Chapter 206: Harthol City (3)

As they continued along the road, they eventually came upon a sizable village, enclosed by stone walls. Since this was the perfect opportunity to test the Ralphon translation necklace, Serati volunteered. "I'll go buy the supplies this time."

Karnak decided to accompany her, just in case. "If the conversation gets messed up, someone needs to be there to translate, right?"

It didn’t necessarily have to be Karnak, since everyone in the group understood Ralphon. But Karnak had another reason for tagging along. The translation necklace was powered by necromancy. If something went wrong, he needed to be there to erase any traces.

After parking the carriage near the village entrance, the two of them set off.

For some reason, Lapicel waved at them with a delighted expression. "Have a nice trip, you two!"

***

For a rural settlement, the village was relatively lively. Karnak and Serati weaved through the passing crowds and made their way to a grocery store.

The moment they stepped inside, a deep voice welcomed them. "Welcome! You must be travelers."

The shopkeeper was a stout man in his late forties. He continued in a friendly tone, "Welcome to Maz Village! How can I help you?"

The necromantic translation necklace processed his Ralphon speech into Isola and delivered the meaning to Serati.

After understanding his words, she hesitantly replied, "Can you recommend this village’s specialties?"

Her pronunciation wasn't great, but it was understandable. The conversation flowed smoothly, and soon enough, they had purchased fresh fruit, vegetables, and bread before leaving the shop.

For a device powered by necromancy, the translation necklace functioned well. It allowed Serati to communicate effectively without any knowledge of Ralphon. However, her impression of it was quite different.

She telepathically provided an honest review to Karnak.

—This is

not

what I expected at all.

Unlike magical translation tools, Karnak's necklace worked by binding a spirit and forcing it to translate. But there was a problem with this method.

Spirits weren't exactly cooperative. More often than not, they resisted. After all, they had been dragged from the afterlife and enslaved. What reason did they have to obediently comply? That was why the usual method involved torturing the bound soul.

But to Serati, who was relying on the bound soul, the translation sounded fragmented, with every other phrase interrupted by screams and wails. She had heard the shopkeeper welcoming her as such:

—W-welcome...

Aaaaargh

! ... Welcome. You must be trave—

Keeeek

!—lers.

—Welcome to Maz Villa—

Guhhk

!—lage! How can I—

Gaaaaah

!—help you?

To make matters worse, the necklace only provided translations. It didn't speak for her, which meant she still had to repeat the words herself. In other words, the shopkeeper heard her talking in fragmented sentences with many unintelligible words. She sounded something like:

—Thith village's... thpecialties... pleath?

She was barely understandable, and it was far from ideal.

Serati complained to Karnak about the device's functionality.

—How am I supposed to use this? This is beyond unsettling. Are magical translation necklaces like this too?

Karnak replied honestly.

—No. Those just convert the language instantly.

—So the necromantic version is significantly worse.

Karnak pouted.

—But it's cheaper. Do you know how much the price difference is? Just put up with the noise.

—You can't just brush off tortured souls' screams as mere noise!

After buying their groceries, they moved on to a general store for additional supplies, and along the way, they eavesdropped on the conversations of passing villagers. Despite everything, the necromantic translation necklace performed well. It accurately conveyed all the Ralphon speech around them into Isola without any mistranslations.

The problem was how disturbing it was to listen to, spurring Serati to complain to Karnak relentlessly.

—It keeps moaning.

Karnak also dismissed the complaints effortlessly.

—That's normal.

—It keeps screaming.

—That's normal too.

Serati glared at Karnak. Was he seriously just brushing this off like nothing? Worse, it wasn't just screams and groans. The soul had started crying and sobbing.

—Lord Karnak... it's crying.

That was the final straw. Serati yanked the necklace off.

—I can't use this. It's too distressing.

She had never planned on relying on such an evil device in the first place. Her intention had been to use it sparingly while diligently studying Ralphon. She refused to be a burden on the group. But at this point, she would rather be a burden than use that thing.

Ha, no wonder necromancy is so universally shunned

, she thought with a shudder

.

It wasn't as if she had ever claimed to be a saint. After all, the only reason she had tied herself to Karnak in the first place was for her own benefit. She had made an effort to accept necromancy to a degree. She had even gone so far as to dig up graves.

But the more she learned about it, the clearer it became why it was so despised. True, it wasn't as though humanity was inherently noble or virtuous. People committed their fair share of evil and corruption. Yet even these humans had collectively decided that this was too much.

They decided that necromancy was an abomination, a line that should never be crossed. People didn't have to live purely virtuous lives, but neither should they fully embrace evil. The man standing before her now was demonstrating what would happen if they did fully embrace it.

Even as the tortured spirits screamed and wailed in his ears, Karnak didn't seem to register it.

—Is it bothering you? The one screaming is the spirit. Why are you the one who's bothered?

***

After restocking their supplies, Karnak's group departed from Maz Village and continued south. As usual, Varos took the driver's seat while Karnak and Serati rode inside the carriage. Lapicel and Leven followed on horseback, keeping watch on either side.

Inside the rattling carriage, Serati's clear voice rang out as she diligently read from a beginner's Ralphon language book. "Hello. My name is Serati Allen."

In the end, she had completely abandoned the necromantic translation necklace. She had freed the tormented spirit and reburied the bones by the roadside.

Then, she had decided to just study instead. If the alternative was tormenting a soul, then putting in the effort to learn Ralphon herself was infinitely preferable.

"Are you a boy? I am a girl."

She was practicing pronunciation when Karnak interjected. "Wrong."

She frowned. "Huh? What did I say wrong?"

Karnak mirrored her frown. "You're not a girl, right?"

"I'm only twenty-six, you know?" Serati countered.

"Weren't you twenty-five?" Karnak said.

"That was last year." Now that she thought about it, it had already been a year since she had met Karnak. It wasn’t just her either. Everyone had aged another year.

Feeling oddly melancholic, Serati sighed and muttered, "I got older without accomplishing anything."

Riding alongside the carriage, Leven's expression turned strange.

He thought.

You're in your mid-twenties and already a blue-tier aura user. You call that 'nothing'?

On top of that, she had done it entirely on her own, without relying on a family name or noble backing. Meanwhile, he—born into the prestigious lineage of the martial kings—had only barely managed to awaken his aura thanks to others.

Is she saying that just to mock me?

Even after awakening aura, Leven remained as self-conscious as ever.

***

On the third day after leaving Maz Village, Karnak's group finally arrived at their destination—Harthol City.

Gazing at the cityscape, Leven let out a small exclamation. "It’s a bigger city than I expected!"

Wooden boats traveled along the Tabor River, loading and unloading cargo at the port. Tall stone walls stretched along the city’s perimeter beyond the bustling docks. Canals wound through the city like veins, with arched bridges connecting the various districts.

The group drove their carriage through the city gates and made their way inward. Towering spires and rows of shops lined the main thoroughfare. The streets were crowded, and judging by their attire, most of the people were merchants or traders belonging to various merchant guilds.

Karnak had already obtained a map of the city through the Altas merchant guild. Unrolling it for reference, he spoke. "Let's find an inn first."

Harthol wasn't the kind of city that attracted high-ranking nobles, so there were no luxurious inns like those in the royal capital. However, since merchants frequently passed through, the city was filled with lodging houses. There were even entire districts dedicated to inns.

Navigating through a narrow side street, they arrived at their chosen destination: The Crow's Stone.

The two-story wooden building was neither extravagant nor shabby. It was just decent. After securing their rooms and unpacking their belongings, Serati pulled Leven aside and spoke to him in a low voice. "Just in case, you should get ready to run away."

"Why? Do you think something's going to happen?" Looking puzzled, Leven turned to her.

As his senior in servitude to Karnak, she gave him a serious warning. "From my experience, I just think it’s better to be prepared."

Varos, the true senior in this regard, nodded in agreement.

"I'll keep that in mind," said Leven.

Meanwhile, Karnak had already pulled out the city map again. Scouting was always an essential step in any venture.

"The Tecas merchant guild is in the northern part of the city, right? Let's head there once we're done unpacking."

***

The reconnaissance of the Tecas merchant guild building went off without a hitch. There was no need to cause any commotion. So, they simply took a lap around the building while disguised as ordinary passersby. Naturally, nothing was going to happen.

With the preliminary scouting complete, Karnak discreetly called Serati over.

—Let's have a strategy meeting.

Strictly speaking, it wasn't so much a meeting as it was a review session. They now had to infiltrate the Tecas merchant guild building, where Jedex—or rather, the man suspected to be him, Banner Ralphstadder—was located.

Karnak continued to voice his doubts.

—So, I wanted to run something by you. There was a certain method I always used in situations like this, but I get the feeling I shouldn't do that anymore.

Serati responded, her eyes filled with distrust.

—Judging by your history, I feel like the answer is no, you shouldn’t, but let's hear it anyway. How did you handle things before?

—Oh, well, it’s nothing special...

Just massacring a bunch of civilians, using their bodies to raise an undead army, fortifying a solid necromantic force, and then steamrolling the target.

After everything Serati had seen from necromancers before, she wasn't particularly shocked and her response was unexpectedly indifferent.

—That's just textbook necromancy, isn’t it? Honestly, I figured someone like you would have used a more creative approach.

Karnak retorted.

—Well, textbook methods are textbook for a reason. They're simple and effective. That's why everyone uses them.

Still, since he could no longer operate as he once did, Karnak had prepared a few human-friendly strategies. But he wasn't confident in his own definition of human-friendly, which was why he had to run them by Serati first.

—Alright. First, we'll approach the estate discreetly.

—Okay.

Serati nodded.

—Then, we'll assess the weather and wind conditions to determine the optimal time to attack.

Weather, sure. But wind? She found it a little odd but continued nodding regardless.

—Got it.

—Then, we'll pour oil in strategic locations and set fires. The bigger the fire, the greater the chaos. Amidst the panic, we'll be able to take down Jedex much more easily...

—Rejected.

—Not happening?

—NOT happening.

At Serati's firm refusal, Karnak quickly changed his approach.

—Yeah, I had a feeling that wouldn't fly. That's why I prepared a second plan. I’ll poison the building's water supply...

—Is there any plan that doesn't involve harming innocent people?

—

Uh

... but if innocent people don't suffer, things will just be more annoying for us.

—Dealing with that annoyance is what being human is about!

—Is it really though?

Scratching his head, Karnak grumbled.

—Guess I have no choice. Even if it's annoying, we'll do it

this

way.