Chapter 79: Where in the world are there ghosts nowadays? (01)

  About 50 years ago, the king of two geions past was sidered too faied for the tumultuous times.

  However, thanks to decades of war-hardened nobles and elders, even a timid king could lead the try to a certaient.

  Yet, oh anniversary of his reign, he issued a decree without prior sensus with the Elder cil or the nobility.

  Prohibition of discrimination against the Ain species and other races.

  Initially, there was backsh with arguments like, "How beastmen and humahe same? Are you saying we should be eaten by monsters?" But the king pushed his decree through the Elder cil, and early on, it led to signifit turmoil.

  He established flexible rules that allowed for defense against hostile as as one would against human enemies, and if unication failed, it permitted campaigns against them as monsters, thus enag various ws.

  Initially doubted for its effectiveness, the decree eventually propelled the kingdom to bee the only one on the tio accept beastmen like werewolves and orcs as allies. After thwarting a major invasion by the Saitorax Republic, the king's influerengthened, leading to the iion of races like elves, dwarves, amen into the kingdom as we see today.

  While not perfect, this regution has been praised as a masterstroke for revitalizing the kingdom. Most of the female knight didates are now of mixed heritage or from the Ain species, and other non-human races like elves, dwarves, amen hold positions in society, redug major strife to minor flicts.

  Moreover, discrimination based on occupation was also prohibited, being neancers in particur.

  Previously, neancers, who would steal corpses from battlefields raves and raise the dead without sent, were seen as a malevolent group. If caught by a knight, they faced death or, worse, could wipe out aire vilge with undead.

  However, after the anti-discrimination ws took effect, some neancers surrendered voluntarily, promising to duct their practices legally and fairly. Despite fierce opposition from temples serving gods of ce and war, the king decided it was better tute and disclose their activities at a safe level rather than driving them underground, where they would likely be sought after even more.

  As a result, neancers who stepped into legality could mitigate their sentences by fessing their past crimes, though many were formally tried. Their knowledge of neancy, however, reserved as necessary rather than evil.

  Employed neancers were ter pardoned and tasked to work in unwanted sectors like funeral services or corpse ma, being both themselves as ideal training grounds and the public who would never want to be involved in such grim tasks.

  Traditionally, neancers now operate in the funeral industry by raising the undead only with prior permission from the deceased, or in cases where the deceased has tracted them to plete unfiasks post-mortem, limiting resurre to that specific purpose.

  This has signifitly reduced manipution of wills ful accusations following assassinations among the nobility, ultimately being society and providing a ce for the deceased to say final goodbyes, improving the public image of neancers.

  However, as there is light, there is also darkness.

  Just as there are knights who act illegally in the shadows, simir to those seen in the underground sve markets, there are neancers who choose to operate in the darkness rather than stepping into the light.

  These individuals are quickly tracked down a with by the temple and reformed neancers, with most either joining the legitimate ones or simply passing on their knowledge without itting crimes, thus posing little threat.

  Especially now, even if acts of evil are itted, they are detected almost immediately by the temple and neancer anizations responsible for tombs and graves, and I am dispatched before anything escate.

  "Whew... it's hot."

  Although Holy Week is usually a bit chilly in spring, it strangely felt sweatingly hot now.

  "Is it because their body heat is high?"

  Currently, Molng and Shuru were led in my arms.

  Molng, being a slime, stays the same temperature as its surroundings, so while it's cool to the touch when exposed to the air, it bees warm and toasty when cuddled, and Shuru’s thick hair naturally raises body temperature.

  Normally, knights must maheir body temperature, but now it wasn’t possible, and si wasn’t a bat situation, I just threw off my shirt and stuffed it into my bag.

  "Phew... it's hot..."

  Lick.

  "Don't lick my nipples with that tongue."

  My nipples are sensitive, and it hurts a bit when Shuru's rough toouches them.

  Why are nipples such a sensitive area for knights? In aimes, some thin armors were even designed with spaces to aodate nipples because they could be injured by the hard surface of the armor.

  This is also why female knights initially struggled to ractical thin armors; revealing the shape of their nipples table for men but not for women, who disliked exposing theirs publicly, thus deterring many from applying to bee knights.

  "It's not too far, but since we 't take a carriage, it's taking quite a bit of time."

  Luckily, the cemetery, a noble’s mausoleum, wasn’t too far from the capital.

  Even by infusing mana into my legs for a brisk walk, I could reach it in a day, a distahat even a civilian could cover on foot if they took their time.

  This pce was once used as a cemetery for nobles, rumored to be filled with numerous treasures. It was often looted, and sometimes the Thieves' Guild was hired to prevent these thefts, only for them to betray their tracts and loot the tombs themselves. However, after the cemetery was ravaged and damaged during a demon army attaear the capital, nobles preferred to bury their dead within their owories thereafter.

  While the southerories could withstand demon invasions, the capital was always a target for the Demon King's forces, hehe shift to more secure personal burial sites. This tradition turhe noble's mausoleum almost into an abandoned pce.

  Before the demon invasion, there was even a mansion built here for the nobles overseeing the funerals, but now it has been abandoned for over 50 years, leaving behind a creepy site of ruins aed graves.

  "I see the mansion up on the hill."

  Although the paths had vanished over time, I used a machete I'd brought along to clear a way through the rown branches.

  "From here on, follow me on foot."

  "Meow!"

  Boing-boing.

  Shuru and Molng, being small, easily frolicked through the trees without a clear path, so I just o be careful moving forward myself.

  'Swinging a machete shirtless, I look like some barbarian warrior.'

  Having been on maernal missions tely, my skin had tanned siderably, and I po get some skiments with the fee I'd earn after this mission.

  "Huh?"

  As I moved beyond a certain point and approached the mansion, the tangled undergrowth suddenly cleared, revealing a radius of about 500 meters around the mansiohe trees appeared dead and bed as if scorched.

  'Did someone spray a herbicide here in the past? I know this mansion has been abandoned for over 50 years... Could it be some powerful potion?'

  It was said that noble families used a potion with toxic properties to prevent weeds in their gardens... If not, the trees were too ly dead to make seherwise.

  Retly, due to side effects harmful to humans, the use of such potions had been banned by the alchemists' guild.

  The stark trast between the lush undergrowth and the brittle dead trees made it impossible not to feel a deliberate intervention.

  "Aaack!"

  Suddenly, Shuru, who was usually happy pying in the woods, went into battle mode, raising her cws and bristliail as she stared at the mansion. I checked the mansion for any signs of activity, but it remained silent.

  "Aaack! Hiss!"

  "What's wrong?"

  Molng approached, not uanding why Shuru was ag out, and tried to intervene, but Shuru was clearly tense, her pupils sharpened like a cat's, retreating backward.

  "Why is she ag like this?"

  I picked up Shuru to soothe him, but she struggled violently, fully extending her cws. If Molng hadn't jumped up arained her hands a, my chest would have been covered in cat cw marks.

  'Did she see something strange? Perhaps sensing a neancer or undead?'

  I infused my eyes with mana to scrutihe mansion but saw nothing unusual.

  "Molng, please look after Shuru."

  Molng nodded, ing Shuru's hands a into her body to restrain him, and when Shuru tried to bite Molng, she simply covered her face with hers.

  "Uh, c her mouth with a kiss, that’s ued..."

  Bubble-bubble...

  But it wasn't a kiss; Molng was actually suffog Shuru by engulfing her fato hers.

  "Ah! What are you doing!"

  Before I could intervene, Molng had swallowed Shuru's face, and obviously, Shuru couldn't breathe, pletely overpowered.

  Filing... trembling... dragging.

  'She... She isn't dead, is she?'

  After Molng released Shuru's fad I firmed she was breathing, I finally breathed a sigh of relief.

  'Molng... what a terrifying child!'

  Leaving a calmer Shuru with Molng, who had reverted to her slime form and carried Shuru on her body, I approached the mansion.

  Though it was swelteringly hot just moments ago, it grew eerily cold as I he mansion.

  'I don’t feel any neantia ihe mansion, strange...'

  Anticipating something hidden inside and to minimize risk, I kicked open the mansion's old door with my foot, activated my mana saber, and stormed into the mansion.

  Bang!