg shield-nation and Mikhail, the hero of two hundred years ago, will be made up for by me, the hero of the modern age!" he exclaimed. "I'll take back the national treasure Artifact while I'm at it, too! Everything's going just as I wanted! The goddess of destiny smiles on me!"
Having taken oil from the seeds of the Defeat flower, whose trees had become Immortal Ents, Vandalieu was trying his hand at making his own mayonnaise.
Giga eggs, fruit vinegar and oil. He had gathered all of the ingredients. What he hadn't possessed was the equipment to make it, but Vandalieu had made those as well.
An iron bowl and a hand mixer…-shaped Golem (made of iron). Though they were heavy, Vandalieu didn't struggle while handling them due to his Superhuman Strength skills and high Attribute Values.
And then Vandalieu mixed the ingredients on and on. He used Demon Flame, the blue-white flame spell that absorbed heat, to cool the ingredients down and continued mixing.
"Vandalieu, are you alright?" asked Darcia.
"Hmm? Yes, of course." Vandalieu didn't know why Darcia was worrying about him, but his silent, expressionless face looked quite unhealthy in the light of the blue flame. It was only natural that Darcia was worried.
"Hey, that's a flavoring as well, isn't it? Then can't you have it made by Golems like Defeat flower oil, nori and kombu?" asked Darcia.
Vandalieu had indeed already automated the manufacturing process for Defeat flower oil using Golems and Magic Items.
"I do intend to do that in the future," he said in response to Darcia's question. "When making mayonnaise, you don't add the oil all at once. You have to add it slowly like I'm doing now. So even if I make Golems do it, mayonnaise won't be produced."
The Golems created by Vandalieu had more applications than Golems created through regular Alchemy, but they were not all-purpose.
The Golems wouldn't know the rate at which the oil needed to be added if Vandalieu didn't specify it.
Hand mixers, spinning fans and massage Golems were simple, however. He just needed to limit their moving parts and instruct them on how fast or slow, how strong or weak their movements should be.
However, when it came to making food, Vandalieu needed to give them specific instructions.
"I wish I'd tried making handmade mayonnaise on Earth or in my previous life," said Vandalieu. He had experienced cooking for himself on Earth, but he certainly hadn't tried making handmade mayonnaise. "Well, once I figure out the trick I am going to automate it with Golems, so it's just this one time."
Vandalieu intended to have a food-sampling meeting and hear everyone's opinions before then, but considering the reactions to miso, fish sauce, kombu and katsuobushi, he could only imagine that the mayonnaise would be welcomed by everyone.
The Ghouls and Undead Titans had a particularly strong liking for foods with thick flavors. The same was true for the Black Goblins, Anubises and Orcuses. He had the feeling that it might cause blood pressure problems, but their physiology was different to the humans of Earth, so it was probably fine.
So everyone would probably take a liking to mayonnaise, but… there was the risk of producing more junkies. No, it would definitely produce junkies.
Even so, Vandalieu wanted to eat food with mayonnaise.
And the onee-san at the trading post told me that she wanted me to make a new product, so I suppose it's fine, isn't it?
"Really? If you're tired, make sure you rest, okay?" Darcia told Vandalieu.
"Okay."
And then only the whirring sound of the hand mixer Golem could be heard.
"Vandalieu-sama, did you need anything?" asked Eleanora as she appeared. Vandalieu had called her here to taste-test the mayonnaise once it was completed. "Are you… perhaps researching the cause of a disease?"
"No, I'm making a new flavoring," replied Vandalieu.
This scene may certainly not appear to be cooking to a person from this world, but wasn't the misunderstanding a little too terrible? Though he was indeed doing research on diseases as well.
Many of this world's inhabitants had no concrete knowledge when it came to pathogens. In fact, the great majority of them were unaware of the existence of tiny organisms that couldn't be seen with the naked eye. The exceptions were very knowledgeable people, those who brewed alcoholic drinks and bread merchants.
This was likely why Eleanora had misunderstood, but -
"I'm sorry, I'd thought that I had been summoned so that you can experiment as to whether it would work on Vampires…"
It seemed that she had come with the intention of being an experimental subject.
"No, I wanted you to try this mayonnaise," Vandalieu told her.
"I see," said Eleanora. "But to mistake that for research on the cause of a disease… I am willing to accept any punishment. So you should -"
"Then as a punishment, please taste this."
A year had already passed since Eleanora's addition to Vandalieu's allies, for some reason, she had never changed. She was always begging him to punish her for something.
Vandalieu had found it tiring to keep up with her at first, but now he was completely used to it. He had decided to treat her well while calling his treatment punishment, but -
"Vandalieu-sama, this is not punishment… You should order me to offer you my blood, or spend the day as a replacement for your furniture," said Eleanora.
This was how things were. The idea of telling her to let her use her lap as a pillow as a punishment next time suddenly occurred to Vandalieu.
"Umm, Eleanora-san? I think it's a little too early for Vandalieu to be involved in those kinds of things," said Darcia.
"No, I didn't mean it in that way…!" Eleanora panicked and shook her head, so it didn't seem like she was simply an individual with tastes for such things.
Leaving that aside, the mayonnaise was almost finished.
Unlike the vinegar, the Giga eggs and the Defeat flower oil taken from Immortal Ents hadn't existed on Earth and in Origin. Perhaps because the ratio of ingredients was different because the ingredients themselves were also different, Vandalieu's attempts to make mayonnaise so far had room for improvement. But this time, it was possible that he had the perfected product.
He decided to first scoop some up with his finger to taste it, and then try applying it to a salad of wild vegetables.
"Now then, time to taste -" Vandalieu suddenly stopped mid-sentence.
"Vandalieu?" Darcia called out to him in concern.
"Mom, it seems that the Vampires' pawns in the Mirg shield-nation are approaching," he said.
"Ah, is that so…?" Darcia looked concerned.
"Was there a response from your surveillance Undead?" asked Eleanora, looking surprised. "But to think that they would immediately know where we are."
Vandalieu set aside his experimental mayonnaise.
"Now then, let's gather everyone and have a discussion," he said. "I'll explain the information that the surveillance Undead gathered. Please listen while tasting the mayonnaise."
They might arrive as early as autumn or winter. Next year's spring at latest.
But they were insects being drawn to a light.
Name: Riley
Race: Human
Age: 25
Titles: Green Wind Spear, the Second Coming of the Tragic Hero
Job: Slave User
Level: 47
Job History: Apprentice Warrior, Warrior, Spearman, Magic Spear User
Passive skills:
Strengthened Attribute Values when equipped with a spear (Medium)
Enhanced Attribute Values: Agility: Level 5
Strengthened Attribute Values when equipped with non-metal armor (Medium)
Intuition: Level 3
Detect Presence: Level 2
Strengthen Slaves: Level 2
Active skills:
Spear Technique: Level 8
Armor Technique: Level 5
Throwing: Level 5
Dismantling: Level 2
Silent Steps: Level 2
Surpass Limits - Magic Spear: Level 4
Training: Level 1
Overpower: Level 1
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Chapter 56: I'm crowned as a result of the Mayonnaise Meeting
Other than those who were absent as they were clearing Dungeons, Vandalieu had gathered his main companions in the hall of the royal castle.
They had to discuss what to do now that the invasion of the Mirg shield-nation and Vampires had been confirmed. They also had to taste-test the mayonnaise trial product.
"Delicious! It's ridiculously delicious!" Borkus exclaimed.
"I think it needs a little more impact. How about adding some wasabi to it?" Vigaro suggested.
"I see," said Zadiris. "I think it is quite acceptable as it is…"
"This is…! I have never tasted a flavor like this! Vandalieu-sama, what did you use to create this?!" asked Eleanora.
Bone Chimera made a noise and Rapiéçage let out a groan.
"Eh? Wha -" There was a scream.
"Ah! Rapiéçage is getting a hold of Tarea-san to get the mayonnaise stuck around her mouth!" Saria exclaimed.
"Please stop her instead of just watching!" Tarea shouted.
"Ahah~♪ We can't hear the words of Tarea-san who gets to try out delicious foods that we can't eat~☆" Rita told her.
"Nooooooo! You heartless fool!"
"It cannot be helped, here, I will give you this, so stop -"
Zadiris offered Rapiéçage the mayonnaise on her finger. Rapiéçage put her finger in her mouth and began sucking.
"… Boy, this Zombie girl is sucking on my finger with all of her strength."
"Hmm, the intelligence of the Undead really does drop if I don't use the body's original spirit," Vandalieu observed. "Adding more spirits turned out to be quite pointless as well."
Military matters had been set aside, leaving the mayonnaise tasting to be the current topic. Nobody could win against their appetites.
Well, Rapiéçage wasn't intelligent enough to have discussions or anything like that. Other than listening to Vandalieu's commands, she was just a normal Zombie and couldn't speak a single word.
Vandalieu had tried adding more spirits to her like with Bone Man, but it had no effect at all. Maybe Bone Man was a special case, or perhaps a suitable amount of learning and life experience(?) was needed? Vandalieu decided to assume that it was the latter and wait for her to develop.
Zombies and Skeletons, like children, could not be raised hastily.
"Rappie, release Zadiris's finger from your mouth," Vandalieu ordered.
Rapiéçage groaned as she released Zadiris's brown-gray finger from her purple lips, leaving a sticky string between it and her blue tongue. The color of Rapiéçage's lips and tongue had changed for some reason after Vandalieu had turned her into a Zombie. He had properly stopped her decomposition with Preservation, however.
Zadiris let out a disgruntled noise. "She even went and licked my claws. It is not my fault if she is paralyzed."
"She is an Undead, after all," said Vandalieu.
"I am aware of that. Her stitches are clearly visible."
Tarea let out a sigh of relief. "I almost had my lips taken by a Zombie of the same sex right before Van-sama's eyes."
"We must not let down our guards or show any weaknesses," said Eleanora.
Both Tarea and Eleanora hastily wiped their mouths. Zombies in fictional works on Earth often had poor eyesight but a sharp sense of smell to make up for it, but this wasn't the case for Zombies in Lambda.
In Rapiéçage's case, since her head was that of a human, her senses were almost identical to those of a human other than the Dark Vision skill she had gained as an Undead. Wiping the mayonnaise away from their mouths was enough to stop Rapiéçage from noticing it.
Taking that into account, the Zombies in Earth's fiction could actually be considered to have quite high specs.
"Now then, about the Mirg shield-nation's army -" Vandalieu began.
"It's obvious that we're going to slaughter them all, isn't it?" Borkus interrupted. "More importantly, isn't there any more mayonnaise?"
"It was an experimental product, so there's no more," Vandalieu told him.
"What?! Then let's make some more!"
"Vandalieu, how do you make it?!" Vigaro demanded.
"Wait, I am sure it is impossible because there are insufficient ingredients," said Zadiris. "Boy, what do you need for it?"
"… I'll make it, so just listen to what I have to say," said Vandalieu.
It seemed that the Lambda-made mayonnaise was a success.
After that, excluding Rapiéçage and Knochen, everyone including Vandalieu exchanged information and discussed what to do against the Mirg shield-nation while making mayonnaise.
This would later come to be known as the Mayonnaise Meeting of Talosheim.
While Vandalieu was creating mayonnaise, the boulders sealing off the tunnel leading to the Mirg shield-nation were destroyed, and adventurers and Vampires emerged from within. Judging from the contents of their conversation:
· The Vampires who worship Hihiryushukaka, the Evil God of Joyful Life, were utilizing the Empire and Mirg shield-nation in order to repeat the Talosheim invasion of two hundred years ago.
· They had used Magic Items to determine Eleanora's location and concluded that Vandalieu was in Talosheim.
· However, it seemed that they currently had no plans to conduct reconnaissance in Talosheim. Vandalieu and the Ghouls had previously escaped from the Devil's Nest forest without fighting, so they were wary that the same thing would happen again. They were also wary of the risk that that if casualties were suffered during reconnaissance, Vandalieu would gain information from their spirits.
Eleanora looked mortified. "I do recall them taking my blood on numerous occasions, but I didn't realize that such Magic Items existed…"
"Well, don't worry about it," said Vandalieu. "It's convenient because they're coming straight here. So now the four members of the adventurer party and one of the Vampires is guarding the tunnel's exit. The other two Vampires have returned to their community to let them know. It seems the Mirg shield-nation has been contacted through Magic Items."
As to be expected of a community of Vampires with Pure-breeds who had lived for hundreds of thousands of years standing at the top. It seemed that they possessed all kinds of Magic Items that Eleanora had no knowledge about. With that said, those Magic Items were tools to locate traitors, quite fitting of them considering the teachings of the Evil God of Joyful Life and Birkyne's personality.
Did they find Valen's… Father's location with this item as well? Well, leaving that aside…
"So when do you think they will arrive?" asked Zadiris.
"It seems they haven't come to a concrete decision yet."
Judging from the adventurers' conversation… adventurers and knights would come through the tunnel to confirm its safety and protect the exit. The adventurers would then return. At the same time, a war council led by the Amid Empire would take place to discuss the tunnel's discovery and the upcoming invasion.
In that war council, things like budgets, the number of soldiers and knights that needed to be mobilized and where they were to be mobilized from would be decided.
There were plans to dispatch priests of the Church of Alda to scatter holy water around the tunnel, under the pretense of 'removing ancient, evil spirits'. In reality, this was likely a measure against Vandalieu who was assumed to be a Spiritualist.
And then the Amid Empire and Mirg shield-nation would jointly make a grand announcement of the expedition. There would be extravagant ceremonies and festivals to increase the citizens' morale.
And then a party would be held in the Amid Empire in anticipation of General Mauvid's victory in this expedition. The Order of Prodigal Knights would depart the Empire and join up with the Vampires who would disguise themselves as mercenaries. At the same time, the soldiers and knights would be gathered from all over the Mirg shield-nation, more ceremonies would be performed, and��
"Considering the above processes, I think that they'll be here around winter no matter how much they rush things," said Vandalieu.
"… Would it kill humans to hurry it up? They don't even live for a hundred years, so how come they're so patient?" Vigaro wondered.
"Indeed, they should come as soon as possible," Zadiris said in agreement.
For Ghouls like Vigaro and Zadiris, the ceremonies and parties happening indiscriminately would likely seem pointless.
Though Vandalieu might have seen the point in having parties, the ceremonies did indeed seem like a waste of time. Well, without them, the morale of the knights and soldiers might decrease.
"Humans like those kinds of ceremonies," said Tarea.
"It's easier to think of them as creatures with those in their nature and way of life," Eleanora added.
Both of them were former humans, after all.
"A long time ago, your father told me that great people must show how great they are," said Darcia.
Well, that was how it was. Vandalieu was aiming to become a nobleman, even if he couldn't have any successors, so having to do those kinds of things would be a problem.
"Then I'm sure they'll come in spring," said Borkus. "It doesn't snow around here, even in winter, but it'll get cold."
Just as he said, winter was harsh in Talosheim, a city surrounded by mountains. Despite there being no snow, it was ridiculously cold.
The snow would stop on the mountains to both the east and west, but the cold would come straight over the mountains and blow down on the city.
It would be harsh on an army to march in those conditions. At a normal walking pace, it would take five days to reach Talosheim from that tunnel. After coming out of the tunnel, though there would be no snow, the roads weren't maintained and even with the records of Talosheim's direction from two hundred years ago, it would almost certainly be impossible to proceed while avoiding the Devil's Nests that had spread across everywhere.
Considering the terrain that the army needed to march across, if they did it during winter, they would be greatly weakened before even reaching Talosheim.
"Well, I'm sure those guys won't be very familiar with the climate in this area," Borkus added.
"But I think they'll be cautious because they're unfamiliar with it," said Vandalieu. "I'm sure Vampires don't care about the cold of winter, but they're planning to make use of a human army this time. It's unlikely they'll force a movement during the winter."
"Indeed, if they were going to push in during the winter, the Vampires would have attacked alone without joining forces with the humans," Eleanora added.
Everyone present was discussing things with serious expressions. However, they all had a hand-mixer-Golem in one hand and a container of oil in the other. They were adding oil to a bowl and mixing the contents to create mayonnaise.
It was a very surreal sight.
"So they'll come in spring after all," Vandalieu concluded. "Ah, Borkus, you're adding the oil too fast."
They surely wouldn't drag things on all the way up until summer, so their arrival would likely be spring.
"Hmm, this is quite troublesome," Borkus remarked.
"Making delicious things is a troublesome process," said Zadiris. "The boy is always doing these things."
"We're making them when we can't even eat them yet, so please don't complain," said Saria.
"So what are we going to do about the adventurers and Vampires guarding the tunnel? Should we dispose of them first?" asked Vigaro.
"Though that is an attractive option, we'll leave them be," replied Vandalieu.
There were numerous reasons to leave them alone. First, there were nothing to be gained by doing so. Even if a few adventurers and Vampires were killed or captured, they would gain no information and there would be no point.
The enemy was expending its resources to gather an expedition army. Vandalieu couldn't imagine that Riley or the Vampires would know anything about it at this stage. The same went for the Vampires' fighting forces. It was also impossible to imagine that those who would be stationed as lookouts would be in important positions.
It would be quite troublesome to travel to the tunnel entrance where Riley and the others were in the first place. There were no roads or anything of the sort, and they would have to traverse multiple Devil's Nests to get there as well.
Borkus and the others had gone there once last year and defeated quite a lot of monsters along the way, but since a year had passed, other monsters would have replaced them and taken their territory. Stealthily approaching the tunnel while fighting those monsters, attacking the people at the tunnel and then coming back would be quite a lot of effort. There was also a high chance of failure.
And even if they succeeded, it might only make the enemy warier.
"When you say that it's an attractive option, did you mean there was someone notable there?" asked Darcia.
"An adventurer called the Green Wind Spear Riley," replied Vandalieu. "I've heard his voice before."
The voices of Heinz's companions, voices that he couldn't forget. The voices of the ones who had held a memorial for Darcia by spending the money they earned from capturing and selling her over to High Priest Gordan to buy drinks on the day she was burned alive.
As Vandalieu explained this, everyone's expressions stiffened and Darcia looked at her son in worry.
"Vandalieu, for now…" she began.
"Yes, for now, we're going to leave them be. I'm not going to do anything like sneak off by myself to kill them, so don't worry, Mom," said Vandalieu, reassuring her.
Vandalieu wanted to avenge her. If he didn't, there was no telling when they would come again to kill him.
If possible, he wanted to kill Riley personally, but if it was impossible then it was fine.
"It seems he's participating in the expedition, so if we meet him on the battlefield, please leave him to me," Vandalieu requested. "But he's an A-class adventurer, so be careful."
"Hohoh, an A-class, eh?" Borkus seemed excited.
"I want to see how well my strength holds up against an adventurer," said Vigaro.
"Jyuuh, this incites the fighting spirit," Bone Man added.
"Yes," Zadiris agreed. "There is no reason to hold back against adventurers in these circumstances."
Everyone was fired up for battle. Their opponent was clearly an enemy, and he had even joined forces with the Vampires. He was Vandalieu's nemesis. There was no reason to show mercy or sympathy.
"He's apparently named himself the second coming of Mikhail," said Vandalieu.
"Seriously? An A-class spear-user, this is getting more and more interesting." Borkus seemed to have a particularly strong desire to kill Riley. And since Riley would be an outstanding, prominent part of the expedition army's fighting force, the morale of the troops would decrease if he were to be defeated.
Vandalieu definitely wanted to come back to Talosheim holding Riley's head.
"Borkus-san, everyone, thank you for doing so much for me and Vandalieu," said Darcia. "But please don't do anything reckless, okay?"
"Mmm, of course," said Zadiris. "By the way, boy, is it going to be finished soon?" she asked Vandalieu.
"I think mine will be done soon, too," said Tarea.
The mayonnaise was complete, and everyone poured it over wild vegetables and mixed it with wasabi, garlic and ginger to smear onto meat, trying various different applications of mayonnaise.
Vandalieu got the impression that the mayonnaise made with Giga eggs and Defeat flower oil had a thicker flavor than the mayonnaise of Earth.
I have a feeling it would go well with okonomiyaki and takoyaki… But the acorn powder production is…
For Vandalieu, the food-related problems were more troublesome than the problem of dealing with the expedition army, for which he had made preparations long ago.
Fortunately, the acorns of Immortal Ents had less of a harsh taste even without being rinsed in water, so they could be turned into acorn powder straight away.
However, because of the number of Immortal Ents, the amount of acorn powder that could be produced in a single day was insufficient for Talosheim's current population.
Well, if things go well, the problem should be resolved around next year's early summer or so.
"So, as we originally planned, we will annihilate the expedition army, and after that, we will replenish our disposable fighting forces. Following that, we will deal severe damage to the Mirg shield-nation to cut down their strength before destroying the tunnel." This was Vandalieu's announcement of the final plan.
Everyone cheered in unison, except for Rapiéçage whose cheer was a little late because she had been busy licking mayonnaise.
Why did the Mirg shield-nation need to be dealt heavy damage and have its strength cut down in addition to the annihilation of the expedition army? Was it because of the resentment Vandalieu harbored towards them? Was it to take revenge for the events of two hundred years ago?
Vandalieu couldn't deny that these reasons were there, but there was an unexpectedly proper, logical reason as well.
First, it was fundamentally impossible for the current Talosheim to even have peaceful relations with the Mirg shield-nation and the Amid Empire it belonged to, let alone a mutually beneficial relationship. For the human society in the Amid Empire, Talosheim was not a nation. It was simply a pack of dangerous monsters who had settled into the ruins of a city.
There was no difference between them and a pack of Goblins other than the size of the pack and the threat they posed.
Though the Titans were a race created by Vida, they were indeed a civilization of people. Despite that, the Mirg shield-nation had slaughtered every last one of them without sending any messengers, without making any demands for the Titans to surrender, without taking any prisoners.
They would likely accept a request to stand down once they realized that their forces were inferior, but… there was a high chance that they would simply come back with an even larger, more powerful expedition army at a later time.
They would continue to make all kinds of schemes and attempts without being discouraged by their failures and setbacks. If years or decades passed, there might be hope for negotiations on even terms.
However, it was difficult to imagine that the Church of Alda would remain quiet, and considering what Ice Age had said, it was unlikely that words alone would convince the Empire that worshipped Alda.
On top of that, there were influential individuals positioned quite deep in the Amid Empire and Mirg shield-nation, working with the Vampires who worshipped Hihiryushukaka, the Evil God of Joyful Life.
Trying to have friendly relations with them would only end in those relations being taken advantage of.
Vandalieu wanted to strike a blow to the Mirg shield-nation in addition to annihilating the expedition army because he had learned from historical failures.
For the Amid Empire, it was important to maintain its position above its vassal states. Like the invasion of two hundred years ago, the important figures in the Amid Empire were using this expedition to cut down the strength as a nation that the Mirg shield-nation had gathered recently.
In other words, there was a high chance that even if this expedition army was repelled, another invasion would happen when the Mirg shield-nation's strength increased again.
Conversely, the Mirg shield-nation's strength was decreased, they would never consider an expedition to cross the Boundary Mountain Range. This would be true no matter how influential the individuals who were working with the Vampires were, no matter how loudly those of the Church of Alda screamed.
The Amid Empire's enemy was the neighboring Orbaume Kingdom, after all. If they ignored this fact and continued to repeat these expeditions, eventually it would be not only the Mirg shield-nation, but the Amid Empire losing strength as well, and then they would lose the war against the Orbaume Kingdom.
Well, I can't do anything about the Vampires, but as long as I destroy the tunnel, they'll be held back for a while… This time, for a few years, maybe a decade.
The reason Vandalieu hadn't destroyed the tunnel leading to the Mirg shield-nation after discovering it was to deliberately leave a route for the Vampires and Mirg shield-nation, so that he could sense when they made a move.
If the Vampires found another route across the mountain range, it would have been difficult to know about it in advance.
However, now that the tunnel's purpose had been fulfilled, it was best to destroy it. Even if no more armies came, it would be problematic if adventurers came through individually. There would be nothing more troublesome than A-class adventurer parties to be drawn by the phrase, 'the unexplored southern reaches of the continent,' and loiter around.
"So, kid. It's going to be war from here on, isn't it?" Borkus, who was eating a bowl full of various foods flavored with mayonnaise with a satisfied expression, suddenly opened his mouth to speak.
"I suppose so," Vandalieu replied.
It would be a monster hunt from the enemy's point of view, but from here, it would be a battle to hold the city followed by a reverse invasion. It would certainly be a war.
"Then we're going to need all kinds of things," said Borkus.
"I suppose… But Tarea and Datara have made plenty of equipment, we have enough meat and fish to last us until spring, we can gather acorns, walnuts and oil from Immortal Ents and we're alright on honey as well. There are canals running through the city for water, and there are multiple wells as well… Is there something you had in mind?"
Since there were Dungeons near Talosheim, the city's defenses were powerful. This was true two hundred years ago, but its defenses had become even more powerful now that the Titans had become Undead and Vandalieu had come.
The stockpiled food could be preserved almost indefinitely, and over half of Talosheim's fighting forces were Undead and Golems anyway. Ghouls had a proper need to eat, but, in the worst-case scenario, they could simply use the enemy soldiers as a source of food, so there wouldn't be any problems.
Even if the waterways were poisoned, Vandalieu could immediately use Disinfect to remove it. He couldn't think of anything that needed to be gathered immediately.
"It's obvious, isn't it?" said Borkus. "You need a general to fight a war!"
"Eh, this again?"
It seemed that Borkus hadn't given up on putting Vandalieu on Talosheim's throne.
Considering that the nation was bankrupt right now, Vandalieu didn't think there would be any meaning to him becoming Talosheim's king.
"Van-sama, I think you should accept it at this point in time," said Tarea.
"That's right, Bocchan, the stone statue of you in the plaza is finished too!" Saria exclaimed.
"There are a lot of things I want to say regarding that, but…" Vandalieu's words became inarticulate as he remembered the statue of himself that had been erected in the plaza in front of the royal castle.
That stone statue had been well-made. Vandalieu did realize that the stonemasons had taken pride in their work to create it.
However… the stone statue's face was full of expression, so it somehow didn't resemble Vandalieu.
"But Vandalieu-sama, the humans of the Orbaume Kingdom cannot come here, can they? Then isn't there no need to worry?" As Eleanora pointed out, the tunnel at the Orbaume Kingdom's side of the mountain range had been destroyed in a manner that made it impossible to repair with normal methods.
Vandalieu didn't know how advanced engineering technology was in this world, but wouldn't it be difficult even if a hundred first-rate earth-attribute mages worked together?
Even Vandalieu, who possessed the Golem Transmutation skill and a Mana pool of over 200,000,000, would need several days to repair the tunnel.
In fact, it would be faster to dig another tunnel in a completely different location, but… there was a story of a nation that had tried to dig such a tunnel several thousand years ago, only for monsters living beneath the earth's surface to emerge and trample over the surrounding lands, leading to the nation's destruction.
The morale of the story was, don't touch the mountain range.
"Well, that's true, but…" Vandalieu was still hesitant.
"Also, from the enemy's point of view, you are already something like the king of this place. Tell me this, boy. When war begins, who will be giving commands?" Zadiris asked.
"Umm, Borkus, Vigaro, Zadiris -"
"Those are commanders on the battlefield," said Zadiris, interrupting Vandalieu's reply. "Who will be in command of the entire army?"
"… Is it me?"
"Of course," said Rita. "Everything has been done according to your commands, haven't they, Bocchan?"
As she said, the preparations and strategies for war against the expedition force and Vampires that would come in next year's spring had all been made by Vandalieu. Of course, he had listened to everyone's opinions and made adjustments, added new parts to his plans and removed poorly planned parts when they pointed out his mistakes. However, the one who had suggested all of the strategies overall was Vandalieu.
"And where in Talosheim would you find someone who would answer with anything but your name if they were asked who the leader was? I would answer that it's you, Vandalieu," said Vigaro.
"Jyuuh. Your existence is essential to Talosheim, my lord," Bone Man added. "Even the distribution of items at the trading post would halt if you were to disappear."
Vandalieu was already… No, for a long time, Vandalieu had been a leader to Talosheim's inhabitants. For the Ghouls and the new monster races he had created, he was the Ghoul King. For the Undead Titans, he was the Holy Son. And for the others like Rita, Eleanora and the Cemetery Bees, he was their master.
And as Bone Man had pointed out, Talosheim's everyday life would vanish without Vandalieu. The Golems in his factories would continue to move until they ran out of Mana, and the smoking facilities would continue to produce katsuobushi. The mayonnaise they had made just now would take some effort, but it could be made.
However, miso and fish sauce couldn't be made without him, and kombu would take years to make.
And though the Golems might move for several decades more, they would not continue moving forever.
Vandalieu had never nominated himself for it or made a conscious announcement of it; in fact, he had denied it. But he came to the realization that before he knew it, he had become Talosheim's representative.
I'm not satisfied, but… Well, I'd thought that I would gain the title of 'Prophesized Holy Son', but I never did, so I guess it's alright. And I suppose it's about time I became a leader.
Vandalieu planned to be an adventurer to gain fame in the future, so he had been conscious about his Status being revealed for when he registered at a Guild, but… He finally came to a sudden realization.
Leaving aside Death-Attribute Magic, Death-Attribute Charm, Mental Corruption and Strengthen Followers, he already had the Title of Ghoul King and skills that would be considered abnormal at first glance such as Soul Break and the unique skill, God Slayer.
Well, the only person seeing that would be the receptionist at the Guild. He couldn't imagine that a Guild Master would personally oversee the registration of a child. If he dashed out of the Guild immediately after registration and began working in other towns, it might not turn out to be such a big deal.
"Alright. I'll become the king," Vandalieu announced after convincing himself with these arguments.
[The levels of the Cooking, Long-distance Control and Strengthen Subordinates skill have increased!]
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