Karnak, Monarch of Death-Chapter 115: The Grental County (3)

The next day, Karnak and his companions wandered around the castle village. They pretended to be ordinary passersby, eavesdropping on conversations, or acted like customers, asking casual questions about the local atmosphere. All the while, they kept an eye out for any traces of darkness.

As usual, Lapicel stayed behind at the inn, waiting patiently. It was a cold winter day, with each breath forming a puff of white in the frosty air.

"Ha!"

In the backyard of the inn, a gray-haired girl swung a wooden practice sword.

—If you want to grow stronger, you must train diligently and consistently every day.

—Yes, Sister Serati!

Though her movements were limited to basic horizontal, vertical, and diagonal slashes, her form was clean, precise, and full of discipline. A few passing merchants stopped to admire her skill, impressed by her level of training despite her age.

"Wow, the young lady is quite talented!”

"She’ll grow into a formidable swordswoman one day."

In truth, their untrained eyes had failed to notice her true prowess. Even now, she could overpower most adult warriors with ease. Anyone would grow stronger if they ate well, slept well, and moved with purpose—provided they weren’t hopelessly frail. And Lapicel, as a natural prodigy, was no exception.

The scrawny figure she had when they first met was long gone. She had filled out, her youthful features now carrying an adorable charm, while her body had grown lean and muscular. If Serati resembled a mature lioness, Lapicel had the energy of a young, growing leopard cub.

"Hyah! Take this! Hah!"

She was engrossed in her sword training when, suddenly, she puffed out her cheeks in frustration.

"Tsk..."

Being diligent and growing stronger was all well and good, but she found that there was a sense of protest growing in her heart. It was a natural sentiment for any child.

Why does Sir Karnak keep leaving me behind? I could be helpful too!

***

That evening, Karnak was sitting with Varos and Serati, sharing the findings from their investigation. Alius had gone to visit Priest Belton again, hoping to gather additional information, so only the three of them were in the room.

In the middle of their discussion, someone knocked on the door.

Knock, knock, knock.

Karnak quickly dispelled the sound-blocking barrier and called out, "Who is it?"

A sweet voice replied, "It’s Lapicel."

The three of them exchanged puzzled looks.

—What’s she doing here?

—No idea. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

—Well, since she’s here, we might as well let her in.

When Lapicel entered, she hesitated for a moment before speaking cautiously. "Um... Sir Karnak?"

"What is it?"

"Could you take me with you the next time you go investigating for cultists?"

Serati flinched in surprise and asked, "How do you know about that?"

Karnak and his group had never told Lapicel what they were doing in the Grental territory. They had simply said that the adults were on an important mission and that she should wait patiently.

"Well, I overheard Priest Alius talking about it the other day," Lapicel admitted.

"But it wasn’t something you should have been able to hear," Karnak said.

"Yes," she replied, glancing nervously at the others. "That’s why I focused really hard and listened carefully."

"What?"

For a moment, Serati’s face went blank. Why would focusing harder make you hear better?

"Isn’t it true?" Lapicel asked, tilting her head in confusion.

"If you focus strength in your arms, your arms get stronger. If you focus strength in your legs, your legs get stronger," she continued, wearing an innocent expression as though stating the most obvious truth. "So, if you focus strength in your eyes, your eyesight improves, and if you focus strength in your ears, your hearing improves, doesn’t it?"

It was then that Varos and Serati realized what Lapicel was talking about.

—Technically, she’s not wrong.

—Yeah... that’s true.

Aura users could enhance their physical abilities with aura, and it wasn’t just limited to their strength ,stamina, or reflexes. They could also significantly improve their senses like sight, hearing, and smell with precise control. Serati herself was no exception. She could do such things with her aura.

Now that I think about it, didn’t Lapicel tell Alius to have a safe trip when he left?

That was something she couldn’t have said unless she knew where Alius was going. At that time, Lapicel had enhanced her hearing to eavesdrop on their conversation from a distance.

Which meant...

—Lapicel is using aura?

Even if her soul belonged to a future Martial King, how could she possibly use aura when she didn’t have any?

—That doesn’t make sense.

But Varos let out a wry smile.

—But when you think about it, it actually makes perfect sense.

They had all been under a misconception. They had mistakenly thought that Lapicel would awaken her aura after a little training. But that wasn’t the case.

—She’s already awakened.

It was just that she didn’t have enough accumulated aura for it to be noticeable until now.

—However, since aura is life energy, any living being has at least a tiny amount of it.

Aura typically built up over time until it erupted like a sudden explosion, at which point it became controllable. This process was what aura users called awakening. Moreover, those who had mastered aura over a long period could control even the faintest traces of energy. This was the domain of true masters.

Lapicel’s soul had already reached the peak of martial arts decades ago. Her instincts alone far exceeded the level of mastery. The only issue was her body. It hadn’t been trained enough to draw out significant amounts of aura, and her lost memories meant she could only use it unconsciously.

—I only had experience in using dark aura, so I just managed to learn how to handle my own aura, but it’s different for Lapel.

—That’s why Sir Karnak always used sound-blocking barriers whenever discussing things around her.

Serati suddenly felt a renewed sense of awe at the monstrous potential of the girl before her. Lapicel, noticing the serious expressions around her, grew uneasy.

"Did I do something wrong?" she asked hesitantly.

"No, you did great. But don’t talk about it in front of others, okay?"

"Why not?"

Serati paused, deliberating on how best to explain. Lapicel’s extraordinary nature posed a danger if it attracted too much attention. But how could she explain that in a way the girl would accept naturally?

"Have you heard of secret swordsmanship techniques passed down through families, Lapicel?"

"Yes," she replied eagerly.

"It’s like that. A martial artist’s techniques shouldn’t be shared carelessly with others."

"Oh, I see!"

Because this was a widely known concept, Lapicel nodded in immediate understanding.

Karnak, watching from the side, chuckled in admiration.

—Oh! Serati’s gotten much better at lying!

—This isn’t something I wanted to improve at!

Then she asked, her tone serious again.

—So, what are we going to do about this now?

After a moment of thought, Karnak’s eyes lit up.

—Bringing her along might not be a bad idea.

In the future, Lapicel was destined to become a hero of humanity, one who fought against the Monarch of Death. That meant she had more experience confronting necromancy than anyone else in the world. Of course, for now, she only retained a fraction of her former abilities...

—But even with just that, her instincts would be sharper than most priests or necromancers.

Karnak nodded to himself. "Lapicel, you’ll come with us starting tomorrow."

Lapicel beamed with joy. “Yes, Sir Karnak!”

***

Lapel joined the group in their investigations of the village starting the second day. With too many people moving together, they risked drawing attention. To avoid this, Alius and Varos formed one team, while Karnak, Serati, and Lapicel formed another.

Unfortunately, Lapicel’s presence didn’t lead to the discovery of any traces of death energy or malice that they hadn’t found the previous day. After all, the world wasn’t so convenient as to work that way. However, unexpectedly, she proved to be a great help in another way.

"What an adorable young lady. Is she your little sister?"

Having a child with them significantly lowered the merchants’ wariness. Even when they asked probing questions, no one seemed suspicious of their intentions. Thanks to this, they managed to gather a wide variety of stories. Along the way, they even came across some rare and unusual items, ones seldom found in the Seven Kingdoms.

"Oh my!"

While pretending to browse in a general store, Serati picked up a sword and examined it, her eyes sparkling.

"Is this really a dwarven sword?"

The shopkeeper, clearly proud, eagerly replied, "We also have clothing made from elven fabric. All of these are rare goods from the East!"

Karnak leaned over to glance at the sword.

"What’s so fascinating about it?"

"Isn’t it obvious? A longsword crafted by dwarves, with fabric made by elves...."

She knew that the fairy races, elves and dwarves, lived in the far eastern parts of the continent. But she had never seen them, let alone their craftsmanship. The massive Lacania Empire lay in the middle of the continent, acting as a barrier. As a result, it was incredibly rare for goods from the eastern lands to make their way to the Seven Kingdoms.

Occasionally, items like elven-made clothes, jewelry, or dwarven weapons crossed the Baracant Mountains, but they were so rare that they became luxury items reserved for the highest-ranking nobles. As a native of Derath City, a smaller city in the Eustil Kingdom, Serati had never seen anything made by the fairy races before, let alone fairy races themselves.

"Maybe I should buy one...." she murmured.

Karnak stopped her.

—Don’t.

—Why not?

—It’s fake.

—How do you know?

—You can tell by looking at it. And even the cheapest genuine dwarven sword would cost ten times as much as this.

Karnak’s words carried immense weight. After all, he had traveled across the continent in his time, and even conquered it.

"Tsk..."

Disappointed, Serati put the sword back on the rack.

Karnak casually glanced at the nearby travel cloaks and adventurer outfits, then muttered, "Well, at least the undergarments are actually elven-made."

"Really? These are real?" Serati asked in surprise.

"They are. The only ones who can work with moonlight silk are elves."

Undergarments made from moonlight silk were renowned for their outrageous prices, rivaling the cost of decent armor. Fortunately, Serati was no longer strapped for cash. Between her wages from Karnak and her income from the King’s Order, her finances were in good shape.

"I’m buying it!"

Serati exclaimed in delight as she headed for the clothing section.

Karnak, watching indifferently from the side, asked, "Do you really need to spend that much on underwear? It’s just something you wear under your clothes."

“Men are always so clueless," Serati muttered with a click of her tongue.

She didn’t bother trying to argue further. There was no point. He clearly wouldn’t understand.

"We also need something for Lapicel," she added.

Lapicel’s eyes sparkled with excitement, befitting her youthful enthusiasm. "Thank you, Sister Serati!"

The two women threw themselves into the task, their eyes blazing with determination as they selected the perfect pieces of underwear.

Karnak, observing them, finally seemed to grasp the situation.

—So that’s how it is. Serati knows how to live properly. She’s doing her best to be kind now, so when Lapicel regains her memories, the odds of her coming after us will be lower, right?

—That’s not it at all!

Serati shot back.

***

That evening, the group gathered to share the information they had gathered during the day.

Alius let out a sigh as he summarized their findings. "We’ll need to keep verifying, but so far, there’s nothing out of the ordinary."

Since Hudel had become the lord, the Grental territory had enjoyed uninterrupted peace. There had been no sightings of cultists or necromancers, no cases of unexplained disappearances, no mysterious deaths, and not even outbreaks of plagues or invasions by monsters.

It was a land of ordinary tranquility, untouched by bloodshed or death. The fact that it remained peaceful while the surrounding territories were plagued by trouble seemed suspicious, but it could just as easily be seen as evidence of Hudel’s competence as a lord.

"Well, if there were anything suspicious, Priest Belton would have mentioned it," Alius concluded with a nod.

Karnak nodded in agreement. "It’s the same on our end."

Thanks to Lapicel’s presence, they had been able to gather more detailed stories from merchants and commoners. However, the content was nearly identical to what Alius had found. Everyone they spoke to seemed genuinely grateful to Count Hudel for his skillful and peaceful governance of the land.

"Which is why I’ve found something suspicious," Karnak said.

Though he had the same information as Alius, his conclusion was entirely different.

"This territory is too peaceful."