Necromancer Of The Black Bible (136)

At Damian’s question, Cirrhnua gave the answer she had prepared until now.

“I will give you everything I have.”

“And what will you gain from that?”

“My safety. That is enough for me.”

Damian stroked his chin, weighing the terms she offered.

Then his face hardened and he spoke.

“That’s a bit troublesome.”

“If I do…”

Cirrhnua asked cautiously with a worried face.

“Do you want anything more from me?”

She was curious.

Even though she had offered everything she possessed, he was not satisfied.

Damian looked down at her and answered.

“By making a bargain with me you’ll secure your safety. You can remain here and gather strength as you have been. Meanwhile, I will continue my work.”

Damian’s observation was astute.

After all, that was what she wanted.

However, Damian shook his head and continued.

“For this deal to be balanced, you must give me one more thing.”

“…What is that?”

Cirrhnua asked with a stern face, and Damian answered briefly.

“You.”

Cirrhnua blinked and for a moment grasped the meaning.

Damian watched her and continued.

“If you become mine, I will give you what you desire. Can you accept that?”

Only then did Cirrhnua understand Damian’s intent.

Asking for herself meant becoming Damian’s subordinate.

It meant following Damian’s orders from now on.

If this were so, she could not remain a bystander in the coming battles; she would have to continue taking on assigned roles.

Understanding this, Cirrhnua nodded.

“I will.”

“Really?”

Damian was surprised by her ready answer, and Cirrhnua spoke more firmly.

“You will become the master of this world. As long as one belongs to the world, the master’s commands cannot be refused. I have been prepared for this since I have decided to serve you here.”

“Then can you swear this right here?”

Cirrhnua bowed her head and answered Damian’s question.

“I swear.”

Damian rose from his seat.

He then transformed Nocturne into a sword, placed it on Cirrhnua’s shoulder, and spoke.

“Today I appoint you my knight. Your life and power are mine, and my strength is boundless, so do not fear. We will rule this world.”

Cirrhnua quietly accepted the oath.

Damian alternately placed the sword on both her shoulders, then sheathed it and knelt on one knee.

He then asked Cirrhnua.

“Do you trust me?”

Cirrhnua’s eyes shone as she answered.

“I trust you.”

Damian looked into her eyes and spoke in a low voice.

“I still cannot trust you.”

When he finished speaking, a shackle appeared in Damian’s hand.

A shackle from the Wheel of Fortune—‘Freedom.’

Damian fastened the shackle around Cirrhnua’s neck and continued.

“When I can trust you, I will release this shackle.”

Cirrhnua answered calmly.

“You need not release it. With this I belong to you, and I am satisfied.”

Cirrhnua bowed deeply.

It was the moment Damian gained his second knight.

The capital of the Valkyr Empire, Edelmund.

At its center stood the Grand Mage Tower ‘Regio Magnus,’ called the Spire of Flame.

Deputy Towermaster Hyro was in the largest chamber just below the 20th and topmost floor of the Tower.

He usually enjoyed opening the window to gaze at the wide view, and because of this he was the first to notice that something odd had happened to Towermaster Leopold.

The magical aura he felt at the same time each day had ceased.

That was not all.

The barrier protecting the entire Tower had disappeared, and the pure mana that had always been abundantly supplied from underground was no longer felt.

For that reason Hyro had someone investigate the Eckhart family and learned that Leopold had been absent for a month already.

Hyro then asked contacts in the Imperial Palace about Leopold and the Eckhart family, and received this answer from them.

-We do not know much regarding Lord Leopold. However, something strange happened at the Academy not long ago. Lady Erisia of the Leopold line underwent something like an awakening and burned the entire training ground. Not only the ogres summoned for the exams but also nearby students and examiners were all burned. She then rode away through the west gate and, despite being wanted, has not been found.

It was an odd piece of news.

Counting the days, the day Lady Erisia disappeared coincided with the day Leopold’s rooms stopped showing presence.

It was from that moment Hyro decided to challenge for the Towermaster position.

He purchased large quantities of ‘Silvanite’ from the Viscount Grovebern, who defended the southern border, planning to use it to seize the Towermaster seat.

But even a week after the agreed date, Grovebern’s side had given no news.

‘What could have happened?’

Hyro sat in a rocking chair with elegant curves and antique patterns, staring out the window in thought.

The disappearance of the head and heir of the Eckhart family.

The vanished Tower barrier and the waning pure mana.

The loss of contact with Viscount Grovebern.

All these incidents were not to be taken lightly.

They were matters the Emperor should investigate as a top priority.

Yet the Empire was silent.

No one spoke Leopold’s name.

He had tried to obtain information via agents about this too, but none had arrived yet.

‘Should I investigate it personally?’

Hyro was a 6th-circle archmage.

Except for Leopold, no one could match him, but he lacked the nerve to use magic against the Imperial Palace.

The palace had three court mages who rivaled him.

Telsio, the mage of Lightning.

Helion, the mage of Radiance.

Dolman, the mage of Gravity.

They were the ones.

None of them equaled Towermaster Leopold.

But they each had skills comparable to Hyro.

Due to elemental affinities, Hyro, who used Water magic, was particularly weak against Dolman.

‘But with Silvanite it’s a different matter.’

Silvanite is a mysterious mineral that can hold only Water-attribute pure mana.

Even an otherwise superior opponent can be defeated if one’s power is overwhelmingly amplified.

That was how Leopold had seized the position of Towermaster.

‘Still, I have no way now.’

He had accumulated a fair amount of Silvanite from past deals, but not enough to beat Leopold or Dolman.

If he rushed and got caught, the Empire would severely punish him.

So he could not act for the time being.

Without additional Silvanite supplies, Hyro’s ambition to become the new Towermaster would remain a scattered dream.

Hyro’s heart burned black with frustration, unable to do anything.

Just as the sky reddened like his mood, a red hawk flew to the window.

A red hawk used by informants.

The hawk perched on a stand in the room, and Hyro quickly approached and untied the tube bound to the hawk’s leg.

‘Let’s see.’

Indeed, it was a letter sent by an imperial informant.

The contents detailed several matters he had inquired about.

Among them, the news about the Viscount Grovebern’s domain stood out the most.

<Some time ago we received news that Viscount Grovebern’s domain was seized by an unknown force. It seemed unbelievable at first because the report came from a ragged tenant farmer rather than soldiers, but the courier we sent to Grovebern’s domain has not arrived for fifteen days. The Emperor plans to dispatch a search party tomorrow.>

‘A search party?’

Hyro’s eyes widened.

At the same time, events that would unfold began to take shape in his mind.

‘The search party will surely include a mage. If they meet Grovebern, information about Silvanite could leak.’

A small sound escaped Hyro’s lips as he considered it.

“I must go there myself.”

Hyro vaporized the letter from the tube at once and stepped out the door.

After hesitating in the corridor for a while, he went straight down to the General Affairs Office.

The General Affairs Office oversaw all personnel, budgets, supply procurement, and facility management within the tower.

If the Emperor planned to dispatch a search party tomorrow, an order would surely have arrived at the General Affairs Office.

‘Who is the head of General Affairs again? Ah, Clara, is it?’

Clara Liese von Heizen.

A 5th-circle mage specializing in the Metal element.

A cool-headed mage who maintains a delicate neutrality between the flame-dominated Eckhart faction and the allied faction of other elemental mages.

She was not particularly close to or at odds with anyone.

That made her a difficult person to deal with.

‘But the Towermaster is gone now. If I point that out, I can push for a decision in my favor.’

Hyro cooled his thoughts as he descended the stairs.

He organized the events that had occurred and the facts the Empire officially acknowledged.

He also arranged unnoticed facts and planned how to present them.

The General Affairs Office was on the 7th floor.

Arriving there, Hyro did not hesitate and flung the door open.

As expected, no one immediately paid him any special attention here.

The desks were empty because all the staff who worked here were gathered in the conference room debating.

Hyro stood before the conference room and listened to their words.

“We cannot dismiss the eyewitness testimony when deciding the size of the search party.”

“That’s right. The sole clue is that testimony; we should not dismiss it merely because he is a tenant farmer. What if it’s true?”

“But that man spouted nonsense. An army of corpses that rise again no matter how you stab them. And a ghost knight leading them? Do you believe that?”

“Isn’t that possible if there’s a Necroturgy practitioner?”

“I know that too. But Necroturgy practitioners were already exterminated a thousand years ago. Are we to believe such tales nonetheless?”

A question from Clara, head of General Affairs.

No one could easily answer.

At that moment Hyro opened the conference room door.

Everyone in the room rose, and Clara spoke.

“Deputy Towermaster? What brings you here…”

“I came out of curiosity. Has the Towermaster returned?”

Orders from the Palace are typically drafted by General Affairs and approved by the Towermaster.

But now the Towermaster was absent.

Hence the General Affairs Office was holding this sort of meeting.

Clara spoke with an awkward expression.

“The Towermaster has not sent word for several days.”

“Then isn’t it protocol to call the Deputy Towermaster such as myself?”

“Ah… well…”

Clara hesitated.

There had been a time in the past when the Towermaster had been absent for a long period.

On that occasion they had processed matters with the Deputy’s approval, but when the Towermaster returned he had severely reprimanded the head of General Affairs for it.

Hyro knew of that incident too, so he spoke to Clara in a calm voice.

“I will take sole responsibility for any approvals I make this time.”

Clara could only nod at Hyro’s declaration.

Riding the momentum, Hyro issued orders at once.

“Prepare a proposal for the size of the search party to be dispatched tomorrow and a list of mages to be sent from the tower. I will make the decision.”

“Understood.”

Clara bowed, and Hyro turned away with a satisfied smile.

Afterward Hyro set the search party size at fifteen thousand, requested ten Master-level knights, and organized five mages from the Tower.

Of course, Hyro included himself on that list.