The ogres stared wide-eyed at Aqua, who had appeared without warning.
The girl radiated immense magical power. Yet, instead of overwhelming pressure, her presence brought an odd, gentle warmth.
"Don't worry."
Aqua crouched beside a fallen ogre and gently placed her hands on his face.
"The Axis Church welcomes all life. Whether orcs, demi-humans, or lizardfolk—so long as they're not demons, salvation is always possible."
As soon as she spoke.
A warm, holy light enveloped the corpse.
The next second.
The ogre suddenly sat up, gasping for air, eyes wide with shock.
He instinctively reached for his chest wound, now completely healed.
"I… I'm alive?!"
Aqua threw her arms up triumphantly. "Success! Next one—!!!"
At that moment, the six surviving ogres were struck dumb.
Especially when they saw another comrade—half his body missing—fully regenerate and come back to life.
Their worldview, logic, and basic common sense were all shattered on the spot.
The shrine maiden-clad ogre girl clutched her mouth.
"Oh… Oh my god…"
"Whoa… that's incredible…"
"There really is resurrection magic… oh my god…"
She repeated "oh my god" like a broken record, unable to snap out of her shock.
Even the white-haired elder stared, mouth agape.
A miracle.
A true miracle.
Not even some Demon Lords could resurrect the dead.
Who exactly was that girl?
And what kind of monster was the boy standing behind her?
The red-haired ogre's throat bobbed as he swallowed hard, glancing back and forth between Aqua and Chishiya.
He finally realized.
He might have just made the best decision of his life.
No… not just his life.
This moment might have rewritten the fate of the entire Ogre Clan.
Roughly an hour later, every ogre with a recoverable body had been resurrected.
Some were missing limbs or vital parts, so the process took longer.
But as the anime had once made very clear, Kazuma himself got blown to ashes and still got revived.
So this wasn't pushing the logic too far.
In Aqua's own words: "If the person's been dead for a short time, I can bring them back in a flash!"
"Hehe~"
Aqua stood with hands on hips. "Chishiya-san, I did a good job, right?"
Chishiya gave her a thumbs up.
"Very good."
To be honest, Aqua might be dumb, but her professional ability was solid.
Chishiya said, "I already contacted the Queen Ant via voice transmission. She's preparing a premium case of sparkling wine for you."
"A whole box. You'll have enough to drown in it."
"Chishiya-san! You're the best! I'm heading back now!"
Beaming, Aqua turned to leave as another portal opened behind her. She gave everyone a happy wave and disappeared.
Meanwhile, in the ruined village.
The newly revived members of the Ogre Clan were tearfully reuniting.
Relief. Joy. Grief. All flooding out at once.
But after a while, they all turned.
Led by the red-haired ogre boy, they knelt before Chishiya.
"Master, thank you—!!!"
"Thank you for giving them another life!"
"From now on, we are your most loyal subordinates!"
Chishiya nodded and looked around the ruins.
This place would make a decent base.
Next step: give them names. Let's see if that triggers evolution.
"Gather everyone. I'm going to give you names."
"Huh?"
"You're naming us?"
The red-haired ogre leader blinked in surprise.
Thirty ogres... Could a human really survive giving out that many names?
Chishiya shrugged. "It's inconvenient not having names."
"But…"
The pink-haired ogre girl looked worried.
"Giving names comes with a heavy cost. You're human, right…?"
"Using up too much magic power could literally kill you."
Chishiya touched his chin.
She had a point.
In the anime, Rimuru collapsed after naming just six of them.
He wasn't sure how his own body would react.
But with all the blessings he had… he should be fine.
"I'll be careful. Let's start with you six first."
He walked up to the red-haired ogre.
"You'll be Benimaru."
"Next, Shuna."
"Shion."
"Hakurou."
"Souei."
"Kurobe."
He named all six using their canon names from the series.
The moment he finished, a huge surge of mana drained from his body.
Chishiya felt it immediately.
There was no physical pain. Just a weird sensation, like sudden hypoglycemia.
Still, that meant it had worked.
As for how far they'd evolve… they'd have to wait until tomorrow.
Noticing Chishiya's pale face, Shuna stepped forward, clearly concerned.
"Chishiya-sama, let's stop here for today."
"You don't look well. It could be dangerous if you push yourself."
The other ogres all nodded in agreement.
This was the difference between monsters and humans.
Their loyalty was unwavering.
Chishiya gave a nod.
No need to rush.
It'd take four days to name them all anyway. That was more than enough to rebuild the village.
"We'll continue tomorrow."
With that, Chishiya opened his system panel and selected a [Land Deed].
It had cost him 500,000 Reputation Points.
It'd better be worth it.
[Use land deed?]
"Yes."
As Chishiya answered, a beam of light shot from his palm.
A one-kilometer radius of forest lit up around him.
Then—
The ruined houses around him began reconstructing on their own.
Nearby trees were broken down and absorbed into the magic.
Soon—
A modest village materialized before their eyes.
Simple structures. Thatched roofs. Bare essentials.
But way better than nothing.
Especially for land that cost him 50 million Eris.
There better be some kind of startup bonus.
[Land Setup Complete]
[Initial Base Established]
System messages popped up.
Chishiya gazed at the thatched hut in front of him.
Crude, but livable.
The ogres stared, jaws nearly dropping.
First, he brought the dead back to life.
Now he rebuilt a village out of thin air.
Just… who was this guy?
Chishiya turned toward them.
"Let everyone rest for now."
"Tomorrow we'll name the others and resume construction."
He was going to build a proper branch here.
Thatched huts wouldn't cut it.
He needed infrastructure—roads, housing, commerce, and entertainment districts.
"Yes!"
Benimaru and the others bowed and went off to assign housing to the newly revived.
The slightly larger house in the center of the village was designated as Chishiya's residence.
Megumin and Darkness would temporarily be living in the one next door.
(To be continued.)