Author's Note
The Four Heavenly Kings have already left (significantly).
We waited a few minutes for Crownliese to wake up.
"Uhh.... Uhh.... Yes...?" (Crownliese)
Finally, Crownliese woke up. Incidentally, Carellius still had not regained her senses and had a vacant look in her eyes. She was completely restrained by Maria and her slip had been fixed.
"Wh-what is this? What on earth is going on? Where am I?! Huh? I can't move!" (Crownliese)
Crownliese was stuck in the wall and struggling. It seemed that when she got confused, her chuunibyou style disappeared, as she now spoke in a way appropriate for her age.
"Someone! Get me out of here!" (Crownliese)
"No, just use the curse or something to get out." (Jin)
Crownliese looked so flustered that I couldn't help but interject.
"Is-is someone there?! Help! Help me!" (Crownliese)
Crownliese noticed I was nearby and asked for help. No, that's why I told you to use the curse mark...
"Huh? What are you talking about? To the person you were trying to kill just a moment ago..." (Jin)
"Wh-what are you talking about?! What do you mean, kill you?!" (Crownliese)
The conversation was clearly unnaturally disjointed. …Could it be that she's lost her memory?
[It seems to be the other way around. Please check her status.] (Alta)
The other way around? What does that mean? For now, let's check the status of Crownliese.
Crownliese (Lv 44)
Gender: Female
Age: 14
Race: Demon (Reincarnated)
Skills: [Dark Sword Lv5] [Dark Magic Lv3] [Physical Strengthening Lv6] [Flying Lv4]
Curse: [Existence Addition Lv-]
…………hah?
"Reincarnated" had been added to the race list, but—? What on earth is going on?
"Hey, hey. Say something... What on earth is going on with me...? I woke up and found myself unable to move... And anyway, where am I? I think I got hit by a truck..." (Crownliese)
...That phrase, don't tell me.
"I just want to ask you something, what's your name?" (Jin)
"Eh? My name? My name is Megumi Naruse. More importantly, could you help me or explain something to me? I can't help but feel a bit uneasy..." (Crownliese)
No matter how you look at it, she's a reincarnated Japanese person.
Is there a possibility that she is lying? —Both [Clairvoyance] and [Eye of Truth] said that she was not lying. Or rather, to begin with, I didn't understand the point in suddenly telling such a lie at this timing.
Is it natural to assume that she was hit by a truck, died, and was reincarnated as a demon in this world? Mio was reincarnated as a human, but Tiramisu was reincarnated as a monster. So, it wouldn't be so unnatural if she were reincarnated as a demon. And then the impact of hitting your head made you remember that? That's ridiculous...
"Oi... I'm going to cry soon. Are you going to make a middle school girl cry...?" (Crownliese → Megumi)
Crownliese, aka Megumi Naruse, had been left alone for so long that she was crying. She said she was going to cry, and she had almost started to cry. Well, I guess she has nothing to do with this, so I guess it's okay to rescue her for now? Even if she attacks, it won't be a problem to defend against her...
"Okay then. Let's get you out." (Jin)
"Y-You finally listened to me! Y-yes! Please!" (Megumi)
I approached the wall Megumi had crashed into and grabbed her leg.
"Hyaw?!" (Megumi)
"Okay, let's pull. Ready, now..." (Jin)
"Ouch!? Ouch! It hurts! Stop!?" (Megumi)
As soon as I started to pull, Megumi cried out. Looking at the map, I saw that collapsed rubble was holding back Megumi's movement on the other side of the wall, making it impossible for her to get out by simply pulling.
"There's no point in trying this. Let's give up." (Jin)
"Oh, don't give up! Help me!" (Megumi)
When I hit her, she resonated and reacted well. Well, the story isn't progressing if I mess around with her too much, so I think it's about time I really help her out.
Piercing the wall with my sword, I could see the other side of the wall through the gap and then [Warp] to it. I cut through all the rubble that was holding Megumi down and [Warp] her back to original position.
Then I pulled Megumi back towards me.
This took just three seconds.
"Huh? What just happened?" (Megumi)
After being helped, Megumi spoke while still lying face down.
"I helped because you asked me to. Was it a bother? Should I put you back?" (Jin)
"...No, thank you... so much" (Megumi)
After thanking me, Megumi stood up. Then, when she saw herself, her eyes widen.
"What? What's with this outfit? I mean, an eye patch? No wonder I can't see well in front of me. What? Why am I dressed like this? And why is my skin purple? Is it special makeup?" (Megumi)
Unfortunately, Megumi's confusion didn't seem to be settling down anytime soon. And it seemed that in cases like Megumi's, her memories as a Crownliese were lost. It's unclear whether this was temporary or permanent, though...
"Wh-what is this... I can't take it anymore... Aaaah..." (Megumi)
Completely exceeding the limits of her processing power, Megumi finally began crying. She was crying like a child, her nose running and her voice was crying like a child.
Well, since it seemed there were no questions for me, I walked over to Maria.
"Jin-sama, what on earth happened to that demon?" (Maria)
"I don't know. But there's no doubt that things are getting a lot more interesting." (Jin)
To be honest, this was an unexpected development. It's a shame that the curse of Crownliese ended halfway through, but it's still more interesting than that, so I'd be okay with that. Besides, judging from her status, the curse mark hadn't disappeared, so it's not like there's no chance of seeing it anymore.
"What about that girl?" (Maria)
"That's true. I'd like to have her under my command if possible. It will be much easier for Alta to investigate if she is under my command." (Jin)
Alta's Q&A was not a panacea either. Sometimes, like the remains of Blessing, you could only find out about them after obtaining them and investigating them, or making them your subordinates. It's quite an irregular thing, so to be honest, I'd like to secure it if possible.
"It's a pain to explain things to a crying guy, so I think forcing [Slave Arts] to her to explain things is the quickest way to leave it to Alta." (Jin)
Forcing a crying junior high school girl into becoming a slave. This was truly the act of a beast.
It would take all day to explain the current situation to a confused girl, so I would like to leave the explanation to Alta if possible. Making her a slave would be the most efficient way to handle the investigation.
[Leave it to me.] (Alta)
In order to forcibly enslave someone using [Slave Arts], your level and status must be significantly higher than the other person's, and you also need a high-level [Slave Arts]. However, I had defeated a lot of dragons in the hidden realm of Dragonnewts a while ago and my level had increased significantly, so I no longer had any problems with my level or status. Incidentally, [Slave Arts] level was raised to 10 when forcibly enslaving Tooru and Kaoru in Izumo Kingdom, so there was no particular problem here either.
With that decided, I activated [Slave Arts] right away and took it on Megumi.
Oh, there's no telling what might happen if you enslave them, so just to be safe, I should nullify curses with the level 7 effect of [Power of Life and Death]. It would be troublesome if she suddenly lost my memory like Romarie did......But thinking about it, Romarie also lost her memory. Is there any connection?
[I'll look into it.] (Alta)
Oh please, I have a bad feeling about this.
I should put off the matter of the demon's memories and focus on turning Megumi into a slave for the time being. —Now that I think about it, that was a terrible thing to say. This time I activated [Slave Arts] and slamed it into Megumi.
"Beeeen!... Fue? Wh, what!?" (Megumi)
[Slave Arts] worked without a hitch and Megumi became my slave. From what I could see, it didn't seem to have any effect on the curse mark or Megumi herself.
"Wait, what? A voice in my head! What's that?!" (Megumi)
It seemed that Alta had already begun explaining things to Megumi. In most cases, people who hear Alta's voice for the first time react in a similar way, so this was a familiar scene.
While Megumi was listening to Alta's explanation, Maria and I were checking on Carellius.
According to Alta, after calculating the power of the counterattack, it seemed that it would happen soon. She was tightly restrained, so even if she woke up she wouldn't be able to do anything.
"Uh, no..." (Carellius)
Okay, it happened pretty much at the time Alta calculated.
"Oh my? I wonder what's going on?" (Carellius)
Carellius looked around and tilted her head in confusion.
"Hey, you there. Why am I tied up? Do you know anything?" (Carellius)
Carellius asked me a question as if it was the first time she had seen me. Someone had a similar reaction a while ago— Surely that can't be the case, right? Just to be sure, I checked Carellius's status.
Carellius (Lv46)
Gender: Female
Age: 27
Race: Demon (Reincarnated)
Skills: [Whip Mastery Lv6] [Dark Magic Lv6] [Physical Strengthening Lv4] [Flying Lv4]
Curse: [Falling Down (Falling Down) Lv-]
…………I knew it.
It seemed that, like Crownliese, another of the Four Heavenly Kings, Carellius, was also a reincarnated person born as a demon—It would be unreasonable to consider this a coincidence.
Well, if you think of it as an increase in valuable samples, it's not such a bad thing. I nullified the curse with the level 7 effect of [Power of Life and Death] and immediately activated [Slave Arts]. Carellius became my slave. This took only 1 second.
"Oh my? What was that just now...? A voice came from inside my head... What was it?" (Carellius)
Carellius had a similar reaction to Megumi and began listening to Alta's explanation. Since I had made the two of them my slaves and left the explanations to Alta, I had nothing left to do.
Since I had some free time now, I'd kill time by telepathically communicating with Mio's group.
(Mio, how is it over there?) (Jin)
(Ah, Master. We're done here. It's no problem to say that the demons have been annihilated. Oh, that's right. The dragon knight unit arrived a while ago, so I'm explaining things to them now.) (Mio)
(Oh, come to think of it, they were there... I had completely forgotten about them because so much had happened.) (Jin)
The royal capital was under attack by demons, so we went ahead of the dragon knight unit. It wouldn't be surprising if they arrived on time.
(It all depends on Master's schedule, so I've asked the dragon knights to wait outside the city walls.) (Mio)
(Please let them wait like that for a while.) (Jin)
(Got it. …By the way, what's interesting?) (Mio)
Mio asked with an excited voice.
(If you check the map to see where we are, you'll understand.) (Jin)
(Let's see... Eh? ...What!?) (Mio)
(As you can see, two of the four demon kings were reincarnated people, so I made them my slaves.) (Jin)
I gave a brief explanation to Mio, who was confused as she looked at the map.
(Ahh... As expected, being with Master never gets boring. But even so, demons are the enemies of mankind... I wonder what's really going on, huh?) (Mio)
(That's something Alta is currently investigating.) (Jin)
With these two as slaves, we now had more samples and were ready to begin our research. Now all that's left was to wait for the results, just like with the remains from the Blessing.
(I wonder if the demons we've defeated so far were also reincarnated people...) (Mio)
(They're both members of the Four Heavenly Kings, so Romarie is a bit of a tricky one. I don't know about low-level demons. Well, as long as they're enemies, I generally kill them, whether they're reincarnated or not.) (Jin)
This time, Crownliese and Carellius had some interesting curses, so we had to fight them thoroughly. However, under normal circumstances, it would not have been surprising if they had been killed in an instant, just like the low-ranking members.
(That's what happens with Master, huh? ...As a fellow reincarnated person, I have some hesitation.) (Mio)
For Mio, stories related to reincarnated people were probably not something that only concerns her.
For example, if all demons were reincarnated, and you asked whether I would help them regain their original memories, the answer would obviously be no. This time, two of them happened to regain their memories, so I made them my slaves, but it's not like I wanted to go through the trouble of having them regain their memories just to turn demons or reincarnated people into slaves. In the first place, whether or not we find a way to restore memories depends on Alta's investigation.
(Deciding our future course of action will depend on Alta's investigation.) (Jin)
(I see. Once you've finished your investigation into Alta, please let me know. I'm really curious.) (Mio)
(Got it) (Jin)
So, Alta, if you find out anything, please let Mio know.
[Understood. I have a suggestion. It will take some time to explain to the two of you, so could you please transfer us to Kastal's mansion for now? In the meantime, why don't you take care of Eldia's affairs?] (Alta)
Looking at the map, all the demons inside the castle had been wiped out, leaving only two of the Four Heavenly Kings. The Tamo-san army must have finished them off. With this, the battle at Eldia Kingdom could be considered essentially over. And when the fighting was over there's other things to do, so it's no time to be bored. Although we never fought directly with Eldia, we essentially won, so I didn't mind Kastal being considered the victorious nation.
(At Alta's suggestion, we decided to send the two of you to the mansion to handle the post-war cleanup. So, could you send the dragon knights to the castle?) (Jin)
(Okay. Can we just go straight into the castle?) (Mio)
(It's okay. I can just have them drop me off in the courtyard.) (Jin)
I gave instructions to Mio and then ended the telepathic communication. The two demons' expressions changed rapidly after listening to Alta's explanation. Well, it's mainly Crownliese's complexion that has changed, and Carellius doesn't seem to be too bothered...
[She's really confused inside, but I don't think it shows on her face.] (Alta)
...Ah, I see. I couldn't really grasp Carellius's character.
Either way, it would take some time for the explanation to be over and for the two of them to calm down, so I'd have them teleport to Kastal's mansion.
(Lucia, please use [Summon] to retrieve the two people I specify. They are the subordinates that Alta is currently briefing.) (Jin)
(Understood.) (Lucia)
I sent a telepathic message to Lucia, the head maid at the Kastal mansion. I had entrusted Lucia with the management of my subordinates and had given her magic such as [Summon] to use. Although she couldn't summon the main members, I had set up most of my subordinates so that Lucia could call them using [Summon]. This was a measure to forcibly retrieve adventurer slaves when they were in trouble.
The next moment after the telepathic conversation ended, the two demons were teleported away.
Now that the two demons had been teleported, it's about time I cleaned up after this war(?). The reason there's a (?) next to war was because we hadn't done anything that resembles war. So, should we start doing war-like things now? Something war-like to do after the fighting is mostly over... plundering? That's just like Eldia. I couldn't bear to fall to the level of Eldia, so I rejected it.
"Well, there are a lot of things that need to be done, but that should be the first thing." (Jin)
I turned my attention to the princess, who was still unconscious after being kicked by Crownliese. Shortly after being summoned, Sakura and I were chased out of the royal castle by Princess Christia. I found that unpleasant, and I had no intention of forgiving it. However, if you asked me if I resent her deeply, the answer was no. To begin with, I never wanted to stay in this country enough to resent it. Since it was already decided that we would be cut off at the time we were kicked out, there was little reason for us to resent being kicked out.
If anything, what I couldn't forgive was the fact that they had started a war against Kastal this time. And how to make them take responsibility for that matter was not originally within my jurisdiction. That's a matter that should be left to Sakuya, the Queen of Kastal. If Sakuya wanted to kill the entire royal family, that's fine, but I couldn't just go ahead and kill them. Well, at the moment, most of the royal family were underage.
But if this had happened during the war, it would have been a different story. If the demons hadn't interfered and I had ended up fighting the Eldian Army, it could have been dismissed as an "unfortunate accident" during the war—Killing someone in this state was definitely not my thing.
"Uh, um..." (Christia)
And then, the princess seemed to wake up at a time that could only be described as splendid. The princess got up, looked around restlessly, and when she noticed that there were no demons around, she let out a sigh of relief.
"I-I'm glad. I-I was saved." (Christia)
"No, you won't be saved. We're still here." (Jin)
"Y-You're Kastal's... W-what are you planning to do to me!?" (Christia)
The princess tried to distance herself from me, as if to protect herself. It's true that a lot would be visible if she didn't hide anything, but frankly speaking, it's too late now.
"Well, since you're the princess of a country that started a war and is now clearly a defeated nation, you'll at best be taken prisoner, at worst, executed, or condemned here and now." (Jin)
"I'm the princess of the country that summoned the heroes..." (Christia)
The princess spoke with a trembling voice, but it was already too late to say anything about that now.
"I know that better than anyone." (Jin)
Saying that, I removed my [Mysterious Prince Mask (Hiding Mask)].
"After all, I was there too." (Jin)
"Hey, you! Why are you here? Aren't you supposed to be dead?!" (Christia)
"Apparently, you remember that too." (Jin)
The princess cried out in shock. And so, this proved that the princess banished us with murderous intent.
"Damn it!" (Christia)
The princess jumped backwards and began chanting a spell. Perhaps because we were so close, the chant of [Fireball] seemed to finish in five seconds—She was just making a fool of me.
"Hmmph." (Jin)
—Th-Th-!—
I chased the princess and punch her in the stomach without hesitation (I used [Show Mercy]).
"Gbbooh!!!" (Christia)
The magic was interrupted and the magic circle disappeared. The princess collapsed on the spot, twitching violently in convulsions.
"Gugh, ugh... Do you think you can get away with doing something like this...? When the Heroes returns after going to Kastal, you'll just..." (Christia)
"All the Heroes who attacked Kastal are dead now. And so are the heroes remaining in this country." (Jin)
"No way..." (Christia)
As the princess turned pale, I spoke the final words.
"I killed all of the Kastal's. The others in this country were killed by the demons." (Jin)
"No way... I can't believe the heroes lost..." (Christia)
Huh? Is Hero a title given to such strong people?
"Damn it, you're going to kill Hero? Are you helping the demons?" (Christia)
"Any Hero that would start a war with a neighboring country would do more harm than good. Besides, most Heroes have already evacuated to other countries, so there's no problem with killing the ones that remain here. Plus, the demons are demons, and I killed them." (Jin)
If I had to point out a problem, it would be that since they collected all of the remains from the Blessing, wouldn't that lead to the strengthening of other Heroes?
"Don't you feel bad for killing someone from your hometown, and a schoolmate at that?!" (Christia)
"Even though we are from the same hometown and schoolmates, the majority of them are nothing more than mere acquaintances. There’s no comparison with someone more important than that. Besides, there’s no way I’d have a thief among my friends, right?" (Jin)
This implicitly called the Hero, who remained in the country, a thief. At the very least, none of the people I was particularly close to participated in this war. It went without saying which was more important: schoolmates from the same hometown who were not even close to, or the Japanese Lolita Queen (Sakuya).
"Aren't you afraid of the Goddess' divine punishment?! You've come this far! The Goddess will surely punish you..." (Christia)
"Again... What kind of divine punishment did the goddess give to the demons for their attack? Did she save you? What kind of divine punishment will she give to me?" (Jin)
It seemed that she still called her "Goddess" whenever something happened. What on earth could a goddess do for her devotees? If there's anything I'd rather know.
"Th-That's... I..." (Christia)
No further words came out after that. The princess's face turned to despair as she realized she had no way left to protect herself.
"Looks like it's gone. I was planning to make you a prisoner, but if you're showing such a rebellious attitude, it might be easier to just get rid of you here. There are still candidates for prisoners..." (Jin)
I was reluctant to kill someone who no longer had the strength to fight, but if they had a history of attacking, and if they seemed like they're getting in the way, it would be best to kill them as enemies. I pulled out my sword, [Heroic Soul Blade - Unfinished], from its sheath and point the tip at the princess.
"Eeeek! Gahhh..." (Christia)
The princess was completely overwhelmed by my pressure and gasped as her whole body trembled.
"Please, just save my life... I-I'll do anything if there's anything I can do... Would you like me to lick your legs? Would you like me to offer you my chastity?" (Christia)
She said that with a servile look on her face, appearing completely broken-hearted. Licking my legs would just make me feel dirty, and since I didn't feel any attraction towards the princess, offering herself to me would only be a nuisance.
"W-would it be okay if I became a slave...?" (Christia)
"...Well, I guess that's about right. But, to be honest, I don't need it..." (Jin)
Even if I make the princess my slave now, it wouldn't satisfy my heart, and in fact I didn't like it because it would be like adding a filthy person to the ranks. That's right. In that case, how about making her Sakuya's slave? In that case, she wouldn't be under my direct control and Sakuya would be able to directly decide how to treat Eldia from now on, so it might be just right. So I telepathically communicate with Sakuya.
(Sakuya, I have almost conquered Eldia.) (Jin)
(Oh, onii-chan, good job. You're really fast, aren't you...) (Sakuya)
(Well, the demons pretty much took over the place.) (Jin)
(What is that? I've never heard of it before...) (Sakuya)
Come to think of it, I didn't inform Sakuya that the royal capital had been occupied by demons.
(When we attacked, they had already been completely destroyed by the demons. Now that we've wiped out the demons, that means we've practically conquered them, right?) (Jin)
(Well, I guess you could say that…? I wonder what will happen…) (Sakuya)
(So, I'm thinking of taking the surviving princess of Eldia and making her your slave. What do you think? Do you want her? If you don't, I'll kill her.) (Jin)
(Wait! I do! I do want her, so don't be hasty!) (Sakuya)
Sakuya hurriedly tried to stop me. There's no other way. If Sakuya wanted her, I couldn't kill her.
(But are you okay with that, Onii-chan? I thought you had some grudge against her? It's really troubling, but if you insist—) (Sakuya)
(I don't like her, but I don't have any major grudges against her. Rather, I thought it would be more convenient for the future administration of the country if I made her your slave.) (Jin)
(Oh, thank you. I see you were thinking about me too. Okay, then, I'll be grateful. I'll be heading over there now.) (Sakuya)
(Yes, I've installed [Portal]) (Jin)
As soon as I stopped telepathically communicating, Sakuya was teleported in.
"Eh? What just happened..." (Christia)
"This has nothing to do with you. From now on you will be the slave of Kastal's Queen." (Jin)
"Eh? Is this girl the Queen of Kastal?" (Christia)
"Well then, let's use [Slave Arts]." (Jin)
Ignoring the princess's question, I activated [Slave Arts] and drew a slave crest on the princess's back.
"Sakuya, can I have a drop of your blood? Please put it on the slave mark." (Jin)
"Yeah. Ouch! Ouh!" (Sakuya)
"Guh!" (Christia)
Sakuya cut her finger a little with the knife she was holding, and smeared the blood on the princess' slave crest. Even though it's only a small cut, she shouted in an overly brave voice. The slave contract using [Slave Arts] had been completed, and Princess Eldia had become the slave of the Kastal queen.
Sakuya gave the enslaved princess some orders, and to finish off, she gave us command rights.
"Then from now on, please follow Jean's and Marie's instructions." (Sakuya)
"Yes……" (Christia)
First, Sakuya would return to Kastal, and once the Kastal's dragon knights had finished their work, the princess would declare defeat. After that, it's up to Sakuya to decide how to handle the princess. I had no intention of interfering with that. ...That's right. Since this is a rare opportunity, I'll be a little selfish.
"Sakuya, can I ask something?" (Jin)
"What, o... Jean?" (Sakuya)
She couldn't help but call me Onii-chan.
"I don't have any strong grudges, but I think it's important to settle things. So, can I give the Princess of Eldia a shot?" (Jin)
"Huh?! Didn't you just hit her a moment ago?" (Sakuya)
"The last one was a counterattack. This time I'll settle the score." (Jin)
"Try not to kill her, okay? It would be a hassle if she were to get killed..." (Sakuya)
The princess stiffened at my declaration and looked pleadingly at Sakuya, but since Sakuya's only instruction was "Don't kill her," despair once again appeared in her eyes.
"Yeah, [Show Mercy] will do it, and it's just a flick, so don't worry..." (Jin)
"[Show Mercy], that skill..." (Sakuya)
If I used the skill [Show Mercy], my opponent would not die even if I inflicted a lethal amount of damage. In other words, if I didn't use [Show Mercy], the damage would be enough to kill.
"Ah, there's no other way. There's no stopping it now... Princess Christia, 'Don't move.'" (Sakuya)
"Eeek!" (Christia)
Sakuya gave the order, causing the princess to stop in her tracks as she was about to back away.
"Here we go...." (Jin)
"Ahh! Stop ple—" (Christia)
—Dogon!!!—
"Aaggghh!?" (Christia)
The princess who received my forehead flick let out a strange shriek and was blown away several meters. The impact caused the clothes that had been barely clinging to her body to fall off, leaving her completely naked. Furthermore, perhaps because she was blown away in a bad way, she collapsed in a position that a woman of her age should not be in. To be more specific, it's an exhibition. Well, so what does it mean?
"Th-that's merciless... But that's completely stretched, what should we do?" (Sakuya)
"It would be a waste to use the [Recovery Magic], so I’ll freeze her and throw her into [Infinite Storage]." (Jin)
"Y-You really are merciless, even in a fragment..." (Sakuya)
It's a feature that I wouldn't get to use very often, but I could put living things into [Infinite Storage] as long as they had been frozen or petrified. It's a hassle to wait for her to wake up, and I didn't intend to use [Recovery Magic] on her. I decided not to worry about the fact that freezing it would cost more in terms of MP consumed.
"Jin-sama, it's done." (Maria)
"...Thank you for your hard work." (Jin)
The moment I said "Freeze," Maria had cast [Ice Magic] on Christia. At the time of "throwing in," Christia was already inside [Infinite Storage]. Is this something that can be said to be effective?
"I see you're not even hesitating at all. Yes, I'm really glad to have you on my side." (Sakuya)
Sakuya's face was tense. I have no intention of doing anything rude to my allies, so you can rest assured. I do mess around with it a little bit though.
After Sakuya returned with [Portal], I again discussed future procedures with Maria.
"It seems there are other surviving members of the royal family, so we have to retrieve them next." (Jin)
"Understood." (Maria)
Since I was here, I think I might as well collect all the surviving members of the royal family. As a souvenir for Sakuya. The only ones left were minors, so there probably there weren't many uses. Furthermore, instructions to Tamo-san were only to annihilate the demons, so he didn't heal or recover any of the royal family. He followed my instructions when it came to dealing with those with unique skills, though...
I gave instructions to Tamo-san to retrieve the royal family. Tamo-san could disguise himself as a basilisk, turned his opponents to stone, and placed them in [Infinite Storage]. The Basilisk is a lizard monster famous for turning people to stone (there are various theories). It seemed that it appeared in the desert in this world as well—It was reported that Maple and the mercenary group defeated it in Atto Union. Naturally, the corpse ended up in Tamo-san's stomach. Whether slimes had stomachs or not was beside the point. ...I want to see the royal family get attacked by a basilisk and go Fear just when they thought the demons were gone.
"The closest one is... this room. Ah, but I think they're more likely to die here." (Jin)
We'd leave the distant royals to Tamo-san and prioritized recovering the dying royals in the vicinity. I didn't mind if the royal family died, but if they died after I'd decided to retrieve them, I'd hate it because it would make me feel like I had failed.
As I left the Summoning Hall and made my way through the courtyard in order to quickly retrieve the royal family, I was suddenly hit by an incredible chill.
"Hk!" (Jin)
Following my instincts, I unsheated [Heroic Soul Blade - Unfinished] and put it through my armpit and towards my back.
"Argh!" (Jin)
"Jin-sama?!" (Maria)
Along with a short scream, I felt something being pierced, and immediately after that I felt something touch my shoulder. Maria reached out her hand towards me, but before it could reach me, my field of vision changed. Is this... a teleportation?
The next thing I saw was a group of grey high-rise buildings standing all around me.
Author's Note
??? "Thank you for waiting."
Translator's Note
There will be a maintenance break next week, so next chapter will be available publicly in 2025.