Episode 17.1: King of the Dead

The Fourth Lord, the King of the Dead, Astra.

As a newcomer and an undead lich, he perfectly suited the title of King of the Dead.

But why…

Why did he come looking for me suddenly?

"He's waiting for you at the entrance of the castle."

I let out a deep sigh, buried my back in the chair, and immersed myself in brief agony.

I wanted to avoid meeting another Lord until the next meeting, but why was this happening already?

I can't just ignore this.

A Lord himself came here to visit.

He even said that he came to see me, so of course, I should welcome him. That's why it's hard for me to refuse.

This was my base, and it would be rude if I refused to see him. I already had a somewhat bad relationship with the Thunder Lord.

The Fourth Lord was the opposite of the Tyrant, a Lord who maintained a gentle relationship with all the other Lords. So, I wanted to avoid being his enemy.

In fact, a meeting with a Lord didn't mean that I have to take a huge risk.

Since I was also a Lord, the other would definitely not act recklessly.

However, since I was so weak, contact with someone much stronger still felt burdensome.

There's no way he came here without a reason…

Still, the King of the Dead was a Lord who belonged to the normal side among the Lords.

Having made my decision, I told Floto.

"Take him here."

I wondered if I should go out and greet him myself, but I thought there was no need to do that since he was the one who came here himself.

It took a while before Floto, who bowed his head and retreated, returned with someone.

A black robe rimmed with gold. And a skull visible through the hood…

The place where the eyes should have been was empty, and I could see the ghostly blue eyes glowing faintly.

As the being entered the hall, the secluded atmosphere seemed to be filled with gloom.

He stopped at the entrance of the hall and made eye contact with me.

[Lv. 95]

…This skull was the King of the Dead, the Fourth Lord.

He looked nothing like what I saw in the game.

The King of the Dead was holding in one hand a huge wooden staff that was as tall as his height, and that was also the staff he was holding in the game.

"Nice to meet you, Seventh Lord."

A strange voice that seemed not to be coming out of the throat rang in my ears.

Come to think of it, how did a guy who was a skeleton but had no vocal cords speak? Was that all magic?

"I'm sorry for coming here so suddenly, with no warning. I'm just here to have a quick chat. May I sit down?"

I gestured to the seat opposite.

The King of the Dead approached with brisk steps and sat down on a chair. Silence fell in an instant.

Sitting close to him, I could feel the energy surrounding him much more clearly.

If what I felt when facing the Mad King was the pressure that seemed to weigh down my whole body, what I felt from the King of the Dead was eerie. It's as if death took shape and materialized as it was…

Now I'm really thankful for the [Soul of the King].

If it wasn't for that, my body might have been already shaking without me realizing it.

Once again, I felt grateful for this absolute mind barrier skill.

"What the matter?"

I asked, feigning indifference. Since it was their first meeting, I couldn't think of anything that we could talk about.

And I wanted to end this conversation as soon as possible.

Interacting with him was much less gruesome than the Black Sea Empress, but it was equally burdensome to face a skeleton for a long time.

The King of the Dead, who was staring at me with his blue eyes shining, soon spoke in a voice that sounded like laughter.

"It surprised me when I heard the Overlord had appointed a new Lord straight from the meeting. Now I regret not being able to attend the last meeting."

I made no reply.

When there was no reply, he continued to talk about useless things that he obviously didn't come here for.

"Seventh Lord, I have a lot of interest in you personally, especially after hearing what happened during the meeting. It's been the first time that a human sat on a Lord's throne after half a century…"

"King of the Dead."

I cut him off.

"I don't like useless dialogue."

The King of the Dead said nothing for a while, then burst into laughter.

"Then, I'll tell you right away. The corpse of the warrior you killed, Seventh Lord, I came for it."

Those words brought back memories I had forgotten.