"I apologize on behalf of my brother and the royal family."
Princess Molly bowed her head respectfully. Simon waved his hands in alarm.
"N-No, it is alright, Your Highness!"
"I give you my word that neither my brother nor Dresden will bother you again. I also came here unannounced, so please allow me to arrange a time to formally apologize later. Farewell."
She departed with the student in the maid uniform. Only then did Simon let out a sigh of relief. With her intervention, he likely would not have to worry about Andre’s retaliation.
Later, while Simon was in the clubroom repairing the Overlord after the Duel Evaluation, a conversation started.
"Hey, kid," Benya said as she helped him with his work. "You’re in Professor Aaron’s class, right?"
"Yes."
"What are you learning these days?"
Simon thought for a moment. "Hmm, now that you mention it, we have been setting aside skeletons and other undead to focus exclusively on zombies."
"Zombies?" At the word, Benya froze, her expression hardening. Deo, a second-year, who was lazing on the sofa as usual, also lifted his head slightly.
"Yes. Is something wrong?"
"No, nothing is wrong. But if you’re learning about zombies now, it will not be long before..." Benya shook her head. "You will be going ‘there’ soon."
"’There’?"
"UGHHH!!"
A sudden scream made them both turn. Deo was tearing at his hair, thrashing on the couch.
"Ah, damn it, I told you not to talk about that! It’s bringing back my freshman year trauma!"
"I thought it was fun!"
"Fun my ass. It is horrifying just thinking about it."
Benya laughed loudly. Simon, completely lost, could only look back and forth between the two.
"At the end of Professor Aaron’s zombie class, there is an important practical evaluation," Benya explained. "It might seem horrifying at the time, but looking back on it a year later, it is all just a fond memory..."
As Benya reminisced, Deo shot Simon a pitiful look from over her shoulder, as if to say, ‘You poor thing.’
Not long after Benya mentioned it, a practical evaluation was indeed scheduled for the Summoning class. It was a major affair, taking up an entire day.
The meeting place was not the usual lecture hall but the teleportation magic circle they often used for missions. This definitely meant they were leaving Roc Island.
[Interesting. Take me with you!]
When Simon told Pier what Benya had said, the ancient undead showed keen interest.
’Why, Pier?’
[I wanted to check that place out anyway! I was planning on making you go there during your vacation, no matter what.]
For Pier to insist like this meant only one thing.
[There is a high probability that the Legion’s zombie commander, ‘Prince,’ will be there!]
The prospect of a new Legion Commander was something Simon wholeheartedly welcomed. Having foolishly lost the chance to acquire Vickrum, he did not want to miss even the slightest possibility. Kizen had not mentioned anything about inspecting Subspaces, and according to the upperclassmen, they would be free to act as they pleased once the evaluation began. Simon accepted Pier’s proposal.
On the day of the evaluation, Simon placed Pier and a number of legionized skeletons into his Subspace and arrived at the teleportation circle.
’Phew.’
He was hungry after an early morning trip to Pier’s ruins. He found a shady spot under a tree and was nibbling on some bread from the school store when...
"Simon!"
Kamibarez came running down a hill, waving. Her perpetually bright smile had a magical quality that could lift anyone’s spirits. Simon smiled and waved back.
"Hi, Kami."
"May I sit next to you?"
"Of course."
She sat beside him, her legs neatly together and her arms resting on her knees, smiling happily.
"You seem to be in a good mood today."
"I am! It has been a while since we have all had a group evaluation together!"
It was true. Aaron had made it clear that this evaluation would be a group project, using the same teams from Professor Jane’s class. A quick glance around confirmed it; all the Class A students were gathered and chatting with their teammates.
"I am a little worried," Simon said, munching on his bread.
"About what?"
"My club seniors said this evaluation is tough."
"Oh, I heard that too. They said Class C went before us, and everyone was so drained that they were still out of it in class the next day."
"Well, well, what have we here?"
Simon looked up. Dick was standing over them with a mischievous grin.
"You two look pretty cozy. Wow! We have got a couple on our hands!"
"Dick!!" Kamibarez yelped, her face turning red all the way to her earlobes. Simon, now used to this, just continued eating his bread.
’Kami’s the only one who plays along.’
Just as Dick was savoring his victory...
"Hey! Stop bothering my sweet Kami!"
Meirin approached, her sky-blue hair fluttering behind her. Dick shrugged.
"I think it is a bad habit to condemn someone without hearing the full story."
"Yeah, based on your usual behavior."
"Wow, that is harsh."
Meirin shook her head. "Just thinking about how I fell for your silver tongue at the beginning of the semester makes me want to die of embarrassment."
"Oh? So you have built up an immunity now, have you?"
"Of course!"
"So confident. Shall we test it?"
When Dick suddenly bent over and placed his hands on his knees, Meirin said coldly, "Ah, I am so stiff from standing in this ‘pose,’ I think I will ‘touch’ my legs a bit."
Dick’s expression froze. She had perfectly predicted his next line. He awkwardly straightened up, then stretched his legs out wide.
"Are you going to do that ‘bring it on’ thing now?"
"You have got to be kidding me, how did you—!"
"There is a limit to beating a dead horse. You have rehashed it so many times that it is practically dust."
"You are so cool, Meirin!" Kamibarez cheered, clapping her hands. By now, even Simon was watching Meirin’s counterattack with great interest. Dick wiped his face like a man facing the greatest crisis of his life.
"Wow, damn. I was trying to save this one for a special occasion."
"Stop talking crap and get ready for the evaluation."
"For my next act, I will recreate Meirin’s signature victory pose."
"Signature?" Meirin’s expression grew uneasy.
"When Meirin won her Duel Evaluation, it was something like this, right?"
Dick crossed his arms, resting his left above his navel and bringing his right up toward his face. One leg was straight, the other slightly bent to create a sassy, curved silhouette. From this exact pose, he tucked his hair behind his ear with his right hand and smiled sweetly.
"Try harder... commoner."
Even the other students who had been watching could not hold back their laughter. Simon spat out the bread he was eating, and Kamibarez quickly covered her mouth. As for Meirin, her face turned a shade of crimson she could not hide.
"Hahaha! It is a perfect match, isn’t it? Now for another pose..."
"Don’t you dare, you psycho!"
Finally snapping, Meirin summoned a bag from her Subspace and started beating Dick with it. He fell to the grass under the assault, and a one-sided thrashing ensued.
"Another beating ending!"
"Die!"
Joyful laughter echoed around them.
"Huh, how absurd," one of the female students in Hector’s group scoffed. "They really cannot read the room. So carefree when they do not even know where we are going... Do not laugh, you idiot!"
"Oof!"
She slapped the back of the male student standing next to her.
Just as the lively chatter reached its peak...
"Attention."
Aaron finally appeared. The students’ eyes widened. He was not wearing his usual shabby t-shirt and shorts but a long coat adorned with black feathers.
’Wow, clothes really do make the man.’
’He looks like a completely different person.’
As the students marveled silently, Aaron spoke in his characteristic languid voice. "There is no time to dawdle. Everyone, on the teleportation magic circle."
It was just like Aaron to send them off without another word. As the students filed onto the platform, he took his place in the center.
The looping sensation of teleportation was familiar by now. Simon felt his feet lift off the ground and closed his eyes.
He opened his eyes. In an instant, every preconceived notion he had formed from rumors and stories vanished. This place was beyond anything he could have imagined.
A black world.
The simple act of standing here and breathing felt wrong. The sky was pitch black, dotted with strange, red, cloud-like formations that drifted on unseen currents. Weeds grew on the ground, and what might have been flowers were desiccated and brittle, devoid of all life.
The public’s assessment of this place as the land of death was chillingly accurate. The other Class A students looked just as bewildered by the alien and desolate landscape.
’Rustle.’
Kamibarez, her face pale with fear, grabbed the hem of Simon’s uniform. He reassured her in a low voice and gently patted her shoulder.
"Attention."
Aaron, his black-feathered coat making him an imposing figure, stepped into the center of the group. The students quickly gathered around him.
"No need to make a fuss. This is the southern region of the Shahed Kingdom. A place called Deathland."
Aaron began his explanation. "Deathland is considered one of the ten great mysteries of the continent. The powerful black magic cast upon this land has mingled with natural phenomena to create bizarre occurrences. The most notable of these is..."
He plucked a faded flower from the ground.
"Within this region, the concept of decay does not exist."
Aaron tapped the flower, and it crumbled into dust.
"When a living creature dies here, it does not rot away. Its form is preserved. Because of that, this place..." Aaron’s lips curled into a grim smile. "...is known as a paradise for zombies."
The students’ faces turned pale. They had already been hearing strange, guttural groans echoing from the darkness around them.
"As previously announced, this Summoning practical evaluation will be a group project," Aaron said, glancing at his watch. "You have all studied zombies and learned the magic circles to raise them. The task is simple. By midnight sharp, you are to create the best summoned zombie you can find in this Deathland and present it to me."
Simon’s eyes widened.
’A mission to create a zombie!’
That meant simply capturing one of the natural undead roaming Deathland would not be enough. Only zombies summoned by the students themselves would be evaluated.
"The criteria will be the zombie’s completeness, originality, and combat ability. The magic circle you use will also be part of the score. There are no points for teamwork. All four of you will receive the same score and rank based on the quality of the zombie you bring."
Aaron’s smile was unnerving. "I hope there are no cowards here who will cry over a few zombies. You are necromancers. I expect you to act like it."

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