Chapter 3: The Full Moon from a Thousand Years Ago (2)
(I)
At some point, strange rumors began to circulate. I wasn’t the type to miss such cues, so it didn’t take long to notice that the way people looked at me had changed.
Not long ago, everyone who looked at me couldn’t stop smiling. But now? Forget about smiles; their faces were full of shadows and distrust.
—”It’s Elzerba…”
—”Ugh, don’t make eye contact.”
“….”
The general public was no different.
Previously, whenever I went to the city, crowds would gather around me like I was a celebrity. But now, people were hesitating, avoiding me.
The ones whose attitude changed the most, however, were none other than the hero’s companions.
—”Sorry, but I’d prefer if we didn’t cross paths. Could you avoid coming to the dining hall at this hour?”
“What?”
—”How brazen of you. Truly shameless.”
“What do you mean?”
—”Hmph, do you really not know?”
“What are you even talking about?”
—”Forget it, I don’t want to talk to you. Everyone, let’s go.”
“….”
The hero’s companions, who lived in the same royal palace, blatantly showed their discomfort around me and started keeping their distance. Even though I wanted to ask about their sudden change in attitude, I rarely got the chance to run into them.
“This is really unpleasant.”
What annoys people the most is when something they had is taken away. Since the way people looked at me changed overnight, of course, I wasn’t happy about it.
Especially because these people, who would still be rolling around on the battlefield without my help, were now treating me like this. It was infuriating.
This was not the kind of treatment I expected for all the precious time I spent helping the hero.
“….”
People’s perceptions don’t change this drastically over small matters in a short time. Besides, since I defeated the demons, I hadn’t done anything noteworthy. Clearly, someone was deliberately spreading malicious rumors about me.
“I need to find out.”
I became curious about who had the audacity to spread false rumors throughout the entire city, and what exactly they were saying.
If it turned out to be a misunderstanding caused by some unconscious behavior of mine, I’d have to clear it up. But if this was indeed a scheme, then they would face appropriate retribution.
…I repay what I receive.
This had always been my belief, even when playing games. If someone attacked me in PvP* or scammed me out of items, I had to repay them. Letting it slide would make me nothing but a fool.
*(PvP: Player versus player combat in video games)
And that hadn’t changed now that I had become Elzerba. I had no intention of letting anyone who struck first walk away unscathed.
**************
(II)
“Summon servant.”
I activated my skill in my palace room. It was a basic skill of a necromancer that summoned minions.
A low humming sound, like an electronic buzz, filled the air as a black magic circle, emanating an ominous aura, was drawn on the floor of my room.
However, it wasn’t a flashy magic circle with fire bursting out or meteors falling. This was simply a summoning ritual, and as black ash-like particles gathered on the dark hexagram, they began to form a shape.
“It’s done….”
Soon, two figures stood atop the magic circle, emanating powerful auras.
“Master, do you need assistance?”
The first was a cute girl with black twin tails dressed in a maid outfit. However, she was not your ordinary maid who served tea to nobles.
On her back, a grotesque greatsword was strapped, and her eyes were entirely black, resembling shadows, with only deep red pupils shining menacingly.
Most notably, her blue, pale skin made it clear she didn’t belong in this world. She was something… other than human.
“Whatever you need, just let me know!”
This was Tina, a zombie maid who handled close combat for me as Elzerba’s sword, one of my necromantic minions.
“Did you call for me, miss?”
Standing beside the fierce-looking Tina was an elderly man with a refined smile, an image quite out of place in the current atmosphere.
If Tina was a maid, this man was a butler. Dressed in a sophisticated suit, he bowed his head with the utmost grace, showing respect to his master.
The butler, with white hair and a beard, was named Alfred, another of my necromantic minions. He was a vampire butler responsible for long-range attacks and, like me, belonged to the vampire race.
“Yep, hello!”
…These were my summoned minions, like other NPCs in this world, who now had their own consciousness.
Tina and Alfred were among the few named servants I could summon as Elzerba.
It took reaching a high level to unlock the skill needed to summon them, and as such, they possessed powers far beyond those of ordinary skeleton soldiers.
That’s why they were the first minions I always summoned during gameplay, and I held a special fondness for them. I even spent a fortune on limited-edition skins for them.
Without the skins, I’d likely be looking at a slightly larger skeleton soldier and a mage skeleton clattering their bones in front of me.
Thinking about it, Tina’s zombie maid form and Alfred’s vampire butler appearance were more than worth the money. The more I saw them, the more I loved their unique appearances.
I spoke to them.
“I called you because I need a favor.”
Since I personally summoned them, they were my subordinates with a 0% chance of betrayal, more loyal to me than anyone else in this world right now.
If I were to entrust an important task to someone, these two were much more reliable and trustworthy than the hero’s party full of idiotic boneheads.
After all, they were top-tier elites.
“A favor? Who do you want me to cut down?”
At my words, Tina drew out a massive sword, similar to a butcher’s cleaver, her eyes gleaming. Alfred sighed and tried to calm her down.
“Miss Tina, please act with a bit more dignity in the presence of the lady.”
“…Nag.”
Tina stuck out her tongue at Alfred’s chiding and sheathed her sword again. I then told them why I had summoned them.
“Someone has been spreading some unpleasant rumors about me.”
“Rumors about you, Master…?”
“Yeah, and I want you two to investigate it.”
It would be much more effective for Tina and Alfred, who excelled in infiltration and disguise, to quietly investigate from the outside rather than me doing it alone.
“…Understood. I will find out what is troubling you, my lady.”
“Leave it to us!”
Alfred and Tina confidently responded to my request. They immediately started moving to carry out their orders.
“…I’ll be back by tomorrow.”
In true vampire butler fashion, Alfred transformed into a bat and flew out of the open window into the night sky.
“I’m off too!”
Tina approached the window, ready to leap outside. Just before jumping, her red pupils gleamed as she asked me a question.
“But Master.”
“Yeah? What is it?”
“If we find out what the rumors are and who’s spreading them.”
…In the moonlight, Tina’s cute face twisted into a creepy smile.
“…Can I cut them down?”
“Zero points. Request denied. Bring them back alive. The punishment is mine to deliver.”
At the very least, I needed to hear their reasons for spreading the rumors before I decided to kill them. If Tina cut them down too hastily, it would be problematic. Hearing my firm response, Tina couldn’t hide her disappointment.
“Ugh, fine….”
“But.”
…I grabbed her just before she left.
“‘As long as they’re alive,’ bring them back. You know what that means, right?”
“…!!”
When I winked at her, Tina’s downcast face lit up again.
As long as they were alive and could still talk, it didn’t matter if they were missing arms, legs, or even a kidney. I trusted Tina to make that judgment on her own.
The zombie maid nodded with a delighted expression.
“Understood! I’ll be off!”
“Be careful.”
I waved as she leapt from the window into the darkness of the night.
Since they would be fighting in my stead, they were as strong as me. Plus, even if they died, they would eventually respawn after a certain cooldown period, so there was no need to worry about them.
“I wonder who it could be.”
I muttered to myself as I lay down on the bed.
There were a lot of suspects.
…Even though I had saved the world, my race and class were still vampire and necromancer. While those might be appealing traits in reality games, in this world, people saw me as someone who dealt in dark magic, akin to a monster. Many still feared me.
The southern holy nation of ‘Serion,’ which practiced divine magic.
The eastern monk state ‘Tenma,’ which thrived on exorcism.
The large mercenary guild ‘Stormhound,’ whose glory was stolen when I defeated the Demon King, leaving them bitter and jealous.
“A vampire must seem easy to target, huh?”
Famous figures always attract fans and haters alike. Just as I had plenty of people who liked me, I also had many who despised me for various reasons.
“Whatever, it doesn’t matter.”
…Many organizations and individuals came to mind as potential spreaders of rumors, but idle speculation was pointless. Since Tina and Alfred were on the case, they’d bring back more accurate information.
All I had to do now was wait.
**************
(III)
“Master! I’m back!”
“…My lady, I have just returned.”
Tina and Alfred, who had gone to investigate, returned to my room just before dawn broke.
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