Chapter 330: n.o.bles with colorful ambitions

Now that Zona had acquired Vandalieus Divine Protection, Vandalieu was certain that information about him wouldnt leak to Aldas forces or Rodcorte through her. Thus, he revealed various things to her, including an explanation about the divine protection itself. But with that said, he kept the explanation simple, as the sun would set before he could finish explaining everything.

Pauvina joined up with them partway through, and Vandalieu explained the situation to Pauvina while continuing to explain things to Zona.

And thats how it is, concluded Vandalieus physical body and spirit-form body simultaneously.

Hearing these explanations from the same person through two different mouths, Pauvina and Zona reacted very differently.

Alright. Now then, Im going to go and

meh

Alex-senpai, said Pauvina.

She curled her hand into a fist that was capable of breaking a lump of steel. Alex was more likely to survive being hit by a stone club than being

mehed

by this fist.

Meanwhile, Zona was swaying unsteadily on the spot, holding onto Vandalieu for support.

Vandalieu-kun, whats the real reason youre here? Are you planning to stage a coup dtat? she asked.

I sure am having a lot of physical contact with her today,

Vandalieu thought.

No, he said in response to both of them. Pauvina, Alex-senpais will has been broken by todays events, so spare him the

mehing.

You might end up shattering his mind completely, not just his body.

If Pauvina were to

meh

Alex now, it was possible that his mind would end up even more shattered than his body, to the point that he would never recover. From Vandalieus perspective, there would be no problem if Alex were to go back to the countryside and live a peaceful life working the fields. It would render the contract between them meaningless, but he certainly wouldnt lose anything. After all, Alex and his companions were nothing but strangers to him. Even if Pauvina ended up giving Alex a little push in that direction, one could only say that he had brought that upon himself by trying to look at Vandalieus Status.

But Elizabeth and the rest of the party were aiming to graduate at the top of their year, and Alex, their rival, served as the perfect grindstone with which to sharpen them. In other words, he was still of use to Vandalieu, so he wanted to continue to make use of him for now

Zona-senpai, I dont have any dangerous goals like that, Vandalieu rea.s.sured Zona. Im just trying to propagate the word of Vida and using the Tamers Guild to change the accepted view on peoples relations.h.i.+ps with familiars. But while Im at it, I do intend to gather fragments of the Demon King and destroy criminal organizations, among other things.

He hadnt found a single fragment of the Demon King yet, and he had only crushed a few criminal organizations so far.

Pauvina made a disgruntled noise. Fine. Once Alex-senpai recovers, Im going to go and

meh

him.

But Zona seemed to disagree with Vandalieu. I think those goals of yours are plenty dangerous, she said.

Vandalieu, I agree with her, you know, said Yuuma, also disagreeing with Vandalieu.

But upon reconsideration, Vandalieu realized it was possible that they were right.

One of his objectives was to propagate the word of Vida, but even in the capital city of the Orbaume Kingdom, it wasnt like there were thousands upon thousands of people who didnt already have a specific G.o.d they wors.h.i.+ped. In other words, the propagation of the word of Vida would mean converting wors.h.i.+pers of Alda into wors.h.i.+pers of Vida, which in turn would mean stealing wors.h.i.+pers from the Church of Alda, an organization with a vested interest in keeping them.

n.o.body could blame Zona for considering his other goals to be dangerous, too.

Allow me to correct myself. I do have dangerous goals, but I dont intend to threaten the existence of the Orbaume Kingdom itself. Theres absolutely no reason or necessity for me to stage a coup dtat or invade the nation, said Vandalieu.

You did well to be honest. Good job, Vandalieu, said Yuuma.

Even if youre honest about it, Im not really sure how I feel about it, but whatever, said Zona.

Hes not tense or burning with ambition or anything, after all, said Pauvina. But its true that we dont intend to invade the Orbaume Kingdom.

Vandalieu already ruled the Demon Empire, which had far more territory than the Orbaume Kingdom. If one included detached territories like the Demon Continent and Gartland as well, rather than just the area within the Boundary Mountain Range, it was the vastest empire that the world of Lambda had ever seen. Thus, there was no reason for Vandalieu to invade the Orbaume Kingdom.

The Demon Empire had plenty of resources and food, and Vandalieu had no ambitions to expand its territory. He could always create more Dungeons, and even if that wasnt the case, there was plenty of land that wasnt even being used Of course, the Devils Nests of the Demon Continent and the Demon Kings Continent would be difficult to turn into farmlands or residential towns, but due to the above reasons, there wasnt a high demand for that.

Thus, Vandalieu was satisfied with propagating the word of Vida, securing rights for the races she had created, changing the way people considered Undead, and creating a situation where he could eventually make the Demon Empire of Vidals existence public without any difficulties though there would certainly be a lot of obstacles in his path to that goal, and these goals were completely outrageous to those with vested interests.

Hmm, well, if youre going as far as to say that, then Ill accept it, Zona said. Now that I think about it, it would be strange for you to enroll at an Adventurers School if you were planning to stage a coup dtat.

Zona couldnt really understand all of this, as she had never actually seen the Demon Empire of Vidal, but she could believe that Vandalieu and his companions didnt have those kinds of goals.

Now then, Van, you should let Luves out soon, said Pauvina.

Alright. Gufadgarn, give me a little help, please, said Vandalieu.

Huh? Is there someone else here? Is it the s.p.a.ce-attribute mage that Dandolip-sensei was talking about?! asked Zona, getting fl.u.s.tered.

Right before her very eyes, a black hole appeared in empty s.p.a.ce, and a Wyvern appeared from within it.

Huh, its a normal Wyv Its huge! Zona exclaimed.

The creature that had appeared looked like an ordinary Wyvern at first glance. The color of its scales were normal, and it had no fins on its back or horns on its head. It didnt possess an abnormal number of heads or wings. But there were ornaments on its head and its hind legs.

However, its size was more than twice that of an ordinary Wyvern and this fact alone was enough to make it very clear that it was not an ordinary Wyvern.

Wow, amazing! Other than his size, he really does look like an ordinary Wyvern! said Pauvina.

Wow, he really does. He looks just like the Wyverns we often hunt back at home! said Yuuma.

The Magic Item I created that uses illusions to make him look like an ordinary Wyvern is functioning as intended, said Vandalieu.

Of course, this enormous Wyvern was the Raging Evil Dragon G.o.d, Luvesfol. Unlike Pete and Pain, he was unable to acquire the Shrink Skill. Vandalieus last-resort plan to register him at the Tamers Guild was to insist that he was just a mutant Wyvern that was a little larger than an ordinary Wyvern.

Such humiliation To think that I would need to pretend to be a Wyvern! Luvesfol groaned.

This disguise was extremely humiliating for him.

It talked?! Zona shouted in surprise.

Luvesfol gave a startled shout of his own. Who are you?! Pauvina-sama, is this a new friend of yours?

No, said Pauvina, shaking her head.

I see. Listen well, little Dwarf girl, said Luvesfol, turning back to Zona and spreading his wings with his chest thrown out. I am known as the Raging

Shes Zona-senpai, a new friend of Vans, and someone who might become one of his lovers, said Pauvina.

My name is Luvesfol, and I am Pauvina-samas servant. I hope that we are able to get on well with one another, said Luvesfol, transitioning from his dignified, impressive, intimidating posture to pressing his forehead into the ground in a smooth, flowing movement that could even be described as artistic.

W-whats up with this thing?! said Zona, feeling like her legs were about to buckle.

Zona, your body wont last if youre getting scared by something as small as this. Hang in there! Yuuma said supportively.

Huh? Youre saying this is small?!

But in reality, Eisen and Eleanora were far more powerful than Luvesfol in his sealed form. The reason Zona was more scared of Luvesfol was likely because Eisen and the others had never shown their true strength.

Ill do my best to get used to things. But Vandalieu-kuns secrets are being revealed one after another Youre telling me theres still more to come?! Zona exclaimed.

Another black hole appeared in the empty s.p.a.ce in front of her. But what emerged from within was a small silhouette, less than a tenth of Luvesfols size.

It is nice to meet you for the first time. I am Gufadgarn, a humble servant who wors.h.i.+ps the great Vandalieu. I am glad to make your acquaintance, said Gufadgarn, appearing before Zona and staring fixedly at her.

She had hair that looked like flowing, melted silver, pale skin without a single imperfection on it, pointed ears, and refined-looking eyes that looked like those of a doll, and cherry-blossom-colored lips. Her golden pupils were hollow and empty, but Zona had been seeing eyes like these very frequently lately, so she didnt regard that as a flaw.

Thus, Gufadgarn looked like a completely flawless, beautiful Elf girl to her.

Yes! Zona murmured triumphantly to herself.

She had the upper hand in breast size, allowing her to avoid feeling a sense of defeat.

The pleasure is mine, Zona said to Gufadgarn. Its incredible that youre a master of s.p.a.ce-attribute magic at that age, even if youre an Elf Hmm? Youre a s.p.a.ce-attribute mage That means that you were there the whole time during the practical training?

Yes. I have been given the honor of being constantly present at the great Vandalieus back, said Gufadgarn.

Th-then you saw me and Vandalieu-kun

If you are talking about the events that occurred during your practical training, I witnessed everything. I take full responsibility for failing to prevent that boys outrageous actions, and for failing to prevent the teacher named Dandolip from intervening

But Zona had only heard the first sentence of Gufadgarns reply. Blood rushed to her head, and her cheeks suddenly felt as if they were burning.

NOOOOO! she screamed. Please, forget what you saw!

Its nothing to be embarra.s.sed about, Zona-san! said Princess Levia, becoming visible as well. It was very entertaining! My heart was throbbing just from watching

NOOOOO! ITS A b.o.o.b GHOOOST! Zona shrieked, swinging her arms around.

b.o.o.b?! Princess Levia said, shocked by Zonas reaction and freezing in place.

Zona-senpai, pweash cam dahn, said Vandalieu as Zona grabbed his cheeks and started swinging him around.

This girl! She intends to physically take Vandalieu-samas lips by force! How bold! said Daroak, who seemed to be shuddering.

Lets wait a while until Zona calms down, said Yuuma.

Yeah. By the way, Yuuma-chan, what kind of Dragon bone is that hair ornament made of? asked Pauvina.

Its made from the fang of a new species of Dragon that was discovered on the Demon Continent. I had it made from materials that Master Zod gave me, said Yuuma.

Wow, its really nice. Maybe I should have Van take me there sometime, said Pauvina.

By the way, have I been forgiven for my insolence? asked Luvesfol.

Vandalieu and his companions waited for Zona to calm down, then returned to Orbaume, accompanied by Yuuma. The gate guards had learned who Vandalieu was by now, and it seemed that someone had ordered them to not get overly involved with him; no arguments or incidents occurred when they inspected him before he entered the city.

In fact, they were very eager to hurry him and his enormous Wyvern into the city.

The adventurers who frequently traveled in and out of Orbaume, as well as villagers and merchants who often traveled back and forth between the city and nearby villages and towns, were used to Vandalieu as well; they were only a little scared of him. But merchants from caravans that had never encountered Vandalieu and his companions before were scared senseless, and mercenary bands pointed their swords and spears at him.

The city guards could clearly see that if they took too long to inspect Vandalieus group, trouble would occur. They had to foist the task of dealing with him on the Tamers Guild as quickly as possible.

The Tamers Guild was obviously unhappy with this, but this was their job, and they couldnt simply refuse to do it.

However, Luvesfol was more than twice the size of an ordinary Wyvern; he couldnt fit inside. Thus, Orlock, the Guild Master of the Tamers Guild, was forced to come outside to inspect him.

Its a mutant Wyvern, and the only difference is that its larger than usual. Or so you claim, but perhaps it actually understands our language? said Orlock, sharp as ever.

I mean, he listens to what I tell him to do, so I think he does, said Pauvina, fl.u.s.tered but managing to recite the explanation that had been decided on beforehand.

But Orlock couldnt be fooled. I suppose you are thinking of understanding in the same way that a well-trained dog understands its masters commands, Pauvina-kun. But what I am referring to is a true understanding of the meaning of words. What do you say, Wyvern-kun?

Despite this sudden question, Luvesfol ignored Orlock and maintained his silence. But his eyes were burning with anger, speaking louder than words.

This lowly human is calling me a Wyveeeern?!

he thought furiously.

However I suppose there is not much point in making this more difficult than necessary. The only thing that the Tamers Guild is concerned about is whether a tamer is able to control their familiar in other words, whether they have truly tamed it or not. Whether it is a mutant or not, and whether it understands our language or not, whether its Rank is actually higher than what you have reported none of these have any bearing on the inspection itself though this is just what I am telling myself so that I can accept this situation, Orlock said. Very well. I shall acknowledge it as your familiar. However, I am sure that the Dragon Knights and Bachem will have questions for you, so be prepared for that.

Wyverns were the inferior descendants of Elder Dragons, and the most common among the species of Dragon that were tamed by humans. They were in high demand, as Dragon Knights rode them in battle, and Dragon cages cages that Wyverns carried as they flew were used as a form of transport.

Tamers that could tame a Wyvern like this would be in very high demand indeed, and Pauvina would receive many inquiries from people seeking to use her abilities and have her teach them.

Vandalieu and his companions were already aware of this, so they had come up with a plan to deal with it in advance.

Yeah. But Van is the one who tamed Luves initially. I cant even tame an ordinary Wyvern, said Pauvina.

Thats how it is, so I would appreciate it if you redirect any inquiries to me, rather than Pauvina, said Vandalieu.

Alright, alright, said Orlock, turning to Vandalieu. So,

your

request must be for me to put collars on those two ladies over there, I a.s.sume? he said, looking at Yuuma and Zona.

His eyes were those of a man who had long since resigned himself to his fate.

No, no! Im just tagging along! Im a Dwarf, a perfectly normal Dwarf! Zona said hastily to stop Orlock from preparing two collars.

She didnt mind becoming a romantic partner or illicit lover of Vandalieus, but it seemed that she wanted to avoid having a collar put on her in full view of the public.

A normal Dwarf Indeed, you do look that way to me, said Orlock.

Right?! I mean, theres no way Id look like anything else! said Zona indignantly.

So what are you

really?

Orlock asked suspiciously.

Im telling you, Im just a normal Dwarf! Zona exclaimed.

Is that so? Orlock murmured.

Zona-senpai, you can become much more than a normal Dwarf, said Vandalieu.

Yeah, be more confident in yourself, Yuuma agreed. Looking at your muscles, I can tell that youve been working hard this whole time!

Thanks! But thats not the problem here! said Zona, raising her voice, desperate to avoid being registered as a Vampire that was previously a Dwarf or something.

Thinking about it rationally, there was no way that she could be walking around in the middle of the day if she were a Vampire, but she remembered that Eleanora and Bellmond were perfectly fine in the sunlight, so she decided not to mention that.

Orlock gave a loud laugh. Im sorry for taking my frustrations out on you, young lady. As you might have guessed, the young master here has been doing as he pleases at this Guildd for quite a while now, so I wanted to get back at him a little though he seems to be completely unaffected, he said, looking at Vandalieu.

Im sorry for all the trouble Ive caused you, said Vandalieu, expressionless as always as he bowed his head.

Well, dont worry about it too much, said Orlock. Youve tamed bug-type monsters and Undead. Its the job of the Guild to be used by and to protect its members But people have been making a lot of noise lately, you see.

A Guild employee came over, holding a stack of doc.u.ments, and Orlock handed them to Vandalieu.

These are all the people who have made inquiries about your familiars, he said. At first, they were quite reasonable requests from the Mages Guild asking to see them for research purposes, or asking for samples of their hair, saliva, and blood if possible but Im very troubled by the n.o.bles demanding that we simply hand over your familiars to them.

They want me to hand over my familiars I suppose they mean Eisen, Zadiris, Eleanora, and the others, rather than Pete, said Vandalieu.

Yes. Because they understand our human language, they seem to be under the impression that even someone who isnt a tamer can make them obey their will that they can do as they please with them, Orlock said.

Orlock thought that this was a foolish, shallow way of thinking. These n.o.bles were completely ignoring that there must be a reason that these familiars, who understood human language in other words, possessed human intelligence were choosing to obey a tamer as familiars.

They are too afraid of the authority of Duke Alcrem, and too afraid of your mother, who is regarded as a hero, to make this request to you directly. If they go through the Adventurers Guild, Princ.i.p.al Meorilith would hear about it. That is likely why they are making these demands through the Tamers Guild, Orlock sighed. Of course, Im turning them all away.

Im sorry for causing you so much trouble, said Vandalieu.

He looked through the doc.u.ments and saw family names that hed never heard of. He possessed the Perfect Record Technique Skill, which took everything hed ever seen or heard and recorded it inside his brain, so the fact that he hadnt heard of them meant that they must be very obscure n.o.ble families.

But no matter how obscure they were, having a number of n.o.bles equal to the number of doc.u.ments in his hand go missing with nothing but the skin of their faces left behind would raise suspicions, so Vandalieu decided to just send them a warning.

It was possible that the n.o.bles would retaliate to a warning by targeting Vandalieus companions. But Zona and the others were also n.o.bles, just like those whose names were written on these doc.u.ments. Their families were of more or less the same social standing.

If they went after Simon and the others, the a.s.sa.s.sins they sent would likely meet their own ends.

As for the reasonable-seeming inquiries made for research purposes, he simply needed to respond to them based on the contents of the research. This would probably be useful for propagating accurate information regarding Vampires, Ghouls, and Vidas other races.

So, as for your inspection, the reason were here today you pa.s.s, said Orlock, handing a collar to Vandalieu.

And with that, Yuuma was registered as Vandalieus newest familiar.

The n.o.bles demands for Vandalieus familiars to be handed over heated up even more after this, but this was quickly suppressed once they received letters bearing the name of the house of Honorary Countess Zakkart.

Letters were also sent to the families of Zona, Macht, and the others, as well as the house of Earl Reamsand though their contents differed. As a result, the n.o.bles began regarding Zona, Macht, and the others as allies of Vandalieu as members of Duke Alcrems faction. The pressure on them to gather information about Vandalieu stopped.

However, there was one certain individual who collapsed onto his knees on the spot after receiving a letter from Vandalieu.

Curses! Earl Dratze Reamsand spat, crus.h.i.+ng the letter in his hand and throwing it at a wall. Such impudence from a mere honorary n.o.ble! Filthy Undead user! What is he thinking! And Duke Alcrem is a pathetic excuse of a duke! I dont care if theyre heroes who slew an evil G.o.d, its absolutely pitiful that hes being made use of by them! Has the Dark Elfs allure made him blind and stupid?!

Earl Reamsands rambling was full of flaws; Elizabeth and Mahelia were in their building that was separate from the mansion, preparing dinner for themselves, but if they could hear him, they would have pointed these out.

Unaware of this, Earl Reamsand threw himself into a chair and gulped down an entire gla.s.s of wine in one go. But even this didnt suppress his anger; in fact, the alcohol only made him angrier.

d.a.m.n it! Everything is that creepy Dhampirs fault! I drove Elizabeth into a corner, but thanks to him, shes improving her skills at a remarkable pace! I am told that she has already reached the point where none of the knights of my house would be able to defeat her in one-on-one combat! At this rate, shell actually succeed in meeting the condition I gave her for my continued support graduating the school at the top of her year! he screamed furiously, slamming a fist into his expensive luxury work desk.

A moment later, he groaned. The pain in his hand finally returned him to his senses.

Seeing a servant pick up the letter he had thrown through the corner of his eye, he rubbed his throbbing fist, breathing heavily.

Calm down Elizabeth raising her grades is not a bad thing for me for the Reamsand house, he muttered to himself. The letter didnt instruct me to hand it to Elizabeth, either.

Vandalieu had heard what Zona knew of Elizabeth and Mahelias circ.u.mstances. But Elizabeth hadnt told Zona and the others that she lived in a detached building (or rather, the small outhouse that was referred to as such) on the grounds of Earl Reamsands mansion, nor had she told them that Amelia lived in an inst.i.tution due to her mental illness.

And Zona could have never imagined that Earl Reamsand intended to make Elizabeth his concubine. Thus, Vandalieu was also unaware of this, and his letter didnt mention anything about it.

As long as I hold Amelia in my hands, Elizabeth cannot disobey me. At this rate, I may be unable to make her my concubine, but well, I can demand that she yield her body to me, Earl Reamsand murmured, and then he gave an unpleasant laugh. In fact, this is even more convenient, isnt it!

If Elizabeth made a name for herself as an adventurer, the house of Earl Reamsand, her legal guardian, would also become more well-known. And because her mother was in the palm of his hand, she would have to obey any demand that he made.

Or perhaps it would be better to take Amelia herself as one of his concubines?

I would be taking in a mentally-ill widow as a concubine and taking care of her for the rest of her life. It would make for quite the moving tale, wouldnt it? And it would mean that even after Elizabeth makes a name for herself, I can continue to have her mother in my grasp. And not only that Amelia looks quite young for her age, after all.

Marriages with widows were a common occurrence in Lambda. It wasnt unusual for the brother or friend of a deceased man to marry his widowed wife or take her in as a concubine.

People were often moved by such tales, but n.o.body would be moved at the sight of Earl Reamsand, who was chuckling greedily to himself.

Now that Ive made that decision, I must have the dosage of Amelias medicine increased. Or perhaps it wouldnt be a good idea to break her too much if Im going to take her in? No, more importantly, I need to tell them to prevent Vandalieu from approaching or making contact with her, Earl Reamsand decided, picking up the wine gla.s.s that had been refilled by a servant and savoring its contents more slowly this time.