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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 13
Chapter Title: The Stigma
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-What is it?
“Well, when I went to the market today, I met a strange man. He seemed to know me.”
After I explained the whole story, Lev tapped his tail against the desk.
-Hmm. How interesting. He might have been so sure because he sensed the aura of death from the accident.
“Is that even a thing?”
-Yes. It's possible for a skilled warlock or a priest.
A warlock or a priest.
Could there be a more extreme pair of possibilities?
-Didn't you say it was the Holy See that held a grudge against your family? If it's those gloomy bastards, it's certainly plausible. They haven't changed one bit!
Lev scowled as if utterly disgusted. It was fascinating that a cat could even make such a fed-up face.
“But if he were a priest, there's no way I wouldn't have noticed. Warlocks instinctively feel a repulsion to divine power.”
-There are quite a few who have learned to conceal their divine power. It wouldn't be strange if he were an assassin secretly employed by the Holy See.
“You can conceal it?”
-You may not know it, but you're quite good at concealing your demonic energy as well. You probably hide it instinctively.
“Me?”
-That's because both divine power and demonic energy have some effect on humans. Humans feel at ease within the influence of divine power, and discomfort within the influence of demonic energy.
I knew divine power had an effect like aromatherapy, but I never imagined demonic energy did the opposite.
-Have you never felt that many people disliked you for no reason? You wouldn't have been able to control it properly as a baby.
“I've never really thought about it that way...”
Of course, there were always people who disliked me. But I always thought it was because I had many shortcomings for a member of House Walker.
-Tsk, tsk. Your ability must have evolved to conceal your demonic energy for survival. Even if a high-ranking priest saw you up close, they probably couldn't be certain whether you're a warlock or not.
So that must be the real reason people still shun me. It was a rather bitter conclusion.
But it wasn't anything new. As long as I wasn't discovered by a priest, it was fine.
“That's a relief.”
-A relief? What relief! It means you're not properly wielding the immense demonic energy within you! It's because it has stagnated for so long.
Lev grumbled again about how I should have trained like he told me to.
I brushed my hand over my ear.
-Hm? Why your ear? Is something wrong?
“No, just checking if it was bleeding.”
-Bleeding? ...Hiiiiisss!
Realizing belatedly that I was teasing him, Lev's fur stood on end as he hissed.
-Who are you calling a nag!
But you are a nag...
***
“That merchant, Donald. His name sounds a bit dull, but he's quite skilled.”
Isaac said in an admiring tone.
Five corpses lay before us.
They were staining Edmond's office desk with blood, which was slowly starting to congeal. Less than a day after Edmond had given the order, Donald had delivered five fresh corpses.
His men had arrived in secret, dropped off the iron boxes, and disappeared.
All of them were tightly sealed so that nothing inside was visible, and we had just taken one out.
“If we get caught, we'll all be executed on the spot, right?”
Yulia said, her eyes narrowed. It was probably the first time she had seen a corpse up close.
“Hmm. All the families associated with us might be wiped out.”
Isaac replied as if it were nothing.
Though the content of his words was anything but.
The point was, these corpses couldn't be discovered by anyone.
‘I've told everyone not to approach the office, the door is locked... I think I've done everything I can.’
I carefully went over the explanation Lev had given me.
♡Emily's Special Zombie Recipe♡
-Ingredients:
- A fresh corpse, recently deceased (check)
- A warlock's blood (check)
- A weakened zombie (check)
Alright, the ingredients are perfect.
“Then I'll begin. Isaac's condition is the most urgent, so I'll perform it on him first.”
“Okay. I'm ready.”
Placing the nameless person's corpse next to Isaac, I stood straight before them both.
I took out a dagger and, without hesitation, sliced it across my palm.
*Slice!*
As I cut my palm, blood dripped, staining the floor. As if it knew its role, it crept along the floor, drawing a perfect circle.
The movement was natural. Before I knew it, a magic circle materialized beneath my feet.
The blood of a warlock is itself a sacrifice that enhances the power of black magic and increases its success rate. I closed my eyes and infused the magic circle with demonic energy.
*Whoooosh.*
A brilliant light emanated from the magic circle. The entire room was bathed in red.
“Ugh...!”
The red light engulfed Isaac, who stood in the center of the circle. The moment the light touched the corpse, it disintegrated into grains of sand.
*Fwoooosh!*
Then, the grains of sand began to swirl around Isaac. A small sandstorm erupted, and the wind was so fierce it was hard to look straight at him.
Books flew off the shelves and tumbled to the floor, and stacks of documents scattered everywhere.
“Brother! Are you okay?!”
I shouted, barely managing to shield my face with my arms. My hair whipped around, constantly blocking my vision.
“Isaac!”
There was no answer to my cry. I was suddenly terrified that something might have gone wrong.
I could probably stop it by disrupting the magic circle, but I couldn't guarantee Isaac would be unharmed if I did.
While I was stuck, unable to do anything, the sandstorm slowly subsided.
“Isaac...”
I started to call his name but stopped.
Isaac stood tall in the middle of the magic circle. He looked perfectly fine, making my worries seem foolish.
He was looking down at his hands. His glasses had been blown away, making his eyes look fiercer than usual.
The moonlight caught his black hair, making it gleam. His face was still pale, but a hint of color had returned to his lips.
“It's strange, Emily.”
Isaac barely managed to lift the corners of his mouth. It seemed difficult for him to smile.
“I feel... stronger than before, I think.”
Outwardly, he didn't look much different. But it seemed Isaac felt otherwise.
He looked confused, clenching his fist tightly as he barely managed to spit out the next words.
“I'm thirsty.”
That was strange. They were akin to living corpses, so they generally didn't feel human desires.
Appetite, the need for sleep, the need to excrete. All three were incredibly faint. To suddenly feel thirst...
“You're thirsty for water?”
“No, it's not that kind of thirst. It's more...”
He frowned, as if trying to find the right word.
“Just hang in there a little longer. Once we finish up with the rest, we can go back soon.”
“Okay.”
Isaac frowned as if confused about something, but then he nodded in agreement.
“How's your wrist?”
“It feels much better.”
He picked up a piece of wood lying nearby. With a flick of his wrist, he swung it, leaving a thin scratch on the adjacent desk.
I wondered if it was even possible to cut wood with wood. But in a world where I could bring the dead back as zombies, what was impossible?
“At this rate, as long as I don't get into a direct test of strength, I think I'll be fine. My senses are decent too.”
He commented, repeatedly clenching and unclenching his fist. For a first attempt, this was a huge success.
‘So it takes devouring a whole able-bodied adult man to achieve this level of enhancement...’
How many deaths would it take to make them resemble their living selves? The thought was a bit daunting.
“What about you two?”
I looked toward Edmond and Yulia. Edmond cautiously voiced his opinion.
“If possible, I think it would be best for Yulia and me to decide after observing Isaac's progress. We don't know what kind of enhancements he's undergone.”
It was a prudent choice, just like him. Yulia, beside him, nodded in agreement.
“Then... what should we do with these?”
Following my gaze, the others turned their heads toward the iron boxes containing the corpses.
“It's hard to get corpses whenever we need them. What if we store them and use them later?”
“Can we do that? You said you needed fresh corpses.”
“If we keep them refrigerated... it should be possible, though not for too long.”
Lev had said they would last 48 hours at room temperature, but could last a good month if refrigerated.
“What if we get caught? It's cleaner to just get rid of them.”
“But what if we need another enhancement? Can we get new corpses then?”
Yulia and Isaac exchanged opposing views.
Both had valid points.
“Emily, can't you store them somehow with your powers?”
“Hmm. I don't think so.”
If that were possible, we wouldn't have needed to go through the trouble of transporting the corpses by carriage. Edmond looked down at the bodies as if weighing his options, then finally spoke his decision.
“We'll put them in the basement.”
“The basement?”
“We have one of those?”
“It was originally built as a safe house in case of a terrorist attack or a rebellion.”
He added that no one knew of it except for the head of the family and the head butler.
“Entry is impossible without my permission, and it's cold in there unless you activate the magical device. It's the most suitable place to store the corpses.”
“Alright. Where do we move them?”
Isaac immediately shouldered two of the iron boxes and asked. Edmond twisted a candlestick on the office wall.
*Rumble...*
The bookshelf then split apart, revealing a large iron door.
“It's in here.”
To think such a secret was hidden in a place I passed through every day.
*Whew!*
Isaac whistled.
“Wow, so our house has a secret passage? I thought that was just something out of a fairy tale... Aack!”
*Clang!*
Because Isaac had taken one hand off to whistle, one of the iron boxes he was carrying lost its balance and fell to the floor.
Since we had opened all the boxes to check the contents, what was inside spilled out onto the floor.
“Aack! What are you doing!”
Yulia shrieked in horror.
“Bloodstains are hard to get out of the carpet...”
“Is that what you're worried about right now?!”
Yulia stared at me in disbelief.
“Sorry, sorry. I thought I could balance it on my shoulder. I forgot my body isn't what it used to be.”
Isaac put down the box he was holding with his other hand and was about to deal with the corpse.
“Wait a minute.”
“Hm?”
“This is...”
I had discovered something strange.
There was a faint stain on the nape of the corpse's neck.
It was mostly faded, making its original shape hard to discern. Normally, I would have probably dismissed it as just a bruise.
-There is a Stigma carved on this one's neck.
“...”
My luck couldn't possibly be this bad.
Of all the corpses to pick up, we had to get one like this.
