My Lord!
Before diving into the commission—if you could even call it that—I decided to extract a few promises first.
No matter how urgent things feel, some points still need to be settled properly.
First.
"Given the nature of necromancy, there's no guarantee I'll be able to pinpoint where the inheritance is hidden."
No holding me responsible if that happens.
"Yes, of course."
And second.
"If I do discover the inheritance's location, I'd like you to guarantee payment for that alone."
"That's only natural. But if you also help with the actual recovery, I'll add a fitting bonus on top."
I needed to avoid the classic bait-and-switch—discovering the hiding place only for her to insist she couldn't pay until the goods were actually in hand.
Of course, if I could help recover the inheritance itself, I wanted to…
…except I have no idea where it's even hidden.
Merlyn's inheritance was, in game terms, a side quest. My main quest was the family. Spending too long on a side objective would be putting the cart before the horse.
Those two conditions were the bare minimum of insurance. The real one was the third.
"And finally… if I help all the way through recovering the inheritance, I'd like compensation proportional to its value. Roughly fifty percent, I was thinking."
"Are you out of your mind?"
What?
Fifty percent was a perfectly conscientious rate, as far as I was concerned.
Unfortunately, modern logic didn't seem to land with these medieval people.
"That's far too much. Fifty percent?! I can promise you fair compensation, but that is impossible."
"Then you might be better off looking for another necromancer."
"…Ten percent."
"We have no idea what dangers might be waiting. Ten percent is far too little. Forty."
"Twenty. I won't go higher than that."
"Then how about the exact middle—thirty percent?"
"Thirty…"
Ellie's deliberation stretched on. But she had no real choice.
"Fine. Thirty percent it is. On one condition, though…"
"Condition?"
"You take full responsibility for helping recover the inheritance as well."
"Hmm."
That one actually required some thought on my end.
What do you think?
"She seems certain the inheritance exists. I'd take the deal. At the very least, you won't come out behind."
He had a point. She was already convinced it was real—and beyond that, she seemed to have a rough idea of what it was. Earlier she'd specifically singled out "armaments" as an example.
So I answered.
"Very well. I'll help through the recovery as well."
"Good. You'd better keep that promise."
"Of course. When would be convenient? I'm free right now."
"Will it take long?"
"Let me check. May I see the ring?"
"Here."
I took the ring and gauged the energy within. A rough estimate came quickly enough.
"Calling him forth is possible immediately. However…"
"However?"
Well. How to put this.
"The residual spirit isn't fully intact, so I can't guarantee he'll be able to tell us where the inheritance is."
Even if I succeeded in summoning him, we probably wouldn't get much conversation time.
Ellie didn't seem particularly concerned.
"That's fine. As long as we learn the location."
"Shall we try it now, then?"
"Please."
"All right…"
I closed my hand around the ring and focused. It was always a strange sensation—performing an act I'd never actually learned, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
I wasn't sure how much time passed.
A faint tremor ran through the ring.
A little more.
I sharpened my concentration, stimulating the residual spirit inside with finer precision. The response came in an instant.
A pale mist rose from the ring, and from within it, an old man took shape.
"Who dares wake me—wait. You?"
"Levation. It's been a long time."
The old man was none other than Levation Merlyn. The founder of the great house of Merlyn himself.
And yet—something was off. The corners of his eyes trembled. A moment later—
The founder of House Merlyn dropped to his knees, as if paying homage to a sovereign.
Faced with this completely unexpected development, I could only blink in silence for a moment.
"Did something… go wrong?"
"You can't see him?"
"No. Nothing at all."
Apparently Ellie couldn't see him. I gave her a suitably vague answer.
"I've successfully called the residual spirit. I need to speak with him a bit, though—would you wait a moment?"
"Of course."
Ellie stepped back, making it clear she wouldn't interfere. Only then could I focus on what was happening in front of me.
What on earth was going on?
Lord?
My ancestor had mentioned it more than once—that the founder of Merlyn had been a coward, and that he himself had made a proper man of him.
But that was actually true? Not just bragging?
I looked at my ancestor with fresh eyes. He wore a faintly awkward expression as he explained.
"It's a title he insists on using of his own accord."
"You are the one who turned a cowardly shepherd boy into a knight, my Lord."
"Tch. Still as stubborn as ever."
"But this necromancer beside you…?"
Levation Merlyn, founder of the house, turned his interest toward me. My ancestor answered the look with calm indifference.
"My descendant. He inherited more of his mother's blood and awakened Death's Blessing."
"Ah, I see. Then Falaon still endures?"
"…Barely. Existing is about all we manage."
My ancestor let out a long sigh and looked at me.
"Descendant."
Yes, Ancestor?
"Would you mind if we spoke for a moment? There are things I'd like to ask."
Well…
We didn't have much time. I'd managed to call the residual spirit, but he could vanish at any moment without it being the least bit surprising.
Still, I nodded.
Go ahead. But we won't have long.
"The conversation won't be long either."
With that, my ancestor shifted his gaze to Levation.
"Leva."
"Yes, my Lord."
"I have much I wish to ask, but our time is short. Just one thing."
"Please, ask."
"Rose… what became of her?"
Rose? I'd never heard the name, but Levation's answer made her identity clear enough.
"My lady spent her whole life longing for you, my Lord, until the day she passed."
"…I see. Longing for me her whole life…"
"Even so, she said she had no regrets. She always told me as much—that the days she spent with you were the most precious of her life."
"Is… that so."
My ancestor's voice trembled finely. I discreetly looked away. In the brief glimpse I'd caught, moisture had gathered at the corners of his eyes.
I wasn't sure how long we sat in silence. It was Levation who broke it.
"My Lord, there is something I must tell you."
"What is it?"
"That coward Bastil betrayed you."
Bastil—the founding king of Heorn. And he had betrayed my ancestor?
I looked over in shock, but my ancestor's expression was calm, as if he'd expected it all along.
"I suspected as much. Falaon would never have fallen so far otherwise."
"I am sorry. I tried everything I could to aid your house, but…"
"It's all right. You never owed me any obligation."
Levation bowed his head deeply, looking thoroughly ashamed.
"Truly, I…"
"Raise your head. That was a long time ago, was it not?"
My ancestor comforted him the way one might soothe a younger brother. Perhaps the words helped him collect himself, because Levation managed a clear, bright smile.
"Even grown this old, I become that cowardly shepherd boy again before you."
"You were lonely."
"Yes. Lonely. Not a single moment after you left was free of it."
"Had you gone first, I would have felt the same."
"You honor me by saying so."
In that moment, the two heroes were living in the past. Levation was once again a young, frightened shepherd, and my ancestor the vigorous knight who had taken that shepherd in.
But the time allotted to them was not long.
"Ah—our time is nearly up."
"So it is."
"May I ask why you summoned me? There must have been a reason."
Levation spoke as if he already knew. My ancestor stated the business plainly.
"Your descendant has come looking for your inheritance. Did you hide something away?"
"Yes. That coward Bastil had his eye on my armaments. I had no choice but to conceal them. I'll tell you the location. However…"
"However what?"
The man who had been so reverent moments before suddenly shrank in on himself, glancing nervously at my ancestor like an elementary schooler about to get shaken down for lunch money.
"Spit it out. Half of you is already gone."
"Are you certain it's right to give it to my descendant?"
"What else would we do?"
"N-no, nothing. I trust you. It's just… even if you take a cut, please keep it reasonable. One or two pieces of equipment would be fine, but if you clean me out completely…"
"You little—! Just tell us where it is already!"
My ancestor barked at him, but Levation couldn't quite shake the look of suspicion. Then he turned his eyes to me.
"At least give me your word."
I promise.
"Thank you."
"That one's worse than I am!"
"Don't be absurd. Worse than you, my Lord? That wouldn't even be human."
"You little—!"
My ancestor clenched a fist, and Levation immediately edged back.
Hmm. That's a learned response.
Just how thoroughly had he been beaten over the years?
Anyway.
"My inheritance is where we first met. The cave where you saved a young shepherd from a bear on a storm-lashed night. And…"
Before vanishing completely, Levation left one last message.
"Beware Bastil and Inoxia."
"What?"
"I cannot say more. There are constraints upon me."
With that, Levation disappeared entirely. My ancestor stared at the empty space he'd left behind, looking thoroughly unsettled.
"What in the…"
What is it? Who's Inoxia?
Bastil was the founding king. But Inoxia?
"A comrade. The archmage Inoxia."
Ah.
I remembered. She turned up occasionally in the founding legends.
But to be told to beware of her?
"I don't understand. Those two should have been dead for ages."
Same here.
My ancestor and I both found it strange, but we filed Levation's warning away carefully. Being cautious never hurt.
Well. All I can really do is remember it, anyway.
In any case.
"Lady Ellie?"
"Yes?"
"I've learned the location. However, I believe we need to adjust the terms of our contract slightly."
"Adjust the terms?"
I answered with perfect composure.
"Lord Levation, in consideration of his bond with my ancestor, said we may take two pieces of equipment. Since that was a promise made by Lord Levation himself, it seems only proper to handle it separately from our contract…"
"…"
Ellie fell silent. Even my ancestor had nothing to say this time. He simply looked at me with eyes that had gone thoroughly cold.
What? Why are you looking at me like that?
"I just… for the first time, I feel sorry for Leva."
Shouldn't he be grateful? We're recovering his forgotten inheritance for him.
Honestly, medieval common sense was completely beyond me.
Anyway.
"What do you think?"
"…Very well."
"Excellent decision. I'm sure Lord Levation will be delighted."
All in all, a thoroughly successful contract.