"I apologize on behalf of my brother and the Royal Family."Princess Molly bowed her head respectfully. Simon flinched and waved his hands frantically."Ah, no! Princess!""I promise, on my name, that my brother and Dresden will not bother Sir Simon again. I snuck out, so please allow me to arrange a formal apology later. Now, if you'll excuse me."She left, taking the female student dressed as a maid with her. Only then did Simon let out a sigh of relief.With her presence, he no longer had to worry about Andre's retaliation.***This was a story from when Simon was repairing his Overlord in the club room after the duel evaluation had safely concluded."Hey, kid."Benya, who was helping him with the work, spoke."You said you're taking Professor Aaron's class, right?""Yes.""What are you learning these days?"Simon thought for a moment before replying."Hmm, now that you mention it, lately we've been focusing intensely on zombies, setting aside skeletons and other undead.""......Zombies?"At the mention of zombies, Benya's face stiffened, and she stopped her movements. Dio, a second-year who was always lounging on the club room sofa, also subtly lifted his head."Yes. Is there a problem?""No, no problem. But if you're learning about zombies now, it won't be long until......"Benya shook her head."You'll be going 'there' soon.""There?""......Ugh!!"A sudden scream made both of them turn their heads.Dio was thrashing around, tearing at his hair."......Damn it, I told you not to talk about that! It'll trigger my first-year trauma again!""I thought it was fun!""......Fun? You've got to be kidding, just imagining it is horrible."Benya laughed loudly. Simon, not understanding what they were talking about, just shifted his gaze between the two."At the end of Professor Aaron's zombie class, there's an important 'performance evaluation'."Benya explained."It might have been a bit horrible at the time, but looking back a year later, it's all just memories now~"Over Benya's shoulder, as she spoke of memories, Dio gave a pitiful look, as if to say, 'You're in for it.'***Not long after Benya brought it up, a performance evaluation was indeed scheduled for the Summoning Studies class. It was quite a large-scale evaluation, clearing an entire day's schedule.The gathering place wasn't the usual Summoning Studies classroom, but the teleportation magic circle they often visited when going on missions.This definitely meant they were going outside Locke Island.[Interesting. Take me with you!]When Simon told Pier what Benya had said, Pier showed enthusiasm.'Why, Pier?'[I wanted to check that place out anyway! I was planning to visit during your vacation.]For Pier to say that meant one thing.[There's a high possibility that the Legion's Zombie Captain, 'Prince,' is there!]The issue of a new Legion Captain.Of course, Simon was thrilled. Having foolishly missed the chance to acquire Bikrum, he didn't want to miss even the slightest possibility.There was no mention of Kizen inspecting subspace, and according to the seniors, students were free to act once the performance evaluation began, so Simon accepted Pier's proposal.And so, on the day of the performance evaluation.Simon put Pier and a large number of Legionized Skeletons into his subspace and arrived at the teleportation magic circle, the designated gathering place.'Whew.'He was hungry after visiting Pier's Ruins early in the morning.He sat under a suitable tree shade, nibbling on a wheat bread he bought from the cafeteria."Simon!"Kamibarez was running down the hill, waving her hand.Her always smiling face had a magic that made anyone looking at her feel good too. Simon smiled and waved back."Hi, Kami.""Can I sit next to you?""Of course."She came and sat next to Simon, gathering her legs and resting her arms on her knees, giggling."You seem to be in a good mood today.""Yes! It's been a while since we had a group performance evaluation with everyone!"That was right. Aaron had specified that this performance evaluation would be a group evaluation, maintaining the same group composition as Jane's class. A quick glance around showed all Class A students gathered with their group members, chatting."I'm a little worried."Simon mumbled, chewing his bread."About what?""My club seniors said this performance evaluation is tough.""Oh~ I heard that too. Class C went before us, and they said everyone was completely drained and out of it even for the next day's classes.""Oh! What's going on with you two?"Simon looked up.Dick was looking down at them with a mischievous smile, having arrived unnoticed."You two are getting along really well, huh? Wow! We've got a couple here!""Dick!!"Kamibarez shouted, her earlobes turning bright red. Simon, by now used to it, just continued nibbling his bread."It's not like that at all!!"Kamibarez bounced up and down in front of Dick, covering his mouth.As Dick 'Mmph!'ed and still managed to blurt out a few words, her face turned beet red like a radish, and she slapped Dick's arm repeatedly in embarrassment.'As expected, Kami's the only one who'll play along with me.'Just as Dick was enjoying the satisfaction of teasing Kami."Hey! Stop bothering our Kami!"Mei-rin approached, her sky-blue hair fluttering. Dick shrugged."I think it's a bad habit to condemn someone without hearing the full story.""Yeah, your usual behavior.""Wow—that's so mean."Mei-rin shook her head."Just thinking about how I was swayed by your tongue and caused a ruckus at the beginning of the semester still makes me die of embarrassment.""Oh! So you've developed immunity these days?""Of course!""Confident, aren't we? Shall we test it?"Dick suddenly bent at the waist, pretending to put his hands on his knees, and Mei-rin coldly retorted."Ah, my legs are stiff from standing in this 'pose', maybe I should 'touch' them a bit.""......!"Dick's expression froze. She had perfectly predicted his next line.He awkwardly changed his posture, pretending it was nothing, then stretched his legs out."Are you going to do that 'just wait' or whatever?""Crazy, how could you......!""You can only milk a joke so much. That's a rehash, a third, a fourth, even a brain-dead repetition.""You're amazing, Mei-rin!"Kamibarez clapped her hands, cheering. Simon, too, was now watching Mei-rin's counterattack with an intrigued expression.Dick ran a hand over his face as if facing the greatest crisis of his life."Wow, damn it. I really wanted to save this one.""Stop talking nonsense and prepare for the performance evaluation.""This time, I'll recreate Mei-rin's signature victory pose.""Signature?"Mei-rin's expression became a little uneasy."When Mei-rin won in the duel evaluation, it was something like this."Dick crossed his arms. In that pose, his left arm was placed above his navel, and his right arm was directed towards his face. His legs were straight, and the opposite leg was slightly bent, creating a crooked posture that revealed a curve.In this exact pose, he swept his hair behind his ear with his right hand and smiled sweetly."Try harder~ Commoner."Hehe!Pfft!Other students who had been watching, wondering what was happening, couldn't hold back their laughter.Simon spat the bread he was eating onto the grass, and Kamibarez quickly covered her mouth. And Mei-rin, the person in question, couldn't help but turn bright red."Hahaha! Isn't it exactly the same? Now for another pose......""Stop it, you crazy bastard!"In the end, Mei-rin pulled a bag from her subspace and started beating Dick. Dick fell onto the grass, his face hit by the bag, and a one-sided assault ensued."Another beating ending!""Die!"Laughter erupted from various places."Ha, how absurd."A female student from Hector's faction scoffed."They really can't read the room. They're so carefree, not even knowing where we're going...... Don't laugh! You idiot!""Ack!"She slapped the back of the male student standing next to her.As everyone was lively chatting and exchanging words."Pay attention."Aaron finally appeared.All the students' eyes widened.He appeared not in his usual shabby T-shirt, shorts, and slippers, but in a black feathered coat.'Wow, clothes really make the man, huh?''He looks like a completely different person.'While the students quietly admired him, Aaron spoke in his characteristic languid voice."No time to dawdle. Everyone, get onto the teleportation magic circle."Aaron sent the students without any further explanation. As the students entered the magic circle, Aaron arrived in the center last.Whoosh!It was the familiar sensation of teleportation. Simon felt his feet lift off the ground and closed his eyes.***He opened his eyes.Simon felt as if all the images he had formed in his mind from stories heard from seniors and rumors had completely vanished. This place was beyond imagination.A black world.Just setting foot and breathing in this space made him feel ill.The sky was pitch black, and red, cloud-like masses floated here and there, forming unknown currents. Weeds grew on the ground, and there were things that resembled flowers, but they had all lost their vitality and were brittle.He felt that the common assessment of it as a 'land of death' was accurate. The other Class A students who had teleported over also clearly showed expressions of bewilderment at this alien and desolate sight.Rustle.Kamibarez, with a frightened face, clutched Simon's clothes. Simon gently patted her shoulder, comforting her in a small voice that it was okay."Attention."Aaron, wearing his black feathered coat, stepped forward into the center. Students flocked around him."No need to fuss. This place is Deathland, in the southern Shahed Kingdom of the continent."Aaron began his explanation."Deathland is counted among the continent's top 10 mysteries. Powerful dark magic and natural phenomena intertwine here, causing strange occurrences. The most representative of these is."Aaron picked up a faded flower from the ground."Within this area, the concept of decay does not exist."Thud.Aaron tapped the flower with his finger, and it crumbled to dust."When a living creature dies, after a certain period, it doesn't rot away but maintains its form. Because of that, this place is called."Aaron curled the corners of his lips as he continued."A paradise for zombies."The students' faces turned pale. Strange growling sounds, presumably from zombies, had been continuously heard from their surroundings."This Summoning Studies performance evaluation will proceed as a group project, as previously announced."Aaron looked at the wristwatch on his arm."You have studied zombies and learned the magic circles to raise them. The evaluation content is simple. Until the exact time, create the best summoned zombie you can obtain in this Deathland and show it to me."Simon's eyes widened.'......A mission to create zombies!'In that case, bringing natural undead scattered across Deathland would be useless. Only summoned zombies created by the students using magic circles would be evaluated."The evaluation criteria include the zombie's completeness, originality, combat ability, and the magic circle used to raise the zombie will also be included in the score. There are no teamwork points. All four of you will receive the same score and rank based on the performance of the zombie your group brings."Aaron gave a grim smile."I hope there are no cowards who cry over zombies. You are Necromancers. Approach this evaluation like Necromancers."
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