NOVPUB[Translator - Ramen]
[Proofreader - Artethrax]
Chapter 279
A few days later.
The morning of the first-year's dispatch evaluation.
Before even dawn, while everyone was still asleep, Simon snuck out of the dormitory. He passed through the Forbidden Forest and arrived at Pier's ruin.
Clatter, clatter, clatter!
Like villains preparing for world domination in a secret underground lair, conscripted skeletons and corpse spiders lined up and walked into the giant subspace Simon had opened.
"By the way, are the two of you also coming with me?"
[Of course we're going as well, Commander!]
Said Elizabeth, Captain of the spider troops.
[I don't think I'd be able to sleep in peace leaving you with Prince.]
Pier, who was sitting at the altar, also spoke up.
[No one knows when and how Magnus will move when you're outside Roke Island! It wouldn't hurt to be cautious with these kinds of external activities!]
Looking at the Legion undead entering the supersized subspace, Simon scratched his head.
"B-But still, I doubt I need to bring this much…"
It wasn't like Simon was going to war. 200 skeletons and 100 corpse spiders. And on top of that, two Ancient Undeads. When Prince and the zombie troops joining them later were added, it would be enough to wipe out a large estate in a single day.
Simon decided to make sure.
"There are too many people observing this evaluation. Please don't come out unless my life is in extreme danger or something. I'll see what I can do on my own as much as possible."
If the Legion moved, it would leave a trail. They got to this point because Pier was spotted by Magnus in the Jungle of Screams when he went off on his own. Moving as a whole Legion, they'd end up giving too much information to Magnus.
[Then what about this!]
Said Pier, the dark-blue flames in his eye sockets burning fiercely.
[We will step in only if your life is in danger… or if we as a Legion have to respond to an attack by the Magnus Legion! What do you say?]
"Alright, that's a good condition."
As the two of them continued to talk about the details, Elizabeth's scheming eyes shone.
* * *
Having completed his preparations, Simon exited Pier's ruins and returned to Kizen.
When he went up the hill where the teleportation circle was located, he saw many students talking, their faces mixed with excitement and nervousness.
"Simon~ Over here!"
Camibarez waved her hand. Next to her was Rick, laughing and talking, and Meilyn with her arms crossed.
"You're here!"
"Hurry up! You're late, as usual!"
Simon hurried over and joined the three of them.
"Put this on."
Meilyn handed him something.
It was a desert robe made with well-ventilated cloth. It included a turban to keep the sand out.
"Meilyn bought them for us!"
Already wearing her own robe, Camibarez twirled in place. Simon took the robe as well and smiled brightly.
"Thank you, I'll make good use of it, Meilyn."
Meilyn cleared her throat out of embarrassment and waved her hand dismissively.
"I-It's something I must do naturally as the group leader!"
Everyone put on the robes Meilyn had bought and chatted. The main topic was the neutral area.
"The neutral area, huh! I never expected a day would come where I would be going there!"
At Rick's comment, Camibarez flapped her wings and nodded.
"I-I couldn't even get a wink of sleep! It's a little scary, but… I'm relieved to have you guys with me!"
"Same here."
Simon agreed with a smile.
It was the first time they had ever been on the same mission together. They got along well, and each of them could do their own job, so it was quite assuring even if they were headed outside.
Camibarez smiled pleasantly as Simon agreed. She let her arms sway behind her back in a mixture of excitement and nervousness.
"Ohh, how cute of you, Cami."
Meilyn hugged Camibarez tightly from behind.
"Just stay with your big sister, okay? Don't get lost! And don't follow suspicious people!"
"Yes, big sister!"
Camibarez had learned to accept jokes now.
She used to squirm in a bit of discomfort, not really understanding what was a joke, but the presence of Rick—at least half of what came out of his mouth was a joke—forced her to adapt.
"I'm most curious to know which necromancer will be our mentor."
Rick quickly joined in at Simon's words.
"I'm not hoping for a lot! All the adult necromancers are insane, so I want someone less insane!"
"I think you're asking for a lot…"
Grab.
Suddenly, a woman's hands covered Simon's eyes from behind.
"Guess who?"
Simon flinched.
Wait, this voice is…?
Simon quickly pulled away the hands and turned around.
"Hi, Simon!"
He almost screamed.
It was a woman with long, flowing locks. Simon recognized her in an instant.
'E-Eliza?!'
Surprisingly, Elizabeth was dressed in a Kizen uniform. The white blouse looked a little tighter than usual on her mature body, she had chosen to tie the blazer around her waist, and the tie hung undone around her neck. Her hair was also dyed pink.
'Weren't you in the subspace?'
"Simon…"
Said Meilyn, pointing to Elizabeth.
"Who is she?"
"Ah, you see…"
As Simon was speechless, his mind drawing blanks, Elizabeth pulled her arm around his and smiled wide.
"Nice to meet you! My name is Elizabeth Webber! I'm a childhood friend of Simon's, from the same hometown as him! I'm in Class E, majoring in Summoning!"
…He never heard of such a background.
'Eliza!'
Simon signaled to her with his eyes to get back to the subspace, but this pink-haired Elizabeth smiled broadly as if she had no intention of doing so.
"Ch-Childhood friend?"
Camibarez covered her mouth with her hands and looked back and forth between Simon and Elizabeth. Then, she stared at their linked arms.
"Hey."
On the other hand, Meilyn glared at Simon with a cold face.
"You said you were from Les Hill or something. Why didn't you tell me a friend from your hometown came to Kizen?"
"N-No, you see…"
"Actually, I moved to another estate. Then I found him in Kizen."
Elizabeth handled the situation with finesse.
"…Hm."
Just then, Rick was staring at Elizabeth with an incredibly serious face.
Simon flinched. With Rick's intelligence network, it wasn't surprising for him to even know everyone in Class E. Perhaps he'd realized right away that there wasn't a girl named Elizabeth in the class?
"Huh?! Simon, you bastard. I'm so jealous…"
He was an idiot.
Rick sprung out at Simon and grabbed him by the collar.
"If you were acquainted with such a great childhood friend?? You should've introduced me to her long ago!!"
Meilyn interrupted from the side.
"Hey, are you really Simon's childhood friend? How long have you known him?"
"Oh, hello. I-I'm Camibarez Ursula! I-I'm not Simon's childhood friend, but…!"
It was slowly descending into chaos.
Simon desperately kept his composure and grabbed Elizabeth by the wrist.
"Sorry, I'm just going to talk to her for a minute!"
With that, he pulled Elizabeth away and entered the dense woods.
* * *
Reaper Scans
Translator - Ramen
Proofreader - Artethrax
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* * *
Simon cornered against a tree and said,
"What are you doing here, Eliza!"
She smiled.
"It was a bit of a deviation."
"Deviation? Don't you realize we're in danger with the Magnus L—"
"Don't you realize I've been stuck in the ruins for the entire semester?"
Simon was about to continue to scold her, but he looked a bit guilty hearing that.
"Fufu. You do realize that I joined the Legion just for you, right? I'm well aware of our situation, but I've been spending all my time in the ruins, scouting with the spiders to see if the Magnus legion is landing on Roke Island, and even if you come to the ruins, you're busy training with Pier. I was wondering if I could go out for the first time in a while this time, but it looks like I won't be able to because of this whole Magnus issue."
She placed a hand on her chest.
"That's why I decided to go out this time! I'd gladly take any punishment if it means being able to stretch my legs."
'…Hmmp.'
Come to think of it, he hasn't been paying that much attention to Elizabeth lately.
Simon sighed.
"I'll try to be more considerate from now on. But if you plan to deviate like this next time, at least tell me first."
"I'll keep that in mind."
Thankfully, Elizabeth returned to the subspace without much resistance.
Just then, there was a buzz on the side of the teleportation circle. Simon hurried over, as it sounded like they were about to depart.
'Things are so hectic from the beginning. Gosh…'
Right on time, he saw his group mates walking up to the teleportation magic circle.
"Mr. Simon Polentia. Is Mr. Simon Polentia around?"
"Yes, over here!"
Simon hurried over and caught up with the group.
Camibarez looked at Simon and asked,
"Simon! What happened to Elizabeth Webber?"
'That's such a lazy fake identity…'
With a feigned laugh, Simon answered.
"She returned to her group. Haha."
"Elizabeth was really great. I can't believe there was a girl like her in Kizen."
Then, the teleportation manager spoke up.
"Well then, is everyone here?"
"Yes!"
It wasn't just Simon's Group 7 on the teleportation circle, but also members from a mixture of classes.
The manager held up a document and said,
"Okay, you guys are going to the neutral area."
Waaaaaaah!
The students outside the teleportation magic circle cheered.
They were happy that their chances of getting to a place other than the neutral area had increased, even slightly.
"Still, they said 90% will be headed to the neutral area."
Meilyn grumbled in a sullen voice.
"Group leaders, please step forward."
Meilyn and the other group leaders stood in front of the manager. The manager handed them each a thick envelope.
"These letters should contain information about your dispatch location and your mentor necromancer. You just have to go to them. Good luck."
"Thank you!"
Then, they all took their positions on the teleportation circle.
The four of them stood in a circle, hands clasped together. Simon grabbed Camibarez' hand first, as she was shy. It felt very small in his.
"We'll depart now!"
All four of them felt their feet leave the ground at the same time.
* * *
As the teleportation began, Simon felt like he was traveling on an endless slide in a world of abstract art.
Every time he closed his eyes and opened them again, the landscape changed. It meant that they were traveling an incredibly long distance.
Just when he thought it was getting too tough to bear…
His feet grew heavy, and he could feel the ground. The whirring of the teleportation had stopped, and he could smell the salty air.
Finally, when he slowly lifted his eyelids, harsh light flooded in.
'Ugh.'
The sunlight was incredibly bright. He waited a moment for his eyes to adjust.
"I-Is everyone alright?"
"…Ughh, I guess I'm alive."
The other three who had teleported in with him were slumped down in a disorderly fashion.
Simon walked over to them.
"Do you want me to help you up?"
Meilyn, who had fallen to the ground, opened her eyes.
And the first thing she saw was Simon smiling and offering her a hand with a blinding sun behind him.
"…Meilyn?"
After dazing out momentarily, Meilyn said, "Woah!" out of surprise and grabbed Simon's hand. Then, she stood up with his help.
"…Thank you."
She spoke in a very small voice. Simon smiled and helped the others to their feet.
'So this place is…'
Having dealt with the immediate issue, he slowly looked around.
The neutral area.
It was not the land of necromancers nor the territory of priests, but a place of complete neutrality and freedom. At the same time, it is a lawless zone notorious for its complete lack of peace.
The sun was very hot from the sky, and the area was filled with oddly shaped houses that looked more like mounds of soil. The ground was reddish brown, and a hot wind carried the humid air.
"L-Look! The sea is black!"
Camibarez pointed to the ocean at the end of the city.
It was the black sea, an ocean around here. He heard that sea monsters on this side of the ocean were much stronger.
'It feels like we're in a whole new world.'
Simon's heart was already pounding with excitement.
It was unsettling to be dropped off in such a strange and unusual area, but he was glad that the people around him were the same as usual.
"Huzzah! Still, it feels refreshing to get some outside air!"
Seemingly having the same thought, Rick took a deep breath and said,
"It's so boring and suffocating being cooped up in Kizen. You have to get some fresh air every once in a while to live! Hehe."
"Be quiet, you idiot!"
Said Meilyn, placing her finger on her lips. The sudden appearance of the four of them caused a few people to whisper and stare.
The four of them re-donned their robes and found someplace else to stop for now. They went into a corner at the back of a building.
"Let's open the letter from the manager first."
"Yeah, sure."
Meilyn took the letter from her pocket, and the three gathered around her.
"I'll open it now, alright?"
Said Meilyn in a serious tone, and the three nodded. She slowly broke the envelope's seal.
Pzzzt!
Perhaps if it was enchanted with dark magic, as black electricity crackled and poured out.
Meilyn took out the letter inside and opened it up.
"Wh-What is this?!"
