Chapter 79: Where in the world are there ghosts nowadays? (01)
About 50 years ago, the king of two generations past was considered too faint-hearted for the tumultuous times.
However, thanks to decades of war-hardened nobles and elders, even a timid king could lead the country to a certain extent.
Yet, on the 10th anniversary of his reign, he issued a decree without prior consensus with the Elder Council or the nobility.
Prohibition of discrimination against the Ain species and other races.
Initially, there was backlash with arguments like, "How can beastmen and humans be the same? Are you saying we should be eaten by monsters?" But the king pushed his decree through the Elder Council, and early on, it led to significant turmoil.
He established flexible rules that allowed for defense against hostile actions as one would against human enemies, and if communication failed, it permitted campaigns against them as monsters, thus enacting various laws.
Initially doubted for its effectiveness, the decree eventually propelled the kingdom to become the only one on the continent to accept beastmen like werewolves and orcs as allies. After thwarting a major invasion by the Saitorax Republic, the king's influence strengthened, leading to the integration of races like elves, dwarves, and beastmen into the kingdom as we see today.
While not perfect, this regulation has been praised as a masterstroke for revitalizing the kingdom. Most of the female knight candidates are now of mixed heritage or from the Ain species, and other non-human races like elves, dwarves, and beastmen hold positions in society, reducing major strife to minor conflicts.
Moreover, discrimination based on occupation was also prohibited, benefiting necromancers in particular.
Previously, necromancers, who would steal corpses from battlefields or graves and raise the dead without consent, were seen as a malevolent group. If caught by a knight, they faced death or, worse, could wipe out an entire village with undead.
However, after the anti-discrimination laws took effect, some necromancers surrendered voluntarily, promising to conduct their practices legally and fairly. Despite fierce opposition from temples serving gods of courage and war, the king decided it was better to regulate and disclose their activities at a safe level rather than driving them underground, where they would likely be sought after even more.
As a result, necromancers who stepped into legality could mitigate their sentences by confessing their past crimes, though many were formally tried. Their knowledge of necromancy, however, was preserved as necessary rather than evil.
Employed necromancers were later pardoned and tasked to work in unwanted sectors like funeral services or corpse management, benefiting both themselves as ideal training grounds and the public who would never want to be involved in such grim tasks.
Traditionally, necromancers now operate in the funeral industry by raising the undead only with prior permission from the deceased, or in cases where the deceased has contracted them to complete unfinished tasks post-mortem, limiting resurrection to that specific purpose.
This has significantly reduced manipulation of wills or wrongful accusations following assassinations among the nobility, ultimately benefiting society and providing a chance for the deceased to say final goodbyes, improving the public image of necromancers.
However, as there is light, there is also darkness.
Just as there are knights who act illegally in the shadows, similar to those seen in the underground slave markets, there are necromancers who choose to operate in the darkness rather than stepping into the light.
These individuals are quickly tracked down and dealt with by the temple and reformed necromancers, with most either joining the legitimate ones or simply passing on their knowledge without committing crimes, thus posing little threat.
Especially now, even if acts of evil are committed, they are detected almost immediately by the temple and necromancer organizations responsible for tombs and graves, and I am dispatched before anything can escalate.
Although Holy Week is usually a bit chilly in spring, it strangely felt sweatingly hot now.
"Is it because their body heat is high?"
Currently, Mollang and Shuru were nestled in my arms.
Mollang, being a slime, stays the same temperature as its surroundings, so while it's cool to the touch when exposed to the air, it becomes warm and toasty when cuddled, and Shuru’s thick hair naturally raises body temperature.
Normally, knights must manage their body temperature, but now it wasn’t possible, and since it wasn’t a combat situation, I just threw off my shirt and stuffed it into my bag.
"Phew... it's hot..."
"Don't lick my nipples with that tongue."
My nipples are sensitive, and it hurts a bit when Shuru's rough tongue touches them.
Why are nipples such a sensitive area for knights? In ancient times, some thin armors were even designed with spaces to accommodate nipples because they could be injured by the hard surface of the armor.
This is also why female knights initially struggled to wear practical thin armors; revealing the shape of their nipples was acceptable for men but not for women, who disliked exposing theirs publicly, thus deterring many from applying to become knights.
"It's not too far, but since we can't take a carriage, it's taking quite a bit of time."
Luckily, the cemetery, a noble’s mausoleum, wasn’t too far from the capital.
Even by infusing mana into my legs for a brisk walk, I could reach it in a day, a distance that even a civilian could cover on foot if they took their time.
This place was once used as a cemetery for nobles, rumored to be filled with numerous treasures. It was often looted, and sometimes the Thieves' Guild was hired to prevent these thefts, only for them to betray their contracts and loot the tombs themselves. However, after the cemetery was ravaged and damaged during a demon army attack near the capital, nobles preferred to bury their dead within their own territories thereafter.
While the southern territories could withstand demon invasions, the capital was always a target for the Demon King's forces, hence the shift to more secure personal burial sites. This tradition turned the noble's mausoleum almost into an abandoned place.
Before the demon invasion, there was even a mansion built here for the nobles overseeing the funerals, but now it has been abandoned for over 50 years, leaving behind a creepy site of ruins and deserted graves.
"I see the mansion up on the hill."
Although the paths had vanished over time, I used a machete I'd brought along to clear a way through the overgrown branches.
"From here on, follow me on foot."
Shuru and Mollang, being small, easily frolicked through the trees without a clear path, so I just needed to be careful moving forward myself.
'Swinging a machete shirtless, I look like some barbarian warrior.'
Having been on many external missions lately, my skin had tanned considerably, and I planned to get some skin treatments with the fee I'd earn after this mission.
As I moved beyond a certain point and approached the mansion, the tangled undergrowth suddenly cleared, revealing a radius of about 500 meters around the mansion where the trees appeared dead and blackened as if scorched.
'Did someone spray a herbicide here in the past? I know this mansion has been abandoned for over 50 years... Could it be some powerful potion?'
It was said that noble families used a potion with toxic properties to prevent weeds in their gardens... If not, the trees were too neatly dead to make sense otherwise.
Recently, due to side effects harmful to humans, the use of such potions had been banned by the alchemists' guild.
The stark contrast between the lush undergrowth and the brittle dead trees made it impossible not to feel a deliberate intervention.
Suddenly, Shuru, who was usually happy playing in the woods, went into battle mode, raising her claws and bristling her tail as she stared at the mansion. I checked the mansion for any signs of activity, but it remained silent.
Mollang approached, not understanding why Shuru was acting out, and tried to intervene, but Shuru was clearly tense, her pupils sharpened like a cat's, retreating backward.
"Why is she acting ?"
I picked up Shuru to soothe him, but she struggled violently, fully extending her claws. If Mollang hadn't jumped up and restrained her hands and feet, my chest would have been covered in cat claw marks.
'Did she see something strange? Perhaps sensing a necromancer or undead?'
I infused my eyes with mana to scrutinize the mansion but saw nothing unusual.
"Mollang, please look after Shuru."
Mollang nodded, wrapping Shuru's hands and feet into her body to restrain him, and when Shuru tried to bite Mollang, she simply covered her face with hers.
"Uh, covering her mouth with a kiss, that’s unexpected..."
But it wasn't a kiss; Mollang was actually suffocating Shuru by engulfing her face into hers.
"Ah! What are you doing!"
Before I could intervene, Mollang had swallowed Shuru's face, and obviously, Shuru couldn't breathe, completely overpowered.
Flailing... trembling... dragging.
'She... She isn't dead, is she?'
After Mollang released Shuru's face and I confirmed she was breathing, I finally breathed a sigh of relief.
'Mollang... what a terrifying child!'
Leaving a calmer Shuru with Mollang, who had reverted to her slime form and carried Shuru on her body, I approached the mansion.
Though it was swelteringly hot just moments ago, it grew eerily cold as I neared the mansion.
'I don’t feel any necromantic mana inside the mansion, strange...'
Anticipating something hidden inside and to minimize risk, I kicked open the mansion's old door with my foot, activated my mana saber, and stormed into the mansion.