The Necromancer Commands Slaves, Not Undeads

15 – The Freud Territory

Stepping inside the city gates, while it wasn’t as bustling as Elia territory, the city was filled with people.

For people traveling between the south and east, Freud territory served as a crucial midpoint.

Even if traveling from south to east by carriage via the road, it would take a long journey exceeding two months.

In such a journey, a place to rest would naturally be teeming with travelers and merchants.

Freud territory was such a place. Thus, it had more facilities developed for travelers than other cities.

In order to control the floating population, there were guards patrolling the streets as well.It looked plentiful.

On a dazzling afternoon when the sun was streaming, raising your head would welcome the bright blue from the clear skies above the castle wall into your sight.

“I shall take my leave for now.”

A merchant youth named Gilbert smiled as he looked at me and the black wolf before bowing his head.

“Take care. If you ever need protection, just call.”

The black wolf patted Gilbert, as if understanding.

“You have worked hard.”

I gently spoke to Gilbert. Dorothy, who stood next to me, also waved at Gilbert.

The mercenaries expressed their gratitude and said their goodbyes. Gilbert held his head down for a while until everyone had finished greeting.

Lastly, Gilbert slowly lifted his head and opened his mouth with an apologetic look towards Dorothy.

“I’m sorry for what happened last time. I panicked when I faced those runaway slaves and ended up saying things that hurt you. This might sound like an excuse, but···”

He had then told Dorothy to hand over the slaves to him. He knew she was a slave and earnestly asked me to hand her over, promising to pay the price for her.

This apology seemed to be about that. Perhaps the guilt he had been feeling ever since had caused Gilbert to be uncomfortable for a while.

Dorothy lowered her head and then spoke to him.

“It’s okay.”

She smiled a little while she spoke.

“It’s better to part with smiles. It’s good for both of us.”

It looked like she’s already forgiven him for what happened. To the young man drenched with feelings of guilt, she said to smile.

“Smile too when we meet again.”

At her words, Gilbert gave an awkward smile. Then, he began to slowly lead away the horse and carriage.

“Thank you all!”

The robust voice of the merchant youth gradually disappeared into the distance, leaving only the black wolf, the mercenaries, and us behind.

“Our Mercenary Guild’s headquarters is here. So, the sub-junior and I have homes here.”

“Really?”

“We can introduce you to an inn, or you can sleep at our house. What do you want to do, magician?”

“Mr. Black Wolf, are you unmarried?”

“Yes.”

I heard that and laughed before replying,

“I’ll sleep at the inn.”

At that, the black wolf looked at me questioningly.

“What’s the relationship between me being unmarried and you sleeping at an inn?”

“Someone whose job is to leave home, living alone without even marrying, how cozy could it be? Probably be like a pigsty.”

The black wolf looked at me, his expression struck.

“If you go, because the house is a bit dirty, you’ll have to do some cleaning. Maybe you’d even serve Mr. Black Wolf like this.”

“That’s why I hate quick-witted kids. The inn I recommend is over there. Stay and food combined is 5 copper coins a day.”

“Thank you.”

“Wait there. My underling and I will be there after we sort out our stuff. You guys are coming for a drink, right?”

At that, the mercenaries all nodded and smiled one after the other.

“Of course. Boss.”

“We’ve rushed tirelessly to escort today, it would be a pity not to drink.”

“Oh, I thought you would have to spend time with your family…!”

I took in their appearances and also smiled.

“Then Dorothy and I will wait at the inn. Let’s go ahead, Dorothy.”

“I want a bath.”

“Let’s have a bath as soon as we arrive.”

We then said “see you later” to the mercenaries and entered the inn that the black wolf had recommended.

The inn bore a poetic and sentimental name – The Night Sky.

There weren’t many people sitting in the hall, maybe because it was still daylight.

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Upon opening the door, we were greeted by a man who looked like a servant but didn’t match the Ghost’s poetic name.

“Hey, what brings you kids here? What can we do for you today at our inn?”

“We’d like to stay for a while.”

We were going to be boarding.Upon hearing that we were willing, the innkeeper tilted his head in confusion.

“You two?”

Both Dorothy and I appeared to be young children who still needed adult supervision than travelers. Thus, it was not surprising for the innkeeper to react in such a manner.

“Yes. Is there a problem?”

I asked him in return, and he shook his head.

“There’s no issue as long as you have money.”

I pulled out a gold coin from my pocket and proffered it to him.

“I’ll pay all at once when I check out.”

He bit into the gold coin to verify its authenticity. The clear bite mark alleviated his worries.

With the coin in his hand, he smiled delightedly.

“About the meals?”

“We’re okay. We’ll eat later. Please allow us to unpack and bathe first.”

“Alright.”

He handed me the room key, marked with the number 202.

I absentmindedly accepted the key and was about to walk away when I felt an odd sensation and stopped in my tracks.

“There is only one key to the room?”

“So?”

The innkeeper responded nonchalantly as he counted the money.

“I would like to rent two rooms…”

I sighed as I spoke. Throughout the journey, Dorothy and I often had to stay together due to circumstances.

Now, however, we were adolescents on the cusp of puberty.

I had already experienced puberty in the context of my former life and I knew how overwhelming the s*xual urges of a teen male could be.

Was terrified of what I might do to Dorothy in a moment of lustful insanity.

“The bed at our inn is wide, you’ll be fine.”

“That’s not the problem…”

“Even if you want to book another room, there’s no other option. All the other rooms are occupied. I will let you know when a room is available. Stay together for today.”

I glanced at Dorothy. She appeared to find our conversation tedious and was instead wandering around the inn.

We could look for another inn, but since the innkeeper said he would inform us when there was a vacancy…

I sighed and shook my head in acceptance.

That is how we resolved the room situation. The innkeeper then prepared a bath, and Dorothy decided to bathe first.

“Dorothy should go first.”

I asked Dorothy to bathe first and, meanwhile, opened a translation that I hadn’t looked at in a while.

“Let’s see, last time…”

I had learned about multiple commandments. There were no blocks during my studies with the translated text.

Whether I was talented or the magic was easier since I got the spirit…

Anyway, I read the next chapter.

‘If you have learned multiple commandments, you, as a commandment user, can consider that you have mastered the basics.’

‘But they are only basics. The power to handle souls isn’t all about reviving and fighting corpses. The real goal of necromancy is to understand the three worlds and dwell on death concerning the world.’

‘What will be described next is about how to awaken the soul of an animal other than a human.’

All the souls I have awakened were human in their lifetime.

‘If only those who have similar appearance and intelligence as you have awakened among the souls you have raised, it is because your voice to wake them up did not reach other animals.’

‘Awakening an animal with a different language and intelligence is a very difficult activity. Was it not difficult enough for us to communicate our thoughts to animals we confronted when they were alive?’

‘But if there is one thing in common between them and us, it is instinct. Animals all have one thing in common. That is emotion.’

‘Animals are all sad, happy, delighted, and anxious. It is the most common and essential capability and instinct in animals.’

‘So despite different looks, language, intelligence, all animals…”Souls are able to resonate and communicate with each other.’

I began to tear my eyes into the sentences of the translation.

‘The way to awaken them is not with language, but with emotion. When their souls are drawn to you, give voice to emotions laden with feelings, then their souls will resonate with that emotion and willingly lend you its power.’

I closed the translation. I gathered that voices laden with emotion could awaken something other than humans….

Although it was described in abstract terms, I thought I could understand the content.

If I had the chance, I’d have to test it out.

So, I sat hunched over at the inn’s table until Dorothy finished her shower.