Chapter 33
“Then, I’ll summon him.”
Richmond began chanting a spell.
Ssshhh—
At the same time, condensed magic power gathered around him.
Now I understand why Ludwig called his magic gloomy and damp.
Like she had felt before, every wizard’s magic had its own unique “wave.”
Richmond’s magic felt… cool to the touch, slightly damp, dark, and sharp all at once.
While Ariella was thinking that, Richmond kept chanting.
It was very different from the spells he had cast before.
This one took much longer to chant, and the magic waves were deeper and more intense.
The sight burned into Ariella’s mind like a stamp. She was so focused that even her breathing became quiet.
“Hm?”
Behind her, Ludwig seemed to notice something.
“It’s begun,” he said seriously.
At first, it looked like the grass on a grave was just swaying in the wind.
But after a while, the changes became obvious — the soil started to shift.
At first it was just a faint vibration, but then it began to heave and writhe like boiling water.
Pop!
Ariella flinched without meaning to.
A hand burst out from the middle of the grave!
It was half-decayed, covered in black dirt — a corpse’s hand.
Geru!
Following the hole he made, an arm reached out.
The hand waved in the air as if looking for something to grab, then gripped the ground.
Grrr—!
Under the torn flesh, white bone scraped against the dirt.
Then the other hand came up to help push the body out.
“Haha, success!” Richmond’s voice was full of satisfaction.
The three of them watched as the dead man crawled out of the grave.
“Grrr…!”
If the orc soldiers they had seen before were skeletons, then Geru was a zombie.
Maybe demons decayed slower than humans.
Head, shoulders, chest, hips, and legs…
Once his whole body was out, the corpse bent its knees and stood.
Ariella immediately thought:
Something’s different.
Not only did he look different from skeletons, but the magic surrounding his body felt denser.
And those eyes!
Even though the eyeballs were clouded white, she could feel his piercing gaze.
Strictly speaking, it wasn’t a gaze — it was ghost light.
A faint, eerie glow burned in them, like a blue will-o’-the-wisp.
“I… I am…”
Everyone stared in silence as Geru spoke.
“…I am one who, long ago, was… cut off… from the living world…”
His voice was rough and broken, like a damaged clockwork doll.
“Who dares… to break the laws… and awaken me… from eternal rest?”
The dead man sounded confused.
Richmond stepped forward.
“Geru! Do you remember me?”
“You…”
The newly awakened zombie stared at the ancient skeleton.
Richmond wasn’t using his disguise spell — this was his real skeletal form. Geru had never seen him like this when he was alive.
But Geru still seemed to recognize him.
“…You’re that unpleasant customer… who sometimes came to our shop… and bought only the weirdest ingredients…? That was you, Rich?”
Richmond chuckled.
“You never guessed when I was alive, huh? Now let me introduce myself properly — I am Richmond, servant of Demon King Ludwig.”
He pointed to Ludwig behind him, and Geru turned to look.
“Demon… King?”
It was clear he had never heard of Ludwig before.
“He took the throne after your death. And this lady here is his contract partner — she has something to say to you.”
That was Ariella’s cue.
“My name is Ariella Kapelle Oinos, contract partner to Demon King Ludwig,” she said.
She skipped the whole “nice to meet you” thing.
What was the right greeting for someone who had just come back from the dead, anyway? Was he “well” while he was gone? Probably not.
Instead, she got straight to the point.
“I’ll be blunt.”
Geru tilted his head.
“How about… since you’re alive again… you try getting a new job?”
“…What?”
Ariella spoke quickly, like she’d rehearsed it.
“I’ve heard you were famous for your skills, with lots of experience and a great reputation.”
Silence.
“Someone like you staying dead is a loss — for you and for the world. We revived you because we want to hire you in the Demon King’s Domain.”
Geru just stared at her, as if wondering if he heard wrong.
“…How… long… has it been… since I died? Did the meaning of the word ‘hire’… change while I was gone?”
Richmond shook his head.
“It’s the same as you remember.”
“We value you highly, Mr. Geru. Even if you’ve been… uh… unavailable for about a year, your talent is worth bringing back immediately.”
Finally realizing this wasn’t a joke, Geru trembled all over and shouted:
“Impossible!”
His roar echoed in the night.
“You… woke me from my rest… for that?”
Richmond had warned her that the desires of the dead were not the same as the living.
Geru wasn’t thankful at all for being revived.
“I just wanted to rest! You stubborn, relentless people!”
He was outraged.
Alive, he had retired long ago. Dead, he had gone to the afterlife… and now they wanted to work him again?
It was unthinkable.
“This… is terrifying. Truly terrifying…!”
He shook with disbelief.
“Are you saying… I should work without rest… in life and in death?”
Then he shouted, as if deciding:
“No! I’d rather go back to my grave!”
And he meant it — the zombie actually started heading back toward the grave he had crawled out of.
But he didn’t get far.
Grab!
“What are you doing?!” he yelled.
“Wait! Hear me out first!”
Geru was startled.
Ariella had grabbed both his ankles with her hands, stopping him from going back.
Her fingers wrapped like a trap around the decayed ankle bone.
Acting on pure instinct, she pulled — like a tug-of-war.
The zombie tried to get into his grave, the human tried to keep him out.
Ludwig turned his head away.
This woman is definitely insane.
Geru clawed at the dirt in frustration.
“Let go! You devil!”
“The devil’s over there — I’m human! Just listen to the offer first! I’m not asking you to work for free.”
“I’m dead! Nothing you offer matters!”
He was about to declare that no food, honor, or money could tempt him when—
“Monthly salary: 30,000 sel!”
“…!”
The stubborn zombie froze.
“Th… thirty… thousand?”
“Yes!”
His attempt to crawl back into the grave stopped immediately.
He took the bait! Ariella cheered inside.
She released his ankle and held up three fingers.
“Thirty. Thousand. Sel,” she said slowly.
Geru didn’t answer right away.
He just lay there, looking back at her over his shoulder in an awkward pose.
“…”
An odd silence fell over the cemetery.
The power of money was stronger than death.
