Chapter 167
At Simon's request to show her divine beast, Lete scoffed with an incredulous expression.
"What a joke. You asked so casually, I almost showed you without realizing it."
"?"
"You and I are enemies."
She pointed at Simon with a cold gaze.
"Please remember our positions. I'm Efnelle's first pick, you're Keyzen's special admission number one! We're only cooperating right now because of Professor Anna. If it weren't for her, your head would've flown off your neck multiple times by now! Got it?"
Despite her blunt words, Simon only smiled. That smile made Lete even more irritated, and she raised her voice.
"Ugh! Do you think we're friends or something? Asking me to reveal my full power like it's no big deal? What you're asking is rude!"
"If it felt rude, I apologize."
Simon bowed his head. Lete blinked in surprise.
She thought he'd keep scratching at her nerves with that smiling face, but she hadn't expected him to bow his head so quickly.
"Then how about we make a deal?"
Simon suggested.
Lete calmed herself and straightened her posture, then asked with disinterest,
"What kind of deal?"
"If you reveal information, I'll reveal something equivalent."
"You wanna die or something."
Her eyes turned sharp.
"You think I'd fall for a cheap trick like that?"
"Then I'll go first. I'll reveal some information, and if you think it's equivalent, you reveal yours. How about that?"
She crossed her arms and smirked.
How obvious. He's going to show me something, then just zip his lips and call it a day.
Simon must still think of himself as a conscientious person, but not a chance. At Efnelle, they taught that you should never show even the smallest gap to an enemy.
"Fine. Go ahead."
Simon nodded with a serious expression.
Lete suddenly began to feel nervous. What kind of information was he so confident about revealing?
"Actually, I'm a Legion Commander."
"...!!"
Words she couldn't even imagine came out of his mouth, and her jaw dropped. The color drained from her face, her posture collapsed, and she looked completely stunned.
"There. I revealed something. Now it's your turn."
"D-Don't make me laugh!"
She jumped to her feet.
"A seventeen-year-old Legion Commander? Bullshit! If you were really a Legion Commander, there's no way Efnelle wouldn't have known!"
"It's true."
"Then show me proof!"
Simon said with a smiling face,
"I'll show you once you've shown me something of equal value."
"...Agh!"
A necromancer and a priest crossing borders hand in hand, whether in Keyzen or Efnelle, it was unforgivable. If either of them leaked a word, their heads would roll.
They had to strictly protect each other's secrets.
Simon, well aware of this, casually tossed out the bait about being a Legion Commander.
To be honest, during this Holy Federation journey, it was going to be hard not to use his Legion Commander power at all. If it was going to be exposed anyway, he might as well use it to extract some information from her.
"If you don't want to show me, we can just end it here."
Simon shamelessly said.
Lete glared fiercely, but Simon didn't flinch and kept his composed demeanor.
Eventually, Lete sighed and got up.
"I shouldn't have said anything. Talking to you is like getting tangled in endless vines."
She then activated Efnelle's subspace. The air split open and a radiant light poured out, and from it, a lifeform leaped forth.
'That's—!'
Simon hadn't expected to receive anything more than confirmation of his Legion Commander identity.
But this was beyond imagination.
It was none other than—
"…A dragon?"
A stunning white dragon with dazzling prism-colored scales appeared. It seemed to be a hatchling, as it wasn't that large.
—Kiiiiing.
The hatchling joyfully soared through the sky, delighted by the fresh air after so long.
Then, as Lete extended her arm, it came eagerly, wrapping around it. The dragon nuzzled her cheek and licked her face.
"Ahaha! That tickles, Ran!"
"Ran?"
"That's this little one's name."
The dragon that had been affectionately clinging to Lete spotted Simon. It slithered down her arm, then opened its mouth.
Lete quickly warned,
"Ah, be careful! Divine beasts are hostile to Darkness, it might bite you—!"
Lick, lick.
Ran began licking Simon's cheek too.
As Simon stood still, Ran circled him curiously.
Simon gently reached out his arm like Lete had, and Ran immediately came to him, wrapping around his arm.
—Kiiing.
Ran seemed comfortable like this, happily shaking its head side to side. Simon's eyes sparkled.
"So cute."
After only seeing skeletons, zombies, and corpse spiders in Keyzen, seeing a divine beast like this was honestly healing.
"This way, Ran!"
—Kiiing!
As Simon ran across the grass, Ran joyfully flipped through the air and followed. Watching this sudden game of tag, Lete let out a hollow laugh.
'What is this? This kid used to start with a breath attack the moment he sensed Darkness.'
It seemed like Ran was showing affection because he sensed holiness from Simon.
Even so, a necromancer bonding with a divine beast… Just how many times was this guy going to surprise her?
"Ran, come back now."
Lete held out her arm.
But Ran ignored her and kept playing with Simon. The necromancer and the divine beast rolled through the grass together, hugging and playing.
"Ah, don't pretend you didn't hear! I said come back!"
She tried scolding, but Ran ignored her again.
In the end, Lete had to run over and pull Ran off by the tail. Even then, Ran kept making keening sounds, trying to go back to Simon, so she had to hold him tight in her arms.
"Haha."
Simon, feeling proud, said,
"Guess Divine Beastology doesn't automatically improve your bond with divine beasts, huh?"
"Shut up!!"
Lete, for once, shouted in embarrassment.
To show such a pathetic side in front of the man who might be her greatest threat, it was unbearable.
In the end, she sent Ran back into subspace.
And Simon began to reevaluate Lete. She was already powerful, but if she eventually learned to fully control a dragon… just how strong would she become?
"Ahem! Now, it's your turn again. Concrete proof that you're a Legion Comm—"
"Oop, let's stop here."
"Where do you think you're going, you bastard?!"
Simon glanced back and gave a sly smile.
The information exchange was 1:1. If Simon revealed something, she had to reveal something of equal value. That was the deal, and it ended there.
Ending the deal was Simon's right, as the one who had gone first.
"I'm not that interested in what you've got left to offer… Honestly, I just don't have any Ancient Undead right now, so I can't show you even if I wanted to."
"Just die, you scammer! All necromancers really are the same!"
"When we get home, I'll make that omelet you like."
"Don't try to bribe me with food like I'm some animal!"
* * *
Day 15 of vacation.
Two days left until the Holy Federation trip.
Though it was called vacation, Simon's life was far from restful. He was completely consumed, learning white magic for priests from Lete, and Corpse Explosion from Richard.
Even in between, he still fulfilled his duties as heir to the fiefdom. He continued training on his own, wearing bracelets and anklets on all four limbs while crossing mountain ranges, a method Richard had originally suggested.
While climbing steep slopes, Simon would activate and deactivate Holiness with his left hand, and read a book on Holy Federation culture with his right.
Perhaps inspired by Simon's tireless efforts, like a ghost who died from studying too little, Lete began private training sessions outside her scheduled lessons with him.
'Huh.'
While Simon was hiking over another mountain range toward the next village, he spotted two Mountain Goblins wandering ahead. These were the very monsters that had been harassing the local villagers recently.
—Kirik!
The goblins also noticed Simon and charged at him. Simon stopped walking and casually shifted into a battle stance.
Riiip!
Thud!
He didn't even get a warm-up. Within seconds, both monsters were dead on the ground.
'Tier 2 monsters are really easy now.'
Simon shook his hands and placed his palm on one of the fallen goblins.
After experiencing zombie transformations from White Ghost in Deathland, goblins were simple work for Simon.
Soon, the magic circle completed, and the zombified goblins began to groggily rise.
—Groan! Groan!
'?'
Suddenly, the sound of a dog barking made Simon look up.
It was the 'Green Gnoll', known as the predator of the mountains. It licked its lips at the scent of the goblins' spilled blood. It must have caught the scent and rushed over.
'Perfect timing.'
The Green Gnoll was a Tier 3 monster, stronger than a goblin. Simon had wanted to practice Corpse Explosion in a real battle, and now the perfect opponent had shown up.
—Growl! Bark! Bark!
The Green Gnoll crouched low and then charged swiftly.
Simon tapped into the zombies' thoughts and gave the command to attack. The zombies grabbed at the rushing gnoll, while Simon extended his right hand to prepare a magic circle.
—The principle of Corpse Explosion lies in detonating the "Core".
Richard's voice came in his mind.
—All undead, whether summoned or natural, have a core. For summoned undead, the summoning circle acts as the core.
Depending on which zombie you explode, the formula and complexity of the Corpse Explosion magic varies significantly.
Simon interfered with the zombie's summoning circle and finished the setup.
"Corpse—"
Just as he was about to activate the spell and clench his fist—
Rip!
The gnoll's claws sliced through the zombie's neck. Its chest was also torn, damaging the magic circle.
'Damn it.'
The black magic was canceled. The gnoll kicked the other zombie away and rushed straight at Simon.
Simon regretfully lowered his arm.
'I focused too much on Corpse Explosion and didn't control the zombies properly.'
Once again, he realized that practice and real battle were different.
You need to experience more variables and failures to avoid making mistakes when it truly matters.
Grateful for the valuable lesson, Simon dropped into a stance.
Whoosh!
The gnoll's claws sliced through the air. Simon nimbly dodged to the side and prepared white magic with his left hand.
Red and green Holiness enveloped Simon's body. As the gnoll crouched again to leap, planting its hands on the ground—
Wham!
Simon's knee struck its face before it could react. The gnoll's snout contorted, and it flew off, kicking up a cloud of dust.
'The priest's blessing…'
Simon marveled at the power coursing through his enhanced body.
He thought, honestly, this might rival a necromancer's curses. Facing a priest already wrapped in blessings from the start would be a nightmare for any necromancer.
—Grrr!
The enraged gnoll slammed its feet down and launched itself again. Simon extended his left hand.
A translucent holy shield appeared in front of Simon, blocking the gnoll's body with a thump!
'Release.'
At the same time, Simon spun in place and canceled the shield. As it vanished, his razor-sharp kick struck the gnoll's exposed torso mid-air.
Boom!
The gnoll flew backward, coughing up blood, and crashed to the ground several meters away. Though badly injured, its fighting spirit remained unbroken. It staggered back to its feet.
But Simon wasn't done.
Grab!
One of the zombies, previously knocked away, grabbed the gnoll from behind. Simon, who had canceled his blessings, now raised his right hand.
"Corpse—"
He had it this time.
With the gnoll struggling in the zombie's grasp, Simon clenched his extended hand.
"—Explosion!"
BOOOOM!
The zombie holding the gnoll detonated in a dark blue blast.
Moments later, the gnoll's head was blown off, and its upper body severely mangled. It collapsed to the ground.
"Whew, got it."
Simon finally let out a breath and approached the fallen gnoll.
"Too damaged to be useful as a zombie."
A first-rate necromancer might be able to raise any corpse, but Simon's current
"Alright, let's move on!"
After visiting all the villages assigned to him, Simon was on his way back home.
"Lete?"
Lete was standing in the yard with her arms crossed, waiting for him.
Sweeping her white hair back with her fingers, she said,
"Get ready. We'll be crossing into the Holy Federation early tomorrow morning."