Chapter 931: Combatant Deployment (End of Volume)
Just one month later, the chief deity of the Celestial Realm came running over with a stifled expression and agreed to sign the peace treaty proposed by Barnier.
Thus, true peace was achieved between the Celestial Realm and the Underworld for the first time in tens of thousands of years.
Barnier originally wanted to hand over the position of head Archduke of the Underworld to Eiji, who had contributed the most.
But Eiji had grown tired of the power games, and being the head Archduke of the Underworld was no easy job—there were massive amounts of official duties to handle every day. Eiji refused without hesitation.
"So what shall we do from now on?"
Barnier asked for Eiji's opinion.
With the war over, many demons suddenly found themselves with nothing to do. Some couldn't even bear the loneliness and went to cause trouble in several surface worlds.
"Let's go explore new surface worlds!"
Eiji said with great interest.
"The Celestial Realm and the Underworld aren't the only powers in this universe. When it comes down to it, the planets we control are only a small portion, right? There are many more civilizations in the universe. Don't you think encountering them would be incredibly interesting?"
"You're absolutely right!"
Barnier praised the suggestion enthusiastically and began focusing the Underworld's power on developing new surface worlds.
Axel.
"Miss, are you free tonight?"
Kazuma had a flower dangling from his lips as he made a flashy invitation to the blonde guild staff member.
"To be honest with you, I, Kazuma Satou, am actually the former Demon King and current Underworld Archduke's—underling! If you don't mind, we could talk in detail tonight about the connections between me and my boss!"
"Marriage?"
"Uh..."
Kazuma's mind flashed with Megumin's image, and he immediately retreated in defeat.
"I told you, you can't hit on Luna!"
"Boss, you're back?"
Kazuma turned around and bumped into Eiji, who had just returned from the Underworld.
"Why are you alone?"
"Megumin is learning the Way of Explosion from the goddess Wolbach, Aqua pestered Eris until she sent her back to the Celestial Realm. But according to Eris, she's notoriously disliked by the gods there, so it should only be a matter of time before she gets kicked out again. As for Darkness... I don't know. Lately, I've been the only one living in the mansion, and it's been a bit lonely."
"Darkness is in the Underworld."
Eiji added.
Not just Darkness—Wiz was there too. They could return to this side through a special ritual.
Wolbach could travel between the Underworld and the surface world on her own, so Eiji didn't bother with her.
"I see."
Kazuma suddenly understood.
"I came here to ask you—do you want to return to Earth?"
"Can we go back?"
Kazuma's breathing immediately grew heavier.
It wasn't that he disliked life here, but not having the internet was quite a challenge for him.
Plus, since the boss had become an Underworld Archduke, as his underling, traveling between Earth and this other world should be as easy as snapping his fingers, right?
"Then let's go back!"
Thinking that he had nothing to do recently anyway, and wanting to experience modern life again, Kazuma made the request to Eiji.
Using the Underworld as a transit point, Eiji brought Kazuma back to Earth in his original world.
"Ah, the scent of an ordinary world!"
Upon arriving on this Earth, Eiji let out a contented sigh.
Surrounding him were all ordinary people—no Blazers, no mages, no vampires.
The people around him didn't even realize they were the very "2D characters" they idolized in their eyes. What a secret thrill!
Kazuma had returned home briefly, only to discover that months had passed, and his own body in this world had already been buried. He unintentionally gave his parents a fright.
Since the interdimensional portal showed no response and there was nothing else to do, Eiji decided to stay a few more days on this ordinary Earth, taking the opportunity to study the newly acquired authority over dreams.
"Boss! Something terrible, boss!"
One day, Kazuma suddenly rushed over with a panicked expression.
"What's wrong? Why so flustered?"
"Look at this!"
Kazuma handed him a book.
On the cover, bold Japanese characters spelled out "Chivalry of a Failed Knight."
"What's the big deal?"
Eiji glanced at the bookshelf behind him.
It was filled with a pile of light novels, including even the original "Strike the Blood," though it had only reached volume ten, with the main plot yet to unfold.
"Open it and see!"
Eiji did as told and froze.
"This…"
"The protagonist has changed!"
Kazuma stared intently at Eiji.
"I remember clearly—the original protagonist of Chivalry of a Failed Knight should have been Kurogane Ikki! But now he's become the new protagonist's close friend! Online, many are clamoring for the protagonist to win over Stella!"
Eiji fell silent.
In the current version of "Chivalry of a Failed Knight," the first-person perspective had unmistakably shifted to Eiji Nangou!
For some reason, Kurogane Ikki and Stella's roles as the male and female leads had been relegated to the background, replaced by Eiji, Touka, Kanata Totokubara, and others.
"Seriously, boss, who exactly are you?"
Kazuma looked at him with an unusually grave expression—this sidekick had never shown such a face before.
But it wasn't his fault, because even Eiji himself was stunned.
He could traverse worlds, which he initially thought was just a perk of being a dimension-hopper.
But he never imagined it would alter the original worldlines, turning his own story into the official version!
This didn't seem like mere dimension-hopping. It was more like—the very world was accommodating him!
"Even if you ask me, I'm just as confused…"
Suddenly, Eiji thought of something and hurriedly opened "Strike the Blood."
"Strike the Blood" remained unchanged… No, wait, that wasn't the point!
In the world of "Strike the Blood," he hadn't entered the main plot yet. The Holy Right Arm incident wouldn't start for several months! If he intervenes in the main storyline then, would the original "Strike the Blood" be altered as well?
He searched online for Type-Moon-related content and, sure enough, found it in complete disarray—"Tsukihime" and "Mahoutsukai no Yoru" had been integrated into "Fate/Grand Order." The main story still followed Gudao's perspective, but a spin-off featuring him as the protagonist had emerged.
He, a character hopping between worlds, was the only one who noticed anything amiss!
What in the world was going on?
Unable to make sense of it no matter how hard he tried, Eiji decided to set the matter aside for now. Still, it had undoubtedly become his top priority.
"Boom!"
Suddenly, a deafening explosion echoed from outside the hotel.
"Bwahahaha! I am a strange being from the secret society Kisaragi! Humans, surrender now!"
Outside the window, a strange figure who seemed to have jumped straight out of a tokusatsu show appeared out of nowhere, laughing maniacally.
"Kazuma, do you still think this Earth is ordinary?"
"Uh... Boss, isn't this probably your fault?"
Eiji sensed the dimensional gate.
It felt like discovering a new main storyline—next to the line "Konosuba," a completely parallel new line of gilded text appeared.
"Combatants Will Be Dispatched!"
A different work set in the same universe?
Eiji's gaze shifted, and he suddenly chuckled.
"Kazuma, I just realized I can bring people along when crossing worlds now. Let's set off immediately! Call Megumin, Darkness, and Aqua!"
"Why would we bring those troublemakers?!"