Summoning Genius of Kizen Chapter 48 Simon heard the full story from Pier. Simon had lost consciousness after taking the attack meant for Erzsébet, and Pier and Erzsébet formed a temporary alliance to deal with their common enemy. Together, they captured the Priest. According to Pier, it was a surprisingly easy fight. "Please, let her down for now." Simon decided to hear her out. The Priest, lowered from the ceiling before she could suffocate from the bonfire smoke, knelt, bound tightly in spiderwebs. "Thank you! Thank you! Waaah! I was so scared!" Crying loudly, she was indeed young. She looked to be around his age, or perhaps a year or two older. "I don't think this is the time for thanks. Answer my questions from now on." "Yes! *Sniff*!" "Are you a student of Efnel?" It was a crucial question. Kizen and Efnel were technically enemies, despite the truce, and Simon releasing her could cause problems. But she shook her head wildly, denying it. "N-never! Absolutely not!" [Kukuku! A lie from the very first question.] Pier grinned, pointing his greatsword at her. The Priest's face turned pale. "It's true! Please believe me!" [Stand up.] Terrified, she scrambled to her feet. Pier used his greatsword to cut her robe from bottom to top. Through the split robe, white legs were revealed, and then a pure white skirt. As he cut higher, an unmistakable uniform became visible. Efnel's uniform, made of holy cloth, said to surpass Kizen's uniforms armed with advanced defensive dark magic. The Efnel emblem attached to the uniform was identical. [As expected, cunning Priests lie with every word they utter.] Erzsébet placed a hand on the Priest's shoulder, flicking her tongue. The girl gasped, squeezing her eyes shut. [There's no need to listen seriously. Let's just kill her now and continue our conversation.] "Please believe me! I-I-I'm actually…!" Her face flushed, and she bowed her head deeply. Then, biting her lip slightly, she cautiously opened her mouth. "I was expelled from Efnel two years ago." '…Huh?' Wasn't she a second-year? Simon blinked at the unexpected answer. Pier and Erzsébet were indifferent, but Simon reacted. She looked at Simon with desperate eyes. "Please believe me! It's true I attended Efnel for a short time! But I couldn't even last a year and was kicked out! I'm just an ordinary talentless person, like countless others in the world! Killing someone like me won't benefit Kizen at all!" "Then why are you still wearing Efnel's uniform? I thought they'd confiscate it if you were expelled." Her face turned even redder. "…I-I impersonated them." "Impersonated?" "Yes. At the time, it was really hard, and I couldn't accept the fact that I was kicked out of Efnel… So I forged a fake student ID and uniform and earned money by taking missions as an Efnel student! That's all it was!" Her expression twisted with shame and sorrow. "But now rumors have spread in the Divine Federation, so I can't get any work… That's why I even took dangerous jobs in the Dark Alliance…" [Are you really spouting such obvious lies and expecting us to believe them?] Erzsébet scoffed, grabbing the hem of her top. As the girl looked up with a bewildered expression, Erzsébet forcefully tore the clothing. *Riiiiip!* "Kyaaaah!" Startled, she screamed and recoiled. Erzsébet frowned, looking at the torn piece of cloth in her hand. […It's really just a piece of cloth?] The girl sniffled, bowing her head deeply. "Don't treat her so roughly." Simon stood up and approached. She recoiled even further, twisting her body to hide the torn area. *Rustle.* Simon took off his robe and draped it over her. "Are you okay? Cover yourself with this." "Ah… Thank you!" The Priest's eyes welled up with emotion. And. […] Erzsébet, watching the scene, felt a complex mix of emotions surge through her. "I'll ask again." Simon returned to his seat with a leisurely stride. "First, um. What's your name?" It was a very gentle question. She quickly knelt towards Simon and answered. "E-Ellen Zyle!" "How did you get this mission?" "Through a broker who crosses the border… I heard there was a well-paying undead extermination mission in the Dark Alliance." Erzsébet couldn't hear a word of Simon's interrogation. "Have you seen the Lord of Arneish?" "Ah, yes! I heard about the mission directly from him." "Do you have any proof that you received the mission from the Lord? Like a document, or an advance payment?" Everything was incredibly irritating. Simon, treating a mere Priest so kindly. The Priest, talking to Simon with affectionate eyes. '…' Violet petals, fluttering. Between the two conversing people, Erzsébet felt a certain image overlap. It was still vivid. The sight of a man and a woman whispering sweet nothings to each other in a field full of blooming violets. The man she once loved more than anyone, Richard Pollentia. The woman who stole that man from her, Anna Cross. It was the same back then. Erzsébet, who had followed Richard due to a bad premonition, witnessed the two embracing each other, hidden in the bushes. She saw a Necromancer and a Priest, kissing. […] She thought she had forgotten. But her heart, this terrible heart, was once again forming an eternal hell within her chest. "Alright, this should be enough." Simon obtained the document provided by the broker, the advance payment from the Lord, and even the forged Efnel student ID. Ellen didn't care about the money as long as her life was spared. All she wanted was to live, no matter what. [Boy. What do you plan to do with those?] "I'm going to visit the Lord soon." Simon grinned faintly. "I have to extract everything I can." [Hahahaha! Good, good. You're truly Richard's son!] "U-um…" Ellen cautiously asked, glancing at Simon. "Then I'm…" [Simon Pollentia, was it?] Erzsébet interrupted Ellen. [Your offer to join the Legion. Very well, I accept it.] Simon's eyes widened. "Really?" [Yes, but there's just one condition.] Her eyes glinted fiercely. [You must strangle that Priest to death with your own hands. Right now.] Ellen's face turned white. [That is my only condition.] "…" Simon raised his head and looked directly at Erzsébet. As their gazes met, Erzsébet felt her heart pound rapidly. He truly resembled him. That man. She thought she would surely despise him. A child born between Richard and that woman whose name she couldn't even bear to utter. But it wasn't so. That expressionless face made her heart pound like crazy. It shattered the hell in her heart and brought forth a warm spring. She herself couldn't understand her own feelings. Richard again? Did she really never forget him? Was all that talk of hatred just empty words? Doesn't her pride hurt? Half of that woman's blood flows in him? 'But.' Erzsébet squeezed her eyes shut. She truly hated to admit it. But she was already unable to escape. "I am Erzsébet, Captain of the Spider Legion." Finally, Simon spoke. "Tell me why I should strangle Ellen to death." [It is proof.] Erzsébet said. [I wish to know if you are worthy of me serving you as my master.] "So." Simon's voice was completely flat. "I'm asking why I need to prove my worth to you." […Huh?] "It seems you're greatly mistaken." Simon slowly rose from his seat. "While it's true you were once part of my father's Legion, my father is my father, and I am me. I will form my Legion based on my own judgment and standards. But from what I've observed so far, you are…" Simon's cold voice. "Disqualified." It pierced her heart. It shattered her chest and reignited the hell in her heart. "Even as an Undead, you have too many emotions in your thoughts. You're swayed by emotions and don't know what's important. What would my act of strangling that woman prove, exactly?" Her heart sank with a jolt of realization. She felt exposed. "Asking for proof is just an excuse, isn't it? You just do whatever you want. You want to manipulate me based on your impulsive and base desires. I can't trust or rely on someone like you. Such an unstable being has no value whatsoever in my new Legion." Simon turned his back. "Let's go back. Pier, Ellen." […] The moment Simon's back was visible. Erzsébet almost reached out her arm without realizing it. "It seems." Simon's eyes, as he glanced back, were incredibly cold. "I've only wasted precious time." * * * Late into the night, Simon, who had left the abandoned castle, was heading towards the Lord's castle with Pier and Ellen. [By the way, boy.] Pier said. [Are you really going to give up on Erzsébet? Her abilities are useful in many ways.] "Oh, of course not." Simon replied with a faint smile. "This is just a power struggle. To avoid being swayed by Erzsébet's obsessive personality in the future, this was an unavoidable choice. But one thing is certain, she'll have no choice but to come find me later." Pier's lips curled upwards. [So, you mean even taking that Holy Spear was all part of your plan?] "I'll reserve comment on that part." Pier chuckled. [Anyway, you little brat… You're just like your father with your strange cunning! Hahahaha!] Ellen, who had been subtly watching Simon from the side, interjected. "I'm sorry about that attack earlier." "No, Ellen. You weren't even aiming at me." "But are you really okay with your injury? Your chest was pierced by the Holy Spear…" Simon rubbed his chest and said. "I'm fine. Fortunately, it seems the spear didn't directly pierce the core." "Oh, that's a relief!" Actually. Though Simon didn't realize it, the Holy Spear had indeed pierced his core directly. Pier had witnessed it. He had been furious, thinking he had absurdly lost his contractor, and intended to tear both Erzsébet and the Priest to shreds, but upon checking Simon's condition, his core was perfectly fine. The Legion's contract also suffered no damage. Since it was something that couldn't logically happen, Pier could only assume that Simon was just lucky and the core wasn't hit. 'A mysterious phenomenon.' A core that wasn't destroyed even when pierced by Holy Power. …No matter how he thought about it, it made no sense. "Pier? What are you doing there alone?" [Nothing, I'm coming.]
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