Hell Mode: Volume 6, page 14
Despite Dogora’s parents being in the room, Allen noticed that Dogora was not sitting with them. He figured that Dogora was probably in that phase where there was nothing more embarrassing than being seen with your parents.
Now that I’ve got these teleportation skills, it could do the party some good to see their families more often.
While Allen was watching Dogora, an older man bearing a strong resemblance to Rodin approached.
“So, I guess you’re Allen, then?”
“That’s right, grandfather. Pleased to meet you. Have you adjusted to life in the village?”
Zohan was Allen’s grandfather on his father’s side. Shortly after Allen and his friends made their way to the Rank S dungeon, Zohan had moved to Rodin Village to live out his retirement. Allen had been so busy teleporting everyone around that he had not had a chance to properly introduce himself yet.
Allen’s grandfather and the elderly woman next to him looked impressed at his response. Jenica, Allen’s paternal grandmother, had tears in her eyes.
“You really are a smart one, just as they said. I can’t believe that our son has such a magnificent child.”
“I had a great upbringing, is all. Anyway, I understand that things are going to be a bit hectic tonight, but I hope you have a good time.”
As both Allen’s paternal and maternal grandparents had been moved to Rodin Village, he figured he should introduce himself to his grandparents on his mother’s side next.
Rodin showed up just as Allen’s grandparents were affectionately stroking his hair.
“This way, please,” he said to the man with him.
“Of course.”
Rodin escorted Viscount Granvelle and his wife, along with Cecil and her brother Thomas, into the room. They were also accompanied by their butler Sebas as well as both the captain and vice-captain of the guard. After seeing the viscount and his wife to their seats, Rodin once again left the room. Moments later, he returned with Grand Marshal Siguul, Field Marshal Lukdraal, Elder Filamehl, and several other elves.
Today was going to mark the coming-of-age ceremony for Allen and the rest of the No-life Gamers. They had already celebrated it back at the Rank S dungeon, but it would not hurt to celebrate again, this time with their families.
One of the reasons for all this was Allen’s desire to create a number of nests around the world in order to test the capabilities of his Bird A. Prior to his death as an angel and becoming a Summon, Merus had been in the midst of working out the Abilities and Awakened Abilities for the Rank A Summons. However, since he had been removed from the project prior to its completion, Merus did not know whether the Summons were implemented as he had originally planned, thus making it essential for Allen to test them out. Specifically, Allen wanted to know how much he could bring with him and how far he could teleport in one go.
Rodin Village was one of the locations he had teleported to when he started verifying the abilities of his Summons after reaching Summoning Lvl. 8. Allen’s parents were initially surprised to see Allen show up unannounced, but once he explained that he could teleport around now, they expressed a desire to hold a coming-of-age celebration. Figuring that his friends’ parents probably felt the same way, he also reached out to Viscount Granvelle and the queen of Rohzenheim, who said that they wished to join the celebration. Celebrating a child’s coming-of-age was particularly important for aristocrats and royalty.
Meruru’s parents, whom Allen had not yet had a chance to meet, also wanted to attend. Keel’s sister Nina and her servants expressed a desire to do the same. Ultimately, they decided that everyone would gather in Rodin Village for a grand celebration. Allen’s plan had been to test out Bird A’s Homing Instinct, and while this event had proved invaluable for that, the whole thing had grown much bigger than he had expected.
Grand Marshal Siguul joined on behalf of Rohzenheim, as the queen was unable to leave the country in light of her role as ruler. He sat down to the right of Viscount Granvelle. Considering that Rodin Village was part of the viscount’s domain, all seating was centered around him. Technically speaking, however, there were no chairs in the room, but rather seating cushions.
“I apologize for the squalid conditions, Grand Marshal Siguul, but I am extremely honored that you would agree to stay with us.”
Viscount Granvelle thanked Siguul on Rodin’s behalf. It was clear that the viscount, a member of the lower-class nobility, was quite humbled by his presence. Siguul was an important leader in the elves’ country, after all.
“I wouldn’t have it any other way. We elves prefer being among nature. I’ve quite enjoyed my time in this village and its beautiful surroundings. Besides, I’d wanted to see where this heroic young lad had been born.”
While the viscount and Siguul exchanged pleasantries, several more families from around the village entered the room. They were all families with children who were also celebrating their comings-of-age.
Allen’s generation was born amid a baby boom in their frontier village, leading to quite a number of children besides Krena, Dogora, and Allen turning fifteen this year. They were also joined by the families who had come to help develop the village who had fifteen-year-old children of their own.
All of these families came together in the village chief’s reception hall to participate in the coming-of-age celebration. Serf families were also in attendance, as Viscount Granvelle had left the decision about their participation up to Allen. As a result, the room occasionally used as a social space for up to a hundred people was full to capacity. Allen caught fragments of conversations, from one person remarking on how well-behaved everyone was to another confirming their understanding about some topic or another.
Before long, the delicious scent of grilled meat wafted through the air as large platters with delicious-looking great boar meat were brought out. These were followed by salad, bread, meat and vegetable stew, and other celebratory dishes prepared in the kitchens of the village chief and his neighbors. With the arrival of the food, the tension the villagers had felt sitting among elves and nobility seemed to melt away.
“Whoooa!!!”
Great boar is definitely the meat of choice in these frontier villages.
Allen certainly could have used Bird A’s Abilities to buy higher-quality meats at either the capital of Ratash or back at the Rank S dungeon. Given that they were holding the celebration back at Rodin Village and that the kids all grew up loving great boar meat, however, he had decided to ask his mother to grill some up.
The alcohol, on the other hand, he had gone all out on and bought five large barrels of the finest fruit wine available at the Rank S dungeon. Also, because he knew that elves did not eat monster meat, he had made arrangements to gather large amounts of local fruit and fukaman, the acclaimed Baukisian food.
As the platters of food were passed out, Siguul thanked them for the additional consideration. Rohzen, meanwhile, was already cheerfully munching away at a fukaman from his perch on Myulla’s lap.
Once all the food was out, Theresia quickly changed her clothes and took her seat next to Rodin as the festivities began. The viscount, Siguul, and Rodin then gave speeches directed at the children who were now officially of age. Rodin, due to being either out of practice or simply uncomfortable speaking after the viscount and grand marshal, seemed to be all nerves and rambled on somewhat incoherently.
“This is a once-in-a-lifetime event, so I would like to ask you to not hold back and eat your fill. However, as the village chief, it would help me out if you’d hold back, just a bit. A-Anyway, please enjoy the festivities.”
The participants nearly drowned out Rodin as they let out a thunderous cheer and began excitedly shoving food into their mouths and washing it down with wine. He returned to his seat, where Theresia congratulated him on his speech, bringing a shy blush to his cheeks. Still, he looked happy.
It was not yet evening, but Allen and his friends were quite hungry after spending the day checking in on Haku, making preparations for the armored ant farm, and more, all with no breaks for meals in between.
Naturally, Krena’s stomach was as bottomless as ever; she was shoveling food into her mouth at a tremendous pace. From the other side of the room, her father, Gerda, glanced at her, perhaps hoping she would settle down at least a bit. Next to him, Krena’s grandparents beamed.
Mash had been begging Allen for stories about his dungeon-challenging experiences, so Allen told him about their exploits in the Rank S dungeon. Lily, Krena’s sister, listened in with excitement from her seat beside Mash.
When Allen appeared to be at a good stopping point, Viscount Granvelle called out to him.
“You know, Allen, I received a report the other day from the Adventurer’s Guild regarding the Dungeon Information Group. It seems like you’ve been keeping yourself busy in Baukis.”
Huh? They just went out and told everyone that I was the one who suggested creating the Dungeon Information Group? Popokka really just threw me under the bus here. Oh well, it’s no big deal.
“Oh, the news has already reached Ratash? My understanding was that the Dungeon Information Group was still in the trial stages.”
“Apparently that trial will be conducted using the dungeons located in Academy City, which is why they reached out to me.”
Oh, right, Viscount Granvelle is involved in the kingdom’s foreign affairs now.
With Ratash and Rohzenheim having officially established diplomatic relations, Viscount Granvelle was assigned to the kingdom’s diplomatic department. This was apparently because Allen, who had once been one of the viscount’s servants, was actively involved in the war in Rohzenheim and had gained the elf queen’s trust. There were also rumors that the current king wanted to keep the viscount away from Count Hamilton’s military clique as well as from the Academy Faction.
Due to his work in the diplomatic department and the fact that he received various tasks from other nobles in the royal castle, the viscount now resided in the royal capital. As his son Thomas served in the royal castle as well, the viscountess, not wanting to be alone, had joined them in the capital, leaving their mansion in Granvelle in the hands of a magistrate. How Rickel—who, despite being something of a slacker, had kept an eye out for Allen when he had worked in the mansion—was holding up as head manservant under the magistrate’s iron grip was another story altogether.
After the viscount finished speaking, Siguul called out to Allen next.
“Ah, Allen, I’d like to thank you for your precious gift.”
“Oh, it was no trouble at all.”
Siguul was referring to the Silver and Gold Beans created by his Grass A Summon.
* * *
Type: Grass
Rank: A
Name: Beanie
HP: 100
MP: 10,000
Attack: 100
Endurance: 100
Agility: 100
Intelligence: 100
Luck: 10,000
Buffs: MP 200, Luck 200, Disperse Evil
Ability: Silver Bean, Bean Scattering
Awakened Ability: Gold Bean
* * *
The Grass A looked like a fava bean with limbs. Its buff, Disperse Evil, forced Rank C and lower monsters to keep their distance, while its Ability, Bean Scattering, sent Silver and Gold Beans flying at monsters. Both types of Beans would kill Rank B monsters upon impact and severely weaken Rank A monsters.
The Silver Bean Ability and Gold Bean Awakened Ability each created beans that, when planted, would grow into trees that created one-kilometer zones monsters would steer clear of. The difference between the silver and gold variants was in the strength of their effects and how long they would last—the silver variant worked against monsters Rank B and lower and lasted for ten years, while the gold variant worked against Rank A monsters but only lasted for one year. At least, those were the periods Merus had set up, so they might have changed at some point.
Both variants required five Rank A magic stones to create. Allen had ultimately created a hundred of each and gifted them to Rohzenheim, whose capital city and forts were still recovering after the Demon Lord Army’s invasion.
Currently, the country was still dealing with Demon Lord Army stragglers who were lying in wait throughout their domain. While the monsters would occasionally come together as a group to strike, they generally wandered around on their own, making cleanup a task that would take months if not years.
The Silver Beans and Gold Beans would certainly help alleviate that problem by allowing them to safely rebuild while keeping the monsters away, thus sparing needless casualties. Allen figured this would save some tens of thousands of elven lives.
“Please pay close attention to how long they’ll last.”
Allen was worried that the efficacy periods had been reduced from what Merus had decided upon when he was an angel.
“Thanks to you, we will be able to continue with our recovery efforts. The queen is truly pleased that you have come to our aid not once but twice now. As am I, of course. Thank you, Allen, from the bottom of my heart.”
With that, Grand Marshal Siguul offered a deep bow, followed shortly after by Field Marshal Lukdraal, Elder Filamehl, and their respective servants. Their actions stunned all the other attendees speechless.
Silence spread like ripples in a pond, resonating outward from Allen and the Rohzenheim elves. One young serf who was also celebrating his coming-of-age dropped the boar meat he was eating, despite having been boisterously chatting mere moments before.
Serfs and commoners alike were at a total loss for just who Siguul was, even after listening to his earlier speech. However, what they did know was that he wore even more extravagant clothing than Viscount Granvelle—an important figure in his own right—did, and that he had long ears, so they assumed that he was nobility from a foreign nation. Seeing such figures bow so deeply that their heads nearly touched the floor, the partygoers turned their attention to whom they were thanking, only to find, much to their surprise, the village chief’s son on the receiving end.
Conversely, for those who knew who the grand marshal and Allen really were, it was quite a surprise to see the elven guests treat him with such profound respect. Viscount Granvelle, in particular, sat at Allen’s side with his mouth wordlessly opening and closing, looking as if his brain had gone on vacation. His gaze implored Allen for an explanation as to what the boy had gifted them, so Allen shot him a glance signifying that he would explain later.
“As I’ve mentioned previously, we elves of Rohzenheim will do anything within our power to grant whatever your heart desires. Should you ever encounter any trouble, please come straight to us.”
“Understood. I certainly will.”
Allen silently prayed that Siguul would refrain from bringing down the mood of the party any more than he already had.
As Rodin watched his son from behind, he could not help but feel a sense of melancholy. It seemed like just yesterday that he had told Allen that being one of House Granvelle’s manservants was only a stepping stone to further greatness. He had ended up being right, but it was hard for him to simply feel happy for his son when Allen seemed to be moving further and further out of his reach.
“Oh, Rodin.”
The tone of Theresia’s voice expressed more than her words ever could. He could not spend the rest of the celebration looking like that.
“Ah, sorry, dear.”
Rodin squeezed his wife’s hand and put on a smile.
Meanwhile, Allen was now free from the Rohzenheim delegation. Seemingly not having noticed his father’s turmoil, he resumed his chat with Mash.
“Are you studying hard?”
“Yep.”
Mash, who planned to enter the Academy in April, had been diligently studying under the tutelage of teachers sent out to the village by Viscount Granvelle.
“In that case, let me give you these. You’re going to run into a lot of dangerous situations at the Academy.”
Allen handed Mash several rings he had pulled out of his grimoire. There were six in total, consisting of three pairs of rings that boosted HP, Attack, and Agility by 5,000 points each, respectively. These were rare drops he had obtained from silver chests on Floor 5.
His general plan for fostering level and skill growth in his younger siblings was to not help them level up, even if they had a Talent, until they had managed to stand out on their own. The risk of something going wrong if they leveled up dozens of times without doing any personal growth was simply too high. However, Mash was coming along much better than Allen had anticipated. While he had been pretty depressed when his older brother left for the Academy, he was now a capable young man who cared for his younger sister while also studying for the future.
Allen was taken aback when his brother merely stared at the rings in silence.
“What’s wrong?”
“Will I get stronger if I put these on?”
“Of course.”
“In that case, I don’t want them. I want to get stronger through my own efforts.”
Whoa! He actually turned me down!
“I see. But you do know that when you leave this village, you’re going to encounter monsters far stronger than the boars, right?”
It took all of Allen’s willpower to keep the smile off his face upon hearing his brother’s plans to improve on his own. All the same, he decided to try and convince him to take the rings.
“O-Of course I do. And I’ll take them down all on my own.”
“There are even monsters stronger than me, you know.”
“What? No way!”
“There are. Lots of them, in fact.”
Such as the Demonic Deities, for starters.
“No way...”
“And I heard that Lily’s going to the Academy next year. What’re you going to do if you run across a monster you can’t defeat when you’re with her? Monsters aren’t exactly known for their generosity. You might find yourself wishing you had these rings.”
