Suspected Necromancer

Chapter 20 – Molly’s Children

“Mason passed away not too long ago, but Molly is still lively. Though she’s bedridden these days.”

After conversing with Luna for a while, Dorothy led her to Molly’s room.
Luna explained to Dorothy that she had become an apprentice to a mage, the one who had bought her initially, but that mage had passed away, and she had continued her magic training under that mage’s master. Dorothy seemed to understand Luna’s explanation.

“Molly, don’t be too surprised. It’s Luna. She’s become a mage.”

Dorothy said, ushering Luna into Molly’s room.
Molly was propped up in bed, gazing absentmindedly at the children playing outside her window.
Though she had become an old woman, her posture was still upright, reminiscent of the Molly Luna knew from her memories.
It seemed Molly hadn’t heard what Dorothy was saying or noticed Luna’s arrival.

“Lately, she’s aged quite a bit. It’s fine to approach her. I have to look after the kids, so I’ll leave you to talk with Molly. She seems to have been worried about you for a long time.”

Dorothy said before closing the door and leaving.

“Molly.”

Luna took a seat on the chair beside the bed before calling out to her.
Molly turned towards Luna.

“Is that you, Luna? What’s with that appearance?”

Molly wore a friendly smile. This was a face Luna had never seen during her time at the mansion. She recognized Luna with a glance, but her youthful appearance didn’t seem to surprise her much.

“Well, you see, various things happened.”

Luna couldn’t help but wryly smile at how her current appearance was referred to as “that appearance.”

“Are you happy?”

“I don’t know, really.”

“I see, but it’s good that you’re alive. After all, you were bought by some mage.”

Molly squinted as she looked at Luna.

“When I was sold, you were worried for me. I remember it clearly. You secretly said, ‘If it gets tough, come back anytime.’ And you cautioned me, ‘The other party is a mage, so you don’t know what might happen. Work hard for your own life.'”

“You remember quite well, Luna.”

Molly smiled.

“Of course I remember. After all, you even handed me something like this.”

Luna replied, pulling out a razor from her pocket.

“Do you recall what you said when you gave me this razor? ‘If the need arises, use this to cut your own throat,’ you remember saying? To a young child like I was? I was trembling with fear when I received it.”

Molly stared at the razor.

“I gave razors to the children who went to the bad clients, those with a bad reputation. I thought, rather than letting those kinds of people harm my kids, I’d rather have them die beforehand. Though it seems none of the children who received it actually used it. I’m not sure if that was fortunate or unfortunate. Ultimately, many of the kids I sold ended up in uncertain circumstances after being bought, so I don’t know about them.
What about the mage who bought you, this Khan? How was he? Mages aren’t known for their good reputations. They’re the type who treat children like magical ingredients or something.”

Luna shrugged. Molly was right on the mark.

“Who knows? But I did have a chance to use that razor. Khan wasn’t particularly interested in what I did. Even if I worked hard, he didn’t show much reaction. Just as you said, I thought he might have bought me for some unsavory purpose.
But when I asked him to let me shave his beard, he surprisingly complied. He even relaxed his body, not tensing up like Mason used to. He closed his eyes and let go of his tension. So, it was easy to shave him.
At that moment, I thought, ‘Ah, this person actually trusts me.’ That realization made me happy. So, I did shave his beard, but I didn’t use it for anything sinister.
Well, in the end, I think Khan was clumsy but not a bad person.”

Luna put the razor back into her pocket.

“I see. Well, as long as you’re alive, that’s what matters.”

Molly laughed.

“But, there was one time I was attacked by kidnappers. Was that Mason’s doing?”

While Luna was out gathering herbs in the forest, she had encountered some kidnappers. She assumed it was Mason’s doing to retrieve her, after selling her at a high price, to sell her again to another client.

“Mason valued trust, so he wouldn’t do something like that. It was actually me who hired them. I thought, if my children were still alive, I might as well try to get them back. I paid those kidnappers upfront, but then they didn’t contact me at all, so I thought they might have run off. I assumed they had bailed on the job. Turns out they were just slow.”

“Sorry, but those men are already dead.”

Although Luna said she was sorry, they were wicked men, so she didn’t feel much guilt.

“That’s fine. They were scoundrels anyway. So, what about that mage Khan? Is he still alive?”

“He died about 40 years ago.”

“Oh, I see. That was quite early. So, what happened afterward? You could have returned here.”

“Things took a turn for the worse. Yeah… I went through a rough patch. I suppose you could say I came close to becoming something horrible, inhuman even. I might as well have turned into a demon. It was an incredibly difficult time. I even thought about giving in to that darkness. It was so painful.
But I didn’t. It’s strange, even to me. Because, becoming that way would have been easier. I wondered why. Why would I continue trying to be human, even when it was so painful?
Maybe, if I had been raised by someone else, I might have chosen the easier path. If I had been at another place where someone bought me, I’d likely have become a demon. But that’s not how it went. Though I might have been treated as a mere product, I was raised as a proper human, so I couldn’t just abandon everything.
Because Molly… because you taught me that ‘humans persevere,’ I couldn’t take the easy way out. So yes, in a way, you’re partly to blame for the tough times I went through.”

“I don’t really understand everything you’re saying, but it sounds like it was a difficult time for you.”

Molly said as she reached out and gently stroked Luna’s head.
Luna was taken aback, but she tilted her head towards Molly and allowed it to happen.
Her gaze dropped to her lap, and tears began to fall, dyeing her clothes freely.

“It was tough. Really tough. I did my best…”

Luna’s voice trembled.

“Yes. You did.”

Molly’s voice was gentle.

──

After some moments of silence, Luna spoke up.

“Hey, Molly. Why were you involved in slavery? Wouldn’t it have been better to do something like running an orphanage like now?”

It was something Luna had always wondered about.

“You’re such a fool, dear. Who would just raise and hand over children for free when you can make money by selling them? The King put an end to slavery, so orphanages are the next best option. Most other slavers went out of business, and only a few like us started orphanages.”

“Oh, I see. That makes sense.”

“And on top of that, orphanages receive assistance from the government. All thanks to King Ramunato.”

As Molly had said, Rato had created a world without slavery, a prosperous kingdom.

“…I was also a slave, once. I ended up in a brothel after being sold. It was considered a high-class one, so I received some education, like reading and writing, which made me more appealing to nobles. But since it was still a business, I had no hope of gaining freedom, and many children ended up with permanent disabilities. That’s where Mason came in. He bought me from the brothel.
Mason was a playboy and the third son of a noble family, so he couldn’t inherit his family’s fortune. However, he was skilled at accumulating wealth. For some reason, he took a liking to me.
I told Mason, ‘I want to work in the slave trade. I want to raise children who can support themselves.’ He readily agreed, ‘That sounds good.’ He made proper preparations, buying this mansion and starting the business… Yeah, Mason was a good man.
So, I taught my children diligently. I wanted them to be able to live without resorting to being prostitutes. I wanted them to be competent at work. Well, my children didn’t like me much, but…”

“So you were aware of it.”

Luna couldn’t help but laugh.

“I knew. But you see, Mason warned me. ‘Don’t say you love them or anything like that,’ he said. ‘Emotions will get in the way of business.’ He knew me well. He knew that if he left me alone, I would never let my children go. So, he decided to sell them based on his judgment instead of mine. Well, if he hadn’t done that, the business wouldn’t have survived.
I never wanted to sell you either, Luna, especially not to a sketchy mage. I protested to Mason, but since you were an Asuran, and the price we paid for you initially was high. I got pressured into it by Mason. He said, ‘We won’t be able to make ends meet if we don’t sell her.'”

“Wait, why did you guys buy me back then even though I was so expensive? Wasn’t Mason’s whole business strategy all about buying low and selling high?”

“I was the one who bought you. You had blond hair and red eyes, you were cute. I bought you because I wanted to treat you like my daughter… But in the end, I sold you too.”

“…Even so, I’m still happy you did that. Thank you, Molly. I’m really, truly glad you bought me.”

Hearing Luna’s words, Molly took a deep breath.

“I’m glad I could hear those words. I’ve been worried about you for so long… It’s almost as if I’ve lived all these years just to see you again. I have no more regrets now.”

The flow of magic in Molly’s body had significantly weakened. Luna could tell that her time was running short.

“Hey, Molly. Do you want to live longer? Do you want to get better and live a long time?”

“What’s that?”

Molly laughed.

“No, I don’t. I don’t want that. I shouldn’t outlive my children. The order of events is important. I should die first, then Dorothy and Luna. If you two die before me, it would be more painful for me than my own death. I’d never want to live like that.”