Yes, I am the Necromancer You're Looking For.

While I was internally cursing Barkal, two men—who appeared to be 'Hyrat devotees'—entered the room behind the man who had asked my name.

"That's right. I am Dmihtan Elvar."

I spoke in a calm tone, but I didn't feel calm inside.

When complete strangers search for me, it's never for a good reason.

That's one of my philosophies.

There's no doubt they've brought troublesome business. That's why I tried my best to feign ignorance and leave quietly.

Siiigh.

Damn you, Barkal.

"And who might you be?"

Steeling my heart, I returned the question to the 'Hyrat devotee' who had spoken.

Let's at least exchange names. Just who are you people?

"We are the Judges of Light, a gold-ranked adventuring party. At the same time, we are also devotees serving Hyrat, the God of Judgment and Virtue."

The man who appeared to be their leader showed us a gold emblem as he spoke.

So, at the gold rank, the Adventurer's Guild gives out these kinds of emblems, huh.

Not that I really need one, but it'd be nice to have.

"And I am Balder, the leader."

A gold-ranked adventuring party.

And, a leader.

As I scanned the man who had introduced himself as Balder, a thought occurred to me.

We know nothing about each other except for just now introducing ourselves.

Yet, for them to seek me out personally, means they clearly have some purpose.

'Did they come to buy the special-grade mana stone?'

It's possible. The attendant saw it with her own eyes, so maybe word got around.

'Or maybe they came to hire us for a commission.'

Even if the 'Dungeon Gods' party is just iron rank riffraff, I could at least claim we're among the most well-known of the 'iron rank'.

After all, many adventurers witnessed Barkal causing a commotion.

Even if the rumors aren't favorable, they've done enough to get our name out there, and those rumors might have led to a commission.

'My philosophy says there's a high chance trouble follows when strangers come looking for you.'

Maybe I'll be wrong this time?

"It's nothing else—we want to talk about the carriage left at the Bearded Cat Inn."

Right as my idle suspicions continued, Balder added this.

By 'carriage', he must mean the one we left at the inn.

Why would they care about the carriage? It's nothing but a carriage stolen after killing some (fake) merchants.

'Ah.'

So that's the problem.

Indeed—if a total stranger seeks you out, there's a high chance it's trouble.

Did they come all this way to track the whereabouts of the carriage?

Tsk.

I clicked my tongue inwardly.

There's no way for me to know when the real merchant who drove the carriage died.

Judging by the situation, it's clear these people have been tracking the carriage.

If I say something odd, we could be blamed as the culprits who killed the merchant.

"A conversation about the carriage?"

Feigning ignorance, I probed Balder to better grasp the situation.

"There are many carriages. What makes ours so special?"

"It seems I failed to give the background. My apologies."

Balder apologized, then continued.

"We were commissioned in Veldoa and came all the way here. The commission is about tracing the whereabouts of a merchant named Yornal who departed from Veldoa, as well as a carriage containing Waruk fruit."

Waruk fruit.

That means it is the carriage we rode in.

'Shit!'

I felt a cold sweat trickle down my back. It was now certain the carriage we took belonged to the merchant Balder was after.

If that fact was revealed, how would it look to others?

Two crazed barbarians murdered a merchant and stole his carriage!

"I've heard you only arrived in Iushil recently, sir Dmihtan."

"That's correct."

"Could you tell us where and how you obtained the carriage?"

They're suspicious. But there's no need to go into detail.

"We killed the ones in the carriage and took it as spoils of war!"

A voice rang out beside me. It was Barkal.

O Thrag!

Damn you, Thrag! I take back what I said about dragging around an apostle.

Please, take him back!

My pupils and mind were rattled like an earthquake, but luckily, I managed not to show it.

"As my brother said, the carriage is our spoils of war."

I figured that lying was safer than giving explanations, but now it had come to this, I had no choice but to push through head-on.

"We did kill the driver, but we only did what was necessary."

"You killed him?"

At Balder's question, I nodded.

"That's right. They were evil men who deserved to die."

I tried my best to look grave.

Let's lay the groundwork. The ones we killed weren't merchants, but mercenaries who had murdered the merchant and stolen the carriage.

"They were scum who had abandoned their humanity."

"...... That's correct."

"They laced food with poison...."

Huh? What?

"That's right. Sir Dmihtan, so you dealt with those men! They truly were heinous villains!"

Just as I was mulling over my options for self-defense, Balder clenched his fist and agreed passionately with my words.

Wait.

Are you saying—you also know that those ones in the carriage weren't the real merchants, but criminals?

"Filthy necromancers."

...... Huh?

"Necromancers?"

At my question, Balder nodded.

"Yes, the carriage's driver you killed was a necromancer."

What is he talking about right now? That we killed necromancers?

Was he saying those criminals were necromancers to begin with?

That can't be. As a 'necromancer' myself, I can say with certainty—they were just regular people.

On top of that, Barkal harbors intense hostility toward 'necromancers'. There's no way Barkal and I wouldn't have recognized them for what they were.

Are we perhaps talking about different carriages?

"A merchant transporting Waruk fruit. To cross the treacherous plains, he hired mercenaries. But the mercenaries, blinded by greed, killed the merchant and stole the carriage. We found his corpse not far from the city, so it's confirmed."

Judging by Balder mentioning Waruk fruit, he's talking about the group who attacked us.

"But then, those mercenaries were attacked by necromancers along the way."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes! The bodies of the slain mercenaries were completely drained of blood."

Ah.

"It was as if magic was used, pristine and clean. Only disgusting necromancers who worship evil gods would do such a thing. Only them."

I carefully reflected on Balder's words.

Were they drained of blood? Yes.

Necromancer? Yes.

Vile magic? To a certain extent.

Yes, I am the necromancer you're looking for.

With a dark chuckle to myself, I ran my hand over the 'Blood-Colored Awl' tucked in my pocket.

Time to organize the situation.

The 'gold-ranked adventuring party' before me had chased after the mercenaries who killed the merchant, but by the time they found the bodies, the necromancers had already drained them dry with their magic.

So, they thought the necromancers must have taken the carriage, and after we killed those 'necromancers' and took the carriage, we claimed it as our spoils.

Makes sense.

We don't look like secretive necromancers, after all.

So, what's my best move in this situation?

"Disgusting necromancers."

Pretend to have killed the necromancers.

"Our Red Wolf Tribe also despises necromancers."

"But brother, about the blood-sucking..."

"Barkal! Is killing necromancers the will of Thrag!?"

Before Barkal could spout further nonsense, I cut him off and shouted.

"That's right! Thrag abhors the magic of the dead!!"

Whew.

* 〈Thrag laughs.〉

Yeah, you must be enjoying yourself right now, bastard.

"I see. We were desperate to find clues, but only found the corpses of the mercenaries. So, what did you do with the necromancers?"

He asks the one thing I hoped to avoid.

"We show no mercy to vile creatures who command corpses."

I said, deliberately looking grave and chewing on each word.

"We ate them alive. Not a trace remains."

Though I meant it metaphorically, Balder seemed to take it at face value, growing a little pale.

"As expected ... barbarians are truly courageous."

"Barbarians are brave! And the Red Wolf Tribe is braver still!"

Barkal beamed with a broad grin, repeatedly mentioning the Red Wolf Tribe.

"Since you dealt with the necromancers, you deserve a reward."

"We need no reward."

"...... Excuse me?"

Of course not.

No need to create trouble for ourselves.

The 'necromancer' they're seeking is me. I should be content to dodge suspicion—greed will only bring disaster.

"We need no reward. We simply did what had to be done."

"B-but..."

"May we keep the carriage?"

When I asked if we could keep the carriage, Balder nodded.

"That will suffice."

With nothing more to say, I stood up, eager to leave quickly.

Phew.I knew society looked down on necromancers, but to come tracking us down just because they found some traces...

It's terrifying.

* * *

Balder could not bring himself to leave for a long while.

Dmihtan Elvar.Murmuring that name, he caressed his golden emblem as if deeply moved.

"We require no reward. We only did what needed to be done."

Dmihtan's words resonated in his head. Next to him, a fellow devotee murmured.

"To think a warrior like this still lives in our age."

Balder quietly closed his eyes.

In his mind was the silhouette of Dmihtan leaving, refusing any reward.

That was not the attitude of an arrogant man.

It was the deed of someone who refused for principle's sake—a true act of faith.

"I used to think barbarians only worshipped strength and their own gods, nothing more..."

"Rowen, I feel the same as you. Barbarians are indeed foolish people."

Having served Hyrat, the God of Judgment and Virtue, and risen to the gold rank, Balder had seen much.

He already had his own experiences of what kind of people 'barbarians' were.

They're odd.

Some among them are wise, but most believe they can resolve anything with brute force alone.

Because of this, many adventurers don't want to take on barbarians as companions.

Yet, 'Dmihtan Elvar', whom he just conversed with, was very different from the barbarians he had dealt with before.

'His speech was similar, but...'

His words had intelligence, and he was a man who could be cautious around others.

A barbarian with intellect.

And, evidently, with considerable skill.

'The barbarian with the skull helmet beside him.'

That one could be called 'an outlier'—the intensity of his presence was incredible.

Even as a 'gold-rank adventurer', Balder wondered if he could handle him.

Such a barbarian was following 'Dmihtan Elvar' as their leader, proving the man's exceptional capabilities.

And, they had even killed necromancers.

"Rowen."

"Yes, Captain."

"In the reports, it says those people also belong to a party."

At Balder's question, the woman named Rowen spread out her documents and began to read.

"Yes, they're with a party called 'Dungeon Gods'. It's a newly founded party, and they recently completed one request."

"One request... so they must be iron rank."

To accept a necromancer extermination request, you need to be at least a 'bronze-rated party'.

"They're freakish rookies."

-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=Author-nims signature misunderstanding trope is showing.【ദ്ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌)】

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