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Volume 8, Chapter 17

 

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Translator: RevoPotato
Editor: Weasalopes

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Vermudol received an urgent report in his office.

On their way to the Canal Kingdom, Kain and Ein ended up in combat with goblins wearing a type of armor that fused with their flesh along with a special type of goblin known to be similar to ogres. Kain’s party had no trouble in taking down these special goblins, but they’d resurrect soon after, and a herd of Alva appeared as well. Upon finally defeating all the enemies, a sorceress from the Canal Kingdom Imperial Court named Mazenda appeared. After she left, Zwei attempted to follow her but lost track.

「…I see. Mysterious goblins and mysterious equipment. And the Alva that just happened to show up at the same time…」

「I’m interested in this Mazenda person, but the Alva are the bigger concern here.」

「Yeah.」

Vermudol nodded with a wry smile in response to Rokuna’s words.

The Alva always had a decent level of intelligence, but according to Nino’s report, there were special types of Alva with intelligence that far surpassed that.

In that case, it should be assumed that there’s a specific reason why they appeared there.

「Maybe they were trying to hide the secret to the goblins’ method of resurrection?」

If they really did resurrect, that would be a frightening technique. It would mean that someone had the ability to manipulate their lives.

「I think it’s a bit too soon to call it resurrection. There are some ogres that live even with their heads cut off. If those special goblins had the same tenacity as those ogres, then it wouldn’t be too surprising if they could regenerate their limbs in some way. But there’s no doubt that the Alva have something to do with all of this.」

「Right. It’d be safe to assume that they’d be related to those goblin assassins as well.」

The goblin assassins were another nuisance that Vermudol had been encountering.

They’ve been appearing all across the Shutaia Continent, and they’ve been operating as a group with clearly defined orders.

It was clear they were acting as an organization, but they’ve yet to find out where their base was located.

They’d appear completely out of nowhere, and if they think they’re about to fail, they’d kill themselves. Their corpses don’t remain, either.

It was very similar to how the Alva disappear when they die as well, but there was no concrete proof.

Whenever Vermudol had the free time, he would secretly go to the Shutaia Content to see if he could figure out the identity of the Alva using his Status Confirm magic, but each time he went over there, they never appeared.

「Alva, huh… Tch, they just keep causing more and more problems.」

「If we go to that Dimensional Gap or whatever, then maybe we’d be able to solve those problems.」

They knew that the Alva’s base of operations was a place known as the 「Dimensional Gap」.

But the only possible means they had of getting there, Ykslaas’s 「Dimensional Castle」, had completely lost its power and showed no signs of regaining it.

「There hasn’t been any progress on the Hero Legend analysis either, right?」

「Nothing. It’s likely that it only emphasized the pretty parts of the story. Nothing about the Dimensional Gap is mentioned other than its name.」

The Hero Legend has made mention of the 「Dimensional Gap」 and the 「Dimensional Castle」.

But there’s no way that the Hero Ryuuya could have just used Transfer Magic to teleport to some place with no clear location.

In that case, there must have been some method he used to get in there.

But no matter how much they investigated, they couldn’t find any clues.

Well, no, they did have one of the Hero Ryuuya’s party members, Luuty.

But Vermudol had yet to fulfill his promise to her. The promise that she wouldn’t cooperate until he had proof that the God of Life Philia was behind all of this.

「Well, we’ll just have to do our best to deal with these problems as we go along for now.」

「Right. The more these suspicious incidents start piling, the closer we’ll get to seeing what the Alva are after.」

It almost felt as if the Alva’s goal was purely just to cause chaos, but there must be something that lies beyond that.

「…But I have to say… Kain, huh…」

「You’ve met with him before, right?」

「Just for a bit.」

Kain’s relationship with Ein was working to their advantage.

By being with Kain, they had many opportunities to gain information on the Canal Kingdom that wouldn’t normally come from the Intelligence Group. It gave them many important hints as well.

「I feel pretty bad for him. Not only does he have his hands full with the Alva, he’s being thrown straight into the struggles between countries. Not to mention he’s involving himself with us Mazoku as well. There’s not many people that have so much stuff going on in their life, you know?」

「You have a point.」

In a way, you could say that Kain Stagius’s life was just one nonstop disaster.

If you look at it another way, you could say that Kain’s path crossed roads with all kinds of different people.

「The future, huh?」

「Hmm? What are you talking about?」

「Just thinking to myself. I wonder if he ever chose the path he wanted to choose…」

At that time, Kain was thinking about what he should be doing.

It was likely that since then, Kain had gotten himself involved with all kinds of fights and struggles. As he went through all of that, it could be said that his possible options for the future increased.

From what he heard from the reports on Kain, Vermudol surmised that he was someone that put in everything he had in what he did, and treated his bonds with his companions very dearly.

His tendency to treat everyone equally reminded Vermudol of himself, but there was one thing that made the two of them very different.
While Vermudol had a general rule of treating everyone equally, he still had a clearly defined order of priority. It didn’t seem like Kain had anything like that.

For example, if there was some hypothetical situation where both Ichika and some Mazoku subordinate he wasn’t familiar with were in danger, Vermudol would do all he could to save both of them.

However, if he knew for a fact that he’d only be able to save one of them, then he would most definitely prioritize Ichika.

That was both one of Vermudol’s weaknesses and his strengths.

That sense of priority he had assisted in helping him making quick decisions on the spot.

「Anyway, it’s nothing important… More importantly, tell Ein to continue her duties. This is a good chance to investigate the Canal Kingdom.」

「Yep. We should probably strengthen the support team as well… but it seems that we aren’t able to do much on that front due to the lack of people.」

「…I know. I’ll supply you with the appropriate personnel.」

After watching Rokuna leave his office with an 「I’m counting on you!」, Vermudol let out a sigh.

And then, this time Ykslaas suddenly came through the door.

「Have you finished talking with her?」

「Yes, but I haven’t finished my work yet.」

「Sounds rough.」

While she made a face that said that she didn’t think that way at all, Ykslaas sat down in the office.

「I heard a rather nostalgic name.」

「Oh, you mean Kain? Oh yeah, you two were pretty close, right?」

「Right. Well, a bit of my memory from then is a little messed up, though.」

She was talking about when Vermudol destroyed the 「Sacrifice’s Cage」 skill that the God of Light Philia affixed onto her.
Doing so seemed to awaken memories of her past life, but as for what she lost in exchange, there was nothing that could be done about it. After all, they no longer existed.

She doesn’t even remember why she had her eyes on Kain in the first place.

「…It’s like he’s a Hero.」

Vermudol also thought about that possibility.

But as of right now, there was no proof of that.

「I suppose.」

That’s why Vermudol simply responded with that.

As if Ykslaas saw right through him, she sat down on the office desk and stared straight at him.

「Hey, Vermudol. What would you do if Kain… Kain Stagius, was the hero? Would you kill him?」

「Who knows. It’d depend on the situation.」

Ykslaas looked up at the ceiling with a bored look in response to Vermudol’s words.

「Well, I suppose that’s a smarter response than just killing him no questions asked.」

「In that case, what would you do, Ykslaas?」

「Me?」

Vermudol nodded.

「Right, you. What would you do if Kain was the Hero? You were once one of his friends that accompanies him, right?」

「Well, I mean, I suppose so.」

Ykslaas put a finger to her lips and turned her face down.

「Let’s see. I suppose it’d be a little sad to have him become my enemy. One minute we’re friends, and the next, we’re enemies! We’d be clashing swords against each other screaming about how did things end up like this… It would truly be a very tragic scene. I might even burst out in tears!」

Vermudol made a face that said good grief as Ykslaas shook around dramatically as she embraced herself in her arms.

「Enough with the acting. I want to hear your real answer.」

「Ufufu, but that was the real answer. You shouldn’t be asking the obvious.」

As she spoke, she got on all fours while her shins laid against the desk’s documents and crawled towards Vermudol’s direction.

「You know, I’m really grateful towards you. You helped me even though I was completely controlled by that bitch of a goddess, and you told me who my true enemy was… I’ve taken quite a liking to my current lifestyle, as well.」

「I see.」

「If Kain happened to be the Hero… and he’d become your enemy, then I’d kill him. I’d cut him up into little pieces without any hesitation. Not just that, I’d cut up that bitch goddess enough to make up for Kain’s share as well. That’d be my way of showing our friendship.」

Seeing that dark light in her eyes, Vermudol nodded silently.

The dark light then disappeared from her eyes… and they returned to normal.

「Well, even if Kain were to be the Hero, that wouldn’t mean he’d necessarily have to be your enemy, right?」

She then put her hand on his shoulder and drew close with her mouth next to his ear.

「In the Hero Legend, the Demon King destroy the world, and the Hero destroys the Demon King. But… the Demon King here right now doesn’t destroy the world. In that case, there might be a Hero that doesn’t destroy the Demon King, don’t you think?」

「That’s a very optimistic perspective.」

「Yes, you’re right. It’s a bit foolish of an assumption to make.」

「But it’d be just as foolish to simply eliminate him.」

「Fufu, I suppose I didn’t even need to speak as much, then.」

Ykslaas gave Vermudol’s ear a small bite, and then nimbly got back onto her feet on the floor.

「All right, well, I’m going to head back to work now.」

「Very well.」

Nino suddenly appeared out of nowhere, wiping his ear with a cloth, while Ykslaas left the office with a chuckle.

「Nino thinks she should bite your ear as soon as possible to disinfect it.」

「Please don’t.」

「…Okay.」

Vermudol let out a deep sigh as Nino continued to wipe his ear disappointedly.

 

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