Chapter 143: Adrias’s Determination

The atmosphere quickly changed with Morne’s appearance.

Even Luna, who had been supporting me, seemed surprised when Morne started advocating for me.

“Why on earth?”

“He’s like my disciple.”

That’s not entirely wrong. After all, igrew up with his black magic book.

{T/n: Dude thinks a year is a lifetime}

When Morne smiled and spoke, Jester, who had lost his composure, canceled his magic.

Morne’s Death Knight, who had been emanating a strong presence, also stopped and disappeared as if melting into the ground.

In reality, it was the first time I had seen a Death Knight, not in the game, and it seemed as strong as expected.

“I don’t understand. Because of that guy, you suffered losses. Why are you taking his side?”

“I’m the one involved, and I’m fine. Do you have more to say?”

As Morne said, lossing Timur and Mirenea’s bodies were more of Morne’s loss than the assembly’s. Therefore, there shouldn’t be a problem as long as Morne was fine, but it seemed like his pride was hurt by what happened back then.

“He’s not even a part of the assembly. He must know that and act accordingly.”

“Jester, take this advice from an old man.”

In Morne’s calm eyes, there was a glint of bloodthirst.

“If you don’t want trouble, shut up.”

Crack!

As soon as Morne finished speaking, Jester folded the table next to him with magic.

Jester, who could only vent his anger without saying anything to Morne, left the room.

“Don’t worry; he’ll be back eventually.”

Probably talking about me?

I nodded my head in agreement.

He did help me, after all.

“Morne, it’s been a while.”

“Yeah, you’ve been through a lot too.”

As if there hadn’t been any disturbance, Hegel greeted us naturally.

Seeing Morne accept the greeting without hesitation, I also greeted him.

“It’s been a while, Godfather. I apologize for seeking your help as soon as we meet.”

“No need for that. There’s no need to make a big deal out of a trivial matter. Jester is a proud one, so you should understand.”

I replied with gratitude for now.

I knew that Jester was hostile toward me, but I didn’t want to provoke him yet.

Although Jester and Morne clashed, the banquet continued without any incidents.

From the outside, it seemed like an ordinary gathering of magicians, but to my eyes, who already knew most of the black mages, they were extraordinary black mages with dazzling facets.

‘It seems like they invited only the minimum number of people, considering that the gathering at Morche’s Nest was attended by very few.’

Leaving that aside, I was curious about when the real purpose of the gathering, the meeting, would take place.

“Is that guy really him? Using both magic and a sword…”

“Yeah, there are all sorts of people. What’s his level in black magic? I heard he was Charon’s disciple.”

“Didn’t Maximen Cronell come to the Empire to see him? What kind of ability does he have to bring Maximen here?”

“It seems like Hegel is also quite interested. I never thought Luna Pendragon and Morne would take his side…”

I can hear everything, you guys.

It seemed like they were quite interested in the new face, me.

Originally, it’s quite surprising to be here even though I’m not part of the gathering.

I was a bit bewildered when I received the invitation too.

“Hey, friend, take this.”

As I observed the black mages discussing me at one end of the table, Luna had been bringing food and offering it to me.

Come to think of it, we had agreed on me buying snacks for her a while ago, but I had completely forgotten about it.

It would be great if there were days when I could stroll through the city with Luna.

“Thank you.”

I accepted the unknown food Luna brought and tasted it.

Not bad.

“Friend, have you talked to Orc?”

“Orc?”

I asked as I swallowed the food in my mouth.

What is she talking about, talking to Orc?

“You got your soul imprint. Haven’t you used it yet?”

“Oh!”

Wait, I can talk to Al-Ghurd?

Of course, I knew that with a soul imprint, I could use the spirit with the imprinted soul. Luna had taught me how to do it in Endeavor.

Thanks to my background as a necromancer, I easily learned the basics of spirit magic, but I hadn’t used it once.

‘I never even thought about using Krivmaher when fighting Kreshain.’

Someday, when the opportunity arises, I wanted to use spirit magic to have a conversation with Al-Ghurd. Even if he’s an Orc, having reached the level of an Aura Master, he could provide valuable advice about swords.

Plomp.

While I was chatting with Luna, Morne, who had been talking with other people for a while, came over and took a seat beside me.

The other black mages were just gossiping about me and didn’t approach me, but Luna and Morne were treating me normally.

‘I’m feeling a little guilty now.’

Once I faced Morne, my feet itched.

It was none other than me who killed Charon, who happened to be Morne’s disciple. The fact that I had killed him hadn’t been revealed, but I couldn’t help feeling a bit guilty, considering that Morne had always been supportive.

“Oh my, I guess I’m too old now for long conversations. Hehe.”

“Grandfather, why don’t you go home and rest?” Luna said, patting Morne’s shoulder.

Morne seemed willing as he gave a warm smile.

Seizing the moment, I initiated a conversation with him.

“Godfather, you mentioned Dragon Lair before, didn’t you?”

“Hmm?”

Morne opened his eyes inquisitively at my words and briefly scanned the surroundings.

Some people were glancing in our direction, but I paid no mind.

“Child, there are many ears listening.”

“It’s alright.”

I intentionally mentioned it loudly.

Morne, who gazed at me as if peering into my soul when I casually responded, eventually smiled.

“Alright, go on and ask.”

“I wanted to express my gratitude. Thanks to you, Godfather, I acquired some valuable items.”

“Is that so? I’m glad to have been of help.”

He seemed to care for me by not asking what I had obtained. I felt that he was considerate.

For that reason, I couldn’t help but ask this question that had been on my mind since our first meeting.

“Why do you help me so much, Godfather? You’ve shown me immense kindness without expecting anything in return, so I couldn’t help but become curious.”

“Just know that I help because I want to, and don’t worry about it. I don’t want anything from you.”

He evaded my question while sipping wine from a glass.

I wanted to ask more, but seeing his determined expression, I held back.

There didn’t seem to be a point in asking further, as he probably wouldn’t answer. I changed the topic.

“Alright. By the way, I regret what happened to Professor Charon.”

“It’s fine. I only enrolled him in the academy because I needed someone planted there. There’s not much to regret. I suppose you’re concerned about how you’re doing. You’ve been through a lot together, after all.”

“Yes. In fact, our relationship has been strained since the last gathering. Looking back now, I regret not having more conversations. I should have talked more.”

I uttered a lie, feeling disgusted with myself.

Morne didn’t seem too concerned about Charon anyway. He had other disciples besides Charon. Among the black mages here, two were already prominent enough. So, Charon’s fate was probably not a big deal.

‘It’s not as if the master-disciple relationship was that strong from the beginning.’

Magicians tended to be selfish.

Whether they were black mages or regular mages, there wasn’t much difference. The reason for taking on an apprentice was usually to have someone to assist them, not because they genuinely thought the apprentice needed to be nurtured.

In fact, it was more of a mutually beneficial relationship.

“Everyone, pay attention.”

As the atmosphere in the banquet hall gradually grew more tense, Hegel spoke in the middle of the hall. The black mages, who had been acting like ordinary nobles, suddenly focused their attention.

“Shall we start moving to the next location now?”

His words brought silence to the banquet hall.

Finally, it was time for the meeting.

I was curious whether the discussion would revolve around “Wrath” as I had expected.

“But before that, there’s something we need to address.”

Hegel continued speaking.

His words were clearly directed at me, no matter who was listening.

“Even so, it’s only proper for those affiliated with the assembly to attend the next location. Don’t you agree?”

“Right, that makes sense.”

“Of course!”

Is this how it’s going to be?

I guess I was too naive.

“Nevertheless, there’s something we must clarify.”

Hegel’s intentions were still unclear to me, but his timing for saying such things seemed odd.

“Adrias Cromwell.”

He approached me slowly.

The bizarre tattoo on his face continued to wriggle, and although his expression remained unchanged, it appeared as if he were smiling.

“Aren’t you ready to make a decision now?”

“A decision?”

“Yes, a decision. Whether you’ll join the rally or step back here. There will be no repercussions for stepping back; I simply called you here for my personal interest.”

Hegel’s attitude wasn’t bad.

In fact, he seemed quite friendly.

Seeing him like this made it seem like he genuinely wanted me to join the rally.

‘What’s his angle?’

What is he aiming for?

‘Original Sin?’

No, the knowledge of the Original Sin was surely limited to the Emperor and his inner circle.

So far, the rally probably had no knowledge of the Original Sin’s existence.

Since I became Adrias, toke the Original Sin, and changed the future, the assembly should have never learned about the Original Sin’s existence.

They might be aware of the seven deadly sins, but they couldn’t possibly imagine the existence of the original sin.

‘Then what does he want from me? Is it Greed?’

I pondered sin for a while, then bit my lip.

Right now, that wasn’t the most important thing.

All eyes were focused on me…

The time to make a decision was approaching.

When I thought about it, there was no reason to hesitate to join the rally.

After all, it was an undeniable fact that I was a necromancer.

Becoming a member of the assembly would not change anything about my status as a necromancer.

Nevertheless, I had always hesitated to join the assembly.

‘I’ve always thought of necromancer as enemies.’

Perhaps it was because of my gaming experience.

Even though I was a necromancer myself, I had always felt enmity towards them.

Ironically, I had separated myself from them, thinking I was different.

“Friend.”

Luna called out to me and grabbed the hem of my clothes.

When I hesitated to respond, she smiled warmly and nodded.

“You don’t have to do it if you don’t want to.”

Come to think of it…

Luna was also a member of the necromancer’s assembly.

‘Did I misunderstand something?’

Being a necromancer didn’t necessarily make someone a bad person, and I knew that as a necromancer myself.

Among them, there were certainly those with their own stories, but cases of necromancers learning magic through malicious means were rare. In the first place, if someone engaged in such actions, rumors would spread quickly and they would be quickly suppressed. So being cautious was only natural.

‘To progress through future episodes, I’ll need the power of an organization as well.’

The Freedom Knights, where the first player character, Louis, belonged, had their own power, and the other player characters had their own family backgrounds and the power of their mage towers.

So, was there really anything preventing me from joining?

“Have you made your decision?”

Hegel asked as if he had waited long enough.

In the midst of everyone’s attention, I slowly opened my mouth.

“I will join the assembly.”

“That’s a good choice. Welcome to the assembly.”

Hegel applauded.

And then, as if taking cues from him, others began to applaud as well.

“Are you okay, friend?”

“Yes, I’m fine.”

Ironically, it felt too easy.

And I had a new goal now.

“Now that it’s come to this…”

The assembly.

I’ll make it mine.

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