My name is Earth.
I am a Soil Doll, brought into existence by the Lich King.
While the title of Lich King has since passed to Urza-sama, she remains my one true master. I shall dedicate my entire life to her. That is my reason for being—my singular mission!
"Earth. From today, I want you to support Asa and look after Tiselle."
What?
...
What?
Even though the order came directly from Urza-sama’s own lips, I found myself asking for clarification not once, but twice.
That was how I came to be walking through the Royal Capital alongside Tiselle-sama and Asa.
If I were to walk these streets, I would have much preferred to do so at Urza-sama’s side. Not that I have any grievances with Tiselle-sama, mind you. It is simply a matter of where my loyalties lie... At any rate, we were accosted by a group of thugs.
How strange.
Between Asa, Tiselle-sama, and myself, do we not present a sufficiently formidable appearance? Or perhaps they were judging us solely by the quality of our attire? In any case, I decided to strike them.
There were five of them in total. Since knocking them unconscious would likely cause a scene and disturb the neighbors, I settled for merely inflicting a significant amount of pain.
"Y-you’d better remember this!"
What a remarkably cliché parting line. That was my initial thought, but Tiselle-sama did not share my assessment.
"'Remember this' translates to 'I will most certainly seek my revenge, so you had better keep me in mind,' doesn't it?"
I was struck by the realization. She was absolutely right. That was precisely the implication. And our opponent had said it aloud. In other words, he had just declared his intent to retaliate against us.
My eyes were opened. That thug was an enemy—an enemy that required total annihilation. I shouldn't have stopped at mere physical pain; I should have properly snuffed out his... No, wait. Murder is forbidden. If I were to kill them, there would be fewer people in the world to sing the praises of Urza-sama. I must keep them alive, force them to repent, and then command them to worship her.
The fleeing thugs ducked into a suspicious-looking building in a back alley. It looked filthy and neglected, and I had no desire to step inside. However, I could not let them escape, so I initiated a breach.
Since Tiselle-sama had specified that only one person needed to remain conscious, I proceeded to systematically incapacitate the rest. There were about twenty of them, but they posed no challenge. Having been granted a body of Magic Clay crafted by Lu-sama, I am strong enough to hunt rabbits in the Forest.
The task was complete within minutes. As requested, I left a single man conscious.
"P-p-please, have mercy..."
I thought I had selected the man who looked like the leader, but perhaps I was mistaken? He was desperately begging for forgiveness. I looked to Tiselle-sama for a decision.
"Earth. Half-hearted measures are unacceptable."
Half-hearted? In what way? I didn't understand even after a moment’s thought, so I asked her directly.
"That man. You broke his right leg, but his left leg is still perfectly functional."
Ah, I see.
"However, if I break the other leg, won't the balance be skewed since his arms are still healthy?"
"Of course, you’ll have to break those as well."
I was prepared to follow through, but Asa stepped in to stop me.
"Now, now. If he is willing to be cooperative, is there really a need to inflict further injury?"
"Asa, you are soft. Far too soft. This sort of person might apologize now, but they will inevitably harbor a grudge. That is why we must be thorough. We must ensure they never even consider defying us again."
I found myself in complete agreement. Perhaps our conversation had the intended effect, as the man began answering our questions with remarkable speed. I decided to let him keep his remaining bones for the time being.
A new problem came to light. It seemed these thugs hadn't targeted us by chance; they had been hired by someone. The man who commissioned them went by the name Tony. It was likely an alias. They had accepted the contract because he had provided a substantial sum of money upfront.
I see. I see, I see.
He was a clear and present enemy that could not be ignored. I noticed Tiselle-sama looking rather pleased, which was concerning. Granted, identifying a hidden threat is a positive development, but still.
Very well. We shall track down this man calling himself Tony. It would be a nuisance if he were to hire more thugs and repeat these amateurish tactics. But how were we to find him? The communication with the thugs had apparently been one-sided.
"It's fine," Tiselle-sama said confidently.
Did she have a plan?
"The clue is right there."
What?
...Ah, someone was peeking through the window. As soon as they were spotted, they fled. I suspected a trap, but we pursued them regardless. It was Tiselle-sama’s call.
Was the man running the one called Tony? Or merely a messenger? For now, I labeled him Suspicious Man A. I could have overtaken him instantly if I ran at full speed, but on Tiselle-sama's orders, I maintained my distance. We were letting him lead us back to his base.
I followed him stealthily. I wouldn't say I'm an expert at tailing targets, but compared to keeping track of Urza-sama, this was child’s play. Suspicious Man A bypassed several buildings before ducking into a dilapidated ruin.
A ruin—the ultimate den of suspicion. To make matters even more transparent, the ruin had a basement, and he headed straight down the stairs. Asa and Tiselle-sama had not arrived yet.
What should I do? If there was another exit in the basement, the trail would go cold. It would be ideal if all of Suspicious Man A's associates were gathered there... but things rarely work out so conveniently.
I left a message that only Asa and Tiselle-sama would be able to decipher and descended into the basement.
"To think you would follow me this far... how foolish."
Suspicious Man A was waiting for me in a large underground chamber. Had he realized he was being followed? I felt a brief pang of professional regret. Then, the man began to transform.
I see. He was neither Human nor Demon. He was Undead—a spirit known as a Lich. Suspicious Man A snapped his fingers, and Skeletons began to rise throughout the room. There weren't quite a hundred, but there were certainly more than fifty. The spacious chamber suddenly felt very crowded.
"My name is Tony Almaji! I am a loyal subordinate of the Lich King! And I am the one who shall bring you to your end!"
Ah—he actually gave his real name. He seemed to be a rather unfortunate fellow. And a subordinate of the Lich King, he said?
The Lich King’s...
............
"Oh, is that so? Then we are colleagues. My apologies."
To meet in a place like this—the world truly is a strange place. If only he had said so from the start, I wouldn't have had to track him down. I also felt a bit bad about what I’d done to those thugs he’d hired. I wasn't sure what his objective was, but I felt I owed him an apology.
"C-Colleague?"
Hm? Had he not understood? Ah, how rude of me. I hadn't introduced myself.
"I am also a subordinate of the Lich King. My name is Earth. I was previously assigned to the Westbound Tunnel project."
"Tunnel?"
"Yes. Were you not also part of the excavation team? Despite my appearance, I held a position akin to a site foreman..."
"What in the world are you talking about?! There is no way the Lich King-sama would ever order such a thing!"
...
"You aren't familiar with the tunnel?"
"I am not! Now, die!"
...
..................
Ah, I see. He was a pretender. The Lich King’s name is quite famous, after all.
I see. I see, I see.
I’ll kill him.
I waited for Asa and Tiselle-sama to arrive while systematically purifying the basement. The chamber had been rigged with clever magic circles to facilitate the mass summoning of Skeletons. Mere cheap tricks. I broke them. Honestly, what kind of subordinate needs a magic circle just to call a few Skeletons? Even I can summon them, though I never bothered because they're useless for digging tunnels.
But I had a problem. I had accidentally obliterated Tony before asking him why he was targeting us. I hoped there might be some clues left in the basement, but I wasn't optimistic. If I didn't come up with something before Asa and Tiselle-sama arrived, they would both be furious with me.
Wait. Someone was entering the ruin. It wasn't Asa or Tiselle-sama. There were a lot of them. Twenty... twenty-one... no, twenty-two people. Their coordination was somewhat lacking. Their equipment was completely mismatched. However, their individual movements were proficient. They were clearly working within a defined role structure.
In other words... they were Adventurers.
"There! Just as we thought! A subordinate of the Lich King!"
Well... I certainly am a subordinate of the Lich King, but... you aren't talking about me, are you?
What should I do?