75. Rudiger Rosenkreutz.

Kouske's POV

Currently, I'm in the Demiplane, assessing everyone's progress. We've constructed new facilities and gathered individuals interested in crafts like smithing and alchemy.

There's one person particularly enthusiastic about golems, poring over every book on the subject in our Great Library. Unfortunately, we don't have many books on golem and magic engineering.

I'll need to consider "borrowing" those kinds of books from somewhere or purchasing them from the Shop. Speaking of which, I haven't "borrowed" anything from the Wizards of Oz yet. I'm not sure where their base is located.

There's also Qlippoth or Nilrem, but who knows where those bastards are hiding in the Dimensional Gap? I can't just wander around aimlessly there, especially with a big, bad, incompetent red dragon guarding the place.

Never mind, the jewelry sales are going well, largely due to the brand value of Akatsuki over the last few years. I also launched the E+ rank healing potions just last week, and they have become the most sought-after item on the website. I should also sell all those lower-ranked weapons I made; they are starting to pile up and becoming a bit of a mess.

After years of practice, I can now craft around D- rank weapons, which are actually quite good compared to the average weapons on the market. I can enchant them with multiple properties using my bloodline ability.

Considering all this, the paperwork involved is massive. Fortunately, with my Memory Partition skill, Thought Acceleration skill, and Time Magic, this paperwork only takes a tenth of a second. So I don't have to whine or be scared of paperwork like the leaders from various factions. Paperwork is fun, believe me! Well, if only you had my abilities! 🤣

Cleria is also assisting with management, and she's very diligent and serious about her work. Even I don't get to see her much because she's always so busy. As for her other peerage members, they're also occupied with various tasks, except for Rangiku. She tends to laze around and drink a lot.

Lately, she's been meeting up with Sakuya, and I'm not sure what they discuss, but it seems Rangiku has been giving Sakuya some weird ideas, judging by the large blushes on Sakuya's face whenever they finish talking privately.

On another note, Tarte-chan finally opened up about her situation. I knew about it beforehand, but it just shows that she has grown mentally. When I asked her what she wanted to do about her mother, she said to just leave her.

I really wanted her mother to suffer, but I guess I should respect Tarte's decision. If one day she decides to confront her mother, then that's her choice.

Incidentally, I've been keeping tabs on her mother's whereabouts since day one. As they say, karma is a bitch. Her own karma has come back to bite her. The boyfriend she married turned out to be a fraud.

He gave her false hopes of a luxurious and happy life, but instead, he took all her money and properties and fled the country. Now she's roaming the same streets like a homeless beggar, similar to how she treated Tarte-chan.

Tarte's spear skills are improving. She's been using the spears that I make for her. I've been experimenting with creating a specific spear that will serve her well for a long time.

I want to craft the ultimate lightning-affinity spear that would put even Thor's Mjölnir to shame. To achieve that, I'd need Uru from the Norse, which means I might have to visit them.

However, I don't want to waste such a rare metal if my smithing skills aren't up to par yet. So, I'll save that project for later. Additionally, there are many ores still undiscovered in the Demiplane that I need to experiment with for smithing, alchemy, or other crafts like golemancy. If I manage to obtain Uru, there's also a chance I could reproduce it inside the Demiplane.

Aunt Arene and Uncle Leon often take small missions in the surrounding area. What's interesting is that Aunt always chooses missions close to Uncle's location but keeps it a secret from him.

After knowing them for years, I've finally figured out where Asagi-chan might have gotten her slight stalker tendencies. The scary part is that Uncle seems completely unaware of it.

Aunt definitely has a talent for tracking. I just hope Asagi-chan doesn't take her mother's hobby too far, although it seems like Aunt, herself, is giving her lessons on the 'subject'.

Unfortunately, Saji's grandparent also passed away recently, leaving Saji and his siblings orphaned once again. It's heartbreaking to see such a young kid facing these challenges alone. I wanted to offer more support, but Saji might not appreciate someone's pity, given his character.

I considered helping anonymously, but Saki-chan seems to have beaten me to it. Despite her attention-seeking and Ojou-sama-like behavior, she is in actuality an incredibly kind-hearted girl.

Saki arranged scholarships/waivers for all three of them and even secured a part-time job for Saji at a convenience store, though technically he's too young to work. Saji believes the store manager wanted to help him and gave him the job. He works behind the scenes, inside the store.

Additionally, Tomo-chan practically dragged Saji to their dojo upon hearing about his dedication to his siblings from the teachers. Saji now attends judo lessons a few times a week. They say a healthy mind starts with a healthy body. Judo can build self-esteem and confidence while relieving stress.

However, I'm not sure if Saji enjoys training under that strict and passionate Uncle Garou alongside those sweaty boys. As for me, I sometimes sneak in to watch and practice alongside the athletic onee-sans. Can you blame me? There's a certain romance to seeing fit girls with slight muscles in action!

Ahem... Back to the main topic, today, I have a meeting with one of the top ten Rating Game players in the Underworld, ranked 7th to be exact. This individual is known as a strategy genius, earning him the title of "Upsetting Sorcerer."

He is renowned for his incredible strategies, particularly focusing on psychological warfare. Despite significant power differences, his tactical brilliance has allowed him to defeat the former Dragon King Tannin and his peerage multiple times in Rating Game matches.

At one point, he even came close to defeating Emperor Diehauser Belial himself.

He is not only one of the two Reincarnated Devils to achieve the rank of Ultimate-class Devil, along with Tannin but he is also recognized as the sole human reincarnated Devil to reach this rank.

He is renowned as the founder of the Magician Association, known as "Rosenkreutzer," and has served as a former Bishop for the Head of the Extra Demon House, Mammon.

Currently, he holds the impressive rank of 7th in the Rating Games, showcasing his formidable abilities and strategic prowess in the Underworld. He is Rudiger Rosenkreutz. He is the one who contacted me first. But I do have an idea as to what this is about.

Most people don't know how or where to contact me, so I created a way for them to leave messages on the website, and from there, we can communicate further if needed. There's growing curiosity about the Demiplane, with many of the younger members of Akatsuki uploading various photos of it.

I didn't discourage them as I wanted to promote it myself. The Norse and Greek pantheons have public portals for general people to visit and make contact with them, and I plan to do something similar. It's beneficial if people come to Akatsuki, as I am way stronger in this place.

I had asked Rudiger if he wanted to meet at the Akatsuki headquarters, and he agreed, showing how desperate he was. When I entered the meeting room, I saw a young man in his twenties with silver hair and green eyes, sipping tea.

"Greetings, Rosenkreutz-san. What do I owe the pleasure of this meeting?" I asked as he placed his tea down and stood up, greeting me with a handshake.

"Hello. It's a pleasure to meet you. I thank you for accepting my request for this meeting so abruptly," he replied politely.

"Well, it's alright. It's not every day you get contacted by one of the top ten players in the Rating Game," I replied.

"Ha ha ha. You jest. Alright, I won't waste more of your time. I believe you are quite busy with your new organization. But this place is quite nice from a scenic viewpoint," he said.

"Oh thank you. But you don't have to rush or anything. We can talk at our leisure for a bit. Did you get a tour of the place?" I asked.

"Yes, a teenager was really enthusiastic about showing me the different places along with his team members," he replied kindly.

"That's good then," I replied.

During our conversation, mostly revolving around topics related to the Underworld, the benefits of my potions for commoner and poorer devils, and my food items, we had already finished two cups of coffee and tea. I always prefer cold coffee over anything hot, whether it's tea or coffee.

"So, the reason I wanted to meet you was related to your ability to extract sacred gears safely," he said, while I gave him a questioning gaze, even though I knew where this was going.

"Hmm, what about it?" I asked.

"Can you really extract them without killing or even hurting the holder?" he asked seriously.

"I can. But do you want to extract a sacred gear from someone?" I asked, to which he nodded.

"Please help my son. He was born with a sacred gear inside his body. But this sacred gear is killing him. He might not survive much longer. I will do anything to repay this favor! I promise!" said Rudiger, bowing his head.

I also knew about his son. Unfortunately, if things continue as they are, the child will die soon. I think his child was a very big fan of Dulio. His son's hero was Dulio. He wanted to see Dulio.

Rudiger had no connection with Heaven, so he mostly gave up on it. He still sent a letter to the Underworld headquarters despite thinking that Dulio wouldn't come. But after a few days, Dulio came to meet his son. His son was so happy.

Dulio came and visited his son frequently. Even after his son died, he visited his grave. After seeing Dulio cry for his son, Rudiger was so moved that he himself couldn't stop crying.

I think because of this, Rudiger shared his wish with Dulio Gesualdo for winning the Rating Game World Tournament: to stop children from being born with Sacred Gears that would negatively affect them, like what happened to his son and many other children dying from possessing a Sacred Gear.

Rudiger held Dulio in high regard, seeing him as the best Angel for what he did for his son and having a great deal of respect for him.

"Please raise your head. I would like to help your son if I can. But I need to see him first," I replied.

"You can meet him whenever you want. He cannot leave home because of his weak body, so he mostly has to stay in bed all the time," he replied a bit sadly.

"Then why don't we meet him now?" I suggested.

"Are you serious?" he asked in disbelief.

"Yeah. I am free for now. So let's go," I said, urging him.

"Umm, it won't hurt him, right?" he asked nervously.

"It most probably won't. But let me see him first," I reassured him.

After that, he teleported us to his territory. I met his son, who looked really sick and weak. Upon examining him, it seemed he had been born with a weak soul.

Sometimes being a half-devil can have adverse effects on someone. Not every half-devil is born without defects. His sacred gear was putting a lot of pressure on his soul, causing him considerable suffering.

I suggested using soul-nurturing methods instead of abruptly removing his sacred gear. It would heal and strengthen his soul while allowing the sacred gear to become accustomed to his body.

However, they weren't readily available and very hard to find. So, I decided to promote my own soul-nurturing potions. I don't sell these on the website yet, but I will start selling the lower-ranked soul-nurturing potions from next month.

Rudiger was initially hesitant about using unknown potions so suddenly, but he didn't have much of a choice for now. So, he chose to believe in me.

The potions worked well. I gave the kid a D+ ranked potion, and instantly, its effects were visible. His soul problem was resolved, and his sacred gear would soon become accustomed to it.

I advised him to monitor his son for a while and try using the sacred gear later, assuring him that it would work just fine.

After a few days, I received confirmation from Rudiger that his son was fully healed. Rudiger was very grateful and went on about owing favors.

I mentioned to him that Sakuya and I wanted to take the test for the Ultimate Class Magician, to which he agreed to make arrangements with the other magician organizations soon.

His own organization would provide us with the High-Class Magician certificate, as he, being an Ultimate Class Magician himself, could easily issue certificates up to the High Class.

However, for the Ultimate Class Magician certificates, every major and influential magician organization's respective Ultimate Class Magicians needed to be present to ensure fairness and impartiality.

As Rudiger was making arrangements for it, he wouldn't be able to serve as a judge for the exams. I also requested some books on golem and magic engineering, and he agreed to provide them. This will make the new kids happy, and I'm excited to study these topics myself. Creating golems or magical robots has probably been a dream for everyone at least once.

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Chapter releases might slow down a bit as I need to focus more on my studies. I have an exam in 2 to 2.5 months, and I'm lagging behind a lot, so I need to catch up quickly! 😭 But don't worry, you'll still receive regular updates! Stay safe and please keep me in your prayers for my upcoming exam! I'm a bit nervous about the exam, which happens every time! 😅

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