Necromancer Academy’s Genius Summoner

"Isn't it the same for you, feeling troubled over something you're hiding?"

Simon felt a prick in his heart, but he was no longer an amateur actor. He gave a nonchalant reply.

"You know it already, Kajann. The reason I'm being hunted by Magnus."

"I do have an idea."

Said Kajann, leaning back in the bath.

"He must be after the Ancient Undead you have in your possession."

According to Kajann, it wasn’t Magnus’s clone that appeared first.

Apparently, an Ancient Undead called 'Alahze' snuck into room 409 as a slime and hid there. It seemed to have been waiting to make its move, presumably after finding definitive proof that Simon was a Commander.

However, Kajann entered the room and discovered it, and after a fierce fight, he managed to destroy Alahze once.

Simon clapped his hands.

"So you didn't get knocked out instantly, Kajann!"

“…Yeah. But I was defeated afterward, and then Alahze turned into Magnus. You came in a few minutes later."

"I get it."

Splash.

Leaning back like he was lying down in bed, Kajann supported the back of his head with his arms.

"Other than the thing with Magnus…"

“Yes?"

"Anything else on your mind?"

Kajann had a keen sense for that sort of thing, after all.

Hearing that, Simon was reminded of his suspicions regarding Walter.

However, he was still uncertain.

Walter was collecting hearts.

His real name was 'Judas'…

…and it seemed like Simon had heard that name somewhere before.

He felt like he heard the name when he crossed over to the Holy Federation, so he had Rete look into it.

It was just that. A suspicion.

The only definitive information he had about Walter was him collecting hearts.

Above all else, he hadn’t even told Nefthis that he'd gone over to the Holy Federation.

After all, it was an extremely sensitive matter that could be seen as treason.

Thus, there's only one thing he could tell Kajann.

"Professor Walter is collecting hearts."

Stated Simon, carefully choosing each word.

"An awful amount."

"I see."

Kajann nodded.

"Is that all?"

“…Yes."

Even if he was the one that said it, he felt embarrassed. Simon looked down very intently at the ground, unable to meet Kajaan's eyes.

“The research of necromancers is often eccentric, unethical, and dangerous. Even the professors in Kizen sometimes dabble in research that’s forbidden, but it’s also true they turn a blind eye to those things, to a certain degree, for the sake of advancing dark magic as a whole.”

Having said so, Kajann closed his eyes.

"In conclusion, I understand you find Professor Walter suspicious. Although it's not at the level to make a report to Nefthis, I'll keep an eye on him and let you know if I find anything suspicious."

"Ah, yes! That would be very helpful."

This was the first time he'd ever told someone about this. That alone made Simon feel much better.

"!"

Splash.

Just then, Kajann looked away, his gaze shifted over toward the wall as his brows furrowed.

"What's wrong, Kajann?"

"Shh."

Simon shut his mouth instantly and focussed on his hearing. He could hear footsteps and muffled voices from outside.

"Isn't that simple?"

It was the girls' voices.

"If there's no hot water in the first-year dorm, you can just go to the second-year's dorm!"

"Hohoho! True that, true that!"

"Nobody should be using this place right now, anyway."

Simon's face turned pale.

'C-Crap.'

They were in a perfect situation that would lead to a misunderstanding, and on top of that, they were naked.

Simon quickly ran toward the entrance.

"Kajann! I'll scream to alert the girls, so…!"

Tap. Tap.

Before Simon knew it, Kajann was out of the bathtub and had forced open the window.

"And how long will it take to explain this?”

Kajann pointed outside nonchalantly.

"This is my way."

"No, Kajann! We're literally on the fourth floor!"

But the girls' voices outside were getting closer and closer.

To make things worse, the bathhouse was small, and there was no place to get undressed. In other words, after opening the door, the bathtub was immediately visible.

'I'm gonna go insane!'

Simon was left with no choice but to reach out for the clothes basket.

'Cloud!'

A blue-green smoke shot out, engulfing Simon and Kajann's clothes basket, while Kajann had already jumped out the window.

"Oh, don't you think someone might be inside?"

"You can't be serious~"

Simon bit down hard on his lip.

'Here goes nothing!'

As soon as Simon jumped outside while hugging the basket, he heard the sound of the door opening.

"Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!"

An ear-ripping scream was heard escaping from the window.

Simon sighed as he looked back at the building from the air.

To think that he'd escape naked at night from the fourth floor of a bathhouse.

It was one of the strangest things he'd ever done in his life.

"Seems you can be determined, at least."

Kajann, having jumped first, smirked. Simon spoke with a laugh as well.

"Kajann, you do realize you look extremely lame right now, right?"

"Same goes for you."

Then, he pointed at the ground.

"I'm fine, but wouldn't you get hurt?"

"Not a chance."

Simon put his arm behind him and opened the huge subspace. Thankfully, because they just returned from the neutral area dispatch assessment, some members of the Legion were still left.

* * *

* * *

"Eliza, come out!"

At Simon's command, Elizabeth burst out of the subspace, her arms outstretched as she covered Simon in fluffy cobwebs.

They pulled him in and brought him safely to the ground.

‘…It's good that I didn't get hurt, but…’

Tightly bound in cobwebs, with his feet barely above the ground, Simon couldn't move.

'Why did she hold me like this?'

[Mmfufufufufu.]

Hearing that sinister laugh, Simon felt an ominous sense of foreboding wash over him.

[You already know how much I've been holding back, right?]

The spider queen was approaching, her eyes glinting in the darkness like a wild animal stalking its prey in the dead of night.

[Stuck in the subspace as soon as we went on dispatch! You scolded me when I turned into a female student in Kizen! And you made me play as you in the neutral area!]

Dreaded realization filled Simon's face. He had made a mistake.

[It's so nice to be back in Kizen after all that, Commander~ You know, it was already getting hard to hold it back, and then I saw the naked Commander right in front of me!!]

Elizabeth, who seemed to have lost all rational thinking, was already approaching while licking her lips.

'It was a mistake to take her out just because I was in the air.'

[Please! Grant me a reward!]

Just when she was about to lunge at Simon, opening her arms, a hand grabbed her by the hair from behind. Her head snapped back, accompanied by a scream.

[Ugh!]

It was Kajann.

Looking back, she shouted in annoyance.

[Ugh! It's you again!!]

Elizabeth conjured cobwebs on her fingers and swung them, slashing through the surrounding trees.

It seemed like Elizabeth still hadn't gotten over her anger at Kajann from the incident back during the Saintess search.

Kajann jumped and dodged, his body covered in jet-black armor.

'Black robe! So Kajann could use it, too!'

Elizabeth made more cobwebs with fiery irritation, and Kajann took a defensive stance.

"Eliza."

Simon sighed heavily, then stated without a hint of pity,

[Stop.]

Thud!

Elizabeth's body shuddered, and soon, she dropped to one knee in front of Simon.

[Y-You're so mean! How could you give me an absolute order?!]

"It's because you can't be controlled with words. Get a hold of yourself, Eliza."

The cobwebs binding Simon naturally also loosened.

'Ugh, it's cold.'

It was already night. Simon's teeth chattered due to the night wind.

"Let's go back to the dorm first."

Said Kajann, and Simon agreed.

"Yeah."

After returning Elizabeth to the subspace, Simon threw some clothes on himself. Then, Simon and Kajann quickly ran toward the dormitory.

"Haha!"

As they ran, Simon couldn't help but laugh at the ridiculousness of the situation.

"Hm, is it funny?"

"No, it's just that this chaos makes me really feel like I'm finally back in Kizen!"

Tomorrow, it was back to classes.

Simon went from a walk to a jog to a sprint, reveling in the anticipation.

* * *

The next day.

The Kizen students were walking to school in their uniforms after a long time, with many new stories to tell.

"So you guys were alive!"

"Anyone encountered a priest?"

"Where were you guys dispatched to?"

Discussions filled the air. Simon and Rick were also up early, walking across campus.

"An assembly in the great hall on the first day after we return, huh…?"

Rick was checking the schedule while munching on his toast.

Simon asked,

"But why an assembly? Are they planning to give us information about the fourth BDMAT?"

"Nah, there's no way! Students are supposed to be the ones to figure out information in regards to the BDMAT. Judging from how they assembled us…"

Rick continued, arms crossed,

"…I think they're going to talk about some changes in the rules."

"Changes?"

"Hehe! Actually, I picked this up from a pretty reliable servant. I heard there are a lot of complaints from professors about the BDMAT. I think there might be some sort of schedule change or something."

"That's quite interesting."

The two of them were startled, stopping in their tracks. Other students were reeling back in surprise as well.

"Could you please continue?"

Before they knew it, Bahil was standing in front of them.

"Professor Bahil!"

It was an unexpected appearance of Professor Bahil. Simon greeted him with a smile, and Rick had a sly grin.

"Look at you joining just now. This feels suspiciously timed! Weren't you waiting for us here? To see me, the future ace of curses?"

Bahil stared at Rick's sly tongue moving and thought,

'I wish I could put a curse on that yapping snout of yours.'

If he weren't Simon's friend, he’d have been a corpse floating off the coast of Kizen long ago.

Bahil turned his head and looked at Simon.

"I heard you did a splendid job in your dispatch assessment. You worked with Vengeance in the neutral area, am I right?"

Simon scratched the side of his head, feeling embarrassed.

"Yes. But I wouldn't exactly call it a splendid job. We messed up in the middle."

"Hey now~ Being too modest isn't great, either! We just had a blast in the neutral area! We fought against some kids from Efnel, weakened the Federation's grip on the neutral area, and also wiped out the local gangs!!"

Bahil was smiling, but the corners of his mouth were twitching.

'Shut the fuck up. I want to talk with Simon about curses.'

"Mr. Simon, perhaps—”

"Oh, now who is this? Hahaha!"

Suddenly, another voice interrupted.

As Bahil looked back and glared with anger, a figure pushed its way through the crowd.

"Professor Belya!"

Simon's face lit up once more.

"Oh, you bastards! How was it? Didn't you miss your big sis?"

The veins in Bahil's temples popped up slightly at the sight of Belya, who couldn't take any sort of hint.

"Professor Belya! I fought using something you taught! The Venom Swamp!"

"Well done! Naturally, dark magic improves when you have the courage to use it in practice!"

Bahil's face grew grimmer and grimmer as he watched Rick and Belya laugh with their mouths perpetually open.

'Should I get rid of them right here, right now?'

Bahil placed his hand behind his back. A jet-black magic circle was conjured, and a curse began to form.

“…The two of you."

Just then.

"What are you doing here with the students?"

They didn't even sense her in the slightest. Belya and Bahil both stopped and turned around.

——