Suspected Necromancer

Chapter 8 – Friends

I occasionally met with Rato after that.
Usually, he would wait for me on the street after I finished shopping.
Each time we met, he would treat me to tea. It became something I looked forward to.
Tea and sweets are rare luxuries for me, you know.
One time, while we were at the tea shop, I said:

“Wouldn’t it be nice if everyone could have tea every day?”

Then he replied, a little pompously:

“That’s unreasonable. Tea is a luxury item imported from afar, it’s not something that can be obtained cheaply.”

“What about sweets?”

“The sugar used in sweets is even more expensive. It can only be obtained from the far south.”

“Why can’t we just grow tea and sugar here?”

“Hehe, those things only grow well in specific climates and conditions. It’s not as simple as just planting them here.”

“Then, why don’t we grow a lot over there and then transport it over?”

“Those places have their own circumstances. Just because we tell them to produce, doesn’t mean they’ll do it obediently.”

“That’s inconvenient, isn’t it? I wish everyone could enjoy tea and sweets.”

“This isn’t a world where everybody can live like a noble.”

We discussed things like that sometimes. When I drink tea, I often think back to those moments.

Who is Rato?

Well, I don’t know. I think he’s probably a high-ranking noble. So Sir Knight, do you have any idea who he could be?
Tall, blond, and imposing, right?
No? Well, never mind then.

Also, one time he followed me when I went to gather herbs in the forest.
I declined, but he said:

“It’s dangerous for a girl like you to go alone!”

And insisted on coming along.
So, the skeleton had to stay at home that day.
Instead, Rato and Killian acted as my bodyguards.
But hey, they were more useful in gathering herbs than a skeleton.
It was difficult for the skeletons to learn to gather the correct herbs.
Skeletons can’t carry out instructions that are too complex. There’s no way they could tell the difference between a poisonous herb and a medicinal one.
Whenever I went to gather herbs with Rato and Killian, Killian prepared lunch. These outings felt like a noble’s entertainment, like a picnic. They were fun.

Oh, and Rato is surprisingly strong.
Once when we were collecting herbs in the forest, we were attacked by monsters.
Usually, the skeleton would drive them away. But this time, it was Rato and Killian who did the fighting.
Rato seemed like a high-ranking noble, but I never thought he was very strong because he just boasted all the time.
I was worried and asked, “Are you guys okay?”

What? I didn’t seem very worried myself?

Well, I can use magic, you see. I’ve learned offensive spells, I can handle most monsters unless they’re really strong. So, I was fine.
Since those boys were so eager to protect me, I think they should give it their all first. It would be rude of me to defeat the monsters before they even started.
If they fail, then I can help them.
Plus, it would be quite satisfying to see the proud Rato be defeated by monsters before I swoop in to save the day. Then, I’ve gotten ahold of his weakness.

You think it’s bad to have such a personality?

That’s not true. Even Luciana said she’s done similar things.
She mentioned that proud men tend to become more obedient after their pride is crushed. Don’t all women do things like this?

No?

You’re not a woman, Sir Knight, so how would you know?
Well, never mind.
Anyway, as I said earlier, Rato and Killian were strong.
The monsters that appeared were like wolves, but bigger. When they jumped at us, Rato swung his sword once and killed them.
It was a magnificent sight.
The sword moved quickly and cut cleanly through even those large wolves.
I don’t know much about swordsmanship, but it was clear that he was quite strong.
Maybe even stronger than my skeleton.
I’ve been calling them ‘skeletons’, but their formal name is ‘Grim Reaper’, a high-ranking undead.
I found that out much later from my master.
If he’s stronger than such a high-ranking undead, then he must have quite the skills.

You’ve never heard of such a swordsman?

Really? Killian was pretty strong. Well, Sir Knight, there are things you don’t know too.
There are more things in the world that we don’t know than we know. That’s how things are.

Anyways, just like that, I had tea with them and they helped me pick herbs. We became friends.
Rato often tried to convince me to be free, even though I told him it was fine.
He even offered to pay my master the money that was spent on me.
Even for a noble, that’s not an amount that can be spent trivially.
But it made me happy.

Come to think of it, Rato is the only boy I’ve become friends with.
Well, of course, there’s Killian too. But he’s more like Rato’s younger brother, so it’s a bit different.
The only other men I know are Mason and my master. But they’re much older and are rather special individuals.
So I don’t really know what normal men are like, but I’m glad I met Rato. Although our first meeting was the worst, he turned out to be a good guy.
His face… I don’t want to admit it, but it was quite handsome, I guess.

But we often fought over strange things.
Sometimes we argued over who the child was.
Of course, it’s obvious that Rato is the child. But he didn’t accept that and told me to prove that I’m an adult.

“I’m not a child. I know lots of things!”

That’s what I told him.

“Oh really? Like what?”

“When you kiss someone you love, it leaves a mark on their lips. Did you know that? It’s quite the adult knowledge.”

“…Where did you hear such a thing?”

“The girl at the apothecary.”

“…You should consider changing the apothecary you’re going to.”

Rato was exasperated.
It’s such a silly story, but for some reason, I remember it clearly.
Such insignificant moments are surprisingly important, I think.
Also, I received a gift for the first time in my life. A little bracelet.
I declined, saying that my master would find out about any accessories I wore. Rato just said to wear it under my clothes.
I think it’s meaningless to wear accessories if they’re not visible.
But even now, I’m still wearing that meaningless bracelet under my clothes.

You think Rato might like me?

Isn’t that natural?
After all, I’m beautiful. There’s no boy who wouldn’t fall for me.
But, you know, I understand. He’s a noble, and I’m a slave girl with an unknown background. There’s no future for us together.
Well, that’s fine. I’ll live as a mage, so such things are unnecessary.
From now on, too.

Um, I guess that’s the end of my story?
I didn’t talk much about my master, sorry.
He stays locked up in the mansion and rarely goes outside.
So, I don’t have much to say about him. I can talk a lot about myself, though.

Does my master never go out at all?

He goes out sometimes. It’s quite rare. Occasionally, my master is absent for a week or so. I think he probably went to collect materials he needs for magic.
Even when he went to buy me all that time ago, my master must have left the mansion empty for quite some time.

When was the last time he went out?

About a month ago, I think? He was gone for quite a long time.
I remember Hhe looked a bit tired when he returned to the mansion.

Was this information helpful?

That’s good to know. I also enjoyed being treated to tea.