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

It seemed like the First Angel Lupto had come even though she had seen through Allen's plan.

(Hm? Ahh, I see. So Lupto is like me, we're like kindred spirits.)

Allen understood Lupto's situation thanks to his experience as a businessman in his past life.

The Gods of the divine realm had a certain hierarchy, with Elmea on top, but not all Gods liked to follow that hierarchy, and it was Lupto's duty to regulate it.

In his past life, Allen had been a businessman, and there had been times when his superiors would disagree, even amongst themselves, and would give Allen orders he did not like.

(I guess that's the relationship between Elmea and Garm.)

Sometimes his manager would give him an order that went against what the supervisor wanted.

In those cases, his only option was to inform the supervisor, who had more authority, and receive a clear indication, though that would sometimes upset the manager.

Now the same was happening between Gods, and that put Allen and Lupto at odds.

Both of them were just silently looking at each other now, until Allen decided to speak.

"I realize I've put you in a tricky situation, I apologize for causing so much trouble."

'Allen, you've really been testing the limits of the Gods' patience with this stunt.'

"That wasn't my intention at all, I didn't mean to cause any dissension."

Lupto was well aware of why Allen had gone to talk with the God of Wind.

(So Lupto noticed that too, I guess it makes sense as she's the First Angel serving the God of Creation. Then again, it's also Elmea who has to actually turn Rame into a God, all the prayers of the world won't matter a thing if he decides not to do that.)

Allen's visit to the God of Wind's Temple and his provocation had forced Elmea to act.

But if he had placed all those magic devices without that visit, Elmea would have been far more enraged, and it would have been impossible to complete Giran's trial.

It was time for Allen's plan to enter its final step, so his mind kicked into high gear, but Lupto grinned.

'It seems we don't have to talk more. Lord Elmea himself will grant you an answer.'

The Grimoire appeared in front of Allen.

"Huh? Oh!"

The Grimoire's first page began to glow.

(It's been a while since I got a letter like this. Let's see...)

"Could I read it here?"

'Go ahead.'

Receiving permission from Lupto, Allen opened the letter while Cecile and Sophie gathered behind him to read too.

Dear Allen:

Thank you for your continued hard work.

I've been informed about the current situation through Lupto.

While ideally I'd like to allow you to act independently, there were some points I could not overlook here, so I had to send out the First Angel Lupto as my representative.

I apologize for any unpleasantness that might have arisen from that.

Moving on, as you have rightfully pointed out, I've verified that you've provided a large contribution to the divine realm to clear up some stagnation.

Considering what you've done for us, and your pure drive to overcome trials, I've made a decision.

I've taken notice of Rameciel's prayers for the Mythical Bird Ram, so I'll consider opening a spot amongst the Gods.

I'll inform the Beast God Garm once there's progress with that.

There was no need to inform you of this, but considering your involvement, as well as the Beast God Giran's trial, I decided it was best to let you know as well.

I realize this might be troublesome, but please let the Beast God Giran know of this as well.

I'll be looking forward to you and your party's further efforts.

From the God of Creation Elmea and all the Divine Realm Staff.

It was a letter from the God of Creation Elmea, like many he had received in the past.

(Alright! I've completed the trial, I wonder what the reward will be, ehehehh.)

The letter contained just what Allen had been wanting, so he celebrated in his mind.

Now the conditions to complete the trial had been met, making Allen's head fill with the reward Giran had promised.

'Allen, would you mind letting me see the letter as well?'

"Go ahead."

Allen showed the page with the letter to Lupto.

'We'll have to respect Lord Elmea's decision then.'

"My apologies for making you come all this way."

Even if they were kindred spirits, they continued regarding each other with formality.

Allen nodded many times, then flipped to another page in the Grimoire.

(The letter isn't everything that happened.)

'Oh, so you've been making some progress with the Generation Skill too?'

"Yes, thanks to my friends' help and all the Spirit Stones I gathered. Thank you for always creating Skills for me, Merus also seemed happy about it."

(I'll thank her while I'm at it.)

Seeing how much stronger Merus had become made Allen want to thank her.

'...Keep striving to get stronger. Remember you don't have a lot of time left.'

Even though Allen mentioned Merus, Lupto's face remained unchanged.

She actually stared at Allen with more severity than when they talked earlier.

"...I swear to do that."

Allen was not sure where the conversation was going, but for now he agreed.

'Lady Lupto, what is happening now~?'

The Archangel Ranran had been unable to keep up with the conversation.

'The God of Creation Elmea will take matters in his own hand. You can rest easy about the God of Wind Ninlil.'

'Ohh! I knew I could count on the God of Creation Elmea~'

The Archangel began to hop around and dance happily.

Then Lupto moved a distance away from Allen and knelt in front of the king of Rameciel.

'Bird King Oolon, we appreciate your daily prayers. We'll take our leave now, but try to keep praying to Rame from now on.'

"Y-yes! The entire country will keep praying."

The king replied while bowing so much his beak sunk into the carpet.

'We'll take our leave now then.'

Lupto grabbed the dancing Archangel by the neck and began flying to the ceiling.

The 4 angels were enveloped in light and then vanished.

"Somehow it worked out after all."

Sophie sounded relieved.

The king also finally stood up again and walked towards Allen.

"Is that true? It worked out?"

The king and prime minister could not see the Grimoire, so they were out of the loop.

Since the angels had left, the queen and princess also ran back to the king's side.

Everyone turned to look at Allen then, as he had caused the entire situation.

"Yes, Your Majesty. It seems the God of Creation Elmea has gained appreciation for the prayers of birdmen for the Mythical Bird Rame, and they have borne fruit."

(The ends always justify the means, even if they include some deception after all.)

"O-ohh!! I see, I see. Good job, Allen."

"So the magic devices installed in the capital can remain, but I doubt we'll be allowed to install the rest of them…"

(I didn't budget for that, and I didn't want to end up having to scrap a bunch of devices anyway.)

Allen was always careful with his budget.

"O-of course! We can't forget how much we owe the God of Wind after all!"

As Allen pulled back from his first offer, the prime minister quickly agreed with him.

The prime minister also understood that installing all those magic devices would incite the wrath of the Gods.

The king also agreed with the prime minister.

Cecile then stood up from kneeling and took a deep breath.

"Ugh, that was way too close for comfort! Do you get it now?!!"

"Yeah, I know. The quest is basically complete now so we should go to receive our reward from Giran!"

"No way…you really don't get it."

Cecile was completely baffled, but Allen paid no attention to her.

＊＊＊

The banquet was over and the next day came.

Allen's group was standing in front of a gate.

In Rameciel, the sun would set early and rise late, but there was plenty of sunlight already.

"She didn't even come out to get breakfast…"

"I guess Rosalina hasn't changed at all. Cecile, Sophie, drag her out."

Everyone was in front of the room of the one person who had not come out of her room yet.

Cecile and Sophie went in, and soon after some sort of fight broke out.

"Hey, stop that! I'm not good on the mornings!!"

"Hey, what is more important, your bangs or the world?"

"My bangs!!"

(I guess she didn't come out because she couldn't get her bangs right today.)

Rosalina's spirit would not lose against Cecile's.

Once they got her out, they all left quickly since the quest had been completed.

They arrived at the small hill with the stone platform with a radius of around 500 meters on top. Near one of the 1 meter tall bumps were Shea and Giran.

"We're finally here. Sorry for keeping you waiting."

They had just finished their morning training, and they were taking a break now.

Giran called that place his Sanctuary, and Shea had been living there for nearly a month now.

(Nice, she warmed up already then.)

"I wouldn't really say that, but since you're back, does that mean…"

"Yeah, we're done. We're here to report back to Lord Giran."

Allen was sure that the letter he received from Elmea yesterday proved he had completed Giran's 2nd trial, and approached Giran who was standing in the center of the Sanctuary.

'...'

Giran silently watched Allen's face.

While he remained silent, Allen's group reported what they had accomplished.

"