Chapter 386 349 – The Moderate Harlequin Alliance

"My magic consumption was a little high. It feels like an ordinary person sprinting two hundred meters in one go—just enough to work up a light sweat."

"After completely absorbing the Storm Dragon's remains and acquiring the True Dragon attribute, my stats began skyrocketing, and my magic recovery rate increased severalfold."

"My current magicule count should be around 19.89 million. It rose by more than two million in only three days."

Takumi was quite satisfied with his current rate of progress.

Especially since he had spent most of those three days intensely fooling around rather than focusing on training.

Had he trained seriously, that number probably could have doubled.

Feeling even more at ease about slacking off, Takumi synchronized the flow of time in this world, returned to the Space-Time Realm, and began gathering personnel.

The Demon Shadow soldiers he had created had no issues in terms of combat power, but their intelligence was lacking.

Besides, Takumi did not particularly like soulless dolls. Playing with them occasionally was fine, but he still preferred beautiful girls with genuine souls.

"The Amazoness have all reached the Advanced class by now."

"This new map is perfect for taking them along to grind levels."

"Kureha and the others have also generally reached Devil King class, so they won't be considered weak in this world."

Takumi made his arrangements methodically, and ten days passed in the blink of an eye.

When he returned to the area surrounding the sealed cave with Kureha, Freya, Setsuna, Eve, Lapis, and a large group of Amazoness, the place had already changed beyond recognition.

"Takumi-sama, are you sure we came to the right place?"

Eve looked around.

The luxurious palace stood empty, while one stunning Demon Shadow Maiden after another guarded the entrance.

Slightly bewildered, Takumi raised an eyebrow and connected to the Demon Shadow Maidens' shared mental network.

After ten days of evolution, their intelligence had improved slightly.

Realizing that Takumi would return and understanding his plans, they had simply built a royal palace here in advance.

Although they did not possess a configuration as absurd as Takumi's, they had been personally created by him, and each of them possessed their own Great Sage.

Creating ordinary objects was not difficult for them.

"They built it. They're some new servants I created."

Takumi pointed toward the Demon Shadow Maidens and gave a brief explanation.

He then quickly reviewed everything they had done over the past ten days.

What he discovered was that the Demon Shadow Maidens had already founded a nation!

Using the sealed cave as the center, they had constructed an imperial palace, then established a small country encompassing everything within a hundred-li radius around it.

Kagali and her subordinates had also arrived several days earlier.

"Come with me. Kagali is my secretary in this world."

Takumi led everyone toward the area where Kagali and her group were waiting.

The moment they formally met, Kagali visibly relaxed.

"Master, you've finally arrived."

She had been waiting here for several days and had finally managed to see him.

Behind her, three masked figures stared directly at Takumi.

They were Laplace the Wonder Pierrot, Footman the Angry Pierrot, and Tear the Teardrop Pierrot.

All three were powerful, with Laplace being the strongest.

Had Kagali not received Takumi's enhancements, Laplace would have been stronger than her.

Laplace's true identity was Sarion Grimwald, a former Hero whom Kagali had resurrected. It was only natural for him to possess such strength.

The other two had served Kagali back when she was still a princess and had remained by her side until the present. Although they were not as strong as Laplace, both were comparable to Kagali before her enhancement.

"So the boss was actually the weakest member of your entire group!"

After inspecting them all, Takumi found the situation almost too ridiculous to endure.

Kagali instantly understood what he meant and defended herself in a quiet voice, her face turning red.

"I-I'm not a combat specialist. I'm better suited to support and development, so it's normal for me to be a little weaker."

"Besides, I'm not weak anymore."

"That's true."

Takumi rubbed his chin and accepted Kagali's defense.

The three figures standing behind her were also studying Takumi.

They were deeply suspicious about why their leader had suddenly begun calling him Master.

He had also left them waiting for seven or eight days. Perhaps he simply looked down on them.

They had originally possessed another companion, Clayman the Crazy Pierrot, but he had been unable to endure such humiliation and left four days earlier.

Laplace sighed inwardly before introducing himself.

"Name's Laplace. Nice ta meetcha, President's Master."

Laplace's speech was far from standard, carrying an indescribably comical accent.

Takumi gave him a slight nod but did not say much.

Had Laplace not been Kagali's subordinate—and an exceptionally loyal one at that—Takumi honestly would not have bothered acknowledging him at all.

Footman and Tear introduced themselves afterward, then quietly returned to Kagali's side.

The two were infinitely loyal to Kagali. Since their leader had pledged herself to a master, they were naturally willing to pledge themselves to him as well.

Looking somewhat awkward, Kagali still decided to mention Clayman.

"Clayman is also a Deathman I created from a corpse, but his personality is rather stubborn, and he has an intense thirst for power."

"Recently, he began plotting to become an Awakened Demon Lord, so… he chose not to continue waiting."

Kagali wanted to offer a few words in Clayman's defense so that Takumi would not take offense.

Takumi merely shook his head and replied calmly, "That was his choice. Since he made it, that means he chose his own path."

"I don't care what he does, but if he ever stands in my way, I'll eliminate him."

"You need to understand that, even if he's your subordinate and companion."

"…"

Hearing Takumi's even tone, Kagali fell silent for half a second before nodding seriously.

"Yes, Master. You're right. This was Clayman's choice."

She released a long, stifled breath and silently prayed for Clayman for several seconds.

That was as far as her relationship with him extended.

Compared to her master, Takumi, Clayman was clearly someone she could abandon.

Seeing how obedient Kagali was, Takumi immediately introduced her to Kureha and the others.

Once everyone had become acquainted, Takumi laid out his entire plan.

"A chaotic world like this truly does need to be unified!"

Kureha supported Takumi's plan wholeheartedly.

Although she possessed a strong sense of justice, her experiences during this period had taught her that a unified government was the true path toward the future.

She had personally witnessed the prosperity of the empire in the world of Redo of Healer and sincerely believed that this was the correct course.

Kagali, however, cautiously warned him, "Expanding indiscriminately like this could easily provoke resistance from the surrounding kingdoms."

"News of the Storm Dragon's death has already spread."

"If the others realize that you were responsible, Master, they may unite their forces against you."

Kagali voiced her concerns. That was clearly not a future she wished to see.