Christian B. ($20), Julien M. ($20), Zachary H. ($20), Sam K. ($20), Zachary Z. ($10), Douglas E.M. ($10), Chuasaichwing ($10), Jacob K. ($10), Damian D. ($5), Max F. ($5), Andrei S. ($5), Tshuki ($5), Katrina M. ($5), Dante A.S.P. ($5)

"Please, come on into the office," said the middle-aged Deputy Guild Master Joseph with a friendly-looking smile.

Vandalieu was a little hesitant.

"Vandalieu-sama, a Deputy Guild Master would never personally handle a temporary registration. It is certain that he is planning something… However, it would be unwise to openly disobey him, so I believe it best that you follow him to the office," Chipuras advised.

"Alright," said Vandalieu, giving a nod both to Chipuras and Joseph.

Chipuras"s advice was reasonable, and he did have a bad feeling, but there was no reaction from Danger Sense: Death. This meant that even in the worst-case scenario, he would be able to make his way out of the situation with brute force.

Even without using Soul Destruction Fighting Technique and magic, it would be easy for Vandalieu to destroy the Commerce Guild building and leave if he went on a rampage with his claws.

"What will you do in the meantime, Mom?" Vandalieu asked Darcia.

"Let"s see… Maybe I"ll go ahead and change Jobs, then," said Darcia. "Merchants" employees can use the Job-changing room, right?" she asked Joseph.

"Yes, of course - You"re mother and son?!" Joseph exclaimed in surprise, looking from Darcia"s face to Vandalieu"s.

The receptionist behind him seemed surprised as well, but she didn"t express it.

"… His true thoughts appear on his face, in his behavior and even in his words, even more so than the receptionist who looks to be around twenty years old. I, Chipuras, feel some unease as to whether this city"s Commerce Guild can be relied upon," said Chipuras.

Vandalieu felt the same unease as Chipuras, but he responded to Joseph"s question.

"Yes, I take after my father, so my mother and I don"t look alike. But one of my eyes is the same color as hers," he said.

"I-I see… Well, in any case, please follow me," said Joseph, the expression of surprise still fixed on his face as he led Vandalieu to the office.

Joseph motioned for Vandalieu to sit down on a chair inside the room, so Vandalieu sat down. Joseph began speaking immediately.

"So, you wish to open a food cart… Why in this city in particular?" he asked Vandalieu. "You were not born and raised here, nor were you living in any neighboring village or city, were you?"

"Is an explanation of the motive behind my business required for the temporary registration?" Vandalieu asked in turn.

"I apologize if I have upset you, but you are a special case. After all, you are a Dhampir… That Dark Elf lady is your real mother, isn"t she? Not your adoptive mother. Thus, it is only natural for me to be curious," Joseph explained. "Why is a Dhampir like you trying to start a food cart business in a city that should be unfamiliar to you?"

Joseph did not have access to some special information network, but as he worked at the Commerce Guild, all kinds of information found its way to his ears. If there had been a Dark Elf and her Dhampir child living in this place or the surrounding areas, there would certainly have been rumors about them, and Joseph would have heard them.

The fact that he had not heard of them meant that this Dhampir and his mother had come from another land.

The city of Morksi was renowned within the Alcrem Duchy for being a commerce hub, but there were several cities in the duchy that were just as large. Why had Vandalieu chosen this city in particular?

And the thing that Joseph was most curious about was… Why a food cart?

"Since you are a Dhampir, you could earn much greater profits by becoming an adventurer, could you not? And you have been living in a Dark Elf settlement up until now, I a.s.sume? I am sure that you did not come to this city just to begin a food cart business," Joseph said.

"I see. Vandalieu-sama, this man has not heard any rumors regarding you and Darcisama, so he is a.s.suming that you were living in the Dark Elf settlement that Darcisama was born in," explained Chipuras.

Vandalieu understood this, but he gave a small internal sigh at how troublesome this was.

"… Due to certain circ.u.mstances, we had to leave the place that we have been living in until now, and I came to this city with my mother to begin a new life in a new land. I chose to start a food cart business rather than become an adventurer because I am more interested in business than adventuring. That"s all," he told Joseph.

Now that Darcia was here, this was the story that had replaced his previous story of being an apprentice who was fortunate enough to survive a bandit attack. It was different from the story that he had told the guards Kest and Aggar the previous day, but even if Joseph were to investigate that far, Vandalieu intended to push through by telling him, "Sorry, I lied. Is there a problem with that?"

After all, it wasn"t illegal to lie to guards.

Smuggling contraband goods into the city and evading taxes would be illegal, and it was also of course illegal to lie to guards that were investigating a crime. However, as long as no crime was involved, there was no problem with lying to guards while entering the city.

This was possibly difficult to believe from the perspective of someone from Earth, particularly someone from modern-day j.a.pan. But if visitors to the city were treated so strictly, less people would come, and if the guards held too much authority, it would be difficult to detect corruption.

Of course, Vandalieu was only able to be as defiant as he was because he had taken over the city"s criminal organization.

But if he asks too many questions, I"ll have to have Eleanora and the others do something, so I want him to stop, Vandalieu thought.

Perhaps sensing how Vandalieu felt, or perhaps this topic was only a preface to the main topic coming up ahead, Joseph stopped his questioning.

"I see," he said. "Let us leave it at that… So, moving on the main topic, do you have any interest in religion?"

It seemed that it was the latter. Joseph was wearing a beaming smile.

"Despite my appearance, I am well-known to be a humble worshiper of Alda, and Alda"s peaceful faction, which advocates that we should co-exist with Vida"s races, has gained much influence in the Orbaume Kingdom as of late. Even here in the Alcrem Duchy, they are becoming a force whose influence we cannot ignore," he said.

"… I have heard as much during my travels," said Vandalieu.

He was aware of this even without Joseph telling him.

Only humans had previously been able to become guards, government officials and knights in the Alcrem Duchy. Vida"s Church had protested over a long period of time, demanding a change to the system, and in recent years, they had received support from Alda"s peaceful faction.

The system had been revised, and Vida"s races were now able to become public workers such as guards, like the Beast-kin Kest that Vandalieu had met at the city"s gate.

… It was unpleasant for Vandalieu to think about this, but all of this was largely because of the influence of the "Blue-flamed Sword" Heinz, the leader of the Five-colored Blades.

It wasn"t that Heinz had personally come to the Alcrem Duchy to express his objections to the duke. The duke had simply accepted the suggestions of Vida"s Church and Alda"s peaceful faction after Heinz became an honorary earl.

It was likely that the duke had wanted to show Heinz, a national hero, that he was willing to actively make compromises.

Thus, the persecution of Vida"s races had decreased within the Alcrem Duchy at least on the surface, but it had not disappeared completely, and Heinz almost never visited the Alcrem Duchy, so there was almost n.o.body a.s.sociated to the Five-colored Blades here. That was why Vandalieu had thought that it would be the perfect place for his plan.

If he had gone to a Duchy where the influence of Vida"s Church was strong, there might have been people insisting on protecting him because he was a Dhampir. But if he had gone to a Duchy where Alda"s extremist faction were influential, then he would likely have run into trouble very frequently.

The Alcrem Duchy was right in between these two points.

"So, what is this main topic?" Vandalieu asked, curious as to why Joseph had brought up this information as if he were well-informed on the matter.

Joseph put a hand on his chin, and his smile grew even broader. "Impatient, I see. I believe that the strategic use of words is one of the thrills of business, but I suppose you will learn that with experience," he said. "I would like to propose a scheme that would make us very rich. If I use my connections, I could arrange a meeting with the S-cla.s.s adventurer Heinz, who is the symbol of Alda"s peaceful faction, and those involved with him. I am sure that there is no need for me to describe just how many business opportunities there would be if one had connections to the Five-colored Blades, who are national heroes and honorary n.o.bles, and those a.s.sociated with them… We are talking about sums of money that you could never earn in a lifetime of running a food cart business. This is a chance that cannot be missed -"

"I decline," said Vandalieu.

It seemed that his bad feeling had been right. Chipuras gave a silent prayer for Joseph, who had inadvertently stepped on a landmine.

After Darcia finished her Job change, she was waiting in the lobby in front of the front desk when an expressionless but tired-looking Vandalieu returned.

"Our discussion has finished… That man doesn"t know when to give up," he said as he casted Silence, a barrier that prevented oscillations of air particles from pa.s.sing through, so that the receptionist who had returned to the front desk couldn"t listen in on their conversation.

"Welcome back, Vandalieu. What kind of discussion was it?" Darcia asked.

"Nothing important. It seems that he wanted to use me to make connections to people a.s.sociated to the Five-colored Blades."

"He is not suited to scheming," Chipuras remarked. "He is third-rate as an actor."

Joseph had pretended to offer Vandalieu a way to get rich quickly. But as Chipuras said, his true intentions were so obvious that even Vandalieu, who was not very good at reading what other people were really thinking, could see them.

If Vandalieu thought about it, he did understand… but no matter how valuable a connection with S-cla.s.s adventurers who were also honorary n.o.bles and their a.s.sociates would be, no matter how vast the sums of money moving if they were entrusted with work would be, these were not things that a boy starting a food cart business could handle.

It seemed that Joseph had not believed Vandalieu"s lies, but he certainly wouldn"t suspect that he was the emperor who ruled the region within the Boundary Mountain Range and the Dark Continent.

Thus, if the scheme that Joseph had suggested to Vandalieu actually materialized, the profits would largely enter his own pockets.

At the very least, he had likely planned it that way. Joseph had persistently hounded Vandalieu, and Vandalieu had left the office after repeatedly turning the scheme down.

"That"s… What a problematic person. He has a high position in society, too," Darcia sighed.

She knew that although he was on the small scale for a villain, he had considerably high status within the Commerce Guild, so it would be difficult for Vandalieu to silence him by brainwashing him using Mental Encroachment.

Darcia drew closer to whisper in Vandalieu"s ear. "Did Eleanorsan and the others not tell you anything about that Joseph person?" she asked.

There was no way that Eleanora and the others who had taken over the city"s criminal organization would have no knowledge of individuals related to the organization or those that the organization was keeping under surveillance. That was what Darcia thought.

But Vandalieu shook his head lifelessly. "I did ask them about the Commerce Guild. I heard that the Guild Master and the three Deputy Guild Masters were harmless people who think of nothing but schemes to make money, but that"s all."

"… Umm, so what exactly does that mean?" Darcia asked, confused.

Vandalieu paused for a moment before answering. "In other words, he"s not connected to the criminal organization, but it seems that he"s still problematic for me."

Joseph had been tiresome for Vandalieu, but he was not a criminal. He had tried to use his words to take advantage of Vandalieu, but even that wasn"t some kind of fraudulent plan; it was merely business talk.

Joseph"s personality and history may not have been praiseworthy. There were probably moral issues with his everyday deeds, too. But he hadn"t done anything causing him to attract the attention of the criminal organization.

That was why Eleanora and the others had not given Vandalieu any warning about him.

"The guard named Aggar who forced a small bribe from Vandalieu-sama is the same. I believe that these small things do not deserve the attention of a criminal organization, so Eleanora and the others did not think that you should be cautious of him," said Chipuras.

"But according to him, he can introduce Vandalieu to those people, right? Then doesn"t that mean that he"s related to Alda"s peaceful faction or something?" said Darcia.

"Mom, anyone protecting a Dhampir would be able to meet those guys and the people a.s.sociated with them," said Vandalieu.

The Five-colored Blades were taking care of a Dhampir girl, Selen. If there were a Dhampir in the country other than her, Alda"s peaceful faction would respond even to a proposed introduction from someone whose face and name was completely unknown.

That was the extent of the "connections" that Joseph had mentioned. He had essentially been pretending.

"As someone who was once in the same position, what do you think?" Vandalieu asked Chipuras.

"… Even as a merchant, I believe he is third-rate," Chipuras replied, giving his opinion on Joseph as someone who had once been a Deputy Guild Master of a Commerce Guild himself. "The fact that his true intentions were easily seen through by Vandalieu-sama already puts him below an apprentice, and his scheme itself is also sloppy. Perhaps it would be possible for him to earn great sums of money if he were to take advantage of Vandalieu-sama to create connections with those people - This was what had occurred to him the moment he heard that a Dhampir has come to make a temporary registration, and he simply jumped at the chance."

It seemed that this was the case. Vandalieu was aware that he wasn"t good at telling what other people were thinking, so he gave a nod, not denying Chipuras"s conclusion.

"In other words, Vandalieu looked like such an easy mark that he attracted the eyes of even someone that we"d normally never need to be cautious of," said Darcia.

"I think that"s right. It just so happened that Joseph was at the Guild today so he was the one who got involved, but if we came yesterday or tomorrow instead, I"m sure another Deputy Guild Master or the Guild Master himself would have gotten involved in the same way," said Vandalieu.

"… Drawing attention is pretty hard, isn"t it," said Darcia, giving a deep sigh. But her face quickly lit up again. "Still, we shouldn"t be worrying about it this much. It was something that was bound to happen after the fact that you"re a Dhampir became known," she said.

"Concealing my race would have made it harder to draw Birkyne out, and it would also have hindered the missionary work that will be done later… Even if I disguised myself as a human or Elf, I"d probably have looked suspicious," Vandalieu said in agreement.

It would have been possible for him to conceal his race by using the Demon King"s ink sacs to change the color of his pupils. However, that would put his social position at risk.

And in any case… it would be problematic if people were to find out about Vandalieu"s claws, the fangs that protruded from his mouth, his regenerative abilities that no human could possibly possess or his Dark Vision that gave him the ability to see in complete darkness as if it were the middle of the day.

If he made it clear that he was a Dhampir, such things would not arouse any suspicion. And if anyone were to see that he clearly had better Attribute Values than should be normal for his age, if they were not very well-informed about Dhampirs, they would just a.s.sume that it was because of his rare race.

"But it would be troublesome if he were to hold a grudge against Vandalieu-sama for refusing his scheme, and abuse his authority to cause problems for us. I shall go and tell Eleanora and the others to investigate him and keep watch," said Chipuras.

"No, please stay with us, Chipuras," Vandalieu instructed him. "I"ll have another Ghost deliver the message… I would feel uneasy without an advisor."

Chipuras seemed happy that Vandalieu was relying on him, but his smile was a little stiff. "Vandalieu-sama, it is true that I have infiltrated a Commerce Guild before, but… there are times when I am unable to recall my memories from when I was alive, and I have never conducted a food cart business," he said.

Chipuras had been a subordinate of the Pure-breed Vampire Ternecia, and he had infiltrated the Commerce Guild for the benefit of the evil-G.o.d-worshiping Vampire organization. He"d had no true intentions of being a merchant.

It seemed that he was uncertain as to whether he would meet Vandalieu"s expectations if he relied on him too much for advice as a merchant.

"Chipuras, I understand what you"re trying to say. But you"re far more reliable than an amateur like me, so I"m counting on you," said Vandalieu.

He was even more of an amateur than Chipuras. Chipuras was currently the biggest source of mental support for him after Darcia.

"… Very well. I, Chipuras, shall once again do everything I can in my limited ability for your sake, Vandalieu-sama," said Chipuras.

"So that settles things, then. Pull yourself together and go and change Jobs, Vandalieu," said Darcia. "I"ve gained the "Magic Staff Clothing User" Job, so I"ll be able to make better use of the staff that you made for me."

"I see. You will transform to act as the skewer cart"s salesperson? That should certainly increase profits," Chipuras remarked.

"… Chipuras-san?" Darcia said, looking sternly at Chipuras.

"I-I have said something terribly rude! Please forgive me!" Chipuras stuttered hastily.

And in the next moment, the muscular Vampire Ghost retreated inside Vandalieu to hide.

"He doesn"t have to be that scared of me," Darcia muttered. "Have you decided what kind of Job you"re going to choose, Vandalieu?"

"For now. I was thinking of choosing one that would grant Luciliano and Doug"s wishes. I was also considering a leader Job that would give me large increases to my Attribute Values, since I lost to Heinz"s party, but… considering the situation at the time, I think the result wouldn"t have changed even if I had 50% more Attribute Values than I have now. Well then, I"ll be back," said Vandalieu as he headed for the Guild"s Job-changing room.

This Guild"s Job-changing room had been built at the far end of a corridor, which also had its own door. Those using it would enter the corridor, lock the door from the inside and then go through the corridor into the Job-changing room.

Though Jobs weren"t as important here as in the Adventurers" Guild, which Jobs which people had was still important information in the Commerce Guild.

《Jobs that can be selected: Whip Tongue Calamity, Vengeful Berserker, Dead Spirit Mage, Dark King Mage, Divine Enemy, Fallen Warrior, Insect Nin, Destruction Guider, Bestower, Dungeon Master, Demon King, Chaos Guider, Hollow King Mage, Eclipse Cursecaster, String User, Demon Ruler, Creator, Demiurge, Pale Rider, Tartarus, Wild Spirit, Dark Battery Cannoneer, Magic Staff Creator, Soul Fighter, G.o.d Destroyer, Dream Guider, Qliphoth》

The available Jobs were displayed in Vandalieu"s consciousness as he touched the crystal, and as usual, there were more new Jobs. "Magic Staff Creator" was there because he had created transformation staves, and "Soul Fighter" was related to the "Soul Destruction Fighting Technique" Skill that he had awakened yesterday. The "G.o.d Destroyer" Job had likely appeared because he had destroyed Curatos, the G.o.d of records.

Curatos was not the first G.o.d Vandalieu had destroyed. But now that he thought about it, Curatos was perhaps the first G.o.d he had destroyed that was one of the G.o.ds that had originally existed in this world from the very beginning, rather than a G.o.d belonging to the Demon King"s army.

As for "Dream Guider," he could think of a hundred reasons it had appeared if he glanced back at his recent past. However, he couldn"t think of a single one for the last Job on the list, "Qliphoth."

"Qliphoth"… I have no idea what it even means. Even for new Jobs, there probably shouldn"t be any with their t.i.tles containing entirely newly created words, so I"ll ask everyone about it later, Vandalieu thought.

And so, he decided to leave figuring out the mysterious Job for later and choosing the Job that he had planned to take.

"I select "Bestower,"" he said.

He chose the "Bestower" Job that seemed like it would allow him to lead Luciliano and Doug beyond the bounds of humanity.

He a.s.sumed that the "Bestower" Job could cause a change in those whom he granted fragments of himself to. He thought that perhaps it would cause some effect in those who were granted his fragments… in other words, those who consumed the Blood Potion made from his own blood and the fragments of the Demon King that had become a part of him.

《You have acquired the "Bestower" Job!》

《You have acquired the "Mutation Induction" Skill!》

""Mutation Induction"… I"ve only ever caused experimental animals to turn into monsters from drinking Blood Potion, so isn"t it a little strange for me to acquire a Skill named that?" Vandalieu wondered. "Umm, let"s see, Luciliano and Doug are -"

Thinking that perhaps something might have happened, Vandalieu sent his consciousness to a pseudo-main-body-type Demon King Familiar in Talosheim.

Several dozen people were in Talosheim"s underground workshop, waiting for Vandalieu"s Job change.

"The main body has now acquired the "Bestower" Job and acquired a Unique Skill named "Mutation Induction," reported the pseudo-main-body-type Demon King Familiar that possessed a capsule-shaped head containing countless fist-sized brains. "Has anything unusual occurred to your bodies?"

Luciliano, Doug, the young girls who had become addicted to Vandalieu"s guidance and Emma hastily checked their bodies.

"Hmm… Pulse, heartbeat sound, respiration and body temperature are normal. There does not seem to have been any change," said Luciliano.

"Our appearances haven"t changed either. Our skin and eyes haven"t changed color, and we haven"t grown fangs or anything either. Right?" said Doug.

"Yes, you haven"t grown a tail or wings or any extra eyes," said Melissa, who was accompanying Doug.

As far as she could tell, no changes had occurred in any of the young girls, either.

"There are no changes to the experimental animals, either. Maybe this was a failure?" said Legion"s Enma.

Perhaps Vandalieu"s intuition had been wrong this time. But just as everyone began to think this, it happened.

"Hmm? Ugh… Gah! I thought I was merely imagining it, but my body has suddenly grown hot, and I am experiencing heart palpitations, shortness of breath and dizziness! I am unable to remain standing!" Luciliano shouted as he collapsed onto the floor.

"Hey, Ossan, your joke is a bit too forced, it"s not funny - W-woah, I"m experiencing similar symptoms!" shouted Doug.

"Doug?!" Melissa exclaimed in surprise.

"Everyone, please sit down. You might injure yourselves or collide with other people if you collapse, so sit down first," instructed the pseudo-main-body-type Demon King Familiar.

It wasn"t just Luciliano collapsing as he described the symptoms that he was experiencing; the same symptoms had also occurred in Doug.

The young girls quickly obeyed the Demon King Familiar"s instructions and sat down on the floor, and they seemed to begin experiencing the same symptoms immediately afterwards.

"Hey, they"re going to be alright, right?" said Melissa, looking up at the Demon King Familiar for rea.s.surance as she felt Doug"s body growing hotter and hotter in her arms.

"It seems that there is no danger to their lives, so I believe that these are the side-effects of some kind of mutation that is currently occurring inside them," the Demon King Familiar said.

All it knew was that these symptoms were not the effects of some kind of poison, and their lives were not in danger.

"Melissa… If I do change race, there"s something I need to tell you…" Doug groaned, struggling to speak as he lay in Melissa"s arms.

"Doug, save your sinister jokes for later!" said Melissa.

"No, I"m not trying to set up a death flag by making a joke… There"s something I really need to tell you! Wait, huh? I"m fine now?" said Doug, suddenly realizing that his extreme heart palpitations and dizziness were gone.

He was still a little hot and out of breath, but even that was fading away.

"W-what was that?" Melissa asked, bewildered.

"As Master said, it seems that it was a side-effect of some ongoing mutation," said Luciliano, standing up and wiping the sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief as if nothing had happened. "Look at your Statuses to see what has happened. It should be very clear," he told everyone else.

"I feel it, I feel it! I can feel Vandalieu-sama so strongly!" said one of the girls.

"Ah, it feels like I"ve returned to back when I was first rescued!" said another.

"… It seems that there are many children who can tell that something has occurred without checking," said Luciliano.

"I can"t tell, so I"ll check my Status… Dark Human?!" Doug exclaimed, finding that his race had changed from human to Dark Human.

Job Explanation:

Spirit Warrior

A Job that can be acquired by someone with an affinity for the death attribute, has experienced death, possesses the "Spirit Form" Skill and possesses the "Unarmed Combat Technique" Skill at a certain Level or above.

It is a Job that offers a bonus to the "Materialization" Skill which allows the user to materialize their own spirit form and use them in place of their own limbs or as weapons. It is a Job that is mainly related to the "Unarmed Combat Technique" Skill, in the same category as Jobs such as "Unarmed Fighter."

Job explanation:

Magical Idol

A Job that can be acquired by someone who has acquired magic-related Skills and possesses a transformation staff made specifically for them. It provides bonuses to the Singing, Dancing and Staff Technique Skills in addition to magic-related Skills.

Mage-type Jobs grant low Attribute Value growth except Mana and Intelligence, but this Job also provides large bonuses to Vitality, Agility and Stamina.

According to Kanako Tsuchiya, the first one to discover this Job in this world, "Idols can"t afford to run out of stamina!"

TLN: In previous chapters, the "Bestower" Job was translated as "Enchanter." Given its description in this chapter, I have retranslated it.