~Chapter 29~
“The smell of the plague that’s been spreading in the village is coming from here. This is definitely the source.”
Hwan was the triplet with exceptional sensory abilities, particularly his sense of smell.
Through his olfactory senses, he could discern not only disease but also deaths caused by poison.
His ability was often put to small, practical uses in daily life as well.
Checking if ingredients had spoiled, judging the ripeness of cheese, or figuring out if last winter’s pickles were ready to be taken out.
To make a comparison… it was like being the fantasy world version of Jang-geum’s role?
In the original work, there was one famous anecdote (?) about him.
It was when a wealthy family from a neighboring province threw a lavish party, claiming they had discovered a sunken ship off their coast and found wine that had been hidden for nearly 200 years.
Hwan, attending as a distinguished guest at the time, smelled the wire seal around the wine cork and immediately recognized it as a fake, greatly embarrassing the wealthy man.
—
*Huh? This seems like it’s only about 20 years old at most.*
*…….*
—
Back then, the Kinzello family seriously considered getting him a job as an appraiser or authenticator at a wine auction house or similar place.
—
*This line of work seems more suitable for you than necromancy-related jobs.*
*What are you talking about?! I’m the man who will become the Lich King!*
—
Of course, it fell through because he stubbornly refused…
While everyone was focused on Hwan.
“How on earth did you find this place?”
Theodore asked sharply, addressing everyone.
“I have the ability to read the memories of the dead.”
In response, Ivyn calmly explained the situation.
The story of raiding the abandoned mine to save the workers in Cory Village, and how she, waiting outside, coincidentally caught a fleeing elite goblin, peered into its memory, and thus discovered this location.
“Then, the letter the farmer brought…?”
“I thought we needed a witness to prove our family wasn’t involved in this case. I’m sorry for deceiving you, Sir Knight.”
“…….”
Theodore looked at Ivyn once, then back at the magic circle drawn on the floor.
He seemed to be sorting things out in his head.
“Prove you’re not involved…? But from what I see, there doesn’t seem to be any such evidence here.”
“A necromancer raises the dead; they don’t do *this* with corpses.”
John suddenly interjected into their conversation.
“Even if they are the enemy’s corpses.”
*This.*
The ‘this’ John pointed to referred to the act of chopping corpses into several pieces to use as ritual materials.
“You should know well enough that the power we use is the power of darkness, right? This circle is drawn with dark magic.”
The one who chimed in with a sneer was Dun.
“Perhaps. It hasn’t been precisely revealed what kind of power you guys are using in the background yet.”
Theodore retorted coldly.
He still couldn’t extinguish the spark of suspicion.
“This… seems like the work of a specific secret organization.”
It was then that Ivyn interjected.
“What?”
It wasn’t just the holy knight who was startled by her sudden statement.
The Kinzello triplets also looked at her with slightly bewildered eyes.
“How do *you* know that?”
Now it was Ivyn’s turn to do ‘it.’
She slightly furrowed her fine brows and spoke clearly.
“……I saw it through the elite goblin’s memory.”
*A lie.*
“They were people with strange red tattoos below their wrists. That’s all I saw.”
In truth, she knew about that organization for another reason.
Because they appeared in a side story of the original novel.
*The Dark Oath.* They were a secret group that studied forbidden ancient dark magic, moving to seize power in the human world using that power.
The rock golems they encountered at the cave entrance were also one of their bioweapon samples, created through human body modification using magic.
*’Of course, the holy knight doesn’t know the identity of the secret group now. How could he? They appear in the original work only after his love line with the Saintess is established.’*
At that time, they even pass themselves off as a research group under the Kinzello family.
It was the scene in the original work that cemented the Necromancer family’s position as complete ‘evil.’
A vicious group that left remnants behind even after the family’s destruction to threaten the times…!
“So, there’s no proof that your words aren’t false either.”
“But…!”
Just as Ivyn was about to protest the holy knight’s cold conclusion, John spoke up.
“You can keep suspecting us if you want. Anyway, the most important thing right now is to quickly resolve the current situation.”
—
*……Even if the Empire and the Holy State don’t cooperate, we must do our best in our own way. The family’s reputation is important, but above all, we must save people.*
—
The will of the family head, Dylan Kinzello.
The triplets couldn’t attend the meeting directly but heard their father’s message through Bill.
“…….”
Theodore, who had been looking at him with cold eyes the whole time, relaxed his expression slightly.
It seemed he couldn’t refute the statement that human lives came first.
“……Fine. We’ll settle the disputes later.”
“Now you’re finally making sense.”
Theodore looked at the Kinzello brothers one by one with a composed expression.
His gaze held a warning, as if telling them not to try anything foolish.
“You, work together to dismantle the magic circles. I will purify the corpses.”
Perfectly timed, the group of soldiers arrived at the dungeon’s dead-end chamber.
The soldiers immediately prepared for close combat with the necromancers but soon lowered their weapons at Theodore’s icy command.
“We purify the corpses first.”
“Huh? But……”
“That’s an order.”
“……Yes, Sir Knight.”
The soldiers hesitated for a moment but soon began splashing holy water around the severed head in an orderly manner.
*Whoosh.*
Theodore ignited a pure white, blazing flame.
‘……*Holy Flame*!’
Ivyn’s blue eyes also reflected the rising white flames.
It was one of Theodore’s frequently appearing skills in the novel.
The sacred flame that purifies evil.
Like pure white sleet, the flames scattered downward, downward.
“Goddess of Sacred Light, grant me the strength to confront the shadows that stain the world with darkness……”
The Holy Flame clung to the cursed skull, which continuously oozed a viscous liquid.
The sacred flame erased the bloodstains around it, and just when it seemed the medium would finally be destroyed…
*Ssssss…*
“……!”
The fire went out.
No, saying the Holy Flame *guttered out* was more appropriate.
Where the white flames disappeared, the cursed medium still lay intact.
“Wha… what on earth is this……”
The soldiers murmured.
They seemed to be experiencing this for the first time.
Was something wrong?
Why did the purification fail?
“…….”
At that moment, the most noteworthy thing was Theodore’s face.
His face, drained of all color, stiffened like a plaster statue.
A complex mix of emotions passed over his face like storm clouds.
“It seems we need to move the corpse to the Holy State. Prepare for it.”
“……!”
His words meant one thing.
He was saying they would leave the purification to the Saintess, a fragment of the goddess.
It was then.
“Pahahahak!”
In the midst of the serious atmosphere, while everyone was silent, a frivolous burst of laughter erupted.
“What’s this? You acted all high and mighty by yourself, but can’t even do this?”
As John and Hwan sneered, Dun next to them solemnly mimicked Theodore’s earlier line with a grave attitude.
“It seems we need to move the corpse to the Holy State. Prepare for it.”
What followed were snickering, mocking sounds.
“…….”
Theodore seemed to feel no need to react to such low-level provocation and maintained a silent composure.
This was in stark contrast to the soldiers below him, who were glaring at the Kinzello triplets with raging anger.
Finally, unable to bear it any longer, Ivyn urgently looked for Obok.
“Obok, what are you doing? Hurry up and calm your brothers down.”
“Why?”
“……?”
“It’s fun.”
“…….”
That’s it.
It’s better to talk to the Holy State soldiers instead.
Ivyn quickly changed her conversation partner.
“Uh, how can we help? This… you’ll need transport, right? We’ll lend you one of our wyverns. Haha… Hurry up and get ready, prepare.”
—
The day after discovering the source of infection in the cave.
The village, which had been empty and short-handed, began to bustle with rare vitality.
This was because the undead raised by the triplets had swarmed in to aid in the village’s quarantine and reconstruction efforts.
“Grrrk, Grrrk.”
“Oh my, they’re so strong.”
The undead not only transported patients and tirelessly carried medicine bottles and other supplies regardless of volume or weight but also roamed every corner of the village, performing cleaning and disinfection tasks.
The fact that they had no risk of infection even with direct contact with patients was a huge advantage.
Moreover, the undead obtained from the goblin mine demonstrated exceptional talent in civil engineering work, based on their experience of establishing a racial settlement in the mine.
*Tap tap, tap tap.*
With nimble handiwork, they built the lacking barracks, reconstructed the quarantine area, made carts, broke them, reassembled them, repaired the fences around the village…
Above all, there was one powerful move that captured the hearts of the villagers.
“My goodness, you won’t find workers like that anywhere else……”
It was the fact that the undead didn’t eat, excrete, or sleep!
There was no need to prepare meals for them, so food supplies didn’t dwindle. There was no need to build separate toilets, making it hygienic, and they didn’t require lodging either.
Thus, the villagers, who initially watched the undead with feelings of disgust, began to feel a deep fondness for them as time passed.
Their perspective on them had done a complete 180-degree turn.
