Simon rode a carriage out of the estate alongside Shun.
“I sincerely apologize for my rudeness earlier, Count.”
As Simon, sitting across from him, apologized with sweat pouring down his face, Shun waved his hand cheerfully with a laugh.
“It’s fine, it’s fine! Just talk comfortably like earlier when we’re in private!”
“Pardon? I couldn’t possibly…”
“I’m saying it because it makes me feel more comfortable! Got it?”
“Ah, understood.”
Shun was a lively and cheerful boy. Though he was a count, he actually seemed more playful and modest than most noble children.
Simon didn’t bother asking how someone so young had inherited a countship and vast fortune. In these cases, the answer was usually obvious.
‘His parents must’ve passed away early.’
A boy who inherited the title of Count at a young age and governed Blue Harbor. Simon found himself increasingly curious about Shun.
“That over there is the most tourist-packed Sara Beach! And that alley leads to a large shopping district...!”
Shun pointed out famous spots seen through the carriage window one by one with his small, childlike hands, explaining enthusiastically.
His excited voice was full of affection for the territory. Simon responded accordingly, and they exchanged various stories.
“Count, we’ve arrived at the exhibition hall.”
The coachman’s voice called out. Listening to Shun’s lively tour had made time fly by.
As Simon opened the carriage door, Shun shot out like a cannonball.
“Wait, Shun! You’ll fall at that rate!”
Simon hurriedly followed after him in alarm.
As Shun dashed up the steps, he lost his balance and tumbled backward.
Simon, sprinting from behind, swiftly slid his arms under Shun’s armpits and lifted him up, setting him safely on top of the stairs.
“Whoa!”
Shun grinned brightly.
“Nice work! Simon brother! Yep, just keep doing that!”
“……”
Simon let out a sigh of relief and forced a smile. He had a feeling this was going to be a tough assignment.
“Welcome, Count Shun.”
The guards standing at the exhibition hall stepped aside. Shun turned his small body proudly with a wide grin.
“The exhibition’s not supposed to open until the day after tomorrow! But just this once, I’m giving my bodyguard an early peek!”
“Mm. Thanks for that.”
Creeeak—
The large doors opened, revealing the inside of the exhibition hall. Simon’s eyes widened.
‘This is...!’
The Next-Generation Undead Exhibition held in Blue Harbor.
Blue Harbor, being an island long isolated from the continent, maintained a unique ecosystem. As such, many “only species” not found elsewhere lived there.
This exhibition showcased new research into next-generation undead, with a focus on undead created using Blue Harbor’s monsters. Simon felt his eyes involuntarily darting about.
‘I don’t even know where to start!’
At the center of the first floor was a ‘dinosaur-type’ skeleton occupying the largest space. Its presence alone was overwhelming. If something like that attacked, morale would be crushed instantly.
However—
‘Seems like they haven’t solved the balance issue with the lower body needed to support its weight.’
Darkness threads stretched throughout the exhibition, supporting the dinosaur skeleton to prevent it from collapsing. While developing a large-scale skeleton was impressive, it wouldn’t be useful in combat without solving the leg issue.
As Simon was momentarily distracted, thinking about what to include in the report for Keyzen…
Shun, who had been standing beside him, was suddenly nowhere to be seen.
“Shun!”
Simon looked around frantically.
“Kyahah! Hahaha!”
Before he knew it, Shun had climbed on top of an animal-type skeleton in the exhibition.
“Yah! Yah! Let’s go! Move out!”
As Shun smacked the skeleton’s back with his palms, the skeleton turned its long neck to look at him.
‘D-Dangerous!’
It wasn’t just a display, it seemed to be imbued with summoning magic.
Simon’s blood ran cold, and he took off running.
He grabbed the safety fence with one hand and leapt over it, focusing Darkness into his legs.
‘Darkness Step!’
As Simon’s body soared through the air, the skeleton opened its mouth wide, moving toward Shun.
‘I’m faster...!’
Fwwoosh!
Simon’s arms sliced through the air, missing their target. A green liquid had already wrapped around Shun’s waist and pulled him away.
And Simon slammed face-first into the skeleton.
‘Ouch!’
He clutched his face and fell to the ground.
“A bodyguard, distracted like that? Tsk tsk.”
From beneath the dim lights, a man approached.
With slitted eyes, long lashes, small nostrils, and a long mouth, he had one hand in his pocket, and the other arm had transformed into a liquid-like substance that held Shun.
After setting Shun down, the man smiled broadly.
“Uncle Finch!”
Shun shouted with delight.
The man, called Finch, returned his hand to normal and patted Shun’s head.
“You need to be careful, alright? There are moving undead here, so it’s dangerous.”
“I told you I’m fine! Ah, let me introduce you!”
Shun pointed at Simon.
“Simon Follentia! The strongest bodyguard from Keyzen and special admission #1!”
“Hm.”
Finch stroked his chin and scanned Simon from head to toe. Then, smiling, he reached out his right hand.
“Name’s Finch Nikiman. I’m a necromancer too.”
“Simon Follentia.”
As Simon reached out to shake his hand, Finch’s hand melted into goo. Simon was startled but stayed composed.
“Hahaha! Just a prank!”
Finch restored his hand and gave Simon’s hand a light shake before returning it to his pocket.
“You’re a first-year looking to make some allowance money, huh? I don’t know what naive idea brought you to this resort island, but regardless, do your job properly, alright? Don’t you agree?”
It was a scolding, telling him to protect Shun properly. Simon placed his clenched fist over his left chest and bowed deeply at the waist.
“Please forgive my negligence, Count.”
Of course, the person he bowed to wasn’t Finch, but Shun.
“……”
Finch’s brow twitched.
“Ah, Simon! Don’t be like that!”
Shun tugged at Simon’s pants.
“And Uncle, stop scolding my bodyguard! It was my fault just now!”
“Haha, scolding? I was just giving a junior some advice.”
Finch scratched his head, sweating nervously, then shot Simon a sideways glance.
‘Well, well…?’
He had assumed Simon was some pampered noble brat, but apparently, he had some spine.
As Simon raised his head, Finch cleared his throat and spoke.
“So, you're Keyzen's special admission #1?”
“Yes.”
“You must have high expectations riding on you. As a senior, let me give you some advice. Don’t think everything you learn at Keyzen is absolute truth. To be honest, that place has gone a bit off-track lately. It was legendary in the past, but now its teaching methods feel outdated and stiff…”
“Pardon me, but Finch-senior,”
Simon cut in.
“Are you a Keyzen graduate?”
“……”
Finch’s smiling lips twitched.
“Ahem. No, I started at the public necromancer school in Aland.”
“Ah, I see.”
“You’ll be meeting them soon enough yourself, but top students from Aland, Sierra, and Moyran sometimes transfer to Keyzen through the transfer system. In every way, they’re more competent than Keyzen’s original students!”
Simon gave a bright smile.
“Wow, that’s amazing! More competent than Keyzen? Then isn’t there no need to transfer to Keyzen in the first place?”
‘…This little punk!’
He pretends to be smiling, but his words subtly scratch at your nerves.
Still, Finch couldn’t directly slander Keyzen, so he had no choice but to swallow his anger.
“Ahem. Everyone has their own strengths and weaknesses. Isn’t that right?”
“Yes, that’s true.”
“Uncle Finch! Hurry up! You said you’d show Simon brother and me the undead!”
“Ah, right.”
Finch quickly fixed his expression.
“Let’s drop the talk about student level. A necromancer’s real career starts after graduation, doesn’t it? From now on, I’ll show you the realm of professionals.”
“I’m looking forward to it.”
Simon said that and gently placed a hand on Shun’s shoulder. Shun looked up at him as if to ask what was going on, but Simon only smiled and didn’t speak.
However,
‘If you run off again, you’re getting scolded.’
That was the message in his eyes and smile. Shun shivered slightly, feeling a sudden chill.
“Now then, dear customers. I’ll begin the explanation with this piece.”
As a necromancer affiliated with Blue Harbor, Finch was a pioneer in next-generation undead research. Of the 100 pieces in the exhibition, 20 were Finch’s work.
Listening to Finch’s explanations, Simon was honestly impressed.
Putting aside personality and character, the man’s skill was impeccable. Using Blue Harbor’s monsters, he had crafted high-quality undead with fresh, novel functions.
‘But maybe because this is an event to showcase entirely new undead, there’s a lack of practicality.’
Some undead seemed utterly unusable in any real scenario. So even with his limited knowledge, Simon pointed out some of the shortcomings.
“Wouldn’t it be better to cover the tail of this Locker Worm Skeleton with protein or chitin instead of forcibly connecting it with bone? As it is now, it looks like the joints will overload after just a few swings.”
At Simon’s comment, Finch flushed and reacted sensitively.
“Ahem! What would a first-year even know! Every design choice has its reasons. Throwing out random ideas without considering the full picture won’t solve anything, you know!”
“Ah, yes. I’m sorry for meddling.”
Finch pulled a notebook from his pocket.
“So, where exactly do you think I should cover it with chitin?”
“?”
In that way, they continued to chat as they toured the exhibition floor. Shun, already losing focus, let out a big yawn.
Seeing that, Simon gave a small poke to Feer’s clone.
‘Feer. Are you there? Please help me for a moment.’
[What is it you ask of me?]
As Finch was engrossed in explaining and Shun kept yawning, Simon undid the Feer clone attached to his school uniform and handed it to Shun.
“Shun, look at this.”
“What is it?”
“If you poke it, it moves?”
Shun tapped the Feer clone with his finger a few times. Feer recoiled in alarm.
[What do you think you’re doing! I am not a toy!]
“Wow! When I tickle it, the skull keeps opening and closing its mouth!”
“Cool, right?”
[Boy! Remove that wretch from me immediately!]
“What happens if I pinch it like this?”
As Feer played along for a bit, Shun quickly regained focus and amusement. They soon reached the fifth floor of the exhibition.
“Now, I will reveal the highlight of this exhibition.”
Finch removed the white cloth cover, revealing what looked like a giant fish tank. Inside was a skeleton unlike anything Simon had ever seen before.
Its body resembled an alien creature, something like a mix between a jellyfish and an octopus. The main body was made of bone, while a soft, fluid-like substance swirled around it to maintain its form.
Most remarkable of all were the long legs of the jellyfish creature, which were made entirely of bone. They looked like mechanical legs with perfectly interlocked joints, but they were unmistakably bone.
“Delinquent Undead Overlord.”
Finch said, his usual smile gone, replaced by a serious tone.
“The material is a deep-sea monster, Kraken. It has a form similar to mollusks living in the deep sea, but unusually, its core body parts are composed of bone, meeting the conditions of a skeleton. And believe it or not, this is not even a fully grown specimen. No one has ever captured a fully mature Kraken.”
Finch placed his palm on the magic circle. With a low hum, the Overlord began to move.
‘Holy shit…!’
Simon was so stunned, he couldn’t control his expression.
The six long bone legs moved freely like the tentacles of a soft-bodied creature. He had never imagined bones could be this flexible.
“It’s not just fast, it also has cutting power.”
Finch pulled an iron plate from subspace and held it above his head. The Overlord spotted it and moved its legs.
Shhhk.
One long leg extended out of the tank and slashed through the air in a straight line, slicing the iron plate clean in half. The second leg followed and pierced the center of the falling plate.
‘Wow, seriously.’
As a summoning student, this was torture. Having such an incredible undead right before his eyes, but being unable to use it.
At Finch’s signal, the waiting staff covered the tank again with a cloth.
“Finch-senior.”
“Yes, do you have a question?”
“If someone wanted to buy this undead, how much would it cost?”
Finch let out a chuckle and placed a hand on his waist.
“Is that a question on behalf of Keyzen? Or…”
“No, no. Just a personal question.”
“Well. This is a research specimen of astronomical value. It’s not for sale, and it doesn’t even belong to me. Still, if I had to name a price…”
Finch thought for a moment, then answered.
“At the very least, 10,000 gold.”
Superb.