As Catherine explained the concept of a beast companion to Ambrose in meticulous detail, he became deeply uncomfortable. After all, he was used to eternal enslavement.

Taken at face value, a beast companion was an equal partner, with whom he would work on equal footing. It required communication, emotional bonding, mutual understanding, and mutual support.

Undead were nothing like that. Among undead, whoever was stronger was the master. If something did not obey you, you dismantled and rebuilt it.

But with a beast companion, you had to be tolerant. Understanding. Patient. It was almost like being in a romantic relationship, which meant choosing the right partner was critical.

One that was overly high-maintenance would make life sheer misery.

Naturally, the ideal situation was Catherine's own case: she had saved her companion's life, raised it from a young age, and cultivated a bond over time.

By those standards, the living mercury slime was a perfect fit.

And yet, Ambrose and the living mercury were genuinely incompatible. According to Catherine, Ambrose and the slime were already past the stage of emotional cultivation. If they were truly compatible, both sides would have felt it instinctively. There wouldn't even have been a need to ask—the contract would have formed naturally if they followed their hearts.

But Ambrose felt absolutely no response from the living mercury slime as he held it in his arms. That alone proved that they were incompatible.

With a sigh, Ambrose set the slime down and asked, "Then where do I even look for a beast companion?"

"If the Court of the Silver Moon hadn't sealed itself off, I could take you back there," Catherine said. "You'd probably find a suitable companion very easily. But now... we'll have to rely on luck. If we can find a druid circle, maybe we can ask them for help."

In this world, no one understood animals better than druids.

Rangers merely contracted with their beast companions. Druids, on the other hand, could probably even marry beasts outright if they were so inclined. The more extreme ones might even maintain something like a zoo-sized harem.

Given that advantage, asking druids for help was unquestionably the right move.

But where was he supposed to find a druid? Every druid Ambrose had ever dealt with was either dead or his enemy.

Catherine could guess his predicament. Undead and druids were never on good terms, and she could offer no real help. There were plenty of druid circles within the Court of the Silver Moon, but Catherine had barely interacted with druids outside it.

Upon reflection, she had to admit she really was a shut-in, and perhaps too much of one at that.

"Then how about a bounty?" Catherine suggested. "Some druids become adventurers. We could pay one to help us."

"Wait. Let me ask around first."

Ambrose took out the Necromantic Codex and sent a message to the group chat. [Megaman Tiga: Friends, do any of you know a reliable druid? Please introduce them.]

Ambrose had developed the habit of consulting the group whenever he was uncertain. Legends were largely well-traveled and well-informed. Someone like Catherine, a prodigy shut-in, was a rare exception.

As expected, the group members responded almost immediately.

[Black Rose: I do know a few druids, but why are you looking for one?]

[Human-Hater: What, looking for a druid now? Having fun with the elven queen, are you?]

[Pale Little Skeleton: What elven queen?]

[Dullahan's Crown: What elven queen?]

[Pale Little Skeleton: What does that have to do with you?!]

[Dullahan's Crown: I'm just curious!]

......

As useful as the members of the group chat were, they were also willing to do anything for entertainment.

Heki Stone's jealousy practically seeped out of the Codex itself, leaving Ambrose speechless. The newly minted vampire Supreme Overlord really was petty.

[Megaman Tiga: Don't misunderstand. I'm not a vampire. I don't get aroused by my food.]

[Human-Hater: I ************]

[Human-Hater: ****! This damn Codex won't even let me swear?!]

Ambrose was just about to mock him when a name he had never seen before spoke up in the group.

[Mourner: Maintain reason and restraint. Respect one another. Keep one another's secrets. Those are the rules of the Elegiac Society.]

Ambrose blinked, wondering if he had seen wrongly.

Mourner?

Wasn't that the president of the Elegiac Society?!

Ambrose had never seen this mysterious president before. Only after becoming a lich had he acquired the Necromantic Codex, which recorded a great deal of basic undead knowledge, along with an introduction to the Elegiac Society.

One rule was stated very clearly: chat content could not be shared without the relevant members' permission. Violators would be expelled from the Elegiac Society and punished by the president.

From the very beginning, Ambrose had understood the weight of the Codex. It had appeared at his side the moment he completed his lich transformation. Before the transformation, he had made exhaustive preparations and layered his magical defenses to their absolute limit.

And yet, as the ritual ended, he had found the Codex silently placed beside him. Not a single one of his defenses had been triggered.

To this day, Ambrose could not comprehend how the president had done it. He only knew that the president's power was beyond imagination—that he was possibly the mortal incarnation of a god. And since joining the Elegiac Society, this was the first time he had ever seen the president speak in the group chat.

Before Ambrose could say anything, the other members rushed to greet the president.

[Black Rose: President, it's been a long time.]

[Dullahan's Crown: President?! You're the president of the Elegiac Society?! This is my first time seeing you!]

[Pale Little Skeleton: Greetings, President. It really has been a long time.]

The Codex suddenly grew lively as several completely unfamiliar names appeared.

[Poet: The president's awake? It's been many years.]

[Mute: Was the last time the president appeared perhaps a millennium ago? Or two? Don't tell me something big is about to happen again.]

[Non-Vegetarian: Really? I'm looking forward to it. I've been hungry for a long time.]

[Mourner: No need to be nervous. I've simply just woken up. Continue chatting; I won't participate.]

......

The president of the Elegiac Society vanished again. Even when Ambrose sent a private message, he received no reply.

The three unfamiliar members of the Codex disappeared along with the president, as though they had shown up solely to make their presence known.

Left with no choice, Ambrose privately messaged Black Rose. [Megaman Tiga: Lady Rose, have you ever met the president?]

[Black Rose: No. I've only received the president's help before. Establishing a kingdom in the Umbral Depths wasn't easy. I ran into many problems early on, and the president assisted me a great deal.]

Black Rose offered no details, and Ambrose wisely did not press the issue. Instead, he asked about the unfamiliar members. [Megaman Tiga: And the other three? Poet, Mute, Non-Vegetarian—they're legendary undead too, right?]

[Black Rose: I only know Poet. He's the vice president. In fact, the name "Elegiac Society" is a combination of theirs. Beyond the name, though, I know nothing else about him. As for the other two... honestly, this is my first time seeing them as well.]

Ambrose was speechless. Were all members of the Elegiac Society this eccentric?

Had the president spoken up solely because Heki Stone had broken the rules? And when Mute mentioned "something big," just what had happened before?

"Big" by the standard of the Elegiac Society likely surpassed the scale of a mere war between nations.

Every one of them was more mysterious than the last.

Still, Ambrose wasn't unduly troubled. There were countless mysteries in the world. If the president truly was a god's mortal avatar, then everything made sense. When gods were involved, nothing was too absurd to be surprising.

The brief disturbance left only one real victim: Heki Stone.

The vampire was trembling. In a moment of excitement, he had typed a few undead expletives and received a warning from the president. Like Ambrose, he had once witnessed the sheer terror of the Codex appearing silently at his side.

[Human-Hater: I'm done for. The president himself gave me a warning. Am I going to get some horrifying punishment?]

[Megaman Tiga: If the president wanted to punish you, do you think you'd get a warning?]

[Human-Hater: Is that supposed to be comforting?]

[Megaman Tiga: I never said it was.]

[Human-Hater: *******!]

[Dullahan's Crown: Seriously? You're still daring to push it? Aren't you afraid of dying?]

[Human-Hater: No, I literally typed *******. You're free to fill in the blanks yourself.]

That vampire... was truly something else.

Ambrose stopped bickering with Heki Stone and returned to questioning Black Rose about druids. Unfortunately, the druids Black Rose knew were all reclusive old-timers who had long since withdrawn from the world. Their locations were impossible to pinpoint. At best, she could pass along a message and see whether any of them replied.

Ambrose sighed. It seemed he would still have to hire someone.

Closing the Codex, he said to Catherine, "Let's go. We'll hire a druid."

"You stared at that book for so long just to listen to me?" Catherine chuckled softly, then asked, "Are we going back to Alkhemia to look for one?"

Ambrose shook his head. "Alkhemia has never been on good terms with druids, and there are very few of them within its borders. On top of that, shadow druids were involved in Alkhemia's destruction. If the druids were smart, they would have fled long ago. Instead of posting a bounty back home, we're better off doing it here in the desert. The odds of finding one are higher."

Ambrose cast Shapeshifting to take on a human form, then told Catherine, "You should change your appearance too. You're far too conspicuous like this."

Catherine's innate charm was so strong it even worked on liches. Walking through the streets like that, she would trigger every hackneyed novel trope imaginable within minutes: wealthy nobles would throw gold around to catch her eye, and crime lords might try to abduct her. They wouldn't get anywhere.

Obediently, Catherine cast Shapeshifting on herself, turning into a "plain-looking" elven woman and donning a mask. The effect, however, was minimal. She still radiated an overwhelming allure.

After a moment's thought, Ambrose said, "Turn into an orc."

"What?" Catherine had never heard such a request before.

"If you don't, we won't be able to leave at all," Ambrose said. "We're just ordinary adventurers right now. You don't want to be surrounded by men every few steps, do you?"

After some hesitation, Catherine decided to follow his advice and transformed into a burly orc.

Wrapped in thick, full-body leather armor, with green skin, tusks, and a shaved head, it was hard to tell her gender at a glance.

And yet, as Ambrose examined her carefully, he found the orc strangely... cute.

That damned charm. No wonder the elves never let her go outside.

"Fine, we'll go with this," Ambrose said. "Just try to act rough. Otherwise, people will figure it out."

Catherine nodded eagerly, clearly excited. It was her first time going out in disguise, and it all seemed terribly fun.