Chapter 754
After the dawn party ended, Simon went up to his room and lay down on the bed.
Perhaps because his mind was unsettled, sleep did not come easily. He stared blankly at the ceiling, and eventually, the accumulated fatigue of his body rushed in, slowly pulling his eyelids closed.
How long had he slept, when suddenly his nose felt ticklish.
Rustle— rustle—
“Excuse me~ Are you thereee.”
His facial muscles kept twitching, his nose scrunching up.
When he brushed his face with his arm in half-sleep, it stopped for a moment, but soon enough the ticklish sensation returned.
Helplessly, he opened his eyes.
“...Uwah!”
A pale face was right in front of him.
A girl with large golden eyes, staring straight at him. In her hand, she held some feathers plucked from his pillow.
“Le, Lete?”
Simon, suddenly wide awake, hurriedly pulled up the blanket to cover himself. He was only wearing trousers, his upper body bare.
Seeing his embarrassment, Lete chuckled mischievously.
“You’re awake now.”
“Why are you in my room?”
“May I sit beside you?”
Before permission was granted, Lete plopped down on Simon’s bed. She began humming a little tune, glancing around the room.
Seeing her expression, Simon straightened up with a serious face.
“You’re planning to leave.”
Lete nodded. Her white hair swayed lightly, brushing against her shoulders.
“After returning from the past, I felt so many things. I saw Teacher Anna’s days as the Saint of Miracles, and I also witnessed the Legion’s Betrayal incident. After experiencing such great things firsthand, how should I put it—”
She caught the ends of her swaying hair and twirled them around her fingers.
“I realized that my runaway was nothing more than childish whining. Teacher Anna endured and overcame such hardships, yet I, unable to withstand even one little thing, thought of giving up being a Saint.”
She let out a long sigh.
“So I’ve decided to go back. To return, to be acknowledged by more people as a Saint, to grow stronger. Only then could I truly do something for the world.”
Simon opened his mouth, trying to say something, but eventually gave a gentle smile.
“If that’s how you feel, I understand.”
“Yes.”
“But isn’t leaving right now too soon? At least wait until Mother and Father wake up, so you can say goodbye…”
She shook her head firmly.
“I must go now, while my resolve is firm.”
For Lete, life in this quiet mountain village had been too happy, too pleasant.
Though she had no family, she felt as though if she did, it might feel just like this.
And that was why she thought if she stayed here any longer, she’d be dulled by that comfort, her resolution fading away.
“And you know it too.”
Her face tinged with shy embarrassment, she lifted her eyes.
“If I see Teacher Anna’s face during farewell, I’ll just end up bawling.”
“…Haha, that’s true.”
“I’ve already written a letter.”
She stood up and lightly opened Simon’s window.
Clack!
The chilly night breeze swept into the room, and Lete’s white hair fluttered fiercely.
“Wait! At least let me take you as far as Hove…!”
“Ahaha, it’s fine. I can’t trouble you anymore.”
Lete had never been good at farewells.
Instead, with a smile on her face, she raised her hand cheerfully, promising the next time.
“Until we meet again, let’s both work harder. If we face each other on the battlefield right now, you wouldn’t last more than a blow or two against me.”
At those words, Simon faintly smiled.
“We’ll see about that.”
“Next time, it’s your turn to come to my side, you know? Then, farewell!”
With a lively laugh, Lete leaned backward. Her body slipped out through the window, and Simon, startled, rushed forward.
“Lete!”
Looking out the window in panic, Simon sighed in relief. Lete was smiling brightly and waving from atop a white dragon.
“Write to me, Simon!”
Her divine beast, Ran, shone brilliantly, then streaked away like a comet.
Simon stood at the window, watching blankly until that light completely disappeared from sight.
“Go back safely, Lete.”
* * *
After Lete’s departure, a new daily life began.
Richard and Anna felt regretful that she had left so soon, but they respected her resolve.
And Simon still had one more thing he had to do.
“What is this, Simon.”
Simon approached Richard, who was sitting in the garden smoking a pipe, and handed him a book.
It was the book he had obtained after fighting Bleto.
“I recently fought against a member of the Executioners. This was among his belongings.”
“Hm.”
Richard accepted it absentmindedly, but in the next instant his eyes stiffened.
“How did this…!”
His hands turned frantic as he flipped through the pages. His bloodshot eyes skimmed feverishly over the contents.
“Methods for creating spirits of darkness, and ways to shroud them in Darkness itself, all written here…”
Finally reaching the last page, he let out a sigh of lament.
“What became of him?”
“He died.”
“I thought so. Did he leave any last words?”
“Yes.”
Simon nodded grimly.
“He said, ‘I’m glad you were the last one I saw’.”
Richard froze, covering his face with his palm.
Then, trembling hands lifted his pipe again, exhaling smoke.
“Look at this.”
In the heavy silence, Richard opened the last page of the book.
<Here ends the record. Bleto Follentia.>
“…Ah!”
“There’s no need to hide it anymore. Bleto was my elder brother, the first son of House Follentia.”
House Follentia had been a family of spirit summoners.
And Richard’s father, the lord of Follentia, had four sons.
The reason he had so ruthlessly abused his sons.
Part of it may have been mere venting, but the true reason was his ambition: he wanted to raise his sons into the world’s most powerful spirit summoners of darkness.
Dark spirit summoners lived off negative energy, the hideous emotions and memories of mankind. The lord of Follentia abused and beat his sons so they would be born steeped in more negative energy than anyone else.
It was the final gambit of House Follentia, whose decline had already begun.
He had been conducting experiments, trying to fuse necromancers’ Darkness with spirits of darkness.
And all of this, the identity of the dark spirit experiment, and why he had been abused, Richard only learned after twenty years, through his own investigations after leaving the family.
“My brothers obeyed Father’s abuse.”
Richard’s voice was rigid.
“‘Please spare me, Father, please spare me.’ All they could do was beg pitifully for mercy. I alone, born defiant, resisted and rebelled. I thought my brothers were pathetic, but even so, I could not abandon my own blood to that hell. So I told them—let’s escape, tomorrow night, right away.”
“……”
Simon swallowed nervously, listening.
“But what I got in return was betrayal. Subjugated, brainwashed under Father’s absolute authority, my brothers tattled about my plan to escape, then begged him in terror not to beat them, claiming they were good children. I was beaten bloody, locked in solitary, and survived for months only by drinking dew. And in my rage, I thought—They are no longer my brothers. They’re nothing but Follentia dogs.”
Richard muttered bitterly, running his hand through his disheveled hair.
“After that, I escaped and lived as Yona. Later I heard that a great fire consumed the Follentia mansion, and everyone inside perished. Most likely… it was Bleto’s doing.”
Simon quietly nodded.
Dark spirit summoners who fed on negative emotions often had shattered and warped minds. It was more than likely he’d do such a thing.
“Bleto must have been tormented by immense guilt. A man broken inside is easy prey for the Executioners. Controlling him as they wished would have been child’s play.”
Fwooo—
Exhaling long smoke, Richard shook the book on spirits of darkness.
“This is still far too dangerous for you.”
“Will you burn it?”
“No.”
He stared at the book with a conflicted gaze.
“It is, at the very least, the last legacy of House Follentia. I’ll consider various ways it might be used. If there’s a method to dampen the side effects of negative energy, I’ll tell you.”
At that, Simon’s eyes sparkled. Richard placed the book on his knee and declared:
“Until then, don’t even dream of it. No matter how much you love learning.”
“Of course!”
“Good.”
Richard rose to his feet.
“Start getting ready. It’ll be a long time before we finish cleaning up the aftermath of the torrential storm.”
Simon grinned brightly.
“Yes!”
Thus, Simon went into the house to pack his things. Richard drew in a final deep breath of smoke.
“……The Executioners.”
As he stared at the book left behind by his last blood relative, a subtle murderous gleam rippled in his eyes.
“They are beginning to cross the line.”
* * *
After Lete’s departure, daily life remained unchanged.
The restoration work after the torrential rain in Leshill continued. They dug out the drainage ditches clogged with mud, cleared away dangerous trees that might collapse, and drove back the monsters that tried to cross into human territory.
And for the villagers who had lost their homes to the swollen valley waters, Simon and Richard built new houses together.
Tok! Tok!
Listening to the sound of hammers, Simon lay on the picture-perfect grass field. His arms propped behind his head, he basked under the blazing sun.
Time passed so quickly.
After working tirelessly, weeks had already gone by. Simon rolled onto his side and gestured with his hand.
Clack! Clack!
Skeletons were hammering nails, some floating in Bone Armor form to carry toolboxes. With experience and practice accumulated, they no longer made the mistakes of before.
Lay down the timber, fasten with rope, hammer the nails. Division of labor was systematic now. Even detailed tasks were no problem.
‘My undead control really has improved a lot.’
Simon grinned and looked back.
While his undead were building houses, the empty Dragonian suit, with no wearer inside, was moving on its own, performing Magical Combat stances.
Stretching its legs, moving its arms.
Its motions were as fluid as those of a human. Passing villagers often stared in awe.
But Simon, propping his chin, seemed not fully satisfied.
“Wait, come here.”
He turned off the Dragonian’s magic circle, then fixed the joints that creaked or showed unnecessary motion.
Since he still had leftover bones from the drake, he replaced parts as needed.
After swapping out the joints that made creaking sounds, Simon commanded the Dragonian suit to perform Magical Combat again.
“Mm.”
Its movements were smoother than before, which pleased him.
“Up we go.”
The restoration of Leshill and his undead training were both progressing well.
Life was peaceful.
Yet, lying in the warm sunlight, he sometimes felt bored. Once, he could have lain around all day happily, but now, staying only in Leshill made him restless.
Perhaps it was because, since enrolling at Keyzen, he had gone through such tremendous adventures and experiences.
‘How will I endure until the new term begins?’
Simon sighed deeply, when—
“Ah!”
His eyes widened.
That long-jawed man who looked like a horse was Gilbert, the one who handled Leshill’s mail. Simon leapt from the grass and ran toward him.
“Mr. Gilbert!”
With a bag slung over his shoulder, Gilbert laughed heartily upon seeing him.
“Haha, if it isn’t young master Simon!”
“How have you been?”
Simon, dashing up with sparkling eyes, stared at the bag. Gilbert chuckled as he rummaged through it.
“I was just on my way to your house, you’ve saved me the trip.”
A bundle of letters was placed into Simon’s arms.
Letters from Maelyn, Dick, and Kamibarez. Simon beamed as he bowed in thanks to Gilbert.
“Thank you!”
In his somewhat dull Leshill life, the only joy he had was receiving letters from his friends.
There was no other way to communicate. After finishing his work, Simon returned home and spread the letters out on his bed.
By now, he could tell at a glance who each letter was from just by reading.
—Be grateful that I took the time to write to you! Today I studied mainly Darkness Flame Arts…
Neat, refined cursive—Maelyn.
—Simon! I brought a puppy home to the castle but Father is against it. What should I do?
Letter paper covered in ribbons and stickers, with round, cute handwriting—Kamibarez.
—Hey I set up a stand outside and sold potions. Made 5 gold today. Oh and the twins underwent Darkness transformation. At this rate they’ll really enter first year next year lol.
Messy, chaotic handwriting, the kind you needed to reread twice to understand—Dick.
The back of his letter was even scribbled over with math formulas, like scrap paper.
The more he read his friends’ letters, the more Simon longed for vacation to end so they could meet again. Rest and healing in peaceful Leshill were nice, but he also missed the fierce days at Keyzen among his peers.
Then, as he skimmed through the letters, Simon’s eyes widened.
“Hm?”
An unexpected letter had arrived.
<To Student Simon Follentia.>
Simon immediately looked to the bottom of the letter.
<From Professor Hongpeng.>
“P, Professor Hongpeng?”
Startled, Simon sat upright.
It was his first time receiving a letter from a professor. As a student, his body reflexively tensed, wondering if he had done something wrong.
But then again, Hongpeng wasn’t the type to send a letter just to scold someone. He calmed himself and tore open the envelope.
—Hello, Simon. This is Professor Hongpeng. I had a hard time finding your address, the school wouldn’t disclose student information even to me, so I argued with the staff. Fortunately, Lady Neftis happened to pass by and offered to send the mail for me. I hope this reaches you well.
Reading it, Simon chuckled.
‘I can almost hear her voice as I read.’
And though she pronounced some words oddly, her writing was perfectly normal.
—To the point, I wish to invite my dearest students to my home in the Grasslands.
“!”
Excited, Simon shot up from bed.
‘An invitation to her home?’
—My homeland in the Grasslands is quiet, with beautiful nature. There are many things to enjoy—ancient ruins, adventure spots. I will personally guide you, and I assure you it will be fun.
Simon trembled as he read quickly through the letter.
The trip would last about a week.
When it ended, on the day classes resumed, she would use her authority as a Keyzen professor to teleport them directly to Roke Island. Scheduling wouldn’t be an issue.
Even the lineup of invitees was perfect. No awkward companions, just Simon, Maelyn, Dick, and Kamibarez, the four friends.
‘I, I want to go.’
Simon swallowed hard.
His seemingly dull vacation could be filled with excitement if he visited Hongpeng’s home.
* * *
Drip. Drip.
Water droplets echoed as they fell.
A place where even light barely reached.
Deep underground, in some ancient temple.
Twisted vines and moss filled the ruined chamber.
“……”
Hongpeng was bound there.
Her long brown hair, tied back, hung wet and heavy, dripping under the falling water. Her arms were raised, shackled by chains.
Slither, slither—
Slither—
Snakes crawled across the floor, slipping into cracks between the temple stones.
[How are you faring, Professor Hongpeng.]
A dark voice resonated.
Exhausted, her body sagged, but she slowly lifted her head. From beneath her drooping hair, her eyes still gleamed.
“……I know who you are.”
Her lips moved faintly.
“You are Myurr, the Ancient Undead of the Seventh Legion, the Sin of the Dead. Many across the continent wish for your painful annihilation.”
From the shadows emerged a figure cloaked in robes. A massive staff in its grip, only the gleam of its eyes shone from within the hood.
[An honor, that you know me.]
It drifted forward, footsteps soundless, as though floating.
“What scheme are you plotting in the Grasslands?”
Thud—
The staff struck the ground, and a low rumble shook the temple.
[You will know soon enough, whether you wish it or not. Watch slowly, from within despair.]
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