Chapter 466
"How have you been, Arthur?"
Arthur’s pupils widened with emotion at the sight of Simon’s face.
"Simon!!"
He rushed forward and hugged Simon tightly. Simon felt a sudden pressure that made it hard to breathe for a moment.
"I missed you! I can’t believe we meet this soon! I was so upset I couldn’t say a proper goodbye in Pharonna peninsula!"
"W-wait!"
Simon let out a wry laugh.
"Calm down, Arthur."
Only then did Arthur release Simon and take a step back. He wasn’t particularly big, but in strength and stamina, he was like a gorilla.
"Let’s sort out this situation first before talking."
Simon looked around.
Gang members scattered everywhere, and some were pinned against the wall by Simon’s bone armor, struggling. Among them, two were asleep by Simon’s Sleep.
Simon opened his mouth.
"I’m going to ask you all a few questions now."
He walked toward the gang members pinned against the wall and opened an extra-dimensional space.
"You’ve heard rumors about necromancers, right? If you don’t give satisfactory answers, I’ll leave you in a state where you can never truly die."
From within, zombies poured out with a “Uooooo” sound, drooling liquid from their mouths. The gang members’ faces turned pale.
"Y-you bastard!"
One of the gang members shouted.
"Try it! What kind of punishment does a necromancer get for recklessly touching civilians...!"
Simon, expressionless, slightly removed his robe to reveal a black uniform underneath. The Keyzen emblem visible on his chest made their expressions even grimmer.
A Keyzen-affiliated necromancer.
Even first-year students held investigative authority within the Dark Alliance.
"First question."
Simon adjusted his robe and continued.
"State your affiliation."
"......."
They desperately avoided Simon’s gaze and clenched their mouths shut. Simon sighed deeply.
"I didn’t want to see blood from the first question."
As soon as he finished speaking, the zombies opened their mouths wide and began approaching.
"No, Simon! Stop!"
Arthur grabbed Simon, panic-stricken.
"No matter if you’re Keyzen, you can’t kill people!!"
‘You’re really something.’
Simon glared sharply at Arthur.
Of course, it was an act. How could you fool the enemy if you’re fooled first?
But an unexpected event occurred.
Arthur’s desperate attempt to stop Simon only heightened the gang members’ fear. Believing he truly intended to kill, they all trembled and twisted their limbs convulsively.
These people are really terrified.
"Let go, Arthur."
Simon decided to use Arthur’s actions to his advantage.
"I’ll just make an example of a few of them."
Arthur panicked and tried to stop him, while the zombies drooled and approached the gang members’ faces.
"What’s he doing!!"
Someone screamed, unable to bear it any longer.
‘That guy?’
Simon’s eyes gleamed sharply.
"Hurry up!!"
"We’re really going to die here!"
Simon glanced around, checking for other companions, but there were no other presences.
‘Hmm?’
Then Simon noticed something dark and shiny beneath the shirt of one unconscious gang member. He quickly approached and lifted the shirt, revealing a vivid magic circle drawn on his body.
Ssssss――
And then.
The man’s body scattered and vanished like dust.
‘What?’
Ssssss――
Ssssss――
The same happened to the other gang members. Their bodies all scattered like grains of sand and disappeared.
‘Damn it!’
Simon pulled a black feather from his pocket and quickly placed it inside the clothes of the last gang member still disappearing under the slip.
That gang member, too, vanished along with the feather, leaving all the gang members gone from the scene.
"W-what just happened?"
Arthur looked around, bewildered. Simon dusted off his hands and said:
"Looks like there was a necromancer on their side too."
The magic circles on these gang members’ abdomens were ‘permanent magic circles’.
To implant a permanent magic circle in ordinary humans with no cores—each use probably halves their lifespan.
‘What was their goal?’
They weren’t simple robbers.
Dozens of suicide commandos.
And what they gained in exchange for half their lifespan was merely a technique to disappear without being caught.
"Arthur. Do you have any idea why these people targeted you?"
Arthur, dazed, quickly snapped back to reality and answered.
"N-no. I just followed them because they said they were guides hired by my companions."
"......You really."
Simon smiled faintly.
"But Simon! Did you really turn them into undead?"
"Of course not, it was an act."
"It was an act? Wow! So you only scared them to get information! I totally fell for it!"
Simon scratched the back of his neck.
‘If you actually come to Keyzen, you’ll have quite a hard time.’
* * *
The two of them walked together, chatting about recent events. Arthur had arrived in Langerstine yesterday and got lost wandering around all day.
Fortunately, he had a note with the address.
"It’s close from here. I’ll take you."
Arthur beamed at this.
"Phew, you saved me! Langerstine’s streets are too complicated; I have no idea where to go!"
"I also had a hard time when I was a first-year."
The two walked side by side, exchanging conversation.
"What brings you to Langerstine, Simon?"
"Just some school business."
"Oh, right!"
Arthur nodded politely.
"Sorry! I’ll adjust how I address you again, Simon senior!"
"Huh?"
"I’ll actually be entering Keyzen tomorrow! Haha!"
As expected, Arthur was a Keyzen freshman.
At this time, any lost external boys and girls in Langerstine were likely all Keyzen entrants.
But then.
"Why are you acting like that?"
"Ah."
Simon, feeling a soft, fluttering emotion, cleared his throat awkwardly.
It was the first time he’d been called ‘senior’ in person, and it made him a bit excited.
"Just surprised."
"Hahaha! You were shocked, right? Also, I’m entering as a special admission student!"
That made sense, he was the current Mercenary King.
From what Simon saw in Pharonna, he had extensive combat experience and great talent.
Undoubtedly the top candidate for special admission.
"Actually, I’m also a special admission student. Entered as the first special admission."
"Oh! What a coincidence!"
A first-year Keyzen freshman, clueless about the world.
Simon felt his own self from a year ago reflected in Arthur.
It made him feel even more attached.
The more he talked with him, the more he sank into memories.
"Have you bought your textbooks?"
"No! I plan to go to the bookstore today."
Simon cleared his throat awkwardly and said:
"I’m going to the bookstore today too. If it’s okay with you, I can show you the way..."
"Ah, sorry senior!"
Arthur smiled brightly.
"I’m going with my mercenary companions!"
Simon broke out in sweat.
"Ah, I see. Then I guess there’s nothing I can do."
"Uh, hey!"
In the distance, Arthur’s companions came into view.
Their attire clearly identified them as mercenaries.
"Arthur!!"
They ran over in a group, scolding him for being late and worrying them so much.
Simon watched them from a short distance. He could see how much they cared for Arthur.
"Thank you for bringing Arthur back safely."
One of the female mercenaries stepped forward to greet him.
"No, I just did what I had to do."
Simon raised his hand toward Arthur.
"Then, see you on the ship to Keyzen tomorrow, Arthur."
"Yes! Simon senior!"
Simon, having escorted Arthur back to his companions, wandered the streets of Langestin in his robe, walking at a leisurely pace.
Today was a day off.
He could do whatever he wanted.
And since he was, after all, a Keyzen student, he could spot students who looked like Keyzen freshmen here and there.
He itched to correct the occasional distorted rumor, wondering which subjects they planned to take or whether they could meet professors they admired, but he refrained, not wanting to be treated as a strange person.
He arrived at the bookstore.
Only certain bookstores carried Keyzen textbooks. This one, unsurprisingly, was packed with kids who appeared to be Keyzen freshmen.
“Brings back memories.”
Boys and girls from all over the continent. They were all selecting books according to the textbook list enclosed in the envelope containing their Keyzen admission certificates.
"Toxicology? The subject name is funny!"
"Ugh, look at the illustration. The skeleton looks scary."
"I don’t think I can touch it~"
Simon wandered among them, continuously wearing a satisfied smile.
‘Cute.’
Thinking of all of them as his juniors made them look unbearably adorable. Like little chicks, unfamiliar with subjects or professors. They picked up books and clutched them in their arms before scurrying off to the counter.
Many of the kids had already made friends at the bookstore, greeting each other with “You’re a freshman too, right?” and quickly becoming close.
‘Hmm, enough watching. I should get to my own business.’
The second-year textbooks were located a bit deeper inside the store from the entrance. Simon leisurely walked over and picked up the textbooks he needed.
“Intermediate Major Summoning. Checked the author’s name as well.”
He decided to buy all three major textbooks here.
As for general courses, since he wasn’t sure how registration would go, he had no choice but to purchase them in Rochest.
Simon carried the textbooks at his waist and headed for the counter.
“Ugh! Uh!”
He noticed a girl struggling on tiptoe, straining to reach a book on the top shelf.
Simon immediately realized she was a freshman and approached her.
“Need some help?”
The girl glanced at Simon briefly and returned to her task.
“It’s fine.”
Although she said that, she was sweating on her forehead and struggling, and the shaking bookshelf made it look like the books above could fall and injure her.
Simon walked over slowly, pulled the book she wanted from the shelf, placed it lightly on the pile, and then walked to the counter as if he had seen nothing.
“...Thank you.”
He heard the words of gratitude.
Turning around, he saw the girl looking embarrassed, her lips pursed as she thanked him. Simon fully turned back and smiled.
“No problem.”
“Hmm—”
She stepped up to Simon, her footsteps deliberate.
“Hey, you’re a freshman too, right?”
“I’m second-year.”
“Hahaha! Don’t lie!”
She laughed cheerfully and lightly tapped Simon’s arm.
“I could tell just by looking that we’re the same age!”
Of course. Being only a year apart, second-year and first-year were indeed peers.
“Ah~ looking forward to the entrance ceremony, right?”
However, she had already assumed Simon was a freshman on her own.
“Aren’t you looking forward to it?”
“Of course I am.”
‘Because that entrance ceremony had been planned by me and my friends.’
“I still can’t believe I’m at Keyzen!”
She started chattering away without giving Simon a chance to speak.
“I came from far away, from the Erun estate of the Kingdom of Carlos! Where are you from?”
“Leshill, in the Kingdom of Baldwin.”
“Leshill? Never heard of it. Anyway, nice to meet you! My name is Heidi Ferris.”
She extended her hand. Simon hesitated briefly, then shook it.
“Simon Follentia.”
“Huh? I’ve heard that name somewhere.”
She shook his hand vigorously, then scanned his face with a grin.
“Hehe, first time shaking a girl’s hand?”
“Oh, no. Not really…”
“Eeeh~ sure, sure.”
Heidi was a playful girl. As she chattered while walking, she noticed the shiny red emblem visible beneath Simon’s robe.
“Pretty! What’s this?”
Simon answered plainly.
“Keyzen second-year symbol.”
“Ah, really! Don’t lie!”
“…It’s real.”
She burst into a loud, gleeful laugh.
“You? Such a naive kid being a second-year? Wanting me to speak politely to you? Thinking I’d fall for whatever excuse you made up?”
“No, it’s not like that…”
“Second-years are already in, what’s it called? Ruku? No, Roke Isle! You thought I wouldn’t know?”
“It’s Roke Island. And I just stopped by for the freshmen…”
Kekekekeke!
Now she was laughing so hard she was clutching her stomach.
“Ah, really! What’s your whole concept? So funny! Don’t you think even your own excuse makes no sense?”
Well, it was understandable she didn’t believe him. Student guidance was normally handled by professors, not second-years.
Simon didn’t bother insisting further.
‘She’ll believe me when she sees me on the ship tomorrow.’
With that, he finished calculating the textbooks.
He had wanted to show Heidi buying the second-year textbooks, but so many freshmen had crowded the counter that she ended up checking out at a nearby counter guided by a clerk.
“Anyway, it was nice meeting you, yeah.”
Outside the bookstore, Heidi spoke.
“See me at school and pretend you know me.”
“Got it.”
“Well, my mom’s waiting at the dorm. I’ll go first!”
Heidi waved and ran into the alley. Simon waved back in return.
“See you tomorrow, Heidi.”
“Yeah!”
* * *
The shabby, narrow alleys characteristic of Langerstine.
Heidi, exiting the bookstore with a textbook hugged to her chest, walked confidently.
“Ah, Simon’s really funny.”
She still felt the lingering impression of the friend she had just met in Langerstine.
“On the other hand, I’m worried~ How can such a clumsy, naive kid survive at Keyzen? Should I help a bit?”
Clack.
She heard something drop nearby. She turned her head toward the sound, then continued walking.
“Must be a lot of rats. Ugh, hate big cities.”
She kept walking.
Clack.
Tap-tap.
Thud.
But the strange footsteps continued around her.
Too loud to be rats.
‘…Not rats?’
Even so, it was a foreign area, and a creeping fear made her pace gradually quicken.
Tat.
Tatatatata-dat!
Before she knew it, she was running at full speed through the alleys.
After passing through a maze-like alley, she saw the open boulevard in the distance, where carriages passed by.
‘Made it! Almost…!’
Snatch!
At that moment, her vision was blocked. Simultaneously, something coarse covered her mouth and nose.
“Ugh! Ugh!”
She struggled violently, but her consciousness began to fade, and she eventually lost awareness.
Around her were people in robes, gathered in abundance.
Sssssssss—
Soon, their bodies crumbled and vanished like dust.
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