Book 2: Chapter 34

Erin puffed her cheeks out as she forced her wings to flap faster, flying through the city of Anfang and arriving at its adventurers’ guild. She pushed aside a man’s hat and flew to the front of the line, stopping in front of the receptionist who had gaunt cheeks and dark circles surrounding his eyes. His gaze was locked onto the papers in his hands.

“Hey.” Erin flitted in front of his face and knocked on his skull like she was about to enter a room.

“M-Mrs. Koller,” the receptionist said with wide eyes. “Please don’t turn me into a goat again.”

“That depends,” Erin said and placed her hands on her hips. “I’ve gotten word that there’s a newly born fairy queen accompanying two brand spanking new SSS adventurers. Where are they?”

The receptionist’s face froze for an instant. “Tafel x Vur? The new party? Hold on a second,” he said and reached over to the side of the counter. He unlocked a cabinet and pulled it open, taking out a folder from inside. “Here’s the route the guild master plotted for her adventure that I created based on the commissions she chose just in case someone needed to find her.” He spread a map out on the countertop and pointed at a spot near the western coast of the continent. “We’re here. She’s heading east, following the red line. Her final destination is 99 Fairy Drive. Judging by the commissions and the amount of time that’s passed, she should be somewhere around here.”

“99 Fairy Drive?” Erin asked, tilting her head to the side. Her wings stopped flapping for a second as she furrowed her brow. “Huh? Wait, why is the guild master going with them? She’s the short fellow that’s like a dwarf but actually a human, right? The shield person?”

“Right,” the receptionist said and nodded. “She accepted Tafel x Vur’s commission as a guide to take them to 99 Fairy Drive. Those three accepted your commission.”

“They … accepted my commission?” Erin landed on the counter and walked on top of the map, frowning at the red route drawn on its surface. “The heck?” She scratched her head before lifting a corner of the map and folded it into a skirt, wearing it over her dress. “Dupey’s city, huh?” she muttered to herself as she flew into the air. “Did they destroy my fountain or not?”

The receptionist pursed his lips as Erin flew away with the original copy of his map, but he didn’t say anything. He sighed and picked up his papers. “Please return soon, guild master. I need a break.”

***

“Leader, what do we do with the human captives?”

Mr. Skelly raised his head, turning his attention away from the map he liberated from Evan Lancefell. A skeleton was staring at him from the entrance of his tent. “Can’t you keep them with the fishmen captives?”

“They don’t breathe underwater.”

“Right. I forgot lungs were a thing.” Mr. Skelly tapped his fingers against his knee. “We’ve stripped them?”

The skeleton nodded. “As is custom.”

“They were famous adventurers?”

“Some of them.”

“The fairies have memorized their features perfectly to impersonate them?”

“Rella and Bella drew their portraits.”

Mr. Skelly scratched his head. “…What was the issue again?”

“We’re expending too much manpower keeping them captive. The daily mana we obtain from the fishmen and fairies isn’t enough to pay the upkeep of keeping the captives in check. The noble lady in particular, she destroys a few of us every day with holy magic.”

Mr. Skelly’s mouth dropped open. “Ah. I see. And I can’t contact the mistress to ask for her mana either. We’re in quite a sticky situation, aren’t we? Our supplies are low. We’re surrounded by enemies. There’s a massive handicap against us since we aren’t allowed to kill or maim. This brings me back to my living days.” He grinned as he rubbed his bony hands together.

“So we can’t kill them?” the skeleton subordinate asked.

“No. I have a better idea.”

“Hang on a second,” the skeleton subordinate said and turned around. It poked its head out of the tent and shouted, “Put the pitchforks away! No killing tonight!” The subordinate faced Mr. Skelly and cleared its nonexistent throat. “What was the better idea?”

“…Starve them for week. Then have Rella pretend to be sympathetic to their plight and offer them food in exchange for mana crystals. We’ll make the fairies their saviors and domesticate them that way.” Mr. Skelly chuckled as he stood up. “Have the liches finished their task?”

“By nightfall, they’ll have reanimated the leviathan’s skeleton.”

“Excellent. I can’t be a proper skeleton knight without a steed.” Mr. Skelly left the makeshift tent made out of palm tree leaves and placed his hands on his hips, staring at the ocean. “When I was still alive. I was a hero from Trummer sent to pave the way into Zuer. I crossed an ocean just like this one.” He turned around. “Now, I’m a hero from Zuer sent to a new continent to deliver a message to the mistress. The goals are different, but the same thing must be done. I’m here to conquer. Only after the dwarves are dealt with will our mistress be free to save our brethren from the curse of pink robes. I’ve already formulated a plan of action. The first thing we have to do is secure a proper base and increase our numbers.”

The skeleton subordinated tilted its head. “I thought we weren’t allowed to kill?”

“We aren’t, but we can still raid a town, revive the already dead, convert the living into believers of Damnedism, and use the nonbelievers as mana generators. There’s no reason why an army of undead can’t have a few living members. We have to be progressive as times change.” Mr. Skelly laughed as he spread his arms out. “It’s been a long while since anything could make my missing heart pound and my nonexistent blood race. I’m so excited.”