Chapter 285: A peaceful tea-time

The G.o.d of Strings Hirshem had a large problem on his hands. Up until a short while ago, the G.o.d of Heat Hazes Rubicante also had a large problem, but Hirshems was a greater problem now.

They had sent Divine Messages to the young potential heroes whom they had granted their divine protections to and nurtured, but for some reason, they had headed to a city that the Demon King was using as one of his bases, and they were now among the Demon Kings allies.

Fortunately, the Demon Kings allies had not noticed that Ediria, the one whom Hirshem had granted his divine protection, or Carlos, the one who had received the divine protection of Rubicante, were potential heroes who were being nurtured for the sake of defeating Vandalieu.

Hirshem and Rubicante believed it was probably fortunate that their potential heroes had not made any attention-drawing achievements as adventurers in this city.

However, that fortune would not last much longer. The Demon King Vandalieu was expected to return to the city soon.

If Ediria and Carlos were to meet Vandalieu in their current state Although Hirshem and Rubicante didnt want to admit it, it was possible that they would be guided by him.

Vandalieus guidance was still quite unclear to Aldas forces. They didnt know what kind of ideologies people needed to have in order to be guided by it, so they had no idea how to counteract it.

It seemed that Vandalieu called himself a follower of Vida; in ordinary circ.u.mstances, the G.o.ds would think that the ideologies needed to be guided by him were likely to be similar to the teachings of the Vida, the G.o.ddess of Life and Love.

However, if that were the case, why was he able to guide monsters? Perhaps beast-type and plant-type monsters were understandable, but why was he able to guide Undead and even insect-type monsters that were considered to have no true intelligence? This was impossible to explain with the knowledge the G.o.ds had.

Thus, it was possible that Ediria would be guided by Vandalieu despite being a wors.h.i.+per of Hirshem, a G.o.d who belonged to Aldas forces.

Especially if she was surrounded by the Demon King Vandalieus allies.

That is precisely why I sent Divine Messages telling her to leave this city, but for some reason, almost none of them have reached her. No, now that I think about it, is it because her heart is more drawn to the new music that is being taught to her by that girl than it is to me To think that even this girl would become a Guider as well and guide Ediria! Hirshem muttered to himself, expressing the regret and anger he felt towards his own negligence by playing a nonsensical mixture of notes on his harp.

Just when did that happen?

Hirshem thought, but the moment this question crossed his mind, he realized that it was pointless to think about it.

There were several places that Aldas forces could not see, such as the region within the Boundary Mountain Range and the Demon Continent. And Vandalieu was constantly accompanied by the evil G.o.d Gufadgarn. Kanako had likely teleported to such places, then built up experience and changed Jobs there.

Where, and when? Such questions werent important; the greater problem for Hirshem was that although he was a wind-attribute G.o.d, he was also a G.o.d of string instruments in other words, his authority was related to music and yet, he had never considered the possibility that Kanako might become a Guider. This fact had him seething in frustration.

There have been plenty of musicians in the past who made eccentric performances, sang unique songs, created original dances, and attempted to spread their methods to others. Why was

this one

able to become a Guider? Guiders are defined by their ideologies their own original ideologies. It should be impossible to become a Guider simply by turning Vidas teachings and Vandalieus ideologies into songs.

One could not become a Guider simply by spreading Vidas teachings. If this was possible, every clergyman who spread their religions would be Guiders. The same was true even if it was Vandalieus ideologies being spread. Even if one were a fanatical wors.h.i.+per of his, they could not become a Guider.

A follower one who followed another could not become a Guider.

Then that girl Is it because Kanako Tsuchiya is a reincarnated individual? Is it that her singing and dancing has something beyond mere novelty, something that did not exist in this world up until now? If that were the case, I can understand why Alda-sama detests Rodcorte the G.o.d who sent the reincarnated individuals to this world.

A hundred thousand years ago, all seven of the champions who had been summoned to this world from another had discovered Guider Jobs. That was because they had possessed ideologies that had not previously existed in this world, and they sought to spread those ideologies. In other words, this had been inevitable, as they were people from another world whose help Alda and the other G.o.ds had begged for.

To the people of this world, the champions had been symbols who fought on the frontlines; they had invented weapons that had previously never existed and spread their knowledge; they had taught new methods of training and fighting battles.

Thus, when the G.o.ds learned that Vandalieu became a Guider, many of them had thought that it was because he was a reincarnated individual.

However, no reincarnated individuals other than Vandalieu had acquired a Guider Job up until this point.

The circ.u.mstances werent clear for the second reincarnated individual to be sent to this world, Kaidou Kanata, as he had met his destruction without undergoing a single Job change, but Hajime Inui and Junpei Murakami reincarnated individuals who had arrived later and had also been destroyed had not shown any signs of potentially becoming a Guider either.

The same was true for the ones who were currently alive Asagi Minami and his companions; Mao Smith and Kaoru Gotouda, who had left the Bahn Gaia Continent; the eldest daughter of Duke Hartners house, who hadnt yet regained her personality and memories from her previous life.

Thus, the G.o.ds of Aldas forces and Rodcorte had arrived at the comforting conclusion that not all individuals from other worlds could become Guiders.

After all, if the world was flooded with new ideologies that had never existed before as numerous as the reincarnated individuals, and the people of this world were influenced by these ideologies, the people would become divided. In the worst-case scenario, wars between humans would become so fierce that the G.o.ds would have no time to worry about the Demon King.

And yet, less than a year after the G.o.ds had arrived at this conclusion, Kanako had become a Guider. To Hirshem and to every G.o.d belonging to Aldas forces, this was a fearsome surprise attack, equivalent to being stabbed in the back.

It wasnt a simple matter of Kanako and those around her becoming even more powerful; the bigger threat was that wors.h.i.+ppers of the G.o.ds of Aldas forces would be converted to wors.h.i.+ppers of Vidas faction.

On top of that, one of the potential heroes who was supposed to be growing stronger in order to be used in the battle against Vandalieu was deeply involved with her and it looked like a second would soon follow.

What should I do I must report right away that Kanako Tsuchiya has become a Guider. That goes without saying. But what should I do about Ediria? Hirshem wondered, producing more incoherent notes with his harp.

Should he abandon Ediria or not? Hirshem thought hard, not just about her, but also about his dignity as a G.o.d, the way that G.o.ds should be.

Thinking logically, it was clear that he should let go of Ediria immediately. As she had received Kanakos guidance, he should have concluded that she would not be of any use as a p.a.w.n, and cut his losses. He needed to remove his divine protection and quickly find a new potential hero to raise.

Rodcorte would certainly advise him to take this course of action.

However, the way that G.o.ds were supposed to be to their followers Was this the correct way to be for Hirshem, the G.o.d of Strings?

He asked himself this over and over, but he could not say that it was.

It was true that Ediria had been drawn by the music that Kanako had taught her. That was not a sin or at least, Hirshems teachings did not consider it to be a sin. He taught his wors.h.i.+ppers to be connected to one another, just like strings on an instrument. To play their notes together, to produce a rhythm and order and to be sensitive to the things around them.

With that being the case, Ediria being drawn to Kanakos music meant that she was following his teachings correctly. As a result, she had become guided by Kanako, but even that was just her being drawn to the music and the stage it was performed on.

It wasnt as if she had failed to resist some wicked temptation.

The note has been decided.

He would not conceal the fact that Kanako had become a Guider; he would report it to Alda. It was possible that Rodcorte had already informed him.

However, he would leave his divine protection on Ediria. It wasnt impossible for a guided person to leave the Guider. As a guidance was an ideology, there were cases of this happening in the past.

And most importantly, she had done nothing wrong as a wors.h.i.+pper of Hirshem; there was no sense in punis.h.i.+ng her.

The other thing is, what should I do about Rubicante I shall keep an eye on him for now, Hirshem murmured, playing his harp as he prepared to send a message to Alda.

What were muscles? They were strength. And strength was power.

Then what was power? The ability to perform exercise? Energy? Heat?

Vandalieu thought about this and arrived at a conclusion: It was all of these things.

There is a lot of depth to Muscle Technique, isnt there, he said.

Hey, Vandalieu. Its tea-time right now, so you have to relax. Make the Demon King Familiars around us rest as well, said Darcia. You too, Legion.

Okay, said the various voices of Legion.

Vandalieu had created muscular-type Demon King Familiars humanoid Demon King Familiars made of just muscles and bones, to acquire muscles and Muscle Technique. He turned his attention away from them and back to the food in front of him.

Legion, who had split into several ma.s.ses of flesh in order to practice, returned to a single ma.s.s of flesh as well.

In front of them were a variety of items one would not expect to see at tea-time in a Dungeon. Teapots with three kinds of tea, coffee, and enough teacups for everyone present. A mountain of fluffy pancakes, jam and b.u.t.ter to spread on top, syrup, cheese, and fruit.

However, Vandalieu wasnt reaching for any of these.

Instead, he was being served by Saria and Rita, the Living Armor maid sisters.

Bocchan, would you like milk in your tea? Or lemon? Or would you prefer coffee? asked Saria.

You wanted b.u.t.ter and syrup on your pancakes, right? said Rita.

Saria blew on Vandalieus drink. Its still quite hot.

Okay, Bocchan, say ah, said Rita.

The two of them were feeding Vandalieu.

The children of the orphanage were eating pancakes as well.

Van-oniichan, you look like a baby, being fed like that, Marsha said, laughing as he watched Vandalieu.

Wood lady, I dont like this coffee stuff. Isnt there anything sweet? said another, looking at Eisen.

There is. Here, said Eisen, who was a Skogsr, as she plucked apple-like fruits from the branches growing from her back and crushed their juice into an empty pot to serve to the children.

Van I think your family service is kinda weird, said Matthew.

The family service that Vandalieu was receiving was him being served by the maid sisters and the others who were like family to him. However, he was not sitting on Darcias lap.

He was sitting on top of the Ghouls Basdia and Tarea, and was also being waited on by Eisen and Quinn, the queen of the Gehenna Bees.

Van, I get the feeling that youve become a bit heavier. Have you grown bigger? asked Basdia.

Perhaps you have put on some muscle, said Tarea.

Do you want some honey in your tea? said Quinn, who was able to produce honey from her mouth.

Here, some apple juice, said Eisen, who was making more juice.

Darcia, as well as Zadiris who looked only two or three years older than Matthew in appearance, were sitting in front of Vandalieu while facing him, along with the rest of the children of the orphanage.

Matthew, would you like to sit on my lap? asked Zadiris.

Dont go acting like youre all older than me, Zadiris. Im not a kid anymore, said Matthew.

I-I

am

older than you! I have been alive for about thirty times the length of time you have; I am an adult! said Zadiris, who was three hundred years old.

Youre lying! exclaimed the ten-year-old Matthew. Adults dont do embarra.s.sing poses like that!

Incidentally, the embarra.s.sing pose he was referring to was Zadiris covering her mouth with closed fists while looking up with a cute expression.

Th-that is part of the dance, so it cannot be helped, can it! And Kanako and Darcia perform that as well! said Zadiris, desperately trying to convince Matthew that she was actually older than him.

Darcia-san is Vans mom, right? And Basdia-neechan was singing the same song but

she

didnt do that, said Matthew, still doubtful.

Tarea was struggling to contain her sn.i.g.g.e.rs.

Matthew, thats because I was given other roles because doing that wouldnt suit me, said Basdia, trying to back her mother up.

I see, Va said Matthew, turning towards Vandalieu to get a corroboration for Basdias testimony.

However, he saw that his good friend was covering his mouth with his fists. With his mouth covered, Vandalieus eyes were even more prominent than they usually were.

Va n When you do it, your eyes are a bit scary, said Matthew.

He looked around and saw Zod, who had his muscles still in a pumped-up state and his cheeks stuffed full with pancakes, striking the same pose with fists that were larger than Matthews head. No matter how one looked at it, it looked more like a fighting pose.

Rita, who had been serving the table, was also doing the same pose but the color of her wax-like skin gave a shudder-inducing sinisterness to it.

Looking at Gufadgarn, Matthew only felt a sense of emptiness, and Legion was still in their flesh ma.s.s form, so they were still just a ma.s.s of flesh no matter what they did.

And then, Matthew

AAAAH! Dont transform into me and do that pose! And you guys, stop laughing! he shouted.

Khl had transformed himself to take on Matthews appearance; he made wobbling noises as Matthew flailed his arms at him to chase him away and try to stop the other childrens innocent laughter.

Matthew then turned to Zadiris and gave her a kinder look. I was wrong, Zadiris. Do your best!

I dont know what has changed your mind, but very well, said Zadiris with a nod, unconvinced but accepting Matthews apology nonetheless.

Matthew-kun, its the first time were doing maid-like things in a long time, so were just enjoying ourselves, said Saria.

Bocchan has been away a lot lately, and hes spending his time in a place where theres new women said Rita.

Thats right, agreed Tarea. He only comes to see us when theres work

Dont say things that will make the children misunderstand, said Vandalieu. Though its true that Ive been going back and forth to a country where there are women whom Ive recently become acquainted with.

It was true that Vandalieu had recently become acquainted with Doraneza, Dediria, Zalzarit, and Feltonia, and it was true that he had been paying frequent visits to Gartland. However, that didnt mean that he was doing anything he should feel guilty about.

And Tarea, after we had a meeting about the transformation equipment, I gave you a ma.s.sage and had a meal with you, didnt I? said Vandalieu.

Vandalieu, Tarea-san wants you to spend even more time with her. And you havent been going on adventures with Saria and Rita lately, have you? The same goes for Zadiris-san and Basdia-san, said Darcia. The next time you go to Gartland, make sure to take them with you.

I see Alright. The next time we go to mess with the demiG.o.ds, the five of you can come with me, said Vandalieu.

Yay! the Living Armor sisters cheered.

Come to think of it, the only battlefield I have stood on lately is the one called the performing stage. My body has not grown weaker, but my intuition might be a little rusty, said Zadiris.

Dancing skills transfer over to battle, but its not my real intention to step away from battles, said Basdia.

In contrast to Zadiris and Basdias excitement, Tarea was looking panicked.

No Wait a moment! I am a non-combatant, arent I?! she said, looking pale as she pulled on Vandalieus arm for an answer.

Its alright, Tarea. Its just training in the form of a real battle, said Vandalieu.

It seemed that Tareas partic.i.p.ation had already been decided.

Darcia smiled happily as she watched this conversation take place.

Van-oniichan, youre not allowed to drink, gamble, and buy women, said one of the children.

Marsha-chan, Vandalieu will be fine. Right? said Darcia.

Yes. Ill keep it to drinking blood, firing cannons, and taming new monsters, said Vandalieu.

Normally, none of that would be a good idea either, but youre not normal, I suppose, said Vestra, one of the nuns of the orphanage, with a stiff expression on her face.

Vestra-neechan, rather than worrying about what Vans doing, I think you should be worrying about getting surgery along with Seris-neechan, said Matthew.

M-Matthew! Vandalieu said that we dont need to rush things with the surgery, didnt he?! said Vestra.

Thats right, Matthew! And the sun doesnt affect us, so theres no reason for us to be hasty! said Seris, the other nun from the orphanage, hastily attempting to put off the surgery.

The two of them looked just like humans in appearance, but they were actually Subordinate Vampires.

The Pure-breed Vampire Birkyne had toyed with them and made them acquire the Sunlight Resistance Skill, then brainwashed them so that they thought that they were just ordinary humans.

Vandalieu had removed their brainwas.h.i.+ng, and the two of them had regained their memories and the knowledge that they were Vampires. However, as they possessed the Sunlight Resistance Skill, they had no particular restrictions on their freedom.

Of course, they felt the urge to drink blood, but Vandalieu and the others were willingly providing them with their blood, so this wasnt a problem. The surgery that they would be having was a heavy-handed cosmetic surgery to remove the burns and scars that covered their entire bodies.

The surgery isnt scary. Its just a matter of removing the damaged skin while drinking the Blood Potion made from my blood, Vandalieu explained.

That sounds really painful! said Vestra, shaking her head.

No matter how many times you tell us that, it sounds like nothing short of torture, Seris agreed.

Indeed, this method of torture was used on prisoners who refused to spill information using healing magic to heal their wounds while torturing them.

As someone whos gone through it, the surgery is not torture, said Bellmond, who had already received a similar surgery.

Though she had erased her presence with everything she had when dances were being ch.o.r.eographed, she was eloquent now as she spoke of her own experiences.

There is pain, but it is slight. More importantly, the numerous vials of Blood Potion that you consume change the body, increase regenerative ability, and quickly produce new skin. The sensation could be described as a little itchy and painful, said Bellmond, her cheeks flushed and tears welling in her eyes as she let out a sigh.

This was clearly not the face of someone recalling an itchy and painful sensation.

Bellmond-san Its good that Eleanora-san isnt here, said Darcia.

Indeed, if Eleanora was present at this tea party, she would likely give a testimony that was considerably inappropriate for childrens ears.

See, neechan, this lady with a tail says its fine, said Matthew, who had been busy eating pancakes and wasnt looking at Bellmonds face.

Even so, Seris and Vestras faces were screaming, No!

However, silent eye contact was one of the things that Vandalieu was not skilled at.

If you prefer, we could go with the surgery method that Isis recently came up with, said Vandalieu, failing to see the look in their eyes as he mentioned Isis one of Legions personalities.

Yes, I came up with the method, though the actual procedure can only be carried out by Vandalieu, said Isis, pausing her pancake intake to start a demonstration on Baba Yaga, whose upper body was protruding nearby.

Hey, Isis! What are you doing?! Baba Yaga demanded.

First, an incision is made at the back of the neck, Isis said as she made a cut on the back of Baba Yagas neck. The Demon Kings nerves and blood vessels are then sewn onto the patients by Vandalieu, she continued, poking at the tubes that she had produced to represent the nerves and blood vessels. This way, Vandalieu takes over the patients body below the neck, while keeping the patient alive. Thus, the patient doesnt experience the pain and pleasure I mean itchiness.

This wasnt particularly gruesome, as neither Isis nor Baba Yaga had transformed so they were in their flesh-mannequin-like state, but it was still somewhat grotesque though there wasnt a single person who was scared by this demonstration; even the nuns and the children of the orphanage were already used to Legions presence.

During the surgery, Vandalieu will feel the pain that the patient would feel, but hell be fine. And once the surgerys over, he just needs to rejoin your nerves and youll be back to normal. There werent any after-effects in our experiments every single one of the test subjects we used mutated afterwards, but that wont be a problem for you, said Isis.

When this surgery was tested on rats, they had become Giant Rats afterwards. With monkeys, they had become Rank 2 Orangutans. With bandits, they had become Dark Humans who wors.h.i.+ped Vandalieu fanatically. Thus, it was a procedure that Vandalieu could not carry out while keeping a low profile in human society.

However, Vestra suspected that Seris and Vestra would be fine even after the surgery though Seris and Vestras faces had turned pale immediately upon the mentioning of an incision in the back of the neck, as they had no knowledge of modern medical technology.

Well, we dont have to decide today, just think about it when you have time Anyway, should we have you two do the same training as Matthew and the others tomorrow? said Vandalieu.

With that, Seris and Vestra understood this would be repeated until they finally agreed to receive the surgery.

Around the time Vandalieus group emerged from the forest and came out onto the highway to make their official return to the city of Morksi, the Alcrem Duchys government was busily making moves.

Duke Takkard Alcrem had begun drawing up legislation that stipulated the treatment of Ghouls as people rather than monsters, and the abolishment of the system of autonomous regions for Vidas races.

If these laws took effect, Ghouls would become people just like adventurers, rather than creatures to be hunted, and adventurers would be treated as bandits if they killed Ghouls and plundered their belongings And on the other side of the equation, Ghouls would be punished just like people would if they kidnapped women or killed adventurers for anything other than legitimate self-defense.

Of course, most of the Ghouls inside the Alcrem Duchy had already moved to the Demon Empire of Vidal; the main intention of these laws was to allow Zadiris, Basdia, Tarea, and Kachia to be free to walk around the city on their own and register at Guilds rather than being treated as familiars.

The larger political issue was the abolishment of autonomous regions for Vidas races. The word abolishment made it sound as if their right of self-government, which had been respected up until now, would be removed, and that they would be driven out of their territories.

However, the truth was that the autonomous regions of the members of Vidas races that possessed Ranks had effectively restricted them from leaving their lands, preventing them from pa.s.sing through, doing business in, or moving into other areas. They had also been prevented from registering at any Guilds. Thus, the new law was to give them equal rights to the other races and abolish the system of discrimination against them.

And the abolishment of the autonomous regions would affect more than just the members of Vidas races in the Alcrem Duchy who lived in such territories. If the members of Vidas races living in isolated autonomous regions in the other duchies escaped to the Alcrem Duchy, they would become free.

Ordinarily, each of the twelve duchies in the Orbaume Kingdom would apprehend criminals who had committed crimes in other duchies and extradite them to the duchies where they were wanted.

However, the law stated that this only applied to those who had committed serious crimes that would warrant a death sentence or becoming a criminal slave. A member of one of Vidas races leaving their territory would not be considered a serious crime.

Even so, it was possible that the other dukes would request for Duke Takkard Alcrem to extradite such people, but Takkard had formed an unofficial alliance with Vandalieu; there was no way that he would obey such requests.

How the Tamers Guild would treat members of Vidas races who possessed Ranks in their Status such as Ghouls was a more difficult issue, but even prior to this new law, it had been impossible to discern whether Ghouls and their tamers were truly in a master-and-servant relations.h.i.+p or whether they only pretended, while actually being equals as friends or lovers. So perhaps there was no reason for a reform at the Tamers Guild to be prioritized over new legislation; the house of Duke Alcrem had not placed any pressure on the Tamers Guild for such a reform.

The Tamers Guild would likely change their rules to prohibit tamers from using members of Vidas races as familiars, at around the same time that the Adventurers Guild would allow Ghouls, Scylla, and Arachne to register as adventurers.

The Church of Alda, having sensed the political movements within the duchy, had quickly lodged their objections, but these had been rejected as these were political, secular matters and clergymen had no say in them.

And the people were still unaware of this new legislation, which was a great reform to the members of Vidas races but an outrage to Aldas wors.h.i.+ppers.

The n.o.bles who served Duke Alcrem were split into a faction supporting the legislation and a faction against it. Their influence would spread to other n.o.bles who were related to them but served other dukes, and also to n.o.bles in the royal capital, dragging the political world of the Orbaume Kingdom into a great vortex.