Ch. 61 Munchkin – Chapter 61
by AfuhfuihgsChapter 61
The being Lucy had summoned was named Crevius.
He was a high-ranking undead, a lich, capable of wielding powerful magic.
His appearance was skeletal, much like a skeleton, but there were many differences.
For one, his attire was a luxurious black robe adorned with intricate decorations.
Each of his fingers was adorned with gleaming gemstone rings, and his neck was draped with dazzling jewelry.
The staff in his hand was also embedded with large gemstones.
To put it simply…
He looked incredibly extravagant.
It seemed like he was obsessed with wealth.
“Hoho…”
Crevius’s gaze lingered on Lucy’s neck.
Currently, Lucy was wearing the ruby necklace Ron had given her as a gift.
“Excuse me, but may I ask where you obtained that necklace?”
“It was a gift.”
“From whom?”
“A friend.”
“I see.”
Crevius’s blue flames flickered.
He leaned on his staff and gracefully adjusted his posture.
“If it was a gift from a friend, it must be precious to you. But unfortunately, that necklace… is a very dangerous item.”
“Dangerous?”
“Yes, my lady. From what I can see, that necklace seems to carry a curse that devours the soul… Have you been feeling unusually tired lately, or having trouble sleeping at night, or perhaps a loss of appetite?”
“No.”
Lucy answered calmly.
She hadn’t experienced anything like that.
“Ah, I see… At first, there may be no symptoms. The curse is very subtle, you see. It’s likely that this necklace is tied to some tragic event in the past. By any chance, have strange things been happening around you since you received the necklace? For example, someone close to you getting hurt, or your luck turning unusually bad…”
“Not really.”
“Hmm… Then you’re in a very dangerous state. The fact that there are no symptoms means the curse has already taken deep root… In such cases, one might seem fine for a while, but then suddenly… Ah, it’s too dreadful to explain to a lady like yourself. But don’t worry too much. Fortunately, I believe I can help. If you entrust the necklace to me, I can perform a purification ritual…”
“It’s fine.”
When Lucy refused, Crevius’s blue flames flickered slightly.
He fidgeted nervously.
“…You mustn’t take the danger of the curse lightly. It could cost you your life. This is my final offer. If you give me the necklace…”
“Lucy said she’s fine.”
Finn spoke up.
“And you’re lying, aren’t you? You just want the necklace for yourself, right?”
“W-what are you talking about…?”
Crevius placed a hand on his chest.
“In my human life, I was a respected clergyman. I was a sacred being who bestowed blessings upon people and saved their souls. How could someone like me lie?”
“If you were such a sacred being, how did you become a lich?”
When Finn gave him a suspicious look, Crevius slumped his shoulders.
“That… was a tragic event….”
“A tragic event?”
“Yes… I was once the archbishop of a holy order. I devoted my entire life to helping the poor, healing the sick, and spreading the grace of the divine. In those days, my life’s goal was singular: to make the world a better place.”
Crevius’s voice was solemn.
“Then one day, a woman named Serbina came to me. She was a noblewoman, the daughter of a duke, but she was possessed by a demon. She was tormented by horrific nightmares every night and was slowly losing her vitality. I gave everything to save her. I prayed day and night, sprinkled holy water… but the demon was too powerful.”
Crevius let out a small sigh.
“I had to make a final choice… I accepted the curse in her place to save her. She was saved, but I became a cursed being. The whispers of the demon began to torment me, and my body slowly decayed. Eventually, I lost my human life and became a lich….”
“…”
Finn fell silent for a moment.
Then she looked at Crevius with a pitying expression.
“S-so, you became like this because of Serbina…?”
“Yes… but I don’t regret it. Thanks to me, Serbina regained her happiness and lived a peaceful life. Even though I became like this….”
Crevius hung his head low.
Finn fluttered over and gently patted Crevius’s head.
“I’m sorry, I misunderstood you. With all those jewels on you, I thought you were just greedy….”
“It’s alright… I don’t mind being misunderstood, but I’m worried about that lady. What if she becomes possessed by a demon like Serbina because of that necklace…? In fact, Serbina also became cursed because she coveted a cursed item….”
“R-really…?”
Finn looked at Lucy.
“Lucy, I don’t think he’s lying… Maybe we should trust him and let him purify the necklace…”
“No.”
Lucy shook her head slightly.
“He’s lying.”
“…Huh?”
Lucy’s gaze was fixed on the air.
To be precise, she was reading the information about Crevius that had appeared in her skill window.
The information revealed what kind of person Crevius had been in his human life and how he had become a lich.
◈
Crevius had been an extremely greedy clergyman in his human life.
He embezzled donations from his followers and demanded money from the poor under the guise of “the price of blessings.”
He sold hope to the poor, saying, “The divine blessing will free you from poverty”, while using the money to hoard gold and jewels.
Everything seemed to be going smoothly.
As a result, Crevius’s scams grew bolder.
Eventually, he even scammed Serbina, the daughter of a duke.
“This relic contains the tears of the divine. Whoever possesses it will gain eternal youth and beauty.”
With those words, he sold a fake relic for an unimaginable price.
Of course, the relic was nothing more than a cheap trinket bought from the market.
When the duke later found out, he was furious, and the situation escalated until Crevius was put on trial.
“You hypocrite! You’ve been deceiving people in the name of the divine!”
“Pay for your crimes!”
The crowd harshly interrogated Crevius.
After all, there were countless people he had swindled.
At first, Crevius tried to maintain his elegant demeanor.
“Everyone, this is all a misunderstanding. How could I possibly…”
“That man stole my mother’s funeral expenses!”
“He took my last penny, promising to cure my son’s illness…”
But the witnesses kept coming, and ultimately, a vast amount of gold and jewels was discovered in Crevius’s mansion.
The crowd’s anger reached its peak.
“Execute the hypocrite!”
“Execute him!”
“We can’t let someone who defiled the name of the divine live!”
“The lying clergyman deserves to die!”
Insults and trash were hurled at Crevius.
“Give back the money you stole!”
“Go to hell!”
“My brother died because of you! You took all our wealth!”
“Kill that bastard!”
Some wailed, while others trembled with rage, demanding he pay for his crimes.
Crevius shouted back with a defiant voice.
“Everyone! I only devoted myself to you! It was all the will of the divine!”
But his cries only fueled their anger.
“…Now you’re selling the will of the divine to lie?”
“Are the gold and jewels you stole through lies also the will of the divine?”
“We won’t be fooled anymore! Execute him!”
“Execute him!”
The crowd’s anger grew fiercer, and Crevius, cornered, began to lose his composure.
Finally, he screamed at the crowd like a madman.
“You fools! Did I force you to give me your money? You were the ones who foolishly handed it over, believing in blessings! You knelt at my feet and offered your money willingly! And most importantly…”
Madness flickered in Crevius’s eyes as he looked at the crowd.
“Do you really believe the divine will save you? No. The divine doesn’t even care about the likes of you. The divine is meaningless!”
“W-what…?!”
“Isn’t that the truth? If I had been going against the will of the divine all this time, how could I have amassed so many jewels? Why didn’t the divine intervene? The divine gave me divine power, but it didn’t care how I used it! So what’s the point of the divine…?”
“Shut up!”
The crowd’s anger erupted like flames.
Now, not just the crowd, but every clergyman present stood up and cursed Crevius.
“Blasphemer!”
“How dare you deny the divine!”
“Hang that bastard’s head right now!”
The situation had spiraled out of control.
Seeing no way out, Crevius decided to double down.
“Hah! If the divine existed, it would’ve struck me with lightning by now! But look! The divine can’t do anything! It just hides in the sky and stays silent! What does that mean? All the things I’ve done…”
At that moment.
Kwa-kwang—!
A blinding bolt of lightning split the sky and struck the spot where Crevius stood.
“Gasp!”
The crowd screamed in shock and backed away.
A moment later, the flash of lightning faded, and thick smoke rose from the spot.
On the ground lay Crevius’s charred corpse.
“…That’s the real reason this guy became a lich.”
At Lucy’s words, Finn’s eyes widened sharply, and she glared at Crevius.
“What, you lied to me?!”
“Tch.”
Crevius shrugged.
“I didn’t think that damn divine would actually strike me with lightning.”
Crevius replied shamelessly.
“…”
Lucy quietly looked at Crevius.
Incidentally, the information in Lucy’s skill window about Crevius also included this detail:
The lightning that struck Crevius had nothing to do with the divine.
It might have been slightly attracted by all the shiny jewelry he was wearing, but the lightning was purely coincidental.
However, people believed it was divine punishment, and Crevius thought so too.
“Ahem.”
Crevius cleared his throat and straightened his posture.
“Anyway, young lady, that necklace is truly dangerous….”
“Stop lying.”
Lucy said coldly.
“If you bring up the necklace one more time…”
Black mist began to swirl and gather at Lucy’s fingertips.
“I’ll smash all your shiny jewels to pieces.”
“…!”
Crevius’s blue flames flickered violently.
Author Note
A/N (Author’s note):
It seems like the moving arrangements will be completed within this week. Once everything is settled, I’ll get back to work right away. (ㅠ.ㅠ) Thank you.
Translator Note
T/N (Translator’s note):
GAH?! Oh hey… an author’s note hahahaha….Guess I’m not alone here now!!
Oh yeah, what the author talked about is basically old news, the author is very okay and going strong now!
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