NOVEL NEXT WORLD Chapter 50
– 1 –
“It’s a party for Counts. You’ve done better than I expected, Leonis.”
The report I received about the noble families participating in the party, which I had instructed Leonis to investigate, came exactly two weeks after my return from outing to rescue Serika.
– Normally, your status shouldn’t allow for this kind of thing, but it’s fortunate they are using the claim of gathering talents from all social classes this time.
“Even if opportunities are left to luck, it’s a skill to seize them when they arise. You’ve done well.”
– … You monster…
Leonis, who had been staring at my face with a complicated expression for a moment, soon shook his head and returned to a serious face.
– The party is in a week, and I will contact you soon regarding the concept and dress code.
“Alright. Anything else you want to say?”
– … That is…
“Sonia will be going with me.”
– Ah… Thank you very much for that. Then, I’ll take my leave.
Watching as Leonis wore a face he disliked while trying to hide his excitement before turning away, I ended the communication.
He was quite the pure-hearted man.
In reality, Sonia would probably find it difficult to even recognize and accept the feeling of love due to her upbringing.
Because of her body that had stopped at her childhood state.
‘Wait. So, what about Leonis…’
I tried to cut off that thought. It was unnecessary, and after all, it was someone else’s love story.
… It just hadn’t gone as intended.
‘As an adult, wouldn’t there be no problem?’
Unless Sonia had lost interest upon seeing his grown-up appearance, that is.
‘… Surely that can’t be the case.’
If so, I might have to think about Leonis’s very survival.
That would be beyond pure love, and ultimately, the moment Sonia and Leonis are no longer hostages of each other would come.
“Ugh.”
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. I was just thinking some trivial thoughts. By the way, could you bring Sonia and Maria here?”
– Right away!
Evangeline stood tall as if responding to a report and immediately gestured to one of the skeletons, who saluted her and moved right away.
Watching that unfold, one thought crossed my mind.
‘I need to complete the communication magic too.’
It’s a spell that translates the thoughts of the summoned beings into words for communication.
It was an ambition I wanted to achieve, but its importance was relatively low, so it had been pushed back on my list of goals.
‘Making them speak is easy…’
Transforming intent into the language of souls is quite simple.
‘The problem is fixing that state.’
Because magical power, like all fluids, tends to maintain an average density.
When gathered and fixed, it generally tends to disperse again.
The most standard method to fix such magic and give it durability and self-repair capability is to create an artifact…
But artifacts are expensive.
If I aimed to create and provide artifacts for all summoned beings who gained intelligence, our dungeon’s finances would be shattered before I could even distribute half of them.
‘In the end, I need to find another way.’
The problem is finding subjects for that research.
‘The only ones viable for experimentation are ultimately my own.’
To test if the communication magic works, the subjects naturally have to be summoned beings with intelligence.
But since that kind of summoned being or materials for creating them are rare out there, selecting experimental subjects becomes troublesome.
‘There are other methods, though.’
Most summoned beings can be summoned as Cerebrum Skulls.
This way, there would be no issues with communication, but filling the entire dungeon’s power with them would be a foolish act for this reason alone.
Cerebrum Skulls require a significant amount of sustaining magic compared to their abilities, and their combat capability cannot be guaranteed.
Ultimately, securing summoned beings that can become experimental subjects seems like the best way…
“Do you have some worries, Lady?”
“Xue… It’s nothing much. I was just mulling over some magic.”
“Your worries, no matter what they are, are not small… I’d like you to consult me as well.”
“Thank you for your kind words.”
Lifting my head after hearing Xue’s words, I noticed Sonia and Maria had arrived in the room, and Evangeline was also looking at me with the same worried expression as Xue.
“Well then, learn well and help me out, the two of you.”
“No, that is…”
“… Yes. Understood, Master.”
“Thank you for your effort, Eve.”
– Right away!
After promptly letting the two know what they needed to learn from Eve, I sent them along and pondered while looking into Xue’s eyes, who was kneeling in front of me, gazing up intently.
‘Is there really a need to worry?’
It quickly dawned on me that it wouldn’t matter to just say it out loud.
Not because I thought Xue would spread my words elsewhere; even if no answer came, it wouldn’t be a loss.
At least, expressing it would lighten my heart.
“Communication magic…? Why are you thinking about that already…?”
However, the reaction that came immediately was this.
It felt like she had heard something she never expected, not because it was against common sense, but simply that it felt too soon to be worrying about it.
“Already? Ah, indeed, is it too early to be concerned about such trivial things?”
“No, it’s not that…”
Seeing her reaction, I voiced a reason that had come to mind, but Xue quickly shook her head and sat there with a contemplative look.
Then she said this.
“Lady. Would you like to meet another necromancer…?”
That was a response I had never considered from my side.
– 2 –
I sent Xue to contact the person first and provide an answer, then thought for a moment about the individual she intended to introduce.
[She’s a demon clan and a trustworthy person…]
Trust is gained through having proper abilities and showing them without deception, but ‘trust’ varies based on individual standards.
It made me a bit anxious that the very person who mentioned trust clung to me like a puppy upon seeing me, but at least she seems unlikely to harm me if she trusts her.
Considering her evaluations of being rather gruff with other lords, it means she’s not someone who would give trust away lightly.
‘Then, why to me… Ah, that’s not important.’
The important thing is the values of the entity that Xue intends to introduce.
If she’s a proper demon, there’s a high chance she has a value system that doesn’t align with mine.
‘She might not understand cherishing summoned beings or wanting to possess people. Well, still…’
It seems Xue wouldn’t introduce me to someone she couldn’t handle, so she would likely have deeper knowledge about necromancy while not being incredibly powerful or likely to harm others.
If it’s like that, even if it’s not a concern about communication magic, it could be helpful in other directions, so I welcomed the idea of meeting.
From what I heard, it didn’t seem like she was a dungeon lord either, so that wouldn’t make her a rival.
“Well then, I guess I’ll think about it later.”
– Clatter.
As soon as I muttered without expecting any particular answer, the emotional returns came back, and before I knew it, Axe had come over to my side.
It must have been Evangeline or Xue who couldn’t bear to see me alone.
“You. Do you know what I’m talking about and are just nodding along?”
– Clank!
When I asked, feeling a bit peevish, the guy froze with a ‘clink’ sound.
Surely he didn’t understand what I was saying at this point and was just mirroring me.
“It was a joke.”
– Clatter!
– Clack clack!
– Clomp clomp!
I said that with a smile again, and the fellow rubbed his forehead with his hand in relief.
His big size made his reactions larger, making it fun to tease him.
The playful guys making chuckling sounds beside him seemed to understand this as well. After receiving a hit each from Axe, they silently backed off, looking wary.
“You guys are still amusing.”
– Clap!
– Clatter!
My evaluation after witnessing a brief little act was met with similar grins from those guys.
The names of the two beside Axe were ‘Katar’ and ‘Hammer.’ It might sound a bit thoughtless, but they were appropriately named based on their characteristics carried from life to afterlife.
Both were specialized in a single type of weapon.
Katar was a type of dagger held and swung horizontally, and Hammer served as both a blunt weapon and an axe.
Since they matched their stats to be almost on par with the advanced level and kept the classes in line with their weapons, they had notably performed against adventurers in the last fight.
“By the way, looks like things are progressing well.”
– Clack?
– Clap?
“Gather the kids. It’s time to scout the area around.”
Saying I wanted to scout the area meant checking the status of nearby monsters and bandits in the dungeon and hunting to use them as offerings.
The wild monsters of this world, which have proliferated since past dungeons fell apart and escaped, seem to increase in number quickly, even when periodically cleaned.
Perhaps it’s because humans don’t inhabit areas very densely.
The cities have castles, and even villages must have walls piled up outside to live normally.
That being said, as the dungeon grows, the range of influence it can have also widens.
“I need to properly observe this area and record the terrain soon.”
To use this range strategically, I need to understand the surrounding ecology better.
Despite having gone into the city a few times, I can hardly say I’ve properly surveyed this area.
Of course, I know well the unusually peaceful hill where I stayed with Sonia.
– Clap!
– Clatter!
Having given my orders, the two jesters saluted before one went this way and the other went that way, and within just about 30 minutes, they returned to the dungeon entrance with a group of skeletons.
There were ten of them above the formal level and about twenty at the apprentice level.
That was roughly one-third of the total resident soldiers within our dungeon, and among them, those above the formal level, although roughly childlike, were all intelligent.
– Clatter clatter!
– Clunk!
Naturally, the sound of bones clacking filled the place where they gathered.
It was hard to definitively define the surge of emotions there as ‘this,’ but I could tell that the overall feeling was one of joy or happiness.
The differences from human children, I suppose, lie in their thorough loyalty and sense of duty.
– Crack!
– Clap!
As soon as I caught the gaze of one, all their eyes gathered, and with a single command-like sound, all held their posture at attention.
“There’s nothing to be tense about. I just want to check how this area is, and you all wait in the shadows and come out only at my command.”
– Crack!
The sight of my military standing firmly without any slack in their posture directed towards me truly looked elite straight as described.
Even though I spoke up like that, the soldiers maintained their form with their shoulders and hips aligned, showing no signs of faltering.
Whoever trained them did a fantastic job. Of course, I wasn’t the commander of that training.
“Alright then…”
– Clatter.
“Huh? What’s this…”
As I felt my heart warm seeing my troops assembled, one of the jesters, Katar, stepped forward from the front of the skeletons with something in his hand.
When I looked to see what it was, it appeared to be a long, black umbrella that would suit the clothes I was wearing.
“Thank you.”
– Clap!
Of course, the skin of a dungeon lord wouldn’t burn without an umbrella, but the blazing sun wouldn’t disappear entirely; it wouldn’t be completely useless.
However, it was more the thought behind picking it up during their gathering that made it heartwarming, causing a smile I couldn’t quite hold back.
“Let’s go. ‘Shadows of the Void’.”
Tap.
Whoosh!
As I unfolded the umbrella after receiving it and rolled my feet once, my assembled troops vanished without a trace.
‘Hmm. Still quite emotional, aren’t they?’
But within my mind and arcane senses, their presence still lingered, solidifying a sense of safety within me.
With that feeling, I set off to check the surroundings near the dungeon.
My first inspection of the land that would become my territory.
Yet the timing of this was already nearing three months since I came to this world, surpassing two.
– 3 –
“I’m honored to welcome a noble visitor. Queen of the Dungeon.”
“… It’s nice to meet you.”
And that afternoon, I encountered another queen who ruled over my territory, discovering the presence of bizarre queens who were cultivating their own hidden realms, each near my dungeon.
Revealed through one of the neighbors I had not known before, with their large wings.