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

It was 10 days after we conquered the S-class dungeon.

"Allen, you're in a good mood."

"Hmm?"Oh, yeah. Guffaw."

"What's 'guffaw'?"

Cecile asked in dismay as I exited the temple in a lilting rhythm and returned to our base.

My friends and I were hunting Iron Golems during that time.

I was in a very good mood after the hunt as my Level had increased.

(No~ as expected of Merle. I was right to increase the number of dents in the Magic Board to 20. Prince Zew's [Attack] increasing pendant is also working well.)

The efficiency of hunting Iron Golems had gone through the roof.

The reason for that was Merle's Magic Board that could fit twice as many Stone Slabs then before, and the increased status of her Mithril Golem, Tam-Tam.

Merle had fitted 10 Strengthening Stone Slabs to strengthen the Mithril Golem since there was no point in fitting more than one Giant or Supergiant Slab at the same time.

I knew that because fitting two Giant Slabs into a Magic Board didn't work previously as well.

Kurena was equipped with the pendant that increased her [Attack] by 3000.

That also helped us a lot in hunting Iron Golems.

Thank you so much Prince Zew.

My friends knew when my <Summon> reached Level 8, I was over the moon for a week or more, and used to smile while looking at my Grimoire.

The plan was to first unlock my <Kingship> skill.

After that, I was thinking about trying to defeat the Dungeon Boss Gordino without any help.

"Speaking of which, the eradication around the northernmost fortress is almost finished."

"Wa! Well, that's fantastic!"

As we walked down the street, I told Sophie what I'd seen while I was there.

After my <Summon> reached Level 8, it became easier for me to move between continents with my A-rank Bird.

Once a 'Nest' was built, I could teleport to and fro from that 'Nest' as many times as I wanted.

When the Elven Queen said to me how she was struggling to restore the Fortresses, rebuild the cities and maintain them, I decided to do something.

Rosenheim had suffered a massive invasion from the Demon King's army the year before.

More than two-thirds of their territory was overrun and its cities and Fortresses destroyed.

My friends and I had defeated the Demon King's army along with the elves, but the scattered magical beasts still existed in Rosenheim.

Even when they scattered, the magical beasts formed cliques of several hundred to several thousand, hindering restoration and recovery of Rosenheim.

I decided to help when my <Summon> reached Level 8.

I summoned a total of 60 summons consisting of A-rank Dragons and A-rank Insects, and had them defeat the scattered magical beasts day and night.

For the Dungeon Boss fight, I had removed all A-rank Insect summons from my Holder because I needed more [Attack] than [Endurance], but I summoned them again to resume the annihilation.

In order to restore the northernmost fortress of Rosenheim first, I focused on destroying the remnants of the Demon King's army in that location first.

Thanks to them, the Elven soldiers could finally begin to return to the northernmost fortress.

My friends and I had just left the dungeon after our 3-days of hunting.

We had the next two days off.

Our schedule everyday was the same even after we conquered the dungeon.

My friends and I entered the base while talking to Sophie, who was smiling and listening to my story, about Rosenheim's situation.

"Mr. Allen, you have a guest."

"What? They have come for me already?"

A servant of Helmios informed me that a guest had come to visit me.

Not "to me," but to Helmios and me as our parties had plans to get picked up by the visitor.

That's because we had been summoned to the Imperial City by the Emperor of the Bakius Empire, Pupun III.

A messenger came a few days ago and asked us to come to the Imperial City as soon as we were ready.

I had heard from the messenger that the entire Bakius Empire had been informed that the S-class dungeon was conquered for the first time with the help of magical tools.

The Emperor knew that the Hero Helios and Prince Zew had fought together, and said that he wanted to congratulate them for achieving the difficult feat with the combined strength of their nations.

Originally under the direction of Emperor Pupun III of the Bakius Empire, Admiral Galara set out to conquer the S-class dungeon.

The Bakius Empire also had a political agenda of wanting to make the fact that they led the dungeon conquering party that included Giamut Empire, the Albahar Beast Kingdom and Rosenheim as much as possible.

Rather than congratulate, that was the main issue.

The Bakius Empire could not help but praise such a feat.

The Emperor wanted to have an official event, both in the eyes of the Imperial citizens and in the eyes of other countries.

"I see, have a good day. Oh, and don't worry about anything."

I told Helmios, who replied with "Of course you're coming, too." With a bitter smile on his face.

My party, which the Princess of Rosenheim was part of, was also provided with a Letter of Invitation bearing the Bakius Family Crest.

That time, I wasn't suddenly accosted at the hotel or on the Magic Ship.

The invitation to the Imperial Capital of the Bakius Empire came with a formal messenger with a Letter of Invitation prepared.

Apparently, I couldn't refuse.

The Messenger gave us the Letter of Invitation immediately, and said that he would return in a few days.

It was quite frustrating for me, who had been hunting Iron Golems normally since the day after the celebration of the S-class dungeon conquering finished, but it was not very presentable to refuse the invitation, so I decided to go.

I was frustrated that the messenger was already there but I tried to look nonchalant.

"Why are you here?"

It was someone who I knew.

A dwarf, but not in the garb worn by emissaries of the Bakius Empire.

He was the person in charge of the Adventurers Guild in the S-class dungeon.

"Mr. Allen. He's been waiting for you."

"Huh? Have you been waiting until now? You could have just left a message."

It was nighttime then, with the sun setting, as I hunted the Iron Golems until the last minute.

From the tea and snacks that were placed in front of him, it seemed like he had waited for quite a while.

I looked at Helmios, who was also in the dining room, wondering if he had kept him waiting all that time.

"It looks like he has something important to say."

"I see."

It seemed to me that Helmios had already heard about the circumstances of the Adventurers' Guild's visit.

What is it, I said as my friends and I took our seats.

In addition, Admiral Galara was no longer in our base.

He was back at his base and having a good time with his buddies.

The Adventurer's Guild had helped me a lot with this S-class dungeon raid.

Even when I was in Academy City, I was helped in obtaining magic stones, but I can say that I was able to spend my dungeon life comfortably in the S-class dungeon because of their sincere support.

"Actually, Guild Master McCarran is here from the Giamut Empire and he wants to meet you. Would you be able to meet him tomorrow?"

"What for?"

"I'm sorry, but I haven't heard that much about it, but I will check if I need to."

''No, either way, I'll be going to the Adventurers' Guild tomorrow, so I'll let you know what I need you to do then."

I glanced at Helmios and smiled.

Apparently, Helmios was also called by the Guild Master.

I was planning to go to the Adventurer's Guild to cash in the treasures we got from defeating Iron Golem anyway.

My friends and I had the routine to go to the dungeon, collect treasure and cash it in at the Adventurer's Guild.

The guild staff knew that my friends and I would visit the Adventurers' Guild the next day, as we had been going to the Adventurers' Guild as part of a long-established routine.

Still, the Branch Manager Popocca went out of his way to wait for me until this late the day before so that we wouldn't have to talk on short notice on the day of the meeting.

I had no particular reason to refuse, so I accepted.

(It's probably related to us conquering the S-class dungeon.)

Originally attracting attention because of my unusual hair color, my friends and I were known to be one of the parties that conquered the S-class dungeon.

Branch Manager Popocca thanked me and left.

And then the next day.

My friends and I headed to the Adventurer's Guild with the unwanted items that we had got from the Treasure Chests like weapons and armor.

My friends and I started earning a lot more when we started hunting Iron Golems.

Already, the money managed by the party as a whole exceeded a million Gold coins.

The amount of tax that Granvelle Family paid when they were Barons to the Latash Kingdom was tens of thousands of Gold coins a year. We had enough money to pay the Kingdom's tax as Barons for a few decades.

I had been buying magic stones to the limit, partly because I needed them for the Gold and Silver Beans I made from A-rank magic stones, but I still kept accumulating Gold coins.

We had a large luggage with us when we entered the Adventurer's Guild, and as usual, we were shown into a large, luxurious room.

We performed our usual transaction first.

Thinking I was making Helmios and Guild Master wait for us, I quickly handed over the weapons, armor, and items, and stowed the magic stones away.

Then I was called to the Branch Manager's office on the top floor, which I had never been to before.

I had met the Branch Manager of the S-class dungeon Adventurer's Guild several times before but it was always because he came to the luxurious room to talk to me when the transaction was completed.

I entered the innermost room where I was guided by a staff member to meet the Guild Master.

I saw Helmios there.

"Excuse me. Mr. Helmios. Sorry to keep you waiting."

I tried to apologize, but besides Helmios, Admiral Galara and Prince Zew were there as well.

And both Admiral Galara's party and the Ten Heroic Beasts were there as well.

Everyone who participated in the Dungeon Boss raid was present there.

I had heard before that not only Prince Zew, but also the Ten Heroic Beasts were still in the S-class dungeon.

The names of everyone who had conquered the S-class dungeon had already been publicized.

It seemed that the Albahar Beast Kingdom had also heard about the Ten Heroic Beasts' participation in conquering the S-class dungeon.

It was because Prince Zew had told the Beast King of the Albahar Beast Kingdom that he was able to conquer the S-class dungeon with the help of the Ten Heroic Beasts.

At that time, both Prince Zew and the Ten Heroic Beasts had been officially invited by the Bakius Empire, and they were waiting in the S-class dungeon city.

"The Guild Master will be here any minute now."

"Sorry to have kept you waiting. Admiral Galara. I see you've all been called as well."

It seemed that I've kept everyone waiting, not just Helmios.

Admiral Galara pointed to an empty seat and asked to apologize after taking that seat.

"I guess he's here."

As Admiral Galara said so, the back door opened and a rather old man walked in.