The Necromancer Who Was Despised - The Necromancer Who Was Despised chapter 131
With Colmail’s words of encouragement, our party’s meeting with Colmail came to an end.
We headed to the inn, finally unpacking and getting a good rest.
Anelis still had someone watching over her, but they didn’t lock her up in her room like before.
Under Specter and Kereos’ surveillance, she was guaranteed more freedom than before, and I expressed my gratitude, but she still didn’t leave her room as much as possible.
The next day, a messenger from the Mercenary Guild arrived.
The client had arrived, and I gathered all the necessary documents and visited the Mercenary Guild with my party.
The others also wanted to come along, so I didn’t stop them.
In the reception room where we had met yesterday, Colmail and Gréian were already seated, waiting for us.
The two had serious expressions, as if they had already shared all the information I had provided.
Despite that, they welcomed us politely.
“It seems you’ve already discussed the matter.”
I spoke first, and the two nodded in agreement.
“There’s a lot we need to discuss among ourselves.”
Gréian’s words made me ask in surprise,
“Is there more to discuss? You’ve already told the guildmaster everything…”
“This is… the Mercenary Guild’s Doirem branch thinks it’s difficult to handle the situation alone. So, we want to share related information with Doirem’s lord as well.”
Gréian looked at me and continued,
“That’s why you might directly meet with the lord. At the same time, we need to explain the royal family’s stance as well. And lastly…”
He hesitated for a moment before deciding to continue.
“I also want to ask about the ancient ruins in detail.”
Gréian’s words were full of unexpected surprises.
“Are you saying I need to meet with the lord?”
“Yes. To explain the situation, Anelis is necessary, but… I heard that you might accept her as a party member. First, I want to express my gratitude for your big decision. The interspecies union, especially the Dark Elves, will also be grateful.”
“It’s just an opportunity for now.”
“Anelis-nim, although she made a mistake, is not an incompetent person. I don’t want to think that she’ll let go of this opportunity.”
In reality, it was impossible to let her go, so I didn’t add anything more.
“What about the royal family’s stance?”
“That’s… um, related to the ancient ruins.”
I felt a bit of anxiety.
‘Could the royal family already know about the ancient ruins?’
However, through Gréian’s following words, I realized that their goal was different from mine.
“I heard that the ancient ruins had a religious color to them.”
“…It’s just speculation.”
“Maybe there was another religion, not a goddess cult, or specifically, something related to the Earth Cult at that ruin?”
Gririan’s words made me pause for a moment.
“…No, there was nothing related to the Earth Cult.”
In reality, the place was not related to the Earth Cult.
My answer made Gririan’s face momentarily show disappointment.
“If you’d like, I can tell you the location of the ruin.”
“Please do.”
“I’ll prepare what’s necessary. It seems the royal family wants something other than that achievement, anyway.”
There was no reason to go back, so I didn’t feel sorry about it.
However, I couldn’t stop the conversation here.
Of course not. Although this ruin wasn’t, I had found the Earth Cult’s traces at another ruin.
And through a deal, I had completely buried it.
‘The cave behind the waterfall. I buried it completely and only took the achievement.’
The abundant holy grail and my mother’s keepsake, which I obtained from there, were now completely in my possession, along with the ‘ap’.
So, if the royal family was chasing after those traces, I needed to know about it.
Gririan slowly nodded at my question.
“That’s correct. What we’re interested in isn’t the ruin’s achievement.”
I glanced at the faces of my companions.
Kayrana and Valduer were fine, but Atina and Anelis couldn’t hide their subtle unease.
Atina was because of the existence of the ‘ap’, and Anelis was because of the ‘istake’ she made at that place.
“It seems you’re tracking something related to the Earth Cult… because of the goddess cult, or rather, the Holy Empire.”
“…Do you know something?”
For a short moment, many thoughts crossed my mind.
Was it right to affirm this?
What kind of danger or benefit would arise from affirming it?
Would it be better to simply deny it?
But they, especially the royal family, were already openly chasing after the Earth Cult’s traces.
However, considering the previous incident, the goddess cult’s position was too solid.
If the Shupertan royal family had found the Earth Cult’s traces, a certain incident should have occurred, but there was no such incident until I was caught by my teacher.
Especially, the Earth Cult was still a small, insignificant sect.
That meant they hadn’t found the Earth Cult’s traces.
And the reason was…
‘The cave behind the waterfall. That… was taken by the goddess cult.’
This map also fell into their hands. As a result, all the Earth Cult’s ruins became nonexistent.
The reason Shupertan royal family was searching for the Earth Cult’s traces was honestly obvious.
‘They want to drive the goddess cult out of the kingdom through a new sect.’
In other words, they wanted to eliminate the Holy Empire’s influence within the kingdom. And this was likely the will of the entire 6-Kingdom Alliance, not just Shupertan.
And if this was really realized… my immediate interests might not be affected, but it would be a great help to my future.
The fact that the Empire’s influence was waning was, of course, a sign that the 6 Kingdoms Alliance’s power was relatively strengthening.
“When the Empire’s grip loosens, the kingdoms will naturally gain more freedom.”
As a result, the kingdoms would be able to use their powers relatively freely.
The stronger I become, the more I’ll be subject to the Empire’s constraints.
But what if the Empire’s influence weakens? Especially if I can act even more freely within the 6 Kingdoms Alliance?
It would undoubtedly benefit me.
And if I provide this information, I’ll be able to form an extremely close relationship with the Supeltran royal family.
Not just a superficial connection, but a genuinely close bond.
And that means I won’t face any threats within the Supeltran kingdom, at the very least.
“In reality, being ignored is the best…”.
But if I can achieve this much recognition, the story changes.
I won’t have to avoid attention; instead, I’ll be able to attract it.
“…Inha-nim?”
“Ah, I apologize.”
“…Do you perhaps have a guess?”
I closed my eyes for a moment.
I have to do this.
“It’s not just about possessing a dimension; now it’s about the Imperial Court and the royal family…”.
I thought I could quickly and safely achieve my goal, but my heart wouldn’t obey.
It’s not that I dislike it… but I can achieve an even greater outcome.
I made up my mind and replied.
“I know. This relic has no connection to the current one, but if it’s related to the Imperial Court, I know of a place.”
My confident answer brought a mix of shock and joy to Griean’s face.
At the same time, my companions’ gazes focused on me.
They were all surprised, not expecting me to confirm it with my own words, but soon they composed themselves.
And trust appeared on their faces.
Anelis, seeing her companions quickly calm down, was trying her best to remain calm as well.
“Is that… where?”
“Is it okay to talk about it here?”
Griean looked at Colmail, seemingly deep in thought, before nodding as if it was fine.
“I’ve already gotten too deeply involved with Colmail-nim. Although Dorelem is neutral, I don’t think Dorelem wants to be neutral.”
In other words, he intended to draw Dorelem into the royal faction.
From Dorelem’s perspective, they couldn’t refuse the royal family’s outstretched hand.
Colmail also seemed to have the same interpretation, wearing an expression filled with joy.
I couldn’t tell if it was due to loyalty to Dorelem or because he saw an opportunity for personal gain through this achievement.
However, that wasn’t important at this moment.
“I have to speak carefully.”
I didn’t plan to reveal everything.
It was helpful in the future, but there was no intention of giving up immediate benefits.
“First… it’s not now, but I’ve excavated the relics of Daechi-gyo.”
“Where is it?”
“It’s completely ruined now.”
“I destroyed it myself. I think you’ll understand that much.”
It was a relic related to the black magic and other religions. Considering the usual behavior of the Goddess Faith, it was a natural action.
Therefore, Griang didn’t scold me about it, only feeling regret.
However, the situation had changed now. It was unbearable, so I only took what I could. But now, I could utilize the relic itself sufficiently.
‘Tildee would go wild if she knew.’
“…It doesn’t matter. Even if it’s ruined, I can excavate it again. It won’t be as good as before, but…”
“There’s no need for that.”
I let out a short sigh and spoke.
“I have a map that marks the locations of other relics.”
“…What is this!”
“It’s not just one or two. At least 10. It’s what the last priest of Daechi-gyo, no, Daechi-mo-gyo left behind.”
Griang couldn’t close his mouth, which had fallen open in shock.
“The first relic… I found it by chance in that relic. Since I didn’t touch any of the marked relics, they’re probably still intact.”
“…I see.”
“Furthermore, I have the diary of that priest and the scriptures of Daechi-mo-gyo in my hands. By the way, the diary has detailed records of events that occurred 200 years ago. It may not be conclusive evidence, but it will be helpful.”
Griang now looked at me with an expression that was beyond astonishment, almost despair.
“To think that what we’ve been searching for so desperately…”
Griang shook his head and added.
“Lord Inha… you’re more than I imagined. You’ve done well to take the first step.”
Even though I was a black magician, he had always talked about ways to benefit each other.
And it seemed that the royal family respected Griang’s behavior.
That’s why I didn’t hesitate to reveal this information.
“You can guess why the royal family is searching for the remnants of Daechi-gyo.”
“That’s right. If anyone knows, it would be Lord Inha, the black magician.”
There was no one as sensitive to the Empire’s situation as a black magician.
“Not only the Sperto royal family but also the entire 6 Kingdoms Alliance is seeking ways to counter the Empire’s dog, the Goddess Faith. A new religion that could counter them was one of the alternatives. However…”
“A normal religion wouldn’t be enough, would it?”
“That’s right. We needed a religion with a glorious history, like the Goddess Faith or the Bright Faith. A newly emerging religion would take too much time and effort to take root.”
In fact, it was practically impossible to surpass the Goddess Faith.
On the other hand, reviving a glorious religion of the past was relatively easier.
Of course, it was still difficult. But the former was simply impossible, while the latter was worth a try.
That’s why they coveted what I had so much.
“You can’t just ask for what I have… Our relationship isn’t like that. What do you want?”
Griang asked directly.
I responded immediately.
“Regarding this matter, I want you to conceal and protect our identities and provide compensation, including the artifacts obtained from the relic.”
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“I’ll get past the relics and get the rewards… I thought you’d want more.”
“Just giving us information and taking all the rewards would make anyone think it’s excessive.”
However, I knew that material things like that didn’t mean much to me or Griant.
What’s important is the relic itself.
The information about it is the most important thing.
“Protecting the royal family is a given.”
“The weakening of the Shinseong Empire is a good thing for me, so I don’t think about making excessive demands on the royal family. We need a safe haven, after all.”
If this deal succeeds, it’s clear that the power and influence of the Spelteran royal family will increase.