Many thanks to the sponsor of this chapter: Kitsune Atticus ($150)
Presented with a meal that had been prepared in one of Vandalieu’s Inner Worlds to replace the one provided by the hospital, Amelia was very surprised, but her delight was even greater.
“It’s really been a long time since the two of us had a meal together, hasn’t it?” she said.
In reality, it was their first time eating together.
“It has,” said Vandalieu. “This hospital doesn’t let you eat with your family, after all.”
“You can’t say things like that, dear,” Amelia said reproachfully. “The people here are trying their best to cure sick people like me.”
“… Indeed,” said Vandalieu.
“Don’t fret, dear. The doctors and the clerics said that treatment needs perseverance… I’m trying my best to get better, even if it’s only by a little, but I’m not sure what I’m supposed to do…”
“You’re right, Amelia. It’s alright. I’m sure you’ll get better soon.”
Vandalieu and Amelia continued their conversation as they ate, and Vandalieu succeeded in learning about how Amelia perceived the situation she was in.
Amelia believed that she was in the hospital because she had a serious illness. But she didn’t say anything specific about the illness itself – likely because she didn’t perceive it as anything other than ‘a serious illness.’
She believed that Elizabeth was attending school with Mahelia to study, and that her husband, whom she referred to as ‘dear,’ was working to retake the Sauron Duchy.
She said almost nothing specific, and the details were vague. It was like she was telling a story for children.
“Thank you for the meal,” Amelia said with a happy giggle. “It’s been a while since I ate this much. I might gain a little weight,” she said, rubbing her belly.
But perhaps because of her pale, ill-looking skin, she looked very thin, rather than fat.
She might need a healthy amount of exercise and sunlight for her treatment, Vandalieu thought.
“… Amelia. Do you want to sneak out of here and go on a picnic tomorrow?” he suggested.
“Oh my! I can’t leave my hospital room!” Amelia exclaimed. “But that sounds fun. The doctors will get angry at us if they find us, but I’m sure they won’t, since you can enter and leave through the windows and the walls.”
And so, their plans for tomorrow were decided.
Vandalieu left Amelia’s hospital room, leaving behind nothing but the now-empty plates that the hospital had brought her meal on.
“Did anything happen while I was away?” Vandalieu asked, having returned to his own hospital room.
Kühl made a wobbling noise. “Several scoundrels among the staff.”
“This guy gave off an even more dangerous vibe than the others… Should we dispose of him now?” asked Ghost, showing him a sketch he had drawn of his face.
“Let’s not do it now. Even if we leave no evidence and make it look like someone else did it, someone will definitely connect it to me,” said Vandalieu. “But if they show any signs of actually harming Amelia or anyone else, let’s get rid of them.”
Vandalieu memorized this particular hospital worker’s face from Ghost’s sketch and added him to his mental list of people to watch out for.
“O great Vandalieu, Luciliano has attained results from his test on Amelia Sauron’s meal,” said Gufadgarn.
A hole opened in space, and Luciliano appeared from within.
“You could have just passed on the documents without making a connection in space,” Luciliano said haughtily. “Hello, Master. No poison or drugs were detected in the meal you sent. I gave it to one of our prisoners just in case, and he began crying – out of joy at having been given such a delicious meal.”
The ‘prisoners’ Luciliano was referring to… These were the criminals from the Alcrem Duchy whose faces Braga and the others had torn off before abducting them, and the criminals and bandits that Vandalieu and his companions had captured in Orbaume.
The ones that were still alive were being put to good use in Luciliano’s research and experiments.
“It was indeed quite delicious,” said Ghost.
Kühl wobbled to show his agreement.
They had eaten the meal that had been brought to Vandalieu’s room in his absence. It seemed that this facility provided delicious meals to its patients.
“Is there any chance that the prisoner you used possesses resistance Skills like ‘Poison Resistance?’” Vandalieu asked.
“Surely not. I used him as a subject for an experiment with drugs just a few days ago. Perhaps she is being drugged, but there is simply no need to mix the drugs in her food?” Luciliano suggested. “Your new wife has been taking medicine directly during her stay here, hasn’t she, Master?”
It would be a different story if Amelia was refusing to directly take any medicine, but if she was obediently taking the medicine that she was given, then there was no need to go to the effort of mixing drugs in with her food.
“It is also possible that the doctors are being cautious since you entered the facility. Perhaps they are simply refraining from mixing the drugs in her food in order to avoid your suspicion, Master. Well, in any case, good luck in your investigation,” said Luciliano.
“I understand that, but what do you mean by ‘new wife?’” asked Vandalieu.
“Am I wrong? I have heard that you have been quite passionate.”
“I won’t deny that, but don’t go telling people. It’s possible that once she recovers from her mental illness and her cognitive ability returns, she’ll start acting cold towards me.”
Amelia was behaving intimately with Vandalieu because she mistakenly believed that he was her ‘husband.’ Once her sanity returned, she would perceive Vandalieu as nothing more than a party member, friend, and companion of her daughter. Naturally, her behavior towards him would change completely from how it was now.
Vandalieu mentally steeled himself for this eventuality as he shook off Luciliano’s joke.
“… Given how these things have gone in the past, I do not think it will end up that way. In any case, it is of no concern to me. Well then, if you get your hands on a sample of the drugs administered by this facility, please send it to me. There is no guarantee that I will be able to make an antidote, but I shall give it my best effort,” said Luciliano.
And with that, he went back through the teleportation gate to return to his laboratory.
“I feel like my laboratory-workshop has been taken over by Luciliano recently,” Vandalieu murmured. “Leaving that aside – Ghost, could you please find the place where the drugs are prepared?”
“Alright. Leave it to me,” said Ghost.
Three days had passed since Vandalieu was admitted to the Hospital of Psychotherapy. During that time, news of his hospitalization had spread, causing a great shock to the powerful figures in Orbaume.
In Lambda, there were no known treatment methods for mental illnesses, and severe mental illnesses were generally considered to be incurable and impossible to fully recover from without some kind of miracle.
Vandalieu was suffering from a severe mental illness, and he had been hospitalized at the Hospital of Psychotherapy, which was famous for having a dismal record for curing its patients. There was no way this couldn’t become the topic of conversations.
Prime Minister Tercatanis and Marshal Dolmad had several theories to explain why this had happened – perhaps Vandalieu had a falling-out with Duke Takkard Alcrem, or perhaps Takkard and Darcia were now romantically involved and Vandalieu was a nuisance to them, so they were trying to get rid of him and cover it up. But none of their speculations arrived at the truth.
Those of the Commerce Guild began making threatening moves, seeing if they could steal some of the market from Vandalieu’s businesses or even absorb his businesses entirely. The Mages’ Guild began discussing the possibility that the reason that Undead obeyed him was because his mind was of a peculiar nature. Meanwhile, the Adventurers’ Guild gave words and gifts of condolences to Arthur and the others.
Those who simply liked to gossip and those who just didn’t like Vandalieu began whispering rumors such as “I guess he finally lost it,” and “I’ve always thought that there’s no way someone who uses Undead could be sane.”
In the midst of all this, the organizations with the calmest reactions were the Hero Preparatory School, where Meorilith was principal, and the Tamers’ Guild, where Orlock was in charge. Both of them had received a letter from Vandalieu informing them that he would be hospitalized for around seven days.
Given that, they knew that he intended to be discharged in seven days’ time, and they continued to observe the situation, regardless of what the people around them whispered.
If either of them had informed the nobles of these letters from Vandalieu, they would likely have received a generous reward. But they both remained silent, as Meorilith didn’t intend to sell information regarding a student, and Orlock didn’t intend to sell information regarding one of his Guild’s members.
On the other hand, there were two individuals who were severely shaken and panicking as if they were competing to see who could panic more. One of them was the man who was supposed to be Elizabeth’s legal guardian – Earl Dratze Reamsand. The other was one of Elizabeth’s half-brothers, Veedal Sauron, who lived in one of Duke Sauron’s villas.
“That greedy, insatiable racoon! Just how much did he get paid to let the boy into the hospital?! There’s no chance that he’s even ill!” Earl Reamsand screamed, cursing the hospital’s director for ignoring his orders despite the large donations he had made.
He pounded his work desk angrily and gulped down the wine in his glass.
These violent noises and angry shouting continued as the alcohol made its way to Earl Reamsand’s brain. But his anger did not subside; it was only growing stronger.
“What is he plotting? Does he intend to do something with Amelia after all? Does he intend to do something with Amelia and then steal Elizabeth from me? Then what shall I do? … Perhaps I should just hire an assassin and be done with it?” Earl Reamsand murmured.
This idea that had suddenly popped up in his head seemed like an excellent plan to him. The hospital was sturdy, but different from the haunted mansion that Vandalieu normally lived in. He even had one of the hospital workers in mind – someone he could buy off to let the assassin inside.
“If I use intermediaries, even if something goes wrong, nobody will find out that I’m the one who hired the assassin. Very well. I shall try to make contact with some of my intermediaries,” he decided.
But Earl Reamsand’s scheme didn’t go very well. Orbaume’s skilled assassins… in other words, those who already had accomplishments to their name, had already been killed or turned into guinea pigs by Vandalieu’s subordinates, or retired from their assassination work after swearing loyalty to Vandalieu the moment they saw him.
Thus, his intermediaries were unable to immediately procure an assassin for him.
As for Veedal Sauron, he was simply bewildered. He couldn’t discern what Vandalieu – or Duke Alcrem, the one who was supporting him – were aiming to do.
“I had thought they were supporting Elizabeth simply because Vandalieu Zakkart has befriended her, but… could it be that he intends to use Elizabeth to make some political move against us?” he muttered to himself. “My brother asked me to gather information and be cautious, but what am I supposed to do?”
Veedal‘s position was equivalent to that of an ambassador of the Sauron Duchy to Orbaume.
Legally, the Orbaume Kingdom was a single nation, but it was actually a collection of nations that were known as the duchies, and diplomacy and politics in the royal realm, also known as Orbaume Central, were important to maintain the nation. Veedal’s current position was an important one that he had acquired by giving up on succeeding the Sauron house and pretending to swear allegiance to Rudel.
… In reality, however, Veedal was being monitored to make sure that he didn’t betray Rudel. He had fought to succeed the Sauron house until the very end, and although he was an eyesore to Rudel, he wasn’t someone that Rudel could easily get rid of. Although there were no vassals that were loyal to him, he had a certain amount of influence. And most importantly, he was one of the Sauron house’s few surviving males.
From Rudel’s perspective, it was likely that he had given this position to Veedal to put on a show of putting him to good use, and he was waiting for Veedal to either make such a great mistake that there was no way for him to avoid punishment, or for his position as duke to become more stable. Currently, things were not going as planned, as Veedal hadn’t made any mistakes or shown his true colors, and Rudel’s position as duke was still unstable.
But here, Veedal was struggling with a very important matter.
“Could it be that Duke Alcrem intends to take Elizabeth in and reignite the struggle for succession of the Sauron house? It can’t be. The stability of the Sauron Duchy should be as important to Duke Alcrem as anyone else. Or perhaps he intends to take Elizabeth in because she possesses the blood of the Sauron house, so she can serve as an insurance policy for the next time there is trouble in his family! Yes, that must be it! There’s no mistaking it!”
Coming to this conclusion, Veedal wrote his thoughts down in a letter to be sent back to the Sauron Duchy. The weakening of Rudel’s political influence was something that he would welcome, but if his suspicions were correct, it would be very inconvenient for him as well. With that being the case, he had no choice but to support Rudel here.
But even he would never have dreamed that it was Vandalieu who was supporting Duke Alcrem.
“Phew. But Elizabeth really is a pitiful girl, being made to enter a struggle for succession that she had no chance of winning. Then Earl Reamsand, who was supposed to be her patron, started plotting to make her his concubine. And now, Duke Alcrem is after her lineage and her womb. If she’d just pretended to submit to our brother like I did, she would have had quite a nice position for herself,” Veedal said to himself, assuming that his half-sister was being used as a political pawn and pitying her.
Incidentally, he felt no guilt over the rumors he had started, which had caused much mental anguish for Amelia Sauron. In fact, he had forgotten that he was the one who had ordered for such rumors to be started.
His perception was that he had merely carried out one of the measures at his disposal during the struggle for power; he had done nothing wrong. If that had caused Amelia to suffer from mental illness and become hospitalized, then it was her own fault for being weak. This way of thinking was only natural for Veedal.
Meanwhile, a spectacular event had been prepared by the house of Duke Alcrem.
Sparkling displays of magic and music like none that had ever been heard before. Beautiful women and girls wearing costumes that changed form as they sang and danced.
This idol concert seemed to be leaving a positive impression on the nobles who had been invited by Duke Alcrem.
“Wonderful,” one of them said. “It is amazing that they are able to sing so clearly while dancing to such a quick rhythm…”
“This is magnificent,” remarked another. “I have always enjoyed more traditional music, but this music and singing is getting me quite excited.”
“But perhaps they are exposing a little too much skin?” said one of the ladies. “Especially those sisters. They may be wearing armor, but it looks just like underwear…”
“Madam, those are apparently Undead who serve as the familiars of Countess Zakkart’s son. Strictly speaking, what they are showing is not skin,” another noble informed her.
“Oh my, is that so?!” the lady exclaimed. “I thought their skin looked too pale.”
Meanwhile, Darcia was talking to the people who had organized the event.
“Good work, everyone. We were very rushed as we prepared this event, but thanks to all of you, it’s been a great success.”
“Truly, we are sorry for the trouble that we have caused,” said the man who served as the governor in Duke Alcrem’s residence in Orbaume, bowing his head.
The guests had requested for him to put on a display of the ‘interesting music that is becoming popular in the Alcrem Duchy,’ which had led to the hasty organization of this live concert.
The performers at this event were Darcia; Kanako and Zadiris, who had been inside one of Vandalieu’s Inner Worlds; and Rita and Saria, who had been inside Silkie Zakkart Mansion.
“Not at all. I’m greatly indebted to Duke Alcrem, and I’m taking regular lessons, so I can handle things like this without a problem,” said Kanako. “But, well, it is a little difficult in terms of the performance… we can’t put on a one-hundred-percent performance without using Demon King Familiars, after all.”
“Kanako, don’t say such careless things in public,” said Zadiris. “Well, it is true that I feel much more confident with the boy’s aid, however.”
“I want to go and visit him, but that hospital doesn’t let familiars in,” said Saria.
“Nee-san, how about having others wear us when they go to visit him?” suggested Rita. “What do you think, Darcia-sama?”
Due to the limited size of the stage, Pauvina and Eisen had been relegated to juice-making duty.
“I wanted to dance, too,” said Pauvina.
“Me toooo,” said Eisen.
“We can all perform together if the stage is bigger. Are we still not being given permission?” asked Kanako.
“My apologies,” said the governor. “It seems that steps have been taken against us by the Church of Alda… and a portion of the Church of Vida. And there are still many among the nobles who stubbornly refuse to acknowledge those of you who are familiars, and they always end up saying that it would be unsightly to allow familiars to perform in a public place…”
The kind of performance that Kanako wanted – a public performance with a large stage that large crowds of people could see – had yet to become reality.
“So, the peaceful faction is still very powerful… Come to think of it, why hasn’t the peaceful faction united into one?” Kanako asked, suddenly curious.
Alda’s peaceful faction in the Orbaume Kingdom and the worshipers of Vida who had friendly relations had not united into a single organization. They existed as a mixture within the peaceful faction within the Church of Alda and the pro-peaceful-faction worshipers within the Church of Vida.
Compared to them, the worshipers that belonged to Alda’s radical faction were far more united… though nobody wanted the peaceful faction to follow their example.
“Maybe it’s because Heinz hasn’t appeared in public yet. It must be difficult to unite a faction when you’re inside a Dungeon,” said Darcia.
“Indeed. Inside a Dungeon, he’s more like a mastermind in the shadows than a symbolic leader for the peaceful faction. Everyone knows that he exists, though,” said Saria.
This was a good answer to Kanako’s question. It wasn’t that the peaceful faction wasn’t uniting; it was that they couldn’t unite.
Some of the people in the peaceful faction were high priests or cardinals – quite high-ranking members within the Church of Alda – but there were none who were capable of having an influence in the Churches of other duchies. The same was true for the worshipers of Vida that were pro-peaceful-faction.
“It is also possible that they believe uniting would make it easier for us to target them,” said Zadiris.
“You’re right,” Rita agreed. “Uniting would make them easier to keep an eye on. There’s way more of them than the people in the radical faction, so it’s probably difficult to gather and meet while staying hidden, too.”
Zadiris and Rita suggested that they feared being targeted by Vandalieu. Vandalieu and his companions were already known by human society to be Vida fundamentalists, and people were wary of them for that.
It wasn’t strange to think that they were wary of possible confrontations that would occur if they were to unite into a single organization… especially Heinz and his companions.
“Umm, everyone… Could I please ask you to continue this dangerous conversation after the party has concluded?” said the governor, interrupting the discussion.
“We’re sorry,” everyone apologized in unison.
The guests at this event had been invited by Duke Alcrem, but they weren’t all his and Vandalieu’s allies, so it was wise not to say anything careless.
One example of that was Duke Jahan, who was making his way towards Darcia right now.
“Forgive me, Honorary Countess Darcia Zakkart. I am sure you must be tired from your wonderful performance on the stage, but may I ask for a moment of your time?” he said.
“Ah, how good it is to see you, Duke Hadros Jahan,” said the governor, putting himself between the duke and the others and giving a bow.
Duke Jahan was a Titan of average height for his race – around two and a half meters tall – and had a dignified appearance. He was also a worshiper of Alda with the rank of high priest at the Church of Alda.
It wasn’t unusual for nobles to be a priest or high priest at the Church. In the case of important nobles such as dukes, it was little more than a title. The vast majority of them didn’t voice any opinions or involve themselves at all with the Church’s work.
But Duke Jahan was an exception to this, and he was known to be a pious worshiper who had carried out organizational reforms at the Church of Alda in his own duchy… though he was simply known as the ‘Titan Duke’ in the Amid Empire, as the Jahan Duchy was in the most northeastern part of the Orbaume Kingdom.
“I did not realize you were still in Orbaume. Please forgive me for my belated greeting,” said the governor.
“My duchy is a snowy land, after all. Spring is always late to come to us, though it seems that spring has begun and the cold of winter has already been forgotten in the Alcrem Duchy. Do not concern yourself over it,” said Duke Jahan.
His duchy was not on good terms with the Alcrem Duchy. As the two duchies did not neighbor each other, they usually showed no interest in each other, but Duke Jahan had sent Duke Alcrem a letter of criticism when he allied himself with Alda’s peaceful faction… and was now quietly but openly hostile towards him now that he worshiped Vida.
But with that said, both were duchies that made up the Orbaume Kingdom, and no bloodshed had occurred between them. The noble families that served the dukes had canceled planned marriages of convenience between their children, exchanged snide comments during events in high society, and refused to invite each other to parties that they hosted. From the perspective of Vandalieu and his companions, their hostility didn’t make them enemies; they were just people they couldn’t get along with.
Thus, Duke Alcrem had sent an invitation to Duke Jahan’s house as a way to put on an appearance of having no ill will. Nobody had expected Duke Jahan himself to actually accept this invitation – and arrive some time after the party commenced, no less. Thus, Duke Alcrem’s subordinates had been late in dealing with him.
“Incidentally, it is Honorary Countess Zakkart that I wish to have a word with,” Duke Jahan said.
“My sincere apologies, but the honorary countess and her companions are exhausted as they just finished their performance a short while ago, so if there are any matters that you wish to discuss, I am more than willing to listen,” the governor said.
“It won’t take long. I am just concerned about her son. I have heard that he has been hospitalized because his mind is unwell? I am just worried, you see, as he possesses rare talents, including the ability to tame Undead.”
Duke Jahan and the governor were engaged in a war of words that seemed peaceful, at least on the surface. But it was time for Darcia herself to join the fray.
“Oh my. Thank you very much. I’m sure my son would be very happy to hear that you’re worried about him,” she said.
The governor looked surprised for a moment, but knowing that there was nothing more he could do, he took a step away from the duke.
“… I was hoping to visit him if possible. I hope you wouldn’t mind?” the duke said.
“I’ve left my son’s treatment in the hands of the people at the hospital, so if the doctors allow it, then I don’t mind,” said Darcia. “But please keep your conversation short. My son is in a very delicate situation at the moment.”
Delicate indeed. He was currently treating the mother of a school friend while pretending to be her husband, while simultaneously investigating the shady nature of the hospital. He was even seriously proceeding with the plan of having the emperor that he planned to imprison build his own imprisonment facility. He needed to be treated with caution.
“I understand. I shall respect your wishes to the full extent of my ability,” said Duke Jahan. “And your performance on the stage was splendid. Your wonderful hymns had me enraptured. If there is an opportunity, I would certainly love to welcome you to perform in my duchy, too.”
“Yes, if there is an opportunity,” Darcia said, smiling cheerfully.
Duke Hadros Jahan looked a little confused as he left – probably by the fact that Darcia seemed completely unaffected by her son’s hospitalization, and by the fact that she had agreed to let him visit him so easily.
“Darcia-sama… Nobles would normally attempt to conceal the fact that their son is hospitalized with a mental illness,” said the governor. “It is good that you managed to knock the wind out of Duke Jahan’s sails and made him draw back, however.”
“I’m sorry,” said Darcia. “I was told what a noble would normally do in this situation, but I couldn’t see much point in trying to hide it at this point.”
After all, everyone related to Vandalieu knew about it, and even those that weren’t had learned about it as well. Given that, Darcia had decided that there wouldn’t be any meaning in continuing a war of words with Duke Jahan.
“It is also possible that the duke left quickly because he realized that the hierarchical relationship between Darcia and the Alcrem house is actually reversed,” said Zadiris.
“I mean, if you look at the governor and Darcia-san, it’s not hard to tell who’s in the higher position,” said Kanako.
The governor gave a short groan in realization. Duke Alcrem had ordered him to keep the true power balance between him and Vandalieu a secret, as he still intended to maintain the story that Vandalieu was the son of an honorary countess that served the Alcrem house, rather than making it public that he was the Demon Emperor.
“I-I’m sorry. It’s all because I acted without being told,” said Darcia.
“It’s alright, Darcia-sama. Even if people found out, nothing would happen,” said Saria.
“At most, we might have to send a few more people to Luciliano,” said Rita. “Come to think of it, what about Duke Jahan’s invitation to perform in his duchy?”
“That is something that was said merely for politeness’s sake. We’d look like fools if we took it seriously,” said Kanako. “Well, if we mentioned Duke Alcrem’s name, I’m sure we could say, ‘Hey, remember that time when you said we could perform in your duchy?’ and force the issue, but…”
“Please refrain from doing that,” said the governor.
“You heard the governor. So, let’s just keep an eye on the situation for a while. And like Darcia-san just said, we’re very much in his debt,” Kanako said.
Indeed, Duke Alcrem’s governor had protected them in a lot of ways behind the scenes. For example, there were nobles who had heard the news that Darcia’s only son had been hospitalized with a mental illness… something that was considered impossible to recover from in the society of nobles. Believing that they were rid of this thorn in their side, some had aimed to approach Darcia or try to claim Eisen as their own familiar, but the governor had turned them away from the event venue.
“You’ve gone through a lot of trouble, haven’t you, governor?” said Pauvina.
“Yes. Have a driiink,” said Eisen.
“Thank you very much,” said the governor, moved to tears by their appreciation and offering of juice.
Dawn broke, marking the morning of Vandalieu’s fourth day in the hospital. The hospital’s pharmacist got to work.
“It’s getting to the point that we need to administer the medicine now. But that patient… Vandalieu Zakkart. Ever since he was admitted here, there’s been nothing but strange things happening. Amelia Sauron suddenly beginning to recover is just one of them,” he muttered. “I must be very careful in administering the medicine to Amelia Sauron.”
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NOVEL DISCUSSION
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RayneVilanore
remember a few chapters ago when Botin said Van was in a state of peril and she couldn’t support everything about his nation i.e the undead and monsters? Well I feel that after everything that happens in human society, that the lines between monster and Mankind are extremely blurred. Most monsters do the things they do because it is how they were made and are not being taught to change while the humans who HAVE been taught how not to be terrible willing choose to do it anyway. So who are the real monsters in this world.
Chiu ChunLing
“Once her sanity returned, she would perceive Vandalieu as nothing more than a party member, friend, and companion of her daughter. Naturally, her behavior towards him would change completely from how it was now.”
Of course, if we’re working from the presumption of her NOT being totally insane, it’s very unlikely that change will be in the direction of wanting LESS affection from Van.
bookworm12
Thanks for the chapter, Yoshi! Halfway through Van’s hospital stay already. He’s going to cause quite a stir when he comes back out into society. Some people will probably doubt his recovery and look down on him, while others will realize that he only pretended to be crazy in order to infiltrate the hospital and ruin their plans. (Of course, he actually is crazy, but not in the way they think.) The Earl just signed his death warrant with that assassination plan, although it seems like it might take him a while to find a decent assassin since Van guided all of them already. Meanwhile, the former emperor is all set to start working on his first DIY house, and Van’s allies are casually discussing thorny political issues while at a party with enemies. That atavistic titan is trying way too hard to suck up to the Aldiots in charge of the Orbaume Kingdom. I’m assuming his parents were religious extremists and trained him thoroughly, but still. Aldiots slaughtered peaceful groups of titans like him just because of their race, so what is he doing passing (conservative?) reforms that help them suppress Vida’s races within his territory?
Wolfwood824
“The Mages’ Guild began discussing the possibility that the reason that Undead obeyed him was because his mind was of a peculiar nature.”
I mean, they’re not completely wrong, here.
Doc
Van’s “madness” has nothing to do with it. It’s his charm undead ability.
Same reason Mari and Rikudou can’t control undead. They don’t have charm undead.
ObserverBias
This is still effectively his “mind” being of a particular nature. This was effectively why Avalon’s “death-attribute specced body” was unable to do what Van, and even Mei, could..
.
In that regard, it’s much more “acknowledge ghosts as other individuals with their own thoughts/feelings/will” mentality than it is him being ‘mad,’ but at the same time, in Lambda at least, one would have to be ‘mad’ to empathize with undead one-sidedly to begin with. That said, both Van and Mei gained this specific aspect while living in Origin, so at the end of the day, for relevant intents and purposes, it /is/ madness.
Doc
Mei is a normal little girl with no broken up soul or mental corruption. Yet she has charm undead. Again, the ability has nothing to do with “madness”.
.
Also clinical insanity is not something imposed on somebody due to their beliefs. It’s a chemical imbalance in the brain. Van trusting in undead has nothing to do with his sanity. Undead treat him like a regular person so he treats them well in return. There’s nothing unreasonable about that exchange. People calling him insane is not the same as him actually being insane.
ObserverBias
Mei is someone who full-on “died” and “undied” pre-birth, which took Van his Lambda incarnation to “achieve.” On top of which, she had an eldritch babysitter from extremely early on, who unwittingly got her and Hiroshi multiple skills kids their age shouldn’t have, on top of which, her parents are reincarnated individuals; she is /not/ normal by any stretch.
.
The “madness” amounts to a mindset fostered in an environment that /isn’t/ Lambda, which features zombies and ghosts as /exclusively/ violent entities, without Van’s influence. They have an out-of-context solution to a problem previously resolved only through force. In this vein, it being a viewpoint of theirs that “works” in Lambda, /is/ madness. Death Attribute Charm, as a skill, is a manifestation of something particular to them (their souls, specifically). So, were literally anybody not them to try and do what they do, without Van aiding the effort, they would die instead, because they don’t have the prerequisite empathy to genuinely vibe with the dead.
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That isn’t the way in which he’s “actually” insane. Didn’t say it was. However, as far as those uninformed in-universe /presuming/ his hospitalization is tied to his affinity for undead, and in turn “oh, so he’s insane after all,” is them bumbling their way into “wrong equation, technically correct answer.”
RanmaChaos
Thanks for Chapter 333
Lord Rin
I figure why the Peaceful Faction haven’t unified yet is because Heinz’s Guidance is vague as hell. Alda’s Peaceful Faction had already been around for a little while but they had no real figurehead until Heinz showed up and was made the figurehead entirely on account that he was a powerful adventurer and not because of any real goal he was proclaiming. Then even after becoming the faction’s figurehead, Heinz as far as we know has never made a definitive official public statement of what direction the faction should go towards. Nothing beyond the wishy-washy statement that they should improve the treatment of Vida’s races that is left vague enough that it’s open to whatever interpretation people want. Then Heinz has gone off and spent years inside the Trial of Bellwood dungeon so he isn’t doing any leading and so everybody is just being left to their own devices.
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On an unrelated note I find it hilarious that apparently nobody thought to clear up Van’s misconception about what an emperor can do and fully expects Marshukzarl to build his own prison,
bookworm12
At least Heinz’s guidance actually has a name, unlike Bellwood’s ‘Guider’ job which literally just guided his followers nowhere. As a Holy Guider, Heinz must guide his followers to… whatever he considers holy? Which is still pretty vague considering that Heinz hasn’t been very consistent or proactive about his policy.
Metazoxan
I think Heinz guidance is basically the same as Bellwood’s except with the added detail of being forced on following Alda and thus “being holy” as Heinz views Alda as an absolute authority of the gods.
Aside from the notion of following Alda’s will his guidance gives nothing specific.
Sure you can say the end goal is “whatever Alda’s end goal is” but not even Heinz or his followers accurately know what that even is.
So to say their end goal is Alda’s goal is to say they have no real end goal and just assume they’ll end up at an end goal eventually.
Lord Rin
I don’t disagree but I do want to point out that Bellwood’s guidance did have a name. It was just ‘Guider’. He guided for the sake of guiding and nothing more. Basically inciting people to a mob mentality centered around him. He just misinterpreted his Guider job into thinking that because it had no extra words in front of it that it was the most pure and fundamental form of guidance that was stronger than all the other guider jobs which he took as confirmation that he was the real special one among all the heroes and thus whatever he said or believed were right.
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As for Holy Guider, yeah it is maddeningly vague what it actually DOES. I can only theorize based on whatever scant evidence there is. I just figure Holy Guider is basically the same thing as Guider but now with a superficial guise of looking good to the masses by ascribing holiness to everything to make any crimes not seem as bad.
bookworm12
That’s what I meant. Back when Bellwood was getting ‘unsealed’, he was thinking about how his guidance job was only ‘Guider’ instead of ‘X Guider’. Which he initially took to mean all the purity stuff you said, but later realized he was guiding them just for the sake of guiding them, with no particular end goal.
Thk
I mean security is already handled. Here if you want a nicer place build it yourself
Doc
“The kind of performance that Kanako wanted – a public performance with a large stage that large crowds of people could see – had yet to become reality.”
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Well that’s just straight up not true. Knochen can turn into an f’in gigantic stadium and has done so within the Demon Empire and the Demon Continent. Maybe Kanako meant a large predominantly *human* audience in a large capital city?
Utsuho
Yes, she could do a huge performance anywhere she want with Knochen’s assistance , but she want to have all the permissions to do so in order to not be arrested by guards.
Zurric
I’m pretty sure Kanako wants a massive venue with a human audience since that hasn’t been achievable yet.
I don’t think using knochen is a good idea in a location where Van’s familiars are barely tolerated. like, how would you explain a stage formed out of a mountain of bones suddenly being assembled. for one, those bones would have to come from somewhere which would lead to some very serious speculation by the public.
Doc
My point was simply she has played on a large stage and in front of a lot of people before.
So her desire was already met. If she phrased it more like she wishes she can bring idol concerts to mainstream audiences outside the Boundary Mountain Region or other continents she should have phrased it better.
Metazoxan
It was implied specifically within the Orabame kingdom. Her goal is to have ther performance outside of Van’s Kingdom.
Because her end goal is to become a world famous idol. Not just one within a kingdom in the mountains.
Doc
That “kingdom within the mountains” covers the majority of the continent and has the largest population of people as it comprises many nations.
So no, it was not “implied” in her statement. If that’s what you want to choose to believe then sure but the text isn’t saying or alluding to what you think.
It’d be like complaining you’re only popular in 3/4’s of the world instead of all of it.
Hobbes
In case peeps don’t remember, the Jahan house of dukes DOES have Titan blood in their lineage, but prior to the current Duke it had been at least a couple (human) generations since a Titan was the actual duke. The current Duke Jahan being a Titan (or at least having the build of one) is a result of atavism.
If you think about it for more than 2 seconds that raises a lot of questions about why he appears to be a prominent Alda worshipper… and the conclusion can easily be reached is that maybe he’s not truly an Aldiot or particularly devout. Maybe he’s presenting himself that way consciously or unconsciously as a form of self-protection… If so there’s more than enough room for self-realization & reformation. If not… well his soul will join Duke Farzon’s in Van’s stomach at some point.
Libio
Yeah, I was surprised as well. Not be him being Alda believer, I think it was mentioned before, but it was him who criticised Duke Alcrem for supporting Alda’s PEACEFUL fraction!!! That means he isn’t part of it, when he is angry about it! He, Duke with Titan blood who looks like Titan is part of radicals!? (These two fractions exist in kingdom, right? There isn’t some third conservative Alda’s church fraction, that wasn’t introduced yet) But when I think about it, he has human parents and if they were radicals and he see himself as human with curse of Titan blood or something (who say he didn’t have problems because he was different) he may show how much he believes in Alda because he needs to overcome this disadvantage. I would just believe in Vida, but I don’t know his life etc. Or he just fake it. But I can’t imagine why.
bookworm12
I also think religious parents were involved. It’s ironic that he’s so faithful to Alda when Alda undoubtedly wants him dead along with all other Vida’s races. I assume as a titan he really is part of Vida’s reincarnation system. I wonder if that’s true just for titan’s born in his family, or all of them with titan blood. Probably not all of them since all the humans in the Boundary Mountain Range still needed to be guided over to Vida’s reincarnation system, and there must have been lots of multi-racial breeding over the past 100,000 years of female-only races doing their thing.
Utsuho
Jahan’s faith in Alda does feel like the Christian Furry meme and it does make his backstory sad, but telling more than that would be a spoiler.
Irazori
Elizabeth sure has it rough with useless nobles hounding her.
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I don’t understand the point of the fake peace faction being united, because they’re already working together to promote demihuman slavery with the token dhampir and the titan sellout aren’t they?
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I know this is me being a bit overly critical with my hatred on the aldiots of fake peace’s superficiality, but I honestly don’t see it as anything else but just an insult to all the victims that suffered from close-mindedness spun by bellwood and popularized by aldiot.
Doc
Literally the opposite of what Bellwood did and Alda wants is the peaceful factions goal.
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You really don’t seem to be able to separate complete genocide with incremental societal change accepting larger groups of people. Like yes, their goals won’t solve things in the way Van’s will (Van’s plans will also require a massive conflict eventually), but considering the alternative is massive amounts of bloodshed you’re being way over the top on your dislike of them.
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This is a faction that has only existed for 10 or so years and while yes, their incremental improvement of treatment toward certain Vida races isn’t as comprehensive as we’d like, it’s also still a net positive. Especially considering Schneider’s methods were done in secrecy and could only benefit the people he could physically save, and Van’s methods also will take a lot of time and he’s just started to change things in a few chosen regions. The point being it’s a complicated process and you’re overly blunt way of looking at it seems immature.
Irazori
I said “close-minded”, in relation to bellwood and aldiot choosing to not accept the races Vida made in attempt to help rebuilt Lambda after the aldiots took too long to stop guduranis, and because of their inability to compromise. All of which just ended up turning into a self-righteous fueled genocide campaign, which later evolved into racism once the 2nd war was done.
bookworm12
There have been less-stringent laws made about non-rank-bearing members of Vida’s races in the Orbaume Kingdom for a lot longer than ten years. That part of the movement is not that new. And many people in the Alda part of the peaceful faction, at the very least, seem to view slavery/prostitution as the rightful place of those members of Vida’s races. Or even that they should feel grateful that their right to live is being acknowledged as they are exploited as lower-class citizens.
There has been almost no progress in this as a result of Heinz’s actions. Damphirs may have been added to the list of acceptable races, but they were rare in the first place. Some more extreme laws have also been struck down or modified, also related to the races Heinz was okay with. He actively went out and killed ghouls, majins, and other races after hearing one-sided testimony and/or failing to do more research.
Schneider may have been acting in secrecy (by necessity, since his actions were illegal in the Amid Empire), but he still saved dozens of villages of various races and relocated them to safer areas out of reach of Alda extremists, and he at least converted religions so he was no longer worshipping the genocidal maniac spreading lies about those races. Heinz should have saved a few villages by now to keep pace with him or inspired radical Alda worshippers to switch sides and save them in his name, but he hasn’t. The actual number of people Heinz has saved has been much lower. And yes, he’s still limited to influencing the regions whose dukes he managed to ally with before he started obsessing over retrying the Trial of Zakkart or got caught up in Alda’s dungeon. Even Van has saved quite a few villages and a large number of individuals while stirring up lots of political trouble. And Van’s changes are real, massive changes that will very likely have long term effects, as opposed to teeny-tiny things that could be changed by the next generation of dukes becoming radical Alda worshippers. Just like how the former Hartner family was allied with Talosheim for several generations, then betrayed them when the next generation head felt they were no longer useful.
no1
Haha Vandalieu really is going to make the former emperor build his own prison. That will confuse the hell out of him. Thanks for the chapter Yoshi looking forward to the next one.
ExplodingPenguinDood
I’m imagining Marsh no assing it and just propping up 4 walls and laying a roof over it and declaring it done 🤣
Dyneamaeus
HA! Thanks for pointing that out, I missed it. Now I can’t decide if a no effort build or a max effort build on Kzarl’s part would be funnier.
Entropy
Great chapter. I feel a little silly for admitting this, but I thought Ghost was a ghost around the hospital or one of the ghosts that follows Van. Took me a minute to remember he is a part of legion. The earl is digging his own grave. I do have a theory about why the peaceful group is still broken. It could be a way to attract those one outer edges of both churches. I doubt Heinz or anyone in charge is smart enough to realize this, but someone might be keeping the groups separate for said reason. Veedal does remind me a lot of crooks and liars that I have known where nothing is ever their fault. Hate people like that, never admit to being wrong and are capable of terrible acts while blaming the victim for being weak or being foolish enough to believe them.
Doc
I think that’s overthinking it on the two groups. The “Alda peaceful faction” has only existed since Heinz moved to the Orbaume Kingdom. The Church of Vida existed in a state of being without Vida for thousands of years and were basically already what the peaceful Alda faction became.
My guess for why they didn’t “unify” is because the church of Vida didn’t feel it was necessary. They’re the larger group. And these kind of organizations are slow to change. Heinz is the defacto leader of the peaceful Alda faction so unless he gives his ok I don’t see the faction joining the church of Vida on their own accord or for both groups to make a separate organization from either the church of Alda or Vida.
Lord Rin
Heinz didn’t create the peaceful faction. It already existed before Heinz got to Orbaume. The faction just decided to prop up Heinz as their figurehead because he was a powerful adventurer who happened to show some token efforts of helping Vida’s races.
Doc
I’m pretty sure that isn’t the case. There is no “peaceful Alda faction” in the Amid Empire. And Heinz advocating for tolerance to Vida races is what spawned the faction within Orbaume. Unless you have some chapters that speak of some separation between Heinz and his faction that I’m not remembering.
bookworm12
I agree with Lord Rin, Heinz did not create the peaceful faction. There is no peaceful Alda faction in the Amid Empire because it’s the national religion and heretics who disagree with their anti-Vida’s races agenda are sentenced by the law. Heinz just moved to somewhere it wasn’t considered illegal for a Dark Elf woman (or any other woman) to give birth to a Damphir. Way back when the Orbaume Kingdom was first mentioned (or around the Scylla arc), they talked about how Vida’s religion was spreading around the kingdom as a kind of passive resistance against the Amid Empire. That said, they’re not like the descendants of the original Vida worshippers who have lived with Vida’s races for 100,000 years and fully acknowledge them as people. Most of them are happy to let the ruling class who still worship Alda do what they want as far as policy (unless it affects the neighbors they KNOW are people), and even the Alda worshippers try to get along the Vida worshippers as a show of solidarity and just try to make use of the more acceptable members of Vida’s races (those without ranks). Particularly in the Sauron Duchy right on the boundary with the Amid Empire, there are a lot of Vida worshippers, and many villages were described as having titans, beastmen, and other acceptable Vida’s races as citizens. When the Amid Empire took over, they tried not to cause waves by immediately attacking/enslaving those citizens, but black-market dealers were carting them off anyway. My point is, radical Alda worshippers weren’t living anywhere near those Vida worshippers, which means they had some less radical, more PEACEFUL Alda worshippers putting up with them. Heinz moved over around the same time that war broke out, so he wasn’t responsible for that situation. However, it seems that the peaceful faction didn’t have many strong fighters on that side, so Heinz instantly became recognized as an important figure in the faction, and even more so after he became a guider and provided some direction for the movement. I’ll give him credit for that much. I think the reason the peaceful factions aren’t coming together is that they’re uncertain about what their new leader Heinz thinks and doubt their ability to fight against Van without him.
As for your “Unless you have some chapters that speak of some separation between Heinz and his faction that I’m not remembering,” on the contrary, please provide some chapter yourself that clearly states that Heinz CREATED the peaceful faction rather than just being a leader of it or speaking with nobles to convert them to that faction.
ObserverBias
What inauspicious phrasing at the end, there.
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So, in the view of ‘nobility’ who are generally aware that mental health is not in a great place such that it can reliably be positively addressed, the open knowledge that Van is intentionally having himself admitted is their equivalent of “Ding Dong, the witch is dead,” completely unaware that he also intends to recover within a week’s time (which, for literally anyone, would be a badass boast and also ‘out’ that he’s not at all being ‘treated,’ but up to something).
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Erstwhile, guessing a part of the message must have been lost between Reamsand and the hospital’s director, if he outright paid to have him turned away but instead Van got confirmed/admitted with theatrics on the appraiser’s end. Is this one of those situations where it would normally have been side-noted that they totally spied his evolved Mental Corruption skill, but is just being held off to reveal until later? Ah, well, works in Van’s favor anyway.
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On the one hand, seems they were being sneaky and outright not treating Amelia for the half-a-week it’s been for fear Van has some way of figuring it out (despite, for all they know, him totally being in his own room the whole time). On the other hand, Van’s had their meds raided already, and likely tested and/or corrected via medicines he likely /also/ got figured out (with some aid) and possibly concocted proper medicines as ‘treating poisons’ using his own skills. Either way, something won’t go as planned for this pharmacist, I imagine.
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In other news, nobody had the heart to correct Van’s impression of emperor-level capabilities, and word is known to his people that he’s having Marshukzarl become an internal handyman. Contractor? Hmm. It’ll build character for him, surely.
Shion Vaynex
I imagine marshuk was forgotten and he himself is now living a slow life in another (inner)world.
Having found a new hobby in DIY.
Having plenty of food, cause that’s what van grows in those worlds.
No enemies and no allies. And no natural disasters or bad weather.
Dunno. Maybe he build a tree house to see what the hype was in Elvis standards. Sinds he is a half elf in.
HeyaUser
Thanks for translating the chapter!
ExplodingPenguinDood
Jahan is sus I think. Is he straight up or is he doing a Schneider? I’m sure Amelia is already separated from the hospital and kuhl is doing performance
Baru-san
maybe jahan doing that because asagi request it
ExplodingPenguinDood
Ooo is Asagi there? I didn’t see that
Irazori
Was basic b*tch A really in contact with the aldiot titan? I thought the were just hiding while doing some mostly pointless research on the DK fragments?
Lord Rin
Asagi is in a different duchy working for the duke that rules there. I can’t remember exactly which one but I want to say it’s Duke Farzon. The crappy duke that’s allied with Heinz.
Irazori
What there to be sus? He’s just another aldiot that could probably become the next brateo.
Seinvolf
Thank u always for ur great work…
^^…