Death is an inevitable fate. Therefore, humans must live righteous lives in accordance with the teachings of the Seven Goddesses and face death with humility.
This was the truth.
No matter how strong a person might be, no matter how much power a king might wield, everyone is equal before death.
Thus, Count Brelant could accept it.
Even when he heard the harsh truth that his precious son, whom he had barely seen late in life, was slowly dying due to his inherent constitution, and that there was no way to cure him with the holy spells of the Churches of the Seven Goddesses, meaning he would not live past twenty, he could still steel himself.
Because that was fate.
It was the natural order of the world that humans must endure.
But it was not.
Fate could be avoided. The order of the world was not predetermined.
They approached silently and whispered in secret.
They told him to turn to the true god, and his son would live.
They were not lying. Indeed, if he followed their words, his son would not have to die.
But that didn't mean he could truly live either.
What they offered was the dark art of necromancy.
Naturally, Count Brelant was greatly enraged.
"Are you telling me to abandon the natural order of the world and turn to wicked powers?"
But they instead questioned him.
"Who said that was natural?"
"Isn't it the order of the world as decreed by the Seven Goddesses?"
"Did the Goddess herself deliver that teaching to you? Or was it the priests from the Churches of the Seven Goddesses who claimed to know the Goddess's will?"
"Ha! And you claim to know the true will of the gods?"
They systematically denied the teachings of the Churches of the Seven Goddesses.
"If there is anyone who claims to know everything about the gods, they must indeed be a truly arrogant person."
"What we are speaking of is neither gods nor goddesses."
"We are speaking of those who follow gods and goddesses."
"What we wish to say is, simply, to see the world a little more broadly."
"How much do you truly know about what the world calls necromancy, Count?"
Count Brelant was not swayed.
"Nonsense! Do you think I don't know what becomes of those who fall into necromancy?"
Stories about those who used necromancy to resurrect the dead were widespread.
They brought back a loved one, only to find they had become a monster.
A decaying, moving corpse was all that remained.
Not only the body but even the mind was no longer that of the loved one they knew, and so on.
None of these tales ended beautifully. That is why necromancy is considered such a vile power, isn't it?
Even they did not deny this fact.
"Your words are correct."
"The outcomes of necromancy have not been good."
"Up until now."
And they even revealed the reason why.
"This is because it was not true necromancy."
True necromancy is by no means a magic that deals with the powers of death and darkness.
Tesranak, the god of darkness and death, bestows sacred power upon those who serve him, a power granted by that great transcendent being.
"This is merely what happens when arrogant mages think they can wield the powers of death and darkness as tools."
"Haven't there been many instances where mages caused disasters by trying to forcibly implement holy spells through magic?"
These necromancers, who claimed to be priests of Tesranak, insisted that their power was a holy spell of darkness.
Therefore, they asserted that only they could truly wield the power of darkness and death.
"The true power of darkness must be used correctly while serving Lord Tesranak."
"Just as the priests of the Seven Goddesses serve their goddesses and use their powers properly."
"If done so, death will no longer be an inevitable fate."
"Aging is merely a disease, and death is simply the result for those who fail to cure that disease."
"How could curing a disease be considered an evil act?"
"Moreover, your son is still young."
"Do you truly believe that a child accepting death as fate is the natural order of the world?"
Count Brelant wavered.
Their words were persuasive. And his son was slowly dying.
'The Churches of the Seven Goddesses haven't been of any help anyway...'
In the end, the count relented.
"I wish to turn to Tesranak... Will you accept me?"
Of course, this was not his true intention.
He planned to save his son first, then turn himself to the Churches of the Seven Goddesses.
Thus, his dying son was given a new life.
***
Seven days after departing from the capital, Tarman and Karnak's group arrived at Count Brelant's domain.
Count Brelant's territory was a prosperous place.
The village was quite large, and the faces of the people passing by were bright. Even the market was full of various goods and bustling with energy.
While observing the streets, Serati muttered to herself.
"I thought our territory was fairly well-off, but it doesn't even compare to this."
Unintentionally, she referred to the Jestarad estate as "our territory." It seemed she had grown quite attached to it.
Baros shrugged his shoulders.
"We only acquired the copper mine recently. It wasn't exactly a central hub for logistics either."
In any case, it was clear that Count Brelant was a capable lord.
Which made it all the more puzzling.
"What could have possibly driven him to become a cultist?"
In response to Serati's question, Tarman added softly.
"As I've repeatedly said, nothing has been confirmed yet."
The allegations against Count Brelant were based on rather flimsy evidence.
All that happened was that during the interrogation of a cultist captured by the King's Order's 2nd Battalion, there was a mention of Count Brelant. That was the entirety of it.
"There's more than a fifty percent chance this could be a wild goose chase."
Karnak asked, clearly not understanding.
"If that's the case, wouldn't it be better to have a separate team dedicated to gathering information?"
Honestly, he found it hard to comprehend.
'Why bother gathering a group of talented individuals only to have them handle such trivial tasks directly? It seems more efficient to assign information gathering separately and have the King's Order only handle the objectives.'
Tarman's response made Karnak realize what he had been misunderstanding.
"I don't know what you're talking about. Isn't that why the King's Order was created in the first place?"
"What?"
"Do you think anyone can handle high-level tasks like gathering information?"
It was a matter of perspective.
In the days when he was the Death King, the idea was to keep elite troops on standby and use those who were slightly less capable for intelligence work. But what were the criteria for this intelligence unit?
While they didn't need to be overwhelmingly strong, they did need a certain level of combat ability because you never know what might happen during the process of gathering information. So, back then, he often used undead forces that were at least competent among the third-class ones for this purpose.
The human forces comparable to those "competent undead" were "Red-level aura users, mages around the 6th circle, or second-tier priests and above."
'The elite forces I'm used to aren't like the Death Knight Corps that Baros used to command, after all.'
What Karnak considered a small, elite group would, by general standards, be more like an asymmetrical force—a one-man army.
This is the problem with those who once thrived but have since fallen.
They fail to grasp the current reality, constantly judging situations based on their glory days.
'Ah, even though I keep trying to adjust, it's really not easy to change my perspective.'
While Karnak grumbled inwardly, Tarman cautiously continued.
"Since the information was obtained through torture, it hasn't been verified at all. That's why we shouldn't approach the count with any preconceptions."
From the side, Cald and Alice added their explanations.
"When a person undergoes torture, they tend to say all sorts of things, real or imagined. So, it's not easy for the interrogator to discern what's true."
"Moreover, if the person themselves is confused, it's meaningless to try and verify the truth."
Understanding this, Serati joined the conversation.
"So, there might be cases where they believe a lie to be true? And given the nature of their organization, they might even deliberately leak false information to deceive the King's Order..."
And then she was immediately reprimanded.
"Oh, come on, that would never happen."
"Have you been reading too many street-corner storybooks?"
Deliberately leaking false information to a subordinate in a secret organization? What would that lead to?
"You think you can go up to some unrelated noble and whisper 'Long live Tesranak!' and not get caught?"
While they might withhold information, passing on false information would be like tightening a noose around their own neck.
"Ah, you're right."
Feeling embarrassed, Serati was consoled by Tarman.
"You're not a full member yet, so it's natural to make mistakes. That's why we have a probationary period, isn't it?"
As they continued walking, they came upon the inn they had scouted earlier.
Tarman looked back at the group.
"Let's settle in first, then spread out and start our investigation."
***
After arriving at the inn, Karnak and his group learned the King's Order's methods from Tarman.
"It may be obvious, but under no circumstances should you reveal that you're with the King's Order."
Even if they disguised themselves as Darkness Hunters out to hunt necromancers, it would still raise suspicions. After all, the primary force of the Dark God's cult is necromancers.
And they couldn't just go around asking random questions without any reason, as that would also easily arouse suspicion.
"We need to use a method that allows us to gather information naturally without seeming connected to cultists or necromancers."
With that, Tarman pulled out a few portraits from his coat and handed them out.
"There are many methods, but this is the one we'll use now."
Baros asked, "Who are these people?"
"Helon Krat, a notorious criminal wanted in the capital. He's committed numerous burglaries of noble estates and even murder. He's such a master of disguise that he hasn't been caught yet."
"Oh, did something like that happen in Drunta?"
"No. It didn't."
"...What?"
"But if we say we're looking for this wanted man and ask around, it will seem natural, won't it?"
They disguised themselves as bounty hunters chasing a wanted criminal.
Then they would wander around the village, asking the residents questions.
They would explain that this dangerous individual had likely fled to Count Brelant's territory and was hiding somewhere. They would ask if anyone had seen anything suspicious or experienced anything unusual.
Moreover, since the criminal was said to be a master of disguise, they could also inquire if anyone had noticed any familiar people behaving strangely or seeming different.
"If a dangerous fugitive has entered the village, few would refuse to cooperate—especially if you slip them a few coins."
Even if their actual goal was different, the answers they received would often overlap with information about cultists.
The local residents would also likely feel less reluctant to gossip.
"After all, it's not like they're doing anything wrong by taking our money. They're simply giving information to bounty hunters and receiving fair compensation."
Afterward, Tarman divided the group into three teams.
Tarman, a mage, paired with Baros, a warrior; Cald, a warrior, teamed up with Karnak, a mage; and Alice, a cleric, partnered with Serati, an aura user.
This distribution ensured that their combat strength was evenly spread out in case any unforeseen incidents occurred.
Since the newer members needed to learn from the more experienced ones, each group included a senior member.
With that, the team dispersed and began investigating various parts of the village.
Having a clear purpose made their movements more confident.
They roamed freely without arousing any suspicion, and Tarman even managed to meet with Count Brelant directly.
Officially, the meeting was to ask for permission.
The wanted criminal had fled here, and they had come to capture him. They assured the count they wouldn't cause any trouble and pointed out that having such a dangerous person wandering around the territory wasn't good for the Count Brelant family either.
The count agreed. They promised to cooperate as much as possible.
Thank you very much for your permission.
That was the general tone of the meeting.
Once the meeting was over, Tarman immediately left the count's castle. Baros, who had followed silently the entire time, was puzzled.
"Uh, is that it?"
He had expected some subtle interrogation, but it turned out they had only asked for permission, with no mention of the cult or anything related to it.
"If that was all, why did you bother meeting the count at all?"
But, as expected, a veteran has his ways.
"I got everything I wanted."
With a confident expression, Tarman gestured to Baros.
"Let's head back to the inn."
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