The Death Mage that doesn't want a fourth time

7 Unlasting revenge complete, now, work hard

The merchant Rudy considered himself to be blessed.

As the third-born son of Viscount Maggio's noble merchant family, he couldn't inherit the household, but he had been raised without suffering discrimination at the hands of his parents and two older brothers. He had received the same high-level education as the first and second sons and had been prepared to become independent from an early age, as he couldn't inherit the household.

And so once he became an adult, Rudy began to gather experience as a merchant. He had received a one-off support fund from his family to become independent and had experienced various hardships to get to where he was today.

This was now his third year as a merchant. His business had succeeded to a point where he was deciding whether he should use the money he had saved to buy a carriage and invite other merchants to form a caravan, or settle down somewhere and open his own store.

However, Rudy had been captured several days ago and thought his luck had run out.

He had hired E-class adventurers as escorts, but they had been killed by the sheer numbers of a bandit group with twenty members. He regretted not hiring more escorts, but it was too late now.

He had his goods and money taken, and when his life was next, the words he had shouted were「My family will pay a ransom for me!」It was the worst way to beg for his life.

But dying proudly was not a merchant's job. He would cause trouble for his family, but he had to do whatever he could to survive and rebuild his business. He could repay the ransom his family had paid for him by earning more money through that business.

It would be best if a group of adventurers or knights appeared gallantly to exterminate the bandits, rescue him and return his stolen goods and money. But the world was apparently not such a nice place.

As he thought that, a sound reached the ears of Rudy, who had been living a simple lifestyle in a dark, damp dungeon.

『Has someone come underground?』

Rudy, becoming aware of the soft sounds of someone coming down the ladder, lifted his body from the crude, slightly smelly blanket to peer through the wooden bars, but it was pitch-black and he couldn't see anything.

If it were one of the bandits coming down, there should be a candle and signs of living magic. He had thought it was just his imagination, but he could hear the footsteps of someone steadily approaching.

Those footsteps stopped in front of his prison. However, in the darkness, he still couldn't see anything.

「W-who is it?」

In response to his high-pitched, fearful question, a voice came from towards the ground.

「Ah, I apologize. I had not realized that it is dark down here.【Demon Fire.】」

Whoosh. A blue, fist-sized flame lit the dungeon.

「?! A g-ghost?!」

Standing in front of Rudy's eyes was a small infant with disheveled white hair and candle-wax-like skin, wearing rag-like clothes.

Rudy had assumed that this lifeless-looking figure must be an Undead child that had been killed by the bandits and come back to haunt this place. He clutched his blanket tightly and began to tremble.

「... No, I am alive.」

TLN: Vandalieu is speaking rather politely to Rudy, compared to the tone of his self-monologue.

When Rudy screamed, Vandalieu had wondered『Can this person see spirits too?』But when Vandalieu realized that it was he himself that had scared Rudy, he lowered his shoulders. He thought that Rudy shouldn't be so afraid of him when he had come down here to help, and sullenly put his own appearance out of his mind. He gathered his thoughts again and continued.