Suspected Necromancer

Chapter 19 – Dorothy

At last, Luna was freed from her bloodthirst.
She minimized her consumption of magic power and learned to to absorb magic from her surroundings as naturally as breathing.
40 years had passed, but Luna’s appearance remained unchanged.

“Now, what should I do?”

Luna pondered.
Her goal had been achieved. However, there was no subsequent objective. If she had to come up with one, it would be to defeat Logan.
But even Logan had stopped fighting with Luna recently.
While Logan’s physical appearance hadn’t changed, he had been reducing the time he spent teaching Luna and increasingly dedicating himself to meditation. Now, he spent most of his time meditating.

“I don’t have much time left.”

This had become Logan’s new catchphrase.
The end of the legendary archmage was drawing near.

“Grandmaster, don’t you desire eternal life?”

Luna asked Logan. She referred to Logan as ‘Grandmaster’ due to him being the master of her master, Khan.
Luna could turn people into her thralls by sucking their blood, though she had never done so before.
For regular humans, this would result in becoming a vampire. But for Logan, an Asuran, it would lead to becoming an Immortal King.
Logan replied:

“Do you know how old I am? 120 years old. I am the oldest human that has ever lived. I’m a legendary archmage and I have the world record for oldest age. Pretty cool, right?
However, if I were to become an undead, that record wouldn’t count. The title of legendary archmage and the record for oldest age would all be tainted. So, don’t do anything unnecessary.”

Logan grinned, baring his teeth.

“Yes, you’re right, Grandmaster sure is cool.”

Luna genuinely believed that. Logan might have been a mess of a person, but he lived his life with conviction.
Unlike Khan, who didn’t care about remaining human and sought to surpass humanity, Logan aimed to be the very best as a human. It was a way of life worthy of respect.
Eventually, Logan became motionless as he meditated.
Luna noticed that there was no longer any flow of magic within him.

“Even in the end, I couldn’t defeat you, Grandmaster.”

Luna muttered, before leaving Banukut, which had been Logan’s abode.

──

It was the first time in 40 years that Luna had ventured into the outside world. While she could have stayed in Banukut, she couldn’t bear the thought of being alone anymore.
Her destination was what Luna considered her hometown. The home of the slave trader Mason.
If they were still alive, Mason and the others would be around 80 years old. They would be near the end of their lives.

The human world had changed in various ways during Luna’s long absence. Using the amulet, a memento of Khan, to remain inconspicuous, she was surprised by the transformations the city had undergone.
The world Luna once knew had been a landscape of numerous small nations, but now many of them had been unified into a single country.
This nation was called the Kingdom of Rama. Under the rule of King Ramunato, known as the Martial Lord, the world was rapidly moving toward unification.
The country where Mason’s mansion was situated had also been conquered by the Kingdom of Rama, and the practice of slavery had been abolished.
Moreover, with the consolidation of many nations, trade had flourished, leading to a substantial increase in the variety of goods displayed in stores.

“Rato must have done his best, I see.”

Luna murmured as she saw the familiar emblem of the Kingdom of Rama displayed in the city.
After that, she headed towards Mason’s mansion.

──

Mason’s mansion had aged, but it had been maintained with care.
Curiously, there were children present throughout the building.

(Isn’t slavery illegal now?)

Puzzled, Luna knocked on the mansion’s door.
A well-dressed middle-aged woman emerged, and upon seeing Luna’s face, she was astonished.

“Luna!? No, wait, are you Luna’s granddaughter?”

Luna recognized the woman. Gazing at her face, Luna traced back her memories.

“Could you be Dorothy?”

Dorothy was Luna’s first friend. She had always been with Luna at Mason’s place.

“Huh? Is it really you, Luna? Why do you look so young?”

“Well, you see, various things happened.”

Although Luna’s appearance couldn’t be so easily explained by ‘various things’, Dorothy smiled.

“Various things, huh? I see, you were bought by a mage. There might be various such things…”

Seeing Luna in a white mage’s robe, Dorothy seemed to have inferred Luna’s circumstances on her own. She appeared to have high expectations for Luna’s magical abilities, but Luna decided not to bring up that topic.

“More importantly, why are you here? I thought you hated this place.”

When Dorothy left the mansion, she had been visibly delighted. She even declared she would never return.

“Well, it’s a long story. I’ve been through a lot, too. Shall we go inside? I’ll serve you some tea.”

Invited by Dorothy, Luna entered the mansion.
Though it had aged, the interior largely matched Luna’s memories, making her feel like she had traveled back in time.
Dorothy led her to the reception room where Mason used to conduct negotiations with nobles.
Back then, the furnishings were expensive and new, but now they were mostly antiques. Dorothy placed tea on the table that had once been lavish but was now well-worn.

“Dorothy, isn’t tea considered a luxury? Is it okay serving something like that to me?”

The tea Luna knew of was costly and not something that could easily be afforded by commoners.

“What are you saying, Luna? Tea isn’t really that expensive.”

Dorothy chuckled.

“Wasn’t it considered a luxury back in the day?”

“That’s ancient history. Since King Ramunato expanded the territory far to the east, the price of tea has dropped significantly. Where have you been all this time?”

Dorothy looked puzzled.

“Well, until recently, I was living in a pretty isolated, rural area. So, I don’t know much about recent times.”

“Fascinating, being a mage must be tough, huh?”

Dorothy once again made her own interpretation, but this time she was mostly correct. Being a mage was indeed challenging.

“Why did you decide to return to this mansion, Dorothy?”

“Oh, that? Well, when I first left this place, I thought I’d never come back. And really, the people who bought me were much kinder than Molly.
I was praised a lot. I never got praised back when I was learning under Molly, but they always said ‘Dorothy is amazing, she can do anything!’ I was happy and worked hard.
Gradually, my position improved. I even started teaching the newcomers who arrived later. But those kids couldn’t do anything. Seems the people who sold them didn’t provide proper education. They were truly useless. I couldn’t help but get angry like Molly and taught them until they became capable.”

Dorothy took a sip of tea, smiling as she fondly remembered the past.

“Naturally, I became quite important. I’d been thoroughly trained by Molly. I could read and do basic calculations, so I was entrusted with important tasks, and eventually, I was given a proper status. I even got married. Now I have grandchildren.”

Luna found another version of herself within Dorothy. If Luna hadn’t possessed the blood of the Asurans, she might have had a happy, normal life like the woman in front of her.
Of course, Dorothy wouldn’t have noticed Luna’s inner thoughts. She continued her story.

“Then, I finally understood how I managed to be happy. It was all thanks to Molly, who educated me so diligently.
You know, ever since I started teaching people, I’ve realized that teaching is quite difficult. Really difficult. It’s not really my problem if some kids can’t do something. It’s easier to just leave them be.
Love is necessary to teach. It can’t be done without love. Molly was truly scary, but as scary as she was, her affection for us ran deep. Mason, well, I guess he was just doing business.”

Dorothy laughed, and Luna joined in.

“We didn’t have mothers, but Molly filled that role splendidly for us. So now that my child-rearing is over and I have grandchildren, I returned here. To my own home.
I’m not the only one. Many who were brought up by Molly, who gained freedom after being bought, have returned here. We’re taking turns looking after the kids.”

Dorothy glanced at the children in the hallway.

“Isn’t slavery prohibited now?”

Luna inquired about something that had been on her mind.

“Of course, it is. This place is now an orphanage. But what we’re doing hasn’t changed. We don’t receive money, though.”