Chapter 48

　　He heard the full story from Pier.

　　After Simon had taken the attack meant for Erzebet and lost consciousness, Pier and Erzebet had formed a temporary alliance to face their common enemy.

　　By joining forces, they had captured the priest.

　　According to Pier, it was a very anticlimactic battle.

　　"Let her down for now," Simon ordered.

　　Simon decided to hear her out. The priest, lowered from the ceiling just before she could suffocate in the campfire smoke, knelt on the ground, still tightly bound in spiderwebs.

　　"Thank you! Thank you!" she wailed, her voice cracking. "… I was so scared!"

　　She was clearly young, looking to be around his age, perhaps a year or two older.

　　"I don’t believe we’re at the point of gratitude just yet," Simon stated calmly. "Now, you will answer my questions."

　　"Yes!" she sniffled.

　　"Are you a student of Efnel?"

　　It was a pivotal question. While Kizen and Efnel maintained a fragile truce, they were fundamentally hostile powers. Releasing her could prove problematic. But she shook her head frantically, her eyes wide with denial.

　　"N-No, absolutely not!"

　　[Bwahahaha! She lies with her first breath,] Pier chuckled, leveling his greatsword at her. The priest’s face turned deathly pale.

　　"It’s true! Please believe me!"

　　[On your feet.]

　　Terrified, she scrambled to stand. With a flick of his wrist, Pier sliced her robe upward from the hem. The parted fabric revealed pale legs and a pure white skirt. As the blade traveled higher, it exposed an unmistakable uniform—the sacred vestments of Efnel, woven from holy cloth and said to surpass even Kizen’s magically fortified uniforms. The Efnel crest affixed to her chest was identical.

　　[Honestly, these cunning priests do nothing but lie the moment they open their mouths,] Erzebet hissed, placing a hand on the priest’s shoulder and flicking her tongue. The girl let out a sharp gasp and squeezed her eyes shut.

　　[There’s no need to entertain this farce. Let us kill her now and continue our own conversation.]

　　"Please believe me! I-I’m, actually…!" she stammered, her face flushing as she lowered her head. Biting her lip, she cautiously began to speak. "I was expelled from Efnel two years ago."

　　…Huh?

　　Simon blinked, taken aback by the unexpected answer. Wasn’t she a second-year? Pier and Erzebet remained indifferent, but Simon was intrigued. She met his gaze with desperate eyes.

　　"Please, believe me! It’s true I attended Efnel for a short time, but I’m just another mediocre talent who couldn’t even last a full year before getting kicked out! Killing someone like me won’t do Kizen any good!"

　　"Then why are you still wearing an Efnel uniform?" Simon pressed. "I heard they’re confiscated upon expulsion."

　　Her face turned an even deeper shade of crimson.

　　"I… I was impersonating a student."

　　"Impersonating?"

　　"Yes. It was really hard for me back then, and I couldn’t accept that I’d been kicked out… So I forged a student ID and a uniform and took on missions as an Efnel student to earn money! That’s really all there is to it!" Her expression twisted with shame and sorrow. "But rumors started spreading in the Holy Federation, and the work dried up… That’s why I had to take dangerous jobs in the Dark Alliance…"

　　[Are you truly spouting such an obvious lie and expecting us to believe it?] Erzebet sneered, grabbing the collar of the girl’s tunic. As the girl looked up, bewildered, Erzebet ripped the fabric with all her strength.

　　Startled, she screamed and shrank back. Erzebet frowned at the torn piece of cloth in her hand.

　　[…This is truly just a scrap of cloth?]

　　The girl sniffled, her head hung low. "Don’t be so rough with her," Simon said, standing and approaching them.

　　She huddled even smaller, turning to hide the torn part of her clothes.

　　Rustle.

　　Simon took off the robe he was wearing and draped it over her shoulders.

　　"Are you alright? Use this to cover yourself."

　　"Ah… Thank you!" The priest’s eyes welled up with gratitude.

　　And at that moment…

　　Watching this unfold, Erzebet was suddenly struck by a swirl of incredibly complex emotions.

　　"I’ll ask again," Simon said, returning to his seat with a relaxed gait. "First… what’s your name?"

　　It was a disarmingly gentle question. She quickly knelt toward him and answered.

　　"I-It’s Ellen Zile!"

　　"How did you get this mission?"

　　"Through a broker who crosses the border… They said there was a well-paying undead extermination job in the Dark Alliance."

　　Erzebet couldn’t register a single word of Simon’s interrogation.

　　"Have you seen the lord of Arnish?"

　　"Ah, yes! I heard about the mission directly from him."

　　"Do you have any proof that you received the mission from the lord? A document, or an advance payment?"

　　Everything was grating on her nerves. Simon, being so kind to a mere priest. The priest, gazing at Simon with eyes full of admiration.

　　…

　　Violet petals fluttered in the wind. As the two spoke, Erzebet felt an old image overlapping with the present. It was still so vivid: a man and a woman whispering words of love in a field of blooming violets. The man she once loved more than anyone, Richard Polentia. And the woman who stole him from her, Anna Cross. It had been the same back then. Following Richard, driven by a dark premonition, Erzebet had hidden in the tall grass and witnessed the two of them embracing. She had seen a necromancer and a priest kissing.

　　She thought she had forgotten. But her heart—this terrible thing called a heart—was once again forging an eternal hell inside her chest.

　　"Alright, this should do," Simon declared, having obtained the broker’s document, the advance from the lord, and even the forged Efnel student ID. As for Ellen, she didn’t care about the money as long as she could save her own life. All she wanted was to live.

　　[Boy. What do you plan to do with that?]

　　"I’m planning to visit the lord in a bit," Simon replied with a grin. "I have to squeeze out everything I can."

　　[Bwahahahaha! Excellent, excellent. You truly are Richard’s son!]

　　"U-Um…" Ellen began cautiously, watching Simon’s expression. "So, what will happen to me now…?"

　　[Simon Polentia, was it?] Erzebet cut in. [Your offer to join the Legion. Very well, I accept.]

　　Simon’s eyes widened. "Really?"

　　[Yes, but on one condition.] Her eyes flashed ferociously. [Strangle that priest to death with your own hands. Right now.]

　　Ellen’s face turned white as a sheet.

　　[That is my only condition.]

　　Simon raised his head and looked straight at Erzebet. As their eyes met, she felt her heart begin to pound violently. He truly did resemble him. That man. She had been so sure he would be repulsive—a child born of Richard and that woman whose name she hated to even speak. But he wasn’t.

　　That expressionless face made her heart race uncontrollably. It tore down the hell in her soul and brought forth a warm spring. She couldn’t understand her own feelings. Richard again? Have I really not forgotten him? Was my hatred all just talk? Do I have no pride? Half of that woman’s blood flows in his veins!

　　But…

　　Erzebet squeezed her eyes shut. She hated to admit it.

　　She was already ensnared.

　　"Former Commander of the Spider Corps, Erzebet," Simon finally spoke, his voice measured. "Tell me why I must strangle Ellen to death."

　　[It is proof,] Erzebet said. [I wish to know if you are worthy of my service.]

　　"So," Simon’s voice dropped, becoming completely cold, "I’m asking why I have to prove my worth to you."

　　[…What?]

　　"It seems you’re gravely mistaken." Simon slowly rose from his seat. "It’s true you were once part of my father’s Legion, but my father is my father, and I am me. I will build my Legion based on my own judgment and standards. And from what I’ve observed… you are…"

　　Simon’s icy word cut through the air.

　　"Disqualified."

　　It pierced her chest, shattered her heart, and set the hell within it ablaze once more.

　　"For an undead, you are far too emotional, driven by lingering attachments. You’re so swayed by your feelings that you can’t even grasp what’s important. What on earth could my strangling that woman possibly prove?"

　　A pang of truth struck her, and her heart sank. She felt as if she had been stripped bare.

　　"This demand for proof is just an excuse, isn’t it? You simply want to do as you please. You want to control me according to your impulsive and base desires. I can neither believe in nor trust someone like you. Such an unstable being has no value whatsoever in my new Legion."

　　Simon turned his back on her.

　　"Let’s go. Pier, Ellen."

　　The moment she saw Simon’s back, Erzebet almost reached out her arm without thinking.

　　"It seems," Simon said, glancing over his shoulder, his eyes utterly cold, "we’ve just wasted precious time."

* * *

　　As the night deepened, Simon left the abandoned castle, heading for the lord’s estate with Pier and Ellen.

　　[By the way, boy,] Pier began, [are you really giving up on Erzebet? Her abilities are quite useful.]

　　"Of course not," Simon replied with a faint smile. "This is just a power struggle. It was a necessary move to avoid being manipulated by her obsessive personality in the future. But one thing is certain: she’ll have no choice but to seek me out."

　　The corners of Pier’s mouth lifted. [Does that mean… getting hit by that divine spear was all part of your plan?]

　　"I’ll offer no comment on that."

　　Pier cackled. [Honestly, you little brat… you’re just like your father when it comes to these strange schemes! Bwahahaha!]

　　Ellen, who had been furtively watching Simon, chimed in. "I’m sorry about the attack back then."

　　"It’s fine, Ellen. It’s not like you were aiming for me."

　　"But is your wound really alright? Your chest was pierced by a divine spear…"

　　Simon rubbed his chest. "I’m fine. Luckily, it seems the spear didn’t directly pierce my Core."

　　"Oh, that’s a relief!"

　　In truth, Simon hadn’t realized it, but the divine spear had pierced his Core clean through. Pier had witnessed it as well. Enraged at the thought of losing his contractor so absurdly, he had been about to tear both Erzebet and the priest to shreds. But when he checked Simon’s condition, his Core was perfectly intact. The Legion’s contract hadn’t taken any damage either. Since it was something that defied all common sense, Pier had no choice but to conclude that he had just been lucky.

　　A true mystery, he mused. A Core that wasn’t destroyed even when pierced by Divinity. No matter how he thought about it, it made no sense.

　　"Pier? What are you doing over there?"

　　[It’s nothing. I’m coming.]

* * *