Chapter 581
That night.
Simon, Loraine, Toto, and Eshu were skiing down the snowy field on wooden skis.
“Kyahahahah! This is so fun! This is what a training camp is all about! Breaking the rules is the real thrill!”
Eshu shouted at the top of her lungs, drunk on freedom. Up above, her Curse Dolls flew around, brightly illuminating the area.
Thanks to Eshu’s ability, they had no trouble seeing their surroundings, but with snow whirling everywhere and the slope being steep, it was still perilously dangerous.
“Uwaaah! Uwaaaagh!”
Toto’s legs wobbled dangerously on his skis.
“Skiing at this hour?! I’m gonna die!”
“Oh, quit whining! Just follow along behind me.”
Eshu cheered energetically. Simon glanced at her with a worried look.
“That village—are you sure it really exists?”
“Of course! I heard it directly from the teaching assistant. They said tonight’s dinner ingredients were bought from that village! Just trust me!”
Eshu always answered one question with five replies.
Even in the chaos, Loraine was showing off remarkable skiing skill. While keeping an eye on the beginner Toto, she skillfully dodged trees with sharp turns just before they could collide.
Her black hair streaming behind her as she glided freely over the pure white snowfield left a deep impression.
“As expected, you’re amazing, Lady Loraine!”
Eshu wagged her “tail” in flattery.
“Are you sure this is your first time skiing?”
“I usually learn fast when it comes to physical things.”
Loraine answered casually. Eshu nodded and then cast a sly glance toward Simon.
“And the mountain boy who keeps sneaking glances from the side should put in some more effort, hm?”
Simon forced an awkward smile.
Back in Leshill, when it snowed, people did ski, but since it wasn’t a region with heavy snow, he wasn’t very practiced.
“Loraine’s just too good at this.”
“Fine, I’ll let you off with that excuse.”
“Uwahk!”
At last, an accident happened. Toto lost control, his skis flew off, and he face-planted into the snow. The team members all stopped immediately.
“Toto! Are you okay?!”
Simon shouted in alarm.
“Y-Yeah, I’m okay!”
With a poof! Toto’s face popped up from the snow, red and dazed.
“Ahahaha! Toto, that face is priceless!”
Eshu cackled loudly. The Curse Dolls, which had been lighting the area, echoed her laughter like a chorus.
Groaning, Toto struggled to get up. Loraine raised a wave of Darkness beneath her skis to glide back uphill and extended her hand to help him up.
“Th-thank y—! I mean, thanks!”
Toto still couldn’t hide his fear of her.
“Are you hurt anywhere?”
“N-No!”
Simon pointed at Toto’s knee.
“Wait, your knee looks hurt.”
He must have hit a rock or tree hard when he fell.
Though Toto insisted he was fine, he limped slightly, clearly unable to ski anymore.
“I’ll carry him.”
At Simon’s words, Loraine shook her head.
“No, Simon. You’re barely stable yourself—it’s too risky. I’ll take him.”
“And how do you plan to do that?”
Soon after—
Shhhhhhhhhhh!
Three skis glided down the snowy slope.
And Toto…
“……”
…was cradled snugly in Loraine’s arms. Curled up like a baby koala, his face burned bright red with embarrassment and shame.
“I-I can just go on my own feet!”
“No need to be polite.”
Loraine smiled. How could Toto dare argue against the daughter of Neftis? He squeezed his eyes shut instead.
“Fufufu! Ufufufu!”
Eshu still hadn’t run out of laughter. She launched into one of her favorite impressions, pretending to be a reporter.
“There has never been such luxury! Being carried in the arms of Lady Neftis’ daughter, the next head of Keyzen! How does it feel, dear Death Knight boy, to be seated in first class?!”
“Stop iiiit!”
Everyone chuckled quietly. Then Eshu suddenly gasped.
“Ah! Just as I said! There it is!”
And sure enough, a village lay ahead.
“……”
“……”
When Team 10 finally reached the place, they fell silent.
It was a village, but an abandoned ruin with no one living in it.
“Eshu.”
Simon narrowed his eyes as he looked at her. Their gazes met, and she squeaked in fright.
“W-What?! Don’t look at me so scary like that! You’re making me flinch!”
“I’d like a proper explanation this time.”
Loraine also turned to Eshu with a smile.
“If we just end up with Toto injured and go back empty-handed, I think I’ll be a little upset.”
Though her face was smiling, Eshu found this much scarier.
Sweating bullets, she bent forward sharply and shouted,
“I was wrong!”
Then she tried to explain herself in a rush.
“B-but please listen to me! I swear the teaching assistant really said there was a village here! Nobody would joke about something like this when students are out looking for food!”
Simon stroked his chin.
“Then maybe we came to the wrong place?”
“Probably! Captain, they said it was an hour away. Hasn’t it only been thirty minutes? It’s too soon to have arrived already!”
Simon sighed and turned to the crouching Toto.
He didn’t look well.
“Since we’re here anyway, let’s treat that injury before we move on.”
Simon pulled out his bag from subspace, taking out bandages and a few potions.
“Toto, can you stretch your leg?”
“Y-Yeah.”
When Simon rolled up Toto’s trouser leg, the area below the knee was badly swollen.
‘Which potion should I use…’
Simon sorted through the potions he’d brewed during Toxicology classes, looking for something with healing properties. Then a sweet scent reached his nose.
Turning, Simon flinched.
“L-Loraine?”
She was suddenly very close, crouched beside him, watching his treatment with bright eyes.
“What’s wrong?”
“N-Nothing. Go on.”
As Simon dabbed potion onto gauze, Loraine’s expression turned serious.
‘Back then…’
She recalled the Tarados Dispatch Evaluation, when Simon had displayed strange healing ability.
His client at the time had been cursed by the Executioners, with organs damaged beyond saving. She had assumed he was doomed.
But…
—I did something.
After Simon intervened, the man’s breathing stabilized and his complexion recovered drastically.
He had saved someone on the brink of death. Such a feat should have been impossible with any potion learned in Toxicology class.
‘How did he heal him?’
Intrigued, Loraine had later entered that tent herself.
She had felt a tingling in the air.
Faint, but real—her Darkness reacted as if something opposed it.
‘Could Simon… No, that’s impossible.’
Darkness and Holiness are opposite forces. No one could wield both at once. If someone tried, their body would literally explode.
And above all, Simon was a Legion Commander—the very last person to ever use Holiness.
Shhhk—
While Loraine wrestled with the thought, Simon finished treating Toto’s wound.
It was perfectly ordinary—he simply applied a healing potion, some pain relief, and wrapped it with bandages.
“All done.”
“Thanks, Simon.”
Toto touched his leg in surprise.
“Wow, it really does feel better!”
“Still, this is just temporary. Be sure to see the medical professor when we’re back at base.”
But Loraine continued staring at Simon. Feeling her gaze burn on the back of his head, he gave an awkward smile.
“What?”
“…Nothing.”
She quickly turned away.
“Now then, let’s decide what to do next.”
Simon looked around at his teammates and asked,
“Should we head back like this? Or should we go down a bit further?”
“Maybe let’s rest for a bit firs—”
“Kyaaaaaaaaah!”
Suddenly, Eshu screamed and threw herself into Loraine’s arms.
“What’s wrong, Eshu?”
“D-d-d-didn’t you all hear it?”
Her tearful face was twisted with fear as she shouted,
“I heard something strange from that village!”
“Don’t joke around.”
Simon shook his head firmly. Loraine added a word as well.
“You must’ve misheard. There’s nothing in that ruin.”
“I really heard it! I swear!”
Eshu shrieked.
“A woman crying!”
“…!”
All four of them immediately fell silent, focusing on the sounds around them.
The wind shaking the trees. An owl hooting faintly in the distance.
And then—
—Uhhuhuhuhh…
The sound of a woman weeping was unmistakable.
Simon flinched, and Toto let out a sharp scream as he clung to Simon’s arm.
—Save me. Save me…
A suffocating terror pressed down on them.
Their pupils quivered, but no one could speak.
“…Hmph.”
The only one who could still move was Loraine. Standing up, she brushed back her hair and said,
“I’ll go check.”
“W-What do you mean check?! Let’s just run away!”
Eshu cried, her voice breaking.
“This place is creepy! I hate this feeling! It has to be haunted!”
Loraine shook her head.
“There’s no such thing as ghosts. Whatever it was, it clearly said ‘save me’. It might be a distress call—we can’t just ignore it.”
“Who would send a distress call from inside an abandoned house?!”
“Maybe a stranded person took shelter here from the snow.”
—Save me. Save me…
“Hiiiiek!”
Now both Eshu and Toto clung to each other, trembling.
Watching them quietly, Loraine turned back.
“I’ll go check. You all wait here.”
“Hold on.”
Someone rose to their feet with a rustle.
“…I can’t let you go alone. I’ll come too.”
It was Simon.
Simon and Loraine each carried a lantern as they stepped into the ruin.
Creak—creeaaak…
The broken door swayed, groaning. Simon, hypersensitive to every sound, swallowed hard as he walked.
“This is strange.”
Loraine muttered as she lit the area with her lantern.
“W-What is?”
“We deal with undead for a living, right? Ghosts are just another kind of undead. For a necromancer to be afraid of ghosts—it’s kind of odd, isn’t it?”
As she said this, she stopped and turned.
The lantern in Simon’s hand was rattling like a thresher. Loraine narrowed her eyes.
“…Are you afraid of ghosts?”
Flinch.
Simon froze stiff like a wooden puppet.
“Ha-ha… of course not.”
“Your legs are shaking.”
“That’s just because they’re sore from skiing earlier.”
“Hmm.”
Loraine turned away sharply and walked ahead.
“So even the mighty Legion Commander, who commands tens of thousands of undeads, can be scared of ghosts.”
“I said I’m not!”
Simon’s face turned red as he barked back.
At last, a mischievous smile appeared on Loraine’s lips.
“I’m teasing you. Just trying to help you relax.”
“Grr…”
—Uhhuhuhhh…
Again, the sorrowful weeping of a woman drifted on the wind. Simon went rigid once more.
—Save me. Save me…
Loraine pricked up her ears.
“That way. Let’s go.”
“Wait! Let me at least prepare myself mentally—!”
“Hurry. What if it’s an injured person?”
Loraine tugged on Simon’s sleeve, urging him forward. With his eyes squeezed shut, Simon followed.
Step step.
They reached the source of the crying.
It was a half-collapsed ruin. Windows shattered, cobwebs covering everything.
‘Ugh.’
A chilling sensation crawled up Simon’s nape. He wanted nothing more than to avoid going inside. He’d rather fight the Blood Heaven Cult or the Executioners a hundred times over.
“Is anyone there?”
Loraine called out casually through the broken window.
No reply—only that eerie sobbing.
“This is the place. Let’s go in.”
She grabbed the door and shook it. It was jammed, but with Darkness gathered in her arm, she yanked it open in one pull.
Bang—!
She tossed the shattered door aside and stepped in with her lantern raised.
“Be careful, Loraine!”
Simon hurried after her.
—Uhhuhhh…
The interior was a wreck.
Torn curtains, smashed furniture, and dried bloodstains on the floor. It wasn’t just a ruin—it looked like a murder scene.
They passed the living room and entered a back room.
—Save me. Save me…
At last, they found the source of the voice.
‘…!!’
Simon froze, his throat tightening.
In the pale moonlight filtering through torn curtains, a little girl in ragged clothes sat with her face buried in her knees, weeping.
—Uhhuhhh…
Goosebumps ran all over Simon’s skin.
Why was there a child here, alone, in a place like this? No matter how he looked at it, it wasn’t normal.
“Leave it to me.”
With bold steps, Loraine moved toward the girl.
Superb.
When are we getting more free chapters?
Thanks for the new chapters