The Death Mage Who Doesn’t Want a Fourth Time Chapter 244

Death Mage 244 – More plans for spring

After Earl Isaac Morksi's speech and awarding of decorations, a festive mood settled in the city for several days.

The awarding of decorations to a Dark Elf and a Dhampir. The agreement of not only priests of G.o.ds belonging to Vida's faction, but of those belonging to Alda's forces as well, agreeing to officially recognize the Patron Saint of Transformation Equipment.

These events were likely to be carved into the history of not just this city, but the entirety of the Orbaume Kingdom.

However, only a handful among the crowd of people who had gathered in the plaza were thinking this far ahead.

There was a bard, standing completely still, clutching a cheap old harp with visible marks from having been broken and repaired.

“It is possible that… I have borne witness to the writing of a new history,” the bard murmured.

“There… There has never been anything like this before. What are we supposed to call it?” whispered a woman who worked as a dancer in a bar as she gazed up at the hastily-prepared stage in the plaza.

Neither of these were among the people who had thought about the far-reaching consequences of recent events. They were fixated upon the hymns and songs being performed by Darcia and the other performers.

In their transformed appearances, Darcia, Zadiris, Kanako, Basdia and Melissa were singing and dancing.

Their lyrics praised the bravery and love of the people, mourned the loss of the 'Nameless Heroes' and urged the people to honor them by smiling and living on.

The instrumentals were being provided by an a.s.sembly of bards who normally performed at stores in the red-light district and specialist musicians.

None of this was new material. There were plenty of songs with similar lyrics. The instruments were drums, flutes and string instruments such as lutes and harps, the kind of instruments that could be found anywhere. The skill of the ones playing them was second-rate at best.

Even among the people singing, only one of them could be called top rate; the others were average… no, there was even one who was as good as an amateur.

The skill behind the singing, dancing and overall performance was not of a high standard.

But among the five people on the stage were the people everyone was talking about – the 'Holy Mother of Victory,' the 'Magic Staff Master' and the 'Transforming Axe-woman.' The other two were not well-known, but they had transformed as well.

Dark Elves, an Elf and Ghoul heroes – all of them beautiful girls and women – were singing and dancing. That was the reason why all of the spectators had gathered here… that was what had attracted them to this place.

But there was a different reason why the people gathered there stayed in front of the stage and cheered on enthusiastically.

The people who were performers themselves were in awe.

“Casual music and bright lyrics. The dance is charming the audience, but it is different from dances performed in run-down bars that are designed to attract men with their allure. I can somewhat tell that the Dark Elf is supporting the Elf with inexperienced technique. But where is this sense of unity coming from?!”

“It's… the audience! By having the audience clapping along, they're making the crowd a part of the stage?!”

“To think that it is possible to turn the crowd into a part of the stage and have them partic.i.p.ate for free! This is… a new form of music!”

Darcia and the others, at Kanako's suggestion, were having the crowd gathered here join in by clapping along to the music. It was very simple; the people in the crowd were simply clapping their hands and stamping their feet, and even that was being led by s.h.i.+lls planted in the crowd, designed so that the audience could just follow along.

A new form of music… idols and live concerts, was displayed in the city of Morksi and had an impact on many others in addition to the bards and dancers.

Among performers and traditional musicians employed by n.o.bles, there were some who turned their noses up to this new music, thinking it to be shameless and nothing more than playing around. Others held no interest in it, thinking that it was nothing more than a temporary trend gathering attention because the people performing it were famous.

However, there certainly were people who were interested in the new form of music. Of course, there were also those who were impacted by it for non-musical reasons. Among such people were Priestess Paula and Alda's Priest Arman, who worked at the Morksi's Communal Church that housed statues of multiple G.o.ds and opened its doors to all without discrimination.

“Let's request for a performance of this hymn next time, too!” said Priestess Paula excitedly.

“That will not do, Priestess Paula. The Communal Church is open as a place of prayer to people of all religions. We cannot arbitrarily hold wors.h.i.+p only for Vida's faction, even if it is for the savior of the city,” said Priest Arman.

“Now, now, Priest Arman. We are not doing things arbitrarily at all. Darcisama did say, 'Anyone is free to join us. We will welcome everyone,' didn't she?”

“M-mmm! Sh-she did indeed say that…!”

The sense of unity attained from having the audience partic.i.p.ate in performances rather than simply having them listen to sermons and hymns could not be underestimated. Priestess Paula and Priest Arman agreed on this, but in reality, there was one fatal difference between them and Darcia's group.

“However, there is n.o.body who can sing such hymns and dance like that…!” Priest Arman lamented.

Unfortunately, none of the believers of Alda in this city, including Priest Arman, could sing idol songs and dance with the required ch.o.r.eography.

No, Priest Arman could sing the hymns and would likely be able to dance if he practiced. However, he was a middle-aged man in his forties with a beard and a loose jawline and waistline.

If a middle-aged man like him were to take light, graceful steps, his chin and belly flesh wobbling as he sang adorable lyrics in his throaty voice – all with amateurish technique – would this really be praise for the G.o.ds…? No, would he even be accepted by society as a human anymore?

Arman certainly did not think so.

With that said, he was more than a little reluctant to the idea of taking applicants among the young female priests and believers. To begin with, Darcia and her group had clearly declared that they did not view peace with Alda's believers to be a good thing.

With that being the case, if Arman and the other priests wanted to do the same thing as Darcia's group, they would have no choice but to watch their performances and imitate them, as it was unlikely that they would be able to receive training to learn to perform their own hymns.

Blindly imitating the performances of another religion just because it was popular – would that not be too rash a decision to make as believers of Alda?

These were the thoughts troubling Arman and the other priests of G.o.ds belonging to Alda's faction.

“We are completely reliant on the Holy Mother! I hope we will still be able to continue our activities in the future,” muttered one of the other priests, breaking the silence.

Such resentful words were the only words that came to the priests.

“There is no need to worry. I only just learned of these hymns myself, but we will receive instruction from Darcisama and Kanako-sama so that we can continue them even after everyone leaves the city,” said Priestess Paula.

She understood that she and the other priests were not responsible for the people's growing interest in Vida's religion – it was Darcia's group. That was why she was enthusiastic to learn.

Unlike Arman, Priestess Paula wors.h.i.+pped the same deity as the performers, so she felt no reluctance.

“As priestess, I shall stand as leader –” she began.

“W-what?!” shouted Priest Arman.

But it wasn't just him who stopped her from standing on a stage.

“No, I think that would be impossible…” said one of the priests of the G.o.ds of Vida's faction.

“Priestess Paula, even the G.o.d of battle flags Xerx instructs us to not fight when we know we will be defeated, and instead focus all efforts into battles that we can win,” said another.

Priestess Paula thought that she could do it, but it was the winter of her thirtieth year of life that she learned that those around her did not think the same.

Hmm, it would be a bit hard for her as she is now. If we do something about her clothes, change the lyrics and ch.o.r.eography to suit her and have her get a little more in shape, it could work, though, thought Kanako, who was watching this exchange from on-stage.

She couldn't hear their voices, but she had a good idea of what they were saying from watching the movements of their lips.

To Kanako, the crowd gathered around the makes.h.i.+ft stage in the plaza was not that large. And the priests were standing a little further away than the other people in the crowd and not joining in on the clapping. They were easily noticeable to her thanks to her vision that had become sharper since she became a Chaos Elf.

Leaving that aside, it is valuable to know that idols can be accepted by not only Vida's races, but human societies as well. Although it does not seem to be accepted by everyone… that's to be expected. As long as we are conducting wors.h.i.+p in the form of hymns, it will be hard for them to control and suppress us, so things should be alright, Kanako thought.

She had heard that on Earth and in Origin, idols had been called shameless and whatnot when they first appeared, and they had been unable to be as active as they wanted. That should have been the case here in the world of Lambda as well. Although the new concept of idols piqued people's curiosity, it was also something that caused reactions of dislike.

But as things were now, Kanako and the others had been recognized as believers of Vida, largely thanks to Darcia, and these idol songs being performed on this stage were hymns to the G.o.ddess.

Suppressing such activities would be suppressing the religion of Vida. Even though there were hard-headed people who would not accept music other than what was traditional, it would be difficult for them to stop it here in the Orbaume Kingdom, where the religion of Vida was recognized.

It'll probably be another matter if it comes to sermons outside Churches or people other than us doing idol activities, but this is fine for now, Kanako thought. In nations where wors.h.i.+pping Vida is outlawed or nations that don't outlaw it but don't have much power… Well, I don't think I need to think that far ahead.

The region within the Boundary Mountain Range where Talosheim was and the Dark Continent were big enough on their own. Considering spreading idol activities to the Amid Empire and Hartner Duchy would be thinking too far ahead.

For now, I need to focus on how to improve Melissa's mood now that she's gradually starting to get on stage.

Regular members like Zandia and Legion, who was in the middle of receiving lessons, were not on stage for various reasons. Thus, Kanako had earnestly requested Melissa to perform on stage.

Since Kanako was currently singing and dancing a song that she wasn't used to, now wasn't the time to be thinking of something, but…

She decided to have Legion and the others calm Melissa down later.

The s.h.i.+lls planted in the crowd, waving their arms in the air and cheering the performers on… were very obvious. They were Doug, Vandalieu and Miles.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah!” Doug cheered enthusiastically.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Vandalieu said flatly.

“… I really wonder why Boss's voice is so flat-toned,” said Miles.

But it seemed that they were blending into the crowd more than expected.

“You there, your rhythm is off!” a voice shouted at Miles.

It was the Guild Master of the Mages' Guild, who was standing nearby.

“Come, match your rhythm with mine! Yeah!” he cheered.

Incidentally, the stage's lighting and production were being done by Zadiris's 'Light Princess Magic' that she had cast beforehand and Vandalieu's light-attribute 'G.o.d Spirit Magic.'

“Light! Me! I'M LIGHT!” screamed the 'Eclipse Emperor's Mad Dog' Berkert, staying in spirit form with his voice audible only to the spirit-form Vandalieu, himself and other Undead.

He was in a frenzy, blending himself in among the lights, but his ability to control the lighting could not be denied.

“Umm, I am terribly sorry, but…” a knight mumbled with an apologetic expression, talking to Simon who was serving as security with Fang and the others.

“Yes, what is it, mister knight? As you can see, I am preoccupied,” said Simon.

“If it's a handshake or autograph you want, could you please wait? If you wait, we can get to everyone in order,” said Natania, giving the knight a nod.

The culture of receiving handshakes and autographs from famous people existed in this world as well. It had originated from the champions who had come from another world over a hundred thousand years ago.

“No, that isn't it. I need you to pa.s.s a message on to your master. Tell him to come to the meeting room on the second floor of the Adventurers' Guild,” the knight said. “O-of course, it can wait until after the hymns!” he added hastily, spotting Vandalieu who was looking this way after hearing himself being mentioned.

He had apparently heard the (true) rumor of a man causing trouble with Darcia and Vandalieu causing a man to flee just by glaring at him.

After the sermon, Vandalieu left the cleaning up of the stage and the nursing of Melissa, who had exhausted and burnt out all of her physical and mental strength, to the others. As requested by the knight, he went to the meeting room on the second floor of the Adventurers' Guild.

Here, the people of high social status in this city were waiting for him. Earl Morksi wasn't here, but the commander of his Knights' Order was there as his representative, and the Guild Master of every Guild had a.s.sembled here as well.

To be more precise, Rossel, the Guild Master of the Mages' Guild who had been cheering for Darcia and the others from the same front row of the concert as Vandalieu, had come to the meeting room with him.

“Oh, my. I got a little too excited for my age,” he sighed.

“You are absolutely right. I understand why you were so engrossed in it, but please have a little more self-control,” Berard muttered.

“My apologies. I forgot myself for a mo – wait, it is not that I was engrossed in Darcidono's beauty, Basdidono's wonderful body and Zadiris-dono's sweetness!” Rossel said hastily, noticing the gaze of Vandalieu, who was looking up at him silently.

Although he had simply been silently looking forward, he decided to ask: “So, you mean that you prefer Kanako and Melissa more?”

“I am interested in them, but that is wrong! What I was looking at is the transformation equipment that you made!”

Rossel had been in the front row of the audience not to get a good look at Darcia and the others from as close up as possible, but because he was apparently interested in the transformation equipment that they had been wearing.

When Rossel heard that Vandalieu had given artificial limbs to Simon and Natania, he had felt threatened by the fact that someone who was not registered at the Mages' Guild was handing out artificial limbs that were Magic Items, and he had tried to pressure Vandalieu while watching his movements.

This was because he wanted to know how in the world Vandalieu was able to create these Magic Item artificial limbs; he was interested in the techniques that Vandalieu had used.

The truth was that Simon and Natania's artificial limbs prior to the newest ones they were using now had not been Magic Items; they had been nothing more than artificial limbs made of metal. The pressure from the Mages' Guild had caused no inconvenience to Vandalieu and his companions whatsoever, so Vandalieu had not been bothered at all.

But after seeing Simon and Natania activate their transformation equipment and transforming during the battle at the front gate, Rossel's intuition had told him: what they had was clearly different from the Magic Items that Rossel and the other mages knew… They were what were known as legendary-cla.s.s Magic Items at the very least.

Rossel did not possess the 'Intuition' Skill, but that was the experience given to him by his long years of making a living with magic and alchemy.

“After that battle, while conducting autopsies on the bandits and a.n.a.lyzing their belongings, I considered whether it is possible to recreate that transformation equipment with techniques known to the mages of the Mages' Guild. But it was completely out of the question,” Rossel said. “I would be able to make something that changes color and shape when Mana flows through it. But that would merely be a Magic Item that can be used for disguise. That transformation equipment seemed to not only provide bonuses when casting spells, but also improve physical abilities and even have exceptional function as armor. And as far as I can tell, it is mainly made of metal rather than cloth or materials taken from monsters. It would be impossible for someone as lowly as me to create such a thing even if I were to dedicate centuries to it, never mind what is left of my life,” he concluded, his cheeks flushed.

“… I don't think you're 'lowly' at all if you could figure all of that out just by looking at the transformation equipment a few times,” said Vandalieu.

Indeed, it was easy to have one's eyes deceived by transformation equipment, as its appearance and visual changes were very flashy. Rossel was likely the only person in the city of Morksi who had been able to a.n.a.lyze it so calmly.

But it seemed that Rossel was unable to accept Vandalieu's words.

“To not only show modesty, but praise me at the same time… I am ashamed to have grown prideful and indulged in my position as leader of an organization,” he said, hanging his head. “I sincerely apologize for putting undue pressure on you. Could I please humbly request that you join the Mages' Guild?”

Although Vandalieu and his companions had felt no effects from the pressure, the fact that Rossel had pressured them did not change. That was why he was apologizing, but at the same time, he extended an invitation to his Guild.

But before Vandalieu could reply –

“S-stop right there! If apologies are to be made, I must apologize first!” a man with a small moustache interrupted. “As the direct superior of the former Deputy Guild Master Joseph, I would like to sincerely apologize for his unforgivable actions, Vandalieu-dono! After re-evaluating your management of your food cart business, it has become clear that not only is there no problem with it, it is an outstanding business project! I would like to officially recommend that you register as a full member of the Commerce Guild!” he said in a tense tone.

The man – the Guild Master of the Commerce Guild – bowed so low that his head was almost touching the ground.

Vandalieu looked at the commander of the Knights' Order – the person with the highest social status here. “… Umm, is this why I've been called here?”

“Indeed. Rossel-dono and the others have managed to speak before me, but… I suppose this is something of a gathering of those who want to make requests of you, Vandalieu Zakkart-dono,” the commander replied. “I am here as a representative of the earl, but… it would be questionable to summon you to the mansion on another date, and it would also be improper for the earl to bow his head in front of others. I ask for your understanding.”

“I don't mind that, but… is there some serious situation that requires the earl to bow his head to me?” Vandalieu asked.

“No, he is not in a troubled position, and it would be odd to call the situation serious, but… well, let us begin with the one who is in a troubled position,” said the commander.

“Please hear my humble request! Please register at our Guild! If you do not, I will lose my head – perhaps not physically, but in the societal sense!” the Commerce Guild's Guild Master begged once more.

The one in the most troubled position here was not Vandalieu, who was surrounded by adults more than twice his age, but this man with the small moustache.

The incident with Deputy Guild Master Joseph and the fact that Gobu-gobu was spreading across poor villages were not the only things troubling the Guild Master of the Commerce Guild. There was also the matter of the franchise contract that Vandalieu had signed with the owners of the food carts in the slums.

This contract becoming known to the Alcrem Duchy Commerce Guild headquarters had been a fatal blow.

The headquarters had apparently interpreted the events in Morksi as: A Commerce Guild member with a temporary registration, after suffering losses due to events that were the fault of the Guild, had decided to create a new, separate organization.

And they had thus judged the current Guild Master's management capabilities to be 'highly questionable.' That was why his position in society was in grave danger.

“I see. I understand what you are saying,” said Vandalieu. “But I'm not going to stop the food carts on Vida Street, you know?”

“Of course! The problem is that the people at the Guild headquarters are under the impression that there is bad blood between you and the Commerce Guild!” said the Commerce Guild's Guild Master.

It seemed that there would be no more problems as long as Vandalieu just registered for a full members.h.i.+p. Or to be more precise, there had been no problems to begin with on Vandalieu's side, but there could be all kinds of troublesome issues if the Commerce Guild headquarters misunderstood the situation and took action to try and fix it.

Vandalieu had actually been requested to complete his registration as a full member at the Commerce Guild repeatedly after the matter with Joseph was dealt with. But he had not done that because he wanted his excuse to stay in the city to lure out the reincarnated individuals to continue to exist.

Now that Hajime Fitun and the other reincarnated individuals were defeated, there was no reason to deny this request… Well, the 'Super Sense' Kaoru Gotouda still hadn't shown herself, but the fact that she hadn't shown herself thus far meant that she had either parted ways from Murakami's group or fled. Either way, it was unlikely that she would turn up in this city, so it would be pointless to simply wait here for her to appear.

However, Vandalieu could not tell these people about the reincarnated individuals, so he couldn't simply say that he had never cared about the matter of Joseph in the first place.

“Well then… Let us put the incident with Joseph behind us. I am looking forward to doing honest business with you in the future,” Vandalieu said, pretending to be reluctant in making amends.

“Thank you! This will save me from being demoted,” the Commerce Guild's Guild master said with a sigh of relief. “Now then, we will need to fill out the paperwork at the Commerce Guild at another date…”

He shook Vandalieu's hand profusely.

“Well then, I shall excuse myself,” he said, and with that, he left the room.

“My business is much the same as his… What do you say?” Rossel asked once more now that the Commerce Guild's Guild Master was no longer present.

“Wouldn't I need to be an apprentice of a current member or have a letter of recommendation if I'm to join the Mages' Guild?” Vandalieu asked.

“I shall write your letter of recommendation,” Rossel said. “Of course, we will not do anything unreasonable like demanding that you teach us how to create transformation equipment because you are a member. Unlike the Craftsmen's Guild, the purpose of the Mages' Guild is not mutual improvement through the sharing of techniques. Having secrets is an essential part of being a mage or alchemist.”

Vandalieu had a.s.sumed that the Mages' Guild was like a specialized school of magic or research organization, but it seemed that members had more freedom than he thought.

They did share knowledge, but the sharing of their secret arts and techniques was reserved for their apprentices. Thus, in order to learn someone else's secrets, one would have to either steal them or devise a way to reproduce them on their own. If neither of these was possible, then one would need to offer a trade or politely ask to become an apprentice.

“And even if you were to teach us how to make that transformation equipment, I cannot imagine that it would be easy to do so. Some secret arts or techniques of your great Dark Elf elder are involved, aren't they?” Rossel asked.

Vandalieu had used 'secret techniques of our great Dark Elf elder' as an explanation for reports of what witnesses had seen during his battle with Hajime Fitun. It seemed that Rossel believed this to be the secret behind transformation equipment as well.

Indeed, such Magic items being created through techniques taught by some great Dark Elf elder who could live up to a thousand years was more easily believable than a boy barely ten years old having invented them.

And even if I did teach them how to make it… it would be impossible for them, Vandalieu thought.

Vandalieu created transformation equipment by using his 'Golem Creation' Skill to turn Dark Copper and Death Iron into liquids, then applying various processes to them such as giving them shape memory properties. Dark Copper and Death Iron – the main materials used – did not occur naturally, so learning the method of making the transformation equipment would do no good.

“I understand. But I have a question about the paperwork involved when I register,” said Vandalieu.

“It's about your Guild Card and Status, isn't it? Rest a.s.sured – if we create your Guild Card based on your Commerce Guild Card, n.o.body will see your Status,” said Rossel.

The process of registering at the Mages' Guild and Craftsmen's Guild was more difficult compared to that of other Guilds. It was conventional for the applicant's master or person who had given their letter of recommendation to investigate the applicant while they were still an apprentice.

“I understand. Well then –” Vandalieu began.

“That leaves us, but, well, the three of us are all after the same thing,” said Bachem, the Guild Master of the Tamers' Guild.

“… I'd like you to register as an adventurer as well. I can be flexible about your Status,” said Berard, the Guild Master of the Adventurers' Guild.

Vandalieu blinked in surprise – at the fact that everyone knew that he didn't want his Status to be seen.

“I mean, anyone would notice. That's the likely reason for the fact that you have avoided registering at the Adventurers' Guild thus far. Apparently, there have been plenty of people who avoided registering at the Adventurers' Guild because they don't want their Statuses to be seen… though it isn't very common, so it took me a while to realize,” said Berard. “You've shown yourself to be a Dhampir, and it's likely that you have some bothersome Unique Skills or something, and that's the problem… or rather, that's what I've decided to a.s.sume. I'm not going to think about it any further, and if anyone asks, I don't know a thing.”

“That is very helpful for me, but are you allowed to do that as the head of a branch of the organization?” Vandalieu asked.

“Normally, no! I'm not, but… I don't think that you are a mystery that we could solve even if we knew what's in your Status. Not stirring up trouble is one of the secrets to success, you know.”

Everyone who had some sense of the situation, including Earl Isaac Morksi who was not present here, had agreed to not poke any further into the mystery surrounding Vandalieu and his companions.

No matter what they hypothesized it might be, it was clearly too much for a Guild Master or a mere earl to handle.

Of course, the officially correct thing to do would be to investigate and report to each Guild's headquarters and the duke, but… no matter how one looked at it, it was difficult to imagine things would turn out well.

Bachem, being wise enough to know that there were some things in this world that were not meant to be learned, quickly changed topics to the main reason for this meeting.

“Well, I'd like to get to the main matter at hand… I'd like you to go to Alcrem, the capital of the Alcrem Duchy, and meet the Master of the Tamers' Guild's headquarters,” he said. “I'll be going with you… He wants to nominate me as the next Master, and put you in an important position within the Guild.”

“… I'm very happy for you, but I'd like to decline,” said Vandalieu. “To begin with, why would I be put in an important position all of a sudden when I'm just one ordinary member?”

“Because you tame monsters with high Ranks,” Bachem replied. “You've probably drawn his attention because you've also discovered new races of monsters. There's a strange mindset in the Tamers' Guild of late that values tamers who have tamed powerful and rare monsters. It's true that the strength of your tamed monsters is important, but it isn't everything. The higher-ups have forgotten that recently,” he muttered, his fist clenched.

He seemed dissatisfied with the Tamers' Guild's recent values.

“And this is from the Earl… His Excellency, Duke Alcrem, has invited you to an informal tea party,” said the commander of the Knights' Order with a complicated expression on his face. “He has not been specific about what he wishes to discuss.”

“It's about Juliana, is it?” Vandalieu said.

“Indeed. I do not think that he will discuss anything extreme, but… it would be difficult for us to ignore this invitation in our current position.”

The commander held out a letter of invitation, marked with a seal that was not the duke's family crest but a distinct seal nonetheless. This seal would likely grant entry into the duke's residence if shown to his doorkeepers.

“Duke Alcrem has publicly declared that he is of Alda's peaceful faction, and the treatment of Vida's races in the duchy has vastly improved in recent years,” the commander continued, seemingly out of consideration for Vandalieu, but the more he spoke, the more uncertain he seemed to become. “I do not think he will make any unreasonable requests of you because you are a Dhampir, but…”

“I understand,” said Vandalieu, cutting the commander short and taking the letter of invitation.

Vandalieu's stay in Morksi had been one with a purpose, so he had intended to leave it at an appropriate time. But he had become more deeply involved with the city's people than he had originally planned, so he couldn't leave the city so easily.

And even leaving it didn't mean that he would leave it forever. The house he had purchased and the Dungeon he had made beneath it were being left exactly as they were, so he could teleport here at any time.

The franchised food carts, Starving Wolf Security, the orphanage and the rising popularity of Vida's religion – although the orphanage could likely be relocated to Talosheim, these things needed to be maintained.

Thus, heading to Alcrem, the capital of the Alcrem Duchy, was the perfect thing for him to do.

He planned to return to Talosheim for as long as necessary to conduct a parade and go through his paperwork, then journey to Alcrem via teleportation. He would talk to Duke Alcrem and persuade him to not pay any more attention to the matter with Juliana, and politely decline the request of the Tamers' Guild's Guild Master.

That was all.

However, when Vandalieu returned to his house, he found that a surprising revelation from Juliana was awaiting him.

“Vandalieu-sama, I understand the meaning of the Divine Message! It means: 'In a place that is equally to the north and south of here, a great G.o.ddess is sealed away inside jaws that are rather unpleasantly-colored!'” Juliana said.

“I see. There are several unclear things about this, but we'll investigate them later… Going to the trouble of sending a Divine Message to tell us this probably means that we're supposed to remove the seal. And what is this 'place that is equally to the north and south of here?'” Vandalieu asked.

“I don't know!”

There was a new matter to be attended to, one that was far more important than visiting Alcrem.