Chapter 178: When Skeletons Pay Their Debts (2)
“Are you saying that you’re boundlessly grateful to me for not throwing away your skulls?”
Crack!
A little past midnight, Lloyd, who was still unable to blow out the candle in his room, pressed his eyes hard. He was fatigued. He had been busy all day. After fierce combat with Hell’s Knight, he had to use the Asrahan Core Technique to treat people in the city. And just when he thought he’d be able to finally get some rest, Lloyd received 200 skeletons as unexpected visitors.
“We are more than thankful.”
One skeletal soldier nodded at his question. Then it jotted down a response quickly on the paper. Lloyd wondered if it was the leader of the group. It introduced itself as “Turtle Neck.” Grabbing the piece of soot in its hand, Turtle Neck wrote again.
“We were lost. As if that wasn’t bad enough that we died an unjust death, only our skulls were buried in the cold ground. And our bodies were turned into headless zombies.”
“Oh,” reacted Lloyd in realization, “So, the zombies that protected the dark magicians yesterday were you guys?”
“Yes, that is right.”
“And now?”
“Most of the dark magicians are dead. The power of Cannavaro has been shackled. As a result, we were freed from the curse. In the process, all of our rotten flesh has disappeared, leaving us as nothing but bones.”
“Um, then what about the zombies I killed?”
“They are over there.”
Turtle Neck pointed to one side, where two soldiers were raising their bony hands.
-From left, they are Square Jaw and Frozen Shoulder.
“…”
“When you first attacked the warlock yesterday, they were completely knocked out. Their bodies were gone.”
“Oh, yes, that happened,” agreed Lloyd.
“But once the curse was lifted, the bones that turned into powder were restored. But we do not know the detailed reason or explanation behind it.”
“Whatever the case is, it’s all good, isn’t it?”
“Yes, that is right.”
Turtle Neck nodded its skull. It flipped to the next page, as there wasn’t any space left to write, and started to scribble on a new piece of paper. Its black letters filled the white paper.
“Once the curse was gone, we were gathered in one place. We discussed among ourselves what we must do onward. To tell you the truth, it was a short discussion as we all had the same feeling.”
“Feel what?” asked Lloyd.
Turtle Neck tapped its skull with its hand.
“Our heads.”
“Skulls?”
“Yes. We already had the same feeling. That someone had excavated our skulls. Moreover, the person hadn’t thrown them away, and instead, kept them safe.”
“Wait, are you talking about what I did with the skulls?”
“Yes.”
Turtle Neck nodded once again.
“I have heard everything. How you respectfully bowed at our skull each time you took a jewel. How you wished us peace even though you didn’t know what hardships we went through. How you wished for us to rest in peace.”
“…”
Lloyd shut his mouth. Those were the words he had spoken aloud every time he dug up one of the skulls. He had thought that was the decent thing to do for the dead as he pitied those that were used by the dark magicians. He simply spoke his heart out loud, promising himself that he’d bury them in good soil.
I didn’t know they were listening.
Lloyd was slightly content but embarrassed at the same time. Just then, a thought interrupted him. One winter, when he was still living in a rental room in South Korea, he was coming back home after receiving his set wage for the day from the construction site. On his way, he spotted an elderly woman setting vegetables on the street. All she was selling were about three or four baskets of plants, but it looked like she wasn’t making any sales. And without any fur hats or gloves, she strove to clean up the piling snow from the vegetables. Her hands were blistered. It was probably because of this sight that prompted Lloyd to walk up to her and ask how much the vegetables were. He then brought out an envelope that contained his pay.
Later that day, I thought I was wild for doing that.
Sure, he did an act of kindness, and it was a good deed. No doubt. But how he regretted it after that night! A loser. A buffoon. An idiot. Lloyd was berated with regret that he was the most foolish person. Why? He had to go for several days without food since he spent all his money. From that day onward, Lloyd refrained from being too kind. It was only natural after learning the price of an impulsive act of kindness. Being kind was good, but it had to be done within his capacity. He had been living his life with such resolve. That had remained true in recent days, and it was still true even now. And so, it was no different when he excavated the skulls to get his hands on 200 stones. He kept the skulls because it was something that fell within his capacity. He had done it out of respect. It was beyond Lloyd’s imagination that he’d be rewarded in this manner.
“Um, in short, are you asking me to take you all?” asked Lloyd.
“Yes, that is right.”
The leader of the skeleton soldiers, Turtle Neck, nodded and wrote its response.
“Without you, we would not have found our skulls to this day. They were buried with a magic spell.”
“Is that so?” asked Lloyd.
“Yes.”
“But if you follow me, you’ll be put to strenuous work. Is it okay with you even if you can’t rest while you’re dead?”
“We have been given life after our deaths anyway. There is no rest for us. Our only destiny is being wiped out by adventurers and armies as we wander in the wilderness. Instead of that life, we choose to live under your official and reliable protection.”
“Huh. That makes sense. Right?”
Lloyd grinned as he turned to the side. Javier was sitting on the edge of the bed, his eyes still heavy with sleepiness.
What is going on?
Javier sighed loudly. He was sleeping well as usual after hearing Lloyd’s lullaby and enjoying his dream until the bedroom started to grow noisy. Javier started to hear Lloyd’s voice, and there were a lot of clacking and cracking sounds. Wondering if it was an enemy, Javier slightly opened his eyes, only to be terrified by what was happening in the room. Anyone would have screamed in a panic if they, too, witnessed their room packed with 200 skeletons right after waking up. Had Lloyd not explained the situation to Javier just in time, he would have charged and smashed every single skeleton he saw in a snap.
Who’d have imagined that I would meet a person who uses skeleton soldiers as construction workers?
That very person was the young master he served. Another sigh. While Javier sighed, Lloyd distributed the employment contract to the skeleton soldiers.
“What is this?”
Turtle Neck cocked its skull.
“An employment contract,” replied Lloyd obviously.
The corners of his lips were pulled upward. Why? He had a lot on his mind about the labor supply problem, and he had been wistful for not having undead soldiers even when he held the Zombie Domination skill.
[The number of undead soldiers you can dominate: 200]
[The current number of undead soldiers under your domination: 200]
And now, I’ve got an infinite amount of workers free of charge!
The rewarding message appeared in front of his eyes, and Lloyd smiled in contentment.
The next day, Lloyd went out of his lodging once the sun rose. He was heading to Count Namaran’s office, and in his hand was a roll of documents. They were the construction plan and construction blueprint.
Lalala! Lala!
Last night, Lloyd was able to solve the labor supply issue thanks to the contract. As he had been industriously surveying and designing the construction before the wall incident broke out, he managed to outline the construction schedule in advance. Now that everything was set, it was unnecessary to delay the date. All he needed was to hand the construction plan to Count Namaran and ask for the latter’s cooperation in providing the materials needed for the actual construction.
Finish the construction. Get the construction money. Go back to my fiefdom. And et voila! A shining life of clover awaits me now that the apartment complex and the sewage system has been completed.
This construction would be the last. With just one more push, he’d be able to receive a maintenance fee from this fiefdom, which would become a good enough pension to last him for the rest of his life.
Lalalala! Yes, yes!
His shoulders quirked in joy on their own, and humming, which was all out of tune and melody, flowed out. He even tap-danced his way up to the count’s office. But when he entered, something entirely unexpected met him.
“Will you be my son-in-law?”
“…”
What was going on now? Lloyd stared at Count Naraman as he felt his breathing losing that previous excitement. The count was covered with a thick blanket, and he had a terrible coughing fit.
“Ehem!” Cough! Achoo! “Was my request too abrupt?” asked the count.
“Ah, yes. Just a little…”
“To be honest, I did not expect to make such a request, either.”
The count bitterly smiled with a wretched face.
“Lloyd Frontera, I am sure you can look at my face now. How do I look?”
“Um, slightly ill, Your Excellency.”
“Right? And that is the reason.”
The count sighed and continued to speak.
“This incident… It has been terribly difficult for me. My body feels like it belongs to someone else. The doctor tells me that a year of recuperation will help me, but… I am not sure. The evil warlock took away too much of my energy with his game. To be honest, I wish to rest now.”
“Excuse me?” asked Lloyd in surprise.
“Is that so surprising? Haha. I am saying I wish to rest. Retire.”
The count chuckled happily.
“If I were an ordinary old man, I would not have done this. I would have tried to stick to my place. But who am I? I am the ruler of this city. How can I then rule over the city when I cannot even take care of my health? No. No. That is not the case and will only hurt everyone.”
“But Count Namaran-”
“I love this city,” the count interrupted first, “I devoted my whole life to this place, Namaran. And that is why it will only create problems for this old man to reign over things when I should be recuperating. So, I thought that I should find someone stronger, healthier, and smarter. Someone who can help my city. That kind of person should govern the city.”
“Ehem, Your Excellency? I do not think I was being frank with you a while ago, but…”
“Hmm?”
“You look more than fine.”
“…”
“So healthy that you could get to your feet now and run until you reach the opposite side of the wall.”
“Haha, this fellow.”
The count chuckled, and all of a sudden, Lloyd felt alarmed. His attempt to dismiss his words didn’t work. The count appeared adamant as though he had a firm resolve. Soon, Lloyd’s thoughts were actualized when the count called someone into the office.
“You must have been waiting for long. Step out now.”
Right after the count spoke, a door in the office opened from which Lady Namaran came out. Head down, her cheeks glowed in rosiness as she sat beside the count. The count looked at her daughter with a contented gaze, which moved to Lloyd’s way.
“What do you say?” asked Count Namaran. “How about starting a relationship with this child? Moreover, do rule over the city for me.”
“…”
“Do accept the request of this old man.”
“…”
The count’s voice grew more desperate. Lloyd was flustered to the core.
Woah, this is wild.
Lloyd had thought the Namaran’s Wall incident was over. And that was why he only
Goodness, I think I accomplished too much for this place.
Lloyd sweated profusely in his hands because it looked like he had over-accomplished things here. The city redemption and killing Hell’s Knight. Though he had expected that a reward that wasn’t ordinary would await him, it never occurred to him that the count would be willing to present him with his daughter and the whole city. This, in all seriousness, was a massive offer. Just one nod and he’d become the count that rules over Namaran. And if he was bequeathed with the Frontera fiefdom in the future, he’d amass the tremendous power of governing two counties.
But…
For some reason, he didn’t want to. He wasn’t feeling it. Was it because he wasn’t greedy for power? Or because he felt it was way too much? No.
It does not sit well with me.
That was his honest opinion. And he didn’t like the idea of tying the knot with Lady Namaran, whom he had no feelings for. Besides, ruling over two counties would only give him a headache.
Reigning over the Frontera fiefdom is hard enough. It’s complicated and tiring. All I want is to stay in a quiet fiefdom and spend the rest of my life enjoying the goodness of life. But everyone seems to be hell-bent on giving me more responsibilities.
If he held the power to select his life genre, he’d choose the calm, peaceful life story. Or he’d choose to become a character who enjoys life as a landlord. Ambition for power, risky adventures, overcoming disasters… All of those options weren’t his cup of tea. They wore him out, and it was more so because he had already worked his ass off in South Korea. All he really wanted was a modest, peaceful life. And so…
I have to turn down this offer.
Resolved, Lloyd racked his brain for a reasonable way to reject the count’s offer, one that would forever stop him from making this kind of offer ever again. What would it be? What excuse would prevent him from doing so? Lloyd’s gaze suddenly moved to Lady Namaran, and it naturally hit him. He recalled the tragic and dramatic ending of her story arc. Her noble sacrifice for the city.
“Your Excellency,” said Lloyd, “I well understand what you mean, and your cause. But please forgive me. I cannot accept your offer to be your son-in-law and to rule over this city.”
“What…?”
The count’s eyes shook.
“Turning down such an amazing offer?” the count continued in dismay, “Do you not know what this offer means? What could be the reason for your rejection?”
It looked like the count was flustered considerably. Well, it made sense. After all, he was proposing to hand over his daughter and the whole city. Any normal person would have begged on their knees to receive this offer. But not Lloyd. He instead fixed his eyes on the count with aplomb, and in a serious face and voice, he spoke.
“As there is a ruler who is more befitting than I am to rule this city. And she is here.”
Lloyd pointed at Lady Namaran.