"Oh god, what is this place?" Markus looked at the manor with his mouth wide open in surprise.

There were brown crystals on the walls around us which were illuminating the dim light. The graveyard, along with the manor, looked like some kind of tomb to seal away something or someone.

"S-should we go closer?"

Fear was apparent in Jackie's voice, but our next move here was obvious. There was no way we could afford to wait here much longer.

"That's the only option left for us. But stay vigilant; the enemy can come from anywhere," Markus said.

The two of us nodded as we walked closer to the manor. Standing in the middle of a graveyard with undead surrounding us wasn't ideal, but that was where the situation had led us.

As we walked closer, the undead slowly started appearing from the grave. They were skeletons, with blue light visible inside their skull and chest. That must be where the evil spirit was residing.

When I looked closer, I realized most of those skeletons were of demihumans, and by their armors, it was obvious that they were shoulders. They were holding shields and swords in their hands, but most of them were barely usable as they were covered in thick rust.

"Why are you here, humans?!"

"Leave us alone!"

"Let us rest in peace!"

I could hear the skeletons speak, which in itself was a surprise since it must be impossible without tongue, neck, or flesh as a whole. It could be that the evil spirit was conveying their thoughts using magic.

"You made us suffer while we were alive, and now, you came to rob our grave? What can even satisfy your greed?"

"You should be purged from this planet. Then only peace can be established."

"PURGE!" "PURGE! "PURGE! "PURGE!"

I wasn't sure if an attempt to converse with them would produce any result as they had no ears to hear us. But since there was nothing to lose, giving it a shot seemed like a good idea.

"We are not here to rob anything. It seemed like you all are stuck here; I can free you and send you to the afterlife."

The skeletons looked at each other. They had no eyes, so it seemed somewhat odd, but I guess they had their own way of sensing that I was not aware of.

One of the skeletons dressed in heavy armor walked forward. His armor looked tough, and by the high-quality shield and sword — which had no rust in them — it was apparent that he was some sort of general or captain of this undead army.

"And what makes you think we want freedom? We swore when we were alive that we would serve the queen for eternity, and as long as our existence remains. We will keep our promise, no matter what."

"Then what if we free your queen first? We could save her first, then purify the rest of you."

"Blasphemy! How do you propose to save her? Do you think that afterlife is what she wants? Compared to how she lived, this undead life is much more painless for her."

Most of the things from what he said made no sense, but we weren't in any rush. Instead of using force, using words to get a favorable outcome was a much more civilized way of dealing with the issue.

"Can you tell me what happened from the star— Wait, before that, I would like to make it very clear that we are not here for any wealth. We are only here to help. You guys have been troubling the villagers down there, and that is the reason why we are here."

"I knew it! You are no different than those villagers who came here to disturb our slumber."

Well, I guess this kind of misunderstanding isn't uncommon. The wisest thing to do here would be to resolve the argument by assuring them that we are different.

As I was thinking along those lines, Markus came closer to my ears and whispered. "Hey Nara, as the night grows darker, their strength will increase. Do you think this is a good idea?"

"I don't think we have any other options here. We could deal with the spirits forcefully, but there is a chance that they will just scatter and attack the nearby villages. It's better to resolve it this way, in my opinion."

Markus nodded as he stepped back. I then looked back towards the chief skeleton and continued.

"Wait, wait, wait! We are not here to represent the villagers. We are just here to solve this problem. We are sort of a middleman here"— I moved closer to the undead— "But before that, I would like you to acknowledge us as a middleman from your side. This is the civilized way of dealing with things, isn't it?"

The skeletons looked at each other again. I wasn't that experienced when it came to diplomacy, but at this point, I had picked a few things here and there.

"Alright... but remember, they are the ones who disturbed our slumber first."

"I understand. And I know it's a mistake on their part.. but we were informed that the village cattle started dying without any reason, weren't you responsible for this?"

"We are honorable warriors. Even though we died a long time ago, we still have some honor left in us. Do you think we would do something so cowardly as that?"

Even though it was hard to see since there were no facial muscles to show a change in their emotion, I could sense anger in their voice.

"Hmm.. then there must be some other cause for it. Anyways, now that I have a grasp of the situation, please select a representative from your side so that we can calmly deal with this.. misunderstanding."

The skeleton with tough armor stepped forward. "I, as you can see, am a leader of this bunch. I will be the representative. You can call me Gram."

Following him, Markus stepped forward. "And I, as the son of the lord of this region, will represent the villagers. Do you know any quiet place where the three of us can discuss this issue?"

"Alright, let's have a temporary truce until the three of us can discuss the issue. We will leave Jackie from our side here as assurance. That way, there can be mutual trust."

Jackie was looking at me with his eyes wide open in shock, but in consideration of the situation, he didn't utter out a single word. It was a risky gamble, but if things go bad, I could always summon Flare here.