Chapter 197
Chapter 197
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 196
Chapter Title: Rules of the Dream Demon Manor
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“Hmm?”
Up close, she looked a bit younger than the one I knew, but the woman in front of me was unmistakably the Black Necromancer. From reacting when I called her name to her outfit, everything matched.
The Black Necromancer before me had short hair reaching her shoulders, and an air of youth peeked through the translucent fabric.
“You know me?”
Her tone was even sharper than when I first met the Black Necromancer. Raw, without any honorifics.
A predatory pressure emanated from her, as if she’d eliminate anything that annoyed her in the slightest.
I could see why the woman who’d been sewing her hand had fled at the sound of the Black Necromancer’s footsteps.
“Yeah, I know you.”
“Hmm?”
Judging by her living state, this must be the Black Necromancer from the past. Whether the timelines were tangled or Learic had pulled some trick, I couldn’t say for sure.
Either way, it was clear that the demon Learic ran this mansion in a particularly vicious manner.
“As a fellow Necromancer, I had to ask—just in case. Do you know about Remegaton?”
“…….”
“Or should I say Spirit Stone?”
I see.
So the past Black Necromancer had drifted here in search of Remegaton.
I could roughly grasp the flow, and even guess her ending.
‘She failed.’
The Black Necromancer ultimately failed and was expelled from the Dream Demon Manor.
Before I entered the general store, she’d said she didn’t know much about Archdemons.
In the battle with Magan, she’d reacted as if hearing about Learic the Archdemon and Remegaton for the first time.
I subtly turned my body, reconfirming one of the Dream Demon Manor’s rules.
-5. The stay at the Dream Demon Manor is limited to five days total. Exceeding this will result in forced eviction.
-8. If evicted from the Dream Demon Manor after five days, you will lose all memories of events here.
‘If that rule holds, then the Black Necromancer with me must have lost her memories.’
I presumed that after the five days passed, she lost her memories.
“Hey?”
The Black Necromancer calling me.
I glanced back, and she stood with arms crossed, displeasure evident.
“Ignoring me one more time, and I’ll cut off that tongue assuming you can’t speak.”
“…….”
No idea how young this version of the Black Necromancer was, but she was quite aggressive.
I silently stared at her and shook my head.
“I don’t know.”
Truthfully, I’d been pondering.
If I told her our story here, would her future change?
If it did, how would it change, and could I survive it?
I needed to choose my words carefully in every way.
Still, she was my master who’d taught me Necromancy, even if she was prickly.
But what if.
Just what if.
‘If I hinted she shouldn’t go to the academy.’
Even if the living Black Necromancer met Gideon, as long as she didn’t come to Robern Academy.
And didn’t meet the girl who was an angel.
Could the Black Necromancer still be alive then?
Many concerns swirled.
From my belief in distinguishing the living from the dead, to personal regret toward the Black Necromancer.
It didn’t seem I could decide right away.
“Well, it wouldn’t be that easy. You’re a citizen of the kingdom?”
“Yeah.”
She tilted her head at my answer, looked me up and down, then shrugged.
“Interesting. I thought all kingdom Necromancers hid like me, but you’re so brazen.”
“…….”
“And a noble too? Your whole family could end up on the execution block because of you.”
If here.
If I revealed future information, what changes would occur?
Could she accept it?
‘Probably some special restriction from the mansion.’
From the rules I’d seen, there were plenty unknown, likely including ones about timelines.
It was risky, but.
I needed to test it.
“I’m a Necromancer recognized by the king.”
“……What?”
“I’m called a Spirit Caller, permitted to practice Black Magic in the kingdom.”
“You’re from the future, huh?”
Hearing that, I subtly scanned the surroundings, wondering if something might happen.
“Don’t worry. There are plenty of people from the future and the past here.”
“…….”
“Even if you spill info, the mansion doesn’t seem to care much. Anyway, who knew Griffin would accept Black Mages. How far in the future are you?”
So it’s that lax?
Various possibilities in my mind cleared up, and I continued talking with the Black Necromancer.
“You seemed to know me earlier. How am I doing?”
“…….”
“Coming from the lab—does that mean I succeeded?”
Her face lit with excitement as she asked me. I sensed her swelling emotions through the translucent fabric.
“I don’t really know.”
“Hm?”
“I’ve only heard stories about you, not personal details.”
“Sigh, okay?”
She accepted it easily, disappointed but not suspicious.
Then, with a chin gesture, she proposed.
“Well, you seem to know stuff I don’t, and useful too. I’ll specially guide you around the mansion.”
“Sure.”
For now, it seemed best to stick with the Black Necromancer and learn more about this place.
Instead of the left corridor where the hand-sewing woman fled, we headed down the right one, and at its end was a door to the dining hall.
Gorgeous tableware fitting the mansion, and lavish foods.
“If you’re hungry, just eat.”
“Explain first.”
No chances taken with food. The Black Necromancer poured pre-brewed coffee from a silver drip pot into a cup and sat.
“Well, everyone summoned here has the same task. Find the Dream Demon Manor’s lost rules.”
“Rule 9.”
-9. Rules about the Dream Demon Manor are written in various places. Find them for prizes.
She nodded with a faint smile at the rule that came to mind.
“Right. Find rules, get prizes. The biggest prize is escape from here.”
“Escape…… I know you get kicked out after five days anyway.”
Sipping her coffee, she replied.
“You lose all your memories. Meaning you lose everything gained here.”
Clink.
Setting down her cup, she crossed her legs, her eyes piercing into me.
“Think of it like a dungeon. Tons of treasures, but fail to escape, and it’s all for nothing.”
Swish.
She pulled something from her bosom. A note on luxurious purple paper.
“Rules are written in various ways. Like notes like this.”
She tossed it on the table, then pointed her finger at the unlit fireplace in the dining hall corner.
Mana flowed along her finger, igniting it.
Flames spread into the air, forming letters.
-21. Meals are refilled daily. Please eat as much as you like without worry.
The Dream Demon Manor’s 21st rule flickered and vanished.
“You can discover them in unique ways like this.”
“Hmm.”
“No telling how many there are, but find the last one to escape the Dream Demon Manor.”
That raised one question.
“What did you get from the rules you’ve found?”
She’d already uncovered two. Probably rewards good enough to want escape.
Propping her chin with a seductive smile, she teased.
“Don’t trust you that much yet. Especially Necromancers—everyone but me is shady. You haven’t forgotten Rule 6, right?”
-6. Combat inside the Dream Demon Manor is discouraged.
Discouraged, but no penalties or interference.
Others could raid and steal rewards from found rules, so she kept quiet.
Wise, unlike the Black Necromancer I knew.
“Well, I’ve told you most of what I know. Anything else?”
Refilling her coffee with a trickle, she asked. She seemed done talking, so after a moment’s thought, I voiced one thing needing confirmation.
“How did you end up here?”
I came via the general store, but unsure if Learic had one in her time.
Maybe she met Learic directly.
“Too bad.”
As if expecting that, she chin-gestured at the note on the table.
With subtle suspicion, I unfolded it.
-13. Do not explain how you arrived at the Dream Demon Manor to other guests.
“Whew.”
So many rules. She turned away, signaling no more talk.
Staring into space, deep in thought, so I quietly moved to leave.
But before closing the dining hall door, I tossed one more personal question.
“How old are you now?”
I didn’t know the soul Black Necromancer’s age, but thought around my age.
“18.”
Ah.
It made sense why she was so aggressive and her speech so crude.
This must be her black history period.
‘First, check out Room 110, my room.’
Putting Black Necromancer thoughts aside, I closed the dining hall door.
There might be info there too.
No desire to be toyed with in Learic’s playground mansion, but caution seemed wiser.
‘No clue what situations might arise.’
Felt like walking a minefield. Might trigger some reverse scale unknowingly and suffer.
Back to the entrance, I headed down the left corridor where the hand-sewing woman ran.
Rooms from 101 onward, 110 at the end.
Room 110 was ordinary inside. Just basic furniture: bed, desk.
All high-end, but nothing special.
Except one thing.
A single purple envelope on the bed.
The same as the rule note the Black Necromancer showed me.
Feeling displeasure again, I slowly reached out and opened it.
-20. Even if you don’t know the Dream Demon Manor’s rules, they still apply.
It seemed obvious, but eerie in this situation.
As said, walking a minefield.
I could unknowingly violate hidden rules.
A place enforcing violent compulsion where ignorance is no excuse.
‘Do they give one rule per room?’
That’d mean every guest knows at least one.
Then, the space before me rippled, something emerging.
Rewards for finding rules, so probably that.
It settled into my hand with a thud, familiar yet alien.
“This is.”
It was shattered, a remnant of the demon’s vile prank.
A black gem.
Remegaton, called the Spirit Stone.