In the early morning, the rising sun streamed through the window, painting the floor the color of golden paint.

The girl stood beside the bed, fully dressed and clutching her staff. Determination shone in her crimson eyes.

I stretched my arms, then turned to ask her,

“Eileen, are you really coming with me?”

“Mm! I’ve made up my mind! I’m going with Mr. Ojer!”

I scratched my faceplate.

“You don’t have to force yourself. If you’re not feeling well, you’d better—”

“I’m fine now!”

She thumped her chest. Her petite body looked surprisingly dependable, and the faint, shadowy glow from the staff in her hand reminded me once again that she was a mage.

“I want Mr. Ojer to acknowledge my abilities! Even though I’m kind of timid, and I get hungry easily... I’m weak, too... and I cry a lot...”

“...”

Eileen’s voice grew quieter with every word. By the end, it was as faint as a mosquito’s buzz. Her doll-like face had turned bright red, and she looked terribly embarrassed.

I could only stare at her in dismay.

“Ahem. So, basically, you’re afraid I’ll leave you behind.”

“Mm...”

I rubbed her head through her wizard’s hat. After weighing it over, I sighed.

I hadn’t planned to let her come along, but leaving her here alone also risked someone discovering who she was.

If she got found out, she’d probably give me away too. Then we’d be in trouble.

“All right. You can come with me this time. If we run into your former companions, don’t act frightened. No matter what.”

“I... I understand!!”

She lifted her head, looking a little anxious.

I tapped my own body.

“But it’ll just be the two of us. We won’t have any backup, so stay close to me, got it?”

Eileen nodded. The gloom from before vanished, and her long, pointed ears gave a happy little twitch.

“...”

I hesitated again, but said nothing. Then I stepped out of the room into the morning sun.

Outside, Linda waved at us, dressed all in red—a red robe, a red skirt, and a red scarf. Her fiery hair danced in the sunlight.

From a distance, she looked like an undergrown strawberry...

“Morning, Linda.”

“Good morning, Big Sister Linda...”

“Morning, Ojer and little Eileen!”

Linda came bouncing straight over to Eileen and affectionately pinched her little cheek.

“Hahaha! So soft!”

“Mm...! Stop pinching me, Big Sister Linda...”

Eileen didn’t seem used to this kind of interaction between them.

Was this some weird way of saying hello...?

“Oh, right! You can borrow this!” Linda tossed me a short sword in its scabbard.

“Hm?”

“You don’t have a weapon, right? We can’t leave little Eileen to do all the attacking with magic. Borrow this sword for now. A friend of mine made it. It cuts through iron like it’s nothing, won’t get stuck in bone, and won’t go dull from blood and flesh.”

“Whoa, this is really...”

I hadn’t expected this girl, who seemed so spacey, to be so thoughtful.

“Thanks. I owe you one.”

I drew the sword and ran my fingers lightly along its blade.

It was a short sword about four feet long, with a blade less than a meter in length. Its edge gleamed menacingly. I had no idea what it was made of, but it was light, and its simple guard bore a hint of red.

“This blade’s tasted blood before...”

Come to think of it, Linda had said monsters sometimes appeared in the forest, and we shouldn’t go too deep.

Monsters, huh...

“Linda, do you have a map? I need a detailed route.”

“Oh! I’ve got one ready. But more importantly...”

She frowned and looked at us.

“Ojer, are you sure you don’t need anyone else to go with you? Don’t worry, you’ll still get the reward I promised. You don’t have to act tough.”

I shook my head.

“The target’s in a cave, right? In a cramped place like that, having more people is practically useless. Besides, a crowd would make it harder for Eileen to cast spells.”

“I guess that’s true... Just make sure you protect little Eileen, okay?”

“Of course.” I smiled and waved. Seeing that Eileen looked a little uneasy, I patted her head.

“Mm...!”

“Don’t worry. I won’t make you do anything too difficult. I already have a plan.”

“Okay...”

Come to think of it...

A half-elf and a skeleton soldier.

One was a girl everyone looked down on.

The other was a monster everyone feared.

What a bizarre pair we made.

Interesting.

-【Kill/Capture Mission: Find the Necromancers hiding in the Myriad Bones Wasteland and kill them or bring them back alive】

【Difficulty: Unknown】

【Distance to target area: 2.3 kilometers】

【Number of targets: 5–6 people, plus an unknown number of skeleton soldiers】

【Mission reward: 2 gold coins + letter of introduction】

“Ummmm...”

I looked at the mission list Paper-chan had drawn up in my mind. An arrow was also marked on the map in the bottom-left corner. I sighed.

“Necromancers, huh...”

Come to think of it, wasn’t I a mage too? So why did I feel like the warrior on the front line...?

And magic... What was magic like in this world? I still hadn’t seen any.

Eileen watched as I alternated between focusing intently and shaking my head with a sigh. She smiled faintly but said nothing.

[Hey, Paper-chan.]

【Go ahead.】

[Do you have any spells you can load into me? I don’t know a single bit of magic right now.]

【No.】

[...]

【Most magic in this world has to be learned and mastered on your own. However, you can also obtain some basic spells by purchasing special books called grimoires.】

Grimoires?!

Wait, aren’t those just skill books?!

【However, this system doesn’t have any detailed information on magic, nor can it load spells into you. But you could ask the girl next to you. Isn’t she a Necromancer?】

Oh, right! Eileen’s a Necromancer!

“Eileen, you’re a Necromancer, more or less, right?” I asked eagerly.

“Yes... but I’m not a proper Necromancer...”

Her eyes, which had been utterly lifeless, now looked a little forlorn. She was as pitiful as a kitten abandoned by its owner.

“Then how much can you do? Can you summon a skeleton soldier from a corpse?”

“...Turning a corpse into a controllable skeleton soldier requires three steps: [Undead Summoning], [Mental Imprinting], and [Life Conversion].”

“Mental Imprinting lets us control undead creatures with our minds, while Life Force Conversion turns the flesh on a corpse into the life energy that lets an undead soldier move.”

“Once its life energy runs out and its soul fire goes out, the skeleton soldier loses the ability to fight and becomes a completely useless corpse.”

“Huh?! That can happen?!”

I quickly covered my head, wanting to feel whether the purple soul flame inside my skull was still burning brightly or showing any signs of going out.

【Please rest assured.】

That familiar, icy voice appeared like a goddess of salvation.

【Ordinary skeleton soldiers don’t have real souls, so they can only burn life energy to ignite a fake soul flame and make themselves move.】

【But as a [Life-and-Death Spirit] with a fully independent consciousness and a complete soul, you don’t need to worry about that.】

“That’s a relief...”

Just a moment ago, I’d thought I was going to meet God again not long after arriving in this world...