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

That night, Vandalieu was invited to the Divine Realm of Garess, the G.o.d 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 G.o.d 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 t.i.tle 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 G.o.ds, 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 Vidsama. 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 Yursan, 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’ t.i.tle 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 apt.i.tude for it.”

“Thank you for this important gift,” said Vandalieu, and then he woke up.

But the part of Garess that he had received was nowhere to be found. It was likely not a physical object.

“Well, since I’ve received it, I should be able to use it when I need to.”

『You have acquired the ‘Oni Emperor’ t.i.tle!』

Vandalieu’s party departed the Kijin nation and headed for the next nation that he was planning to visit.

“Vandalieu-sama! Please make sure to come and get me later!” said Tarea, who was remaining behind for a while to continue exchanging smithing techniques.

“Vandalieu, make sure you come and visit again!” said Oniwaka.

Partway through the journey, Darcia gave him a warning for some reason. “Vandalieu, even if you’re challenged to tests of strengths at the other nations, you can’t use your tongue anymore. You definitely must not touch people’s faces with it,” she said.

“But Mom, my tongue is quite effective as a weapon,” Vandalieu protested as he licked the Gehenna Bee eggs that Quinn was continuing to lay in Sam’s carriage to make them clean. “It’s flexible, and since it’s mostly made of muscle, I can use it to land striking blows. And it also gains bonuses from the Unarmed Fighting Technique Skill. It’s easy to catch my opponents off-guard with it, and even if it gets cut off, it’s regrown by my Rapid Regeneration Skill, much faster than an arm or a leg.”

He continued licking the eggs as he explained the advantages of his tongue. He looked just like a worker bee.

Incidentally, Quinn was next to him, continuing to lay new legs from the bee abdomen that protruded from her waist. She was not only laying them but looking after them properly as well, but Vandalieu was doing her work for her as well as a worker bee, so she didn’t have much to do in that regard.

“Bocchan has completely become a loving parent… leaving that aside, we understand why your tongue is effective as a weapon, but you can’t use it,” said Rita.

“Please don’t hit your opponent’s face with it. It was only on Oniwaksan’s cheek, but even so, Yursan made a real fuss about it!” said Saria.

It seemed that Yura hadn’t simply become close to them.

She had become a friend, but at the same time, a difficult person to negotiate with.

“Dannsama, Darcisama is not saying that it is cowardly or damaging to your reputation to use your tongue. It is just that perhaps you used it on the wrong person… as you did it to the face,” Bellmond said ambiguously.

Hearing her speak like this, Vandalieu started to think that there might be a problem.

It was true that it might have been a bad idea to attack the face with his tongue. If it were to hit the lips, it would be a kiss, even if Vandalieu didn’t mean for it to be one.

Oniwaka, the only son of an important family, had his cheeks licked in a public place. Yura couldn’t be blamed for using that fact to negotiate.

“I used my tongue thinking that it was the same as a punch or kick, but now that you mention it, it might have been problematic,” Vandalieu said, scratching his head.

It didn’t seem that Oniwaka himself had minded, but Vandalieu started to feel bad for what he’d done. He decided to apologize later.

“No, Your Majesty. Things might become more complicated if you apologize. Yursan was ecstatic about offering Oniwaksan,” said Princess Levia.

“It seems that you get along well, and she said it should definitely happen for the sake of a prosperous future for both nations. She was really enthusiastic; she said that we should decide a time to discuss things,” said Orbia.

According to these two, it seemed that Yura didn’t mind, either. That was good, but Vandalieu was confused as to why she was offering her son.

And then he suddenly realized.

“… Could it be that Oniwaka is a daughter, not a son?”

“… So, you didn’t notice,” said Darcia.

“Dannsama, Oniwaka is apparently a historical childhood name, used by the first child of the Kijin king,” said Bellmond. “It seems that this name was in the records left behind by the champion Hillwillow, and it originates from the Kijin ancestor believing that it was the name of a famous Oni and naming his own child after him.”

“Incidentally, her real name is apparently Yuuma,” said Saria.

Vandalieu finally realized that he had mistaken things all along.

“Well, you can’t really tell, can you?” said Rita. “Her voice is high but husky, and she’s always wearing armor. We didn’t know either until Yursan told us at the feast.”

“Her tone and behavior are like those of a boy, too. She loves muscles as well. Her face is a girl’s face, but with so many male-like factors, it’s impossible to notice,” said Orbia.

Despite Rita and Orbia defending him, Vandalieu started to feel overwhelmed.

“When I asked her what kind of women she liked at the feast, she said that she preferred someone with more muscle than herself, so I thought it was strange, but… to think it was a jou-chan, not a boy,” Borkus muttered.

“No, she is very much a tomboy of a princess,” said Sam. “So, what will you do now, Bocchan?”

“… It would be strange to start treating her as a girl now, so I will treat her as a kindred-spirit as I’ve done up until now,” said Vandalieu. “But if I have to fight at the other nations, I’ll make sure not to use my tongue anywhere above the neck.”

“Ooohn?” Knochen groaned.

“Jyuuh, the society of people is troublesome,” Bone Man remarked. “To think that problems would arise just from having a mouth and tongue.”

“Even though licking each other is so comforting, too,” said Vandalieu.

It seemed that Knochen and Bone Mans’ views were different from those of people; they seemed to find it strange that the living were saying these things.

The next nation to be visited was the Harpy nation, and Vandalieu received many challenges from the Harpies. But it wasn’t because they doubted Vandalieu like Oniwaka and the others had; everyone considered it as an event and challenged him because it was a ‘rare chance.’

But the challenges were not fights.

“On your marks… go!” Princess Levia shouted.

At her signal, Vandalieu and the land-type Harpies began their athletics race.