Chapter 52
It took Simon's legion only about two days to completely wipe out a mountain range crawling with orcs.
"Feer! Please handle the boss monster at one o'clock!"
[Kehaha! I'm on it!]
"Erzebet. Take ten corpse spiders and block the escape route behind the village."
[As you command, Milord.]
Simon felt something new here.
Leading a massive undead army, skillfully giving orders, reading the grand scheme of battle, and predicting enemy movements to finally grasp victory—he felt the emotions of a true commander.
This is exactly what it means to be...
‘A Necromancer.’
Watching the orc village go up in flames under the siege of the legion, Simon’s heart pounded.
Once the battle was finally over, Simon stepped into the village.
Erzebet bowed her head respectfully, and Feer stood with his greatsword planted into the ground, laughing wickedly.
[We owe our victory to your fine command, Commander.]
"You two did all the work, Erze and Feer."
At that, Erzebet’s eyes widened.
[W-What did you just say, Milord!?]
"H-Huh? That you did all the work?"
[Before that!]
"Erze?"
[Ahhh...!]
She closed her eyes and clasped her hands together.
[You have finally bestowed upon me a nickname! I feel as if I could fly! We’ve become that much closer, haven’t we?]
…Rather than a term of endearment, it was just a more efficient way to address her in the heat of battle.
Still, there was no need to ruin her joy. He let it slide.
[Now, it’s your turn to work!]
Feer pointed in a direction. Corpses of Gray Orcs slain during the battle were piled high like a mountain.
[Turn them all into skeletons! Our legion can grow even stronger with this!]
"......."
Suddenly, Simon felt a wave of dizziness.
"Should I just burn them?"
[Are you insane!? I said make soldiers out of them!]
"......Ah, come to think of it, I haven’t learned that yet."
[That?]
"The black magic to raise corpses."
Until now, Simon had only used pre-packaged “Skeleton Sets” sold in shops. The insides of the skulls already had summoning spells inscribed into them.
Feer’s ability was to organize summoned or natural-type undead into a legion. Raising undead from corpses and turning them into soldiers wasn’t part of his powers.
[...Tsk. I keep forgetting you're still just a first-year at Keyzen.]
Feer crossed his arms and muttered.
[Still, corpses are worth money these days. It’d be a waste to throw them out.]
In the end, Simon sent a letter to the local lord requesting cleanup assistance.
Lord Raymond, shocked by Simon’s message, personally rode up to the mountains to assess the situation. He even visited Simon’s quarters to express his thanks.
"They’ve been a terrible thorn in our side for so long! On behalf of the people of the fief, I offer my sincerest gratitude!"
Raymond turned the incident into an “official request” and awarded Simon an additional bonus. He also promised to process the orc corpses and send all resulting profits directly to Simon.
[Grrk! My soldiers…!]
Feer grumbled with regret, but perked up when Simon said he’d use the money to buy more undead.
The next morning, Simon left the inn early.
[It. Is. Cramped—aaagh!]
"Just bear with it a little longer."
Simon had stuffed Feer, Erzebet, and about thirty corpse spiders into his subspace and headed to the designated teleportation site where he had first arrived.
When he got there, he saw someone sitting under the shade of a tree, cloaked in black robes like a corpse.
Simon approached, but the person didn’t react. So he slowly took out his Keyzen student ID and held it out.
‘Whoa.’
The student ID vanished from his hand.
In an instant, the man cast a verification spell on it, then stood up and bowed at a 90-degree angle.
"I've been expecting you, Simon Follentia."
"Ah, yup."
So he was one of Keyzen’s lackeys after all.
Simon smiled awkwardly as he received his ID back.
"This way. I’ll initiate the transport right away."
"Okay."
The assistant began drawing a teleportation circle using black magic. Soon, a clear teleportation signal formed on the ground.
"Welcome back safely. Wishing you a pleasant day."
"Thanks."
The mission was a success, and he had earned plenty of pocket money for school life. Simon stepped onto the circle in high spirits.
‘Let’s go back to Keyzen!’
* * *
After riding the teleportation magic circle, Simon safely returned to the Keyzen campus on Roke Mountain.
‘Haaaaah.’
Simon took a deep breath.
‘It’s been a while, Keyzen!’
Seeing the familiar school buildings again made him feel strangely emotional.
To think just a few days away would make him feel this attached.
Since he returned a day early, the campus was quiet. A few students passed by chatting or reading on benches.
‘The change in atmosphere really hits you.’
While out on the mission, Simon had been the Keyzen representative, treated with respect. But back here, everyone was a Keyzen student, and survival depended on fierce competition.
Still, he was ready now. All he wanted was to reunite with his friends and attend the next lecture.
[Boy! How long are you going to stand there lost in thought? Let’s go to the ruins already!]
‘Haha, okay okay.’
Simon was just about to head toward the Forbidden Forest when—
"Simooon!"
He turned at the sound of his name and saw Kamibarez running toward him, waving from afar.
"Kami!"
Simon smiled brightly. Even though it had only been a few days, seeing her again made him genuinely happy.
"I’m so glad you’re safe! I was worried since you were given a tough assignment."
"I was lucky in a lot of ways."
Kamibarez had chosen the opposite strategy: she took a quick mission on Roke Mountain and returned early to focus on her studies.
"Simon, Simon! Look at this! Ta-da~"
She twirled around and showed her back. On the back of her Keyzen uniform, a pair of adorable bat wings fluttered.
"I got my uniform tailored! Hehe."
Seeing her innocently boast about her uniform brought a smile to Simon’s face.
"It looks way better than before."
"Right? Right?"
"Yeah. Anyway, wanna grab a coffee at the canteen? My treat."
"Huh? Oh, it’s okay. I can pay for my own—"
Simon smiled slyly.
"I’ll treat you. I made a lot of money from the mission."
He even got the chance to show off a little to a fellow classmate using the money he earned from the mission.
After waving goodbye to Kamibarez as she headed back to the library, Simon stepped outside the Keyzen gates and entered the Forbidden Forest.
[Commander, who was that woman earlier?]
“Ah, you scared me.”
Erzebet was walking behind Simon,he hadn’t even noticed when she came out of the subspace.
“Just a classmate.”
[For just a classmate, she was giving you an awfully annoying look, Milord.]
Simon’s expression stiffened slightly.
“You remember our pact, right? Without my permission…”
[Don’t lay a hand on people. Of course. I, along with Feer, will quietly wait at the ruins until you arrive.]
She was so obedient, it was actually kind of unsettling.
With a gentle smile, she said,
[Also, since I’m your servant, please speak comfortably to me. It makes me uneasy otherwise.]
“Ah, sure, if you say so…”
Simon scratched his head and gave a nod.
“And this might be the Forbidden Forest, but occasionally wardens or people pass through. It’d be better for you to stay in subspace, Erzebet.”
[If it’s about being seen, then how about this?]
She tapped her chest lightly with her fingertip. The wine-colored dress she had been wearing instantly turned into threads of spider silk. It looked like her entire body was wrapped in it, leaving nothing but spiderwebs covering her skin.
‘So that wasn’t even clothes, just spiderwebs…’
Simon was honestly surprised. When she tapped the silk again, its color and texture began to change.
A white blouse, red-toned necktie, black jacket, skirt, and shoes, she perfectly recreated the Keyzen female student uniform.
She swept her foamy hair back and smiled.
[Are you satisfied?]
“...The quality is definitely high.”
[If you ever need a runner between Keyzen and the ruins, just call on me. No surveillance spell can detect me.]
Erzebet was highly specialized in espionage. She could change her appearance and evade all known surveillance spells with her unique stealth abilities.
She was the only undead capable of moving freely between the ruins and Keyzen. Of course, her spider legion was also specialized in ambushes and surprise attacks.
‘Bringing her into the legion was the right call. The more I think about it, the more useful she seems.’
As Simon nodded to himself, Erzebet began to pull more spider silk over her head. Curious, Simon watched silently to see what she’d do next.
[How about this appearance?]
“…!”
Simon staggered back in shock. Erzebet had transformed into Kamibarez.
The wide, puppy-like eyes and the distinct vampire fangs sticking out, she’d nailed every detail.
[Hmm, hmm.]
Her voice was still the same as Erzebet’s, but she began clearing her throat.
[Kyahk! Kiiiek! Kehak!]
“……”
The throat-clearing phase was… a bit wild.
A moment later, she spun around and spoke.
“Simon, Simon! Look at this! Ta-da~”
“…!!”
Waving her bat wings behind her, Erzebet mimicked Kamibarez’s voice flawlessly. Simon, now beet red, flailed his arms in a panic.
“Stop! Stop! I’ve seen enough! You’re clearly good at it!”
“Fufu.”
She gave a seductive smile.
“I believe I can bring you many pleasures with this power, Commander.”
[Ugh, shut up, you two!]
Feer’s projection, clinging to Simon’s uniform, shouted angrily.
[Quit messing around and let’s get going! These little spider brats keep clinging to me and whining!]
“Feer’s mad. Let’s go.”
The two resumed walking.
Erzebet, clearly enjoying Simon’s embarrassment, remained in Kamibarez’s form.
“…Erzebet.”
“Yes~ Master~”
“…Don’t call me ‘Master’ in Kami’s voice.”
[As you wish.]
She returned to her original voice, letting out a chuckle. No doubt, she was enjoying herself.
“Let’s talk about the legion. We only have about thirty corpse spiders, right? If we want to increase that number, do we need to head out to the continent to gather more spiders, or…”
[No need to worry. As the queen spider, I can simply lay eggs.]
Simon stopped dead in his tracks.
“W-What did you just say…?”
[I said I can lay eggs.]
Her cheeks suddenly flushed, and she pretended to lift the hem of her skirt with her fingertips.
[It’s a bit embarrassing to lay eggs, but if it’s for you, Master, I could show you…]
“Waaaah! Aaagh! Turn back to normal immediately! That’s an order!”
Feer’s projection clicked its tongue at the chaotic scene.
Just as expected. Erzebet was clearly too stimulating for the current Simon to handle.
In the end, Simon opened the subspace and ordered Erzebet back inside. She wore the saddest face in the world, but it no longer worked on him.
“…Ah, wait a second.”
Still red-faced, Simon’s expression suddenly turned serious.
“Erzebet.”
[Yes, Commander?]
“By any chance…”
After resting his chin in his hand and thinking deeply for a moment, Simon continued in a solemn tone.
“…Can you transform into a priest?”
Superb.