I turned fifteen years old.
Over the past four years, there have been many changes around me.
First, two years ago, my grandfather retired and passed on his title of Duke to his son, Alexander. However, my grandfather is still acting as my guardian and is busy traveling back and forth between the Bald domain and the capital city.
My grandmother also lives with me and helps take care of the household.
The Ashwood domain’s population has grown exponentially, and due to meeting the requirements for promotion in this country’s peerage system, my father was granted the title of Baron.
For a knight to be promoted to a baron, they need to have achieved significant accomplishments in either warfare or domestic affairs. In this case, it was due to domestic achievements. The knightly domain’s population surpassed 7,000 people, and if that number was maintained for two years, he could be promoted to Baron.
A domain with a population of around 7,000 people might manage it, but the Ashwood domain originally only had about 1,000 people. To increase it to 7,000 was a huge achievement. Now, the population has reached an astonishing 15,000 and is growing rapidly.
While an increase in population is a good thing, there are also negative aspects. With growth comes an increase in crime. The transformation of the once peaceful Ashwood domain has been unimaginable.
My mother still hasn’t regained her memory. There was a time when I thought of using a method to help her recover it, but then I worried that doing so might make her forget us. Because of that fear, I couldn’t go through with it.
My younger brother, Siegward , is growing up healthily. He now has a bodyguard and is reportedly entering dungeons. He seems to be showing signs of following in our father’s martial footsteps.
My little sister, Elze, is also growing up well. I feel lonely because I only get to see the very cute Elze occasionally.
Jadoth, which serves as a transit point between Ashwood, Axel, and Bald domains, is also doing very well economically.
Jadoth is a domain under Baron Rittenheim, and my half-sister, Talia, has been adopted into the family.
The river Ryver, which connects these domains and the capital city, is constantly bustling with ships every day.
The Deuro Temple, which was under construction in the Bald domain, is still being worked on. It is scheduled to be completed in five years.
However, most of the necessary facilities are already in use.
The reason it will take five more years is because of the reliefs. When paying attention to the fine details, it inevitably takes time. Temples and churches in my previous world were often treasure troves of art, after all.
Among the industries created in the Bald domain are beer and refrigerators.
Beer is produced in large quantities at several workshops, but production still can’t meet the demand. Like the Ashwood domain’s “Horse King” liquor, beer is selling very well and is always in short supply. I am grateful for this and thank Deuro-sama every day.
The refrigerator production is also being increased with new workshops, but again, the supply is not keeping up with demand. Especially in summer, when the demand for beer increases, there are many more inquiries for refrigerators, and the staff are struggling to keep up.
As for the Deuro Temple being built in the Bald domain, when Deuro worshippers pray to the Godlight Stones enshrined in the temple, it is said that they experience the miracle of the god. The effect is that they do not contract infectious diseases.
When people speak of infectious diseases, it includes anything from measles and influenza to the plague. To be able to avoid all those diseases is significant. Even something as common as a cold, which spreads from person to person, is considered an infectious disease.
Two years ago, the influenza (known as Ibinic in this world) spread widely, but not a single person who prayed to the Godlight Stone in the Deuro Temple was affected.
Since then, pilgrimages to the Deuro Temple have become a quiet… though not secret… trend.
This is also one of the reasons why the number of ships on the Ryver River has increased.
For some reason, Reinhardt and my other classmates have spent every long holiday at my mansion in the Bald domain. It’s been three consecutive years—second, third, and fourth. Reinhardt has even visited during the first year, so it’s been four years in a row.
Thanks to that, Reinhardt has become a worshipper of Deuro. Ben’s fiancée, Lady Claudia, Bruno, Daniel, Deborah, and Lene have also become Deuro worshippers.
Ben started as an instructor for the Kingdom’s Knight Order. A few months later, he was promoted to the rank of Knight Baron. This promotion occurred when Ben was seventeen, so it happened two years ago.
His promotion was due to his position as an instructor in the knight order, and the promotion from junior baron to knight baron is not a high hurdle, so it was achievable.
The reason Ben was invited as an instructor was because of his fame for defeating Earl Baltzar, the Minister of Military Affairs. That man was a famous brute in the military, and because his level was so high, he was said to be untouchable. However, Ben defeated him, and his reputation as a warrior spread, leading to his invitation as an instructor for the knight order.
Shami also got promoted from junior baron to knight baron. Her promotion came from a recommendation from the temple. The reason was that she performed free healing work at the temple on her days off.
Additionally, Shami became a priestess at the Deuro Temple. She had been frequenting the temple since she was young and was close to Lord Dardale. Moreover, there are very few people who can use light magic as well as Shami.
The pope abdicated. He said he wanted to step down while his body still allowed him to, to make way for the younger generation. At the same time, Lord Dardale also retired.
The two of them are now training the next generation at the Deuro Temple in the Bard Kingdom. While Lord Dardale’s retirement makes sense, I wonder if the former pope, now an emeritus pope, is content with this?
Captain Susanna of the Temple Knights was promoted from vice-bishop to bishop and got married, having children. When she had children, she resigned as my captain and now serves as the head of the children’s care facility annexed to the Deuro Temple in the Bard Kingdom.
As a result, my current captain is Metina. She was a subordinate of Captain Susanna and was one of the members who entered the dungeon with us. Another former dungeon member, Persina, was promoted to vice-captain of the Deuro Temple’s security.
As for the Holy Kingdom of Katrias, the country is under an economic blockade by its neighboring nations.
The reason for this blockade is that they tried to abduct Reinhardt, the prince of that kingdom, and me, a temple official. This led the diplomats of Katrias and the temple to work together and form a siege around the Holy Kingdom of Katrias.
Katrias has a low food self-sufficiency rate and had to import food from other countries. Now that this is no longer possible, many of its people have begun flowing into our kingdom.
The people are not to blame. While it’s not ideal, we have no choice but to accept them in the Bard Kingdom. Since I can convert food from the soil, I’m able to support the refugees until they can become self-sufficient.
Furthermore, Bard is still a developing area. The fertile land brought by the Leiber River is not to be underestimated.
However, we will only accept those who are not followers of Katrias. This is the minimum condition for us to take them in.
Ideally, I wanted to only accept Deuro followers, but it is also one of my missions to convert people to the Deuro faith.
To my surprise, there are actually quite a few Deuro followers. You might think that the people of the Holy Kingdom of Katrias would not be followers of Deuro, but many of them are. Deuro followers, who are covert agents working under the Bayerlein family, and Deuro temple priests have been spreading the faith in the Holy Kingdom of Katrias, saying things like “Believe in Deuro, and you will be saved” and “Ask Deuro for help.”
The people of the Holy Kingdom of Katrias, weakened both physically and mentally, were easily persuaded to believe in Deuro. By helping them, they were able to gain even more followers.
Preparations are underway in the Kurudia Kingdom to attack the Holy Kingdom of Katrias. The goal is to weaken Katrias, strip them of their power to resist, and launch an attack. While the Holy King doesn’t matter much, I definitely want to capture the three high archbishops.
I will make the one who took my mother’s memories pay the price. If I don’t, I’ll be consumed by anger.
Also, the Arilak Dungeon has grown. Originally, the deepest level was the twenty-fifth floor, but now it has expanded to forty floors.
Not only that, but the Ashwood Dungeon has grown from fifteen floors to thirty floors. I thought the Ashwood Dungeon would take longer to grow, but it happened quickly. Other dungeons across the country seem to be growing as well.
Once the seal on the Holy Light Stones was lifted, all the dungeons across the country began to grow. I wonder if there’s a connection? Deuro just laughs and won’t tell me.
I explored the expanded Arilak Dungeon, and my level has risen to 460.
My “Transformation” skill has also reached level 9. Until now, the skill had increased every fifty levels, but at level 450, it didn’t increase. Is level 9 the maximum?
When my father heard about my level, he reportedly entered the Ashwood Dungeon to level up himself.
He didn’t do it out of rivalry, but because he felt a sense of crisis that, as a father, he couldn’t let his son surpass him in level without losing his dignity, according to a letter from my mother.
= ・ = ・ = ・ = ・ = ・ = ・ = ・ =
[Individual Name]: Toma Bardo Roxfall
[Race]: Demi-God (Human / Divine)
[Info]: Male, 15 years old, Marquis of the Kingdom of Kurudia, Healthy
[Title]: Apostle of the Creator God Deuro, Protector of Deuro’s Believers
[Rank]: G
[Attribute]: God
[Blessing]: God of Conversion
[Level]: 460
[Skills]: Conversion – Level 9
[Life]: 1,360,150 (–30,000)
[Stamina]: 1,363,976 (–179,177)
[Mana]: 1,374,279 (–30,000)
= ・ = ・ = ・ = ・ = ・ = ・ = ・ =
[Conversion – Level 1]: Material Conversion – Can convert one material into another.
[Conversion – Level 2]: Information Conversion – Can view and convert information.
[Conversion – Level 3]: Location Conversion (Teleportation) – Can convert a visible location A to another location B.
[Conversion – Level 4]: Event Conversion – Can convert one event into another.
[Conversion – Level 5]: Rank Conversion – Can convert the rank of a target.
[Conversion – Level 6]: Spatial Warehouse – Can convert space and use it as a warehouse (extra-dimensional space).
[Conversion – Level 7]: Terrain Understanding – Can understand the surrounding terrain and convert that information.
[Conversion – Level 8]: Life Conversion – Can convert the target’s life, stamina, and mana.
[Conversion – Level 9]: Minion Conversion – Can convert a target into a minion. By sharing their life, stamina, and mana, the user can strengthen their minions, though doing so reduces the maximum values shared.
Life Conversion allows for restoring or draining a target’s life, stamina, and mana. It can serve as both a recovery and attack method in critical situations.
Minion Conversion allows the user to turn a target into their minion, enhancing their abilities. By converting Ben and Shami into minions, they have been strengthened and are able to communicate via telepathy, as well as share sight and hearing with one another.
= ・ = ・ = ・ = ・ = ・ = ・ = ・ =
[Individual Name]: Ben Flamebulk
[Race]: Human
[Info]: Male, 19 years old, Knight of the Roxfall Marquis Family, Knight Baron of the Kingdom of Kurudia, Minion of the God of Conversion
[Title]: Deuro Believer, Brain Muscle, Toma’s Partner
[Rank]: SS
[Attribute]: Fire, Thunder
[Blessing]: Commander of the Thunderstorm Assault Army
[Level]: 455
[Skills]: Heavy Strike – Level 9, Flame Strike – Level 9, Strong Arms – Level 9, Physical Attack Enhancement – Level 8, Thunder Strike – Level 6, Command – Level 3
[Life]: 15,322 (+20,000)
[Stamina]: 14,119 (+10,000)
[Mana]: 12,047 (+10,000)
= ・ = ・ = ・ = ・ = ・ = ・ = ・ =
[Individual Name]: Shami Sunheal
[Race]: Human
[Info]: Female, 17 years old, Knight of the Roxfall Marquis Family, Knight Baron of the Kingdom of Kurudia, Priestess of Deuro Temple, Minion of the God of Conversion
[Title]: Deuro Believer, Toma’s Understanding Companion
[Rank]: SS
[Attribute]: Light, Ice
[Blessing]: Light Ice Pure Holy Maiden
[Level]: 450
[Skills]: Light Magic – Level 9, Magic Effect Enhancement – Level 9, Ice Magic – Level 6, Magic Resistance – Level 5, Mana Manipulation – Level 5
[Life]: 12,934 (+10,000)
[Stamina]: 13,903 (+10,000)
[Mana]: 15,250 (+20,000)
= ・ = ・ = ・ = ・ = ・ = ・ = ・ =
Ben and Shami have both reached rank SS. This is the result of a two-step rank-up process. First, when both reached level 400, their rank increased from A to S. At that time, I did nothing. Afterward, when I made them my minions, their rank rose to SS. It seems that minion conversion has the effect of increasing ranks.
Level 400 might be a critical threshold. Those who surpass this level might receive a bonus to their rank. I thought this until Captain Susanna surpassed level 400 and ranked up while she was with me.
Level 400 might be important, but Deuro hasn’t said anything about it.
However, aren’t my abilities inflating too much? This might be because my rank is G (God), which is the highest. I should be thankful to Deuro.
