Chapter 21: Chapter 21

The wide plains were filled with the energy of spring.

Two men were riding horses along a straight road that stretched out before them.

The young man with black hair, riding a white horse, was clearly from a noble family.

He was dressed in a luxurious travel outfit made of a mix of deer leather and silk, and the magical staff he carried at his waist was also a rather expensive item. He was undoubtedly a wizard of noble origin.

The young knight on the brown horse who accompanied him was also no ordinary person.

He had a well-trained physique and sharp eyes. Though he wasn’t heavily armed like a traveler, he wore armor made from the hide of a valuable beast, and his gauntlets and greaves were of high-quality steel. He carried a large bastard sword on his back, which was also of superior craftsmanship.

The young knight, Varos, suddenly looked to his side and spoke.

“It really feels like we’ve returned to the past. Back then, even if we had money, we purposely dressed in shabby clothes.”

The nobleman, Karnak, responded with a smile.

“It just goes to show that one shouldn’t live a life of sin. Isn’t it great that we can now reveal our identities openly?”

“I used to think that flaunting wealth would attract troublesome people, but no one’s really bothered us.”

“Of course. We dressed like this with that in mind.”

Disguising oneself as a poor traveler to avoid bandits is not always a wise choice.

Bandits don’t necessarily target wealthy travelers; they target those who seem like easy prey. It’s more profitable to safely take small sums rather than risk everything for a big haul.

However, it’s also not good to appear as though one is a wealthy noble on a leisurely journey. That might entice those who are willing to take risks.

In this sense, Karnak and Varos’s current attire was quite appropriate.

At a glance, they looked like travelers from a noble family with strong backing. Moreover, their attire was not only flashy but also expensive and practical. It was the clothing of seasoned travelers with considerable experience.

Varos’s imposing figure and level of armament, as well as Karnak’s magical staff, clearly showed that they were not to be underestimated.

“Even bandits are just trying to make a living, so they wouldn’t cross a dangerous bridge unless necessary.”

Even if they were to encounter an unusual group of bandits, it wouldn’t be a problem. With Karnak’s chaos magic and Varos’s martial prowess, they were more than capable of handling most situations.

And if they did encounter enemies beyond their current capabilities?

“Then we’ll just use necromancy.”

Thanks to this, the two of them were able to continue their journey pleasantly and without incident.

In half a day, they would reach their destination.

Varos, who had been looking down the road, asked, “So, how do you plan on finding the Doom of Darkness? Is there a specific spell for that?”

“I’m still researching it, but for now, there isn’t.”

“Then how are you going to search for it?”

“We’ll go by the book. You know the place we used to frequent back in the day?”

Understanding, Varos nodded. “We’re going to rely on the Adventurers’ Guild again?”

The Adventurers’ Guild.

It originally started as an organization of bounty hunters who hunted down wanted criminals for rewards.

In bounty hunting, information is just as important as strength. After all, you need to know where your target is hiding to capture or kill them, right?

Bounty hunters began sharing information and working together to pursue their targets, and this eventually evolved into a specialized organization for gathering information and networking, known as the Bounty Hunters’ Guild.

As they expanded their operations by managing various types of information and connections, someone in the guild had a thought:

‘Why limit ourselves to selling information only to bounty hunters?’

Information that might be worthless to one person could be of immense value to another.

They began selling information to treasure hunters who explored ancient ruins and dungeons left behind by pre-human civilizations. Naturally, these treasure hunters also became members of the guild.

Monster hunters who exterminated beasts and magical creatures were also eager buyers of good information. They, too, joined the guild.

By this point, the organization was no longer just for bounty hunters. The name was changed to the Hunters’ Guild.

The Hunters’ Guild continued to expand its influence across the continent. At the same time, its nature began to change.

More and more members were accepting “requests” rather than just “hunting” something.

The types of requests also became much more diverse.

There were mercenary jobs, where they fought in territorial wars for local nobles for a fee.

There were escort missions, protecting caravans or travelers.

They even handled trivial errands, like delivering messages or recovering debts.

The guild had evolved to the point where many members weren’t even hunters anymore, so another name change became necessary.

But calling it “A Non-Regular Workforce That Does Anything for Money” was too long and lacked flair.

So, they settled on the title Adventurer.

Nowadays, everyone and their dog calls themselves an adventurer, making it a rather embarrassing title, but back then, it had a pretty good image.

The Adventurers’ Guild, where all kinds of information gathered, was a highly useful place for Karnak when he was desperately searching for ancient necromancy knowledge. He had obtained a lot of information through the guild.

“But there’s also a lot of junk information, so you need to sift through it carefully.”n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Varos looked up at the sky with a wistful expression.

“I miss those days. We really owed a lot to the guild back then.”

When the two were fugitives, the identity they most often adopted was that of adventurers.

As wanderers, it was easy for them to clean up their identities. Claiming to be from an unknown territory in a faraway kingdom made it impossible for others to verify their story.

Karnak glanced at Varos and chided him.

“You miss those days? I’d rather not think about them.”

Given the nature of their work, they were more often wanted criminals than adventurers.

“Having a friend from yesterday chase after you with bloodshot eyes, ready to cut your throat, isn’t exactly a pleasant experience.”

“You killed them all and turned them into zombies, so why suddenly wax sentimental about friends?”

As they continued their conversation, they eventually caught sight of a city in the distance.

It was Derat City, the largest trade city in the northern part of the Kingdom of Ustil.

“Do you really think the necromancer we’re looking for will be there?” Varos asked.

Karnak responded calmly, “We’ll have to be patient. It’s not like necromancers are common.”

“Well, that’s not a bad way to look at it.”

Varos grinned.

In truth, there wasn’t much need for patience.

“We can certainly wait as long as we want while enjoying fine food and drink at a luxury inn!”

* * *

As soon as they arrived in Derat City, Karnak made the Adventurers’ Guild his first stop.

In their past lives, Karnak and Varos had concealed their identities and registered with the guild, operating as adventurers.

They had to hide their identities and make money.

In the process, they also secretly gathered information related to necromancy, killing two birds with one stone.

“But this time, there’s no need to become an adventurer.”

Now, Karnak had a legitimate identity as Baron Karnak of Zestrad, the lord of the territory.

Investigating matters related to the Doom of Darkness wasn’t a crime, either.

He openly revealed his identity and commissioned the guild to gather information related to the Doom of Darkness.

He even provided a plausible pretext:

– A necromancer associated with the Doom of Darkness had appeared in our territory. Fortunately, the Latiel Church dealt with him, but there’s no telling when such an incident might happen again, so I cannot afford to ignore it.

Since this was based on real events, it didn’t seem suspicious.

But as it turned out, there hadn’t even been a need to offer an excuse.

Other nobles were already using the Adventurers’ Guild to gather various pieces of information related to the Prophecy of Doom.

It’s only natural for a good lord to prepare in advance for the possibility of a necromancer running rampant in his territory.

To the Adventurers’ Guild, Karnak was just another typical client.

“Thank you for using the Derat City Adventurers’ Guild, Baron Karnak! We’ll contact you as soon as the latest information comes in!”

* * *

One week had passed since they began staying in Derat City.

Karnak and Varos had settled into the finest inn and spent their time eating and drinking to their hearts’ content.

Thanks to the copper mines, they had plenty of money, so they spared no expense.

They stayed in the most expensive rooms, ordered the finest cuisine, and enjoyed themselves thoroughly. They were, in every sense, living the life of leisure.

However, there was one key difference between them and other nouveau riche types—they didn’t engage with women from the red-light district.

It wasn’t that they had any particular issues with sexual desire.

Both had barely managed to return to human bodies. And weren’t they now in the prime of their youth? It would be a lie to say they had no sexual urges.

They weren’t particularly concerned with morals or ethics either, so they did, in fact, visit a brothel.

Yes, they went, but…

“Ah, this just doesn’t feel right.”

Karnak turned on his heels after seeing the prostitutes.

It was because he was a necromancer.

A powerful necromancer often earned titles like Lord of Death, Lord of Darkness, or Lord of Pestilence.

Necromancers are specialists in disease.

Unlike clerics, who specialize in healing, necromancers specialize in infection.

In other words, Karnak could practically see the sexually transmitted diseases clinging to the women in the red-light district!

How could people, who take care to avoid unhealthy snacks, be so careless with their bodies?

“I suppose I should meet a good woman, get married, and live a decent life. That’s what it means to live like a proper human, right?”

“So, you’re actually thinking of getting married?”

“Of course. I’m a lord now, aren’t I?”

As the head of a noble house, it was important to leave behind an heir.

“Marriage is a must. And preferably with a woman I like.”

He had no intention of entering a political marriage with a woman he had never met. The current Zestrad Barony wasn’t in such dire straits as to require that.

“What about you, Varos? Don’t you have someone you like?”

“Well, actually, there is someone I’ve been thinking about.”

Recently, the maids at the manor had been giving Varos such meaningful looks that he had begun to harbor some expectations of his own.

“Really? Why didn’t you pursue them?”

“Just when I was about to make a move, some lunatic decided to spread doom across the world. Thanks to that, I’m stuck here with you.”

“S-Sorry about that…”

* * *

In any case, they certainly had a good time.

The problem, however, lay with their original purpose.

“It’s been a week, and we’ve got nothing to show for it.”

“Yeah, I didn’t expect it to turn out like this.”

It wasn’t that there was no information about the Doom of Darkness.

On the contrary, there was too much information.

The goddess had delivered a prophecy directly, and the Seven Orders had announced it to the world.

The prophecy foretold the coming of the world’s end, urging everyone to prepare for the darkness.

How would ordinary people interpret this?

If bandits ran wild in the hills, they blamed it on the darkness. If monsters infested the forests, they said it was because of the darkness. If they were scammed and lost money, they blamed it on the darkness that had consumed the swindler.

People were even saying that if the neighbor’s dog attacked the chicken from the house behind, it was because the dog had been tainted by the darkness.

In short, every bad thing that happened was being blamed on the Doom of Darkness.

“Sigh, so this is why the Seven Orders had been keeping the prophecy a secret all this time.”

Karnak shook his head.

The world was overflowing with supposed incidents related to necromancy, but almost none of them were genuine.

“How blatant were Fred’s actions for him to be chased so relentlessly?”

“Judging by what he did, it’s a miracle he wasn’t caught sooner.”

They had learned something new after arriving in Derat City—the Latiel Church hadn’t been chasing Fred from the beginning.

In the early stages of the incident, they had placed a search request through the Adventurers’ Guild.

During that time, several adventurers were killed, which aroused the suspicion of a priest from the Latiel Church who started investigating the case. He, too, met an untimely end.

It was only then that the church realized the severity of the situation and deployed a large number of forces.

With so much unreliable information, even the Seven Orders couldn’t intervene in every incident. They only got involved when things were reasonably certain.

“We need to get ahead of them and take control of the situation first.”

As Karnak strolled through the night streets, he spoke as if making a wish.

“I hope we get some useful information tomorrow…”