The Necromancer Commands Slaves, Not Undeads

17 – Freud’s Ghost (3)

I gently laid Dorothy down on the bed at the inn. Then I also went to bed. As soon as I lay down, I felt the comfortable feeling of the bed sheet, which induced sleep.

The inn’s bed was larger than a typical bed, so there was enough space for both Dorothy and I.

As soon as I laid her on the bed, Dorothy was asleep. She had been babbling incoherently and drunkenly until I carried her upstairs …

I couldn’t understand what she was saying. Her pronunciation was so slurred that even a famous linguist wouldn’t be able to interpret it.

I sighed as I looked at Dorothy who was asleep. I was tired. It’s always exhausting dealing with drunk people, regardless of the country.

On top of dealing with Dorothy, trying to keep up with the high energy of the Black Wolf and the mercenaries had depleted a lot of energy.

I turned to the side and quietly stared at Dorothy. She looked angelic. Her blonde hair, reflected in the moonlight, looked different from usual.

I brushed the hair sticking to her nose off as she gently breathed in her sleep.

“Uh… Master….”

My title was audible in Dorothy’s sleep talk. I responded to her voice, although she probably didn’t sense it.

“Yes, Dorothy.”

Of course, there was no response. After confirming that, I closed my eyes and pulled up the blanket.

“Good night.”

The blanket fully covered Dorothy and me, and in that warm and cozy warmth, we both fell asleep.

***

The next afternoon. Dorothy came down alone looking much better than in the morning and began eating stew.

“Are you feeling better now?”

“Yeah…”

I watched Dorothy as sheDorothy was feeling rough. She woke up sporting a debilitating hangover, the likes of which she had never experienced before, spending her morning looking like a walking dead.

Her condition seemed to have improved somewhat, as she was now sitting in the hall, spooning stew into her mouth in small bites.

“You need to drink moderately from now on.”

“Uh-huh.”

Dorothy nodded in agreement. I gave her a sly smile.

As Dorothy and I were nursing our hangovers, a black wolf entered the inn.

“You’re here.”

“Hello. It seems you made it home alright last night.”

The Black Wolf seemed in better shape than Dorothy. He sighed and brushed his hands over his face.

“To think that I’d lose to such a small creature in a drinking contest.”

“You didn’t just lose, you were utterly crushed.”

Upon hearing this, the Black Wolf twitched, but there was nothing he could do about it. All he could do was bottle up his shame.

Anyway, that’s enough ribbing.

“I’ll stop teasing you for now. I can guess why you’re here. Can we see the lord now?”

“Ahem… yes. We’ll meet him three hours from now.”

“Oh, I see. Thank you.”

The Black Wolf looked at Dorothy and I with a stunned eye.

“You’re not going to meet him dressed like that, are you?”

In response, I said half-jokingly to the Black Wolf.

“I believe it’s what’s inside that counts, not what’s on the outside.”

Dorothy nodded in agreement. Upon seeing our reaction, the Black Wolf sighed and spoke.

“At least change into the clothes you usually wear.”

“We can’t do that, those clothes are being washed.”

The Black Wolf groaned, massaging his forehead with a grimace. I needed to get the conversation back on track. We still had 35 gold pieces left. That would be more than enough to purchase the equipment and clothing needed for the journey.

“In that regard, can you recommend some suitable clothing or equipment for us? We understand we can’t meet the lord dressed like this.”

“Haa… alright.”

The Black Wolf had been in this field for a while. He lived in the Freud region, so he would know where to buy useful goods for the journey.

The trustworthy Black Wolf guided us, and Dorothy and I headed to the market in the Freud region.

The market was bustling with people; Customers haggling with merchants, blacksmiths selling tools and weapons and an array of stores selling food.

“You’ll see a general store called ‘Everything Store’ over there, you can buy your travel necessities there.”

“And on the opposite side, there’s a blacksmith shop called ‘Iron Song’. They sell weapons suitable for Dorothy. As for you, even if it’s heavy, I would recommend wearing at least one piece of leather armor as a mage.”

The Black Wolf kindly walked us through the stores.

“We shall meet in two and a half hours at the fountain in the square.”

“Okay.”

With his business concluded, he put some distance between us. Turning to Dorothy, I began to speak.

“Let’s start by buying your armor first, Dorothy.”

“What about you, sir?”

“I won’t engage with enemies as close as Dorothy. If Dorothy wants to fight in the future, she needs a nice piece of armor. Don’t worry about me, just think about Dorothy first.”

“Okay. Got it.”

We visited the blacksmith shop ‘Iron Song’. The owner and blacksmith, a middle-aged man, treated us kindly. The items in ‘Iron Song’ were a striking array, unlike ordinary blacksmith shops, looking at them, I was amazed.

These items were not armors made of common animal and cattle iron but weapons and defenses made from monster leather and by-products.

Among them, the most striking armor caught my eye – it was leather armor.

It was leather armor made from durable and tough black troll skin. The leather armor would perpetually regenerate from damage, just as trolls do.”Even if it decays, it’s said to be recovered after a few hours.”

The price was 35 gold, which was dozens of times more expensive than a typical leather armor. The reason why Troll armor was expensive was primarily due to the difficulty in sourcing materials and the complexity in handling the regenerative skin of a troll.

I haggled over the price. Luckily, I was able to purchase it for 32 gold after negotiating with the blacksmith.

The armor was for Dorothy. It was sturdy and tough, a weapon with a sharp cutting edge wouldn’t easily penetrate it.

And most importantly, it was lightweight. It wouldn’t hinder Dorothy’s agile and light movements.

Despite the troll armor not being significantly large, it was quite sizeable for Dorothy. However, with a leather belt tightened around her waist, it did not cause any problems in her movements.

Looking at my purse now left with only 3 golds, I wondered if I had been too impulsive with my purchase. I thought I had about 70 gold in it.

If I had sold all the remaining items in the hut, I would have earned quite a bit…

As my money disappeared, regretful thoughts crept in.

However, all the money I had spent so far was necessary. It was needed where it was required.

Now, anytime soon, I’ll face the Lord of Freud.

I shook off the regretful thoughts while lowering my head.

“I can earn more money.”

Furthermore, I also purchased a black robe from a clothing shop. Dorothy donned the robe over her leather armor and I wore mine over the cotton tee given by the inn keeper.

With a wooden staff in hand, I figured I would look like a wizard.

After finishing shopping that way, Dorothy and I waited for the black wolf in front of the plaza fountain with an empty pocket.

“Master.”

“Yes?”

“Should we be so leisurely while we’re escaping…?”

Morse is good at what he does. If he keeps pursuing us, he’ll easily find out that we’ve arrived in Freud’s realm.

Listening to Dorothy’s story, I silently looked up at the blue sky. The sun in the blue sky was gradually setting, and the red hue of the watercolor paint was rising at the end of the sky.

I opened my mouth to answer her question.

“Although it’s a situation where we should hurry and run away, they won’t be able to move freely in a place with many people. Because there are many people coming and going, it would be also easy for us to erase our tracks. If we’re lucky, we might be able to shake him off from here.”

Dorothy looked at me questioningly. I offered further explanation to her.

“While we’re in Freud’s realm that connects the south and east like a bridge, we don’t necessarily need to head east. Although the journey will be rough, we could head straight to the capital or go around the neighboring towns.”

“I see.”

“First of all, our initial goal is the capital. The acquaintance of the black wolf may be someone who knows the person chasing us. I thought I might ask him for a favor.”

“Wow… Master, you’re amazing.”

Dorothy looked at me with sparkling eyes. Her star-like pupils made me somewhat uncomfortable.

I just smiled bitter. I patted the slightly taller girl on the head and said.

“I’m not that amazing.”

But Dorothy shook her head. And with her blooming smile, she praised me,

“No. You are amazing.”

Feeling slightly embarrassed by Dorothy’s compliment, when it was time to meet the black wolf, he appeared in front of the fountain on the square. I greeted the black wolf.

“Are you here?”

“Yes. Let’s go to the lord.”

The black wolf cut his words short and began to step forward.

Dorothy and I nodded to each other, and followed behind the black wolf.