Side story 11 – A Certain Evil God’s Sneer

『Candidate “Anri” has exceeded the required faith and fear levels.』
『Race has been changed from “Human Race” to “Divine Race”.』
『Job has been changed from “Mage” to “Administrator”.』
『Title has upgraded from “Child of the Evil God” to “Evil God of Fearful Trembling”.』
『Gained title “Third Administrator”.』
『Gained skill “Administration”.』

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“Ohh? Never thought that she’d bud this quickly.”

As he saw through the screen that the thing he sent just the other day had already become a member of the Divine Race, he laughed.

It was originally just a way to kill time. No, even now, it was still basically the case.
It had all started when he had noticed by chance some faith that was floating around in a low-ranked world based on stories. It was faith towards his type, so he had considered devouring it, but following an idea he came up with on a whim, he sent in a something that seemed suitable as a vessel, and decided to watch and see how things unfolded. If things went well, it would mean the birth of a new member of his kin, while if things failed, it wouldn’t be any real loss.

“It was pretty fun watching the process. Sending her in as a human was the right choice, huh.”

She might have gathered faith faster had she been sent in as an apostle, but he decided to just cram skills into her as a human and enjoy watching the show. Honestly speaking, he had crammed enough into her that it wouldn’t have been strange for her soul to collapse, but you could say it turned out well because she was good material.
When he had spotted that girl in a high ranking world, he had unconsciously sighed in wonder. It wasn’t often that you’d find a human with eyes close to his kind’s.

“Now that a new administrator has been born, the other divines probably won’t stay quiet. I’m really interested to see what happens next.”

There were originally two administrators in that world.
They would very soon know that a new administrator had been born. No, there was also the chance that they already knew. It was impossible to ignore a new administrator being born in the world they administrated, so it made sense that they would soon approach her somehow.
And because there were many cases where members of his type were hated by others, so to begin with there was definitely no way things would happen peacefully.
The world would probably be wrapped up in a power struggle between fellow divines.

“Aahh, I’m looking forward to it. So looking forward to it.”

Power struggle though it might be, in the end it was just something that would happen in a low-ranked world, so even if it was something that involved his kin, he didn’t plan on interfering.
Even if she was destroyed in defeat, that was just how it was. Just one favourite toy being broken.
It was all for his amusement, just simply killing time.
But it was also the truth that it seemed like things would be quite fun this time.
It was all thanks to the ‘beloved daughter'[thing] that he had sent in. It was just a random idea he had come up with, but once he gave it a go, it had turned out to be the right choice.

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“Aahh, I’m really glad that I created you.”

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As he saw through the screen his kin writhing around like a caterpillar as she had her legs poked by the people there, he laughed.

“If you manage to seize the power from the other two, maybe I’ll give you a reward.”

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TL: In Japanese, ‘laugh’ and one way of saying ‘sneer’ are the same. 笑う and 嗤う are both read as  ‘warau’, so in the second last line, I wrote ‘laughed’ to keep the repeat sounding good. In truth, it’s more like he laughed in ridicule. I made this decision because she obviously meant for the two lines to parallel each other. Had she wanted to strongly emphasise sneering, I think she would’ve used 嘲笑う(azawarau) or something.

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Side story 10 – A Certain Prince’s Despair

“You-! This is plain harassment!”

General Godwin struck the round table in the center of the conference room with his fist.

“I understand how you feel, but calm down, General. His Majesty is here.”

“F-, Forgive my rudeness!”

Chastised by the Prime Minister Lord Forgen, the angry General Godwin suddenly came back to his senses and apologised to my father in a fluster.

“It’s fine. I feel the same way.”

Not just my esteemed father; it was likely that nobody gathered here would blame the General’s words. The reason was because the people here all held the same feelings.
At present, the topic of discussion for the group called the Royalists Faction was that the Church of Sacred Light had declared an edict for the formation of the Order of the Sacred Light. It was an edict regarding the subjugation of a group of adherents of an Evil God cult that were gathered in a certain dungeon near our kingdom, Fortera. But no matter who looked at the situation, it was clearly an overreaction to form and mobilise the Order of Sacred Light just to subjugate a group of cultists not even numbering 1000.
The Church of Sacred Light claimed that it was because traces of a being that appeared to be the Evil God was witnessed in the dungeon in question, and the formation of the Order was necessary for the sake of its investigation, and if possible sealing or subjugation.

There was no lie more barefaced.
Because the higher-ups of each nation knew that the Evil God was a fictitious threat created by the Church, after all. The Church wasn’t seriously aiming for the subjugation of the Evil God either, and the other nations passed this suggestion knowing quite well that it was a lie.

“So it really was because of the proposal from the other day.”

“That seems to be the case. There are no other reasons.”

The Church of Sacred Light is the largest religion in the Human Territory, and is the official religion of all nations. Because of that, the money that each nation donates to the Church’s headquarters, the Luxiria Theocracy is no small amount. Of course, our Fortera is no exception.
However, because the crops and tax yields in our kingdom were anticipated to be lower than average this year, we declared that we would be reducing next year’s contribution to the Theocracy.
There was probably no doubt that it was correct to interpret this edict as revenge for the contribution announcement.

Although it was the formation of the ‘Order of Sacred Light’, in truth it was a coalition force of the knights and soldiers of various countries. With an edict from the Luxiria Theocracy, they expected participation from various countries, but because it was officially participation in order to fulfil their duties towards the Church of Sacred Light, there was no remuneration. If this was the invasion of the Demon Territory, then there would be de facto remuneration in the form of territory distribution, but because this time was the formation of the Order in order to solve a domestic issue, there would be no such thing.
Of course, our kingdom has no responsibility to give out remunerations for this. But despite this, if a domestic issue of ours is solved by the military of other nations, we’ll end up owing a debt, and would need to take this into account in future diplomatic exchanges.

“Revenge, and an example to the others, huh.”

“You could certainly interpret this as a show of force through the difference in military power.”

The other nations probably understand the Church’s purpose in this edict as well.
Not to mention that they’re sending this message as well: ‘If you report that you’ll be decreasing your donation, this is what will happen to you.’

“It’s too late to change the donation back, isn’t it.”

“Now that the formation of the Order has already been announced, it is probably impossible. And to begin with, the reason we reported a reduction was because we couldn’t pay it. You can’t use money that you don’t have.”

“…”

“…”

The meeting sank into silence.

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“So, what will you do? We received a strong suggestion that as one of the nations involved we should scout out the location and set up camp, but…”

“Making us do subordinate work on top of harassing us, huh? Just how much do they intend on messing with our kingdom.”

Both scouting and setting up camp formations are certainly important for an army, but it’s difficult to gain achievements for doing it. The more achievements another country gains, the larger the debt our kingdom will owe them, so this too was a form of harassment.
But this was a good chance as well.

“I shall lead the army and head for the battlefront.”

“Your Highness!?”

Hearing my declaration, the people sitting around the round table all turned their gazes to me.

“Hmm, and your intention?”

“Pretend to scout and set up camp, and just subjugate the enemy at the same time. We might be slandered for acting arbitrarily by the other nations and the Church, but this should be better than letting them gain large achievements and owing them a large debt. If we say that the young commander was anxious for merits, it shouldn’t seem unnatural.”

I answered my father’s question with my plan.
The other nations might be quite disgruntled because they had gone out of the way to prepare their armies, but as long as they hadn’t actually headed for battle, they probably wouldn’t be able to strongly demand anything from us.
The Church of Sacred Light probably won’t stay silent, but given that their official aim was the subjugation of the Evil God and cultists, they shouldn’t be able to openly criticise us.

“But there should be no need for you to take the blame, Your Highness.”

“As a member of the royal family, the other nations shouldn’t be able to strongly reproach me. If any other commander does it, they may demand punishment.”

Even if they can’t publicly condemn the Kingdom, it’s entirely possible that they would blame the commander personally for disobeying orders. Once you consider this, I can’t leave the role to the generals.
Perhaps because they understood my intentions, the Prime Minister and General reluctantly fell into silence.

“How is it, Your Majesty?”

“…Very well. I shall leave it to you.”

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Having set up camp in front of the dungeon in question, I gazed at the Evil God worshippers before me.
The enemy had also set up a military formation, but you could say that it was entirely crude. On top of the fact that they barely reached a thousand people, there were elderly people, as well as women and children mixed in, so they wouldn’t even put up a proper fight. It was obvious that they didn’t even have enough troops to set up an ambush, so I had faith that as long as I sent the soldiers forward, we would easily crush them.
Honestly speaking, it was strange that having come to this they still hadn’t run away and scattered, but was this also because of their disgusting piety?

Having thought that far, I accidentally let a wry smile slip.

“Your Highness?”

“No, it’s nothing.”

Finding my smile strange, General Godwin had questioned me, and I told him not to worry.

Disgusting piety, huh?
The fact that I can’t understand those who would worship something like the Evil God hadn’t changed, but after this incident, the piety that we the Forteran Royal Family had towards the Church of Sacred Light had fallen to rock bottom. Of course, there was no way we could reveal such thoughts to the citizens after all, and we certainly weren’t opposed to Sacred Goddess-sama, but at the very least, I had no intention of believing in the corrupted Church that was rampant with money-worshipping. Both as the prince, and as a person.
Between the believers of the Evil God who were risking their lives, and the people who secretly demanded money under the flag of the Sacred Light, just who was better? When I started wondering this, I found it so funny that I couldn’t help but smile.

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Lightly shaking my head, I switched gears.

──Both of them were the same.
If they threaten our kingdom, then they must be eliminated. This was my duty as a member of the Forteran Royal Family.

“Look at the formation of these evil bastards, General! What a pathetic formation.”

“Indeed.”

With the General by my side, I looked at the cultists in front of me before speaking in a loud enough voice that the knights and soldiers around us could hear.

“With an enemy more worthless than garbage, can’t we subjugate them on our own even without the Order’s main forces?”

“Indeed, however we were instructed to scout and set up formation.”

Reciting our lines exactly as planned, it felt like I had become a clown. However, that didn’t matter. What I wanted to become was a foolish and hot-blooded prince.

“We can end things if we attack now. There is no need for either scouting nor formations.”

“Your Highness, that is…”

But still, the General… can’t he do anything about that acting? Isn’t he speaking in monotone?

“That is of no concern! Sitting here while the cultists lie before us will incur the wrath of Sacred Goddess-sama! All troops, commence mar──!?”

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Just as I was about to give orders, at that moment, the sound of an explosion resounded around us. At the same time, something seemed to rise before our eyes.

“─────!?”

As I was speechless from the confusion at this incomprehensible scene, that made itself known.

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Everybody looked up dumbly at the scene.
In a place that had been a simple clearing until now, suddenly rose an ominous, yet somehow divine feeling temple.

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Were my eyes telling the truth…?
Wasn’t this almost a feat of God? It couldn’t be that the Evil God truly resided in this dungeon, could it?
But no, the Evil God was supposed to be an imaginary being concocted by the Church.
However, this scene was…

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Almost as though cornering us in our bewilderment, the abnormal scene continued.

Night suddenly fell around us, and the surroundings were filled with faint light.
I could feel that this series of abnormalities had caused chaos to spread through the soldiers.

The General and I tried to call our to sooth the soldiers, but sooner than we could, a staircase of darkness stretched down from the top floor of the temple to the ground.

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Neither I, nor the General, nor the soldiers nor the cultists did anything but turn our gazes to those stairs.
No, strictly speaking it wasn’t the stairs that we were watching, but the one descending them.

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At a glance, they seemed to be a girl.

With a relatively small figure with jet black hair and a jet black robe, they slowly descended the staircase with two girls in tow.
Everybody had forgotten how to speak, and held their breath as they looked up at that figure.

Finally, when that figure had reached a landing halfway down, we could see the face that had been invisible until now.
A face with features beautiful like a doll, and a turbid gaze that seemed not of this world… Glared at by those eyes, I felt goosebumps all across my body.
In the midst of this silence, devoid even of the sound of breathing, I unconsciously muttered,

“… … … … … …Evil God.”

In that moment, the word ‘Evil God’ seemed to spread like wildfire through the soldiers.

“RUNNN!”

The moment that somebody shouted that, our formation collapsed.
Both the soldiers and the knights ran away in chaos.
Given our positions, the General or I would normally have needed to stop that. But, we couldn’t.
And the reason was because both the General and I as well, had lost all thought of remaining there from the sheer terror.
Together with the soldiers, we turned our backs to that temple as we ran towards town as fast as we could.

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I thought that the Evil God was just some fictitious being fabricated by the Church.
I was sure that even this whole disturbance was just the theatrics of some fanatics.
But I was wrong!
If that wasn’t the Evil God, then what else could it be!

We were deceived!
It wasn’t that the Church of Sacred Light had created an imaginary enemy to fool the masses, but that they had pretended to the leaders of each country that a real enemy was imaginary.
And the reason was probably because that the Evil God was an inconvenient truth to the Church.
Could it be that even Sacred Goddess-sama’s esteemed power is no match for it?
But no, something like that can’t…

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As though ridiculing me for reaching a dead end in my thoughts, as I ran, a black flash appeared behind me.
For a moment, everybody stopped and turned their heads in that direction, but that flash flew off into the distance.
The soldiers around me felt relieved, but I instead had trembled in terror.
That light was most likely… an enormous mass of mana that the Evil God had fired as a joke.
It was good that it had been fired in a different direction, but had it been fired as us, or the town, or even the capital, then…

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While praying in my heart that the Evil God didn’t aim our way, I once again began my escape to town.

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With this, the side stories have reached the main story, but to tie the side stories in, there will be one more short story to go.

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Side story 09 – A Certain Founder’s Faith

When I was young, the world seemed filled with colour.

At the time, I had never doubted the flowery lifestyle I had been born into as a noble.
I wasn’t the eldest son so I couldn’t inherit the household, but because our family was high ranked I assumed that I would be wedded into some other family, and in fact that was what my father was thinking about.

In the Kingdom of Fortera, the nobility were split into three rough factions. The first was the Royalist Faction; a gathering of nobles that pledged their allegiance to the king and royal family. The second was the Feudal Lords Faction; a faction that pushed for the benefits of nobles, and occasionally opposed the Royalists Faction. Finally, was the Church Faction; a gathering of nobles with deep connections to the Church of Sacred Light, and took a neutral stand in the scuffle between the other two factions.
The power of the nation was roughly divided into 4 parts Feudal Lords, 3 parts Royalists, 2 parts Church, and 1 part for all the other factions, as well as those individualistic nobles that didn’t join any factions at all.

Because my family was a powerful family within the Church Faction, I had joined the Church of Sacred Light when I was young, and often met with people from the Church. When I was young I had just simply believed in what I was taught, and worshipped the Sacred Goddess, but as I grew older and came into contact with the Church more and more, I began to see reality.

Widespread bribery and debauchery, fat ministers who thought only about exploiting the believers; a vulgar situation unlike the public image.

By that time, I was old enough to know that there wasn’t any meaning in screaming ‘this is wrong’. The upper echelons who were foremost in this injustice would surely pay me no heed. The nobility in the Church Faction weren’t pious either, and were a group of nobles who wanted to use the Church’s backing to gain profits, and people who actually had faith were the minority. It was obvious that trying to expose this unfairness would just fall upon deaf ears.
Being afraid of isolation, I decided to keep my feelings locked in my heat. And before long, my faith had left me.

My colourful world had been a grey world painted in falsehoods.

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Now that I had found it bothersome to deal with nobility or the Church, although I kept up appearances, I would occasionally sneak out of my house. Having said that though, it wasn’t as though I had anywhere I wanted to go. I just wanted to see a world with colour, and so I spent my time walking around town dressed like a commoner. Unlike the world of nobles or the Church, the town still seemed filled with colour.
It was around this time that I hid my identity and registered as an adventurer. To begin with, as a noble of the Church Faction, I had been brought up in the use of a mace. Because of that, I immediately distinguished myself in the Guild. Before I knew it, I had made companions to do the requests with, and as I spent each day having fun, the colour came back to the world────up until my companions died from wounds during a request.

They were heavy wounds, but by no means were they heavy enough that they wouldn’t be saved. If they were carried into a church and received the healing of a cleric, they should have been able to live longer. The problem was that the bishops that could use high level healing magic were all occupied with the Noble Faction, and healing for just an adventurer was left for later. Once you excluded the bishops, the Church only had young clerics, and you couldn’t hope for proper healing from them.
Had I used my family name, I might have been able to give them priority, but at the same time it would mean exposing my background and it was clear that I wouldn’t be able to spend time with them like we had been. In order to save my companions, I had to cut my ties with them; because of this decision, I couldn’t come to a decision. By the time I had finally decided to expose myself, my companions had already stopped breathing.

The world once again returned to grey.
For my own conveniences, I had abandoned my companions. Because of that, I couldn’t live the way I had been anymore. I lamented and regretted, but my companions wouldn’t return.
I stopped showing up at the Guild, and spend my days drinking cheap liquor in a tavern.
One day, a man I knew from the bar invited me to a certain gathering. The group didn’t have a name, but having originally been close with the Church, I immediately realised who they were────a gathering of those who worshipped the god that the Church referred to as the Evil God. The past me would probably have scorned them and stayed away, but having half given up on myself, I participated in the gathering.

And then I came across my second, and final faith.

In the gathering, they talked about the injustice of the Church of Sacred Light, as well as the God that opposed the Sacred Goddess.
The former were things that I had always thought about, and kept hidden in my heart without talking to anyone about. Having found a place where people sympathised with me for the first time, I rejoiced.
As for the latter, although the Church of Sacred Light had spoken about that god as well, they taught that that God was an evil being that wished for the meaningless destruction of the world. No, I’m sure the truth was that the Church of Sacred Light simply couldn’t tell why they wanted to destroy the world.
When the people of the world fall into depravity, the true God will save them through destruction. To the depraved Church of Sacred Light, it’s obvious that such a god would be bad news for them. Because the Church, as well as the Sacred Goddess they worshipped concealed their depravity, they persecuted this god as the Evil God.

I had found a being truly worthy of my faith.
While secretly using the authority and assets of my family, as well as my connections with the Church that I shunned, I elevated myself within our Faith.

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There was a rumour that the god that we worshipped had descended to a certain dungeon. It was information I had obtained from the Church of Sacred Light, but because this was a matter of importance to them as well, it was hard to think that these were lies. If it turned out to be true, we needed to welcome God at all costs.
Having been recognised for my contributions to the cause, I had been left in charge of this area, and so I directed my fellow believers to Riemel where the dungeon was.

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Because the believers of the Sacred Light would get in the way if they found out, we decided to split up and head for the dungeon entrance, and meet up once it was time. Fortunately, there didn’t seem to be any adventurers visiting the dungeon at night, so there was nobody but us.
Because there was a large room on the 1st floor, we decided to hold the ritual there. The believers set up the fire, cauldron and altar whilst I meditated until the ritual began in order to heighten my concentration.

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After a while, all the believers had gathered, and the ritual began.
We burnt an incense that uplifted one’s mind, and heightened our concentration to call forth God. Because I was the one managing things I was wearing a priest’s outfit, but the other believers removed their bothersome clothes to cast off their ties to the world. There were also believers who lay with each other to offer that lust to our God.

Feeling the surge of piety and that everything was progressing smoothly, I walked to the middle of the room, and raised my right hand. The frenzied believers immediately went silent, but they were as feverish as ever… No, that feverish enthusiasm had increased.

“We now begin the ritual of offerings!”

Together with my shout, the believers all raised cries of joy.
They prepared a stone altar, and lay atop it the girl that had been bought as a sacrifice.

“Nnnnnn――――――!!”

It pained my heart to see the girl struggling in tears, but this too was for the sake of our faith. I believe that her soul will be retrieved by our God to serve as the cornerstone of the new world.

“O god of ours, please accept our humble offering.”

With those words, I brought down the raised dagger towards the girl’s heart.
I felt the feeling of cutting flesh that I had experienced in my adventurer days, together with a splash of fresh blood… That’s what should have happened, but the next thing that I felt was the sensation of stabbing at something hard, and the sparks that came with it.
The dagger than I had swung downwards had faintly marked the stone altar, and snapped at the tip. The girl that should have accepted the dagger with her body was nowhere to be seen.

What-, just what was going on!?
Where had the girl sacrifice gone?

Although I had fallen into confusion from the sudden events, I immediately realised what had happened.
The girl was tied up before me; she had no means to escape on her own, and there was no way I wouldn’t have noticed had somebody else rescued her.
If there was someone who could do such a thing, then it could only have been our God!

We had always been faithful until now, but the power of our faith was insufficient, and so we had never received a response from God.
However. However! This time, for the first time, God had shown a response to our ritual!
Aahh, the rumours were true! Our God had truly descended!

In my joy, I made an announcement to the believers.

“Have you all not seen it yourself!? Our God has accepted our humble offering.”

Perhaps my words had finally made them realise the situation because cheers of joy rang all around. Satisfied, I faced the direction that I believed our God was watching from, and waited for Their words.

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『…Untasty.』

However, the words that came to me were much too unexpected. What’s more, the voice was that of a female, still young. The sex of our God had never been recorded, but was She a goddess?
No, I can worry about that later. If She wasn’t satisfied, then as her faithful servants, we needed to apologise.

“Eh-? Ah-… Please excuse us! Umm, did it not suit your esteemed palate?”

『Humans, demons, unpalatable. Oxen, pigs, chickens, goats──animals recommended.』

Oohhh, God of ours. Are you asking us to go buy you meat from the butcher?

“U-, Understood! U-, Um… I am truly sorry to trouble you, but is there no mistake in that you are our God?”

I know quite well that it was insolence to ask such a thing, but I couldn’t help but do so. We had been granted the humble chance to exchange words with the god who had been silent thus far. This was something I needed to determine, even at the cost of my life.

『Indeed.』

“Oohhh! Receiving your words is the acme of honour!”

It was. It really was our God!
I could feel my body being filled with joy and emotion.

『Although it did not suit my palate, it is true that you have done me service with your offering. As such, I bestow this staff.』

Together with this unexpected praise appeared a single staff atop the altar.
A jet black staff that seemed to house all the darkness of the world; simple though it looked, it was a staff with a polished design, and even without touching it, I could feel an incredible power emanating from it.

“T-, This is!? T-, To think that I would be granted a divine weapon-!”

This overwhelming power was unmistakably a divine weapon.
I took the presented staff in hand, and trembled from joy.
Aahh, I was born all for this moment.

『Continue to be zealous in your faith.』

“Understood-!”

Of course. You needn’t even say it. My faith and devotion is all for your sake.
Raising the bestowed staff into the air, I turned towards the believers and shouted.

“As of this moment, I declare myself as the Founder of our Faith who will guide everyone on their path! This staff bestowed from God is the proof of my faith! Those who object, speak now!”

It was as good as declaring a supersession within the Faith, but even the previous leaders of the Faith could not deny the truth that I had been bestowed a divine weapon from God. No, rather, I would not allow them to deny it.
God told me to continue to endeavour in my faith; even if they were the “Former” Founder, I would not allow them to get in the way of my faith.

“As Founder Harvin, I declare that we will build upon this place a temple to worship our God!”

Now then, things are going to get busy from now on.

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Aahh, the colours of the world are brighter than ever!

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Later on, the “Former” Founder and leaders from various areas reproached me for naming myself Founder, but as proof that God had directly acknowledged my faith, nobody could stop me from becoming Founder any longer.
After all, apart from myself, nobody could hold the divine weapon, and even if I let it out of my hands, it would return to my side. There was no doubt that this was proof that I had been chosen.
Oohh, God of ours! I shall follow you to the end!
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TL: There’s a line that reads ‘中には信徒同士交わることでその陰気を神への供物とする者も居ます。‘ but I’m assuming 陰気(melancholy/gloom/Yin) here was a typo for 淫気(lust). Normally I’d say this for sure, but then this is an Evil God and everything, and there’s a tiny chance that I’m overlooking some cultural thing.

 

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Side story 06 – A Certain Mage’s Grief

“The Wicked Cave of the Robber?”

“Yes, it was in the Guild announcement. Apparently it’s a new dungeon, but the reward for the subjugation of the dungeon master was 30 gold coins.”

“Thirty gold coins!?”

While sitting around a table in the inn’s tavern, we reported to each other the results of the information gathering when we split up into two groups in town.
A capture request for a new dungeon? But still, for a newly formed dungeon, that’s quite a sum attached isn’t it. That’s probably just how dangerous they think the dungeon might be though.

“Apparently a bunch of parties have already challenged it, but didn’t make much progress. Not only are there a bunch of strong monsters wandering about, there’s even talk about it being filled with miasma.”

“Miasma? It’s annoying stuff, but as long as we have Widdi we should manage somehow.”

She’s young, but Widdi’s power as a cleric is greater than the average bishop. On a good day, she can even rival an archbishop, so a barrier put up by her should be able to hold out the miasma.

“Well? What are we gunna do?”

“Hmm. If everyone agrees, I was thinking that we’d challenge it. It’s a bit of a detour though.”

I thought a little bit about what Arc said. We’re the Hero Party, and on our way to the Demon King in the Demon Territory, we just stopped over here in Riemel for a little, so going to capture the dungeon would definitely be making a detour.
Having said that though, thinking about Arc and Widdi’s personalities, they probably won’t be able to leave this town alone after all, and in high level dungeons, you can get strong weapons and items as well. What’s more, although we’re not lacking in travelling money, it definitely never hurts to have more, so the reward is looking pretty good as well.

“Okay. Sounds good.”

“I’m in too.”

“I agree as well.”

After I agreed, Zio and Widdi followed, and with our unanimous decision, we were now headed to challenge the new dungeon.

*imouto*

◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆

*imouto*

I had heard about how difficult the dungeon would be beforehand, but honestly speaking, I didn’t think it would be this hard. The miasma floating around was thick enough that I’m pretty sure we’d be in trouble without Widdi’s barrier, and the monsters prowling about were quite strong as well. On top of that, ever since we decided to take our break after the last barrier renewal, the monsters have been attacking more vigorously than ever, and sapped us of our stamina.

“Huuu, these monster attacks have been pretty crazy, haven’t they.”

“Isn’t it because we badmouthed the dungeon master and angered him?”

I grumbled in complaint while repulsing a monster for the Nth time, and Zio frivolously replied.

“It certainly does feel like they’re being sent here on purpose, huh.”

“…”

Arc agreed as well, but Widdi alone didn’t join in. Far from it, for some reason she was trembling with her head hanging.

“Widdi?”

“Oi, what’s wrong?”

“You okay?”

Seeing that something was up, we all called out to her, but Widdi just wouldn’t reply. But after a while, she finally gave her response with a bright red face and teary eyes.

“U-, Umm… I-, I need to use the bathroom…”

“…”

“…”

“…”

I chased the men away with an ‘ahem’.

*imouto*

*imouto*

High-ranked adventurers though we may be, we can’t beat biology. It’s been quite a while since we entered the dungeon, and Widdi was apparently at her limits too. After making sure we were far enough that the men couldn’t see, Widdi immediately squatted against the wall. The monsters wouldn’t care about our circumstances so there was no way to let Widdi go off on her own, so as a fellow woman, I went with her to stand guard.

It’s awkward, but there’s really nothing we can do. There aren’t any toilets in a dungeon after all, so it can’t be helped.

*imouto*

*imouto*

*imouto*

…Or so I thought, but apparently this dungeon just got weirder and weirder.
Once we went down a floor, the very first room had the entrances to a men’s and women’s toilet. They were even meticulous enough to leave a sign plate.

“Suspicious.”

“Def suspicious.”

“Pretty suspicious.”

“Whyy! Had it been on the last floor then I wouldn’t have had to do something so embarrassing…-!”

Widdi was groaning in complaint for a different reason than the rest of us, but thinking about it normally, this is as suspicious as it gets. It’s clearly unnatural to have a toilet in a dungeon. The chance of it being a trap are high. It’s high, but…

“Arc, could you check to see if it’s a trap?”

the truth is, I think I’ve just about hit my limit as well. If there are no traps, I’d like to use it. The divine protection on Arc’s Holy Sword can check for traps, so I had him check for any problems.

“Uu… To think that I’d use the blessing of the Holy Sword to check the safety of a toilet. Sacred Goddess Sophia-sama, please grant me your forgiveness…”

In the end, he apparently didn’t find any traps, so I gratefully used it.
Widdi was glaring at me hatefully, but I paid it no heed.

*imouto*

◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆

*imouto*

When we reached the 10th floor, we hit a snag in a certain room. In the middle of that room was a large pedestal, and words were carved into it.

“『Thee who wouldst come in challenge before the throne of the undying one, arrange correctly the stars.』 huh? Just what the heck could it mean?”

“There are many undead in this dungeon, so I believe that the “Undying One” refers to the boss of this dungeon.”

Mn, that sounds right. I was thinking what Widdi said.

“I see. Then in other words, if we want to fight the dungeon master, then we have to “arrange correctly the skies”, huh? I wonder what “arrange correctly the skies” means.”

Geez, Arc sure is the same as ever. Even if you say ‘I see’, we still don’t know the important part.

“They probably mean the celestial bodies, huh? I think that’s what these marks on the pedestal represent.”

On the pedestal, apart from the words were three square holes, and some kind of marks carved inside them. A mark that was a circle with jagged teeth around them, a mark like a wide arc, and a jagged mark with five points.

“How are we supposed to arrange these marks? …They don’t bloody move.”

“Seems that putting mana into it doesn’t work either, huh.”

Zio stuck his right hand into one of the holes and tried to move it sideways, but it didn’t seem to budge at all. It doesn’t look like something you can solve with brute force. Having said that though, it doesn’t seem to be a magical contraption either.

“Arc-sama, has the guidance of the Holy Sword not given any clues?”

“Sorry, nothing really…”

“N-, No! I apologise for asking too much!”

Widdi had entrusted a gleam of hope with Arc’s Holy Sword, but apparently that wasn’t working either.
Seeing Arc reply apologetically, Widdi frantically apologised.

“Even the Holy Sword from Sacred Goddess-sama can’t do a thing? Seriously? It’s a pretty hard question, hey? As someone whose specialty is using my body, this kind of thing is a bit much for me.”

“Don’t say things like that, and think together with everyone!”

It’s a problem with Arc too, but Zio is the type to do things by force without being very good at thinking. Having said that, pushing all the thinking work to Widdi and I would be troubling.

After that, we tried things like cutting at the pedestal with the Holy Sword, or trying to move the pedestal itself, but even after trying various things, we weren’t any better off.

“It’s not good. I haven’t the tiniest idea how to get the dungeon master to come out. I thought this place would be a shallow dungeon, so we didn’t prepare enough. It’s frustrating, but let’s withdraw for now.”

“T-, To withdraw right before the dungeon master…-!”

Well, I guess it can’t be helped. We’ve reached a dead end after all, and just like Arc said, it’s also a fact that we weren’t prepared enough. Nobody imagined that a new dungeon would be this deep, so we only brought basic camping gear. It can’t be helped.

We decided to give up and head back for the surface.

*imouto*

◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆

*imouto*

After that we decided to head back for Riemel to gather information, and a certain rumour reached our ears.
It was that the real Evil God was lurking in that dungeon.

“The Evil God? Honestly sounds like a fake, but…”

“But it’s also a fact that it wasn’t your average miasma in that dungeon.”

We realised after checking for ourselves, but the miasma in that dungeon wasn’t something normal. It was at a level where you could believe it if somebody said the Evil God was in there. What’s more, the monsters spawned were quite strong as well.

“What shall we do, Arc-sama?”

“…”

Widdi asked Arc, but he was at a loss for once, and sank into thought for a while.

“Honestly… it pains me to say it, but I don’t think we can beat the Evil God as we are.”

The Evil God is the being that’s said to create the Demon King, so there’s definitely no mistaking that he’s stronger than the Demon King. Right now we don’t know if we can defeat the Demon King, but at the very least, we don’t have much hope in defeating a being called a god.

“That’s true.”

“Yeah, pretty sure that’s too much.”

“It pains me to admit it as a follower of the Church of Sacred Light, but…”

Being a cleric, Widdi was making a bitter expression, but if we failed in vain here and became unable to defeat the Demon King, it would just be putting the cart before the horse. In the end, Arc’s duty as the Hero was just to defeat the Demon King, and we the Hero Party were there to support him in that role.

“For now, we’ll keep that dungeon in mind, and head to the Demon Territory first. If we safely defeat the Demon King, then at that time we’ll come back here and challenge it again.”

We all nodded back at Arc’s strong declaration.

“But still, despite all the work we did, all we got in the end was this weird stone slab? Geez, what a bloody waste of time.”

“Speaking of which, what on earth are these things?”

Speaking of which, we certainly did pick up this items on the 10th floor. There isn’t any mana coming from it, and it only looks like a normal stone slab.

“I don’t know either, but it was something found in the dungeon said to house the Evil God. It might actually hold some incredible power. There’s a chance that it’ll become our trump card in the fight against the Demon King.”

“That would be nice, but…”

Now then, now that we’re done with our detour, I guess tomorrow we’ll be beginning our journey towards the Demon King Castle.
I guess I’ll pray that we make it safely back to this town again.

---

 

Arc held the up Stone Slab of the Moon to the sky.
But nothing happened.

---

TL: Today’s a weekend, so I’m busy with stuff around house as usual. Only managed to get one chapter out, and at… 3:43 AM.
This also marks the final re-translated chapter, so now there’s just 9 to 11 left, all new territory. Well, for you readers at least.

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<Previous Chapter | Imouto | Next Chapter>

Side story 05 – A Certain Guildmaster’s Melancholy

“Abnormalities in the Beginners Dungeon, you say?”

“Yes. There was a report from Lufree-san.”

When I skimmed through the report that made it to my office, I couldn’t help but tilt my head in wonder.
The Beginners Dungeon is a dungeon closeby to Riemel, and although the dungeon master was already subjugated. Because of that, the dungeon is now dormant, but not dead.
It was originally a shallow dungeon with only 3 floors after all, making the monsters all weak. Because of that it was left under the jurisdiction of the Riemel Branch of the Adventurers Guild as a training ground for beginners. Although dungeons without a dungeon master won’t grow anymore, as long as the dungeon core isn’t broken, it’ll continue to produce monsters and set traps, so it was a pretty effective training ground.

“The atmosphere and interior of the dungeon have changed, and the spawned monsters are stronger?”

In the past, the only monsters that spawned in the Beginners Dungeon were slimes and kobolds. But from what I can tell having read Lufree’s report, wraiths and black steel golems appear now. Lufree was close to becoming one of the leading adventurers, but he reported that he couldn’t match them at all.

“The revival of the dungeon master… No, it would probably be better to see this as the birth of a new dungeon master, wouldn’t it.”

Dungeon masters are born when the naturally occuring dungeon cores form a contract with a monster, animal, or perhaps human or demon. Dungeon masters steal the mana of prey killed within the dungeon, and use that mana to develop the dungeon. If left alone, they can grow infinitely. Because of that, dungeon masters become subjugation targets. Left alone it’s quite likely that they could swallow a town or city before you know it, after all.
The dungeon core in the Beginners Dungeon was presumably in good shape, so it’s probable that somebody or something came into contact with it and became the new dungeon master.
But what worries me is the fact that the spawned monsters are powerful, and that there’s an ominous aura coming from within the dungeon. Both of these factors point to the new dungeon master being a considerably powerful being. A powerful monster, or… a demon.

“Call in Vaif’s team.”

*imouto*

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*imouto*

“Pretty rare that you expressly call us over, ey, Guild Master?”

The next day, I went to meet the 4-man adventurer party that had responded to the request. They’re the top rankers of Riemel Town, and at present, they’re the highest ranking party that I can mobilise.

“I want to task you all with the investigation of this incident.”

After saying that, I handed Vaif the report from Lufree. After Vaif had a look through it, it was passed around the party.

“An abnormality in that Beginners Dungeon, …huh? And why did you go out of your way to call us?”

“Call it my intuition. I have a feeling that things will get complicated.”

“My, my. Your intuition’s always been pretty good, after all.”

Investigating the level of risk this “Former” Beginners Dungeon posed was of utmost priority. If Lufree who is basically a core adventurer wasn’t even a match for them, then unless it’s a fairly powerful team they won’t be able to determine how dangerous the dungeon is. That’s why I couldn’t be stingy.

“Please investigate with attention to details.”

“Understood. Leave it to us.”

*imouto*

◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆

*imouto*

“So, this report was the result?”

“…It shames me to say it.”

After reading the report from Vaif, I spoke to Vaif who was in front of me. Unlike the time when I dispatched him, his party members weren’t present. It seems they were quite depressed with the results of their investigation.

“I wasn’t particularly criticising you. You fulfilled the objective of determining the dungeon’s risk, so it doesn’t matter that you failed the request.”

Only, the results are much harsher than expected. Not even in my dreams did I imagine that Riemel Branch’s top rankers would be beaten on the 2nd floor.
Powerful monsters, difficult to deal with traps, and what’s more…

“Miasma?”

“Yeah, a troublesome one that affects the mind. It’s impossible to go deeper without countermeasures.”

Miasma is an aura released by evil beings, and while some corrode the body like poisons, some are like this one and cause negative influences on the spirit. It’s known that when it comes to dungeons, the nature of the dungeon master will be spread throughout the dungeon. In general, dungeons with miasma are home to high-ranked dungeon masters, and this is particularly true for dungeons with miasma that affects the mind.
Clerics with lots of practice can form barriers, and items consecrated by the Church of Sacred Light can protect against the miasma to an extent, but it doesn’t change the fact that it’s a troublesome problem.

“But still, you did quite well in surviving a wipeout in the dungeon.”

“Well yeah, normally you’d be eaten by monsters and die on the spot after all. I did mention that in the report just in case, but…”

Apparently, after they fainted, only their items and weapons were taken, and before they knew it, they had been tossed into the dungeon entrance. This report was consistent with the one from Lufree the other day. Honsetly speaking, I don’t understand it. I do believe that it’s basically settled that there’s a new dungeon master in the “Former” Beginners Dungeon, but the purpose of a dungeon should be to kill prey inside and steal their mana. Knocking them out, stealing their weapons and items, and then returning them alive… This is the first case of its kind.

“Well? What are you gunna do?”

Even if we agonise over the dungeon master’s plan, it doesn’t seem like we’ll figure anything out. Just like Vaif said, it would probably be best to think about what we should do next. It’s likely that he personally wants to re-challenge the investigation that left him in humiliation though.

“Let’s see. I am thinking of spreading news of a request for countermeasures against a new dungeon. The reward should be about 30 gold coins.”

“30 gold coins!? …No, certainly that much might be necessary.”

Honestly speaking, it’s an extravagant sum for the subjugation of a completely new dungeon, but I don’t think this is too much. Despite being shocked, Vaif as well immediately agreed. As long as even Vaif’s team, top rankers in this branch, had trouble making progress, there isn’t any choice except to hope for manpower from elsewhere. With this much money, we can probably expect people from all across the country to challenge this dungeon.

“As long as we’re sending out a request, we need to think of a name for this dungeon, don’t we. It’s already a different dungeon to the Beginners Dungeon. Hmm, how about… “The Wicked Cave of the Robber”?”

“Fits it perfectly.”

In light of the fact that it releases a fiendish miasma, as well as the fact that its purpose can only be assumed to be stealing weapons and items from adventurers, this was the name we gave it.
Now then, while I send out the request, I’d better contact the Adventurers Guilds in other towns as well.
It seems things will get busy from now on.

*imouto*

*imouto*

*imouto*

*imouto*

That of all things, I would incur the wrath of the Evil God because of that name, was something that I hadn’t even imagined at that time.

 

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<Previous Chapter | Imouto | Next Chapter>

Side story 04 – A Certain Slave’s Salvation

Is in a sense one of the few (almost) completely serious chapters in this story.
It’s a little depressing, so readers who are bad with it are advised to skip this chapter and read only the final three lines.

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In the dark dungeon filled with despair, she was the only one who extended her hand to me.

*imouto*

*imouto*

*imouto*

*imouto*

◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆

This year was a bad harvest.
The crops in the field had shrivelled, and unable to even provide a good meal, they had no worth on the market. We had just a little bit saved up, but even so it wasn’t enough for a family of five to pass the winter with.
When the slave merchants came to the village in their carriages, there was already nothing else we could do.

I have a father, a mother, a brother two years older than me, and a little brother one year younger. Because they needed the manpower of the boys, it was inevitable that I was the one sold.

Although I say ‘sold’, that wasn’t exactly correct. Strictly speaking, we entered a contract of debt with the slave merchants.
The slave merchants gave my father a loan, and I became the security. If my father couldn’t pay back the money, I would be sold as a slave. But from the beginning, we all knew that there was no chance of paying them back. It seems the slave merchants intended this as well because they told us that if we gave up on paying them back right away, they would give a better price.

*imouto*

*imouto*

*imouto*

*imouto*

While averting his eyes from me, father told the slave merchants right there that he couldn’t pay them back.

*imouto*

*imouto*

*imouto*

*imouto*

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I had hoped that something fortunate would happen after this misfortune, but it seems that Sacred Goddess-sama wouldn’t permit such naivety.
Misfortune followed the misfortune, and on the carriage back to town, I contracted a fatal illness. It was tough to even raise my body, and my chest throbbed with pain. There were times when I even coughed blood.
There were two other slaves weak from disease, and out of worry of infecting the healthy ones, we were tossed into a heap on the carriage that held the luggage. The chances of being sold were lower because we were going to die, so the food we were given were less than the other slaves, but I couldn’t really find the appetite either.

By the time the carriage finally reached Riemel, I was already at death’s door.

*imouto*

In the slave merchant’s shop, the three of us were put into the same cell. It was a cell for slaves on the verge of death like us. Because it was a waste of money, we weren’t even allowed to wear clothing, and everybody just sat around the way they wanted. Even when we were first put into the cell, only half of the slaves in there made any response, and when I saw these people whose hearts had died in despair first, I felt heart chill over.
That was my future, and it wasn’t a far off one.

*imouto*

I was told by the slave merchants that slaves on the verge of death were sold off to be killed.
Human shields against monsters for adventurers or bodyguards, or material for magical experiments. And although they weren’t many, there were also those who simply wanted to satisfy their desires, and bought cheap slaves to use to death.
If we were sold, we would be killed. On the other hand, if we stayed unsold like this, then before long as well…

*imouto*

A body wracked with pain being corroded by disease, and a heart that was corroded by despair that went beyond that.
Days where it seemed like my heart would die first passed by.
Customers came in before our cell a number of times, and the number of slaves in the cell decreased.

*imouto*

*imouto*

*imouto*

◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆

One day, the slave merchants brought another customer.
Still leaning against the wall, I hazily had a look.
Most of the customers so far had been male, but although I couldn’t see their face under the black robe, this time they were probably a woman… And what’s more, somebody who only seemed a little older than me.
After the slave merchant said something to them, that woman stepped forward and took off her hood herself.
The moment I saw her eyes, my heart that should have been on the verge of death, the verge of stopping, was for some reason trembling.

“This girl is?”

“Her name is Tena, and she’s 14 years old. She was born in a village a little distance from Riemel, and is a debt slave, but on the way here she was attacked by a fatal disease and she probably only has a month left to live.”

I unconsciously flinched at the slave merchant’s words. Although I knew that I didn’t have long to live, hearing somebody else talk concretely about how much longer I had made the fear of death well up in me.

*imouto*

I don’t… want to die…

*imouto*

*imouto*

*imouto*

*imouto*

“If it’s me, then I might be able to save her.”

… … … … … …Eh?
It took a little while until I properly understood what the woman had said.
Save me? Is she going to save me?
I looked at the black eyes that were staring in my direction, but they were serious and didn’t look like she was lying. And for some reason, when I look her in the eyes, my heart can’t stay calm.

“I don’t have any proof, but if you’ll believe and accept me, then take this hand.”

With her words, the woman stretched her arm into the cage and held her hand out to me.
I looked at her face and her outstretched hand, dumbfounded, but I decided to trust in my agitated heart and took her hand. It was a fact that I wouldn’t be saved at this rate anyway, so I decided to follow my heart.

*imouto*

*imouto*

*imouto*

*imouto*

They cleaned my body, and I was able to wear clothes for the first time in a while. I was in chaos from all the things that had happened while I was in a daze, but when they put on the collar for slaves when they dressed me, I was finally conscious of the fact that I was being sold. Because I was too weak to even walk, one of the servant men carried me into the shop and laid me on the floor.

“Please touch her collar with your hand.”

Doing as she was asked, the woman that bought me stretched her hand out to the collar on my neck. After touching it for a while, the collar shone with light, and I heard a voice from somewhere.

『You have been enslaved to Anri.』

It was in that instant, that the woman──Anri-sama, became my master.

*imouto*

“With this, she’s become your slave, and has absolute obedience to you. Because she can’t walk, would you like us to call you a carriage?”

“I don’t need it; I’ll carry her.”

I was slow to react to the surprising words, so by the time I had realised, Anri-sama had already picked me up and placed me on her back.
In what kind of world does a master carry their servant? I tried moving my sluggish body to try and get down, but she was holding onto me tightly so I couldn’t. Because she didn’t seem to have any intention of letting me down, I stopped struggling.
But still, although she was a woman and so she wasn’t particularly big, Anri-sama was surprisingly strong. No matter how light I had become from growing thin, I shouldn’t have been so light that a woman could easily carry me.

But still, just why did she buy me? There aren’t many uses for a slave on the verge of death, but no matter what, I couldn’t imagine her to be a person who wanted a slave for those purposes.

*imouto*

Just as I was wondering where she was carrying me to, Anri-sama entered an alleyway and placed me down in an empty plaza. Without knowing why I had been brought here, I just looked up at Anri-sama dumbly.

“You swore to believe in me.”

“…Yes.”

The first words I had spoken in a while came out hoarsely, but it seems Anri-sama somehow understood me. She pointed her finger at my forehead.

“Divine Enchantment.”

『You have received divine protection from Anri.』

Together with the voice from before, I was engulfed in something black. It wasn’t uncomfortable or painful, but I could definitely feel something inside me changing.
When the blackness disappeared, my appearance had completely changed. The clothing that had just been a hole in a cloth was now a high-class fabric decorated with ornaments, and the arms and legs that should’ve been nothing more than skin and bones had the meat return to them.

“Eh-… Ah-…”

With no idea of what had happened, I was looking at my limbs and clothes when I suddenly noticed that the pain that had been always been plaguing me was gone. It was like the pain that wracked me even just breathing had all been a lie.
The comment that Anri-sama had made in the dungeon, “I might be able to save her” came to mind.
It wasn’t a lie… She saved me…

“Thank you very much! Thank you very much!”

While crying and feeling relief at having my life saved, I held Anri-sama’s hand as I continued to thank her.

◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆

After crying for a while, I paled at what I had just done. As a slave, I had clung to my master as I bawled. I might be sold out of anger for my disrespect. I don’t want to think that Anri-sama who saved my life would do something like that, but it isn’t anything strange to be sold because you angered your master.

“Stand.””

“Y-, Yes-!”

Since I’d already done something terribly rude, I immediately obeyed and jumped straight up, so that I wouldn’t ruin her mood any further. Speaking of which, how long has it been since I was able to stand on my own? While thinking about stupid things like that, I waited in fear for her probable declaration of my abandonment.

“I want you to live at my home and do the housework and shopping.”

“…Eh?”

There were two things I couldn’t comprehend about her response, so I accidentally let out my voice. The first was that instead of being scolded like I thought, she went and left a task for me. The second was the contents of the task.

“Dissatisfied?”

“T-, That would be absurd! Only, umm… is just that much fine?”

Because she seemed to condemn me, I shook my head in a fluster, but I couldn’t help but voice my misgivings about the task. People go out of their way to buy slaves because the jobs that are need to be done are terribly difficult, or things that normal people didn’t want to do. But despite that, Anri-sama just asked me to do jobs that normal servants did, and weren’t at all the jobs that were left to a slave.

“Just that is fine. But, I live quite far from town, so shopping is quite a task.”

“Understood.”

Far from town?
I wonder where Anri-sama lives.

After that, Anri-sama kindly bought me shoes and underwear. Both were of a quality that you wouldn’t give to a slave, so in shock I tried to refuse, but because she told me that I definitely had to wear underwear, I did as I was told and gratefully accepted them.

*imouto*

*imouto*

*imouto*

*imouto*

Anri-sama.
In the dark dungeon filled with despair, she was the only one who extended her hand to me.
I still don’t know what on earth this person wants from me, but she saved me from certain death, so I’ll follow her to the ends of the world.

*imouto*

*imouto*

*imouto*

*imouto*

*imouto*

“Wai-, isn’t this place a dungeon!?”

“Well yeah, I’m a dungeon master.”

“────────!?”

 

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<Previous Chapter | Imouto | Next Chapter>

Side story 03 – A Certain Adventurer’s Disaster

After receiving our rewards for reporting the completion of our quest, we sat ’round a table in the guild to take a break.
The quest we turned in was the subjugation mission of forest wolves…
Was a pretty difficult job for us. Forest wolves are pack monsters that live in the forest, but recently they’ve been growing too large in number and have been attacking merchants that use the forest roads. That’s why the lord of this area sent out a request for their subjugation.
Each forest wolf ain’t so strong by themselves, but they always move in a pack and attack after surrounding the enemy, so they’re a pretty annoying foe. In the forest your vision is limited, so forest wolves are a monster you need to take care with, but for some reason they appeared close to the entrance to the forest yesterday, so it was easy to hunt them. Seems that something scared them. I was worrying about it, but I still have no idea.

“Still, things were easier than expected this time, ey?”

“Well yeah, the wolves were at the entrance to the forest for some reason. What’s more there wasn’t any teamwork at all.”

Apparently my companions were thinking about the same thing. I decided to join in.

“Didn’t feel like they were hunting for prey. Speaking of which, didn’t they look scared of something?”

They nodded in agreement.

“Yeah, I got that feeling too. Could it be that they were running from some strong monster that took up residence in the forest or something?”

“Hell if I know. But it sounds possible.”

Basically the only times that monsters migrate are when there are too many of them, too little prey, or when there’s a strong monster that moved into their territory. Since they moved so suddenly this time, and they looked scared too, the chance that it’s the latter is pretty high.

“Can’t be that a dragon or something moved into the forest, right?”

“Haha, pretty sure that ain’t happening.”

I’ve been an adventurer for pretty bloody long, but I ain’t never seen a dragon. Heard that they exist deep into the Demon Territory though.

“Well at any rate, it’d probably be better to be careful if we head into the forest again for a quest.”

“Yeah. Ain’t nothing matter more than your life.”

Once you’re dead, you’re dead.
An adventurer is a job where your life completely hangs on your skills and yourself, but even so you get novice brats that dream of being heroes and get themselves killed trying to do the unreasonable. Veterans like us try to teach them what the world is like whenever we can, but people like that are endless.
Right, just like that kid over-… Hey.

..*

..*

“I’ll be transcribing what’s written on the car──”

“Oi, oi, this little girl wants to become an adventurer? It’s the end of the bloody world.”

When I went to have a look, I found someone hidden from head to toe in a black robe, applying at the counter to be an adventurer. But even under that robe I could tell at a glance that they were a dainty, green-arsed brat, and what’s more a woman. This brat of a girl is going to be an adventurer without even forming a party? It’s bloody suicide! If I leave her alone, in two or three days she’s just gunna be a ‘seed-bed’ for a goblin nest.
Before I knew it, I’d left my seat and cut into the conversation.

“Oi, oi, Gartz. You’re seriously picking a fight with another newbie?”

“Doing this everyyy singleee time. You sure don’t get bored, huh.”

Can’t be helped that my companions are all astonished that I’m doing this again, but I’m not gunna sleep well knowing that brats are getting themselves killed left and right. It’s for their sake as well that I grill them a little and have them work underneath us.
The lass might’ve been afraid of me or something, cause she just stood there without saying anything.
Looking at her again, she sure is bloody tiny.

“Oi, how ’bout saying something. Don’t just freeze wordlessly with your face hidden.”

Saying that, I pulled off the little girl’s hood.

..*

..*

──────!?

The moment I saw her face, I spontaneously stiffened.
The moment our eyes met, I thought I was gunna die.
Her eyes were so dark and stagnant that I’m pretty sure even demons couldn’t compare.
The next moment, just as I seemed to feel a prickling pain on my arm, the girl was fucking holding a sinister black tantou.

Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit! She’s gunna kill me!

“HII-!?”

I reflexively let out a pathetic cry as I fell on my arse.
Before I knew it, the thing in front of me wasn’t a human woman anymore. It was a monster spurting out some black sludge from its whole body.
I backed away, trying to put even a little distance between us.

“＄％、＆＄＆％’＃!”

And when I did, I heard a somewhat incomprehensible cry.
Turning around, I found that the same fucking monsters were reaching out their tentacles to me.

“!? UOOOOAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH――――!!!”

“＠＃、＊? ＃＄＆＄＆％!”

I tried my best to hit the thing, but there didn’t seem to be any effect.
Far from it, before I knew it all the monsters had fucking surrounded me and were charging in at me at once.

I somehow managed to shake them off and got myself outside, but even there the place was filled with the things.

“What the fuck is going on with this town!?”

I don’t even know who I was screaming at, but I started to run to escape this town of monsters.

..*

..*

..*

◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆

..*

When I came to, I was laying on the ground.
Holding my hand against my painfully throbbing head, I got up and looked around. Apparently I was in a field outside of Riemel. Although I was close to town, it wasn’t as though there weren’t any monsters. The fact that I didn’t get eaten while lying around here was just good luck.

Anyway, it wasn’t like I could get anything done here, so I decided to head back to town. I get the feeling that I’ve forgotten something incredible, but I can’t remember what it was.

..*

..*

It was right afterwards that I was told that I had hit the guards and forcefully broken out of town, and starting from the entrance to town, I was stuck with being accused by a bunch of people about stuff I have no recollection about.

..*

Just what the fuck have I been doing!?

---

He seems to be a ruffian, but is actually a good person.

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Side story 02 – A Certain Sister’s Terror

“Sacred Goddess Sophia-sama is a great personage who created humankind.”

..*

I was standing at the back of the chapel behind the seats, as part of mass.
Beyond the seats next to the statue of Sacred Goddess-sama was Reverend-sama, who was in the middle of preaching to the people. Right now he was preaching about the reason why we should be thankful to Sacred Goddess-sama, you see.
When Reverend-sama preaches, his voice resounds through the quiet chapel, and it feels like your soul is being cleansed. That’s why I loved mass.

..*

“Sacred Goddess Sophia-sama is always watching over us.”

..*

Sacred Goddess Sophia-sama is the esteemed god that created our world, and is a kind and merciful personage who protects we humans from the Evil God that tries to destroy the world.
The Church of Sacred Light sings praise of Her exploits, and exist to convey this to the people. Of course, we do not only teach others, but in accordance to Her will, we are a wonderful organisation that also extends our hands to the needy through food, establishes orphanages, mediates for warring nations, and tries our very best for the sake of peace for humankind.
My family was poor, and so we struggled to feed ourselves each day, but the Church of Sacred Light saved us. Because I wanted to save somebody else, the same way that I was saved, I joined the Church as a nun.

..*

“Sacred Goddess Sophia-sama loves we humans, and protects us from evil.”

..*

Although the church in Riemel is not very large, as a town close to the Demon Territory, we’re seen as the last stronghold against the demons. Because of that, apparently an archbishop even came all the way here when this church was being built, and along with a number of people, they laid down a complicated barrier for us. Even a normal church wards off evil through the power of Her blessing, but this church is protected with a particularly strong power. Even if by some chance our town was in danger due to an invasion from the Demon Territory, this church wouldn’t be so easily invaded. When Reverend-sama told me this, I felt incredibly reassured.

..*

“Please thank Sacred Goddess Sophia-sama for her compassion, and send her your prayers.”

..*

With Reverend-sama’s words, the people all brought their hands together in prayer. Still standing there, I was about to close my eyes and pray with them────

..*

..*

..*

..*

..*

────When at that moment, a -bang- resounded within the chapel as it shook.

No, it wasn’t the building or the floor that shook. With a sound, it was the space itself that shook. A clamour spread through the people due to the sudden shock.

“Everybody, please calm down!”

Reverend-sama tried to stop everybody, but he couldn’t get them to calm down. I didn’t understand what happened, but I decided to follow his example and decided to try and calm everybody down.
However, at that moment, I noticed something behind me and so I turned around. And when I did, an abnormal scene unfolded before me.

The church is always open so that anybody can enter at any time, and the door is left open even during mass. Because of that, because I was standing at the back of the chapel, when I turned around I could see what was happening beyond the door. It was the scenery outside that was abnormal; of all things, the scenery was cracked. Beyond the crack was your everyday Riemel, but because that townscape was the same as ever, it made the crack ever more strange.
I was dumbfounded by the scene’s sudden change to another realm, but before long, it became clear to me that there was a crack in something transparent that covered the church. Perhaps because they noticed my behaviour, Reverend-sama included, everybody in the church turned their eyes outside.

Something covering the church?
It couldn’t be the protective barrier that Reverend-sama spoke of, could it? …No, but in that case, why was it cracked!?

..*

..*

My eyes were held captive by the crack in space, but eventually I noticed that beyond it was somebody standing there in a black robe. The crack coincidentally covered their face, but they seemed to be a girl in her teens. The girl was standing right in front of the crack. I was about to call out in warning, “It’s dangerous there, please stay away!”, but before I had the chance to, the girl raised her right hand and softly touched the crack before my eyes.

It was the next instant. That crack spread out all at once, until I could see nothing but, and with a -pan- sound, ‘something’ immediately shattered and vanished.

..*

..*

Eh-?
I-, It can’t be… The protective barrier that the archbishop set was-!?
Although I was dumb from disbelief, I could certainly feel it disappearing; the aura of sacredness that had been always present.

..*

..*

And because the crack was now gone, the face under the robe was now visible to me.
The moment our eyes met, it felt like I was being strangled by some feeling of oppression, and I found myself unable to breathe.
It wasn’t only me. Reverend-sama and everybody else behind me stood frozen, unable to even speak.
The thing that looked like a girl glared at everybody in the church in silence────

..*

..*

..*

..*

────Before curving its lips into a sneer, and turning to leave after muttering something.

..*

..*

..*

..*

..*

..*

..*

..*

Because the thing that looked like a girl had walked away, we could finally breathe again. The emotional strain on everybody was huge, and everybody sank to the ground in exhaustion.
Because there was no way to continue the mass like this, we stopped it and instead immediately made warm soup for everyone. Honestly speaking, I felt like I was going to collapse myself, but I needed to prepare the soup.

..*

..*

..*

..*

..*

..*

..*

..*

Although its face was beautiful, there’s no doubt that it was a retainer of the Evil God.
…No, since it so easily destroyed the archbishop’s barrier, I’m sure that it was the Evil God itself.
That it left after doing nothing but destroying the barrier was surely a malicious announcement that it could attack at any time. The Evil God’s ghastly smile had told me so.
I couldn’t hear what the Evil God muttered at the end, but it was surely some horrifying curse.
Just what will happen to this world, and what will happen to us?

..*

Aahh, Sacred Goddess Sophia-sama.
Please deliver us from evil.

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TL: I actually had a lot of trouble with this. I really hated writing ‘Reverend-sama’, but calling him ‘the reverend’ doesn’t give the sense that she knows him well (as a member of the same church). At the same time, no name was given, so I couldn’t replace ‘shimpu-sama’ with ‘Father ____’ either. In the end I resorted to the awkward sounding ‘Reverend-sama’, but I still feel it was the best choice, so please forgive me.

 

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<Previous Chapter | Imouto | Next Chapter>

Side Story 01 – A Certain Innkeeper’s Reception

The side stories will primarily be from the perspective of other characters, and unlike the main story, the tone will be more serious and more horrific.
However, having already read the main story and knowing full well how things are actually progressing, I think that the readers will instead read the stories with a grin and find them fluffy instead.
…I can’t imagine that there are any people out there with weird reading habits like reading the side stories before the main story, but if you do exist, you were beyond my expectations, so please go ahead with this in mind.

There will be 11 side stories in total, and the length of each one varies.
Let’s start with a bit of a jab.

---

“Oh, a guest? Welcome, this is an inn.”

Around the time when the sun was about to set, hearing the sound of the door opening, I turned and greeted the customer. They looked suspicious; clad from head to toe in a black robe, but having worked in an inn for many years and having seen countless customers before, I could immediately tell from her figure that she was a young girl and so I wasn’t particularly suspicious of her. If a young girl walks around with her face showing she’ll meet a lot of trouble after all, so it’s natural to protect herself.
Now then, for some reason it feels a bit colder in here but… Well, I’m sure it’s just my imagination.

“How much is one night?”

“One night is 1 silver, breakfast is 5 coppers, dinner is 10 coppers, and a tub of hot water is 5 coppers.”

It’s a little more expensive than other inns, but I think our rooms and food make up for it. We aren’t connected to a tavern so it isn’t noisy, and there aren’t any rough customers either, after all.

“Five nights, with the food and water too please.”

With those words, I was handed some silver coins. One, two, three… Mn, there are certainly 6 here. Most customers pay by the night, but she seems to be quite used to spending money. I hadn’t even told her how much it was yet, and she’d already calculated it herself after all. She must be the daughter of some major merchant, right?
I don’t think it’s the case, but it couldn’t be that she’s a noble, right? The robe she’s wearing is quite well made, though. No matter how much better our inn might be compared to the others, this isn’t a place that a noble would stay.

“Got it, your room is on the second floor, the final door on the right. This is the key. Do you want to eat straight away?”

“Yes, if that’s possible.”

“Right away. I’ll prepare it now so wait in whichever seat you’d like.”

After handing her a key attached to a wooden plate, I went to the kitchen to tell the innmaster to prepare a person’s share of dinner.

..*

◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆

..*

Because the girl I mentioned didn’t seem to be a very talkative person, we never even chatted so I didn’t know her name. Seeing as she always keeps her robe on whether she’s going out or eating dinner in her room, I’m sure she has some circumstances. I’d be lying if I said that I wasn’t interested, but it isn’t good to pry into the business of the customers after all, so I’m not going to ask.
But still, although she told me not to clean the room or change the bed sheets while she was staying there, she isn’t doing anything weird in there, is she? I’m a little worried.

Eating breakfast, going out, and then returning at night. The girl continued to repeat this, but after a few days, there was a time when she came back earlier than usual. Although she was silent, she would at least reply when you called out “Welcome back”, but that day for some reason as soon as she entered the inn, she immediately headed for the stairs. Wondering what was wrong, I looked towards her, and through the gap in her robe, I saw her face for the first time────

..*

..*

..*

──────!? W-, What the heck was that!?
Her face was more beautiful than expected, but more importantly what was with those eyes!?
Anger, hatred, disgust, disdain, bloodthirst, resentment, anguish, grief, despair; those black eyes were filled with every negative emotion imaginable. In my years working here I’ve seen the eyes of all sorts of customers, but this was the first time in my life that I’d seen eyes like those.
No, those aren’t eyes that a human would make. They’re the eyes of something much more sinister and terrifying. The moment I saw them, it was like my heart was in a vice-grip. Aahh, how terrifying…

..*

Aahh, just what kind of customer are we hosting.
If possible I’d like them to leave right this instant, but they’ve already paid for two more nights. If I could return that money then I would do so this instant, but if it flew into a rage and attacked…
There’s just two days left. Just two more days. It’s been fine so far, so it should be fine for two more days. That’s right, isn’t it?

..*

..*

After that one day that was different, the thing that looked like a girl went back to normal. Fortunately it seems that she didn’t realise I had seen her face.
I was so afraid that I almost couldn’t do it, but so that it didn’t show its true colours, I had to talk to it like normal, after all. If it knew that I had suspected its true form, I can’t even imagine what it’d do to me. Please deliver me from evil.

And like that, I somehow managed to pass the two days.

..*

◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆

..*

Aahh, it’s finally gone…

That thing that looked like a girl was talking about extending its stay, so after pleading with it, I somehow got it to accept my refusal. To be honest, the whole time I was afraid running a cold sweat from worry of being attacked, but it seemed to have sensed something because it obediently left.

Completely exhausted, I collapsed backwards into a chair. There’s no doubt that these last two days have taken three years off of my lifespan.
I took a rest on the chair for a little while, but pulling myself together, I decided to go clean the room. If possible, I want a decent customer next.

..*

..*

..*

..*

..*

..*

..*

Wai-, what is this!? What’s this black canopy bed!?

 

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Side Story 07 – A Certain Undying King’s Loyalty

It felt as though something was pulling me.
Is this… a summon?

Fumu, it has been a long while since I have been called forth.
As I recall, the last time was by a court magician from somewhere, although he now serves as my retainer.
If chance permits, this time I desire a summoner to be somebody worthy of me.

I am────a king.
With countless retainers under my management, I am the King of Undead.
The summoner though they may be, a king does not kneel.
If they are an incompetent fool who tries to subordinate me, I shall immediately give them their last breath, and add them to my retainers instead.

With an enormous mana as the compensation, my body was able to materialise.
I see. If they are able to use this much mana without issue, then at the very least they have ability.
And thus, I manifested myself.

What I saw through my empty eye sockets was a room somewhere. Before me was a blue crystal enshrined on a pedestal, and next to it was a human girl clad in blac──────!?

“……………ah………”

As an undead, I no longer possess a heartbeat. However, in that instant, there was no doubt that I had experienced that long-lost sensation of having my pulse quicken. Even this body that needed not to breath had become speechless due to the shock.

AAH, AAHH, AAAHHH… I know.
The overwhelming power in those dark and ominous eyes, and more than anything, that atmosphere.
Although she had taken the form of a human girl, there was no doubt. This personage was, this personage alone was the god that I ought to worship.
The god that I had worshipped back when I was a human, and yet died before witnessing. It was a memory sunk deep into the oblivion of time, and yet, as I now recall, the reason that I gained this undead body was for the sake of my dream of one day gazing upon my god.

“……………oh………”

The impatience of trying to find something to say had slipped out of my mouth.

“I’m Anri. I want to leave the defence of this floor to you.”

While I was unable to form words, God spoke to me.
Anri-sama! So this was the name of my god!
What’s more, to think that she would entrust a mission to me!

“Let’s get along.”

After saying that, Anri-sama, placed her hand against the blue crystal and teleported me.
Although I was unable to speak a single word in the end, at the very least, I knelt and deeply bowed during the teleportation in order to demonstrate my loyalty.

◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆

The days where I waited for intruders upon the throne that Anri-sama granted me continued on.
This throne was something that Anri-sama had gone out of her way to create for me in the room that I was in charge of. I was in joy, and my loyalty was renewed, but I found myself lacking the chance to demonstrate my loyalty.
The floor I was entrusted with protection was the 10th floor. Most intruders fell on the 3rd floor, and almost nobody made it this deep.
The other day, a party had finally made it to the 10th floor, but for some reason they retreated before the door to my room. I was only able to sense their presence, and do not know why they retreated, but, hmmm, in that case, could it be that they sensed my presence and avoided battle? It was quite a wise decision, yet, at this rate I will not be granted the chance to demonstrate my loyalty to Anri-sama.

“…So they’ve come.”

However, that changed. The chance I had been craving had finally come by. Although they spent a while doing something or other before the door, in the end the door opened, and an uninvited guest entered. The one who entered was a young girl with silver hair, but having come this far, it was impossible that she was weak. And moreover, this aura… I see. So she was a kin of the Demon King.

“Welcome, my guest. You are the first one to have reached here.”

“I see. So you’re the No Life King mentioned on the pedestal? It seems that you have what it takes to be arrogant, huh.”

Arrogant…? I see, so I was arrogant.
Indeed, before I met Anri-sama, you could say that I was arrogant. I hadn’t admitted that there was anybody above me. Of course, I have long since abandoned such thoughts.

“Indeed, the one before you is the one who governs many retainers, the King of the Undead. Even in the face of a Demon King, I have no intention of kneeling.”

Indeed; I have sworn loyalty to Anri-sama. I also abandoned the thought of being peerless.
However, even so, I remain the King of the Undead. The only one I will bow to is Anri-sama alone, and though she may have the blood of the Demon King, I will absolutely not yield.

“It seems that you know what I am. I originally planned on just beating you down, but I’ve changed my mind. You can just quit being a dungeon master, and serve I who will one day inherit the throne.”

“I said that I would not kneel. Do not push your luck, lass.”

You shall regret those haughty words.

“Then I’ll make you submit by force!”

“Come. Adding the daughter of a demon king to my retainers would also be amusing!”

◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆

It felt as though something was pulling me.

After I was defeated by the daughter of the Demon King, my body had crumpled, and yet for some reason, although it should have faded, my consciousness remained. And my consciousness was now being drawn somewhere. It was a feeling unlike the summoning from the other day. It was almost as though… Right, almost as though I was being assimilated with something else that was being summoned.

And then I once again materialised.
Like the exact same scene from the other day, I caught sight of the god that I had pledged my loyalty to.
Was this… Had Anri-sama resurrected me? Aahh, what deep compassion she has for somebody who was defeated and unable to fulfil his mission.

“Anri-sama…”

“…?”

I immediately dropped to my knee, and showed my loyalty. In the past I had displayed embarrassing behaviour due to my shock, but because this was my second time, I was able to take action.
Anri-sama seemed to be bewildered by something, but she immediately spoke to me.

“I want to leave the defence of the 10th floor to you.”

“Understood. I shall use my all to defeat the enemy for you.”

I received the same order as previously. I blundered once, but never again.

“Also… just in case, take this.”

With those words, Anri-sama stretched her hand towards me, and touched my forehead.

---

Chapter 16 Revival Flag ⇒ Complete
Strengthening Flag ⇒ ON

 

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