Chapter 105
Finch's bisected body drifted down into the deep sea. Simon, watching blankly, suddenly clamped a hand over his mouth.
‘...Ugh, I can’t breathe!’
[Run, boy! Inject Darkness into the greatsword and keep firing!]
Nodding, Simon aimed the greatsword toward the sea and turned his body toward the surface. From that position, he shot off short slashes, which pushed his body forward with swift bursts.
‘I’m at my limit!’
With extreme exhaustion and lack of oxygen, his rationality was on the verge of evaporating. He bit his lips until they bled, barely clinging to consciousness.
Somehow, he made it to where the ship was visible. Now there was only one final stretch left to reach the bottom of the ship.
Click! Click!
A hissing sound escaped from the tip of the greatsword. He had completely used up all the Darkness.
Just as Simon’s mind, pushed past its limits multiple times, was finally about to collapse—
Splash!
A figure swam into view beneath the sea. It was Shun.
‘Shun…!’
Simon and Shun reached toward each other.
This time, they didn’t miss. Their hands firmly clasped, and at that moment, Simon lost consciousness.
* * *
Whooosh!
“Puh! Gah! Hah!”
Breaking through the violent waves, Shun emerged to the surface carrying the unconscious Simon.
“Catch this!”
Erzebet threw a rope made of spider silk.
When Shun swam over and grabbed the end of the rope, the Ancient Undead used its monstrous strength to haul them up onto the deck in a single motion.
“Cough, cough! Hah! Huh!”
On the deck, Shun spat out mouthfuls of seawater.
“Count! What about the master?”
“He’s fine! He just lost consciousness from exhaustion.”
They quickly began emergency treatment on Simon.
But the pirate ship was no longer safe. A hole had opened in the bottom, and the ship was slowly sinking.
—Kriiik!
Just then, a Corpse Spider appeared and signaled to Erzebet.
“A s-spider?”
“Don’t worry. It’s an ally.”
With a gesture from her, five Corpse Spiders came crawling in, dragging along a small but intact wooden boat with considerable effort.
“There was an emergency escape boat. Let’s use it to get to Blue Harbor.”
Shun threw both arms in the air.
“Nice job, spiders!”
—Kreee!
The spiders raised their front legs and mimicked a high-five with each other. Erzebet gently stroked Feer’s skull, which had been separated from Simon.
“Feer, you did well too.”
[Keh keh keh! My whole body aches!]
“Once we get the saltwater out on land, you’ll feel a bit better. Come on, let’s move him!”
* * *
“……”
How long had he been unconscious?
At last, Simon opened his eyes. He stared blankly at the ceiling for a while, then suddenly sat up.
‘Ugh.’
Pain surged through him, and his whole body ached and throbbed. Bandages were wrapped around various parts of his body.
“Master! You’ve awakened!”
Erzebet was the first to notice Simon had come to consciousness. She ran over and shook his shoulders.
“Do you recognize who I am?”
“Ugh, dizzy… Erze…”
“Thank goodness!”
The nearby maids also shot up to their feet.
“Sir Simon!”
“Count Shun! Sir Simon’s awake!”
“Huh, really? Simon brother!!”
Shun dashed over and hugged Simon tightly. He had been nodding off in the room all this time, waiting for Simon to wake up.
Simon, pausing briefly to collect his thoughts, smiled and placed a hand on Shun’s head.
“You’re the one who saved me, huh? Shun.”
“No! You saved me, brother!”
They were currently in the mansion of the Oldwen family. Simon then heard the full story from Shun.
Today was the final day of their five-day mission. A day had passed since the pirate attack.
After losing their captain, Gael, the remaining pirates were all suppressed by the Blue Harbor navy, which had regrouped its forces. Especially critical was Erzebet’s scheme, which had caused a full ship's worth of pirates to be worn down fighting Finch.
After the battle, Simon had been taken to the mansion for treatment, and Feer was also unharmed.
Although Blue Harbor’s central districts had been burned down by pirate cannon fire, the flames had been extinguished and reconstruction was underway. With the Oldwen family's wealth, Shun added, it wouldn’t take long to restore the city to its former glory.
Shun had also decided to reopen the investigation into his mother’s death. Some of the Oldwen family's elders were now suspected of being involved. It appeared they had wanted to force Shun’s father, then the eldest son, into a political marriage with a noble heiress.
Cutting out the rotten part of the family would take time, but Shun was determined.
After hearing it all, Simon let out a long sigh.
“I’m glad everything ended well. And we didn’t even go over the mission deadline.”
“Yeah! In fact, someone from Keyzen already came to check.”
A man in black clothes, who had been silently standing flush against the wall like a shadow, bowed his head. Simon also greeted him and asked,
“When do I need to return to school?”
“There’s no need to hurry. Just let me know whenever you wish within the day, and I’ll arrange the teleportation accordingly.”
“Okay. Thank you.”
To give Simon time to rest, Shun, the maids, and the agent left the room. Only Erzebet, his close aide, remained, peeling fruit.
Simon looked her up and down for a moment.
“By the way, Erze. Why are you dressed like that?”
Wearing a maid outfit, she turned toward Simon and grinned.
“Since I kept calling the Legion Commander ‘Master, Master,’ the mansion’s maids thought I was one of their own and lent me a uniform. Does it suit me?”
She grabbed her skirt and spun in a circle. Simon chuckled softly.
“Let’s rest for just two more hours, then go back to Keyzen.”
“Huh? Wouldn’t it be better to rest a bit more?”
“There’s too much to do. I need to write the report for Keyzen and prepare for tomorrow’s class. Staying here any longer would only burden the people working here.”
“If that’s your wish, then I understand. I’ll let the head butler know.”
After finishing a light porridge meal that served as both breakfast and lunch, Simon, having regained his strength, put on his freshly laundered Keyzen uniform and stepped out of the mansion under the butler’s guidance.
“Sir Simon! Best of luck!”
“I’ll never forget you~!”
“If you ever drop out of school, come find me, alright?”
Maid after maid had rushed out of the mansion, waving handkerchiefs and bidding Simon farewell.
Simon also bowed politely to the people who had looked after him during his stay.
At the front of the carriage, Shun was waiting and chuckled.
“Simon brother, you’re really popular with the maids, huh?”
“...I honestly don’t know why.”
“Oh my, with a beauty like me beside you, where are you looking?”
Erzebet wrapped herself around Simon’s arm in full view. Shouts of protest erupted from the mansion behind them, telling her to get off. Erzebet stuck out her tongue and teased them.
“Enough with the games, let’s go.”
“Yes!”
Shun climbed into the carriage, followed by Simon and Erzebet. The coachman cracked the reins, and the wheels began to roll.
“What about the agent from Keyzen?”
“He’s preparing the teleport or whatever at the rendezvous point. But brother.”
“Yeah?”
Shun chuckled again.
“It’s not over yet.”
As the carriage rolled through the mansion gates, Simon’s eyes widened. A crowd of townspeople had gathered in front of the mansion, bursting into applause and loud cheers.
“Goodbye~ Keyzen student!”
“Thanks for saving Blue Harbor!”
“Be sure to stop by our shop sometime!”
Even the residents who had fought alongside him in Bone Armor were there at the front.
“We’ll never forget fighting together!”
“Take care!”
Simon felt his heart swell. He showed his face through the carriage window and waved to the people himself.
“Stay strong, Simon Follentia, son of Blue Harbor!”
‘Ah, that one stung a little.’
People from Leshill might be a bit hurt if they heard that.
“Uhehehe, why’s the public sentiment so good? What’ve you been doing behind my back?”
“...I just fought according to your orders.”
The carriage passed through the mansion and town center, and eventually began to slow down.
A familiar place, Simon’s former workplace, the Undead Exhibition Hall.
“Why are we here?”
“Just need to pick something up real quick.”
Shun hopped off, and Simon and Erzebet followed him down. The guards at the entrance stepped aside.
One of them thanked Simon for protecting Blue Harbor, and Simon responded with a smile and a bow.
“You’re coming along even though I’m just grabbing something?”
“I’m still your bodyguard for today.”
“Oh, right!”
Shun snickered and led the way up the stairs.
“It took a bit of time to get the approval.”
At the top, the head butler and other butlers bowed deeply. The head butler was holding a large box.
“What’s this?”
“What do you mean, what is it? It’s your mission reward.”
Simon carefully opened the lid of the box that was handed to him. Inside were 1,000 gold coins, gleaming brightly.
‘Ah…!’
When he’d heard the number “1,000 gold”, it hadn’t really hit him, but seeing the real thing, he finally realized how much money that truly was.
Simon spoke with emotion.
“...Thank you so m—I mean, thank you, Count.”
“Ahaha! What’s with the sudden formal talk?”
Shun burst into loud laughter and signaled to the butlers, who promptly got to work.
“And brother. Isn’t there something you forgot?”
“Hm?”
“Yesterday, I told you that if you protected the island and its people, I’d give you an additional reward.”
At that, Simon scratched the side of his head, looking sheepish.
“No, really, that’s not necessary…”
“Uncover it.”
At Shun’s command, the butlers yanked away the cloth. Inside was a skeletal, cephalopod-like creature floating in a tank.
“A next-generation Undead worth 10,000 gold, the Overlord.”
Shun took a deep breath and continued.
“From this moment on, it’s yours. I hope you’ll accept it.”
“...?!”
Simon’s jaw dropped, overwhelmed by a tsunami of shock.
Owning a skeleton made from a Skull Mana Demon’s bones had always been a bucket-list dream, but something worth over 10,000 gold like this Deliquent Undead Overlord had always seemed beyond reach.
“Sh-Shun! This is too much…”
Grinning, Shun scratched his nose.
“Seeing your reaction makes me glad I gave it to you! Will you accept the sincerity of me, the Oldwen family, and the people of Blue Harbor?”
“……”
Shun left no room for refusal, demanding an answer. With thousands of emotions rushing through him, Simon stood dumbfounded for a moment, then slowly nodded.
As if they had been waiting, the butlers and Erzebet applauded to congratulate him. And then—
[@$*Gu@&%&Dan$!!!]
Who knows what that meant, but it probably translated to something like “Feer is overjoyed too.”
Superb.