I have never properly seen a monster, let alone even an animal, in my entire life.
Occasionally, I might spot a dog or a cat wandering through the village, or, if I’m lucky, a bird descending from the sky.
Part of it is because I’m mostly confined to the mansion and rarely go outside.
But another reason is that our territory itself is so peaceful that there’s hardly any chance to encounter monsters.
Predators or monsters wouldn’t bother raiding or attacking if there’s nothing in the territory to target.
Before proper development, it was just a backwater region.
Still, every once in a while, a lost predator or monster might appear, but whenever that happens, my father takes care of it personally.
And when I say “takes care of it,” I mean he annihilates it.
I’ve never seen it happen myself, but the testimonies of the villagers make it sound utterly one-sided.
Anyway, I’ve never seen even low-level monsters like goblins or orcs, let alone skeletons revived through necromancy.“So, you’re saying Sir Clark… was resurrected through our magic…?”
[Indeed. I even left you all a message, didn’t I?]
In this situation, a skeleton that speaks confidently is sitting right in front of me.
Though it’s nothing but bones, its sturdy frame is accentuated by the worn armor it’s clad in.
As if that weren’t disorienting enough, this skeleton is apparently Clark Michelle, my grandfather—my father’s father—who was resurrected through our magic.
Unable to believe this story, I tore my gaze away from Clark and looked to the side.
Sitting next to him was Kate, looking as timid as ever for some reason.
“Kate?”
“Y-yes?”
“Is what he’s saying really true?”
Skeletons are essentially a symbol of necromancers and one of the main weapons of demon worshippers.
The stronger the necromancer’s abilities, the more powerful the skeletons they can summon and control.
Naturally, skeletons are seen as evil beings.
Yet here is Kate, a Grand Inquisitor, who brought him along personally. It’s an utterly baffling combination.
“Yes… It is true that Sir Clark is the distinguished guest mentioned by Luminous.”
Kate responded to my question in a quiet voice, her confidence completely drained.
I raised an eyebrow, puzzled.
What could have happened to make her so cowed?
Could it be that something happened between her and Clark during their meeting?
It seemed likely.
Clark, at least outwardly, appeared to be a skeleton with high intelligence, capable of speech.
To an average person, he’s just a monster—a corpse summoned by a necromancer. And Kate is a Grand Inquisitor with strong faith.
‘They were bound to clash.’
Besides, Luminous never specifically said to bring Clark. All that was given was a vague oracle to escort an important guest.
I decided I’d talk to her later. For now, I turned my attention back to Clark.
[Do you believe me now? And you, Hawk, weren’t you the one who personally requested that my remains be brought here?]
Though he was speaking, his jaw didn’t move at all, and golden light flickered in his hollow eye sockets.
My father, momentarily dumbfounded by his words, scratched under his nose with a bitter smile, seemingly embarrassed.
It was an unbelievable situation, but his expression showed he was trying to come to terms with it.
“Well… I did, but who said you should come in this manner? If Cardinal Kate hadn’t been with you, I would’ve split your skull with an axe.”
[Hahaha! That’s amusing. Well, perhaps you could defeat me now. After all, I’m nothing but bones and have almost no strength left.]
“Ugh…”
Watching their conversation, Ariel rubbed her eyes and let out a groan. After blinking a few times, she stared at Clark again.
But soon, she tilted her head, as if something about him didn’t make sense to her.
“What’s wrong, Ariel? Are you feeling unwell?”
“No. It’s just… that thing.”
[Hahaha.]
Pointing at Clark, Ariel referred to him as “that thing.” Clark let out a hearty laugh, seemingly amused by her rudeness.
It was an utterly impolite remark, but Ariel didn’t know yet that Clark was her great-grandfather.
Plus, to her, he’s just a skeleton, so calling him “that thing” makes sense.
I silently vowed to educate her about this later. Just as I was thinking this, she spoke up, her tone puzzled.
“It looks… layered.”
“Layered?”
“Yeah. It’s like a person and bones are overlapping.”
At first, I didn’t understand what she meant, but soon it became clear. I grabbed a notebook to jot down my thoughts for better clarity.
It wasn’t that a soul resided inside the bones. Rather, the bones were clinging to the soul like armor.
When I asked Ariel if it looked like this, she nodded vigorously in agreement.
“Yes! Yes! That’s exactly how it looks!”
“I see. Since you can see souls, that’s how it must appear to you.”
[Now that you mention it, this child is said to be a child of the World Tree, isn’t she?]
Clark, stroking his jaw as if pondering, stared at Ariel intently.
Upon hearing his words, a question popped into my mind, and I spoke up.
“Grandfather.”
[Hmm? What is it?]
“Do you know how the world has been changing, including the Chronicles of Zenon?”
If he didn’t know anything, he would’ve sought out my father instead of me.
After all, I wasn’t even born when he passed away.
Yet Clark recognized me as his grandson the moment he saw me.
And though no one had explained Ariel’s origins, he seemed to know about her.
This suggested he had been keeping track of how the world was changing. But how could someone who had died know all this?
My curiosity was piqued.
[Of course. How could I move on when my funeral wasn’t even held? I’ve been wandering here and there, unable to interfere in the world.]
“Huh? Do you need a funeral to pass on?”
[Of course. I used to think funerals were just a form of respect for the deceased, but after dying,
I realized they’re essential. That aside, the reason I know how the world has changed is different.]
“Different, how?”
I wondered if it had something to do with divine intervention. However, Clark’s response far exceeded my imagination.
[I stayed by my son’s side to make sure he didn’t die.]
“…What?”
Upon hearing the answer, the father was greatly flustered and asked again.
His expression was not one of fear but sheer disbelief, leaving him at a loss for words.
Clark nodded as if he fully understood the reaction and said something that no one would expect from the supposed culprit.
[Even so, I left him all alone without any siblings. Out of guilt, I had to stay close by.
Though, contrary to my worries, he managed to grow up well on his own… but aren’t there still demon worshippers around?]
“… …”
[Fortunately, I erased my tracks well enough that no one targeted my son. Plus, being stationed in the borderlands helped.]
“No. If that were the case, you should’ve at least appeared in my dreams to tell me where your body was!
I’ve heard of cases where deceased parents or ancestors appear in dreams to help their family.
Why didn’t you do the same? It would’ve made holding a proper funeral much easier.”
The father retorted indignantly, seemingly convinced now that Clark was indeed his biological father.
After all, there are occasional stories of deceased family members or distant ancestors appearing in dreams to offer guidance.
However, such occurrences are rare, and even when they happen, dreams are often forgotten upon waking, rendering them of little use.
Yet, Clark responded to the father’s reproach with a deep, heavy tone, his eyes sinking with an inexplicable gravity.
[No. If I had done that, you would have realized the existence of the demon worshippers.
Your mother fell victim to them, and I couldn’t risk losing you as well.]
“What? Are you saying that those bandits were demon worshippers?”
The father was startled, urgently questioning Clark.
He had mentioned before that, when he was about seven years old, his mother had been killed in a bandit raid.
During his father’s childhood, when wars were rampant across various territories, bandit groups were naturally prevalent.
However, it had never occurred to him that they might have been demon worshippers.
[To be precise, they were hired by the demon worshippers. It was a time of war and chaos, so a simple bribe would have sufficed.
Unfortunately, I was in another region at the time… I’m truly sorry.]
“…Forget it. It’s all in the past now. I can only hope you’ve found peace. Anyway, how did you die? You weren’t someone who would fall easily.”
After a brief moment of solemnity, the father quickly shifted the topic.
The revelations were overwhelming, making it hard for him to keep up.
Clark paused to ponder the question before turning his gaze toward me.
When our eyes met, I felt a strange tension, my body stiffening instinctively.
Then, in a quiet voice, he spoke uncertainly.
[Grandson. From what I hear, your book mentions the Seven Deadly Sins—figures who resemble high-ranking demon worshippers. Is that correct?]
“Uh… Yes. They are Wrath, Envy, Lust, Pride, Greed, Sloth, and Gluttony. Seven in total.”
[Simply put, I killed all of them, and I died along with them.]
“What?”
What kind of monster could do such a thing? Even Zenon, the protagonist, struggled to deal with just one of the Seven Deadly Sins.
Everyone listening, myself included, was left utterly dumbfounded by his story.
To most people, it might sound like a boast, but I had heard from Rina that the underground temple bore clear signs of intense combat.
Furthermore, while the summoning ritual had been successful, it was only partially so, leading to my summoning instead.
And all of this pointed back to the person standing before me.
As everyone stood in stunned silence, mouths agape, Clark tilted his head as if reminiscing about old times, stroking his chin thoughtfully.
[But there weren’t seven of them—only five. They had titles similar to what you mentioned:
Despair, Corruption, Sorrow, Regret, and Denial. They were the lords, the leaders back then.]
“And you defeated them all by yourself?”
[I took advantage of the underground temple. The confined space made it impossible for them to use high-powered magic.
Moreover, the summoning ritual was almost complete, so they couldn’t teleport away.
If the area had been larger, I would’ve only been able to take out one or two at most.]
Should I call this humility?
Given the overwhelming evidence, his words could hardly be considered lies.
Yet, despite all this, the world knew nothing about it.
Most notably, from what I had seen in my dreams, Clark had willingly renounced his status as a hero.
All of this led to a single question: What kind of legacy or mission had been passed down through our family for Clark to forgo his place as a hero?
Judging by his words, it seemed like something passed down for generations, yet not a single record of it exists.
That, in itself, is strange.
[Well, aside from those, there was also a cardinal among them, but you and your friend dealt with that one.
Not only that, but their very existence has been revealed, and they’re being destroyed one by one.]
“Um… Grandfather Clark?”
[Yes? Do you have something to say?]
“Yes. This pursuit of demon worshippers—did it end with your generation?”
[I ended it deliberately. I was sick of it, and the organization I was part of was annihilated.]
Now it was clear.
Starting from Clark’s generation, the pursuit of demon worshippers had ceased, but our family had been chasing them since ancient times.
So, what was the reason for starting this pursuit in the first place?
Clark had destroyed all records, but now the man himself stood before me.
Feeling a sense of tension, I swallowed hard and cautiously asked,
“Then… what was the reason our family started chasing demon worshippers in the first place?”
[Are you curious?]
“How could I not be?”
With red hair and golden eyes, our striking appearance, coupled with the remarkable talents passed down through generations, was impossible to overlook.
Yet, not a single line about us could be found in history books.
At the very least, our red hair should’ve warranted a mention.
This could only mean that our family operated entirely in the shadows. But why?
Descendants of a hero? Or perhaps heirs to a hidden royal lineage?
Amid this complete lack of historical knowledge, Clark finally opened his tightly shut lips.
[We were slaves.]
And the truth he revealed was…
[Slaves longing for freedom.]
…something no one could have anticipated.
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