The Necromancer Who Was Despised

He told us to sit down.

“Are they…?”

As we sat down, the old man opened his mouth.

“Yes, it’s Do In-ha and his colleagues.”

“The slave is the author.”

The old man seemed to know everything as he gazed at Balduer.

“Hmm, it’s not difficult.”

“Is this person…?”

“Yes, the one who will erase the slave’s seal, a member of the Royal Mages’ Tower.”

I didn’t expect a mage from the Royal Mages’ Tower to come personally. And with such an aura…

‘6 Class…’.

At the very least, he’s above me. Even if I’m not, he’s definitely not 7 Class.

‘The master of the Mages’ Tower wouldn’t move for such a trivial matter.’

There’s only one 7 Class mage in the Royal Mages’ Tower.

But for such a small task, a 6 Class mage is moving…

“Let’s get this over with quickly. Follow me.”

Despite being a mage, and a high-ranking 6 Class mage at that, he seemed to have a decent personality.

‘After all, being a member of the Royal Mages’ Tower…’.

He’s heavily influenced by the royal family. He receives various tasks and is relatively sane compared to the mages from other towers who are obsessed with magic and research.

At that moment, a middle-aged man sitting next to us intervened.

“Uh, Pinbellum, the story is…?”

“I don’t care. My request was to erase the seal of one slave. I was suddenly summoned for no reason, and now you’re wasting my time?”

The old man said, as if waiting for an answer.

“If you want to keep me waiting, bring the royal family or the tower master.”

I didn’t expect him to speak so bluntly, so my group and I were slightly taken aback.

He seemed more unusual than I thought.

When the man didn’t respond, the old man looked at Balduer and said.

“What’s taking so long? Let’s go.”

Under the old man’s pressure, Balduer looked at me, and I nodded immediately.

There was no harm in erasing the slave’s seal first.

It wasn’t impossible that something strange might happen, but that’s what black mages specialize in.

Even if the old man was a higher-ranking mage than me, I had no reason not to understand, and it didn’t seem like he would do something crazy now.

As the old man and Balduer left the reception room, the middle-aged man let out a sigh and opened his mouth.

“I thought this might happen, but… Ah, I’m Grian from the Royal Information Bureau. We operate under pseudonyms, so please understand.”

“I’m Do In-ha. And this is…?”

“I know. It seems like a truly impressive party. You’re all so young… I’d like to scout you for the royal family personally.”

Of course, it was just flattery.

In the royal family and among the highest nobles, they don’t select people based on ability alone. There are too many enemies, so unless you’re trustworthy, you won’t even be recognized.

It’s true that Kailana and Atina have exceptional talents. However, they’re associated with me, a black mage, so the royal family would never trust them no matter how talented they are.

At best, they’re just disposable pawns.

It’s obvious that if they knew our true abilities, the story would be slightly different.

“If you become a master, you’re an exception no matter what.”

If you become a master, you’re an existence that must be pulled in, even if it means taking risks.

“First, I’d like to express my gratitude for accepting Anelis.”

Unexpectedly, he didn’t show any arrogance or disdain. In fact, he had a respectful attitude, treating the black magician as just another 5-class magician.

“After all, even a black magician would be hard to ignore if they reached 5-class.”

In reality, when I first received all sorts of insults at the inn, if my skills were at 5-class back then, those guys wouldn’t have dared to do such foolish things.

There’s a difference between 4-class and 5-class.

Thinking about it, I could tell how high the old man’s level was, who had just left.

“It seems like it was just a coincidence that you came here.”

“If you hadn’t accepted him, it would’ve been a difficult situation…”

“I also gain something from this, but I don’t know if it’s been conveyed yet. I don’t plan on keeping him forever, either.”

“Of course, you wouldn’t want to keep a traitor around, would you?”

Anelis was right next to him, but he showed no hesitation.

Perhaps his words were meant to consider my feelings as much as possible.

“I’ll contact the alliance and suggest returning to the alliance if possible.”

After all, Anelis himself knew his situation, so it was pointless to attach new people…

“Even if they don’t want to, it’ll be hard for us to stay in the Sperto Kingdom.”

“Are you going to abandon him to another kingdom within the alliance?”

After all, since we’ve already made a mistake, fleeing domestically is one option.

Although our connection with the other side would weaken, what we’ve done so far wouldn’t be completely severed, and if we went to another kingdom, our connection with the 6 Kingdom Alliance wouldn’t be greatly damaged.

“There are kingdoms that aren’t heavily influenced by the Goddess’s Teachings, after all.”

I nodded in satisfaction, having received a clear answer.

“And regarding the royal family’s support…”

Griant glanced at the door and said,

“There will be additional support besides releasing slaves. You already have decent equipment, and…”

“You also have a lifestyle artifact, so considering your current level, I think ordinary artifacts wouldn’t be of much help.”

There aren’t many artifacts that provide significant help in terms of actual combat power, excluding convenience. At our level, a single, renowned sword made by a dwarf craftsman is often more helpful than an ordinary magical weapon.

As a magician, and a black magician at that, I often can’t use ordinary artifacts.

“If it’s an artifact with a jewel, I might use it, but that’s the worst value for money.”

Those are things that high-ranking nobles who can’t use mana would use.

“Therefore, we’ve been deeply considering what kind of support to provide. The noble’s status is sufficient, guaranteed by the mercenary guild, so we thought we’d provide support in the form of information and requests instead.”

“Information, you say…”

“Are you targeting a public black magician, sir?”

“That’s correct.”

“I can recommend a suitable place and assist in negotiations with them. Additionally, I’ll help you obtain a suitable status and take care of any obstacles and troublemakers beforehand.”

In other words, the royal information department would pave the way for me to achieve my goals.

“Did I use my head well?”

If I had the mercenary guild’s guarantee, even as a black magician, I could receive requests. They wouldn’t be able to ignore my skills, anyway.

“But there’s a place I’m aiming for, though it’s not something I can say out loud…”.

It’s not that I couldn’t express it directly, but…

“I’d like to hear the recommendation… where is it?”

“Quaysah Viscountdom, Lopek Earl’s domain, Lineta Earl’s domain, and Cabry Marquis’s domain.”

“Ah, it’s as expected.”

I had anticipated as much. The place I’m aiming for is Lineta Earl’s domain, and considering the circumstances, it’s unlikely that it wouldn’t be recommended.

“Initially, it was a meritorious family, after all…”

Although it’s on the verge of collapse now, it was once a meritorious family, and as such, it holds considerable authority.

One of those authorities is the right to appoint an official dark mage.

“Quaysah Viscountdom and Cabry Marquis’s domain are territories with good recent performances, similar to Doriem. Originally, they wouldn’t have the authority to appoint an official dark mage, but Quaysah has contributed to the royal family in the past, and Cabry has done so in the present, so it’s not difficult to grant them that authority. However…”

“The balance doesn’t add up.”

It means that what I do for the royal family is less significant compared to what the royal family does for me.

This is a kind of debt that I’ll have to repay someday. That’s why I was thinking of avoiding it.

“There are advantages, but…”

It means that I’ll be tied to the royal family for a long time, and as a viscount or marquis, my power is weaker compared to an earl’s, so my voice will carry more weight.

I’ll be in debt, but in return, I’ll have an easier time within the territory.

“You won’t receive sufficient support, either.”

If I’m appointed as an official dark mage, there are cases where the family provides support along with a guarantee of status.

“Lopek Earl’s domain is close to the royal family, so we can recommend it to you. Originally, we have the authority, so it’s not difficult. With the guild’s guarantee and the royal family’s recommendation, Lopek Earl’s domain will gladly appoint you as an official dark mage. They might even provide good support.”

However, that would impose many restrictions on my activities. That was unacceptable.

“I don’t need support, anyway.”

I was confident in my abilities.

“Lastly, Lineta Earl’s domain…”

Griant hesitated for a moment before continuing.

“Lineta Earl’s domain… has the authority, and if the royal family recommends it, you can easily receive the appointment as an official dark mage. However, the territory’s condition is poor, so you won’t receive much support, and you might get entangled in troublesome matters.”

“It’s a complicated place, after all.”

I pretended to think for a moment after hearing Griant’s words.

“How can I get Lineta Earl’s domain to recommend me?”

My thoughts didn’t take long.

“Where can I become an official dark mage the fastest?”

“…Lineta Earl’s domain.”

It was inevitable. Quaysah and Cabry had procedures to follow, and Lopek, despite being close to the royal family, was a high-ranking noble, so I needed to prepare a convincing achievement.

In comparison, Lineta Earl’s domain, with its poor circumstances, already had the authority, and even if my achievements were lacking, they might accept me anyway.

“Honestly, normal people wouldn’t choose that place.”

If I went there, Lineta Earl’s domain would be hesitant but likely to welcome me.

“Hmm. Is Lineta Earl’s domain in a very bad situation?”

“Yes… to be honest, I wouldn’t recommend Lineta Earl’s domain personally, but the royal family might welcome it.”

“Will the royal family welcome it?”

That was a bit unexpected.

When asked about it, Griyang smiled awkwardly and opened his mouth.

“It’s a simple story. The Rinetta Earl’s family was a great contributor to the founding of the nation and had a very close relationship with the royal family. They had been loyal to the royal family for generations, but due to various reasons, their situation has become very unfavorable. We’ve tried to provide support in various ways, but the situation has only deteriorated.”

It was a story I was familiar with.

The royal family had given them opportunities, but the Rinetta Earl’s family had failed to take advantage of them. They had squandered everything and were on the verge of collapse.

“In the end, they went bankrupt.”

After their downfall, the dragon’s corpse was discovered. This is a story that took place after the territory was returned to the royal family.

“Although we can no longer provide proper support due to opposition from the surroundings, His Majesty seems to be a bit disappointed, so if Inha-nim chooses Rinetta, I think we can provide a small amount of financial support as a last resort.”

“I’ll become the justification…”

It seemed like it could be better than the original plan.

The current Rinetta territory was in a state of great crisis.

The scale of the territory itself was embarrassing to be called an earldom, and economically, they were being manipulated by surrounding territories. Militarily, it was difficult to even defend themselves.

Although they had received the royal family’s protection as a great contributor to the founding of the nation, they were not being directly invaded by surrounding territories, but there were people trying to indirectly absorb the territory, so it was not a situation where they could let their guard down.

“Not to mention, if the economy and military are in shambles, it’s impossible to let our guard down.”

The current lord had also hastily inherited the territory after the previous lord’s death and was unable to handle it properly.

It was not surprising that they would eventually go bankrupt.

However, they had managed to avoid being absorbed by surrounding territories. They had given up the family and handed over everything, including the territory, to the royal family.

Well, no matter how you sugarcoat it, the fact that they went bankrupt remains unchanged.

I had planned to take advantage of the situation and maintain the family while reaping my own benefits.

But if the royal family’s mediation were added to the mix…

“There’s no justification, but the king also said he pitied the Rinetta Earl’s family, so…”

With the royal family’s support and my help, we could delay the point of bankruptcy.

Maybe we could even avoid destruction altogether.

“Hmm, a good relationship with the royal family…”

I glanced at Griyang, but there was no change in his expression.

He seemed indifferent, as if it didn’t matter at all.

However, thinking about what he had said, I suspected that he was secretly hoping for something.

“No, maybe he did it on purpose.”

He had said he was from the royal family’s information department.

In that case, he would be quite skilled at handling people and hiding his emotions, but he showed no signs of doing so during our conversation.

It was as if he was being honest with me and not trying to deceive or hide anything, and in reality, I read his intentions as such.

Even though I was in my second life, Griyang’s actions were at a level that could be understood with a bit of experience.

So, I thought that maybe Griyang’s actions were intentional or an attempt to guide me to maximize the royal family’s benefits.

“Initially, I had set a trap and led him to answer, so even if it was the latter, it wouldn’t be caught…”

There was a slight unease.

But I wasn’t foolish enough to show it.

“That’s great. It’s also good that I can become a publicly recognized black mage quickly.”

“I’ll take care of the Rinetta side. It’s not like we can go right away, though…”

“We’ll actively support you from the royal family’s side. It’ll take about three months. We’ll support you to become a publicly recognized black mage within that timeframe.”

There was a high possibility that it was related to a designated request.