Chapter 783
"Me, me?"
"Yes."
Forcing away her embarrassed look, she returned to a serious expression and crossed her arms.
"First of all, Lady Neftis still holds doubts about Magnus, the missing 5th Legion Commander."
Magnus, who had once even tried to infiltrate Roke Island to steal Simon’s Ancient Undead, had completely vanished after losing his base to the Keyzen headquarters’ air raid.
Not only Magnus himself, but the entire 5th Legion disappeared from the continent without a trace.
Even though Keyzen mobilized every surveillance network, not a single clue was found.
"That’s why I was given the mission to protect you from Magnus, who is surely lurking somewhere. In the end, only a Legion Commander can stop another Legion Commander."
"Don’t worry so much."
Simon confidently pointed at his own chest.
"Even if Magnus comes, with my Legion’s power now, I can—"
Smack!
Jin struck Simon’s crown with her baton. The pain was sharp enough to bring tears to his eyes, and he clutched the sore spot with both hands.
"Milord!"
"Just because you captured North Star, you’ve become overly inflated with pride. Magnus has built up his strength as a Legion Commander far longer than you. If he comes at you seriously, it will be difficult for you to oppose him as you are now."
Simon lowered his hands from his head.
"So you came here to protect me from Magnus?"
"That’s part of it."
She leaned her chin on her hand with a dissatisfied expression.
"I worked so hard teaching you the basics of Legion Commander lessons, and it would be troublesome if you picked up strange habits at school. I’ll also continue your Legion Commander training when I can."
Hearing that, Simon’s face brightened.
"I’d be grateful! I still haven’t fully explored the Ancient Undeads’ Geheim, and I’d love to learn more about troop management and legionization!"
Geheim was a secret technique that allowed the use of the special powers of Ancient Undead belonging to a Legion. Erzebet, Prince, and Herseba had grasped it to some degree, but Akemius and Xairos still had a long way to go.
The two naturally moved on to talk about the Legion.
The organization of troops, troop management, control over each Ancient Undead—and even about Myurr, whom they had recently encountered.
"You say you acquired Myurr’s warship?"
"Yes!"
Simon spread his arms wide to show the size.
"It’s this big and round, and it looked like some kind of thing controlled by undead."
She placed her chin on her hand, looking serious.
"Could it be…?"
"What is it, Milord?"
"No, nothing. It’s only a suspicion, and too early to say aloud."
She lowered her hand and looked at Simon with serious eyes.
"Where is that warship now?"
"I’m transporting it to Frost Field. Xairos will be guarding it personally."
"Be careful. Myurr will not easily give up that thing. If anything happens, I’ll instruct my 2nd Legion in the North to assist you."
"Thank you."
Having connections with a fellow Legion Commander felt incredibly reassuring.
An ally, and at the same time a business partner.
At school, however, she was still a professor and he was a student.
"By the way."
Jin lifted the teapot and poured herself some more tea.
"I heard you stepped down as Student Council President?"
"Ah, yes. That’s how it turned out."
Jin gave a faint smile.
"School life seems far from easy. I can stop Magnus for you, but school problems are not mine to interfere in. It wouldn’t look good for a guest professor to meddle in internal matters."
"Of course. Those are mine to resolve."
Stretching, Simon spoke in a refreshed tone.
"I’ll stir up something fun before the semester ends. Please look forward to it."
"Yes, I shall."
Knock knock knock.
Just then, a knock came from outside.
"Who is it?"
"It’s your assistant! You need to process the transfer documents right away…!"
"I’ll be right out."
Simon rose from his seat.
"I must have taken too much of your time when you’re busy."
"Not at all."
Jin cleared her throat, putting a fist to her lips. Then, with her face slightly reddened, she turned her head aside.
"If you don’t mind, visit often."
"Sorry?!"
"Aside from you and Kamibarez, everyone here is an outsider. It gets lonely. And since it’s my first time teaching, I need a student’s perspective often."
Simon grinned.
"Yes! I’ll come often."
* * *
The next morning.
Finally, the regular classes began.
The first lecture was Aron’s Summonology. Scratching his now shaggier hair, Aron scrawled characters on the board.
[Armor.]
The sudden word made students glance between the chalkboard and Aron in confusion.
"The first step of a Death Knight begins with this ‘armor’."
Aron set down the chalk.
"Simply putting armor on an undead is not enough. The armor itself must become a part of the undead."
The students’ eyes shook.
Armor becoming part of an Undead? It sounded extremely difficult.
As if too lazy to explain further, Aron yawned and spoke in a languid voice.
"Instead of explaining again and again, it’s better for you to directly make and handle Armor Undead. Professor Grerion is preparing things. Get ready to move to the site."
"What?"
An external assignment from the very first day of regular classes.
Just as expected of a Death Knight production curriculum—the second semester was off to a demanding start. Students who had come with an easy mind now bustled about, packing their things.
"This summon may be unfamiliar, but you’ve probably encountered something like it in books or stories. Today, in one day, you’ll gather materials, craft it, and take the performance evaluation."
The Summonology students, confused, were herded outside and onto a teleportation magic circle.
And then—
Rumble!
When they regained their senses, they were underwater.
In a diving suit, Toto swam against the current with the help of a breathing magic circle.
‘That must be it, right?’
At the lakebed sat a huge clam, about half the size of a bed.
It was the clam monster, Shelteric.
‘…What does this monster have to do with armor?’
There was no time to wonder. If the materials weren’t secured within the time limit, the evaluation would be marked zero. Toto hurried.
Following the method Grerion had taught, he carefully took each step. First, he cast a curse on the sleeping shell, then slowly approached.
‘Now I just have to offer the bait Shelteric likes!’
The moment Shelteric opened its shell, he would jab in a harpoon laced with paralytic poison. As Toto brought the bait close—
Slrrrk—
The shell opened, revealing two pupils inside.
Within the pitch-black shell, eyes that looked exactly like human eyeballs stared out. With eyelids and blood vessels intact. Terrified, Toto instinctively froze.
‘D-don’t be scared! Now the harpoon…!’
But he was too late.
From between the shells, jet-black tentacles shot out and wrapped around Toto’s body.
‘Uwaaah!’
Toto struggled to break free, but Shelteric did not release him, bubbles gurgled from Toto’s mouth, the breathing magic circle’s duration was ending.
‘A-am I going to die like this?’
Before his eyes, a panorama of delusions unfolded.
—Keyzen 2nd-year student. Died while catching a clam.
Such headlines flashed endlessly through his mind. He even imagined the people he had met while working part-time in Langerstine murmuring as they read that newspaper.
Strength filled Toto’s eyes.
‘Anything but thaaaat!’
Rumbleee!
Triggering Internal Darkness Divergence, Toto thrashed with all his might, his eyes bloodshot red, he swam desperately toward the surface.
Splashhh!
Water erupted violently into the air, drenching a student in a nearby boat, who grumbled in annoyance.
"Urgh! Huff! Gahh!"
Toto gasped raggedly, as though his life had just been on the line. Strangely enough, the lake’s surface was calm and peaceful.
All around, students floated boats and hauled up the Shelterics they had collected.
"Well done! Toto Amoriya!"
Grerion, who was directing students from a boat, stretched out his hand to Toto.
"You caught a fine specimen!"
With a firm tug, he pulled Toto easily aboard. Toto’s body was still wrapped in black, tentacle-like things, and at their end, even Shelteric’s shell was dragged along.
"You did it differently than how I taught you, but still! Using yourself as bait, that’s excellent tenacity! Hahahaha!"
"…Th-thank you. Haha."
Thinking himself saved at last, Toto stared blankly out over the lake.
Boooom!
A wave as big as a hill erupted in the lake’s center.
"Wow!"
"That’s Simon’s Deimos!"
Deimos, the summoned beast made of whale bones, soared above the water carrying Simon. Soon, over ten Shelterics floated lifelessly to the surface.
All Simon needed to do was gather them up and load them onto the boat. Students watched enviously.
"Having just one good summon makes everything easy."
"Right."
Grerion, too, raised his thumb.
"Well done, Simon Follentia! After processing them, return to Roke Island and attend Professor Aron’s production class!"
"Yes!"
Grerion looked around at the other students.
"The rest of you, hurry! You must finish the evaluation by tonight!"
"Yes!"
* * *
On Keyzen’s Roke Island, there is a famous spot for “courage training”.
It is the old building of Roke Island, an ancient castle, now unused.
Two hundred years ago, it was used as lodging for royalty or high nobles, but when new dormitories were built on campus, it was abandoned. In egalitarian Keyzen, the fact that only nobles of high birth lived in a castle had also raised issues of fairness.
As time passed, the deserted castle became dark, filled with cobwebs, with dust piled thick.
Uncollected paintings and self-portraits still hung on the walls, and at night, rumors spread that their eyes moved.
"……"
And here, in this very place.
A man clad in armor walked stiffly, his face rigid, a sword gripped in his hand.
His compulsive glances left and right showed how tense he was.
Turning around a column and entering a corridor, he saw carpets buried in dust, their original colors unrecognizable, and tattered curtains. On either side of the corridor, battered suits of armor were displayed in a line. The man walked on, carefully scanning each suit.
Then—
Wummm!
In one armor’s helmet, glowing red pupils appeared.
What had been nothing more than decoration suddenly sprang to life, swinging its sword at the man.
"Khuhp!"
Claaang!
The man spun, raising his sword. The empty armor’s sword clashed with his, locked in a tug of war.
Clack!
Its strength was immense, but the armor’s swordplay was crude.
The man, however, knew how to wield a blade. Tilting his sword at an angle, he reversed the force, breaking its balance, then kicked up at the armor’s chest plate. With a crash, the armor toppled over.
"Ah, damn, that scared me."
As he panted, staring at the fallen armor—
Wummmm!
Suddenly, from the ceiling, a massive full plate armor swung down a halberd.
Kwaang!
He barely blocked with his sword, but caught off guard and under its sheer strength, he was knocked to the floor.
—Stop.
A voice rang through the castle.
The armor with the halberd froze in place. From its helmet, glowing eyes gleamed down at the man.
—Impressive control, Hector Moore. And you, assistant, how did it feel being on the receiving end?
The man who had thrown off his helmet, sweat streaming down his face, laughed.
"I didn’t notice a thing."
This scene was being projected on a mana screen.
Everything was being broadcast from the monitor room at the top floor of the castle. Aron and the teaching assistants were gathered, filling out evaluation sheets.
Aron nodded, holding a crystal sphere to his lips.
"Well done. Hector Moore, A+, Pierre Buckley, A."
Bang!
Upstairs, Hector, who had been controlling the armor, clenched his fist and roared like a beast. His teammate Pierre Buckley cheered, and the other faction students rushed in to share their joy.
"They’re loving it."
The assistant in armor below, hearing the ruckus upstairs, exhaled in relief with a laugh.
Then Aron’s voice boomed from the broadcast.
—Assistant, move on to the next floor.
"Eh, wh-what? Can’t I rest just a bit?"
—The next team is waiting. Hurry.
"Ughhh."
The assistant trudged off, shoulders slumped.
In truth, this entire process was the performance evaluation of the Armor Undead, the Death Armor.
The progress was as follows.
Students who had caught Shelteric with Grerion at the lake returned to Roke Island.
Then, in the practice room, they produced the “Death Armor”. The principle was simple. Extract the black thing inside the clam monster’s shell, turn it into an Undead, then insert it into a suit of armor and link it to the pre-drawn runes on the armor.
Shelteric had the trait of hiding within hard shells. By placing it inside armor and making it move, one created the famed “Death Armor”.
It was the very same living armor often seen in novels and media.
Afterward, students who had completed their Death Armor moved to the evaluation ground. On set, they would be judged by Aron and the assistants.
The grading criteria were stealth so as not to be detected as undead armor, smooth movement, and effective surprise attack.
"Hurry, please!"
Meanwhile, in the workshop, Simon and Team 10 were also preparing. Assistants moved around, supervising the students’ work.
Simon had already completed four Death Armors, and was happily agonizing over which to use for the evaluation. Each one had different weapons and armaments, so he was deciding which would best fool the assistant.
"Simon, can you take a look at my Death Armor too?"
Loraine approached and spoke. Simon readily agreed, turning his back.
But then—
"…No, wait."
Seeing the Death Armor standing beside her, Simon broke into a cold sweat.
Something seemed wrong, right from the start.
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