The So-Called Church

Early the next morning, Serea got dressed and rose from bed, then came to the open space in the camp.

While she was getting up, leklis, Park, maro, as well as five blood slaves and eight direwolves, had already finished gathering.

And since they were only going to check whether the Church of Death posed any threat to her, Serea only brought along Celia, the Black Knight, and Talius.

“Let’s go, take me to see your chapel.”

After she spoke, everyone mounted their direwolves, and under Leklis’s lead, they quickly rushed into the jungle.

According to Leklis, their chapel was quite far from Serea’s camp; even on direwolf-back, it would take a full three hours.

On the way, at first, everyone kept quiet, but as the boring journey dragged on, some people couldn’t hold it in any longer.

“Teacher, is it really alright to bring them back to the chapel? Didn’t you and Julie say…”

“That’s only because you caused me trouble!”

“I… I was just worried for you, teacher…”

Leklis scolded in a low voice, but Serea still overheard the two whispering.

“Julie is your companion’s name?”

“Sort of… I guess.”

Leklis answered, and when he mentioned ‘Julie’, he scratched his head shyly. Seeing Leklis’s embarrassment, Serea could more or less guess the nature of his relationship with Julie.

“It seems your relationship isn’t ordinary. Is she your girlfriend?”

Serea had just asked when Park interjected.

“It’s Teacher who’s chasing after Julie, but Julie…”

“Shut up!”

Seeing Park about to expose him, leklis smacked him on the head; Park, holding his head, turned to look.

“What’s so wrong with that…”

“Are you looking for a beating?!”

“I’ll stop talking.”

Watching the two, Serea, who hadn’t cared much at first, now found herself interested.

“Seeing your reaction, I’m even more curious now. Just what kind of unusual woman is Julie to actually come live with you in this godforsaken place?”

Serea only said it casually, but upon hearing this, a hint of sorrow appeared on Leklis’s face.

“There’s nothing I can do… I am an undead mage, after all. If one day I can earn enough money, maybe we could hide our identities and leave here.”

“Oh? I thought you were someone ambitious, always talking about the ‘Church of Death’ and all.”

“Maybe once I was.”

Leklis gave an awkward smile, and from it, Serea could tell that Leklis was a man with a story.

“What about now? You’ve also spent some time in the jungle. Haven’t you earned enough money yet?”

“As long as I earn, I spend. The chapel’s expenses aren’t small either.”

“Food?”

“Yes. To buy food in this great forest… It’s not like other races that can trade with humans, or like you who has your own tribe. I, an undead mage not registered by the Empire’s ‘examination’, can only buy food from other races at a high price.”

As Leklis spoke, what he called the ‘examination’ referred to the process of registering one’s identity as an undead mage in countries willing to accept necromancy. Once registered, one could freely move as an undead mage in those countries.

So the question was…

“Why don’t you accept the Empire’s examination, then? After the examination, you could take ‘Julie’ to human lands.”

“That… for personal reasons, it’s impossible for me to pass the examination. If I try, I’ll just be arrested.”

“Did you violate national law for money and materials?”

“Neither, it’s just…”

Leklis started to speak, but realizing he was about to let something slip, quickly cut himself off.

“Please, my lady, allow me to keep a little secret.”

“I really hate people who speak only half of what they mean.”

Serea replied, displeased.

“Uh…”

“But if you don’t want to say it now, I won’t force you. Still, I look forward to the day you’re willing to tell me the whole story.”

“I’ll talk when I get the chance.”

Leklis gave a bleak smile, and with the conversation, they crossed another stretch of forest.

After carefully observing their surroundings, leklis’s face lit up with excitement.

“We’re here, just ahead.”

With that, leklis charged ahead, and everyone else followed. Soon, they saw a dilapidated house fenced with wooden planks; on the roof’s sign, there was even a ‘coffin with a cross’ pattern drawn in charcoal.

Seeing the ‘coffin with a cross’ and combining it with Leklis’s excitement, Serea could be sure that the crooked wooden house before her was the so-called ‘chapel’.

Everyone stopped outside the chapel, inspecting the dangerously built structure up close. Serea commented sarcastically.

“Lucky I didn’t trust your nonsense and let you build it. Is this what you call ‘the chapel you built with your own hands’?”

“Yes, though it isn’t pretty, the inside is quite nice.”

Leklis replied, and upon reaching the gate, he shouted toward the house.

“Julie, I’m back!”

Leklis called, and at his shout there was noise from inside. Immediately, twelve skeletons holding spears rushed out from the barn at the back.

Then, the chapel’s wooden door opened, and a girl in an apron holding a fruit knife came out.

She had long brown hair and a delicate face—a rare beauty, as evidenced by her A+ level charm—and she looked young, probably only about 19 or 20 years old.

Exiting the door, she glanced at Park, then looked at Leklis.

Then, a look of annoyance appeared on her face.

“Five days and nights without coming home, and you dare come back now!”

The girl with the fruit knife marched right up to Leklis. Seeing this, leklis instinctively…

Kneeled!

“I was wrong, but there’s a reason for all this.”

Leklis pleaded. Watching a nearly level-30 undead mage kneel to a girl of only level 12, Serea couldn’t help but feel it was a little odd.

“Go on then, explain. Don’t say I didn’t give you a chance.”

Glancing at the fruit knife in the girl’s hand, leklis swallowed hard.

He absolutely couldn’t tell her about accepting the Church’s ‘commission’ to attack others for money, or Julie would never forgive him.

“Uh, these days… I… I was helping this lady.”

Leklis turned to Serea.

“And?”

“So…”

So, saying he’d been ‘taken down by force’ was also out of the question, or he’d lose his last shred of dignity.

But he couldn’t admit he attacked others for money, nor could he say anything too humiliating, so…

“It was I who hired Leklis to help us build our camp. For this, we’ll pay you with a supply of food.”

“M-My lady.”

Leklis was a bit surprised—he didn’t know why Serea was willing to help him explain, let alone that she’d give them food!

At Serea’s words, julie let out a sigh of relief.

“Honestly, why didn’t you say so sooner?”

With that, she pulled Leklis up and hugged him.

“I thought you’d really accepted some ‘commission’ to attack someone. Next time before you leave, say something—don’t keep worrying everyone like this.”

Being hugged by Julie, leklis struggled inwardly. He hadn’t expected Julie to be so worried about such ‘commissions’.

“Yes, it won’t happen again next time.”

Even if there was a bit of white lie in there, leklis didn’t want Julie to worry.

And Serea understood now—the reason Leklis had gone to attack the merchant guild was that he needed food.

But food aside, there were so many ‘apprentice undead mages’ at the chapel. Couldn’t they gather food themselves? Why did Leklis have to go out alone and take up commissions?

Just as Serea thought this, she got her answer, because those so-called undead mage apprentices were…

“Daddy!”

“Daddy’s back!”

A group of small heads peeked out from inside the door. When they saw Leklis, innocent smiles broke out on their faces. Then, one by one, they ran out to greet Leklis.

So those dozen or so undead mage apprentices referred to these children, whose average age was only about seven.

Perhaps this was truly the reason why Leklis had to keep living.

(To be continued…)

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep