The Exiled Necromancer Wants To Create a Bone Dragon



1 – The number two caused trouble

“Ed Prozenbon, 7th class.”

With an awkward smile, the clerk held out a square card. Ed Prozenbon, who had just received his new necromancer license, was dumbfounded.

‘After defeating dozens of monsters classified as death knights and giants of the north, I’m 7th class?’

Ed knew the reason for this.

The code of conduct that had recently come down from Necropolis.

‘High-ranking necromancers must operate their summons at least 30m away.’

Seeing that code of conduct that seemed to snipe at him, he had thought there was no way. But he didn’t know they would completely change all the qualification requirements for necromancer licenses.

“hahahahaha. Ed, a knight suits you better than a necromancer.”

“Shut your mouth, Grey.”

Frowning at the D-class license he was looking at, Ed was ridiculed by the man Grey Bodimir, who had shown up at just the right timing. Seeing Grey Bodimir appear, Ed realized that the code of conduct and license reforms had been heavily influenced by the Bodimir family.

“You think you’re equal to nobles just because you’ve built up some skills as a commoner and got a surname? A D-class necromancer wants to lead other necromancers as captain? No. You’re already violating the code of conduct that came down from Necropolis. 25 meters.”

25 meters, the nickname Ed had gotten at the academy, was the maximum distance he could give orders to his summons. To overcome that distance and fight alongside his summons, he had honed his swordsmanship to earn the nickname Paladin, and made achievements on northern battlefields to reach the position of an elite necromancer. The reason he thought the newly issued code of conduct and license exams placing more weight on the maximum command distance targeted him, a commoner who had become harder to control, was because of that.

“Never lost to you even once.”

“Yes, 7th class. I’m a 1st class necromancer, and I’ve come to confiscate that elite license you have.”

Licenses were extremely important to Necropolis necromancers. They were identification cards, qualifications to use summons externally, and magic tools to store summons, all in one. Though there were differences by class, the numerically limited elite licenses were incomparably superior to even 1st class licenses.

Wealthy family necromancers would carry expensive extradimensional spaces around, excluding their licenses, but Ed, who had just started making a name for himself and lacked finances, was dependent on his elite license. Of course a 7th class license could store a skeleton or two, but it was incomparable to the summons contained in the elite license Ed had taken out of his pocket.

“Oh. 25 meters. Feel free to take out any personal belongings. I can wait that long.”

Ed silently looked at the elite license he had used for years, then held it out to Grey. Grey snatched up the elite license and burst into laughter.

“hahahahaha! Now you’re really 7th class! That was always true for you!”

Though fury rose up in Ed, he smoothed his expression and left the license center, but Grey had one more thing to say as he did.

“That makes two victories now. hahahahaha.”

“First victory, you mean. Can’t even count.”

Having been top of his class all three years at the academy, Ed had no memory of ever losing to Grey in anything else. Seeing Ed leave without even looking back, Grey made an even more malicious smile than when ridiculing the 7th class license, but Ed didn’t see it.

*

‘The Bodimir family must have ordered the license confiscation. Does that mean I’ve been discharged from the military too?’

As captain of Squadron 7, hunting monsters coming down from the cold north, but a 7th class necromancer couldn’t hold that position. All of Ed’s subordinates were 3rd class necromancers or higher; the hierarchy would collapse.

Fiddling with the 7th class license in his pocket, Ed returned home. Since he usually stayed with northern military units, he didn’t pay much attention to his house in the capital. But that house was inhabited by Demoness, who had been his lover since their academy days. Though they hadn’t shared love since he’d just come down from the north, seeing Demoness’s face still comforted and healed his heart.

-Thunk

“Huh?”

The key Ed used didn’t fit. The unopening door made it clear the key he had definitely used yesterday and today was the wrong key.

-Knock knock knock

“Demoness? You inside?”

The senses Ed had honed on battlefields earning him the nickname Paladin told him Demoness was inside the house. He should have heard the sound of the door opening, so why? How? While thinking that, he heard footsteps behind him. Not wanting to show this strange situation to other residents, Ed lowered his hand as the one who approached behind him was Grey.

“Didn’t I tell you? The second time.”

“What?”

Feeling a terrible premonition, Ed retreated several steps from the front of his own house.

“Ed, this house has been my and Demoness’s honeymoon home from the start. Demoness really wiped away my traces well, didn’t she? Couldn’t find them last night?”

Grey took a key out of his pocket and opened the door.

-Click

The door opened cleanly with a crisp sound, and standing in front of the open door was Ed’s lover, Demoness, wearing an apron. Her pink hair, different from yesterday when they’d met, was in full bloom like a beautiful flower, and her face was heavily made up with cosmetics he hadn’t seen before. Wearing a different apron than the one Ed had bought for her, Demoness opened her red lips.

“Grey, you’re home?”

“Yes, Demoness! Elite Necromancer Grey Bodimir has arrived.”

Seeing Demoness run into Grey’s arms and hug him, Ed felt no anger. Had too many absurd things happened in just half a day for him to feel anything? Demoness shared a deep kiss tangling tongues with Grey in his embrace. Watching something different from the light peck she had given him yesterday, Grey reached his hand back. A skeleton arm extending from an extradimensional space grasped the door handle and pulled the door shut.

-Slam

Looking at the closed door, Ed said one thing.

“So that was my house, right? No?”

*

Having lost his place to stay, Ed headed to the bank to withdraw money. Fortunately the bank’s door was unlocked, and Ed took a number ticket to wait his turn. The bank’s skeletons clattered about, sweeping and carrying an old lady’s heavy bag. In Necropolis, skeletons being used like that was a very common sight.

‘Restricting captains to 30m because of me.’

There is no need to send summons so far in daily life. In the cold north, apartment-style housing is popular to save on heating costs by building homes close together. Ed thought 30m was actually wasteful. As he waited for his number while thinking that, Ed’s turn came.

“Welcome. North Bank. May I have your name, sir?”

“I’m Ed Prozenbon. I’ve come to withdraw.”

“Mr. Ed Prozenbon… Yes. Please provide magical identification.”

Placing his finger on the magic tool and sending mana, Ed heard a clicking sound. The bank clerk confirmed he was properly magically identified, checked Ed Prozenbon’s account balance, and slid it forward.

“27 million enel…”

Considering it was money a northern captain-class necromancer had saved up without spending almost anything, Ed thought it was a small amount.

“Please withdraw it all.”

But it was plenty to make a fresh start.

‘Disappearing when they want me gone so much.’

Without summons, the foundation of being a necromancer, but with a body that ran around the north fighting monsters with summons, earning the nickname Paladin, there were many things he could still do. Putting all the money the bank clerk handed over into his 7th class necromancer license, Ed left North Bank without attachment.

And he disappeared from the north, boarding a train leaving Necropolis.

***

A few days after Ed Prozenbon vanished without a trace from Necropolis, Grey Bodimir was dining with his father Herad Bodimir.

“Congratulations on becoming an elite necromancer.”

“I’m sorry, Father. I’ve taken the position a bit late.”

There were a total of eighteen elite necromancer qualifications in Necropolis, twelve of which were held by the six houses classified as head and cadet houses. But the abnormal variant necromancer Ed had muddied the waters and taken one in the end.

Because of the one lost elite license, the Bodimir family had targeted Ed, the easiest of the seven to attack, who had a visible weakness. Ed, who had obvious vulnerabilities, lost his license as soon as the code of conduct changed, and disappeared from the north completely due to the shock.

“Grey, are you planning to keep playing with that stray dog?”

Herad didn’t particularly like that Grey had used Ed’s lover Demoness perfectly to completely defeat Ed. With her being a commoner and already a broken flower, the negative factors were great, and there wasn’t a single aspect Herad liked about the chastity notion of her mindlessly falling for Grey’s seduction.

“Well. I was thinking of playing with her a bit more before disposing of her terribly. Her job is a temporary academy teacher. Couldn’t that be used if I wanted to? Like staking a claim on capable talent in advance?”

As if agreeing with Herad’s words, Grey nodded. Though Demoness had been called a flower at the academy, there were more beautiful and capable women outside. He was thinking of playing with Demoness, who had chosen Ed over him during their academy days, before disposing of her horribly, so he had no intention of disposing of her immediately.

“This father thinks it better to nip those kinds of buds in the bud. Necropolis already has enough necromancers.”

“Then I’ll use her well in that direction.”

***

“The center is warm even without magic tools!”

Having sorted his emotions while traveling, as befitting a necromancer who must not be consumed by his summons, Ed enjoyed the warm weather of the center.