Chapter 3: The wild last boss finds a subordinate --- Part 2
to a pulp by the Demon King ever since! How sloppy!”

Ah, yeah. Sorry, Dina. I guess disperse of influence went according to our plan. Rather, the final battle was just staged to release our influence…The collapse of Ruphas Mafahl’s rule would signal the dawn of a new era. Various players would begin to expand their influence, aiming to become the new successor to the world.

And the Demon King should have been… the official last boss.Unlike me, there were definite merits in defeating him. The Demon King had a hundred percent chance of dropping a rare item.However, countries would never form an alliance to defeat it.Rather, it would be troubling if an opposing nation defeated the Demon King. In addition, incompetent allies would only drag you down.

But that reasoning only stands if this was still a game.Which in this case, I haven’t a single clue why humanity would fall apart against the Demon King. In the first place, to what degree was the game reflected in this world?Would an in-game fight with the Demon King influence its history?Or do the events of this world occur independently of the game?..the more I think about it, the more disoriented I become. Just the fact that a game is reflected in this separate reality is already unusual in itself.Just how is this world related to “X-gate online”?

“Ruphas-sama?”

“Ah, excuse me. I was lost in thought. Dina, would you do me the favor of teaching me about the world I left?”

“Yes, of course! If that will be of use to Ruphas-sama, then gladly!”

With a charming smile spread across her face, Dina replied without the slightest hint of hesitationWha—what a good girl… She really puts my heart at ease.Well, that’s one thing off my checklist. I’ve found something to protect.It’s simple. Cute girls are precious assets of any world.As a man, it’s natural to want to protect them.

“…first, about the heroes that defeated you. Afterwards, each of the seven heroes decided to establish their own nations. Four of them have passed away due to old age, but the other three are still alive today.”

Those seven heroes undoubtedly refer to the seven players that stood alongside me as the top ranked players in the game. Each of them specialized in a different character class, and we conquered countless dungeons as a party. In other words, they were my former guild members.

…I wonder how they’re all doing.Could those heroes be players like me? Or are they completely unrelated?Of course, I would hope for the former, but I can’t say anything for sure until I meet them in person. For now, let’s make meeting those three a goal while traveling this world.

“The Twelve Heavenly Stars are all in good health. However, I only know the whereabouts of six of them. Among those six, two have joined the Demon King to take revenge on the humans you were defeated by.”

The Twelve Heavenly Stars.They were what you would call “familiars”.The class I had chose had the ability to tame monsters and possessed an inherent skill that gave you a chance of turning a defeated opponent into an ally.To monster tamers that have little to no offensive power, it wouldn’t be an overstatement to say their ability to reel in a strong monster is a matter of life and death.

I… lucked out.A boss monster that only appeared during an event and a rare monster that almost never made its appearance. Having tamed these monstrosities of familiars, I proceeded to put 12 of the most powerful monsters under Ruphas’ jurisdiction as her 12 generals. Then, I bestowed upon them the embarrassing title of the Twelve Heavenly Stars.I thought it would be cool for a ruler to have something like the Four Heavenly Kings under his command. You can tell I was at the peak of puberty.

“Joined the Demon King, huh… Goodness. Though I’m fully aware that my weakness is to blame for their actions, it’s still a pathetic way to behave. I will need to quickly scold them.”

Let’s add one more objective to our travels.I will collect the Twelve Heavenly Stars and take the responsibility to subdue them. Well, in reality, the thought that the familiars I raised were causing trouble for others made my stomach hurt.I’ll stop them with brute force if I have to.

“Hmph… Dina, could you mark the current locations of the 3 remaining heroes and The Twelve Heavenly Stars on a map?”

“Yes, certainly.”

First, I must find out if the three heroes are players like me.Then, if the Twelve Heavenly Stars are acting stupid, I will stop and recover them.

…Ah, right. We’re also going to need a source of money. For a penniless individual like me, this is top priority. I will need to look for a way to acquire funds for our travels.

“I’ve finished, Ruphas-sama. I’ve marked everything on this map.”

“Thank you.”

Accepting the map from Dina, I scanned over the contents.As for the heroes, the closest one is positioned at a country called Suvell, which is about 1,400 kilometers north from our current location.The elf hero has taken up residence here.

Furthermore, “The Ram”, Aries, is preparing for the invasion of Suvell in a castle at the foot of the volcano nearby.…what in hell does this sheep think it’s doing?

Anyways, this should be our first destination.I’m going to have to stop that sheep before a hole opens up in my stomach.

Good grief, what a pain in the ass.However, I would be lying if I said I wasn’t excited.Now then, let’s start with looking for a job.

※Some kind of explanation

Magical power in this world

In the world of Midgard, Magical power and Holy power are polar opposite existences. Magical power is closely tied to demons, so it aims to hurt or curse. On the other hand, the holy attribute has a strong association to the heavens, and it focuses more on healing and support. In simpler terms Magic = Black magic, Holy power = White magic

(TN: In Japanese, the word for magic = 魔力. The first character, 魔 also means ‘has to do with hell’. So for example, 魔界 means “hell”, or “the world of spirits”.)