Hell Mode: Volume 5, page 30
“My, oh my. What a wonderful child our Rodin has raised. Is our grandson really that incredible?”
“Of course, Lady Jenica. Lord Allen is more incredible than words can express!”
Theresia’s parents were also in the room. However, this was their first experience riding a magic ship. They were so astonished that they had been pressed up against the window this whole time.
These four elders, all serfs by birth, had left their lands to their children so they could make this voyage. Quite some time ago, Allen had paid for anyone among his extended family who wished to become commoners.
“My, oh my! I do believe the village has come into view. My, it’s so large!” Jenica, who had moved to a window of her own, exclaimed at the sight.
This prompted Zohan to do the same. “You’re right, dear. Is this really a frontier village? It seems far too massive.”
The pair had a good aerial view of the entirety of Rodin Village. The wooden fence that served as its perimeter marked out an area more than four times that of Krena Village, which they had stopped by earlier. Surrounding the fence was a wide moat. The drawbridge was currently up, giving the village near perfect protection from the monsters outside.
When the magic ship’s shadow fell over the village, those aboard looking down could see that the moat was currently empty. Many people and boarlike beasts were inside, still working to expand it.
“Wh-What are those?! Are they not monsters?!”
“Please calm down, Lord Zohan. They are Lord Allen’s Summons.”
“S-Summons! So those are Summons too...”
Both Zohan and Jenica watched the construction work taking place down below with disbelieving looks.
Allen held his family’s happiness above all else. During the war in Rohzenheim, he had seen the destruction wrought upon the citizens’ lives when the Demon Lord Army got serious. To protect his family in case he ever died in battle, Allen had set in motion plans to turn Rodin Village into a fortress city capable of withstanding the onslaught of millions of monsters.
His Beast C Summons were doing most of the heavy lifting when it came to expanding the moat, but they were not good with the finer details. Allen needed villagers to help with fortifying the city during the months when there was no great boar hunting. However, if they were to do so, then there would be no one to tend the fields. And so Allen had consulted Viscount Granvelle and received permission to bring a hundred households to Rodin Village to do the farming.
Recruitment Details Posted in Granvelle City
Each household will be paid a monthly salary of one gold (including travel time)
The entire family is exempt from taxes
Living quarters and three months of food will be provided
Participation in great boar hunting is voluntary (in case of death, 300 gold to be paid out as consolation pay)
When hunting great boars, weapons and armor will be lent out free of charge
Period of employment of one year
Limited to 100 households
The rate of employment was low in this world. Naturally, a large number of people applied for the opportunity. In the end, a lottery had to be held to decide who was accepted. The winners were now peering down at Rodin Village from the magic ship.
“Damn, impressive. So this is Rodin Village, where we can earn a gold a month working.”
“It’s a lot bigger than I thought. Can you even call this a village? It’s more of a city, isn’t it?”
“Are they really going to give us a place to live and food for a while?”
The great boars that would be hunted during the fall season never showed up in the vicinity of Granvelle City, so they had been described to the immigrants as merely “beasts that mess up the farmers’ fields.” During the hunting itself, weapons and armor would be provided, and apprentice knights would even come along, so the level of danger was no longer all that high.
Once one person joined in the hunt, word of the benefits of doing so would spread and the number of immigrants applying would shoot up the next time onward. Furthermore, keeping the period of employment to a year and constantly swapping out people was proving effective in raising the average level of the citizens in the realm. Those who returned to the city would have a much easier time finding new employment.
When the magic ship landed on the landing pad in Rodin Village, knights showed up to courteously escort Allen’s grandparents.
“This way, sirs, madams.”
“We have arrived? Thank you for being so kind.”
The knights also led the newly arrived villagers to the open square in the center of the village. There, they found Rodin, the chief of the village, waiting for them.
The one leading the knights, Vice-Captain Leibrand, greeted Rodin. “Village Chief. I hope you are well. Here is the new batch of those who would be working here.”
“Welcome, Vice-Captain Leibrand. Thank you for coming all this way.” Rodin bowed respectfully. “We are currently preparing the usual welcoming feast. Please rest up in the meantime.”
The residential area for the new immigrants was located close to the village square.
“I see. There are plenty of foodstuffs and alcohol loaded on the ship. Feel free to use them for the feast.”
All of this food and alcohol had also been paid for by Allen.
＊ ＊ ＊
Night fell, and the welcoming party for the new residents and the escorting knights began. A huge bonfire had been set up in the middle of the village square.
“Everyone, thank you for making the long journey to our village. I am Rodin, the village chief here. This is your welcoming party. I hope you enjoy yourselves.”
When Rodin finished giving his speech in his best village chief voice, the feast kicked off in earnest. The meat being served was all fresh monster meat that Allen had his Summons carry from the White Dragon Mountains. Particularly attention-drawing was the five-meter-tall Rank B lizard-like monster that had been butchered and brought in.
“Myulla, dear, you’re saying this meat was also brought in by one of Allen’s Summons?” Jenica asked, gently stroking her granddaughter’s head.
“Yep!” Myulla answered, her eyes sparkling. “It was like, thiiiiiiis big, and when the Summon let it down, it was like, booooooooom!” She spread her arms, trying her best to reenact the scene of a Dragon B bringing in a monster carcass in its mouth.
The old woman found herself wondering when was the last time she had been able to fill her stomach with as much meat as she wanted.
Close by, Zohan and Rodin were having a father-and-son moment. Rodin had founded Krena Village five years before Allen was born, meaning it had been twenty years since these two last saw each other.
“Look at you, being a proper village chief and all.” Zohan thought back to when his son left at fifteen, saying that he wanted his own field. He had been a rascal who much rather preferred swinging his spear and playing pranks on others than helping out with farmwork.
“I can’t believe it myself either. Though I suppose compared to Allen, I’m still no different from everyone else.”
“Word of Boar Hunter Rodin reached even our village, you know? It made me happy.”
“Pops...” Everything that had happened in the twenty years since Rodin arrived at Krena Village flashed through his mind.
Zohan turned to his grandson. “Mash, do you think Allen is cool?”
“Mm.” Mash nodded shyly.
“When do you think he is coming home?”
“Beats me,” Rodin shrugged. “He’s gone to a different country. Maybe he’ll be back after becoming a champion.”
“A champion. Now that’s something to look forward to.” Zohan hoped he would get to meet Allen one day.
“In any case, you don’t have to work the fields anymore, pops, mom. You can take it easy now and live however you want.”
“You picking a fight?”
“What do you mean?! Do you know what age you are?!”
This house had more than enough space to accommodate both Rodin’s and Theresia’s parents. However...
“You went and became a big shot after becoming village chief, huh? You rascal. Of course I’ll help out. How can I not after coming all the way here?”
His father’s grin prompted Rodin to sigh as he remembered this was just what his father’s personality was.
And so, with the arrival of the new villagers and Allen’s grandparents, Rodin Village continued seeing even more growth than before.
Side Story 7: The Land of Spirits
Allen’s group had left Baukis and returned to Rohzenheim. They were here because Sophie, who had received a class promotion the other day and become a Spirit User, needed to form contracts with spirits.
“That was fast. Are we gonna continue using this every time going forward?” Dogora asked as the party got off their magic ship at the landing pad in Fortenia, the capital of Rohzenheim.
“It sure was,” Allen replied. “Baukis’s superspeed magic ship really does live up to its name.”
This time, the No-life Gamers had borrowed a superspeed magic ship, of which there was only a limited number even within Baukis. Being a superspeed magic ship, this vehicle was even faster than the high-speed magic ship that they had ridden when hurrying to Rohzenheim’s aid when it was under attack by the Demon Lord Army.
Chartering this superspeed magic ship cost thousands of gold each day. Conversely, this went to show that in Baukis, it was literally possible to get anything as long as one paid enough money.
Two months had passed since the party first stepped foot in the Rank S dungeon. They had sold so many items worth several thousands of gold that now, time was far more precious to them than money. This was why Allen decided to charter a superspeed magic ship for this trip that involved them flying the entire length of the Central Continent to reach the opposite side of the world.
“Everyone, thank you very— My!”
Sophie was walking off the ship and thanking her friends for accompanying her on this trip when the cityscape of Fortenia leaped into sight and she exclaimed with surprise.
It had only been three months since the No-life Gamers fought Demonic Deity Rehzel here. However, the city had already begun reconstruction and was steadily regaining its previous look. The air was charged with the elves’ resolute will to resume living under the canopy of the World Tree as soon as possible.
“This is incredible,” Keel breathed, comparing what he was seeing with the scorched and flattened version of the city in his memory. “Did they do all this with their powers?”
“I’m sure they did.” Sophie nodded. “We can call on the spirits of earth and wood and ask them to lend us their strength.”
Thanks to the power of the spirits, homes, the grand temple, and the city walls were all going up at the same time.
“I see. When the restoration after the battle settles down a bit more, I might ask for help with my plan to fortify Rodin Village,” Allen murmured.
A smile came over Sophie’s face. “We would be more than happy to help.”
Allen had seen many cities and settlements overrun by the Demon Lord Army and razed to the ground. He was currently working on fortifying Rodin Village, where his family lived, to prevent the same outcome there even if the Demon Lord Army attacked.
“Okay, guys, let’s head out. Sophie, ride with me and guide me.”
The party mounted their Bird Bs and headed out.
Sophie turned to the flying squirrel nestled at her chest. “Lord Rohzen, please show us the way.”
“You got it, ha ha. You want to start with fire, right? We’ll be heading to the mountains, then. This way.”
Under the Spirit God’s guidance, the party flew for a full day. The world was illuminated by the gentle light of the moon when they finally reached a giant mountain range. The barely visible, billowing clouds of smoke and the deep, red glow of surging magma flowing below made it clear this was a volcanic range.
A Bird E sent out to inspect one of the volcanic craters caught sight of a glowing red being within.
“Mm? There’s something in the crater,” Allen murmured.
“That’s Salamander, the juvenile fire spirit you’re looking for,” Rohzen replied.
All the Bird Bs landed close to the crater, and the party approached what looked like a Japanese salamander. It was walking up to a crack between two rocks to lap at magma flowing out.
Allen’s group recognized this spirit. Three months ago, when the elves held a feast celebrating the World Tree returning to their control, many spirits had gathered to join them. Salamander had been one of them, and Sophie had approached it in hopes of eventually contracting it when she became a Spirit User.
“Au, au!” the creature cried when it noticed Sophie. Apparently it also remembered her. It began lumbering over.
“Ha ha, this is a lively one,” Rohzen chuckled. “So, let’s do this. Sophie, approach Salamander to contract it.”
Even though Rohzen almost never gave Allen advice, he proactively did so for Sophie. She obediently walked over to the juvenile fire spirit.
“Auuuu! Au, au!”
When Sophie held out her hand, the spirit reached for it with a front leg. The moment the two touched, they were enveloped in a bright light.
“And now the contract is complete. Ha ha.”
“Thank you so much, Lord Rohzen!”
Just as Sophie was thanking the Spirit God she was cradling, her newly contracted juvenile fire spirit clambered onto her knees, happily crying “Au, au!” as it proceeded to climb up her front to settle on her shoulder.
“Um, please settle down.” Sophie looked troubled by how lively Salamander was.
Allen asked, “Lord Rohzen, may I ask how powerful is Salamander? What rank would it be if it were a monster?”
“In terms of sheer fighting strength, a juvenile spirit is somewhere between Rank C and B.”
The Spirit God had become quite generous with sharing information about spirits in general.
“Huh? What the hell. It’s weak!” Dogora reached out to Salamander, who was rubbing its face against Sophie’s, and gave the back of its head a few light pats.
“Au!” The juvenile spirit turned around and glared at him with sharp eyes as its body started glowing.
“What is— Salamander?! Ah...” Sophie had just noticed something was wrong when, the next moment, a wave of dizziness struck her, and she brought a hand to her forehead, wobbling on her feet.
“Princess Sophialohne!” Volmaar caught her in the nick of time.
WHOOOOSH!
That moment, a gigantic fireball dozens of meters in diameter appeared above Sophie and Volmaar, powerfully pushing back the dark of night.
“What on earth is that?!” Cecil exclaimed, shocked at the size of the attack. This was definitely beyond the scope of a Rank C or B monster’s abilities.
“Salamander, calm down. You are absorbing your host’s HP!” Rohzen said calmly in admonition.
The juvenile spirit, who had fallen to Sophie’s feet, promptly curled up and quivered apologetically. The giant fireball disappeared as suddenly as it had appeared.
By checking his grimoire, Allen realized that Sophie’s MP had been entirely drained, on top of which she had lost a bit of HP as well.
“Keel, heal Sophie up,” Allen ordered before turning to Rohzen. “Lord Rohzen, what just happened?”
The Spirit God shot a side glance at Sophie stroking the juvenile fire spirit. “As Salamander only just contracted with Sophie, it doesn’t yet have a good grasp on how much power to draw from her.”
Spirits drew MP from their hosts to use their powers. After having gone through two class promotions, Sophie’s max MP was greater than most elves. Furthermore, she was wearing equipment effective enough to help her in the Rank S dungeon. Put together, this meant she had a lot of MP. Salamander, who had only just contracted her and therefore had no idea how much power to draw, ended up taking all of it. This was how it managed to create the giant fireball from just now.
“You mean to say the strength of spirits’ powers is proportional to the amount of MP expended?” Allen asked thoughtfully. “That sounds like Cecil’s Petit Meteor.”
“So that’s how it is.” Cecil knew that the power of her Extra Skill, Petit Meteor, was dependent on her Intelligence and Max MP. When she used it at max level and with all her equipment on, it could be incredibly destructive.
The rest of the No-life Gamers looked at the frolicking juvenile spirit and marveled at how much power it could wield despite how young it was.
With nothing else left to do for the day, the party then moved a ways off from the crater and pitched camp.
＊ ＊ ＊
The next day, the party set off again in the morning. This time, they were headed for a flowing river.
“Hm, I’m glad you also managed to contract a juvenile water spirit without a hitch,” Allen said.
“Kee, kee!” Kelpie, a juvenile spirit with the appearance of a baby dolphin with a blue back and white belly, squealed cutely. It was squirming in her arms like a fish on land and not listening to anything she was saying, likely because it had only just been contracted and was as yet unfamiliar with the experience.
“Aw, guess I didn’t need this,” Allen mumbled disappointedly, shifting the large fishing net thrown over his shoulder.
Cecil looked at him as if he was an idiot. “Just how were you imagining the encounter to go?” she asked.
This juvenile water spirit had also been among those who had gathered underneath the World Tree during the feast. It, too, vaguely remembered Allen’s group.
Just as Salamander had been at an actual flowing stream of magma, Allen and Dogora had actually thought they would have to catch Kelpie like a fish swimming in a river. They were relieved this was not what actually happened.
“Lord Rohzen, is it possible for Sophie to keep Kelpie materialized along with Salamander at the same time?” Allen asked. He was wondering if Sophie could do the same thing with her spirits that he could with his Summons.
