Chapter 807
Roke Island.
The laboratory of Grand Duke Jin of the North.
Hoo-op—hoo—
Jin had thrown off her usual suffocating uniform and was dressed in training clothes, doing indoor exercise.
With one hand on the floor and the other pressed to her back, she supported her whole body in a handstand.
Weights were strapped to her wrists and ankles to add resistance.
Her pace was accelerating, and she was steadily approaching the target she had set.
Knock, knock.
A knock came from outside the laboratory.
“Professor Jin, it’s the chief assistant.”
She continued her push-ups while answering.
“What business on the weekend?”
“A student suddenly requested an audience, what shall I do?”
That he had to see her face right this moment.
Recently, the so-called new student council had been nosing about and annoying her, and she had been in a foul mood.
“Throw him out imme—”
“It is student Simon Follentia.”
Her movement halted with a flinch. At once, she sprang up using only the strength of her arms, stood straight, and snatched a towel from the desk.
“Make him wait ten minutes!”
And so, a short while later.
With another knock, Simon carefully entered.
“I apologize for coming without notice, Professor Jin.”
She waved her hand lightly. Once the chief assistant who had guided Simon in closed the door and left, Jin lifted the corner of her lips.
“You came faster than I expected. Will you have some tea?”
“Ahaha, thank you!”
Replying thus, Simon suddenly pressed close against the office door. Then, with a serious expression, after confirming the chief assistant’s footsteps had faded away, he dashed over and hurriedly pulled all the curtains shut.
Jin, who was brewing tea, blinked at the sight.
“You are unusually cautious today. What is it?”
Simon nodded silently, then opened subspace.
This time, the Ancient Undead of the 7th Legion, Erzebet, leapt out. She too began moving busily, weaving webs throughout the office and erecting a barrier.
“……?”
Had these 7th Legion fools eaten something wrong together.
Jin stared at Simon and Erzebet with that expression.
Only after they had secured the barrier with no gaps did Simon breathe in relief and return Erzebet into subspace.
“……Before me, what exactly are you doing.”
Jin spoke curtly. Simon checked the barrier several times more before finally sitting properly in front of her.
“Grand Duke, I, um.”
“Speak.”
Children of the inland barely into their teens always made such fusses over nothing. She thought so as she calmly drank her tea.
“I think I picked up a new Ancient Undead.”
Pfff-hup!
The water spurted into the air.
Cough! Splutter! Cup!
She set down the teacup, clutching her throat with one hand while thumping her chest with the other, then glared.
“What? Are you trying to make a joke of me, you arrogant one!”
“I’ll show you.”
Of course, he had thought she would not believe him.
Simon opened subspace and summoned Lamia.
—Piyuuung!
What Simon held up with both hands before Jin was an infant Dead Naga.
But for the Undead, appearance meant nothing. From within it radiated a vast Darkness and the presence of thought. Most of all, Simon’s Darkness could be felt from this Ancient Undead.
“How could such a thing……!”
Jin’s expression twisted with shock.
“This one is clearly, from the 5th Legion……”
“Feer also said it looked like the Snake Princess Lamia.”
As Simon let go, Lamia floated up into the air, wiggling as if swimming, then perched on Simon’s shoulder and licked his cheek with its tongue.
“How could this be!!”
Jin shouted, springing up, then belatedly realized her voice was too loud and shut her mouth.
Simon shrugged, pointing toward Erzebet’s barrier as if to say it was safe.
“I’ll explain from the beginning.”
The flock of Grayson discovered a Dead Naga in activity.
Dead Naga were a special Undead handled only by the 5th Legion, and the place of discovery happened to be one of the candidate sites for the 2nd-year group exam of Keyzen.
They rushed there with every available Ancient Undead.
On site, Feer sensed the aura of an Ancient Undead, so they entered, and found the juvenile Lamia, unbound by any Legion contract.
After a battle, they captured Lamia, legionized it, and brought it back. Throughout all this, Magnus showed no movement whatsoever.
That was the sequence of events.
“……Haha.”
Leaning back in her chair, Jin gave a laugh of disbelief as she looked at Lamia. The infant Lamia was blowing bubbles playfully.
“What could this mean?”
Simon asked, face tense. Jin also hardened her expression.
“You are certain this one is the Snake Princess Lamia?”
“Feer is not 100% sure, but……”
Simon laid out the materials Erzebet had gathered before Jin.
Magical camera photographs capturing the Snake Princess, or wanted posters drawn by those who had seen her directly.
Among them, Jin focused on the photo showing the Snake Princess standing beside Magnus, then spoke.
“It is the same.”
The fin-like ridge behind her ear.
The peculiar markings on her neck.
The color of her eyes, and even the missing scale on the right side.
“It is an inexplicable phenomenon, but, if we force ourselves to align it with reality……”
She crossed her legs, closed her eyes for a moment, then spoke.
“Perhaps the 5th Legion Commander, Magnus, is dead.”
Magnus had been attacked by Keyzen headquarters, lost his base, and vanished.
If in that attack he suffered a fatal wound, and disbanded his legion himself before dying?
Then Lamia too could have had her legion contract dissolved, reverting to such a state, so Jin speculated.
“Of course, there are cases where legion-type Ancient Undead weaken when their commander dies, but to regress to infancy, this is the first I’ve seen.”
Jin reached out and touched Lamia, who was blowing bubbles.
At once, Lamia recoiled and radiated hostility, and before her forehead a deep-blue light began to flash.
“Hm?”
“Grand Duke! Get down!”
Kruuuuuum!
A bolt of water shot out, and Jin jerked her head back. The water bolt grazed past her head and struck the ceiling of the lab with a crash.
“How dare this…!”
“I-I’m sorry!”
Simon quickly grabbed the rampaging Lamia and soothed her.
“She cannot tell friend from foe well yet, and cannot control her power.”
Jin sighed once and turned her head.
Cracks had formed on Erzebet’s barrier, but thankfully the building was intact.
Simon hurriedly sent Lamia, who was tugging on his hair in play, back into subspace.
“What should we do now?”
“………”
Jin closed her eyes in thought, then spoke.
“We are legion commanders. We must prepare for the worst.”
“The worst, meaning……”
“The possibility Magnus is alive, and all of this is his scheme.”
She clasped her hands together.
“For now, it is best not to consider the Snake Princess Lamia as the 7th Legion’s full fighting power. She should be confined and monitored in a safe and reliable place, and her state should be checked over time.”
She meant not to let their guard down regarding Lamia.
Simon nodded as well.
“I shall report to Lady Neftis. She is busy with other matters at the moment, but at least we can hear her opinion.”
“Yes.”
“Be cautious, and do not be careless.”
She narrowed her eyes.
“There is no such thing as being too cautious when it comes to safety.”
Simon nodded.
“I will keep that in mind.”
* * *
Feer’s ruins are far deeper than they appear.
From the entrance of the ruins, if one descends for a long while along the narrow spiral staircase, a large clearing appears. In terms of floors, this is the top layer.
Below it is the place where Erzebet’s Corpse Spiders’ eggs are stored, and deeper still is the nest of Akemius’ Skullwings.
In this way, even in Feer’s ruins it is possible to supplement the legion-type Undead to a small degree. However, compared to their real bases like the ‘Insect Graveyard’, or the ‘Jungle of Screams’, productivity is low, so outdoor bases were established.
And the place Simon headed this time was the deepest part of Feer’s ruins.
“This will be your place to stay.”
Simon set Lamia down in a suitably wide underground chamber.
—Piyuung?
Lamia darted about quickly here and there as if exploring a new environment.
Simon, meanwhile, chatted idly with Erzebet as he watched.
Thud.
Suddenly she collapsed limply on the floor.
“What’s wrong? Lamia.”
Simon picked her up and examined her, but nothing seemed wrong. When he contacted her thoughts, he felt “thirst”, so he took out a water flask and handed it to her.
—Piyung!
But Lamia simply dumped the water over her body and then collapsed limply back on the floor again.
[She’s being a crybaby.]
Erzebet spoke with a sly smile.
[Looks like she doesn’t like the room.]
“R-really?”
[Compared to the undersea cave she lived in before, this is nothing.]
Simon folded his arms.
“Do I need to create at least a minimal ecosystem for her.”
[Hoho! You speak as though raising a pet.]
Erzebet covered her mouth with elegance and laughed.
[Undead need neither food nor water. As long as there is Darkness, they can exist.]
“But Lamia seems to need water.”
[That is why I said it is just whining.]
Simon turned his head again toward the limp Lamia on the floor.
For a moment their eyes met, but with a “Piyung”, she turned her head away again. Somehow it made him laugh.
‘Still, leaving her like that feels a bit pitiful.’
In the end, Simon gave the order.
When the weekend ended, late at night, when no one was outside, the 7th Legion’s Undead moved busily from the ruins.
Splash!
Skullwings flew low over the Forbidden Forest, carrying seawater in buckets, while Corpse Spiders balanced buckets of water on their heads as they moved.
The seawater arrived at the ruins, and meanwhile Simon had dug a pit. To prevent leakage, Herseba smoothed the ground flat and hardened it like metal.
[Simon! How about this?]
Prince, bored and offering to help, brought in strange seaweed-like things.
[Why not decorate it like the undersea cave we saw then?]
“That’s a good idea.”
And so, after creating a pool like an aquarium, he released Lamia inside.
—Piyuuung!
Lamia at once seemed delighted, splashing happily inside the pool. She sprayed droplets everywhere, then stuck to Simon’s face, licking his cheek with her tongue.
“I’m glad you like it.”
A warm atmosphere unfolded, and Prince too, wanting to play, entered and splashed about together with Lamia.
Simon looked at Erzebet.
“Watch her carefully for the time being.”
[Of course! Leave it to me.]
Watching Prince and Lamia splash together, Simon’s thoughts grew complicated.
‘Until Magnus’ whereabouts are revealed, we absolutely cannot let down our guard.’
Still, he hoped she would remain an ally, Simon thought.
* * *
The next morning.
The weekend was over, and daily life began again.
Simon left the dormitory early with Toto and arrived at the Summonology building.
“Good morning, Simon!”
“Morning.”
As he walked, classmates greeted him warmly. From a group of female students chattering excitedly, Eshu waved brightly with a “Leader—!” Simon waved back.
But as he considered where to sit, Simon unconsciously stopped his steps. He then slipped behind a pillar and moved only his head.
In the distance, he saw a white-haired boy walking alone.
‘White.’
The mysterious transfer student from the three great Necromancer Schools.
Simon had yet to hold a proper conversation with him.
Thinking of Lamia, Simon could not help but also think of White.
For White and Magnus were—
‘Uncannily alike.’
When Aron had first seen White, he had been so shaken he could not compose himself. But Keyzen headquarters had concluded that Magnus and White had no connection.
‘Lamia is the Snake Princess in a regressed form. If so……’
Goosebumps crept across his skin.
Simon looked at White, but he was still staring at the birds outside the window.
Moments later, Aron entered the classroom with the teaching assistants.
Aron’s whole body was wrapped tightly in bandages. One hand was supported by a splint, and he still looked unwell.
But with a composed face, he stepped forward, picked up chalk with his uninjured hand.
“I’m glad everyone made it back safe. And.”
He lifted his head, sweeping his gaze across the students.
“All of you now have the core material of a Death Knight to begin the class, well done.”
Yeeeeeahhh!
Whiiiiiistle!
Cheers and whistles rang throughout. Aron held the chalk and quickly wrote on the blackboard.
“Then let us begin.”
<Corruption>
“This will be a kind of lesson you have never seen before.”
No comments yet. Be the first to leave a review!