I misjudged the Lord's cunning mage's caution. No, the world I knew was too small.

　My only source of information was the book. And there was no mention of surveillance magic in the book.
　But I should have at least expected it, whether I knew anything about it or not. The magic Lord used was clearly not necromancy, but there is no rule that says a necromancer must use only necromancy. In the first place, I have no right to complain.

　The countless owls that appeared from the strange magic circle I had drawn were released from the window and scattered into the night forest. The only lucky thing was that Lord hadn't left any owls inside the house. But even that luck didn't seem to help him get out of this situation.
　The Lord called Luu and ordered the frightened slave in a sharp voice.

"Lu, feed them when they come back. They are servants - my eyes, my ears, my loyal servants who are more useful than you.

"Yes, sir. Yes, sir. Yes, sir. ...... Sir. So, ...... what do we feed the .........

Meat. Fresh, raw meat, dripping with blood. No need to touch it.

　Lou was scared, but I wasn't.

　Eyes, ears. Worse. I don't have the skills to enjoy a nighttime stroll through the eyes of countless road warriors.
　The skeleton knights that roamed the mansion were good guards with no concept of fatigue, but they didn't have the wits to report the actions of their comrades. He had no vocal chords.

　But not that owl. The owl had eyes and ears, so it was likely that what went into its eyes and ears was immediately transmitted to Lord.

　To go hunting at night under these circumstances is impossible. It's too risky. Even now the Lord is wary of his surroundings.

　Night hunting meant two things to me.
　To build up my strength and accelerate my rank mutation and to eat. And right now, it was the latter in particular that mattered.

　Undead rank mutation is not a simple enhancement. It can add new disadvantages.
　Advantages and disadvantages are two sides of the same coin. Ghouls have higher physical abilities than Flesh Men, almost entirely surpassing the latter, but unlike Flesh Men, they need food to survive.

　It's not possible. They need it.

　What the wights have. It's-- it's an intense hunger. It's an intense hunger that can completely blow away reason.

　Perhaps that's the primary reason why wights attack people and why the undead are called demons.

　What I experienced when I was first mutated was truly a kind of hell that I had never experienced before in my life.
　The impulses that scorched my brain and shook my instincts. My thoughts were filled with the words "I want to eat," and everything in front of me, from Lord and Luu to the other undead that Lord used, looked like "food.

　It was only by sheer luck that I managed to resist the urge and head out to hunt quietly at night.
　Barely, just a little, my need for survival outweighed my appetite. Had the slightest slip of the button occurred, I would have turned into a demon controlled by my appetite, and I would never have put my survival needs above my appetite again.

　The appetite of a corpse is not something that can be endured by guts.
　The time I had was almost gone. In my experience, if you don't eat anything, a wraith's hunger reaches its limit in about three days.

　From that point on, it's a race against reason. Last time I lasted half a day. It will last about that long this time, too.
　But I'll lose if I fall into that state.

　The wraith's power is inversely proportional to its hunger. The hungrier I get, the lower my power gets.
　I don't know how far it will go, but I don't think I have time to wait too long.

　I follow Lord and hunt. I don't have much strength, but that's no problem against a hexenbiest I'm used to hunting. You have backup.
　He pushes down the hunger that is smoldering like a fire and just concentrates on following orders.

　Kill, kill, kill that lump of living flesh in front of you. I'm starving. Blood splatters and warm bodies roll around. But I can't touch it now.
　If he finds out I've turned into a wight with intelligence, he'll put fetters on me. It's just lucky that I don't have strong fetters on me at this stage.

　I couldn't decide what to do. Originally, I had planned to hunt and save my strength and attack him in his sleep.
　But now Lord is on constant alert. He's cornered.

　I used my machete to block the flying debris, and sliced through the black ape lurking in the trees.
　The only bright spot is the mutation. The next time a mutation occurs and you're no longer a werewolf, you won't be so hungry. It won't solve the root of the problem, but it will buy us some time.

　Is it possible?　It took me only about three months to become a werewolf, which is much shorter than the time it takes for a typical carnivore to mutate - six months to a year. But the next mutation is supposed to take several years.
　A miracle. We need a miracle.



　He cheated his hunger with his thoughts, and swung his sword at the pack of night wolves that surrounded him, and bled them to death. Then, Lord suddenly shouted in a quizzical voice.

...... end, you're not moving fast enough, are you?

"......

What's wrong with you?　You don't seem to be ...... hurt.

......

　The Lord's cloudy eyes surveyed me as if to check the tone of my work.
　It's a good idea to have a good idea of what you're going to be doing in the future.

　...... Where did you get the sense of discomfort?

　It's a good idea to keep your eyes peeled for the latest news on the web.
　It was no wonder that Lord, who was always watching my battles from close up, felt something strange. I thought I was moving as usual, but I couldn't help but feel rushed.

　He just swung his weapon mindlessly. Shake. Shake. Blood splatters, and a drop accidentally goes into my mouth.
　I've never been a drinker, but perhaps intoxication is what I'm feeling now. A tremendous heat rushes up my esophagus from the depths of my stomach, shaking my thoughts.

　It's not enough. Blood alone is not enough. The swollen appetite shakes my reason and I start to wobble on my feet.

"What's wrong?　End, what's going on?

　His movements were clearly lacking in finesse. The Lord shouted sharply.

　A drop of blood didn't quite satisfy his hunger.
　No. Not yet, not yet. I can't be found out. I have to survive.

　No purpose. No reason. I just want to live. Even if I have to sacrifice everything to do it.

　Without expressing it, I put strength into my dantian and override my helpless hunger with reason. I will endure the frustration that comes slowly, like being roasted by fire.

　And I managed to finish the day's hunt without attracting suspicion.

　When I returned to the house with Lord, I was greeted by Luu, who was not usually there to greet me.

　In the darkness, illuminated by the candlestick in his hand, his face was tired and lifeless, but only his eyes had a strange glow to them.

　I had a bad feeling about this. You'll be able to find a lot more than just a few of them.

"Sir, ............ that ...... I have found proof that my words are correct... .........


§


　Appetite and the need for survival are fighting inside your body. There was no such thing as body temperature, but I felt a burning heat coming from inside my body.
　I didn't have time to worry about Luu right now, but her two eyes were filled with a dark joy as she accused me of doing her no harm.

　Luu led the indignant Lord and the hungry me with all her might to the cellar where I was always kept.

　What had he found?　There was no sign of my movement in the morgue. The floor was cobblestone, and I had been careful to leave as little evidence of my movements as possible.
　In the first place, there was almost nothing in the room. The only furniture in the room was a shelf and a stone stand with a dead body on it, and the body belonged to the Lord, so I was careful not to touch it.

"This way, sir. ............

　When I reached the basement, Luu shuddered and made his way to the shelves with no hesitation.

　There, I finally realized what Lu had found.

　His expression tightens. I forget my appetite for a moment.

　She reached into the second drawer from the bottom. Originally an empty drawer, it now held an undead illustrated book I'd found gathering dust in Lord's library.
　I hadn't been to the library since Lou accused me the first time, but it was still in there before that. It was part of my stash of books that I kept for reading.

　As far as I knew, neither Lord nor Lou had ever touched the shelves in the morgue, so I was careless.
　She knew that I was reading the book and should have destroyed the evidence at that point.

　Perhaps Lou had been looking for solid evidence of my actions after Lord had dismissed the first accusation.
　Human malice is unfathomable that such a tired woman would go to such lengths to pull the wool over my eyes.

　Luu lifted the undead catalog in front of Lord's questioning face.
　We're both Lord's servants. We're in the same position, so why do you want to make me suffer so much?

　My fingertips twitch. I can't move. I can't move.

"Well, how about it, sir. There shouldn't have been any books here. This guy, this undead guy, brought the books from the library!　This man, sir...

　Luu accused in a trembling voice.
　The Lord took the proffered book, was silent for a moment as if thinking about something, and then said in a low voice that sounded like it was coming from the depths of hell.



I'm sure you're not the only one who has a problem with this.



"............ What?

　I won. Apparently Lord Lu's trust in him was at an all-time low.



　Lord drops an illustrated book on the ground.
　Originally, it had been gathering dust in the library. It's probably not worth that much to Lord.
　Luu looks up at Lord with an expression that doesn't seem to understand what's going on.

　Lord continues in a quiet voice. His voice was not emotional, but I could tell that he was really angry.

I told you, "You're an unreasonable woman. ...... I told you. The next time you make a false report, ...... you'll get away with it. The next time you make a false report, I'll be there to punish you. I've been using you for a while now, and you've returned the favor.

No, no, no, I--

I've always thought. I've always thought that the art of binding slaves was flawed. It should be used to enforce absolute obedience, as it was when I controlled the undead.

　The Lord says in a cold voice to Luu, who sits pale and slumped. He pulls a short cane from his waist with his right hand, stroking it with his left as if checking it out.
　An eerie green glow lights up at the end of the wand. It was the light generated by the undead-creating magic that I had seen used in front of my eyes several times.

　Lou's face was completely drawn in regret and fear. His limbs were completely weak and his eyes were begging for mercy.

"I'm sorry, too--

"Don't say a word, Lu. You will be reborn faithful.

　Without saying a word, the hand holding Lord's staff lifts wide. His face, wrinkled and angry, was illuminated by a green light.
　Perhaps it was fear, but Luu couldn't even escape. A warm liquid spreads from between her legs as she sits up, probably from incontinence.

　I thanked Luu in my mind.

　It's coming. The time had come.
　Lord had his back to me. His only thought was towards Luu.

　I suppressed my appetite and clenched my teeth.
　Before I'm aware of it, the claws on my hands grow silent. It was as if my body was telling me to eat my prey.

　I was sure. It was now or never.
　Kill the lord, the benefactor, the natural enemy. I'm not strong enough, but I'm good enough to kill a soft man.
　If we let this golden opportunity pass, we'll never get another chance.

　No breath. No heartbeat. I'm dead. The good thing about dead people is they're quiet.

　The body remembers. How to kill a living thing. That's what the Lord taught me so far.

　The Lord focuses the mind and mutters a few magic words. His wand swings down on the poor slave who trusts no one.

　A moment later, I swung my claws as hard as I could at the defenseless back of Lord's head.