Since the beginning of the conversation, the young child had been staring intensely at the disguised Thomas. Thomas, who had been ignoring her probings, decided the time had come to fit his act. Charmingly Thomas smiled, “young maiden, how can this noble be at ease when one adorable as you, stares so intently."

Haruto snickered, seeing the undead Thomas ignoring the two burly men for the little child. What is he scared they might beat him up? “Oi oi Thomas, so this is your type you know on my world there is a name for people like you hehe.” 

Thomas was taken aback since becoming a lich no mortal had been his “type.” But nobles had a wishy-washy track record of forcibly abducting beautiful young people into marriage. “Huh? No, no, no young master, I can assure you I meant no such thing. I am a noble of honor and grace.” 

Haruto nudged and repeatedly winked at Thomas. “Come now, don’t be shy in front of this one. How about this I’ll skip flicking her in the head just for you and all I ask in return is to flick everyone else twice as hard.” 

Richard, who was spacing out due to the boringness of talking, snapped back to reality and growled quite literally at Thomas “hey, bub there a reason you so cheeky with our mascot?”

Thomas waved his hands in front of himself and stuttered, “Oh no, I uh wasn’t trying to be cheeky. This is just my master poking fun. Tell them, young master.” Thomas was beginning to sweat profusely, which went to show how advanced his disguising artifact was.

Stifling a laugh Haruto, looked as if he were wronged and mused, “What shall I tell them, my dear Thomas? That you are a lolicon. Fear not. That is not illegal per-say, hahaha.” AH, I can’t hold my laugh in.

William, who was being thrown around in the conversation by its randomness, thought for a moment then pondered out loud, “Why do you keep calling this lad, master? Are you not the master of the two?”

Haruto stopped laughing and coldly stared at Thomas. “Yes, why don’t you set everything straight, Thomas? Or do you also believe I’m some lowly demihuman?” Believe my Haruto approved mind-reading didn’t notice that you thought I wasn’t human back at the cave, hmph.

Thomas could feel his mind being probed again. I curse 1000 generations of this mortal’s family tree. Swallowing his anger, Thomas retorted, “Who me? This lowly one would never have such thoughts. It is due to the ignorance of others that they jump to such untrue ideas between our relationship. I, Thomas, gladly serve this master with all my heart.”

William became even more perplexed. Some humans may fall in love with demihumans but serving them as slaves? “Hold on Hold on. Your name is Thomas. Where are you from Thomas? What is your background?” The hotblooded middle-aged man in age denial showed his seasoned adventurer’s intelligence as he began piecing together this weird story.

Thomas continued playing dumb. “Me? I’m just a lowly servant for my all-powerful master, one weak as I could amount to nothing and come from nothing.” Thomas shook his head, profusely. A grammy-winning performance.

Haruto, on the other hand, had no such intentions on hiding Thomas’s origins. Hell, if possible, he wished to spread the word far and wide. You made me pee myself, taste my fury. “What are you on about Thomas? What happened to all that good stuff you were saying in the cave. Aren’t you the great lich himself? Do people not cower before such an existence? Are you afraid these people won’t know who you are? Don’t worry. I, your master, will dutifully spread your name. I believe you said you were approaching the grand magus level.” Something to set this keg off. I’d never be able to erase everyone’s memories if they kept offering me a nonviolent way out. Thomas be a good lackey and show me how strong these adventurers are. 

Hearing Haruto’s statement, Thomas’s face became deathly pale, and the three adventures jumped back in shock. 

“I knew I smelled death!” In glee, Richard shoved his hands into his pockets, bringing out magical gloves that mimicked lion claws. A fierce and wild aura began to spill out of him, causing many in the tavern to shiver. 

The child was in a frantic state, quickly speaking and fumbling around until pulling out a black stick oozing a red aura. “That’s right, I told you, it was coming from the noble I could practically see the death aura. I call dibs on an extra 5% bonus for spotting him first.” 

William didn’t pull out his sword, but a blue battle aura began seeping out of his pores. His eyes flickered between Thomas and Haruto. 

The tavern was shocked by this sight as it signified a warrior who ignited the magic in their veins. The runic knight was only able to increase his strength through runes implanted on his armor. But William was empowered by his own bloodline. People at this stage were called Blood harnessing swordsmen as their blood essence was sparked, and their life force acted as their power. William’s aura was majestic, but the aura was not domineering like a dragon, which raised the question. What blood essence did this man possess? Even the knowledgeable Thomas could not quite perceive the blood essence in use. 

Haruto, on the other hand, was less interested in the type and more so on how powerful it was. Coming from the game world, Haruto was very reliant on level indicators. Hm even I know not to be fooled by cool light shows, even Yamcha has an aura, and he couldn’t even beat a saibaman. But to activate my HUD, I have to attack, better to play it safe. 

Thomas was not sure if he could take these three adventures on by himself, so he decided to continue acting as a nobleman. I did not struggle for 1000 years to die because some eccentric otherworlder wanted to put on a show. You want a show? Allow me. In a sob, Thomas begged, “Pleaseee great adventurer do not kill me. You misunderstand, I am not a lich. I merely have an artifact of the death attribute on me. My name is Thomas from the house of Averdeen, please check my credentials before jumping to such conclusions.” 

Haruto looked at the sobbing Thomas. Is this an RP challenge? AH, watch my natural skill. Like a proud delinquent, Haruto raised his chin and snorted, “Old man, you think this light show is enough to scare a 1000-year-old lich. Eh, you idiot only death awaits you for challenging him.” 

Richard snarled at Haruto, “hey kid enough games, you think cuz you beat a runic knight you are hot shit. But you better move out the way, or you’ll get hurt.” 

Haruto shot a wicked smile at Richard, “rightly said, kitty-kat adventurer. Allow me to move aside and watch your asses be handed.” with that, Haruto pulled out a seat and sat down.

Thomas lamented his fate. Ah, why did I get such a master? If only I killed him when we first met. I was too busy enjoying his fear. I swear to never play with my food again. Unfortunately, it was too little too late to make this promise.

 Richard and William continued to stare Thomas down. But neither wanted to be the first to attack. As one Thomas’s acting was Oscar-worthy and two, the person who was instigating this was a snot-nosed brat who attacked their employer. 

Thomas remained seated but moved his hand to his wand in the off chance a battle broke out. He was on a tightrope, and Haruto had set the rope on fire, one mistake, and it was over. Since they haven’t attacked, they must be unsure of who I really am. I need to keep everything muddled lest I go to a late grave. “I. I. I can prove that it is an artifact that gives off the deathly aura.” Thomas was in a sob. Though he was visibly distraught, his eyes showed a sharpness that told this was not his first time facing death.

William was still on guard, but his eyes flickered with indecision. “ok, prove it.” 

Thomas cackled in his head, but with a helpless expression, he removed a diamond-encrusted necklace. All the death aura around him disappeared. You young children believing I Thomas the great cannot hide his own aura. Your great, great, great, great, great grandparents were still in their daddy’s ball-sack when I was of flesh and even then I would still whip the insolence out of you. Just wait. Wait for me to find the perfect opportunity.

 Richard and the child were stunned to see the deathly aura disappear as soon as the necklace was removed.

 William’s aura began to dissipate as he apologized, “It appears we were mistaken, young noble. May I ask why that necklace exudes such a sinister aura.”  

Thomas was shaking as if he had just overcome death. A faint half-smile appeared as if he remembered an important but bitter memory. “When I was young, an enemy kingdom invaded my kingdom. We were not some grand dynasty. Just a castle really, but we all had worked to build it up. My father, whose grandfather built this castle, fought valiantly to defend our family’s hope. The invaders attacked the castle’s walls for a month straight in that time more than half of our forces were either killed or injured. Our citizens, whose ancestors had served under my grandfather in war and settled to build a kingdom with him, were quickly succumbing to famine and disease. I watched from the safety of my home as my people suffered.” 

Tears slowly rolled down Thomas’s face as he remembered the “traumatic” memory. 

He wiped his face with a handkerchief and continued, “I wished to save them, but my father said as long as I lived, our kingdom would never truly die. I took solace in that fact, but after three months, the walls were finally penetrated. My father gathered his best men and fought to hold back the invading army while my family and I escaped through a hidden passage. 

I know not what happened to my father and his men, but we made our way from the castle. My mother and my two younger siblings were distraught from the sudden chaos, so I took over the role as the leader and led them from our home. We aimlessly walked for days until finally, we found refuge in a small village not far from our castle. 

That was where I met my benefactor. He was an aged man. Only the gods know how old, but he gave us only one look and could tell our whole story, which only gives a glimpse of his age’s wisdom. We were welcomed by the village’s chief.

We awoke in the middle of the night to find hell had followed us, as everything was set ablaze in the village. No one was spared even the women and children were killed. I tried. Tried so hard to get my family out. Yet the enemy came so quick. Before we could even comprehend what had happened. My dear mother was being strung up on a wooden stick and burnt by those villains. I knew not what to do, but I still tried to find a path of escape for my dear siblings, but even they were not spared once we were seen. I, like a coward, did the one thing no older brother should ever do. 

I ran and ran. When I could run no longer, I crawled. When all seemed lost. I saw the old man from before sitting in a daze speaking a bizarre language. I later learned he was chanting an ancient ritual all the way up to that point, and it had finally activated. A beautiful dragon of ice appeared freezing all the attackers, my fingers felt cold to the touch, but I knew no real harm had come. Everyone was dead, all the villagers, my family, and even the evil butcherers only the old man and I remained. 

He looked at me quietly for a moment, then walked towards the frozen dead leader whose body was only frozen from the chest down. The old man ripped this necklace off the fallen leader’s neck then he walked towards me. I was so scared that I couldn’t even move, and thus he placed the necklace around my neck. 

He said these words to me, “You are probably deeply saddened. You are thinking to yourself why me, why is my family dead, why are my friends gone, why why why. I know I have seen such eyes before. Eyes that are searching for a reason why, so let this necklace always remind you of today. Remind you that there is no reason. Nothing in this world happens for a reason, not your family’s death or your survival. In another world and another universe, perhaps you would still be with your loved ones. And everyone would be able to live a peaceful life. This necklace will remind you that you live in no such universe.” With that, the old man walked away. I have not seen him since. It has been many years, but I always wear this necklace.” Thomas ended his tale here, and everyone in the bar couldn’t help but pity this poor noble. Even Lostor raised Richard’s ale in honor of Thomas’s dead family taking a somber sip.