Simon and Ellen walked through the forest, talking about different things.
During this, he was able to hear various things about Ellen.
Back in the time when she was still in Efnel, she was the type who went all-in on the firepower of divinity. However, outside of her firepower, she lacked in abilities, and she was expelled from school because she couldn't use the common healing magic. It was a pretty serious reason for disqualification as a priest.
When he asked her why she was furiously trying to make money, it seemed that she had lost her parents and was raising her younger siblings by herself. He was able to know a new side of Ellen.
"U-Uhm. Mr Simon."
He smiled.
"Just call me Simon."
"Ah, yes! Simon."
Ellen had an unexplainable interest in this boy.
During her time at Efnel, she was taught that all necromancers were terrifying and horrible monsters.
But this boy was different. In fact, necromancers were also human beings, and they had warm hearts.
"Anyways, what is it?"
"Hehe. Now that we have gotten closer, we formed an alliance together, and I don't even have the skills to deal with the two of you."
She glanced at Simon and stretched her arms bound by ropes.
"So, uhm... Could you please release this?"
Instead of answering, Simon still had a smile on his face. Ellen was sweating profusely.
'A-Ah. So that means no.'
[Kuhehe! So you finally went insane!]
Pier glared inside the helmet.
[Look, Boy! If you treat the captives well, they'll walk over you without knowing their place! Let's cut off some of her fingers to make her obedient...]
"Uwaaaah! I-I-I'm sorry! Something must've happened to my head!"
She quickly fell flat on the floor, and Simon stopped them.
"It's fine as long as you know. Pier, stop it too."
Pier put down his greatsword, and Ellen's face returned to normal. She thought that Simon was endlessly kind, but still quite alert.
Soon, they arrived at the lord's castle.
As planned, Ellen hid inside Pier's robe, and Simon and Pier approached the gate of the castle.
"Stop right there! Who are you?"
The guards of the gate raised their voices and their spears. Simon said while pretending to raise his arms,
"I came for the lord's mission. I want to see the lord in person right now."
"...What?"
"Did you get your head hit by an arrow or something? Meeting the lord at midnight?"
Simon nodded.
"Yes. It's an urgent matter, so I think I'll have to see him right now."
The guards gave forced laughs as though dumbfounded.
"Now I'm seeing all sorts of crazy bastards."
"Do you think that the lord is someone you can meet whenever you want to? Get lost while we're talking nicely."
"No, this bastard is suspicious. Let's just tie him to that pole until the sun comes up."
The guard nodded and held the rope he had on his waist. Simon said while still putting on a smile,
"You're going to regret this."
"You arrogant little brat... Who are you? Identify yourself."
"I'm from Kizen."
The movement of the two guards stopped.
"Bwahahahahaha! Fuck! This bastard is actually really fucking crazy!"
"If you're from Kizen, then I'm Nefthis. You crazy bastard!"
The two guards walked up to tie up Simon. Simon obediently stretched out his arms as if to let them.
"What's the commotion?"
At that moment, the guard captain appeared from the wicket gate. The guards got frightened and saluted him.
"A-A suspicious bastard wanted to see the lord, so we were about to arrest him."
"Suspicious bastard?"
"Yes, he all of a sudden said he's from Kizen..."
Hearing those words, the guard captain's face turned pale.
"Ki... zen?'
Mysterious disappearances within the territory.
The lord, who wanted to hide this uneasy case ahead of an important event, secretly commissioned Kizen. Only the closest associates of the lord were aware of this.
However, there was no response even after 3 months, so the lord stopped expecting anything from Kizen.
'...But they actually came?'
The guard captain observed Simon's appearance carefully.
Smart-looking eyes, a relaxed attitude, and even a tall, armored man accompanying him as a bodyguard.
'There's no mistake.'
Goosebumps ran across his entire body.
This boy really was Kizen.
"Drop..."
"Y-Yes?"
"Drop your damn heads, you shitheads!"
Suddenly shouted the guard captain.
The guards immediately put their weapons down and prostrated, hands clasped behind their backs.
Simon was scratching his head from the sudden change of atmosphere, and the guard captain approached Simon with his sword drawn.
[What is it?]
Pier grabbed the handle of their greatsword, but Simon raised his arm to stop them. The guard captain stood in front of Simon, stabbed his sword on the ground, and knelt down on one knee.
"The training of my subordinates is entirely my fault. I'll apologize with my neck."
Then he took a pose as though sticking out his neck. The guards raised a clamor as they saw it.
'...Gosh. How uncomfortable.'
Simon gave a bitter laugh inwardly. Was there a need for him to go this far, even if Simon was from Kizen?
And he wasn't even a second-year student. Simon was a first-year, a cheap life who never knew when he would return to his home. If he got expelled from Kizen, he would return to being a normal person. So, he thought he was never in a position where he could control people's lives at will.
"Stop. Please stand up."
The guard captain stood up with a stiff face.
"It was my fault for making a fuss late at night. The guards just did their job, so don't be too harsh on them too. Ah, please stand up, you two."
The guards with sweat-soaked brows sprang to their feet and stood at ease.
Simon looked at the guard captain once again and said,
"May I see the lord? I have something important to tell him about the mission."
"Yes, of course. Please, this way."
[Kiekiekiekie!]
Simon followed the guard captain, and Pier scoffed at the guards as though teasing them. The guards couldn't even raise their heads.
'...Does this make sense?'
'Why would Kizen be in this rural area?'
It was nearing dawn.
The lord's castle went into uproar at the sudden visit of Kizen's personnel.
The treatment with the utmost devotion continued as Simon entered the spacious reception room. Hot bread and food, tea, and wine were served. The maids even brought buckets of water and tried to wash his feet, but Simon quickly refused, it being too much for him.
And after a while…
"I'm honored to have you as a guest!"
A middle-aged man of short stature with a belly appeared, smiling widely. His face was swollen, as though he had just woken up.
"I'm the Lord of Arnish, Count Raymond!"
"I'm Simon Polentia, a first-year student at Kizen."
"You must be exhausted after such a long journey! I heard that you came all the way here for my mission."
"Yes."
"Haha! I wonder how I should repay this favor... You must've accumulated a lot of fatigue from traveling! Forget about your work and please take a rest. We'll do our best to serve you during your stay!"
"I barely had any fatigue from traveling."
Said Simon, sinking into the back of his seat.
"I came with the teleportation magic circle."
"Ahh......! I-I see! Kizen's extraordinary, after all! Haha! Well, well, take a glass! It's a special product produced from the grapes of this land!"
Raymond drew the cork out of the wine bottle.
A clear and strong smell of alcohol flew out. He poured wine into a glass and offered a toast.
"Come on."
"Sure."
Raymond cleanly emptied his drink first. It wasn't polite to refuse, so Simon only pretended to drink with his lips.
After a while, the maids served sumptuous dishes, such as a huge whole pig barbecue. After declining it, saying he had already finished eating dinner, Simon said,
"Other than that, I'd like to talk about the mission."
"Ah, the mission! That's important too, but it's already night-time, and wouldn't it be more important to relieve the fatigue built up in your body? You wouldn't call life in Kizen a school life. It's a battlefield! Hahahah!"
As Raymond clapped his hand, the side door of the reception room opened.
Simon was terrified. Scantily dressed women swarmed Simon. About five people also stood behind Raymond.
"Now, take your time to pick the one you like! Hahahah!"
He had nowhere to settle his gaze.
Raymond grinned with satisfaction when Simon looked down at his knees, blushing.
'Even if he's Kizen, he's still a baby beast that hasn't even grown any teeth yet. I might be able to coax him more easily than I thought.'
As Raymond gave the signal, the women behind him embraced Simon's shoulders and arms. The other two knelt at both sides of Simon and began pouring a drink into a golden glass.
"...Lord."
"Hahaha! Yes, which one would you like to pick?"
"I'm still a minor, and it's a bit embarrassing to be in a place like this."
There was a hint of embarrassment, but the strength and will in his voice were clear.
"I have an important thing that I want to discuss one on one with you, lord. Could you please return these people?"
Raymond gulped as he met Simon's eyes head-on.
Wasn't this little fellow quite powerful? There was something about him that made people shiver.
"...I-I guess there's no choice if you say so."
Raymond reluctantly made the women leave. As they turned around with bummed faces, they winked or flirted with Simon.
Simon thought that he'd never be able to adapt to these cultures of adults.
"Now, the night is getting late. If the thing that you want to talk about is the mission, then let's do it tomorr—"
"No. I have to do it right now."
"..."
Raymond forced a smile. As long as he was coming out hard from that side, it was now harder for him to pass this matter nice and gently.
This was his final option.
"Come in."
When Raymond gave the signal, another door was opened. A butler dressed in a formal uniform bowed deeply and placed the box in front of Simon.
The box contained various jewels and the commission fee of 50 gold.
"It's the commission fee. Sorry to inform you late, but the case has already been resolved. Please have a comfortable rest in the castle for the remaining time, receive this commission fee, and return to school."
"That's quite different from what I found out."
Softly said Simon.
"I bought information from the Thieves Guild. I heard that another case happened this morning."
Raymond gnashed his teeth.
'...Those damn bastards! They don't do any good after all!'
"I can't receive the rewards before completing the mission. I don't want to be bothered by Kizen's inspection later on."
"Hahaha! I'll take care of that matter cleanly...!"
"Please tell me about the mission."
"You…"
Raymond's expression turned cold.
"You only stay still if I tell you to."
"..."
"Even if you're from Kizen, a first-year like you is trying to go against me, a lord and a count? Walk away from this while I'm still being nice. I'm saying that I'll even pay the commission. Why are you being so picky about this?"
Had he finally revealed his true colours?
Simon grinned.
"From solicitation to threats. You're playing it hard, Lord."
"..."
"Looks like you're too agitated. I'll be back early tomorrow morning. Let's talk again then."
Simon slowly got up from his seat, the corners of his lips rising.
'Now, take the bait.'
And exactly as Simon expected, Raymond slammed his fist down on the armrest.
"I… told… you… to stay here!"
Clunk! Clunk! Clunk!
Different doors opened, and more than ten armed guards rushed into the room.
He was quickly surrounded by guards, but Simon didn't have the slightest sense of worry on his face.
"Resorting to force in the end."
Simon pulled the imaginary lever with a relaxed gesture.
"Then we can't just stay still either."
Whaaaaaap!
A subspace opened on the floor, skeletons with blue flames swirling in their eye sockets coming out.
"U-Undead!"
"It's undead!"
With the sound of rattling bones, the guards were instantly outnumbered by the conscripted skeletons.
The guards' faces stiffened sharply.
All the people of the continent had a deep-rooted fear of the undead and necromancers. The fear passed down through education, history, and brainwashing wasn't something you could easily get rid of.
'H-How many are there?'
And Raymond's eyes were also shaking.
He heard that the measure of a necromancer's strength was their number of summons.
But a first-year who could control a platoon!
He definitely wasn't an ordinary guy. No, it must've been a lie when he introduced himself as a first-year student.
[Kwahahahahahaha!]
Pier took off the helmet on his head and threw it. A skull with blue flames lashing out of his eyes appeared.
"Uhieek!"
"I-It wasn't a human?"
[Good! Very good! Looks like we'll be having lots of new additions to our family today!]
The loud voice resounded out.
Pier's mouth opened up like a monster's. Fear spread like a plague, and the soldiers' legs trembled.
"Now."
Simon slowly walked up.
Raymond unknowingly stepped back in terror, and Simon sat down on the lord's seat, smiling.
"Will you continue?"
The undead cried for blood.