Skeletons' Devotion
Shivers... "Ugh..."
Ju Joyeon, who had lost consciousness from mana depletion, came to with a pale face in the cold night air of winter.
"Where...?"
As Joyeon slowly looked around at the unfamiliar sleeping spot, he soon realized he had been lying among corpses in the forest and hurriedly got up.
Right. I passed out from mana exhaustion.
Joyeon frantically patted himself down to check his condition. Aside from a few minor scratches that must have come from collapsing, there was nothing wrong with his body.
I didn't get hurt. Why?
He had been told monsters were dangerous at night, yet he couldn't understand how he had suffered no harm despite fainting defenselessly.
"I should head back to the hideout first..."
Clack.
Master.
Startled by the voice from behind, Joyeon spun around. There stood the butler skeleton he had summoned.
"W-waaah!!"
Forgetting he had summoned it himself, Joyeon screamed and tried to flee toward the hideout. Clank!
"Aargh!"
He had also forgotten about the two massive iron balls that had been shackled to his ankles for over a month, so he couldn't even take a single step before falling over.
Clack.
Master?!
The butler was greatly flustered by Joyeon's incomprehensible behavior. Meanwhile, May, who had been gathering dry firewood behind the butler to start a fire for her master, rushed over to check his injuries when she saw him fall.
"W-waaah! S-skeletons!!"
Joyeon flailed his arms and screamed as the skeletons loomed over him.
"...Huh?"
When they didn't attack as expected, he cracked his eyes open to assess the situation.
Clack.
We lack the strength to remove the shackles on Master's legs.
Clack.
Fortunately you aren't badly hurt, but your ankle is probably sprained or swollen.
"Uh... ah."
Only then did Joyeon realize that the two skeletons worrying over his legs were the ones he had resurrected with his magic.
"Um..."
Clack.
If you leave the wound alone, it could get infected.
Huh? I can hear the skeletons talking?
"Y-you! You're the skeletons I summoned, right?"
Joyeon asked to confirm. May tilted her head at the sudden question, then nodded.
Clack.
Yes. Thanks to you, Master, I have been given a second chance at life. I am your servant.
"I-is that so? What about the one next to you?"
Clack.
It is an honor to meet you, Master.
The butler stood straight and placed his right hand over where his heart had once been, offering a formal greeting. Seeing this, May quickly stood as well and curtsied while holding her skirt.
Watching them, Joyeon felt more fear from the eerie atmosphere and the fact that skeletons were moving than any sense of wonder.
When Joyeon tried to stand, May approached and helped him up by taking his hand.
"Th... thanks."
Clack.
It is only natural that we serve you, Master.
Joyeon sensed from May's actions that they truly had no intention of harming him.
"Did you two protect me while I was unconscious?"
Clack.
Yes. Lowly beasts dared to try harming you, Master, so we dealt with them.
While listening to the butler's polite reply, Joyeon's gaze naturally drifted to the skeleton's hands. Black, dried blood was smeared across his folded hands.
Blood... They got that protecting me. I don't need to be scared. Still, killing beasts with their bare hands... Are skeletons that strong?
"Thank you."
Clack!
It is only natural when it is for you, Master.
Clack.
It is an honor to be able to protect you.
Joyeon left the two skeletons standing guard in front of him and sat down on one of his iron balls, releasing the tension from his body.
But why can I hear their voices?
Joyeon knew that the undead summoned through Death's Exchange possessed enough intelligence for autonomous action. However, he had never heard of them being able to speak, so he was puzzled.
Is this also because of the language translation ability?
In the end, he concluded it was thanks to that ridiculously overpowered translation skill. For Joyeon, this was honestly a very welcome development. He could give orders verbally, but previously his intelligent undead had to convey their intentions through actions or writing. Now that barrier had vanished.
After roughly grasping the situation and organizing his thoughts, Joyeon asked the butler what he was curious about.
"First, what are your names?"
Clack.
We have no names.
"You must have had names before you died."
Clack.
Our previous names hold no importance to us who have been reborn. Please give us whatever names you find convenient to call us by, Master.
"You want me to name you... Why give such an important task to someone like me?"
Joyeon scratched his cheek and pondered for a moment.
"Hmm~ What did you do in your previous lives?"
Clack.
I was a butler who served the Larasia family.
Clack.
I was a maid who worked for the same household.
A butler and a maid...
"Can't I just call you Butler and Maid?"
Clack.
If that is easier for you, Master, then I shall henceforth call myself Butler.
Though he had said it jokingly, Joyeon frantically waved his arms when he saw the skeleton immediately trying to adopt "Butler" as his name.
"Sorry. Don't. Cancel that!"
Joyeon desperately wracked his brain.
If it's a butler, then Sebastian? Alfred? Too cliché?
After thinking of common names, Joyeon decided to give them Western names he liked.
"Butler will be Jack. Maid... let's just go with May."
The names of your first skeleton followers have been set.
Looks like a status window for the summoned undead? Slightly different design.
Clack.
I will serve you, Master, until these bones turn to dust. Jack offers his first greeting.
Clack.
I will attend to you for eternity by your side. May offers her first greeting.
"Yeah. Nice to meet you both. Take care of me."
****
After naming Jack and May and exchanging greetings, Joyeon immediately headed for the hideout. He had no idea how long he had been unconscious and was too exhausted; he just wanted to rest quickly.
When they set off, he had been worried about how to walk with his sprained ankle from tripping over the iron ball, but May carried the iron ball for him while Jack supported him, making the walk easier than usual.
"So, was your former master among the people you died with?"
While walking toward the hideout, Joyeon asked Jack a rather rude question.
Clack.
Our former master went out to investigate the continental anomaly that occurred recently and never returned. The one who died with us was the family's only daughter, Lady Lara Tiasia Larasia.
What kind of name is that... Laralarala?
"Between your former master and me, who is more important?"
Joyeon threw another awkward question at May this time.
Clack.
Of course, you are the most precious to me, Master.
May answered immediately, just like Jack.
As expected, their loyalty is incredible because I resurrected them with my magic.
"Then what if I revive your former master?"
Clack.
Lady Larasia would serve you just as we do, Master.
That wasn't what I meant.
"I see. Then would reviving that Laralarala be good for me?"
Clack.
If I may offer my humble opinion, you are an existence from another world, not the one we lived in. Although the Larasia family was only a minor baronial house with a single small territory, they were still nobles. I believe they would be of great help in surviving in this world.
Jack spoke his mind honestly, just as he had in his previous life.
Clack.
There were also knights who protected the young lady. They would surely be a great help in protecting you, Master.
"I see. Knights, huh... Ah, we've arrived."
While talking, they reached the vicinity of the hideout.
"I'll think about reviving that Laralarala. Anyway, I can't do it right now because I don't have enough mana."
Clack.
As you wish, Master...
"Alright... So now I just say 'Return to your graves,' right?"
At Joyeon's words, Jack and May bowed their heads.
Clack.
Please call us anytime.
Then they sank into the ground as if it had swallowed them and disappeared.
Grave was the activation word for the Gravekeeper skill within the basic magic of the Death attribute, Death's Domain. Unlike ordinary undead, the undead resurrected through the ruin family's magic did not disappear over time; they were permanent. Therefore, there was separate magic to manage the summoned undead.
It created a dimensional rift underground so they could follow their master, and in dangerous situations they could emerge at their own discretion. Furthermore, since they used the magic circles automatically engraved on their bodies when resurrected as undead rather than the master's mana, there was no burden at all.
It was literally a cheat skill.
"Good. This should be fine."
After stamping his foot a few times on the ground where Jack and May had disappeared, Joyeon limped into the hideout.
The subordinate he had spoken to when leaving questioned why he was so late, and Joyeon only apologized before heading straight to his room to sleep.
****
Early morning.
Master. It is morning.
"Mmm~ five more minutes..."
Master. An irregular lifestyle is bad for your health.
"Then thirty minutes... Huh?"
Joyeon realized the one waking him was May and slightly opened his eyes to look around the room. There was no one inside.
Come to think of it, the voice sounds like it's coming from inside my head...
Since I have not yet received permission to enter your bedroom, I am speaking through thought transmission.
"Thought transmission? Ah. You said you could convey your will that way while in the 'grave.'"
Having only read about it in books and using it for the first time, he still wasn't used to the abilities he had gained through Death's Exchange.
Anyway, I'm going back to sleep. It's not time to wake up yet~
Master. You must use your time efficiently. Why not endure the drowsiness and go for a walk? The sleepiness will surely disappear quickly.
"Ugh..."
For the first time, Joyeon felt annoyed at May for being so bothersome, but since she was saying it for his sake, he couldn't complain and had no choice but to slowly get up.
Creak...
When he left his room earlier than usual, the hideout was quiet.
"See, no one else is up yet~"
"What are you doing?"
Startle!
Surprised by the boss's voice from beside him, Joyeon stepped back and placed a hand on his chest.
"Ah, good morning, Boss."
"...How unusual. Waking up at this hour."
"Y-you're one to talk, Boss... You're up early too."
"I always wake up at this time."
"B-but you also go to bed late."
"Of course. There's a saying in your world: 'The early bird catches the worm.' That might be true for birds. But not for humans."
The boss flatly denied the modern proverb.
"Humans make money by going to bed late and waking up early. And to take it further, humans make the most money by not sleeping at all."
He uttered an extremely materialistic statement as if it were a proverb.
"No way. You can't go without sleep."
"That's because you've been living that kind of life. Humans are adaptable creatures. Back when I was working hard, I maintained peak mental condition by sleeping only two hours a night and taking ten-minute naps every four hours."
"...Are you a monster?"
"That was when I was young. I can't do that now. You're still young, so why not reduce your sleep a little?"
"Ugh..."
Master. That man's words are reasonable. Sleep is ultimately rest. Excessive rest is unnecessary.
At Jack's advice, Joyeon could only nod weakly.
"I'll try."
"Good."
Having nothing more to say, Joyeon greeted him and headed for the shower room to wash up.
"Wait. Stop."
"Yes?"
The boss called Joyeon back again.
"You. What were you doing last night?"
"Huh? Huh?!"
Startled by the boss's sudden question, Joyeon stammered.
"You came out of your room not in pajamas, covered in dust from head to toe, with dirt still on your face. Moreover... Mana Detecting."
A small magic circle formed in the boss's eyes and checked the remaining mana in Joyeon's body.
"Your mana is a bit low too... What did you do last night?"
"Uh... I-I went out for a walk at night. I even told one of the subordinates before leaving. You can ask them."
"Then what about the mana? What reason would you have to use magic outside?"
"Uh..."
What should I say? Jack, what's the best way to handle this?
Unable to think of how to get out of the situation, Joyeon asked Jack for advice.
Master. The simplest method is a surprise attack. Since no one is awake yet, I will launch a surprise attack so they cannot even make a sound.
"What are you...! Mmph."
At Jack's ridiculous suggestion and the unfamiliar thought communication, Joyeon ended up shouting out loud.
"...So there is something. You're hiding something from me right now."
The boss's expression turned grim.
"No, that's not..."
Idiot! What are you saying?! You shouted because you were surprised!
Is he not someone interfering with you, Master? I judged that he is not that powerful, so I believed I could subdue him with my own strength.
No, I told you not to kill him!
Why not? Anyone who troubles you, Master, deserves to die.
Why do you say 'kill' so easily? Is it because you're undead?
That may be part of it because I am undead, but for us, only your well-being matters, Master...
"Why are you silent? What are you plotting?"
Blue electricity began to flow from the boss's hand. Thinking he would be electrocuted if he said the wrong thing, Joyeon shouted with a pale face.
"I'm sorry!!"