Hell Mode: Volume 6, page 18
“A king is someone who achieves their objectives regardless of means, right? I have a hard time thinking that even the Beast King doesn’t believe that to be so. Rather, don’t you think he would believe his son, who had put such a scheme in place in order to become the crown prince, truly had the makings of a king?”
“‘The makings of a king,’ you say?”
“Correct. Let’s say that you successfully clear the dungeon. Once that happens, you’ll have achieved so much more than just becoming the Beast King—more than three thousand elven elixirs’ worth. A close relationship with the great power that is Rohzenheim will certainly prove useful for the future of Albahal. This would all show that you truly have the makings of a king, given your efforts to become the next in line to the throne.”
Allen tried to explain to Zeu that the one who stopped at nothing to achieve their goals, even to the point of acting in greed to ensure the prosperity of their country, would be seen by the Beast King as having the qualities of a king.
“B-But...” Though his anger had since faded, Zeu still looked deeply suspicious. “You mentioned that I would be the next in line to become king, but I still need to contend with Shia. She completed her trial upon capturing the Pontiff of Daemonism.”
“But if she were to ascend the throne, shouldn’t there have been some kind of news by now?”
Several months had passed since they heard that Shia had captured the Pontiff, and yet the next Beast King was still undecided. That was why Zeu was still in Baukis.
“W-Well, I...”
“Perhaps the trials given to both you and the princess are the Beast King’s way of choosing his successor. What is a king, after all?”
“I’m afraid I don’t understand your question.”
“Sure, Shia was able to capture the Pontiff, but she had the help of the Elmea Church to do it.”
“That is true.”
“If you ask me, an achievement like that seems more in line with the makings of a general than the makings of a king.”
“What do you mean by ‘an achievement like that’?! Are you mocking Shia?!”
My, my. Someone really loves his little sister.
“Please just calm down and listen to me. Being able to mobilize the army and achieve her goal was quite an accomplishment for her. But assuming nothing changes, where do you see yourself in the near future?”
“Me?”
“You’ll be considered a master planner who did not limit yourself in how you completed your objective, even going so far as to deceive the crown prince. You’ll be thought of as a hero who brought together the powerful group led by Admiral Garara, the pride of Baukis, along with the Hero of the Central Continent’s party and even Rohzenheim royalty, all to clear the unbeaten Rank S dungeon. That’s how others will see you.”
A brief silence fell over the room before the bearkin, Hoba, finally spoke up.
“Splendid! A person who can lead the Five Continent Alliance is just what we need in a Beast King! I like it!”
Hoba approached the prince and knelt before him with tears in his eyes. No doubt he was imagining Zeu sitting on the throne as the Beast King.
“Wh-What are you doing?! Calm yourself, Hoba.” Zeu looked uncomfortable as he gazed down at Hoba, then quickly looked back over to Allen. “But this was all your doing.”
“Ah, I forgot to mention that. When transporting multiple parties to the final floor boss’s zone, you apparently need to choose someone as the leader of the whole group. I’d like to ask you to be that leader.”
Allen deeply bowed his head, and suddenly, the world went black for Zeu. He felt as if he was going to pass out.
“J-Just what are you hoping to achieve here?! Do you know what will happen if we lose?!”
The black-haired boy in front of him was offering to carry out a plan that would affect every corner of the world. Were they to fail, not becoming the Beast King would hardly be the worst of it. Albahal would unilaterally deem Rohzenheim its enemy and the Five Continental Alliance would dissolve. The forces standing against the Demon Lord Army would then immediately collapse, leading to the world’s destruction. Just what was Allen willing to risk so much for?
“With you and the Ten Heroic Beasts joining us, our victory is all but assured. Besides, I’ve mentioned time and again what I’m after.”
“Oh?”
Zeu thought back on what Allen had said but was drawing a blank.
“The reward for being the first to clear the dungeon,” Allen responded. While he was willing to give up the honor of leading the Rank S dungeon clear, he was unwilling to budge on this.
“That’s all you want? And you’ve got the whole world tied up in this just for that? You truly are crazy.” Zeu was so shocked that he did not know what else to say.
“So I take it you understand? Well then, Beast Prince Zeu, I would like to ask you to lead the Ten Heroic Beasts and join us in defeating the final floor boss of the Rank S dungeon.” Allen then turned to Zeu and bowed deeply.
Zeu seemed flustered at being put on the spot. “D-Do I need to decide right now?”
Seriously? You’re still not emotionally ready to deal with all this?
Allen continued to bow but lifted his head to look at the Beast Prince. “Yes, I’m afraid we don’t have much time.” Zeu turned his gaze toward the Ten Heroic Beasts.
“It’s time to make a decision, Your Highness! This is a perfect opportunity for us to show the world just how strong Albahal really is!” Hoba’s voice boomed, causing the glassware on the table to shake. Lepe put his fingers in his ears and slumped down into his seat.
“You don’t need to hold back just because of me, Zeu,” Temi, who was sitting next to Lepe, said. “I’m just a mere fortune teller, after all.”
“Temi...”
The squirrelkin paid no mind to what Zeu was about to say as she hopped off her chair and waddled over toward Allen.
“Allen, was it? How strange that you did not appear in any of my predictions. And yet I can tell that this has been decided by the stars, that it is our fate.” She reached up to the still-bowing Allen and pinched his cheeks.
“Huh? Do you mean to say that you’d already seen this through your fortune-telling?”
“No, of course not. Had I known that something so unbelievably out of the norm was to happen, I certainly would have told Zeu about it. And yet... Yes. My divination was correct nonetheless.”
Temi went on to explain how the Beast King had once ordered Temi to tell him who would become the next in line to the throne, to which Temi had responded that it would be Zeu.
“So it is going to be me!”
“Zeu, please listen to what I’m about to say. It is incredibly important to the future of our kingdom.”
Zeu fell silent, allowing Temi to continue.
Upon learning the results of her fortune-telling, the Beast King had fretted that, if the kindhearted Zeu were to become the Beast King, Albahal would not be able to maintain an equal relationship with other countries in the future. He had ordered Temi to perform her fortune-telling again, but no matter how many times she tried, the answer was always the same. Fortune-telling, after all, only revealed the end result. How one got there remained a mystery.
Because Zeu was the second son of the Albahalan royal family, in accordance with the country’s tradition, he would need to pass a trial in order to assume the throne as predicted. Therefore, at Temi’s advice, the Beast King had given Zeu the trial of clearing the Rank S dungeon, a task which Crown Prince Beku would almost certainly interfere with. He then had Temi once again perform her fortune-telling to see who the next king would be. If the results were different, then their problem was solved.
However, the fortune remained the same. No matter how many times they tried during the months and years that followed, it did not change.
“I thought that I’d seen the downfall of Albahal.”
Concerned over having given the Beast King such a troubling fortune, Temi had even considered stepping down from her role as adviser and going into exile. Before that could happen, however, Rohzenheim’s grand marshal had arrived and made some kind of secret pact with Beku. Shortly thereafter, the Beast King had decided to send the Ten Heroic Beasts to Rohzenheim.
“I-Is that really what happened?” Zeu’s voice wavered as the shock of what he was being told hit him.
So the Beast King himself is the one blocking Shia from ascending the throne.
“It is. I figured that this is your one chance to prove that you have the makings of a king and become worthy of carrying the burden of ensuring Albahal’s future.”
Crown Prince Beku had adopted a hardline policy with little regard for the loss of life of those with Talents, so long as it supported the prosperity of his nation. Meanwhile, Shia had chased the Pontiff of Daemonism to a foreign nation to capture him. Compared to his fierce older brother and proactive younger sister, the Beast King viewed Zeu as being far too kind and indecisive.
But that’s exactly what led to me becoming acquainted with Zeu.
If not for Zeu’s kindness and concern for Uru and Sara, he would not have met their savior, Allen, or been present in this room at this moment.
“Will you follow my orders, Temi?” Zeu still felt a bit hesitant about dealing with the Beast King’s adviser, but Temi merely snickered in reply.
“Zeu, this is no time for a Beast King to show restraint. Just look around you; the Ten Heroic Beasts are all here, waiting for you.”
Hearing that, Zeu looked around the room at the Ten Heroic Beasts. Every last one of them stared back at him in silence, awaiting his orders.
“Well then, I will ask that you all fight alongside me.” The members all bowed their heads down low in response.
“I guess I can take that as my answer, then,” Allen said.
Zeu, with a renewed glint in his eyes, nodded firmly.
“Yes, the Ten Heroic Beasts and I will lead our parties into battle against the final floor boss.”
“Great, I’m glad to hear it. With that settled, I bought a lot of alcohol, so let’s get this kickoff party started.”
With that, Allen, Helmios, Admiral Garara, and Beast Prince Zeu began discussing strategies for taking down the final floor boss.
＊ ＊ ＊
For five days following the kickoff party to commemorate all four parties coming together to defeat the final floor boss, Allen and the other party leaders got down to business formulating a plan. They called together all of their respective party members and repeatedly used the Rank S bosses on each floor as practice for moving according to a unified strategy. In particular, the slow-moving Floor 3 boss, Scarlet, was the perfect opponent for their needs. Even though it recovered a lot of HP and was hard to beat, they could put their tactic to work against it again and again.
Finally, it was the eve of the battle against the final floor boss, and the group was throwing a party to commemorate the coming battle. Though they had only held the kickoff party a mere five days prior, Allen figured that it was worth holding another. But with the Ten Heroic Beasts now present as well, they could no longer fit all the attendees in the dining room and had instead moved the festivities to the garden. The dwarves jovially drank up, happy to see Admiral Garara in good spirits. They had come to Allen to tell him that though they did not know how the battle would turn out, they were thankful to him for getting the admiral back to his old self.
Allen grabbed some food and reached out for his drink, only to find it empty. “Could I get a juice refill?”
“Certainly.” One of Helmios’s servants holding a pitcher refilled Allen’s glass. He was immensely grateful for how the servants so calmly and quietly worked the event.
And this will go on after we beat the final floor boss too.
Even after the final floor boss was defeated, Allen and the Gamers intended to continue slaying the iron golems. He wanted to keep at it until he was able to use his King Me skill.
While Allen was deep in thought about his future plans, Admiral Garara approached him.
“Any chance I c’n get mahself some juice too?”
“Certainly, sir.”
Allen was surprised to see the admiral take the stein of juice. “I got some excellent liquor, you know. You’re not drinking tonight?”
“Nay, I’ve drunk enough as it is. ’Sides, I want t’ wait till after tomorrow’s vict’ry.”
Allen looked at Garara and could not detect a trace of the man who, until just recently, had lay drunkenly on the dining room sofa and spat insults at them. Over the past five days, he had not consumed even a drop of alcohol. He gave off a reliable vibe to Allen now that he had calmed down once again.
“Looks like we’ll be holding a victory party tomorrow, then.”
“I s’pose so. Listen, Allen... I just want ye to know that whatever happens tomorrow, I really appreciate everything ye’ve done.”
Allen was quick to chastise the older man. “Cut it out with that depressing talk.”
“Yeah, yer right.” With that, Garara’s face brightened up and he made his way back to the dwarves’ drinking party.
Elsewhere, in the middle of the garden, Lepe was playing a large flute to keep the party atmosphere alive. Something caught his eye, however, and he put down his instrument, grabbed two cups of booze, and made his way to Cecil. “Hello there, you beautiful young lady. Mind joining me for a drink?”
“Oh? How thoughtful of you. Thank you.”
Cecil took the cup and then immediately began to walk away.
“Hey, wait, hold up!” Lepe called out. Cecil stopped and turned to face him.
“I’m only interested in strong gentlemen,” she said with a grin, then spun back and left.
Lepe cracked a smile as he watched Cecil walk away. There were a lot of strong female beastkin, and that was exactly the type of woman beastkin men liked. After downing the contents of his glass, the foxkin went back to playing his flute.
Allen made his way over to Krena, who was furiously engaged in eating all the food laid out on the table. Zeu stood up from where he had been nursing a drink and approached Allen.
“What do you think? Do we meet your expectations?”
“Mostly. Honestly, each of the Ten Heroic Beasts is far too specialized for me to truly grasp their abilities in just five days, but I suppose understanding their specialties isn’t really necessary for us to help each other out.”
Every one of the Ten Heroic Beasts had a Talent that Allen had never heard of before, and he still did not completely understand their unique skills. He figured that if he were to try to fully understand the specifics of their personalities and skills, it would take at least a month of exchanging information and performing tests to do it properly. They had been able to grasp each other’s habits and ‘tells’ for when they were about to make a move, however—all of which was necessary when it came to fighting together. Besides, all four parties were veteran warriors with plenty of combat experience.
Once that had all been figured out, they decided to hold this party on the eve of the big day.
“Hmm, I see. Considering I had a chance to watch them all fight at the Beast King Martial Arts Tournament, I’ll take responsibility for giving them commands.”
The name of Zeu’s party was “Beast Prince Zeu and the Ten Heroic Beasts.” It sounded very joke-like, but naturally, they had not chosen it on a whim. The reasoning behind it was that leaving a record that Zeu and the Ten Heroic Beasts had defeated the final floor boss was more important than having a cool-sounding name.
“I’d like to watch the Beast King Martial Arts Tournament one of these days.”
“I think that’s a grand idea,” Zeu agreed and smiled back at Allen. “I’ll invite you next year.”
“There is one thing that worries me, though. Lepe seems to be quite the independent character.”
“I’ll make sure there aren’t any problems. Lepe is a powerful fighter who’s been a member of the Ten Heroic Beasts for three years running. He calms down quite a bit once he’s in battle.”
“That’ll be a great help.”
Zeu nodded at this. “You’re the one who’s been a great help to me, Master Allen. I owe a lot to you.”
“So, I’m ‘Master Allen’ now, huh?”
“Hmm, well, you’re not quite on the level of Grand Marshal Siguul, but please don’t be too hard on me.”
Ever since the kickoff party, Zeu had been referring to Allen as ‘Master Allen.’ Maybe it was a sign that his perception of Allen had greatly changed.
Speaking of the grand marshal, Siguul was still residing in the Rank S dungeon. It was his job to look after the welfare of the Ten Heroic Beasts who had been lent to them until they were returned to Albahal. He had also joined the evening’s party, where he could be found standing next to Volmaar and Sophie. Allen managed to catch his eye only for a brief moment before the elven man averted his gaze. He figured this whole ordeal must have been slightly traumatic for Siguul.
“Actually, I have one favor I’d like to ask of you, Zeu.”
“Oh, you’ve already decided what you want? Let’s hear it. What do you wish for?” Zeu was nervous, but not knowing what Allen wanted was even scarier to him, so he decided to ask.
“When you have a child who will inherit the throne from you, I want you to give them a trisyllabic name.”
Allen had heard that though Zeu was married, he did not yet have a child. Apparently, he occasionally received letters asking when he planned on coming back.
“Trisyllabic...”
“Yup. A name that will leave a lasting impression into the future.”
Nearly a thousand years had passed since Albahal broke away from Giamut’s rule and established itself as an independent nation. In spite of that, however, they still bore hatred toward Giamut. They had continued the tradition of having disyllabic names as a continuing sign of their hatred, which was why Allen asked him to change that.
“What you’re saying is that it’s time to move on.”
