Chapter 714
"What?"
Hearing Simon’s words, Maelyn jumped up in shock.
"So you’re saying the Chaos Dullahan was a fake from the start?"
"Then what’s the new technique, Simon?"
Receiving the gazes of Maelyn and Kamibarez, Simon gave a sheepish smile.
"I’ll have to figure that out from now on."
"?"
The emotions on Maelyn’s face shifted from 'surprise' to 'dumbfounded'.
"What is that! In the end, it means you don’t have any countermeasures at all!"
Even Kamibarez tilted her head as if wondering if this was right. Meanwhile, Dick was roaring with laughter beside them.
"As expected of my best friend! So your plan is to just trick the third-years first, right?"
"I do have a plan."
Simon also grinned as he stepped into the student council building.
"Just wait. I’ll show you something interesting soon."
* * *
That night, Simon moved.
His first destination was the rooftop of the student council building. There, crouched with both soles planted firmly on the ground, a man was gazing up at the moonlit night.
The wind blew through his gray hair, and the scar across his eye stood out all the more.
"You came."
"Hello, Kajan."
Simon sat beside him with a broad smile. Kajan let out a deep sigh, then reached into his chest pocket. Soon, between his index and middle fingers, a slip of paper was flicked toward Simon.
"I’ve investigated both the official and unofficial auctions for ancient-species Drakes."
"Thank you! As expected, the information of the Thieves’ Guild is quick."
Simon quickly received the note.
"I heard about your duel evaluation today."
Kajan scratched the scar under his eye as he continued.
"Your recent actions are full of questions. Your purpose is supposed to be winning the duel against Aizel, so why, instead of using the sure card of Chaos Dullahan, are you looking for an ancient-species Drake?"
Simon unfolded the note with a rustle.
"I just don’t think a single card will be enough."
"……"
At those words, a faint smile crept onto Kajan’s lips.
"Is that so."
After meeting Kajan, Simon immediately headed to the Mutant Club room.
There, Benya Vanilla was waiting.
"This is good! A Red Drake, appraisal result shows it’s a 300-year-old specimen! Red Drakes are one of the most fundamental of the ancient species. It can even use Breath. Ah, a Helm Drake is also not bad."
Looking through the auction list Kajan had investigated, Benya picked out the best ones.
Simon eagerly took notes.
"How are you going to use the ancient-species Drake? As a normal summon? Or for restoration or a special ability?"
"If it’s a skeletal type, I’d prefer if restoration was possible. It’s my specialty after all."
"Mm, mm, then we can narrow it down further!"
She tapped her finger on the paper.
"Undead made from this ancient-species Drake can use light draconic speech! They won’t be able to handle complicated commands, but you could expect them to at least make your opponent hesitate."
"That sounds great."
"And here, the Scale Drake. At first glance, its body looks smooth without a single hair, right? But it can form scales with mana to cover itself."
There’s nothing more fun than getting shopping advice. Excited, she kept talking quickly, then carefully asked,
"But can you even handle an ancient-species Drake? It’s a special undead that requires the use of dragon factors."
"I’ve been studying dragon factors lately. Recently, I’ve managed to handle them."
At the words that a second-year could handle dragon factors, Benya’s eyes widened. Still, considering the insane feats Simon had already pulled off, she gave a small nod, though disbelief lingered.
"The price won’t be easy either. Do you have enough budget?"
"I’ll have to figure it out somehow."
Ancient-species Drakes are rare monsters with high archaeological value, on a completely different level from the Drakes found all over the continent.
If a Lich is an outstanding undead in terms of performance, then an ancient-species Drake is a luxury item—collectors drool and wait for them to appear on the market.
Securing one wouldn’t be easy, but ever since Simon had first heard Aron’s explanation of ancient-species Drakes, he had wanted one no matter what.
‘There’s no better summon in the process of leading up to the Bone Dragon. Above all, it matches perfectly with me.’
He still had funds left from the various commissions he’d taken. And now, with the Frost Field he’d obtained, he planned to open a new source of income. A little overspending wouldn’t be a problem.
Simon first chose which ancient-species Drake to bid on, then jotted down the necessary materials for making the undead, as Benya dictated.
"A living Black Yeti’s heart, this one’s going to be really hard to get. Preservation is difficult, and the price is whatever the seller demands, so there’s basically no stock. And also the brain matter of a White-Eyebrowed Lycanthrope…"
Simon quickly took notes in his notebook.
"Can you also tell me the regions where those monsters appear?"
"You’re planning to get them yourself? Black Yetis only appear in the far northernmost continent, and White-Eyebrowed Lycanthropes live in the distant Iroqua Archipelago."
She shook her head.
"With your authority as Student Council President you could request teleportation magic circles from Keyzen, but even for you, it’s impossible to gather such materials in such a short time during this busy period."
"Don’t worry about that."
Having written down all the materials, Simon grinned.
"I’ve got people I can ask."
"?"
* * *
Simon rushed off to his next destination.
Returning to the Summonology dormitory, he secretly climbed to the rooftop, avoiding the building managers. There, an undead crow was waiting.
It wasn’t a bird one would commonly see around here.
"Take this request."
More precisely, it was a bird controlled by Grayson, in northern Carlos.
This bird was the link of communication with the north. Upon hearing Simon’s message, the crow immediately spread its wings and soared into the night sky.
Of course, this undead wouldn’t fly all the way to the north by itself. Before exhausting its Darkness, the crow passed its thoughts to another undead of the same kind.
That bird then flew up, and passed its thoughts to the next bird. Repeating again and again, until Simon’s orders finally crossed northern Carlos and reached Frost Field.
And Frost Field erupted into a frenzy.
—Krrrkkk!
—Kiiiiii!
At the Abyss, the main base of the North Star, every undead of Frost Field gathered. Their numbers were so great the red ground was no longer visible.
[Hear me, all troops!]
Standing on a hill, the North Star, Xairos, spread his arms and declared,
[My great lord and the commander of Frost Field, Legion Commander Simon Follentia, desires the 'living heart of a Black Yeti'!]
—Ooooooooh!
—Kyaaaaah!
All the dead wailed.
To gather a young boy’s school supplies, this many undead troops of Frost Field had now assembled.
[And our lord has added that he requires it as fresh as possible! So, I looked up the dictionary definition of 'fresh' among humans!]
‘Huh?’
From a short distance away, Grayson, watching through the crow, felt uneasy.
[Fresh means 'new and brisk'! And brisk means 'the feeling or atmosphere being refreshing and cool'! Now, do you understand our lord’s hidden meaning?]
The moment a sentence exceeded a single line, there was no way the North Star’s undead could possibly understand it.
[Our entire army will march to Mount Apam, the habitat of the Black Yeti! We shall exterminate every living creature there, and briskly cleanse the mountain!]
—Gggeeeehk!
—Kyaaaahk!
No, that doesn’t sound right.
Grayson’s crow hurriedly spoke through thought, but Xairos’ will did not waver.
[The lord’s command must be fulfilled! All forces, march to Mount Apam…!]
At that moment, his voice warped and shifted.
—[There’s no reason to waste time on such a petty place! With this army, we should instead bring down Bilkenos, that has grown soft with peace… guh-hhk!]
Xairos struck his own face with his fist, silencing the lingering will of the North Star within him, then spoke again.
[Go! Offer your souls, and carry out the command of our lord!]
—Kiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!
Because of one boy’s request for materials, the entire horde of the Frost Field’s dead was thrown into a frenzy, and began their march.
* * *
The southernmost end of the continent, the Iroqua Archipelago.
The Iroqua Archipelago was a demon realm swarming with monsters that had evolved independently. What’s more, since dungeons had opened across the islands and were left in the wild, the monsters spilling out had mixed into the ecosystem, turning the place into an utterly unpredictable land.
And now, here—
Fwooooooosh—!
Dark flying objects were soaring across the sea.
[Hear me, soldiers of the loyal Skullwing Unit.]
Among them, the largest bundle of feathers suddenly raised its head.
[Xairos, who has become the North Star, has joined the Legion. He proclaims himself the greatest loyal vassal of the Legion, both in the past and now, but in the eyes of me, Akemius, that is not the case.]
As this new foreign force appeared in the archipelago, the flying-type monsters of the islands began to swarm up. But Akemius did not slow his march.
[Show true loyalty against this rolling stone! This is also a matter of pride between units, so before Xairos’ forces, we will secure the 'brain matter of the Lycanthrope'! Eliminate anything that stands in the way!]
—Kiiiiiiiiiii!
With a spread of his massive wings, Akemius revealed himself. Behind him, the other Skullwings also unfurled their dark-blue feathers.
[Prove your loyalty!]
The undead swooped down upon the archipelago.
Nearby fishermen later testified that the sky had turned pitch black.
* * *
Pentamonium Auction House, where every item of value across the continent gathered.
Not only tangible objects, but even meals with famous figures, knowledge of every kind, and copyrights to magic circles, anything that could be given a rare value could be bought or sold here.
In this very place, as wealthy noble elders tapped their canes while walking past, a young man in a somewhat neat suit was fumbling with a communication crystal.
"Miss Benya, this will not be easy."
He was an employee of the Vanilla Group, sent by Benya.
"Dr. Gonilla is targeting the ancient-species Drake that’s coming up in this auction. I suggest you aim for one of the other Drakes in the later auctions… Ah, but you still want to bid? Understood."
The employee tucked the crystal away and was about to head toward the auction hall, when the auction’s supervisor blocked his way.
"My apologies, but only VVIPs may enter."
The item Simon wanted was the corpse of the ancient-species Drake known as the 'Scale Drake', said to cast its scales into the sky.
Its value was astronomical, and the level of this auction house was so high that it posed a serious problem. The employee tried to get in under the name of the Vanilla Group, but the supervisor shook his head.
"If it were the chairman of the Vanilla Group himself, that would be acceptable. I’m sorry."
"N-no, this isn’t for the chairman. I’m only—"
"My apologies."
With such a firm refusal, the employee finally turned his back and activated the crystal again.
"I’m sorry, Miss. It’s a top-tier auction for VVIPs only, and with my credentials… Yes, yes. Please also tell Student Simon that I apologize."
"Wait a moment."
Hearing that, the auction supervisor hurriedly stepped closer.
"Did you say Student Simon?"
"Yes."
At last, a smile appeared on the supervisor’s lips.
"You should have said so earlier. If that’s the case, then go right in."
"Excuse me?"
"When Pentamonium’s barrier was breached before, Student Council President Simon gave us great assistance. The order from above is to grant him every convenience while he is active in Pentamonium."
The employee let out a small gasp.
‘As expected, good conduct always pays off.’
* * *
Simon and Benya were holding their breaths, waiting in the Mutant Club room.
Benya rested her chin on her hand, tapping her fingers nervously on the desk, while Simon was repairing his Overlord—but distracted, he kept spilling lubricant on the floor.
And then—
—Miss! We’ve won the bid! We secured it at 2,000 gold, cheaper than expected!
"Yeeees!"
The two of them jumped to their feet and cheered.
"We did it! The biggest obstacle is over!"
"R-really? But the other materials are still no small matter…"
Flutter!
Just then, an undead bird pecked at the window. When Simon opened it, the bird flew inside, perched on his shoulder, and chirped its message.
Hearing the report, Simon grinned.
"The Black Yeti’s heart, the Lycanthrope’s brain matter. Both have already been secured."
"W-what?"
A question mark rose on Benya’s face. Those priceless items had already been obtained?
But Simon took it even further.
"Oh, and by the way, I’ve set aside one Black Yeti’s heart for myself and a spare, but there are still 130 left over. If Vanilla doesn’t mind, would you like to purchase them at a cheap price?"
"W-whaaat?"
Benya’s face filled with about a million question marks.
No comments yet. Be the first to leave a review!