The Necromancer Who Was Despised - The Necromancer Who Was Despised chapter 204
◈ The Royal Road
After the banquet, we couldn’t return to Linetaro immediately.
Many nobles visited, and Frina had a lot of work to do.
She worked hard to recruit administrative officials and educated ladies-in-waiting for the territory, and even met her younger brother, who was studying late.
Additionally, she proceeded with contracts with the upper echelons and frequently met with Tiranio, the Duke, during this process.
It seemed like the Linetaro Count family wanted to establish a close relationship with us, but it was unclear if it was because of Kaila or me.
However, there was no sign of Tiranio trying to directly recruit Kaila.
It was unclear whether this was due to the royal family’s influence or another reason.
Still, it was a fact that Tiranio, the Duke, was being very considerate of Frina.
Thanks to this, Frina was having a very busy time, and it was becoming increasingly annoying to avoid the nobles’ visits.
The upper class, especially the nobles, were experiencing significant chaos due to our appearance.
The downfall of the prestigious Prioga family and the emergence of a strong individual who had done it alone.
Moreover, one of us was a dark mage.
And the fact that the royal family was supporting us, which was unprecedented.
With the current internal war situation and the declaration to end it quickly and support other countries, it was chaotic.
In this situation, the nobles’ goals were obvious.
Since they didn’t know much about us, they would try to gather information about us, and most of them would come with a burning desire in their eyes. As a result, dealing with them was a hassle.
Some nobles were avoiding this situation altogether.
The dark mage, who was receiving attention in the royal capital, seemed to dislike this attention. However, they couldn’t express their opinions openly in front of us or in public.
It was only natural that the royal family was supporting us, and our achievements were remarkable, so they couldn’t afford to speak carelessly, lest they face uncontrollable consequences.
Thanks to this, the nobles were currently a nuisance.
So, lately, they had been avoiding the palace and living elsewhere.
“It seems like we should express our gratitude to the noble lords.”
The person who said this to us with a calm tone was Cornavin, the Archbishop of the Grand Temple of the Earth.
“Thanks to Lord Do-in-ha’s frequent visits to the temple, we are grateful.”
“But it’s not like we’re causing trouble here. I’m worried that we might be taking advantage of your kindness.”
“Hehehe, that’s not possible. The Grand Temple of the Earth will always welcome Lord Do-in-ha’s visits, regardless of the reason.”
On the day of the royal banquet, the gift I sent arrived at the Grand Temple of the Earth.
The Archbishop, who received the gift, was overjoyed and even wrote a personal letter to express his gratitude.
Moreover, the High Priest, who managed the temple in the royal capital, was also delighted with the gift.
At that time, the High Priest was dealing with the nobles who were visiting the temple.
“Thanks to you two, the number of nobles visiting the temple has increased,” said High Priest Tarad.
“That’s unexpected. I thought many would have visited earlier.”
“It was like that when the temple was first established, but later, the number of visitors dwindled.”
I heard that there were also internal conflicts within the family.
“It’s because they have a history of being close to the Goddess Cult and then separating from them, so they’re being cautious.”
That was not all. Since the Goddess Cult had deep roots in the kingdom, their influence still lingered in many families.
Although they wouldn’t openly rebel, it wasn’t easy to erase the Goddess Cult’s influence in a short time.
With the royal family’s backing and the current trend favoring the royal family, they couldn’t openly disregard the Grand Temple of the Earth, but they were wary of getting too close.
In this situation, the nobles who came to visit us seemed like prey that had fallen into the High Priest’s lap.
I was happy to get rid of the troublesome nobles, and it was a good thing for everyone.
And I was satisfied with just passing the time like this.
If they realized that it wasn’t easy to meet us, they would eventually come to Princess TINA like Count Tina, and they wouldn’t come empty-handed, so ultimately, Princess TINA’s work would be done sooner.
Currently, Princess TINA’s tasks all required connections, so if she received help from many nobles, everything could be resolved within a week.
While I and Kailla were stalling for time within the temple, the counterattack had already begun.
The declaration of war had been made, and during the brief period of calm, the rebel army was suffering daily defeats thanks to the families who had been swayed.
Furthermore, the destruction of the Prioga family and the loss of their master-level power meant that our side could inflict significant damage without worrying about retaliation, especially since the number of holy knights was decreasing rapidly.
After about two weeks, the victory was practically in the hands of the Superten Kingdom.
In reality, the royal army had always been stronger than the rebel army, but previously, our side had to be cautious because we could also suffer losses. Now, our losses were almost negligible, and we were crushing the rebel army.
And around that time, Princess TINA’s tasks were all completed.
She had made contracts with the upper echelons, established an academy to cultivate administrative officials, and recruited many talented individuals.
She also used her connections with minor nobles to hire a large number of excellent servants, showcasing her authority.
In particular, she hired people who could educate the servants, as Princess TINA had a foreboding sense that her family would collapse and didn’t cultivate internal talent, so such measures were necessary.
And the fact that her work was done meant that it was time for us to return.
It was obvious that I couldn’t return immediately.
I had to report to the royal family, and the prince himself came to see me, saying that I would be leaving sooner than expected.
“Are you saying you’re leaving already?”
“I need to digest what I’ve gained so far. I’ve left the barren land unattended for too long.”
“It seems like things are going well even without you… If you need time to digest what you’ve gained, I can provide you with a separate research facility.”
He was talking about the royal family’s magic tower.
However, I shook my head.
“I already have my own research facility.”
The prince looked disappointed, realizing that our side’s opinion was firm. He opened his mouth, looking reluctant.
“Let’s meet the king one last time before you go.”
“You’re busy, I know.”
“But you must make time, even if it’s forced. And you need to receive the elixir, don’t you?”
“…I understand.”
It seemed like he wanted to see my face one more time, using the elixir as an excuse.
My attachment to the master was already at a level that needed to be acknowledged.
We didn’t have any significant conversations at that meeting.
I just gave our usual praise and handed one elixir to Kaila.
It seemed like the king had given up on persuading us, and this was just a formality.
The elixir itself seemed quite good, but Kaila said she would store it instead of taking it immediately.
She wanted to adapt to her current state and focus on building her actual abilities rather than her mana.
Meanwhile, Prina had gathered a large amount of goods and employees through her contracted merchants and set up a small caravan.
I was impressed by Prina’s resourcefulness.
“It’s not easy to gather this much material, considering the current situation with the war and external expeditions?”
Food, iron, and everything else was expensive.
At the same time, the reserves themselves had greatly decreased, making it difficult to obtain a certain amount.
It was a mess. If it became difficult to obtain food, there would be chaos.
The king was also worried, thinking that his people might have to go hungry starting from tomorrow.
“We received the royal family’s consideration. It’s all thanks to the two of you.”
It seemed like the Tynairo family had the most influence, and they had almost given it to us for free.
There didn’t seem to be anything they greatly desired in return.
“Didn’t they say anything about this huge investment?”
“They said it was enough to just strengthen our friendship.”
In terms of economic power, the Tynairo family was one of the top families in the kingdom.
A place like that was satisfied with just friendship…
‘…I see.’
It wasn’t that they were satisfied with just friendship; they had no choice but to be.
‘If you try to grasp power, including military power, the royal family won’t just sit back and watch.’
Power, including military power… and the Tynairo family, which had a strong foundation in magic as well.
“‘I might just become a duchy.’”
Especially now that the royal family’s power and authority are strong, we need to be even more cautious.
Thinking about how the dwarves couldn’t refuse the royal family’s demands despite their reluctance, it seemed that the current situation with Tynaire’s dukedom was approaching the limits of what the royal family would permit.
This time, the support was not only for improving our relationship with Tynaire’s family, but also for demonstrating our loyalty to the royal family.
After all, it was a fact that Tynaire’s family was related to the royal family.
Prina seemed to have anticipated this fact and was not bothered by the excessive favor, nor did she seem burdened.
As we led the caravan out of the royal capital, I felt a strange sense of relief.
There was no need to worry about the safety of our return journey.
Prina had hired mercenaries, and besides, Kailla and I were there.
There was nothing to worry about.
Prina seemed to be quite satisfied with this trip, not only because she hadn’t lost Kailla and me in the royal capital, but also because she had gained many benefits.
“Long time no see, little sister….”
Karina and Prina were chatting about the royal capital’s affairs.
“…….”
I, Nogisa, and Atoric remained silent, keeping our seats.
Of course, I hadn’t done nothing.
“I did send a message, though….”
Using the crystal ball I received from Untinia, I had contacted the interspecies union.
By the way, I had sold my old mentor, Yerija.
This side would respond the fastest.
There were no ambushes on our return journey.
Even with a small-scale caravan, it seemed that they didn’t want to mess with us.
Especially now, during wartime.
It seemed that they didn’t have the courage to provoke the caravan procession that had departed from the royal capital.
Although Prina had returned with many benefits, a troublesome matter awaited her as soon as she returned to her domain.
“…Interspecies union? Orc?”
The Atina I had sent out had returned with an unexpectedly large catch.
***
“Master!”
Atina, whom I hadn’t seen in a long time, ran towards Kailla and hugged her.
Kailla also didn’t seem to dislike Atina’s behavior, gently patting her back.
I asked Atina a question I was curious about.
“What happened? How did the orcs exceed 3,000?”
“Ah, it’s been a long time, Inha.”
However, Atina didn’t answer me, instead saying something else.
I let out a sigh and received her greeting, then asked about the humans in the underground.
“Ah, they’re fine. I sent them to Tia’s side for now.”
That was a good decision.
However, the matter of the orcs was not something that could be easily brushed off.
It’s not possible for the Orcs to grow at that rate.
The answer was surprisingly simple.
“Our kin joined forces with them. The Dolgaebaram tribe, who received our help, easily secured their position, didn’t they? Thanks to that, they gained spare capacity. Since their position was quite stable, they made contact with other Orc tribes and proposed an alliance instead of fighting.”
That’s how the Dolgaebaram tribe began to search for their kin, and that’s how they gathered to this point.
Some of them had even joined the Interspecies Union and then left.
“Is it true that the Elves have almost taken control of that side?”
Elves…
“I didn’t have enough information, but it seems to have worked out.”
It seemed necessary to utilize those who had briefly joined the Interspecies Union to gather information about the Elves.
“Anyway, they’re from a different tribe, so what about control?”
“They’re doing well, but it’s only natural to feel like they’re part of an alliance.”
It seemed that the influence of their original tribe’s way of life still lingered.
“Hmm…”
It was correct to try to draw in the Orcs.
However, I never thought that this many would be waiting from the start.
I needed to have a talk with Prina.
◈ Development
Prina looked quite perplexed.
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Fortunately, the kingdom hadn’t suffered significant damage while I was away, but the current situation was beyond her comprehension.
Especially since the Forest Shield, which was supposed to block monsters from the Monster Forest, had allowed thousands of Orcs to pass through….
What’s more, it was my person, Artina, who had brought them, and we were currently in an alliance with the 6 Kingdoms Union and the Interspecies Union.
Moreover, the Orcs that had appeared weren’t causing chaos or anything; they were following our control quite well.
The 6 Kingdoms Union had even promised to free the Interspecies slaves, so we couldn’t just suppress the Orcs who weren’t causing trouble.
Of course, we could expel them if we wanted to. That was the lord’s prerogative. But I had to prevent that from happening.
The Orcs were the ones I had brought.
I requested a secret meeting with Prina, and she immediately accepted, seeming to sense that this incident was related to me.