Suspected Necromancer

Chapter 1 – A Girl Veiled in White

The girl was covered from head to toe by a white robe, like the ones worn by wizards, as she strolled slowly through the town.
It was difficult to see her face.
According to the apothecary the girl regularly visited, her face was unremarkable.
It’s strange that they can’t recall the face of a person that was providing them with good potions.
Most likely, she was using some kind of obfuscation spell. There’s something called an “invisibility charm” among the magicians, which is well-known for hiding one’s presence. The girl probably had one.

“Excuse me, young lady, can I talk to you for a moment?”

I approached and surrounded the girl alongside two subordinates to question her.
Surprised, she stopped and turned to get a good look at who talked to her.
Our armor bore the emblem of the Rama Kingdom, which displayed our identity as knights.

“…Sir Knight?”

The girl tilted her head. She didn’t seem to understand why she was being stopped.
I looked at the girl’s face hidden under the hood.
Red eyes, white skin, and golden hair… Could she be a descendant of the Asura tribe?
She looked about 16 years old and had a beautiful face.
There’s no way anyone would forget that face. The small wooden charm hanging around her neck was probably the aforementioned invisibility charm.

“We have something to discuss with you. It’s nothing bad. Could you come with me to the Knight Order’s office?”

I tried to smile warmly to show that I meant no harm.

“What is it?”

The girl asked. She didn’t seem frightened. Looks like our meeting is going well.

“It’s about the person you’re living with. Don’t worry, we don’t plan harm that person. If anything, we want to protect them.”

“Protect… my master?”

So they were master and disciple. It’s also possible that the girl is just a servant.

“Yes. First, we want to confirm whether your master is the person we’ve been searching for. However, we’d prefer to keep this quiet. Can you come to office with us?”

“I see. I’ll go with you, so please don’t make this take too long.”

After expressing a small request, the girl obediently followed.
I didn’t want to force her to come along, so I was relieved that she cooperated.

“I’ll try not to take too much of your time. I am Conrad. As you can see, I’m a member of the Rama Kingdom’s Knight Order. Could you tell me your name?”

“I’m Luna.”

“Luna… that’s a nice name. Well then, let’s head to the office.”

My subordinates walked at Luna’s sides to ensure she wouldn’t run away. Like that, we headed straight to the Knight Order’s office.

──

The office I work in is located along the main street of the city. Compared to the other nearby buildings, the Knight Order’s Office is much more conspicuous.
The Knight Order’s purpose is to maintain order, so the office was built to be very noticeable and serve as a monument of justice.
Our work is not limited to merely arresting criminals, it also includes conducting internal investigations, espionage, and sometimes demon subjugation. Few people would actually want to do any of these jobs, but our Knight’s Order was founded by the king back when he was a prince in order to show the people that the kingdom cared about them.
Normally, knights of the Order don’t take action themselves and usually let their subordinates take care of the heavy lifting. It’s very rare for a knight to personally go and handle a task. That’s how important the matter with Luna was.

I guided Luna to the tidiest and most professional room in the office. I didn’t want to appear intimidating, so I had my subordinates go outside while I stayed alone with Luna. They went to guard the door to make sure nobody eavesdropped.
We sat across from each other at the table. I had arranged for two teapots and a kettle. The tea was a gesture of consideration.
Luna brought the cup to her lips, enjoying the aroma before taking a sip. She didn’t seem nervous.

“First, may I ask you to remove that charm? It likely has some magical effect, right?”

“This? Sure.”

Luna casually took off the charm from around her neck and put it in her pocket. Now, it should be impossible for me to forget what we’re talking about.

“Let’s start by hearing about your upbringing. From what I can tell, you seem to be a survivor of the Asuras, right?”

The Asura tribe was said to have once ruled the world. They were characterized by being born with powerful magic, making them highly skilled wizards.
The Asura ruled the world with their mighty magic, treating other races as slaves.
However, as an ethnic minority, their numbers were small. Eventually, our ancestors, who were enslaved by them, rebelled and a great war ensued.
The Asura tribe, despite being powerful magicians, were defeated by the overwhelming numbers of the slaves and ultimately fell. After that, the Asura tribe became a symbol of fear and hatred and were thoroughly oppressed.
However, that was a story from over a thousand years ago. Magic was taboo back then, but now, wizards are valued for their skills.
Sometimes, individuals with Asura heritage resurfaced, and, rather than being feared, they were often treasured.

“I think so, but I’m not quite sure myself. As far as I remember, I come from a slave trader’s business.”

I see. Given that she was from the Asura tribe, she was probably highly sought after and traded at high prices. While slavery was widely practiced in the past, it is illegal nowadays. Regardless, it seems that the slave trade lives on behind closed doors.

“I’m sorry, that must have been hard.”

It must have been tough for her, seeing as she’s quite young.

“It wasn’t so bad. I was treated as a valuable commodity. They even taught me how to read and write. In fact, things were probably harder for me after my master bought me. He is a person who cares for nothing but his research. When I arrived at my master’s mansion, it was terribly dirty. Cleaning it all up was the hardest part of my whole life.”

Luna answered cheerfully.
That was out of my expectations, but I continued anyways.

“Then, could you tell me your master’s name?”

“Khan.”

Khan. Hmmm, unfamiliar. I had thought her master would be the legendary wizard Logan. Could Khan be an alias?
Given the nature of this case, I suspected that a fairly high-ranking mage was involved. I don’t know if Logan is even still alive, but I figured it could have been him.

“We believe Khan is a wizard. Is that correct?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“And is he quite skilled as a wizard?”

“I wonder… I’m not sure myself. My master is a bit different from normal wizards, so it’s hard to tell.”

“How so?”

“He’s researching a unique kind of magic… I don’t really want to talk about it.”

“That’s fine. I promise to keep your secrets. I’m known as the knight with the tightest lips in the kingdom, you know?”

I said, winking. I think most women would believe me.
After thinking for a moment, Luna spoke.

“Alright. He’s researching necromancy. It might cause unnecessary rumours and gossip if it got out, so could you keep it a secret?”

Necromancy. A type of magic that allowed communication with the dead, enabling one to see the past and future. It was also said to give temporary life to corpses and control ghouls or skeletons. However, necromancy was no longer taught, and its true nature remained unclear.
However, the wizard I am searching for is said to be skilled in necromancy.

“I see. Of course, I swear not to speak of this to anyone else. Now… how proficient are you in necromancy? Can you control a lot of corpses at once or something like that?”

“I’m not sure. I’ve been asked not to use ghouls since they are disturbing. Instead, I have a few skeletons at home. They’re like servants, I guess.”

Skeletons as servants… They probably cook and clean, don’t they?
It’s quite a surreal sight. If there were such a house in my neighborhood, I’d move away immediately.
Luna doesn’t seem to share the same common sense as ordinary people. Well, considering her upbringing, it’s understandable.

“That sounds quite advanced, doesn’t it? Anyways, could you tell me more about Khan? I’d like to know what kind of person he is. Since you’ve been living with him for a while, you should know a lot about him.”

“If you’re okay with my opinion, I don’t mind sharing.”

Thus, Luna began to speak.