The Hero's body had been left in the throne room.
When the others cleared out, leaving just him and the Demon King, Lich shuffled closer to the coffin. Inside, sprawled out like a mannequin, was the Hero. Soft black hair, a face that still looked weirdly childish for his age, and even in death that clueless, vacant expression—yeah. No mistake. This was definitely the Hero.
"..."
"So, Lich? Pretty wild, huh? Dragonfolk are seriously insane."
"Has it... been a while since he died?"
"Mm, yeah. I heard the dragons threw a whole drinking party after they killed him. Honestly, you turn your back for two seconds and those guys are already cracking open the sake. Like, hello? Demon King over here? Would've been nice to get the memo right away. Do they not get how much the Hero economy is worth?"
The Demon King gnawed at her gem-studded claw, words muffled. Lich watched her dark skin and stark white hair for a moment, then made up his mind.
"...I'm going to bring the Hero back."
"Hah? Why?"
"Just his body. I'll reanimate the shell, control it, and send him back to the Humans."
"...Oh. Huh. Wow. That's actually kind of evil. I like it."
"Not for the reason you're imagining."
"Oh?"
"I want to test something called Remote-Controlled Necro-Operation."
"...That name is literally redundant."
"Not my fault. That's how it was written in the research notes. Anyway, I want to see if I can control the Hero's body from a distance. If it works, necromancy evolves. Plus, there's some juicy research material in Human territory. I'll make the Hero fetch it."
"Research material? Ohhh, right. There was a necromancer in the Hero's Party, wasn't there? You're gunning for his stuff?"
"Correct."
"Figures. Though now that you mention it, haven't seen that guy lately. He's dead, probably?"
"No idea."
"He was kind of a necro-nerd too, though. Shame we couldn't recruit him to your side. You'd have had a lab partner."
"Maybe so. Anyway—mind if I take this body now? I'd rather raise him before the rot gets worse."
"Sure thing. I'll have some grunt lug him over."
Lich obtained: Hero's corpse!
* * *
"Mmm. So it feels less like 'control' and more like... possession. Long-distance possession. Needs tuning."
Lich's consciousness was riding inside the Hero's body. Back in the lab, his own skeletal frame lay slumped on a reclining chair, empty as a broken puppet.
Apparently, whenever he slipped into the Hero's shell, his real body powered down. Two-body piloting? Still beyond his pay grade.
"Well, anyway. This gives me an easy passport into Human lands. Lich—I mean, Hero—has once again advanced the field of necromancy. The world where all souls live happily ever after as convenient undead draws ever closer. Students, please applaud."
A hesitant ripple of claps filled the research chamber. Lich raised one hand, and the applause cut off.
"Alright. Hero's heading out to Human territory for a bit. In the meantime, don't slack—make sure you're doing your daily soul observation drills. Crimson will act as your supervisor."
His borrowed Hero-eyes locked onto a red-haired beastgirl. She blinked at the sudden callout, smiling weakly.
"Uh... professor, my name isn't actually Crimson."
"Hero's bad at remembering proper nouns. You'll live. It's pretty hair, at least. No academic value, but still."
"...Wow. It really is you inside there."
"'Possession' and 'corpse control'—both core skills in necromancy. You'll learn them eventually. But before that, you need to master seeing souls. If you try possession without memorizing your own soul's shape, you might not make it back to your real body."
"...Got it."
"Anyway, Hero's off. If he stays in here too long, people will assume he really died, and that makes slipping back into Human society awkward. Later."
"Y-yes, professor. Take care."
"Mm."
And just like that, Lich's double life began—secret boss of the Demon King's army, and the resurrected Hero of mankind.
Two roles that could decide the world's fate... and unfortunately, he couldn't care less about either.