The Undead King of the Palace of Darkness

Just as Senri had said, our destination was a much smaller town than Cemeserra or Engey.

Stone buildings and mud roads. Be it the number of carriages or people, both were a lot fewer than Cemeserra. It was a dimly lit, idyllic little town.

And as one would expect, there was a pit in front of the gate and water was flowing through it, but maybe because it was not properly maintained, the water was almost stagnant. So it did not affect me as much and I could cross it without a hitch.

This is a nice town. There are not too many mercenaries around and it is not too deserted that we cannot conceal our presence. A customary glance around tells me that the shops sell all the bare necessities. Provided we do not have a tail on us, staying here for a while might not be too bad.

Ahh, if only the shadow amulet had not been destroyed… I could have kicked back and relaxed.

My eyes promptly locked in on a food stall when I felt Senri tug on my arm.

Senri was able to rest on my back on the way over. Maybe she was tired since we travelled without taking a break, for she did not look very good. Although I suppose leaving the woods without much of a preparation was the main reason.

She was trying to hide her fatigue but I could tell from her smell.

All I have done is cause her trouble. She even had to gather all the necessities in Cemeserra. Although I did want to help, there were not many shops open at night.

“Senri, you should get some rest. They shouldn’t be able to find us since we’ve made it this far, right?”

“End, I need you to get your act together… I can’t rest otherwise. You’ve been spacing out a bit recently.”

Senri sounded a little reproving.

That was pretty harsh. I thought back upon my recent conduct.

… She is right. Maybe I have let my guard down a little too much.

“Ahh. I’m sorry. I mean, this is the first time I met someone I didn’t need to be so wary around.”

“… I see… What about Roux?”

“It was a little different with Roux. Because she… was not exactly strong.”

Even if by any chance Roux had survived, I doubt I would have been able to relax around her.

Although it would give me more freedom to do what I wanted, she would have been lacking as a partner.

I stopped myself from being distracted by everything and ran to catch up with Senri. She looked so unbelievably small from behind.

“Let’s stay in this town for a while. If we stay holed up in an inn, no one should be able to find out about us, right? As long as the Death Knights don’t pay a visit, that is.”

“But…”

“Don’t worry, I’ll do my best to look after you. I’d only be returning the favor. Also, I like keeping active.”

Senri hesitated. But I am sure she realized that she was not in the best of condition.

It would spell trouble for the both of us if she were to fall ill. I am fully aware that humans are not all that sturdy.

She is dainty. She has trained her body well, but she still feels very tender in my arms. I do not think she would be able to fight against the forces of darkness if not for her strong power of blessing. I have been the one to rely on her until now, but I think it is time we changed roles.

Either way, rest was much needed.

Senri sighed lightly and a troubled smile shone on her face.

“… I get it. But will you behave?”

“I know. Just what do you think of me…”

I may not sound convincing, but even I would not leave behind Senri and take off by myself to look around town. No matter how fascinating the town looked, prudence must be maintained.

That is how I have managed to stay alive until now.

☠☠ ☠

Same as we did in Cemeserra, we looked for a moderate inn in town. And we got the same single bed, two rooms. The gems I had picked up haphazardly from the Lord’s mansion could be exchanged for quite a good sum, so we should be able to live on it for some time.

Since the night had already fallen, Senri got ready to go to bed.

I dare say the primary reasons for her feeling unwell is sleep deprivation and the destruction of her natural bodily rhythm. Humans are beings that work during the day and require a good amount of sleep to function well.

Senri was on guard when I slept during the day, and also mostly awake during the night when I awake. It was only natural that even a Death Knight would feel unwell under such circumstances.

From now on, I should have her sleep more at night, though it would make me feel lonely.

Although being taken care of was nothing new to me, the feeling of taking care of someone was entirely different.

Humming a tune, I brought Senri’s supper to her room. The innkeeper said nothing, but I wonder what they thought of us asking for separate rooms although we arrived together. I doubt we look like travelers or peddlers or mercenaries for that sake.

I reached her room and stopped in front of the door.

Vampires cannot enter a room unless invited. It happens to be one of the strangest parts of the curse.

True vampires cannot invade others’ homes. I could probably do it if I pushed myself, but it would not feel very pleasant.

I do not know what the exact rules are, but it is rather meticulous. As far as shops or places of stay are concerned, I would be able to enter them, because as a customer I would be invited inside, but I would not be able to enter a shop after working hours are over.

In the case of inns with a lot of rooms, I would have no problem entering the lobby or dining area but I would not be able to enter any guest rooms. I reckon I would need the permission of the person staying in the room for me to be able to enter.

Owing to the curse, vampires cannot sneak into someone’s home and try to drink their blood. Even if other modes of entry like an open window or a chimney were present, and a chaste maiden lay defenseless on a bed in the middle of the room, they still would not be able to enter, no matter what. In that sense, vampires are very fair monsters.

Well at present, I do not really have plans to lie in wait and attack someone at their home, so it does not really count as my weakness, but some time in the future it could serve to be a big hindrance in my path.

Putting that aside for now, I found a way to make the most out of the curse.

With the food tray in my hand, I stared fixedly at the thin, wooden door.

I had not knocked yet, but I still felt fine. And that made me happy.

I do not have the key. In other words, it meant that Senri did not consider me a trespasser and that she accepted me. It was also proof of her trust.

If Senri and I were on opposing sides, she would not permit my entry into the room, so I would feel incredibly awful owing to the curse.

So at the very least, this was more than enough proof that we were on the same side at present.

If I had been able to transform into mist, then I could enter through the keyhole and not get censured for doing so.

Oh how wonderful it feels to be accepted! I needed confirmation and it was also one of the reasons I booked two rooms this time as well.

As I stood engrossed in thought, I heard the key turn and the door swung open.

Just out of bath, she had on casual clothes without the glasses and looked at me quizzically with her eyebrows raised.

“What are you doing simply standing in front of the door, without so much as a knock?”

“ Well, I was about to do just that.”

“… Nevermind. Someone might question you for lurking around in the corridor. Come in.”

Senri sighed as she explicitly invited me into the room.

☠☠ ☠

I decided to catch up on some reading alone during the time Senri rested in her room.

I had a lot of things I needed and wanted to do. I could not possibly leave the inn to hunt at night like I used to before when I lived in the Lord’s mansion, but I still need to get stronger somehow.

I could not pass the time gazing at Senri sleeping for her sake. I reckon the natural aura around undead who are originally enemies to her, does not really let her mind rest. A single wall separating us might not make much of a difference, but it should still be better than nothing.

And it was also to stop myself from being tempted to drink her blood as I watched her sleep.

My reading material consisted of the book on undead that I picked up from the Lord’s mansion and the book on non-elemental magic that Senri had bought for me in Cemeserra.

I was not aware that magic performed by mages was divided by elements.

The five important elements being fire, water, wood, metal and earth. Humans are born with an affinity to one of them and it determines the type of magic that they can wield. Someone with affinity to fire would not be able to use magic related to water and vice versa. Although extremely rare, there are gifted people born with strong affinity to multiple elements. People with affinities become mages.

I suppose the one who shot fire arrows at me was mage with fire attribute.

If so, what exactly was non-elemental magic?

Non-elemental magic is magic for those pitiful souls who possess mana but do not possess an affinity to any element.

All living, breathing creatures possess mana, but it seems most every being does not possess affinities to elements.

Such people are capable of wielding any magic irrespective of element but the result would still be far weaker than a mage who has an affinity.

The result of research to increase the power of such people was the birth of non-elemental magic.

There are almost no offense type spells in non-elemental magic. It was focused more on convenient use of magic, like for example, to make a small fire, make a cold breeze blow on a hot day, extract water from air or make mud balls out of earth.

I have mana, I mean, vampires are known to possess an incredible amount of mana, but possess no attribute. The crystal Senri had brought to identify my element simply glowed colourless, which also showed that I would not be able to rely on magic to improve my fighting capabilities.

Senri’s face had turned grim upon discovery but it was not her fault and despite being non-elemental, magic was still magic.

I was not able to wield magic even in my previous life and it is not really my aim to become a mage.

The only reason I am learning is because I find it fun to learn new things. It was in good humor that I had asked Senri to get me a book on non-elemental magic and decided to study it.

Thankfully, as a lesser vampire, I possess more mana than the average person. I have plenty of time to practise.

If I become capable of performing at least a few spells, I can make Senri’s life on the road a bit easier. Incidentally, Senri cannot use any magic it would seem. She mentioned something about healing magic not strictly falling under the magic category since it is done through the power of blessing.

And–there was one thing Senri failed to mention.

There were no details of it in the book and I doubt it would be covered in any commercially available grimoires, but… it is likely that necromancy is also a type of non-elemental magic.

Senri is not aware of this, but I am a vessel of the King of the Undead.

Before, I heard her say that the King of the Undead was an undead capable of performing necromancy. If that is true, then I could be capable of performing the abominable art, considering I was able to control the mighty Lord.

The book was no manual. However, all of the Lord’s knowledge was within me.

It was simply sealed deep within and there should certainly be a way to gain access to it.

It goes without saying that I cannot proudly display my use of necromancy in front of Senri.

I had best keep this to myself. Any kind of power would go towards prolonging my life.

I very much like the life I am living now.

Senri would regularly permit me a bit of her blood, make jokes at times as we travel the world together.

Although it comes with its fair share of difficulties, they were nothing too great that could not be overcome. It was almost perfect. She might even let me feed from her neck in the future.

However, I am not all that optimistic enough to believe that we would be able to continue to live this way forever.

I chanted the spell as dictated in the book and struggled to bring out the mana within me. Small sparks of fire fluttered around my index finger.

Seeing that, I smiled.

☠☠ ☠

I received a letter from an unknown sender on the third day of our stay in town.

We had done absolutely nothing to draw attention towards ourselves. Etched on the letter, as if to torment me, was the mark of a cross, which happened to be a vampire’s weakness.