A few days later, the morning of the Kizen first-years' Dispatch Evaluation arrived.
While everyone else was still asleep, Simon slipped out of the dormitory, passed through the Forbidden Forest, and entered Pier's Ruins.
'Clank! Clank! Clank!'
Like villains preparing for world domination in a secret underground base, Legionized skeletons and corpse spiders marched in disciplined ranks into the vast Subspace Simon held open.
"But are you two really coming with me?"
[Of course, we must accompany you, Legion Commander!] Erzebet, the leader of the Spider Corps, declared. [If I were to leave everything to Prince, I fear I wouldn't be able to sleep at night from worry.]
Pier, who was sitting on the altar, added his voice. [Outside of Roc Island, no one knows when or how Magnus might make a move! There's no harm in being cautious on an external assignment like this!]
Watching the legion's undead file into the massive Subspace, Simon scratched his head. "W-Well, I don't think we need to bring this many..."
He wasn't marching to war, yet he was taking two hundred skeletons and one hundred corpse spiders. Add to that two Ancient Undead, plus Prince and his zombie unit, who would join them later, and it was a force capable of laying waste to a respectable territory in a single day.
Simon decided to make things clear. "There will be too many eyes on us during this evaluation. Please don't come out unless my life is in extreme danger. I'll try to handle things on my own as much as possible."
The Legion's movements left a trail. Pier moving alone in the Cave of Screams had been enough for Magnus to detect him and corner them. If they moved as a whole Legion, it would give Magnus far too much information.
[Then let's do this!] Pier said, a dark blue flame igniting in his eye sockets. [We shall only intervene if your life is in danger, or if we are attacked by Magnus's Legion and must respond Legion to Legion! Will that suffice?]
"Yes, those conditions are fine."
While the two were talking, Erzebet's eyes twinkled with a mischievous glint.
Having finished his preparations, Simon left Pier's Ruins and returned to Kizen. When he arrived at the hill with the teleportation magic circle, a crowd of students was gathered, their faces a mix of excitement and tension.
"Simon! Over here!" Kamibarez waved her hands enthusiastically. Next to her were Dick, who was laughing and chatting, and Meirin, who stood with her arms crossed.
"You're here?"
"Hurry up! You're always late, you sleepyhead!"
Simon quickly ran over and joined them.
"Wear this," Meirin said, handing him something. It was a desert robe designed for good ventilation, complete with a turban to block the sand.
"Meirin bought them for us!" Kamibarez, already wearing her robe, spun around.
Simon smiled brightly as he accepted the garment. "Thanks, Meirin. I'll make good use of it."
Meirin cleared her throat, looking embarrassed, and waved a dismissive hand. "I-It's my duty as the team leader!"
Everyone put on the robes Meirin had bought and chatted among themselves. The main topic, of course, was the Neutral Zone.
"The Neutral Zone! I can't believe I'm finally getting to go there!" At Dick's shout, Kamibarez flapped her wings and nodded.
"I-I couldn't sleep a wink! I'm a little scared... but I feel safe because you're all with me!"
"Me too," Simon agreed with a smile. It was the first time the four of them were carrying out a mission together. They worked well as a team, and each member was more than capable of handling their role. He felt confident, even about leaving familiar territory.
Kamibarez giggled happily at his agreement, the long sleeves of her robe fluttering.
"Aww, Kami, you're so cute," Meirin cooed, hugging Kamibarez tightly from behind. "Just stick close to me. Don't get lost, and don't follow any strange old men!"
"Okay, Meirin!"
Kamibarez had finally learned how to play along with the teasing. Before, she would just tremble, unable to tell if it was a joke or serious, but thanks to Dick—whose speech was more jokes than anything else—she had been forced to adapt.
"I'm most curious about what kind of necromancer will be our mentor," Simon mused.
Dick quickly chimed in. "I'm not asking for much! All adult necromancers are crazy, so I just hope we get someone who's a little less crazy!"
"That sounds like you're asking for a lot..."
Suddenly, a pair of soft hands covered Simon's eyes from behind, plunging his vision into darkness.
"Guess who...?"
Simon's shoulders flinched. 'Wait, that voice...'
He quickly pushed the hands away and spun around.
"Hi, Simon!"
Simon almost screamed. Before him stood a woman with a voluminous cloud of curly hair—he recognized her in an instant.
'E-Erzebet?!'
To his utter shock, Erzebet was dressed in a Kizen uniform. It was stretched taut over her adult physique, the outer jacket tied around her waist, and the necktie worn loosely. She had even dyed her hair pink.
'Weren't you in the Subspace?'
"Simon," Meirin said, pointing at the disguised Erzebet. "Who is she?"
"Ah, well..."
As Simon hesitated, his mind a complete blank, Erzebet brazenly linked her arm with his and beamed. "Nice to meet you! My name is Elizabeth Waffer! Simon and I are childhood friends from the same hometown! I'm a Summoning major in Class E!"
That was news to him.
'Erzebet!'
Simon shot her a look, trying to telepathically signal her to get back into the Subspace, but the pink-haired Erzebet just smiled sweetly, showing no intention of doing so.
"Ch-Childhood friends?" Камибарез covered her mouth with both hands and looked back and forth between Simon and Erzebet, her gaze finally fixing on their linked arms.
"Hey." Meirin, on the other hand, was glaring at Simon. "You said you were from Leshill. Why didn't you tell us a friend from your hometown was at Kizen?"
"Ah, no. That's..."
"Actually, I moved to a different territory," Erzebet smoothly interjected. "We just happened to meet again here at Kizen."
"...Hmm."
Dick was now staring at Erzebet with an incredibly serious expression. A jolt of panic shot through Simon. With Dick's information network, it wouldn't be strange if he knew every student in Class E. What if he immediately realized there was no student named Elizabeth Waffer?
"Damn! You lucky bastard, Simon..."
Turns out, he was just an idiot. Dick rushed over and grabbed Simon by the collar. "If you knew such an amazing childhood friend, you should have introduced her sooner!"
Meirin quickly cut in. "Hey, are you really Simon's childhood friend? How long have you known him?"
"Ah, hello. I-I'm Kamibarez Ursula! I'm not a childhood friend, but still...!"
The situation was spiraling into chaos. Desperately clinging to his sanity, Simon grabbed Erzebet's wrist. "Sorry, we just need to talk for a minute!"
With that, he pulled Erzebet away as if escaping, heading toward a dense patch of trees. He pushed her against a tree and hissed, "What does this mean, Erzebet!"
A sly smile played on her lips. "A little deviation, you could say."
"A deviation? You know how dangerous things are with Magnus's Legion..."
"Are you aware that I've been stuck in those ruins this entire semester?"
Simon, who had been on the verge of scolding her, froze, a flicker of guilt on his face.
She laughed softly. "You know that I joined the Legion solely for you, right, Legion Commander? I understand our situation, but I'm always stuck in the ruins, just using my spiders to scout for Magnus's Legion. Even when you do visit, you're busy training with Pier. I thought I might finally get to go out this time, but it seems Magnus has ruined that, too." She placed a hand on her chest. "So I decided to just pop out for a bit! If you wish to punish me, I shall accept it."
'...Ugh.'
Come to think of it, he had been neglecting Erzebet lately. Simon sighed. "From now on, I'll pay more attention to you. But if you're going to pull a stunt like this again, please tell me first."
"I shall keep that in mind."
Fortunately, Erzebet returned to the Subspace without much resistance. Just then, the area around the teleportation circle grew noisy. It seemed it was time to depart, so Simon hurried over.
'What a chaotic start.'
He could just see his teammates stepping onto the teleportation magic circle.
"Simon Polentia! Is student Simon Polentia here?" a voice called out.
"Yes, I'm here!" Simon shouted, running to catch up with his team.
Kamibarez saw him and asked, "Simon! What about Elizabeth Waffer?"
'She really just made that name up on the spot,' he thought. Simon forced a smile. "She went back to her own team. Haha."
Dick stroked his chin with a satisfied expression. "Elizabeth was something else. To think there was a girl like that at Kizen."
Just then, the teleportation administrator spoke. "Alright, is everyone here?"
"Yes!"
On the teleportation circle, besides Simon's Team 7 from Class A, there were also teams from other classes. The administrator held up a document. "Alright, you are all going to the Neutral Zone."
"Whoaa!" The students outside the circle cheered, relieved that the small chance of going somewhere safer had increased.
"Still, they say ninety percent of us are going to the Neutral Zone anyway," Meirin grumbled with a pout.
"Team leaders, step forward."
Meirin and the other team leaders stood before the administrator, who handed each of them a thick envelope.
"This letter contains information about your dispatch location and mentor necromancer. Find your way there. Good luck."
"Thank you!"
They soon took their places on the magic circle, holding hands and forming a ring. When Kamibarez hesitated shyly, Simon gently took her hand first. It felt incredibly small in his own.
"Alright, we will now depart!"
The four of them felt their feet lift off the ground simultaneously.
As the teleportation began, Simon felt like he was riding an endless slide through an abstract painting. Usually, teleportation was a simple matter of closing and opening one's eyes to a new scene. This prolonged sensation meant they were traveling an incredible distance.
Just when he thought he couldn't hold on much longer, his feet grew heavy before he felt the familiar sensation of solid ground. Wind brushed against his skin, and a salty scent filled the air. Finally, he slowly lifted his eyelids, and light streamed in.
'Ugh.'
The sunlight was blinding. He waited a moment for his eyes to adjust.
"I-Is everyone okay?"
"...Ugh, I'm alive, at least."
The other three who had teleported with him were sprawled on the ground. Simon walked over to them.
"Need a hand?"
Meirin, who was sitting with her legs tucked to one side, opened her eyes. The first thing she saw was Simon, smiling brightly with the dazzling sun at his back, offering her his hand.
"...Meirin?"
After staring blankly for a moment, she yelped, "Wha—!" and grabbed his hand. She was then pulled to her feet with surprising force.
"...Thanks," she mumbled, her voice barely audible.
Simon smiled and helped the others up.
'So this is...'
He slowly looked around. The Neutral Zone. Not the land of necromancers, nor the territory of priests, but a space of complete neutrality and freedom—and a lawless land infamous for its terrible security.
The sun beat down from the sky, surrounded by peculiar, earth-built houses. Ochre-colored ground stretched out before them, and a hot wind blew through the sweltering air.
"L-Look over there! The sea is pitch black!" Kamibarez pointed to the sea visible at the edge of the city. It was the infamous Black Sea. He had heard that the sea monsters here were on a completely different level.
'It feels like I've stepped into another world.'
Simon was already getting excited. It was unsettling to be dropped into an unfamiliar and strange region, but he was glad the people by his side were familiar.
"Whoa! It feels good to get some fresh air!" Dick, who seemed to share the sentiment, took a deep breath. "Being cooped up in Kizen is suffocating. You have to get out like this sometimes to feel alive! Hehe."
"Be quiet, you idiot!" Meirin hissed, placing a finger to her lips.
Their sudden appearance drew murmurs and stares from a few locals. The four of them quickly pulled their hoods up and moved away, finding a secluded corner behind a building.
"First, let's open the letter the administrator gave us."
"Yeah, good idea."
Meirin took the letter from her robes, and the others gathered around her.
"Okay, I'm opening it," she said grimly. The three of them nodded. She slowly broke the seal on the envelope.
As if it had been enchanted, a black current sparked with a crackling sound. Meirin unfolded the letter with a serious face.
"...Wh-What is this?!"

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