Helios Orb Chronicle – Chapter 422

Side: Rika

After the meeting in Amagi Castle concluded, we escorted the kings of various nations and teleported to Memoria via Yamato’s Traveling. The reason was to inspect Memoria General Academy. Emperor Reinhardt and Lady Hilde had visited several times before, but the other kings hadn’t, so it was scheduled as an opportunity for them. For my part, Memoria General Academy is a crucial facility that could significantly impact the future of the Marquisate of Amatista, so I’ve been in continuous meetings with Chris, the Order’s Master of Memoria, and the former Grand Trader’s Master, Klinos, who is now the Grand Scholar’s Master.

“So this is Memoria General Academy. It’s much larger than I imagined.”

“It serves not only as a place for study but also for communal living. As it’s the first of its kind, all the guilds generously supported its development, which is why it became so large.”

The General Academy is an institution for nurturing talented individuals, and every guild has provided support without hesitation. Therefore, in addition to the main school building, each guild has invested heavily to construct specialized school buildings. The Hunter’s Guild and Ritter’s Guild are currently merged but plan to separate in the future, so space for new building construction has already been secured.

“And this is the Scholar’s building, where MARS is scheduled to be installed.”

“I saw it in Alka, but it’s quite large to create phantom monsters, isn’t it?”

“Even so, it’s not suitable for large monsters, so we’re considering building a separate dedicated facility elsewhere.”

Within this facility, it’s impossible to recreate phantom monsters over 100 meters in length, but it should be sufficient for up to 50-meter-class monsters. The problem, however, is that MARS itself is still unfinished. I don’t know if it will be completed before the academy opens, but it’s entirely up to Yamato, so he’ll just have to do his best.

“Given the complexity of such magical apparatus, it’s understandable that rapid development is difficult. However, I hear that it doesn’t hinder current research, correct?”

“Yes. The ecology of the Blue Lake Bull is already understood, and a plan to raise them as livestock in the Viscountcy of Diamante is currently underway.”

The Blue Lake Bull, despite being a C-rank monster, has excellent meat quality, making it a popular and affordable delicacy. It inhabits the lakes of the Viscountcy of Diamante in large numbers, so the lord, Viscount Archlight Diamante, has been collaborating with Yamato in researching the Blue Lake Bull. He would occasionally visit Alka and conduct research using MARS, and recently, with promising results, they are considering it for livestock farming.

“Oh, the Blue Lake Bull.”

“Yes. The Scholar’s Guild has already received a report.”

As Klinos-sama said, Viscount Archlight has transferred to the Scholar’s Guild and reported his findings once the Blue Lake Bull’s ecology was understood. Blue Lake Bulls are timid creatures, and if hunted, they may even take their own lives. Blue Lake Bulls that take their own lives lose not only their meat quality but also their value as materials, making them more difficult to subdue than their rank suggests. It is said that the reason Blue Lake Bulls commit suicide is their sensitivity to the malice and killing intent directed at them, and they do this to spare their companions of such emotions. Raising them for livestock will eventually involve slaughter, but if they can be raised to a certain age, it’s unlikely they will take their own lives, so they believe they can manage it with proper care. This is why Viscount Archlight decided to build a ranch near the lake where Blue Lake Bulls inhabit, not only for research but also for raising them as livestock.

“I had heard that Blue Lake Bulls were difficult to hunt, but is that their ecology?”

“They are quite prolific, but as C-rank monsters, few individuals survive to adulthood. Therefore, to allow young ones to grow, Viscount Archlight has fenced off a section of the lake, creating a safe environment for the Blue Lake Bulls.”

“It sounds like a difficult undertaking, but if Blue Lake Bulls can be supplied stably, both we and the common people will rejoice.”

Indeed. My concern is the evolution of the Blue Lake Bull. However, looking at already domesticated Battle Horses, Wyverns, Preciser, and Grantpus, they don’t evolve easily unless they form a pact with a familiar or summoned beast. While evolution does occur rarely, even the Surging Buffalo, a G-I rank monster, doesn’t actively attack people. Its appetite can decimate the surrounding ecosystem, which would be a significant problem, but in such cases, they would likely issue a request to high-ranking hunters for subjugation. Incidentally, Blue Lake Bulls also inhabit Veil Lake, and its lord, Sir Yuri, is considering raising them for livestock, similar to the Viscountcy of Diamante.

“Blue Lake Bull, huh? Don’t they also inhabit Gran Lancia?”

“They do, but near the foot of the Temellario Great Sky Wall. If we were to do it here, we’d need cooperation from hunters and Beastars, making it difficult.”

While His Majesty Icelicht Bridge of the Grand Lancia Bridge Duchy wears a bitter expression, I recall that at the foot of the Temellario Great Sky Wall lies the largest lake in the Libertà region, the Vare Lake. However, the Temellario Great Sky Wall is inhabited by Valkyries, and even the Demise Species Valkyrie Empress, so the development of Vare Lake has proceeded slowly, and fishing there is said to be a life-threatening endeavor. The Valkyrie Empress has not appeared, but it is said that Anomaly Species Valkyrie Princesses have been sighted multiple times, and higher species Rune Valkyries and Rare Species Norn Valkyries are said to be fishing in Vare Lake daily.

“It’s a troublesome issue.”

“Ah. If we request it now, they might subjugate them, but I don’t know if we can afford the reward. We can pay, but that alone would consume most of our budget.”

That’s a problem. We’ve suffered damage from Anomaly Species Valkyries several times, but the Valkyrie Empress has never been sighted at the foot of the wall, and there are no sightings of the Catastrophe Species Valkyrie Queen. Therefore, subjugation requests are almost always for rare species or lower. I believe Yamato would accept a request, but the Temellario Great Sky Wall is a sheer cliff that towers into the clouds, and its habitat is unknown. We would have to start with an investigation. Furthermore, the interior of the Temellario Great Sky Wall is a labyrinth, and many hunters are inside. If we were to provoke them carelessly, it could lead to significant casualties among them. The Temellario Labyrinth has at least 27 floors, and S-rank monsters begin to appear from the 26th floor. Perhaps because the Temellario Great Sky Wall itself is a labyrinth, the floors are not very wide, and experienced hunters can reach the 20th floor within a day without difficulty. Moreover, only T-rank monsters appear up to the 5th floor of the Temellario Labyrinth, so I’ve heard that occasionally people other than hunters enter. Also, it’s said that Valkyries wouldn’t want a labyrinth flood to occur, so they generally don’t attack in the area from the Temellario Labyrinth entrance to northern Gran Lancia.

“Listening to you, it’s almost like coexistence with Valkyries in a way.”

“It’s more like they coexist as long as neither of us encroaches on the other’s territory or domain. It’s similar to Nidh on Enigma Island; Demise Species likely find labyrinth floods troublesome and understand that there are humans stronger than them. So, perhaps on the northern bank of Gran Lancia, it might be manageable?”

“If we were to do it, it would be there, but it’s not a very large area considering the territory. I doubt it could meet the supply demands.”

That’s the problem, isn’t it? If we’re going to do it, we need to prepare a vast area, but since we don’t know what the Valkyries might do, it’s understandable that they can’t proceed with development. Even if we were to subjugate them, with a Demise Species like the Valkyrie Empress, requests would have to go to Ancient Class individuals, and given the location of the Temellario Great Sky Wall, requesting Wing Crest, which has Ancient Dragonians, would be optimal. This would inevitably lead to Yamato, who has evolved into an Element Human, also receiving a request. Furthermore, demi-humans like Valkyries only yield magic stones when defeated, so they cannot supplement request fees by selling materials. Ideally, they’d want to subjugate them before any damage occurs, but with a Demise Species as the opponent, forming a subjugation team is difficult. Moreover, the Valkyrie Empress has not caused any damage, making it a truly agonizing situation. After all, isn’t it true that while the existence of the Valkyrie Empress is confirmed, no one has actually seen it?

“If their nest is known, I think subduing them is an option, but no human has seen it, right?”

“No one has definitively seen it. I believe it was sighted from a distance about 150 years ago.”

“There’s less information than I thought.”

This was the first time I’d heard that story too, but as Mako says, there’s almost no information.

“I agree, but records show that a large-scale subjugation team was assembled around that time, resulting in a complete annihilation. That’s why the Hunter’s Guild at the time concluded that the Valkyrie Empress was born.”

Even for Anomaly Species and Catastrophe Species, investigations are conducted based on even uncertain information, and subjugation teams are sometimes formed. For Demise Species, it’s even more natural. The information His Majesty Icelicht provided indicates that the investigation team, following standard procedure, was organized and dispatched to the Temellario Great Sky Wall, but due to its location, detailed investigation was impossible. Nevertheless, the investigation team, while sustaining injuries, managed to subdue the Valkyrie Princess, leading the Hunter’s Guild to deem it urgent and organize a subjugation team of 200 people. They had intended to approach the Ancient Class for participation, but Kazushi-sama and Elie-sama were unable to travel from Torencia, Shinichi-sama was in Bacion, and Jeanne-sama and Blast-sama were engaged in subjugating other Anomaly or Catastrophe Species, so according to records, no one could participate. However, since they weren’t sure if the Valkyrie Empress truly existed, they departed as a subjugation team for the Valkyrie Princess.

Oh, Blast Roartalismen-sama was a male Loxy, a former O-rank hunter. Unfortunately, he passed away about 20 years ago, but I heard he passed away peacefully surrounded by his grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and great-great-grandchildren who had evolved into High Class.

“Ah, I thought it was strange when I heard the Valkyrie Empress had never had a subjugation team formed for it, but it was dispatched as an anomaly species subjugation team.”

“That’s right. That’s why, even without Kazushi-sama and the others participating, the records show that the subjugation team was organized. If they had confirmed the Valkyrie Empress, they would have gathered all five Ancient Class individuals.”

Of course. They were capable of achieving such results that it’s said the Thrum Lord’s subjugation would have succeeded if not for the Anomaly Species Icequake Tiger. If those five had participated, they might have been able to subjugate the Valkyrie Empress. However, unfortunately, no one had seen the Valkyrie Empress, and the fact that the Valkyrie Princess had been successfully subjugated meant that the assembled hunters likely focused more on subjugating the remaining rare species rather than the anomaly. This is precisely why the mission resulted in annihilation and why the Temellario Great Sky Wall has been designated as an absolute danger zone to this day.

“It’s a vexing issue. If I had the means, I would consider going for subjugation, but that’s not the case right now. Fortunately, it seems we’re safe as long as we don’t encroach on their territory, so I apologize, but please let it wait for now.”

“I understand. Rather, if you were truly going to attempt subjugation, we would be immensely grateful. Preparing the reward would be difficult, but if we start preparing now, we might manage.”

Yamato says this apologetically, but His Majesty Icelicht would also be put in a difficult position if they were to go immediately. No, he welcomes the subjugation itself, but the issue of the reward that would arise afterward is problematic. Yamato’s Wing Crest has a track record of subjugating four Demise Species and five monsters: the Orc Emperor, Orc Empress, Thrum Lord, Antlion Empress, and Hanuman. Furthermore, he has now evolved to level 102 as an Element Human. In addition, there are over ten Ancient Class individuals. Therefore, they could likely subjugate even the Valkyrie Empress. However, with demi-humans, including the Valkyrie Empress, only magic stones can be used as materials after defeating them, and those magic stones are to be presented to His Majesty the Celestial Emperor, meaning there is no benefit of materials even if they are defeated through great effort. In such cases, they would have to be compensated with honor, money, or materials prepared by the client. However, Yamato has been granted the noble title of Fraydlancia and can earn more than enough money by simply going on hunts. As for materials, due to his evolution, he uses at least P-rank monsters. Therefore, while his combat strength is exceptionally reliable, it presents a tremendous challenge regarding rewards for the client.

“The standard fee is fine. Actually, if I don’t do it that way, I won’t be able to properly accept any requests myself.”

Yamato knows this, so he has no choice but to say so. Of course, if a request is made, it will be a special request, so it will be slightly more than the standard fee. Given the opponent, they would have to specially request Ancient Hunters, and even if money is the reward, it would be tens of millions of El, at the very least, so if they don’t prepare from now, they not only won’t be able to pay but the Grand Lancia Bridge Duchy could collapse. I doubt that would happen, as Emperor Reinhardt would surely provide assistance. No, since Emperor Reinhardt has also evolved into an Ancient Elf, he might even want to participate himself. That would be a far more significant problem than the financial one. At least, the fact that they are not going to subjugate them today or tomorrow is a relief.