Elizabeth Sauron’s half-brother, Veedal Sauron, was not family to her. In fact, she had always considered him to be her enemy.

The reason for that was because he had been one of the people vying for the position of duke of the Sauron Duchy, and because he had been after her life.

When Elizabeth was even younger than she was now, she had suffered greatly at the hands of Rudel’s faction and the faction of Veedal, the man who had been thoroughly defeated in the conflict to become head of the Sauron house and was groveling before her now.

Elizabeth’s half-brothers had spread rumors that her mother, Amelia Sauron, had been unfaithful to her husband, causing people to start whispering seemingly credible but false rumors that Elizabeth might not actually even be a daughter of Duke Sauron.

Elizabeth knew that her mother’s long hospitalization after she became mentally ill was due to a conspiracy plotted by her sponsor, Earl Reamsand, and the head of the Hospital of Psychotherapy. However, it was undoubtedly her half-brothers who had cornered her mentally and given the earl the opportunity to carry out that conspiracy.

Spreading false rumors like this was a common tactic used in political feuds, and holding a deep grudge against every single one would leave one with too many enemies and make it impossible to compete in the society of nobles. The usual way to respond to such rumors was by spreading similarly disreputable rumors back or have the spreader of the rumor pay for it in some way… and once such retribution was taken, things would be considered even.

Indeed, Vandalieu had already taken ample retribution against Earl Reamsand and the director of the Hospital of Psychotherapy, the main culprits behind Amelia’s long hospitalization and her current state, which was still difficult to describe as ‘back to normal.’

But Elizabeth was still too young to put something like this behind her.

I always thought that if I had the chance, I’d make them grovel and beg for forgiveness for what they did to Mother, that I’d make them lick my shoes, Elizabeth thought. And when they did, I’d kick them in the jaw and tell them, “I told you to make my shoes clean, not dirty them with your saliva.” I always imagined that, but…

Veedal, one of the people she detested so much, was currently on his knees in front of Vandalieu, as if clinging onto his feet – and he was slowly crawling even closer.

“I’ll do anything! My subordinates and I will confess all of our wrongdoings against Elizabeth-sama and Amelia-sama! I will hand over all the information I have about Rudel-aniue! I will tell you all of the Sauron Duchy’s confidential information that I am privy to! So please spare me from having my face torn off!” Veedal pleaded.

“Ah, yes, yes. Can you please calm down and be quiet?” said Vandalieu.

There wasn’t a trace of displeasure visible on Veedal’s face; his expression looked like nothing other than that of a spineless man who was trying to suck up to someone. Elizabeth found it hard to believe that this was her handsome older brother who always wore a neutral expression.

Before Vandalieu returned, Veedal had been groveling at Elizabeth’s feet like he was doing to Vandalieu now. If she had asked him to lick her shoes, he would have gladly licked away at her shoes until their surface was worn down by his tongue.

It’s kind of disgusting. And I’m starting to feel stupid for fighting so hard every day to see this… Let’s not make him lick my shoes and then kick him in the jaw, Elizabeth thought, abandoning her initial main plan for revenge.

The main reason for that was because she found Veedal to be disgusting.

“As for what I will do with the Sauron Duchy, the specific details will depend on Rudel Sauron, the current duke, but… I won’t make the people of the Sauron Duchy suffer meaninglessly, and I won’t tear off your and Rudel’s faces and kidnap you*,” Vandalieu said.

“Ah, really?! Thank you! Thank you so much!” Veedal cried, bowing his head towards Vandalieu over and over with hope in his expression.

But Elizabeth expected the exact opposite of what Veedal was thinking. Even if I don’t do anything to him directly, things probably won’t go as he thinks they will.

As far as Elizabeth knew, Vandalieu did not generally refer to people as ‘omae.’ He only used this word when talking to his enemies and other people he had animosity for. Even though Veedal’s name resembled the name of the Demon Empire of Vidal, it seemed that Vandalieu had no friendly feelings towards him whatsoever.

TLN*: Vandalieu referred to Veedal with お前/omae in this sentence.

And Vandalieu had only said that he wouldn’t make the people suffer meaninglessly and that he wouldn’t tear Veedal and Rudel’s faces off and kidnap them. That was all.

Looking at it from another perspective, Vandalieu was saying that he might make the people suffer if there was a meaning to it, and he might kill Veedal and Rudel without kidnapping them.

Of course, Elizabeth believed that he had simply chosen his words so that they would not technically be a lie.

Vandalieu occupied the former Scylla territory, and he had wiped out the armies sent by Rudel Sauron to retake it numerous times. As a result, the Sauron Duchy had lost a significant number of soldiers, and it had spent a significant quantity of funds on those soldiers. Civilians had been conscripted to make up for the resulting lack of soldiers, and they were also being forced to pay higher taxes to make up for the funds spent.

And before any of that, the Sauron Duchy had already been economically harmed by the loss of tax income from the former Scylla territory.

Thus, it could not be said that Vandalieu had not caused suffering for the people of the Sauron Duchy… though if any ordinary nobles were to ask, he would likely insist that he hadn’t caused any suffering.

And Vandalieu held a firm resentment towards Veedal and Rudel for what they had done to Amelia. Rudel, as the current duke, had abandoned the resistance led by Iris; there was no way Vandalieu could feel positive emotions towards him.

After politely sending Veedal away, Vandalieu turned to Elizabeth.

“Elizabeth-sama, what do you want to do about those guys? At this point in time, I think that a public execution like Prime Minister Tercatanis would be overdoing it,” he said.

“I didn’t think I’d be asked that after meeting them face to face, but… I agree that a public execution would be too much,” said Elizabeth.

Former Prime Minister Tercatanis had been publicly executed – hanged at the gallows set up in Orbaume’s plaza after his crimes were announced .

Despite being in the position of prime minister, which came with great responsibilities, he had betrayed his nation. With no evidence that he had been under someone else’s control through methods like magic or poison, there had been no extenuating circumstances to take into account.

And although the lives of Orbaume’s people had been saved (though many had also been reincarnated as Demons), there were a vast number of people who had lost precious assets. Something had been needed in order to satisfy the people’s desire for justice… The nobles of Orbaume Central feared the risk that if they lost any more support from the people, a coup d’état would happen even without Vandalieu doing anything.

But it was clear that Tercatanis’s wife, children, and relatives had nothing to do with the incident, and it had been judged that it would have been difficult for any of them to have anticipated the incident based on the former prime minister’s actions leading up to it, so they were not connected to his crimes… though his house’s court rank was decreased from marquis to baron, and they were forced to pay a vast sum in reparations, effectively putting them on a verge of collapse as a noble house. It would likely be easier for them to sell all of their remaining assets and live as commoners.

Vandalieu and Elizabeth understood that equating Veedal and Rudel’s crimes to those of the former prime minister would be going too far.

“It would be one thing if the Sauron Duchy were to declare war on the Demon Empire of Vidal, but if they aren’t doing that, Rudel’s reputation within his duchy is neither good nor bad, and he isn’t severely misgoverning his people,” said Elizabeth. “Even if he isn’t publicly executed, if anyone were to assassinate him or he were to die suddenly, given the timing, some people would claim that it was definitely done under your orders. If the citizens start believing that, things will become troublesome later – though that depends on whether you can have proper relations with the Sauron Duchy or not.”

“And with Veedal’s behavior being what it is… I don’t have any reason to execute someone who has begged on their knees and offered everything they have,” said Vandalieu. “But I wonder why he was groveling like that? I haven’t done anything to him yet.”

“You can’t expect me to know, can you?” said Elizabeth.

“Isn’t that because when we rescued him, he became aware of your power, Vandalieu-sama?” said Silkie as she entered the room without a sound.

“I see,” Vandalieu and Elizabeth said.

Veedal had been in the Sauron house’s mansion, and his mind had been broken to this day ever since he witnessed the power of Vandalieu and his companions.

“At the time, it was difficult for us to spare the time and effort to treat him like a guest, so… we treated him rather roughly, and I think that must have contributed as well,” Silkie said.

“Come to think of it, he mentioned that he sent a message to the Sauron Duchy telling them that they should surrender immediately,” said Elizabeth.

“Even with his mind broken, he showed excellent decisiveness and initiative, to the point that it’s hard to believe he’s a noble. I have a very slightly better opinion of him now,” said Vandalieu. “So, Elizabeth-sama, what do you want to do with the Sauron Duchy?” he asked, querying what future policies toward the Sauron Duchy she wanted to take.

“I’m telling you, that’s too much for me to decide on my own. I mean, I was aiming to eventually end up as Duchess Sauron, but that’s become a rather meaningless title lately,” said Elizabeth. “It’s true that I could become duchess if I asked you to make it happen, but… I’ve already talked to Mahelia and the others and come to the conclusion that I shouldn’t be fixated on becoming duchess anymore.”

Elizabeth’s mother Amelia had become one of the wives of the emperor of the Demon Empire of Vidal, a nation with far greater power and military might than the Sauron Duchy. That alone was sufficient retribution for Elizabeth against those who had wronged her… She had even made Veedal grovel at her feet, though it had been less satisfying than she had expected.

If Elizabeth were the leader of a faction with a large number of supporters, she would have been unable to stop, even if she was personally satisfied with this outcome. If she had supporters and patrons that had done everything they could to help her, she wouldn’t be able to refuse what they wanted.

But her main patron had been Earl Reamsand, the man who had been after her body and was currently hospitalized, and his lackeys. The only other followers of hers other than Mahelia were Zona, Macht, and the others from her party.

Naturally, they didn’t have any objections to Elizabeth’s decision, either.

“I see… Then what comes next depends on Rudel,” said Vandalieu. “Though I think if Rudel wishes to retire and hand over the right to rule the duchy to you, Elizabeth-sama, I think it would be only reasonable to have you become duchess, if only in name.”

“… Is being duchess only in name all I have to do?” Elizabeth asked.

“Yes, I can headhunt a talented civil official and have him do the real work – though he’s only been hung, and his head is still connected,” said Vandalieu. “And if necessary, I’ll help as well.”

“Danna-sama, I know it is pointless of me to say this, but you are working too hard,” said Silkie.

And so, the policy of the Demon Empire of Vidal regarding the Sauron Duchy was largely decided.

 

 

 

Meanwhile, Rudel was infuriated after reading Veedal’s report.

“How can such nonsense be possible!” he shouted as he tore the report to pieces and threw it aside.

He had General Polbork and the Guild Master of the Mages’ Guild plan countermeasures against the former Scylla territory that had been named as a part of the Demon Empire of Vidal, and ordered his intelligence network to learn what exactly was happening in Orbaume.

Rudel had not witnessed the events in Orbaume himself; his mind had not been broken, and he had been unable to believe the report from Veedal or the information that had already been reported to him by his intelligence network.

But he also did not make rash, extreme decisions like hastily forming a cooperative relationship with the Farzon Duchy or forming an alliance with the Amid Empire, an enemy nation, independently of the rest of the Orbaume Kingdom.

After all, it was only Rudel and his close aides that had seen Veedal’s report and become furious at the Demon Empire of Vidal. And it was only the generals and civil officials who were enraged as they learned that the Alcrem Duchy had betrayed them during the battle to retake the former Scylla territory.

Many of the ordinary citizens of the Sauron Duchy were in open acceptance of the Demon Empire of Vidal. They praised Vandalieu, who had defeated the Demon King Guduranis.

The Sauron Duchy had historically always been a region where worship of Vida, the Goddess of Love and Life, flourished. There was no reason for them to view the nation of an emperor who was celebrated and praised by Vida as an enemy nation.

There were likely some who would think differently if they were to see the Undead and Demons that served Vandalieu, but the ordinary citizens had only heard rumors, so they didn’t have any strong impressions of them. In fact, they were convinced that if these Undead and Demons served the ‘Savior’ who had defeated the Demon King, they must be special Undead and Demons.

They had also not actually seen the members of Vida’s races among Vandalieu’s companions, so they didn’t have much of an impression regarding them either.

In fact, it was even possible that they would go the other way and accept the Undead, Demons, and Vida’s races fully, as Vida herself had accepted them. That was how great an impact the great accomplishment of defeating the Demon King Guduranis and the ‘Savior’ who had received Vida’s praise had on the people of the Sauron Duchy.

So then, if one were to ask whether the people had forgotten that the former Scylla territory had been taken from them and they had fought over it for years, that wasn’t the case. The people remembered these events very well… as being caused by the Amid Empire and Rudel Sauron’s failures.

The former Scylla territory initially being taken was due to the Amid Empire occupying the Sauron Duchy at the time, so it was the Amid Empire’s fault.

After that, it was Duke Rudel’s fault for launching attacks on the former Scylla territory numerous times and failing to recapture it. It was all his fault that the people’s taxes had risen and that their sons and brothers had been conscripted.

If this were modern-day Japan on Earth, many would understand that the root cause was the Demon Empire of Vidal unilaterally taking control over the former Scylla territory.

However, many of the people of this world had no interest in politics. That couldn’t be helped, as nobody had any opportunity to be involved with politics unless they were a wealthy merchant who loaned money to nobles, a high-ranking member of a Church, a high-ranking adventurer of A-class or B-class, or one of the few intellectuals of society such as scholars.

And there was no media to inform them of such information. At most, they would hear lyrics written by bards and have idle conversations with traveling merchants. In cities, there were newspapers published by organizations such as the Commerce Guild, but even those contained far less information than the media of modern-day Earth.

Thus, many of the duchy’s citizens didn’t think about the order in which events had occurred and had an incorrect understanding of the situation.

Elizabeth had described Rudel’s rule as ‘neither good nor bad,’ but that only applied in the scenario where he chose not to oppose Vandalieu. If he did oppose Vandalieu, the people’s view of him would immediately shift largely in a negative direction.

Rudel and his aides had considered trying to correct the people’s misunderstanding of the situation, but quickly realized that this would be a poor choice. After all, clearing up that misunderstanding would require criticizing the ‘Savior’ Vandalieu.

With that being the case, they were cornered with no escape. Like many of the nations of the world of Lambda, the Sauron Duchy was an autocracy, but if the people turned their backs on Rudel and his subordinates while the army was in its current weak state, it would be impossible for them to maintain their rule.

While Rudel and his aides pondered this situation, as information more trustworthy than Veedal’s report continued to arrive, Rudel’s mental state changed from outrage to despair, as if he had accepted his fate.

Those like the ‘Grim Reaper of the Former Scylla Territory’ and the ‘Head-Hunting Demon’ alone had been enough to repeatedly defeat the Sauron Duchy’s army. Add to that multiple powerful Vampires, including one who had the ability to transform into others, as well as a flying, serpent-like Elder Dragon, an enormous flying Ghost Ship, a swarm of bones larger than the royal castle, and Majin and Zombies who were capable of killing monsters of Rank 10 or so with their bare fists… and a horde of hundreds of Demons.

This was not a force that could be fought against. Even if Rudel were to accomplish a historical feat by forming an alliance with the Amid Empire, a nation that had been an enemy for countless years, the only thing changing would be that it would be the Sauron Duchy rather than the Mirg shield-nation sharing a border with the remainder of the Orbaume Kingdom.

All that would happen after that was a pincer attack from both the former Scylla territory and the Alcrem Duchy, pulverizing the Sauron Duchy’s forces.

“To think that after barely escaping the Amid Empire’s army alive, emerging victorious after a desperate struggle to become the head of the Sauron house, and governing my people as well as I could, this would be my fate… If I knew things would turn out like this, I would have handed the position of duke over to Elizabeth from the start!” Rudel Sauron muttered, slamming a fist into his throne.

After that, he picked up a pen with a lifeless hand and penned a document stating that he would be handing over the position of duke of the Sauron Duchy to Elizabeth Sauron.

 

 

 

The Orbaume Kingdom was considered to be made up of the twelve duchies and the royal realm known as Orbaume Central, for a total of thirteen territories. Six of those were still undecided as to what stance it would take against the Demon Empire of Vidal.

The Arthaba Duchy, which was late to act due to the commotion caused by the people belonging to the Church of Alda.

The Corbitt Duchy, the duchy of the current king.

The Jison Duchy which lay to the south of the Jahan Duchy and was bordered by the eastern sea of the Bahn Gaia continent, where the people’s worship of Peria was strong.

The Zectoah Duchy which lay to the direct east of the royal realm and beside the Jison Duchy, where the people’s worship of Botin was relatively strong.

The Piltchkoff Duchy which lay to the direct south of the royal realm, where the people were more passionate about commerce and art than worshiping the gods.

The Lequst Duchy, which could be described as opportunist, having treated both human society and Vida’s races fairly.

The king, who was the head of the Corbitt house, persuaded his son who served as the local governor of the Corbitt Duchy to side with the Demon Empire of Vidal. The Jison and Zectoah Duchies also sided with the Demon Empire of Vidal due to geographical reasons.

Because the Church of Alda was greatly influential in the Arthaba Duchy, it declared neutrality like the Jahan Duchy… though it was unclear as to whether it would remain neutral after the Jahan Duchy’s neutrality stopped.

The Piltchkoff Duchy decided to remain neutral for a while, standing in between the Farzon Duchy and the rest of the duchies, planning to reap commercial benefits. But the Farzon Duchy’s opposition to the forces of the Demon Empire of Vidal was firmer than expected. The Farzon Duchy announced that it would not accept ties with the Piltchkoff Duchy even if it chose to remain neutral, putting a stop on the Piltchkoff Duchy’s plans, and it later declared that it would side with the Demon Empire of Vidal.

Finally, the Lequst Duchy also tried an opportunistic approach that pandered to both sides, but was pestered by both its citizens who were members of Vida’s races and the Birgitt Duchy. Pressured by public opinion, it announced that it would also have relations with the Demon Empire of Vidal.

And so, only the Farzon Duchy was left opposing the Demon Empire of Vidal. Those that remained neutral were the Arthaba Duchy, as well as the Jahan Duchy, which planned to join the faction of the new Demon Empire of Vidal in the future. The rest of the duchies formed the pro-Vidal faction.

There were differences in how warmly each duchy treated the Demon Empire of Vidal; duchies such as the Lequst Duchy clearly seemed very reluctant, but… an environment was starting to form in the Orbaume Kingdom where the worship of Alda would decline and the worship of Vida would rise.

 

 

 

Meanwhile, as Vandalieu carried out the reconstruction and restoration of Orbaume and the propagation of the word of Vida in the Jahan Duchy, he was simultaneously making good use of the Demon King’s memories on the Demon King’s Continent and the Demon Continent.

Mole-type and mole-cricket-type Demon King Familiars with sharp claws at the ends of their arms, crab-type and shrimp-type Demon King Familiars with enormous pincers, and rhinoceros-beetle-type and stag-beetle-type Demon King Familiars with thick horns, and bull-type Demon King Familiars serving as bulldozers, were talking amongst themselves as they carried out their excavation work.

“The shape of the continent surprisingly hasn’t changed much, though some of the corners are missing and there are some new parts that have risen from the sea.”

“I’ve been told that the Demon King’s Continent was once turned into a wasteland by Bellwood and the others, so I was expecting that peninsulas would be missing or that the continent would have been split into pieces.”

“I suppose they only turned the surface into a wasteland. I don’t think they dug deep into the ground.”

“Ah, that’s why it became filled with Devil’s Nests again. They might have overlooked the miasma in things like caves that are deep underground…”

“And I think that because the continent was covered in Devil’s Nests, it ended up not being affected by the passage of tens of thousands of years. Thanks to that, the excavation is proceeding quickly.”

The Demon King’s memories had already fused with Vandalieu’s soul after he devoured and absorbed them. Thus, Vandalieu could recall Guduranis’s memories as if they were his own.

Using these memories, he was using Demon King Familiars to excavate relics from the Age of Mythology. However, the Demon King’s Continent was still teeming with monsters, so these Demon King Familiars, which were not designed for combat, would have trouble carrying the task out alone.

“Vandalieu, could you try not to work in too wide an area? We won’t be able to keep an eye on everything,” said the Moon Giant Deeana as she pierced a monster with her enormous spear.

She, as well as the Mountain-Queen Elder Dragon God Tiamat and Bakunawa, had come to the Demon King’s Continent as guards for the Demon King Familiars.

“Thank you. I’ll keep that in mind,” one of the Demon King Familiars said.

“By the way, how does the transformation equipment feel to use?” asked another.

Deeana was not wearing her usual armor today; she was using the transformation equipment that Vandalieu had created for a Colossus like her. The main part of it was leotard-shaped, and it also had a skirt with a high split; it was a highly revealing outfit. It was lightweight, with the only armored parts being a tiara that protected the forehead, long gloves and knee-high socks that came past the elbows and knees, and gauntlets and boots that protected the hands and feet.

Thanks to the design, her body’s balanced proportions were clearly visible beneath the transformation equipment – her bewitching white skin, an ample chest, a narrow waist, and beautiful legs.

“Let’s see… Maybe it’s too lightweight? My previous equipment wasn’t heavy armor either, but… this might be a little too thin,” said Deeana, her cheeks flushed as she looked away.

The Demon King Familiars had a distant look in their eyes as they looked up at Diana. “Sorry, but this is the best I can do due to technological limitations.”

Colossi were as large as Elder Dragons and Beast-kings. Deeana was enormous from a human’s perspective, standing at about a hundred meters tall, and it had required a vast quantity of materials and an even vaster amount of time and effort to create her transformation equipment.

To go into more detail, the created parts were so enormous that if Vandalieu didn’t care about how much time he spent on them, he could continue improving them for years.

Strengthening the wearer’s defense, barrier generation, improving the wearer’s muscular strength, increasing the wearer’s explosive power, anti-blade properties, impact resistance properties, anti-cold properties, anti-heat properties, anti-electricity properties, anti-poison properties, anti-light properties, anti-disease properties, self-repair functions, improved transformation speed, adding alternative transformation forms, enabling the wearer to fight while underwater, granting the wearer the ability to fly… Vandalieu had added every function he could think of at the highest level he could manage, but there was still more that could be done.

After all, the technology was designed for humans. Transformation equipment made for a Colossus had hundreds, thousands of times more capacity for improvement.

Thus, Vandalieu had decreased the overall volume of the transformation equipment in order to complete it… It wasn’t something that he felt any guilt about.

“Is it because my brother and his children prefer lightweight equipment?” Deeana asked.

“No, it really is because of technological limitations,” a Demon King Familiar replied. “But I could add more decorations. Would you like me to do that?” it said, suggesting a way to decrease the amount of skin Deeana had exposed while wearing the transformation equipment.

“More importantly,” Deeana said, changing the subject.

She spun on the spot, allowing the Demon King Familiars to see the transformation equipment better. Her skirt fluttered, creating a wind that lightly swayed the five-meter-long Demon King Familiars that were serving as a replacement for heavy machinery.

“More importantly, how do you think I look right now, in your opinion?” Deeana asked.

“I think you look cute. And the beauty of your legs is dazzling,” a Demon King Familiar replied.

Seeing Deeana excited about wearing new clothes, Vandalieu thought she looked no different from a human girl. And the reason that he had complimented her legs was because the Demon King Familiars through which he was looking at her weren’t able to see any other part of her.

“I-I see. I suppose I don’t feel unhappy about it after all,” said Deeana. “And you’ve agreed to give me Zerno’s remains, too…”

“Hmm? No, I would have given you Zerno’s remains even if you didn’t accept the transformation equipment,” said a Demon King Familiar.

Deeana had asked Vandalieu for the remains of Zerno, the Colossus God, several days ago. However, Vandalieu hadn’t intended to say that Deeana needed to accept the transformation equipment as a condition for him giving her Zerno’s remains, so he was quick to correct her.

“Really?! W-well, you’re the great hero who defeated Guduranis, after all. My brother and Tiamat always said that that’s how heroes are, yes,” said Deeana, nodding to herself.

“Hmm?” said a Demon King Familiar.

Vandalieu had the feeling that some great misunderstanding had occurred. But before he could ask Deeana about it, Bakunawa came running towards the Demon King Familiars, the ground trembling with each of his steps.

“Papa!” Bakunawa said. “This Papa stopped moving!”

One of the Demon King Familiars grunted as it was stepped on.

 

“Bakunawa! You’ve gone and stepped on one of Vandalieu’s split entities!” said Deeana.

“Ah, sorry, Papa. I stepped on you,” said Bakunawa.

A crab-type Demon King Familiar had been completely crushed beneath one of Bakunawa’s feet, and a rhinoceros-beetle-type Demon King Familiar in his hand was no longer moving other than the occasional twitch.

“Ah, my connection was suddenly cut to that one and I was wondering why, but I see. You crushed it in your hands,” said one of the surviving Demon King Familiars.

“Papa, will this Papa get better?” Bakunawa asked.

“Hmm, no. Its brain has been crushed.”

Bakunawa had come here with Tiamat to help protect the Demon King Familiars, but his mental age was still young (only a year had passed since he was born, in fact). This outing was more like a picnic to him than a work trip. And Vandalieu had brought Bakunawa out here so that he could play with his son, since he wasn’t able to bring him to Orbaume.

The Demon King Familiar that Bakunawa was holding had been one that Vandalieu had created as a toy for him. He had built it to be durable, but it seemed that it had not been able to survive the mischievous behavior of his unruly son.

“I see… Sorry, Papa,” Bakunawa said sadly after hearing that the Demon King Familiar would not come back to life.

He held the Demon King Familiar’s remains close to his chest… then ate them with the enormous vertical mouth that stretched from his neck to his belly. A tongue extended from the mouth to grab the crushed crab-type Demon King Familiar as well, which he ate without leaving a single piece of shell behind.

“Bakunawa, do you understand the value of life?” a Demon King Familiar asked.

 

“Yes, Papa. I’ll do my best not to accidentally break any more of you, Papa,” Bakunawa replied, mourning the death of his pet (the Demon King Familiar) and taking one step towards adulthood.

“Good, as long as you understand,” the Demon King Familiar said.

“I feel rather uneasy watching this, but… perhaps I should change my perspective on it?” Deeana murmured to herself for some reason.

But those words escaped her lips dozens of meters above the Demon King Familiars, and Vandalieu didn’t hear her.

“Now then, I’ll make another Demon King Familiar to replace that one,” the Demon King Familiar said.

“Yay!” said Bakunawa.

“But first, I must summon my main body here… Oh?” the Demon King Familiar said in surprise.

“… Oh?” said the voice of Vandalieu’s main body in surprise as well.

Only Vandalieu’s main body could create Demon King Familiars. Demon King Familiars could not create new Demon King Familiars on their own… If he created them with the ability to split into multiple to begin with, they could split into multiple, but that wasn’t the same as creating new Demon King Familiars.

Thus, he had intended to ask Gufadgarn to teleport his main body, but instead, his main body emerged from the Demon King Familiar’s shadow.

“You teleported here so quickly?” said Deeana.

“No, I was going to, but… I would guess that this is because of ‘Demon World Binding Technique.’ It seems that Demon King Familiars have gained the ability to use the ‘Demon World Binding Technique’ Skill,” said Vandalieu.

“In other words, I’ll be able to transport my main body, people, and objects to any place where my Demon King Familiars are present, and Demon King Familiars will be able to transport people and objects to other Demon King Familiars,” the Demon King Familiar explained.

“That’s very convenient. Very well done, Bakunawa,” Vandalieu said.

“That’s amazing, Papa. And thanks,” said Bakunawa as he chewed on the crab-type Demon King Familiar.

This had made Vandalieu even more agile. The distance limit on his connection to his Demon King Familiars was already gone, so if he wanted, he could place Demon King Familiars all over the world and freely travel instantaneously to any of them… along with anyone inside his Inner Worlds.

“That’s amazing, but it seems like you’ll be making more of your main body soon,” remarked Deeana.

“Making more of my main body… I suppose I’ll give it a try,” said Vandalieu.

“… Perhaps that was careless of me to say,” said Deeana.

But before Vandalieu could attempt this new taboo act, Tiamat came running after Bakunawa with a small object in her hand.

“Vandalieu, I have found one!” she said. “It is one of Zerno’s bones! It was at the bottom of the swamp that the boy drank dry!”

The Demon King’s memories abruptly ended at a point in time that was over a hundred thousand years ago; the things that could be excavated by using them as a reference were limited to Orichalcum equipment, fragments of such equipment, and bones of the Colossus God Zerno, the Dragon-Emperor God Marduke, and the Beast-God Ganpaplio.

“It is a fragment smaller than my fingertip, however,” Tiamat added.

“Thank you, Tiamat,” Vandalieu said.

“Mmm. Now then, pour your blood on this bone, and–” Tiamat began.

“Tiamat?!” Deeana exclaimed in alarm.

“I can’t do that. Deeana wants Zerno’s bones,” said Vandalieu.

He cast ‘Flight’ to leap up onto Tiamat’s hand, took Zerno’s bone with both hands, then took it over to Deeana.

“Th-thank you… Vandalieu, there is something else that I need right now other than Zerno’s bones. Do you mind?” asked Deeana.

“Gladly, as long as it’s something I can provide,” said Vandalieu, nodding and agreeing to this request without too much thought, simply assuming that she wanted this bone so that she could mourn her father Zerno, or because she wanted to make a charm out of it.

“I want blood, bones, flesh, and organs… preferably important organs,” said Deena.

“Mine, you mean? Hmm, important organs… I don’t have the Demon King’s heart yet. Will the brain do?” asked Vandalieu, pouring blood into Deeana’s hands, producing and handing over bones and flesh, and finally a brain created by the Demon King’s brain.

… Ah, I’ve seen this somewhere before, haven’t I, Vandalieu realized.

“I have received and accept these,” said Deeana, swallowing Vandalieu’s blood and other tissues from her palm, followed by Zerno’s bone. “With this, our child will be born soon. I do not have as much authority as a mother-goddess as Tiamat, so I required more materials than she did. I’m glad you’ve gathered so many fragments of the Demon King.”

“As I thought,” said Vandalieu.

It seemed that he would become a father of two.

Well, I’m turning thirteen this year. Let’s just think of it as being two years early, Vandalieu decided as he watched Deeana rub her lower abdomen with a satisfied expression.

“Papa, am I going to have a younger brother or sister?” said Bakunawa.

“That’s right, Bakunawa,” Vandalieu told him.

“You will be an older brother soon. Deeana is a Colossus who governs the moon; though perhaps not as deep as Talos’s, she has a deep connection to the life-attribute. I am sure a strong child will be born,” said Tiamat.

Demigods had lived since the Age of Mythology, and their views on marriage were far different from that of modern-day mortals. Deeana was no exception to that.