## Chapter 583 – Is Spring Coming?

“But the truth is, we only know the current situation, and we don’t have any clues or progress. Abomination, was it? It’s not like there haven’t been groups that manufactured such things before.”
“Oh! There have been?”

So it really has happened before!

Then, as Elise said, we might be able to uncover their identity!

“Then aren’t those bastards the culprits? I don’t have knowledge in that area, but looking at the facilities and technology, I don’t think just anyone could do it. Not just any Tom, Dick, or Harry can do something that requires specialized skills.”
“That’s a reasonable deduction, but it’s too one-dimensional.”
“One-dimensional, you say?”

Am I missing something?

“According to the report, the monster that Commander Bakarel identified as an abomination looked like it was made by weaving and stitching human flesh together. And it was enormous.”
“Yes, that’s right. But I’m not sure if it was undead.”

I don’t know if those bastards were monsters that died and came back to life, or if they were maintaining consciousness. I couldn’t know that much.

“Just like we call goblins and gnolls monsters, all such beings are called abominations. There are many different kinds. They may or may not be the same as what’s recorded. There can be undead abominations, and there can be living abominations.”
“Holy crap.”

Saintess Kadia said, constantly smoking.

“It’s difficult to identify them based solely on their existence. And because there are so many, it’s not a very secretive or difficult technology.”
“Ah.”

The fact that there’s precedent means that the technology is out there. And apparently, there are all sorts of abominations.

If that’s the case, then identifying them is almost impossible.
In the first place, I burned the entire underground base to the ground.

This case is just getting more and more mysterious.

“…Typically, necromancers are said to have such skills.”
“Yes, necromancers!!!”

Cruel magicians with bizarre and gloomy tendencies, antisocial serial killers—corpse fetishists.

That’s what we call necromancers.

They raise dead corpses and use evil magic to turn people into corpses. They’re literally crazy about corpses.

Of course, I’ve already found out that such beings have colluded with the heretics.

“Necromancers are extremely dangerous. Every order has a rule to execute them immediately upon discovery. Do you know why, Paladin?”

Well, of course, it’s because they’re inhumane and unethical.

“Well… because they revive corpses? It would be troublesome if they turned corpses into zombies or skeletons.”
“Reviving the dead, you say? Zombies or skeletons at best. Raising ghouls isn’t that much of a problem. It’s a completely different dimension of the problem.”
“A different dimension?”

Come to think of it, even the average strong man can easily beat down a skeleton or a zombie. Ghouls, too, can be dealt with, albeit with difficulty, if you have the right equipment. Flesh golems are strong, but they’re not so extreme that you can’t kill them.

There are more dangerous monsters in the world.

It’s not a problem at that level.
It’s easy to deal with.

“Necromancers who have reached a high level can open a dimension called the Netherworld.”

What?

“N-Netherworld, you say?”

What’s that?

“I’ve never heard of such a thing.”
“Of course, it’s not common knowledge.”

ㅡHoo.

She took out a new pack of cigarettes from between her breasts and pulled out a cigarette.

This woman was a chain smoker beyond imagination. If this were harmful cigarettes from modern Earth, even if she were a saintess, she would have died of lung cancer long ago.

“…The Netherworld is an otherworld that exists in another dimension, like hell or the demon world.”
“Hmm.”

Netherworld, let’s keep that in mind for now. You can think of it as a place similar to hell. I learned some new information.

“During the Idol War, a necromancer who reached the ultimate level opened the gate to the Netherworld.”
“What happened?”
“A terrible disaster occurred.”

Judging by the nuance, it must have been a real shit show.

“A disaster… But wasn’t everything a disaster back then?”
“Heh, that’s true too.”

Anyway, Saintess Kadia briefly explained to me about the Netherworld.

Necromancers who have reached the ultimate level can open a gate to it and freely control the Netherworld beasts they summon.

The necromancers believe that the one who opened the gate eventually entered the Netherworld and ascended to become a divine being. That’s why those who dream of ascension are jumping into the profession of necromancer, that’s the current situation.

They’re almost extinct now, but there was a school that worshiped the pinnacle of that necromancer, and the survivors of that school are wandering the world, each increasing their power.

That’s the necromancers of today.

“That’s a terrible story!!!!”

I jumped up from my seat and started tearing at my hair.

“It’s terrible. If the creation of that abomination was a study to increase the skill of an individual necromancer, it’s a very serious matter.”
“That can’t be…!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

Unbelievable!
That’s insane!!!!!

“Well, the Netherworld was opened hundreds of years ago, so it’s not a big concern.”
“Phew. That’s a relief to hear.”

I immediately sat down and straightened my hair.

Come to think of it, if such things happened frequently, this world would have been shattered long ago. Not everyone reaches the pinnacle.

“But.”
“Yes?”

…Is there something else?

“If we put together all the reports we’ve received so far, it seems that the heretics involved are related to both the demon and necromancer forces.”

The heretics are now allied with demons and necromancers.
They had joined hands with those two forces.

“What’s more, they even have some financial resources. And we still don’t know their exact identity.”
“…”
“This may be a sign. A sign that something serious is starting in earnest. But we don’t even have proper information… That’s troublesome.”

Saintess Kadia leaned back in her chair and rubbed her forehead as if she were tired.

“As we just predicted, there’s a possibility that they’re cooperating with the necromancer to open the Netherworld. Of course, it may not be, but if that’s the case, it’s quite dangerous. Since they’re acting in earnest, they might get some results. Even if it’s not the Netherworld, necromancers who have reached a high level are dangerous.”

Saintess Kadia said in a serious tone.

But I had never heard of such a story before, and it was hard to even imagine. I don’t feel it in my skin, but is something going to shit?

Of course, as she explained, it might be speculation.

“This world looks fine, but it’s actually quite precarious. There are so many beings that threaten the human world. Frankly, it’s impossible to respond to each one.”
“…Then are we screwed?”

She keeps talking with such gravity, it’s making me really anxious.
Is this really going to be a disaster?

Right now, the Demon Gate is connecting hell and the present world. And it’s pretty much in real time. It wouldn’t be strange if a hyper-asshole stronger than Andromalius popped out right now.

“Heh, the more I see you, the more extreme your language becomes, Paladin.”
“Ah, it’s a habit. I’m sorry.”

I’m talking so comfortably that I keep blurting out vulgar words.

“It’s not bad. Don’t worry about it.”
“Hehehe, I understand. But Saintess, what should we do?”
“Well… I don’t know either. Right now, we can only collect information and solve the incidents that occur.”

Saintess Kadia, who had finally stopped smoking, closed her eyes and was silent for a moment.

She took a slow, deep breath and said in a low voice.

“…I just wanted to talk about these things.”
“Out of the blue, you say?”
“You listen so well, Paladin, that I end up saying all sorts of things. Well, it’s your job to do and find out anyway. You’ll learn more if you work with me.”

I’ll definitely learn a lot of miscellaneous things if I work with the Saintess.

But I don’t think I can do anything too outrageous.

I reorganized the story about this incident with Saintess Kadia once again. She said that the reward will be given when the official document comes out.

She seems to want to send a second reconnaissance team to the Misty Plains separately, but I asked her to take me out because I don’t want to go again. Karin might kill me if I go that far again.

“Anyway, good work, Paladin. It’s really amazing. No matter what I ask you to do, you solve it beyond expectations.”
“Hehehe, I was just lucky this time. If the heretics hadn’t come to the village, I wouldn’t have even discovered it. And it was only possible because of the paladins. Commander Bakarel does a really good job.”

It was only possible because I cooperated with the paladins.

“He even held back from killing the heretics this time when he captured them.”

When I said that, Saintess Kadia’s eyes widened.

“That’s really amazing.”
“He killed them all because there was no one to stop him. It seems like he restrains himself if someone stops him.”
“Isn’t there no one to stop him besides you?”
“Hehehe, that’s true too.”

That’s true.

“Well, you did a great job this time too. My trust in you is already overflowing. I can trust you with anything.”
“I’m grateful that you think so highly of me.”
“Let’s keep up the good work.”

It seems like I’ve hammered my trust into Saintess Kadia’s heart with this incident. With this, I’ve secured a reliable backer in Saintess Kadia.

Let’s actively sell the Saintess’s name if anything happens in the future.

“Then go and rest.”
“Hehehe, I hope you rest too, Saintess.”
“Oh my.”

I finished talking like that and came outside. I saw that some time had passed, but not too much, so it wasn’t night yet.

There’s still some time left before Karin and Risha get off work.

I think I need to prepare myself mentally before I go in. Karin is probably really pissed, and there’s a limit to how much I can apologize with words. More than anything, my heart will be broken.

I went straight home.

ㅡSqueak.

And when I opened the door.

“Oh, Unni! The Darkie’s here!”

I heard Winia’s urgent shout.
ㅡTsupat!

“Winia! What’s wrong!!”

What the hell happened in my house!

I immediately drew my dagger and rolled on the floor. First, I need to run to where I heard Winia’s voice!

“Darkie, come here quickly!”
“What’s wrong!”
“Just come!”

The voice was coming from the basement.

Judging from Winia’s shrill shout, something seemed to have happened. But is it not serious? I immediately threw myself towards the basement with the momentum of a raging wave.

ㅡThump!

When I landed, Claudia and Winia were there. And Risha was standing there as if she was looking at something. Did Risha come early? Karin wasn’t there.

“What’s wrong! Did something big happen?”
“You’ve finally arrived. Really, aren’t you too late?”

Risha’s beautiful voice echoed in the basement.
Damn it…! I made her wait again!

“Risha, I’m sorry!!! But what’s going on!”
“Ili, come here. I have something to show you.”
“Show me?”

It doesn’t seem like a big deal.
I was about to approach them.

But.

“Hmm?”

Something.

ㅡIt seemed like there was one more person.

Right in front of them, hidden by their bodies, I could see a figure that seemed to be crouching. Could it be that a thief broke into the house and they were keeping him locked up in the basement?

“Katt… look at this…”
“Darkie, we’re screwed…”
“What the hell?”

Finally, when I approached them, I could see what was in front of them.

“…”

ㅡA woman with impressive long red hair was kneeling and sitting in a W-shape, looking at me.

What is this?

She’s a woman I’ve seen somewhere…

“Darkie, it’s an Alraune…”
“What, what did you say!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

The Alraune that I had been diligently raising by doing Flower Knight Girl had hatched!!

And it was in the same form as when I fought so hard with her back then!!!

“My elixir has become a person!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

I’m doomed!!!!!!