Chapter 44: The Stone Muse (4)

The trip to Magvolia was pleasant enough.

Duchar was a bit annoyed to be leaving his laboratory unattended for a long period, even for the prospect of studying a wellspring of the Dark, but Simon mollified him by turning the archive into a Dungeon, then confirmed he could teleport across its halls.

“I knew it,” Simon said. “My Lord of the Demon Castle Perks apply to the Dungeon I create as if it were Castle Frightwall, including the teleportation.”

“Fascinating,” Duchar replied as he observed the Dungeon crystal. “So we could travel back and forth between Magvolia and Telluria at will?”

“No, it would unfortunately be a one-way trip. I have no way of teleporting back to Magvolia.” Which frustrated Simon, since it drastically limited his options. He hoped one of the Overlord’s future Perks would eventually solve that issue. “But we can return to Telluria in a pinch if the archive is ever breached.”

“Fair enough,” Duchar replied with a sigh. “The magical protections should protect the archives from discovery, and my creations will give a warm welcome to anyone talented enough to breach them. Studying the process by which Your Majesty can harvest souls should prove more fruitful for my research than my current experiments, anyway.”

Simon wasn’t sure how he felt about that. Having an experienced scholar of the Dark joining him on the trip would be a boon, but spending too long in the old necromancer’s presence creeped him out. At least his daughter behaved more demurely.

Leonard also had his hangups about the sudden trip, though not for the same reason. “Is it wise to leave without informing Lady Anna of our departure?”

“Anna struggles to keep secrets, and I don’t want the likes of Elaine Malphas to learn of our destination,” Simon replied. That was the reasonable-enough explanation his mind had conjured, but the truth was that he simply didn’t feel ready to deal with Anna again. He needed time to process the fact that the person he had loved was truly gone.

Did Father let such things get to him? No, the thought was laughable considering how he had treated women in past loops—up to and including raping Anna. The Overlord’s reigns were a pure blessing for monsters who cared only for themselves and no one else.

Anyway, Louis quickly arranged for them to board an airship to Magvolia and then take a heavily armored train to the Goetia Research Facility at the northern point of the province. The accommodations within were more rudimentary since those models were used to transport troops and supplies rather than private individuals, but they were still granted a separate compartment with tables and beds. Simon remained wary of practicing his crafting there for fear of being spied on, so he stuck to reading his father’s research notes and reports on the Darkwoods.

At least Simon had been reunited with his life-stealing morningstar. He had felt diminished when forced to rely on purchased or gifted claymores in past reigns. The phantom scepter he could produce when manifesting the Class outfit was passable, but required miasma to appear since it was an extension of the Overlord armor itself.

After a day’s ride, the group finally reached the Goetia Research Facility. The site was one of the most remote and well-protected in the entire empire. Dug at the base of an ash manatree whose surrounding forest had long been cut down and its titanic roots equipped with mana-extracting devices, the building was a massive factory of towering chimneys belching out blue fumes, pipes steaming with mana, and cranes carrying supplies in and out from the armored trains regularly running deliveries to its only entrance. Carts carried crystals dug from the depths of dark mines.

Their train passed by multiple checkpoints overseen by Class-wielding soldiers, iron golems, and magical artillery ready to blow them up at the first sign of trouble, before arriving at a metal platform near twelve-foot high gates of grey metal. Lauriane was waiting for them here, dressed in her military uniform and with a squad of Knight and Sorcerer Class soldiers.

“We meet again sooner than I had expected, Simon,” Lauriane greeted them once they walked off the train. She glared at Lorimor—who wisely stayed quiet—saluted Meredith, Leonard, and Belzemine … and then gasped upon spotting a certain pair of necromancers. “Duchar Honorius? Is that you?”

“I did not expect to see you again, Lady Lauriane,” Duchar replied with polite calculation. Simon could notice the mage had become warier all of a sudden.

“You know each other?” Simon asked. He had never questioned Duchar too much in depth about his past beyond the fact that he served his father.

“He tutored me in magic once before Hector–” Lauriane caught herself midsentence upon noticing Cassandra, whom she seemed to recognize. “My apologies, I didn’t mean to trouble you.”

“You did us no harm, Milady,” Cassandra replied politely, her expression undecipherable. “Our brother shall return in due time once our work lifts death’s veil.”

“Brother?” Simon asked, quickly putting two and two together. “Oh, is he–”

“Hector Honorius was my retainer, a brave man who valiantly perished in the line of duty, and that is all I shall say,” Lauriane explained, glaring at Duchar. Simon could tell something had soured whatever relationship they might have had. “Why are you here, Duchar? I thought Father had sent you away to Telluria?”

Simon’s heart skipped a beat in his chest, doubly so when Duchar glanced at him. He had intended to introduce the necromancer and his daughter as mere mages he had recruited in Telluria, but Duchar had failed to mention that he and Lauriane knew each other, mostly because he never even mentioned her.

Quick, think of something that won’t lead to questions… prophetic dreams? Too vague, will lead to more interrogations, more lies and Lauriane will just grow suspicious… An idea crossed Simon’s mind as he recalled how he had stymied similar inquiries before. Let’s hope these two play along…

“Well, I met Cassandra in Telluria and we’ve been getting along well,” Simon said, his uneasiness in no way feigned. “I thought I could invite her on this trip and reassure her father about my character.”

“Why her father would need–” Lauriane froze, her eyes widening in disbelief as her gaze turned from her brother to Cassandra. “Simon, are you courting this girl?”

Her question was so blunt and to the point that Simon couldn’t help but blush in embarrassment, doubly so when everyone stared at him all of a sudden, Cassandra included.

“Oh,” the latter said, sounding a little curious, “is that why Your Highness blessed me with so many gifts?”

Lauriane’s palm hit her forehead in annoyance. “Simon, please don’t tell me you came all this way because you wanted to impress a girl with a shiny new Class?”

“I…” Simon’s words died in his throat. Cassandra stared at him with curiosity. Duchar was raising an eyebrow at him as if trying to figure out whether he was lying or not, Meredith had blushed like a tomato, and even the straight-laced Leonard was clearly struggling to hold back his laughter. Somebody kill me now. “I didn’t come just for that.”

Lauriane’s gaze became unbearable. She closed her eyes and then took a deep breath. “Only you have clearance to enter the factory, so the others will have to wait out here. No exception, not even for Firewand.”

“I understand,” Simon replied after regaining his composure. He wasn’t dealing with his loving sister in the comfort of their home, but the leader of a military production facility.

The soldiers checked him for any weapons or magical devices—he had thankfully left his morningstar in the train—then guided them past the gates into great metallic halls illuminated by crystal panels.

“Of all the girls in Telluria, you had to pick a necromancer’s daughter,” Lauriane complained.

“Is Duchar really that bad?” Simon asked, though he already knew the answer.

“He is a man of vision and considerable talents, but he lacks the scruples to temper his obsessions,” Lauriane replied with undisguised contempt. “I haven’t been acquainted with his daughter, but I can tell the apple didn’t fall far from the tree. You would do well to break it off as soon as possible.”

“I’m… I’m sorry, Lauriane.”

“No, I do not blame you,” Lauriane replied with a tone of pure exasperation. “It is our fault. We’ve sheltered you too much and failed to find you a proper fiancée. I suggested marrying you off to Patriate’s daughter, and Euphemia wanted to ship you off to Fablan or Bujan, but Father denied us both.”

If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it’s taken without the author’s consent. Report it.

For once, Simon was half grateful to his father for not setting him up with Elaine Malphas. “I swear I didn’t come just because of her,” he insisted. “I’ve… I’ve had dreams.”

Lauriane’s expression immediately sharpened. “What kind?”

“I’m not sure what to make of them,” Simon replied before giving a half-truth. “I saw dragons and monsters fighting in a crimson sky. One of them came for me when I least expected it, and I woke up when they cut me down.”

“I see… so these Vouivre and Casval might not be the only heirs Gargauth sired to oppose us.” Lauriane scowled. “You came looking for a monster-slaying Class?”

“Yes, I think I’ll need one in the future.” Mostly he was looking for a Crestone whose abilities would synergize well with Overlord and that would give him an excuse to level-up in the Darkwood. “Perhaps not like the Paladin, but as close as possible.”

“We actually inherited the Paladin Crestone’s blueprints from the Church of Light,” Lauriane replied. “We used them to create the Templar and Hellblade Vassal Crestones.”