The misadventures of the necromancer

They all shake their heads, agreeing that it would not be a good idea to go near temples, not after what they had just witnessed.

“Yes, but even so, we have to decide what to do,” Adar speaks up again. And when everyone looks at him, he spreads his arms indicating the dilapidated city and announces, “We can’t stay here for long.”

A truth that makes her and the others turn toward Nero. He, in turn, is looking at her—more precisely, at her little brother in her arms.

“Let’s deal with priorities first... We go back to buy more milk from that clan,” he begins, to her relief, because it means he is still thinking about Delmic. And she has been worried about how much longer the milk would last. She has already been surprised by how long it has managed to keep without spoiling.

“Then the best thing is to leave this area... Western North Hills,” he declares, leaving her unsure how to feel. She has lived here her whole life and never truly thought about leaving. But she can’t deny that, for her and her brother, it is the best alternative.

“Maybe we can go back to that town we passed through,” he seems to think out loud.

“What!?” Adar blurts out, shaking his head in disbelief. “You want to go back to Arrowhill. Do you think we’ll be welcomed, considering what happened with the Mayor and his son?”

“Right!” Nero replies, as if remembering something. “That was the place with the idiot and the soup. Right!!”

The strange comment from Nero makes Adar nod in agreement.

“Then it’s better to avoid that place, so I don’t have to do something I’ll regret,” Nero’s new comment needs no explanation, considering what she has already seen of the necromancer’s behavior.

“But then where are we going?” the necromancer asks, extending his hand toward Adar and ordering, “Go get the map.”

Adar, however, does not obey immediately. Instead, he says, “Why don’t we go to Pinetop? Considering how long the milk lasted this time, it should be enough.”

Nero raises an eyebrow. “Pinetop!?”

“Yes, Pinetop. The closest city to Arrowhill... Remember when we were buying supplies, the merchant told us about it,” Adar answers, though with an expression that suggests he doesn’t expect him to remember.

“Yes, yes,” Nero says, seeming to recall it, before concluding, “Alright, then we have a plan. We eat, rest a bit, and we leave.”

“Well!!” Seres’s voice cuts in. “For that, we have a small problem.”

When everyone turns to the blond young man, he gestures around and says, “There’s no firewood.” And looking around, Saca has to agree—the city is mostly stone, with very little vegetation.

“The only place with firewood must be...” Seres starts, but does not finish. He doesn’t need to. The only place where they had seen not only trees but an actual grove was the Huntress’s temple—and certainly the last place any of them wants to go.

“Damn it!!” Nero exclaims, bringing a hand to his face in frustration.

“We can eat something cold... some sandwiches,” Adar tries to solve the situation.

“No! We need fire,” Nero insists, staring directly at Delmic through the fingers covering his face.

And with that, Saca remembers how the necromancer has always insisted that the milk must be boiled before being given to Delmic.

“Why did I decide to come to this cursed place... can't get some fire...” Nero continues, visibly irritated.

She is about to tell him not to worry—that Delmic can drink his milk cold, and if there’s a problem, they can give him a little more potion. Not the solution she would prefer, but the only one she can see.

But suddenly the necromancer pauses, lowers his hand from his face, and looks around, saying without seeming to address anyone in particular, “Fire!?... Would it work?”

He goes inside the house, only stopping to grab a stone that was on the ground. Naturally, everyone follows behind him.

He quickly goes to what remains of the room with the fireplace, where they had discovered the secret entrance. But Nero goes straight to the fireplace itself. Standing before it, he extends his hand holding the stone and exclaims, “Will of the Flame.”

The stone erupts into blue flames, like when Nero had “asked” the Vey for milk. He then throws the stone into the fireplace.

Nero turns to the boys. “We’ve got some fire now. In theory, it should work. See if you can at least heat up the milk. I’m going to rest.”

And with that, he leaves the room, while they stare at each other as Delmic becomes more restless. She can hear Seres say, “Well, it should work.”

And Adar seems to agree with a, “Then let’s go get the supplies.”

So they fetch the milk and some pots. And to their astonishment, they can see that the milk really does begin to warm under the effect of the stone’s blue flame. Leaving, at least her, speechless—because never in her life had she imagined heating milk over a magical flame.

Saca asks whether the milk might be affected by the magical flame. But no one can answer, because the only true specialist isn’t there. After some discussion, they agree that Nero wouldn’t have done it if there were any risk to Delmic.

When the milk seems ready, they pour it into a bowl, and with it in her hand, Sena pulls Saca out of the room, telling the boys, “Try to heat something else too. Nero will surely want to eat something warm.”

And with that, they go to the necromancer, who is outside, sitting against a wall, with his eyes closed, enjoying the sun.

Sena drags her up beside Nero, exclaiming, “Help us feed Delmic.”

Saca thinks this is not the best moment to ask for his help. But she has to admit the necromancer usually has a better touch when feeding Delmic.

He opens his eyes, looking frustrated and annoyed to see them. But with a sigh, he stretches out his arms to take Delmic, as if accepting it as something he has to do. Then he looks at the bowl in Sena’s hand and says,

“So it really worked... good!”

He receives Delmic and holds out his hand to take the cup of milk. But Sena seems distracted, and Saca has to tap her hand for her to pass the milk to Nero.

As she does so, Sena speaks with a rare hesitation.

“Nero… about what you told me.”

He hears her, but says nothing, merely raising an eyebrow as if asking what she means. Something Saca mirrors, since Sena hadn’t mentioned anything important the necromancer had told her.

“You know… at the temple… about the boys!” Sena tries to explain clumsily.

Nero, however, doesn’t seem to pay her much attention, instead tasting the milk to see if it’s good for Delmic. Even so, he asks,

“Are you talking about when I told you not to trust them?”

“Yes!!” Sena answers, nodding up and down, while Saca feels confused and slightly insulted on the boys’ behalf. Why would Nero say such a thing?

“Ready to eat, buddy?” Nero asks Delmic, as if what was just said wasn’t important.

Fortunately, he continues right after with,

“And what’s so hard to understand? Do you think you should trust people you’ve known for such a short time?”

Saca can’t hold back and tries to defend the boys.

“That’s exactly the same amount of time we’ve known you.”

The necromancer doesn’t seem annoyed by that, replying with a shrug,

“Yes. Which just means you shouldn’t trust me much either.”

Saca feels frustrated with him, but Sena simply asks,

“But why?”

He pauses before giving Delmic the milk and answers,

“Common sense. And what do you actually know about them?”

For Saca, the question makes sense. They really don’t know that much about any of them. But if the boys hadn’t protected her and Delmic until Nero appeared, none of them would be alive.

“They’re your necromancy apprentices. So why would you say that?” Sena asks, clearly having thought about this a lot. At the same time, it makes Saca remember Seres’s attempts to reanimate a fish, which then tried to attack him, only to be destroyed by a kick from the mule.

“My apprentices? Where did you even get that idea?” Nero asks, sounding almost offended. But he quickly calms down and continues.

“But yes, they’re necromancers. And what have you heard about necromancers that makes you trust them so much?”

A very good point. Necromancers—especially the ones who tend to appear in this region, usually fugitives from richer and more important lands—are known to be extremely dangerous, always looking for victims to raise from the dead.

“But you’re a necromancer too!” Sena counters, confused.

Nero shrugs again before speaking.

“First of all, I don’t count. I’m quite different. More mage than actual necromancer. And secondly, their biggest problem—especially Blondie—is that their morality is pretty flexible.”

The girls look at each other, as if silently asking what that’s supposed to mean. While he continues speaking.

“I found them with a group of necromancers who killed people…” something Saca finds hard to believe. “And they didn't show they had a great problem with it. They behave now, but a lot of that is because of me.”

“As long as I’m here, they won’t be dangerous. But at the time, I thought it was better to warn you, not that they will attack you the second I die. But it's better if you're careful,” he concludes, leaving them thinking. Saca especially finds it difficult to accept what she is hearing. But she also, at the beginning, didn't want to believe her husband and his family would try to destroy her whole clan.

At that moment, behind them, they hear someone approaching. Turning around, they see Seres with a pot in his hands.

“What is it?” Nero asks, intrigued.

Seres lifts the pot, revealing it completely blackened, with a hole through which rays of sunlight pass.

“The flames seem to be a bit stronger than we thought.”

“This city is nothing but losses,” Nero grumbles.

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!