The god of Earth was not an independent, individual god, but rather an aggregation of gods, demons, monsters, fairies, urban legends and the like from every nation.
These gods had branched off from the original concept of 'gods,' supported by the religious belief and fear held by humans.
As such, they could not reach a single unified opinion, and although they possessed power, they could not have direct influence on the world. This was because demons existing alongside the gods; they kept each other in check and this resulted in them ultimately being unable to do anything in many circumstances.
The only exception was the bestowal of a divine protection upon Vandalieu by approximately half of Earth's gods as a result of Zuruwarn's negotiations.
It was these gods of Earth that Zuruwarn wanted Vandalieu to meet.
"But why? It's true that I've received their divine protection, but didn't you say that about half of them don't want to support me?" asked Vandalieu.
His actions and way of thought had changed drastically since he had lived on Earth. Thus, he thought that it couldn't be helped if the gods of Earth didn't want to accept him.
"Well, you'll know when you see them," said Zuruwarn as he led them to a strange place.
In this place, there were the divine beings of Earth that Vandalieu recognized, having debates and arguments amongst themselves.
Tens of thousands of gods, buddhas, demons and monsters. It was quite the spectacle… ah, there were also Kappas and Kuchisake-onnas.
TLN: Kappas are mythical water-dwelling creatures; Kuchisake-onna means 'slit-mouth woman' and apparently appear in Japanese ghost stories.
A few gods stopped their debate that had turned into an argument and greeted their new visitors.
"Ah, thank you for coming. I was just starting to get fed up with the opposing side of the debate," said one.
"Damn, we couldn't finish in time!" cursed another.
"Great timing! Thanks to you, the supporting side can quit while we're ahead!" said a third.
The reactions of the gods to Vandalieu's arrival were varied. Many of them appeared friendly towards him, and there were only a few that looked hostile.
Their conversation was regarding some gods who had not given Vandalieu their divine protection who wanted to give him their divine protection as well. When asked about what this was all about, they explained that Vandalieu had seemingly influenced the gods of Earth unconsciously.
They had become connected to him when the dark gods and the gods related to death and the afterlife had given Vandalieu their divine protection.
These dark gods were a part of the gods of Earth… approximately half. Thus, even those who had refused to give Vandalieu their divine protection at first had become indirectly connected to him.
Through the dark gods, they had been influenced and encroached upon.
"It is not that all of us gods have changed. Even now, I think your actions are difficult to accept," said one of the gods.
"However, with Zuruwarn-dono's persistent attempts to persuade us, even the stone-headed ones like this one have started to think that it doesn't really matter, since you're in another world," said another, pointing at the first god.
"Apparently it's because no matter what may happen in other worlds, it won't affect the lost sheep on Earth," said a third god.
"Thinking about it that way, it's very pleasant to see your adventures in your foreign world through the connection that has formed through the divine protection. Perhaps it feels that way because we have only ever seen Earth," said a goddess.
In other words, Vandalieu's actions were a form of entertainment for the gods of Earth. Some of them had been born from the thoughts of humans who dreamed of worlds with swords and magic, so Vandalieu's adventures in Lambda would have greatly stimulated their curiosity.
"That is how it is. Take our divine protection," said a god with a pompous tone, offering Vandalieu a glowing orb.
"Thank you very much," said Vandalieu, bowing his head as he accepted it. "By the way, could I ask you to tell me the recipe for Cola and some other pieces of knowledge about Earth?" he asked.
"… Why do you desire the recipe for a carbonated drink so?" one of the gods asked curiously. "Well, I suppose it is fine. Creating it in another world will not affect businesses on Earth, after all."
"However, we cannot give you all of our knowledge regarding other things. Your soul has too strong a resistance to any external interference," said another god. "I will teach you what I can, but consider it certain that you will forget more than nine tenths of it."
"And we are only able to impart you with knowledge that applies on Earth. There is no guarantee that you will be able to do the same things in another world with different laws of physics. Be wary of that," said a third.
And so, Vandalieu acquired the complete divine protection of the gods of Earth, the recipe for Cola and a small amount of Earth's knowledge in other areas.
Immediately after receiving the divine protection and knowledge from the gods of Earth, Vandalieu was once again held in Zuruwarn's mouth as they moved to another location.
"Is this Origin? It's hard to tell them apart," Vandalieu murmured as he looked at a planet that looked almost identical to Earth.
"Indeed. As Earth and Origin resemble one another, we can only tell them apart from here by looking for small differences in their geography," said Zuruwarn.
Unlike Earth, magic existed in Origin, and there were some large historical differences such as that the Second World War had never happened. But from outer space, there were almost no visible differences.
"Warning Rikudou that things won't end well for him in the next world if he does too many horrible things, or warning Amemiya that Rikudou is a traitor… would probably be a bad idea, wouldn't it," said Vandalieu.
"That's a bit difficult, since Rodcorte would take notice," said Zuruwarn. "Also, I don't know if they'll be in one piece after seeing you in your current form… Seriously, give up on going down there."
In addition to his skyscraper-size, Vandalieu's soul had countless fragments of the Demon King mixed inside it, making his current form even more indescribable than before.
It would become more difficult for Zuruwarn and Ricklent to make moves unnoticed if Rodcorte were to notice their actions here, but it was also desirable to not have Vandalieu cause a large number of Origin's inhabitants to lose their sanity.
"In any case, even if you were to show yourself to them, it's likely that you'll be attacked like you were ten years ago. You look even more grotesque now than you did back then," Ricklent pointed out, mentioning the end of Vandalieu's second life.
Indeed, he had at least resembled a human, but the only thing about him resembling a human now was that he had limbs and walked on two feet.
It was far too much effort to risk being detected by Rodcorte to warn Rikudou and Amemiya.
"I suppose that's true, too," said Vandalieu.
"But to you, are these people worth giving warnings to?" Ricklent asked. "I thought you would take no notice of them."
"No, I don't actually care about Rikudou and Amemiya," Vandalieu replied.
He really did not care about them. No matter how they lived their second lives in Origin, there was no changing the fact that they would go to Rodcorte, be requested to kill Vandalieu and then reincarnated in Lambda in the end.
There was no guarantee that they would accept that request. They could run away somewhere so that they would not get involved with Vandalieu, or they could even join him like Kanako had done. They might even choose a strange path like Asagi.
That would depend on their personalities and emotions, and these would not be changed by one or two brief conversations with them.
Vandalieu's life in Origin had already come to an end – at the hands of Amemiya and the other reincarnated individuals, no less.
"But I'm just a little curious about the future of the child of Amemiya Narumi, the one that Pluto spared… the one that she saved," said Vandalieu.
He was a little curious of the child who had been inside Narumi, the reason that Pluto had been unable to kill her.
Pluto had not known that she would have a second life, and she yet had given up on accomplishing the goals of her first in order to save that child.
Since she had gone through so much effort to save her, Vandalieu wanted her to at least be healthy as she grew up.
According to Kanako, the researchers who had used Vandalieu as an experimental animal had been gathered in the same facility that Kanako herself had died in. Thus, they should have all died at the same time as her and the rest of Murakami's group.
Considering that, the only thing that interested Vandalieu in the world of Origin was Amemiya Narumi's second child.
"But let's leave that to her parents," said Vandalieu. "Take me to the god of Origin, please."
Just like when he had taken Vandalieu to the gods of Earth, Zuruwarn brought Vandalieu to a curious place.
The god of Origin was actually a group of countless gods, much like the gods of Earth, but there were far fewer of them. Perhaps due to the existence of magic, Origin's humans thought of nature and spiritual mysteries differently from those of Earth.
If something mysterious were to happen on Earth, they would be attributed to the pranks of fairies, the doing of monsters or the curses of ghosts, and these fearful thoughts would give birth to new gods.
However, in Origin, they would be attributed to someone's spell or some coincidental magical effect. If these things were attributed to magic, then perhaps gods would not be born.
"But it seems that those guys aren't here," Vandalieu observed.
Heroes and great figures who actually existed in the real world could also become gods. But fortunately, it seemed that the Bravers had not become gods.
Things would have been problematic if they had.
"Well, Amemiya Hiroto is actually still alive. But look, there's a face that you know," said Zuruwarn, pointing somewhere.
"Ah, I am finally able to meet you," said a familiar voice, and Vandalieu realized that it belonged to someone he had recently begun to see quite often.
A girl with black hair, black eyes and sickly-white skin.
"Pluto?" Vandalieu murmured.
Among the gods was Pluto, who had the form from her previous life that Lambda's Pluto had recently become able to take.
"Yes, I am Pluto," she said, giving Vandalieu a polite bow. "However, I am not the real Pluto. I am a god among the gods of Origin, born from the belief and prayers of the people of Origin."
The Eighth Guidance had conducted philanthropic work in order to gather power, gain supporters and to fight back against the Bravers. Jack had brought gravely ill people who would not be able to escape death to Pluto, and she would absorb the death from them and cure them.
For the Eighth Guidance, these were not entirely virtuous acts, as they possessed an ulterior motive for doing this, but for those who were saved and their families, she was unmistakably a goddess who had saved them.
As these miracles had been performed by an ageless, mysterious, beautiful girl with death-attribute magic that was thought to have been lost, she had gained more worshippers than the Eighth Guidance had anticipated.
And even after their deaths, Pluto's worshippers had remained and even increased in number, as she had become more famous after her death.
"That worship is what created me as one of the gods of Origin. Thus, I am not Pluto herself, but the Pluto inside the imaginations of the people of Origin," Pluto explained.
"I see. That's why you're a little different," said Vandalieu, realizing that the behavior of the Pluto before him was different from the real one.
It seemed that these differences were a result of this Pluto being created from the imaginations of worshippers who did not know her.
"Through the connection to Legion formed by granting them our divine protection, we have summoned Zuruwarn-dono and Ricklent-dono here, as they have also granted them their divine protections, and we have summoned you as well. We have done this because we have decided that if the 'Avalon' Rikudou Hijiri drastically affects this world in the future, we will make use of Amemiya Hiroto in order to deal with him," said Pluto.
Rikudou Hijiri was secretly conducting research in order to acquire the death attribute, and it was likely that he would take radical actions in the future. If these actions would cause casualties merely in the scale of thousands or tens of thousands, the gods of Origin would not have taken any action, no matter how much resentment they felt towards Rodcorte, even with Pluto being among them.
Origin was a world similar to Earth; it had experienced numerous disasters, conflicts and wars. There had been plenty of events in which thousands or tens of thousands lost their lives.
During these tragic events, not a single god had appeared shining in the sky to save the people.
For the gods of Origin, who were an assembly of a great variety of gods, the conflicts of humans were the conflicts of their own worshippers, and they were unable to act due to the differences in opinions between the gods.
But the 'Avalon' Rikudou Hijiri was an exception to this.
"The damage that will arise from what he is trying to accomplish may result in the destruction of this world," said Pluto. "Though that is only if his research is correct," she added.
"Is Rikudou Hijiri's research really that dangerous?" Vandalieu asked.
"Yes. I do not know if he can really make this happen, and he may destroy himself during his research as a result of not being able to fully control the death attribute, but… even in this scenario, approximately a third of Origin's population would be lost."
It seemed that Rikudou Hijiri's research was considerably dangerous. Perhaps Pluto had not told Zuruwarn and Ricklent this much before; they gasped audibly.
"If it is that dangerous, then Rodcorte should be stopping it as well… Since he rules over this world's circle of transmigration, the people should be a source of power for him," Ricklent murmured. "But he has shown no signs of doing that, has he?" he asked Zuruwarn.
Zuruwarn shook his four heads. "None. I don't know whether it's because he hasn't realized how grave the situation is, or whether he's optimistically hoping that Amemiya Hiroto will stop him, or whether he intends to intervene at the last second, but considering that he hasn't done anything up until now –"
"In any case, we cannot trust Rodcorte any longer. We have all come to agree on that. Thus, we intend to make use of Amemiya Hiroto and the other Bravers by supporting them in order to stop Rikudou Hijiri," said Pluto.
It seemed that she and the rest of the gods of Origin had no intention of giving Rodcorte a say in the matter. They would support Amemiya Hiroto and the other Bravers without Rodcorte's permission, so that Rikudou Hijiri would fall before he caused too much damage.
But Pluto, whose eyes had been filled with a quiet determination up until this point, suddenly frowned. "Personally, the thought of granting them our divine protection and causing miracles to happen in order to support them is unpleasant to me, even if this support is temporary, but… we do not have equivalents to clones or heroic spirits that can act on the world's surface on our behalf, so we must use them to make our will become reality. Please forgive us," she said.
"I don't really care about that… It's only natural for gods to protect their world, after all," said Vandalieu.
"No, that is… We intend to remove our divine protections once we have finished using them, but if reincarnated individuals with our divine protection are killed in the process of stopping Rikudou Hijiri, it is possible that they will still be carrying them when they go to Rodcorte's Divine Realm, and we will not be able to remove them," Pluto explained. "I thought it would be best to inform you of this."
In other words, it was possible that reincarnated individuals who accepted Rodcorte's request or thought similarly to Asagi would possess the divine protection of the gods of Origin.
"I see. If that happens and I devour their souls, it would cause damage to you," said Vandalieu.
If he were to devour the souls of such reincarnated individuals, the divine protection bestowed on them by the gods of Origin – a portion of their power – would be devoured as well. This would cause them considerable damage.
Pluto seemed to want to avoid that.
"We have discussed this with Ricklent-dono and came to this idea. We are sorry to ask this of you, but we would like you, the 'Undead'… Vandalieu, to accept our divine protection. Through this connection, we will recover our divine protections when you devour the reincarnated individuals' souls," said Pluto. "Will you accept our divine protection?"
"Before I answer, I'd just like to be sure, what should I do if reincarnated individuals with your divine protection disappear without trying to kill me, or if they join me?" Vandalieu asked.
"Then you may leave them be. There is no need for you to go to the trouble of recovering all of our divine protections," Pluto replied.
Vandalieu felt a great sense of relief upon hearing that he would not have to devour the souls of those who were not his enemies.
"Then I will gratefully accept," he said.
"Thank you very much for allowing this, the great Undead, Vandalieu-sama," said Pluto.
"Well then, this might not seem very grateful since it looks like we're just going with the flow, but I suppose we should have you accept our divine protections as well," said Ricklent.
"There's no point in hiding things from Alda now, too," said Zuruwarn.
And so, Vandalieu received the divine protection of the gods of Origin from another Pluto, as well as the divine protections of Ricklent and Zuruwarn.
"Earth's Dark Gods' Divine Protection has transformed into Earth's Gods' Divine Protection!"
"You have acquired Origin's Gods' Divine Protection, Ricklent's Divine Protection and Zuruwarn's Divine Protection!"
Vandalieu was still in a dream.
"You'll wake up from this dream soon, and Gufadgarn is moving your body to stay in line, so don't worry about anything. Just wait for a while," said Zuruwarn.
"If fate would have it, you might meet someone. As for what to do with that person, that is up to your discretion," said Ricklent.
With that, they left. It seemed that they had picked Vandalieu up, but would not take him back.
But from Ricklent's words, it seemed that they were not simply unwilling to take him back. But just who would Vandalieu meet?
"I mostly only meet people I know in my dreams… Was there anyone from Origin or Earth that I know?" Vandalieu wondered, walking forward at a leisurely pace.
Maybe I'll wake up from this dream without meeting anyone after all, he thought.
But just as this thought occurred to him, he saw a small object.
Something pitch-black, about the size of a cat or a medium-sized dog, turned to stare blankly at Vandalieu, who returned a perplexed gaze.
Most of those he met in his dreams had mostly the same appearance as they did in reality. But he had never seen anyone in the real world with the appearance of 'a black something.'
Vandalieu and this black thing exchanged perplexed stares for a while. However, it was the black thing that recovered from its confusion first.
It let out a high-pitched noise, stood up and waddled unsteadily towards Vandalieu.
The black thing then grasped at the horns and tumors growing all over Vandalieu's body, trying to climb onto him. Vandalieu then realized what it was.
"Ah, a baby. You don't have much self-perception, so that's why you have that form," said Vandalieu, but knowing what it was didn't help him know what to do with it. "I don't suppose your parents would appear in a dream," he said, looking around, but there was no sign of the black thing's… the baby's, guardians.
He couldn't just roughly shake it off himself, so Vandalieu decided to rock it gently as he moved forward… Incidentally, he had no idea which way he was supposed to go, or whether it was necessary to go anywhere at all.
This was a result of his thoughts having become hazy because he was dreaming.
"Eyes? Eyes?" the baby said curiously.
"Yes, those are my eyes, so please don't poke your fingers in them," said Vandalieu.
"Squiggly?"
"Those are antennae. Please don't pull on them too much. Maybe because this is a dream, but you're much stronger than you are in the real world."
The black baby seemed to be enjoying itself as it poked its fingers into the eyes in various places on Vandalieu's body and pulling on his antennae. It was quite the aggressive baby.
"But it seems you can speak a little, so I suppose you're about one or two years old. Can you say your name?" Vandalieu asked.
"Meh."
"Meh-kun?"
Vandalieu suspected it was a boy, since it was mischievous and showed no signs of being timid, so he decided to add -kun to his name.
"I'm Vandalieu," he said.
"Bandalieu?"
"Yes, yes, Bandalieu," said Vandalieu, ignoring the fact that a part of his face was missing as he matched Meh-kun's imprecise pronunciation.
He was trying to think about who this child was, but… he was still dreaming, so he couldn't gather his thoughts together.
I'll think about it when I wake up, he thought, giving up on it for now as he continued on, rocking the Meh-kun who was still using his body as a playground.
After a while, he encountered a Noppera-bou that was whispering to itself.
TLN: A Noppera-bou, or faceless ghost, is a Japanese youkai (legendary creature).
"Ah, a Noppera-bou-san who is one of the gods of Earth," said Vandalieu, calling out to the genderless silhouette that was wearing white tights that covered its whole body. "… Or not," he murmured as the silhouette gave no response, continuing to whisper to itself.
Despite not being a baby that didn't have much self-perception, it was wandering around in a mental state resulting in it even having a body that was genderless in addition to its face; it was in quite the serious state.
"White," said Meh-kun.
"Yes. Would I be able to use my Mental Encroachment Skill even if I'm dreaming?" Vandalieu wondered.
Thinking that it was some kind of fate that this was a dream, Vandalieu extended his arms towards the white silhouette and wrapped it in his palms as gently as he could.
He then produced a countless number of eyes and mouths on the surface of his palms, which asked him this.
"Who are you?"
The silhouette gave an indiscernible whisper in response.
"Who are you?" the mouths on Vandalieu's palms questioned once more.
They repeatedly asked, "Who are you?" "What is your name?" "What are you?"
As these questions continued, the white silhouette's unclear whispers began to change.
"… Who… Who… am I?" it whispered through a mouth that had appeared on a face that had been completely void of features before, finally speaking words that could be understood.
Its appearance began to change as well.
However, it did not settle on a fixed form; the outline of its body changed from male to female and back to male, over and over.
Meh-kun watched the silhouette curiously, then looked up at Vandalieu as if to say, "It's not fixed yet, you know?"
"I can't fix you after just one try after all," Vandalieu told the silhouette. "If I go too far, your mind might collapse, and there's no guarantee that we'll be able to meet again… I suppose I'll give this to you as a replacement for medicine."
He tore off two eyes and a mouth from one of his palms and attached them to the white silhouette.
With this, the eyes and mouth would continue to question the white silhouette.
"I… I am…" the silhouette whispered.
Vandalieu released the silhouette. With unsteady footsteps, the silhouette began walking away.
"White?" said Meh-kun.
"It seems that this is where we part ways with that person," said Vandalieu.
Perhaps because this was a dream, he didn't feel a desire to follow the silhouette. With Meh-kun still riding on his shoulder, he continued walking.
Vandalieu didn't know why, but along the way, he was surrounded by crowds of people who offered him mysterious prayers. He also encountered people who seemed to be suffering, though not as badly as the white silhouette; he helped them with the Mental Encroachment Skill.
"… I thought I might not meet anyone at first, but I seem to be meeting a surprising number of people," Vandalieu remarked.
As he continued, he came to a boundary line, and the ground beyond it was of a different color to the ground that he had been walking on up until now.
"It seems that I have to say goodbye to you here, Meh-kun," said Vandalieu, intuitively sensing that this was the end of the dream.
"No!" said Meh-kun, clinging onto Vandalieu's body.
"I'm happy you feel that way, but all dreams come to an end… Alright, I'll give something to you too, Meh-kun," said Vandalieu.
He started to tear off eyes and antennae like the ones that Meh-kun was holding, as he seemed to have taken a liking to them.
But Meh-kun made a dissatisfied noise and started smacking his hands against Vandalieu unhappily.
Vandalieu began tearing off other parts of himself. Once there was a small mountain of his own body parts assembled, he began shaping them into the shape of a person. The final result was another Vandalieu, larger than Meh-kun but still far smaller than the real Vandalieu.
"Banda!" said Meh-kun, happily running towards the newly-created Vandalieu.
"Now then, take good care of Meh-kun, me," said the larger Vandalieu.
"I don't think I can do anything amazing, but I'll do my best, me," said the smaller Vandalieu.
"I'll attach a treasure orb onto you too," said the larger Vandalieu, offering his smaller self a treasure orb.
"Having that will make things somewhat better. That's very helpful," said the smaller Vandalieu.
And with that, the smaller Vandalieu took the treasure orb and turned around to walk in the opposite direction with Meh-kun in his arms.
After seeing them off, Vandalieu woke up.
"The Level of the Dark Demon Creation Path Enticement Skill has increased!"
"Vandalieu, are you awake?" a voice asked.
Gaining consciousness, Vandalieu found himself still standing in line. He would reach the city's gate soon, but judging from the position of the sun in the sky, it seemed that less than an hour had passed since Zuruwarn had carried his soul away.
"Yes, good morning, Gufadgarn. Thank you for moving my body for me," said Vandalieu, thanking the invisible Gufadgarn.
It seemed that Gufadgarn had opened gaps in space to extend fingers or other body parts underneath Vandalieu's clothes to manipulate him like a puppet.
"I am unworthy of your praise," said Gufadgarn in a flat-toned but somewhat happy-sounding voice.
Vandalieu felt the long, thin objects touching his skin withdraw.
At the same time, one of the gate guards approached with a suspicious look on his face.
"What, are you alone? I was sure you were an apprentice of one of the merchants in front or behind you," the guard said.
What the guard saw was a ten-year-old boy wearing a robe with a hood drawn over his face. This boy was carrying no belongings but a single bag; he certainly did not look like he was capable of traveling safely. This was indeed suspicious.
"Yes. The caravan I was an apprentice for was attacked by bandits… I was lucky enough to escape, but I couldn't go back to my parents who live in poverty, so I journeyed here," said Vandalieu, reciting a fake past that he had decided on with the help of Miles and Eleanora.
The expression in the guard's eyes turned into sympathy.
"I see… So, what do you intend to do after coming to this city?" he asked.
"I want to go to the Commerce Guild and look for work there. Fortunately, I have a little money that the bandits missed," said Vandalieu.
"Alright. I think you will face some difficult times ahead, but it's fortunate that you survived. Do your best to stay out of trouble with us. Children under the age of fifteen are exempt from the toll, so you're free to pass. Welcome to Morksi –"
"Hey, wait," interrupted another, older guard. "You're going to let him pass without even checking his face? Don't slack off just because he's a kid." He turned to Vandalieu. "Hurry up and take off your hood."
The older guard's face was not that of a diligent man who was dedicated to his job… There was an unpleasant smile on it.
However, what he said was correct, so Vandalieu lowered his hood and showed the guards his face. He was already wearing a cloth over one eye to conceal the fact that he was a Dhampir.
"Oh, so you've only got one eye. I'm surprised you made it this far in one piece," the guard sneered. "By the way… for the sake of the city's public order, there's a rule in place forbidding us from letting suspicious people in. Those suspicious people include parentless, jobless brats. Even brats resort to theft and pilfering to survive, you see."
"Aggar-senpai, you're taking it too far –" the younger guard began.
"Shut it, Kest. You're new on the job, and you want to complain about me?" said the older guard named Aggar, glaring at the younger guard.
The young guard named Kest gave a small squeak and stepped back.
It seemed that Kest was new to his job, and was in a far lower position than his senpai Aggar.
Aggar turned back to Vandalieu. "But it's a different story if you have enough money to live properly for a while. The kind of money to, say, pay a larger toll than adults," he said, holding a palm out towards Vandalieu.
It seemed that he had heard Vandalieu say that he had money that the bandits had missed, and he was now here to collect a bribe from a helpless child who had not yet registered with a Guild.
I thought of this lie so that people wouldn't become suspicious as to why I have the funds to start a stall, but it's backfiring on me now, Vandalieu thought.
He had plenty of funds. He had money in the Baum currency that the people of the Sauron Duchy exchanged for Lunas when they immigrated to Talosheim, as well as the money that he had taken from the 'Hyena' Gozoroff's base.
Handing some over as a bribe wouldn't be a problem at all. However, it would be troublesome to keep becoming a target who was known to have money.
If I remember correctly, an adult's toll around here is five Baums, Vandalieu recalled as he placed double that amount – ten Baums – into Aggar's hand.
"… Very good. Welcome to our city, Morksi," said Aggar, stepping out of Vandalieu's way with a broad grin.
"If you're looking for an inn, you can stay at Starling Inn for cheap. As for food, you should be able to fill yourself up at Swallow's Nest," Kest whispered as Vandalieu walked past him to go through the gate.
Vandalieu whispered his thanks in return, then entered the city of Morksi.
He had run into some bad luck early on, but it was a good, lively city. Just as the preliminary investigation had suggested.
Vandalieu had actually entered the city several days ago without passing through the gate, because the headquarters of the 'Hyena' Gozoroff's criminal organization was located here.
The headquarters had already been completely taken over by Miles and Isla, and Vandalieu had turned all of the criminal organization's main members into Undead after extracting information from them. Unlike Gozoroff, it was possible that he would use them for a while, so he could not simply end them.
This had been worth doing; Vandalieu now had Morksi's underworld essentially in his grasp… though his grasp hadn't reached the kind of low-life underlings who would take bribes.
I have a grasp on the people higher-up, and don't have a good understanding of the members and non-members below them, Vandalieu thought.
"… Vandalieu, how do you wish to dispose of that human?" Gufadgarn asked through a gap in space.
Vandalieu's mind went blank for a moment. "Do you mean that guard named Aggar? I'm not going to do anything," he said.
"… Are you sure? If you give me the order, I can conceal his death for an eternity in a labyrinth. Of course, there will be no evidence left behind," Gufadgarn said.
"No, I'm not going to do anything," Vandalieu repeated.
"Then should I kill him?" asked Orbia, who was hovering behind him.
"My growing children are hungry for meatballs," said Quinn, poking her face out from inside Vandalieu, underneath the hood that was covering his face again.
"Nutrients… My fruit will become tasty," said Eisen, poking out under Vandalieu's hood as well.
Kühl poked out to express its hunger as well.
"I just said, I'm not going to do anything. If I dispose of every insignificant villain, there's going to be a mountain of missing people in no time," Vandalieu told them.
The only damage that had been suffered was ten Baums, after all.
"… Is that right? Just say when," said Eisen, perhaps convinced by Vandalieu's words or perhaps simply seeing if he would change his mind.
Everyone withdrew inside Vandalieu again.
"… It would be good to not be taken notice of by unwanted vultures, though," said Vandalieu.
If he wasn't careful, he would become the person at the center of a series of missing people in the city of Morksi.
For now, Vandalieu started heading towards Starling Inn, the inn that Kest had told him about.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Alda, the god of law and fate, was naturally a god who prioritized reason above emotions. At the very least, he believed and preached that one should preserve logic and reason, and suppress emotion. However, he knew from experience that this was not something that could always be put into practice.
There were events in which Alda found himself unable to suppress his emotions, though they were few in number. One was the time when the gods he considered to be his brothers and sisters were defeated and their existence extinguished by the Demon King Guduranis. Another was when he learned that Vida had constructed her own circle of transmigration system and given birth to corrupted races.
And another was now, after Rodcorte's revelation of a number of truths, including Rodcorte's own actions.
He had lost count of how many times he had raised his voice in anger.
"You bastard… What are you thinking?! Do you intend to become the ruler of this world?!" Alda finally bellowed, after Rodcorte had finished speaking.
The gods present during the discussion stiffened as Alda's anger shook the entire Divine Realm.
"I do not believe that I have become the ruler of this world," said Rodcorte, showing no discomposure despite the anger that was being directed at him. "However, it is true that I was discontented that you ignored what I have been saying for many years."
"And because of your discontent, you took it upon yourself to reincarnate upon Lambda the inhabitants of another world, wielding special powers, as well as Vandalieu, whose soul is made from the soul fragments of Zakkart and the other champions?!" Alda roared.
"Regarding Vandalieu, that was indeed an oversight on my part. I had multiple chances to realize that he was the being who possessed what used to be the champions' souls, and I deserve the blame for failing to take notice. However, that should not have become a problem to begin with," said Rodcorte, apologizing in his first sentences but insisting that he was blameless with the last.
Alda forgot his anger for a moment and simply stared, dumbfounded by Rodcorte's shamelessness.
"It should not have become a problem?! Have you lost your mind?!" demanded Yupeon, the god of ice.
"… These are not words that would be spoken by anyone who understands the situation," muttered Niltark, the god of judgment.
Both of them were gods whose spirit clones had been destroyed by Vandalieu.
The other gods also began to express their discontent at Rodcorte's words.
In the current situation, Vandalieu had become a threat that Alda and his followers could no longer ignore. His power was tremendous for a mortal, but he did not yet possess as much power as Guduranis had. However, the danger he posed to society was greater than Guduranis.
He blurred the boundary between the living and the dead, gathered the races created by Vida, possessed knowledge and technology from another world, and tempted the people to a dark path.
Perhaps Vandalieu's actions could not be objectively declared as purely evil. However, Alda's objective was to restore the world to its correct state… to the ordinary, pure state that it had been in before the Demon King Guduranis appeared, free of monsters. Vandalieu's actions clearly opposed that objective, and the world order that Alda imposed.
Undead were monsters, and corrupted Mana lingered in their presence. But it was not only them; such Mana also lingered in the presence of Vida's races that possessed Ranks, such as the Majin, Scylla and Vampires. Thus, any land in which a large population of these races lived would become contaminated, turning into Devil's Nests in which monsters roamed.
Alda had always believed that Vida's races that did not possess Ranks, such as Titans, Beast-people and Dark Elves, could be accepted once the unstable, unpredictable circle of transmigration system created by Vida was abolished. However, the races with Ranks could not be accepted.
If they were very few in number, he would not mind preserving their souls and taking steps to turn them into Familiar Spirits after Vida's circle of transmigration system was abolished, however.
But according to Rodcorte, Vandalieu was even interfering with that circle of transmigration system, guiding souls that belonged to Rodcorte's and the Demon King's circle of transmigration systems to Vida's.
He was already essentially trampling the world order that the gods of Alda's forces believed in underfoot just by existing.
"Are you saying that this is not a problem?!" Yupeon shouted.
"The truth is that it was not a problem. I have just explained the circumstances in which I reincarnated Vandalieu in Lambda. Ordinarily, he would have been born in an environment of misfortune as a human, Elf, Dwarf or as a mix of those races, and he would have been highly likely to die before his memories and personalities returned," said Rodcorte. "However, Vandalieu was born as a Dhampir. At the time, I did not know why, but I do now. It is because of the meddling of Vida, Ricklent and Zuruwarn."
Upon hearing the name of Vida, as well as those of two of the great gods who were thought to have been slumbering until Rodcorte mentioned them, Yupeon and Niltark's angry words stopped.
"I have not given Vandalieu anything other than the curses that he bears. Despite that, he regained his memories and personality far earlier than he should have, led the Ghouls across the Boundary Mountain Range, and has survived for all of this time. He has done so because he had Vida's help. There is no other explanation," said Rodcorte.
Though the gods remained silent, they agreed with Rodcorte. That was how harsh the circumstances of Vandalieu's early life had been, even in the eyes of the gods.
And although there was no proof, the truth was that Ricklent and Zuruwarn had taken action to help Vandalieu approximately a hundred years before his reincarnation, and Vida and Gufadgarn had also taken action after hearing their Divine Messages.
Rodcorte's explanation sounded convincing.
However, Rodcorte thought nothing more of this explanation as one that would be convenient for convincing Alda and his followers if it were true. He had almost no knowledge of when Vida and the other gods had begun to take action, or how much assistance they had given Vandalieu.
All he knew was that they had caused Vandalieu to be reincarnated as a Dhampir, and that they had caused the souls of the 'Gazer' Minuma Hitomi and the Eighth Guidance to become reincarnated at Vandalieu's side as Legion.
However, that was all he needed to know to give a flimsy explanation.
"I am not saying that I bear no responsibility, but… do you, gods of Lambda, especially Alda, not also bear responsibility for overseeing the world? It is your own brethren who have willingly brought about this threat," said Rodcorte.
Alda felt his anger rise up within him once more, but he also realized that anger would serve no purpose.
There is no use in throwing my emotions at Rodcorte, a god who camouflages his arrogance as composure, he thought.
Rodcorte was unperturbed by Alda's anger because he knew that there would be no direct punishment to him. He ruled over reincarnation, an important component of the world, and yet he was not a god who belonged to this world. If he wanted to, he could easily escape from Lambda.
Even if Alda somehow managed to capture him and seal him away to punish him, there was no god in Lambda who could rule over the circle of transmigration system in his place. In fact, it was possible that gods from other worlds whose reincarnation Rodcorte ruled over would attack Lambda and try to rescue Rodcorte in order to preserve their own worlds.
That was what Alda thought.
The reality was that Vandalieu had spread news of Rodcorte's existence inside the Boundary Mountain Range, causing him to become a god of Lambda. However, Rodcorte was concealing this piece of information, so Alda did not know this.
"… I take it that if we acknowledge that we are partly to blame, you will help us eliminate Vandalieu?" Alda asked, swallowing his anger, causing his subordinate gods to stare at him in astonishment.
"Of course. I shall do my best to have the reincarnated individuals cooperate with you," said Rodcorte.
"I have a condition for those reincarnated individuals. I forbid them from teaching the people of this world any knowledge and technology from other worlds that we have deemed taboo," said Alda.
Rodcorte nodded. "I do not mind. I shall tell the reincarnated individuals this myself."
The surprise of Alda's subordinates grew even further upon hearing that Alda would accept the reincarnated individuals as allied forces, despite the fact that they were beings who ought to be eliminated.
"Alda, are you sure about this? Though I do think that it would be impossible to get rid of them," said the former champion Nineroad, who was now a heroic spirit of the wind attribute.
"I am reluctant," said Alda. "But as you say, it would be impossible to eliminate them. Even more so, considering that Rodcorte himself cannot stop them."
Once the reincarnated individuals were born in Lambda, it would be simple to learn their locations from Rodcorte. However, how would they be eliminated after that?
They had succeeded in placing Eileek, a young man with desirable qualities, in the position of Pope. He would be able to understand even detailed instructions in Divine Messages. However, that did not mean that Alda could continually send him orders to slaughter babies.
All of the reincarnated individuals possessed Rodcorte's divine protection, as well as the fortunes and destinies that they had received from him. These could be slightly adjusted before they were reincarnated, but they could not be removed.
Thus, most of the reincarnated individuals would be born to wealthy parents, in an environment where they would be unlikely to die during early childhood. In other words, they would be born into the families of successful merchants or adventurers, or into families of nobility or royalty. It would not be a simple matter to kill children born into such families.
Indeed, three of the reincarnated individuals had already been born into noble or royal families.
"Alda, how about telling the humans that they are reincarnated individuals from another world, and they must be eliminated?" suggested Mill, the goddess of slumber. "Our believers should already understand that we have forbidden knowledge and technology from foreign worlds. We would inflict suffering upon them, but would they not accept our commands in the end?"
"Mill, that may be possible in times of peace, in a nation like the Amid Empire in which there is a strong foundation of those who worship us. However, in current circumstances, it is impossible," said Alda.
It would be possible to explain the situation regarding the reincarnated individuals to Eileek. However, this information would need to be passed onto the people, and through this process, it was possible that it would cause a division between those who accepted it and the portion of believers who didn't. It would be desirable to avoid this.
In the current Amid Empire, Emperor Marshukzarl would use the people who didn't accept it as a resistance against the young Pope. He would skillfully incite the people, saying that the young Pope had misinterpreted Alda's will due to his inexperience.
And as for a nation like the Orbaume Kingdom, the people who followed religions other than Alda's would easily form a resistance.
"You're right. It seems better to accept them as fighting allies than doing something troublesome like that," said Gorn, the Boulder Giant.
Many of the other gods nodded in agreement.
"I am most pleased that you understand," said Rodcorte.
If he were to curse the reincarnated individuals like he had done with Vandalieu, then reincarnate them in adult bodies in predetermined locations where priest-warriors and knights were waiting to kill them, disposing of the reincarnated individuals might be possible.
Alda and the other gods were aware of this as well.
However, they did not trust Rodcorte to cooperate with them to this extent. And as he could not remove their cheat-like abilities entirely, there was still a small chance that one might escape and go on to become a second Vandalieu.
Alda and his gods knew that accepting them to fight for them would be better than risking such a troublesome thing.
"Now then, I shall explain the current situation with those who have already been reincarnated," said Rodcorte.
This discussion between gods continued for a while, at Rodcorte's pace.
However, Rodcorte was considerably late to realize that strange events were taking place in Origin as a result of this, and his three familiar spirits were left to deal with the system as it reported errors.
Joseph Smith received regular counselling. He had frequently taken harsh, dangerous missions. The one fresh in his mind was now known as the 'Eighth Guidance incident,' and during this mission, he had lost a number of colleagues whom he had known for over a decade.
He was mentally cornered, and had begun to start hinting that he may commit suicide. His condition had deteriorated to the point that his counsellor had recommended that he be hospitalized.
But the Joseph before the counsellor today was calm, appearing as if he had been released from all of his stress.
"Joseph-san, you're looking good today," the counsellor remarked.
"Yes, I've been able to sleep well even without sleeping pills these days," said Joseph.
In his previous life, he had been known as Sumida Shiro, named with the wish that he would become a man who was fine and well-built like a castle, and he had been a teacher in charge of a different class from Murakami's. In this world, he was a member of the Bravers, with the codename 'Druid.'
TLN: 城/Shiro means "castle" in Japanese.
He had originally been a very gentle person, the kind of person who could never harm someone else. Even after he joined the Bravers, he had felt a sense of duty to help people, using the powers given to him by a god for disaster rescue and supporting agricultural work.
However, that did not mean that he lacked the resolve to kill someone.
His mind was delicate, and although he was not as mentally damaged as the 'Gazer' Minuma Hitomi, he had been cornered. He had nightmares of the terrorists he had killed; he saw the faces and heard the voices of the victims he had been unable to save as they blamed him. Fearing these, he had become unable to sleep without powerful sleeping drugs… or at least, that was supposed to be the case.
"That is a good sign," said the counsellor. "Did something happen to change your mood?"
"Yes, I had a dream. Something very large gave me a part of its own body. You don't understand what I'm talking about, do you? But ever since I received it, I have felt at ease," said Joseph with a smile. "I have stopped having nightmares, but I would like to have that dream once more. I feel like if I could meet that thing again, I could go with it. To a dark place, where I can be at peace."
"That is… Could you tell me about it in more detail?" the counsellor asked, feeling disturbed by Joseph's words.
Joseph had no choice but to explain all of the details of his dream that he could remember, as well as recent events that had taken place in reality.
In addition to Joseph, there were several dozen others all around the world who told their counsellors and doctors of dreams in which they were given something by an indescribable being.
This phenomenon was psychologically analyzed and researched, but these efforts did not produce any results.
The 'Avalon' Rikudou Hijiri received a strange report from his closely-trusted secretary.
"A number of psychologically damaged Bravers, Eighth Guidance worshippers and experimental subjects had the same dream during the same time period?" he repeated.
The female secretary appeared perplexed herself. "Yes," she said, continuing her report with a confused expression on her face. "There are variations in the dream from individual to individual, but they were all dreams in which they encountered an indescribable being, which gave them parts of its own body. It seems that in many of the dreams, they received eyes or mouths, while some said they only drank the being's blood."
The dream that the secretary was describing would normally be considered a nightmare. It was quite an unusual dream; it would certainly not be a common one.
For dozens of people whom Rikudou Hijiri was keeping an eye on to see that dream… at around the same time, was strange. He knew it was strange, but he didn't understand exactly what was going on.
He had realized that the 'Undead' was the reincarnated individual named Amamiya Hiroto, but even he could not guess that Amamiya, now Vandalieu, had come from another world and appeared in their dreams.
"Those who had the dream are mentally stable; the most remarkable is 'Druid,' who has told his counsellor that he is completely cured. The experimental subjects have shown no physical changes, but mentally, they are in a calm state," said the secretary.
The experimental subjects were those being used in Rikudou Hijiri's secret death-attribute research… There were terrorists and death-row criminals who were thought to have been killed, as well as homeless people and street orphans – all obtained through illegal means.
These were precious human subjects, acquired with the help of various nations, so it would be problematic if they were to die. But it would also be problematic if they were to acquire the death attribute like the members of the Eighth Guidance. Thus, these subjects were under constant surveillance.
The contents of their dreams could not be monitored, but a calm mental state had been observed across all of them when they woke up from that particular dream, at around the same time.
"Is there a complete analysis of the subjects' Mana?" Rikudou asked.
"Yes. The results are summarized here," said the secretary, handing him a written report.
Rikudou read the report to see that the Mana of the subjects showed no changes in their affinities to the attributes, nor did they show a change in quantity.
"I believe that this dream incident has been noticed by various intelligence agencies," said the secretary. "Eighth Guidance worshippers have spread news of it on social media, blogs and private websites. It could be called a 'festival,' as they are celebrating that the 'Undead' has appeared in their dreams."
"… Are they not aware that they are marked by intelligence agencies as a dangerous group that idolizes terrorists?" Rikudou muttered.
Eighth Guidance worshippers were a group of people who worshipped the now-dead Eighth Guidance – worshipping Pluto in particular. But with that said, they were not a criminal organization.
As they mainly worshipped Pluto and Baba Yaga, most of them were docile. They were recognized as a peaceful group; the most they would do was organize rallies to advocate the complete ban of research into the death attribute.
"… Have specialized psychologists analyze the dreams. It may have something to do with the death attribute," said Rikudou. "It is highly likely that the Eighth Guidance received death-attribute Mana from the 'Undead'… Amamiya Hiroto. I think the contents of the dreams have some similarities."
"Very well," said the secretary.
"And I will attend the president's party in three days," Rikudou added.
"Not her?" the secretary asked.
"No. If I spend too much time away from the center stage of politics, I will become worse at acting as my public self. She may be capable of changing her appearance, but I am not."
'Rikudou Hijiri' stood on a stage, giving a speech in front of cameras and an audience, as if he were a politician during an election.
"It is true that we Bravers have made mistakes. There are a countless number of people who were plunged into despair because we were slow to act, because we were too weak! But that is precisely why we cannot stop here. Please believe in the Bravers once more to fight against terrorists who seek to destroy international order and the endless natural disasters that happen in this world!"
The audience applauded and shouted encouraging words.
"Do your best!"
"We're supporting you!"
The people's trust in the Bravers had fallen after the Eighth Guidance incident. However, when the death stored inside Pluto wiped out the Federal State's department of defense, Amemiya Hiroto had resolved the crisis, restoring the people's trust.
The people had lost their trust in the Federal State due to them recovering the corpses of the Eighth Guidance members to resume research into the death attribute, and without the Bravers, the entirety of the Federal State would have likely still been covered in a black fog up until this day. Thus, there was now trust in the Bravers.
This was the result of 'Braver' Amemiya Hiroto's actions, but at the same time, it was also due to the losses caused by the Federal State's blunder. That was why 'Rikudou Hijiri' was diligently attending charity events and speeches, as well as parties hosted by important figures and large enterprises – to maintain the Bravers organization.
Well, it's not thanks to him, thought the 'Shaman' Moriya Kousuke, laughing to himself as he watched 'Rikudou's' speech.
The Bravers had failed during the Eighth Guidance incident, but in the end, nobody had raised their voices to blame them for it.
One reason was that the Federal State had committed an even greater blunder than them, but it was also because the international community did not want the Bravers to disband.
This was because they were an organization of individuals with mysterious powers whose principles were still unknown, and if certain rules were followed, it was very easy to make use of them.
'Rikudou Hijiri' finished his speech, exited the stage and walked towards where Moriya was waiting.
"Excellent work, 'Rikudou'-san," said Moriya. "Next is a one-day lecture at the European Union Magic University. The car is this way."
"I know," said 'Rikudou.' "But can't you get me business class seats for the plane?"
"My apologies. This is part of an appeal to the public that we are part of the common masses. We have prepared a premium economy seat next to the window."
"… We're going to the airport in a bulletproof, magic-proof limousine, then taking premium economy. That makes it more difficult to understand what it's like to be a part of the common masses," said 'Rikudou,' giving a bitter, Rikudou-like smile as he got into the limousine.
The moment he sat in his seat, he became as expressionless as a mannequin.
"How long will it take to get to the airport?" asked Moriya, a subordinate of the real Rikudou Hijiri.
"Approximately one hour," replied the driver.
"I see… I suppose I'll spend that time doing some maintenance," Moriya said, taking out what appeared to be a helmet with a visor from a cooler. "I wish the technology team would hurry up and make these smaller," he murmured to himself as he placed the helmet on the mannequin-like 'Rikudou Hijiri'… the 'Metamorph' Shihouin Mari.
"Can the brainwashing be maintained with just that helmet?" the driver asked.
"Yes, it's an advanced, highly expensive Magic Item that automatically activates its magic when worn while simultaneously injecting drugs into the wearer," said Moriya. "We can't buy out a jumbo jet, but we can easily buy out a medium-sized plane."
This conversation was already inaudible to Mari. The helmet blocked out all external sound as it quickly activated its magical effects on her mind and injected drugs into her.
The helmet began the maintenance work needed to keep her in a state where she would continue to be a convenient puppet that acted in his place.
The black visor covered her vision; her eyes were open, but all she saw was a black darkness.
Or at least, that was supposed to be the case, but someone's face appeared in the darkness – a white face with one purple eye and one crimson one.
"Who are you?" the white silhouette asked.
Moriya jumped in surprise.
"Is there something wrong?" the driver asked. "I thought I saw her move…"
"I suppose the drug injection process has started. It's completely normal. Focus on the road," said Moriya.
But Mari did not hear this conversation between Moriya and the driver.
The only thing she heard was the white silhouette's words.
"Who are you?" it asked.
I am… the 'Avalon' Rikudou Hijiri, she answered wordlessly.
But the white silhouette shook its head. "That is not you," it said.
Are you… me?
"I am not you."
Then who… am I?
The helmet's magic was at work, and drugs were injected into Mari's body. But she showed no signs of reacting to them.
"I don't know the answer to that question. Who are you?" the white silhouette asked.
As it stared at her, Mari felt as if she needed to answer it, and desperately searched for the answer… but the answer did not come to her yet.
"Who are you?"
And from then on, the white silhouette began to appear on windows, on the surface of the black coffee she drank, the back of her eyelids when she closed her eyes, continuously asking her this question.
Mei, who was now over one and a half years old, was growing up to be a healthy child.
She was a quiet child who almost never cried; this had actually worried Amemiya Narumi at first, but she was at ease now. However, it seemed that she enjoyed playing on her own more than anything else.
She was currently drawing something with a crayon, humming happily. No, perhaps she simply found it fun to fill the white drawing paper with the color of her crayons.
"Mei, what is this?" her older brother Hiroshi asked curiously, staring at her drawing.
"What have you drawn? Show it to Mommy… Is it Daddy?" Narumi asked, thinking that the black person drawn on the paper could be Amemiya Hiroto, Mei's father.
But Mei shook her head. "No, it's Banda," she said happily.
"A-a panda?"
"Banda."
"You're so weird. Pandas have white as well, not just black," said Hiroshi.
"Banda, Banda!" Mei cried.
"Hiroshi, that's how they appear to Mei. Banda-san seems to have a lot of black parts," said Narumi, hastily stepping in to prevent an argument between the siblings.
The small Vandalieu that Vandalieu had created using his own body parts… Banda, gave a sigh of relief as he watched from above.
I'm not a panda, though, he thought. I'd never have imagined that Meh-kun would be the child of Naruse Narumi… Amemiya Narumi, the one that Pluto saved. I was curious about her, but coincidences are pretty scary.
He then thought about what he should do next.
My connection to my real self has been almost completely severed, so I can't share memories with him. And I can't go beyond a certain distance away from Meh-kun. Maybe that's because my main body is Meh-kun? Nobody can see me except for Meh-kun, and I can't touch anyone unless I try to. Well, I suppose I'll go with my initial plan – Bug Killer.
A mosquito that had flown into the room dropped dead from Banda's spell.
"… Huh? Am I imagining things? I feel like a spell was used somewhere…" Narumi muttered to herself, looking around the room.
Vandalieu ignored her as he continued thinking. I can cast spells. Death-attribute Mana is difficult to sense, so I can use spells like Bug Killer and Sterilization even if she's close by, and she won't notice. I might be able to use other Skills, too… I've already confirmed that I can use Materialization.
Immediately after Mei woke up from her dream, Banda had been standing next to her crib, testing various things in order to comprehend the situation that he had found himself in.
Communicating with Vandalieu was impossible. Sharing memories with him was also impossible. Checking Banda's own Status had also failed, as this was not Lambda.
And upon realizing that he did not have a physical body, Banda had checked whether he had a reflection in a mirror, and checked whether he could use the Materialization Skill.
He had easily been able to materialize his entire body… and the moment he did, his body had been reflected in the mirror, so he had hastily dematerialized himself.
"Even if it was a dream, couldn't Vandalieu have put me together more skillfully?" Banda lamented.
At a glance, he looked like a human.
A human with four eyes, wearing a mask covered in open mouths even where his ears should be, a small black fur coat on his head and white hair.
But the 'mask' was his real face, and what appeared to be a coat was actually an external membrane with fur growing from it. As for the inside, his arms were made from multiple bones and his body contained multiple skeletons, which were all supported by jointed legs and covered haphazardly in exoskeleton and carapace.
No matter how one looked at it, Banda had the appearance of a demon. He wanted to avoid being seen by other people, least of all by the Amemiyas or their son. It was possible that they would attack him on sight.
Hiroshi… Could it be that he named his child after my previous name? Ah, I don't want to get involved, Banda thought.
He did not have any hatred for the Amemiyas anymore, nor did he feel the desire for a happy family that he had felt on earth, but it would be painful to continuously be shown this happy family.
But Banda could not venture beyond a certain distance away from Mei… approximately fifty meters. He could not tear the young Mei from her parents' grasp, so he had no choice but to bear it.
"… It can't be helped. I still want to test my body's strength and physical abilities, and whether I can use offensive death-attribute spells and no-attribute spells, but that's impossible to do now. Well, I have only a fraction of Vandalieu's Mana, so I know I wouldn't be able to use Hollow Cannon, which needs a billion Mana," Vandalieu muttered to himself, trying to avoid reality.
"Mistress! The laundry is finished!" said a woman's voice from outside.
It seemed that Amemiya Narumi had hired someone to work as a housekeeper and babysitter.
This was likely because there were times when both parents would be away from the house on missions. And although Banda had not seen them yet, there was the presence of what seemed to be bodyguards inside the house.
"Thank you. You can rest until lunchtime," Narumi said to the housekeeper. "… That's strange, was I really just imagining things?" she wondered once more.
"I-it's not me! I promised I wouldn't use magic without permission!" Hiroshi said indignantly.
"Banda," said Mei.
Meh-kun, keep quiet about that, thought Banda.
And so, the Amemiya household gained a new inhabitant, unbeknownst to the husband and wife.