During his ti in Orbau, Vandalieu had made constant efforts to appear human… at least while he was not in Silkie or Knochen, and when he was in the presence of those who were not his friends or family.
When he moved, he made sure to do so without using physical strength that was much above the norm, and when he reached for things in high places, he did not extend his tongue or tentacles to do so. When running, he did so using only his two legs rather than running on all fours, and when soone started talking to him from behind him, he did not produce eyes on the back of his head to look at them. He also refrained from making excessive use of ‘Out-of-body Experience’ to create split entities of himself.
As a Dhampir, he had been born with claws, so he used them without hesitation, but other than that, he had restrained himself even at the Hero Preparatory School. In recent practical training sessions that required him to find materials such as dicinal herbs and mushrooms, he hadn’t done anything more than producing antennae on his forehead to help him search for them.
But in the end, despite all of his best efforts, he had received the unceremonious Title of ‘Self-proclaid Human.’
One could infer that this Title implied that its owner proclaid themselves to be human while they were not a human in reality, could they not?
This was a little too much, wasn’t it? Not that he had intended to make everyone feel indebted to him, but Vandalieu had saved the city and the country from destruction, and he had saved the world by defeating a partially-resurrected Guduranis. And yet, he had been branded as a non-human.
“So, I think that this should be protested against, don’t I?” said Vandalieu, having recovered from the shock caused by his acquisition of the ‘Self-proclaid Human’ Title.
He was already planning to make a protest in order to change the world’s view of him and rid himself of this undesirable Title.
Behind him were a row of Demon King Familiars holding placards.
“I do think so, don’t I?” one of them said, agreeing with the main Vandalieu.
“Yes, no matter how powerless one individual is against the–” a second began, but was eaten by Bakunawa before it could finish its sentence.
“Against the might of the world,” said a third Demon King Familiar, finishing the sentence. “Bakunawa, you mustn’t eat Papa while he’s talking.”
“Elder brother, I’m afraid I do not quite understand what Father is saying,” said Aradia, who looked just like a five or six-year-old girl other than the fact that she was dozens of ters tall.
Puzzled by her father’s strange behavior, she stared at him with her three eyes – one on either side of her face, with the third on her forehead.
She was adorable and intelligent-looking, with silver hair and white skin that were as if she had been dyed by the moonlight, and golden pupils. She was the Colossus that had been born between Vandalieu and the Moon Giant Deeana, which was why she was already more than fifty ters tall.
She had been born earlier than Deeana had expected, and she had grown at a pace that was abnormal even for a Colossus. But because not much ti had passed since she was born, it seed that she couldn’t imagine why Vandalieu was so fixated on being human.
“Hmm, I don’t know what Papa’s saying, either. I’m sure it’s so adult thing,” said Bakunawa, the Elder Dragon born between Vandalieu and Tiamat, the Mountain Queen Elder Dragon God.
He didn’t understand, either; he hadn’t seen many humans in his life at all… even if one included his father, the one whose Demon King Familiar he was currently munching on.
“Do you know, Onee-chan?” Bakunawa asked Elizabeth.
“Well, kind of,” Elizabeth replied, trying not to look at Bakunawa’s torso, which was noisily chewing the Demon King Familiar.
“Wow, you’re amazing, Onee-chan.”
Bakunawa’s voice sounded perfectly normal; it was difficult to imagine that he was speaking while munching on a Demon King Familiar whose sturdiness rivaled that of Orichalcum. It was likely that he was using so kind of special trick to talk and eat at the sa ti.
But Elizabeth felt like she could get along better with this grotesque stepbrother of hers than her blood-related half-brothers.
“You are indeed amazing, Elder Sister,” said Aradia.
She was Elizabeth’s newest stepsister, and she earnestly adored Elizabeth as an older sister – despite Elizabeth being of a different race and small enough to pick up with her fingers.
Elizabeth had complicated feelings on the matter – on one hand, she was happy that she now had an innocent, adorable younger sister, no matter her size. On the other hand, she felt like her life had once again progressed in a direction that was difficult to describe.
“I-I suppose,” Elizabeth stamred. “More importantly, Vandalieu. You say you’re going to protest, but what exactly do you plan to do? Don’t tell you’re going to parade through Orbau?”
“Elizabeth-sama, why are you talking as if that’s sothing that I shouldn’t do?” asked one of the Demon King Familiars.
“Because I don’t want you to do sothing that you shouldn’t!”
Even if Vandalieu were to make a protest, Elizabeth could imagine that it would be an orderly, well-mannered affair. It wouldn’t devolve into a riot, and there would be no littering – in fact, the Demon King Familiars would clean up their surroundings while they were at it. To begin with, it was even possible that he would be conscious about the place and ti of day so that he didn’t obstruct anyone, leading him to carry the protest out secretly in the middle of the night, which would defeat the purpose.
However, a parade of Demon King Familiars that resembled enormous crustaceans, insects, cephalopods, and reptiles would be a scene straight out of a nightmare. And the Demon King Familiars only vaguely resembled such animals – the number of their eyeballs and where they were placed, their tentacles, their antennae, and the number of limbs they possessed were features that no ordinary animal or monster could possibly possess. The sight of such Demon King Familiars would have a great impact even on the people of Orbau, who were currently in the process of getting accustod to Demons and Undead… or perhaps not.
A thought crossed Elizabeth’s mind for a mont – perhaps the people had already beco accustod to the presence of Demons and Undead, and nobody batted an eye at them anymore. But she quickly changed her mind – there was no way that things that progressed quite that far yet.
Anyway, this guy has lost his mind from the shock, hasn’t he?! Elizabeth thought.
She had recently co to realize that Vandalieu did not have a cool and collected personality. He was expressionless and almost entirely incapable of expressing emotion through his voice, and he constantly had multiple thought processes running at the sa ti.
“To begin with, what would be the point of doing sothing like that? Even if you show off your Demon King Familiars to the people and claim that you’re a human, that statent would have no credibility whatsoever! In fact, it would only strengthen people’s impression of you that you’re proclaiming yourself to be a human!” Elizabeth pointed out.
This very sensible point brought Vandalieu back to his senses. “Now that you ntion it, you’re completely right. I was wrong,” he said, his face falling in disappointnt.
“Bakunawa, you can eat these s that I made,” said one of the Demon King Familiars as it and the others, still holding their placards, offered themselves to Bakunawa to be eaten.
It seed that the placards were made of Demon King fragnts as well.
“Yay, thanks, Papa!” Bakunawa said happily.
“Elder Brother, I, too, would like to eat Father,” said Aradia.
“Hmm, this Papa’s shell is hard, so I’ll crack it open for you,” said Bakunawa.
Without any hesitation, Aradia joined Bakunawa and began eating the Demon King Familiar Bakunawa offered her, the split entity of Vandalieu… her own father. Pressing her lips around the crack that Bakunawa had made in the shell for her with his finger, she slurped up its contents.
“It’s delicious!” she said with a smile.
Bakunawa smiled at his younger sister, and although Vandalieu was expressionless, he seed delighted as well.
Elizabeth stared, looking like she was about to start questioning her current views on what it ant to be a family.
“Ah… Elder Sister, here,” Aradia said, misunderstanding the situation and timidly offering her a second Demon King Familiar.
The trilobite-like Demon King Familiar was several tis the size of the Elizabeth, who had frozen still. Its shell had already been broken, exposing its flesh and bones in what could only be described as a grotesque sight.
Even Demon King Familiars that resembled crustaceans and insects had bones inside in order to allow them to continue moving even if their exoskeletons and carapaces were greatly damaged. After all, they were only just artificial life-forms that resembled crustaceans and insects.
“Wait! It’s not like I want to eat any!” Elizabeth protested hastily.
“Yes, this has bones. I made them soft so that Aradia can chew them, but I’m sure it would still be rather tough for you, Elizabeth-sama,” said the split-open Demon King Familiar that Elizabeth had assud was already dead.
“This is much easier to eat. There’s not a single fragnt of bone in it,” said another Demon King Familiar, which resembled an octopus, as it moved closer to offer itself instead.
Naturally, this was an entirely unwelco offer to Elizabeth. This situation might seem like heaven to those suffering from the phenonon of Vandalieu addiction in the Demon Empire of Vidal, but Elizabeth was not an addict.
“Can you not make offers like this?! And more importantly, shouldn’t you be thinking about why you’ve got this ‘Self-proclaid Human’ Title?!” said Elizabeth.
Fortunately, Vandalieu easily fell for her attempt to change the subject.
“You’re right about that,” said Vandalieu.
“It might even be possible to remove the Title,” said a Demon King Familiar.
“Though it’s just as likely as soone successfully grasping a mirage,” added another.
It was possible that Vandalieu had been joking about her eating the Demon King Familiar, but… she was too scared to learn whether or not that was the case, so she decided not to ask.
“But I can’t think of any particular event that could have caused it,” Vandalieu said. “I don’t think anyone has ever called that in Orbau, Alcrem, or Jahan.”
Given the total number of all of his Familiars and the fact that he shared mories with the split entities that were sent to those who used the ‘Familiar Spirit Demonfall’ Skill, Vandalieu was a living information network.
On top of that, due to the ‘Perfect Record Technique’ Skill, Vandalieu never forgot a single piece of information that he perceived through any of his five senses. Although information might lurk in a corner of his mory where he gave it no conscious thought, he could recall it at any ti if he wanted to.
He used these assets to gather information about how he was perceived in human society, but there was no information related to ‘Self-proclaid Human.’
“Well, they do frequently say things like ‘he goes beyond being a human,’ ‘he’s becoming more like a god,’ and ‘he’s kind of a monstrosity,’” Vandalieu added.
“Well, that’s because you defeated the Demon King, and you’ve done all sorts of other things, too. It’s no wonder you’ve got that kind of reputation. But I’m sure most of them an it in a good way,” Elizabeth said.
At the age of thirteen, Vandalieu had defeated the Demon King Guduranis, ruled an empire vaster than the Orbau Kingdom, and commanded familiars who rivaled the gods… so of whom were actual genuine demigods.
Given that, there was nothing strange about the things people said about him, and they seed unrelated to the ‘Self-proclaid Human’ Title.
“Then maybe it’s a reputation you’ve gained sowhere where you don’t have a lot of Demon King Familiars,” Elizabeth suggested. “Co to think about it, what about in the Demon Empire of Vidal? Are you sure people don’t think of you like that there?”
“Of course I am,” Vandalieu said with a confident nod. “In the nations belonging to the Demon Empire of Vidal, people befriend and I have a reputation as the emperor that anyone can talk to freely. People say that if you see a Demon King Familiar on the street, there’s probably thirty nearby.”
“That sounds delicious, Papa,” said Bakunawa.
“… Are you sure that counts as being befriended?” Elizabeth questioned.
In places like the Demon Continent and the region inside the Boundary Mountain Range, which was the first region to co under Vandalieu’s influence, Demon King Familiars had already beco viewed as common, everyday things to see. They served as fighting manpower when there wasn’t enough for monster extermination or Dungeon clearing; they served as surveillance caras, security, and lighting systems; they even served as sources of special labor such as being a replacent for heavy machinery or generating Mana.
And most importantly, they were split entities of the being that was worshiped by the people, so people befriended them and talked to them about their problems and such.
“They do befriend ,” Vandalieu said. “But nobody seems to understand that I’m human. That trend has grown stronger since enormous statues of were built in the Demon Continent and cities elsewhere, so I’m making sure to tell them over and over.”
“Hmm, I see… Wait, did you say ‘over and over?’” asked Elizabeth.
“Yes. I tell them, ‘I’m not a god but a person just like you, so that statue isn’t a statue of a god,’” Vandalieu said.
“Father, does that not an that you are proclaiming yourself to be human?” asked Aradia.
“That’s the reason!” Elizabeth exclaid. “If you’re doing sothing like that all over your own nation, it’s no wonder you’ve got the ‘Self-proclaid Human’ Title!”
Vandalieu froze in place with his eyes wide open. For the first ti, he had realized that he himself had caused his acquisition of the ‘Self-proclaid Human’ Title.
There was no doubt that an ergency eting attended by a countless number of Vandalieus was currently taking place in his brain, but… at this rate, it seed that it would take so ti for them to reach a conclusion.
anwhile, it seed that Eleanora and Bellmond’s attempt to beco Queens had reached its own conclusion.
“Now that I have had so ti to calm down and think about it properly… Let us give up on it,” said Bellmond, in a light tone that sounded as if she didn’t have a care in the world. “Now then, if we do not disassemble the corpses of the monsters that we have defeated, the preparation of the afternoon tea will be delayed,” she said, turning her mind back to her daily duties. “I would feel terrible leaving it all to Mahelia and Zona. First of all–”
“W-wait a minute! You’re just going to happily give up so easily?!” Eleanora exclaid hastily to stop Bellmond.
Bellmond suddenly stopped with an expression of realization on her face. “Ah. I have forgotten sothing very important.” She turned around and gave a polite, tidy bow – towards Basdia. “Thank you very much for your instruction.”
“Sorry I couldn’t be of more help,” Basdia said.
“Not at all. I apologize for causing you trouble with my selfishness,” said Bellmond.
The two of them exchanged wide smiles and a handshake, and then Bellmond silently began to walk away once more so that she could help the Demon King Familiars disassemble the monster corpses.
“That’s not what I an! I’m asking you if you’re fine with Isla being ahead of us!” said Eleanora, stopping her again.
“It is true that I felt that I have been left behind by Isla, and you and I asked Basdia for help so that we could try and increase our own Ranks,” Bellmond said. “However… When I think about it, even if she is a Lifeless Queen and I am not, this does not cause any problems. And to begin with, I have realized that it is impossible for to gain a race Title containing ‘Queen.’”
“W-what makes you say that?!” asked Eleanora, bewildered and dismayed.
“Eleanora, I am butler,” Bellmond explained. “No matter who becos a queen or doesn’t, it is my duty to serve Danna-sama. And besides… even if I remain a butler, there is no difference to the fact that I will offer Danna-sama my blood and have him brush my tail,” she said, her cheeks reddening and her tail curling up in embarrassnt.
Bellmond’s allure as she said this was almost enough to make even Eleanora and Basdia swoon.
“You’re right about that,” Eleanora agreed. “But what did you an when you said that it’s impossible?”
“As I just stated, I am a butler; a servant. I am not in a position to gather people and give them orders,” Bellmond said simply.
“Ah, I see,” Eleanora and Basdia said in unison, both convinced.
One might wonder whether that fact alone was enough to rule out the possibility of becoming a queen. But in many cases, one’s position was a big factor in determining their race title after a Rank increase.
Using Goblins as an example, if a Goblin displayed more leadership qualities than other Goblins and often took command in battles, and its Rank increased from 3 to 4, it would often beco a Goblin Commander or a Goblin Leader.
A regular Goblin didn’t beco a Goblin Leader out of nowhere and suddenly gain leadership abilities or acquire the ‘Commanding’ Skill the sa instant.
One’s original qualities, their prior experience and actions, and the Skills they possessed determined what races they beca after their Rank increased.
The Lifeless Queen Isla served as the leader of the Dark Night Knights’ Brigade, which consisted of Vampire Zombies like her.
Basdia had been born to Zadiris, the Ghoul elder, and Vigaro, the Ghouls’ young chieftain. And as a Ghoul, she had displayed remarkable capabilities at an unusually young age. Before she t Vandalieu, she did not hold a high societal position due to the structure of the Ghouls’ society, but as she served as a leader for the younger generation of Ghouls, she had beco a Ghoul Amazoness Queen and was continuing to increase her Rank even now.
… With that being the case, the three of them wondered why Zadiris, who was not present here, had beco a Princess. But that question only crossed their minds for a mont, and they decided not to ponder it too deeply.
“So, what will you do, Eleanora? If you want to continue, I’ll accompany you,” said Basdia.
“Hmm… I’ll stop the special training for now. Increasing my Rank any further here would take a long ti… I’ll find so people to join and try Van-sama’s S-rank Dungeon soti,” Eleanora said.
Rank 13 was considered the threshold of being considered a god, and Eleanora had surpassed it to reach Rank 14. The vast majority of monsters were nothing but small fry to her. There were monsters of Rank 13 and higher on the Dark Continent that even she could not defeat so easily, but these monsters were highly intelligent, so they fled when they noticed Bakunawa’s presence.
Thus, continuing to aim to reach Rank 15 at this rate would require her to abandon her original plans of making a day trip to visit Vandalieu’s children and do so special training while she was at it.
“And besides, despite my Rank increase, I’m currently still a Princess… I should have learned how to treat my subordinates better when Isla was still my subordinate,” Eleanora said regretfully.
“Looking back on it, I think that was a misallocation,” said a nearby Demon King Familiar, which had finally beco able to speak once more. “There isn’t a person who wouldn’t be troubled by being given a subordinate who is far older and more experienced than them and was an enemy before they were killed.”
“Van-sama! It seems like you were talking about other matters over there. Have they been resolved?” Eleanora asked.
“Yes, more or less,” the Demon King Familiar replied. “Even though I’ve gained the ‘Self-proclaid Human’ Title, the eting including all of the s resulted in the conclusion that the Title simply ans that I’m frequently stating the obvious fact that I’m a human.”
“… Van, I have to question whether you can call that a eting,” said Basdia.
It was a eting that took place inside Vandalieu’s brain, where a countless number of Vandalieu’s thought processes exchanged opinions. If used correctly, this would allow him to process enormous quantities of information and make appropriate decisions very quickly, but… in the end, all of its participants were Vandalieu. Although there were differences between the thought processes, they all belonged to the sa person, so their direction was already decided from the very beginning.
Basdia questioned the effectiveness of such a eting, but anwhile, Eleanora and Bellmond had a distant look in their eyes, and a mont later, their breathing beca short and heated, as if they were intoxicated – likely having imagined a space filled with a countless number of Vandalieus.
Basdia wondered if she should be more forceful and press Vandalieu to realize that he was a being who had surpassed being human. If she was to beco his wife one day, she needed to say stern things from ti to ti. But a mont later–
“That’s right! Even if you seem like a god and do things that no human can do, there’s no changing the fact that you’re human! Be more confident in yourself! You agree with , don’t you, Aradia?!” said Elizabeth’s voice so distance away, audibly desperate.
“Huh, err, yes. I believe that you are human, Father, just as Elder Sister suggests,” said Aradia, agreeing with her sister’s statent.
“Yeah, you’re delicious, so it’s fine, Papa,” said Bakunawa.
If Elizabeth is going as far as to say that, I’m sure there’s so circumstances that I’m not aware of. I’ll ask her later, Basdia thought, opting to stay silent for now.
The reason Elizabeth agreed with Vandalieu’s insistence that he was human and encouraged him to have confidence in himself was because she had imagined and was terrified by the outco of him throwing his obsession with being human away and accepting that he wasn’t human.
After having so rest with tea prepared by Bellmond and Mahelia, Vandalieu and his companions returned to the ‘city’ on the Demon Continent. There, Vandalieu changed Jobs to ‘Spirit Guider.’
《You have acquired the ‘Spirit Path Enticent’ and ‘Guidance: Spirit Path’ Skills!》
《‘Spirit Path Enticent’ has rged with ‘Alaya-vijnana Enticent’ and ‘Guidance: Spirit Path’ has rged with ‘Guidance: Alaya-vijnana!’》
《The Levels of the ‘Constant Super Mana Recovery,’ ‘Extre Strengthen Subordinates,’ ‘Demon Thread Refining,’ ‘Enlarged Vitality,’ ‘Strengthened Attribute Values: Worshiped,’ ‘Strengthened Attribute Values: Demon Empire of Vidal,’ ‘Self-Regeneration: Cannibalism,’ ‘Augnted Attribute Values: Cannibalism,’ ‘Augnted Magical Power while equipped with a Staff,’ ‘Golem Genesis,’ ‘Aberrant Technique,’ ‘Spirit Therapy,’ and ‘Dancing’ Skills have increased!》
anwhile, large changes were occurring in the Amid Empire as well.
In the Amid Empire’s capital, there was a balcony upon which the emperor appeared a few tis a year to address the citizens. Today, it was the current emperor of the Amid Empire who stood on it – Emperor Salazar Iristel – as well as Pope Eileek Mar, the current pope of the Great Church of Alda.
And there was a third person – Heinz, the ‘Blue-flad Sword’ and ‘Bellwood’s Successor.’
The citizens’ faces wore expressions of bewildernt and unease. The current emperor did not have a very positive reputation yet, and it had been just this morning that ssengers from the castle had gone around the capital, spreading the news that he had a sudden important announcent to make. The people had gathered to learn what was happening, only to see that on this balcony, where only the emperor and his closest aides were allowed to stand, he was joined by the new pope who was still just a young man and another young man whose face they did not recognize.
Although the people of the Amid Empire knew Heinz’s na and that he was the man who had crossed over to the enemy nation of Orbau and beco an S-class adventurer there, few knew what his face looked like.
Salazar opened his mouth and began speaking in a solemn tone. “My beloved citizens. As emperor of the Amid Empire, I hereby declare that I shall relinquish the imperial throne to honorable Alda, the God of Law and Fate. You will henceforth be ruled by his holy words.”
His forehead was covered in greasy sweat, and his eyes were filled with fear and impatience, but… the people took no notice of that.
And so, on this day, the days of the Amid Empire being ruled by mortals ca to an end.
Title explanation (Written by Luciliano):
Self-proclaid Human
A Title gained by a non-human being who proclaims that they are human, or a being who is perceived as such a being.
There are many tales of monsters, as well as Vampires and Majin who worship evil gods, who masquerade as humans and conceal their true identity. However, none of them have been recorded as having acquired this Title.
The reason for that is that in order to acquire this Title, the fact that they proclaim themselves to be human must be widely known.
In many cases, beings whose masquerading as a human becos publicly known are exterminated on the spot or shortly thereafter. And even if they do acquire a Title, they are likely to gain one that contains more of the fear and hatred of those who call them by it.
Thus, it can be presud that the ‘Self-proclaid Human’ Title has just been acquired for the first ti due to the existence of soone like Master and an environnt like the Demon Empire of Vidal.
Of course, it seems dubious as to whether it will provide any beneficial effects. Even if it does have any effects while he disguises himself as human, it is already commonly known that he is a ‘Self-proclaid Human.’
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