LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 420
Expert.
A person who is well-versed in specific fields of knowledge and skill.
Contrary to what one might think, it’s actually rare to find someone who focuses solely on one area of expertise.
Through the short-statured alchemist, Hana, who became famous in a certain manga, there’s a saying: “One is the whole, and the whole is one.”
Or rather, the various paths eventually lead to a single destination, as expressed in the concept of 만류귀종 (all currents return to their source).
This is because a particular field is subtly interconnected with others. In other words, it’s quite rare for knowledge from another field to not assist in studying a major.
Simply put.
The only necromancer in the Wizard’s Tower of Winterhome.
The elf Narque was a professional at preservation.
After all, for a necromancer who needs to acquire corpses for magic, butchery and anatomy are another form of magical practice.
“Unicorn~♩ Unicorn~♪ Ha, a whole one~♬”
Through magic, the unicorn, which had just died, was thawed and hung from the ceiling, flanked by a blood-covered beauty in a shabby robe and a gaunt middle-aged man.
The cautious hands that were worried about damaging the leather made the two seem like killers in a slasher movie.
“Though you’re an elf, I honestly found it hard to trust you as a wizard. With skills like this, aren’t you better than me?”
“I appreciate the compliment, but that feels a bit… prejudiced.”
“Ah, where does such a vile thought come from? It’s merely praise. Necromancer lady, praise. I mean it, praise!”
The middle-aged man humbly acknowledged the disparity in skills.
Despite being young for an elf, he was quite modest.
In a way, it was rather heartwarming to see.
“It would be nice if this place weren’t like this.”
As I glanced around the room, there were horseshoe charms, dried four-leaf clovers, rabbit’s feet, keys, spider webs, and crow feathers scattered around—the walls, shelves, floor, doorsteps, and doorknobs.
However, the most eye-catching thing was the bizarre magic circle drawn in the center of the room, spaced two fists apart, resembling a witch’s lair from 500 years ago.
Over that, Narque and the middle-aged preserver were carefully handling the unicorn, trying not to step on the magic circle.
“I suppose I’ll move the jar of blood.”
“Ah, when you come back, bring the jar for my, my innards—and an empty bucket.”
“Before that, shouldn’t we wash the blood off?”
“With magic, it, it’s possible. There’s specialized equipment too.”
Who would’ve thought timid Narque would come out with something so unexpected.
“This is pleasantly surprising.”
Olivier also seemed taken aback, stroking his long beard and raising an eyebrow.
“I never thought this timid fellow could form such a good synergy with a necromancer.”
“Well, collaboration is common here at the tower, isn’t it?”
“But she was hired by the Adventurer Guild, right?”
“That’s true.”
If we exclude Robin, the third son of the Duke’s Family, Narque was basically regarded as the third most significant figure in the Wizard’s Tower.
Yet, she hadn’t lost her original spirit.
She had always been timid since we first met, even now.
This might actually be something beneficial for her if she could let her guard down a bit.
“No one would say anything even if she wasn’t particularly formal.”
“Do you really think that timid one could be informal with anyone?”
“No.”
There was no hesitation in his response.
Karem didn’t consider any other answer and simply spoke his thoughts.
Amid all this, Karem caught sight of Robin, who was sitting in the distant right corner, looking somewhat bored as he surveyed the room.
“What’s the third prince doing right now? Taking observational notes?”
“It’s a lesson of sorts. I was instructed to document how magical energy reacts with charms and magic circles.”
“Reactions? I can’t see anything with my eyes, you know.”
“That’s normal; it’s not visible to the eyes of ordinary folks.”
“Yeah, but… it feels a bit odd.”
“Hmm…”
Olivier, seemingly feeling the oddity of his own words, paused in his beard-stroking and looked up at Karem, tapping his lips.
“…I know without needing to say it.”
“More than that, I can’t help but feel flabbergasted when I think back.”
“About what?”
“About you handing that to Kitty like it’s street food on a skewer.”
He whispered this and then sighed deeply, glaring at the ceiling with dissatisfaction.
“It’s infuriating to think that all those things were given to someone so ungrateful that they don’t even appreciate the grace of those who harvested and raised them. I wonder what they plan to do with all of that—”
Eep!
“Eh!?”
Narque exclaimed loudly.
Having just handed the freshly-skinned leather to the preserver, she hurriedly ran towards the magic circle.
“What do you mean by that?!”
“Whoa, wait a moment, Narque.”
“Wasn’t that supposed to be for research at the tower? I thought that was the case!”
“Calm down and first set down the butchering knife in your hands.”
“That’s not the point! It’s such fresh and well-preserved material—”
Suddenly, a black shape dashed before Karem’s eyes.
Thud!
“Thwack!!!”
The afterimage that descended from above smashed down onto Narque’s head.
In an instant, Karem blinked, lowering his gaze.
Just a moment ago, Narque, who had been yelling, was now sprawled on the floor, resembling a dead frog due to her shabby robe.
Clang—clinkclinkclink—
Next to her lay the horseshoe charm that had fallen from the ceiling, quivering slightly after hitting the ground.
Even with the situation having turned chaotic in an instant, Olivier remained calm.
“There’s no need to panic. It’s a jinx.”
A jinx.
Olivier poked Narque on the side with the end of his staff.
“They say in a quiet dungeon, the first person to make a loud noise gets hurt.”
“…Ah.”
Suddenly, the cliché from American horror films, where characters ignore all warnings, flashed through my mind.
“In reality, it’s just the nonsense of those who have tiny hearts, but if you believe it, it can manifest as a jinx.”
“Teacher? Should I write this down too?”
Olivier gestured to Robin, who was already busy folding leather, his hands were swift.
“So, with one hand currently in this state, should I be given a bit more time?”
“Since the hardest tasks like bleeding, horns, skin, and fur are done, I can manage the rest by myself. Besides, that elf lady has really good skills, you know.”
To prove his point, the preserver gripped his dagger upside down and swiftly cut open the belly of the naked unicorn.
*
*
*
As promised.
He began throwing the contents into a large bucket he had dragged over with his foot, slicing through flesh without making a sound, separating tendons, bones, and cartilage with precision.
After finishing his work, the preserver was waved off by Mary as he left the tower.
“And so.”
After paying, Mary immediately met Olivier and Robin, who were tidying up the room, and looked down at Narque.
“May I ask why Escarna is in this state right now?”
“It seems to be a punishment for making such a loud noise.”
“Hmm.”
“It’s said that in a quiet dungeon, the first person to make a loud noise gets hurt.”
“Ahh… so that was the jinx.”
Mary nodded in understanding, as if she had heard it before.
“Do you also know about this jinx?”
“Thanks to the former master I served, I have some knowledge about dungeons.”
“… Could that master be…?”
“Yes. The master who tried to stab me in the gut.”
A tense atmosphere immediately cloaked the room.
“Ugh… W-what just—”
Fortunately for Karem, Narque, still dazed, began to rise but quickly held her head and slumped back down.
“Ouch! My head—what on earth happened…?”
“Calm down. You’re in the Wizard’s Tower. You almost had a metal charm embedded in your head, but it seems you’re okay. Is there anywhere strange?”
“I feel so empty… ah! The unicorn! Is the unicorn—!”
“You mean the unicorn?”
Meanwhile, Mary, who had been trying to transport some materials, paused her steps.
“As per the contractor’s orders, we plan to move everything from here for now.”
“Huh? What does that mean… could it be true?”
“I’m not sure what you mean by ‘true,’ but if you want to use the byproducts, you should request it from the contractor later.”
“No, wait. Mary! Mary!”
Despite feeling spaced out, Narque struggled to get Mary to stop from the floor.
“I suggest you take a break today since a metal chunk just hit your head.”
“R-rest?”
“Yes. Above all, if you speak so loudly, the jinx might activate again.”
“…Oh, right!!! Speaking of which, we were in the middle of…!”
Swish—
The black shape once again zoomed rapidly before Narque’s eyes, leaving a trail as it smacked the top of her head.
Thud!
“Thwack!!!”
Once again, the situation was subdued.
Karem stared blankly before looking up.
Two strings hanging from the ceiling, holding charms, had snapped.
Karem blinked, then lowered his gaze again.
Narque, who had just woken up, was now face down on the floor.
Beside her lay the horseshoe charm that had just struck her head, quivering slightly after its fall.
“…Aren’t we done with the jinx-related stuff?”
“Eh… We shouldn’t let our guard down until we clear the magic circle and materials and remove all the charms.”
Olivier clicked his tongue and then checked Narque’s eyes, which were closed, placing his fingers on her throat.
“Fortunately, she just fainted. After what hit her, she’ll need to rest until the day after tomorrow.”
“That’s a relief. Then can we continue moving things?”
Olivier nodded and stood up.
“Sure. Just don’t use teleportation until we leave the room.”
“Are you referring to the incident where someone tried to escape a dungeon trap by teleporting and ended up stuck in a wall? I’ve heard about that.”
Karem glanced at Narque and subtly stepped back toward the wall.
He hadn’t given much thought about jinxes in his past life, but witnessing such events unfold in a world where magic and curses were real felt somewhat unsettling.
“So, teacher, why did Narque end up like that? Didn’t you say it was safe?”
“You can still see the flow of magic, right? That’s what happened when she got carried away outside the magic circle.”
“If she had shouted like that inside—”
“Then those two charms would have fallen outside the magic circle.”
An utterly calm conversation between teacher and student.
Upon hearing the words, Karem was at a loss for words.
That meant she had essentially brought this dire situation upon herself.
“Karem, you probably won’t see me around much from now on, but are you going to just stand there?”
“…No. By the way, will you be moving Narque too?”
Without needing to say much, Mary, who had moved all the unicorn byproducts somewhere, scooped Narque up in a flash.
“Oh, by the way.”
As Mary was about to leave the room, she glanced back at Karem and whispered.
“For now, I’ve put the unicorn’s meat in the space-expanding pouch as per the contractor’s instructions.”
“A pouch? Not a refrigerator?”
“Would I just toss it into a refrigerator that anyone can wander in and out of?”
Given that the unicorn’s byproducts were entirely usable from head to toe,
it was akin to carelessly discarding precious gems that should be stored in a vault instead of placing them in a refrigerator where anyone could rummage through them.
“But what about Narque? She’s drenched in blood; how do you plan to handle that?”
“What else is there aside from washing and resting? What were you even thinking? You can’t possibly have had such thoughts about the contractor? This terrible news must be reported to the contractor—”
“Oh, spare me the nonsense. I’m leaving.”
Karem ignored Mary’s lengthy speech and headed up the stairs.
He had a more pressing mission related to the unicorn meat at hand.