(About two months before the date of Homeless party’s arrival in Sarasvadi.)
Arvish woke up in a room in the Gloris family.
“It’s morning huh.”
He squinted at the morning sun that he could see through the window. He crawls out of the king-sized bed and puts on the underwear and clothes he had thrown on the floor.
“Mmm.”
“Feria, it’s time to wake up.”
He looked at the bed and called out to the elf woman, who was sleeping without a single piece of clothes on. The elf woman opened her eyes faintly. Arvish smiles as he looks at Feria.
“I want to sleep more.”
“Hey, have you forgotten already? Today is the day we have to go to the royal castle.”
“Ugh-..… that’s right. Being busy is also something to consider.”
Feria sits up and combs back her long blonde hair with her fingers. She wrapped the sheets on the bed around her body and walked to the shower room inside the room. Watching her like this is one of Arvish’s pleasures.
Arvish and Feria are engaged. But why is Feria working under Arvish in the kingdom of Logas? This situation is not so difficult to explain. Feria’s family, the Benesse family, is an aristocratic family, but they struggled for many years to raise funds. It was the Gloris family who reached out to them. In exchange for providing them with rich funds, the Gloris family demanded that they give up their daughter. In short, it is what we call marriage of convenience.
The Benesse family took the offer, and Feria was betrothed to Arvish of the Gloris family. However, as soon as the two parties met, they hit it off. Beyond the expectations of both families, Arvish and Feria became more closely connected.
“Sorry to keep you waiting, I’m ready.”
Feria, who had applied makeup, wore a dark brown robe. The scent of her perfume wafts through the air.
“You look good in a master-grade robe.”
“Exactly! Now that I’ve mastered magic, it’s the one that suits me best.”
“You look good in whatever you wear.”
Arvish pulls her closer and kisses her. Then there was a knock on the door.
“……Who is it?”
“Young master, breakfast is ready so I’m here to call you.”
“Okay, we’ll go right away.”
They then leave the room and move to the dining room. When they arrived, the head of the Gloris family is already there, eating his meal.
“Good morning Father.”
“Oh, good morning.”
He glanced at Arvish and replied briefly.
Arvish grinned and calls out again,
“Father…?”
“Uh-, I am so happy to see the face of my son, who is a hero. Good morning Arvish.”
He gets up from his seat and he gives Arvish a hug. However, contrary to his words, his face contorted in grimace.
“Hahaha! Father really likes me huh! Alright, let’s eat!”
“Fufu, that’s right.”
Arvish and Feria laugh as they sit down.
They are currently at the mansion of the Gloris family. They had returned to the place where they were supposed to have been kicked out. In the kingdom of Logas, the title of Hero is the strongest mark given to one person. Until the day when the bearer is defeated, it will remain a symbol of the kingdom’s military might.
As a result, the hero has various preferential treatment available for him in the kingdom. One is tax exemption. Relatives of a hero are not required to pay taxes. Of course, you have to get the approval of the hero himself that he is a family member. The head of the Gloris family changed his mind because of this. He rescinded the separation and brought back Arvish. Since then, the relationship between father and son has been reversed.
“I became a hero because my father kicked me out of the house. I’ll always look up to you, you see.”
As he speaks to his father, Arvish smirks as he cuts the meat with a knife. Sir Gloris finished his meal with no expression on his face then he walked out of the dining room without a word.
“Kuahahahaha, being a hero is really the best! That father can’t even go against me!”
“Arvish-sama, why don’t you moderate your playfulness? If you bully the patriarch too much, he may retaliate you see.”
“Oh-, well, you’re right. Okay, I’ll do it in moderation. By the way, is that matter going well?”
“Yes, there’s no way around it. I’ve already spoken to the minister. It will be officially announced in two months.”
“At last. We can finally get him out of this kingdom huh.”
Arvish is so delighted that his right hand holding the knife trembles. Feria also took a sip of wine as she watched the situation.
“Don’t be impatient. You have to be very prepared to win.”
“I know. It’s frustrating, but their ability is really extraordinary. It’s hard for us to win head-on.”
He takes a deep breath to calm himself down, then picks up his glass and takes a sip of wine. Anger was simmering deep inside his heart. That opponent is none other than Shinichi Tanaka.
Even though he was humiliated and was forced to drink bitterness, Arvish did not give up on his revenge. On the day he left the capital, he swore that he would definitely kill Shinichi one day.
“I’ve decided to retrain myself and kill Shinichi Tanaka without fail. So will you, right Feria?”
“Of course! I won’t let this feeling go away until the day I kill Erna.”
After finishing their meal, they decided to leave the mansion.
◇◇◇
Arvish and Feria went to the castle. The soldiers who passed by saluted them, and even the knights could not ignore them. Without asking anyone’s permission, they stepped lightly into the castle as if they had returned home.
“Greetings Hero-dono!”
“It’s great to see that the General is in good spirits.”
It was General Orban who met him in the corridor. Arvish and the general shake hands affectionately as if they were longtime friends.
“Preparations to wipe them out all at once are progressing steadily. I can’t sleep at night thinking that I’ll soon be able to kill that filthy commoner.”
“Me too. Let’s drag him before His Majesty and be sure to deliver his head. Oh-, and please continue with your preparations. I have an audience with His Majesty, so we’ll go ahead first.”
The general nodded deeply, fluttered his cloak and left. As he looked behind him, Arvish muttered, “You are also a commoner”.
“This is the royal castle. Be careful, we don’t know where the ears are.”
“I know that. However, it makes me cringe to think that such person with no competence is sitting in the position of a general.”
“Have a little more patience. Arvish-sama will be the general soon, right?”
“If the current general disappears, I think that is what will happen.”
He smiled frivolously and started walking again. When they arrived at the throne room, they opened the door and entered the room.
“The hero Arvish Gloris is here.”
“Gufufu, you’ve come a long way.”
Getting down on one knee on the red carpet, Arvish and Feria greet King Logas as he sits on his throne. Several knights and ministers stood in the room, and in close proximity to them is a man who was equally on one knee.
“All three of you, raise your heads. I’m not going to talk about anything complex today.”
“““As you will.”””
When the two of them stood up, the man nearby also stood up slowly. However, his movement was as sluggish as a zombie. He had unkempt hair and he wore red robes that looked like it was not washed for several days. He also has stubble on his face which makes him look like a vagrant. Four coffins were placed near the man.
Arvish wonders why such a man is here.
“Your Majesty, may I show you the results of my research right away?”
“I don’t mind. Go ahead, show it to me.”
Following King Logas’ words, the man placed the four coffins in front of the king. Everyone is wondering what is going to happen.
“Please take a look at the ultimate magical beast that I have created over the years!”
The lid of the coffin opened all at once, revealing four skeletons. All of them are dressed in white robes and have their hoods pulled over their heads. Each of the four figures is inlaid with red, green, brown, blue, and other stones that appear to be magic stones, and they dully reflect the sunlight coming in through the window.
“Magical Beast!?”
There was a lot of noise in the room. The knights draw their sword, and Arvish and Feria also readied their weapons.
“Quiet! Professor Jill, explain.”
“Yes.”
The man called Professor Jill approached the skeletons and flipped one of the hoods. Everyone could see that the back of the skeleton’s head was equipped with a small metal box.
“This is the brain part of this artificial lich. Over 50 magic squares are layered inside it, and it is programmed to faithfully carry out commands. Furthermore, the magic circuits that spread throughout its body provide magical power. The transmission is twice that of a conventional lich. No, it should be three times more reliable. Furthermore, the thought pattern evolves as they gain experience. In other words, the more enemies they defeat, the more their abilities improve. The best part is―”
King Logas tapped his fingers on the elbow rest and called out to Professor Jill.
“Speak concisely. Is that magical beast strong?”
“Of course! They are definitely the strongest magical beast. Mmm, let’s try it out…… oi, that woman there. Show your magic to my Lich.”
“Me?”
“Who else? You’re the only woman here. Just use your magic already!”
Frustrated by Professor Jill’s arrogant attitude, Feria raises her wand and casts advanced magic on the artificial lich.
“Spear Rain!”
A vortex of water appeared above the heads of the four skeletons. The vortex rains thousands of water needles directly downward. The red carpet on the floor was punctured in the shape of a beehive, and it rained mercilessly on the four artificial beasts. However, in less than ten seconds, the magic was sucked into the back of the head of the four skeletons.
The unexpected situation leaves everyone, including Feria, speechless.
“Hahahaha! Did you see that!? This is what I created! They are the ultimate artificial Lich!”
TLYN: Actually it was given a name, ユルティムカトゥル, I just don’t feel the direct translation, Yurutimakator is right. Lich Ultimator seems weird too haha. Do comment on this one so I can update it later. ^_^
The four lich turned their heads to King Logas and dropped to one knee on the floor. Even though they are such powerful magical beasts, they showed here how to obey people.
The king smiles contentedly.
“My magic…”
“Don’t worry about it Feria. It’s true that your magic didn’t work, but they will be on our side. As long as we have those four, victory is certain, right?”
“That’s true, but what I can’t forgive is a magical beast wearing a great mage’s robe. White robes are originally supposed to be worn by humans. It’s infuriating that he is putting it on something we don’t know.”
Aside from Feria, who was trembling with anger, Arvish and the others were delighted with the artificial lich. For Arvish, who is advocating for the annihilation of the Homeless party, the four of them seemed to be reassuring allies.
King Logas speaks to them.
“Hero Arvish, you must work with Professor Jill to bring that great sinner here. If it’s not possible, you can just bring his head to me. I’m counting on you.”
“““As you will, Your Majesty.”””
The three of them bowed deeply to the King and then they walked out of the throne room. The four of skeletons walk behind Professor Jill while clattering their jaws.
This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com.
Previous ⚜ Table of Contents ⚜ Next
Yume Neiji's Works 