Chapter 40
Chapter 40
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 40
Chapter Title: Loyal Dogs
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Sein stood with his hands clasped behind his back.
He strolled leisurely as if out for a casual walk, pacing back and forth in his spot.
"One."
In front of him, the numerous candidates wore grimacing expressions.
"I am."
"I am—!"
The candidates parroted his words exactly.
And in unison, they bent their arms and lowered their bodies.
"Two, I am Sein's loyal dog."
"Sein's loyal dog—!"
On two, they straightened up and shouted again.
Sein repeated this several times.
"Huff…. Huff…."
The candidates looked exhausted.
Their bodies were blessed, so they shouldn't tire from something like this, yet beads of sweat dotted their foreheads for some reason.
"Hmm, that should be enough."
The candidates brightened at Sein's words.
"Let's move on to the next."
But their faces paled once more at his follow-up remark.
"You, what's your name."
"……."
"You might not know. Feeling upset?"
"Rabin, sir…."
"Good. Rabin."
Sein pulled Rabin to his feet and pointed at another candidate.
"Beat that guy."
"What?"
"What's your name?"
"Kamura."
"Kamura, you just take the beating."
"Why…."
Sein furrowed his brow.
"What did you say on two?"
"I am Sein's loyal dog…."
In the end, they couldn't defy Sein's orders and took their positions.
"Start."
Rabin's fist flew.
"Whoa there. You'll kill him hitting like that."
"Do I have to kill him?"
"It's just a figure of speech. Do it properly, up to the point of killing."
With those words, the power behind Rabin's fist changed.
And.
"……."
Kamura endured it all without resistance.
But after some time passed and Kamura's wounds multiplied.
"You… bastard…."
He made a few attempts to block Rabin's fists.
'So that's how it is.'
Right now, Sein wasn't tormenting the candidates without reason.
The magic contract.
It had certainly been a taboo item even back in Sanctuary days, but by now, its effects and absoluteness might have changed.
Restraining mana, forcing unwanted actions, even threatening lives.
'Item performance check is essential.'
Sein was conducting experiments to precisely control his newly acquired dozen or so slaves.
'And there's still more to learn….'
It wasn't enough yet.
'District 6, Contra, was it.'
There were other things to confirm as well.
"That's all for today."
At Sein's words, the candidates sprang to their feet.
"Go rest, and come running when I call. Got it?"
"Y-Yeah!"
Fearing he might change his mind, the candidates scurried off.
The training ground was now empty.
As Sein turned, candidates who hadn't been there before now stood in his path.
"What, you want in on this too?"
It was Cis, Roberta, and Ballack, who had faked addiction to evade the magic contract.
"……."
They kept their mouths shut at Sein's question.
"Boring."
Sein shrugged at them and walked on.
As he passed by.
"Sein Demorus."
Cis finally spoke.
"The candidate competition isn't over yet."
Sein slowly turned at the voice.
A faint smile played on his lips.
"It's over. You idiots. Guess you want to believe otherwise no matter what."
Boom.
The aura Sein had been suppressing burst out in an instant, crushing the air.
It was incomparable to what they'd felt in Rasiel's Garden.
A dense, solid aura beyond even the dark orc village battle.
"……!"
Cis and the others froze in shock at the power.
"Want me to end you here?"
Killing intent surged beneath Sein's eyes.
But.
Heh.
Sein chuckled, wiping it all away.
Erasing it was harder than summoning it, yet.
"Boring bastards. Go on, struggle to the bitter end."
With that, Sein headed to his quarters.
*
*
*
Cis wouldn't admit it, but Sein was right.
The first mission in Vice.
That had tilted the Rasiel candidate competition perfectly.
Nearly half dead.
Including those who harbored grudges against Sein.
The survivors were swayed by him and knelt.
Even if due to the magic contract, they'd seen it clearly.
The gap with Sein.
"Today's lesson is condensing mana to strengthen the body."
After the first mission, training began in Rasiel.
As if the survivors were the real deal, starting from basic mana control.
"Choose your preferred weapons."
Even up to weapon techniques.
One could say Rasiel's full candidate training had begun.
What meaning was there in training after throwing them into a mission with massive casualties, one might ask.
"They're working hard."
But the candidates were giving it their all precisely because of that.
The specialness of Demorus blood, and their own inadequacies.
The fact that they could drop dead at any moment.
What they needed.
Whoosh!
Was power alone, something they'd realized themselves.
"Yeah, they're really going at it."
Watching them weren't just the instructors—Sein was there too.
Participation in training was voluntary.
'What, they only teach this crap?'
He joined for a day or two just in case, but to Sein, it was all sorely lacking.
Not surprising, since he'd had the best from Sanctuary as his masters.
'Game mechanics carry over to now.'
All those teachings still worked perfectly even now, far superior to Rasiel's training.
For example, even basic mana operation—in Rasiel's, it yielded one unit of effect.
"Sein Demorus. How great are you to skip training?"
"Want me to show you?"
Sein's was.
Boom!
At least three times more.
The differences were stark—five to tenfold in serious cases.
"…You may skip training."
So all of it was meaningless to him.
At best, things improved by time's passage.
"Don't we learn about blessings?"
"Blessings are a power exclusive to Demorus blood. Rasiel doesn't teach them."
They did touch on blessing basics occasionally.
"Alright, everyone, study hard."
Each one was a precious slave of his.
Heh.
If they proved more useful, he might even share some of his own.
*
*
*
"Stop eating snacks already."
"……."
At Sein's words, Cecil set down her cookie.
But at her aggrieved, wistful expression.
"Sigh. Keep eating."
Sein relented in the end.
Her eyes sparkled innocently as she scooped up snacks like nothing happened.
"How is something like that a saintess."
She was closer to a con artist than a saintess.
Time in Rasiel flowed on.
Rest and training after the first mission.
And recently.
Knock knock.
New missions began assigning to candidates.
"Come in."
"I-I'm back. Sein."
A group of candidates hovered awkwardly at Sein's door.
Cecil quietly nodded them in and sat behind him.
"We reported to Lord Alman and came straight here."
These were the candidates who'd received the second mission just before.
From the second mission on, not all candidates—Alman arbitrarily formed teams.
"No deaths…."
"What's with the bandage."
"…Idiot. I told you to unwrap it before coming."
"The wound hasn't closed yet, what can I do."
They reported to Sein after Alman.
"That guy's training must've been lacking."
At Sein's words, the bandaged candidate paled.
Ever since missions started assigning.
"Go run five hundred laps around the training ground."
"P-Please! I just got back…."
"Want me to make you?"
"I'll go!"
Some training ran alongside.
"No special intel, and Borfeo seems fine too."
He gave them tasks on missions too.
"Letter from Antara."
Finally.
"We told them on the mission site that you sent us. If not for Sein Demorus, it would've been bad."
Even honorifics.
"We didn't leave out your name in reports to Lord Alman either."
"Good job. You get two days off."
"Th-Thank you!"
"Damn, I should've reported."
Truly.
Heh.
The factory ran smoothly on its own.
Sein just killed time with Cecil, doing nothing.
Yet the candidates on missions boosted Sein's fame and merits, stacking contributions.
Same for those who'd left Rasiel on other missions.
"See, I told you it's over."
As time passed, Sein's position and achievements would only solidify.
"Out."
"Thanks!"
Knock knock.
The knocking echoed.
Afterward, more candidates returned from missions, reported to Alman, then to Sein.
Having been crown prince and emperor of the vast Archibald Empire.
Rustle.
This level of work was mere snacks to him.
Sparkle sparkle.
Cecil just gazed at him in wonder.
"You'll get annoying soon too."
The letter from Antara.
Part of the church had detected Cecil and started moving.
Antara was blocking info as much as possible, and since she was in Rasiel, nothing immediate, but a warning to be careful.
"You too, don't just stuff your face—do your job."
Nod, nod.
With major tasks done, Sein sprawled on the bed again.
Knock knock.
"Annoying. Who now."
But this time, the door opened without permission.
"Lord Alman summons you. Sein Demorus."