1

Night Liches were beings who absorbed a great deal of mana and by so doing, transcended the state of Elder Liches. Such occurrences were rare even throughout history, for which many of the living were grateful.
通过吸收庞大的魔力，超越了死者大魔法师[Elder Lich]的存在被称为暗夜死者魔法师【注1】。这种个体即使翻遍历史也极为罕见，许多生者对此表以感谢。
This was because Night Liches were very powerful.
这是因为暗夜死者魔法师拥有着强大的力量。
They were well-versed in using incredibly high-tier spells beyond the realm of humanity -- the so-called sixth-tier. They were on par with even aged Dragons in a fight. In addition, they also possessed many special abilities, hordes of undead followers, a great degree of intelligence, and resided in behind many-layered impregnable bastions.
熟练地使用超越了人之领域——所谓第六阶位的种种超高位魔法。有了这些力量，即使与年长的高位龙正面对抗也不会屈居下风。此外、他们还有许多特殊的能力、有着众多的不死追随者、具
有高度的智慧、居于重重叠叠难攻不落的要塞之中。
They were capable of ruling nations, as undead kings.
那足以称得上是一国的统治者、不死者之王。
In truth, there were three known Night Liches--
事实上、就有三具广为人知的暗夜死者魔法师——
The Dragon Night Lich, Guphandera=Argoros.
龙[Dragon]之暗夜死者魔法师“克方它拉=安格鲁斯”
The Titan Night Lich, Siyern.
巨神人[Titan]的暗夜死者魔法师“希岳恩”
The nameless Night Lich, a lord of the shadows known as Fear.
暗夜死者魔法师——大概是——没有人知晓其名的影王“恐怖[Fear]”
Their domain was the size of a small country, and the surrounding nations knew them as figures of dread.
他们统治着相当于一个小国的领土，作为恐怖的存在而知晓于周边国家。
For that reason, the name “Night Lich” was only ever spoken in hushed, frightened tnes. One could say that they were mythological beings comparable to natural disasters.
为此暗夜死者魔法师的名字只会出现在恐怖和畏惧的话语之中，可以说是与灾难同义的神话般的存在。
And right now, in front of one of those terrifying Night Liches, the one who secluded himself from the world and laired in darkness -- Kunivela -- a pair of figures suddenly appeared, as though from out of nowhere.
而现在、作为谁都闻风丧胆的暗夜死者魔法师，不问世事地潜伏于黑暗中的一人——库尼维拉的面前，突如其然的出现了两道人影。那就简直就像是无中生有一般。
One of them was in a robe. The other was also in a robe, but their statures were very different from each other, as though they were an adult and child.
其中一人身穿长袍。另一人也同样穿着长袍，两者的身姿大不相同，就像大人和小孩一样。
Even the undead Kunivela was briefly confused when this mysterious duo suddenly appeared in front of him without any forewarning.
没有任何前兆便出现在自己眼前的神秘二人组，即使是不死者的库尼维拉也在一瞬间陷入了混乱。
His research had been fruitful, he possessed vast magical knowledge, and he was quite famous in his field. He understood that there was probably a ninth tier of spells in the world -- a fact that many people in the world probably did not even know. Yet even he had no idea what had happened.
他的研究著有成效，拥有丰富的魔法知识，在业内也有着相当的地位。他理解了或许是这个世界上大多数人都不知道的事实——魔法恐怕有着第九阶位。但那样的他也无法理解现在发生了什么。
Kunivela made his lair in a house in a destroyed city, in a cellar he had dug out below it.
库尼维拉的据点是被毁城市的一处住宅，位于下方挖掘而成的地下室中。
Nobody, not even the organization, should have known about this place. And he had undead minions deployed throughout the city. How had they evaded their eyes and passed all his magical traps to reach this place? After all, Kunivela had also used divination magic to ward himself.
即便是组织内应该也没有人知道这个地方。而且城市里还部署了在其控制下的不死者。到底是怎么晃过这些监视、穿过那些魔法陷阱到达这里的？并且库尼维拉自己也有使用探知系的魔法进行戒备。
However, Kunivela had not sensed anything before they suddenly appeared before him.
但是在他们突然出现之前，库尼维拉什么都没有感知到。
However, his confusion swiftly receded. What replaced it was fear.
不过混乱马上便偃旗息鼓。取而代之的则是恐怖。
In this world, Night Liches were some of the mightiest beings in existence. Just as superior beings looked down on others, it would be impossible for them to be afraid of others. This was particularly true for those people who understood his overwhelming power.
在这世界中暗夜死者魔法师是位处顶尖的存在。就像上位者俯视他人那样，对他人感到恐怖是不可能的。特别是对自己那压倒性力量有所理解的人更是如此。
Assuming, of course, that this had happened a year ago.
如果还是一年前的话。
A single thought appeared in Kunivela’s mind.
库尼维拉脑海中浮现的是简洁的一句话。
--It was, “they’re trying to kill me”.
——就是这些家伙在猎杀我们。
He had no intention of speaking with the two people who had suddenly appeared. Kunivela immediately cast a spell. He did not choose an offensive or defensive spell, but [Teleportation].
完全不想尝试和突然出现的二人组对话。库尼维拉毫不犹豫选择了魔法。而且不是攻击或防御的魔法、而是<传送>。
He abandoned this city and teleported to a distant base that he thought was safe -- this place was supposed to be safe too -- without any hesitation.
放弃这个城市，毫不犹豫地向离这里很远的、他相信很安全的——这里明明也曾很安全——的据点发动传送。
FIghting was not an option. That was the only choice he could not take. Actually doing so would have been utter foolishness..
没有战斗这个选项。只有那个是绝对不可能选择的。会选择那个才真的愚蠢至极。
It was true that neither of them emitted an aura of might. He could not even sense any mana from them.
确实、两者都没有任何强者的气息。就连一点魔力都感受不到。
But that was why they were so fearsome.
但正因为如此——才可怕。
Under normal circumstances, he would have greeted them with an attack spell to teach them the foolishness of standing in front of him.
如果是平时的话，应该会立刻用攻击魔法招呼一番的吧。教教对方站在自己面前是有多么的愚蠢。
However, these two people had broken through the Night Lich Kunivela’s surveillance network. For that reason, it was only sensible to assume the two of them were so far beyond Kunivela that he could not even sense them.
然而、这感受不到任何魔力的二人组，却突破了身为暗夜死者魔法师的库尼维拉的警戒网。为此、这二人位于库尼维拉所感受不到的高度才是合理判断。
Surely the undead of the organization would have mocked Kunivela if they heard that the Night Lich Kunivela had abandoned everything and immediately chosen to flee. However, he would only have drawn that reaction a year ago.
如果听说身为暗夜死者魔法师的库尼维拉放弃一切直接选择逃跑，应该会召来组织中不死者们耻笑的吧。然而、那也是一年前才会有的反应了。
Right now, the organization’s members would unanimously back Kunivela’s choice and would have vouched for the rightness of his decision.
现在的组织成员们一定会全面肯定库涅瓦拉的选择，并打包票说他的判断没有问题吧。

Note 1: Night Lich is ナイトリッチ in JP, but it’s not clear if it means Night Lich or Knight Lich. The chink TLs asked Maru about it but he hasn’t replied yet and nothing like Knight appeared in the later passages, plus giving a lich a peerage title of knight is kind of weird, so they’re using Night Lich for now.
【注1】关于暗夜死者魔法师，原文是ナイトリッチ，但至于英文到底是夜晚的night还是骑士的knight、尚且存疑。推特上问丸山也没有回复。根据后续描述并没有看出类似knight的表现，爵位的骑士对lich来说又有点太过微妙，所以就暂时定为night了。





There was an organization called “Corpus of the Abyss”.
有一个名为“深渊之躯”的组织。
It was a group composed of undead magic casters. Originally, it had been formed to work for their mutual benefit and avoid conflicts.
那是一个由不死者魔法吟唱者们所组成的集团，原本是为了调整彼此的利害不相冲突而发起的集会。
The reason for that was because when the undead -- as beings with unlimited lifespans -- studied magic together, friction tended to develop.
之所以这么说、是因为不死者这种拥有无限寿命的同伴们在研究魔法的时候，无论如何都会出现和其他同等存在发生摩擦的情况。
Without the three great drives, undead invariably developed other, powerful desires, and in the case of undead magic casters, they generally tended to thirst for knowledge. For that reason, once a conflict over knowledge began, it would tend to escalate. Neither party would stop until it became a battle of extermination which would end with one side being annihilated.
没有三大欲求的不死者往往会产生其他强烈的欲望，如果是不死者魔法吟唱者的话，一般都倾向于对知识的渴望。为此、当一场围绕着知识的争斗出现时，更有可能发生这样的情况，没有一方会停手，然后升级为歼灭战，直到其中一方被毁灭。
If the three great drives of the living were concentrated into a single point, surely that single desire would become uncontrollable. It was very common for the undead to be destroyed in this way, to the point where the living could destroy both parties while they were absorbed in their feud.
如果生者的三大欲求所引发的全部欲望聚集至一点的话，那欲望将会变得无法抑制般的强烈吧。
以这种方式毁灭的不死者也是屡见不鲜的，甚至达到了渔翁得利的生者能将互相争夺的两者一起毁灭的境地。
For that reason, undead eventually emerged who understood that it was wiser to make trades and to cooperate within reason, rather than fight to mutual extinction over knowledge and magic items. In the end, a list of names was made.
因此、比起为了独占知识和魔法道具而毫不让步地相互毁灭，在可以合作的范围内互相协助、交易才是明智之举，当能够理解这一点的不死者出现后，终于、一份名单被制作了出来。
It was an unenchanted stone tablet that was inscribed with the participants’ names through some unknown magic, which would later be known as the “Granisle Inscription.”
这是未曾注入魔力却不知不觉拥有了魔力的刻有参加者名字的石碑，后世称其为“格拉尼索碑文”。
At that time, it only contained the names of four Night Liches and three Elder Liches. There were few rules and rulebreakers would be ganged up on by the others. Such was the looseness of their relationship.
那时还只有4具暗夜死者魔法师和3具死者大魔法师的名字。规则也只有几个而已，违反的成员会被其他的成员围攻，只是这样的松散关系。
But 200 years after that, it gradually became a complete organization.
可在那之后过了200年左右、其逐渐变成了有着完备规则的组织。
Thanks to an increasing number of undead members, the seven grew by 48, becoming a large organization with 55 members, with the original seven each being difficulty rating 150 undead creatures.
同时所属的不死者数量也进一步增加，由内阵七名与外阵四十八名所构成。成为了共计五十五名成员的大型组织，并且内阵的七名成员皆为难度达到了一百五十的不死者。
However, very few people knew of this organization.
但是、知道这个组织的人却很少。
There were two kinds of undead who belonged to this organization.
这个组织所属的不死者分为两类。
One kind cultivated their influence among the living and used them to achieve their aims. The other had nothing to do with the living, working quietly for their own aims in the world.
一类在生者中也经营自己的势力，利用他们为自己的目的行事。另一类则与生者无关，在世界的里侧静静地为自己的目的而行动着。
Very few people thought like the former, so most of their members fell into the latter category. As a result, they did not cause many ripples in living society.
因为很少有人像前者那样思考，后者占了绝大多数。所以并没有在生者的世界搞出过什么大动作。
As for those who planned to build their influence among the living, along with it came an increase in the number of enemies. In particular, since the undead were the enemy of everything that lived, there were times where the living would form international alliances to exterminate them. Because of this, there were even fewer members of the former groups. Of course, there were also those who had put down roots in the darkness of the world of the living, but such skilled undead were few and far between.
而且像前者那样打算在生者中增加势力的话，随之而来的敌人也会增加。尤其是因为不死者是所有生者的敌人，所以有时生者会超越国界互相协助、将其消灭。这样一来、前者的数量就更少了。当然、也有能在不为人知的情况下于生者世界的黑暗中扎根的存在，但像这样优秀的不死者是非常少见的。
In the end, “Corpus of the Abyss” became a group that existed only in rumors. The reason why they did not try to compel the aforementioned three Night Liches to join them was to avoid them gaining attention when they did so.
结果“深渊之躯”成为了仅存在于谣言之中的组织。之所以没有劝诱之前提到的三具拥有强大力量的暗夜死者魔法师加入组织，也是为了避免因为他们的加入而引人注目。
That was why it took so long for the problem to be discovered.
正因为如此、直至问题被发现才花了那么多时间。
The first to notice that problem was one of the oldest member of the inner circle. He was one of the founders of the organization, Benjeli Ansis, also known as “Abyss”.
最早注意到那个情况的是、从属于内阵的最古老的不死者。拥有“深渊”异名的组织发起人之一、本杰里·安西斯。
He was a six-armed, two-headed Night Lich, who was familiar with the use of sixth-tier arcane spells and sixth-tier spells from other traditions, a fearsome being that humanity could not overcome. If he had been willing to emerge into the spotlight, the aforementioned three Night Liches would have become four instead.
拥有六只手臂和两个头颅的暗夜死者魔法师，能够熟练使用高达第六阶位的魔力系魔法和第六阶位的其他系魔法，是人类绝不可能战胜的恐怖存在。如果肯抛头露面的话，前面提到的著名暗夜死者魔法师就不是三具、而是四具了。
That day, he had been heading for the stronghold of Granz Locke, a fellow member of the inner circle and a practitioner of the eighth tier.
那天他所前往的是同属内阵、涉足第八阶位的不死者、格兰兹·洛克的据点。
After paying various prices, he had intended to learn how Granz had reached the eighth tier. But Granz had not appeared that day. Therefore, Benjeli went to Granz’s stronghold.
在付出了种种代价后，本约好分享格兰兹是怎样步入第八阶位领域的经历。但到了当日格兰兹却没有出现。于是、本杰里便来到了格兰兹的据点。
It was not unusual for the undead, who had no maximum lifespan, to lose themselves in research. Granz must have been that way, Benjeli had thought as he reached his destination. However, as Benjeli dismounted from his Undead Dragon, his bodyguard cum mount, he froze in place because of the strange mood in the air at Granz’s stronghold.
没有寿命的不死者埋头于研究，从而忘记时间的情况并不稀奇。格兰兹应该就是这种情况吧，本杰里带着这种轻松的心情到达了目的地。但是、从护卫兼代步的不死龙[Undead Dragon]上下来的本杰里，却因为格兰兹据点的异样气氛而止住了脚步。
Granz had dozens of Elder Liches on guard duty and drove them hard as his servants. Usually, one of them would have immediately appeared to show Benjeli the way after he showed up, But nobody came even after he waited for a while.
格兰兹让几十具死者大魔法师等部下守卫着据点，并将他们作为奴仆苛使着。往常本杰里到达后，其中的一具便会立刻作为向导现身才是。可是等了一会儿谁也没有出来。
Benjeli summoned his own minions and cautiously entered the stronghold, where he immediately realised what had happened.
叫出自己的部下，一边警戒一边进入了据点的本杰里马上就理解了发生的事情。
Everything had been taken. His research and his wealth was gone without a trace.
全部被夺走了。它的研究内容、还有本应在那里的财宝全都消失的一干二净。
The undead were the enemies of the living, so it was not unusual for the undead to be destroyed. Even such powerful undead beings were occasionally killed off by even more powerful living beings. But the strange thing was that there were no signs of battle. It seemed as though he had suddenly gone outside.
不死者是生者的敌人。因此不死者被毁灭并不稀奇。即使那是处于高位的不死者，有时也会被更强有力的生者干掉。但是异常的是、哪里都找不到战斗的痕迹，异常到就像是突然出门去了一样。
Granz was a Night Lich. In other words, he was of the highest order of undead. Could someone like that have been destroyed without any room for resistance?
格兰兹是暗夜死者魔法师。也就是说、是最高位的不死者。那样的存在有可能在没有抵抗的情况下被毁灭吗？
With a strange unease in his heart, Benjeli checked the status of all of the organization’s members.
怀着莫名不安的本杰里确认了全部所属成员的现状。
And then -- the organization trembled.
然后——组织上下都震颤了。
Of its 55 members, 21 of them were completely uncontactable. This was not just limited to members of the outer circle, but even founding members of the inner circle.
在应该有五十五具的不死者中，有二十一名完全无法取得联系。其中不仅有外阵成员、甚至包括创建期的内阵成员。
Before anyone had realised it, roughly 40% of the group’s membership had been destroyed. This chilled the spines of the undead, which should not have known the meaning of fear; the idea that their members -- who could destroy nations -- had not even left any messages or information behind, which meant that they had been unilaterally obliterated.
不知不觉——没有让任何人察觉到、约四成的成员就被毁灭了。这个事实让本应不知恐惧为何物的不死者们也不禁毛骨悚然。只要有那个意思、甚至能够摧毁国家的成员们，连一点点信息也没能留下——也就是说他们是被单方面毁灭的。
As powerful individuals, they could take down a nation by themselves. Everyone was possessed of such arrogance, which was why they rarely worked with each other and “Corpus of the Abyss” had never worked together as a group. However, they no longer had the luxury to do so.
Everyone shared their information, looked out for each other, and joined their forces. Once, this organization had many absentees in their meetings that were spaced years apart, but now they all met on a monthly basis.
作为强大的个体、单骑就可以攻下一个国家。因为每个人都有这样的自负，所以他们对于彼此目的的合作并不多，“深渊之躯”更没有像组织一样进行过活动。可是、已经没有余地继续从容了。
大家共享情报、进行警戒、通融战力。本来会议以年为单位召开仍有很多人不出席的这个组织，
现在却达到了每月集合一次的程度。
Even so, their numbers continued to dwindle.
即便如此、同伴也在不断减少。
Some unknown being was slowly, gradually hunting down the organization’s members.
不明身份的什么人，慢慢地、慢慢地猎杀着组织的成员们。
These beings, who were more than a century old, knew fear for the first time.
众多活了超过一百年的存在第一次知道了什么是恐惧。
At this point, they no longer cared about face or reputation.
到了这个份上已经顾不了什么脸面、名声了。
They had started meeting on a monthly basis at first, but as their numbers fell, they were now meeting once every two days. Seeing everyone present at those meetings reassured them, but if someone was missing, they would worry that they would be next, and thus they would live each day in fear. Some of them had even started staying together.
当初一月一次的聚会协商，随着成员的减少间隔越来越短，现在已经达到两天一次的程度。每次见面时谁都不缺的话就放心了，如果减少的话就会担心是否轮到自己，每天都很害怕。也有人开始一起生活了。
Even though they tried their hardest to gather information, all they found was a mystery.
即使努力收集情报，得到的也只有谜团而已。
They did not know why they were being attacked. Was it because of hatred or revenge or some other emotion? Or was it for the fruits of their research, or material goods like money and the like? But the most important question was--
不知道自己等人成为袭击目标的理由是什么，是基于憎恶或者复仇之类的感情吗？还是说为了研究成果、金钱等现实的东西吗？解决方案在哪里？然后比什么都重要的是——
--Who was doing this?
——到底是什么人？
Their aims were irrelevant now. The new conclusion was an unconditional surrender followed by begging for their unlives. While some people had suggested fighting at first, they had all lost the will to fight at this point.
对方的目的是什么都已经无所谓了，全面投降、乞求饶命已经是最新得出的结论了。虽然起初也有提出过战斗的人，不过事到如今战意什么的已经完全被粉碎了。
The organization of Night Liches known as “Corpus of the Abyss” was now in the grip of an unknown terror.
全世界都为之恐惧的暗夜死者魔法师所属的组织，“深渊之躯”完全陷入了未知的恐惧之中。





It was under these circumstances that Kunivela had decided to cast [Teleportation]
正因为处于这种状况下，库尼维拉才决心使用<传送>。
He had not chosen to surrender because he thought he could flee. Rather, it was because he needed to organize his thoughts enough to converse with them. In addition, he did not want to speak with them by himself. It would be better to withdraw first and then surrender as a group, Kunivela thought.
并不是因为觉得能够逃脱才没有选择举起双手投降。而是为了能够冷静地对话需要对状况进行整理。而且他也不想单独一人与对方对话。还是先撤离，然后几个人一起宣告投降比较好。库尼维拉是这样考虑的。
However, a moment after the [Teleportation] took effect, Kunivela froze.
然而在<传送>发动后一瞬间，库尼维拉惊愕了。
He was still in front of these two mysterious people. The [Teleportation] had not taken effect. Perhaps some spell had negated it.
自己依然停留在迷之二人组面前。<传送>并没有发挥效果，可能是被什么魔法阻断了。
Kunivela, as one of the undead, had already witnessed many things he had never seen before just today. The fear rose inside him once again, and his eyes went wide as he studied the pair before him.
身为不死者的库尼维拉、单单是今天就已经见识到了很多闻所未闻的事。伴随着再次涌上来的恐惧感，他瞪大眼睛看着面前的二人组。
The taller robed figure extended a hand.
穿着法袍的大个子伸出了手。
It was a skeletal hand.
那是一只骸骨的手。
The names of many skeletal magic casters flashed through his mind, but they were all oddballs. None of them could have defeated Kunivela the Night Lich. So what was this being -- as his thoughts reached that point, they froze.
许多骷髅系的魔法吟唱者的名字在脑中闪过。但是、都是些不入流的家伙。他们中不存在能胜过暗夜死者魔法师库尼维拉的人。那么这又是何方神圣呢——思考到这里就僵住了。
His mind was under c*trol.
意识**控了。
He could not even resist it.
连抵抗的余地都没有。
Kunivela the Night Lich had actually been c*trolled like a yurinigger or a Skeleton. His mind and soul had already acknowledged the being before him as his controller -- his Master. What should have been an object of peer had become a Master to whom he owed his loyalty.
库尼维拉这般的暗夜死者魔法师居然像僵尸和骷髅那样**控了。心灵和意识之中已经开始将面前的人物当做了自己的控制者——主人。本来所惧怕的对象现在已经变成应当尽忠的主人。
He could tell that this was a skill to dominate the undead, one which he possessed as well. However, that skill was only effective on undead weaker than himself -- which meant that his Master was significantly more powerful than Kunivela. Once under his c*trol, Kunivela would have no chance to shake it off so long as the other party did not want to relinquish control. All that was left now was to beg him -- his Master -- to show mercy.
可以推断出、这是自己也拥有的名为支配不死者的特殊技能。但是这个技能只能操控比自己低等的不死者——也就是说这位主人与库尼维拉有着明确的实力差距。一旦**控的话，只要对方不想解除就绝对没有办法挣脱。接下来就只有祈求对方——主人的大发慈悲了。
Master pulled back his face-concealing hood.
主人脱下了隐藏面容的法袍兜帽。
It revealed a bony skull. Based on the skeletal hand he had just extended, it was not a mask, but his actual face.
一张骸骨的脸露了出来。从刚刚伸出的骸骨的手来看，那不是面具而是真正的脸。
There must have been some meaning behind not killing Kunivela but choosing to control him. It would be best if it was because he felt that it would be a shame to kill him -- that it would be better to keep him alive, the c*trolled Kunivela thought.
没有杀掉库尼维拉，而是选择操控，这应该是有意义的。最好是因为觉得杀死自己比较可惜——还是让自己活着更有价值。**控的库尼维拉这样想到。
“Now then, start by -- handing over all your research notes and your treasure.”
「那么、首先——把你所有的研究内容和财宝交出来」
“Hand it over!”
「交出来！」
The smaller figure to the side removed its hood too.
边上的小个子也脱下了兜帽。
It had blonde hair and red eyes.
金发加上红色的眼睛。
She looked like a human child, but she was apparently undead. Given her intelligence and appearance, he concluded that she was a Vampire that had been spawned from a human. As she was a companion of his Master, he could not bring himself to harbor any hostility towards her.
虽然是人类小孩的外形但似乎是不死者。从智力和外表判断是从人类变异而来的吸血鬼吧。因为这个不死者也是主人的同伴，所以无法对她抱有任何敌意。
“I hear and obey. Now I shall begin with my treasure.”
「谨遵旨意、那么首先是财宝」
Kunivela used a key to unlock the treasury in his room and took out all the sacks within.
库尼维拉用钥匙打开了房间里的金库，将里面所有的皮袋拿了出来。
There were 15 of them in total. Each of them contained a thousand gold coins, for a total of 15’000 coins -- weighing 150 kilograms in all. While the undead did not directly need money, there were times where some of the living were willing to deal with them, typically people from the dark side of society. Completing their requests would reward them with gold, and gold was also a valuable item when dealing with them, so he had naturally saved up a lot of it.
总共有十五个。每一个里面有一千枚通用金币，总共一万五千枚——重一百五十千克。虽说不死者并不直接需要金钱，但是有时候，活人当中也有些不介意跟不死者做生意的人。这些大多是社会暗面的人，完成他们的委托会获得酬金，跟这些人做交易时金币也是贵重物品，所以自然就存了很多。
There was also a bag of gemstones in addition to those. The table also had spell scrolls, enchanted wands, and other magic items.
除此之外还有一袋宝石。桌子上还有记载了魔法的卷轴，附加了魔法的短杖，和其他一些魔法物品。
“I also have three other bases besides here. The other half of my assets are located there.”
「除了这里之外我还有三处据点、那里还藏有我的另一半财产」
Since he was being dominated, he truthfully revealed the location of all his hidden treasure in order to maximize the gain for his Master.”
由于身处操控状态下、为了主人的最大利益，而将所有隐藏的财产如实告知。
“Hoho, that’s quite a lot.”
「嚯嚯、还真是不少呢」
“It really is!”
「真是不少呢！」
“...Home Invader No. 2… don’t you think you should show a little restraint? You really let yourself go, didn’t you? While I’ve been thinking it all this time… I have to say it today. Shouldn’t you behave more like a princess? You were when I first met you.”
「……入室强盗二号……有点太没节操了？太没节操了吧？虽然我之前就一直想着没说出来……但今天我一定要说。明明以前刚遇到你那会儿、你应该更有公主范的吧？」
“--Number One. We’ve been travelling together for five years, you know? After going through so much, even the undead will change to some extent.”
「wu——一号。我们可都一起旅行五年了耶？经历了这么多事，即使是不死者性格也多少会有些
改变的哦」
“Umu. I have my doubts about that. Logically speaking, the undead should not be changing on a mental level -- does that also mean they’ll never grow? So does that mean this is the way your personality’s always been, Number Two?”
「呜嗯。对此我倒是有些疑问。照理说不死者应该不会有精神上的变化——也就是说压根不会成长？也就是说这才是二号本来的性格、不是吗？」
“It doesn’t seem that way to me… and when you get down to it, it’s all because of you, Number One. What with all that impossible magic, magic items that are each worth an entire kingdom, and summoning monsters that look like they could level an entire country by themselves…”
「我倒不觉得是这样……说到底根本原因是一号才对嘛。什么根本不可能的魔法啦、一件就价值一个国家的道具啦，还有召唤出感觉能横扫国家似得怪物啦……」
Master ignored the chattering girl and opened a sack, then took several gold coins out of it.
无视了喋喋不休的少女，主人打开了一个袋子，拿出了几枚金币。
“...So they’re all trading currency, then? That helps me out a lot. After all, exchanging a large sum of money is quite troublesome.”
「……这是全交易通用金币、吗。还真是帮大忙了啊。毕竟兑换一大笔钱可是件麻烦事啊」
Calculating the gold content of each country’s gold coins was very troublesome, and so in order to facilitate easy trades, Kunivela only used these coins.
要计算每个国家的金币的含金量是很麻烦的事，为了能够顺利交易，库尼维拉只会使用这种金币来交易。
“Was that why you’ve been using recast YGGDRASIL coins all this while then, Number One?”
「那个、一号，你之前都是用YGGDRASI的金币重铸的来着？」
“You’ve seen them before, haven’t you? That’s exactly it, Number Two. Now then, on to the heart of the matter. My first question is, what are the movements of your organization? How cautious are they of me?”
「你看到过了不是吗？正是如此、二号。那么回到正题、接下来是惯例的询问环节。那么第一个问题是、现在你们的组织的动向如何？对我等警戒到了何种地步？」
“We’re wary of you, of course, but everyone is basically prepared to surrender unconditionally at this point. It seems some of them have also fled the group.”
「虽然是有在警戒，但基本准备全面投降了。似乎也有一部分人脱离组织逃走了」
“Name them.”
「举几个名字来听听」
Kunivela recited a list of former members who had run away. There were a total of six of them.
库尼维拉说了一些被认为是逃走了的前组织成员、总计有六名。
“What do you think, Number Two?”
「怎么样、二号？」
The girl consulted the piece of paper in her hand and nodded.
少女对比手中的纸张点了点头。
“It seems two of them got away. What should we do, Number One?”
「似乎有两人逃走了。怎么办、一号？」
“Hunt them down and kill them. If we don’t rip them out by the roots, we’ll never be able to get a good night’s sleep.”
「追杀。不斩草除根的话，你瞧、根本睡不了安生觉嘛」
“--That’s wonderful, Number One! You’ve gotten better at telling jokes! See, the undead can grow too! Next we’ll have to work on your naming sense!”
「——太棒了、一号！开玩笑的水平上升了啊！你看、不死者也是能成长的啦！接下来就是取名字的品位了！」
“...I was not joking.”
「…………我并没有打算开玩笑」
“Ah, um...
“
「啊、呜嗯……」
Master did not speak. The girl bit her lip and peeked at Master.
主人他们都不做声了。少女咬着下唇窥视着主人的样子。
Rudeness to the Master was intolerable, but Kunivela had not been permitted to attack.
对主人无礼是不能允许的、但是库尼维拉并没有被允许发动攻击。
And also...
而且……
Were the two who escaped lucky or unlucky? Given the conversation from just now, they don’t sound like they’re going to spare them...
（逃走的那两个该说是幸运还是不幸呢？虽然从刚才的对话来看，似乎没打算放过他们……）
“Are the names I pick really in such bad taste?”
「那个、我起的名字就那么没品位吗？」
“...Frankly speaking, they are. Ah, but Heteromorphic Zoo was pretty good. It was funny.”
「……说实话、确实没什么品位呢。啊、不过，异形动物园还不错哦。蛮有趣的」
“Funny, huh…”
「有趣吗……」
“Still, Blondie was terrible!” The girl planted her hands on her hips. “Those guards were giving me weird looks back then and it was so embarrassing!”
「但是、金发妹这名字就很差劲了」少女叉起腰「当时那些卫兵看我的眼神怪怪的、我都觉得害羞了！」
“But they didn’t say anything…”
「那不是也没说什么嘛……」
“That’s because names have different meanings among different races, and being killed for making fun of someone’s name isn’t anything new. People are more sensitive to that problem in cities with mixed populations. But they couldn’t hide what they were thinking…”
「那是因为对于不同种族这种名字可能有特殊意义，而且因为嘲笑别人的名字而打出人命的事情也不新鲜了。越是那种多种族混合的都市，对待这种问题就越敏感。但是、他们心里在想什么还是藏不住的……」
“But we didn’t go there again after that--”
「那之后不就没去过——」
“--Excuse me, Master?” Kunivela asked nervously. Both their eyes -- Kunivela only cared about his Master’s gazes turned to him. “All the undead magic casters who belong to “Corpus of the Abyss” are willing to surrender to you, Master. Does it please you?”
「——不好意思主人？」库尼维拉战战兢兢地问道，两人的视线——对于库尼维拉来说只关心主人的视线——转了过来「我等“深渊之躯”所属的所有不死魔法吟唱者都愿意向主人投降，不知主人意下如何？」
“Oh, yes, let’s settle things on this end first. While it’s bad form to answer a question with another question, I still have to ask: why do I have to accept it?”
「哦、对了，先把这边的事情了结了吧。虽说用问题来回答问题不太好，但是我还要问、为什么我一定要接受呢？」
Kunivela gulped at Master’s “doubtful” attitude.
面对主人打从心底的「疑问」态度，库尼维拉吞了一口唾沫。
“You lot only pay lip service to the idea. Why should I spare you? Only by tearing you out by the roots will I eliminate future problems.”
「怎么能放过你们这些口服心不服的家伙。斩草除根才能永绝后患」
“We would never do such a thing. We could not even think of defying--”
「绝不是那样的。我等对您这样的强者任何反逆之心都——」
“--Ah, I’ve heard enough of that. Then what would happen if you learned our weakness?”
「——啊、这些话我已经听够了。那如果你们得知了我们的弱点又当如何？」
He could not hide anything from Master’s demands.
面对主人的问题是不能有所隐瞒的。
“If it benefited us to destroy our foe once we seized his weakness, we would do so.”
「如果抓住弱点消灭对方能带来好处就会那样做」
“You see?”
「对吧？」
“Only with respect to elements that Master deems harmful by taking us as vassals we will surely be of use for instance I can guarantee that we can outperform any other think-tank as long as we work together and of course we can serve as troops against your enemies Master while your power is matchless surely numbers can serve as an advantage”
「那只是主人被判断是不利因素的情况把我等收为下属必定是有用的比如我可以保证只要我们全体合作在魔法的研究成果上可以胜过任何研究机关对于主人的仇敌我们也可以充当兵力虽然主人的力量无比强大但是人数也是一种优势」
Kunivela desperately struggled to demonstrate his worth.
库尼维拉拼命地展示着自己的价值。
“Hm, that is true. I do have something that needs researching. But according to your colleagues which I eliminated earlier, nobody can do it. Is that true?”
「嗯、这样说也没错。我确实有一个想要研究的东西，但是听先前处理掉的你的同僚说，那是谁也做不到的哦？」
Everyone had a rough idea of who was studying what within the group. They shared their information to avoid feuding over resources due to duplicating each others’ efforts. However, there was no guarantee that each person was telling the truth about the contents of their research. Kunivela himself was conducting secret research of his own.
组织内部谁在研究什么大概都是互相知道的。这是为了避免重复研究而产生资源争夺之类的事而进行的情报互通。但是各成员所说的研究内容的真实性却不能保证。库尼维拉也有着自己的秘密研究。
Perhaps this hidden material could be used as bargaining material. If he said, “everyone has their own secret topics,” then Master would need to go and question everyone, which would mean he might step up his attacks against the organization. Perhaps the others had considered that too, which was why they had chosen to be killed without saying a word, which was why Master had not expressed any doubts in that area.
这些隐藏的部分或许能作为交涉材料也说不定。如果说出「每个人都有自己的秘密项目」这样的话，那就必须去询问那些当事人，这样一来对组织的攻势可能会进一步增加。可能正是因为其他人也想到了这一点所以选择不做声地被杀掉，主人才没有提出这方面的疑问吧。
“--Then, what if we offered up a fixed sum to you every year? With a great deal of money, you could hire more of the living to help carry out research--”
「——那么、每年为您准备定额的贡品如何？有大量的金钱的话也可以雇佣更多的活人进行研究了」
“I have no need for money.”
「钱我倒是不怎么需要」
“Mm.”
「嗯」
The girl beside him nodded,
一旁的少女点了点头。
“Then, then why did you have me hand over my treasures first?”
「那、那么为什么首先要我交出财宝呢？」
Was that not very strange? In response to Kunivela’s question, Master shrugged nonchalantly.
这不是很奇怪吗，面对库尼维拉的问题，主人耸耸肩满不在乎地答道。
“I was just looking for any rare items you had among it. Ah, and I also wanted to savor the adventurer’s spirit of gaining treasure after beating a dungeon.”
「只是想其中要是有稀有道具就好了。啊、还有就是通关了迷宫获得宝物的浪漫吧」
Kunivela could not help but wonder what he meant by “adventurer’s spirit”.
库尼维拉不禁在想浪漫是个什么东西。
Was he going to wipe all of them out just for that?
为了这个东西就要将我等全部消灭吗？
Surely he would have fought back with all his might if he had not been c*trolled. Of course, that was nothing more than a pointless fantasy.
如果没**控的话一定会拼命抵抗吧。当然、那也只是毫无意义的想象罢了。
“I have more questions for you. Since you are under my control, will the other members of your organization come to save you, or will this stronghold self-destruct after a while -- that is to say, is there any demerit to us in staying here?”
「那么接下来继续提问。因为你已经在我的操控下了，那么会出现组织的其他成员来营救你或者说这个据点过一段时间后就会自爆之类的——也就是说、对我们在这里停留不利的因素吗？」
It was hard to explain what those demerits were.
这种不利因素很难说。
If Kunivela vanished, the others would assume that something had happened to him. But who on earth would risk themselves like this? Perhaps all of them might come, but probably not to rescue Kunivela or to attack Master. It was more likely that they would offer surrender or ask to negotiate.
库尼维拉消失了的话，其他人会认为是出事了吧。不过谁会干这种火中取栗的事情呢。也可能所有人会一起来，但应该不是为了营救库尼维拉而与主人为敌，比起那样还是乞求饶命或者寻求谈判比较有可能。
In any event, there was nothing which would be immediately unfavorable to Master. However, one could not overlook any disadvantageous developments which might emerge after this.
总之、立即就会对主人不利的情况应该不会有。但是、之后可能产生的不利因素也不能忽视。
“There are none. However, that is only for the next day or so. If several days pass -- the more time passes, the more likely someone will think something is off. In addition, there are still c*trolled undead in this base. What about them? If they are still around, they might launch an attack.”
「没有。但这也只是说一两天之内不会有问题。但是如果再过几天的话——时间拖得越长就越有可能出现觉得不对劲的人。而且、这个据点内还有在**控下的不死者，那些不死者怎么样了？如果他们还存在的话，也很有可能会发动攻击」
Kunivela might be under c*trol, but that was just him. The undead he had created were a different matter. They would probably carry out their orders to kill all intruders the moment they saw Master.
虽说库尼维拉已经**控了，但是也只是他个人而已。他创造的不死者另当别论。被下达了杀死入侵者的命令的不死者们在看到这位主人的时候应该会立即发动攻击吧。
On the other hand, now that Kunivela was c*trolled, the undead that were under Kunivela’s c*trol would be freed of it. Those undead were probably trying to flee right now and would not attempt to begin hostilities.
相对的因为现在库尼维拉已经**控了，被库尼维拉强制操控的不死者们就解放了。那些不死者现在应该正在逃离这里吧，不会采取什么敌对行动。
“Ah, if it’s just the undead here, then I can deal with all of them easily even if they attack me all at once. There’s no need to worry about that.”
「啊、如果仅是这里的不死者，一起上也很容易对付。不必在意」
“Sir!”
「是！」
Kunivela bowed his head.
库尼维拉低下头。
He understood this already, but hearing Master actually talk about his superiority left him speechless.
虽然是早已明白的事情，但听主人亲口说出力量差距那就真的无言以对了。
“Now then, explain your findings to Number Two; Be quick about it.”
「那么向二号简单说明一下你的研究内容。注意不要花太多时间」
“Understood.
「遵命」
The research of the undead -- for the members of “Corpus of the Abyss”, their fundamental aim was to achieve great magical might. While he did not think the girl would understand, he told her anyway.
不死者的研究——应该说是“深渊之躯”所属的不死者们的目的基本上都是获得强大魔力的方法。虽然不觉得少女能听明白，但是还是说了。
During this time, Master stored all the treasure into a magically-created pocket dimension.
主人则是趁着这段时间里把财宝都收拾进了魔法所作成的空间之中。
“...And that is it.”
「……就是以上这些内容」
“Alright, thank you for your hard work. Now, for the next question: Tell me everything about all the members of your organization. Their abilities, their locations, points of note, and so on.”
「好的、辛苦了。那么下一个问题。把你们组织的所有成员的相关信息说出来。能力、所在地、需要注意的地方，等等」
So that was it. He had used this power to dominate the others, then made them tell him everything before destroying them one by one.
原来如此。利用这个能力来进行支配，然后像这样把情报引出来，一个接一个的消灭掉吧。
In the past, they had all acted individually, but now that they were all informing each other of their status, it was as though everyone was joined by invisible strings. Rather than reap the harvest when he sensed his prey approach, all Master had to do was pull on that string and draw them over.
过去都是个别行动，但是现在会互相通知彼此的情况，就像有根看不见的绳子将全员连在一起。与其说是狩猎感觉更接近收割，主人只要将绳子拉过来就好。
He did not want to talk, but Kunivela told him everything he knew. Thanks to the Undead Domination, he could not hide or lie about anything.
虽然不想说，但是库尼维拉还是把知道的全都说了。因为支配不死者的缘故，没有办法隐藏或伪装任何事。
The girl would throw pointed questions his way from time to time. It was probably to ensure that it matched up with what they had learned from the already-destroyed members.
少女有时候会投来尖锐的问题。恐怕是为了确认与从已毁灭的成员那里听来的情报之间有无出入吧。
“Thank you.” Although Master had thanked Kunivela for coming clean, he probably meant none of it.
「辛苦了」虽然主人慰劳了全都坦白的库尼维拉，但心里大概一点那样的想法都没有吧。
“Now then, this is the last question--”
「那么、这是最后的问题了──」
The words “last question” made Kunivela panic. He had not yet shown his usefulness, and if this kept up, it would be for the worst.
最后的问题这句话让库尼维拉着急了起来。自己还没有表现出有用性，这样下去的话将会变成最糟糕的事态。
“--Enough, Number One.”
「──可以了、一号」
The girl interrupted in a tone that suggested fatigue, or an empty vitality.
用带有疲备、亦或是空虚的活泼语气，开口打断的是少女。
“That’s enough, Number One. After all, I’ve done a lot of research on my own, and I understand now… you know what I said about not dreaming any more two years ago?”
「已经可以了、一号。毕竟我也跟着做了不少调查，已经理解了……两年前我就说过不会再做梦了吧？」
“...Is this about the Celestial Maiden of the Sun? But this isn’t just for you, Number Two. I’ve told you several times, but this is also for my own personal interest. It’s not for you, but for me.”
「……太阳的神姬吗？不过、二号，这并不只是为了你喔。我也说了好几次了，这其中也包含着我个人的兴趣。不是为了你、而是为了我」
The expression on the girl’s face was strange; it seemed lonely and happy at the same time. Kunivela could not understand it.
少女露出了既像是寂寞也是像是开心，对库尼维拉来说无法了解的微妙表情。
“I’ll ask, then. Do you know anything about how the country of Inveria was destroyed by all its people becoming yuriniggers?”
「那么就提问了。关于茵蓓利亚这个国家变得到处都是殭尸而毁灭一事，你知道些什么吗？」
He searched his memory after hearing the word Inveria, but all he knew about it was that it was some faraway country.
茵蓓利亚、这样说之后尝试追寻了记忆，但只有是某个遥远的国家这样程度的知识而已。
“No, I know nothing.”
「不、什么都不知道」
“Is that so… Then, do you know of anyway to revert a person who has been turned into a yurinigger back to normal -- that is to say, back into a living being? It doesn’t matter if it’s very unlikely.”
「是吗……那么、将成为殭尸的人变回原来──变回生者的方法，就算可能性很低也没关系、你知道些什么吗？」
While he felt that this was a good time to demonstrate his worth, Kunivela knew nothing about the topic. If he had not been dominated, he would probably have tried to make something up to save his life, or lied that he was just about to begin research into that topic.
虽然觉得这是展现自己价值的机会，但是库尼维拉什么也不知道。要是没有支配的话，大概会为了保命说些场面话，又或着扯谎说将来正打算进行那样的研究之类的吧。
“No, I do not. But they say legendary beings like the Dragon Lords should know something about it.”
「不、我不知道。但是龙王之类这些传说中的存在的话，应该会知道些什么」
“That name comes up often. The vast being that floats in the sky, as well as the Brightness Dragon Lord.”
「名字本身倒是时常听说呢、飘浮在天空中的庞然大物啊，还有七彩龙王[Brightness Dragon Lord]什么的」
“In addition, there are--”
「除此之外还有──」
He listed the names of all the Dragon Lords he knew of. But he added that he was not sure where they were or if they actually existed.
列出了所知范围里的龙王名字。但是具体在哪里、是不是真的存在，自己也并不清楚这点也有一并传达。
Kunivela felt that this was his chance and desperately tried to sell himself.
库尼维拉认为这里正是机会，拼命地表现着自己。
“If you give me time, I will find the locations of these Dragon Lords immediately.”
「若是给我些时间的话，我会立刻调查这些龙王的所在」
“A good suggestion, but I will still be destroying you.”
「虽然是个不错的提案，不过还是要消灭你」
He received an answer immediately
马上就给了答案。
“But, but why? Am I not useful to you?”
「为、为什么呢？我觉得自己能派上用场啊？」
“Because allowing others to know about us would have many demerits for us. It is because you did not know about us that you could not find the right way to deal with us.”
「因为我们的情报要是让他人知道会带来许多坏处。正因为不知道我们的情报，你们才找不到正确的对应方法」
“But it would be impossible to betray you if you used your ability to dominate everyone.”
「但是用这份力量进行支配的话，背叛根本是不可能的事」
“Indeed, that is so. But as you know, there is a limit to undead domination, both in upper limits and total numbers. There are far too many drawbacks for me to afford the luxury of dominating you. So long as there is no way to absolutely guarantee that you will never betray me.”
「没错、正是如此。但是你们也知道的吧，用这个技能能支配的不死者是有极限的。有上限和总合计的限制。考虑到将你们置于支配下时的余裕，坏处实在太大了。只要没有其他能保证你们不背叛的支配手段的话」
“We would never betray--”
「背叛什么的──」
“I explained it to you just now, didn’t I?”
「刚刚、我说明过了吧？」
Kunivela swallowed his words.
库尼维拉把话吞了回去。
There was nothing he could show the undead being before him that could change his mind.
自己展示不出能动摇面前这个不死者想法的「什么东西」。
“Now then, let’s put an end to this.”
「那么、就结束吧」