“Eileen, can you use any other Necromancer skills? Like buffs or combat skills?”

“Um... I can use Bone Blade and Bone Shield. I can alter the structure of summoned skeleton soldiers, turning some of their bones into blades and shields.”

“Really?!” I excitedly grabbed her by the shoulders.

“Huh? Wh-what?”

“Eileen! Use both skills on me!”

She looked a little confused, but did as I asked.

“Gonaer, cold God of Death, grant my warrior a blade...”

Eileen closed her eyes and began chanting. Black light burst from the fox-shaped staff in her hand, dazzling to behold.

“Ooooooh!!”

I stared, thrilled, as my right hand turned into a Bone Blade and my left into a shield.

“This is awesome! Absolutely perfect!”

[Ding-dong]

[You have learned about [Bone Blade] and [Bone Shield]]

[Saved to database... Analyzing...]

[Analysis complete]

[[Bone Blade] and [Bone Shield] are now available for use at any time]

“Huh?”

Wait, does this mean I...

...learned these two skills?!

[After analysis, it was found that these two skills are extremely simple. This system can replicate them perfectly.]

[But didn’t you just say you couldn’t load magic...?]

[Of course I can’t. But you can. Otherwise, why would I need you as my executor?]

[...]

So anything I see can be analyzed by the thing in my head, and if it can figure it out, I can make it my own?

Damn, that’s pretty powerful...

I tapped my left hand with my right. The clang of metal rang through the forest.

Solid enough. Nice!

But unlike last time, after the skill was loaded, I didn’t feel like anything new had appeared in my head.

“Hmm... Whatever. I’ll try it again when I get the chance.”

I checked the map. The arrow showed we were still 0.5 kilometers away, so I retracted the weapons on my arms.

“Eileen.”

I turned to look at the girl.

“Yes, Mr. Ojer?”

“We’re almost there. I’ll go over the plan with you first.”

“All right...”

Calling it a plan was a bit of a stretch... It was more like something I’d just come up with on the spot.

I had no idea how strong they were or exactly how many of them there were. On top of that, their base, Myriad Bones Wasteland, was an underground labyrinth packed with skeleton soldiers—a perfect fortress for Necromancers. Acting rashly was definitely a bad idea. I couldn’t just charge in and slaughter everyone, smashing every person and skeleton in my path.

This wasn’t some B-list novel or Hollywood movie...

So for now, my plan was to have Eileen go in as bait and feed them false information, luring them out of Myriad Bones Wasteland. Then I’d pretend to be an ordinary skeleton soldier and follow behind them, taking them out one by one.

If I could knock them out, I would. I didn’t want to kill anyone anymore.

Besides, there was no need to kill them. I’d leave their punishment to the law.

“That’s the plan. Are you scared, Eileen?”

“Uhh...”

The moment I said she’d have to go back to those people, her shoulders gave a sharp shudder, and uncertainty crept into her eyes.

It felt like those people had left her with some pretty serious trauma.

I patted her on the head.

“Don’t worry, Eileen. If they try anything, I’ll step in right away. You’ll only have to go back for a little while. There’s nothing to be afraid of.”

“Um... Mr. Ojer...”

“Yeah?”

She hunched her shoulders. Beneath her oversized wizard hat, she looked ready to burst into tears.

“Y-you won’t leave me behind, will you...?”

“...”

She was still scared.

But that made sense. There wasn’t much comfort in going on a mission with a monster. Still, those people seemed even scarier to her than I was.

Poor girl.

“I won’t leave you behind. Didn’t I promise?”

“Uhh...” She still looked just as timid.

I gave her little nose another pinch.

“All right, don’t overthink it. I won’t let them hurt you. In return, make sure you lead them to the places I’m about to tell you about, okay?”

“O-okay... I’ll do my best!”

“Good. That’s my girl.”

[What are you planning to do?]

[Heh heh heh~~~]

I let out a few lecherous chuckles in my head.

[You’ll find out soon enough~~]

[???]

Then I continued talking to Eileen.

“Eileen, remember what I’m about to tell you. If you run into those people, say this to them.”

“Ah... Okay!”

“How long will our food last?”

“Three days, maybe. We got almost nothing from burning and looting that crappy little village last time, and we lost a few companions to boot.”

In front of Myriad Bones Wasteland, two Necromancers on watch were killing time by making crickets fight on the ground. They talked about the dead and what to do next with all the warmth of a pair of stones, as if their companions’ deaths had worked out in their favor.

“We barely got any test subjects, either. I’d had my eye on a little girl, but some guy rescued her. He even smashed my skeleton soldier while he was at it.”

“Quit complaining. If the boss hadn’t led us in retreat to this place, we’d be dead by now.”

“Sigh... But Myriad Bones Wasteland is packed with skeleton soldiers. The moment we go inside, they come charging at us in swarms. We never get a chance to study anything.”

“I miss the ice wine from back home...”

But his words only enraged his companion. The other man crushed both crickets underfoot, grabbed him by the collar, and looked ready to beat him up.

“Why do you think we became Necromancers?! For the path to immortality and the creation of Life-and-Death Spirits! The dead are the only truth that matters to us! Food, drink, and fun are nothing but distractions! And you still have such a shallow desire!”

That sermon-like speech immediately deflated him. He trembled as he tried to explain himself.

“I... I just wanted something decent to eat. I’m getting sick of salted meat and the like. It’d be nice to have something tasty that we could afford.”

“...”

“...You have a point.”

The other Necromancer let go of his collar and sighed, too.

“We haven’t had a proper meal in days.”

“Exactly...”

“Sigh...”

Just as the two of them were at a loss, a small figure came running toward them from nearby.

“Who’s there?! Huh? Isn’t that the half-elf the boss bought? She’s still alive?”

“H-hello...”

The girl asked tentatively, but got no response. Her survival seemed to mean nothing to the two men. They glanced at her, then went right back to their conversation.

But then...

“Um...!!” the girl suddenly called out.

“Yeah?”

“The store next door...”

“The store next door?”

She shrank back a step, her face turning red with embarrassment, then yelled at the top of her lungs:

“The store next door!! The chips are half off!!!”