Chapter 3: Something is Strange (2)

Karnak, Monarch of Death –

Chapter 3: Something is Strange (2)

A few merchants were eating lunch on the ground floor of a small inn on the outskirts of Darha. But only a few of them were focused solely on their meal.

The reason? Two unusual men were making quite a scene.

"Ohhh! Ooooh!"

"D-delicious!"

"This... this is what they call

flavor

!"

"Yes, this is what they mean by

cooking

and

boiling

!"

Two grown men had ordered nothing more than a couple of barley loaves and a bowl of stew, yet they gazed at it with reverence. It almost looked as if they were performing a sacred ritual. With each bite, they erupted in exclamations. Naturally, to everyone else, they appeared to be... not entirely sane.

Who are these weirdos?

What’s with the overreaction?

Maybe they haven’t eaten in days?

If they were that hungry, shouldn’t they be wolfing it down instead of making a show with each bite?

The two young men’s bizarre display continued, regardless of the whisperings of the other patrons. The innkeeper brought over two mugs of ale in a little while, and they even began to tear up.

"Oh, young master, this—"

"Alcohol!"

"Ugh! I think I might faint just from smelling it!"

It wasn’t some legendary brew. It was merely ale from the local brewery. In fact, the higher-quality ale had already been sent to the lord’s estate—this was the leftover batch. But as expected, they erupted in ridiculous reactions after taking a large swig of the ale.

"Ahhh!"

"For a taste like this, I’d lay down my life..."

"You already did, young master."

Watching the two tremble with ecstasy after each sip of ale, the other patrons concluded:

They’re pathetic lunatics.

Let’s just ignore them.

But no matter what the others thought of them, Karnak and Varos were blissfully content. It had been decades since they’d tasted food, and each bite felt like the pinnacle of pleasure, as if nothing could be more satisfying.

...Or so they thought!

"Alright, food’s ready!"

A deliciously fragrant chicken stew was set down on the neighboring table, wafting an irresistible aroma.

"Whoa! They serve chicken here?"

"Guess it’s a high-class place after all?"

It was rare to see pork or beef in a bustling trade village like this. Such delicacies were usually only available during festivals. Even with money, it was hard to come by such meat. Chickens, on the other hand, were more affordable since they could be raised in backyards and butchered regularly. Of course, that didn’t mean chicken was exactly cheap either. Just the fact that they could buy chicken implied this village was well-off with a healthy flow of people passing through. So they could have chicken. That is... if they had the money.

The two began whispering to each other.

"Just imagine sipping ale with that chicken stew as a side dish!"

"How much do you think it costs?"

It was definitely more than just pocket change. Judging by their clothes, the diners at that table were probably fairly wealthy travelers. Karnak’s eyes glimmered.

"Should we just kill them all and take it?"

"Like normal humans! We’re trying to live like normal humans, young master."

But even if he hastily abandoned his resolve to live like a decent person, it was bound to prove impossible anyway.

Varos pointed out coldly,

"What strength do we have to kill everyone here? We’d get beaten to a pulp."

"Y-yeah, true enough."

They were no longer the monarch of death who had ruled the world, nor the strongest death knight. With slumped shoulders, Varos reached for his coin pouch to pay for the meal.

"Ah... if only we had more money..."

Just then—

"Huh?"

Varos’s eyes went wide.

"What is it?"

"Young master, something’s strange."

"What’s strange?"

Varos glanced around cautiously and then pulled his hand from the pouch. Karnak’s eyes widened too.

"What?"

A silver coin glinted in the light between Varos’s fingers.

"Why is that in there?"

Varos quickly shoved the coin back into the pouch and dropped his voice to a whisper.

"It’s not just one."

He carefully showed Karnak the pouch’s contents.

"There’s more silver than copper in here."

"How could that be possible?"

In disbelief, Karnak peered inside. It was true. There were plenty of copper coins, but more than half of them were silver.

"How could you not notice the pouch’s contents had changed? Didn’t you check it once on the way here?"

"Why would I check? I thought it was obvious what was inside!"

"A proper servant should always double-check everything!"

"I was second-in-command of Necropia until this morning. I haven’t been a servant for a century."

For a moment, they wondered if the pouch itself had somehow been switched, but that wasn’t the case. The family crest was clearly embossed on the mouth of the pouch—it was the same one from the past. Only the contents had changed. The two exchanged whispered glances.

"How much did we actually bring with us back then?"

"It was over a hundred years ago—how would I remember?"

"I do remember we were so poor that we had to be incredibly frugal."

It was not easy to forget the memory of living in poverty.

"There’s no way we had this much money back then, though."

"We were careful with our spending..."

But being frugal didn’t magically turn copper coins into silver. Staring at the pouch full of silver coins, Karnak felt a sudden chill.

Having so much money wasn’t simply something to be happy about. Rather, it was a sign that something was wrong.

Did I make a mistake? I thought we came back into the past. No, did the time magic even work correctly in the first place?

His spiraling thoughts were interrupted by Varos’s question.

"Hey, young master?"

"What?"

"Does this mean we can afford the chicken?"

The choice was between the mysterious dread and the enticing smell of chicken. The scales tipped easily in one direction.

"Forget it, let’s eat first and think later!" Karnak declared boldly. "Hey, we’d like to order!"

***

They each bit into a piece of juicy chicken.

"Ha-ha!"

Then, they took hearty swigs of ale.

"Hee-hee!"

They ate, drank, and ate some more.

"Hah-ha-ha!"

The two men devoured their meal while reveling in pure bliss, oblivious to anything else. Once the meal was over, Varos leaned back like a bear ready for hibernation. He sighed in contentment.

"Wow, I feel like I’m going to pass out from happiness," he muttered.

"Agreed. Is this really what meat tastes like? I’m sure even drugs don’t have this kind of effect."

"Remember when we tried it and felt nothing?"

"That was because we were both undead at the time."

Throughout the continent’s long history, no undead had ever gotten high from drugs.

"Ah... this is good..." Karnak murmured dreamily, slumped back in his chair.

It was amazing. Exquisite. It was happiness so intense it was almost overwhelming. A pleasure worth giving up all the power, wealth, and glory he had once held.

But they couldn’t just sit there basking forever.

"Alright, time to pull ourselves together and figure this out." Karnak straightened up. He turned his gaze toward the pouch of coins. "What’s going on here?"

Varos’s expression turned serious.

"Could we just be misremembering?"

"It’s possible to mistake nine coppers for ten. But is it even remotely possible to confuse ten silver coins with ten coppers?"

"Then... is it possible something went wrong with your magic?"

"How could time-reversal magic go wrong in a way that turns coppers into silver?"

"The distortion in time and space swapped out the coins with silver?" asked Varos.

Karnak looked at him with disdain. "Does that even make sense?"

Varos responded with even greater disdain, "That’s for you to figure out, young master. What do you expect from a brute with a sword?"

He had a point. Karnak fell silent, feeling properly chastised.

Varos spoke up gently, "Let’s just head back to the main estate. We can make sense of things afterward."

"That does make sense."

Karnak leaned back in his chair, feeling a sense of dread at the thought. The journey from Darha to the Zestrad estate would take at least three days on foot.

"It’s going to be an exhausting trip. Walking all that way... oh, the pain..." Karnak muttered.

Varos suddenly hesitated upon hearing Karnak’s words. "Wait, hold on."

"What now?"

"Come to think of it, why would we walk? This is a relay village—we can rent horses."

Between relay villages, horses could be rented for a fee. They were available for messengers and merchants pressed for time. While buying a horse required visiting a proper market, renting one here was perfectly feasible. They could only use the horses between relay stations, and the rental fee was quite high, but...

"That’s not a problem at all! We have all this money!"

Karnak sighed, clearly unimpressed. "Aren’t you the least bit curious as to why we even have this money?"

Varos shook his head. "Will holding back on spending it make that worry disappear?"

"Well... no."

"Then let’s spend it and worry along the way! At least we’ll be comfortable."

Karnak blinked in a daze.

"After all, if the body is comfortable, the mind is at ease, and with a calm mind, we can think more clearly."

What sounded like thoughtless nonsense at first began to seem oddly convincing.

"Huh... You’re surprisingly persuasive."

***

After their heavenly meal, Karnak and Varos headed to the western relay station in Darha village. It was a decent-sized facility, a two-story wooden building with a large stable attached. As they approached, a middle-aged man lit up upon seeing them, walking over with a welcoming smile. He seemed to be the station manager.

"Oh, you’ve returned!"

Both men froze on the spot.

Returned?

Us?

The man’s words suggested they’d been here before. The manager continued with a deferential bow. "I’ve been taking good care of the horses you left in my charge."

Left horses here?

Us?

Even as they struggled to make sense of this, they maintained outwardly calm expressions. The middle-aged man led them to the stable, where about a dozen horses were tied up. Among them, two brown stallions began neighing excitedly as they approached.

Neigh!

Neighh!

The man chuckled warmly while patting the horses.

"They seem delighted to see their masters again."

Karnak and Varos wore awkward smiles. The horses certainly seemed pleased, as if they’d seen these two before.

But it’s the first time I’ve seen them.

They’re so happy, it’s almost unnerving.

The man handed over the reins and continued in a friendly tone, "As you requested, I fed them top-quality fodder mixed with beans. They’re bursting with energy."

His tone was polite, almost obsequious, with an expectant look in his eye. Varos gave Karnak a quick look.

"This... he’s hoping for a tip, isn’t he?"

"Seems like it."

"Should I give him one?"

"Go ahead, let’s see how he reacts."

With Karnak’s nod of approval, Varos took on a haughty air, pulled out a silver coin, and handed it over.

"Well done. Here’s a small token of appreciation from our young master."

The man accepted the coin, not with surprise but with gratitude. He bowed deeply.

"Thank you, as always! I’ll go fetch the saddles you left as well!"

As the man hurried back to the building, Karnak muttered, "As always?"

"Sounds like we used to tip him this much all the time," Varos replied.

"With silver, no less."

"Us?"

They were at a loss for words. This was behavior typical of a clueless young noble with more money than sense.

"What is going on here?"

Even Varos was beginning to worry now.

"This might not be something to celebrate."

"Ugh, I’ve been saying that from the beginning. Took you long enough to catch on."

Karnak fell silent, deep in thought.

Had they truly come back to the past? It seemed likely, given how much of the world matched his memories. And yet, many details didn’t align.

I need to get home as soon as possible. That’s the priority for now.

Meanwhile, Varos was lost in his own musings.

"What should we even call these horses? Hey, you two, what are your names, anyway?"

Neigh!

Neigggh!

"...Talking to horses. What was I thinking?"