Chapter 488
Washburn Mountain Summit, the Demon King’s Castle.
Originally, this place had been the retreat of Legion Commander Magnus, as well as the headquarters of the 5th Legion.
But now—there wasn’t a trace of that left.
It was nothing more than an empty, hollow castle.
“Good grief.”
A middle-aged man surveyed the empty castle.
He wore a feathered cloak draped over his shoulders, scratching his forehead with a frown. He was a necromancer belonging to Keyzen’s ‘Crows’.
“So he left long ago.”
An unexpected situation.
For necromancers familiar with Magnus’ disposition, the fact that he had abandoned his castle and fled was shocking.
The man shook his feathered cloak as he scanned his surroundings.
The place was silent, spotless. Even belongings had been completely cleared out, relocated elsewhere. The only things that remained were a throne without its master—and this sulfur-reeking hot spring.
The man spoke.
“Search all the lower floors.”
“Yes, Milord!”
The agents waiting behind him bowed their heads.
“By any means necessary, extract some clues.”
“Understood!”
The agents blurred like afterimages as they descended to the lower levels.
Left alone, the Crow necromancer walked forward until he reached the sulfurous spring.
White steam billowed upward, carrying a stench like rotting eggshells. Kneeling on one knee, he touched the hot spring water with his fingertips before pulling away.
“A disgusting hobby.”
He muttered.
“Yes, yes. Exactly. Absolutely revolting~”
Footsteps echoed from the staircase behind.
“After all the effort we went through to drive him here, how did he know to flee in advance?”
Another young man draped in a Crow cloak strolled in, both hands shoved in his pockets, swaggering with a crooked gait.
His hair stuck out like grotesque leaves of some plant, and he chewed on a strange twig he had picked up from the roadside.
“You’re here.”
“Ha—wasn’t it obvious I’d come, Senior~?”
He stopped, smirking, his lips curling upward.
“There’s a leak inside the Crows.”
“……”
“You know—the Necromancer ‘Needle’? Wasn’t Evangelos one of Magnus’ collaborators too? If that’s true, then there could be more spies within the Crows!”
Grinning, he spread his arms wide as he walked about.
“That traitorous senior tried to join Magnus in wrecking Pentamonium during their symposium, didn’t he? But then he got caught and—boom! His brain went splat~ Kyahahaha!”
“……”
“Oh, right! My bad. Weren’t you and Evangelos classmates back in the Keyzen days? Special Admissions No. 3 and No. 2, if I remember right?”
“Cut the nonsense and focus on the mission.”
The senior necromancer turned away, moving on.
“Man, you’re stiff! You already know there’s nothing here to find~”
The younger necromancer bit down hard on the twig.
Crunch!
Craack!
Crunch!
At once, bite marks began appearing across the castle walls and pillars—as though unseen teeth had gnawed through the solid stone.
“My teeth are grinding. Grinding. That trickster of a Legion Commander—I’ll catch him no matter what, Senior.”
Craaaaack!
Deep fang-like gouges marred the wall.
“But just imagine—if there really is a spy inside the Crows, sneaking information to Magnus like this…”
Snap!
The twig in his mouth snapped. He spat the broken piece onto the floor and hissed coldly.
“I’ll chew that bastard to bits, not leaving a single scrap of flesh.”
“Enough.”
The senior snapped his eyes open wide, glaring. The junior only shrugged.
“Yes sir, yes sir. You’re my senior, I’ll play nice.”
Turning his back, he swaggered off with that crooked gait again.
“Ahhh~ If only my buddy Bahil were here. This kind of investigation would be a piece of cake! What’s he doing wasting time as a professor? Babysitting students? Come back to the field and play with me, damn it!”
Kihahahaha!
Cackling bizarrely, he descended to the lower floors. The senior Crow necromancer sighed as he watched him go.
‘Why is every cadet from that class missing a screw?’
“Reporting in!”
At that moment, a necromancer agent rushed up and bowed.
“We scoured the underground floors, but found nothing of significance. Except… this.”
The agent, wearing gloves, presented an item. The necromancer also pulled on gloves before taking it.
“A strand of hair.”
White hair.
But unevenly cut, jagged at the ends.
“Magnus was said to have a lean build, white hair, and locks down to his waist. He must have cut it off in preparation for his life in hiding.”
“That was my thought as well.”
Yet for taking over Magnus’ headquarters, the find felt meager.
“Any word from them?”
“None.”
“…I see. Send the hair to headquarters. Once reinforcements arrive, comb the place thoroughly for hidden escape routes.”
“Yes, Milord!”
The agents dispersed.
The Crow necromancer slowly walked over and traced the fang marks carved into the wall with his fingertips.
* * *
Dresden Royal Library
This library, occupying an entire building within the royal palace itself, was a renowned landmark of the continent.
The kings of the Dresden Kingdom were famous bibliophiles, having collected priceless tomes throughout their reigns.
The kingdom prided itself on the library so much that they often boasted its archives rivaled those of Pentamonium.
Naturally, the vast collection of rare and significant records was not accessible to the public. Entry was strictly controlled.
And it was here—
“Sarah. Good morning.”
“Yes.”
A woman, clad in a sharp suit and wearing black sunglasses, entered the Royal Library for work.
Moving with practiced ease, she passed by guards and magical detectors.
‘Hmph, such detection spells are child’s play for me.’
Sliding her sunglasses down slightly, her blue eyes flashed crimson for an instant before returning to normal.
This woman’s true identity—
The General of the 7th Legion, Erzebet.
Under Simon’s orders, she had infiltrated the library, posing as a staff member on leave by stealing the personal details and schedule of a royal librarian.
‘Since I’ve got a date with my Legion Commander later, let’s get this done quickly~’
Her mission was simple.
To uncover information about the mysterious group that had captured and studied Kal, the Claw of Plague—once an Ancient Undead under Richard.
Her only lead was the strange documents salvaged from Kal’s dungeon, written in an unknown language.
The key lay in deciphering that script.
Thus, Erzebet gathered old tomes on lost languages, settling into a secluded corner and spreading them out. She compared them carefully against the characters inscribed in Kal’s book.
‘Not this one… nor that one…’
While Erzebet was poring over the books—
“Sarah!”
A man who seemed to be the superior of “Sarah”, Erzebet’s assumed identity, suddenly poked his head out.
“You’re on leave, so what are you doing here?”
Erzebet was startled inwardly, but she answered with a natural, carefree tone.
“Ah, well. Once I was at home, I realized I had nothing to do. You know that feeling, right? Legally slacking off and goofing around while everyone else is working! Nothing is more refreshing than that!”
“Hmm, is that so?”
The bald man scratched his head.
“You’ve got a quirkier side than I thought. When I’m on vacation, I don’t even want to glance at work.”
“Sure, I don’t want to look at work either—but I love books. I thought I’d take this chance to read as much as I like.”
“Alright, do as you wish.”
He waved a hand and left.
Erzebet let out a sigh of relief inside—when suddenly, his head popped back in.
“Oh, by the way! I know you’re on leave, really sorry, but could you look at something for me? Just five minutes. Really, just five minutes!”
Yes. That was the real reason from the start.
Erzebet rose with a pleasant smile. Refusing might only make things troublesome.
‘Humans… always struggling so hard to get by.’
She had prepared for this—before transforming, she had studied Sarah’s duties as well.
Erzebet gathered only the book she’d brought from Kal’s dungeon and followed her superior.
“?”
At that moment, her eyes narrowed.
The Royal Library was connected directly to the royal palace. Among the people entering the palace, one figure stood out.
A woman whose face was veiled in shadow.
As a legion spy well-versed in concealment techniques, Erzebet immediately recognized it.
That was an advanced stealth art. Nobody else around seemed to notice anything unusual.
‘Who is that? And why would someone suspicious like her enter the palace?’
“You there, what are you staring at?”
Her superior turned back to ask. Erzebet quickly masked her thoughts and smiled.
“N-Nothing, I’m coming!”
* * *
Dresden Royal Palace, Secret Reception Room
The woman with the shaded face sat sipping tea.
Across from her, an elderly man spoke.
“How goes the research?”
“So-so.”
She shrugged. The veil of shadow over her face shifted, stretching or shrinking depending on the sunlight.
“But lately… the pests in my fiefdom are trying to draw in outsiders. Annoying. Even if I report it to the Grand Lord, he won’t listen. So they might try going directly to the Kingdom or the Dark Alliance.”
“I’ll take care of that matter.”
The old man laced his fingers together.
“But why come in person to the palace, when a letter would suffice? I thought you were busy with experiments.”
“One of the arrangements His Excellency made.”
She extended her hand.
“It’s in this palace, isn’t it?”
“Yes.”
“His Excellency ordered me to prepare it. I wanted to check its condition as well.”
The elderly man nodded solemnly.
“Follow me.”
* * *
Back at Keyzen
Simon was living through chaotic days.
In particular, the general subject of Imperial Studies was taught among the third years. It covered not only leadership for governing fiefdoms, but also management, military affairs, law, geography, diplomacy, administration, etiquette, and composition.
There was a mountain of things to learn.
“Simon Follentia. Right now, this is not Baldwin etiquette, but that of the Dresden Kingdom. Your fork placement is incorrect.”
“Ah—my apologies, Professor.”
Simon had been proud of the etiquette he learned meticulously from his father, Richard. But once he actually sat through Imperial Studies, he realized how much more there was.
For a “general subject”, it was gruelingly strict.
After having his mind thoroughly wrung out, Simon found some relief in the afternoon with Jane’s Darkness Dynamics lecture.
“Simon~”
“You’re here?”
By now, the Student Council members could understand each other with just a glance, greeting him warmly.
Plenty of his classmates from Class A were in this lecture as well. Having familiar faces all around was a comforting joy.
And as expected from Jane, the class content was profoundly useful.
But then came Bahil’s Katarology.
“Simon Follentia! Please come to the podium!”
Bahil dragged him up to the stage, putting him through one task after another. Simon broke into a cold sweat as he scribbled out curse equations under the watchful eyes of students from other departments.
It was attention he found somewhat overwhelming.
“So the Drain Formula can be interpreted like this too!”
Bahil even praised Simon’s mistakes as creative, pointing out unexpected interpretations that Simon himself hadn’t considered.
Simon felt his face burn red with embarrassment.
“Welcome back—Bahil’s boy, Simon.”
As soon as he sat back down, Dick snickered and teased him. Simon glared, while Kamibarez and Maelyn fought to suppress their laughter.
And then came the last class.
Hongpeng’s Magical Combat.
Once again, they climbed up the mountain by dangling from hippos.
“Students! I regret to say that after a vacation of eating, sleeping, and playing, your physical condition has clearly deteriorated!”
She clapped her hands together with a bright smile.
“So we’ll restore your stamina back to the proper standard first!!”
That was the moment he should have run away.
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