Chapter 18
***
Finding it awkward to continue ignoring her, Simon turned his head towards the window.
The girl's face quickly ducked down.
"...."
Did she not want to be seen?
Simon turned back and took out another chiffon cake.
The girl's face slowly reappeared in the window.
Blink, blink.
The girl's blue eyes blinked.
The blinking sped up each time the chiffon cake neared Simon's mouth.
Simon chuckled inwardly and spoke.
"Lady Nephtys, why don't you come in and have some?"
At his words, the girl popped her head in.
"Ah, how did you know? Is it okay?"
As if she had been waiting for the invitation, Nephtys hopped through the window and knelt down in front of the chiffon cakes, looking up at Simon with wide eyes.
She looked like a puppy wagging its tail expectantly, and Simon couldn't help but smile.
"Of course. Help yourself."
"Hehe, thanks!"
She picked up a chiffon cake with her delicate hands and started eating, making little "nom nom" sounds.
Watching her small cheeks puff out with each bite, Simon felt a strong urge to pat her head, Kizen ruler or not.
"Would you like some of this too?"
Simon took out more snacks he had bought from the store, and Nephtys' eyes sparkled each time.
"This is great!"
She mumbled through a mouthful of jam sandwich.
"They never let me eat sweets at home!"
"...Ahaha."
Simon found himself having a dessert time with the great necromancer, a figure most people would be lucky to see even once in their lifetime.
They shared snacks and chatted about various things.
From thanking her for the subspace ring, to talking about Lorain,
The conversation naturally shifted to school life.
"This is your first time at school, right? How is it?"
"It's fun!"
Simon replied instantly.
"The professors are amazing, my friends are nice, the classes are interesting... I think I'm surprisingly suited for school."
She smiled brightly and nodded.
"Ahh, this is nice. Talking with you like this at Kizen reminds me of Richard."
"My father?"
"Yes! Your father was a Kizen student too. Didn't you know?"
This was news to Simon.
She chuckled and wagged her finger.
"Richard was something else. Unlike you, who's so well-behaved, he was a troublemaker, a legendary problem child."
"...My father?"
Simon's jaw dropped.
His calm and strict father, was a troublemaker in his school days?
He couldn't picture his father as a mischievous child.
"But he was also incredibly smart. He caused all sorts of trouble while always staying one step ahead of the professors. I can't count how many times I had to drag him back after he skipped class and tried to run away."
"...I-I can't believe it. Did my father graduate from Kizen?"
She shook her head.
"No. He dropped out in his second year."
"...Oh."
"He suddenly declared the school too confining and left. There had never been a student like him at Kizen. Richard was a special case in many ways."
Nephtys placed her hands on the floor and looked up at the ceiling.
An expression of deep, wistful emotion, unlike her youthful appearance, flickered across her face.
"Yes, I was young back then, too."
"...."
Simon wanted to comment, but he held back, sensing it wasn't the right time.
"Anyway! There's probably not a single place in Loch Island that Richard hasn't explored. If you look closely, you might find traces of your father all over the school!"
"Ah! That would be interesting."
She stood up and dusted off her clothes.
"Well, I have evening plans, so I have to go! I might get in trouble if I'm late. Hehe."
"Already?"
Simon blurted out his disappointment, surprising himself.
He had enjoyed her company so much that the time had flown by, and he had unknowingly revealed his true feelings.
"We'll see each other again soon, Simon."
Nephtys smiled.
"Thanks for the snacks! Bye!"
Just as Nephtys was about to hop back out the window, a small note fell from her clothes.
Simon picked up the note and rushed to the window.
"Lady Nephtys! You dropped this...!"
Whoosh.
She was already gone without a trace.
Simon scratched his head and examined the note.
"Judging by the circumstances... this must be for me."
He muttered to himself and sat down on the bed.
He unfolded the note.
It was a map.
The map led through Kizen and pointed to a location outside the academy, marked with a skull symbol.
A skull? Shouldn't a destination be marked with a treasure chest or something?
Simon examined the map carefully.
There was no other information besides the destination.
Why had Nephtys given him this map?
'If you look closely, you might find traces of your father all over the school!'
Simon clenched his fist, with his mind made up.
He decided to leave first thing tomorrow.
***
The first weekend morning at Kizen dawned.
Since the location marked on Nephtys' map was a forbidden forest, Simon decided to leave when it got dark.
Rick and Kajann had already left early, and Simon was immersed in his Summoning textbook, catching up on his studies.
He tried to study other subjects, but he couldn't concentrate.
Since he had to choose a main subject before the upcoming group project, Simon decided to dedicate this weekend to Summoning.
'Differences between Skeletons and Zombies. First, obedience to commands. Skeletons are generally obedient to a necromancer's commands, but zombies rely on instinct and have amplified hatred for the living, making them difficult to control.'
'The next stage after zombies is ghouls. Their numbers are small, but they are incomparably stronger than zombies. Wow, they can jump up to 300 meters in a single leap?'
'There's also something called a Patchwork Golem! When can I make one of those?'
He hadn't realized studying could be this much fun.
Time flew by, and Simon felt a pang of regret each time he checked the clock.
After spending the entire day studying Summoning, as the sun began to set, Simon finally made his move.
He wrote "Rochester visit, 1 night 2 days" in the dormitory's overnight register.
Rustle.
He left through the Kizen main gate and arrived at the forbidden forest as darkness fell.
The reason Kizen forbade entry into this forest was simple.
'Monster infested area.'
There were monsters in the Leshill mountains too, but it was unknown what kinds of monsters roamed Loch Island.
Simon walked cautiously.
'A stream flows to the east, and Kizen's walls are visible to the west. Okay, I'm on the right track.'
He checked the map carefully as he walked, and so far, everything was going smoothly.
But as he ventured deeper into the forest, animal cries became more frequent, and he started seeing animal droppings.
He poked them with a branch; they were wet and mushy, indicating recent activity.
'...I kind of want to go back.'
It would be a lie to say he wasn't scared, but Simon steeled his resolve.
He walked as quietly as possible, even if it meant moving slower.
And then.
-Grrrr.
A growl came from nearby.
Simon froze, covering his mouth and crouching down.
His eyes, adjusted to the darkness, caught a dark figure standing in the shadows of the trees.
It sniffed the air, its nose twitching.
'A monster.'
The monster's head turned.
Its eyes glowed in the darkness, staring at Simon.
Clack!
'Fast!'
Simon quickly reached for the dagger at his waist.
Eyes gleaming in the darkness, a silver streak shot towards him with a 'whoosh'.
Simon drew his dagger and swung it towards the streak.
Clang!
Metal clashed against metal, and Simon fell backwards.
Another swipe of claws left long gashes in the tree where he had been standing.
'A werewolf!'
Encountering one was practically a death sentence for ordinary people.
Fortunately, it wasn't fully grown, as its size was relatively small.
'If this was before I entered Kizen, I would have run...!'
Simon gripped his dagger and stood up.
He channeled Jet Black into his ring with his left hand and pulled the imaginary lever.
Click.
A subspace opened on the ground, and bones emerged from within.
'Restore!'
The scattered bones began to assemble themselves around a skull in an orderly fashion.
Soon, two complete skeletons stood before Simon.
'Alright!'
Simon clenched his fist.
His first time using necromancy techniques in actual combat.
It felt incredibly reassuring.
Beyond the increase in fighting power, the mere fact that he wasn't alone gave him a sense of relief.
In the blink of an eye, it was a 3-on-1 situation.
The werewolf flinched at the disadvantage in numbers but bared its fangs, showing its willingness to fight.
Clang. Clang.
Simon pulled two worn short swords from his subspace.
The skeletons caught the swords as they flew through the air.
-Kyaaa!
The werewolf lunged, and the battle began.
Slash!
A long gash appeared on the werewolf's abdomen from a skeleton's sword strike.
But the werewolf kept charging and swiped at the skeleton's torso with its right arm.
Bang!
Half of the skeleton's bony torso was shattered in a single blow.
Simon, connected to the undead, felt a sharp pain in his head.
But seizing the opportunity, the other skeleton circled around and thrust its short sword into the werewolf's exposed flank.
-Kyaaa!
The werewolf howled in pain. Simon thrust his right arm forward.
'Restore!'
The shattered bone fragments trembled and then reassembled themselves as if time was rewinding.
The restored skeleton immediately plunged its short sword into the werewolf's chest.
"Now! Charge!"
The two skeletons, swords still embedded in the werewolf, dragged it forward and slammed it against a tree.
Thud!
The tree shook violently, and leaves rained down.
'Now's my chance!'
Simon, dagger in hand, rushed forward.
The werewolf, pinned against the tree, swiped wildly, shattering the skeletons, but
Thud!
Simon's dagger plunged into the werewolf's neck before the skeletons completely fell apart.
A gruesome sensation of flesh and muscle tearing ran up his arm, but this was a life-or-death situation.
Simon tightened his grip on the dagger's hilt.
Crack. Crack.
Finally, the werewolf went limp.
Simon, breathing heavily, stumbled back and fell on his backside.
'...T-That was close.'
His lips trembled from the lingering tension of the battle.
'No time for this. I need to clean up.'
He couldn't risk attracting other monsters with the commotion and the smell of blood.
Simon struggled to his feet and attempted a 'Restore.' One skeleton was too damaged, but he managed to get the other one barely functional.
He stored the restored skeleton in his subspace and continued walking.
'Come to think of it, this was my first battle since entering Kizen.'
In just three days, Simon's combat abilities had significantly improved.
Just how much stronger could he become if he endured a year, no, three years here?
He couldn't help but wonder.
After walking for another 20 minutes,
'This is it.'
He arrived at the location marked with a skull on the map.
He looked around; there was nothing but an empty clearing.
The only unusual thing was that no trees or plants grew in this spot.
'I should probably dig, right?'
Simon opened his subspace and took out the shovel he had borrowed from the dormitory gardener.
He caught the spinning shovel with a flourish and started digging.
Thud! Thud!
His digging was remarkably skillful.
It didn't take long. The shovel hit something hard.
Simon crouched down and brushed away the dirt.
'Stone floor.'
It was a floor made of a peculiar dark stone.
As he cleared away the dirt, he noticed a depression in the center of the floor, shaped like a human hand.
He placed his right hand over it; the size was roughly the same.
But it probably wasn't a relic that opened with just a touch.
Simon closed his eyes, activated his Core, and emitted Jet Black from his palm.
Woooong!
As Simon's Jet Black flowed into the handprint, the floor lit up.
Then, with a 'crack', the floor opened.
'Stairs!'
A staircase leading downwards appeared.
A triumphant smile spread across Simon's face.
What secrets lay hidden down there?
Why had Nephtys led him to this place?
His heart pounding with anticipation, Simon began his descent.
***
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