Welcome to Hell!

Chapter 42: After the Battle

“The illustrious reputation of the ‘Dragonblood Knights’ is known even to someone like me who is not well-versed in worldly matters. If I were to receive gratitude from such esteemed individuals, I would surely feel embarrassed,” said Orvo.

“Likewise, I have heard rumors of your society! You seem to be making waves in various places!” responded Alexander.

“Well, the rumors aren’t all that good, are they? Even I, like you, would resort to unethical means to achieve my goals,” Orvo replied candidly.

“Fortunately, I believe you are not causing any harm in our country, so it doesn’t concern me! Gahaha!” laughed Alexander.

From then on, Orvo and Alexander began chatting amiably, seemingly knowing a fair amount of things about each other. While Alexander’s fame as a formidable warrior was understandable, it appeared that Orvo’s affiliation with a secretive organization was equally well-known. How intriguing, to be associated with a famous clandestine society.

Alexander laughed heartily, seemingly unfazed by the details and possessing a carefree and open-minded nature. Orvo, on the other hand, shrugged his shoulders but seemed to enjoy the conversation. Despite being complete opposites, perhaps it was their differences that made their discussions enjoyable.

“The ‘Dragonblood Knights’ never forget a debt of gratitude! If there’s anything you need that won’t be detrimental to our country, please don’t hesitate to ask!” said Alexander.

“I’ll keep that in mind… Oh, by the way, when you have time, could you teach him how to use this?” Orvo said, pointing to the other party’s weapon. “I may know how to fight, but I’m not familiar with the use of weapons.”

Orvo clapped his hands together as if he had just proposed a brilliant idea. It was true that I had no knowledge of handling weapons. If I could receive guidance from a skilled expert, my progress would surely be faster. Becoming stronger would also improve my chances of survival, so I was definitely eager to ask for their help.

Furthermore, like the female slave and the Popi race member, these men treated me as an equal, with no fear or disdain showing in their faces, unlike the other people. If I were to receive instruction from such individuals, I would be delighted.

“Is that so? We do not mind at all! Having a strong training partner will only sharpen our skills even more! Isn’t that right, guys?”

“Yes, Captain!”

“You guys are so enthusiastic… but I appreciate it. I’ll probably be here on the central front for a while, so call me whenever it’s convenient.”

“We shall do so! Today is truly a good day! Gahahaha!”

And just like that, I found someone who would teach me the art of combat. I still had a long way to go to become stronger. But with strength, fulfilling my mission would become easier. I closed my eyelids and pretended to sleep while inwardly smiling to myself.

◆◇◆◇◆◇

Orvo Hakkinen, a skilled spiritualist and member of the secret society “The Seventh Pillar,” returned home from the battlefield in a cheerful mood. However, the time it took for him to travel was merely an instant. This was because Orvo was not only a master of creating synthetic beasts, but also well-versed in manipulating space with his spiritual power.

He had used his spiritual power to create gates in the sleeves and hem of his robe, leading to his own personal pocket dimension. These gates were simply portals, so he did not feel any weight when passing through them. Within this vast space, he stored various personal items, including the injured Hades Scorpion, which he had brought back with him long ago.

As an application of this technique, he could also use spatial teleportation. He had used it to instantly travel to his home in a remote part of a secret location. Whether it was from his home to the battlefield, or from the capital of the Harlasia Kingdom back to his own home, it was all made possible through spatial teleportation.

“Welcome back, Master Orvo,” greeted the butler, Mika, with reverence.

“I’m home, Mika.”

Mika, who had been serving Orvo since his birth, was the only family he had left after his parents had passed away when he was young. Orvo trusted Mika wholeheartedly, considering him to be his one and only family.

And Mika was also living up to Orvo’s trust. Since being entrusted with the care of Karelvo and Orvo after their parents passed away, Mika has served them as household staff while also showing affection as if they were his own sons.

“You seem to be in a good mood, Master Orvo.”

“Well, yeah! It looks like my work is being recognized, and various countries have promised to provide materials for my experiments! Ah, but it’s all hush-hush, you know.”

Orvo announced it with great joy. Hearing this, Mika couldn’t help but feel complicated. There were two reasons for this.

The first reason was that Orvo, whom he had raised as his own child, had grown deeply involved in unethical research. Orvo has always been advancing his research on synthetic beasts out of pure intellectual curiosity and a thirst for knowledge. Mika has been supporting him all along, and will continue to do so in the future.

However, Mika was secretly opposed to using human beings as materials. Even if they were willing participants, it was heartbreaking to see them transformed into something other than humans. Many would argue that being executed would pose a better fate for the subjects, no matter how evil they may be.

If he were in that position, he would surely struggle. That’s why Mika took such diligent care of the synthetic beast, the Hades Scorpion.

The second reason was that he would have to appease the other master, Karelvo, who would undoubtedly be upset when he learns that Orvo’s achievements had been recognized. Karelvo was also a talented spiritualist, but Orvo always surpassed him.

Mika knew well that Karelvo harbored strong jealousy. So, if Orvo were to be recognized by the central front as a valuable asset and even receive support, albeit with conditions, Karelvo would definitely be jealous. It was a difficult task for Mika to appease him, and it was causing him a lot of headaches.

“The first materials I will receive will be the criminals who are already sentenced to death. I will conduct various experiments to identify the issues and then receive stronger materials. Oh, I can’t wait to start researching!” Orvo said excitedly.

“That sounds good. By the way, have you had dinner before coming back?” Mika asked.

“No, not yet. Now that you mention it, I am feeling hungry,” Orvo replied.

“Alright then, I’ll prepare food for you right away.”

“Thank you so much!” Orvo said with a smile.

Feeling a tinge of guilt for abruptly ending the conversation about his experiments, Mika swiftly guided Orvo to the dining room, while he himself made his way to the kitchen. Thankfully, Orvo didn’t seem offended at all and eagerly trailed after him, heading to the dining room with a contented expression.

While cooking in the kitchen, Mika pondered how to confront Orvo. However, knowing Orvo’s personality better than anyone else, Mika was aware that no matter what approach he took, it might not be effective. After all, Mika was just a mere servant and believed he should not make impudent remarks.

(Even though I would like to be more cautious considering the safety aspect… it’s probably impossible.)

In the research of synthetic beasts, accidents and injuries, even death, were inevitable due to the creatures rampages. Although Orvo made efforts to prevent such incidents, using a new material like the human species could lead to unexpected situations. It was precisely because Mika cared about Orvo’s well-being, not just his own principles, that he wanted the experiments to be stopped.

Lost in thought, Mika efficiently completed the cooking and loaded the dishes onto a cart to transport them to the dining room. However, just then he heard voices arguing from the dining room. There were only three people living in this spacious mansion, including Mika. The latter slightly quickened his pace and hurried to the dining room.

“You… What do you mean, speaking like that towards your older brother!?”

Karelvo, Orvo’s older brother, was the one who was raising his voice and yelling angrily. He slammed the dining table, creating a loud noise that echoed down the hallway. Given Karelvo’s weak physique, he was probably hurting his own fist.

As Mika entered the dining room with brisk steps, Orvo, who was being yelled at, remained seated in his chair, looking annoyed as he played with his hair. However, as soon as Orvo saw Mika’s face, his expression brightened.

“I’ve been waiting, Mika! I’m starving!”

“Don’t ignore me! Our conversation isn’t over yet!”

Orvo was acting as if Karelvo wasn’t even there, but Karelvo only raised his voice even louder and showed no signs of calming down. Orvo made a visibly displeased expression and replied as if resigned to the situation.

“…Geez, what do you want, Karelvo?”

“Is it true that you deployed that synthetic beast in actual combat?”

“Were you eavesdropping? Yeah, it’s true. I deployed it, and it yielded good results. What’s it to you?”

“Are you saying it was that advanced… Dammit!”

Karelvo clenched his teeth in frustration, slammed the table once again, and then turned on his heel, leaving the dining room in a hurry. Mika nodded in acknowledgement, but it seemed like Karelvo didn’t even notice his presence as he muttered curses under his breath and returned to his room.

Following that, Mika prepared a meal for Orvo, feeling the need to make amends. Orvo looked tired from dealing with his brother, but his spirits lifted as he began to eagerly eat the food that Mika had prepared.

“Munch, munch… Your cooking is still amazing, Mika!”

“I’m flattered… Oh?”

As Orvo was having his meal, he heard the sound of the mansion’s door opening. This mansion was located in an unexplored wilderness, and it was impossible to reach by conventional means. However, those who had the ability to use spatial teleportation, like Orvo, or those who were given the device to generate a teleportation gate connecting to the mansion, could visit.

There were only a limited number of people who were given this device, and among them, there was only one person who would walk into the mansion without prior notice.

“Hey, Orvo! It’s finished!”

“Welcome, Grandpa.”

“Welcome, Mr. Hatakeyama.”

The person who arrived was a weaponsmith whom Orvo called Grandpa. His name was Genba Hatakeyama, originally from a small island country in the eastern part of the Enzo continent. He was a man who traveled across the continent while continuously learning various techniques.

“Hmm! I smell something delicious.”

“Mika, please prepare some extra portions for Grandpa.”

“Understood.”

Mika returned to the kitchen to prepare additional dishes. After seeing him off, Genba sat heavily in a chair and placed something he had been carrying on the table with a thud, offering it to Orvo.

Without missing a beat, Orvo smirked and took the offering, swiftly unwrapping the cloth to reveal two gleaming swords inside.

“Hmm? You didn’t make them into one sword?”

“As you can see. I thought it would be better to make use of the claws’ respective characteristics. I wanted to see him wielding them at the same time, but…”

“Sorry, Grandpa. He’s currently on the battlefield and not here.”

Genba had brought the weapon that Orvo had requested for the synthetic beast. Orvo was curious how he had crafted it using a broken sword and the pincers of the hades scorpion, but the timing wasn’t right to reveal it just yet.

That’s why Orvo carefully rewrapped the cloth covering the weapons. He wanted to save the excitement of seeing the blades inside their scabbards for later.

Upon hearing that there were no synthetic beasts at the place, Genba looked disappointed and slumped his shoulders. It seemed he was sad that he couldn’t show off his handiwork. But that’s exactly why Orvo was thrilled with the anticipation.

“Well, that’s unfortunate. Let’s visit again at a more suitable time then.”

“Yes! Oh, by the way, listen to this! The beast has gained a good reputation, so I plan to increase their numbers and form a unit to deploy in the future.”

“A unit of synthetic beasts using human species, huh… Does the unit have a name yet?”

“Yeah! It’s going to be called the ‘Demon Squad’. “

In the spring of the 825th year of the Altera period, during the war in the northern region of the Enzo continent, synthetic beasts developed from the human species were deployed as a military force. Their combat prowess was formidable, and they achieved significant results in their first battle.

In response to this, the higher-ups in the coalition army requested the mass production of these human derived synthetic beasts from their creator. It was then decided to establish a unit composed of these synthesized beasts, which came to be known as the “Demon race” by the people.

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