The Death Mage Who Doesn’t Want a Fourth Time The Death Mage That Doesn't Want A Fourth Time 45

After breaking Sercrent’s soul and having his dinosaur Zombies eat the body so that he would gain Experience Points, Vandalieu brought Eleanora to the dining hall.

He did this so that he could gather all of the important people here to listen to what Eleanora had to say.

「I’m terribly sorry!」(Tarea)

The one apologizing while kneeling on the floor was not Eleanora, but Tarea.

「To think that I was charmed so easily, spilled all of Van-sama’s secrets and then carelessly went to sleep! How can I apologize for such a thing…?」(Tarea)

「No, please don’t worry about it.」(Vandalieu)

Vandalieu had panicked after Eleanora told him what happened to Tarea, but considering that she had fallen asleep on a stone floor in the middle of winter, she seemed quite healthy. Vandalieu didn’t think any more of the incident than that, so he felt that Tarea didn’t need to apologize so fervently.

「It could not be helped, Tarea. Even if you had high levels in skills such as【Status Effect Resistance】and【Magic Resistance】, you would likely have been unable to resist the Demon Eyes.」(Zadiris)

「And if you apologize any more than that, you’ll only cause trouble for Van.」(Basdia)

「Uu, thank you very much for your words. But… why have things turned out this way?」(Tarea)

Tarea directed this question at Vandalieu, who was sitting right next to her. The two of them were sitting on a single t.i.tan-sized chair. Not only could they hear each other breathing, their bodies were in contact.

「I heard that you were worrying about how there was distance between me and you, so I decided to try shortening that distance to zero.」(Vandalieu)

「W-who did you hear such a thing from?!」(Tarea)

「Eleanora.」(Vandalieu)

「UWAAAAH! What does this woman think she’s doing, blabbering such things so freely?!」(Tarea)

「Tarea, Tarea, your tone is becoming unpleasant. And do not squirm so much; your elbow has been hitting the boy.」(Zadiris)

As Tarea had moved around with her head in her hands, realizing that Vandalieu had been told everything she had said before she lost consciousness, her elbow had inflicted considerable damage to him.

「So why is this woman here?!」(Tarea)

After quick recovery, Tarea glared at Eleanora. She seemed to be looking not at Eleanora’s face, but at a spot below Eleanora’s neck, seemingly wary of the『Charming Demon Eyes.』

Eleanora sat quietly in her chair. Her hands and legs weren’t bound, nor had she been gagged or blindfolded. It seemed that she might fly away and escape if they tried to place such restrictions on her.

「I am here to tell Vandalieu-sama everything I know, of course.」(Eleanora)

For some reason, Eleanora was adding -sama to Vandalieu’s name and acting as if she were his va.s.sal.

Trying to stop her after those events was difficult.

Eleanora had praised the G.o.ddess Vida despite Vandalieu having told her it wasn’t necessary, and after that, she had kissed his hand and sworn loyalty to him. If he hadn’t stopped her, she would have likely gone on to kiss his feet.

On top of that, Eleanora addressed him with an incredibly formal tone, and he had to put a lot of effort into asking her to return to her original, informal way of speaking. She had said,「I would never dare to」, and Vandalieu had only managed to convince her by telling her that this was an order, gesturing with his hand by forming a fist.

For some reason, she had made an expression that made it impossible tell whether she was scared or happy.

『Umm, can we have a discussion of what comes next after we listen to what Eleanora-san has to say? I woke up to find that lots of things have happened, so I still don’t know what’s going on.』(Darcia)

『These are Darcia-sama’s words, so perhaps we should accept her suggestion?』(Sam)

Sam, who had recklessly brought his carriage inside the royal castle’s dining hall, relayed Darcia’s words. And then Eleanora began to speak about the reason she and the other Vampires had come here, and what the Vampires who wors.h.i.+pped the【Evil G.o.d of Joyful Life】, Hihiryushukaka, had done to Darcia and Vandalieu.

Incidentally, Eleanora, Sercrent and their subordinates hadn’t been haunted by the spirits of those they had killed up until now because they had preemptively poured holy water over their entire bodies numerous times. As an anti-【Spiritualist】method, they had endured full-body burns in order to prevent any spirits from informing Vandalieu of their whereabouts.

It was a very effective method against Vandalieu, but quite a radical approach.

「Things are on a much larger scale than I thought.」(Vandalieu)

Vandalieu sighed as he listened. The Vampires who had killed his father Valen had never become directly involved with him after he regained his memories up until now, and he could never learn anything more about them so he hadn’t really had strong feelings towards them.

They had been hiding their existence behind High Priest Gordan and Heinz, after all.

The Mirg s.h.i.+eld-nation was a nation of the Amid Empire that wors.h.i.+pped his enemy, the G.o.d of Law and Fate Alda. He had never even dreamed that its strings were being pulled by a greater power.

If they were going to advocate that Vampires were evil, they should have at least prevented Vampires from gaining control over them.

「Well, the Mirg s.h.i.+eld-nation and Amid Empire were always my enemies to begin with.」(Vandalieu)

『The truth appears to be stranger than fiction.』(Sam)

It was a truth that shocked even Sam, who had once been a citizen of the Mirg s.h.i.+eld-nation.

The Pure-breed Vampires, Birkyne, Ternecia and Gubamon. The n.o.ble-born and Subordinate Vampires who served them. And Marshal Thomas Palpapek.

Even though Vandalieu had destroyed one enemy, it was as if his enemies had explosively increased in number.

『And they were even involved in the war two hundred years ago?! You guys instigated that?!』(Borkus)

On top of that, the Vampires who wors.h.i.+pped the【Evil G.o.d of Joyful Life】were considerably malicious. They had apparently been behind the war in which the Mirg s.h.i.+eld-nation destroyed Talosheim.

n.o.body could blame Borkus for exuding rage from his entire body.

「I-I hadn’t been born at that time, so I don’t know the details! But I’ve heard that Gubamon used the war to have his subordinates collect the dead bodies of Talosheim’s heroes.」(Eleanora)

Eleanora spoke hastily, perhaps scared of Borkus.

The rough outline of the teachings of Hihiryushukaka, the【Evil G.o.d of Joyful Life】, was that in this world, there were those who had their lives toyed around with and those who toyed with others’ lives. By toying with others’ lives, one could become a superior being.

With the divine protection of such a G.o.d, it was apparently possible to tame Undead who would normally be impossible to tame… or at least create Undead and turn them into servants.

And one of the three people who had attained that evil G.o.d’s divine protection, the Pure-breed Vampire Gubamon, apparently had an interest in turning the dead bodies of those praised as heroes into Undead and adding them to his collection.

That was why he sent his subordinates into wars and large-scale monster hunts in which heroes lost their lives in order to retrieve the heroes’ bodies.

He had dispatched his subordinates in the war two hundred years ago, too.

『I see, so that’s why Jeena and Zandia-jouchan’s bodies aren’t here anymore. But why didn’t they take my body?』(Borkus)

「Perhaps because your body was terribly damaged? With your dominant arm severed and your magic sword broken, it would not be strange to think that they would have thought you would not be a powerful a.s.set even after becoming an Undead.」(Nuaza)

『Nuaza, are you trying to say that I’m not a powerful a.s.set?』(Borkus)

「It is not me who thinks this! I am simply saying that the Vampires might have thought this way!」(Nuaza)

「This is just something I overheard, but… Apparently the other bodies were carried out first because yours was terribly damaged, and then Mikhail returned before your body could be taken.」(Eleanora)

And then Mikhail and the Vampires who had encountered each other had apparently done battle. It was likely that the Vampires had thought that Gubamon would reward them if they simply killed Mikhail, who had wounds all over his body and had lost his precious spear, and then retrieved Borkus’s body afterwards.

However, as an adventurer who was said to be destined to become S-cla.s.s, Mikhail was powerful even without the spear that was the origin of his t.i.tle. He succeeded in repelling the Vampires. However, as a result of the Stamina he expended in doing so, his wounds deteriorated and were treated too late, causing him to perish.

『To think that something like that happened right next to me while I was dead. So I guess he set up that ice so that the Vampires wouldn’t be able to get inside.』(Borkus)

What had finished Mikhail off wasn’t the Dragon Golem that had been carefully crafted by the G.o.ddess, but the Vampires who had come to retrieve Borkus’s body. It was quite the questionable story.

「But it seems like we won’t find their bodies even if we defeat the Dragon Golem.」(Vandalieu)

『Alright, kid. We’ll pillage them, take back the ladies from that Gubamon Vampire! A man becomes an adult for the first time when he steals a woman from another!』(Borkus)

「Ah, but what about Eleanora-san? Doesn’t this mean I’ve stolen her from the Vampire called Birkyne?」(Vandalieu)

『This one doesn’t count!』(Borkus)

「Eh… Well, he is someone I want to destroy in the future, but please wait a decade or two.」(Vandalieu)

I don’t like situations where love is stolen. Whether I would be on the stealing side or having love stolen from me. No, it’s questionable as to whether this falls under the category of stolen love in the first place.

Still, no matter what Vandalieu said, he would still end up doing deadly battle with the Vampires wors.h.i.+pping the【Evil G.o.d of Joyful Life.】They were a group that was even more necessary to exterminate than the High Priest Gordan and Heinz in order for him to survive and live a happy life.

Since they were Vampires, they were immortal. If he left them alive, they would continue coming up with plans forever until Vandalieu died.

Because of this, he felt no opposition to retrieving Jeena and Zandia’s corpses and turning them into Undead, and if they were already Undead, stealing them away was the obvious choice, but…

「Also, can you stop trying to put me on a throne?」(Vandalieu)

For some reason, Borkus was trying to marry Vandalieu to Zandia, who had been second in line to the throne while alive, and place him on Talosheim’s throne.

『What, you’re already a King, right? What’s the problem?』(Borkus)

「The boy doesn’t know when to give up.」(Zadiris)

『Well, perhaps it can be considered practice for becoming a n.o.bleman?』(Sam)

『Bocchan, there’s no need to worry. You don’t need knowledge about laws and taxes; you’re not taxing anyone now, are you?』(Saria)

『Talosheim isn’t really a proper nation right now, so it’ll be more like pretending to be a king.』(Rita)

「You might be able to gain a new t.i.tle and make Borkus and the others even stronger, you know?」(Basdia)

The thing that was most troubling was that everyone other than Vandalieu seemed to agree on the idea.

『Um, everyone, it isn’t that Vandalieu is against it. He is just holding himself back because of the First Princess and her descendants in the Orbaume Kingdom.』(Darcia)

Darcia relayed her son’s thoughts in his place.

It was possible that the First Princess who had escaped to the Orbaume Kingdom and her descendants would make a claim to the throne and try to restore their royal lineage. Vandalieu had mistakenly thought last night that Eleanora was a spy who had come from the Orbaume Kingdom for this very purpose.

The war had taken place two hundred years ago. With the t.i.tans’ lifespans of three hundred years, the same as the Ghouls, it was cutting it close, but there was still a chance that she was alive.

If that were the case, if Vandalieu sat on Talosheim’s throne for even a moment, it would become very troublesome.

「Wouldn't Princess Levia and her descendants praise the Holy Son who restored Talosheim and gladly give up the throne? After all, the Holy Son has restored Talosheim’s castle, walls and cityscape to its past splendor.」(Nuaza)

As Nuaza said, these things could all be called Vandalieu’s achievements. Even though the removal of the trees and extermination of the monsters had been carried out by the Undead t.i.tans and Ghouls, it was his【Golem Trans.m.u.tation】skill that had restored the city’s structures.

Even if the First Princess and her descendants had returned to Talosheim, without Vandalieu, it would have taken decades of time, an unimaginable amount of labor and an equivalent amount of funds to return the city to normal. Vandalieu had rebuilt the city, so this wouldn’t be necessary.

「But I don’t think they’ll hand over the throne. And no matter how good a person the princess is, the people of the Orbaume Kingdom will have their own expectations of her.」(Vandalieu)

It was even possible that a.s.sa.s.sins would be sent to kill Vandalieu. In the worst-case scenario, an extermination force with high-cla.s.s adventurers might be dispatched.

Other than the Dhampir Vandalieu, none of those currently living in Talosheim were of races that the Orbaume Kingdom recognized as people. There would be no legal repercussions if the Orbaume Kingdom forcibly removed them and occupied the city.

「So because of that, I can’t do anything careless while we still don’t know how the Orbaume Kingdom will act. Well, maybe I should have thought about this earlier. From now on, we’ll have to think about defenses against not only monsters, but people as well.」(Vandalieu)

Only while they didn’t know how the Orbaume Kingdom would act. Vandalieu had no intention of relinquis.h.i.+ng Talosheim. It was a place that he had made great effort to obtain and arrange, a place for everyone to live. He wouldn’t simply give that away.

There was a piece of magical equipment that was capable of resurrecting Darcia underground as well. Even the Orbaume Kingdom would become his enemies if they were to try and steal it from him.

「Now then, I think we should get to discussing plans to deal with various things.」(Vandalieu)

「Van-sama, before that, you must decide what we are going to do with this woman!」(Tarea)

Tarea interrupted Vandalieu as she pointed a finger at Eleanora. It seemed that she felt great humiliation because of the fact that she had been misled by Eleanora’s『Charming Demon Eyes.』

But Eleanora turned her gaze towards Tarea without moving a single eyebrow, and Tarea lowered her head.

「I am very sorry about what happened last night.」(Eleanora)

「Eh?! You are apologizing willingly?!」(Tarea)

「Of course. I am the one at fault, after all. I simply do not want to become Vandalieu-sama’s enemy. That would be more terrifying than anything. Terrifying enough that if I have to cast away my pride as a n.o.ble-born Vampire to avoid it, then so be it.」(Eleanora)

As Tarea expressed surprise at Eleanora’s apology, Eleanora smoothly explained the reasons behind her apology.

After destroying Sercrent’s soul, Vandalieu had briefly spoken to Eleanora and the spirits of the Subordinate Vampires.

And then Vandalieu had broken and destroyed all of the Subordinate Vampires’ souls.

It was not because they had tried to take Vandalieu’s life. He did that because they had directly ended the life of his father Valen, and because they had tried to kill Tarea.

The reason Eleanora was sitting here unrestrained and unharmed was because Vandalieu had decided that she was not an enemy.

She wasn’t involved with Valen’s death. Though she had initially come to kill Vandalieu, she had lost the will to do so before she could attempt it, and she had stopped the Subordinate Vampire who tried to kill Tarea. With those three points in mind, Vandalieu acknowledged that she wasn’t his enemy.

「Umm, why are you saying all these things about me? The G.o.ddess’s divine protection and all that was just a misunderstanding.」(Vandalieu)

「No, in a way, you possess a power even more fearsome than that of the G.o.ds.」(Eleanora)

This was Eleanora’s response to Vandalieu’s question.

「Destroying a soul is something that only the legendary Demon King was capable of. Even the【Evil G.o.d of Joyful Life】could not do such a thing, let alone my previous master.」(Eleanora)

『I heard about things like that when I was a kid as well, but… Well, that’s why I was surprised when you destroyed that guy’s soul. My body froze unconsciously. I suppose that’s what you call... rigor mortis.』(Borkus)

Leaving Borkus’s joke aside…

There are none in Lambda capable of destroying souls. The reason for this is that the circle of transmigration for people is the domain of Rodcorte, not one of the G.o.ds who exist in Lambda.

Rodcorte is the G.o.d who governs the circle of transmigration system that applies in multiple worlds, including Earth, Origin and Lambda.

That is why no G.o.d or evil G.o.d, no matter how powerful, can destroy a soul. No matter what kind of gruesome torture someone is subjected to, no matter what kind of disgusting manner in which they may die, no matter how many hundreds or even thousands of years their souls are bound for, they will find their way back to Rodcorte eventually. And then they will be reborn as a new life-form.

Including Eleanora, the people of Lambda are unaware of Rodcorte’s existence. But everyone believes in the circle of transmigration.

Because the circle of transmigration is a guaranteed thing, the people have hope after death. One day they will be reborn and walk a new life.

As long as the soul is safe, there is a chance that one will be chosen to be a G.o.d’s follower after death. Many heroes and great individuals have been chosen in this way to become subordinate G.o.ds and followers, and their deeds are praised even after their deaths.

And as long as the soul is intact, there is hope that the G.o.d they follow will revive them.

The thing that denies all of that hope is the destruction of the soul.

The only one who has been able to do that up until now was the Demon King, and it was this power to destroy souls that made the G.o.ds fear him and evil G.o.ds obey him.

「So now that the Demon King is gone, you are the one with the most fearsome power in this world. Neither Birkyne nor Hihiryushukaka can even compare to you. That’s why I don’t want to be your enemy.」(Eleanora)

Eleanora was and always had been a slave of fear.

Her parents who had ruled her through fear sold her as a slave, and the slave merchant who purchased her saw no value in her body that was thin and dark-colored back then. He treated her roughly without caring if he caused her injuries, and the mine owner who bought her after that treated her like an expiring product that should be exploited to its fullest.

And then she was purchased by Birkyne who had spotted her quality by coincidence, and then she was ruled by even greater fear. But unlike her treatment up until that point, Birkyne treated her well as long as she produced favorable results.

When she produced results superior to those of the other children, she would be given praise instead of a hard fist.

When she obeyed his commands, she would receive soft, pretty clothes instead of cold chains and collars.

If she carried out filthy, gruesome tasks, she would be able to eat extravagant food instead of soup containing half-rotten vegetable sc.r.a.ps.

If she flattered her master and wagged her tail, her body would be decorated with beautiful pieces of jewelry instead of scars.

And so Eleanora developed into a beautiful woman, was accepted as a n.o.ble-born Vampire, acquired the『Charming Demon Eyes』and received Birkyne’s favor.

However, at the same time, she feared losing that favor above all else. Birkyne did acknowledge Eleanora’s excellence, but she understood that he didn’t consider her to be a unique existence.

To Birkyne, Eleanora was a recent favorite, but given a thousand years, anywhere between one and a dozen Vampires of her quality would come by.

Yes, just a thousand years. For Birkyne, who had lived for a hundred thousand years, this wasn’t a long time.

That was why Eleanora continued wagging her tail for Birkyne. However, she met someone even more fearsome than him. That person was Vandalieu.

If Birkyne discovered that his pet dog had gone over to the Dhampir’s side, he would likely tremble in humiliation and rage. If Eleanora was ever caught by him, she would have to be prepared to be subjected to horrendous torture. But her soul would not be destroyed.

「Are you really sure?」(Vandalieu)

It was not only Tarea, but Vandalieu who also gave Eleanora a puzzled look.

「I’m sure you will get paid better on Birkyne’s side. They have more resources, too. In fact, his side is stronger than ours, overwhelmingly so.」(Vandalieu)

「That’s not true. You tortured Sercrent and killed him in a one-sided manner, didn’t you? Even in perfect condition, it would be impossible for me to defeat him in such a ruthless, cruel way.」(Eleanora)

「… I’m starting to question whether you’re complimenting me.」(Vandalieu)

Even Eleanora seemed to think that Birkyne’s side had more resources. She didn’t seem to think that this was particularly important, however.

「The one from yesterday, Sercrent, was it? I was only able to kill him so one-sidedly because he was so careless.」(Vandalieu)

Vandalieu himself didn’t think that Sercrent had been a weak enemy. He was simply careless, or rather, very unlucky in various ways.

As he hadn’t possessed accurate information regarding Vandalieu, he had been separated from his subordinates when Vandalieu removed the floor.

In addition, one arm and leg had been cut off by Borkus who Vandalieu had discreetly summoned, and then Borkus and the Zombie dinosaurs had slaughtered all of his subordinates.

The finis.h.i.+ng touch was that he had chosen to engage in close-quarters combat with his claws before sealing his wounds, thinking that magic wouldn’t work against Vandalieu. Because of this, he had his arm caught in the【Impact-Negating Barrier】, become unable to move and panicked at the prospect of dying of blood loss due to having his regenerative abilities nullified by the【Negate Healing】spell.

It would have been better to use a weapon like Bugogan had; with his arm directly caught inside the【Impact-Negating Barrier】, kinetic energy had been directly drained from his muscles and he had become immobilized. And Vandalieu had learned from his past mistakes and poured a huge amount of Mana into the barrier this time.

Because his skill’s level had increased, the performance of the barrier itself had increased as well.

With so many disadvantageous circ.u.mstances working against Sercrent, it could only be said that he had been unlucky.

「From what I heard from you before, Eleanora, it seems that he was being driven into a corner in various ways even before you arrived here, so maybe he was panicking because of that? But if he had kept his distance and engaged in long-range combat, he might have at least been able to escape.」(Vandalieu)

The reason Vandalieu wasn’t saying that he could have put up a decent fight was probably because Borkus had been present while Vandalieu remained inside his barriers.

A superior foe behind him and an untouchable target in front. Under those circ.u.mstances, there had been no hope for Sercrent to win that battle.

「Even if he ran away, only execution would be waiting for him.」(Eleanora)

「Vampire society is rough, isn’t it. Well, leaving that aside, I’m still not powerful. I’m just specialized in defense.」(Vandalieu)

I don’t have offensive power like Borkus’s ability to slaughter enemies with a single swing of a sword. No, I do, but I can’t aim【Mana Bullets】too accurately and they’re slower and have shorter range than arrows.

「But one day you’ll kill Birkyne and his Vampires… You will destroy them, won’t you?」(Eleanora)

「Of course.」(Vandalieu)

Even if he is a Vampire who had lived for a hundred thousand years, it would probably be easier to defeat him than the people who will resurrect here from Origin with cheat-like abilities. Even if he does possess an evil G.o.d’s divine protection, he isn’t an evil G.o.d himself, after all.

「But if this Birkyne person steps into the fight directly before I become strong, what will you do?」(Vandalieu)

「That won’t happen. They would never cross the Boundary Mountain range personally.」(Eleanora)

Eleanora declared this with confidence. There was a basis for that confidence. Birkyne and the other Pure-breed Vampires were indeed powerful, but it could never be said that the Pure-breed Vampires were on good terms with each other.

If Birkyne were to act personally, the other two Pure-breed Vampires, Ternecia and Gubamon, would promise to help, saying,「I see, do your best. We’ll lend you our subordinates.」However, they would then seize the Vampire organization in his absence.

「The king of the hill can only be a king because there is a hill to be a king of. If he stepped down from the hill, making it back up would be next to impossible.」(Eleanora)

As to be expected of a community that wors.h.i.+pped an evil G.o.d. The idea of kicking each other down instead of cooperating was deeply ingrained in its roots.

「So you’re saying that’s why it’s fine for you to be on my side?」(Vandalieu)

「That’s right; there is n.o.body more fearsome in this world than you.」(Eleanora)

「So you’ll put in as much effort as you can to get along with Tarea and everyone else?」(Vandalieu)

「Of course. Their enemies are your enemies, are they not? I will beg for their forgiveness even if I have to lick their feet.」(Eleanora)

In fact, if Tarea had been killed, Vandalieu would have likely killed Eleanora, so this was the correct response.

I get the feeling that she’s being too brave about it, though.

「Well then, if Tarea forgives you, then that will be fine. Let’s get along from now on.」(Vandalieu)

And so Vandalieu quickly moved on.

『V-Vandalieu? Are you sure it’s alright to believe her so easily?!』(Darcia)

「Boy, what this person is saying is equivalent to saying that if there is ever someone she fears more than you, she will betray you!」(Zadiris)

Darcia and Zadiris expressed their objections. Vandalieu waved both of his hands to calm down the fl.u.s.tered ladies.

「As to whether I should believe her, it’s alright because at her request, I’m going to apply a method of insurance. And what you say is true, Zadiris, but that’s how the world is.」(Vandalieu)

People gather beneath those who can provide them with the most benefits.

On Earth, Vandalieu had seen news reports of trouble caused for factories and businesses because their employees were readily leaving to work for other businesses that paid better.

What Eleanora was doing was equivalent to that.

「The criteria that Eleanora is using is『fear』, so as long as nothing like the Demon King’s resurrection happens and I’m the only one who can destroy souls, I’m sure she’ll never betray me.」(Vandalieu)

There’s also a chance that someone with that ability might be among those reincarnating from Origin, but I probably don’t need to worry about it. It’s difficult to imagine that Rodcorte would give someone a power that infringes on his domain.

「Muh~, well, the method of ruling through fear is something that has existed in the past, but…」(Zadiris)

「Other reasons for accepting Eleanora as one of our companions… She wasn’t involved in the incident with my father, so she’s not an enemy. I can gain information about the Vampires who wors.h.i.+p the evil G.o.d from her. She can fight for us. Also –」(Vandalieu)

『She’s a pretty lady, I suppose. She has a nice body, too.』(Borkus)

「Yeah, that’s right.」(Vandalieu)

Borkus interjected, and Vandalieu nodded in agreement with his words. A few seconds later, for some reason, there was a strange atmosphere in the room. Really, why was that?

「Van-sama… Didn’t we agree that you should hastily deny this fact?!」(Tarea)

「I don’t believe in telling unnecessary lies.」(Vandalieu)

「How can this be! Then does that mean you prefer this woman over me?!」(Tarea)

「No, no, you have a nicer body, Tarea.」(Vandalieu)

After all, Tarea has more muscle, particularly in the upper arms. And her abdominal muscles are quite splendid to touch as well.

「Oh my~♪ If that is the case…」(Tarea)

Tarea held her face in her hands as if blus.h.i.+ng.

「No, I am sure he is referring to her muscles.」(Zadiris)

「There’s no other explanation.」(Basdia)

Zadiris and Basdia whispered to each other, and they were entirely correct.

『So, Bocchan, what did you mean by method of insurance?』(Sam)

Sam returned the derailed conversation to its original topic.

「I will make a Golem in the shape of a piercing and apply it to her. With that, I will know where she is at all times, and if anything happens, I will make the Golem attack her body from the inside.」(Vandalieu)

Vandalieu thought that this was a harsh method of insurance for Eleanora, but this was something that she herself wanted.

It was Vandalieu who had deliberately suggested a harsher method in order to make it easier for everyone to accept Eleanora as a companion, however.

Incidentally, Vandalieu planned to put mercury on the inside of the piercing and apply【Preservation】to prevent corrosion.

「If you’re going that far, I don’t have any complaints about it, but where are you going to have her put that piercing? Her belly b.u.t.ton?」(Vigaro)

『Bocchan likes belly b.u.t.tons, after all. Fuuh… Muscles, wrists, all parts that we don’t have.』(Rita)

「Vigaro, Rita, I’m sure you know this, but other than muscles, everything else is a misunderstanding. And anyway, what parts do you have, Rita?」(Vandalieu)

『Loveliness~☆』(Rita)

「I’ll have her put it on her tongue.」(Vandalieu)

As Rita made a joke, this was Vandalieu’s serious reply to Vigaro’s question.

「Her tongue…」(Vigaro)

『Vandalieu, that’s a little…』(Darcia)

For some reason, everyone drew away from him.

「Whether it is one or two piercings or as many as you wish, I will accept them!」(Eleanora)

Eleanora poked out her red tongue as if asking Vandalieu to pierce holes in it.

「Umm, I want to discuss Talosheim’s defenses, so can we leave this topic here?」(Vandalieu)

What was important was what they would do next.

Incidentally, Vandalieu had decided to leave the inspection of his newly-acquired【Soul Break】skill until later.

Name: Eleanora Rank: 8 Race: n.o.ble-born Vampire Baroness Level: 47 Job: Demon Eye User Job level: 70 Job history: Slave, Servant, Apprentice Mage, Apprentice Warrior, Mage Age: 6 years old (20 years old at time of Vampire transformation) Pa.s.sive skills: Self-Enhancement: Subordination: Level 3 Superhuman Strength: Level 5 Rapid Regeneration: Level 2 Status Effect Resistance: Level 5 Intuition: Level 3 Mental Corruption: Level 3 Automatic Mana Recovery: Level 3 Detect Presence: Level 3 Active skills: Mining: Level 1 Time-Attribute Magic: Level 5 Life-Attribute Magic: Level 5 No-Attribute Magic: Level 2 Mana Control: Level 3 Swordsmans.h.i.+p: Level 1 Unarmed Fighting Technique: Level 1 Silent Steps: Level 3 Steal: Level 1 Housework: Level 2 Unique skills: Charming Demon Eyes: Level 7