Training / Seraph

(1) Training

Since you can't challenge from a higher position to a lower one, I could only challenge Ursula to a battle once a day.

That meant the rest of the time had to be spent grinding levels by some other means.

Just zoning out and doing nothing was out of the question. There was no way I wouldn't throw myself wholeheartedly into a battle where losing meant losing Kanan.

Then there were the non-regular members, the separate group led by Yuria.

Since we were the ones fighting, they couldn't fight Ursula themselves.

As for how to train those non-regular members, plus how to train ourselves during the hours we weren't fighting Ursula, Ursula herself was happy to advise me on it.

"Challenging other B-Class Masters to battles… that's a poor strategy. To begin with, B-Class versus B-Class battles aren't easily arranged.

"They can refuse, after all. The moment they see we're a tough opponent, they won't bite. You'd have to dangle something they absolutely must have, set up all sorts of schemes; it just won't work without that.

"The risk of losing… goes without saying, so I'll set that aside, but the rest of the hassle is too much trouble.

"So, barring that, monster subjugation is what I'd recommend. It would make for good training.

"Monster subjugation tasks are normally assigned to A-Class and above, but I shall route them directly to you.

"Easy tasks for the Yuria party, difficult tasks for the Naoto party. That should work nicely."

So, monster subjugation, huh…

We B-Class Masters are free to wander into monster territory and fight monsters whenever we like, but…

When the monsters in a given region grew unusually active and needed thinning out, or when an unexpected powerful enemy appeared somewhere and needed to be put down, frequent tasks came up that only higher-ranked Masters could handle, and clearing those was what "monster subjugation" referred to.

If you completed one, the System paid out a reward. Apparently it made for a pretty decent income.

Conversely, if your completion count was too low, you could even be punished for failing in your duties as a noble.

"Monster subjugation… thank you. That'll give me something to work toward."

So this was what they called a quest. Things were starting to feel properly RPG-like at last.

"By rights, S-Class, A-Class, B-Class, C-Class… each rank ought to be handling monster subjugation appropriate to its level, I think.

"But as it stands, only the S-Class and A-Class are doing any of it…"

"Is that because B-Class and below can't perform monster subjugation?"

"That's not it. They simply need to pick tasks suited to them.

"… The truth is, the A-Class doesn't want the B-Class growing stronger. The B-Class can challenge A-Class anytime, after all.

"Better to keep them busy chasing money than letting them entertain ambitions, that's the thinking.

"And the B-Class themselves prefer running their territories to facing the danger of death in monster subjugation.

"It's a deplorable state of affairs.

"That's why the B-Class ranked 1 through 500 are all such a sorry lot.

"A B-Class Sub-Master's role is generally to die in their master's place during monster subjugation.

"Now, I don't intend to dismiss territory management itself. That, too, is necessary work.

"But I think the B-Class ranked 501 and below should be expanded considerably, and the B-Class 1 through 500 split into a territory-management track and a monster-subjugation track…

"I have been meeting with B-Class Masters in person and asking whether they're willing to take on monster subjugation duties.

"Most reluctantly accept because it's an order from an S-Class Master. After two or three subjugations, they start finding excuse after excuse to refuse.

"… You're the very first to accept it as a matter of course, and to even thank me on top of that."

Ursula laughed as she said it.

… And then, the next day, a monster subjugation task arrived right away.

Or rather, Ursula came through a Gate herself, accompanied by Libera, to deliver it in person.

"Hoho. So this is your home.

"Not bad. A small but warm household, eh?"

Chest puffed out and arms folded, Ursula looked around my house.

"… You've got time on your hands?"

"I do not! But I'm assigning you your first job. As your employer, I must check whether there's anything to worry about. That's all there is to it."

I wonder if that's really true…

"Now, this is the request form for the monster subjugation. Read it carefully."

With that, Ursula produced a sheet of paper.

Something like that.

The money would apparently be transferred through the System.

"This asterisk… so for example, if this Magical Beast actually had 100 of them, we'd correct that… Provided we make it back alive."

"Mm, just so."

Ursula added a supplement.

"LV74 is what we call monster level. It's not equivalent to a Garumon's level.

"Roughly speaking, it represents the LV that an HR-Class Garumon would reach if it grew smoothly without being capped at level 40.

"For an SR-Class Garumon, multiply by about 0.8; SSR-Class by 0.6; UR-Class by 0.5. So for the likes of you, it's an opponent on the order of LV37.

"But monster subjugation is a real exchange of life and death.

"There are difficulties there that LV alone cannot express.

"Don't you dare let your guard down."

She gave me that piece of advice.

Incidentally, the Magical Beast Gurubon we'd been mowing down as small fry the other day went up to LV45 or so, meaning it was effectively only around LV23 in real terms.

That sounded about right. The evaluation seemed accurate.

"All right, we'll head out right away."

"Mm. Approach with due seriousness."

And so, watched over by Colette and Ursula, we set off on the monster subjugation.

We departed in two formations: the Yuria party and my party.

We searched around the sand highway where the appearances had been reported.

Along the way, we were attacked by an unrelated wild monster.

Since taking on the monster subjugation, the System had been upgraded.

For monsters whose information was already registered, the System displayed name and characteristics, so all we had to do was check.

"Sand Snake, LV20, Element: Earth, huh."

If it's only LV20…

"Yuria, you're up."

"Yes, let's go, Luna!"

"Got it. Haaa!"

Zaku! … A clean, splendid finish.

"Magnificent. Truly beautiful swordsmanship."

I praised Luna. It was just my honest impression of it.

"Hehe, thank you. I have ten years of fencing experience, you know."

Luna proudly puffed out her chest.

And eventually…

"Goshujin-sama, here, there's an antlion pit, nya…!"

"Here, huh… grab some convenient monster and toss it in."

"Got it, nya."

When Adelia found a nearby Sand Snake, she lightly knocked it loose and lobbed it into the burrow.

Then…

Gushaaaaa!

A massive centipede, or maybe an antlion, burst out. Three of them, no less.

The System display read… Dusk Baker!

"No mistake, this is it! We're taking them down! Kanan, Haru, Suzanne!"

I sent out the two with elemental advantage and Suzanne. Then…

The strategy was straightforward: while Haru guarded, Kanan and Suzanne would clean up with magic.

"Tempest!"

"Tornado!"

The antlions slashed at us with their massive pincers.

"Earth Barrier!"

The attacks were absorbed by Haru.

For the monsters' HP gauges, Kanan dealt a touch under 1/4, Suzanne a touch over 1/4, for total damage approaching 1/2 across the board in a single turn.

Unfortunately it didn't quite cross 1/2, so it would take three turns, but Haru's HP had plenty of margin.

… Beyond expectation, it was completely unimpressive. The equivalent of a normal random encounter in an RPG.

Just as calculated, on turn three, we finished them off with mid-tier techniques.

Payment was apparently handled automatically by the System. Complete was displayed, and our funds had increased by 30,000G.

"…? Is that all? In a game, this would be a typical fetch quest, huh."

If anything, the volume of information itself was greater than in a game. This time we just had to find the burrow.

Well, lives are on the line, that much is true. Even this time, if we'd walked carelessly, we could have been swallowed by an antlion and died.

… In that respect, it differs from Garumon Battle, where Masters absolutely cannot come to harm.

Maybe that's where the fear lies for other Masters.

… That said, I'd lived in a world where if you died, you just died.

The moment you have something like HP protecting you, this world is soft.

So, monster subjugation went without any particular trouble, and proved reasonably useful for leveling up.

It was especially helpful for raising Patty and Luna's levels.

(2) Seraph

"Suzanne, you were going at it pretty hard with Ursula's Raphaela Cellas, weren't you.

"What's a Seraph?"

I knew it was a class of some sort, but I asked just to have it explained to me.

"Indeed. I shall have to explain it to Onii-sama. About me, Luna, Angels, and our growth."

And then Suzanne began her explanation.

"An Angel-type Garumon is a powerful Garumon of God-element. Every one of them is SR-Class or higher.

"Whether SR-Class, SSR-Class, or UR-Class, they're top-tier Garumon.

"Characteristic skills include Angel Halo, which doubles all stats, and Angel Wing, which blocks attacks.

"Angel growth has a particular feature.

"Namely, that they're already Advanced-Job Angels at LV1. And… at LV30 they become the Top-Tier Job, Archangel.

"This is common to all Angels. But at LV50, they class-change one more time.

"This is where things differ for each Angel.

"The class-change destination for most SR-Class Angels is Principality. The class rank stays at Top-Tier Job.

"It's the standard among SR-Class Angels, but among SR-Class Garumon as a whole, it's unquestionably top tier.

"After all, God-element is a strong element to begin with.

"A portion of SR-Class Angels class-change into Power. That's an Ultimate Job in rank.

"… Mind you, among Ultimate-Job Garumon, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call it the weakest class.

"But among SR-Class Garumon, it's unquestionably the strongest. In fact, I doubt there's any other way for an SR-Class to reach an Ultimate Job.

"Most SSR-Class Angels class-change into Virtue. Among SSR-Class Angels it's the bad-roll class, but Virtue is still plenty strong, needless to say.

"Very, very rarely, even an SR-Class can class-change into it. In that case, it would have peerless combat strength as an SR-Class.

"A portion of SSR-Class Angels class-change into Dominion. Naturally a powerful class. The reason SSR-Class Angels are called the strongest is precisely because of Dominion's strength.

"… And then, UR-Class Angels. UR-Class Angels' class-change destinations split into three.

"Throne: an SSR-Class can rarely reach this. It's the standard class for UR-Class.

"Cherub: it's said that only superior UR-Class Angels reach this. Of course, since UR-Class Angels are superior as a matter of course, the majority end up here. If anything, Throne is the bad roll.

"And then, even among UR-Class, the truly limited few, the apex of the apex among Angels. That is… Seraph. Currently only four exist in the world.

"Seraph is the Angel of Angels. There's no need to even say they're the strongest Angels.

"There are cases of class-changing from Seraph, an Ultimate Job, to the Legendary Job of Goddess.

"Mother… Goddess Mercheada was once the Seraph Michaela Mercheada.

"And Goddess Aqueria was once the Seraph Gabriella Aqueria.

"Because that's known, Seraph is sometimes treated as a pre-Goddess class, but…

"That's not quite right. Rather, Seraph is a class that even rivals the Legendary Job of Goddess!

"As proof, take a look at the 24 Strongest Garumon in the Garumon Yearbook."

At her urging, I looked back at the Garumon Yearbook… Well, I remembered it without needing to.

"Right now, only four Seraphs exist in the world.

"But of those four,

"Michaela Hilde,

"Gabriella Aqua,

"and Uriela Aisha, all three of them rank among the 24 Strongest Garumon! Yes, this too is all proof that Seraph is the strongest!"

… In that respect, only Raphaela Cellas isn't ranked, huh.

If I said that, would Cellas get angry, I wonder. No, I think it'd be more like, "I'm simply still immature. I must train all the more."

"And so… what Luna and I are aiming for is, of course, Seraph!

"I, of course, want to dethrone Michaela Hilde and reclaim the title of Michaela that Mother once held!

"And Luna, by all means, Uriela or Gabriella or Raphaela! Or it'd be just as well to create a new Seraph title!

"Become a Seraph together with me!"

… So Suzanne reeled off passionately.

"Uh, um… when you say 'dethrone,' how exactly do you do that?"

"… Well, this is only one theory, but…

"For a Seraph to become a Goddess, they say there must be a successor Garumon to follow them.

"… Specifically, that means Michaela Hilde.

"That infuriating woman who usurped Mother's title is, vexing as it is, already strong enough to rival a Goddess.

"And yet, the reason she still can't quite become a Goddess is, it's said, because there's no Garumon to succeed her as Michaela.

"In fact, Mercheada became a Goddess after Hilde was born, but before Hilde became a Seraph. Aqueria too became a Goddess after Aqua was born, but before Aqua became a Seraph.

"In other words… Well, it's complicated to be the one giving that woman a push, but…

"This me! This me, worthy of Seraph!

"Could succeed Hilde and rise to the position of Michaela!

"… Or so I'm thinking.

"That's also why I couldn't just stay under Reichhardt, accumulating low-level battles until I reached LV50.

"If I'd done that, I might've only become a Cherub.

"Of course, even if I became a Cherub, I would absolutely become a Seraph after that!

"… But to date, there hasn't been a single account of a LV50 Angel raising their rank.

"Garumon possibilities are infinite, so if I were a Cherub, I would be the first one.

"… But under Onii-sama Naoto's tutelage, I believe I'll surely be able to become a Seraph directly!"

Suzanne grew even more impassioned as she went on.

"I see. Then I'll have to train you all properly so that can happen."

"Yes, exactly so, Onii-sama Naoto!"

"If that succeeds, two of the four Seraphs in the world would be my comrades…

"No, even Raphaela Cellas would surely come along if I made Ursula my Sub-Master.

"Which would make three Seraphs as comrades!

"… And then, if I could just somehow secure Uriela Aisha or Gabriella Aqua, the Seraph collection would be complete!

"… Mmm, this stirs the collector spirit in me. Maybe… I'll aim for it after all."

"Wonderful, Onii-sama Naoto! What a splendid ambition! As men should, that's exactly the kind of grand aspiration to hold!

"And to that end, this future-Seraph Suzanne and future-Seraph Luna shall support Onii-sama Naoto with all our strength!"

With Suzanne hyping me up like that, I started genuinely wanting to give it a try.

But, sure. The possibilities are infinite.

Aiming for something on that scale… might just be all right.

So once I'd gathered the Seraphs, what would I do with them…? Something like this, perhaps.

"Nn, hamu, nchu, Onii-sama, Onii-samaa…"

Suzanne was sucking on my penis. Quite passionately, at that…

Thanks to the special training with Ursula and the repeated monster subjugations, Suzanne's level had been climbing steadily.

… She'd promised me a reward whenever her level rose.

Suzanne kept that promise faithfully. Whenever her level rose, that night…

"Onii-sama! My level has gone up again! … As a reward for raising me so well, allow me to grant you this…"

It would begin with a passionate kiss, and then, just like this… she'd make me feel good.

Suzanne's beautiful lips stroked my penis.

The sensation was unbearably pleasant, the sight lewd and enjoyable, and altogether wonderful, blissful…

But, what is it, what could it be? No, it's not "what could it be." I'm hitting my limit, too.

Surrounded by so many lewd, cute, attractive girls, the life of being able to have sex only with Leone is, frankly, hitting its limit.

Not that there's anything wrong with Leone. She's truly wonderful and I have no complaints whatsoever, but…

And this life is one I chose for myself! The only one I currently can't do it with is Kanan; everyone else would surely accept me… but the one being selfish about saying it has to be Kanan first is me.

Still, I don't want to rank the others against each other. And if we're talking about ranking, the very first to become my comrade was Kanan.

So if Kanan goes first, the others will accept it, and to skip Kanan's turn would be an act that treated Kanan with disrespect…

I myself thought, of all people. So it can't be helped.

… And so, with that much stress piling up, it was a bit of a stress that Suzanne would only give me fellatio and paizuri.

Listen to me. How spoiled am I, really…

Dopyu, dokku-dokun!

"Nn, nn, nnn…!"

I poured it into Suzanne's mouth.

It feels good, of course, so I do properly ejaculate, you know…

If at the very least she'd let me have mouth-sex, deep-throat, my mind would be at ease.

"… Onii-sama Naoto, you have a clouded look… Was my service unsatisfying?"

"N-No, that's not it! It was very good, Suzanne."

I embraced Suzanne and… kissed her.

"It's just, in the harshness of the path I chose for myself… I felt a bit of dizziness, like I was about to lose myself.

"… I know, it's just a little further… But that little further is so far away…

"Thinking about that, I just, you know."

"Onii-sama Naoto…!"

… Hm? Suzanne had her eyes sparkling somehow, gazing at me with eyes full of admiration…

"It's all right, Onii-sama Naoto! Suzanne shall support Onii-sama on his journey!

"However harsh the road, I myself shall be the staff that supports you, and the sword that cuts open the way!

"I shall not let any obstacle hinder Onii-sama's path!"

"… Th-Thank you…"

Huh, well, certainly, when it comes to defeating Yamagata-kun, who's the obstacle to me having sex with Kanan, I do want Suzanne to give it her all.

… But she sounded like she was talking about taking on something far more grand, somehow…

… Somehow, with Suzanne admiring me with sparkling eyes like that, the atmosphere had become one where I couldn't exactly say "please let me put my dick in your throat."

W-Well, whatever… the mood's nice, so endure, endure.

It's just a feeling, but I get the sense that Suzanne overestimates me beyond my actual size.

… But I don't intend to correct it. It's vastly better than being looked down on as a slave like in the past.

If she's overestimating me, then I just have to grow that much more to live up to it.

Continuing to meet the expectations of those who place their hopes in me. That was what I had resolved.