Vandalieu blinked as Queen Donaneris, ruler of the city state of Arachne and Empusa that worshipped Zanalpadna, the evil god of carapaces and compound eyes, addressed him in a way that he had never heard before.

"The Holy Son who will face a great trial?" he repeated.

"Yes, the details can wait until all of the guests have been gathered –" Queen Donaneris began.

"Darling! You can't be out of bed; your wounds still haven't fully healed!" Princess Kurnelia squealed as she rushed past Vandalieu with the speed of the wind, towards the Noble Orc.

"K-Kurnelia, I'm alright. There's no problems; I don't have to lie in bed anymore," said the Noble Orc in a voice that was deep, but with a tone that gave the impression of a gentle young man.

It seemed that he was indeed Prince Budarion, Princess Kurnelia's fiancé, the one whose throne had been stolen from him by his younger brother.

"You're lying! Your voice sounds pained... and your face is pale..." Princess Kurnelia murmured.

Vandalieu looked up at Prince Budarion, wondering if this was true. The face of Prince Budarion, who had a Noble-Orc-like height of around three meters, was... pale, probably.

Vandalieu felt like he could smell a faint scent of blood from his bandages, too.

"Bufuh. Princess, I can't lie to you, can I..."

Ah, he's a bit Orc-like.

It was probably the 'fuh' noise Prince Budarion made while exhaling. Though he spoke human words, the structure of his nose was different, so not everything about his speech was perfect.

Prince Budarion stroked Princess Kurnelia's pink-blonde hair, his one remaining eye filled with a gentle light. "But Ogibo-ue* has told me that the discussion that will take place now is an important one that will determine the fate of every race that lives in this land," he said. "With that being the case, I can't not be present. All of this was caused by my own shortcomings, after all."

TLN*: This is a respectful term for mother-in-law.

"Darling, that's not true at all! It's all the fault of Bugitas and that mysterious god who's lending him his strength! And you fought harder than anyone else to try to stop Bugitas, didn't you!" Princess Kurnelia exclaimed.

"No, all of this was caused by my own naïvety that could not see through my brother's foolishness. Because of this, I have dragged not only my own vassals and empire, but numerous nations including Zanalpadna, into war."

"Darling..."

"Kurnelia... Budarion-dono... could you please leave such conversations for when you are alone?" Queen Donaneris interjected.

The two of them came back to their senses.

"Our apologies!" they said to the Arachne and Empusa in the chamber, who seemed to be mentally fatigued from this, as well as to Vandalieu.

"I'm glad we didn't bring Kasim," said Eleanora.

"Hmm, a calm, gentlemanly Noble Orc..." Zadiris murmured.

"If you told me there was actually a human inside him, I'd believe you," said Basdia.

"No, I can tell. That prince has considerable skill. If he was in good condition, he would rival me or be even stronger," Vigaro said.

"You're right," Borkus agreed. "Considering his appearance and his nice guy...ish face, his sense of presence is no joke. He's probably at least Rank 10."

Everyone spoke their impressions as they arrived in the queen's chamber, either by flying in on their own or being carried in by Arachne, seeing Prince Budarion and Princess Kurnelia's intimacy.

Perhaps Bugogan had left a strong impression on Zadiris and Basdia; they seemed to find it difficult to believe that Prince Budarion was a member of the same Noble Orc race.

"Prince Budarion does not match the prowess of the late emperor, Fugofu-sama, but he is a Rank 10 Noble Orc High King. He is a master of the Swordsmanship skill that I cannot even be compared to," Gizania explained, perhaps feeling proud at the fact that Vigaro and Borkus were admiring the man (male?) who would become her brother in law.

"I apologize for my actions, despite having been instructed to take the princess away!" said Myuze, kneeling hastily.

Incidentally, the chief mage Bakota had positioned himself at the queen's side at some point. He was fast, as expected of a chief mage.

"It is fine. More importantly, Myuze, you should remain present here," said Queen Donaneris, seeming to have no intention of reprimanding Myuze.

However, the queen's order seemed to be unexpected for Myuze.

"I should remain present?" she repeated.

Myuze was a young Empusa, a highly capable kunoichi among Empusa that were less than a hundred years of age, but she was not in a high social position. She was in charge of defending one of the gates that faced the north, south, east and west in the walls that protected Zanalpadna, but that was all.

Due to the nature of her job, her face was well-known to those from other nations who went back and forth on missions and armed merchant caravans that conducted trade, but she was not someone who could be called an important figure.

And it wasn't as if she had any particularly deep opinions, either. There was Gizania to act as company for the shrine maiden and the other guests; Myuze couldn't imagine that she would be of any use staying here.

"If you have no objections, you will remain here. Naturally, Gizania, you will stay as well," said Queen Donaneris.

"Certainly!"

Myuze could not object after having been ordered to stay more than once. Disobeying orders would go against the path of the ninja that she longed to follow.

But as Myuze went to stand at the end of the row of important Empusa in the queen's chamber, the queen spoke to her again.

"Just stay where you are!" Queen Donaneris told her.

"A-as you wish!" Myuze hastily returned to Vandalieu's side and fell silent.

Eleanora, Zadiris and even the Arachne and Empusa in the chamber looked at Myuze and at the queen, wondering what this was all about, but the queen offered no explanation.

From the position that Myuze was being ordered to stand, Vandalieu guessed that it had something to do with him, but he was bewildered regardless of what it was. Though he appeared to be composed, as he had no facial expression.

"Now then... I have not told this to anyone save for a few, including Bakota, but I actually received a Divine Message from the evil god Zanalpadna," the queen said.

The conversation flew to a topic that wasn't related to Myuze at all. But the importance of this topic was so great that everyone's attention shifted from Myuze to the Divine Message.

"I interpreted the contents of the Divine Message to be, 'Send your daughters to the north. There, your daughter will meet the Holy Son who seeks a trial,'" said Queen Donaneris. "I consulted those whom I revealed the contents of the Divine Message to, and then dispatched a delegation towards the marshlands to the north that included my daughters, Kurnelia and Gizania."

"Is that true?!" Princess Kurnelia exclaimed. "I did think it was strange that Chief Mage Bakota didn't oppose the suggestion of requesting reinforcements from Lizardmen that we've never interacted with before..."

"I see. So, there was a reason like that for accepting my request immediately when I asked to be one of the escorting members, despite knowing that I was not worthy," said Gizania.

It seemed that the Divine Message hadn't been revealed to Princess Kurnelia and Gizania. Most of the people in the queen's chamber, including Prince Budarion, were surprised.

"Queen Donaneris, why did you not tell us about the Divine Message?!" blurted out a large Empusa who had apparently been a member of the delegation.

"Because telling you would have caused preconceptions," Queen Donaneris replied. "And there was also the chance that my interpretation of the message was incorrect. It was more than possible that the word 'daughter' meant not just my own daughters, but 'young girls' including yourself, Gaol. And as for the Holy Son, I did not know what race he would be or what form he would have. There was the possibility that he would be a Lizardman... or rather, both Bakota and I expected that the Holy Son would be a Lizardman hero or champion. It is not that we questioned your loyalty, but forgive us," she said, gently closing her eyes and lowering her head.

The Empusa named Gaol, as well as the others who had seemed displeased at the fact that they had not been told about the Divine Message, hastily began to stop the queen.

"Please raise your head! We understand your thoughts on the matter!"

As Vandalieu blinked and watched this scene unfold, he suddenly heard Princess Kurnelia's voice in his mind.

"Us Arachne and Empusa, especially those who are warriors by profession, feel dishonor when our loyalty is questioned. The same applies for Gizania-chan, so please be careful," the voice said.

Vandalieu noticed a transparent thread stuck to his neck. It seemed that Princess Kurnelia had gone out of her way to use Thread Telepathy to explain this to him.

Of course, Gizania didn't seem to be displeased at the fact that the queen had kept things hidden from her. This was likely related to the fact that Donaneris was not only her superior, but also her mother.

"By the way, I understand that there was a Divine Message, but... what is it that you want from us now?" Vandalieu asked after waiting for the Empusa to calm down. "At first, our objective was to deal with the Noble Orc empire... dealing with peace negotiations and any possible war. Now that I have learned the situation from Gizania, that has changed to building favorable relationships with each race that worships the gods on Vida's side, including the people of Zanalpadna, and defeating Bugitas and his subordinates, who worship a god that seems to be a remnant of the Demon King's army."

The reasons for defeating Bugitas weren't just that Vandalieu sympathized with the Arachne or because Gizania's muscular beauty was wonderful.

Judging from the words of the Noble Orc who had attacked Gizania, it could be assumed that the usurper Bugitas and the god he worshipped, Ravovifard, didn't think favorably of Vida and those who worshipped her.

If someone like that were to rule the lands south of the marshlands and gather strength, there was no telling what would happen in the future.

As Noble Orcs took about ten years to reach adulthood after they were born, they would not increase in number too substantially within a short period of time. However, the Orcs, Kobolds and Goblins who performed manual labor or slave work in the empire could multiply at a terrifying rate.

And if they trusted in their numbers and closed in on the marshlands, Vandalieu didn't think that Talosheim wouldn't be able to win, but there would certainly be casualties.

Even if they didn't come attacking, as the Holy Son of Vida, Vandalieu would be troubled if something were to happen to the sacred land in which Vida slumbered.

That was why he would deal with the Noble Orc empire while he still could. And if he acted now, he would gain multiple nations as allies. Even the general Chezare had insisted, "Your Majesty! You have no choice but to take part in the war yourself!"

Also, the Experience Points and the meat would be delicious as well.

"But I have no idea what you mean by 'trial,'" Vandalieu said.

He had the feeling that the battle against the Noble Orc empire was not a trial. It could be assumed that Bugitas, who had repelled the Rank 10 Prince Budarion, was Rank 11 or higher. Bugitas would certainly be a powerful foe, but Vandalieu couldn't imagine that he would be a more powerful enemy than the one that had been defeated last year, the Pure-breed Vampire Gubamon who possessed strength of mythical proportions and was thought to be Rank 13 or higher.

If Vandalieu faced Bugitas, he would probably be victorious.

Of course, he would probably have other high-Rank Noble Orc subordinates, but even with those present, Vandalieu wouldn't be defeated by them with Borkus, Vigaro, Zadiris, Basdia, Eleanora, Bone Man and the others at his side.

And if Vandalieu lacked fighting strength, he could always go back to Talosheim to bring more.

That was why he felt that Bugitas was too weak to be called a trial.

"So, if you have any ideas as to what the trial might be, I would like to hear them," Vandalieu said.

If the trial happened to be "teaching Zanalpadna the knowledge regarding true bushi and ninjas," he would give up immediately.

But upon being asked this, Queen Donaneris's expression turned into a happy, yet troubled one.

"No... I had thought that the Holy Son's primary purpose would be to face this trial, so I intended to earnestly request that you join the war to take the empire back from Bugitas and the god Ravovifard that he worships," she said.

"... Your guess was wrong, but in a good way, my queen," said Bakota.

"Ah... what are we supposed to do about this awkward atmosphere?" Kurt muttered.

Both of them had complicated expressions on their faces.

"Then isn't this 'trial' a misunderstanding on Zanalpadna's part?" Basdia suggested.

"Basdia, isn't it impossible for gods to have misunderstandings?" asked Gizania, expressing her doubt in this 'god's misunderstanding' theory.

"No, I think it's probably possible," Basdia said. "I've seen a different god once before, and it seemed that he would have misunderstandings just like anyone else."

She had actually met a god before. Not only Gizania, but Princess Kurnelia and Bakota were surprised by her words as well.

"You've seen a god before?!" Gizania exclaimed.

"There's a god like that?!" asked Princess Kurnelia.

"Impossible! No, but if you're a companion of the person prophesized in a Divine Message, then...?" Bakota murmured.

Incidentally, the god that Basdia had seen before was Fidirg, the Dragon God of Five Sins. He had kneeled on the ground and begged Vandalieu for his life the moment he appeared; it did indeed seem that he would have misunderstandings.

"No, it is not necessarily a misunderstanding. From Zanalpadna's point of view, perhaps the battle against the Noble Orc kingdom was enough to be expressed as a trial," said Zadiris.

"Gods aren't omnipotent, after all. And there are various deep aspects to Vandalieu-sama," said Eleanora.

I see, Vandalieu thought, almost completely convinced by their words.

"I see... Well, that is likely the case. Perhaps I misinterpreted the Divine Message. The only idea I have is the Trial of Zakkart, but it does not seem that you seek that," Queen Donaneris murmured.

"The Trial of Zakkart?" Vandalieu repeated the legendary Dungeon's name. "Isn't that the Dungeon that appears about once every month in a different place?"

"Hmm? The Trial of Zakkart does indeed disappear to a different place after approximately a month if there is nobody inside it, but it always appears once a year in the sacred land in which the goddess slumbers," said Queen Donaneris.

It seemed that the mysterious Dungeon that was supposedly a wandering Dungeon appeared regularly in only one place, the sacred land in the southern region of the continent.

"The Trial of Zakkart..." Vandalieu murmured.

The last remaining culprits behind Vandalieu's mother's death, the Five-colored Blades, were led by the S-class adventurer Heinz who had undoubtedly solidified his position as a hero in the Orbaume Kingdom by now. The Trial of Zakkart was an extremely high-difficulty Dungeon that had been challenged by them, resulting in the loss of a party member and forcing them to retreat.

Vandalieu wasn't particularly interested in the act of clearing the Dungeon itself. He wasn't, but... what if the corpse of Heinz's party member was still left inside? Vandalieu didn't care if it was only the skull; if he could get his hands on that, repair it, put a soul in it to turn it into an Undead and bring it before Heinz, what kind of expression would Heinz make?

Wouldn't this be at least some small revenge against those three who were difficult to lay a hand on due to their positions in society as righteous people, despite having captured Darcia and sold her to a religious fanatic for loose change?

There would be nothing better than for them to become enraged and attack Vandalieu in their anger. That would allow him to kill them in self-defense.

Of course, this would only happen after Vandalieu was properly registered as an adventurer with his Undead registered as familiars, acquired a proper social status, and most importantly, after he acquired the strength he needed to turn the tables on Heinz and his companions.

"... When will the Trial of Zakkart appear?" Vandalieu asked.

"I do not know that much. It is certain that it appears once every year, but the month it appears changes every year," said Queen Donaneris. "However, it should not have appeared yet this year. If it had, the Dark Elf nation would have sent messengers to every other nation... though they might not be in the state to do that now."

"I see. Let us try challenging it after defeating Bugitas," said Vandalieu.

He couldn't prioritize his harassment of Heinz over the war when he didn't know when he would execute the harassment or whether the corpse he needed for it was still there. The trial would come later.

But hearing Vandalieu declare that he would challenge the Trial of Zakkart, Queen Donaneris, Kurnelia and even Budarion looked at him as if they were looking at a champion.

Well, it was a Dungeon that had repelled even Heinz's party, who had been A-class adventurers at the time, so perhaps even attempting to clear the Dungeon was worthy of respect.

"M-my word. So, you intend to challenge Zakkart, Shrine-Maiden-dono," said Myuze, shuddering.

"Perhaps I have been saved by an unimaginably great person... Queen! No, Mother! Once the fight with Bugitas and his ilk ends, I wish to offer my blade and my life to Shrine-Maiden-dono! Please allow me to do this!" Gizania spoke these outrageous words with flushed cheeks.

"Gizania, I do not mind if you change occupations, but please treat your life with care," said Vandalieu.

"Alriiight! Let's go, kid! A Dungeon that nobody's cleared before, this is getting my blood boiling!" Borkus shouted.

"Borkus, calm down. We'll be going after defeating Bugitas," Vandalieu told him.

"Now then, I would like to decide the conditions for providing our reinforcements!" shouted the loud voice of Kurt, who was once the commander of a tower, subduing the others who had started becoming noisy.

Once he had confirmed that all attention was on him, he began reciting the conditions for joining the war that had been decided at a meeting with Chezare and the others.

"First, those under the command of the Eclipse King Vandalieu must be treated as allies and not harmed, no matter who or what they may be. Next, everything that is captured by our army as a result of battle, even corpses, we will gain ownership of. I wish for these conditions to be acknowledged."

Queen Donaneris and Bakota had put themselves on guard as they listened to these two conditions; now, they looked puzzled.

"... No, are these conditions not to be expected?" said Bakota.

It was common sense to treat reinforcements as allies and not cause them any harm. The second condition, the acknowledgement of possession of all captured