Hellmode ~A Hardcore Gamer Becomes Peerless in Another World with Retro Game Settings~

Allen's group had solved the task given to them by the Great Spirit God.

The waning Spring of Life had been restored, and they left the Spirit Paradise.

It was hard to remain there as Ponzu and Konzu still looked infuriated by the collapse of the Great Spirit God's Shrine, so the group headed back to Shandar.

Allen, Sophie, Luck, Merus, and Lupto teleported to a room in the palace there.

"There's no one here, I guess Fiona went to the city?"

There were some signs that Peromus and Fiona had been there recently.

"I guess she's checking the city with Peromus. Let's just sit down and talk for now."

(So Peromus is working hard. I really need that money so I'll probably have to help him though.)

Allen's group sat down at a round table to talk.

The Heavenly King had made them wait for half a month before granting them an audience, and even then kept treating them as inferior. But after seeing Merus, the king became more cooperative. That was how they secured that meeting room to discuss things.

Merus' connection with the king was also how they got in contact with Lupto.

Peromus and Fiona had the task of obtaining 100'000'000 gold coins in 3 months, but they were struggling making good deals in the divine realm and were still short of their goal.

So Allen decided to help him now that he was done with the matters in the Spirit Paradise.

"I really thought that was it for us though. At least we got through somehow."

Cecile was thinking of their last fight, making Allen think of that too.

'S-somehow?! Did you see what you did to the Great Spirit God's mountain?!!'

The Great Spirit God's mountain had been destroyed during the fight.

(Mhm, it was a really hard task. But we managed to fulfill it.)

Allen missed the excitement from that fight.

'Lupto! That's enough!!'

'I'm so sorry, brother…'

Lupto reacted to Cecile, but was quickly reprimanded by Merus.

(Why is Lupto glaring at me again?)

Allen was reminded of his sister Muras, but then noticed Lupto was glaring at him.

"So what should we do now?"

Formar asked Allen, since Sophie still looked depressed having left Rosen behind.

"Well, I guess Sophie, Luck, and Formar can go to the divine realm's arenas."

"The arenas? So we'll also be trained by Gods."

"Yes, we all came to the divine realm to get stronger. You three entered Extra Mode, and Formar can visit the God I pulled."

(Though I guess they'll have to increase their Levels a little first, since I don't know if they gain Experiences in the arenas.)

Allen made sure to emphasize when he said he pulled that God, since he had been the one to obtain the Divine Compass of the God of Bows Korone.

Just like Kurena and Helmios' party, Sophie and Luck could also visit a God and train to become stronger, now that they were both in Extra Mode.

Sophie knew how to use a bow, and Luck's Divine Artifact looked like a dagger.

They had already gained 20 Levels when defeating the Spirit Beast, but the cap for Extra Mode was 99, so Sophie, Luck, and Formar would need to hunt Iron Golems for a bit to reach Level 90, and then they could find a Demigod Rank ghost and reach Level 99.

"I see, I'd like to report everything that happened to the Queen though, could you give us some days?"

Formar asked for some time before going to hunt Iron Golems.

"Formar! Why would you…"

"Hm? I see."

Formar suggested Sophie and Luck return to their homes for a bit, since the fate of elves and dark elves hinged on the conflict, and they deserved to know what happened.

(Formar seems a bit more reliable than before. I wonder what happened to him. The Great Spirit God also looked strange at him, so I'll have to ask about that later.)

Formar usually kept his thoughts to himself, but after coming back from the Spirit Paradise he started being more active. It was almost like Formar had seen something no one else had.

Sophie felt a bit overwhelmed with that change, but Allen agreed with him.

'I'll take them there then.'

Since they were done talking, Merus offered to take them to their homes.

"No, don't worry about that. I'm sure there's things you'd like to discuss with Lupto alone."

Merus had called Lupto to be a mediator in the issue in the Spirit Paradise, and even obtained thousands of contracts for the spirits, so he had worked a lot already.

Allen decided to give him a break so he could catch up with his sister.

'Really?! You'll let my brother rest?'

'Hm? Are you sure? And don't you have to present a report to Elmea too, Lupto?'

'Don't worry, I'll take care of that.'

(Merus is always serious about everything, while Lupto is more carefree. Hmm…catching up with family, huh.)

Lupto and Merus looked similar as twins, but their personalities were vastly different.

Allen took Sophie and Formar to Rosenheim, leaving Merus alone with Lupto.

Then he went with Luck to Fabraze, appearing right in front of King Arbus and his aides.

They had been waiting in the room where Allen's [Nest] was located.

"Ohh, Lucktod has returned safely!!"

One of the elders broke into tears the instant he saw Luck.

"Wha- Hey! Stop that!! Ah, Father! I overcame the Great Spirit God's trial!!"

"Mm, good job, son."

Luck did not seem nearly as happy as the elder clinging onto him, but he still smiled at his father, telling him about the Great Spirit God. Luck's mother was standing next to the king, trembling slightly as she feared her son would not return, and now silently wiped her tears.

Allen and Cecile left soon after, leaving the family to talk alone.

After that, Allen and Cecile headed to Rodan Village, where Allen's parents lived.

"Rodan Village? Is this where you have business in the human realm?"

Cecile recognized the location, but did not understand why they were there.

"...Yes. I think I should tell my parents properly about us."

"Wha-?! Hey! About us?! But I'm not ready for that step yet!!"

Allen's voice was serious as Cecile's face flushed red.

"I'm not either. But I want to get it over with, so I just want you to watch from the side."

"If…you put it that way…alright…"

Cecile nodded and followed Allen to the village's chief house.

There was a long line there with people waiting to be treated by Muras, who had the Priest Talent.

(She's putting the Makris' Sacred Bead I gave her to good use, huh. I guess there's more injured people now that the village is bigger too.)

[Things that Allen gave to Muras]

-Makris' Sacred Bead: 1% Mana Regeneration, Strength +5000, Mana +5000, Intelligence +5000

-Ring with Strength +5000

-Ring with Mana +5000

He gave those things to Muras as a birthday present.

She had turned 10 in February, so he had given her Makris' Sacred Bead as a present then.

The rings were from last year.

"Ah! Allen!!"

"I'm back."

Muras noticed that Allen was back, so she stood up and ran along the line of people.

"Oh? It's just you two today?"

"Hello Muras, and yeah, do you remember Cecile?"

Cecile and Muras had seen each other before, shortly after the invasion of Rosenheim.

"Mhm! Hello Cecile!!"

Muras greeted Cecile with a bright smile, which seemed to trigger her maternal instincts, as she began to pat Muras' head.

"Muras, have you gotten better at using Skills?"

"Mhm. I use magic everyday!"

(Everyday, huh. Her Skill Level has reached its cap then.)

After Muras gained the Priest Talent from Rosen, she had gone along with the group hunting boars, raising her Level and Skill Level.

A high ranking priest from Elmea's Church had also been sent there, thanks to Kiel's influence as Pope Apprentice, who had helped Muras hone her skills.

On top of that, the Sacred Bead and rings had allowed her to use her Skills way more often.

Together with Muras, Allen and Cecile entered the house.

"Oh? Allen? You're back?"

Theresia, Allen's mother, noticed he was back as well.

"Yes, I'm home. I had something to do, so I came back."

"I see. Oh, I see Lady Cecile is with you too."

"Hello…"

Cecile was overcome with nerves.

"I have something important I have to tell you. Is dad here too?"

He asked for the village chief Rodan, who would often visit the nearby Kurena Village or travel to the city of Grandvelle.

"Huh? Umm… He's out right now, but he should return before dark. You know, that important thing… I won't be able to make something good enough for dinner…"

Theresia saw how red Cecile's face was, so she tried to guess what this was about.

"It's fine. I just want to eat your usual cooking."

Hearing that, she just said "I see" and went back to the kitchen.

An hour later, as it got dark outside, it was finally time for dinner.

Allen's parents also invited his grandparents from both sides over, so together with Allen, Cecile, and Muras, there were 9 people sitting for dinner.

They were sitting on the floor, while the table was filled with food.

(Oh? This is way fancier food than I expected. I guess it's because Cecile is here.)

Even though Theresia had said she could not make a lot, she still seemed to have put in some effort for Cecile.

Allen's mind was flooded with memories of his childhood while everyone else felt slightly stressed.

Everyone just ate, and even Muras fell silent.

"Dad…I actually came back today because I have to tell you something really important."

Allen addressed his father first, which Theresia noticed and looked straight at Rodan too.

"Hm? Ohh! I see. I guess it's finally time for you to go through that too, I'm really happy for you! It was so hard for me to do this…"

"Rodan!"

"Ah, right… I'm sorry. Anyway, what is it you want to tell us, Allen?"

Theresia called Rodan out for almost deviating the topic of conversation.

(Hm? What's he talking about?)

Somehow Allen did not seem to be in the same wavelength as his father, but he had come too far to give up.

"You know…I've been keeping a secret from you."

"I see, what is it, Allen?"

This time it was Theresia who leaned forward, telling Allen to continue.

Meanwhile Cecile's face kept getting redder.

The grandparents and Muras were also curious about it all, remaining still as they listened.

"The truth is…I've been fighting the Demon King."

(Phew, I finally said it.)

Allen closed his eyes, only listening for his family's reaction.

"Huh?"

"Huh?"

"Huh?"

(Hm?)

Rodan, Theresia, and even Cecile looked thoroughly confused, not knowing what to make of that.