The Death Mage that doesn't want a fourth time

28 The conditions in which the first objective can be achieved

「O Prophesized Holy Son, thank you for gracing us with your presence and descending upon the【Capital of the Sun】, Talosheim. Please grant salvation to us, who only await to return to dust!」(Mysterious Undead)

As the mummy-like Undead pressed his hands together in prayer with these words, Vandalieu was dumbfounded for a short while. He quickly came back to his senses when Darcia called out to him.

『Hey, Vandalieu, are you alright?』(Darcia)

「! Ah, yes. I'm fine, I was just a little surprised. Could you please explain? Err...」(Vandalieu)

「Of course, o Holy Son. I am the Lich Nuaza.」(Nuaza)

A Lich. These were people with magic-related skills that retained their knowledge and techniques after death and became Undead monsters. This Lich, named Nuaza, continued speaking.

「The tragic sight before the Holy Son right now is the Titan race's fortress city-nation of Talosheim, renowned as the【Capital of the Sun.】This city flourished through the secrets left behind by the fallen champion Zakkart and the blessings of the goddess Vida. But as you can see, due to the destruction in the wake of the sudden invasion by the Mirg shield-nation two hundred years ago, it is now a Devil's Nest. Please grant salvation to us, who only await –」(Nuaza)

「I'm sorry, but could I have you explain the details further?」(Vandalieu)

Conversing with this Undead required patience, but it was also important to interrupt it and guide the conversation from time to time.

To summarize Nuaza's explanation, the Titans had participated in the battle between the goddess Vida and Alda a hundred thousand years ago. Though they were defeated, the surviving Titans gathered here and built this city-nation.

This place was in the middle of the Boundary Mountain Range that was mostly made up of Devil's Nests, and the hours of the day that this place received the sun's light were short. But thanks to the secrets and knowledge left behind by the champion Zakkart, the city received abundant blessings from the sun.

And then the Titans used their naturally robust bodies to open up the land, cultivated it, made affluent fields of crops, used the name of their ancestor to name the city Talosheim, the【Capital of the Sun】and worshipped the goddess Vida and the champion Zakkart.

They trained their bodies, improved their martial skills, stepped into Dungeons in search of materials they lacked to find an abundance of stone to use in building, and then erected a sturdy, beautiful, white fortress.

The Titans obtained stone, metal and meat by fighting monsters.

And then they discovered a tunnel in the eastern mountain range that had been built in ancient times, so they constructed a highway leading to the Orbaume Kingdom and began commercial trading.

The products of their Dungeons sold for high prices in the Orbaume Kingdom, bringing prosperity and wealth to Talosheim.

However, that prosperity was laid to waste by the sudden appearance of military forces from the Mirg shield-nation.

「With no prior notice, an army simply appeared one day over the mountain range and marched onto Talosheim.」(Nuaza)

The following is what could be deduced from the stories told later to supplement Nuaza's explanations by Sam and his daughters who had been employed by noblemen of the Mirg shield-nation in their past lives, and Kachia who was waiting for Vandalieu and his party's return.

About two hundred years ago, the Mirg shield-nation was ordered to wipe out the nation of the Titans in the name of the Amid Empire and the Church of Alda.