The Necromancer Who Was Despised

‘There’s no one I want among these people anyway.’

They were all people without talent in mana. If there were, they would have been taught already. It would be more accurate to say that there was no one I desired.

“Fine. I’ll give you Kayla. But in return…”

“I’ll make sure to fulfill the request.”

“I will trust you.”

Kuman gestured to Albert, and Baldur, who received his orders, led the slaves away.

We went upstairs and made a contract, just like when I had received Tia before.

However, there were two things that were a little different. One was that I didn’t pay a single penny, and the other was that I received a means to control her magic engraving.

Tia didn’t have such a magic engraving, but Kayla was different.

Of course, Kuman was no fool. Kayla was someone who could handle aura, and he couldn’t bring such a person into his house without any safety measures.

“But what is this oath?”

“Ah. That. It’s an oath I received a long time ago. Kayla is a former knight, and she became a slave when her territory fell.”

‘So it’s true that she was a former knight. But something’s a bit strange…’

It’s not that knights don’t become slaves. But it’s rare to see it happen.

‘As a free knight, or under another noble… The worst that could happen is that they would become a mercenary…’

There seemed to be a story behind this.

“She swore to teach three people the breathing technique and aura cultivation technique that knights learn, and in return, she received the right to refuse any activities other than training combat slaves.”

It is said that this is an oath made to mana and cannot be broken.

“There was one more right. I’ll have her transfer that to you.”

“I didn’t know there was such a thing. Thank you.”

“It’s a meaningless oath if she’s not by my side anyway.”

She’ll find out when she becomes my slave. Even if she does become my slave, if such an oath remains, it will be annoying.

He seemed to be of the attitude that he would give it to me when he did, so as not to hurt his feelings with such a thing.

In addition to Kayla, I also received from Kuman various herbs, samples, equipment for Kayla to use, materials for making traps, and iron cages to hold the captured orcs.

Of course, I couldn’t get the best quality. In the first place, there was no way there would be top-quality items in such a remote area.

‘There are no people with purchasing power.’

But it was good enough to use.

The value of the items I requested, excluding Kayla’s value, was close to 1 gold.

However, Kuman gave me everything I asked for without batting an eye.

‘If I fail, there will be chaos.’

He might even try to kill me.

“Two weeks.”

Since there were quite a few items, I was able to get a cart and a draft horse to pull it.

‘It’s over 1 gold.’

After leaving the mansion, I spoke to Kayla.

“Tara.”

“…Are you telling me to get in the wagon?”

“The beast isn’t small, but the load is heavy, so it will be difficult for two to ride. Master, please get on.”

Kayla uttered those words mechanically.

“Will it be uncomfortable for you because of your leg?”

It’s also slow.

Kayla’s eyes flinch at my words.

‘I guess she doesn’t like that word very much.’

Well, it’s because it points out her weakness.

“Ah. I should receive Mana’s oath before that.”

Kayla falls silent at my words.

“Don’t betray me.”

It’s the same as what I said to Athena.

Well, absolute obedience is possible, but it wouldn’t be very good if I did that.

‘That would rather be harmful.’

It’s not like such oaths haven’t existed in human history.

The problem with such oaths is that they break the human will and make them lose hope, ultimately making the person who swore the oath weaker.

There were even times when they couldn’t follow orders and Mana would vanish in vain.

The oath not to betray was the highest level of oath that could be imposed without breaking the human spirit.

‘Because if you negotiate with your master, you can almost nullify the oath.’

This could be a great advantage because of the irreversible nature of the oath.

It wasn’t for nothing that Kuman made the oath with limitations.

It was an oath he received in order to make the most of Kayla.

‘Three isn’t much, but to be honest, that’s enough.’

It’s everything that a knight of a family would pass on.

Furthermore, as you can see from Baldur, you can educate others through him, so three wouldn’t be a burden for Kayla and it’s not a bad deal for Kuman because he can get the most efficient out of it.

‘And Kayla will be left over even if she teaches all three.’

As you can see from the fact that she was sold like this, she can be sold again later.

There was no particular loss for Kuman.

From Kayla’s point of view, it’s a huge loss….

‘She’s a slave.’

The choices she could make were extremely limited.

Kayla didn’t answer for a while after hearing my words.

I didn’t urge her, and seeing me like that, Kayla seemed to have made up her mind and slowly opened her mouth.

“Trust… is not something that can be received with such an oath.”

“I think it’s the least. It’s something I need.”

“Why. Are you disappointed because your new master is like this too?”

Kayla didn’t answer.

“Even if you’re honest, I won’t say anything, so just be honest.”

“…I didn’t have much expectation from the moment I found out that I would be capturing monsters.”

In response to her, I let out a light chuckle.

After all, the saying that all professions are equal only exists on Earth.

In this world, no, even in the Joseon Dynasty of Earth, there was a hierarchy of professions.

This world is no different.

There was a pecking order of professions.

‘Well, what about the Joseon Dynasty? Even in modern times, there are still jobs that people look down on, like 3D industries.’

This world had only become more stratified, not less.

That’s why I could fully understand what she was saying.

‘Well, it’s ironic that she’s talking about the hierarchy of professions when she’s a slave herself.’

A slave of a mercenary who hunts monsters for a living tells him that his job is despicable.

…Thinking about it, it’s a funny situation.

“Even so, I still gave you advice.”

“Because there might be a small chance.”

Kayla responds flatly.

“If you wish, I can make that oath as many times as you like. However,”

Kayla spoke with eyes that seemed empty.

“Please do not insult me more than necessary. I might just give up this pathetic life.”

“More than necessary?”

“Yes. As someone of my situation, I expect to be treated poorly. But I cannot tolerate insults beyond what is necessary.”

“For example?”

“I was sold to fight. That means I am a slave who serves through force. Please do not expect anything else from me.”

“So, don’t order me to do anything that’s not related to fighting?”

“Well, like housework or something?”

“Are you pretending not to know?”

Kayla looked straight in the eye and said,

“I am telling you to give up the idea of using me as a sex toy.”

Seeing her attitude, I couldn’t help but laugh at the absurdity of the situation.

‘Isn’t the past usually complicated?’

She was once a knight, but now she’s a slave.

If she couldn’t accept her situation, she would have died long ago.

If not, she would have lost her mind.

But there was no sign of that in Kayla.

‘She’s accepted her current situation.’

On that subject, she says she won’t accept any more insults than necessary.

‘Well, it seems like Kuman treated her well.’

From Kuman’s point of view, her mana breathing technique and aura manipulation were more important than her body.

In addition, she had the knowledge and experience to train combat slaves, so he would have had no reason to mistreat her.

It’s only natural to treat a capable slave well.

In fact, even though Alberto is a slave, he eats and lives better than most free men.

‘A combat slave.’

Well, if I use her like Kuman, it’ll be like that. I didn’t plan to use her for that purpose.

But I didn’t like her attitude.

I thought about teaching her a lesson for her impudence, but I soon realized that it wasn’t necessary.

If I think about it, that kind of attitude is proof that she hasn’t been broken yet.

I wanted to fix her attitude if possible, and if I did, she would regain her strength as a former knight.

‘I’d rather have an active person than a passive one when I have to go into battle.’

That’s why I decided to let her impudence slide for now.

‘I can understand that kind of attitude.’

The most common use for slaves is definitely in areas where labor is needed.

They are typically used in mining or fishing, and some nobles use them to manage their large farms.

Even when they are used as servants, it can be seen as using them for labor.

Some educated and talented slaves are used for other tasks, but they are a minority.

The next most common use is for sexual purposes, and the number of slaves used in combat is surprisingly low.

Giving slaves weapons? That’s crazy.

If you don’t have the ability to control them, a unit made up of slaves would be nothing more than a pipe dream.

Of course, there are ways to do it. This isn’t Earth, after all. This is a different world where magic exists.

There are magical imprints that can be used to prevent slaves from resisting, and if you have the money, you can create a unit made up of slaves.

‘But that’s not usually done.’

You could just create knights and recruit soldiers with that money.

The upkeep costs are the same either way, and it’s better to just pay a salary than to use expensive magical imprints.

No one does that unless they are a really extreme noble or someone who is filthy rich.

However, in the case of those who have awakened mana, who are more valuable than magical imprints, it’s common to use imprints on them as soon as they become slaves, even if it costs a lot of money.

‘Other races use magical imprints as well.’

Other than that, magical imprints aren’t used very often.

Anyway, it’s understandable that Kayla would be worried about becoming a sexual slave.

As I said before, the second most common use for slaves is for sexual purposes.

No, usually the two overlap.

They are used for both labor and sexual purposes. That’s the norm.

That means Kayla isn’t just being paranoid about it.

‘She is pretty attractive, too.’

She looks to be in her early 20s, at most in her mid-20s.

It’s the prime of her life, so it’s natural to have those kinds of worries.

“You don’t have to worry about that. We won’t be alone together anyway.”

“… “I heard there is another slave besides me.”

“Well.”

It was hard to answer since she wasn’t a slave anymore.

‘I don’t want to give her false hope.’

She’ll find out soon enough anyway, but I wanted to make her swear an oath before that.

It could be seen as being oversensitive. However, it was better to be a little more cautious than usual rather than letting my guard down and showing a weakness.

‘It’s all just habit.’

In the end, Kayla had no choice but to swear an oath to me, just like Athena, that she would not betray me.

In the process, my real name was revealed and it was shown that my original name was a pseudonym, but that was a good thing anyway.

“Well, are you done? I don’t know if you’ll like it.”

Kayla’s tone became even more curt, as if my appearance, eventually extracting the oath, was quite disappointing.