Campbell Road Shopping Spree
Simon and Lorraine had returned to Campbell Road.
It turned out the street dealt in goods made specifically for necromancers. The deeper they went, the more brazen the merchandise became — skeletons, monster corpses, and even the organs of things that seemed to still be moving, bottled up in jars of liquid and put up for sale. Simon felt like he'd stepped into an entirely different world from the one he'd grown up in.
“Do you know when, out of your whole school life, you'll feel the most excited?” Lorraine asked as they walked side by side.
“Uh, hmm... let me think?”
“Before you enroll, when you're all fluttery shopping for your uniform, textbooks, and supplies! This is the most fun it'll ever be, so enjoy it, Simon.” The corners of her mouth curled up slightly. “Once you're inside Kizen, things get truly hectic.”
“...Haha.”
Their first stop was the bookstore. Kizen covered admission and tuition entirely, but textbooks, naturally, came out of one's own pocket.
“There are quite a few books we need to buy. Do you still have your acceptance letter?”
“Yes! Here it is.”
Beside the acceptance letter, the envelope contained a checklist of all the required supplies. Lorraine skimmed only the book list, then handed the letter back.
“Got it all memorized. This way.”
Simon was following her when something heavy suddenly dropped into his arms. He threw out both hands to catch it — a book of terrifying thickness. On the cover, he could read the title: Introduction to Summoning, by Elric Moor Trimble.
Summoning?
Before he could even think, another book landed on top of it. This time it was Spirit Magic.
Th-this one's heavy too!
Lorraine kept pulling books off the shelves, one after another. Curse Magic, Hemomancy, Divine Defense, Magic Combat and more piled up on top, and Simon's arms trembled violently.
“Lorraine! You're not telling me we learn all of this in first year?”
“Of course not.” She glanced back and flashed a bright smile. “We're Kizen students, aren't we? Mastering this much is basic first-semester material.”
“...”
“Here, take Toxicology too!”
...He was already missing Leshill.
Absorbed in her book hunting, Lorraine suddenly dashed off, saying she had to go find a Jet-Black Mechanics textbook. Left alone for a moment, Simon looked around.
Come to think of it...
Most of the people in the bookstore were his own age. Judging by the Introduction to Summoning and Spirit Magic books in their hands, they were unmistakably Kizen's incoming students.
It was the first time he'd ever seen so many people his own age gathered in one place. Back in Leshill, the only peers he'd known were Kalon, a year older, and Sophia, two years younger. A new life surrounded by students his own age — Simon was slowly beginning to look forward to school.
“Yes! Coming right now!”
“?”
While his eyes had been wandering, an unfamiliar girl was sprinting past beside him. Simon narrowed his eyes and tracked her movement. In a split second, her body cut a sharp turn — right toward him.
What the—?
There was no reason to let her crash into him, so Simon twisted slightly out of the way.
“...Ah!”
She slammed straight into a bookshelf instead, and the books stacked on it wobbled dangerously.
This is going to be bad.
Acting on pure reflex, Simon lunged forward and shielded her with his own body.
Crash!
The books came tumbling down across Simon's back. It hurt — like rocks were being driven into his spine.
The girl, staring up at him wide-eyed with shock, quickly dropped her head. “I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry! It's all because of me—!”
“No, no. I was the one standing there blocking the aisle like an idiot. I apologize.” Simon forced a smile. “More importantly, we should put these back. Whoever runs this place is going to scold us.”
“Ah, right!”
The two hurried to gather the fallen books. She passed him books from the floor, and Simon rose on tiptoe to set them back on the shelves. A clerk, drawn over by the commotion, watched the two of them putting everything back in order and, mercifully, went on his way without a word.
This is the last one.
While Simon replaced the final book, the girl was busy tidying up the ones scattered around his feet.
“Y-you're a Kizen incoming student too, right?”
She must have seen his textbooks. When Simon nodded, her whole face lit up.
“Me, me too! I'm Cindy Vivace! What's your name?”
“Simon Polentia.”
“Got it — nice to meet you! Honestly, I came all the way from Shahed in the north, and I don't know anyone here, so I've been kind of nervous.”
Simon nodded. “Sounds like we're in the same boat.”
“W-would it be okay — if it's just Simon — I mean...” Cindy's face flushed crimson as she tapped the tips of her two index fingers together, then spoke in a voice so small it was practically crawling along the floor. “Later... at school... could I pretend we know each other?”
What a tremendous favor that was. Simon let out a small laugh.
“Of course. I'll be the one to say hi first.”
“Thank you!” She sprang to her feet. “Anyway, I've got to go! My dad's waiting outside.”
“Okay.”
“See you at Kizen!”
She waved as she walked away.
“Hold on, Cindy.”
“Hm?”
She turned around. Simon was holding something up and waving it back at her.
“My wallet. Don't you have something to return?”
What hung from Simon's hand was Cindy's own wallet.
In an instant, those eyes that had seemed so endlessly innocent turned razor-sharp. Her pupils split vertically, just like a cat's.
No way.
Cindy frantically patted her pocket. It was empty.
“...Ha.”
Totally, completely caught.
The corners of her mouth lifted as she turned back to face him. “I slipped it out with spirit magic. I was positive nobody could ever detect it. How did you know?”
“Well... your wallet suddenly started floating in midair, so.”
Cindy strode right up until they were eye to eye. “And you just noticed that? Don't lie to me. You're planning to major in Spirit Magic too, aren't you?”
“I haven't really decided ye—”
“I knew it!”
Her eyes were sparkling. “Kizen really is on another level! Wow, what do I do? There's going to be people like you crawling all over the place, huh? Ahh, now I'm really excited for school!”
...Isn't she a little too proud of herself for being a pickpocket?
She smirked, plucked Simon's wallet from her coat, and tossed it back to him. “If we're both Spirit Magic majors, we might be stuck together for three whole years. Right? Let's compete until we bleed, Simon!”
Definitely the type who never listened to a word anyone said.
Simon sighed quietly and held out her wallet to return it — but this time it was Cindy who waved him off.
“Keep it. I lost this round, so think of it as your victory prize.”
She was cool about the strangest things.
Simon was beginning to suspect the old legend — that not a single necromancer anywhere was entirely sane — was proving truer by the minute.
“Looking forward to it! Say hi if you see me at school!”
Still waving, Cindy walked straight through the bookstore's wall and vanished.
...
It felt like a storm had just blown through.
Staring blankly at the wall where she'd disappeared, Simon opened her wallet. Inside were only a few measly coins.
Acting all generous, huh.
Simon snorted a laugh.
“Simon!”
Just then, Lorraine came rushing back, black hair streaming behind her. “Turns out Introduction to Jet-Black Mechanics is sold out! New stock arrives in two hours, so they're going to deliver it to our inn along with the other books.”
“Ah, perfect!”
Lorraine gave Simon's arm a playful poke. “So what was with that girl earlier? You two hit it off already?”
Sweat trickled down Simon's face as he looked away. “...You cooould say that.”
“Fufu. Why are you stuttering? Don't tell me you've already exchanged feelings?”
They had very nearly exchanged wallets, at least.
“Anyway, the books are set for delivery, so let's head out. We have plenty more stops besides this one.”
“Where to next?”
“The bag shop.”
A new bag too? Simon glanced down at the backpack he was wearing. “What's wrong with the one I've already got?”
“Hm?”
She blinked at him in confusion — then burst out laughing, loud and bright. “Aha-hah! Oh, that's adorable. You really are a country bumpkin, through and through.”
“Ahem.”
Embarrassment washed over Simon, and his cheeks reddened.
“When necromancers say 'bag,' we usually mean a magical inventory. Or put more simply — a subspace?”
Simon's eyes went wide. “Then we're going to buy... a subspace? Right now?”
A massive building stood a few blocks down from the bookstore.
Simon and Lorraine were escorted to the basement level. Only after passing through layer upon layer of security dark magic were the two of them admitted into an underground showroom bathed in soft, ambient light.
“...Wow.”
The entire space was lined with displays of backpacks, pouches, briefcases, and the like. Long coats, pocket watches, even horse-drawn carts and living, breathing lizards. Objects whose purpose he couldn't fathom hung from the walls or floated weightlessly in midair, suspended by enchantments.
“Welcome, Lady Lorraine!”
An old woman emerged from the stairway, draped in a luxurious mink coat. She was gaunt, with a sharp, fussy expression, and expensive gold jewelry jangled from every inch of her.
Lorraine waved cheerfully. “It's been a while, Stephanie.”
Stephanie rubbed her hands together and smiled. “To what do we owe the honor of a visit from our VVIP, without so much as a word of notice? You did purchase a bag just last month...”
Lorraine rested a hand lightly on Simon's shoulder. “Today we're here for this young man's bag.”
“Oh!”
Stephanie popped up directly in front of Simon, and he had to lean back just to avoid the old woman's hawk-like nose suddenly thrust toward his face.
“A Kizen incoming student! Wonderful! Necromancers are always our finest customers!”
“N-nice to meet you.”
“And what sort of products shall we look at today?”
Lorraine answered for him. “The best one you have. And the most expensive.”
“Unbelievable!” Stephanie cried out, hands flying up. “Both our VVIPs, right this way!”
Stephanie led them into yet another room. Here, the merchandise wasn't hung on the walls but kept inside display cases sealed behind glass. When Stephanie rapped one case with a finger, the glass pane vanished as cleanly as if it had evaporated.
“Try this one, sir.”
What she handed over was a navy-colored glove embossed with an elegant patterned design. The moment Simon eased it onto his right hand, a cushioning so luxurious it was almost lulling washed over his senses.
“This piece was crafted by the subspace master of the century, Ellen Baiter. Now — press your finger against any wall and draw a square, if you would.”
Simon nodded and, as instructed, traced a square onto the wall.
Fwoosh!
A hole opened in the wall. Simon peered inside, astonished — and found an absolutely enormous space stretching out before him, easily large enough to swallow an entire house.
So this is a subspace!
Even as Simon marveled inwardly, Stephanie's sales pitch rolled on. “As befits Ellen Baiter's masterpiece, the storage capacity is a full 8,000 UB! And with the glove on your hand, you can summon the subspace anytime, anywhere. Truly a revolutionary leap in inventory design!”
“...Hm.”
Lorraine, on the other hand, looked unconvinced. “It does seem convenient, but needing a wall to open it is a real limitation. In actual combat, you often end up fighting on an open plain with nothing around. And Simon's only just starting out as a necromancer — he doesn't need that kind of capacity yet.”
“A fair point, I'll grant.”
“Is there anything smaller-capacity but simpler to use?”
Stephanie answered with nothing but a sly grin and walked away, peeling back the glass of the very last display shelf at the far end of the room.
“A product not yet even released to the public — the latest work of Gallen Eclipse, hailed as the rising master of the next generation!”
What she lifted so carefully was a ring. At first glance it gleamed silver, but as the light shifted, it shimmered into violet, then green.
“Please, try it on, sir.”
“Ah, yes!”
Simon slid the ring on gingerly. Its soft prismatic glow was beautiful.
“It's simple to use! Just flow your Jet-Black into the ring.”
Simon ran his Jet-Black through it as instructed. The ring drank up the darkness like a sponge, its silver hue shifting to a deep blue-black.
“How does it feel?”
“...It's like there's some kind of handle underneath the ring.”
“Then it's working perfectly! Grip that and pull it back, as if it were a lever.”
Simon seized the imaginary handle and drew it slowly back.
And then —
Grrrrk!
With the sound of grinding stone, a vertical seam split open in the floor. Wisps of white vapor, like steam, drifted out from between the parted edges.
“...Whoa!”
Simon's heart began to pound. Even Lorraine let a hint of genuine admiration cross her face this time.
“The storage capacity is 4,000 UB — half of the previous model — but it's far superior on the practical side! The subspace opens from the ground, so slopes and uneven terrain are no obstacle. The space is woven with seven spells in total, including first-grade preservation magic and temperature regulation.”
“What about the ejection function?” Lorraine asked.
“Naturally, it has one! Let's have a demonstration.”
Stephanie looked around for a suitable object and spotted a threadbare, stuffing-spilled rabbit doll slumped in a corner. “Hm? What's a doll doing back here?”
“My rascal of a granddaughter comes by to play so often,” Stephanie said with a wry smile, tossing the doll into the subspace. “You said you're a new student, sir? The ejection function takes quite a bit of practice before you can use it in the field. Now — move your mana through the subspace and wrap it around the object...”
Simon channeled his mana exactly as she'd described, cocooning the rabbit doll. It wasn't difficult. Perhaps because the ring sat snug against his skin, the subspace's mana moved as fluidly as if it were his own.
“Once you've wrapped the object, the mana automatically triggers the ejection spell inside. All you do now is snap the mana holding it — like flicking a switch!”
Whoosh!
The rabbit doll shot up out of the subspace, arcing in a gentle curve before dropping to the floor and landing perfectly upright.
Stephanie and Lorraine both gasped in admiration.
“Excellent work, sir!”
“You're good at this! Was that really your first try?”
His heart was hammering so hard he barely heard them. He was beginning to understand exactly why a subspace was considered a necromancer's indispensable tool.
Simon pictured himself in the not-so-distant future — flinging open a subspace and pouring out ranks of undead onto the battlefield.
“Well, Simon? Do you like it?”
Lorraine came over, smiling. Simon snapped back to himself and nodded again and again.
Of course he liked it. He had never wanted anything this badly in his life.
But.
Simon's eyes slid stealthily toward Stephanie.
“...How much is this subspace?”