This Necromancer Just Wants to Plant Trees - Chapter 102

However, I had terrible luck.

The Sky Giants also sought external aid—they brought the Cyber Dragons' airship fleet.

Unbelievable! These Sky Giants, who seemed to have been kicked by donkeys daily, expected a Mechanist to win this war for them!

I had just arrived at the sky ruins, and I immediately heard about the movements of the Cyber Dragons' airships. I promptly decided to flee.

As it turns out, my decision was quite wise. Never get close to a Mechanist; it's a recipe for disaster!

That night, the sky ruins became very lively. The Mechanists somehow managed to blow up a quarter of the divine battle ruin with a massive explosion!

The remaining three-quarters of the ruin had activated a self-preservation barrier due to the severe damage and became inaccessible.

During that night, countless Cloud Elves and Sky Giants suffered casualties.

I don't know the exact situation with the Cyber Dragons, nor do I dare to care. All I know is that due to that massive explosion, Furin's collapse zone fell to the mortal realm.

Many factions soon realized this.

Numerous forces vied for control of the divine essence hidden within Furin's collapse zone.

I was fortunate enough to obtain the divine essence in the end.

But making the Cloud Elves, Sky Giants, and Cyber Dragons give up on the divine essence was impossible.

They always kept an eye on Furin's aura. To prevent any unexpected developments, I decided to take the divine essence far away and hide myself.

For a long time, I kept the divine essence in a lead box and dared not look at it too much.

Years later, they gradually relaxed their pursuit of the divine essence.

And I finally had the opportunity to study this precious item.

Soon, I discovered two problems with the divine essence.

First, Furin's domain was not singular. He primarily focused on performance but also incorporated elements of pestilence. If I wanted to ascend as a demigod, I would inevitably be influenced by the pestilence.

I detested pestilence, and on my legendary path, pestilence was an option that had to be eradicated.

This issue had to be overcome without a doubt.

Second, Furin's divine essence appeared to be tainted by something, carrying a trace of a mad spiritual imprint. I traced back to this imprint and found a connection to a twilight entity named "Asitanah."

Asitanah ruled over dark domains like voodoo, destruction, deceit, sudden death, and expiration. If I merged directly with the divine essence, I risked contamination by Asitanah.

Even if I successfully became a demigod, my mental state afterward would be a hidden concern.

This problem also needed to be resolved.

Next, I spent three months formulating a plan.

In this plan, I needed to find a hapless individual who would pave the way for me, wade through the waters for me, and confront Asitanah's contamination for me.

Simultaneously, I could successfully remove the domain of pestilence contained within the divine essence when plundering the fruit of a demigod.

To prevent anyone from prematurely sensing my plan, I arrived in Waterside City long before it began.

Observing for a year and a half, I finally found a near-perfect candidate.

That candidate was Lawrence from the Southern Theater.

When we first met, this young man left a good impression on me.

He always appeared so warm and cheerful. Even when others mocked and taunted him, he seemed unfazed, silently bearing the pain within himself and returning smiles and humor to the audience.

But soon, I discovered Lawrence's darker side.

Within the circus, he frequently mistreated animals in secret, using them to vent his pent-up resentment.

Outside the theater, he even impersonated the theater's star, Brandon, and dated the girls. He would often impregnate them, then blame Brandon for it.

Poor Brandon might have had too many women to keep track of, unable to remember who was who. Every woman who approached him was assumed to be his conquest.

At first, Lawrence was willing to pay some money, but soon he was left penniless, changing his demeanor as well.

Lawrence delighted in Brandon's humiliation, and he escalated his actions, only relenting after almost being caught by one of the girls he had deceived.

The real reason I chose him as the hapless candidate was that, during an investigation, I found that Lawrence had committed murder when he was very young!

It happened when he was about eight or nine years old. One evening, one of the circus's tigers suddenly broke free from its cage and killed a person.

Afterward, there were conflicting accounts, and no one knew how the tiger had escaped from the cage. As per usual practices, the tiger was well-fed and should not have attacked anyone.

This incident remained unsolved.

But we could be sure of two things:

First, on that night, Lawrence was responsible for feeding the tiger.

Second, the person who died was the circus's vice leader, Jess.

Perhaps out of trust in a child, no one believed that Lawrence could have killed Jess.

Only Jess's wife, with her woman's intuition, was convinced that Lawrence was Jess's killer.

However, she couldn't do anything about it because she was only allowed to vent her frustrations toward Lawrence through words. The most she could do was taunt him in their daily interactions.

Of course, both Jess and his wife were instrumental in Lawrence's abuse over the years.

After using magic and special abilities to understand the true situation, I took action.

I allowed Lawrence to gain the modified divine essence after he had an accidental fall. I included the knowledge and rituals required for him to become a demigod.

Of course, I concealed important parts and made some modifications to the divine essence.

Through these methods, I could ensure that he would ascend as a demigod when I desired it.

However, I also gave Lawrence a chance to choose the path of goodness. If he remained pure and refused to become the Plague King, the situation would not progress to the later stages.

You can mock me for my hypocrisy, but I genuinely hoped for the best. From the beginning to the end, I never wanted to kill him.

Even without his divinity, thanks to the heritage of a bard attached to the divinity, it was enough to let him be reborn.

Unfortunately, once a person's desires are magnified, they can never go back, can they?

Well, I admit that from this perspective, I am indeed a complete scoundrel.

In any case, after leading Lawrence onto the path of the Plague King's performance.

I started looking for my protagonist.

That's right.

Lawrence had his demigod ceremony.

I had mine.

The day you saw me effortlessly take away his divinity was not only because my domain and power were superior to his, but also my performance.

Sorry, Matthew.

You are the protagonist and the audience I ultimately chose.

From the first moment we met.

My demigod ceremony began.

(I swear, this damn honey in a tin is just too sweet! Captain Halima came over and asked if I needed water, and of course, I do, I'm so thirsty! I'll go there now, and come back to continue writing.)

(I came back, and it's already dark. That damn woman has an incredible stamina, who knew her offer of water wasn't meant literally. I'm even thirstier now. Anyway, I'll take a sip of the sugary water and continue writing.)

Speaking of performances, you don't still think I'm a super-rich second-generation, do you?

That was a bluff!

If you think about it carefully, during the days we spent together, which parts of my behavior made you think I was particularly rich? Only the first impression, right?

A few bottles of cheap holy water, some forged spells and scrolls, well-timed performances, and a confident attitude, along with some straightforward lines.

You completely believed it, didn't you? It's not your fault.

I've used this trick on many people, and it's almost foolproof every time.

Each time this process was completed, everyone genuinely thought I was a rich second-generation.

That's the importance of the "Rule of Performance: First Impression"!

With this initial impression, even if I haggled in the market and negotiated with others, you'd still think I was a clever rich second-generation, not realizing it was all a facade.

Later, in the Rainforest, I didn't need to act deliberately anymore. I just added a few details, and you filled in the rest in your mind, right?

Sorry, little Matthew.

This was the first area where I deceived you. Here, I also completed the first step of the ceremony—Identity Deception.

Next is the second step—Cognitive Deception.

When you traveled in the Rainforest and the city of Koldor, you must have heard about a wild poet who single-handedly penetrated the Naga Palace, right?

This news spread far and wide on land and sea.

I know you admired and envied me after hearing this news.

Just thinking about that scene makes me want to laugh.

Sorry, little Matthew.

This was the result of me hiring six or seven fellow bards who tirelessly spread the rumors on the coast.

This time, I didn't really deceive you; I just needed six or seven bards to work together to create a news storm in a specific area.

What's even more absurd is that not only did people on the shore believe this outrageous story, even the Naga in the sea believed it!

Those Naga warriors who were far from the palace thought there was a real rebellion and started fighting with each other.

When I left, they were still going at it.

I don't know what happened later; the Naga should stop fighting.

They should.

After that is the third step.

On the day of the ceremony, when I took you to buy tickets, I lied that I was short of gold coins and borrowed some money from you.

Sorry, little Matthew, you're not getting that money back.

This is also part of the ceremony—Financial Deception.

So, Matthew, you've been deceived both as a person and in your money.

But there's one more thing to achieve in the ceremony, and it's the most difficult part of my path to demigodhood—Trust Deception!

In the theater, when the great show was about to start.

I told you that you just needed to be an audience, but in the end, we both had to enter the scene.

I made you trust me, but by that time, I was already full of flaws.

I know that by that time, you had already sensed that something was amiss.

If you continued to dig deeper or walked away, my ceremony would be doomed to fail.

But you didn't.

I'm grateful for your trust in me.

I know that it's not because of my superb acting or any other reason, but because you genuinely considered me a friend.

This is the most regretful part for me.

Afterward, I left the domain of pestilence to you, which eases my conscience a bit.

But as you said, friends should trust each other and not harm each other.

I don't know if my actions hurt you or not.

If they did, I'm sorry.

If you decide to distance yourself from me from now on, I won't have any complaints.

But if you feel that this lying guy still has hope and are willing to continue being my friend, please write back and let me know. (I'm traveling now, without a fixed location. If I get a new address, I'll let you know as soon as possible. If you want to reply, write the letter and give it to Sweetie, that albatross. It'll come to you from time to time.)

I swear.

I might deceive anyone in the future.

But I won't deceive you, my friend, Matthew.

Level 20 Bard, Level 1 Dusk Chant, Deceptive Demigod.

Master of Instruments, Master of Weapons, Amateur Tomb Raider, Manipulator of Smindy's Lies, Honorary Citizen of Cloud City, and East Coast's Third Most Popular Man Among Women in the New Decade at the Age of 45, but feeling not a day older, Lothar Lawrence.

...

Matthew closed the letter.

He felt a mix of emotions in his heart.

Lothar's confession didn't exceed his expectations.

While watching "A Good Show" in the theater, Matthew had already noticed many things were amiss.

The choices that followed could be said to be subjective.

Now it seems that the outcome is not bad?

Contacts: Legendary Bard +1.

"If, with just one trust, you can gain the friendship of a legendary bard and demigod, I guess many people would sign up eagerly, right?"

Matthew smiled.

He didn't respond immediately.

Instead, he closed his eyes and enjoyed the tranquility that belonged to the journey.

But this tranquility didn't last long.

The carriage came to a stop.

The coachman and a few people outside chatted for a while.

After a moment, a gentle young man's voice came through:

"Hello, I'm a resident of Rolling Stone Town, and I have urgent business at the South Trade Station, but my carriage broke down on the way, and I won't be able to fix it anytime soon."

"Could you give me a ride all the way?"

Matthew pulled back the curtain and saw that the other person was a young man who looked only slightly worse than himself.

He stood alone there, and not far away, another carriage was parked on the side of the road, with the coachman checking something underneath.

The young man appeared somewhat anxious.

"Of course, come aboard."

Both from Rolling Stone Town, Matthew didn't mind giving him a lift.

"Thank you!"

The young man said gratefully.

The space inside the carriage was not very large.

After the young man got on, Laila immediately squeezed in a bit, ending up sitting next to Matthew.

A faint fragrance wafted into Matthew's nose.

He subtly moved a few steps aside and ended up getting closer to the stranger.

"Sorry for the trouble," the young man apologized.

Then he extended his hand to Matthew:

"I'm Howard, Howard Jorres. I have businesses in the South Trade Station and locally in Rolling Stone Town. May I know your names?"

Matthew instinctively reached out his hand.

But suddenly...

He felt like he'd heard this name somewhere before.

Though Matthew recalled the various rumors circulating about Howard in town, he still shook his hand.

After all, rumors should not be taken too seriously.

The two of them engaged in polite conversation for a while. However, Howard appeared preoccupied, gazing out the carriage window. Matthew chose to remain silent.

Twenty minutes later, the carriage smoothly arrived at the "South Trading Post," located south of Rolling Stone Town, bordering the Golden Fields and Gao Ye Territory.

Howard expressed his gratitude and alighted from the carriage. When Matthew attempted to pay the fare, Howard declined and instead handed a few scattered coins to the coachman. He hastily made his way into the trading post.

The South Trading Post was a large marketplace built on the plains. It served as a resting place for travelers and traders coming from the north and south. It also functioned as a wholesale market, where you could acquire various goods, including food, textiles, handicrafts, and trinkets at lower prices.

North of the trading post, several workshops had been established, some of which had relocated from Rolling Stone Town.

Matthew had initially planned to take Layla for a stroll through the trading post, but she mentioned having her own way of scouting. He allowed her to go alone.

Ever since they entered Rolling Stone Town, Layla had covered herself from head to toe with a thick robe, concealing any visible black skin. She only exposed the severely bleached areas, which made her appearance peculiar. However, this disguise prevented people from associating her with the evil subterranean creatures.

About half an hour later, Layla returned.

Subsequently, the carriage bypassed the trading post and continued heading north.

Inside the carriage, Matthew asked, "How did it go?"

Layla replied calmly, "I have a general idea."

Matthew inquired further, "Any noteworthy information?"

Layla responded, "There are two pieces of news, one of which is related to the passenger we had earlier. He seemed so anxious because the workers in his textile workshop are currently on strike. The reason is rumored to be related to a haunting, and several stallholders in the trading post are discussing the matter. They are even considering closing shop for a few days to ward off bad luck."

"A haunting?" Matthew didn't pay much attention. "What about the second one?"

Layla continued, "Several traders from the south are discussing the political upheaval in Red Earth Mountain, the territory we passed through yesterday. Rumor has it that the son of the Red Earth Mountain Lord killed his father and subsequently became the new Lord. On his first day in power, he announced taxes on incoming caravans and plans to establish a patrol to catch smugglers. Although the specific laws haven't been issued yet, merchants have received confirmation through various sources. These days, caravans entering Red Earth Mountain have been speeding up, and they are worried that this move by Red Earth Mountain may affect the flow of people at the South Trading Post."

With that, she added, "However, these matters are not of great concern to us. No one dares to provoke you, and Red Earth Mountain's tax checkpoints can't catch me. I can always take the mountain route, and they won't be able to apprehend me."

Matthew nodded. Red Earth Mountain was a crucial trade route for Rolling Stone Town's southern trade. The Sandbottom River running through its territory was immensely attractive, operating day and night, drawing a multitude of cargo traffic. As a result, Red Earth Mountain prospered, and its ruling family became incredibly wealthy from the north-south trade.

With a high volume of cargo traffic, smuggling activities were naturally widespread in Red Earth Mountain. Even Matthew, who had been dedicated to tree planting in Rolling Stone Town, had heard about it. With the new Lord taking office and his intentions to increase taxes and crackdown on smuggling, it seemed reasonable.

Matthew opened the carriage window, letting in some fresh air, and proceeded to read a book, his mind cleared.

The journey in the carriage was quite lengthy. Although the South Trading Post was within Rolling Stone Town's jurisdiction, the town covered an area of about 17,000 square kilometers, similar in size to a city in Matthew's previous life.

After over two hours of travel, the scenery outside the carriage gradually became familiar.

The carriage entered the small town.

Instead of going home immediately, Matthew decided to report to the Lord's Mansion. To his surprise, when he entered the administrative hall of the Lord's Mansion, Lawrence, renowned for his workaholic tendencies, was not present. Only Reiga was sitting there, sipping coffee and reading a newspaper.

Upon learning that Matthew intended to return to work, Reiga put down his coffee cup and raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure you don't want a couple more months of rest?"

Matthew chuckled. "I've had enough rest on the carriage."

Reiga frowned slightly and stood up, leading him to the adjacent room. He said, "This is the office assigned to you by Lawrence. He hopes you can spend some time here when you're free."

"Your office is quite close to mine. This is also Lawrence's arrangement. He hopes we can bond more, but of course, that's his wishful thinking. Apart from official matters, I won't engage in any emotional exchanges with you."

Matthew inquired, "What about the Oaktree Guild?"

Reiga replied nonchalantly, "That's a different matter. As one of the shareholders, I naturally care about the guild's development."

He then pointed to an elderly lady who had just passed by in the corridor. "This is Mrs. Wesley. If you have any miscellaneous matters, you can ask her to handle them. Just remember to speak louder; she's hard of hearing and may not hear you well."

"Remember, it's not necessary to keep her name in mind. She'll be dismissed in a week."

Matthew asked, "Is that so?"

Reiga added, "Don't let her appearance fool you; her new boyfriend is only 34 years old."

From the other end of the corridor, Mrs. Wesley's grumbling could be heard. "Have some patience, Reiga! Is it because I didn't filter the coffee properly this morning?"

"You're already fifty years old; don't be so petty!"

Reiga retorted, "See, she admits it! Was the coffee not filtered properly? It tasted like drinking hot mud!"

"Look, when I tried to have a decent conversation with her this morning, she pretended not to hear me!"

"In the future, if Mrs. Wesley ignores you, just speak ill of her; that should do the trick."

After the round of briefing, Reiga stretched and said, "That's it for now. You'll have to adapt on your own. If you have other questions, don't come to me; I'm very busy."

As he walked away, Matthew teased, "Busy reading newspapers?"

Reiga turned around, correcting him with a stern expression, "No, it's time for my more important afternoon nap."

Table of content

• You can access publicly available chapters of "This Necromancer Just Wants to Plant Trees" right HERE.
• Your invaluable feedback and ratings mean the world to me. Please take a moment to rate this novel at Novelupdate.
• You can also check out the other Novels I'm currently translating by clicking HERE.
• If you come across any mistakes within this chapter, kindly notify me in the comments below, so that I can make the necessary corrections.