Chapter 25: Meeting Khajiit and Clementine

With that, Narberal and Aurelius headed to the guild, where they met Lizzie Bareare on the way back.

Lizzie, Nfirea's grandmother, joined them as they were headed to her house to meet others and collect their payment.

Upon reaching the house, however, what they met was not a welcoming sight, but the mutilated bodies of the members of Swords of Darkness.

Blood pooled on the floor, and body parts littered the room. Two of the bodies even turned undead and attacked Aurelius, but he swiftly dealt with them.

The sight horrified Lizzie, causing her to stagger back in shock.

Nevertheless, as soon as she regained her composure, she looked for Nfirea but couldn't find him.

Looking inside the house, Aurelius found the same scene as in the original.

He also found Ninya's corpse and retrieved her personal diary, storing it discreetly in his [Subspace]. However, unlike Momonga in the original, Aurelius decided not to let Ninya's body decay.

Knowing who she was, he planned to keep her corpse just in case future events followed the original.

'Since she's Tsuare's sister, this should be a good gift for Sebas. That is, if he meets her like he did in the original. Anyway, Sebas can have that whore Tsuare. Ninya would only be mine to taste. Hehehe.'

Despite his desire for Ninya, Aurelius had no intention of resurrecting her without a good reason.

She was just a commoner girl with nothing remarkable.

So, whether or not she would be brought back to life depended on her luck and whether her resurrection would be worthwhile.

'Anyways, let's wrap this up and move.'

After that, Aurelius used the [Message] spell to contact Shaltear, arranging for the collection and storage of Ninya's corpse in the future, before turning to Lizzie, who was distraught over not finding Nfirea.

"My grandson! Nfirea's gone!"

Lizzie shouted at the top of her lungs, and Aurelius, who had approached her, replied.

"I checked their gear. None of them were searched. That being the case, the opposition must have intended to kidnap Nfirea."

Of course, Aurelius was already aware that Clementine had kidnapped Nfirea on the orders of Khajiit Dale Badantel, who intended to use Nfirea's talent as part of the ritual to transform himself into an Elder Lich. However, Aurelius kept this information from Lizzie, who was devastated over Nfirea's kidnapping.

"My Nfirea…"

"Come see this," Aurelius urged, pointing to blood-written letters beneath Ninya's corpse, visible only when moved.

"This is... the sewers? Does it mean he was taken to the sewers?" Lizzie wondered aloud.

Aurelius shook his head, then explained his observations to Lizzie with his usual cold rationality, sending a chill down her spine.

When Lizzie understood how dangerous her grandson's current situation was, she panicked.

Looking at the iron that was hot enough, Aurelius also hit the hammer and asked the panicked Lizzie.

"How about hiring us?"

His voice remained calm.

"Isn't this something you should hire an adventurer for?"

Understanding dawned in Lizzie's eyes as she grasped Aurelius's implication.

"You are a very lucky woman, Lizzie Bareare. At the moment, I am the strongest adventurer in this city, and I am the only one who can save your grandson's life. If you hire me, I will accept your request. However, the price will be very high, because I am fully aware of how troublesome this task might be."

"That, that's right... if it was you... the one who possessed that potion... and with the Wise King of the Forest... then there's no doubt about your strength... I'll hire, I'll hire you!"

"Is that so... Are you prepared to pay a high price for this?"

"How much will it take to satisfy you?"

"—Everything."

"What?"

"Give me everything you have."

Lizzie's eyes widened in shock, and her body trembled violently.

"Everything you have. When I safely return Nfirea to you, give me everything you have."

"You..."

Backing away in fear, Lizzie muttered:

"I've heard that demons will grant any wish in return for souls. Are you a demon?"

"...And what if I was? Do you want to save your grandson?"

Lizzie did not respond, silently biting her lip.

"Then there's only one answer, right?"

"Umu... I'll hire you. I'll give you everything I have, so please save my grandson!"

"Very well, the pact is sealed. Then, let's not waste time."

That was how Aurelius reached a deal with Lizzie.

Following that, Aurelius proceeded to E-Rantel's cemetery alongside Narberal and Hamsuke. He also used [Control Amnesia] to manipulate the memories of the cemetery's guards, implanting exaggerated stories of his heroic deeds in their heads.

"Go, call for reinforcements, and spread the word far and wide. What you witnessed tonight was the stuff of legend. A warrior with golden hair clad in silver armor killed hordes of undead monsters. That is me, Lucifer, also called the Golden Silver Knight," Aurelius commanded.

The guards, entranced, nodded in agreement, satisfying Aurelius's purpose.

Without delay, he teleported himself, Narberal, and Hamsuke directly into the cemetery.

Following his battle with the army of undead using his summoned Dark Dragon and Wyvern, Aurelius and Narberal made their way to the innermost mausoleum, where he discovered a group of suspicious people standing in a circle in front of him.

They all wore crude black robes that covered their entire bodies; hoods hid their faces and only showed their eyes; and the wooden staves they carried had strange carvings on their ends.

The only exposed face belonged to the man in the middle, and he looked like he was undead. He was well dressed and appeared to be concentrating on the black stone in his hand.

The wind carried whispered words to Aurelius's ears. The voices in the air rose and fell in unison, and it sounded like some sort of chanting. However, it did not sound like a requiem to the dead, but more like some sort of dark ritual that blasphemed against the deceased.

"Should we ambush them?" Narberal asked. However, Aurelius shook his head.

"It wouldn't help. Besides, it seems they've already spotted us."

Having said that, Aurelius and the others walked proudly towards the group of suspicious people.

While their eyes met several times, the men in robes looked at them. The group held a tense posture, and one of them spoke to the man in the center.

"Khajiit-sama, they're here."

"I can see that idiot." Glaring at the man, Khajiit turned to Aurelius and asked, "Who are you anyway? How did you break through that horde of undead?"

The man standing in the center of the circle—his name was Khajiit, and he was the highest ranked of all the people present.

"I'm an adventurer on an assignment, looking for a missing young man... I trust you know who I'm talking about, even if I don't state his name?"

The other members of the group took a stance, but Khajiit mocked him.

"Just the two of you? Where's the rest of your party?"

Aurelius tiredly shrugged as he replied:

"It's just the two of us. We came over here with a teleportation spell."

"You're lying, that's impossible."

"You don't have to believe it, but let's get back to the main topic. If you let the boy return home safely, I can spare your life. How about it, Khajiit?"

Khajiit glared at the foolish disciple who had blurted out his name.

"—And you are?"

"Before that, there's something I'd like to ask. Is there anyone over there besides you lot?"

Khajiit looked coldly at Aurelius:

"We're the only ones!"

"Surely it's not just you? There should be someone with a piercing weapon among you... planning to ambush us? Or are is that on hiding because she's afraid?"

"Fufu~ You checked their bodies~ Not bad~"

Suddenly, a female voice rang out from the chapel.

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