Chapter 86: 049. Imperial Prince is Hunting Santa -1 (Part Two)

All things related to Priests were basically strewn about messily within the imperial palace, but for some reason, I couldn’t even find a hint of any books related to Necromancy no matter how hard I tried.

Luan carried on talking in the meantime. “They sure are a big source of headache, aren’t they? To think that they’d show up in Humite of all places… That’s a sensitive location since many scions of nobles reside there. We did pounce on them in hopes of routing them out for good, but they still managed to crawl out from some other place.”

“…Are there no books related to Necromancy in the imperial palace?”

At my abrupt question, Luan tilted his head this way and that. “Of course there wouldn’t be any such ominous materials kept in the palace. Most of the time, they are stored in nearby regions. Quite a number of them are stored in Humite Academy as well. The Magicians there are charged with managing them, actually.”

“…Do they have a lot of them?”

“A lot of what?”

“Grimoires.”

More correctly, tomes related to Necromancy of course.

The skills I could use so far were fairly limited in scope. But judging from how there seemed to be restrictions in the skills I tried imagining, I must’ve lacked enough knowledge related to that particular subject.

In that case… what if I had access to the ‘things’ that could fill in the gaps?

“Oh, that? Yes, there are plenty. A majority of all the grimoires that had been collected over the years are stored in the academy, after all.”

A smile automatically broke out on my face when I heard what Luan said.

“Why? Are you interested?”

Obviously. Since I was a Necromancer before being a Priest after all.

Although the presence of the Black Order was a nuisance, that place sure sounded like an attractive location to spend my free time.

My divinity control was on the verge of perfection after studying Morgana the Witch’s grimoire.

I got my hands on a grimoire that allowed me to blow away a Progenitor Vampire from a shabby little witch like her, so how could I not be tempted by the idea of numerous grimoires in the care of those magicians, plus all those items that equalled those books in value?

That place was practically a treasure trove for someone like me.

And one more thing – I still had a score to settle with those Black Order bastards, too.

I looked at Laun and addressed him. “I’d like to make an offer.”

“…?”

I smiled brightly at him.

Someone on the level of Morgana the Witch wouldn’t even pose a problem for the current me. In that case, the same should probably apply to the Black Order, too.

Hell, all of them should be at a far lower level compared to a Vampire, I’d wager.

“I’ll eliminate the Black Order for you, so how about giving me a bit of vacation in return?”

**

(TL: In 3rd person POV)

“A bunch of stinking cockroaches.”

The Holy Emperor Kelt Olfolse spat out an expletive.

He was currently scanning through a report.

[The Black Order’s movements detected in the region of Humite. As proof, their familiar, ‘Red Devil’, has been spotted.]

“These bastards have finally lost their minds. To think that they dared to build a nest in a location where Oscal calls home. Do we look like easy marks to them or some such?”

Kelt smacked his lips while his brows were furrowing deeply.

The Black Order was one of the top five underworld organisations. Of course, it was nothing more than a newborn pup when compared to the might of Theocratic Empire.

The real problem was their secretive nature.

The Crimson Cross had captured and tortured a few of this organisation’s members already, but even the captured ones didn’t know anything in detail about their very own group.

This organisation seemed to be completely shrouded in a thick veil. There was no way of finding out the command structure, nor was it easy to locate where they were even hiding.

It was at this point that Kelt recalled the Seventh Imperial Prince’s face. If it was that boy, he might be able to catch them rather easily.

‘That kid even hunted the lycans down rather easily after all.’

According to Archbishop Raphael’s testimony, the boy displayed an overwhelming level of power back then. And the ‘holy undeads’ were witnessed in action too.

With that, the order of the potential successors to the imperial throne had been pretty much decided – Luan, Hilda, and then Allen.

The rest were all disqualified. They were either too cowardly or their skill levels were just not up to scratch.

If it were those three, then they wouldn’t betray whoever became the next emperor. No, they would respect one another instead. This meant that the Theocratic Empire in the future would have nothing to fear from if one of those three became the next emperor while the remaining two lent their support.

Kelt glanced at another report and confirmed its contents.

[The discovery of an individual who may be the missing Imperial Crown Prince. Location, a marketplace in Aslan in the south.]

“He’s still driving me nuts, this child of mine. Are you still alive, or are you already dead, son?”

Kelt could only groan helplessly.

After a war against Aslan ended, the Imperial Crown Prince went missing. Whether one was dead or alive, he or she would still leave behind some traces of themselves somewhere – but this son of his didn’t even permit that from happening.

Kelt’s thoughts became even more complicated when he thought about his only son.

He shifted his gaze to another report.

[Aslan Kingdom’s movements deemed to be suspicious. Movement of the Necromancy Corps., mainly composed of Necromancers, is detected.]

“…And these bastards have gone mad as a whole group.”

Was Aslan preparing for yet another war?

Now that the Vampires and lycans had been taken care of, it was the turn for the humans to go mad and rampage around. No, hang on – the empire had always been dealing with these insane bastards that dared to rampage around one by one, didn’t it?

Kelt turned his head and looked at his desk. Plenty more documents waiting for his attention were strewn on its surface.

The empire’s territories were vast, and many of its neighbouring nations depended on it. This resulted in a mountain of work that needed to be sifted through.

He felt lightheaded from the prospect of the task at hand.

He should’ve abdicated early and retired, but his only son, the Imperial Crown Prince, just had to go missing as soon as ascending to the throne.

All thanks to that, Kelt had to get back to the thick of things again.

That damn child of his… he wasn’t even acting like a filial son and all that! At the very least, he should’ve shown his face if he was alive, or let his remains be discovered if not! In that case, they would be able to hold a proper funeral or something!

Kelt could only grin bitterly. “Although I wouldn’t have anything more to wish for if you’re still alive somewhere, son. Uh-whew.”

It was then, a knocking sound came from the door. It opened and Luan stepped into the chamber.

What an excellent timing this was. Kelt pushed forward a big pile of documents in Luan’s direction. The latter smiled awkwardly but still received them without a complaint.

“What brings you here?”

Kelt asked him, wondering if this child came to lend an aid to his grandfather.

But that would never happen. After his resurrection, this punk had been busy throwing himself into all those wonderful things that he previously couldn’t enjoy until now.

Although none of it reached the level of a mangnani, there was no doubt that Luan was having the time of his life right now.

Luan Olfolse held Kelt’s probing gaze and spoke up. “Actually, I was thinking of dispatching Allen to Humite, grandfather.”

“To Humite, you say?”

Kelt’s brows rose up.

“Yes. Allen himself volunteered to go.”

“What’s gotten into him?”

“He says he has a score to settle with the Black Order.”

“A score?”

This actually made sense to Kelt, since he already received a report regarding this topic already. Allen nearly died because of that witch named Morgana, after all.

Was his desire for revenge born out from that incident? If that’s not it, then could it be…

-His highness was commanding the holy undead! This is the discovery of the century that can irrefutably prove Goddess Gaia’s greatness! If it’s your command, your majesty, I shall have no choice but to teach his highness. I shall mould him into an absolute powerhouse who will convey the noble might and greatness of our Theocratic Empire far and wide! That is why, please, issue your imperial decree…!

Those passionate words belonged to Archbishop Raphael.

Holy undead – what a deeply appealing concept it was.

An army of undead permeating not with the aura of death, but the sacred power of Gaia. An existence of a different foundation compared to what the Necromancers could summon.

With it, one could safely argue that the goddess of life, Gaia, now possessed a type of divine authority that could threaten the god of death, Yudai.

Necromancy was a forbidden power that was only legal to use in Aslan. But what if a version of that could be utilised even within the Theocratic Empire?

Without a doubt, an epoch-shifting rift would happen within Aslan’s political structure. Their values would be rocked to the core and many of their subjects would probably convert religions as well.

Thinking about all the possibilities made Kelt quite excited. So much so that he was this close to asking Allen to show him these holy undeads right now.

“Did he ask for anything in return?” Kelt asked Luan.

“Ask something in return…? He did question me about magic grimoires, actually. Necromancer’s tomes and…”

“Ah, I see.”

Kelt nodded slowly.

For sure, that boy must’ve been thinking of something.

“Very well. Dispatch him.”

Luan seemed surprised at the emperor’s swift decision.

“Aslan has been making suspicious manoeuvres lately, anyways. They must be planning to work together with the Black Order to do something.”

The Black Order was an organisation built up on the foundation of Necromancy. And apparently, they seemed to have close ties to the kingdom of Aslan who worshipped the god of death.

“I don’t know what they’re scheming together, but it’d be quite refreshing to stop them dead in their tracks, wouldn’t you agree?” Kelt Olfolse addressed Luan. “Do not spare any resources in supporting the boy. If he wants something…”

Kelt stared deeply at Luan.

“…It doesn’t matter what it is, make it happen.”

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