『The old Ghoul Mage that was supposed to die of old age is still alive for some reason. She won’t die unless she is killed. And I don’t know why, but lately the spirits haven’t been listening to what I tell them to do and I don’t know what’s happening inside the village.』

Hearing this, Bugogan stroked his own hair with his fingers as he contemplated the situation… and then picked up his beloved magic sword that was leaning against his throne and swung it down towards the Kobold Shaman.

「Gyabih!」

Wiping the blood from the blade of his sword with a cloth, Bugogan ordered that the corpse of the Kobold Shaman, which had been split in half from the top of its head down to the waist in one attack, be added to the food supplies.

Since this inferior Kobold was being useful, he had appointed it to this position, but what was that report? The one who had been going senile wasn’t the Ghoul Mage, but this Kobold. These creatures were nothing but two-legged mongrels.

「Bugogoh! Bubobio, bugobuon, buhoho, buhihibumo!」

Bugogan had thought that there would be nothing but bad news today, but there was also something good.

Bugogan’s eldest son Bubobio had led some slaves and servants on a mission to take some adventurers as prisoners and had safely captured them.

Among the five of them, one of the males had died, but the remaining one male and three females were injured but captured alive.

At the news that adventurers had been captured, and especially at the news that there were three females, the servants became excited.

「Bugobu, buhihibu, buhohohibuhibuhi.」

However, he would first have them spit out whatever information they had about the human society that Bugogan would conquer in the future. After all, female humans used as mothers would break after being seeded once, and there were not many of them.

「Buhohoh.」

However, after that, the three females would become mothers and the male would become food. Since Bubobio had made a great achievement, Bugogan decided that he would be allowed to have one of the females for his personal use as a reward.

Both punishment and reward were needed to rule.







One week later.

Vandalieu was breathing in the winter air that was surprisingly clear despite the humidity of the forest, while crushing medicinal plants, minerals and magic stones into powder to use as alchemical catalysts when his movements suddenly stopped.

「Boy, if you do not concentrate, who knows when you will learn the skill… Boy?」

Zadiris, who had been watching him work, she was confused to see his hands unexpectedly stop.

Vandalieu was looking into empty air, nodding and shaking his head, making noises as if responding to someone speaking to him.

「Boy, have you finished stuffing the roots? Shall we stop the lesson here for today?」

Worried that she had been forcing too many lessons on Vandalieu, Zadiris called out to him uncertainly, but it didn’t seem that he was hallucinating from being too fatigued. He turned his head to face her.

「I just heard from a Kobold Shaman’s spirit that there’s a large village of Orcs deep in this Devil’s Nest, led by a Noble Orc, and he seems to think that this Ghoul village is a nuisance to him.」

Thanks to an information leak from this spirit, Bugogan had failed to keep himself hidden.




「So that’s why I’m going to be participating in a battle with my life on the line. It’s nothing out of the ordinary, so don’t worry.」

『Vandalieu, I don’t think there’s a single parent who wouldn’t worry after hearing such words from their child.』

「… So you don’t want me to fight?」

『Hmm, it’s true that you’re always risking your life, and if you try hard, you won’t die, Vandalieu… But you have to make sure you cooperate with everyone else properly, okay?』

「I know, Mom.」







The spirit of the Kobold Shaman that had been split in half vertically by Bugogan’s magic sword spent seven days traveling to this Ghoul village. It delivered precious information about the Noble Orc who had established a large village and was now attacking other Ghoul villages and kidnapping adventurers while amassing military force.