The Death Mage that doesn't want a fourth time

159 Nation visits continued

Having cleared the Ogres' Nest, Vandalieu and his companions returned to the Kijin nation to eat dinner.

That night, Vandalieu was summoned to the Divine Realm of Garess, the god of warriors, in his dream. There, he talked with the generations of Kijin kings that had become Garess's familiar spirits and heroic spirits after their deaths.

After fusing with a god of the Demon King's army like his master Zantark, Garess had the upper body of a fair-looking young man, but his lower half had become grotesque.

"The Dhampir who is served by Black Goblins, Anubises, Orcuses, Ghouls and Vampires, you who have absorbed fragments of the Demon King and gained the respect of the Kijin. I wish to bestow upon you the Title of 'Oni Emperor,'" Garess said in a solemn tone.

"For what reasons?" Vandalieu asked.

"Frankly, I thought I would take this opportunity to catch up to Fidirg and Merrebeveil."

Despite his initial stubborn-looking appearance, Garess's actions were easy to see through, as might be expected of the guardian deity of the Kijin.

"During the age of the gods, I... gave more teachings, such as what battle means and what kind of resolve is needed to become a master of battle, but... it seemed that they were difficult to understand for the Kijin, the children of Zantark-sama and Vida-sama. If I did not explain things so that they were easy to understand, my Divine Messages were not understood at all..."

It seemed that he had taught philosophical concepts in the past, but his personality had changed to match those of the Kijin.

The Kijin kings that had become Garess's familiar spirits and heroic spirits gave bitter smiles.

"I'm sorry about that. I had no idea what you were talking about when I was still alive."

"Was it about three generations before Tenma that the Kijin became able to think a little?"

"The women who became kings used their heads, too. Not me, though."

"Leaving that aside, we leave the ones that are living now with you. In fact, you should take some of them with you. Choose them using standards other than their muscles."

"If I have to choose them based on standards other than muscle, I'll hold off on answering for now," said Vandalieu. "Well, please leave it to me. I made a kindred-spirit, and it seems that my mother and Princess Levia are getting along well with Yura-san, too."

The Kijin nation was surrounded by Dungeons, so if he could introduce Explorers' Guild Cards to make it possible to teleport between floors, it would make the Kijin's everyday lives much easier.

Vandalieu wasn't hesitant at all to offer his help in this way since he had become good friends with Oniwaka and his mother and Princess Levia seemed to have become friends with Yura.

But Garess had a difficult expression on his face. "Oniwaka... I am a little hesitant to offer you a candidate to become the next Kijin king... No, I do not intend to ignore Oniwaka's own desires."

"Hmm? No, won't it be alright if we visit each other's countries and stay for pre-decided lengths of time?" Vandalieu suggested, since he had no intentions of recruiting the first child of the king of another nation.

"Coming and going... then I suppose there will be no problem. Please take care of that child. Now then, I must give you the 'Oni Emperor' Title and your companions my divine protection... and this as a present," said Garess, casually grasping his own grotesque lower body, breaking off several of the protuberances on it and offering them to Vandalieu. "This is a part of me, the guardian deity of the Kijin. Through this, even one without Kijin blood flowing through their veins should be able to lead the Kijin more effectively if they possess the aptitude for it."