132. The Price of Loyalty (1)
132. The Price of Loyalty (1)
- 1 -
"Is there any possibility that they were truly Fate-bound?"
"You mean that debauched noble young lady and that debauched noble young master? That sounds far too idealistic."
"I wasn't being serious."
Maria had only asked the question to check, but what returned was Elena's sneer.
At that, Maria simply nodded her head.
Having been in frequent contact with nobles, she also knew that they were not as noble or as great as they appeared on the surface.
[Do what you're good at, and let me know. Then I shall evaluate him.]
Unlike Libertas.
'Come to think of it, she agreed to this matter so readily too.'
Originally, Talhan or his subordinate should have come here.
However, those in charge of 'information' were busy scrutinizing whether human nations or other nearby dungeons had caught wind of anything before and after the war.
Because of that, Maria had slipped out of the dungeon beforehand and ended up coming this way.
[I will go.]
It was a matter she had volunteered for.
She was, after all, in a state where she was of no great help in terms of military strength, and she thought it only right to help out even with troublesome and bothersome tasks.
Frankly, she had feared that rejection might come out of worry for her betrayal or escape, but—
[As you wish.]
Libertas approved it plainly.
As if she had never even considered such a thing.
'It was rather enjoyable. But...'
And so she had left the cave shaped like a mansion and embarked on a walking journey, the first in quite some time.
The sword at her waist. The free wind. Her legs, though slightly weakened, still firmly supporting her body.
All of it felt deeply satisfying.
'Now I have to go back.'
But she would go back.
'Because she'll be waiting.'
For that place was now her home.
She did not know why she had come to think that way, but at some point she had come to believe that she must remain at Libertas's side.
Emotion had swelled up, so it was not hard to attach a reason to it.
She could list several reasons, but the one that stood out most was just one.
[Have a safe trip.]
Libertas was the one being who gave her that 'desire to rely on someone,' something she had rarely ever received while living a fiercely independent life.
"Is Her Ladyship in good health?"
"Yes. I heard the war ended without major damage."
"As expected. Not that there is any chance she would have been hurt."
That was why she had to go back.
Her master would be awaiting the return of her follower.
[In good health.]
And if she failed to do so, her master would be saddened.
'I must...'
Because there was one question she had to ask.
- 2 -
The first time I perceived the world through mana, it revealed its hidden face and startled me.
For the sight of mana filling the whole world, dancing in its own way in every direction, felt as though it plunged me into a place overflowing with blue flowers and water.
And this time too, the world I saw was astonishing in another sense.
" 'In all things, there is a spirit'... "
Words derived from Japan's Shinto faith.
Now I was feeling those words with my own senses.
"That is a saying from the Hwaguk of the Western Continent."
"You know it."
"Of course. It was one of the phrases I concentrated on when trying to develop this sense. Hm. Though I failed at that in the end."
"I see..."
I nodded roughly at Mure's words, trying to remember every scene my eyes held.
The scene I saw was that fantastic.
The scene of spirits wandering through every object.
The scene of a world different from reality overlapping my own.
- Woo?
"Hello."
Amidst this, a little brown sprite poked its head out of the earth and was openly on guard, staring at me.
It was a small earth spirit that, even while suppressed by the dungeon's energy, seemed not to have forgotten its true nature, tending to the soil inside this dungeon cave.
"Come here."
- Woo!
It ducked its body in fear as my hand approached—
But soon poked its body out again. In its eyes were wariness, fear, and curiosity all at once.
I instinctively drew upon my mana and dyed that spirit.
- Woowoo...!
"Now you look alright."
The spirit clinging to my finger had become dyed somewhat darker than before, but it was in a state that seemed far more comfortable than earlier.
Creating earth hostile to humans, yet friendly to the demon tribe.
Humans call it 'corrupted,' but demonkind merely calls it 'a different face.'
Such was the spirit.
- Awooawoo.
That was also what I saw.
Its essence had not changed.
The spirit still tilled the earth and made it fertile.
Only its purpose had changed.
The magical domain conversion of this place would become easier and quicker.
- Huuuh...
After that, when I shifted my sight by instinctive judgment, another facet of the spiritual world began to show before my eyes.
- Kurruk...!
- Me... MeMeMeMe!
All sorts of wraiths endlessly circling among the skeletons and around me.
What they contained was resentment and curses, yet they were not especially eerie or frightening.
Because those emotions were ultimately the origin of my power.
- Curse him...!
- Khihihit!
However, while I could understand souls I killed personally, those killed by indirect orders seemed to need proper suppression.
Because they did not appear to be having a very good influence on my summons.
It seemed fine for now, but it was clear that problems would arise in the long term.
"「Come hither.」"
A single word carrying mana.
With just that one word, the air inside the dungeon changed entirely.
Swaaak...!
All currents of air gathered into a single point.
Into a black sphere that began to form at my fingertip.
- Ooh, ooh, ooaaagh...!
- Me... no more...!
The orb of souls, made by dragging together every evil spirit inside the dungeon, was steeped in profound resentment that could kill many people in an instant, and in hatred that could corrupt the personality of several individuals right away.
And that meant, for a necromancer, it was akin to an elixir.
"Splendid...!"
Even as Mure's eyes sparkled with praise as she looked at me, her gaze at that orb carried a faint hint of greed, proving that point.
Of course, if I gave this to her, I could earn her temporary favor, but...
For the moment, I had my own matters to tend to.
- Kyaaaaaa!!
All that resentment, hatred, rage, and malice screaming as they were absorbed and digested inside me.
Enough to easily kill and twist dozens upon dozens of people, yet it could not affect me in the slightest.
And it was not exactly a pleasant fact, either.
All the way down to the knowledge in my head confirming that, even if I were not a Dungeon Lord or a necromancer, it would have been the same for me.
'Which means I am that abnormal.'
But I wasn't so free of mind as to become newly depressed over that.
I wasn't foolish enough to dig at the ground, repeating facts I had long since grown accustomed to.
『Attributes — ...Mana 74(◀ 71)...』
『Traits — ...Specialization: Soul Magic...』
My attributes and traits were newly updated.
Mana was as I had expected, but the Soul Magic case was a little unforeseen.
Because this was the magic that dream demons use when turning souls into wraiths.
From now on, I would be able to summon and control wraiths far more smoothly.
And if on top of this I could bring over the 「Possession」 that they possess, seducing the living would become easy too, but...
'I'm not keen on it.'
That was because a representative trait of Possession is the pattern that appears on the abdomen.
Even in Scarlet or Mari's case, as ordinary dream demons who could not use this magic, did the pattern not appear in a form that could never be erased?
I felt 'Nobility' recoiling at the idea, and I did not much like it either.
"The world you've newly seen is magnificent."
"I'm glad you were satisfied."
Mure seemed briefly regretful, but quickly shook off the feeling.
Facing my smile, she lowered her head deeply once, and then withdrew her mana from me.
"Is this how you intend to help me get used to the senses?"
The 'sight' remained for some time, but gradually faded.
However, the sense still lingered in me, so it seemed that if I repeated this practice a few times, the 'new sight' would settle in sufficiently.
The senior necromancer expressed the same opinion to me.
"Though today was close to a preliminary lesson, it seemed you've already become far more precise in your senses for handling souls. Truly a splendid student."
"Thank you. You are a splendid teacher as well."
When I returned the compliment with a compliment, she gave a subtly bitter smile.
It was a smile that made it easy to guess what she was thinking.
A touch of jealousy, and empathy.
"Though it rather seems this is due to overflowing talent on the student's part rather than the teacher's."
"One who possesses the talent to know and discern what a disciple lacks — if not that person, who else could be a splendid teacher?"
When I said that once more, she bit her lip lightly and smiled, then spoke.
"I shall see you tomorrow."
And with those words, she bowed her head deeply.
No matter how I looked at her, she seemed weighed down by many thoughts, but I merely nodded and let her be.
I still had no personal desire toward her. For we had not yet exchanged enough conversation.
- 3 -
Fortress Gremit, which defended the north of the royal capital Hylash.
Haley, the wife of the House of Baron Shum that ruled over that Gremit, was leading a far more lively and fulfilling life lately than ever before.
This was partly because she was doing more work than before, and partly because she had discovered new value in life, but—
The center of all that fulfillment, rather than the petty human king or the 'fakes' reigning as kings in the underworld, was the fact that she had come to serve a 'true Queen.'
"You've been attending many parties lately, dear wife."
Her husband, Baron Shum, could not fail to notice his wife's mood.
Furrowing his brow, he was harboring both worry and doubt at the same time about the fact that his wife's extravagance had recently intensified even further.
The married couple of House Baron Shum had indeed accumulated wealth by cooperating with the dark merchants, but that wealth was, strictly speaking, at a level that a baron household could accept.
Yet recently, Haley had been forging ties with people from various noble and political circles, flaunting and scattering her wealth as if spreading seed.
He could not help but worry about others' suspicions.
'Just where could all those gold coins be coming from?'
And without even touching the barony's official wealth, at that.
Lately, Gerald had become so worried that he wondered if Haley had laid her hands on something she should not have.
By coincidence, that guess was close to the truth.
Except the difference was that she had not laid hands on it — rather, she had been placed atop those hands.
"You have every right to worry. But it's alright, Jerry. Because there's meaning to everything I do."
"Shouldn't I, your husband, also know what that meaning is?"
"Well, that's true..."
Haley's expression darkened slightly.
Though the fact that she served a true master was a great and joyful secret,
Betraying the trust of her husband, who had been a not-unpleasant companion through life, still did not feel good.
"So, about that. Jerry."
"Hm?"
But still, that was only until now.
Because recently, joyful news had come down from her master.
"How about we take a family outing for the first time in a while?"
"All of a sudden? Does this have something to do with what we were just discussing?"
"Yes. That's right. The truth is..."
As his wife lowered her voice and whispered, her husband pricked up his ears.
And before long, at the voice flowing from his wife's lips, he could not hide the smile that naturally spread across his face.
"A certain great ancient dragon may pay a visit to our spire."
"Is that really true?"
"Yes. Our house will be carried upon that dragon's back."
What Haley had said was a metaphor signifying that a very favorable marriage match had appeared for their children.
It also meant that the other family's standing was so high that even a son would have to enter as a live-in son-in-law, but...
For an ordinary barony, simply forming a relationship with such a high family was an immense stroke of luck.
"This is joyous news...! Then, is this outing for—?"
"Yes. We are going to receive the dragon's audience."
"Ah. It seems we'll need to prepare a great deal."
"There's no need for such things. Everything is prepared; I was told we only need to bring our own bodies."
"How can they be so deeply considerate!"
Gerald, smiling like that, could never have imagined.
That what Haley was really talking about was offering up their children to the Dungeon Lord to prove their loyalty and fully subordinate the household to the dungeon.
To suspect that, the time they had spent on good terms had been far too long.
"Let us depart right tomorrow. Is not a good thing all the better the sooner it's done!"
"We're of the same mind! Truth is, I have already finished all the preparations!"
"As expected of my wife!"
Truthfully, even Haley herself truly regarded this as merely a deepened version of 'finding a marriage match,' so it was only natural—
'If I could receive more of Master's grace...'
She wished for her children to catch her master's eye and be granted greater favor.
If that happened, and she could draw even closer in the future...
'...then maybe the Dark Commerce Guild will become nothing.'
...was what she was thinking.
This happened two days before the dungeon's war ended and two of the three Dungeon Lords died.