14 CHAPTER XIII: THE END KNIGHTS (1/2)

It had been a long time since I had been out in the city.

I was almost bedridden in my last life, so it's been probably five or six years.

The sunlight pouring down from the sky hurt my skin. It had been a long time since I had gone out in the daytime, since I had been hunting in the middle of the night.

Sunlight is poisonous to the undead in general. Sunlight is a faint, but positive, beam of energy, which is why most undead are only active at night.

But that doesn't mean they can't move during the day.

The most famous undead with a weakness to sunlight are vampires, who turn to ashes after being exposed to it, but this is not because the positive energy of sunlight buries their negative power, but because of the effect of the curse itself. It is because of this limitation that they are unable to operate in sunlight that they are able to exert their immense power at night.

As a rule, the more weaknesses the undead have, the stronger their curse becomes. For the price of a meal and a small amount of pain, the undead gain a lot of power.

And according to Lord, ghouls, the lowest of the undead, are the least affected by sunlight.

The pre-mutated carcasses have no limitation of sunlight due to the curse, but their negative energy is so low that even the weak positive energy of sunlight can be a great burden.

If they are exposed to direct sunlight for a long period of time, they will be damaged, but thanks to the jet-black cloak borrowed from Lord, which reduces the power of the sun, the damage is kept to a minimum. His body movements are almost the same as usual.

The Dark Stalker, the next target of my mutation, is said to be greatly affected by sunlight, so this may be the last time I can walk around in the daytime without worrying.

Luu, who had been sent on an errand with me, walked silently in front of me.

His minimally exposed skin was as white and sickly as my undead skin, and his emaciated limbs made him look even more dying than I did. There are dark circles under her eyes, and her hair is dry and minimally groomed.

His clothes were cleaner than usual, but that was because Lord had made him wear something that would not arouse suspicion when he went out.

In the end, Lord's attitude toward Luu, who had risked his life to accuse me, did not change in any way.

I avoided being turned into an undead, but that was all. I don't know much about Luu's background, and I'm not interested in him, but I guess he's not worth much to Lord.

However, I have some sympathy for him even if I am not interested. It's only a little more than Lord's, but her days without freedom are similar to mine when I was bedridden before I died.

If I could kill the Lord without incident, I might let her go.

Lord's order to us was to go to a nearby town (called Engei) and pick up the goods he had requested from Huck.

With Luu's guidance, we easily passed through the forest and reached the town. In the forest, demons were attacking me, but I had already reached a level where I could protect a man and get through the forest. I didn't have my machete with me because it might raise suspicion, but my claws were enough.

The town of Engei was about an hour's walk from the forest.

I thought it wouldn't be so unexplored since Huck could regularly bring coffins, but it was closer than I thought. The forest where the house was located was so large that it would be difficult to find if you didn't know where it was, but if you knew the direction, you could reach it just by walking straight. It seemed natural that Huck stopped entering the forest when he learned of the visit of his natural enemy.

The town of Engei was quite prosperous. It was not a big city, but it was not a village either. The gates were sturdy, the ground was hard-packed, and there were many large carriages coming and going.

There was the bustle that I had once longed for.

I entered the city, using the identification that Lord had prepared for me. There was no sign of suspicion that I was undead.

I am undead, but my appearance is quite human. My complexion is pale, but there are plenty of people like that. If you show them your intelligence, which the undead rarely have, some of their discomfort will disappear.

Among the undead, vampires are the most feared because they have an average intelligence and can hide among people.

I'm a werewolf, but I can speak and I can operate in the sunlight. In terms of being able to blend in, I'm probably the best of the undead, surpassing vampires who can only move at night.

I look at the crowd with some excitement. Sounds, colors, and smells abounded.

”Lu, why don't we take a look around the city?

”......

The Lord's mansion in the dark is not bad, but this is a wonderful sight. I don't have a lot of money, so I can't waste it, but it wouldn't hurt to take a look around.

Luu was nonchalant as my eyes widened and the bright scene burned into my mind.

I've been ordered by the Master to finish my business and return home as soon as possible.

”But he didn't tell me to finish my business quickly. As long as you and I are on the same page.

............, you're supposed to be my bodyguard.

Living in the dark like that all the time. It's okay to have a little fun.

I try to keep my voice down and persuade Luu as I follow him down the path.

He's been with the Lord a lot longer than I have. I'm sure he's got plenty of complaints.

”Lord can't see or hear what's going on with me and Lu. He'll never find out. It's not like I'm violating any orders. They told us to hurry up, but they didn't give us a time limit.

............

The restrictions placed on Lou are much lighter than the ones placed on me. There's no reason why I can't do it and Lou can't do it.

Slavery is not something to be discussed openly, but it is a common existence. So I know a little about their limitations.

The collar of a slave is enchanted. But unlike the unlimited absolute commands for the undead, the magic is quite light.

Perhaps it is because humans are not designed to be bound, unlike the undead, who are the result of a curse that was originally created to be manipulated.

The restrictions placed on slaves are ...... pain.

I follow orders on my own, but slaves are punished in the form of pain for violating orders.

And there are a number of restrictions. There are only three restrictions that can be imposed simultaneously.

Two of them are always occupied by the prohibition of self harm and the prohibition of indirect or direct aggression against the master, so there is only one command that can be used at will.

The command must be strict. If the order is too broad, there is a possibility that the slave will violate the order by accident and die from the pain, or on the other hand, there is a possibility that the slave will be exploited.

There are a number of loopholes in the order to a slave. That's why I was followed by her.

I know because she gave me the order in front of me. Lou's orders were to, as I said, ”finish your business and return quickly.

In addition, she's been told that if I die on the way for any reason, I'll be tortured for a long time and then killed.

My orders are to protect Luu and follow instructions as best I can. If I'm out of options, I'm to abandon Luu and run back.

There's no limit to the number of orders I can give, so the ones I gave before - no actions that could harm the Lord and no running away - are still in place, but at least the orders given to me and Luu are not in conflict.

For the first time, Luu's eyes change color in response to my good idea.

He looks up at me with fear and a hint of anger, as if he were looking at a monster. In a trembling voice, he mutters to himself.

Don't you dare tempt me. You monster. I'll report back to you later on about the words you offered me, sir.

Negotiations broke down. ......?

It's true. She's been chastised once because of me.

Strictly speaking, it wasn't my fault, it was Luu's own fault for doing something unnecessary, but I don't think she thinks so.

I smiled at her as she pushed her fears to the back of her mind and acted stoutly, if only formally.

It's no use. You know that ...... won't change the way Lu is treated until he dies. Lord knows I'm going to do that.

That's why he didn't want me to go into town alone.

It may be that he doesn't know the way, but he could have given me a map and I wouldn't have had to worry about that. I teamed up with Luu because she and I are not allies.

That's a crafty sorcerer. You're a cunning sorcerer. At my words, Luu closes her purple lips tightly and her expression tightens.

Unlike me, she's not a forbidden being, but she seems to be afraid of everything in the world and doesn't believe in anything.

I haven't been in the city in a long time, and ...... I feel so refreshed.

How wonderful it would be to be able to shop, eat and sightsee freely.

”Yes. If you listen to my suggestion, I'll give you a ride back to the city when the Lord dies somehow and you're free.

Luu's face took on a dumbfounded expression for a moment, then quickly broke down at my perfect proposal.

Her eyes widened, and she squeezed her skinny hands, shivering as if she were shivering. The voice that came out of her lips was louder than before.

The Master is ...... never, ever, ever going to die. Invincible. The Master is a terrible man. I've seen him strike back at many. We'll die first, you and I.

His voice sounded like a scream to me.

I felt no emotion. No pity. But what I heard was disappointment.

I had already expected it from what I had seen so far, but when I actually saw it, I couldn't stop feeling it.

Luu's heart is already broken. No, he's broken, and that's probably why he's been a slave under the evil necromancer for so long. The shackles are loose, but he's been living his life as he is.

Maybe that's why she's so afraid of the Lord, because death is no help to her.

I can't convince Lu. I thought he would be a strong ally if I could convince him, but he's too weak to be a collaborator.

I'll have to think of a way to persuade him, even if I have to ask for a little help.

Well, ...... that's ...... scary.

”............

In response to these bland words, Luu silently walks away, looking slightly down, as if he is being manipulated.

I let out a small sigh and decided to follow Luu as ordered by Lord.