Side Chapter 47: The peaceful Alcrem Duchy

To the north was the iron-nation of Marmuke, a region that was rich in ores to be mined. To the west was the grain-nation of Yond, the food supply of the empire. To the south was the maritime nation of Kalahad, a vital point in the empires commerce and trading. And to the east was the Mirg s.h.i.+eld-nation, the keystone of its defense.

Supported by its four va.s.sal nations, the Amid Empire had known peace and stability. n.o.body considered it possible to defeat the empires rule and unite the continent.

Even the military officers and n.o.bles involved with the Orbaume Kingdoms military, who had to speak optimistically to their superiors in order to be granted larger budgets, didnt truly believe that such a thing was possible. One would have to be ignorant or genuinely foolish to believe that it was.

But the situation had changed.

The Fifteen Evil-breaking Swords, the secret force whose individual members each possessed the strength of an entire army, had splintered; and the S-cla.s.s adventurer party known as the Storm of Tyranny now wielded their power against the empire.

The new pope of the Great Church of Alda was a young man no, it would be no exaggeration to say that he was a child. The one on the emperors throne was not the wise Marshukzarl, but an ordinary man that n.o.body had ever previously heard of.

A diplomat who served the house of Duke Sauron was standing before Duke Takkard Alcrem now. He alternated between speaking pa.s.sionately and calmly explaining the risks and returns.

The situation the state of the world, and the times, are changing drastically. Duke Alcrem, please make your decision, he said finally, requesting an answer.

Hmm, Takkard quietly pondered.

With a head full of glossy hair and smooth skin that did not sag, people had recently commented that he had become at ten years younger, but his handsome face was not wearing a pleased expression in response to the plan suggested by the diplomat sent by Duke Rudel Sauron.

I have a good understanding of what Duke Sauron is proposing. The proposal itself, the risks and the returns. But I am sure you are aware that my own duchy has its own circ.u.mstances to worry about.

He gave a signal with a movement of his eyes, and one of his own diplomats began giving an explanation to Duke Saurons diplomat.

Two significant incidents had taken place in the Alcrem Duchy this year, and one of them had taken place very close to the dukes own home the resurrection of the evil G.o.d Forzajibal. Takkards diplomat spoke of the economic damage caused by this incident and the progress of the projects that were being carried out to recover from that damage.

In truth, it was the Evil G.o.d of Cannibalism Zerzoregin that had been resurrected, not the Evil G.o.d of Pillaging Forzajibal, but very few in the Alcrem Duchy were aware of that.

And the reality was that the only damage caused by this incident was the collapse of the Sacred Wastelands, which had been a nest of Mimic Humans; there hadnt been any actual damage.

Duke Alcrem and his advisors wished to refuse Duke Saurons proposal, even if it meant they had to lie about these circ.u.mstances.

We are also aware of the circ.u.mstances you are in, Duke Alcrem. But we would like you to understand that we cannot simply leave it as it is. Not when war with the Amid Empire may be upon us, said Duke Saurons diplomat.

What he proposed was not the formation of an alliance and a united army to attack the Amid Empire.

It is simply too dangerous to leave the former Scylla territory as it is, especially now that it has become a true Devils Nest in every sense! But the Sauron Duchys strength alone is not enough to address it! We are swallowing our pride and begging for your aid!

The Sauron Duchys sights were set not on the Amid Empires army or the fortresses of the Mirg s.h.i.+eld-nation, but on the former Scylla territory.

I understand that Rudel-dono is fearful of that place, said Takkard.

From Rudels perspective as the duke of the region, the former Scylla territory was a part of his domain that had been stolen from his people by some mysterious Undead.

The Undead did not come out of the former Scylla territory, but anyone who entered it was killed and turned into an Undead to join them. None who had ventured inside had returned alive.

Every attempt to conduct reconnaissance using familiars had ended in utter failure. It seemed that there were monoliths and images painted on the ground that tormented the minds of those who viewed them; every single mage who had attempted to observe the area through such methods had been driven insane.

Some of those mages had seemingly recovered and appeared to regain their sanity, but then vanished later, leaving behind nothing but a note reading, I am going to where G.o.d is.

On top of that, one village after another near the former Scylla territory had their entire populations go missing, so it couldnt be said that everyone was safe as long as they didnt enter it.

As it was, when the Amid Empire came invading in the future, Duke Sauron would constantly have to be worried about the risk of the Undead suddenly pouring forth from the former Scylla territory and attacking his own army.

In fact, it was even possible that the Devils Nest of the former Scylla territory would continue to expand and even reach regions beyond the Sauron Duchy.

He had to do something about it before that happened, even if it meant being indebted to the other dukes.

I understand that. I do. If I were Duke Sauron, I would be thinking the same thing. But that place is a territory of the Demon Empire of Vidal, so I cannot make a move there!

Takkard thought.

He knew the truth behind the former Scylla territory.

He knew that the hordes of powerful Undead that inhabited it were soldiers of the Demon Empire of Vidal, with whom he had formed a secret alliance. He knew that the territory served as an enclave of the Demon Empire.

The Undead that guarded the former Scylla territorys borders were not monstrosities that killed all living beings indiscriminately; they were an army with leaders.h.i.+p. They would not emerge from the territory and attack the cities and armies of the Sauron Duchy unless Vandalieu were to order it.

And as for the ma.s.s disappearances of the people living in nearby villages, they had simply moved into the former Scylla territory to live there. As citizens of the Demon Empire of Vidal, they lived far more comfortable lives than they had as citizens of the Sauron Duchy.

To begin with, its a mistake to think that something could be done about it with military might alone. If our nation had the military might to take that region back, we would have been able to pierce through the Mirg s.h.i.+eld-nations fortresses with ease long ago,

Takkard thought to himself.

The Undead army could number in the tens of thousands. He had been told that they were all a minimum of Rank 5, and the most powerful among them were of Rank 10 and above.

If this army were an enemy, the Five Knights of Alcrem (who were still missing one member) as well as their equivalent secret forces from every duchy would need to be sent in just to put up a fight.

And that would not be enough for them to win. It would only be enough to put up a fight.

Of course, if it came to that, I would tell Vandalieu-dono everything without hiding anything,

Takkard thought.

But even so, I cannot agree to this. Vandalieu-dono has asked me not to, after all.

Vandalieu would be attending the Central Adventurers School in spring. He would have no time to deal with such bothersome matters.

The Sauron Duchy was the wall between the Orbaume Kingdom and the Amid Empire; repelling the Sauron Duchy army without causing it too much damage would be very bothersome for Vandalieu. And because the Sauron Duchy was a region where there were many wors.h.i.+ppers of Vida, many of the soldiers were wors.h.i.+ppers of Vida as well.

As for Takkard, he didnt wish to have damage inflicted upon his own army, either.

I cannot send my soldiers to die meaningless deaths.

There were some among the populace who believed that n.o.bles were emotionless people who thought nothing of using soldiers and conscripted commoners as disposable p.a.w.ns.

But that was not true of n.o.bles who possessed a certain degree of political power. It was true that at times, they had to give orders that sent soldiers to their deaths. Takkard himself had experienced having to order soldiers to venture onto battlefields from which they had no hope of returning alive.

But there were always good reasons for doing so.

It cost money to train men who dedicated their entire lives to becoming knights and soldiers, and such men were an absolute necessity to maintain public order and security.

Even conscripts were farmers, craftsmen, merchants, cooks, and healers during times of peace They were valuable laborers.

Losing such important soldiers in unnecessary wars was unacceptable.

I understand, Takkard told the diplomat. But when we sealed away the evil G.o.d who was resurrected, the Alcrem Duchy lost the Knight of the Collapsed Mountains Goldie, and his entire family, who lived in the Sacred Wastelands. Our priority is to rebuild the Temple of Borgadon as quickly as possible to ensure that the evil G.o.d is never resurrected again, and to keep a close watch over our lands so that those who wors.h.i.+p other evil G.o.ds do not cause us more harm.

The truth was that both evil G.o.ds had been destroyed, and could never be resurrected again. There were also no signs of movement from those who wors.h.i.+ped other evil G.o.ds though there was evidence that they had fled the Alcrem Duchy, now that it was a base of operations for Vandalieu.

Thus, in reality, Duke Alcrem had no projects that had to be completed as soon as possible or impending problems that prevented him from deploying his army.

There was a big fuss in the Farzon Duchy about how Heinzs party, the Five-colored Blades, should have come out of the Dungeon but hadnt yet. But that wasnt an issue that could be addressed by Duke Alcrems army.

That was an issue that Duke Alcrem needed to address by using his political influence to gather information.

That is why I regret to inform you that I cannot help you. But, of course, I will not hesitate to provide aid in the form of funds and supplies, Takkard said.

Because his realm neighbored the Sauron Duchy, it was difficult to reject Duke Saurons request outright. Thus, he decided to at least provide superficial aid through funds and supplies, treating it as a necessary expense.

There had been numerous instances in history where the Alcrem house responded to requests from the Sauron house with money and supplies rather than military aid. The diplomat would surely back down and accept this.

But the diplomat did not back down. Please wait. In that case, I would like to request aid in the form of introducing some capable individuals to us.

Capable individuals? Takkard repeated. And who might that be? From the way you are speaking, I would a.s.sume that they are not soldiers of my duchy.

The first one is Randolf the True.

The first name given by Duke Saurons diplomat was that of the S-cla.s.s adventurer who had worked in the Orbaume Kingdom for over a century.

It was only natural to desire the aid of an S-cla.s.s adventurer, a superhuman among superhumans, when fighting against an unknown enemy that even an army could not defeat. The Five-colored Blades had also risen to S-cla.s.s several years ago, but they were still inside a Dungeon and had yet to emerge. Thus, Randolf was the only one they could ask.

He was known to not get involved in wars between nations, but the former Scylla territory was not (considered to be) a nation, so it was likely that if one had the connections necessary to make a request, he would accept it.

However

It is true that Duke Alcrem has connections that would allow him to get into contact with Randolf-dono, but is that not true for Duke Sauron as well? And even if it is not, then I believe one could contact him through Marshal Dolmad, one of the diplomats on the Alcrem Duchys side pointed out in a bitter tone.

The truth is Rudel-sama never met Randolf-sama through the previous duke, so there is no strong connection between them. And making a request of Marshall Dolmad would cause problems in maintaining the independence of his rule, Duke Saurons diplomat said.

This response gave Takkard and his diplomats a clear picture of the situation Rudel Sauron was in.

I see. He has already done something to offend Randolf. And on top of that, hes distancing himself from Marshall Dolmad.

The truth was that Rudel Sauron had not done anything that could quite be called offending Randolf. However, he had ignored Randolfs advice. Randolf didnt have high expectations of n.o.bles in the first place, and if he were to receive this request from Rudel, he would likely give an exasperated sigh but still accept it.

However, when Rudel attempted to make this request, Randolf had been undercover in the city of Morksi as a bard named Rudolf, so it had been impossible to make contact.

Rudel and his advisors had misunderstood, thinking that they couldnt contact Randolf because Rudel had offended him.

As for distancing himself from Marshal Dolmad, who served the king of the Orbaume Kingdom, this was true. It was because Rudel was struggling with the task of retaking the former Scylla territory, which was causing people to question his ability as a ruler.

In that case, I shall attempt to contact Randolf-dono in your stead. As for whether he replies, that depends entirely on him, said Takkard.

But he didnt have any intention of actually trying to contact Randolf. If he were to accept the request and joined Duke Saurons army to retake the former Scylla territory, the Undead army there were certain to suffer losses.

I must avoid creating cracks in our relations.h.i.+p with the Demon Empire of Vidal at all costs!

Takkard Alcrem and his closest subordinates had seen the Demon Empire of Vidal with their own eyes when they attended the ceremony to celebrate the completion of the enormous divine statue of Vandalieu and the birth of his first child.

There was a mind-boggling difference in the military might of the Orbaume Kingdom and the Demon Empire of Vidal.

People such as Bravatiyu and Baldiria of the Five Knights of Alcrem would be capable of fighting against members of the Demon Empire. But only on an individual level. If their armies were to clash, the vast majority of the Orbaume Kingdoms army would perish in the blink of an eye, and only powerful individuals such as the Five Knights would remain.

More fighting forces could possibly be gathered, such as powerful adventurers and heroes with the divine protections of G.o.ds, but as a ruler, Takkard could not afford to rely on such uncertain variables. In fact, when danger closed in on Morksi and Alcrem, they had fled in advance rather than rus.h.i.+ng to offer their aid.

Even though they had likely fled in order to avoid Vandalieu, Takkard could not trust such people.

And the difference in military might was not the only problem. The biggest problem was the large difference in sheer power as a nation.

Its true that the Alcrem Duchy has a larger population. But does this country have the national power to build a statue as large as that, with little more than just the will of the people?! There is no need to even consider it the answer is no!

Its ability to produce exceptional military equipment, its stable supply of food for each and every citizen The more Takkard saw of the Demon Empire of Vidal, the more he realized how different it was to his own nation.

As for the population, the Demon Empire of Vidal also apparently included the Demon Continent, from which the Storm of Tyranny had returned in what was considered to be the first ever precedent of people venturing to the continent and returning alive, and other distant territories as well. It was possible that its combined total population was actually greater than the Alcrem Duchys population.

To begin with, how did one define the Demon Empires population? Did the Shadow Snipers guarding the walls and the other Undead and Golems count as citizens?

Of course, even without taking into account such Undead and Golems, its population would likely exceed that of the Orbaume Kingdom in a few decades time.

Going back and forth is difficult for now. But if there is some method in the future perhaps if something is done about the mountain range and a highway is built through the former Scylla territory, or some power is used to provide routes by sea. If the people become able to travel freely back and forth, a large number of people will choose to migrate from the kingdom to the Demon Empire!

Adventurers would surely be tripping over themselves to become citizens of the Demon Empire of Vidal, as well as alchemists and merchants who sought new materials and goods. It was likely that some would be reluctant to go to a nation that treated Vampires, monsters, and Undead as citizens, but there was no guarantee of that. After all, the Demon Empire of Vidal already had plenty of citizens who had moved there from the Orbaume Kingdom.

In truth, even I was surprised to realize that I had no feelings of repulsion for the Undead.

As these thoughts ran through Takkards mind, the diplomats finished their discussions amongst themselves, and they reached the conclusion that communications would not be mediated between Duke Sauron and Randolf.

How about relying on the Five-colored Blades rather than Randolf-dono? Takkard suggested. Rumors say that they have left the Dungeon they were in.

In the past, he had abolished the discriminatory systems in the Alcrem Duchy regarding the employment of Beast-kin in an attempt to form friendly relations with Heinz and the peaceful faction of Alda, so it would be unnatural for him not to mention him no matter how reluctant he was to do so.

Of course, he was hoping that this suggestion would be rejected. It wasnt difficult to imagine that Heinz joining the battle to retake the former Scylla territory would cause even more chaos and damage than Randolf.

It is unexpected that you would recommend them, Your Excellency, considering the rumors that suggest you have recently converted to Vida fundamentalism, said Duke Saurons diplomat.

From his perspective, he did not believe that Takkard currently had good relations with the peaceful faction of Alda, whom Heinz was the leader of.

Indeed, ever since the reforms that led to Ghouls being recognized as a race that was created by Vida, relations with Aldas peaceful faction had grown colder. They were showing no visible signs that suggested this, but that was precisely why Takkard sensed the distrust and wariness that Aldas peaceful faction felt towards him and his advisors.

But the fact that this had also been picked up by Duke Saurons advisors meant that Takkard was out of the woods for now.

Takkard almost lowered his tense shoulders in relief.

But what came next was a bombsh.e.l.l that was far greater than everything else that had been discussed so far.

More importantly, as the wors.h.i.+p of Vida is flouris.h.i.+ng in the Sauron Duchy, we would like you to introduce us to Honorary Countess Darcia Zakkart, who is praised as Vidas incarnation, and her son Vandalieu-dono, the Patron Saint of Transformation Equipment, the diplomat said.

But this bombsh.e.l.l didnt stop there.

Honorary Countess Zakkart is a hero who sealed away an evil G.o.d and is able to summon a familiar spirit of Vida upon herself; I am sure that a visit from her would bring much comfort to our people. And her son, who is an extremely skilled craftsman and commands numerous exceptional familiars, may be able to find out what is happening in the former Scylla territory. I believe that one of the familiars that serve him is a Scylla, in fact.

Takkard and his diplomats were unable to discern the true intentions of the diplomat of Rudel Sauron, the one who had sent him. Perhaps he had sensed something, or perhaps he hadnt.

But this diplomats words were sure to offend Vandalieu if he were to hear them, and the fact that Rudel Sauron was allowing his diplomat to speak them made it clear that he had not learned the truth about who Vandalieu was.

We are also considering contacting the Adventures Guild to request the aid of the party of the Magical Girl Kanako Tsuchiya, as well as the Flying Sword and Iron Cat who have recently begun to gain the peoples attention. I hope you do not mind? the diplomat continued.

Kanako and the others all belonged to the Adventurers Guild; there was no law that made it necessary to gain the permission of the duke or the government officials serving him before hiring them.

However, hiring multiple capable adventurers who were based in another duchy without prior permission had the potential to cause misunderstandings, so there was an unspoken agreement that discussions would take place beforehand when doing so unless the matter was extremely urgent.

Takkard and his advisors silently thanked their predecessors for establis.h.i.+ng this unspoken agreement. Thanks to them, they would be able to prevent this from happening.

I apologize, but Darcia-donos son plans to begin attending the adventurers school in Orbaume Central in the spring. She intends to go with him, and although I would need to confirm this, I believe that Magical Girl-dono, as well as his apprentices, the Flying Sword and Iron Cat, are very close to them and intend to go with them, as well as his friends, the Heart Warriors Brigade. Darcia-dono is but an honorary n.o.ble, but it is truly embarra.s.sing that I cannot do much about the whims of the n.o.bles of my own realm.

Huh, err, what do you mean by? Duke Saurons diplomat uttered in bewilderment, seemingly not having expected to have every single request refused.

As Takkard and his diplomats worked together to give explanations and try to play it off, Bravatiyu leaned in to whisper in Takkards ear.

Takkard held out his ear, wondering what it was that Bravatiyu had noticed

My lord, perhaps this is a plot by Rudel Sauron to sow discord between us and Zakkart-dono? No, perhaps he intends to whittle down our armys numbers, and then carry out something nefarious! Bravatiyu whispered furiously.

It was a conspiracy theory.

I do not mean to say that this is an adequate replacement, but I shall send some of my most capable knights to aid you, Takkard told Duke Saurons diplomat.

My lord?! Bravatiyu exclaimed in surprise.

It seemed that it would be difficult to pre-emptively prevent Duke Saurons attempt to take back the former Scylla territory. With that being the case, it would be best to send his own people to provide inside information, share that with the Demon Empire of Vidal, and defeat Duke Saurons army in a reasonable manner.

Although he was a little irritated by his overly suspicious subordinate, this wasnt a decision that Takkard had made out of temper.

Ah, my life would have been so much easier if I were an earl rather than a duke,

he thought wistfully.

It was another ordinary day in the city of commerce that was ruled by Earl Morksi, who was blissfully unaware of the exhausted Duke Alcrems wish to trade places with him.

Tama and Gyoku, who had translucent white bodies, adorable round eyes, and long legs, were cooking at a food cart in a back alley of the red-light-district which was now known as Vida Street in Vandalieus stead.

Rock, the leader of the Iron Boulder Brigade a party of adventurers who were based in this city was walking past.

So, this food carts finally being operated by familiars now, he said with a dry laugh. I dont know whether I should be impressed that hes such a skilled tamer that he can have his familiars prepare food, or surprised that hed be willing to leave the whole food cart to them.

Hey, guard, is that allowed? Theres a maid sitting behind the food cart, but shes not a tamer or anything, right? one of Rocks companions said.

The city guard he was talking to the novice city guard who had finally become able to see two characters of his divine protection gave a dry smile. Theres no problem. The supervision of tamers is under the jurisdiction of the Tamers Guild, and theres an unspoken agreement to leave matters related to the red-light district to Starving Wolf Security unless something really big happens.

So that means that everythings up to Vandalieu, huh. Hes the Starving Wolfs boss, after all, and the True Ruler of the Red-light District When we first met him in a Devils Nest, I didnt think hed become such a big shot No, maybe he was already a big shot back then? Rocks companion.

Dont sweat the details, said Rock. So, youll have a grilled squid skewer for now?

The ingredients served on the food carts skewers changed from day to day, and todays main ingredient was the squid monsters that appeared in Garesss Ancient Battleground.

Incidentally, the maid sitting behind the food cart wasnt Rita or Saria, but the Vampire Zombie Maid Magisa, who had been one of the Pure-breed Vampire Birkynes subordinates when she was still alive.

It was possible that people seeing the food cart for the first time would be frightened to see ity being run solely by high-Rank monsters. Vandalieu had stationed Magisa here to stop them from being afraid; people would be rea.s.sured to see the monsters tamer watching over them.

The truth was that she wasnt even a human, let alone a tamer, but even Rock wasnt aware of that. The only one who knew the truth was Earl Morksi.

Is this really allowed? I mean, those guys are grilling squid, Rocks companion questioned.

Well, they have a lot of legs, but it would only be cannibalism if they ate octopuses. So its fine, isnt it? said Kest.

Huh? Those guys arent squids?

To be precise, they were Krakens Floating Little Krakens. They were miniature Krakens whose torsos were about the size of a human body, and they were capable of floating lightly above the ground.

Though they were related to squid and octopuses, they were another species. Thus, this wasnt cannibalism to give an a.n.a.logy, it was the same as a lion eating a tiger not being considered cannibalism.

Incidentally, Tama and Gyokus parent, who had been turned into an Undead and resurrected as a Little Kraken Zombie, was behind the cart, cutting the squid, putting them on skewers and covering the skewers with sauce.

Magisa was in charge of pretending to be their tamer and handling payment.

The three rat sisters Maroru, Urumi, and Suruga were working as waitresses.

One of them squeaked at Rock to ask for his order.

Give me six squid skewers. One for the nice guard over here, said Rock.

Huh? No, you dont have to worry about me said Kest.

Come on, its fine. Your s.h.i.+ft is over, right? This wont count as a bribe, so quit your worrying.

With another squeak, the rat sister, who was balancing her three-meter-tall body on her hind legs, skillfully used her front paws to write down the order. If one didnt look at her head, she would resemble a bear.

No ill-mannered drunkards dared to cause trouble at this food cart now. Compared to a year earlier, public order in Morksis red-light district had improved dramatically.

Meanwhile, the person responsible for improving that public security the Starving Wolf Michael, also known as Miles was currently battling against a mountain of doc.u.ments.

Phew, personnel management is a lot of work. Instead of having a main office and branch offices, why dont we open offices in every city and exchange doc.u.ments? said Miles.

In human societies, there are no Goblin communication devices, Golem faxes, and no Gufadgarn or Jane to rely on, a Demon King Familiar replied. Doing that would drastically increase the labor required, as wed have to carry the doc.u.ments between the offices.

Well you could do the work there, boss. You can record any kind of doc.u.ment, cant you?

Your boss is not impressed by your suggestion of using him as a fax machine.

The Demon King Familiars were helping Miles with the paperwork, holding writing tools with their tentacles.

It seems that a few wors.h.i.+ppers of Alda were protesting and singing hymns in the plaza in Alcrem, said Miles. Though from what I heard, n.o.body paid them any attention.

By hymns, you mean those songs that call for the rejection of Vidas races, dont you? I have to wonder did they really think that they would receive any support by singing those kinds of songs in Alcrems plaza? said the Demon King Familiar.

Even before Vandalieus arrival in the Alcrem Duchy, many of its people had supported the peaceful faction of Alda. There was little chance that they would suddenly start supporting Aldas extremist faction, but

I suppose they thought that it would be better than doing it in Morksi? said Miles.

So, they were not reckless enough to challenge Kanako to a battle of musical performances, the Demon King Familiar agreed.

Still, these wors.h.i.+ppers of Alda had taken the idea of protesting through music from the concerts held by Kanako and the others, so the protests themselves were peaceful.

The problem was the other wors.h.i.+ppers who shared their radical beliefs.

The arson attempt on the Tamers Guild, the attempts of violence on our security personnel, the attacks on me and Kanako and the others, the attempts to get into your house People who act on their own are actually quite troublesome, since you cant hold any organizations responsible, said Miles.

As the reforms announced by Duke Alcrem came into effect, the radical wors.h.i.+ppers crimes had grown more extreme.

Well, it also makes it easier because there are no complaints when we handle the incidents crudely, said the Demon King Familiar.

As a result of their reckless actions, such as attacking Miles and Kanako, and attempting to sneak into the house that Vandalieu had turned into a haunted house, the radical wors.h.i.+ppers had their existences erased from the city.

They had then been brainwashed, replaced with fakes, or had just the contents of their brains replaced before being released into the city as if nothing had happened, and their sentences were decided after that.

Those sentences depended on the crimes they had committed, but those whose existences had been erased had all committed crimes that would see them branded as criminal slaves or executed by the Alcrem Duchys laws.

Why would people who wors.h.i.+p a G.o.d of law proactively break the law themselves? the Demon King Familiar wondered out loud.

Im sure they only care about obeying the laws they believe are correct, said Miles. More importantly, the move the peaceful faction made is so impossible to understand that its creeping me out. And all they did was send letters to you, Darcia-sama, and Kanako.

Enemies that only show quiet movements in public are the most troublesome, the Demon King Familiar agreed.

By the way, Boss, what is your main body up to now? asked Miles.

Im currently clearing a Dungeon on the Demon Kings Continent with twisted s.p.a.ce. Its the kind of Dungeon where you can be walking down a corridor, then suddenly be falling towards your right, and then find yourself slammed against the ceiling Its not too late for you to join us, if youd like?

Pa.s.s. Let me know when youre doing a simpler Dungeon thatll give me a break from all this work.