Gateway City (2)
"So, you're saying Young Master Klein has arrived..."
The lord's manor located in the center of Terchin City.
Terein Talik, the Marquis who owned the estate, drained the liquor in his glass in one gulp as he listened to his servant's report.
His thick beard and rough armor carried a savage aura unseen among imperial nobles.
"So your information wasn't nonsense after all."
Sitting across from the marquis was a man in robes, leisurely tilting a glass of his own.
"Glek."
Terein spoke with clear displeasure, and the man called Glek casually swirled his now-empty cup before answering.
"So you've finally decided to accept the proposal?"
A sly voice.
For a moment irritation flared within him, but Terein was not foolish enough to be provoked by such petty taunts.
"If it's really such a huge opportunity, why not monopolize it yourselves? Why bother proposing cooperation with me?"
Terein bit into one of the pickled olives he usually enjoyed as he spoke.
Beside the table where he drank and snacked sat a chest overflowing with jewels.
"And to think the leader of 'Fallen Leaves' personally brought bribes as well."
As Terein rolled a gold coin between his fingers, Glek stuffed an olive into his mouth—then immediately spat it back out.
"Why the hell do you even eat this stuff?"
After grumbling, he continued as if it were no big deal.
"You've been one of our valued clients for quite a while. We'd feel bad carrying out something this big without saying anything."
"...."
"Think of it as a gesture of goodwill."
Those words only worsened Terein's mood.
Even though members of the organization had swarmed into the city in large numbers, not a single report had reached him.
'So they're not just gutter rats after all. They really are competent.'
As Terein narrowed his eyes in thought, Glek casually raised a finger toward the sky.
"And the higher-ups in the Holy Nation are especially strict."
The higher-ups.
As someone uninterested in politics, Terein neither knew nor cared who Glek's employers were.
'A necromancer, huh...'
What interested him was not the young lord's noble status, but his power.
Specifically, Glek's claim that he used a style of necromancy different from the Empire's.
'And today's excavation failed again.'
Recalling the earlier report, the marquis furrowed his brow.
The royal tombs of the Aishingior Empire—the great empire that once ruled all of eastern and southern continent.
Excavating those tombs had long been the Talik family's cherished ambition.
However, the desert center where the royal tombs rested was crawling with undead, a true demonic territory.
They had attempted it dozens of times, but all they gained were corpses.
"Fine."
After finishing his thoughts, Marquis Terein finally spoke.
"I'll attach one knight to your group. The guards won't bother you during the night either."
"Haha! This is why working with you is always so comfortable, Marquis."
Glek nodded with a grin, but a shadow darkened his eyes.
"The people back in headquarters aren't nearly this flexible. Cleaning things up gets troublesome."
What seeped through his narrowed eyes was dense killing intent.
It was obvious what sort of "cleanup" he meant.
'Bloodthirsty bastards.'
Cursing inwardly, Terein addressed Glek again.
"However."
"Hm?"
Calling out to him as if he had more to say, Terein continued.
"After capturing Young Master Klein, but before transferring him to the Holy Nation, we will keep him confined under our custody."
If they secured the young lord, there was a possibility of breaking through the undead guarding the royal tombs.
To accomplish that, they needed to secure him before the Church did.
"Sure, whatever. As long as he's still breathing."
Glek answered indifferently.
As hired hands, they only cared about getting paid.
Whatever Marquis Terein did to the young lord afterward was none of their concern.
"The job will begin tonight."
"I'll make the arrangements."
Another smooth transaction, just like always.
As though there was nothing more to discuss, Glek immediately began to rise from his seat.
"However."
But at that moment—
"What will you do if you fail?"
"Fail? What are you talking about?"
Glek asked back as if hearing utter nonsense.
"Well, from what I heard, you already failed once in the Paul wyvern territory."
".....!"
A strange mocking smile spread across Terein's face.
"You failed even in Paul wyvern, your own stronghold. Wouldn't things be even harder all the way out here in distant Terchin?"
At those words, a crack finally appeared in Glek's expression.
Creak.
As the composure vanished from his face for the first time, Terein rested his chin on his fist with amusement.
"...Some clueless amateurs simply botched the job."
Gone was the lighthearted tone from before.
His voice had turned completely emotionless.
"And even if we fail, we'll just crawl back in and kill him afterward."
The moment those words ended, Glek vanished without a trace.
"Hahaha."
Letting out a short laugh, the marquis muttered to himself.
"It's been unbearably dull lately without anything happening."
As if energized by the long-awaited excitement, he rose from his seat and slowly stretched his body.
"It feels like something entertaining is finally about to happen again."
Beyond the window spread the scenery of Terchin City.
Watching the sun slowly set over his domain, Marquis Terein's smile gradually deepened.
***
Compared to the wealthy western coastal trade cities, Terchin—pressed against the desert—was pitifully small.
Still, just because it was a frontier city didn't mean there was nothing worth enjoying.
"Thank you for waiting, customers!"
And the old restaurant I had found was one of the few attractions Terchin could proudly offer.
"Three orders of the scorpion specialty are here~!"
Thunk!
At the server's announcement, three massive plates were placed one after another onto the center of the table.
"Waaah~"
Holding a fork in one hand, Arin gasped in admiration as a giant crimson scorpion proudly displayed its intimidating appearance atop the plate.
"Young Master! It looks so cool!"
"...."
Unlike Arin, who looked fascinated by the scorpion, Stella was silently staring at the one on her own plate as if she truly could not comprehend it.
"What are you doing? Eat already."
A local delicacy made from giant scorpions living in the deserts around Terchin, seasoned and grilled with butter.
As I snapped off the scorpion's tail using two utensils, Stella—who had been silent for a while—suddenly asked:
"How much did this cost again?"
"Price?
Hmm. How much was it again?"
After thinking for a moment, I gave Stella a rough estimate.
"Probably about your monthly salary."
"Y-your whole month's...?"
As if replaying my words in her head, Stella stared at the scorpion dish with an even more incomprehensible expression.
"I'm not asking you to pay for it. I bought it with my family's money anyway."
I reassured her while showing the insignia engraved with the Leinrant crest.
Crossing the desert required a massive amount of preparation.
A map marking the stopover points used by local merchants.
A special compass made for navigation.
Dry rations and water for a long journey, along with camels to carry everything.
If I tried paying for all that in cash, I'd probably die crushed under the weight of the money.
'And every city accepts ducal promissory notes too.'
Crunch.
As I cracked open a claw and picked out the meat—
"Young Master Klein."
"Go ahead."
Stella spoke in an unusually serious tone.
"Would you happen to need a personal priest or something?"
"I don't."
...Though unlike her tone, the content itself was complete nonsense.
"I heard Father Garrison once stayed with your ducal family."
"That man forced his way in on his own."
A personal priest, my ass.
The guy dunked people into holy water once every week. Was that really priest behavior?
"No, seriously. We haven't even known each other that long, so why are we already talking about personal priests?"
"That's true."
Stella nodded at my question, then immediately continued.
"So what you mean is, we should slowly build trust over time until an opening appears?"
"Pffft—!"
She said it with absolute conviction, and I nearly spat out my lime juice.
"...The moment you actually say that out loud, don't you think the whole thing's already doomed?"
At my immediate rebuttal, Stella nodded as if realizing something.
'She's supposedly Garrison's disciple, so I thought she'd resemble him, but she's completely different.'
Whether that was fortunate or not, at least traveling with her wouldn't be boring.
"Thanks for the meal!"
While Stella and I continued talking back and forth—
"Sister, aren't you hungry? Want me to eat yours too?"
Arin, who had already cleaned her plate spotless in that short amount of time, turned her gaze toward Stella's dish.
...Wait, did Arin just chew through the shell too?
That's a scorpion.
"I was trying to figure out the best way to eat it."
Saying that, Stella protected her scorpion from Arin's grasp and opened the claw, placing the meat inside into her mouth.
"...!"
See? Her expression softened immediately.
A delicacy really is a delicacy.
"Now then, putting that aside..."
Watching the group eat, I casually shifted my gaze and checked the surroundings.
"You noticed too, Young Master?"
Stella, who had ultimately lost one of the claws to Arin, asked me in passing.
"A little later than you did."
I answered while looking at the hand she had already hidden beneath the table.
It was dinner time, and the restaurant sat on a crowded main street.
And yet, despite that, not a single sound could be heard from outside.
That meant the city guard was moving beneath the surface to capture me.
'There's no way underground organizations or mercenaries could lock down civilians this thoroughly.'
After finishing my assessment, I immediately spoke the Voice of the Dead.
—Raven.
Thud!
Black knight armor emerged through swirling dark smoke.
—Been waiting for you to call me.
"Haven't had much reason to summon you lately."
As soon as the brief exchange ended, the Death Knight drew his sword, and the previously quiet restaurant instantly stirred.
—Twenty inside this building alone. Including the ones outside, looks like several hundred.
Having already gauged the mana signatures, Raven raised his sword upright.
"No time to finish dinner, huh."
The moment I grabbed the sword resting beside the table—
Clang!
Raven's blade knocked away a dagger flying straight toward me.
"Oh? Your instincts are better than I expected."
An unfamiliar voice echoed from one side of the restaurant.
"And that undead you carry around too. Just like the old man said."
A man dressed like a merchant stood from his seat.
A scar crossed over his left eye, and dense killing intent seeped from his gaze.
"Just like he said, huh."
But my attention wasn't focused on the man himself.
What mattered was that he recognized a Death Knight.
Which meant the one backing this assassin possessed knowledge of necromancy.
'So they're lackeys of the Archimond Church.'
Honestly, it was welcome news.
I had planned on slaughtering them all anyway, and now they'd delivered themselves to me.
"What are you going to do?"
I asked Stella as she glanced around at both sides.
"I'm probably their target here."
"Maybe I should switch sides even now?"
"And if you do, they'll accept you?"
"Hm..."
After thinking for a moment, Stella looked toward the man and asked:
"By any chance, do you believe in the Church?"
And then silence.
"...It was a joke, but I guess they didn't like it."
Feeling the awkward silence, Stella muttered and stood up.
Shrrrk—!
Dozens of figures rose from thin air.
Eyes hidden within the shadows stared directly at me.
"We already know everything about your abilities."
One of the newly appeared men spoke.
An assassin talking to his target?
What kind of idiot is this?
"Swordsmanship equal to a commander-class knight. Hundreds of low-ranking undead. And even a Death Knight."
Hearing the confidence in his voice, I inwardly rejoiced.
'So they don't know.'
That meant wiping out all the inquisitors at the reformatory had worked.
"But give up. The forces gathered here vastly outnumber—"
"You don't know shit. You came here without understanding a damn thing."
I cut him off with a grin.
"...What?"
As the man frowned—
I had already drawn summoning circles across the entire restaurant.
"If you people actually understood my undead properly..."
At my words, demonic energy began to surge.
"Then instead of trying to capture me, you should've been running away."
And with those words, thousands of Grave Hounds began pouring out from every direction.