Death Mage 255 – Those moving behind the scenes in the capital

Starving Wolf Security had procured a building through connections that had existed since the days of being a criminal organization. It was a warehouse that also served as a residence, and it was on the boundary between Alcrem"s commercial district and residential area.

The first floor was a storage s.p.a.ce that could house several carriages and other items, and there was a stable on the grounds as well. The living s.p.a.ce was on the second floor, and although each room was small, there were many of them.

The building had originally been built for merchants who ran companies. However, the living s.p.a.ce was too cheap for a wealthy merchant, and yet the building was too large and its rent too expensive for merchants with small or medium-sized businesses.

That was why it had been possible to use this building on short notice.

“Well then, I"ll leave the luggage here. Good work on getting here, everybody!” said Vivi, who was wearing lipstick of the same color as Miles"s.

“Good work,” said Vandalieu.

Vivi and the other Starving Wolf Security personnel stored everything away in the warehouse part of the building, but they didn"t head towards the second floor; they began getting ready to leave.

“But are you sure about this? Us being in an inn and everyone else staying here? Shouldn"t it be the other way round?” Vivi asked, looking perplexed.

This building wasn"t particularly shabby. However, the rooms on the second floor were not very large, and they didn"t even have any furniture.

Renting rooms at a middle-range inn would result in a much more pleasant stay.

And yet, such rooms would be rather extravagant for mere workers and employees. That was why Vivi thought that the accommodation arrangements would normally be reversed.

“It"s alright, Vivi-san. We won"t be using the second floor,” said Darcia.

Vivi and the other Starving Wolf Security personnel were shocked by the thought of Vandalieu and his companions staying on the first floor that had nothing but a s.p.a.ce of dirt to store carriages and a storage area with a hard wooden floor. But in the next moment, they remembered that Gizania was here.

“With us being present, I do not think any inn in the city would let us in. And… those stairs are too narrow for me,” Gizania said, looking at her enormous, spider-like lower body half.

She was larger than a carriage; she would certainly become stuck if she tried to climb the stairs of this building.

“Well, I am sure we would be disliked just as much as Gizanidono,” said Myuze, an Empusa, as she showed the sharp blades of her sickle-arms.

“Even though we"re members of Vida"s races, we have body parts that other people don"t have,” said Privel, raising the tentacles of her lower body half. “I"d probably make the floor all slippery, too… And to begin with, the rooms of the inns in this city wouldn"t be very pleasant to stay in for us.”

Indeed, the inns in this city were built to be pleasant and relaxing for humans. Even the highest-end inn wouldn"t be pleasant to stay in for Gizania or Privel.

“And Myuze and I probably wouldn"t be given rooms anyway. Ghouls and mysterious mantis-people aren"t known to be races of Vida,” Kachia pointed out.

“Ah!” said Myuze, stunned by this realization. “You are absolutely right!”

“That"s why we all want to just stay on the first floor together, since it"ll be more fun that way. We can sleep in the carriage at night, and it"s not like we"re staying in this city for months,” said Vandalieu.

“I see,” said Vivi, convinced.

She possessed the "Intuition" Skill, but it didn"t allow her to read the future or the past. It only allowed her to sense danger quickly and, in some situations, allow her to tell which path of action was correct to take when presented with multiple options.

“I understand now! Well then, we will excuse ourselves!” Vivi said.

“We"ll still be in the city, so let us know if you need anything!” said another Starving Wolf Security member.

Vivi and the rest of the Starving Wolf Security personnel, who hadn"t forgotten to color their own lips, decided to back down.

Judging from the behavior of Vandalieu and his companions, they could sense that there were accommodation facilities in the city that even a Scylla and Arachne would be able to spend the nights in comfortably, but it was better for them not to press the matter.

They might get an explanation if they asked, but once they found out, there would be no going back. Their "Intuition" Skills told them this.

It would be best to mentally prepare themselves and ask again later, or wait for Vandalieu and Miles to decide to tell them.

Having made this decision, Vivi and the others left the building.

“Well then, once we get our luggage sorted out, let"s go to the Tamers" Guild,” said Vandalieu, oblivious to the inner thought processes of the Starving Wolf Security personnel. “Are you going to the Church of Vida, Mom?”

“Yes, but before that,” said Darcia, pulling Vandalieu aside. “Make sure you think about why you tried to glare at that knight with your Demon Eyes. I can"t imagine that the same thing would happen at the Tamers" Guild, but Bachem-san is there as well, isn"t he? You can"t go causing trouble for him.”

Bachem, the Guild Master of the Morksi branch, had been summoned to the Guild headquarters in Alcrem. He had departed for Alcrem after Vandalieu and his companions on the back of his Huge Wyvern… which had gained a Rank and become a Greater Wyvern after the battle at Morksi"s front gate. It was likely that he had arrived already.

Darcia was worried that causing trouble in Bachem"s presence would damage his reputation. Of course, she was also worried that there would be some unfortunate victim.

“That might be true, Darcisan, but Van said he doesn"t know why, and even if he thinks about it, he won"t be able to come up with an answer right away, will he?” said Privel.

“Mom, Privel, you"re right, but after some pondering, I"ve got a good idea as to why I did that,” said Vandalieu.

“You do?! When did you figure it out?!” said Privel, taken aback.

“I thought about it while I was walking with Myuze and Kachia holding my hands, after you released me from your tentacles,” said Vandalieu.

He had used the "Group Thought Processing" Skill and dedicated half of his thought processing power to conduct a self-a.n.a.lysis. He had discussed the issue with himself, as well as the false image that he had fused with in the "Trial of Zakkart," and his shadow self that had formed when he absorbed the Demon King"s shadow.

Someone from earth might describe this behavior as that of an alien that was being captured, and Privel and the others hadn"t imagined that he would be doing such a thing, which was why they were so surprised.

TLN: I don"t really understand this description by the author either, but I"ve translated it as well as I can.

“There have been plenty of instances where my friends have been hurt, including Fang, during Leveling in Devil"s Nests and Dungeons, duels and battles to the death. And even though they were hurt far more badly than Fang was in this case, I wasn"t overcome by an insuppressible rage. Considering that, I have come to the conclusion that the cause was the situation in which Fang was attacked,” Vandalieu explained.

“The situation?” Darcia repeated.

“I think it was the situation where Fang couldn"t avoid the attack or retaliate, and had no choice but to simply stand there and take it,” said Vandalieu.

The situation he described was one that would not normally occur during battle. It would occur if one"s body was paralyzed by a poison or bound by magic, but if one considered such poisons or spells to be attacks themselves, they could be avoided by being dodged or blocked, so these kinds of situations didn"t count.

“Hmm… So, the situation where one of your allies has no choice but to simply stand there and receive violence under unfair circ.u.mstances caused you to lose your temper?” said Sam in summary.

“Yes, probably,” said Vandalieu, nodding. “I might be harboring some trauma from my time on Earth and in Origin.”

In his previous lives, Vandalieu had been subjected to violence that he was unable to avoid or prevent. Perhaps he had lost his cool because the situation with Fang had reminded him of these times.

“Isn"t that quite bad?” said Simon with a serious expression on his face. “If Natania, or even Gizanisan and the others were to get involved in these kinds of things…”

The ruler of Alcrem, the duke, had taken initiative to support the peaceful faction of Alda, which was friendly towards Vida"s races. Thus, the people of this duchy were friendlier towards Vida"s races than those in the Hartner Duchy.

But Gizania and Privel looked very different from humans, and Kachia was a Ghoul, a race that wasn"t recognized as one that had been created by Vida. It was possible that people would discriminate against them and try to harm them for no reason.

Simon seemed to be worried about this.

Vandalieu looked a little puzzled. “If that happens, there won"t be any problems like with that knight, so we can just fight back.”

“Yes… It"s not like they"re forced to attack us because it"s their job. I don"t feel sorry at all for people who willingly choose to do those things,” said Darcia.

“Huh?!” said Simon in surprise, but then he came back to his senses. “… Come to think of it, everyone entered the city as familiars. People might speak ill of us, but I guess any fool who actually tries to do something to us has no right to complain if they get killed.”

Familiars were tamers" tools; they were necessary for their survival. If anyone were to try and lay a hand on them, harm them or s.n.a.t.c.h them for themselves, this was equivalent to doing so to the weapons of an adventurer or knight.

Unlike Earth, it was not a crime to kill thieves in Lambda, so there would be no problems with Vandalieu slaughtering anyone who tried to attack Gizania or the others.

What Darcia, Juliana and the others were worried about was someone with no hostility or malice having to attack the familiars as part of their job, like the square-jawed knight, meeting a gruesome end. They were not concerned about the fates of foolhardy, reckless discriminators.

“Of course, I know that my response has to be proportional to the actions against us. If it"s things like children trying to pull out the rats" fur or drunkards causing trouble for Privel and the others, there have been similar incidents before, but I didn"t lose control of myself then,” said Vandalieu. “If the person causing trouble for us is a n.o.ble or something, and his actions are truly malicious, then… I"ll deal with them in a way that won"t be noticed. Fortunately, thanks to "Perfect Record Technique," I will never forget their faces or names.”

Just as Vandalieu finished speaking, several small silhouettes appeared from inside the warehouse. They had black skin, pointed ears and noses, and slanted eyes. They were wearing black clothes and had ninja blades on their backs. They were Braga and the other Black Goblins.

“King, is "dealing with them in a way that won"t be noticed" our job?” Braga asked.

He and his ninja force had been working in rotating shifts, moving about in Alcrem"s shadows.

“Good work, "Face-tearing Demon" Braga. Don"t pay too much attention to this talk of new work for you,” said Vandalieu.

“I see. We"re almost finished with the guys on the list, so we"ve been kind of free lately,” said Braga.

“Isla isn"t sending any more names to add to the list. Can we go home?” asked another.

Braga and the other Black Goblins had been disposing of those who had been dealing with the members of the criminal organization based in Morksi, such as the "Hyena" Gozoroff, and those who had been competing against Morksi"s criminal organization.

If they simply wanted to punish criminals, they could simply leave evidence of their crimes in the city guards" offices. However, some of the commanding officers in charge of the city guards, some of the knights and several n.o.bles had actually held connections to criminal organizations… and some had even been high-ranking members themselves.

With that being the case, little could be expected with evidence alone. The underlings would either be cut off from the organization like a lizard"s tail, or be crushed to silence them.

And the evidence held by Vandalieu and his companions included some that the Alcrem Duchy"s government were unlikely to believe. The testimonies of spirits, Undead, and members of criminal organizations whose brains had been tampered with mentally and physically.

Knights and n.o.bles placed under suspicion this way would call such evidence a conspiracy, dismissing these testimonies as the ravings of the dead who had lost their minds after their deaths and confessions forced from tortured criminals. Vandalieu had suspected that Duke Alcrem would choose to take the suspects" side in such situations.

That was why he had taken action by force. Naturally, if he had taken the time to investigate thoroughly and find irrefutable evidence of crimes, it would not have been impossible to hand that evidence to knights and n.o.bles who were not corrupt and have the criminals punished through legal means.

However, Vandalieu had been unable to think of a reason why he should go to such lengths to protect the reputation of the Alcrem Duchy"s policing force.

“Did you have any difficult battles?” Vandalieu asked the Black Goblins.

“We sneak in, take off the skin of their faces like Isla taught us, and then all there"s left to do is take them with us. We gather them up and send them to Talosheim. We didn"t have any trouble,” one of them replied.

“Luciliano was very happy,” said another.

“A bounty has been placed on us, but n.o.body has noticed that we"re working in a group,” added a third.

Acting as a mysterious killer who tore off the skin of his victims" faces and left nothing else behind, taking the rest of the corpses with them. The Black Goblins had chosen this modus operandi because they had seen Isla skillfully stripping the skin off one of her victims while they were still alive, and decided to copy her.

The result was that Alcrem had been plunged into fear… or not quite. The victims of the "Face-tearing Demon" were all criminals, or knights or n.o.bles with bad reputations, so these murders had nothing to do with ordinary, honest people. In fact, it seemed that the general population considered him to be some kind of virtuous thief for some reason.

“As expected of you. I too wish to become a ninja like you and the others, Bragdono,” said Myuze, looking at the Black Goblins with a look of respect in her eyes.

The knowledge left by the champion Hillwillow in the region inside the Boundary Mountain Range portrayed ninjas and samurai as they were in entertainment works; ninjas were considered to be direct combatants.

“We"re not that amazing. In battles where you don"t catch the enemy by surprise, you"re stronger, Myuze. As expected of a kunoichi who uses her body as a weapon,” said Braga.

“No, no, that is not true,” Myuze said humbly.

Incidentally, "using the body as a weapon" in this case was literal. Kunoichi in Lambda were physically powerful.

TLN: This is as opposed to a woman using one"s body as a weapon in a s.e.xual way to lure enemies into weakness.

“Come to think of it, you said you"re "almost done." Are there still targets left?” asked Vandalieu.

The Black Goblins looked at each other, then back at Vandalieu with a vexed expression.

“There were a few we failed to kill. But there aren"t any left alive,” one replied.

“There is someone who is copying us. That person is killing bad guys on the list and even bad guys that aren"t on the list,” said another.

Around the time Braga and the other Black Goblins began being called the "Face-tearing Demon," the skin of the face of a woman who hadn"t been on their list had been found, having been killed with the same method that the Black Goblins used.

Of course, it hadn"t been one of the Black Goblins acting on his own, killing a villain without permission. To begin with, they hadn"t even known that the woman had once been the leader of a drug smuggling ring.

Since then, there had been more killings by the unknown "Face-tearing Demon," who had even killed several people on the list before the Black Goblins could get to them.

As for why this hadn"t been reported to Vandalieu up until now –

“We weren"t sure whether we should report it. It"s not like they"re doing anything bad,” one of the Black Goblins said.

“Yeah, they"re just copying us. We"re not happy that they got to some of our targets before us. But they might just be trying to help,” said another.

“I see,” said Vandalieu, understanding their reasoning. “It would be a serious concern if this copycat were to target people who weren"t evil, but it seems that they"re only targeting bad guys…”

He pondered for a while, unsure as to how to deal with the copycat.

He and his companions did not consider murder to always be a crime. Self-defense was one obvious exception, but they also killed bandits, underground slave traders who traded slaves illegally, ma.s.s murderers – and sometimes captured them alive to become subjects in human experiments before being used as materials for Undead or a source of power for Golems.

Thus, they did not think badly of the copycat who was killing evil individuals on his own… In fact, they were slightly impressed.

Of course, the copycat"s actions would legally be considered a crime, and those who maintained public order in the Alcrem Duchy – the knights and the city guards – had a duty to put a stop to them. It was not a task for Vandalieu, even if he was the mastermind behind the "Face-tearing Demon."

The conversation was heading in the direction of Vandalieu not caring and the copycat being left alone.

But Simon spoke up. “Master, it"s true that only evil people have been killed, but something tells me it isn"t for just and moral reasons. I get the feeling that someone is using the "Face-tearing Demon" as a pretense to cover up killings happening as a result of a conflict between two evil organizations fighting for money and territory… And if that"s the case, wouldn"t it be bad to leave them alone?”

He still had his sense of what it was like to be a part of human society, and although he sounded unsure of himself, he spoke firmly.

“You think so too, Simon?! I"m so glad, I"m not the only one. You"re right. We can"t say it"s a bad thing, but it sure isn"t good, either!” said Natania in agreement.

“Vandalieu-sama, even without taking Simon"s theory into account, it is possible that the criminals only tore the skin from their victims" faces, and left them alive,” said Juliana, pointing out the possibility that the copycat"s victims were alive.

“Huh? But the skins of their faces were left behind, weren"t they?” said Kachia.

“It is true that their corpses have not been found, but if they had such a thing done to them when they do not have the "Rapid Regeneration" Skill… If they do not have connections to users of advanced healing magic like Darcia and Jeena, they won"t ever return to their original appearance,” said Gizania.

“Would they really go that far?” asked Myuze.

Juliana nodded. “Some healing can be done, even with ordinary healing magic. Or they could have stockpiled high-grade Potions. And I have heard that there are some a.s.sa.s.sins who tear off their own faces in order to become masters of disguise, so I do not think it would be so strange for someone to be willing to do it in order to survive.”

Gizania and Myuze were shocked by her words; until recently, they had been living in the Boundary Mountain Range in a nation of races created by Vida, and had only ever known gentle humans who quietly worked away at their production-based jobs. However, they did not voice any objections.

“I see. In any case, we must investigate the objectives of this person who is imitating the crimes of the "Face-tearing Demon,"” said Sam.

He had originally been a human who lived outside the Boundary Mountain Range, but was now a murderous carriage. It wouldn"t be strange that there were people as determined as him among the living, Gizania and Myuze seemed to realize.

“Very well. Let"s investigate… although I have to go to the Tamers" Guild as well today, so the most I"ll be able to do is listen to what the spirits have to say. Gufadgarn, please tell Luciliano and Isla to extract information from the experimental subjects that are still alive,” said Vandalieu.

“As you wish,” said Gufadgarn.

“We know where an information broker is. We haven"t met them ourselves, though,” said Braga.

The Black Goblins had been continuing their secret work in Alcrem while rotating and taking turns to return to Talosheim. However, they couldn"t allow themselves to be seen by people, so they had acted entirely in secret and conducted almost no information gathering.

After the conversation regarding the copycat, Vandalieu headed for the headquarters of the Tamers" Guild with Gizania, Privel, Kachia, Myuze as well as Mähne and Hof, who were following the group with the "Shadow a.s.similation" Skill… and just as they finished their business there and left, it happened.

Of course, Vandalieu did not rampage out of control and cause some great disaster like the Guild headquarters being destroyed; his conversation with the Guild Master ended peacefully, at least on the surface.

“I"m sorry. It wasn"t a very pleasant chat, was it?” said Bachem, who had been summoned to the headquarters by the Guild Master as well, giving a bitter smile.

“No,” said Vandalieu.

This immediate, honest response made Bachem"s cheeks stiffen even more.

“It was that unpleasant, was it? The stable was quite pleasant…” said Myuze.

“I suppose the quality of the facility does not reflect the character of the man in charge of it. In any case, you did well to contain yourself,” said Gizania, patting Vandalieu"s head.

“Yes, yes. Good boy, good boy,” said Privel, patting Vandalieu as well.

“Ah! I"m supposed to pat you as well! Good boy, good boy,” said Kachia, joining in.

As they were Vandalieu"s familiars, they had been waiting in the Guild"s stable while Vandalieu and Bachem spoke with the Guild Master.

They had been in separate s.p.a.ces in the stable that were suitable for their body sizes; there had been plenty of s.p.a.ce, and they had been in a section of it that was reserved for demi-humans and other monsters that possessed some degree of intelligence. Thus, the s.p.a.ces provided for them had actually been modest rooms.

Several people managed each section, and each of Vandalieu"s companions had been a.s.signed one person who attended to them like a concierge.

If they asked for a drink, they would receive tea or fruit juice mixed with water. If they asked for a light meal, they would receive a sandwich or soup.

The facility was a stable, but provided better service than middle-cla.s.s inns.

The Guild"s workers were used to doing this work; none of them had shown any signs of confusion. They had likely seen tamers who had tamed members of Vida"s races before, though probably not Arachne or Scylla.

Of course, Gizania and the others had likely been treated this way because they were the familiars of Vandalieu who had been summoned all the way from another city by the Guild Master – in other words, they were the familiars of a VIP.

“Good boy, huh… I can"t argue against that,” said Bachem with a sour expression, giving up on defending the Guild Master.

Mähne and Hof neighed as they materialized the top halves of their bodies from Vandalieu"s shadow, rubbing their faces against him.

“… Well, I"m sure he"s an exceptional tamer. I heard from a Guild employee that he"s currently known as the "Giant Demon Tamer" and "Hornless Demon General" and stuff,” said Vandalieu, speaking in defense of the Guild Master now that Bachem had given up on doing so. “I also think there"s no problem with his skills as a tamer. Not that I"m confident in my ability to judge people,” he added.

Pedro Olsen, the Guild Master of the Tamers" Guild headquarters in Alcrem, was the top figure among every branch of the Guild in the Alcrem Duchy. He had the appearance of an old soldier with a long history, having some scars visible on his face and his arms.

His tone of speech had been a little rough, his mannerisms slightly lacking in politeness, but he did not seem to be a bad person… He was just the type that Vandalieu didn"t get along with.

Even now, he was served by more than ten Trolls, Ogres and Minotaurs, and he and his familiars alone represented a fighting force equivalent to a knights" order. He was so skilled that people often said that if the Five Knights of Alcrem were six instead, the sixth would be him.

However, he had a tendency of measuring one"s skill as a tamer by the strength of their familiars, and an even stronger tendency of treating his familiars as weapons and nothing else. That was why he commanded his familiars with the same strictness as a well-trained troop of soldiers, but… he was strongly detested by tamers who thought of their familiars as family.

“I can"t say that his methods are wrong. If he"s skilled enough to command Ogres and Trolls, and has disciplined them enough to use them safely even inside the city, his ways are probably correct,” said Vandalieu. “But I have to question his decision to advise me to adopt his methods.”

“Old man Pedro is a pushy guy, you see. And he"s become more preachy as he got older… I"m not so good at dealing with him either. There"s all kinds of tamers out there, so I don"t think there"s a single best way of going about it,” said Bachem.

The Guild Master had become the bothersome type of old man after acquiring his current position. The fact that he had remained the Guild Master for over a decade despite this meant that many tamers agreed with his ways.

“I see. He and Van-dono are like water and oil,” said Myuze.

“I wouldn"t be very happy if I were treated like that,” said Privel.

But even as they said this, the two of them thought of Isla, Eleanora and some others who weren"t here. They would likely be delighted to be treated that way… or rather, think of it as some kind of reward and do whatever Vandalieu ordered them to.

“Well, he talked for a long time about how he manages his familiars, and he backed down and said that there are all kinds of tamers, as Bachem-san just said, after I indirectly declined to adopt his methods seven times. And it only took me declining his offer of a job once for him to back down on that,” said Vandalieu.

“Hmm? I thought that his goal was to close Van off within the Tamers" Guild. He gave up fairly quickly, didn"t he?” said Gizania, a little surprised.

“Well, that probably just means that old man Pedro isn"t seriously thinking of having you work for the Guild right now. You"re still underage, after all,” Bachem explained. “He should be satisfied with just being able to put a mark on you before the Adventurers" Guild… and he was more serious about my promotion.”

Pedro"s goal had been to show everyone both inside and outside his Guild that the Guild Master of the Tamers" Guild had its eyes on "Genius Tamer" Vandalieu, in order to keep the Adventurers" Guild in check.

“Huh? Even though his offer got rejected? Doesn"t that give off the impression that the Tamers" Guild has been given the cold shoulder?” asked Privel.

“He"s probably intending to indirectly spread some false rumors that Vandalieu declined his offer because he is young and inexperienced, and wishes to gain more practical experience first. This will cause the other Guilds to mistakenly believe that Vandalieu intends to join the Tamers" Guild in time,” said Bachem.

“… The Guild Master is better at thinking like a n.o.ble than a lot of n.o.blemen,” Kachia said in a half-impressed and half-exasperated tone as she looked back over her shoulder towards the Tamers" Guild headquarters building behind them.

“Well, old man Pedro is an honorary baron, after all. He technically is a n.o.bleman,” said Bachem.

“… Ah, so that person has the position of an honorary n.o.ble, something that was once my goal to attain… Even if the ways we think about our familiars are different, it"s disgusting that he would make the suggestion that he did,” said Vandalieu.

“It would be an ordinary suggestion if your familiars were normal monsters, but…” said Bachem.

“Huh? What did he suggest?” Kachia asked curiously.

But neither Vandalieu nor Bachem were willing to give a clear answer about the Guild Master"s suggestion.

“It was to do with Juliana and the others, but it also involves Kachia and Myuze, so I"ll explain when we return. It"s not something I can really talk about in public, anyway,” said Vandalieu.

“Old man Pedro won"t try to force you to do anything, and I don"t think he"ll be persistent enough to press the issue and keep repeating his suggestion, so… please let this end in peace,” Bachem begged Vandalieu.

“I-I kind of have a bad feeling about this,” said Kachia.

“Indeed. Human cities are rather terrifying,” said Myuze.

As the group conversed, pa.s.sing through a narrow alleyway between two buildings, a small object rolled towards Vandalieu"s feet.

Vandalieu looked down.

It was a pebble with a sc.r.a.p of paper tied to it.

He looked back up to see a fierce-looking man who was very muscular, with his muscles being clearly visible even through his clothes, looking this way with an unpleasant smile on his face.

The moment the man"s eyes met Vandalieu"s, his smile grew wider. In the next moment, he swiftly turned around and ran silently out of the alleyway.

“Is something the matter?” Bachem asked.

“No, I"m just imagining things,” Vandalieu replied, having the Mimic Slime Kühl who was hiding in his shadow swallow up the pebble, then return into his shadow.

Pretending that nothing had happened at all, Vandalieu resumed his conversation with Bachem as he returned to the accommodation building.

Monster explanation (Written by Luciliano):

Black Goblin Absolute Ninja Master

Braga has gone from being a Rank 7 Ninja Master to a Rank 8 High Ninja Master, then a Rank 9 Absolute Ninja Master.

He is likely the first Goblin who has ever achieved this Rank, even among non-superior races of Goblins.

I wonder what he will become once he has mastered his ninja techniques even further…