Suspected Necromancer

Chapter 7 – A Different Perspective
“Hey, Luna. Don’t you want to be free?”

I asked the red-eyed girl. Her life had been incredibly harsh.
If she said she wanted to be free, I intended to help her to the best of my abilities.

“What does freedom mean?”

However, Luna seemed indifferent.

“You were bought as a slave back then, but slavery has been abolished. If you report it to the authorities, you might be able to break your financial dependency on your master.”

“That’s odd, isn’t it? I mean, if something is prohibited only in this country but allowed in other places, going and saying ‘that’s illegal here, so that contract is void’ wouldn’t be very convincing. Plus, the person who paid the money for the slave would suffer a loss.”

Luna spoke as though it were someone else’s problem.

“People should be inherently equal under God. It’s morally wrong to buy and sell a human. The act itself is a terrible sin, so it doesn’t matter if you were to suffer losses for it.”

“That’s not how it works. People aren’t equal. Even from the moment of birth, they are not equal. Being born into a high-status, wealthy family like yours and being born into a commoner’s family where you can’t even have tea mean people are born unequal. I’m not blaming anyone. It’s just that the world isn’t as beautifully ideal as you might think.”

Luna said while enjoying the aroma, slowly sipping her tea.
She seemed surprisingly resigned for someone my age.

“If you don’t aim to make those beautiful ideals a reality, nothing will change. People should be the change they want to see. Eventually, other countries might also outlaw slavery too.”

“Hmm, Rato, you’re more intelligent and sensible than I thought. When I first saw you, I thought you were very arrogant.”

Luna finally smiled at me.
To me, who had taken being smiled at for granted, that smile felt extremely precious.

“So, again, what about you? Do you really not want to be free?”

“I wonder. To be honest, I don’t really know. Even if I become free, I have no home to return to. Besides, I find fulfillment in demonstrating a value greater than the amount my master paid for me. You might not get it. Also, I don’t dislike learning magic. I’ve realized it suits me.”

“But the magic you’re learning…”

I was about to continue when I felt a light touch on my back. Killian was subtly advising me to be careful with my words.

“What’s wrong? What about the magic I’m learning?”

“I was just wondering what kind of magic your master is teaching you.”

“Nothing special. Just normal stuff. Lighting fires, producing water, and things like that.”

Luna emphasized how ordinary it was.

“By the way, what does your master do most of the time? If he makes you do the housework, shopping, and even potion brewing, doesn’t it seem like he’s not doing anything himself?”

“Researching magic. That’s what mages do, right?”

It was certainly true that mages researched magic. But locking oneself indoors all day and not taking a single step outside was abnormal.
After all, no one besides Luna had ever seen her master.

“…I would like to meet your master someday.”

“Oh, that’s impossible. Absolutely impossible.”

Luna flatly refused.

“Because in this city, no one is supposed to know about me thanks to this amulet. If my master found out about you guys, I don’t know how he’d react. I might even be forbidden to go outside. So, I can’t introduce you to my master or anything like that.”

“Do you get along well with your master?”

I asked the question that had been bothering me.

“I think so. We’ve been together for about ten years, after all. He’s like my family. Well, I don’t really know what a real family is like, though.”

“I see. If you say so, then I guess it’s true.”

I couldn’t say anything. I didn’t know much about the relationship between the girl who knew nothing about family and the mage who bought her with money, but there was no trace of darkness on Luna’s face.

──

After leaving the tea shop, we waved goodbye to Luna as she headed back. Then we went to the apothecary.
It was the store where Luna delivers her potions.
The shop was closed, but we didn’t hesitate to open the door and enter.

“Did you properly introduce yourself, Rato-sama?”

Luciana, who was inside, asked while grinning.
She was the one who advised me to introduce myself to Luna before talking to her.

“…I did.”

“In that case, did Luna-chan talk to you properly?”

“…Well, I suppose.”

It was frustrating to admit, but acknowledging my mistakes is also a part of magnanimity.
I had been cared for by an attendant since birth, so I couldn’t be overly arrogant with Luciana.
The reason I became interested in Luna was because of a report from Luciana.
She said that there was a female disciple mage around my age among the mages she was investigating. She was different from other girls and seemed interesting.
So, I received a magic ring from Luciana that nullified magical influences and went to meet the girl. Due to that amulet, nobody could recognize her without the help of something like this ring.
However, when we met, I was bombarded with words I had never heard in my life.
It was quite a shocking experience.

I consulted with Luciana, and she scolded me, saying, ‘Rato-sama, you’re always fooling around with women, so that’s why you received such a scolding from Luna.’

“What is your impression of her?”

“She’s got good looks. She’s smart. And her personality… while rude, I guess you could say it’s charming.”

“That’s quite high praise coming from you, Rato-sama.”

Luciana laughed cheerfully.

“I also think highly of Luna-sama, sister.”

Killian, who was standing behind us, said. Killian is Luciana’s younger brother.

“If Killian says so, then it must be true.”

Luciana said, smiling kindly at him. She was quite doting on her younger brother.

“However, when I had tea and talked with Luna, I couldn’t find out how much she knows about her master. She emphasized that she was learning ordinary magic, but I wonder what she’s actually being taught.”

“She doesn’t seem to be very forthcoming about that. But if she was truly learning only ordinary magic, she wouldn’t hide it. So, if she’s hiding it, then perhaps she is…”

“A necromancer?”

Necromancy is a form of magic that involves communication with or manipulation of the dead or spirits. Originally, it was a form of magic used to communicate with the dead to learn about the past or the future, but over time, it transformed into a magic that can control the dead themselves, and it was believed that one could transcend death itself through it.
However, the method of achieving such transcendence was problematic.
It involved transforming oneself into a vampire. Vampires were beings akin to the worst kind of monsters.
In ancient times, our ancestors rebelled and pushed the Asuras to the brink of annihilation.
But those who specialized in necromancy among the Asura transformed into beings that surpassed vampires and became the immortal kings who fought against our ancestors, inflicting catastrophic damage.
As a result, the legends portrayed vampires with red eyes. This misconception led to the persecution of the entire Asura race.
After that, magic itself was considered taboo, but that notion gradually eased. Now magic is generally accepted. However, necromancy is still considered taboo. Only those who study magic are aware of this. If the general public knew, they might misunderstand all magic to be dangerous.

“Do we have any evidence that she’s a necromancer yet?”

“Powerful barriers are set around her residence. If we approach carelessly, they might notice us. On the other hand, we don’t know what traps are in and around the house, so it’s difficult to intrude.”

“…Why do you think Luna became his disciple?”

“If the mage in that mansion is a necromancer, it’s likely for the ritual of the Immortal King.”

There is a significant difference between a mere vampire and its transcended version, the Immortal King.
Vampires are weak against sunlight and silver weapons and would die if their hearts were pierced. They are not truly immortal.
However, Immortal Kings have none of these weaknesses. They could still be defeated, but they have no clear weaknesses.
If one were an Asura, they could potentially become an Immortal King by simply becoming a vampire. However, for someone who is not an Asura, to become an Immortal King, they would need to become a vampire first and then suck the blood of an Asura to take their life force.

“When will this ritual take place? You said they’ve been living together for ten years already.”

“Perhaps her master, the man named Khan, has not yet reached that level. Or maybe the Asura sacrifice needs to have a corresponding amount of magic power or ability. Or both, even.”

Being a skilled mage herself, Luciana was leading the investigation into Khan.

“Did he make Luna his apprentice to increase her magic power as a sacrifice?”

“The ritual is meant to make up for the gap in magic power between us and the Asuras. So that could be the case.”

Luciana said with a bitter expression.

“When do you think the ritual will take place?”

“The goal is immortality, so there’s no hurry. From past examples, mages often begin the ritual when they’re nearing the end of their life…”

I felt relieved. According to Luna, Khan isn’t that old.
Even if Khan is a necromancer, the ritual would still be some time away.