Well, they offered so politely that I had no choice but to accept.
After about a few days of walking and a few days of sour faces, they finally left me alone and returned to their village.
I must say that there are real reasons why this country used to be called the Land of Rice Fields. Until the very last second I was in the country, all I saw everywhere were rice fields and the people working in them.
Despite the two ninjas who never left my side, I found an opportunity to visit a few shacks next to the fields and asked the people living there about their rice production.
Production is abundant, and they have no trouble selling it. This isn't very good news for me. If they were having trouble selling, I would have brought the caravan here to buy rice at very cheap prices.
Of course, the rice they sell is still quite cheap due to its abundance and the suitability of the region. Buying it here and selling it in the Wind Country and the Stone Country brings good profits. But selling it to other countries in this area is not very profitable.
After writing down the information I had gathered in a notebook, I looked around, breathed in the fresh air, and stretched my body.
According to the system's routine, a new system template won't be here for at least another three weeks.
This means I have at least three weeks to go to the capital and convince the Daimyo.
Well, that time is probably quite sufficient. In fact, while I'm there, I can also make contact with some major merchants.
Hmm, actually, it's too early to contact them. If I tell them this early, I'll awaken their greed.
After all, to make them part of my plan, I first need to convince them of the plan's feasibility. And once they're convinced of the plan's feasibility, why would they want to stand behind me in this plan?
All the major merchants in the capital have their own connections, and most of them are related by blood to the Daimyo.
After I tell them everything, the only thanks I'll get will probably be extra spices added to my food.
The more I think about it, the more ridiculous my idea of talking to a few high-level merchants early on seems.
The best thing to do would be to withdraw some money from my bank account in the capital and take a vacation there until a new template arrives.
I guess I should also send a letter to Konoha telling them not to worry about me. Hiruzen will be happy to hear that he can keep owning the market.
After opening my map, I calculated my current location and where I needed to go. It should be noted that the map I currently hold is my original map.
Orochimaru returned my map when I asked for it, with the reliable trade routes marked.
Orochimaru probably made a copy for himself, but since we're business partners now, it's not a problem. After all, he's my security captain now.
I managed to establish a business relationship with Orochimaru while I was an abducted test subject...
Fortunately, I didn't try to do anything like increase the similarity level of the template provided by the system.
Thanks to both the punishment I received and my own actions, I managed to escape from there.
"Hahahaha! I'm really lucky these days."
[Congratulations, host, you've obtained a new template]
"Ahhhh! You bastard system!"
[Congratulations, you've obtained a ***** star template]
Suddenly, a golden-colored system screen appeared in front of me and told me it had given me a powerful template, just as I had always wanted, but why did I feel uneasy inside?
I had always thought that the templates the system would give me would gradually become more powerful. Maybe the next template would be three-star, or I'd complete another two-star template and then get a three-star one, I guessed.
My worst guess was that if I completed at least three two-star templates 90% of the way, I'd move up to the three-star level.
But suddenly getting a five-star template? If I haven't completely misunderstood the system, this shouldn't be a good thing.
[Template]
[Lilith from Supernatural]
[Tips for Lilith]
[For it to go back to the way it was. Before I had angels to deal with twenty-four/seven. The good old days, when it was all baby blood, all the time.]
[I've been stuck in hell for a long, long time. Now it's time for chaos and fun]
[Oh, human soul. How delicious]
[You have one year to complete this template]
[Remember, host, the higher the grade of the template you obtain, the greater the rewards and punishments]
Oh...
It's even worse than I expected.
Both a female character and a full-fledged demon.
What do I need to do to advance this template? Should I cut off my third leg and eat human babies? Maybe I should use my body to seduce human men?
Damn it!
This time I might have really screwed up.
[You received a hint from Lilith: Don't worry, sweetie. I love you even more this way]
........
Author's note: for those who don't know, Lilith is a character from the TV series "Supernatural." According to the series, when Lucifer, the chief angel god, created humans, he became jealous and seduced the soul of one of the first humans, making her the first devil and rebelling against God.
And that first devil is Lilith. You can check the wiki for more information.
......
Suddenly, a seductive voice came from behind my right ear, and I turned around in fear. If someone could get this close to me silently in this deserted forest, it couldn't be good.
But there was no one behind me, and a system screen displaying what I had heard explained everything to me.
Huff, I even thought someone had blown into my ear.
Yeah, actually, it's not surprising.
"Hey system, I don't know if you're aware, but Lilith is using your hint-giving thing like a normal speech bubble."
[System updating...]
[Update complete]
[Lilith: Got it. Why did hearing the voice of a lovely woman like me scare you, little Eren?]
All the hairs on my body stood on end with Lilith's tone of voice.
I can sense she's trying to use a seductive voice, but deep within it lies a dark and obsessive undertone.
Anyway, I just escaped from Orochimaru's clutches. Getting scared this quickly really makes me look like a wimp. I can't let her take control.
"First, you're not a pretty woman. Second, I'm older than I look."
[Lilith: Is that so? Ha ha ha. Looking at your soul, I'd guess you're 50 at most. To me, you're like a child who just learned to talk.]
"Nah, I think you're too old. You're an old grandmother."
[Lilith: Actually, I'm starting to think you're cute. After I'm done with you, you'll make a very good king of hell.]
"Thanks, but I won't be king of hell. For one thing, I get bored easily. Torturing souls for years and years isn't really my thing."
[Lilith: You don't need to torture children to be the king of hell. Being the king of hell means having infinite freedom. Infinite money, infinite beauty, infinite life... Think about it.]
What is this woman talking about?
Does she think she's the only one who knows me?
I watched her TV show. I know very well how skilled a strategist and liar this seductive-looking woman is.
Should I tell her that I already know her and stop trying to manipulate me for nothing? After all, if I keep this information to myself and try to play manipulation games with her, I'll probably end up being the one being manipulated.
But if I call her a manipulative bitch outright and she stops trying to manipulate me, who knows what will happen. She might demand I sacrifice hundreds of people to demonic gods in a fit of rage, just to increase the similarity by five percent.
It's best not to talk too much and to be careful about manipulation.
"Well, you could say I'm quite happy with my current situation. Being king in general, not the king of hell, means having a lot of responsibility. I don't think I could really handle such a huge burden."
[Lilith: Okay, no pressure, don't worry. I can't force you to do anything if you don't want to. Ha ha... As long as you want, you can turn yourself into a woman and try to live like me. Oh, by the way, my favorite sexual fantasy is to take possession of a little girl and have a relationship with her father. If you do that, you'll probably gain my powers in no time. Ha ha ha]
You sick bastard!
"That sounds disgusting."
[Tastes and colors aren't up for debate, baby]
--------
Don't forget to vote
--------
[You have a new template task]
[You have a new template task]
[You have a new template task]
"What's going on, three tasks at once?"
[Lilith: Yes, unfortunately I can only give you three tasks at once and I can't control their duration. I wish I could give you more. After all, we're on the same side]
"When are we on the same side?"
[Lilith: Oh, come on, neither of us wants you to cut your dick off. Don't you think that puts us on the same side?]
Alright, I don't need to keep talking to this crazy woman. I'll check my tasks for now.
Hmm, come to think of it, I don't remember ever getting more than one task a day before. Did the system update change that? Or did the number increase because of the template's difficulty?
Besides, Lilith told me she gave me the tasks herself.
Did the templates give me tasks in the previous templates too? Hmm, actually, that could be it.
Arataka Reigen rarely gave me tasks. He probably refrained from giving me tasks because he saw that I was too busy being kidnapped.
Speaking of which...
Since Lilith can give me three tasks at once, I should complete them by following a good schedule regardless of the difficulty of the tasks, otherwise I'll constantly have to struggle with multiple tasks.
"Lilith, what do you know about me and the system?"
[Lilith: Oh, look at you! Since you're asking that, it means you don't know how your weapon works.
I'm such an idiot!
[Lilith: Every time you complete a task I give you, I'll tell you a little bit about the system and what I know about you. Well, I guess I'm in a good mood today, so I'll give you a hint up front. If you ignore the tasks I give you and can't do a good enough job of imitating me, at best I know I'll be locked in a private room with you and be able to do whatever I want to you, and at worst, I know you'll die instantly.]
The minimum punishment I could receive doesn't feel like a minimum at all. Lilith; a psychopathic sadist... I need to take this seriously.
"And the system! I just finished a new template, why did I get a new one so early? You can't expect me to imitate someone forever, I need to rest too."
[You couldn't complete the last template you obtained]
"Is that why we usually switch to a new template faster?"
[Yes]
"So if I finish this one successfully, can I rest twice like I did with the previous template?"
[Depending on the percentage you complete the template, you won't receive a new one anytime soon, Host]
"And exactly how long are we talking about? I have a project I need to start urgently."
[Please find out for yourself, Host]
[Lilith: What kind of project are you talking about, little Eren?]
Right, I still had tasks I needed to check.
[Template task 1: Tell Lilith you love her. Note from Lilith: Just kidding]
[Task duration: one day]
Is this woman serious?
[Template Task 2: Start exercising immediately. Note from Lilith: The first king of hell in this reality can't be as weak as you. You're physically weak and... Never mind, red hair is actually pretty good.]
[Task duration: 2 months]
Too... simple!
I was expecting much more impossible tasks from someone like Lilith. At least something more psychopathic.
Well, I'm not complaining. I just have to exercise regularly every morning and evening for the next two months. I was already exercising before Orochimaru kidnapped me. Even my stats on my profile had changed.
"Profile"
------------------------------
Level: 1
Strength: 4
Durability: 3
Soul: 5
Intelligence: 4
Chakra: 15
Physical Skills: [Firearms: D]
Physical skill cards you have:
Soul Skills: []
Soul skill cards you have:
Godly Skills: []
Divine skill cards you have:
Expertness: [Farming: S]
Expertise cards you have: [Traps: B]
-----------------------------
My durability level was 6 points.
Just because Orochmiaru kidnapped me, I stopped training, and my durability dropped by two points.
I guess I need to start training again quickly, even if Lilith doesn't say so.
I was about to close my profile to check my last mission when I remembered at the last second that I no longer needed the farming skill. Since I'll probably start running towards the capital soon, it's best to continue with trap mastery.
You never know what you'll encounter on the road.
[Template Quest 3: Complete the first template quest and kill a person using the reward I prepared for you.
[Quest Duration: Two Weeks]
This is the kind of quest I'm talking about.
There's no note at the end of this quest. Besides, what reward is it talking about?
"Isn't the reward for the first template just a similarity increase reward?"
[Lilith: So you didn't know that either. Anyway, there's an easy way to learn, right?]
Hmm, just because I said I love her, I don't think a devil-human agreement will start between us.
"I love you" Angelina Jolie
That counts, right?
[Congratulations, you have completed template task 1]
[Template similarity rate +5]
|■-------------------|
[You have received a special reward. Please check your profile]
What reward?
------------------------------
Level: 1
Strength: 4
Durability: 3
Soul: 5
Intelligence: 4
Chakra: 15
Physical Skills: [Firearms: D]
Physical skill cards you have:
Soul Skills: []
Soul skill cards you have: [Possession: A]
Godly Skills: []
Divine skill cards you have:
Expertness: [Farming: S]
Expertise cards you have: [Traps: B]
-----------------------------
Possession?
"Is this reward I received permanent? Will I lose it if I can't complete the template?"
[No. This reward and your other rewards are permanent unless the system takes them back as a penalty.]
I obtained a real skill card for the first time, and the only thing I did to get this card was tell a lie.
It can't be that simple.