The Necromancer Who Was Despised

“I’ve also seen those who are truly loyal and would never betray.”

If not, there was no reason for her to aim to become a knight.

She would have felt disillusioned instead.

“Not all knights are the same.”

Artina muttered softly.

“Since Kayla was a knight before, in Artina’s view, Kayla would be the standard for knights.”

It wasn’t that she hadn’t seen other knights, but Kayla was the one she had been closest to for the longest time.

And since she had received education from her, the image of a knight would be extraordinary.

Perhaps Kayla’s words were meant to break such prejudices.

We would soon be entering the noble family’s territory, a renowned noble family at that, and would likely face knights directly.

It could be seen as a kind of pre-education.

“Of course, the situation we’re heading into might be the worst.”

Moreover, since we would be making a deal, it wasn’t like we would be under their control.

We exchanged a few words and headed towards the castle of the Jutes’ territory, and soon arrived at the castle.

“The territory is small, anyway.”

Dorielem was a large territory among the viscounties, while Jutes was just an average viscounty.

Honestly, if it were a power struggle, Dorielem would naturally be stronger than Jutes. However, there were many territories surrounding Dorielem, making it difficult for them to reveal their ambitions easily.

We entered the castle with Erjan’s help, of course.

Following his guidance, we were able to enter the Yutes Guild branch and officially received the request.

In the process, we also learned our destination.

“Hmm, it’s not that far, I suppose.”

Once we pass through the Yutes territory, it’s not that far. However, if we take a detour….

“There’s no proper road, and there’s a risk of ambush…. “

They would have openly attacked us if we hadn’t hired them, so it’s fortunate we did.

However, now that we’ve hired them, they’re our allies.

The guild’s mercenaries were shocked to learn our true identities, but thanks to the scale of the request and the fact that the client is Eryan, there wasn’t much conflict.

“The gazes are unsettling.”

“I’ll bear with it.”

Eryan responds to Atina’s complaint.

He didn’t tell her to unilaterally endure it, though.

He had our fellow mercenaries give them a warning glance.

“It seems their influence is quite strong, indeed.”

The gazes of Eryan’s fellow mercenaries, or rather, the mercenaries under his command, were withdrawn one by one.

“I suppose this is normal.”

It’s difficult to obtain the guild’s guarantee with just strength alone. That means there’s a reputation and achievements to back it up, which naturally leads to influence.

After resting for a day at the lodging he introduced us to (naturally, I paid for it), we set off towards the Iclamba Viscount’s territory as soon as the day changed.

Needless to say, the escort continued throughout the night.

In a way, it was a natural result, as it also served as surveillance.

“…From here on, it’s the Iclamba Viscount’s territory.”

“Come back this way when you return.”

“I’ll leave someone behind.”

“Do you know about the remaining payment?”

“Yes. You’ll receive the remaining payment when you re-enter the Dorian’s domain. So, make sure to return safely.”

If we didn’t return within the given time, they would receive the remaining payment from Dorian instead.

“Don’t worry and wait.”

“…Then, see you later.”

“Ah, welcome.”

We were greeted by one of Iclamba’s attendants.

He was a rather flashy and suspicious-looking man.

We didn’t expect someone like him to greet us, so we were all somewhat taken aback.

He welcomed us, treated us to a meal, and provided us with a room.

At the same time, he handed over the requested item, an ancient book.

“…Can we just go now?”

“I also think so.”

Atina and Valdur expressed their opinions in turn.

“I think that’s correct.”

Kaila responded on my behalf.

“Why? Isn’t this a royal request, after all? Although it’s disguised as a merchant’s request, they must know, don’t they?”

“That’s right. But on the surface, it’s a merchant’s request. So, that’s how it is.”

At the very least, that’s how it’s going to be known outside.

The person carrying out the request is a mercenary black mage.

So, the lord won’t absolutely meet with us, and we won’t be allowed to stay in the territory for long either.

“It’s a matter of face.”

It’s not like the territory is strong, and we can’t bear the ridicule from our surroundings.

He seems to think that directly receiving the mercenary black mage would be beneath his dignity.

‘Besides, the fact that I’m affiliated with Dorialem also had an impact.’

In reality, this place isn’t as good as Jutus, but our relationship with Dorialem isn’t great either.

“…I don’t feel good about this.”

“Don’t worry about it. We just need to complete the request and it’s over.”

From my perspective, this isn’t a bad situation either.

There’s just one thing I need to know.

“I think I’ll search the surrounding area where the ancient book was discovered.”

“I’ll definitely give it a try, but will we have enough time?”

“We will.”

“…You’re confident. Was it marked on the map, or is it just a coincidence?”

I smiled faintly instead of answering.

I called the user and asked about the ancient book’s discovery location and who found it.

It was a simple, showy information gathering, and at the same time, we didn’t know the exact location.

“I roughly know the location, but… unlike last time, there wasn’t any excavation work done, and it’s just a forest, so there’s nothing we can do.”

There wasn’t any special terrain like last time either.

So, we needed information.

“Ah, is that what you’re saying? It was discovered in an unexplored forest region. A hunter from the village stumbled upon it while tracking deer, right?”

When I asked about the location, he added unnecessary information and explained it in a roundabout way.

And he added at the end of his explanation.

“Anyway, it seems like you’re looking for ruins or an ancient dungeon, but we’ve already searched the area. We concluded that some of the items the traveler had were from there.”

It turned out that not only the ancient book but also various clothes and items belonging to the book’s owner were discovered.

In reality, it was true that someone else had discovered it and brought it out.

“But, it’s true that there are ruins around here.”

Initially, saying that they’d already searched the area was an exaggeration.

With the lord of Iclamba’s capabilities, it’s difficult to thoroughly search the area.

“But, saying it’s a deer habitat is a lie. There are many monsters, too.”

There was no safe place with only animals living around here.

That deer habitat is also part of the monster forest.

Dorialem, Jutus, and Iclamba are all territories adjacent to the monster forest.

Iclamba is a territory with a relatively narrow border, and they’d managed to protect it with their limited capabilities.

“They must have had Jutus’s help, too.”

From the perspective of being wary of Dorialem, even a small amount of power was necessary.

It’s no wonder Iclamba has a strained relationship with Dorialem.

In the end, since the belongings were also discovered, it seemed like they were just roughly rummaging through them.

It was unclear whether they had a suspicious mindset or if they were just trying to stir up trouble and make a scene beforehand.

“Can that hunter introduce us?”

The user had a slightly hesitant expression, but as soon as I handed over 1 silver as an introduction fee, they immediately changed their expression and said:

“Anything is fine!”

He still looked nervous, but he took the silver and we were able to talk to the hunter.

“Guide… is that what you mean? It’s not a difficult task, but…”

Money worked anywhere.

The hunter happily agreed to our request.

“Here you go.”

“Um, thanks for the guide. You can go back now.”

At that point, his job was done.

There was no need to show off or pretend to be enthusiastic.

He left with a relieved expression.

“Um, but do you really think it exists?”

“It’s worth investing a day. We have plenty of time.”

We hired Eryan and didn’t get ambushed by the Dorilem.

So, we had plenty of time.

“I don’t think it’s just a coincidence that a traveler brought this here.”

“…It’s suspicious, considering the location. A traveler in a monster-infested forest…”

There was enough reason to be suspicious.

‘What if someone discovers a relic here later?’

Someone might have had the same suspicions as me and conducted a similar search.

‘Or maybe this ancient text became a clue.’

Rumors weren’t everything; we had already experienced that twice.

“Let’s split up and search.”

The team was divided into three.

Kailra was with Specter.

Artina and Baldur were together, and I attached Skeleton 2 and Kero to them.

I decided to lead the remaining undead with Anelis.

Artina and Kailra objected, but dividing the team like this was the most balanced.

“It’s dangerous to go alone without a vanguard.”

“That’s right. Let’s divide into two teams. At least with your mentor, it’s safer.”

I shook my head at their words.

“If I summon undead, the vanguard is sufficient. It’s more efficient to move like this.”

The undead were basically connected to me, and Kero could express its will to me.

Specter could also indirectly express its will.

‘If we discover a relic, we can contact each other.’

I and the undead could sense each other’s locations.

If we got too far apart, the sense would become faint, but it didn’t matter in this area.

In the end, my companions followed my lead, and I started acting with Anelis.

Anelis silently followed me for a while.

Since we weren’t moving at a rapid pace, it wasn’t a problem for her to keep up.

We moved for about an hour.

“Over there…”

When she approached me, I was still focused on finding the undiscovered ruins.

At first, I ignored her.

As I thought, I had no intention of dealing with her.

As long as she didn’t die, I would just leave her be and send her away later, so there was no reason to get close to her.

I didn’t want to get entangled with the Dark Elf, and the benefits of accepting her were too great.

So I accepted her, but that didn’t mean I had to treat her sincerely.

Neither the royal family nor the Dark Elf faction had expected me to be kind to her; they had only asked me to protect her for their own reasons.

Under that implicit understanding, she temporarily joined our party, but she only showed her surface-level appearance.

However, Anelis didn’t give up.

She called out to me several times, and I eventually replied with a tone of annoyance.

“Be quiet.”

“…Is there something you want to ask?”

“Can’t you just shut up?”