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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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“I was a bit surprised by how well Baldur leads.”
“He only struggled because he lacked personal strength and couldn’t manage himself effectively, but he has considerable command experience.”
He hadn’t had many opportunities to lead due to the small size of our group, and even when opportunities arose, I usually took charge myself.
“I’ve seen Baldur handle the slaves in the underground dungeon, but isn’t combat different?”
“Baldur was the one who trained the combat slaves. Even though I didn’t teach him directly for long after I left, that experience isn’t insignificant.”
“Hmm, that’s true. Still, considering their average level and the fact they’re all undead, I expected him to be a bit clumsy.”
I interjected, answering Athena’s question.
“It would have been easier for him, actually. There’s no need to consider losses, and since they’re all high-ranking, they would have compensated for any shortcomings. It’s actually more awkward now that we’re split into two teams.”
Commanding a large number of mid to low-ranking undead, including mages and priests, would be more complex.
Kayla nodded in agreement.
“Orie was also surprising.”
“She seems to be more helpful than I initially thought.”
“Being able to communicate with the high-ranking undead, she seems capable of handling many things in your stead, Inha.”
“She does feel like Master’s representative.”
“She’s also quite polite. I didn’t expect her to be so courteous, even to me and Baldur, let alone Master.”
In this world, where strength dictated respect, Orie, presumed to be stronger than them, treating them with such courtesy seemed to have left a positive impression.
Both of them had nothing but praise for Orie.
The conversation then shifted to the individual Elite Living Armors.
Perhaps because it was just the three of us, their evaluations were more candid than before, with Athena initiating the discussion and Kayla providing objective assessments.
Annelise was also mentioned.
While there were many areas for improvement, considering she had only recently gained magical power, she was deemed to be at least not a hindrance.
As we chatted, we reached the surface, and Pauli, the merchant, rushed to greet us upon hearing of our return.
“S-so soon, and only the three of you…?”
He seemed to be imagining the worst, so I chuckled lightly and replied,
“We’re clearing the remaining guardians. It will take some time, depending on the size of the ruin.”
“Then the Living Armors…?”
“We’ve dealt with them. And we secured this.”
I unwrapped the cloth-covered sacred relic.
Pauli’s eyes widened in surprise.
He likely had some information about the sacred relic.
I doubted he would have missed it if he had already investigated the guardians.
“The sacred relic.”
“You weren’t aware of it?”
“I had heard there was something presumed to be a sacred relic.”
However, he hadn’t seen it up close.
Then, Pauli spoke with a tense expression.
“I’ll hand it over to the royal family.”
“…Would you?”
“That was the agreement.”
They had been granted the right of first refusal.
However, since we had cleared the ruin ourselves this time, they weren’t entirely without leverage, which is why Pauli seemed nervous.
“…Thank you. I’ll report your generosity, Do Inha.”
When he asked about the compensation for the sacred relic, I requested something other than money.
“Would it be possible to receive Soul Shadows or the bodies of those who possessed considerable skill in life?”
“…I’ll have to confirm that.”
Pauli seemed flustered, surprised by my request.
Perhaps he was reminded that I was a warlock.
Obtaining the bodies of skilled individuals, let alone ordinary corpses, wasn’t easy.
Therefore, I requested it from the royal family.
‘It’s a rather blunt request, not ideal…’
Orie’s contribution had been exceptional.
And perhaps the royal family would prefer this.
‘They have no idea how much they would have to pay for a sacred relic, so Soul Shadows or the bodies of skilled individuals would be a bargain.’
While the royal family might be uncomfortable with providing corpses to a necromancer, they could do so discreetly through the merchant guild, and considering the numerous ruins they needed to excavate, saving money was always welcome.
‘If they don’t have any, they’ll find some.’
It wouldn’t be difficult.
In this world, criminals were abundant, and skilled individuals among them weren’t rare.
Even if they tried to escape through bribes or connections, the royal family could easily intervene.
After a moment of calculation, Pauli said he would do his best, and I thanked him.
‘If that doesn’t work, they’ll open the royal treasury.’
The royal treasury. There would be something useful for me there.
‘Even the royal family doesn’t tolerate warlocks who cross the line.’
I handed over the sacred relic as a form of advance payment.
We were already deeply involved with the royal family. There was no turning back, so I had no hesitation.
After exchanging pleasantries, I mentioned that I would periodically return to the ruin.
“I need to resupply the remaining members.”
“We can handle that…”
“They might encounter the statues.”
“We’ve hired a competent mercenary group. While they couldn’t handle the Living Armors, they should be able to deal with the statues.”
That wasn’t a bad thing.
They would witness the increased strength of my undead, which would further enhance my value.
‘If they deem me too powerful, they’ll become wary…’
I wasn’t at that level yet.
The royal family wasn’t just anyone, they were far too powerful to be concerned about a mere 5th circle warlock.
I believed they would welcome it.
The King wanted me to be an asset to Count Lineta.
‘And they need to know my capabilities to provide suitable corpses.’
Having quickly calculated the situation, I nodded.
“Then I’ll leave it to you.”
“However, please refrain from interfering with the subjugation.”
Pauli seemed curious about the reason, but he agreed, seeing no harm in it.
With the resupply issue resolved, I had nothing to do for a while.
Having delegated the ruin clearing to the undead, there was even less for me to do.
Kayla remained by my side, as if it didn’t matter, and Athena, also with nothing to do, sprawled beside me, yawning languidly.
However, there was no trace of boredom on Athena’s face.
“Ahh, it’s nice to finally relax.”
She looked quite content.
Indeed, we had accepted this request, which wasn’t originally ours, because it seemed relatively easy.
Therefore, she naturally welcomed this opportunity to legitimately relax.
“Kayla, why don’t you relax as well? Athena is already lounging around.”
“I’m fine. This is how I relax.”
“We’re not going anywhere, so at least rest while we’re in our room.”
“Master is right, Kayla. I understand you’re worried because Inha doesn’t have any undead with him right now, but we’re in the same room. You always say rest is part of training.”
With Athena also urging her, Kayla seemed to consider it for a moment, then sat down.
“Take off your armor as well.”
While she changed into lighter clothing, Kayla kept her sword in hand.
I didn’t stop her.
Athena, seemingly at ease, moved closer to Kayla and lay down beside her.
Kayla glanced at Athena, sighed briefly, and then ignored her.
Athena giggled at Kayla’s reaction.
Seeing them like this felt strangely unfamiliar.
They usually dedicated their time together to training, I had rarely seen them relax like this.
‘Have we become more relaxed?’
Indeed, we were more stable than before.
We had a connection with the royal family, and our skills were steadily improving.
The quality and quantity of my undead were constantly increasing.
We couldn’t help but feel more at ease.
Moreover, this was a rare opportunity to rest.
Once this period passed, such leisure would disappear.
Knowing such opportunities were rare, I decided to enjoy this moment.
The three of us relaxed in silence for a while.
Then, Athena spoke.
“You said you’re going to Lineta after becoming a recognized warlock, right?”
“When are you bringing Thea back?”
“Probably right away?”
It was about time I qualified for associate membership, but there had been no news, perhaps due to some unforeseen circumstances.
‘I need to make the artifact request as well.’
If there were further delays, I was considering requesting the royal family’s assistance in making the request to the Royal Magic Tower.
‘I don’t want to be indebted to them, but…’
The royal family feeling indebted to me and me being indebted to them were different situations.
While the royal family owed me a considerable debt, constantly asking for favors could diminish their goodwill.
While the royal family had been benevolent and straightforward so far, remembering the nobles from my past life, I couldn’t be careless.
Therefore, I wanted to avoid asking for favors if possible.
Of course, the Soul Shadows and corpses I requested from Pauli were an exception. I had made that request because I had the sacred relic as a bargaining chip.
“Once I become an associate member, I’ll hire a mage and assign them to you. If the membership is delayed, I’ll ask the royal family to find a mage for me.”
It was a form of passage. Mages from the tower rarely faced scrutiny.
Of course, that wasn’t the only reason.
I also intended to hire escort mercenaries.
It would be a long-term contract, costing a considerable sum, but I had enough money.
This request, along with the gold and jewels I had sold previously, provided ample funds.
“So you’re abandoning that dungeon completely?”
“It’s too valuable to abandon. I only intend to bring Thea and Mutre.”
“I’m too deeply involved with the royal family. That place will be my last refuge. And it’s better for the people there as well.”
“…Well, it is safe there. No exploitative nobles, and undead to protect them…”
They also had an alliance with the Horned Orcs.
Athena, who had once lived as a migrant, seemed to understand what I meant.
“Of course, we have to keep Mutre’s presence a secret.”
That was the main reason I needed a mage.
If it wasn’t possible, I would have to go myself, as I could easily hide Mutre within the dimensional fragment, but the situation wasn’t ideal.
“…If Count Siglen finds out, it won’t end well, will it?”
“It would be a disaster.”
Mutre was a dwarf. Dwarves were so rare that even high-ranking nobles like counts valued them greatly.
Considering that Count Siglen had once rewarded me with Mutre’s services while I was staying at Baron Owalan’s territory, he was clearly a valuable asset.
Therefore, it was highly likely that the Count still held a grudge.
If it was discovered, I couldn’t rely on the royal family’s help in this matter.
‘It might even be linked to the monster wave incident.’
And with the noble’s murder involved, I might even have to kill Mutre to conceal the information.
While I could consider going myself in this situation, as I mentioned before, it wasn’t ideal.
It would be difficult to leave immediately after becoming a recognized warlock, and I wanted to find the dragon’s corpse and store it in the dimensional fragment as soon as possible.
I had many preparations to make.
“We’ll have to be careful. I understand.”
“We can just avoid Siglen’s territory, so it won’t be too dangerous.”
“Can we avoid it?”
“That’s why we’re hiring a mage from the tower. There are ways.”
Athena would be the client, and the request would be to retrieve her younger sister.
‘We can easily fabricate a reason for their separation.’
I could say Thea had been entrusted to a reclusive warlock to treat her illness, and now it was time to bring her back.
Since I was a warlock, I could claim a connection, and the heavy escort would be justified as a precautionary measure.
Even if they were acquainted, the negative image of warlocks would provide sufficient justification.
The reason for the reclusiveness would naturally be due to being a warlock.
The mage from the tower could be presented as a means to pressure the warlock.
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