【Ojer】

【Race: Undead】

【Hidden Race: Life-and-Death Spirit】

【Age: 22】

【Class: None】

【Level: LV12 (You can try taking on three wolves by yourself—or get beaten up by three wolves.)】

【Combat Power: Unlock the [Combat Power Assessment] system to view】

【Current Status: Enhanced physical strength; constant body temperature; unaffected by temperature; Steadfast Will; night vision; no need for sleep; soul flame】

【Note: User No. 001, you are a man destined to become a god】

“So this is my current status screen? Why are there so many conditions? And what’s with that bit about getting beaten up by three wolves, huh?!”

【It’s just one of this system’s hobbies】

It was 6:40 in the evening, with dusk drawing near. The blood-red sky pressed down over the blazing yellow sunset, and the stars and moon embraced the world once more.

The girl called Ailrinni and I were in a small village called Drew, home to a little over a hundred households. Early that morning, while the sky was still dim, I’d carried the girl there after she collapsed, hoping to find help. The villagers had welcomed us warmly.

Now I was sitting in the living room of a simply furnished house. The silver-haired girl sat on the bed, quietly eating dinner with a dejected look on her face.

【But that doesn’t make sense. The main system should’ve prepared a powerful Necromancer as your form—at the very least, a human. How did you end up like this?】

【According to the mission log, this system’s startup was also disrupted by an unknown external factor. Otherwise, it would’ve booted automatically the moment you became conscious】

“So someone messed with me when I reincarnated?”

【It’s possible, but there’s no way to prove it】

Seriously…

I sighed and rubbed my forehead. From the next room came the girl’s soft little voice.

“Um, excuse me…”

“Hm? What’s wrong?”

I sat down beside her, my bony face perfectly expressionless, and crossed one leg over the other.

She still looked a little timid, but she wasn’t as afraid of me as before. Instead, she seemed deeply uneasy. She lowered her head to look at the bowl she’d emptied, while the dim moonlight shimmered in her dull red eyes.

“Why… can you talk? You’re a skeleton, aren’t you…?”

I thought for a moment, and the name of my hidden race came to mind.

“Hey, do you know the concept of a [Life-and-Death Spirit]?”

The girl tilted her head and thought for a moment, then suddenly seemed to understand.

“Y-You mean… you’re a Life-and-Death Spirit?!”

“I think so, but I don’t know what that actually means.”

At my explanation, the girl sat up straight and began gesturing as she explained, seeming a little excited.

“Um, Necromancers have always pursued undead creatures capable of independent thought. But because they lack souls, no matter how many experiments we conduct, undead creatures can’t think for themselves.”

【That’s right. Undead creatures need a mage to control them in order to act. That’s why Necromancers have always been rare in this world—because there’s no point in making them】

Paper-chan began explaining too. The girl in front of me stared at the soul flame inside my skull, frightened but full of curiosity.

“We call this perfect undead warrior, which exists only in theory and fantasy…”

【A Life-and-Death Spirit】

“A Life-and-Death Spirit!!”

I finally understood.

So that’s what it was…

【And your existence is only supposed to be possible in theory and as a concept. In other words, you should be the first [Life-and-Death Spirit] in the world】

【If anyone found out you existed, the Necromancers would hunt you down like mad. Other factions would also devote manpower and resources to capturing and studying you】

【After all, an undead creature with independent self-awareness that can be summoned endlessly is far more cost-effective than soldiers who take huge amounts of time and money to train】

“……”

So… that meant I was…

something of immense scientific value… the only one in the whole world…

a skeleton soldier…?

Seriously…

The girl looked as if she wanted to say something else, but soon lowered her head, her expression turning gloomy.

“Um… why did you save me? I’m a half-elf, and a Necromancer that everyone hates, too.”

“Aren’t you afraid I’ll bring disaster down on you?”

It seemed she really didn’t know who she was…

“A half-elf, huh… Honestly, I have no idea why people hate your race, and I don’t want to know. Besides, I’ve always been lucky. Plenty of people have wanted to curse me, so you probably wouldn’t even make the list.”

I was telling the truth. I’d made plenty of enemies on the battlefield and at work. As a PMC, I often ran into rivals in the business, and sometimes disputes had to be settled with a knife. And even when I killed rebels in the name of so-called “justice,” their friends and family would curse me through their tears and wish me straight to hell.

Still, I’d always been lucky. Bullets couldn’t kill me.

That confidence came from having my chest pierced twice.

But Ailrinni gave me a sad smile.

“You’re so confident. I envy you…”

“Hm? What do you mean?”

“Even after turning into… this, you can still say such confident, passionate things. Honestly, I envy you…”

“Because I… I don’t think I’ll ever be able to do that again…”

The girl turned her head away. Her sorrowful face flickered in the firelight, and her loose silver hair fell around her like a waterfall, drawing my gaze.

“Ahem… Anyway, even a half-elf must be able to find someone willing to take you in, right? What about your parents?”

But she shook her head and answered in a lovely voice, curling up and hugging her knees as she watched the sky darken outside. The red clouds slowly faded, and as the sunset made its final stand, the deep blue moon grew brighter, bathing the world in clear light.

“I never met my father. My mother died when I was ten… I’ve been wandering ever since.”

“…I see. Don’t you have anyone you’re close to?”

For a moment, she seemed about to say something. In the end, though, she only shook her head.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t.”

I nodded to show I understood and didn’t press her further.

“Then why were you in a place like that? Why become a Necromancer, an evil profession like that?”

She looked at me, hugged her knees, and gazed at me with misty eyes.

“I was… a slave they bought… Because I’m kind of cute, they wanted me to sneak into the village and find out what was going on there…”

“……”

[Paper-chan, is it legal to buy and sell slaves in this country?]

I tried to get an answer from the cheeky AI in my head. Its reply was straightforward.

【It’s legal, and it’s been going on for over a hundred years. This is a country where demi-humans and humans live together, with class divisions between nobles and commoners. Discrimination and oppression are unavoidable】

【By the way, according to the database, all half-elves are female and exceptionally beautiful. But because people hate them and see them as symbols of disaster, most half-elf girls choose to work in the sex industry】

[I see…]

I looked back at the silver-haired girl. With her young face and her thin, fragile-looking body, had she really done something like that?

A slave, huh…

She reminded me of someone from my past.

“Ah! But! But they only like corpses! They never touched me! I’m still pure! Please don’t think I’m dirty!!”

She suddenly remembered something and began waving her little hands in a panic.

I leaned back in alarm.

“Ooh…”

“W-What’s that supposed to mean?! What’s with that reaction?!”

I scratched my bony face.

“No, it’s just… I guess things aren’t that bad, then. At least you’re still a pure girl, and you can start over. Look at me—I’ve got nothing left. I’m just a big pile of bones, and I can’t even eat.”

“Mm…” She stared at me for a while, then nervously shrank farther under the covers.

“Um… please don’t get angry about what I’m going to say…”

“I’m a skeleton soldier. I don’t get angry. Go ahead.”

“Um…”

“The reason I followed you back then wasn’t just because I had nowhere else to go…”

“Huh?”

“It was also because… because you… probably couldn’t… sleep with me, right…?”

“Since you’re a skeleton, and all…”

Crack.

I could almost hear something deep inside me shatter.

My dignity.

“I’M SORRY!!! I’M SO SORRY I TURNED INTO A SKELETON!!! I’M SORRY I DON’T HAVE ONE OF THOSE!!!”

“E-Eeeeeh?!”

I suddenly dropped to my knees beside the bed and wailed. I didn’t have tear ducts, but I could clearly feel a man’s dignity crumbling into crumbs inside me.

I want that too!! I want to meet a girl who falls from the sky at the start of my story, just like the other light-novel protagonists!! I want to live the life of an overpowered hero surrounded by a huge harem!!

If that’s not an option, I’d even settle for switching genders and being the one who gets taken!! If I can’t get with a girl, at least let me experience the happiness of being one!!!

So why did it have to turn out like this?! I don’t even get to choose anymore!!

My holy sword!!

My OO!!!

No!!!!!!!

“I want to cry…”

“But I can’t… I don’t have tear ducts…”

“Goddammit… why…”

So this was what it meant to be unable to cry even when you wanted to.

If all else failed, I could try humping my pelvis—somehow, that thought had popped into my head.

My life as a man was over…

Waaah… my heart hurts…

“Um… are you all right?”

Ailrinni asked me with concern and gently patted my skull.

“I’m fine… sob… You should get some sleep… We have to get up early tomorrow… Good night… sob…”

“Okay… Please take care…”

After saying that, I flopped down onto the bed they’d prepared for me, hoping sleep would help me forget this miserable truth.

But…

……

…

2:40 a.m.

I lay in bed, staring into space.

“Aaaah… (soul escaping~~)”

I couldn’t sleep…

I wasn’t sleepy in the slightest.

Was it because I’d become a skeleton soldier…?

Oh, right. The status screen had also listed [No Need for Sleep] as a passive skill.

This was bad…

First I lost the greatest joy in life—getting into bed with a girl at night—and now sweet dreams and a warm bed were gone too…

My life!!!

Goddammit!!!

Why!!!

Just as I lay in bed wearing a full suit of armor, lamenting a life so miserable I couldn’t even get laid, I heard the strange sound of someone getting out of bed in the next room.

“Hm?”

Was that girl awake?

A little while later, the silver-haired girl poked her head out, fully dressed. She cautiously looked around, her bright red eyes almost glowing with blood-red color in the moonlight.

After making sure no one was around, she tried to leave the room as quietly as she could.

“It’s pretty late. From the look of it, you’re not going to the bathroom.”

“Eek!!”

My sudden voice made her jump.

“O… Ojer, sir… You’re not asleep?”

“I couldn’t sleep. Skeletons don’t need sleep. I only remembered that a few hours ago.”

I walked over to her and looked down at her.

“So, where were you planning to go?”

“Um… well…”

“Are you trying to run away because you’re afraid people will find out you’re a half-elf?”

“Yeah…”

She nodded.

“And… you’ve already done so much for me! I can’t keep causing you trouble!!”

“Are you stupid?”

“Mnyaah!!”

I chopped her on the head with the edge of my hand. The sudden pain made the girl drop straight to the ground.

“Where will you go once you leave here?”

“I don’t know…”

“Do you have any money?”

“No…”

“Can you guarantee you won’t get caught by another slave trader?”

“No…”

“You’re an idiot, aren’t you?”

“I’m sorry… sob…”

The girl’s voice grew quieter and quieter, until it trembled like she was about to cry.

“Sigh. I knew it.”

I pulled her to her feet and, without waiting for her agreement, forcibly led her back into the house.

“Huh? Huh…? Mr. Ojer?”

“For now, you’ll stick with me. I’ve thought about it for a long time, and I really can’t let someone who knows my identity out of my sight.”

“That’s not fair…”

“Are you unhappy about it?”

I turned to look at her. In my hollow eye sockets, crimson ghostfire shone like blood in the moonlight.

She shook her head frantically, frightened.

“My situation is complicated. I’ll explain it to you bit by bit later. For now, you belong to me, and I’m not asking what you think. If you don’t want to, I’ll turn you in. I reckon the village next door, the one that was burned down, would be glad to have someone to take their anger out on.”

“No! Please, no!! I’ll do anything you say!! Just not that!”

She threw herself at me, her two long, pointed ears drooping as if she might burst into tears at any moment.

“Good. Then here’s your order.”

“Ugh…!!”

“Go to sleep!!”

“Wha—wh-wh-what??”