Hell Mode: Volume 4, page 31
Allen’s group wiped out all the monsters in the vicinity of Fortenia to level up a bit after changing classes, therefore making it safe for the elves to return to their capital. The sun was setting when the queen, Elders, generals, and the rest of the elves in the queen’s service arrived. The specific venue for the banquet was to be the royal audience hall, the same one where the No-life Gamers had fought Rehzel.
“A toast—to Lord Helmios, Lord Allen, and everyone in his party for saving us in our moment of greatest need!” the queen declared in a voice that carried throughout the hall, raising her glass. “It is only thanks to them that we overcame our tribulations and stand here today, alive and well!”
Clap, clap, clap.
“How blessed we are. Truly blessed indeed. It was a miracle.” Tears streamed down Field Marshal Lukdraal’s face as the queen’s words drove home the fact that they had indeed won the war and come out the other side. Being someone in a position that required him to stay strong and authoritative, it was only in this moment that he finally allowed himself to breathe easy.
“Lord Allen, may we have a word from you, please?” the queen asked, interrupting Allen’s analysis of his companions’ new Statuses. His contribution had been far too great to not ask him for a speech of his own.
He walked up beside her and addressed everyone. “Thank you so much for having us at this celebration. The capital ended up taking severe damage during our fight with the Demonic Deity, but we will naturally help with the restoration. We now know we can achieve great things when we work together, and I am glad we will continue doing so!”
His implication was that all blame for the damage to the city lay with the Demon Lord Army and not his group. The other Gamers all smiled wryly.
“Thank you for even going so far as wiping out the remnants. Now we elves can truly say that we are home.”
The Hero was also asked for a few words, followed by Grand Marshal Siguul. One of the Elders stood up to speak on behalf of the others, then the banquet finally kicked off. Many elves approached Allen one by one to express their gratitude as he nursed his fruit juice—Allen did not drink alcohol. When he looked outside, he noticed it was already dark out.
“Huh? What’re those?” Allen realized that despite the darkness, he could still see the World Tree quite clearly. This was due to countless dots of light of varying hues that were flying with irregular circular motions around the massive trunk.
“You’re looking at the spirits,” Sophie replied. “Some of them live in the World Tree, some have come here from other parts of Rohzenheim. Since the elves are celebrating our long-awaited return to Fortenia, the spirits are resonating with our emotions and participating along in their own way.”
Oh, and here I was thinking they were this world’s equivalent of fireflies.
“I see. So while we’re having a banquet of victory here, they’re having a banquet of the spirits there, I guess you can say. So this was why the elves wanted to do this underneath the World Tree.”
“That is so. We elves live alongside the spirits, and they with us.”
This scene perfectly illustrates the bond between them.
“Do you think I’d be able to get a closer look at them?”
Cecil looked up at this. “You’re asking to see the pretty, faraway lights up close? I never thought you’d have an interest in such things, Allen.” To her understanding, Allen had no interest in money nor entertainment and did not appreciate things that were merely decorative.
“What? We’re going somewhere?” Krena walked over, both hands laden with food. She and Dogora had been much more occupied by the food than the view outside.
“That’s right,” Allen nodded. “It’s a good opportunity. Let’s go see the spirits.”
“Ohhh! Spirits!”
We should probably at least let Lukdraal know where we’ll be going. It would be strange for the guests of honor to suddenly disappear.
When Allen went to inform the field marshal, the man replied, “What a wonderful idea! Please, do go greet the spirits!” He looked even happier about Allen gaining an interest in the spirits than about Allen taking part in the banquet.
With that, all the Gamers left the venue and started picking their way through the night. The temple was not all that far from the World Tree, so it did not take them long to reach it. As they approached, they began seeing brilliantly shining figures of tiny animals and children floating about in midair.
“This is...pretty cool,” Dogora murmured.
“Wow, you actually know how to appreciate this?” Allen asked, copying Cecil’s tone from earlier.
“The hell? That ain’t a compliment, is it?”
“It, uh, definitely is.” Allen looked back at the spirits. “Oh, I get it now. The different colors indicate which element a spirit is.”
Just as Allen’s group was studying the spirits, the spirits were studying them right back while giggling merrily. They seemed to like Sophie most judging by the fact that more gathered around her than the rest of the group.
“By the way, Sophie. When you become a Spirit User, you’d be contracting with spirits like these, right?”
The story went that the Priestess of Prayer had contracted with Rohzen while he was still very young. Unlike Summoners, Spirit Users formed bonds with already existing spirits.
“I believe so, yes. However, I do not know the exact details myself.” Sophie had only just been promoted to the two-star class Spirit Archwizardess, so she knew very little about being a three-star Spirit User.
“Allen, what are you plotting this time?” Cecil finally realized why he had suddenly wanted to see the spirits. He was looking at them with the same face he made when analyzing his own Summons. He definitely was not here for touching reasons like wanting to see the pretty scenery up close or to meet the spirits.
“Well, they’re here, and we’re here. I don’t think we’ll ever get such a good opportunity to check out so many different spirits.”
Allen explained that, as the Rank S dungeon that they would be challenging surely gave a lot more XP than the dungeons in Academy City, he predicted Sophie would max out her level and get to change her class again within six months to a year from then. If she found herself a feisty spirit now—and when better than now, when there were so many gathered here—perhaps there was a chance she could contract it as soon as she became a three-star.
Sophie adopted a thoughtful expression. “Is that how it works? I’m afraid I don’t quite know...”
“Hmm...” Allen suddenly started. “Oh, how about asking Sir Gatoluuga? He’s here at the banquet too, right?”
“Okay, I’ll go fetch him.” Keel immediately turned around and headed back toward the banquet venue.
“All right, all that’s left is the question of how to catch these spirits. Horo, give me a good look.”
“Hoo!”
“What?! Allen, you can’t go catching them! These are spirits!”
While Cecil scolded him, Allen dispatched a Bird D to observe the spirits gently floating high above using its Night Vision.
Krena asked out of curiosity, “How is it? Do you see any good ones?”
“It seems like a lot of them are gathered around what look like fruit up on the branches,” Allen noted.
“Those are World Tree fruit,” Sophie replied.
“Oh, the ones the elves use to make real elven elixirs? Ellie, can you bring us a few ripe ones?”
“Your will is my command.”
As it turned out, the spirits were partial to World Tree fruit. Allen recalled a game he had played in his previous life that involved using meat to bait and befriend various monsters. It was not that large a leap to conclude that World Tree fruits were the key to befriending spirits in this world. And because there were plenty of ripe ones hanging from the branches, Allen figured it would not hurt to grab a few.
Snap. Snap.
“It smells so sweet,” Dogora noted as he sniffed the one he was holding a few times.
Once everyone had one, Allen noticed the awkward look on Sophie’s face. “What’s the matter? We should be able to use these to catch one, right?”
“Um...I wasn’t sure whether to tell you, Lord Allen, but it’s actually forbidden to pluck World Tree fruits.”
“What?”
Seeing Allen’s bewildered face, Sophie explained that in Rohzenheim, snapping branches of the World Tree and taking its fruit were both considered serious crimes.
“Really?!” Cecil sounded panicked. Even though Allen was the one who had done everything, she immediately made an excuse. “I mean, we only took some to give to the spirits, so it should be fine, right?!” She realized that during her time in Rohzenheim with Allen, they had done quite a lot that would normally have gotten them in trouble with the elves—not least of which was destroying their capital city.
“That’s right, Sophie,” Allen nodded. “We’re only doing this to look for lively spirits. Dogora, don’t eat yours just because it smells nice.”
“Huh?! Like hell I would! No one’d be stupid enough to do that now!”
Crunch.
“Huh?” Allen turned around, reacting to what sounded like someone biting into a fruit. He found himself staring into the eyes of Krena, who had indeed given in to the sweet, forbidden temptation in her hands.
“NOOOOO! THE FRUIT!” The blood drained from Sophie’s face.
It was said that not a single elf had tasted a World Tree fruit in the past millennium. The Gamers’ eyes all trained on the girl whose cheeks were now bulging with said fruit.
“Wh-What?” Shifting uncomfortably under their stares, Krena added defensively, “It’s really yummy! You guys should try it too!”
Just as Allen was about to chide her, footsteps approached.
“Guys, I brought Sir Gatoluuga!”
It was Keel, approaching with a torch in hand and Gatoluuga following behind.
“Guys!” Allen hissed.
“Understood!” Sophie replied without missing a beat.
“Wh— Abababa!”
The Gamers moved as one, displaying teamwork better than even during their battle with Rehzel, to shove the remaining half of the World Tree fruit into Krena’s mouth. Thankfully, they managed to obfuscate the evidence just in time.
“Princess Sophialohne? What is the commotion?” Gatoluuga asked as he walked up to them, not noticing Krena swallowing hard with tears in her eyes nor her muttering about how she had wanted to take her time appreciating the taste more.
“Oh, it was nothing,” Sophie assured him. “Th-Thank you for coming all the way out here.”
Despite feeling something was amiss due to Sophie’s dry laugh, Gatoluuga decided not to pursue it. “Hmm, if you say so. Now, what can I do for you? I heard it’s related to the spirits in some way?”
“Well, when I become a Spirit User...” Sophie proceeded to tell him what Allen had said.
After listening to the end, Gatoluuga rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “I see now. It is true that when you become capable of directly borrowing the help of particular spirits, establishing emotional bonds with them is crucial. I myself waited a very long time here underneath the World Tree until one took a liking to me.”
He went on to suggest that Sophie try using a World Tree fruit as bait, confirming that what the Gamers had been about to do—and Allen’s theory of an interested spirit being able to immediately contract with Sophie after her next class change—was actually correct.
“What should I look for when choosing a spirit?”
“That’s a good question. Spirit Users are only able to contract with young spirits, so... Ah, there’s a salamander right there.” Gatoluuga pointed at a shining red spirit floating by that looked like a Japanese giant salamander. He explained that he had contracted a similar one as his fire elemental spirit.
“So this is the one we want? ’Kay, eat up, little guy. Here ya go.” Dogora thrust the World Tree fruit in his hands at it.
“Au au.” The young fire salamander sniffed it a few times, then opened its mouth wide to take a large bite.
At that moment, Dogora grabbed it with both his arms using the exact same motion as catching horned rabbits back at Krena Village. “I got it!”
“What are you doing?!” Gatoluuga cried. “No, let it go right now!”
“Huh? Why? Don’t worry, I’ve got a good grip on it,” Dogora said reassuringly as he hugged the violently struggling fire spirit to his chest, not quite understanding the reason for the alarm in Gatoluuga’s voice.
The next moment, the red glow surrounding the fire salamander started growing in intensity. “Au au!” it cried loudly in protest as it quickly turned into a giant fireball.
“What are— Ow, that’s hot! Oh, ow, ow, I’m on fire!”
“Hey hey, this one’s feisty,” Allen noted with satisfaction.
“Someone! Put the fire out, please!” Dogora howled as he desperately rolled about on the ground.
After Gatoluuga summoned his contracted water spirit to extinguish the fire on Dogora, the group continued enjoying their banquet with the spirits beneath the World Tree.
Afterword
Thank you for purchasing this book! Thanks to your support, this fourth volume of Hell Mode is now out on shelves. I cannot fully express how grateful I am. Thank you very much.
Even though I keep talking about how thick each book is in my afterwords, this fourth volume ended up being just as thick. On top of the already very hefty main volume, I also got permission to include two rather wordy side stories as well. Thank you to my editor for being so understanding!
This time, I used the side stories to include details that I couldn’t manage to include in the main story.
The first one is what happened to Rehzel in the past. I really wanted to introduce what he had been like before he became a Demonic Deity. My hope is that this episode sheds some light on what the battle in Rohzenheim had meant to him.
The second one is a story about the spirits. The elves and the spirits are the focus of this fourth volume, but the Sovereign of Spirits was pretty much the only spirit that ended up getting featured, and I wanted to fix that a little. I hope you find this side story a good ending to the volume.
Now, since this is an afterword, I suppose I’ll talk a bit more about myself again. In the afterword of the first volume, I went over how I started uploading to Shosetsuka ni Naro. This time, I want to share a part of my life that I think really laid the foundation for me to eventually write light novels. These are, at the end of the day, only my personal thoughts, so please take it as just a story.
My dad was one of those typical company workers who would get dispatched to a different location every once in a while. Consequently, our family moved to a different place in Kyushu once every few years while I was in kindergarten and elementary school.
I personally had no complaints about this, but an incident did occur when I was in the younger grades of elementary school. After this incident, my family did not move anymore during my time as a student.
Due to how frequently my dad’s company shuffled its employees around its various offices, it included company housing as part of its welfare program. Some places, the company housing was practically brand new; some places, not so much.
When we were made to live in one of the latter, my mom finally reached the end of her rope and, like a volcano erupting, shouted, “I don’t want to live in sh***y company housing like this anymore! Dad, buy a house! Now!”
“O-Okay, mom. Let’s visit a home-building exhibition this weekend. Please don’t be mad, mom!”
I just censored the exact word my mother used in order to protect the company my dad worked at, but yep, this very conversation did take place one day at our dinner table. This was the “Hamuo family being fed up with company housing and buying a house” incident.
After that, we went to an exhibition and selected a plot of land in an area newly zoned for single-family residences. Two years later, we moved in.
I have nothing but gratitude toward my parents for building our family home, protecting our family, and raising so many of us siblings. However, after we moved out of company housing and into our own house, I found myself with a problem. Namely, our home was really far away from my school.
We lived halfway up a hill, and the elementary school was all the way at the foot. Of course, I say it was far, but it was really only about one and a half kilometers. It’s nothing compared to kids who have to ride a train or a ferry to get to school, but it was enough to affect what I did. Or rather, the way I used my head.
I started using my commute time to fantasize about the manga and anime I consumed on the daily. I would reflect on scenes that left an impression on me and mulled over parts that I particularly liked. I had a ton of fun moving the characters around in my mind and imagining how I would continue the story if I were the author.
This habit of mine continued for quite a while, as my middle and high school were also quite far from my house. I believe this is the part of my life through which I developed the ability to write stories.
If there is anyone wishing that their children will grow up to become light novel writers, I highly recommend that you live in old company housing.
Well then, that’s about it for this afterword.
The manga version of Hell Mode is currently serializing. Its pages depict the exciting scenes of the story in gripping detail. And to my delight, I was told that they would even up the pace at which it’s being released! The mangaka, Tetta Enji-sensei, is doing amazing work, and I cannot thank him enough. Dear readers, I hope you enjoy seeing the world of Hell Mode in manga form too.
Let us meet again for volume 5. I’d be very grateful if you would continue giving me your support. Well, until then!
Bonus Short Stories
Meruru’s Fight
As ordered, Meruru had separated from Allen’s group at Ratash to head home. Soon, she was back in the Baukisian capital. She and the other dwarves who had returned from being on foreign exchange at the Academy Cities abroad then boarded magic ships, which from there, took them on a several-day trek to the frontline battleship where they were being stationed.
