Hell Mode: Volume 7, page 21
Cecil angrily huffed at Allen and took a big bite out of her piece of meat. Her appetite seemed to have returned.
Allen rubbed at his throbbing face. “Well, from what I hear, the king is powerless to do anything about the princess.”
“Even so! Brother Thomas is responsible for this too!” She took another angry bite of the grilled meat.
Some time ago, when Allen had teleported to the Kingdom of Ratash and heard from Viscount Granvelle about the status of diplomatic relations with Rohzenheim, he had learned that Cecil’s older brother Thomas, who was two years older than her, had recently begun dating Princess Leilana, the daughter of the king. He had heard that King Invel, Princess Leilana, Viscount Granvelle, and Thomas had already held a dinner party.
Their first encounter had been when Thomas was attending the Nobles College, a school for children of nobility without Talents. While there, he had attended a ball. Thomas, who was serious about his studies but had a quiet personality, had not participated in the dancing and was just observing the goings-on at the venue when Princess Leilana had arrived and seemingly taken a liking to him. By making Thomas, who had good grades, her private tutor, they had spent more time together, which had led to them forming a relationship. Allen had heard this story from Thomas himself.
Ratash’s nobles were divided into two main factions, the royalist faction and the Academy faction, depending on how they thought about the future of the country. The Nobles College belonged to the royalist faction and was often joined by many children of the nobility. For the future of the princess and the royal family, King Invel had decided that it would be better to keep her in contact with the future royalist aristocrats and had thus sent the princess to the ball, but upon his succession to the throne, King Invel had been busy dealing with the war with the Demon Lord Army and Rohzenheim and various other political issues, including diplomatic relations with the princess. Because of that, he had been unable to keep an eye on the princess’s movements. That was why it had taken a long time for him to find out about their relationship.
Allen had heard from Viscount Granvelle that when the king had learned of this, he had called Viscount Granvelle to confirm the details. All the king had said on the subject was, “Of all the things...”
Later, following the dinner between the two families, they had begun to consider plans to grant the Granvelle family count status. In addition to their appreciation of the Granvelle family’s contributions to the kingdom, it was decided that they would recognize the relationship between Thomas and Princess Leilana. There were also rumors that the purpose of the change was to address their difference in status.
In addition, there was conflict between the royalist and Academy factions. Count Hamilton and Viscount Granvelle were on good terms with each other. After King Invel raised Viscount Granvelle’s status to be on par with that of House Hamilton, there were rumors that the king intended to bring the Granvelle family into the royalist fold. And as Allen and his party had successfully cleared the Rank S dungeon, the royal family wanted to use Cecil to bring this Rank S party under their control; there were rumors stating that the king found this to be the perfect opportunity to strengthen their influence.
There was a reason, however, that Cecil was outraged rather than delighted by this turn of events. After the death of her brother Mihai, rumors had circulated that the royal family had sent Mihai to a fierce battlefield in order to reduce the power of the Academy faction. The current king, Invel, who was the crown prince at the time, had made the final decision on the appointment.
In a letter sent by Mihai to Cecil, he had stated that many lives could be saved by fulfilling a dangerous role. He did not want anyone to be angry over his death. She did not know if those were Mihai’s true feelings or if the letter had been written by someone else, but Cecil, who believed in her brother, thought that hating the royal family would go against her late brother’s wishes, leading her to have mixed feelings.
“Oh yeah, Thomas also wants to go to the class promotion dungeon.”
Beginning in April, the Kingdom of Ratash would finally have a class promotion dungeon. Not only would anyone who completed the class promotion quest be able to upgrade their class, but even those who were born Talentless would have the opportunity to acquire one.
Therefore, in order to support Princess Leilana, who would eventually go to the battlefield, Thomas had decided to acquire a Talent. For that reason, Allen had been asked to help with his class promotion quest—something that he had told Cecil about.
Classes and Talents
Those who were born without a Talent can gain a Talent by clearing the class promotion dungeon.
However, what Talent they receive is generally selected at random from the positions “Vanguard,” “Middle Guard,” “Rear Guard,” and “Other.” It cannot be chosen by the person themself.
Those who already have a Talent can undergo a class promotion one time.
Those who acquire a Talent as per point 1 can do this as well, so those born without a Talent can undergo class promotions up to twice. In addition, when a person with a Talent undergoes a class promotion, they can choose from among the Talents of the same lineage and of a higher level.
Conditions for Class Promotions
Up to eight people can enter the class promotion dungeon and clear it at a given time.
Those without a Talent must be at level 60 when clearing the class promotion dungeon. Those with a Talent must be at level 60 and all Talent skill levels must be at 6 when clearing the class promotion dungeon.
If an individual does not need to undergo a class promotion, then they do not need to meet the conditions set forth in point 2 to enter the dungeon.
Clearing the class promotion dungeon required eight people in Normal Mode with maxed-out skills and levels, and classes with a total of ten to twelve stars, making it difficult enough that there would be casualties were things to go awry. This was announced to the people in January via an oracle, and Thomas seemed to have been prepared for it.
“Thomas sounds pretty motivated. Perhaps I should help out too.”
“You probably should. He’s your brother, after all.”
“Right... I mean, that’s not what I mean!”
Cecil agreed for a moment before she shot it down. The life and future of her brother were at stake, so she was not against it, but she could not simply agree with it either.
Meanwhile, Thomas’s father, Viscount Granvelle, was desperate to keep his heir from going to war. However, Thomas was determined, causing the viscount to empathize with King Invel’s anguish at having to send his daughter to the battlefield. Allen figured that must have been how all fathers felt.
Speaking of which, Mash is also the same age.
Mash, who was planning to go to the Academy this year, had successfully passed the entrance exam.
“Now that the class promotion system is about to start up, it’s too bad there’s no Great Pope,” Dogora whispered while Allen was thinking about his brother.
“Yeah.”
“I suspect that he was one of the victims when Gushara went up in flames.”
The pope, the supreme leader of the Elmean religion, possessed a rather rare Talent called Saint King. He was supposed to have been in Teomenia, but he had been missing since the day the Pontiff of the Church of Gushara was executed. Even though Merus had been defeated by the Demonic Deity Lycaoron, he had repeatedly visited the religious capital of Teomenia and continued to search around the central square where the execution had taken place. Ultimately, however, he had found no sign of Great Pope Istahl.
For that reason, the details of the class promotion quest opening in April and the story of Fire Goddess Freyja’s divine vessel being stolen by the Demon Lord Army had not yet been shared with much of the world. Usually, matters related to the operation of this world took the form of Elmea, the God of Creation, giving an oracle to the pope, who would then relay it to the world.
“Fire Goddess Freyja’s divine vessel was stolen by the Demon Lord Army. In order to overcome this crisis, God of Creation Elmea created the class promotion dungeon. God has given us this trial in order to give us hope.”
This was what the pope had wanted to say to inspire everyone, and he had also planned to execute the Pontiff of the Church of Gushara by the end of March. Considering that this plan was thwarted, however, it was possible that the disappearance of the pope was also part of the Demon Lord Army’s master strategy.
“Well, I don’t know what will happen, but we’ll be entering the Kingdom of Crevelle tomorrow. Let’s rest for now,” Allen said.
“Yeah.”
“Roger.”
With that, Allen and the rest of his team were left to their own thoughts before falling asleep.
Chapter 12: The Actions of Beast Princess Shia
At the western end of the continent of Galiat lay the Kingdom of Crevelle, where Allen and his friends were currently heading.
As they looked up at the pillar of light crossing the clear sky from east to west, a procession headed east through the wetlands of the Kingdom of Crevelle, making their way toward the center of the continent. It was a long line that stretched on forever, with wagons pulled by water buffalo interspersed here and there. More than half of the line consisted of fishkin carrying luggage and young children on their backs.
They had blue hair, pale skin, and four fan-shaped cartilage protrusions on either side of their faces. Thin, finlike membranes stretched between these protrusions, which served the same function as ears on humans. It was a common feature of the race to have webbed fingers and scales that grew irregularly in various places on their bodies.
The majority of the fishkin wore tanned leather loincloths and sleeveless bodice-like vests, but some soldiers wore rounded armor that looked like crustacean shells, guarding the sides of the caravan that stood about ten people wide. The winding but continuous procession stretched out for around ten kilometers, avoiding forests with poor visibility while navigating the wetlands. The massive queue consisted of approximately two hundred thousand people.
At the western end of the procession—its very back—was a group that looked different from the fishkin. They were a group of beastkin, and their leader was at the head of the group, guarding their surroundings from the back of their horse.
This leader, a woman dressed in a flashy red-and-gold cloak, was a tigerkin. The leather breastplate peeking out from her cloak had many fine scratches on it, indicating that she was a nimble warrior who valued her agility. Her golden hair was tinged with black in places, and her golden-brown eyes, with which she vigilantly observed her surroundings, showed the confidence and vitality of a young woman who had just come of age.
Next to her, a rhinokin with a huge mallet on his back rode a horse of his own. He was also attentive to his surroundings while talking to the tigerkin.
“There were forty-two dead in last night’s battle. It was hard to recover the corpses, but we buried them in the camp before we moved and kept their bracelets as mementos.”
“I see. They died for my military authority. The least we can do is return their belongings to the fatherland.”
“Of course.”
“Is anyone injured?”
“None at the moment. I’ve told the men to come forward if they were bitten by that strange entity, but I received no reports this morning. Also, we’ve received supplies from the Crevelle royal family.”
“Hmm. I sent out the order last night and they’ve already arrived. I guess it’s only natural, considering the situation they’re in.”
“Indeed. Furthermore, you’ve been summoned by the king.”
“Got it. I’ll leave the rest to you.”
The tigerkin grinned, showing her canine teeth, and sent her horse galloping forward. After a short time, she saw a miniature portable shrine protected by fishkin soldiers. It was shaped like a small house, with a rectangular pedestal about five meters square and a roof and walls made of thin spikes. Beneath it was a huge wheel, guarded in four directions by three water buffalo, making twelve in total. Soldiers who also served as escorts led these water buffalo.
A soldier who noticed the approaching tigerkin gestured to tell her to move her horse to the left for when she came up alongside the shrine. There was a scaffolding-like structure protruding from the shrine that allowed one to get on it from their horse and then enter the building.
The tigerkin entrusted the horse’s reins to the fishkin soldier, nimbly moved to the scaffolding of the shrine, and opened the sliding door that made up one of the walls. Inside, a well-built old fishkin sat comfortably on a rug, with secretaries and bodyguards on either side. He wore what appeared to be a colored leather coat and a broad coronet of dull gold on his forehead.
This fishkin was the king of the Kingdom of Crevelle. Nearby was a fishkin also wearing a leather coat and a thin diadem, and judging from their physique, they seemed to be a woman. This shrine was apparently moving the Crevelle royal family, including the queen and princess.
“Oh, thank you for coming, Your Highness Shia. Please sit down,” the King of Crevelle said to the tigerkin in a gentle tone. He held up his hand and indicated with his palm where she should sit.
“Thank you for inviting me,” Shia answered briefly before sitting down in the indicated seat. “I’m truly honored. I apologize for rushing matters, but first, I’d like to thank you for replenishing our arrows.” She bowed her head in respect to the king and thanked him for the supplies she had been told about by the rhinokin, Captain Rudo.
“I only did what was expected of me,” the king replied. “I heard that there was another fierce battle last night.”
“Yes. I lost a lot of subjects.”
“Is that so? Say, do you think it would be possible to let our own elite soldiers show off their powers?”
Shia figured that this was the reason she had been summoned. She also sensed that this could serve as an opportunity to advance her plans, which she had been working on for some time.
“I appreciate your concern. It’s true that there is nothing more reassuring than being able to rely on the power of your country’s elite. However, it takes an entire hour to make it from the head of the procession to the back, even on a horse. In order to protect a procession of that length, a large number of soldiers are required. Moreover, if the elites are dispatched, it will be difficult to protect Your Majesty. In fact, do you think it would be possible for the royal family to move a little farther forward? Then we can fight without having to worry.”
The king was correct that the burden on the beastkin would be reduced if the soldiers of the Kingdom of Crevelle were concentrated in the rear, but that would leave the sides of the long queue shorthanded. The points that needed defending were concentrated in the rear as things were, so Princess Shia thought that it would be easier to protect everyone if they were more dispersed.
“But it’s a king’s duty to protect the people,” the king said softly.
“Absolutely. You’re an excellent king, Your Majesty. However, we will finally arrive at the fortified city of Carlo in three days. Please consider moving there as soon as possible. Our country has already begun moving troops and supplies there, and we have decided to ask for help from our allies.”
The long procession was heading to the fortress city that was almost certainly underneath the pillar of light that ran from east to west across the Kingdom of Crevelle. When Shia mentioned it, she put particular emphasis on the word “allies.”
“O-Our allies? But our country still hasn’t formally entered into an alliance with your nation.”
A certain strength filled Shia’s eyes. “Oh? Are you saying that it was only in vain that we shed so much blood for your people and the royal family?”
“No, no. I can’t thank you enough for your actions and the bravery of your country. However, we can’t make an alliance with other countries based on our own discretion and without permission from the empire.”
“That is true. The treaty you signed with the empire stated that your country may not form treaties with other countries without the empire’s approval.”
“What?! Wh-Why do you know that?” Her statement elicited a look of surprise from King Crevelle. He never imagined that Shia would know the contents of the treaty between his homeland and the empire.
“Therefore, I would like you to propose to the Prostia Empire an alliance with our country.” When Shia said that, a shocked expression appeared on the king’s face.
“That... You must certainly know just how difficult that is. Right now, our country is not on good terms with the empire,” the king replied.
“Of course I know that. But there are exceptions to everything, no? With all that we’ve accomplished, surely the empire can’t simply ignore your claims.”
The great undersea empire, the Prostia Empire, had thrived on its own thus far due to the abundance of undersea resources. If they needed anything, they traded with other countries using the port of the Kingdom of Crevelle, a vassal state. For this reason, the Kingdom of Crevelle never entered into alliances with other countries.
“Besides, this might be a good opportunity. Before I came here, I was in Elmahl up in the north, it was common sense that without the Kingdom of Crevelle’s port, the Prostia Empire could not trade with other continents. I heard rumor that your country is plotting independence from the empire.”
“Of course not! That’s inconceivable! Such rumors must be a plot by those who want to drive a wedge between our country and the empire!” King Crevelle’s shouts were high-pitched and hoarse. Hastily, his secretary rubbed his back and made him drink from a porcelain cup.
“It must have been a plot by the believers of Daemonism. They are cunning people. Come to think of it, perhaps it was a part of their evil plot to demand that their pontiff be arrested and held for trial prior to his execution.” Shia’s eyes took on a terrifying glare as she spoke, like that of a hungry beast.
