LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 69
Karem firmly rejected Nepanek’s proposal.
This was an unchanging truth.
However, she still seemed unwilling to give up, raising the stakes even higher or making alternative offers in an attempt to persuade Karem.
Amid this, Nepanek displayed her capability by completing official tasks at Obsidianberry, illustrating that one shouldn’t judge others by appearances and proving she was not just a mere aide to the careless king.
Of course, as she said, there weren’t many tasks she personally needed to handle.
Initially relaxed, she finally tossed aside her mask in haste after the detailed negotiations were settled and only a day remained until leaving Obsidianberry.
“How much do you want?! How much is it?!”
“No matter what you offer, my answer will not change. Above all, I dislike the heat of the desert.”
“Just because it’s hot? Just that little heat?!”
“Uh, uh. Guest. You shouldn’t be acting like this here.”
Her stubbornness began to wane only after hearing that the chefs of Adobice had traded many recipes and visions with the boy.
While it seemed like Karem would remain beside her until they departed for Adobice, Nepanek also maintained her composure due to her duties as a public officer.
But the final goal she could not achieve until the end.
On the day the Adobice fleet departed from Obsidianberry, Nepanek proclaimed from her ship as if this was not the end.
“Don’t get the wrong idea. I’m only stepping back due to official duties! I will come back, just you wait!”
A statement that resembled that of a defeated villain.
Regardless, the Adobice fleet moved toward the sea.
Karem, who had been tormented by the people in the meantime, vigorously waved his arms with the intention of never seeing them again.
By his side, Catherine, accompanied by Mary and Olivier, raised her chin in a proud pose.
“To try and entice my loyal subjects with such material riches, little one. I believed you would never fall for such trivial temptations.”
“For someone like you, Contractor, weren’t you a bit anxious?”
“Could I have acted in such an undignified manner? Mary, you must be mistaken.”
“Despite that, Olivier-san has been—”
“Alright! Now that the task is done, let’s hurry and pack our things!”
Catherine sharply interrupted Mary’s words as if she was unwilling to listen.
Yet, it wasn’t wrong; as the Adobice fleet drifted a good distance away, Alfred promptly commanded to prepare to leave the city.
Looking at Catherine turning sharply back towards the lodge, Olivier let out a deep sigh.
“Thank you for your hard work all this time, Olivier-san.”
“Yes, when you get old, you must die. At this age, I should not be stressed out because of an independent disciple. Oh, what a plight. If only I hadn’t been cheated out of my money—”
Well, this is going to be bothersome.
Karem followed after his employer and senior, listening to Olivier’s grumbling lament.
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*
The moment the Adobice fleet departed, the welcome party hurriedly moved to return to Winterhome.
However, the procession’s pace was as slow as the subjective opinions that filled the schedule.
Packing up their belongings didn’t take long.
The distributed itineraries had long since been filled, with everything packed the night before.
The reason for the delay was none other than the throngs of people wanting to join the welcome party heading to Coldon, and the reason was quite simple.
Spring was the season of life blossoming.
This was no different from the cold and barren Iceland.
The rivers, frozen during winter, began to flow again.
As the dormant flora awoke, the wintering carnivorous animals and monsters, who had been waiting endlessly for winter to pass, began to stir.
And they were very hungry.
There were three ways to avoid this.
Having sufficient power, expanding the group size to make it unapproachable, or…
At just the right time, since the procession of the Duke of Iceland was ending and going back to Coldon, people eagerly paid hefty sums, driven by a bit of selfishness, to join the procession.
However, it seemed excessive for so many people to gather… Huh? You want me to confirm with my own eyes? Just as Catherine said, Karem quickly found out the reason shortly after leaving Obsidianberry.
“Undead ahead! Shield wall! Ready! Push!”
“What arrows for skeleton archers? Fall back if there are no specialized arrows! Keep an eye around and ready your blunt weapons!”
During the movement of the procession, a horde of skeletons burst from the woods, flooding toward them like an ant swarm that had found food.
Their numbers clearly exceeded those of the procession.
However, the skeletons armed with decayed weapons were inferior monsters, barely even comparable to a peasant wielding a club.
It was merely a matter of quantity.
The skeletons, no better than garbage in terms of weapons and equipment, or lacking even that, were reduced to piles of bones by the exasperated knights, soldiers, and adventurers.
The undead Karem had seen during his days leaving the city weren’t limited to just skeletons.
There was a slow-approaching horde of zombies, clearly identifiable as such.
Faster and silently charging Wights.
Ghouls wielding abnormally sharp fangs and claws.
Draugr, the risen corpses of forgotten warriors.
And now, waking from hibernation, hungry beasts and monsters contaminated the surroundings, leading to ambushes happening at least two to three times a day, sometimes even bringing the procession to a standstill.
Karem was understandably horrified.
Undead, in other words, walking corpses.
Even when he was cooped up in the backwoods of Kingsland, Karem had never seen an undead.
In movies or games, they were merely monsters that died en masse alongside Nazis, but to find them surrounding the procession was pure terror.
Yet humans are creatures of adaptation.
As the days went by, the boy was able to adjust.
“Well, today’s first undead is a skeleton, huh.”
“I guess I win this bet.”
“Huh?”
To the extent they would bet on what today’s first undead would be.
Olivier sulkily thumped his staff against the ground.
“Yesterday it was zombies all day long, and now the moment today starts, it’s a skeleton.”
“Is the elder filled with greed for food equal to his age? You’ve guessed right on what comes out every day and yet you’re whining.”
“Then, Karem, junior. According to today’s bet, what’s for lunch?”
Naturally, the stakes in their bet weren’t about money.
Neither were the two grand wizards particularly concerned about money, nor was the workaholic house fairy.
What Karem gained was the choice of menu after the first appearance of the undead that day.
As a result, Karem announced proudly.
“Pancakes and bacon, with sand turtle date syrup and butter, accompanied by sautéed carrots and asparagus!”
“Hmm, it’s rather light for lunch, isn’t it?”
“I decide today’s lunch! I just want to take it easy. I’m exhausted.”
Karem countered Catherine’s mumbling with a grumble of his own.
To be honest, he genuinely wanted to rest just for today.
Before leaving for Obsidianberry, he had been subjected to the incessant attempts of a certain dark elf recruit.
In between exchanges and requests to learn from the chefs of Adobice, Karem had to ensure both two or three meals for Catherine.
Even while heading back to Coldon, Karem found no rest.
Of course, he could have taken a few days off and fully entrusted it to Mary, but as a professional chef, he couldn’t do that. He only received assistance.
Most of all, since the undead’s presence had tainted the procession with the stench of corpses, every time Karem stepped outside the wagon, he was immediately hit with fatigue.
“Excellent choice in pancakes with sand turtle date syrup. Good job, Karem junior.”
“Look, there’s even a house fairy happily agreeing to eat here, isn’t there?”
“That’s right. Picky eating is not a good choice.”
With those words, Mary showed her delight without holding back.
Of course, she wouldn’t refuse when it was said she would prepare soft, fluffy bread with sweet syrup.
Catherine and Olivier had no more reason to stay and returned inside the wagon.
“Karem junior, will you stay here?”
“Since I’m already outside, I might as well go gather some ingredients. The procession seems to be stopping for a bit.”
Karem watched the soldiers and adventurers rummaging through the shattered remains of skeleton bones.
The bones of the fallen skeletons were not particularly valuable.
The only worth to them would be the right hand or feet bones, skulls for bounties on felled undead?
Even then, it was merely slightly more valuable than goblins.
However, many of the skeletons carried equipment, though rotting, they were made of metal.
Copper, bronze, and iron had enough value in themselves.
Though it didn’t seem like enough for everyone, perhaps the soldiers were too focused in clearing up the skeleton remains, hence a surprising lack of disputes.
“Hmm, considering the skeletons were of such quantity, they might take a break before moving along. Speaking of which, let’s go right away.”
“Yes. The supply wagon should be at the back, right?”
The procession indeed followed Karem and Mary’s expectations.
Having been moving since early dawn, the procession halted as the skeleton horde attacked, taking a moment to clear the battlefield and rest.
*
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As Karem approached the part of the procession where the supply wagons were gathered, it was much noisier compared to outside.
People must eat to survive, and supply was of utmost importance.
The area surrounding the supply wagons responsible for delivering provisions to the main escort brigade was filled with the sound of livestock.
Though the scale of the procession was significant, Karem thought maybe this abundance of livestock could be the reason for frequent attacks.
Yet he couldn’t help but prioritize something more immediate.
Thanks to that, he could obtain fresh meat and milk even outdoors.
So this was indeed what Catherine meant about extravagance when joining the noble procession.
Regardless, the goal remained pancakes, bacon, vegetables, and butter.
It seemed he wasn’t the only one thinking along those lines, as the area around the wagons was quite crowded.
However, who was his employer?
The Chief Magic Consultant, Catherine.
Bolstered by her authority, Karem confidently cut in line and obtained his goal.
Mary, who collected the items on behalf of Karem, ‘inspected’ the ingredients around her.
“Karem junior, there’s no date syrup. Did you forget it?”
“I thought it would be fine with the abundance of items obtained at Obsidianberry, so I didn’t bring any other syrup.”
The continuous headhunting proposals and exchanges.
Having worked tirelessly, Karem earned just the right compensation.
As he exchanged recipes with the chefs, the chefs of Adobice deemed the compensation insufficient and handed Karem expensive spices and various long-preserving ingredients.
The sand turtle date syrup Karem received was one of them.
It was a flavor stronger than regular honey, exceedingly sweet enough to make your cheeks ache.
Incredible as it may seem, this syrup, reminiscent of fantasy-level sweetness, could be preserved for years just by sealing the entrance properly.
“Still, when I get back, I’ll be able to try out some new dishes.”
“New dishes, are they the ones from Adobice?”
“Yes. Right off the top of my head, how about soaking donuts in syrup for a few days, then sprinkling them with nut powder to make savory gulab jamun? Yes, yes. No need for such looks, I’d be able to make them just fine.”
As Mary looked at him with sparkling eyes silently, Karem quickly responded, expecting such a reaction.
Though Karem received several jars of the date syrup, considering the dessert-loving spirits back in Winterhome, it was clear that it would vanish in just a few months.
After a brief cleanup of the battlefield and resting, the escort procession moved on.
Due to the increased scale and frequent undead and monster attacks, the procession took roughly twice as long to arrive at Coldon.