~Chapter 15~
“An epidemic? Where did you hear that rumor?”
As the word ‘epidemic’ came up, a large buzz arose among the people.
“Merchants who recently traveled to the eastern region talked about it. Seems it started in Cori Village.”
“I heard the lord’s soldiers, who were on an expedition for training, suddenly returned without notice.”
“Then who’s guarding the border? Can a lord just withdraw troops like that on a whim? Isn’t there any movement from the central government?”
A middle-aged merchant with a noticeably worried expression opened his mouth.
“I heard the Holy See immediately dispatched a relief team? They’re isolating and caring for the patients. They say Saintess Pavella assembled holy knights as soon as she heard the news. She’s truly an amazing person.”
As one middle-aged woman mentioned Saintess Pavella, voices praising her and whispers of prayers quickly spread around.
Then, someone cautiously spoke up.
“From what I heard… they say the Kinzello family is behind this epidemic…”
“What nonsense? Why would the Kinzello family? The eastern border region isn’t even Kinzello family territory, is it?”
“Ha! This person is asking for trouble with such talk. A founding family, one called the Shield of the Imperial Family. Don’t flap your loose mouth carelessly.”
“Hey now, such rumors are no good. Walls have ears. Let’s stop now. Anyway, commercial travel to the eastern region will be difficult for a while, so you all know that.”
The city guards patrolling the commercial district approached the group around the time the conversation was wrapping up.
“What are you all doing gathered here at the height of business hours?”
That one sentence was enough to disperse the merchants.
The people who had been chattering this and that soon put on obedient expressions and swiftly returned to their respective livelihoods.
While negative opinions prevailed on the scene, people who harbored even the slightest suspicion in their hearts had begun to appear.
“Hey, Gella,” one of the women heading towards the brewery called her friend quietly.
“Hmm?”
“But… is the Kinzello family really involved in this incident?”
Wasn’t the Kinzello family originally one that dealt in necromancy?
If those who raise the dead to form armies suddenly needed a large number of soldiers…
“Shh, let’s keep quiet for now. The Holy See’s forces have been dispatched, so they’ll figure something out soon.”
“Let’s not wag our tongues unnecessarily.”
“……”
Amidst the crowd dispersing in fragments, one person moved their steps alone in secrecy.
The man in merchant attire with a handlebar mustache entered an old tavern.
*Creak.*
Opening the door with rusty hinges, he approached a stranger wearing a hood and drinking at the bar, acting as if he knew them.
“I dropped a match fire.”
“Mhm.”
The hooded figure nodded lightly.
Match fire.
A small spark dropped in a crowded place causes a tremendous accident.
Not a tragedy caused by the spread of fire, but a tragedy caused by humans transmitting fear to one another.
“There’s no more effective means of inciting the masses than planting a public enemy.”
The middle-aged man wiped the wine from his mustache and tightly sealed his lips.
The question of ‘Is this alright?’ had long since disappeared from his heart. No, it had to have disappeared.
‘Because I’ve come too far to feel the pangs of conscience.’
The puppet on strings only needed to move according to the puppeteer’s will. If that was the only way to satisfy my god.
* * *
More than a month had already passed since Ivyn’s ‘Necromancy Intensive Training’ began.
During that time, Ivyn achieved growth at an astonishing speed.
Of course, she hadn’t adapted smoothly to the lessons from the start.
Despite inheriting the blood of a necromancer family, unlike her other brothers, she had lived with that power forcibly suppressed.
However, as time passed and her understanding of ‘Tenebris’ increased, her learning speed gradually began to accelerate.
‘Wow, this is my first time experiencing abilities growing rapidly just as I intend them to.’
In comparison, how inefficient was her previous life?
In her school days, it was about getting into a prestigious university; somehow getting into college, it was about getting good grades; somehow breaking through insane competition to get a job, it was about performance reviews, personnel evaluations, etc., trying to get good evaluations…
Of course, it wasn’t that she didn’t try. She tried desperately.
The problem was that most Koreans lived that same way.
Everyone living diligently without cooldowns led to raising the so-called ‘God-tier life’ standard to an enormously high average, but…
‘The output relative to the input didn’t come out as much as I wanted… But this life is different! The efficiency is different! It feels like putting premium gasoline into a super high-end car!’
As a result, hadn’t she, who was merely a non-mage just a month ago, now become a proper Tenebris wielder?
“It seems you can now imbue Tenebris with intent and give it form.”
Ron said with a pleased smile, watching Ivyn squish a black slime she had created on her palm.
“Shouldn’t we gradually move to the next stage?”
Vil, sitting on his phantom steed and scribbling something, responded.
What he was writing was something akin to Ivyn’s growth log. On the very first page, it was written in ancient runes: [The World’s Easiest Essence Education: How to Raise a Necromancer Sprout].
“Indeed. I heard even Cal, the most outstanding among our brothers, took half a year to move to the next stage.”
“Weren’t the good genes supposed to be concentrated in the firstborn?”
“I believed that too. Before seeing Vinnie being so exceptional.”
“At this rate, she’ll soon surpass Cal. I wonder what reaction Brother, who has nothing but pride, will show when he finds out.”
“Cal will have to call Vinnie ‘Hyung-nim’ or something.”
“Well. Does the hierarchy here flow by age? The stronger one is the hyung-nim.”
Just imagining the stubborn gentleman calling the youngest ‘hyung-nim’ seemed very amusing, as Vil and Ron chuckled at each other for a while.
“Vinnie, let’s go in now. It’s snack time.”
“Okay.”
Ivyn, who scattered the Tenebris slime squirming on her palm into bits, quickly ran to her brothers.
“Our Vinnie takes after me, she’s a genius, a genius.”
Ron muttered with a benevolent expression as if looking at his own child, stroking Vinnie’s head.
“No, you’re wrong, Ron.”
“…?”
“Our Vinnie takes after me, she’s a *manjae*, a prodigy.”
“…”
“…”
That evening.
Dylan, who received Ivyn’s learning log from Vil, promptly summoned Ivyn to his office.
“Vinnie, I think it’s about time for some experiential learning.”
Ivyn tilted her head sideways quizzically.
Experiential learning? Does that exist here too?
“According to Vil’s report, you’ve become somewhat capable of handling Tenebris.”
“Yes, that’s true but…”
“Before a necromancer handles undead, they must first become accustomed to freely shaping and dissolving forms by combining intent with Tenebris. And there is one master who is exceptional in that field.”
“Can’t we invite that person here?”
“The situation is such that it’s not possible…”
Dylan evasively trailed off.
What about the situation?
“You’ll understand when you see for yourself. Don’t worry about your safety.”
“I know now. That you’ve placed strong protective shields around me.”
“Oh ho, already?”
“Of course. Ron and Vil oppa even called me a genius prodigy.”
“Hahaha, that’s right. Our Vinnie is a genius and a prodigy!”
* * *
A few days later.
Ivyn set off for experiential learning in the eastern region of the empire.
“Wow, a wyvern…!”
The black wyvern soared into the sky at tremendous speed, kicking up hot sand winds, then slowly descended again.
It seemed to be the transportation that would take her to the training site.
“Our maknae! Make sure to give mid-trip reports with the communication necklace! Okay?”
“Okay.”
“Vinnie, you have to tell Dad you love him too!”
“…I love you!”
“Squirrel, you have to make a heart for your oppas too! A heart above your head!”
Although reluctant, Ivyn, feeling shy, obediently followed their instructions.
“Kyaa! So, so cute!”
Even to the cliché poses, the hot gallery’s enthusiastic response.
However.
Amidst that commotion, there was one person watching her with an exceptionally calm expression: Cal Kinzello.
“Vinnie, there’s a fare for riding the Black Wyvern.”
“Ah… how much is it?”
“But what to do, Vinnie? Yours is specially free.”
“…Why?”
In an atmosphere where it seemed she had to ask again, she forced herself to ask.
“Because angels are free.”
“…”
For a moment, something surged inside her, but Ivyn held it back well again this time. It seemed her tolerance for cringe had risen along with her affinity for Tenebris over the past month.
Ivyn gave her eldest brother an ambiguous smile and quickly wrapped her arms around Ron’s waist.
It seemed her desire to escape this situation, experiential learning or not, was as strong as a chimney.
“Oppa, let’s go quickly.”
“Don’t you want to say more goodbyes?”
“I’m done. Let’s go, hurry.”
If she stayed here any longer, she felt her energy would drain before even arriving at the training site.
“Alright. We’re really departing now!”
**Kiiieeeek!**
As Ron pulled the wyvern’s reins, a loud monstrous cry echoed through the air.
With a few beats of the wyvern’s wings, the Kinzello estate soon shrank to the size of a fingernail and then disappeared into a dot.
*Whoosh.*
Cool air brushed past the siblings’ purple hair.
As Ivyn felt her slightly chilled nose tip and lowered her gaze again, she saw blue grasslands, forests, and sparkling streams spread out below.
‘So beautiful…’
*Thump thump.*
Her heart suddenly felt like it was beating stronger.
It felt like, somehow, the real adventure was starting now.
She buried her face in Ron’s broad back and closed her eyes for a moment.
Thinking she could fly like this for hours and be nothing but happy.
