Chapter 56
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Translator: Wjin
Chapter: 056
Chapter Title: Ghoul and Flesh Lump (1)
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As dawn began to break.
An elderly priest who had visited the chapel approached the candelabrum on the altar and lit the candles.
Once the candlelight drove away the darkness.
Baron Birch arrived, his face still heavy with sleep.
And with that, the knighting ceremony began.
There were six participants in total.
Baron Birch and the old priest were there to officiate.
The burly trio were the ones receiving their knighthoods.
And I was there to observe.
It was a straightforward setup, nothing more.
'Talk about modest.'
The reason the knighting ceremony was so low-key was simple.
The burly trio's backgrounds were utterly ordinary.
Why make a big fuss over us?
Besides, with the city's situation being what it was, drawing attention like that would surely brand us as troublemakers in Count Chester's eyes.
The other nobles would give us the cold shoulder too.
"O Sky God, let not Your servants compromise before the flames, and may these swords be used solely as tools to enact justice..."
The Sky Church priest recited the prayer, placing his hand on Gilbert's head.
It was the blessing.
Even so, I felt no particular worry.
What they called a blessing was just the touch of an ordinary person's hand.
It meant Gilbert, being undead, wouldn't melt away from any holy power.
'He hasn't noticed after all.'
The priest didn't realize Gilbert was undead.
Which made sense.
Gilbert's appearance.
He looked every bit the human on the outside.
Even his body heat was close to a living person's.
The only thing that had bothered me was that he couldn't speak.
Fortunately, I'd solved that easily with some planted misinformation.
Before the ceremony, I'd told the priest and Baron Birch.
Gilbert had been born unable to speak.
So they didn't find it odd that he stayed silent throughout.
'Unless the priest is some mage with exceptional mana detection, there's no way he'd spot that Gilbert's undead.'
As I'd expected, Gilbert's turn passed without issue, and the priest blessed Bear and Conal the same way.
Then, out of nowhere, a woman's voice rang out.
It sounded like mockery aimed at me.
I scanned the surroundings for the source, but couldn't spot anyone.
Thinking it might be one of the grimoires, I checked the ambient mana, but detected nothing unusual.
That left just one possibility...
'The Sky God?'
I'd heard stories of priests hearing the voice of their god mid-prayer.
I hadn't expected it to happen to me, though.
Then again, in a world where grimoires talk, why not the Sky God?
Even as those thoughts raced through my mind, my heart pounded.
I was genuinely startled.
Hearing a god's voice, no less.
But the surprise didn't last.
Soon, unease took its place.
'If you're gonna speak up, at least say something nice.'
Even as I thought that, I resolved myself.
From now on, I'd be more careful in how I acted around the gods.
'What, it's already wrapping up?'
While I mulled over the Sky God, the knighting ceremony was nearing its end.
The priest finished blessing the burly trio.
He picked up the ceremonial sword from the altar.
And handed it to Baron Birch.
The baron gripped it in his right hand and stepped forward to Gilbert.
Standing before him, Baron Birch swung the ceremonial sword to tap each of Gilbert's shoulders once.
"Gilbert, from this moment, you are a knight of the Sky God."
Maybe nobles really were nobles at heart?
Baron Birch had seemed unreliable up to now, but in this moment, he looked downright impressive.
His pronunciation was elegant, and his movements with the sword had real poise.
Anyway, having knighted Gilbert, the baron approached Bear and Conal and repeated the gesture.
And that was it.
The knighting ceremony concluded successfully.
"Baron, thank you."
After the rite ended, I approached Baron Birch.
And expressed my gratitude.
The ceremony had come about thanks to Josephine, sure.
But he'd gone along with her wishes without complaint, letting everything go off without a hitch.
It was worth thanking him for.
"Heh heh..."
Baron Birch wore a bemused expression.
Then, as if remembering something, he met my eyes and spoke.
"Ah, have you heard the news?"
"What news, Baron?"
I asked cautiously, and he let out a deep sigh before answering.
"A priest of the Night Church was killed last night. Ambushed in his sleep, they say. He was out beyond the walls helping the poor. Truly tragic."
His words brought back my conversation with Count Chester.
The ones he'd called not-people.
They were likely behind this too.
And my hunch was spot on.
"The monsters your father-in-law mentioned yesterday. Seems like they're the culprits again. The patrolling guards saw lanky-limbed freaks fleeing the scene."
"I'll look into it."
"That's just what I was hoping to hear. Your father-in-law seems to have high hopes for you too."
"Baron."
"Yes?"
"I'll need your help to catch these monsters."
In truth, I needed Count Chester's help.
But he wasn't someone I could just summon on a whim.
So I'd chosen to go through Baron Birch.
He could relay my request to the count in my stead.
"Could you ask Count Chester if there are any empty houses or abandoned buildings in the city's outskirts?"
"Empty houses? Abandoned buildings?"
Baron Birch looked puzzled at my words.
But he soon accepted the proposal.
That same day, at noon.
I moved my quarters to a district inside the city walls.
An out-of-the-way empty house.
That was my new lodging.
My proposal had been approved swiftly.
"Be careful! That's all magic materials in there! Do you have any idea how much that's worth?"
I shouted at the burly men carrying the long wooden crates into the house.
I'd raised my voice on purpose.
That way, the locals watching would learn a mage had moved into the empty house.
There were plenty of suspicious types among them.
Ones carrying mana.
'From now on, I'm an eccentric mage researching alone in seclusion.'
A mage holing up alone in a remote spot?
The monsters wouldn't be able to resist striking.
They only targeted high-status folk, after all.
"Is that the last one?"
I asked the men hauling in the third wooden crate, and one nodded in response.
"Yeah. Good work, everyone."
The men who'd helped move my things were the same ones who'd been with us from Rabbit Farm.
More trustworthy than city folk, at least.
That's why I'd entrusted them with this.
Security was key to my plan.
Thud.
Once inside the empty house, I shut the door.
I scanned the area to confirm no one nearby carried mana, then finally spoke.
"You can come out now."
At my words, the three wooden crates the men had brought in began to shake almost in unison.
Their lids soon popped open.
Out came the burly trio.
One per crate.
"Felt like being buried alive in a coffin."
"Sir Bear's sentiments are mine as well."
Gilbert was fine, but Bear and Conal weren't thrilled.
Having stayed still in cramped spaces for so long had gotten to them; they stretched and shook out their limbs.
'Excellent camouflage.'
From my investigations into the monsters.
They'd never once attacked a knight.
Weak against the strong, strong against the weak.
So if I let them see me hanging around with the burly trio, the odds of them targeting me dropped sharply.
'That's why I hid Gilbert, Bear, and Conal.'
The surest way to lure an attack from the monsters.
Was to make myself look like easy prey.
"You can't show your faces outside, so you'll have to stay indoors for a while. Bear with it."
I said that to Bear and Conal.
They replied briskly.
Seeing them like that satisfied me.
If the monsters came for this place, they'd meet the three knights lying in wait.
The night Heros moved in.
A monster lurking in the shadows glared at the house with a sword clutched in its right hand.
Its appearance was distinctive.
Human-like, but not human.
Skinny frame, slightly hunched back, elongated limbs.
The monster was a ghoul.
Step by step.
Several figures approached the ghoul's position.
Not just one or two, but a group.
All monsters like it.
"The door?"
The first to arrive, who'd been peeking at the house—the leader—asked.
"No idea. Didn't check. But it's probably locked, right? A mage wouldn't forget to secure the door..."
One of the approaching ones replied.
As they exchanged words, over ten ghouls had gathered around the leader before they knew it.
"Let's go."
The leader, having checked his underlings.
Pointed at Heros's house and started creeping toward it.
The other ghouls followed.
Soon, they reached the door.
One stepped forward holding a large hammer.
Intending to smash it down.
"Hold."
The leader stopped his underling.
He cautiously pushed at the door.
It swung inward.
No bolt or latch.
No one had expected that.
"This way, we can take them quietly?"
One ghoul whispered to the others.
They all nodded in agreement.
All but one.
"Something feels off."
The smallest ghoul of the bunch.
It said that and backed away.
The leader responded firmly.
"We go in."
With that, the leader opened the door.
His movements were so careful, the wooden door didn't make a sound.
Soon it swung wide, revealing the darkness inside.
Whoosh.
The leader entered first.
The others followed.
"This really feels weird..."
The last one left was the smallest.
Unable to shake its hesitation, it finally steeled itself and took a step toward the door.
That instant.
Slash!
A sound like slicing meat with a knife.
Followed by a scream.
"Gaaahhh!"
The horrific cry cut off abruptly.
Replaced by another scream.
"Eek!"
The little ghoul jumped in fright.
As it panicked.
Whoosh!
A fireball flew from the darkness.
It struck the leader up front, and moments later, the heads of the ghouls around him burst into flames.
If hell on earth existed, this was it.
The sight was that gruesome.
"What in the world..."
The leader, supposedly once a knight.
Died without landing a single blow.
"P-please, spare me!"
In that moment, realizing the gap in skill between us.
The little ghoul spun to flee.
In its haste, it didn't notice.
The single small ember flying toward it.
Plop.
As the little ghoul finished turning to run.
The ember touched the back of its head.
Its skull erupted in flames.
'Ughhh!'
The agony of its head burning.
The little ghoul screamed but no sound escaped its throat.
The flames had blocked it.
Thud.
In the end, writhing in pain, the little ghoul died.
Right after.
Someone emerged from inside the door.
Heros.
"Werewolves, and now ghouls... Is the trend these days for knights to turn into monsters?"
Muttering that as he scanned outside, Heros suddenly unleashed a lightning spell.
A bolt of lightning materialized before him and shot toward his designated target.
Thud.
After the thunderbolt struck.
Something collapsed in the darkness.
A ghoul that had been hiding and watching the fight, struck down by magic.
And with that, Heros began sniping in earnest.
Crackle!
Lightning bolt after lightning bolt after lightning bolt.
Bolts conjured by the mage flew in all directions.
And each time, a ghoul died.
Once the death toll passed five.
Scamper!
One of the hidden ghouls bolted.
As if on cue, the other ghouls cloaked in shadow fled in panic.
Finally realizing.
The mage who'd taken the empty house knew their positions exactly.
He was in a league far above the ones they'd killed so far.