kscans

Chapter 347 - The Demon Lord, Romance Talk, and Trust

At midnight, three days after Hayato's Alchemy skill reached 200, an announcement was made that the "Conflict" event would be held in one week.

Not only was the event's start date and detailed rules released, but it was also the period for deciding which faction to belong to, and the game had been buzzing with excitement since just after the date changed.

It was possible to change factions until the event began, but at present, many clans were siding with Amanda’s New Demon Lord’s Army. This was because the veteran clans had, for the most part, sided with Lunaria’s Old Demon Lord’s Army.

New versus old. It was true for the Demon Lord’s armies, but there was also talk that players were projecting their own circumstances onto the situation. Most of the players who started after the Clan Wars had joined the New Demon Lord’s Army, and their morale seemed high.

This outcome had been expected, but seeing it happen was still tough. In terms of clan numbers alone, nearly twice as many clans had sided with the enemy. The difference would be even greater when considering the number of players.

There was no point lamenting it, so Hayato decided to improve their quality as much as possible and planned to boost their strength during the remaining week.

Lunaria would be crucial.

Even if they won the struggle for territory, it would not be a victory unless Lunaria ultimately defeated Amanda.

Lunaria herself had apparently been holding mock battles with Benitsuru and the others in the Maid Guild’s underground arena, and she said her skills that had broken the limit were about to reach 200.

The skill Lunaria had broken the limit on was the "Demon Lord" skill.

It was a unique skill that only Lunaria possessed, which improved stats like attack and defense. It also had various other effects, such as increasing natural HP and MP regeneration.

The Hero, Ivan, also possessed the "Hero" skill, which had similar performance. Just having it was a considerable advantage, but it could be said to be a skill befitting the special positions of Hero and Demon Lord in this virtual reality.

As for Lunaria, she had shown up in the dining hall early this morning, and for a rare moment, she and Hayato were alone.

Lunaria, who was usually a sleepyhead, was seemingly excited about the upcoming event and was in the dining hall making "Demon Lord’s Cookies."

Lunaria exchanged morning greetings with Hayato, then ate a cookie she had made herself. It must have turned out well, because she nodded once, then looked at Hayato and smiled.

"My skill is about to reach 200, and as the Demon Lord, I feel like I can finally break out of my shell. I plan to descend as True Demon Lord Lunaria. I can tell from how well this cookie turned out. I intend to sell it as the True Demon Lord’s Cookie."

"Good luck with the cookie. As for the skill, we want to get that raised before the event. It’ll be important to know what you’ll be able to do."

"I think it’s going to be something amazing. It might not be a bad idea to embark on world domination right after."

"For now, just think about getting the Demon Lord’s Castle back."

Recently, the number of players with skills at 200 had increased. Thanks to that, it had become known that every skill gained a special ability at level 200. Some just got an attack or defense bonus, but others unlocked completely different functionalities.

What would happen when the Demon Lord skill reached 200? It was impossible not to have expectations.

However, there was no time now. Skill values were harder to raise the closer they got to the cap. It was possible she would not reach 200 before the event started. And that was where Hayato had to step up.

Strength was determined by a person’s own specs and skill composition, but equipment was also important.

"I’ll definitely make a genuine Excalibur, so be sure to practice dual wielding until then."

"That’s fine. I’ve been asking Cecil-chan a lot of things lately, so I think I can manage. But Cecil-chan, Benny-chan, and Simon-chan all love fighting too much, it’s a problem. Personally, I prefer Noat-chan’s way of life."

"Both are extremes, though…"

"By the way, have you made any progress on the Philosopher’s Stone? I heard you asked the Maid Guild to investigate."

"It’s not perfect, but I’ve found out a certain amount. I’m planning to go to the locations with other clan members starting today."

"Are you going too, Hayato-san?"

"Just in case something happens. It seems gathering the items is not going to be straightforward…"

By asking the Maid Guild, he had found out some methods for gathering the items, but much of it was speculation, and there was no guarantee they could be obtained for certain. It was possible it was all a complete misunderstanding, so Hayato had decided to go to the locations himself.

Regarding Zaratan, it turned out that it could not be defeated after all. The alternative was that there was apparently a dungeon on Zaratan’s shell that led into its body, and the item might be found by entering from there.

As for the giant bronze man, Talos, the story was that it guarded a treasure in the deepest part of "Arcadia," a mirage city in the Spirit Country.

Regarding Phoenix’s Blood, Jolth had already told him the habitat. However, it was understood that defeating it would not yield Phoenix’s Blood. The possibility was to tame it, and he planned to ask Maris and Surya to handle that.

Most of this information was the result of the Maid Guild gathering intel from NPCs, but none of it was certain, and much of it was passed down as folklore. With no solid information, Hayato had decided to go to the locations himself.

(The female members said they didn’t want to go inside Zaratan, and I don’t even know where Arcadia is in the Spirit Country. As for the Phoenix, I’m leaving it to Maris and the others, so I can’t take too much time…)

There were many restrictions, but he could not complain. Besides, he figured it would not be a problem if major clans like Bandit and Imperial were cooperating. At worst, it would not be an issue even if it was completed after the event started. It would be good enough if he had it by the time of the direct confrontation with Amanda.

"Well, leave this to me. All you need to do, Lunaria-san, is get stronger."

"Hmph, you can leave it to me. I’ll become strong enough to defeat Amanda in an instant."

Upon hearing Amanda’s name, something occurred to Hayato.

This was a virtual reality, but the NPCs’ memories had been altered by Diite based on reality. Amanda had already regained her memories, but he was curious about how Lunaria felt.

"Hey, Lunaria-san, you hate Amanda, right?"

"I hate her more than centipedes."

"I get that you really hate her, but why do you hate her so much?"

Hayato knew a certain amount about Lunaria and Amanda’s relationship.

They were born as genetically enhanced humans and raised in the same research facility. For different reasons, they participated as test players in the virtual reality. Apparently, the two had never met before that.

However, Amanda, who was excellent at that research facility, and Lunaria, who was even called a failure, were both reasonably famous.

Those two met in this virtual reality and even formed a clan, but now Lunaria detested Amanda. Amanda seemed to hate Lunaria too, but he did not know why it had come to that.

According to Diite, it had been that way even before they lost their memories, but he wanted to confirm how she remembered it after her memories were altered.

Lunaria made a more disgusted face than ever, but she let out a long sigh and looked at Hayato.

"Amanda looked down on everyone. I didn’t notice it at first, but when I realized she had always been that way, I had her forcibly removed from the clan."

"Um, when you say everyone, you mean—"

"The Demonfolk."

Hayato understood she meant the members of Lunaria’s clan, Ambrosia.

"After we lost to Ivan and his group in the Clan War, Amanda bad-mouthed everyone. She said it was everyone’s fault we lost, that they were useless, and she berated them like that. I don’t care what’s said about me, but I can’t forgive anyone who speaks ill of my friends."

Just remembering it seemed to reignite Lunaria’s anger. She swung her arms around and then turned her face away with a huff.

Her way of getting angry was childish, but he surmised that was how furious she was.

"Sorry, I made you remember something unpleasant."

When Hayato said that, Lunaria closed her eyes, took a deep breath, then slowly exhaled and shook her head.

"It’s not something Hayato-san needs to apologize for. It’s all Amanda’s fault. I was grateful that she talked to me when I was all alone, that she scouted everyone for the clan, and that she made me the leader. But when I heard she intended to use us like tools from the very beginning, all that gratitude turned into its opposite. If it were up to me, I’d never want to have anything to do with her again."

"You really care about the Demonfolk, don’t you?"

The angry Lunaria smiled and nodded.

"Yes. They are my precious comrades. Everyone was so good to me. I was sad when I heard they had sided with Amanda, but I was happy when I found out they were being brainwashed. That they hadn’t really betrayed me."

"That makes sense. From what I just heard, there’s no reason they would side with Amanda."

To side with someone who said they intended to use you as a tool would require a very good reason. Something like someone being taken hostage would be necessary.

"I know that if I defeat Amanda, the brainwashing on everyone will be broken, so I’m serious about defeating her."

"I’m counting on you."

"Yes. But I have no intention of underestimating Amanda. You have to help too, Hayato-san."

"Of course. For breakfast, I’ll serve you as much of your favorite food as you want. And naturally, I’ll prepare it at the highest quality."

"As expected of Hayato of Pride, one of the Seven Demon Generals of the Demon Lord’s Army…!"

"I’m not particularly prideful, am I…?"

After that exchange, Lunaria’s face showed she had noticed something. She looked around, then moved closer to Hayato.

"As the Demon Lord, there’s something I want to confirm with you, Hayato-san," Lunaria whispered to Hayato.

He did not know what she wanted to confirm, but since she was whispering, he figured she did not want others to hear, so Hayato whispered back.

"What is it?"

"How are things with Esha-chan? Tell the Demon Lord just how far you’ve gone."

For a moment, Hayato’s mind went blank. But he quickly composed himself.

"With Esha, the farthest we’ve gone is to the Eastern Country."

"That kind of joke doesn’t work on the Demon Lord. To put it bluntly, I’m asking what kind of romantic relationship you two have. Let's talk romance."

"…First, can I ask why you’re asking such a question?"

"To put it simply, I’m making a bet with everyone in the Black Rose. We’re betting on whether you and Esha-chan are in a romantic relationship, and if so, how far you’ve gone. Don’t worry, we’re keeping it a secret from Esha-chan."

"I would have preferred you kept it a secret from me, too. Anyway, what is the Demon Lord’s Army doing?"

An important event was coming up, a battle they could not afford to lose to retake the Demon Lord’s Castle, and he wanted to ask what on earth they were doing.

"The Demon Lord’s Army is in the middle of a femininity improvement campaign. We’re tired from all the recent fighting. Besides, an adult Demon Lord also partakes in romance talk. So, how are things? I bet on you two exchanging diaries."

Was this adult Demon Lord a child? And her sense of romance was too old-fashioned. Exchanging diaries was something you only heard about in ancient literature now.

Hayato wanted to retort, but he held back. However, staying silent was a little scary. Lunaria’s eyes were full of expectation.

"By the way, what did the others bet on?"

"Rosalie-chan said that Esha-chan has probably at least done the ‘a-n,’ feeding Hayato-san food right to his mouth. She said it with a smug face. I think that’s a bit shameless."

"…There’s no way Esha would give food to someone else, right?"

"Then, what about drinking Melon Juice together with a special straw? By the way, the straw is heart-shaped. I heard it’s a way of drinking only permitted to powerful couples."

"What’s that? It’s the same thing, but there’s no way Esha would give Melon Juice to someone else, right?"

"Eeh…?"

"No, I’m the one who should be saying ‘eeh’."

"Could it be you haven’t done anything…?"

"It’s not that we haven’t done anything, it’s that we’re not in a romantic relationship in the first place."

In reality, they were living together, but he could say with confidence that they were not dating. Though he sometimes wondered if that was okay to say.

Hearing that answer, Lunaria shook her head with a sigh.

"I’m disappointed in you, Hayato-san."

"I’m disappointed in the Demon Lord’s Army. I don’t suppose Gil-san is betting, is he?"

"Gil-chan is clueless about that kind of thing. But he did say, ‘A man cannot easily lay a hand on that which he truly treasures.’"

"You do a good impression of Gil-san. Still, that’s a profound thing to say. Not that it applies to me, though."

After that, Lunaria continued to bring up romance-related topics, but Hayato skillfully dodged them.

And the Demon Lord’s Army’s breakfast that day was a little meager.

After breakfast, Hayato and the others set out to sea on an airship to search for Zaratan.

There were two airships. Hayato’s airship and the Bandit clan’s airship. Each carried about forty people, so eighty people would be tackling this mission.

All of them were men.

Not only women but also men had refused to go inside Zaratan, but as expected of major clans, they had an abundance of personnel and somehow managed to gather the members.

The Bandit clan, Imperial, Starkest, Over the Top, and Hayato’s group along with Gil’s Ten Dark Knights. It was a rugged group of only men, but it could not be helped.

"Everyone has quite good muscles. I almost want to scout them for the Demon Lord’s Army."

That was Gil speaking.

Today’s objective was to collect the materials for the Philosopher’s Stone. That would ultimately lead to making an Excalibur exclusively for Lunaria, so he had offered to participate.

"Gil-san, thank you for coming today."

"Not at all, it is I who should be thanking you. If we are to create a new weapon for Lunaria-sama, the Demon Lord’s Army should be present. That said, Hayato-dono, you are well-connected. To be able to gather this many people. Did you not just receive the information from the Maid Guild yesterday?"

"I have various connections. Though they’re Jolth’s connections, not mine."

"Even so, they can be considered Hayato-dono’s network. And you are providing information that only you know for this, are you not? It would be quite profitable if you kept it to yourself. I feel almost sorry."

"Well, you could say it’s a give-and-take relationship. Besides, I’m indebted to Lunaria-san and everyone in the Demon Lord’s Army, so this is nothing."

Even though they would all be fighting on the same side in the event, he felt bad having them help for free. Jolth was one thing, but he had provided various information to the other clans.

He had provided the airship construction method, replica-type crafting recipes, and even the information on the Philosopher’s Stone, which was their objective this time.

From Gil’s perspective, it looked like Hayato was working hard for the Demon Lord’s Army, but Hayato also had the objective of protecting Diite. For that, providing information was not a big deal.

"Hayato-dono, you are not greedy! …Oh, my apologies. I recall that at present, a mere pat on the shoulder is enough to fell you."

Gil was about to pat Hayato on the shoulder but stopped just in time.

"I apologize for the inconvenience."

"No, not at all. I have heard that it was done to retake the Demon Lord’s Castle. I have only gratitude, never inconvenience."

After saying that, Gil stared at Hayato.

"Um, is something wrong?"

"No, I was just thinking how much more fun it would be if Hayato-dono officially joined the Demon Lord’s Army!"

"I am technically one of the Seven Demon Generals of the Demon Lord’s Army, though…"

"Hahaha, so you were! I do hope you will remain in that position even after we retake the Demon Lord’s Castle. You would likely be given a room in the castle, you know? Monsters occasionally roam the halls, which makes for good training."

"I’m a production class, so monsters are a bit… Ah, that’s right. By the way, do you know the details about the Demonfolk and Amanda? The battle will be starting soon, so I’m gathering information."

Lunaria, Rosalie, and Gil had been busy with various things, so he had not been able to get much information on that front. It was not Hayato who would be fighting, but there was a possibility he could create items that would give them an advantage.

"I do not know much about Amanda-dono. However, I have heard that she possesses a skill that allows her to move beyond the laws of physics, much like Lunaria-sama’s Black Swan."

Hayato nodded.

He had heard something along those lines. As a genetically enhanced human, Amanda’s thought processing speed was abnormally fast, and in this virtual reality, she could move three or four times faster than normal. It was said to be on par with Lunaria’s Black Swan, but the exact ratio was unknown.

"And the weapon she possesses is a sword called Durandal."

"That’s the first time I’ve heard of that sword. Do you know what its performance is like?"

"I heard its attack power is about the same as Arondight. However, unlike Arondight, it does not have various effects like ignoring defense. It has only one ability."

"Only one?"

"Indeed. I have not seen it myself, but apparently, it has no durability. In other words, it cannot be broken."

"That’s quite something…"

"It could be called a weapon advantageous in a prolonged battle. Any weapon will eventually break if clashed enough times. In fact, that is how Lunaria-sama defeated Ivan-dono."

Lunaria and Ivan had fought near the headquarters, and the deciding factor had been weapon durability. The freshly repaired Arondight versus an Excalibur with reduced durability. That was what decided the match.

"Lunaria-sama’s only chance of winning would be in a short battle. But I cannot imagine her attacks will land so easily. It would be bad if Amanda-dono were to focus on defense."

With normal dynamic visual acuity and reflexes, one could not react to Lunaria’s attacks when Black Swan was activated. But Amanda, like Lunaria, could move beyond the laws of physics. Just landing a hit would be a feat in itself.

(An unbreakable weapon. So far, only that Durandal exists. I could hope for something from Blacksmithing skill 200, but even if I had the same weapon, Lunaria-san can’t use Black Swan without Arondight. I’ll have to count on her using it with Excalibur’s White Lightning. But even if her movements get faster, will Lunaria-san be able to handle it…)

Just because you can drive a car does not mean you can drive a sports car. If the acceleration doubled, you would not be able to drive with your usual senses. Even if you could, it would be at a level where you slow down to the speed of a normal car just to be able to move. That would be meaningless.

In this case, it was not a vehicle but her own body, but this was a virtual reality.

It was uncertain if her movements and thoughts would mesh well. Even if she could move nearly twice as fast as before, she would need the senses, reflexes, and thought speed to maintain that top speed.

As Hayato was thinking about various things, Gil laughed, "Hahaha."

"Hayato-dono. It is no use for us to think about unnecessary things. Let us trust in Lunaria-sama."

"Huh?"

"I am not saying not to think at all. Lunaria-sama is someone who will meet our expectations. She may be mischievous at times, but she comes through when it counts. We should simply believe in that."

"…You’re right. I shouldn’t think about Lunaria-san in a normal way. In that case, let’s do what we can."

"That is for the best. Lunaria-sama will surely defeat Amanda-dono."

As Gil said this with a smile, a voice came from the side, saying that Zaratan was in sight.

Hayato and Gil also looked from the deck in the direction everyone was pointing.

There, they could see the shell of a turtle, which could be called a giant island, moving slowly across the sea.