Golden Experience

I had initially considered hiding somewhere to observe Mare and the activities of the Holy Church, but even if I disappeared, the angels would flock to me. Suspecting something, I used [Appraisal] and realized that apparently all angels have [True Eyes].

Whether they are prioritizing based on the abundance of LP or not, angels were approaching in the order of me, Mare, and Kerry. This wouldn’t contribute to the Church’s propaganda.

Since I could not help it, I decided to disappear and slowly evade, then let Mare wipe them out after casually gathering the angels. The scene of the beautiful character facing a large army of angels and sweeping them away with dazzling magic seemed vividly impressive to the city’s residents, and cheers erupted from everywhere.

In terms of effectiveness against angels, it would seem that Dark Magic, Shadow Magic, and skill attacks that inflict poison or disease would work. However, as a saint, Mare couldn’t possibly exhale poisonous breath.

In a saint-like manner, I allocated a considerable amount of experience points into Holy Magic and Light Magic. Other attributes were also acquired, similar to what was used in Neuschloss.

When Mare acquired Light Magic, Holy Magic appeared. Considering my own experience, one of the unlock conditions is likely to be a race of Noble or higher. Whether Dark Magic would appear if reincarnated as an Evil Human or Dark Elf, despite already acquiring Dark Magic, wasn’t clear, but based on Mare’s available skills, it seems unlikely.

In other words, to acquire both Holy Magic and Dark Magic, one would need to experience both righteous and wicked races.

I accidentally achieved this, and it’s likely that Lyra did the same. Presumably, Lyra had already acquired as many skills as possible before coming to me.

I gathered the angels in the city, and Mare and the members of the Holy Church exterminated them on a prominent avenue.

The second day, probably the last attack, ended in this way, and one could say that the first impression of the Saint of Wells was successful.

Even the knights who should protect the city were praising the saint enthusiastically towards the end. They followed the angels attracted by me to the main street, witnessing the saint’s battle prowess.

By tomorrow, the commercial guild controlled by Kerry would slowly spread rumors about this day, and in no time, everyone in the city would know about the appearance of the saint.

Even before that, the king and other rulers would be informed about the saint through reports from the knights. From what I observed, the knights seemed to be welcoming the saint. It was unlikely that unfavorable reports would reach them.

However, there’s no guarantee that the king would receive the news as favorably.

If the popularity becomes too overwhelming and there’s a risk of it destabilizing his power base, there’s a possibility he might view it as a threat.

In a typical situation, if an exceptionally popular figure arises from the common people, as long as the nobility and royalty are determined by race, that person cannot shake the existing power structure.

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However, Mare has already become a saint. If the royalty is composed of Noble Humans, she is an existence higher than them.

Whether there’s a way for the country to know about this is uncertain, but this would undoubtedly be an alarming situation for the royal family.

But the reason for the royalty being royalty is not only their race.

The existence of artifacts stored somewhere is also a crucial support.

As long as these artifacts exist, no matter what kind of being appears, it won’t lead to a situation that would shake the nation. However, this is information known only to the royalty and some nobles.

If the public begins to desire the saint more than the royal family, and the winds of favor start blowing in that direction, the country has two choices.

One is, of course, to assassinate the saint before the public enthusiasm spreads throughout the country.

If it’s only the citizens of the capital, the knight order should be able to suppress them, and dealing with a single saint, even if of a higher race, would not be impossible.

The other is to win over the saint and incorporate her into their ranks.

In this case, the best option would be a marriage with the royal family.

Even if the saint refuses, for example, by embracing influential figures within the church with money or power and exerting pressure from there, they could close off the saint’s escape route.

In practice, the church is united under my command. Bribes won’t work, and if there were infiltrators, they would be exposed immediately.

If they were entrusted with shady work like bribery and spies, it would be considered reliable personnel for the state. If they were not attached to anyone’s entourage, they could potentially be utilized to get closer to the royal family.

In any case, I really want Mare to continue to do her best as the <Saint of Wells>. (T/N: the furigana says “La Pucelle d’ Wells”)

*

At some point, I let Hakuma do as he pleased and sent him to Wells.

For this reason, I didn’t impose any reporting obligations. When I contacted them before coming here, they mentioned being in some forest, but that’s all I knew.

When I tried summoning Hakuma to their side, many wolf-type monsters and ape-type monsters were waiting there with lowered heads.

All the wolf-type monsters were Ice Wolves.

Presumably, this forest is covered in snow and ice. They likely acquired ice-related skills and magic during their growth process while surrounded by ice, leading to their reincarnation into Ice Wolves.

As for the ape-type monsters, the results of the [Appraisal] indicated that they belong to a species called [Snow Baboon]. They have white fur, and their hands are slightly longer than their legs, resembling Mandrills.

There was one large individual among them, and that individual was named “Baboon Hihí.” In Japanese folklore, the term “Hihí” originated from the name of Baboon, which is the source of the Japanese name for Mandrills. Although the Baboon in front of me simply appears to be a larger Snow Baboon, in this game, it seems that Baboon, or rather, a higher-level existence than Mandrills, is referred to as Hihí. It’s a bit complicated.

“What is this… What’s going on?”

<It’s been a while, Boss. These are the former members of the old pack and the monkeys who were opponents in a territorial dispute when the pack was driven out of this forest.>

According to the explanation from Hakuma and Ginka.

Leaving Hiers and heading towards Wells, Hakuma aimed north.

However, when they escaped, it was still the time of the Ice Wolves when their INT was low, and they didn’t remember the detailed path well.

I’ve heard that real dogs don’t forget their hometown, but apparently, it’s different in the game. Perhaps, due to becoming as intelligent as or even more intelligent than humans on the way, they may have lost this wild capacity for memory. Anyway, even after entering Wells, they continued to rampage through various territories of monsters while heading north, and around the time the snowy coniferous forest began to appear, their memories finally connected, recalling this forest.

Returning to the forest, the monkeys that had scattered away were still arrogantly occupying it, and their fellow Ice Wolves were nowhere to be seen.

So, for the time being, they subdued the monkeys and seemed to have taken control of the forest.

However, none in Hakuma’s group has the [Command] ability. Therefore, on the system side, this forest is still the monkeys’ paradise. It’s just that the wolves dominate it by force. In other words, it’s a ranch. Certainly, at the beginning, that was the intention when I strengthened them and sent them out, but I didn’t expect much, and I didn’t give such orders. It’s quite something.

So, while waiting for communication from me, who was hunting players in the forest, it seems that the monkeys sensed the anomaly in the forest and came to see the situation, fearfully.

They absorbed that group, increased their numbers, and that brings us to the present.

“Do none of the wolves have the [Command]? How do they determine the Alpha?”

<Once a year, before the mating season, there’s a duel for rank, and it’s decided there. The reason I was the temporary Alpha when we first met was that there was no one to challenge in a rank duel.>

In short, it’s similar to an ordinary wolf pack.

This time of year refers to the so-called breeding season.

Wolves are a strict hierarchy society, and reproduction is carried out according to the order.

As for the reproductive instinct, it is primarily the Alpha female. This social structure is somewhat similar to ants or bees. Perhaps that’s one reason why Sugaru and the other ants quickly adapted to them when they first met.

Also, the born wolf cubs are raised by the entire pack, and there is a rule that allows them to do anything to anyone for the first year after birth. The fact that the wolf cubs, Zarame and the others, were somewhat selfish right after birth is probably because of that rule.

They had deliberately chosen not to use the [Subordinate] system to maintain each individual’s ambition, preventing a decline in the overall abilities of the pack. However, this system could be sustained because external threats were minimal.

If there were always external enemies to threaten them, they wouldn’t experience a decrease in abilities without internal competition. In other words, they could regularly gain experience points, and there would be no room for internal conflicts.

Although they didn’t know where these monkeys came from, by chance, the monkeys outnumbered the wolves. The wolves were defeated not so much by strength but by the sheer number and cohesion of the monkey pack.

However, that was all in the past. Hakuma seemed to have avenged themselves against the monkeys, and both Hakuma and Ginka were magical creatures with a much higher rank than other wolves and monkeys.

If there were an overwhelmingly powerful boss, there wouldn’t be a need to determine the alpha every year. For the time being, they had Hakuma and Ginka obtain the mentioned [Subordinate], and the wolf pack became their subordinates. Hakuma took control of the male alphas, and Ginka controlled the female alphas. As for Rare, she didn’t really care. They could handle it as they pleased.

The monkeys originally had a structure where one dominant baboon controlled the other Snow Baboons in the pack, so I took control of that dominant baboon. Consequently, this coniferous forest fell under my dominion, serving as a base for activities in Wells.

“Let’s see, how about Hanuman? Oh, that won’t work. Then how about Valin… that won’t work either. Well, then, let’s go with Monkichi.”

There might be important NPCs like Hanuman or Valin somewhere.

Hakuma and Ginka were instructed to continue raiding the territories within Wells as before. They were told not to defeat the bosses in those areas and to hunt only minions or players for experience points.

Monkichi was still in charge of dominating this forest. They didn’t know when another race might appear for territorial disputes, and the current situation was somewhat weak.

Not to mention, they were curious about why they came to this forest in the first place. If there were any entities forcing the monkeys out nearby, that issue would also need addressing.