Living a Maiden Game in Hard Mode

Chapter 121 – Mariel’s Realm

Mariel, who was reunited with her former mentor Theia, finds fulfillment in the fact that Theia did not deny her.

When Mariel was a low-dimensional life form, her mentor Theia was conducting research on overcoming the Big Crunch, the contraction of the universe.

For Mariel’s native race at the time, the research was technologically too early. But Theia was a genius, so she had reached a stage that was quite close.

And in preparation for when she herself failed, Theia left her successor, Mariel, as a disciple who could derive the answer based on that failure.

Theia’s outcome was an inevitable failure that would eventually lead to success.

Theia lost her life, but Mariel, who took over the research, pushed forward.

(But they couldn’t comprehend it.)

During her lifetime, Theia brought various highly convenient technologies to the group of her native race.

Therefore, Theia was tolerated, and she had a proven track record even if was doing research beyond their comprehension.

However, Mariel, who took over the research, tried to invest all of the resources Theia had left behind into “a dreamy, incomprehensible, and less urgent problem of the future.”, and her people became dissatisfied.

Theia’s unsuccessful research was taken over by Mariel, who had a poor track record, and was perceived by the people as a pipe dream.

So they took all the resources that Mariel had rightfully inherited from Theia and kept them to themselves.

“You’re just one of the disciples, who the hell do you think you are?”

So they said, but at the end of the day, they just wanted to distribute the legacy of Theia that Mariel had inherited among themselves.

Even when Mariel explained their future needs, it was not accepted by the group blinded by desire.

All of the resources left by her mentor were unreasonably taken away without the mentor’s consent. As a result, Mariel was forced to continue her own research using only the resources she had at her disposal, eventually crossing the barrier to reach the location of Zirke and the others.

But along the way, the people of Mariel’s race did not cooperate with her in any way, but rather kept dragging her down.

So when it came to the answer she arrived at on her own, Mariel didn’t show mercy to the race of her origin.

In addition, Mariel created a series of technologies that would bring great benefits in exchange for a vast amount of dark energy, and to give them to the idiots of her native people who were worthy of using them.

These technologies delighted the group, boosted Mariel’s reputation, and helped to cause a Big Crunch in the future.

Theia would have seen Mariel’s fate, but she didn’t blame her.

Would Theia have apologized for not giving enough groundwork to those around her when Mariel took over? Even with Theia’s power, it was not a problem that she could have handled.

Nowadays, there was nothing that could be done about it, and it probably didn’t even matter.

For Mariel, it was enough not to be denied that she had accomplished the research she had inherited from Theia but had not reduced it.

(Take care Lady Zirke, thank you for all you’ve done.)

Zirke, who was protecting Mariel’s race, supported her with all his strength to the extent that she turned from a Spirit to a Daemon, but she did not bless her with a way to cross the barrier.

They would have hoped that someone would follow in Mariel’s footsteps, but giving answers to someone who has nothing to gain will only increase the negative property that shared the limited resources common to Spirits and Daemons alike.

If they are nothing more than worker ants or worker bees to be used and crushed, they will only invite others to join them if they have reached a standard that will bring them reasonable value.

If it was the Spirit Emperor Abel, it was Theia who led the younger generation to an answer.

For the Spirit Emperor Zirke, it was Mariel who crossed the barrier on her own.

And in the current universe, Mariel realizes that Hart, who has given magical characteristics to the black spirit, will be the target.

If Hart so desires, Mariel was willing to make Hart a high-ranking Daemon. Being an enemy of a direct contractor is one thing, and acknowledging the achievement of the standard is another.

However, Mariel also recognizes that her invitation is unnecessary, since the spirits by his side would definitely invite Hart.

Unfortunately, Yúnlán, who was instrumental in promoting Mariel, did not meet the standard. There is no point in inviting someone just because you like them or not, and the criteria for being invited are strict.

All Mariel can do is create a Daemon that will inherit Yúnlán’s magical characteristics.

If that’s the case, she could create it in exchange for helping with Mariel’s promotion.

(Black is amazing, isn’t it? I wonder how they make it.)

The Black Spirit, an attribute of dark matter and dark energy, can create and maintain an infinite cycle of miniature gardens.

Although it is necessary to balance the dark energy produced by the black spirit with the dark energy consumed by life forms, by placing an alter in each galaxy and connecting them on the scale of the Spirit God, they can become the maintenance of a single universe.

If there were life forms in that universe, the spirits’ miniature garden would be complete.

However, for the Daemons that can absorb the enormous amounts of miasma generated by the Big Crunch, the black spirit is not so necessary. Even if the Big Crunch does not occur, they can still absorb energy, so ultimately it doesn’t matter either way.

That’s why Mariel only thinks, “Black is amazing, isn’t it? I wonder how they make it.”.

The minimum requirement for Mariel now is not to be eaten by Spirits at the end of the universe.

Being a Daemon King rather than a Senior Daemon, or a Daemon Emperor rather than a Daemon King, increases one’s chances of survival. It is obvious that the greater one’s own power is better, and it is logical that the Daemons as a whole become dominant.

Therefore, Mariel strengthened herself and brought Theia to her side.

In the meantime, Mariel consulted with Theia about the distribution of the humans in Hercules.

『First of all, I would like to install a Daemon King of my lineage in Ten-to of the Milky Way Galaxy. We have secured enough human beings, and the backward civilizations of the Milky Way Galaxy are not a threat, but Ten-to has a fairly large population, so I thought it would be better to secure it.』

Zeahild, the Daemon King of Ten-to in the Milky Way Galaxy, has a direct contract with Ishidor, the leader of the Herculeans, whom Mariel had killed, and will become hostile if revealed.

Mariel does not feel bad about that at all.

This is because the group under Yúnlán, her direct contractor, were used up by Hercules’ leader Ishidor and Yuen of Ten-to in defense of Hercules.

Within your own realm, eliminate the threat to your contractor.

For the Daemons, that is a legitimate act.

However, the King-class Zeahild, whose direct contractor was killed, has no reason to follow Mariel, who is not her creator, and if she learns of the situation, she will at least forbid passage through the transition gate in retaliation.

So before Zeahild learns the truth, she planned to have Yúnlán, who possesses a Daemon King, rush in with a Gremory warship and take over the Ten-to Star System.

Theia fully agreed with Mariel’s idea.

『Uh huh, I think it’s fine. So how do you make the Daemon King?』

To Theia, who urged her to continue with affirmation, Mariel replied cheerfully, feeling nostalgic for her previous lifetime.

『Yes, I think Zirke and I can create a Daemon King if we use about 20 billion people, even if it’s the Herculeans who emit miasma and lack mana. I’m going to make four with 80 billion people.』

In the current Hercules System, in addition to the 5.6 billion Ōizumi people protected by Mariel, there are 100 billion Herculeans, 800 million former Coalition members, and 770 million Honyō people.

The Herculeans have almost no magic power and only emit miasma. The miasma is also diminishing greatly.

Even so, Mariel concluded that if used in large quantities and the miasma drawn out like squeezing a fruit, she would be able to produce a reasonable amount of them.

『Let’s divide the remaining human population in half, except for Ōizumi. Ōizumi is off limits. That group belongs to Yúnlán, so I can’t give them to you.』

Of the 1 billion former Coalition people who lived in the Hercules system at the end of the war between the Monarchy and the former Coalition, 800 million did not defect to Tenka.

At the beginning of the war between the Monarchy and Tenka, humans with magic power value over 100 were taken to the Monarchy, but compared to the Herculeans, they have retained their magical power in their bloodline.

Of the 770 million people of Honyō, there were not many conscripted national mages left, and many promising people who could operate interstellar ships were pulled out to Ten-to, but some mages still remained.

Mariel evaluated the large supply of good quality food as more than enough.

『The distribution is luxurious. I wonder how to increase the amount Gremory will received.』

It is a cause for concern that the inherited magical power of humanity, which seems to have adapted to the fragments of the energy crystal of the Daemon God, decreases by 10% with each generational change.

As a countermeasure, there are methods such as the Royal Aristocrats and the Tenka National Mages, and if they fail to maintain them, they will end up like the Herculeans.

Mariel wanted Gremory and the others to manage the human race properly and increase it.

『So, the compensation for Lady Mariel is Gremory’s guarantee of the rights of the people of Ōizumi, the defense of their inhabited star system, the provision of technology, and developmental assistance. If Lady Mariel is also thinking about exporting Daemon Crystals, Gremory can’t say no.』

『Please do so during Yúnlán’s lifetime. After that, as long as I convert the mana and miasma of the Ōizumi people into energy, I think it is okay to basically continue according to Yúnlán’s will.』

『If that’s the idea, Lady Mariel, it may last a long time.』

Mariel and Theia’s agreement was communicated to both Yúnlán and Gremory.

Gremory, who is given the Daemon Crystals by Theia, now has two sources of Daemon Crystals, Mariel and Theia, and the supply will be increased, and even replenished with a large amount of miasma emitting organisms to be placed on the ships.

Fighting doesn’t mean you can defeat the Daemon King, you can only stop the supply and use of the Daemon Crystal, so refusing is a meaningless and foolish act.

For Yúnlán, as long as the advanced civilization Gremory is doing the work there is no room for physical resistance. On top of that, Mariel advised that the current situation was a good thing.

『In the first place, Tenka was about to lose in the Milky Way galaxy. If I hadn’t become the Daemon Emperor and connected the Transition Gate, the Monarchy would have called for reinforcements and we would have been defeated with one more push.』

In that case, the celestial bodies would have been dropped and they would have been destroyed, or even if they survived, they would be confined on a planetary basis.

That’s why Mariel explained that gaining time for development while gaining Gremory’s protection and technology would greatly improve the situation.

The Monarchy has adopted a planetary containment method against hostile nations after the war. Judging from the treatment of Shinkyō, Kyūyama, and the former Coalition people, it is clear that they would have done the same to Ōizumi.

Compared to that, the situation of those under Yúnlán, whose private rights are neither restricted nor confined to a star system, is far better than their defeat.

Even if Gremory wants to use Daemons, they are of Mariel and Theia’s lineage. If they decide against using Ōizumi, Gremory will not be able to use the Ōizumi people to activate the Daemons.

Instead of giving Mariel miasma, the Ōizumi people are protected by Mariel and Gremory. It was like a miniature garden.

『If Gremory’s territory expands, the people of Ōizumi will be able to expand into a wider area. The Andromeda Galaxy is larger than the Milky Way, and there are many star systems suitable for humanity. That was Tenka’s reason for starting the war, wasn’t it? You have achieved your goal.』

If there is a discrepancy in Mariel’s explanation, it is that Tenka was actively trying to spread across the galaxy on its own initiative, and was not expecting to spread by being swept away by a strong force.

If only the superficial goal is achieved, the Herculeans, who tried to spread across the galaxy to avoid destruction, will spread throughout Gremory’s territory tens of thousands of light-years as biofuel for Daemons to be placed on the Gremory warship.

It has certainly achieved the goals set by the Herculeans.

But has it fulfilled the reason for its goals?

If the reason why the Herculeans set their goals was to develop stably as human beings, the result is the exact opposite.

Even Ōizumi, which is incomparably better than Hercules, also depends on Mariel, and could collapse instantly if the preconditions were broken.

During the lifetime of Yúnlán, Mariel’s direct contractor, most of the conversation was understandable.

However, after Yúnlán’s death, it is doubtful that Ōizumi’s leader will be able to deal with Mariel properly.

Because the successor didn’t help Mariel get promoted, and before that, they didn’t even sign a contract with her.

The only thing Mariel values is her direct contractor, Yúnlán of Ōizumi.

Reflecting on the possibility that the current situation could have been avoided, Yúnlán concluded, “The best thing to do was not wage war on the Monarchy from the beginning”.

It’s not that Yúnlán didn’t have the opportunity to do that.

In fact, Hào Lán of Fukashiro pointed out the potential danger of the Monarchy and avoided it.

Yúnlán had an opportunity to avoid it, and he also received a specific warning from Hào Lán, but he simply made the wrong choice.

“If there is no turning back, then we must move on. We should acquire the technology to move on.”

『I like children who are eager to do research. I hope we can reach it someday.』

When Yúnlán changed his mind, Mariel spoke kindly to him.