The time it took for Simon's legion of necromancers to completely ravage a mountain range teeming with orcs was merely two days.
"Fire! Please take care of the chief monster at one o'clock!"
"Hehe! I'm on it!"
"Erzebet, block the escape route behind the village with ten corpse spiders."
"I shall obey your command."
Simon felt a new sensation here.
Leading an army of the undead and skillfully commanding them, he could read the overall situation of the battle, anticipate the enemy's movements, and finally grasp victory.
This was what it meant to be a necromancer.
Watching the orc village burn under the siege of his legion, Simon's heart raced.
Finally, when all the battles concluded, Simon entered the village.
Erzebet bowed respectfully, and Pier was chuckling while burying his great sword into the ground.
"Thanks to the excellent command of the legion commander, we have achieved victory."
"Erzebet and Pier did all the work."
At that moment, Erzebet's eyes widened.
"W-what did you just say?"
"Huh? I said you both did it."
"Before that!"
"Erzeb?"
"Ah...!"
She closed her eyes and clasped her hands together.
"Are you finally bestowing me with a nickname? I feel like I could fly! We have become even closer now!"
It was merely a call sign due to the urgency of battle.
Still, Simon thought it best not to ruin her joy and decided to let it slide.
"Now, it's your turn to work!"
Pier pointed in one direction.
The corpses of the gray orcs that had died during the battle were piled high in one spot.
"Make them all into skeletons! This will make the legion even stronger!"
Simon suddenly felt a wave of dizziness wash over him.
"Should we just burn them?"
"You crazy fool! I told you to make them into soldiers!"
Ah, come to think of it, I still haven't learned that.
"That?"
"The dark magic to raise corpses."
Until now, Simon had been assembling the 'skeleton set' sold in shops.
Of course, the skulls in the skeleton set already had summoning magic inscribed within them.
Pier's ability was to 'legionize' summoned undead or natural undead, so raising corpses directly to form a legion was beyond his capability.
"Ah, right. Sometimes I forget you're a first-year at Kizen."
Pier crossed his arms and said.
"But it's a time when corpses can be turned into money. I think it's a waste to just throw them away."
In the end, Simon sent a letter to the lord's castle asking for assistance.
Upon receiving Simon's message, Lord Raymond was so surprised that he rode up the mountain range himself to assess the situation and personally came to thank Simon at his lodging.
"They were truly a pain in the neck! I express my gratitude on behalf of the citizens!"
Raymond converted this incident into a 'formal request' and awarded Simon an additional reward, deciding to properly dispose of the orc corpses and send all the profits from them to Simon.
"Ugh! My soldiers...!"
Pier grumbled, seemingly reluctant, but when Simon mentioned he would use the money to buy new undead, he felt a bit better.
The next morning, Simon left the inn early.
"It's cramped!"
"Just hold on a little longer."
Simon stuffed Pier, Erzebet, and about thirty corpse spiders into the spatial pocket and headed to the promised location where he had first teleported.
Upon arriving at the promised spot, he saw a person sitting under a tree in a black robe, looking like a corpse.
Simon approached, but the person showed no reaction.
So, he fumbled for his Kizen student ID and held it out to him.
"Surprise."
The student ID vanished from Simon's hand.
In an instant, the man who had used inspection magic on the ID sprang up and bowed at a ninety-degree angle.
"I have been waiting. Simon Polentia."
"Ah, yes."
So he was indeed a subordinate of Kizen.
Simon awkwardly smiled as he received his student ID back.
"This way. I will guide you immediately."
"Yes."
The subordinate began to use dark magic.
A moment later, a clear teleportation magic circle was drawn on the ground.
"Congratulations on your safe return. Have a good day today."
"Thank you."
The request was successful, and he had earned plenty of extra funds for his school life.
Simon stepped onto the magic circle feeling good.
"Let's go back. To Kizen!"
Thus, after using the teleportation magic circle, Simon returned safely to Rock Island and arrived at the Kizen campus.
"Ah."
Simon took a deep breath.
"It's been a while, Kizen!"
As he looked around at the familiar school buildings, he felt a tickling sensation.
How could he feel so fond of this place after being away for just a few days? Perhaps because he had come back a day early, the school was quiet.
Occasionally, a few students passed by chatting or sitting on benches reading books.
"The change in environment is quite striking."
When he was out on missions, Simon was alone at Kizen, treated well by others, but here it was different.
All the students here were Kizen, and he had to fiercely compete with them to survive.
Still, he was ready now.
Simon just wanted to reunite with his friends and attend the next class.
"Boy! What are you lost in thought for so long? Let's hurry to the ruins!"
"Haha, got it."
Just as Simon was about to head toward the Forbidden Forest, he heard someone call his name.
"Simon!"
Turning around at the sound, he saw Kamibarez waving and running toward him from a distance.
"Kam!"
Simon smiled brightly.
She felt even more welcoming after just a few days apart.
"I'm so glad you're safe! I was worried since you had a tough mission."
"I was lucky in many ways."
In contrast to Simon, Kamibarez had taken on a request from Rock Island and quickly finished it, choosing to study at school.
"Simon, Simon! Look at this! Ta-da!"
She spun around and showed her back.
Adorable bat wings were fluttering behind her in her Kizen uniform.
"I got my uniform altered! Hehe."
With her innocent smile and pride in her uniform, Simon couldn't help but smile back.
"It's much better than before."
"Right? Right?"
"Yeah. By the way, how about we grab a cup of coffee at the kiosk over there? I'll treat you."
"Huh? Oh, that's okay. I'll pay with my own money..."
Simon grinned.
"I'll treat you. I earned a lot from the mission."
He flaunted the money he earned from the request to his classmate.
As Kamibarez waved goodbye and headed back to the library, Simon stepped out of the Kizen main gate and entered the Forbidden Forest.
"Commander! Who was that girl earlier?"
"Ah, you startled me."
Erzebet had come out from the spatial pocket and was walking behind Simon.
"Just a classmate."
"She had a rather annoyed look when she saw the commander."
Simon's expression slightly hardened.
"Do you remember our agreement? No touching people without my permission..."
"Of course. The girl will quietly wait with Pier in the ruins until the commander arrives."
Her overly obedient demeanor made Simon feel uneasy.
She smiled sweetly and said,
"And since I am your servant, please feel free to speak comfortably. I find it uncomfortable."
"Ah, yes. Then, um..."
Simon scratched his head and nodded.
"And even though this is the Forbidden Forest, sometimes guards or people come and go. Erzeb, it would be better for you to stay in the spatial pocket."
"If the problem is people's eyes, then wouldn't this work?"
She lightly tapped her chest with her fingertip.
Suddenly, her wine-colored dress transformed into spider silk.
It looked as if she were naked, completely wrapped in spider silk.
"That wasn't clothing, but all spider silk."
Simon was taken aback.
When she touched the spider silk again, its color and texture began to change.
A white blouse with a red-toned tie, a black jacket, skirt, and shoes.
She perfectly recreated the Kizen female student uniform.
She brushed her bubble-like hair back and smiled.
"Are you satisfied?"
"...... The quality is certainly high."
"If you need a messenger to go back and forth between Kizen, please call me. No surveillance magic can capture me."
Erzebet specialized in the role of a spy.
Not only could she change her appearance, but she also possessed unique stealth skills that allowed her to evade surveillance magic.
Thus, she was the only undead capable of moving between the ruins and Kizen.
Of course, the spider legion she led was also specialized in ambush and surprise attacks.
"I'm glad I brought her into the legion. The more I think about it, the more useful she is."
As Simon nodded, Erzebet pulled out more spider silk and covered her head with it.
Curious, Simon quietly watched what she would do next.
"How about this look?"
"......!"
Simon gasped and took a step back.
Erzebet had transformed into Kamibarez.
With puppy-like innocent eyes and the characteristic fangs of the vampire clan, she was perfect.
"Ahem, ahem."
Her voice was still Erzebet's, but she began to loosen her neck.
"Kyaah! Kiiih! Kyaah!"
......
The way she was loosening her neck was somewhat chaotic.
Then, a moment later, she spun around and said, "Simon, Simon! Look at this! Ta-da!"
"......!!"
Erzebet was speaking in Kamibarez's voice while flapping the bat wings behind her.
Simon's face turned bright red as he flailed his arms.
"Stop! Stop! I've seen enough of your skills! That's enough!"
"Hehe."
She smiled alluringly.
"I think using this power could bring the commander many joys."
"Ah, shut up! You guys!"
Pier's clone, clinging to Simon's uniform, shouted.
"Stop playing around and let's go already! The spiderlings keep clinging to my body and whining!"
Pier was angry.
They hurried on their way again.
Erzebet, seemingly enjoying Simon's embarrassed reaction, continued to stay in Kamibarez's form.
"...... Erzeb."
"Yes~ Master~"
"...... Don't call me Master in Kamibarez's voice."
"I understand."
She returned to her original voice and chuckled.
It was clear she was enjoying herself.
"Let's talk about the legion. We only have about thirty corpse spiders, right? How can we increase their numbers? Should we go out into the continent and collect more spiders...?"
"Don't worry. As the queen spider, I can lay eggs."
Simon's steps came to a sudden halt.
"W-what did you say...?"
"I can lay eggs."
Her face suddenly turned bright red, and she pretended to lift her skirt with her fingertips.
"It’s embarrassing to show how I lay eggs, but if it's for you, Master..."
"Ugh! No! Return to your original form! That's an order!"
Seeing the chaos unfold, Pier's clone clicked its tongue.
As expected, Erzebet was too stimulating for Simon at this moment.
He ultimately opened the spatial pocket and ordered Erzebet to go inside.
She made the most pitiful expression, but it no longer worked.
"...... Ah, wait."
Simon, whose face was still red, suddenly became serious.
"Erzeb."
"Yes, Commander."
"Can you... possibly transform into a priest?"