Hell Mode: Volume 5, page 9
The two elves only touched farm-raised meat on rare occasions and never ate monster meat. For example, they did not partake during the Rodin Village white dragon meat celebratory cookout.
“So, what is it that you wanted to talk about?” Allen asked as he slurped a spoonful of soup.
“I have been ordered by His Imperial Majesty to escort you to meet with him. This magic ship will be arriving in the capital soon. Since you’ll already be in the city, would you please accompany me?”
Yeah, I figured it’d be something like this. I see, so that’s why she waited until now to approach us.
In truth, they were not on a direct flight from Ratash to Baukis. These two countries did not have any official diplomatic relations; therefore, travel had to be routed through the capital of Giamut. The magic ship would be landing there tomorrow. The envoy had apparently been biding her time until this moment.
“I’m sorry, but we have plans,” Allen said.
“Plans more important than answering a direct summons from the emperor of Giamut himself?” the lady returned, maintaining firm eye contact.
“In the first place, I can’t think of anything we’ve done that would merit earning an audience with the ruler of the greatest nation on the entire continent. We don’t deserve it.”
“And you will not change your answer?”
“My apologies. However...”
“Yes?”
“Am I correct in understanding that we can always find you at the Ratashian palace? If we are ever in need of aid, we will be in touch.”
Wouldn’t hurt to keep an open channel with the person who represents the entire Central Continent in the Five Continent Alliance. Maybe there are dungeons that can only be accessed from within the empire’s borders. Or maybe legendary weapons.
The woman studied Allen for a while in silence, then replied, “Of course. Both you and Lord Helmios have proven to be tough nuts to crack.”
“Oh, it is too much of an honor to be mentioned in the same sentence as the very man who will save the world.”
The envoy had nothing more to say. Their conversation ended with Allen turning down an invitation straight from the emperor of Giamut.
＊ ＊ ＊
Allen’s group disembarked the magic ship at the Giamutan capital where they stayed the night, then boarded their connecting flight for Baukis the next day. This second magic ship was packed with passengers, evidence of the heavy travel between Baukis and Giamut. Almost all of the passengers were dwarves, who were generally shorter than fourteen-year-old Allen, despite clearly being adults with large, scruffy beards and stocky, muscular builds.
“They never seem to tire of that, do they?” Cecil sighed.
The No-life Gamers were having lunch in a private room next to the cafeteria as usual when the noise outside suddenly swelled to a crescendo. The dwarves on board kept their faces permanently buried in their tankards from sunup to sundown, and since the Gamer’s room was not soundproofed, all the drunken ruckus outside was perfectly audible. Their commotion grew so loud that Allen could not hear what Cecil was saying, even though she was sitting next to him.
“The dwarves do love their alcohol, after all,” Sophie replied with a wry smile.
“Speaking of, Meruru loved to drink too,” Allen pointed out.
In this world, the general drinking age was twelve years old. However, Allen firmly maintained from his previous life that “real gamers don’t drink” and therefore had always refrained. He did not want his concentration and sense of judgment to become muddled. This was the reason there had been no alcohol in the No-life Gamers’ base at the Academy during their first year.
During their second year, however, the dwarf Meruru joined the party and started living with them. Allen noticed that whenever she walked past liquor stores, she would unconsciously stop and stare longingly. This was the origin of how the base finally started stocking liquor—in barrels, of course, given the ridiculous amount that Meruru drank. And once it became available, Keel and his servants—the eldest few—partook every once in a while as well.
Memories of Meruru flitted through Allen’s mind as he got up from his seat to look out the window. The desolate land flowing past below indicated that the magic ship had already crossed the ocean between the Central Continent and the Northwest Continent. More specifically, it had entered Baukis airspace and was heading straight for the capital. It was just as Meruru had said—most of Baukis’s land was barren, painting a stark contrast from the lush greenery of Rohzenheim.
I suppose that’s why they put so much effort into developing magic tools. Wait, hold on...
A Bird E that Allen had left stationed back at the White Dragon Mountain Range had made an incredible discovery.
Krena looked up, her cheeks bulging with food. “Whuh hap’pnf, Alfn?”
“Everyone, listen up,” Allen said to the whole group. “The white dragon’s been reborn.”
Krena swallowed her mouthful, then tilted her head with a puzzled look. “What do you mean?”
The plan was for Carnel and Granvelle to resume mithril mining now that the white dragon was gone. Allen had left Summons behind to help with this effort by eliminating all hostile monsters in the area. Just now, one of those Summons had been flying over a large recess halfway up a peak on the Granvelle side of the mountain range where it had discovered a juvenile white dragon.
The white dragon definitely just respawned. Is there always supposed to be a white dragon in the White Dragon Mountains? Is that a principle of this world?
Allen recalled from his previous life that in some RPGs, some enemy bosses in certain areas or dungeons would reappear again and again, no matter how many times they were killed. This phenomenon, commonly called “respawning,” also occurred in this world. For example, the bosses at the deepest levels of the dungeons in Academy City could be fought once per day. In other words, even if these bosses died one day, they would reappear the next day—either having been resurrected or replaced by a copy, Allen did not know which.
Ten days had passed since the No-life Gamers slew the white dragon. The fact that a new white dragon had appeared in the same area pointed to this being yet another instance of respawning.
“What’re you going to do, Allen?” Cecil asked, peering at his face. “Do you plan on killing this one too?”
Allen shook his head. “Nah. We’ll raise this one.”
“Huh? Raise it...like a pet?”
“Pretty much. If a new dragon’s just gonna respawn anyway, there’s no point killing it again. Rather, this could be a good chance to learn something about the Demon Lord’s power.”
Though I’m sure there are also things I could analyze by killing the white dragon over and over too.
“The Demon Lord? What’s this got to do with the Demon Lord? Allen, explain it to us properly.”
As always, Allen’s train of thought had left his friends behind. To avoid getting strangled by Cecil, he hurriedly proceeded to elaborate.
It was said that the Demon Lord had made all monsters stronger by one rank, so Allen was planning on observing the white dragon’s growth to figure out if it had ranked up from the start or if it would suddenly turn more powerful and belligerent after a certain period of time.
The white dragon that the party fought had clearly been self-aware. Was that another effect of the Demon Lord’s power? Or did the Demon Lord’s power only make monsters stronger? Allen wanted to find out.
One other thing that Allen wanted to check was the white dragon’s memory. Did it retain memories from before it was killed? If so, this creature might be a key to understanding a lot more about this world.
Krena let out an impressed “Whoa,” although it was not clear how much she actually understood.
“We’re heading to a Rank S dungeon now, right, but that’s just one waypoint on our journey toward our ultimate goal: defeating the Demon Lord. We learned in Rohzenheim that we need to get stronger because we’re barely as strong as his subordinates. We’re gonna really have to put in the work and do everything we can to beat him.”
Everyone recalled how ineffective their attacks had been against Demonic Deity Rehzel and nodded silently in response.
Allen instructed one of the Dragon Bs he had stationed out in the mountains to head to the white dragon’s location, making sure to have it pick up a great boar to feed to the whelp along the way. He was banking on the youngling more easily accepting a fellow dragon as a parent.
“Let’s name it Haku. When we fought it, it told us to name ourselves but never gave us its own name.” It was not clear whether the white dragon even had a name in the first place.
“You’re already giving it a name? How do you know if it’s even possible to tame a dragon anyway?” Cecil was not having it.
“That’s also part of the experiment.”
Allen shot a look at the flying squirrel that was currently perched on the table and devouring a steamed potato. As always, the God of Spirits looked unconcerned with whatever was going on. Still, Allen could swear Rohzen knew something relevant. Not that he would ever share, of course, so Allen had every intention of figuring everything out himself.
“Hey, guys! You can see the city now,” Dogora called out from where he was keeping a lookout, prompting the rest of the party to also rush to the windows.
Far below the ship lay a gigantic city that stood out conspicuously against the otherwise barren landscape, its urban sprawl tightly packed with buildings of varying sizes. The architecture had a distinct look involving shiny, reflective walls and lots of rounded corners. This was Dongbao, capital of Baukis. At the very heart of the city sat a shining, golden-roofed palace that towered over all its surroundings.
So this is the capital of the nation said to possess the world’s mightiest military. I see a lot of pretty tall buildings. And they’re clearly far more technologically advanced than the rest of the world. Which has its charm, true, but I did also like Fortenia with all its nature throughout its streets.
“Wooooow! So coooool!” As usual, Krena had her face plastered against the window.
“Once we arrive, let’s look for Meruru first thing,” Allen suggested.
“That sounds wonderful,” Sophie agreed, nodding.
Soon after, the magic ship landed, and the No-life Gamers disembarked with the throngs of dwarves. It was almost nighttime, so they actually decided to put off their search for Meruru until the next day and instead find a place to stay the night. They headed for a nearby magic train station, listening to the announcements coming over the loudspeakers grow louder and louder as they approached. They boarded a train at the station; when their train reached an area downtown that looked sufficient, they got off.
I know I shouldn’t be surprised, but... Wow, it really is just dwarves everywhere you look.
Visiting a foreign country for the first time always came with a strange sense of excitement. Perhaps it was the opportunity to expand one’s horizons and explore a new city within a new country that made traveling such a compelling experience.
The No-life Gamers eventually set their eyes on a relatively expensive-looking building and strode inside. They approached the counter, and after receiving confirmation that this was indeed a hotel, booked two rooms. No one ever insisted on a single room for themselves, so the party normally only took two when checking into places.
“Your rooms are on the third floor. Please take the magic elevator.”
“Magic elevator?” Krena parroted back.
“It’s probably a device that goes up and down,” Allen explained.
Krena looked even more confused. “Up and down?!”
The staff member behind the counter gestured toward what looked like a kind of alcove in the wall at the far end of the lobby. When the party approached, they found it to be a small room just spacious enough for ten people to stand inside. They all walked inside.
“What even is this? Is something going to happen?” Cecil asked, looking around.
“There’s probably a panel or something to operate...” Allen peered around the room and discovered two button-like gems glowing blue that were buried in the wall. Each was triangle-shaped, with the bases facing each other and the apexes pointing up and down, respectively. “This must be it.”
So we can’t choose the floor. This probably stops on each floor, then.
Allen pressed the up button on behalf of the group.
Bwum.
The entrance seemed to suddenly collapse, quickly becoming replaced by a featureless wall. The room the Gamers were standing inside was rising up.
“Uh, a-are you sure this is safe?” Dogora was feeling somehow apprehensive from the novel experience.
“It’s fine. Interesting, I don’t feel the acceleration of going up at all.”
The slight sensation of being pressed against the floor that Allen recalled from riding elevators in his prior life was absent here, strangely enough. The only feedback that he had received was the button lighting up.
Eventually, an entrance seemed to come down from above, stopping when the floor outside was exactly level with the floor of the elevator. Allen took a quick peek outside and found a giant “2” on the ground, indicating that this was the second floor. So he stepped back into the room and pressed the up button one more time.
Just like before, the room started rising and stopped when it was level with another entrance. There was a large “3” on the floor outside.
Dogora stared at the number and murmured, “So, we were going up in this thing?”
“That’s right,” Allen nodded. “Travelers tend to have a lot of luggage, so having a magic tool like this probably makes things easier.”
Without further ado, the No-life Gamers retired to their rooms for the night.
＊ ＊ ＊
The next morning, as the party was slowly gathering in the lobby, a group of dwarves walked up to them. One stepped forward to approach Sophie, then bowed respectfully.
“I hope you are having a wonderful morning. We are terribly sorry to bother you out of the blue, but would you happen to be Princess Sophialohne of Rohzenheim?”
“Um, y-yes I am.”
Oh? We’ve got someone else coming up to us now. They’re here for Sophie this time, looks like.
“It is an honor to make your acquaintance. My name is Nukakai, and I am this country’s foreign minister. If you are not in a hurry, may I have a bit of your time? We have already made arrangements for a private venue. Perhaps you would be interested in having breakfast together?”
Whoa, they sent a minister right off the bat? Well, I guess that makes sense. Sophie is the princess next in line for the throne, after all. I should probably be more surprised at the fact that the government already knows that we’re in Baukis and that this is where we’re staying. But now that I think about it, they probably already knew from the magic ship manifest, didn’t they?
Ratash had sent Baukis information regarding the No-life Gamers’ trip, including the date of their arrival. As it happened, the Gamers had plenty to discuss with the Baukisian government too, so this opportunity had appeared at the perfect time.
“We appreciate the offer,” Sophie told the minister. “However, please wait a moment. We have one more companion who is still coming down.”
“Thank you very much for accepting our invitation despite the short notice. We shall make the necessary preparations.” The minister gave the men behind him a look, and a few nodded in acknowledgment before heading off.
The last person down today was Keel. Allen was always the first of the boys to rise, as he greatly valued living efficiently and therefore kept strict sleeping and eating schedules. However, he always made sure not to disturb the others when he went through his morning routine.
Before long, Keel also made his way down, and the minister led the entire party to a spacious dining area inside the hotel. The room was especially opulent, with walls inlaid with gold and gems.
Seems like the dwarves have a bit of a nouveau riche disposition. I wonder if it’s the same in Giamut.
The foreign minister took a seat across from Sophie. “Would you like a drink?” It was clear to all that when the minister said “a drink,” he was referring to alcohol.
Did he seriously offer her booze this early in the morning?
“I’m fine, thank you.”
Sophie’s stopped drinking as of late. And she didn’t eat any of the dragon meat either. I feel like the variety of her diet is shrinking.
Sophie no longer touched alcohol because Allen did not; Allen did not because his memories of his past life made him wary of becoming drunk, the consequences of which included making mistakes in-game and falling asleep at his computer. He was wearing an MP Recovery Ring that restored one percent of his MP bar every second at the moment, and since he used that MP to raise his skill levels, he could not afford to waste even a second. For him, accidentally passing out would mean suddenly losing several hours’ worth of MP down the drain.
Sophie not eating monster meat was not anything new, though. Allen had learned at the Academy one difference between the two races was that while humans and elves both ate meat from wild animals, the latter did not eat monster meat. It was theorized that this was the reason the Demon Lord Army’s forces sent to the Central Continent were mainly composed of only monsters humans could not eat, whereas those sent to Rohzenheim had a decent number of species that were edible for humans. It made sense, as the Demon Lord Army would not want to end up sending rations to their enemies. As such, the great boar meat secured by Ratash’s frontier villages remained very valuable rations for the front lines of Giamut.
Allen watched the hotel staff carry out the soup course as childhood memories of hunting great boars flashed through his mind.
Seriously? A full-course meal this early in the morning? I guess we’re gonna be here a while, then. Oh well, their foreign minister did go to the trouble of coming all the way here. Let’s think of this as an opportunity to tell him what we want.
