Project Necro is an official initiative by Re:Library.

After my health finally recuperated, I headed back to Lüenheit the Demon Capital, taking with me a group of soldiers who were to join the Third Division.
It’s strange—this isn’t even my hometown, yet the sight of the city gates fills me with a strange sense of nostalgia.
Guess I’ve grown rather attached to the place.

In front of the gates stood Aylia in her formal attire, waiting to receive us. Representatives of every corps in the Demon Lord’s Army were present, along with the Lüenheit city guards.
Their appearances varied by race, but everyone wore black mourning bands.
Aylia, wearing a black corsage on her chest, saluted me on behalf of them all.

“Welcome home, Sir Veit.”
“Thanks for coming to greet us.”

As one of our allies, Aylia had already heard of Demon Lord Friedenrichter’s death.
However, she didn’t mention it—she only smiled gently and said,

“I’m truly relieved to see you safe.”
“Thank you. Sorry for worrying you.”

Not only had I made her worry, but I’d likely be giving her more trouble soon enough.
Still, the Demon Lord’s death remains a secret to the other humans. I can’t say anything here.
The city guards probably don’t know the details, though they seem to have heard that an important figure has passed away.
After returning their salute, I passed through the gate.
As Aylia walked beside me, she glanced at my face and said softly,

“You’ve grown a bit manlier, haven’t you?”
“I’m just worn out, that’s all.”

I’ll need to recover quickly and work hard—for the late Demon Lord’s sake, and for the new Demon Lord.

It had been a while since I stepped inside my office, and it was exactly like how I left it.
The maids had apparently kept it clean. I brewed myself a cup of green tea and took a deep breath.
Marlene seemed to be busy welcoming the new soldiers, but I decided to leave the details to her.
She is the division commander, after all.
Now then, time to focus on my own work.

I spread out a map of southern Miraldia before me.
At present, Bernehainen in the northwest and Tübahn in the northeast were stable. They were guarded by the cavalry corps, the vampire corps, and the skeleton soldiers.
For now, there’s little threat of invasion from the north, so preferably we’d increase our allies in the south while we can.

Then Aylia began to explain.

“There are, broadly speaking, two major trade routes in southern Miraldia.”

Her fingertip pointed to the city of Belrüsa, located at the southern tip of the continent.

“The first is the southwestern route. It runs northward from the port city of Belrüsa, through Lüenheit, and up to Bernehainen.”

Tracing the route on the map with her finger, she continued,

“This follows the same path our ancestors once traveled. They established their base in Belrüsa, moved north, and eventually built a kingdom in the now Bernehainen.”

I see. Come to think of it, Aram did mention that his southern ancestors came crossing the sea.

“The second is the southeastern route. It begins from the port city of Lotzo in the southeast, goes north through Schaldir, and reaches Tübahn and beyond. That route simply kept moving northward, but…”

Her tone dropped.

“…in doing so, they clashed with the migrants who had come south from the north. That eventually sparked the war of Miraldia’s unification.”

Ah, so that’s why Schaldir has such a bitter relationship with the northern regions.

Aylia smiled wryly.

“It may be difficult for you to understand the kind of grudges humans can carry for generations, sir Veit.”

I understand it well. I was human in my previous life.
Aylia then pointed again to the southwestern port city, Belrüsa.

“Belrüsa is also called the ‘Pirate City.’ They don’t really think of themselves as part of the Miraldia Alliance, but it’s the largest city in the south.”
“Huh. How large are we talking?”

If the population is big enough, that means more soldiers and resources to draw from.

Aylia smiled sweetly.

“The number of citizens is around two thousand.”
“That’s small… wait—citizens?”

So, there must be a lot of non-citizens, then.
Aylia’s smile grew even brighter.

“Yes. In terms of citizens, they have only two thousands.”
“And the rest?”
“More than ten thousand, I’d say.”

That many!?

“What are these non-citizens, then?”
“Citizens.”
“You’re not making any sense.”

Aylia apologized with a cheerful laugh.

“Sorry for confusing you. In short, they’re illegal immigrants.”
“Illegal immigrants, huh…”

It might be prejudice, but I’d rather not deal with a troublesome bunch.

“With that many illegal immigrants, is the city even stable?”
“Oh yes, perfectly fine. They may be illegal, but they’ve been living there for generations.”

Hmm… that only makes me more worried.

I didn’t quite understand, but with that kind of population, we can’t ignore the place. It’s quite far, but still lies just south of Lüenheit.

“All right, let’s start negotiations immediately. Aylia, can you arrange contact with them?”
“Of course, with pleasure.”

Smile all you want, damn it.
She was clearly delighted that she managed to surprise me.

“First of all, I’d like to hear a bit more about them. These illegal immigrants—”

Just as I said that, the door burst open and one of the werewolf squad members—Niebert, the younger of the Garne brothers—rushed in.

“Veit! There’s some weird guy at the south gate! The hell’s that thing!?”
“How should I know? You haven’t even explained it yet.”

He quickly clarified, flustered.

“A-a skeleton.”
“So it’s a skeleton soldier?”

He shook his head vigorously.

“No, no, he’s talking. My brother’s handling him now, but he’s speaking his poor ears off…”
“What’s he talking about?”
“S-some weird nonsense.”

Ah—I see.
I know exactly who that is.

I sighed and waved my hand.

“Yeah… I know who it is. I’ll go.”

The Younger Garne looked puzzled, then suddenly nodded.

“R-right. I’ll go back my brother up, then. Hurry up and come, okay!”

I stood up slowly and trudged toward the door.
Geez, I really didn’t want to deal with this…

When I reached the south gate, the werewolf squad was gathered there.
And among the chatter, I clearly heard a familiar voice.

“So even before and after transforming, one bite is still one bite, right? That means if you’re gonna ask for a bite of your friend’s snack, it’s better to do it after turning into a werewolf! Much better value!”
“Uh-huh… now that you say it, that… kinda makes sense?”

I could hear the older Garne sounding troubled somewhere beyond the crowd.
Then that same frivolous voice overlapped his.

“What an honest reaction! Your older brother here likes you! Oh wait—you’re the older brother of the two, right? Then I guess I’m the little brother!”
“Huh? How does that work?”
“What’s wrong, would you rather I be your little sister? Sorry, can’t help it—male by nature! Look at this perfect skin tone!”
“Skin…?”
“Oh, right! Forgot I shed it off! Check out this flawless white complexion!”
“Uh… yeah. It’s… really white.”

Why was he even humoring him seriously?

I pushed through the werewolves and moved toward the source of that obnoxious voice.
And of course—I found him.
A stylish hat with feathers, a fine tailored suit, and a confident pose.
Beneath the hat sat a white skull.

“Hey, Parker.”

At the sound of my voice, he spun around like a spring snapping loose.

“Well, well, Veit! My beloved little brother!”
“I’m not your brother!”

The onlookers murmured among themselves.

“Apparently the skeleton is the Boss’ older brother.”
“Doesn’t look alike at all…”
“Why’s he even a skeleton?”

You idiots, stop gossiping.

“He’s not my brother. This is Parker the Labyrinth. My senior apprentice—and a former human necromancer. Technically, a general in the Demon Lord’s Army.”

I already felt exhausted.

Parker laughed cheerfully, his skull jaw rattling with a clack clack.

“That’s right! I’m Parker! Pakkapakka Parker!”
“Stop that. You’re annoying.”

Immediately, Parker slumped to the ground and began drawing swirls in the dirt with his finger.

“Harsh words for your dear elder brother, don’t you think…?”
“You’re not my brother—you’re just my senior disciple, and we’re not even related!”

What a pain.
What the hell had he been doing all this time anyway?

Rough Location of the Miraldian Southern Cities

Small settlements such as mining towns exist around each city. There are also nomadic tribes who live nomadic lives.