Reborn Into A Dark Social Game World With Completely Loyal Friends. - Chapter 16: Unexpected event.

Unexpected event.

When it comes to simulation RPG games, people have various ways of assembling their teams.

While it is assumed that people choose characters they like or ones with strong performance, in Minato’s case, his favorite character happened to have exceptional performance. As a result, unless he imposed restrictions on himself, his team composition remained largely unchanged due to his extreme level of trust and dedication.

Mia, capable of handling both bosses and regular enemies.

Thanatos, as versatile as Mia.

Yuzuriha, who can inflict status ailments that bypass even the strongest resistances.

Fran, with boss-specific abilities that surpass Mia’s.

Loraine, who handles both healing and defense single-handedly.

These five characters, with their trust levels maxed out to 100, remain Minato’s most reliable and powerful team members. He usually fights with four characters on the front lines and one as a flexible support. This arrangement worked perfectly for Minato, but he never expected to hear about another character so soon, possibly Fran, which caught him off guard.

“… For now, I’ll keep that in mind. There’s a chance Fran might remember me too.”

“Are you going to meet her?”

“No, I think that’s difficult. The assassin group Fran leads is a shadowy organization, and if Fran doesn’t remember me, or if they find me suspicious before we meet… I’d rather not think about that.”

“Hmm… Indeed, there aren’t many as troublesome as them. Even I would find it hard to detect them if they seriously tried to hide.”

“Hmm… I thought it might work since Fran is a hundred times more communicative than Yuzuriha, but as you said, if she doesn’t remember you, it would just be awkward.”

However, by this point, it’s likely that both Fran and Loraine, who haven’t appeared yet, recognize Minato.

“No one approaches Nevalis Castle… but that might not always be the case. If Fran became an ally, her organization could join us, and we’d be much more secure… though that might be too convenient.”

“Probably. Even if Fran remembers you, her subordinates might still question who you are.”

“If they turn their blades towards you, they will be eliminated.”

“Tana-chan, let’s stop thinking about such dangerous thoughts for now.”

If they become hostile, there would be no choice but to fight… yet Minato, who doesn’t want his former comrades to get hurt, hopes that Yuzuriha and the others won’t turn against him.

“Mia, are you done talking?”

“Huh? Oh, yes.”

“We won’t take direct action from the Holy Kingdom, but we still need a meeting. Let’s gather the information and head to the Pope.”

“Oh, then we should head back.”

“Sorry about this, Minato-san.”

“Are you leaving, Minato-san?”

Though Mia pleaded with her eyes for him to stay, Minato hardened his heart and waved her goodbye.

“Nooooooo!”

“Alright, let’s go.”

“…Excuse us.”

Mia reached out, but like a cat grabbed by the scruff, she was taken away by Makina. Akira, as usual, looked displeased but seemed less prickly than before, possibly because he understood that someone Mia trusted like Minato shouldn’t be viewed too negatively.

“Heh, serves her right. Now, shall we head back, Master?”

“Yeah.”

Thus, Minato returned from Leirinia to Nevalis Castle. However, the stories he had heard kept him slightly concerned about the kingdom’s situation.

With Thanatos’s power, he could head there immediately, but now was a time for patience… unless something unexpected happened that the current commanders couldn’t handle.

“Ah, Minato-sama! Thanatos-sama, welcome back!”

As soon as he emerged from the shadows, Kei, who happened to be nearby, ran up to him.

“I’m back, Kei.”

“Is your work finished?”

“It wasn’t really work… Are you alone?”

Kei nodded. The residents here were living freely, and the children, including Kei, were playing without a care. Back in the Empire, they had faced illnesses and harsh conditions… and most importantly, there was no one here to harm them.

“Ah, Kei! You were here… Minato-sama! Thanatos-sama too!”

Ranka, the village chief’s granddaughter, appeared next, likely looking for Kei. Upon seeing Minato and Thanatos, she immediately bowed, though Minato wished she wouldn’t be so formal.

“Ranka, as I’ve told you and everyone else, you don’t need to be so formal with me. Please, treat me like anyone else.”

“How can you say that? It’s impossible… You are the most revered person to us.”

“…”

“Master, as I mentioned before, you will have to get used to this,” Thanatos remarked.

“Easier said than done…” Minato muttered softly.

After that, Kei ran off to join his friends, while Minato and the still-small Thanatos accompanied Ranka to the village chief.

“Hello, chief. How’s your back?”

“Ho ho ho, it won’t do to have Minato-sama worrying about me. But as you can see, I’m fine. The environment here is very beneficial for my health.”

“That’s good to hear.”

Although this old man is not actually the village chief, it is necessary to have someone to lead the people who were brought here. Minato clearly remembers how this old man, who had always protected even a small number of people, cried a lot when asked to take on the role of village chief.

“This place… has really become something amazing.”

“Everyone is working hard. As you instructed, they started by building their own homes, and now they want to build a grand mansion for you, Minato-sama.”

“A grand mansion… Restoring the castle might be too difficult. But chief, more people might come besides Minato and me. If you’re going to build a mansion, make it something impressive.”

“Leave it to me, Thanatos-sama. In fact, we’re planning a garden where even you, in your true size, could lie down.”

“Ho! That sounds wonderful!”

Minato sighed again as the conversation continued without him, but he couldn’t help but be genuinely amazed at the civilization taking shape, driven primarily by the younger folks. He wondered how much talent had gone to waste and realized that the environment is crucial, both in this world and the one he came from.

“Did you hear that, master? A garden where even I can sleep!”

“That’s great, Tana-chan… But can you stop chewing on my hair out of excitement?”

“It’s an expression of my affection.”

“I’d appreciate it if you could find another way to show your affection instead of making my hair sticky with drool.”

While Thanatos settled down, Minato continued talking with the village chief, noticing more people approaching for a break. As they all bowed their heads to him, Minato sighed again, wishing they wouldn’t be so formal.

“Sighing too much isn’t good for you… But it’s great to see that everyone, including the chief, looks so lively.”

Minato hadn’t intended to say anything special, but he couldn’t stop the words from flowing. The villagers watched him intently, hanging on his every word, as if listening to a king’s speech.

“I’m glad I was able to help… Really, seeing you all now makes me feel it was truly worth it. Thank you… for showing me your smiles.”

Minato simply wanted to convey his genuine feelings. But perhaps he should have considered more carefully how his heartfelt words would affect them. Any word from Minato resonated deeply and comforted their hearts.

***

“Ah, finally done!”

“Hey, at least wait until we leave the room to let your guard down.”

While Minato was touching the villagers’ hearts, Mia was being nudged by Makina. With Minato gone, Mia had instantly relaxed, and her composed demeanor vanished once the Pope left. Present at the meeting were Mia, Makina, and all the division leaders from the first to the tenth. For those who didn’t know Minato, seeing Mia like this was quite unusual.

“I want to see Minato-san!”

“Is that all you can think about?”

“It’s not enough! Hmph, Makina-chan, you just don’t understand because you don’t know men.”

“H-hey! What’s with you starting a fight all of a sudden?!”

Mia’s words suggested she knew men, but she had never actually experienced that kind of relationship. Her comment left many misunderstandings and shocks, but then Makina’s Lyphon rang.

“Oh? A call.”

Makina answered the call and froze with an “Eh?” upon hearing the news.

(Wow, she looks like something completely unexpected happened… Whenever someone makes that face, it usually means something big.)

Her intuition proved correct.

“A Fenrir has appeared near the capital?”

“Fenrir…?”

Fenrir, a beast also known as a harbinger of doom. Its name wasn’t commonly heard because, in this world, it symbolized the coming of disaster, second only to Thanatos.

“Hmm…”

The capital must be in utter chaos. Nevertheless, Mia remained calm, taking her Lyphon to contact Minato—because if there was no other way, the only one who could swiftly deal with Fenrir was Thanatos.