Chapter 98
After successfully completing the banquet, the official undead exhibition was finally held the next day.
Shun, his household members, and the people who helped organize the exhibition gathered for the opening ceremony. Simon, who was participating as a bodyguard, did not attend the ceremony directly but kept watch a short distance away from Shun.
'Phew, this is tough.'
Until the afternoon opening ceremony began, Simon practiced Bone Armor.
He was recalling a conversation he had with Feer during training yesterday.
—By the way, Feer. Is it possible to use Bone Armor on skeletons that have been "legionized"?
—It’s not impossible. But don’t even dream of it for the time being.
—Huh? Why not?
At that time, Feer's alter ego had been smiling.
—It’ll become a bad habit.
Feer was also Simon’s mentor.
Since he had never suffered from following Feer’s advice, Simon focused once again solely on mastering Bone Armor with his summoned skeletons.
Clap clap clap clap clap!
Simon snapped out of his thoughts at the sound of loud applause. The opening ceremony had finally come to an end.
The people who had been on stage began chatting and dispersing, and Simon moved next to Shun to resume his bodyguard duties.
“Simon brother! Is something bothering you?”
“Hm? No, it’s nothing.”
Just then, the host of the ceremony turned their gaze toward Simon. When Simon smiled as if asking what was going on, the host raised their voice.
“Come to think of it, we have a student from Keyzen visiting our exhibition! Did everyone know this?”
The murmur of the crowd grew louder.
“Of course, we can’t miss hearing from the most authoritative voice in the field, can we? Let’s bring Keyzen’s student up to the front!”
Waaaah—!
A thunderous cheer erupted.
Simon looked at Shun with a troubled expression. The host’s gaze had now turned to Shun as well.
“You’re okay with this, right, Count?”
Simon gave him a pleading look. But Shun just grinned mischievously and pushed Simon forward.
“Of course it’s fine!”
“And now, for a bonus interview! Please come this way, Keyzen student!”
So, this is how it ends up.
Simon was pushed forward with a bitter expression.
‘Wow.’
There were a lot of people. It seemed this exhibition was quite a hot topic even within Blue Harbor.
“Please introduce yourself briefly!”
The host held out a magically amplified microphone to Simon. The host himself was speaking loudly enough that it could be heard without any amplification.
“I’m Simon Follentia, a first-year Summonology aspirant at Keyzen.”
“Ah, you left out the most important part, didn’t you?”
The host jokingly winked and wagged his finger. Simon chuckled softly and continued.
“I entered Keyzen under the honored title of Special Admission No. 1.”
Murmur murmur murmur!
With that one sentence, Simon could feel the crowd’s perception of him shifting dramatically.
“You must’ve had a chance to take a look inside while guarding the Count, right? What did you think of the exhibition?”
Simon had quickly grasped the mood.
Though it was an opening ceremony, it wasn’t stiff and aristocratic, but lively and full of energy like a festival. The relaxed atmosphere unique to the resort island surely played a part.
‘Then, I should match the mood as well.’
“I can confidently say this is the best undead exhibition I’ve ever attended.”
Of course, it was his first undead exhibition.
“Blue Harbor is one of the rare places with its own independently evolved ecosystem. The fact that such an ecosystem is preserved under the name of the Oldwen is, as a necromancer, something I consider heaven-sent. The undead made from this island’s creatures looked to me like a technology from twenty years in the future.”
A bit more strength in the diction. More vivid expressions.
“I especially recommend everyone check out the Overlord on the final floor.”
“Oh! Sounds like you’ve got your eye on the Overlord!”
Simon responded immediately to the host’s joke.
“I actually got so tempted while guarding that I even asked the staff for the price.”
“How bold! So, uh, how much was it...?”
“It started at 10,000 gold, so I gave up.”
Hahahaha!
The atmosphere at the ceremony lightened up drastically. The host and Simon exchanged words at a brisk tempo, lifting the crowd’s energy.
Tap! Tap!
Just then, the head butler in the back tapped his wristwatch as a gesture. The host, who had just been teasing Simon with the cheeky question of whether he had a girlfriend at Keyzen, snapped back to his senses and wrapped things up.
“Ah, time’s already flown by! We ask for your continued interest and support in the New Undead Exhibition starting in 30 minutes. And once again, please give a big round of applause to Simon for generously participating in this interview!”
Thunderous applause erupted from all around.
“The honor was mine. Thank you.”
Simon bowed to the audience and returned to Shun’s side. Shun chuckled and tapped Simon’s leg.
“Simon brother! You’re a better speaker than I expected!”
“......Than you expected? That’s a compliment, right?”
“Hahaha!”
A short while later, the exhibition hall opened, and countless people lined up to view the displays.
Shun and Simon moved through the exhibition hall, greeting guests they hadn’t met during the second day’s banquet and acting as guides.
* * *
Morning of the fourth day.
Just like the third day, today’s schedule was expected to be mostly spent in the exhibition hall. Simon, together with Shun, was riding a carriage to the venue early in the morning.
Simon, looking out the window, crossed his arms.
“It’s gloomy today.”
“Yeah. Think many people will still come to the exhibition?”
A thick fog was covering the entire beach. In fact, the tourists who had come to enjoy the beach were flustered by the unexpected weather.
“Why is there suddenly so much fog...?”
“It’s not even raining.”
“Are we going to be stuck in our rooms all day?”
Blue Harbor staff were already patrolling the area.
They were informing visitors that swimming was prohibited today because the sea fog was so dense it covered the sand.
“Yep, time to go.”
Even those resting under parasols were heading into town.
“Hey, hey, don’t you see something weird over there?”
“Yeah. I’m looking too. The fog.”
“No, beyond the fog over there... what is that?”
“Stop talking nonsense. Let’s go, I’m hungry.”
But the murmuring on the beach grew louder. Mixed in were screams and urgent cries to run away.
Swaaaaah—!
Everything happened in an instant. Tearing through the dense fog, an enormous, jaw-droppingly massive galleon appeared.
At the top of the galleon’s sail fluttered a flag. Beneath a distorted skull, two crossed swords were depicted.
The meaning of this flag was clear.
“P-Pirates!”
“It’s pirates!”
The peaceful beach instantly descended into panic. People, overwhelmed with fear, began screaming and running in all directions.
Kaboooom!
A cannon blast shook the sky. A cannonball, fired from the warship, exploded into the pillars of a tall city building. The stone structure collapsed with a roar, and the columns caught fire.
Boom! Bang!
Some cannonballs landed on the beach. Huge fountains of sand erupted, and people were swept away and knocked to the ground.
“Take cover! Take cover!”
Countless cannonballs flew through the fog and wind. The beach and the village were reduced to chaos and ignited in an instant. Soon, the colossal warship reached the shoreline.
Rrrruummble!
As the pirate ship kicked up sand and descended onto land, pirates began sliding down ropes.
“Keh-heh-heh!”
And on a chair atop the deck, a long-bearded man was laughing creepily. He picked up a communication crystal and spoke.
“Ships 2 and 3, flank the island from the left and right sides and land! Don’t let a single rat escape the island!”
—Yes, sir!
Through the fog, identical massive galleons could be seen splitting to either side.
The man rose to his feet. The pirates quickly stepped back and bowed their heads in deference.
“Blue Harbor. A fine island.”
Shing!
Drawing the sword at his waist, he shouted.
“What are you all standing around for! Land, now! Leave no one alive!”
“Waaaahhhhhh!”
* * *
Simon and Shun, who had been inside the exhibition hall, also rushed outside upon hearing the deafening cannon fire. Someone nearby muttered in shock.
“Oh my god……”
The enormous pirate ship that had arrived with the dense sea fog was bombarding the entire city with cannon fire. Blue Harbor was becoming an inferno.
“These aren’t just any pirates.”
The head butler spoke, sweating coldly.
“Judging by the size of the ship and that flag... it’s the pirates of the Divine State Sea. They aren’t the kind to appear in such peaceful waters. How…?”
Shun, his face pale with fear, grabbed onto Simon’s sleeve. Simon covered Shun’s hand with his own and gave his back a reassuring pat.
“The Commander has arrived!”
A man in a uniform adorned with dangling badges ran out from the exhibition hall.
“......Unbelievable.”
He muttered in despair.
“How did a pirate ship manage to reach the coastline? What were the sea outposts doing?!”
The commander hurriedly pulled a communication crystal from his breast pocket.
“Outpost! Respond! Outpost!”
But there was only silence. The commander frantically turned the channel to contact another location.
“This is the commander! Respond immediately!”
But none of the three naval units guarding the sea responded.
“D-Did the comms suddenly go out? Because of the fog?”
“They probably just couldn’t receive the message.”
Simon spoke with a hardened expression. Turning his head to see who had interrupted, the commander’s eyes widened at the sight of Simon’s uniform.
“K-Keyzen......!”
“What do you mean they couldn’t receive the message, brother?”
At Shun’s question, Simon let out a small sigh and replied.
“They’ve already been taken out.”
* * *
Blue Harbor Naval Headquarters.
“Guhk!”
“Cough! Cough!”
Armed soldiers collapsed one by one, coughing up spit. The entire building was engulfed in thick green smoke.
Blue Harbor Naval Barracks No. 2.
“What the hell did they put in the food…!”
“Ghhh!”
Here, everyone collapsed with black liquid oozing from their mouths. Some soldiers were barely hanging on, but the artificial slimes crawling along the floor slithered over and consumed their bodies.
And finally, Blue Harbor Naval Barracks No. 3.
The place was drenched in blood. Soldiers lay dead, their bodies twisted unnaturally. The walls were covered in signs of battle.
And among the corpses of over a hundred soldiers, a man casually puffed on a cigar.
“See? It would’ve been so much better for everyone if you’d just gone down quietly to the poison.”
His formal uniform was soaked in blood, but the man didn’t even blink. He picked up a communication crystal.
“The ships?”
—All burned.
“Don’t let a single one escape the island. Especially…”
The strongest necromancer in Blue Harbor smiled chillingly.
“Make sure to capture Count Shun and the Oldwen family, no matter what.”
Superb.