Chapter 279
A few days later.
The day of the first-year Keyzen students’ deployment evaluation.
Before dawn, while everyone was still asleep, Simon slipped out of the dormitory, passed through the Forbidden Forest, and entered the ruins of Feer.
Clatter! Clack! Clack!
Like villains preparing for world domination in a secret underground base, skeletons organized into legions and corpse spiders were filing neatly into the massive subspace that Simon had opened.
"But… are you two coming along as well?"
[Of course we are, Legion Commander!]
Said the General of the spider legion, Erzebet.
[I couldn't sleep at night from worrying if I left everything to Prince alone.]
Feer, who had been sitting on the altar, also spoke.
[Outside of Roke Island, no one knows how or when Magnus might move! There's no harm in being cautious about this kind of external mission!]
Watching the undead of the legion entering the massive subspace, Simon scratched his head.
"B-but isn't this too many to bring…?"
This wasn’t a war, and yet there were 200 skeletons and 100 corpse spiders. Add to that two Ancient Undead, Prince and the zombie unit who would join later, and it was enough military power to flatten an average fief in a single day.
Simon decided to be clear.
"There’ll be a lot of eyes watching this deployment evaluation. Please don’t appear unless my life is in extreme danger. I’ll try to handle things on my own, as much as possible."
If the legion moved, they would inevitably leave traces.
Feer was discovered by Magnus just from moving alone in the Jungle of Screams, which led to this current crisis. If the whole legion were to move, it would be the same as handing over too much intel to Magnus.
[Then how about this!]
Feer said, blue-black flames rising from the eye sockets.
[We’ll only step in if your life is in danger or if there’s an attack from Magnus’ legion requiring a legion-on-legion response! How about it?]
"Yes, I’m fine with those conditions."
As the two conversed back and forth, Erzebet sparkled her eyes meaningfully.
* * *
Having finished all preparations, Simon left Feer’s ruins and returned to Keyzen.
When he climbed the hill with the teleportation magic circle, many students were chattering, their faces a mix of excitement and tension.
“Simon~ over here!”
Kamibarez waved enthusiastically. Dick was laughing and chatting beside her, and Maelyn stood with her arms crossed.
“You’re here?”
“Hurry up! You’re always late, sleepyhead!”
Simon quickly ran over and joined the three.
“Here, wear this.”
Maelyn handed him something.
It was a desert robe with good ventilation, and it came with a turban to block out the sand.
“Maelyn bought it for you!”
Kamibarez, already wearing the robe, spun in place. Simon also took the robe with a bright smile.
“Thanks, I’ll wear it well, Maelyn.”
Looking slightly flustered, Maelyn cleared her throat and waved her hand dismissively.
“I-it’s only natural as the team leader!”
Everyone chatted, wearing the robes Maelyn had bought. The main topic, of course, was the Neutral Zone.
“The Neutral Zone—! I can’t believe I’m finally going there!”
At Dick’s shout, Kamibarez flapped her wings and nodded.
“I-I didn’t sleep a wink! I’m a bit scared… but with you all here, I feel safe!”
“Same here.”
Simon agreed with a smile.
It was the first time all four of them were going on the same mission. Their teamwork was good, and each person was more than capable in their role, so Simon felt reassured about heading out.
Seeing Simon agree, Kamibarez giggled joyfully. Her long sleeves fluttered as she moved.
“Eee, Kami, you’re so cute~!”
From behind, Maelyn hugged Kamibarez tightly.
“Just stick with your big sis. Don’t get lost! Don’t follow any strange men!”
“Yes, big sis!”
Kamibarez had learned how to play along with jokes now.
In the past, she would tremble, not knowing whether someone was joking or serious, but thanks to Dick—whose words were more than half jokes—she had been forcibly trained.
“I’m most curious about which necromancer will be our mentor.”
At Simon’s comment, Dick jumped in.
“I don’t ask for much! Just don’t let it be a completely crazy necromancer! Most of them are already insane!”
“That sounds like asking for a lot…”
Grab.
Suddenly, a girl’s hands covered Simon’s eyes from behind.
His vision was instantly shrouded in darkness.
“Guess who~?”
Simon flinched.
‘Wait, that voice…?’
He quickly removed the hands covering his eyes and turned around.
“Hi! Simon!”
Simon nearly screamed.
A girl with thick, fluffy, cascading hair that curled like bubbles—Simon recognized her at once.
‘E-Erze?!’
Shockingly, Erzebet was wearing the Keyzen uniform. Because of her adult body, the uniform looked extremely tight on her. She had her outer jacket tied around her waist and wore her necktie loosely. Her hair was dyed pink.
‘Wasn’t she supposed to be inside the subspace?!’
“Simon.”
Maelyn pointed at Erzebet in her uniform.
“Who’s this?”
“Uh, well…”
Simon’s mind went completely blank as he stammered, but Erzebet boldly linked arms with Simon and smiled brightly.
“Nice to meet you! I’m Elizabeth Weffer! I’m Simon’s childhood friend from the same hometown! I’m a Summonology major in Class E!”
…That kind of backstory never existed.
‘Erze!’
Simon threw a desperate look telling her to get back into the subspace, but this pink-haired Erzebet just kept smiling sweetly with no intention of leaving.
“C-childhood friend?”
Kamibarez covered her mouth with both hands and looked back and forth between Simon and Erzebet. Then she stared at their linked arms.
“Hey.”
Maelyn, on the other hand, glared coldly at Simon.
“Didn’t you say you were from Leshill or wherever? Why didn’t you ever mention having a childhood friend who came to Keyzen?”
“Uh, no, that’s…”
“Actually—I moved to another fief. We just happened to meet again here at Keyzen.”
Erzebet handled the situation smoothly.
“…Hmm.”
Meanwhile, Dick was staring intently at Erzebet with a strangely serious expression.
Simon gulped. Given Dick’s intel network, it wouldn’t be surprising if he knew all the students in Class E. Could he have realized that there’s no such student as Elizabeth?
“Gah! Simon, you lucky bastard…!”
Nope. He was just an idiot.
Dick lunged forward and grabbed Simon by the collar.
“If you had such an amazing childhood friend, you should’ve introduced her to us way sooner!”
Maelyn cut in sharply from the side.
“Hey, are you really Simon’s childhood friend? How long have you known each other?”
“H-hello. I-I’m Kamibarez Ursula! I-I’m not a childhood friend, but still…!”
Things suddenly descended into chaos.
Simon, desperately holding onto his sanity, grabbed Erzebet by the wrist and pulled her away.
“Sorry, we’ll just talk alone for a bit!”
Like he was fleeing, he led Erzebet into the forest where the trees grew thick.
Pushing her gently against a tree, Simon spoke.
“What the hell are you doing all of a sudden, Erze?!”
She smiled faintly and flicked her tongue.
“It was a little act of rebellion, sir~”
“Rebellion? You know how dangerous things are right now because of the Magnus Legion…”
“Do you realize I’ve been cooped up in that ruin the entire semester?”
Simon, who was about to scold her, flinched at the look on her face.
“Fufu, you know this girl joined the legion only for you, don’t you? I understand our situation, but I’ve spent every day in that ruin, sending spiders out for reconnaissance to check if the Magnus Legion had landed on Rock Island, and even when you occasionally visited, you were busy training with Feer. I thought I might finally get a chance to go outside, but of course, it's because of the Magnus Legion again.”
She placed her hand over her chest.
“So this time, I just went whoosh~ and snuck out! If I deserve punishment, I’ll gladly accept it.”
‘...Ugh.’
Come to think of it, Simon hadn’t really paid much attention to Erzebet lately.
He let out a sigh.
“I’ll try to be more mindful from now on. But if you’re going to sneak off like this again, at least tell me first.”
“I shall remember that, sir~”
Thankfully, Erzebet returned to the subspace without much resistance.
Just then, there was a commotion near the teleportation magic circle. It looked like departure was about to begin, so Simon hurried over.
‘This mission’s already chaotic, and it hasn’t even started yet.’
He arrived just in time to see the team members stepping onto the teleportation circle.
“Student Simon Follentia! Is Student Simon Follentia here?”
“Yes, here!”
Simon ran up and joined his teammates.
Kamibarez asked as she saw him.
“Simon! What about Elizabeth Weffer?”
Hearing that name again, Simon thought it really had been made up on the spot.
Forcing a smile, he replied.
“She went back to her own group. Haha.”
Dick stroked his chin with a satisfied expression.
“Elizabeth was amazing. I can’t believe there’s someone like her in Keyzen.”
At that moment, the teleportation operator spoke.
“Alright, is everyone here now?”
“Yes!”
On the teleportation circle stood not only Simon’s Team 7 from Class A but also teams from other classes.
Holding a stack of documents, the operator announced,
“Everyone, you will be heading to the Neutral Zone.”
Waaaah!
The students waiting outside the magic circle erupted in cheers.
They were celebrating because the chance of being sent somewhere safer had slightly increased.
“They say 90% still end up in the Neutral Zone anyway.”
Maelyn grumbled in a sullen voice.
“Team leaders, step forward.”
Maelyn and the other leaders stepped up to the operator. He handed out thick letter envelopes to each one according to the recipient.
“Inside, you’ll find information on your destination and the necromancer mentor assigned to your team. Head to the indicated location. Good luck.”
“Thank you!”
Soon after, they positioned themselves on the teleportation circle.
Everyone joined hands and stood in a circle. Kamibarez looked shy, so Simon gently reached out and held her hand first. Her hand felt incredibly small in his.
“Alright, beginning teleportation!”
The four of them lifted off the ground at the same time.
As the teleportation began, Simon felt as if he were riding an endless slide through an abstract world.
Usually, the scenery changed instantly with a blink, but this time, it meant they were traveling a very long distance.
Just when he thought he couldn’t take it anymore—
He felt weight return to his feet, and the ground solid beneath him. He could feel the breeze against his skin and smell salt in the air.
At last, he slowly lifted his eyelids, and light streamed in.
‘Ugh.’
The sunlight was blinding. He waited for his eyes to adjust.
“I-Is everyone okay?”
“...Ughhh, yeah, still alive.”
The other three who had teleported with him were sprawled on the ground in a mess.
Simon walked over to them.
“Need a hand?”
Maelyn, who had collapsed like a mermaid, opened her eyes.
And the first thing she saw when she looked up was Simon smiling gently at her with the bright sun behind him, reaching out his hand.
“...Maelyn?”
She stared blankly for a moment, then suddenly snapped back with a start and took Simon’s hand. As if pulled by a powerful force, she stood up.
“...Thanks.”
She muttered her thanks in a tiny voice. Simon smiled and helped the others up as well.
‘So this is…’
He slowly looked around.
The Neutral Zone.
Neither necromancer territory nor priest territory, a land of complete neutrality and freedom, and also an infamous lawless zone known for its terrible public safety.
The sun beat down fiercely from the sky, and strange houses made of packed earth filled the surroundings. The ground was ochre-colored, and the humid weather made the hot wind feel heavier.
“L-Look over there! The sea’s pitch black!”
Kamibarez pointed toward the edge of the city where the sea could be seen.
It was the nearby sea known as the Black Sea. The sea monsters in this area were said to be on a whole other level.
‘It really does feel like we’ve stepped into another world.’
Simon’s heart was already racing.
It was a bit nerve-racking to be suddenly dropped into such an unfamiliar and unique place, but at least the people beside him were the same as always. That was comforting.
“Ahhh~ But it does feel good to breathe in fresh air again!”
Apparently, Dick felt the same. He inhaled deeply and spoke.
“Being stuck in Keyzen all the time gets suffocating. You gotta get some fresh air from time to time to feel human again! Hehe.”
“Keep it down, idiot!”
Maelyn raised her index finger to her lips. Several locals had started murmuring and watching the sudden appearance of these boys and girls.
The four quickly pulled down their hoods and moved away, heading into a quiet alley behind a building.
“Let’s open the letter the operator gave us first.”
“Yeah, good idea.”
Maelyn pulled out the letter from her chest, and the other three gathered around her.
“Alright, I’m opening it.”
She spoke solemnly, and the three nodded. She slowly broke the seal of the envelope.
Crackle!
It seemed to be enchanted with black magic, black sparks crackled and popped as she opened it.
With a serious face, Maelyn unfolded the letter.
“...W-What is this?!”
Superb.
When are we getting more free chapters?
Thanks for the new chapters