Hidden Intentions
I was a bit puzzled.
Sure, Cthulhu and I had met before, but we were by no means close enough to be drinking together like this.
So, I decided to stay quiet for now.
It felt a bit awkward to act like we were close.
We weren't that close, after all.
"Um, you're not coming over here, are you?"
"Why not! If he has a Silver Badge, he must be incredibly skilled."
"Ah... Well, you're not wrong."
But something felt off, and I wished he wouldn't come over.
And at that moment...
"Mind if I join you?"
"Uh, sure... I guess."
"Thanks."
Honestly, I didn't want to give him permission, but after seeing his barbaric display earlier, I could only imagine what would happen if I refused.
As soon as I agreed, Cthulhu plopped down on the chair.
As I was thinking he was quite a character, Cthulhu started talking with a grin.
"So, did you order any food? I'm starving."
"Not yet!"
"Well then... how about I order what I want? I'm famished."
"Alright."
With that, Cthulhu called over a waiter and began ordering.
"Roast pork, bread, pasta-"
"...You really eat a lot."
"That's how I stay strong. It's hard to exert that much power without eating a lot."
"Ah, I suppose that makes sense."
It seemed Cthulhu had noticed my presence on the battlefield.
He had remarkably sharp eyes, even the last time I saw him.
He must have grasped the flow of mana on the entire battlefield.
Impressed, I continued the conversation.
"By the way, is your stomach alright? That was rotten corpse meat, after all."
"It's fine... I've been training my mana so much that it's infused into my body, I guess you could say."
Those were astonishing words.
Mana infused into his body...
Of course, I had heard of such a level of mastery, but this was my first time witnessing it firsthand.
"Wow... That's amazing."
"It is pretty amazing, but well... I think you could do it too."
"Me?"
"Yeah, you're freaking strong. You reek of power."
"Hahaha... I'm not that strong."
I wasn't that strong.
Really.
Sure, I was confident in my ability to handle most people, but... that didn't mean I could defeat anyone.
In my mind, the standard for "strong" was being able to defeat anyone, regardless of the opponent.
That's why I said that.
I was still a weakling, relatively speaking.
A kind-hearted citizen who knew little of killing.
As I was lost in thought, the food we ordered began to arrive.
"Mmm, looks delicious!"
"Indeed it does."
It looked incredibly appetizing.
I wasn't usually a big fan of this kind of food, but the aroma alone was to die for.
Perhaps because of the many adventurers around, it seemed they used fresh meat from recently hunted prey.
There was no other way to explain the beautiful color of the meat.
As we enjoyed the food we ordered, I reached for my beer.
[Freeze]
Crackle-
Infusing it with the right amount of mana, frost began to form on the beer mug.
It was incredibly refreshing.
Even Hearts seemed pleased.
However-
"Whoa, what's that? Do mine too."
"Ah, you like your drinks cold?"
"Who doesn't like a cold drink?"
"Well, I guess you're right."
To be honest, I wasn't a big drinker, but I let it slide.
Unlike some people, I didn't go around drinking all day.
That's what I'd call an addict.
With that thought, I chilled Cthulhu's beer as well.
Crackle-
Frost formed on the mug in an instant.
But there was something I needed to ask.
"Could you please not tell anyone that I can do this...?"
It wasn't like my request was an order or anything.
It would be strange for someone with his physique and strength to listen to others so easily.
"Yeah, sure. I'm not a scumbag."
"Oh, you're a true gentleman!"
"Come on, it's nothing."
"You're too humble! For a man of your strength..."
It seemed Hearts had also sensed Cthulhu's power.
It would be strange if he hadn't, actually.
He practically radiated it.
Sure, he seemed to be trying to hide it somewhat... but there was no way to completely conceal that kind of presence.
As I was thinking about this, the food Cthulhu ordered began to arrive.
"Here's your order."
"Ah, thanks."
He seemed like an ordinary adventurer at times like these.
And yet on the battlefield, he was a completely different beast.
Was this the 'gap moe' people were always talking about?
Pushing those useless thoughts aside, we began to dig in.
And as the food and drinks flowed-
"Man, that bastard pissed me off. I kept hitting him, but he wouldn't go down. Thinking back on it still pisses me off."
"He was pretty tough."
"Yeah, but at least you managed to create an opening with that... toothpick thing you threw."
"...Toothpick?"
"Yeah, you know, a toothpick? Ah, right, I forgot, I need to explain everything to you."
Cthulhu let out a 'heh heh' chuckle and pulled out a piece of wood from his pocket, beginning to whittle it down.
There was something strange about it, though.
"Um... You carve wood with your bare hands?"
"Why bother with a knife? It's easier to just use my hands."
"Ah, okay."
He definitely had a different set of common sense than me.
I decided not to question it any further.
It didn't seem like I'd get anywhere by doing so.
As I watched Cthulhu concentrate on carving the wood with his aura-cloaked fingers, he spoke to me.
"By the way, what's your name? I don't think I asked."
"Ah, it's Eugene."
"Eugene, huh. I had a friend named Eugene once. He had a really nasty personality, so I beat him up..."
"Ahaha..."
Since I didn't have any friends in real life, I couldn't relate to his story.
Thinking about it, I asked Cthulhu, "What about you? What's your name? I don't think I asked either."
"Hmm... I don't really have a name I go by, but everyone calls me Red. You can call me that too."
Red.
It was a very straightforward name.
Fitting, considering his red hair.
Then again, to think that someone would be nicknamed "Red" just because they had red hair...
It was a bit harsh, to be honest.
I made a mental note of his name.
Cthulhu was Red.
Red was Cthulhu.
It would be easy to remember.
The image of Cthulhu tearing into that flesh was still vivid in my mind.
With that thought, we continued drinking.
*
"Damn it, that pisses me off. That was expensive..."
I was a little annoyed.
No, to be more accurate, I was extremely annoyed.
Of course, I only had control over one Ogre, but it wasn't like Ogre corpses were easy to come by.
The thought of losing one so easily filled me with frustration.
"Well, at least I didn't use Belial's corpse."
Thankfully, I hadn't used the Belial corpse I had obtained earlier.
It was best to avoid using that corpse unless absolutely necessary.
It's not easy to get the body of a legion commander.
Of course, I had another one hidden away...
'...I need to keep that one really well hidden.'
If other necromancers found out, they would obviously try to steal it with fire in their eyes.
Because 'Forneus' was a really strong legion commander.
I wouldn't have been able to defeat him the last time if it hadn't been for his mistake.
As I thought back on the recent battle, I couldn't help but feel a chill.
A single martial artist had defeated a being formed from four Ogre corpses.
"...That wasn't human, it was a beast."
If that could be considered human, then the line between man and beast was far too blurry.
It was better to classify him as a 'beast' for now.
I opened the forum.
Using my network of "children" scattered throughout the land, I began gathering information.
And then...
An interesting piece of news caught my eye.
"...Andromalius."
The 72nd demon, Andromalius, was preparing to invade Baruk.
He wasn't the strongest opponent, but he was still a force to be reckoned with.
He was a Legion Commander, after all.
It would be best to inform the forum about this. It wasn't for the sake of public service or anything.
It was more like... personal greed.
A selfish desire that could change at any moment, but for now, it remained unwavering.
With that in mind, I carefully crafted a post on the forum.
As natural as possible.
"Can't be losing money on this deal."
This was my problem.
I let out a sigh and picked up my research journal.
I had lost a lot of corpses today, but I had also gained a lot of knowledge.
There was no time to waste.
Read ahead by supporting me on Ko-fi. Access 5 advance chapters with the Wandering Mage Tier ($10) or 10 advance chapters with Academy Mage Tier ($18) For every $15 collected on Ko-fi, I will release an extra chapter. Choose your tier by clicking the 'Support me' button! Join our discord server for latest release updates and novel discussions. Rate and review this novel on NU to help people find this novel. Bonus chapters on reaching milestones. Happy reading!