Chapter 161

“Isn’t the lord’s family going a bit too far?”

In a certain territory, it’s nearly impossible to punish the lord’s family, no matter how much mischief they cause. After all, the laws of the territory are decided by the lord themself.

If the territory belongs to a kingdom, it should follow the kingdom’s laws, but even then, unless it’s a serious crime like treason, it’s hard to face punishment.

Besides, moving from one territory to another can be hazardous without sufficient power, wealth, or just plain luck.

The idea of a victim going all the way to the royal court to report a crime is already far-fetched, let alone the fact that, even if they somehow succeeded, there’s no reason for the royal court to step in for an ordinary victim unless it’s a serious matter.

Unless, of course, it serves as a good excuse when the royal family wants to expand their territory or is looking for a bribe or something.

Even when the crime is as clear as day, the Tin Knight’s suggestion to rummage through the Lady’s private residence, simply because it seemed suspicious, was utterly reckless and painfully naïve.

In a sensible organization, such a ridiculous plan would quickly get shut down after a couple of blunt remarks, but sadly for the lord’s family, Dorothea and her crew were used to burying common sense under the ground and lounging on top.

Once a goal was set, the planning proceeded swiftly.

“How about entering with formal permission? Considering how the lord holds Adel in high regard, it shouldn’t be too difficult, right?”

“If just entering is the goal, that’s fine, but if the objective is to gather information, that might not cut it. They could be hiding things in advance or orchestrating other schemes.”

“Why not just charge in head-on and take them all out?” the Tin Knight pipes up!

Dorothea, ignoring the Tin Knight’s comment, began spreading various materials she took from her pouch onto the ground.

Although she was slowly getting used to Hyden’s gloves, this felt more familiar.

“Thinking purely about infiltration, the ghostly route would be the easiest, but for physical influence, this is better.”

She laid out finely ground bone powder, purified animal fat, small jewels the size of fingernails, and lastly, a piece of the corpse of a former messenger that had failed to reach her younger sister.

As the prepared materials absorbed Dorothea’s magical energy, they transformed into a new form.

Seeing the result, Adelheid displayed a hint of joy.

“Oh, Mr. Mouse!”

It was a tiny creature, no bigger than what could fit in the palm of one’s hand.

It looked like just a mouse stripped down to its bones, but its body had morphed due to its resurrection through necromancy.

This was the undead that had assisted Dorothea in rescuing Adel during their first encounter.

Though, its specific form had some differences; there was a jewel embedded in the forehead area of the bone mouse, and its bones glistened more than before.

“I transferred a portion of the dead necromancer’s thoughts from the corpse messenger to this one. Now it should be able to sense and move towards that younger sister.”

“And what’s with the jewel?” the Tin Knight asks!

“The first use is to store more magical power, the second is this.”

Dorothea pulled out another material from her pouch and placed it on the table.

The materials touched by black magic morphed into a large bone plate, with a jewel of the same color as the one on the mouse’s head embedded in its center.

When Dorothea poured water from a bottle onto the plate, the surface of the liquid became as smooth as a mirror.

-Clack. Tink.

The bone mouse turned its head, surveying the group, and the reflection in the water shifted accordingly.

Sophia, Adelheid, Tin Knight, Dorothea.

“Can we see what the mouse sees, or what is reflected in the jewel? That’s incredibly appealing for reconnaissance.”

Sophia exclaimed in awe.

“Compared to a normal bone mouse, this one took a lot more magical energy and materials, and we rarely have the chance to stare at a plate like this leisurely.”‘

Dorothea shrugged as if it was no big deal, then created a few more bone mice to follow her special one.

The group gathered around the table and began to watch the bone mice on their adventure.

***

The guards of the tower were strict.

Even though it was late evening, soldiers stood guarding the entrance, and with large torches prepared, approaching the tower under the cover of darkness appeared to be a challenge.

For villagers, this seemed like proof of how much the Lady cared for the children’s safety, but for the group, it was excess caution at its finest.

It would make sense to have sentries guarding the village entrance or the Lord’s Mansion, but stationing soldiers to protect an educational facility for children felt very out of place.

However, no matter how detailed their guarding systems were, it ultimately relied on people to execute them.

The soldiers seemed to lack outstanding abilities or discipline; rather than patrolling the area around the tower, they were lazily leaning against the sturdy iron door, stifling yawns.

Thanks to that, the mice easily approached the opposite side of the door and began to mess with the tower’s walls.

The tower’s exterior was made of bricks, and there were no signs of cracks typically found in such buildings.

Just to be careful, they dug around the nearby ground, but only encountered new bricks coming up.

If they were normal mice, they might have hit a dead end by now, but these were the bone mice handled by a witch.

-Tink.

The lead bone mouse gave a signal, and one of its subordinate mice stepped forward.

Black magic surged from the mouse’s body, and shortly after, its claws turned green.

With a little drip, the brick touched by its claws began to melt away.

Like digging a tunnel, the mouse created a small hole in the wall before it seemed to run out of magical energy and turned into dust.

As they mourned their fallen comrade, the remaining mice pressed on.

The first floor of the tower was quite desolate.

No sign of life was present; only a lonely staircase leading up to the second floor remained.

The mice ascended the stairs to the second floor.

Leaving behind the central area with a staircase, the second floor had two rooms.

Following the scent of the dead necromancer’s younger sister, the lead mouse ignored the rooms and went up higher.

On the third floor, there were four rooms. The scent of the younger sister was felt higher up.

On the fourth floor, there were eight rooms. The scent of the younger sister was felt higher up.

On the fifth floor, there were sixteen rooms. The scent of the younger sister was felt higher up.

On the sixth floor—

***

“Wait a minute, something feels off.”

Upon Dorothea’s statement, the group watching the water mirror nodded in unison.

“I haven’t opened every single door, but there’s no way the tower would have space for sixteen rooms. Even if they disregarded practicality and split the rooms, the gaps between doors would have to be narrower, but all the doors we’ve seen so far have consistent spacing. For that to be possible, the bottom of the tower must be narrower and the top wider.”

“But from the outside, the tower doesn’t look like that at all.”

“The Tin Knight points out that the number of floors in the tower also seems off!”

There were numerous other unnatural aspects as well.

Despite it still being early enough not to be in bed, not a single person could be seen wandering around the tower, and not even the faintest sounds of chatter could be heard from inside.

Furthermore, although this should be a space for daily life, the doors were made of iron, not wood.

At this point, claiming it was anything but a prison was laughable.

“How about one of us opens one of the doors?” the Tin Knight suggests!

“Well, I don’t know how thick the door is, but even if it’s the thickness of half a castle wall, it would take at least one mouse to get through it. I only have three leftover, so I can’t use them recklessly.”

“Then just send additional reinforcements!” the Tin Knight quips!

“Then go catch a mouse yourself.”

“It’s the cat-eared kin’s turn!” the Tin Knight shouts!

“How rude, sir knight…”

While the party bantered, the mice continued their ascent of the tower.

Six, eight, twelve, eighteen.

As Dorothea’s expression grew grim and counting floors began to wear on her,

-Tink.

The lead mouse, who had remained on the staircase, suddenly began to dart toward a specific door, as if reacting to something.

Following the lead mouse’s command, one of its subordinates sharpened its claws, and the next moment, the door began to be pried open.

Fortunately, the door wasn’t too thick, so with just one mouse’s magical energy running out, a hole had appeared large enough for the other mice to pass through.

The scenery inside the room was rather shabby.

There was a single window barred with iron, only allowing faint light and air to trickle in.

In the corner of the room sat a girl, hunched over and wrapped in a blanket.

“Hmm?”

The girl lifted her head slowly, as if she heard the rattling of the bone mice, her eyes widening at the sight of the mice.

Seeing that, Adelheid felt a sense of kinship.

Yes, at that moment, Adel had been just like her—

“Hey, you crazy lunatic!!”

Wait a minute.

Regardless of whether Adel was shocked or not, the girl burst out of her lethargy and lunged at the mice with surprising ferocity.

Her bright golden hair flowed like a fluttering cape.

The mice panicked and tried to flee, but the girl was quicker, snatching up the lead mouse.

“Do you not have a brain? Hanging out with corpses has turned your smarts into something corpse-like? If it’s a necromancer, then that makes sense! Or did you drop a gold coin pouch on my head as a sick joke? Right? That’s what you did, right? If not, there’s no way you’d drop it on my head at such a malicious timing! You idiot! If you have something to give, just come deliver it directly! How many times do I have to tell you!?”

The girl shook the lead mouse up and down, as if grabbing her enemy by the collar, causing the view reflected in the water mirror to shake alongside it.

The party fell into a brief silence.

They seemed to have properly located their target, but the girl looked as if she bore a grudge against her own brother.

Adel let out a dry chuckle.

Comparing herself with the tough girl before her, who panicked and whimpered at the sight of a bone mouse, made her feel rather small.

“Um, Witch, I think we need to calm her down before we can have a conversation.”

“…That’s true. Should I cast a curse that makes her feet feel like they’re being pressed down? That should calm her down, right?”

“M-madam witch? Are you mad because of the necromancer stuff? Madam witch, madam witch? No, please! Don’t really do it! You two shouldn’t just laugh, help me out here!?”