Shay, Sniffer, and Kerb—the notorious group of three PKers—had attempted to hurt Grid several times. Interestingly enough, Grid had a subtle liking toward them. Thanks to them, he managed to seize items that were helping in the fight against Pope Drevigo, gain the ultimate assassin Kasim, and receive direct help from them in the war against the empire.

They were like bluebirds bringing good luck. It was a story of extreme consequences, but the actions of Shay’s party always benefited Grid. There was only one exception. It was the meeting with Marie Rose. Grid, who had fallen into the trap of Shay’s group and entered Marie Rose’s seal, inadvertently unsealed Marie Rose and formed a connection with Marie Rose. Moreover, Grid considered it a ‘bad connection.’

A demonkin with absolute power... How much of a villain must she have been for the members of the Rebecca Church to have risked their lives to seal her? The encounter with her would surely be harmful someday...

Grid believed so. Now that idea had changed. Not all demonkin were evil. He could be friends with vampires. Not to mention, the Rebecca Church wasn’t unconditionally just and divine, let alone Goddess Rebecca. Grid had learned this through various relationships and events.

“Sniff sniff. Sniff sniff sniff.”

The nostalgic smell that Marie Rose mentioned was his body odor. Grid was unaware of it as he smelled his armpits.

‘Marie Rose favors me. Does she want to repay my grace for releasing her from the seal?’

He had met with several of her immediate relatives, including Braham and Noll, and found they were surprisingly pure. They had a cruel aspect since they treated the blood of humans as a staple food, but this was a physiological aspect. It was hard to see their nature itself as evil.

Additionally, they hated Evil God Yatan and the great demons. Their founder—Shizo Beriache—had been expelled due to them, and all vampires received the Curse of Idleness. 

Grid was convinced. ‘Contrary to Nefelina’s concerns, there won’t be a situation where I will be hostile to Marie Rose. Rather, it is more likely for her to have a sense of goodwill toward me.’

This fitted with the probability. The moment the Overgeared Kingdom became hostile to Marie Rose, they would be destroyed within a few days. Marie Rose’s strength was comparable to that of an upper great demon. Undoubtedly, he would rather be her friend.

Grid returned to the office after a day of blacksmithing.

“The smell of sweat is too bad. Haven’t you washed?”

He was sniffing his armpits when a voice woke him up from his thoughts. Lauel was blocking his nose.

Grid shrugged. “I’m afraid that Marie Rose won’t recognize me if I wash off the smell.”

“Hrmm... Does Marie Rose really like Your Majesty’s smell?”

“...?”

“Weren’t you wearing Malacus’ Cloak when you met Marie Rose? The reason she woke up was the bloody smell coming from the cloak.”

“...”

“It is far-fetched to think she would miss Your Majesty’s smell that was obscured by the heavy smell of blood. The smell that she misses isn’t Your Majesty’s body odor but the blood that is ingrained in Malacus’ Cloak.”

It made sense. Then Marie Rose liked Malacus’ Cloak, not him? Grid was panicking when Lauel laughed. “It’s a joke. Don’t you only wear Malacus’ Cloak when you want to gather mobs at the hunting grounds? The nostalgic smell coming from Damian and Zednos is naturally Your Majesty’s body odor."

“Shit. You scared me. Why did you make such a joke?”

“It was to raise your awareness. Don’t think too positively about Marie Rose.”

“...?”

“Her presence is too big. You can’t afford it. Your Majesty shouldn’t be involved with her.”

It was surprising. Grid thought Lauel would be more excited about Marie Rose’s appearance than anyone else.

“Why are you thinking so negatively? Even Braham and Noll, who were our enemies at first, are now our colleagues. Meanwhile, Marie Rose has had a fondness for me since the beginning. I think it will be easy to get her as a colleague.”

“Braham and Noll were lacking.”

“...?”

“They were strong but emotionally anxious. Therefore, they unconsciously looked for someone to rely on. They were affected by Your Majesty’s care and affection. Then what about Marie Rose? Braham’s testimony states that she is perfect.”

Being perfect meant there was nothing to regret. It meant she didn’t have to seek someone’s help or affection.

“My guess is that what she feels toward Your Majesty is more of a curiosity than affection. Not only did you unseal her but you weren’t fascinated by her. She must be aware of Your Majesty because she considers you a strange human.”

“...” 

“The moment she encounters Your Majesty and resolves her curiosity, her goodwill might disappear. Then she will change straight away. She could eat Your Majesty.”

“No, that’s too extreme...”

“It is based on Zednos’ testimony about the violence she committed against Fenrir. She doesn’t care or respect others. She is a cruel and violent woman.”

“...”

“Don’t be obsessed with her beauty. Think objectively. She is different from the other descendants you have met. She isn’t someone you should hope for luck against.”

Luck...

Grid was very aware of it. He couldn’t deny that he had been able to make friends with Braham and his colleagues due to luck. 

“I know it very well.” Grid nodded, rose from his seat, and headed to the bathroom. Then he rubbed his entire body with soap and rinsed it several times until the smell of sweat on his body disappeared. It was an effort to clear up his body odor.

Lauel’s expression was still dark. ‘Marie Rose’s intention behind going to the forest must be to meet the elves.’

He didn’t think she would be meeting the elves just to play house. Originally, the demonkin’s and elves’ aversion to each other was great, so Marie Rose was likely to clash with the elves.

‘It is frustrating.’

Lauel recognized the elves as a useful political tool. He wanted to support the elves’ activities since their movements were causing losses to all nations apart from the Overgeared Kingdom and the empire. However, Marie Rose would strike at the elves’ movements.

Lauel earnestly prayed, ‘Let a great demon fall from the sky. Please let there be a big event that attracts Marie Rose’s attention.’

***

[You have suffered catastrophic damage!]

[You have died.]

[You are qualified to be a ruler of hell, and you transcend the concept of death.]

[Your health is fixed at a minimum, and you won’t die. Your race has changed into an undead.]

[You have suffered catastrophic damage!]

[Your right arm has been broken!]

“Damn...!”

[You have suffered catastrophic damage!]

[Your left ankle is broken!]

“Dammit!!”

[You have suffered catastrophic damage!]

[Your neck is broken!]

“Dammit...!”

[You have suffered catastrophic damage!]

[Your skull is shattered!]

The undead was a race that transcended death and suffering, but it had a deadly weakness. It was the lack of durability of the body itself. The immunity to breakage was very poor.

[Your body is completely damaged and has stopped functioning.]

[Your soul has been sent to a new body in Baal’s sanctuary.]

[Your soul has suffered a devastating blow during the transfer.] 

[You have lost 38.1% experience.]

[The item ‘Soul Absorption Cloak’ has been dropped.]

“Dammit!!”

It was the fourth day already, and he had died every day. He even died twice yesterday and received the penalty of having his game access limited. It would be the same today. Agnus knew this, but he didn’t give up. He resurrected in a new body and ran out of the incubator, heading toward the portal again.

“Pathetic. You can’t handle an elf despite gaining so much strength from the great Baal. A human’s weak nature doesn’t go anywhere,” someone’s mocking voice rang out.

Agnus turned his head and saw a big frog with a crown on his head. It was a comical appearance. However, the name ‘Cepardea’ above his head was dyed in black.

“I was given a lot of strength? He only gave me necromancy and commands.”

Cepardea was one of Baal’s Four Heavenly Kings. He was one of the strongest existences in hell who could kill Agnus with a single swipe of his tongue. However, Agnus feared nothing in the world and growled at Cepardea.

Cepardea, who threw up in an exaggerated manner like in a hilarious skit, inflated his chin. “You are incompetent. Originally, those who contracted with Baal gained absolute swordsmanship, magic and wisdom to see through all things. You aren’t able to fully receive them because you aren’t competent enough.”

“Shut your stinky mouth.”

Agnus didn’t have time to waste dealing with the frog. He had to go back and challenge the dark elf again. It would be hard to find her if she hid her tracks. Agnus ignored Cepardea and reached for the portal. Cepardea’s long tongue flew and stopped in front of Agnus. The end of his rolled tongue contained an old book.

“Stand in idleness.”

“...?”

“The descendants of the exile will come close to you. Once you open the book, they will be forced to go back to their coffins.” 

“Descendant of the exile?”

“The vampires. It doesn’t matter if you are trampled on by the elves, but you can’t disgrace Baal and show any gaps in front of the vampires. Do you understand?”

“Bah,” Agnus snorted and took the Book of Idleness. He hated the frog, but he had no reason to refuse.

***

A new quest was created for all players part of the Yatan Church. This was a quest to reseal the vampire duke Marie Rose, who had just woken up. It was an absurd quest with a rating of SSS+, but there was a huge number of five million players who had joined the Yatan Church. There were no shadows on the faces of the Yatan members who were on the way to the quest destination. No matter how high the difficulty of the quest was, they were convinced they wouldn’t fail as long as they had a large group of this magnitude.

“Aren’t vampires demonkin? In fact, they are hostile to Rebecca. Then aren’t we on the same side? Why should we seal her?” Rose, the 1st ranked black magician and Yatan’s Eighth Servant, remarked.

Having participated every time a great demon was summoned and then made a big profit from it, Rose was now one of the strongest players in the world. She was confident that she wouldn’t lose to anyone apart from the five best players, including Overgeared King Grid.

The person who asked Rose’s question was Yatan’s Fourth Servant Frodo, who was walking beside her. He was the successor of Silvenas, who died during the Vatican raid, and was much stronger than Silvenas who had been beaten by Agnus. “Vampires are descendants of the exiled Beriache. They are a clan that harbors hostility toward the Evil God Yatan. It is absolutely right to punish their leader.” 

“However, won’t the Rebecca Church act even if we don’t? Isn’t it better to encourage the Rebecca Church to seal her?”

“The current pope isn’t worth a penny despite receiving the support of the templars. He doesn’t have the power to seal Marie Rose.”

“...?”

Weren’t they beaten by the pope? Then perhaps this was a quest that couldn’t be cleared? Rose noticed it and questioned inwardly, ‘Does the great change in the world include the destruction of the Yatan Church?’ 

She decided that she should break away from the front lines, but unfortunately, it was too late. By then, she was already in front of a large forest.

“Let’s go,” Frodo urged Rose and the Yatan Church players. Then...

“It is up to here.”

Knights armed with red armor appeared and blocked the path of the Yatan followers. There wasn’t a single person who didn’t know their identity.

“The Red Knights?”

Why were the knights of the empire here in the Gauss Kingdom? The Yatan followers were baffled by the sight.

“You will be considered an enemy as soon as you step into the forest, and you will be executed.”

A completely unexpected figure emerged. The man at the center of the Red Knights was a player, and his ID was ‘Zibal.’ He was one of the top five players Rose considered to be above her. This was the majesty of the magic machines.

“Why are you...?”

“My new master is welcoming a precious guest.”

He didn’t mention that his new master was the grandmaster. From the Rebecca Church to the Yatan Church, the Four Heavenly Kings of Baal, and the grandmaster, the emergence of Marie Rose had a profound effect on the world.

Of course, to Grid...

“Husband, didn’t you spray too much perfume today? It is like you are trying to erase the smell of another woman.”

“Irene, don’t misunderstand. There is a reason for this.”

“Don’t get me wrong. I will respect and support you even if you have thousands of concubines.”

“No, I can only do it once a month anyway. What are thousands... Huh? Irene? Where are you going? Irene!!”

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