Hell Mode: Volume 2

1. Auflage 2022
ISBN: 978-1-7183-8200-8
Verlag: J-Novel Club
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: Adobe DRM (»Systemvoraussetzungen)

E-Book, Englisch, 250 Seiten

Reihe: Hell Mode

A new adventure awaits Allen as he enters the service of a noble!
After climbing up the social ladder from serf to manservant, Allen now finds himself dragged around by the whims of the willful young lady of the house, Cecil Granvelle. Despite this, he is free to leave the city-and immerse himself in hunting monsters!
As Allen meticulously grinds on goblins and orcs, both he and his Summons grow stronger by the day. At the same time, he begins to earn the trust of the members of House Granvelle with his diligent work ethic.
Just as everything seems to be going well, however, the viscount overseeing the next fiefdom over seems to be up to something.
As danger creeps toward Cecil, Allen declares, 'I promised to protect you, Lady Cecil. And I keep my promises.'
Going all out with his skills and Summons, Allen must resist evil and impending doom!

Autoren/Hrsg.

Hamuo

Weitere Mitwirkende

Mo

Taishi

Leseproben

Earlier, when Cecil had shot Allen a glare with her slanted, willful, crimson eyes and ordered him to come to the garden, he had thought he would be in for a beating. Instead, she told him to let her ride on his shoulders because there was fruit on a tree and she wanted to pick it. With it being the end of autumn, the fruit looked extra ripe and enticing—although she had never eaten one before, she still wanted it. However, the fruit was so high up that even an adult would not have been able to reach it. Now, up on her perch, Cecil furiously mussed up Allen’s hair in vexation.

“Lady Cecil, you might fare better if you were to stand up on my shoulders,” he offered.

“That does make sense... You won’t get off easy if you drop me! I’ll definitely tell my father on you!”

Ever since she had found out that she and Allen were the same age, Cecil had started seeking him out for all sorts of tasks. According to Sebas the butler, Cecil had specially requested Allen as her personal manservant. When Sebas had told Allen, “Good luck,” his eyes were filled with sympathy. There was nothing for Allen to do but sigh.

Cecil carefully positioned her feet on Allen’s shoulders, then slowly stood up. Allen held her ankles tightly to help her maintain her balance.

“How is it, Lady Cecil?”

“I still can’t reach... I can’t reach it!”

“In that case, how about you stand on my hands and I lift you higher?”

“Hm... Okay. Lift me up slowly.”

As he slowly lifted Cecil up, Allen ended up seeing her drawers or pumpkin panties or whatever they were called. Of course, he felt nothing from seeing an eight-year-old’s underwear. He had, after all, lived for thirty-five years before even coming to this world.

“How is it, milady?”

He heard the sound of the fruit being plucked from its branch.

“I’ve got it! Lower me slowly.”

Allen obediently brought Cecil back down to the ground. She was holding the vivid red fruit in her hands, smiling proudly. She had probably been wanting to pluck it for quite some time now. A quick wipe with her sleeves, then one big bite! The texture was apparently similar to an apple, judging by the crunch.

As Allen watched on, thinking to himself, , the smile on Cecil’s face disappeared.

“Peh! Th-This tastes awful!”

As it turned out, the fruit was very sour. Cecil threw the fruit she had worked so hard to obtain onto the ground with a huff. Allen then noticed that the same fruit was scattered across the ground in great numbers, all rotting away to some degree. The gardener had not bothered to harvest them. Apparently, this fruit was not meant to be eaten.

“Well, there’s that saying about fruit you can’t reach being sour and all.”

“I don’t know any such saying! Don’t tell me you this wasn’t edible?!”

“Like h— No, I was not aware of it myself.”

“Hmph, then it’s fine. I now want to eat a popo to get this awful taste out of my mouth. Go to the kitchen and fetch me one. If they don’t have any, go to the market and buy one.”

With no other choice, Allen headed straight to the kitchen. He had a bad feeling, and sure enough, the head chef told him they were out of popos. It was now confirmed: he would have to go all the way to town. He explained the situation to the butler, who then gave him a silver coin. Allen would not be forced to pay for it out of his own pocket.

Allen then left through the back door used exclusively by the servants of the mansion. Generally, the servants were not allowed to use the front door.

As a manservant, Allen’s job basically entailed miscellaneous tasks. He would be asked to do any number of duties that may or may not have direct relevance to the care of the baron’s family. Rickel told Allen to expect to be sent out for errands quite frequently.

The feudal lord’s mansion was tucked away in a corner of the city. Upon stepping outside the grounds, Allen found himself in the nobles’ residential area, where minor nobility—such as knights and baronets—and influential members of the city lived. The market was farther beyond; to reach it on foot, it took two hours one way.

Unlike the market in Krena Village, the one in the city had a large variety of fruit available.

“Give me one popo, please.”

“Sure thing. One silver.”

When Allen had asked how many popo he should buy, Sebas had replied that one was sufficient. They were not to needlessly waste money answering the young lady’s selfish whims.

Allen turned around and headed back with nothing more than a single popo inside his basket.

It had been eight years since Allen was reborn into this world. Every once in a while, he realized how much he was still bound to the common sense of his previous world. Now that he thought about it, he recalled seeing the same fruits offered all year round, regardless of season. It was now nearing November, but the available fruit lineup was the same as in the summer. The general store back in Krena Village had stocked popo and molmo even in December.

Just as Allen was imagining a nearby orchard that produced fruit even in the dead of winter, he heard a powerful rumbling, and his surroundings were suddenly cast into shadow. There must have been something flying overhead. Even without looking, Allen could tell that it was absolutely massive, whatever it was. He lifted his gaze skyward, half expecting to see a dragon.

“Huh?! But that’s...!” Allen inadvertently exclaimed out loud with surprise.

What he saw was a rugby ball-shaped ship several dozen—no, at least a hundred meters in length. It was a flying ship. It was slowly descending, most likely toward a landing terminal at the edge of town.

The massive size of the vessel evoked an inexplicable twinge of excitement in Allen’s chest and also gave him a hint as to how expansive this world was. He was reminded of the time when he was one year old and his father, Rodin, had pointed out albaherons—the monsters Allen’s name was derived from—high up in the sky as they migrated north for winter.

Here in Granvelle City, a place many times larger than his birthplace, Allen’s life as a manservant had just begun.

* * *

Allen woke up to the distinctive scent of an old wooden building, one that reminded him of libraries and museums. He had yet to get used to this smell. No light shone through the slats of the wooden window in the small room. It was November, which meant the sun had not yet risen. Nevertheless, it was time to get out of bed. Allen checked his grimoire to confirm that his MP was full again, then proceeded to spend it all training as usual.

Right now, Allen was in his private quarters. To his surprise, he had been assigned his own bedroom. At least, that was the nicer way of putting it—in reality it was little more than a storage room in the attic of the mansion. It was only about four-and-a-half square meters, or fifty square feet, and it had a rather low ceiling. There was unused furniture and dinnerware stored there, so Allen could technically only use two-thirds of the room’s space. It was therefore too cramped for a real bed, so Allen slept on a mattress on the floor.

The only reason Allen had received this room in the first place was because all of the other male servants’ quarters were fully occupied. Those were all four-person rooms, so Allen was actually quite happy about his arrangement. Having his own private space made things much more convenient for him, especially for when he wanted to test his skills or even call out smaller Summons.

Back in his days as Kenichi, he had gamed in internet cafés, so he knew how tiring it was to spend the night in a cubicle too cramped to stretch out his legs. With that perspective in mind, he did not have a single complaint about his current accommodations.

Allen then changed into his work clothes. The threadbare hemp outfit he had once worn as a serf had been replaced by a mostly black, well-tailored suit. He had been instructed not to get it dirty as it was his servant’s uniform. Even the casual wear that he had been sleeping in before was of a much higher quality than what he had worn mere weeks ago. After getting dressed, he descended to the servants’ dining hall...