The Necromancer Who Was Despised

“Anyway, I’ve established a good relationship with them on the condition that I release their younger sister, so there shouldn’t be any problems.”

“I’m indebted to you, Jimnis-nim.”

“Ahahaha. Don’t mention it.”

I naturally informed him that I had recruited Athena and fabricated the story of how Thea’s illness was cured.

The advantage of it not being known had disappeared, but at the same time, she had gained autonomy, so it wasn’t a loss.

Since I had many things I needed to do, this was something I had to accept.

After returning all of the artifacts to Albert, I headed toward my residence within the guild.

I didn’t forget to make dinner plans with Disan while I was at it.

“I did get paid for the commission.”

I could have just called it a drinking appointment.

Unlike before, the inside of the house where I arrived was not so desolate.

The process of making connections had the effect of filling the inside of the house with various things.

“Oh, my sister will be coming, so I should make an additional order.”

Since I had informed them of the recruitment smoothly, there was no problem.

Like that, I visited Bedwig’s carpentry shop for the first time in a long time to order additional furniture, and stopped by the forge to buy more tools that I was lacking.

As I was buying various necessities in preparation for my sister’s arrival, the time of the appointment came before I knew it, and I headed to the tavern, the meeting place.

“Oh my. It’s been a long time, Jimnis-nim.”

“Indeed. Have you been well, Anggolf?”

“Of course. Hiya, a knight errant is different after all. The lord himself gave direct and important instructions. There are widespread rumors that Jimnis-nim will become a new knight in the near future.”

I had nominally taken on the commission, but from their point of view, it must have seemed no different from an order from a noble.

Therefore, instead of correcting Anggolf’s words, I just played along.

“Oh my, that’s excessive flattery. Have you already heard the news?”

“Ahahaha. Danian has already been by. He said he would take charge of our tavern’s sales today.”

“He’s quick to notice things as always. Please take care of me. I can’t possibly blow all the reward I just received in one day.”

Of course, it’s a light joke. It’s not that I’ve been spending money like water recently, but it’s absurd that 1 gold has been reduced to just one day’s worth of drinking.

Of course, I don’t know how much Anggolf received for the commission fee, but I know that the reward for a long-term commission given by the lord can’t be small.

“Hehehe. Don’t worry. I’ll do it in moderation. Everyone likes any kind of alcohol, so I’ll bring out as much as possible that’s cheap and plentiful.”

“Thank you.”

It seemed that there was some alcohol that had been piling up in stock.

Anggolf led me to one side of the tavern.

As I had heard the story through Danian, it seemed that he had prepared in advance.

Since I’m famous as a knight errant, he seemed to have prepared a special secluded spot for me to drink comfortably.

It was a small consideration from him, who had realized through several interactions that I didn’t like noisy places very much.

Anggolf immediately began serving food, and as the food began to come out in earnest, five people came looking for the tavern.

“Oh my, you came first.”

“Sorry. I’m late because work ended late.”

“Hey, it’s been a long time, Jimnis-nim!”

All five were lower-ranking mercenaries belonging to the Pipis mercenary group, and they were people with whom I had formed fairly close connections.

Since they often stood guard, I couldn’t help but meet them often: Disan and Laus, the mercenary Danian who first bought me a drink, Malrun, who I got to know through Danian and Disan, and even Gord.

They all gathered here because of the promise I made before accepting the commission.

“I’m not sure I can take advantage of this like this.”

“Ahahaha. Jimnis-nim isn’t that stingy of a person. How petty! Even when we first met….”

“You haven’t even eaten yet, why do you seem drunk already, you crazy bastard? And I’ve already heard that story before.”

Malrun replied as if he was tired of Danian’s bragging.

“I’ll say it again, I’ll say it again. It’s thanks to that incident that we got to know each other like this.”

Danian didn’t care about Malrun’s attitude and opened his mouth again.

I stopped Danian and said.

“Alright, let’s have a drink first. Anggolf specially prepared this food. It came at just the right time.”

The five mercenaries didn’t refuse the drinks I offered.

There was no toast. We lightly clinked our glasses and took a sip.

Amidst the light atmosphere where we filled our stomachs and drank alcohol, we engaged in small talk, with Danian heaping praise on me as usual, sharing his impression of me when we first met, and the lord’s request.

As the atmosphere grew ripe, Danian asked me,

“I heard that you brought in a new comrade this time. “A woman, at that?”

“That’s right. Didn’t Dissin tell you?”

“Ugh. That damn bastard told me to hear it from you directly.”

“Hmm… Well, let’s just say it was a combination of coincidence and luck. I just happened to run into the older sister of a slave I had bought in the past.”

“Now that you mention it, there were rumors that you bought a female slave for domestic use even before Kyla.”

Danian nodded at Godka’s words.

“I’ve heard the rumors. She said to be beautiful, but she was also sickly.”

“That’s right, but she’s all better now.”

The mercenaries who heard my fabricated explanation all looked intrigued.

“Wow, that means there are three women by Sir Jimnis’s side.”

“Well, yes.”

Although one of them is more like a dependent and doesn’t help in battle.

“And two of them are capable of fighting… I’m so envious. There are no women in our mercenary group. And they must all be beautiful… . Surely you’re not going to tell me that you don’t touch that younger sister or the new recruit?”

“Well, that’s right.”

The other mercenaries looked quite surprised when I said that I didn’t touch anyone.

“I had heard it before… but do you really not touch them?”

“Yes. Oh, but don’t misunderstand. I’m not impotent or anything like that.”

My survival instincts are simply stronger than my sexual desires.

If I let my lower body dictate my thoughts, there was a high chance that I would ruin everything.

‘… Come to think of it, I don’t think they’d refuse me if I asked… .’

As the one in the position of relative power, I had no intention of making the first move and creating unnecessary trouble for myself.

“Wow, if it were me, I would have played with them every night, taking turns.”

“That’s just like you. Your brain is all down there. And your ambitions are small for someone like that.”

“What did you say, you little runt?”

“If you’re going to play, you should call them all at once instead of taking turns. Oh, but you’d probably pass out after one round with a woman, right?”

“Wow, look at this little runt talking big. Hey, should we go outside? Let’s call some women over and see who’s better?”

Laus and Godka giggled and egged on Danian and Malrun’s quarrel.

As mercenaries, this level of dirty talk was commonplace for them.

‘Well… female mercenaries aren’t exactly tame either.’

In a profession where their lives were on the line, both men and women tended to have strong sexual desires and personalities. If one of those two had been a woman, they might have actually fought in bed tonight.

As time passed, the tavern grew noisier, and my companions were all half-drunk, making a racket.

“I’m telling you! “I saw Sir Jimnis first!”

“You damn runt, you talk too much! Are you in or not?”

“Hehehe. Losers.”

Dissain was the only one who was still relatively sober.

“You’re drinking less than usual today.”

“Hahaha. I’m on my first day of work tomorrow, so I’m winding down.”

“Hmm? Wasn’t it your turn for night duty today? But you’re on early duty again tomorrow?”

“Oh, it’s not the main gate. I’m checking the second passage….”

Disan’s words trailed off as he faltered.

“Second passage?”

“Oh, that’s…”

“Hmm? Is it a secret from me?”

After a moment of hesitation, Disan burst into laughter.

“Oh, hahaha… Well… I guess there’s no need to keep it a secret from Sir Jimnis. You’re the biggest supporter of Sir Kuman, and you even receive direct requests from the Lord. Still, it could be a problem, so please keep it a secret that I told you don’t go around spreading it.”

“Of course.”

“Hmm… The second passage is that. A secret passage. This is a remote territory, so it’s not surprising that danger could strike at any time, right? That’s why there’s a separate passage for escape in case of an emergency.”

Disan said that most of the upper class, including the nobles, would have already guessed that they wouldn’t be in such a dangerous region without a way to protect themselves.

“Since it’s a last resort for saving lives, we periodically check its condition. Of course, it’s a secret from the townspeople, and only a few know of its existence. We need to know so that we can escort the client when it’s time to escape.”

‘…The alcohol is definitely getting to him.’

Even though I’m treated as an apprentice knight and Kuman’s most important business partner, we’ve only known each other for a few months.

Moreover, it wasn’t right for a mere mercenary, who wasn’t even Kuman or the Lord, to be carelessly spilling this kind of information.

Of course, I knew about the existence of this secret passage since I had used it in the past.

However, I had only used it once, and since I had been half-dragged underground, I didn’t have much information about it…

‘This is my chance.’

I looked at Disan and smiled inwardly.

I focused my efforts on Disan.

He didn’t seem like it, but he was slightly drunk and had just barely crossed the line.

Even so, he seemed to think that he was keeping his guard up for tomorrow, but his actions showed otherwise.

‘It’s the alcohol, the alcohol.’

If he really had a high level of self-control, he wouldn’t be drinking here but training to move up the ranks.

If his usual self-management was thorough to begin with, it would be obvious, but I didn’t get that feeling from Disan.

Even if he lacked talent, there were areas that could be filled with effort, and the position of intermediate mercenary was one that could be reached with enough experience and effort.

‘It will take some time, though.’

In particular, obtaining equipment was something that could be done over time by saving money through regular restraint.

However, even if I were to buy it for him, seeing him like this made it seem likely that Disan was all talk.

‘Well, he seemed better than the others, though.’

The moment he told me a secret, he became a lapdog.

He was a bit better than the others, but he was making a bigger mistake.

I took advantage of the half-drunk men and plied Disan with more alcohol, deliberately ordering some expensive wine at the risk of a small loss to entice him.

As a result, his eyes became half-open, and I was able to extract a lot of information from him.

‘So, the passage was originally connected to the Lord’s castle?’

However, he said that the condition of the passage connected to the Lord’s castle had recently been deteriorated, and if it continued like this, the secret passage to the Lord’s castle would be blocked.

He said that there weren’t any skilled workers good enough to fix it.

‘Was it built with the help of Count Siglen’s family?’

If it was a place that even skilled workers had difficulty touching, it was possible that dwarves had a hand in it.

Considering that the recently acquired equipment was Dwarven-made thanks to Count Siglen, it was most likely that Count Siglen was responsible.

‘It seems that Count Siglen didn’t provide additional assistance in the past… ‘

This time around, the story had changed a little.

“But this time, thanks to Jimnis, Count Siglen doesn’t think highly of Baron Ovalan. Thanks to that, the Dwarves might send support.”

‘Hmm… ‘

I couldn’t tell if this was a good thing or not.

I intended to figure out the exact location of the secret passage and deal with Kuman when the monster wave occurred in the future.

But if a lord, who wasn’t part of the plan, got involved…

‘If I can manage it, I could secure a path that leads to the lord’s mansion… ‘

Most of the mercenaries hired by the lord were in a different village, but the lord had a knight, the strongest warrior in the territory.

‘… I definitely need to fix Kyla’s leg.’

I also had to make active use of the soul shadow I acquired this time.

‘This is going to be hectic.’

Through Disan, I was able to find out the exact location of the secret passage’s entrance and exit.

It was important to know for sure what I had roughly guessed.

I was going to do it myself or find out through Artrina, but that saved me the trouble.

‘I’m glad I got him drunk.’

If not, I had the dark magic charm, but that was too dangerous.

Since there was a knight in the territory, I was a little uneasy about using dark magic. I wasn’t planning on using dark magic in the territory without setting up a barrier beforehand.

‘The knight’s abilities are unknown.’

I had never met him in person, so I couldn’t tell how skilled he was.

There was also Baldur under Kuman, but he was still too inexperienced to sense me using dark magic from this far away.

Of course, it was an overreaction. An ordinary knight wouldn’t be able to immediately tell that dark magic was being used from this distance.

However, there was always a chance.

Depending on the person, some had superior senses, and when such people awakened mana, their already sharp senses were greatly amplified.

Since it wasn’t an ordinary aura and magic was an aura that was obviously noticeable, there was a slight chance that it could be sensed from afar.

Since my survival was at stake, I had to be constantly alert like a wild animal.

Just when I had almost extracted all the necessary information, Disan became almost unconscious and couldn’t provide any more information.

‘I wonder if he’ll remember today.’

All five mercenaries were knocked out.

Naturally, no one had overheard our conversation.