Necromancer Academy’s Genius Summoner

Bishop Judas of the Heavenly Blood

Simon almost screamed in the library.

He had finally figured out the source of the uncomfortable feeling he had felt since he first met Professor Walter.

Walter's acquaintances called him 'Judas'. Even the fountain pen he always carried with him had that name written on it.

Walter is Judas.

And Judas is a Bishop of the Heavenly Blood. All the pieces fitted together.

'Professor Walter is part of Heavenly Blood!'

Heavenly Blood was a vicious organization that had not only kidnapped and experimented on countless citizens of the Holy Federation, but had also tried to instigate a war between the Dark Territory and the Holy Federation.

In pursuit of the annihilation of both groups, they committed heinous atrocities. Civilians were just tools for their own victory.

Furthermore, it seemed like Walter has personally approved many of these abhorrent job orders as a high-ranking member of the organization. His crimes were extremely grave.

'I don't know what brought Heavenly Blood to Kizen, but…!'

His wicked plans ended here.

Simon thought of visiting Lorain right now, but he regained his composure and sat back down at his desk.

If he was going to report to Nefthis, he wanted to make sure he had the hardest evidence possible.

'Let's find out what he did under the name of Judas.'

Simon grabbed the library's register book and searched for any names with Judas.

'…Hah?'

And he was devastated the moment he opened the first book.

Judas Kallan, Rank 1, approved by the union officials.

Judas Oodoro, Rank 1 approved by the union officials.

Judas Andare, Rank 2 approved by the union officials.

Judas Haoban, Rank 3 approved by the union officials.

He had to turn the page to find the end of the list.

Simon's head hit the desk with a thud.

'Th-There were this many people with the name Judas?'

He thought it was a rare name because he hadn't heard of it before, but a quick flip through the book he'd picked up revealed plenty of Judases.

His forehead Simon placed his hand on his now-throbbing forehead and looked again at the signature that he had deciphered.

Bishop Judas of the Heavenly Blood

If only it included some kind of surname or other distinction after the name, but unfortunately, there was no such thing.

This signature, and the fact that the name written on Walter's fountain pen was Judas, wasn't enough to say that Walter is the same Judas of the Heavenly Blood. It would be impossible to report to Nefthis with this little evidence.

'…Sigghh.'

Simon slumping back down in his chair, realizing everything had come full circle.

'I thought I had him!'

After a moment of staring blankly up at the ceiling, Simon calmed down and stood up.

Despite the lack of hard evidence, he finally had the certainty he needed to pursue this further.

'I'll try to investigate this through till the end, even if it means working by myself.'

A plan unfurled in Simon's mind.

First, he'd return to the dormitory and—

"Hello, sir!"

The librarian appeared and pointed at Simon's desk, which was cluttered with books.

"You need to return all these first!"

"A-Ah! I'm sorry!"

Simon blushed and went back to his seat. He needed to get to his senses first.

* * *

"Handwriting analysis?"

Asked Rick, chewing at some tough jerky he had bought on his way home from Rochest. Simon nodded.

"Yeah. If I bring you two signatures, can you figure out if they're the same person's handwriting?"

Rick's head sunk.

"Dude!! It's not like I'm some kind of miracle worker who can solve any problem. Of course… I can!"

"…Perhaps without the sarcasm."

"There's an old man who does handwriting analysis in Langerstine. He's a veteran in the field, even having worked for the royal family."

Said Rick, raising all five fingers before continuing,

"It'll only cost you five gold, including my share!"

Simon immediately folded down two of Rick's fingers.

"Can you do three gold with a bestie discount?"

"Good grief."

Rick shook his head in great disappointment.

"Then introduce me to that hometown friend of yours, Elizabeth Webber. Only then will I go with three gold!"

Simon smiled bitterly.

This 'Elizabeth Webber' Rick was referring to was Elizabeth in her Kizen schoolgirl mode.

"Let's just go with five gold."

Simon couldn't ask Elizabeth to do emotional labor for a mere two gold.

Besides, she was an Ancient Undead who was quite sensitive to the emotion of love. He couldn't ask her to go out with Rick, even if it was just an act.

"Whew, you're pretty good at bargaining, huh?"

Rick crossed his arms.

"Okay, fine. Then, with two gold…"

"It's a no, even if you did it for free."

"Man, why?!"

Rick shook Simon by the shoulders.

"Are you really going to be this stingy? You've got plenty of girls! Like, you're exchanging letters and going on dates with that Serene Aindark!"

"…There's nothing going on between us."

"And also, you even took part in the 1000 lanterns with that Lorain, Nefthis' daughter! Why can't you introduce me to this one friend of yours? …Do you happen to like Elizabeth Webber?"

"Th-That's not—"

Suddenly, both of them froze.

A murderous glare cut into them from under a blanket.

"…Shut up, all of you. Do you want to die?"

"I-I'm sorry, Kajann!"

Rick quickly apologized. He was still scared of Kajann.

On the other hand, Simon quickly stood up and spoke to him.

"Kajann, I need to talk to you."

"I'm gonna sleep."

"Wines on me."

At the mention of wine, Kajann's eyes slightly shone. He looked out the window.

It was a full moon tonight.

"…In an hour. Same place as usual."

With that, Kajann slipped back under the blanket, and a moment later, you could hear a small snore.

Simon got up to find the wine, and Rick groaned in envy,

"Ugh… Honestly! Why is Kajann treating you so special? I feel like I'm being bullied!"

One of Rick's supreme goals was to befriend Kajann.

In response to his whining, Simon reassured,

"I'll take him out for a glass of wine tonight and see if I can convince him to get together with the three of us."

"Man, as expected from my bestie!"

Rick smiled broadly and placed his arms around Simon's neck.

"So, when are you going to introduce me to Ms. Lizzster?"

"You're an idiot."

* * *

* * *

An hour later.

A man with faded gray hair sat on a rooftop in the moonlight.

Kajann looked picturesque as he sat with his feet firmly on the roof, his head craned up to gaze into the full moon. He was like a wolf separated from its pack.

"You're here."

Said Kajann. His eyes were still fixed on the full moon.

Simon appeared with a bottle of wine in his arms, smiled at him, then walked over and sat down beside him. He pulled out the wine and glasses he'd purchased in Rochest from the subspace.

Popping the cork, Simon carefully poured wine into each glass. The purplish red rolled down the side of the glass, landing in an elegant pool. It shone faintly in the moonlight.

"This is the first time you've treated me to wine."

"That's true."

Kajann slowly stirred the wine glass in his hand, then took a small sip, letting the rich liquid rest on his tongue. Simon watched on nervously.

Then, a deep, relaxed voice came out of Kajaan's mouth.

"…I see you're thinking of asking for a favor."

"How did you know?"

"No branded wine comes without a price. Kindness only goes up to cheap wines from the cafeteria."

Simon let out a small laugh. Then, he stretched out his legs and stared at the full moon.

"I've been wondering how I'm going to handle some matters outside of Roke Island as a student in Kizen, you see. And, come to think of it…"

Simon looked over to Kajaan. He was still staring into the moon.

"A big shot from the Thieves' Guild is my roommate, you know?"

"You're thinking of making a commission to the guild."

"Yes. I have two favors to ask."

Simon slid him a note. Kajann reluctantly glanced to the side, picking the note up and reading it.

"Investigating Count Caron? If I remember correctly, he's a noble of the Dresden Kingdom, am I right?"

"You are."

Simon silently recalled the past.

When he and Benya visited the fish market in Ballot, he saw piles of hearts in a warehouse.

Then, Professor Walter himself appeared there with his acquaintances, and something they said was,

"Sir Judas! Count Caron has arrived."

"I'll be there right away."

With those words, Walter left the warehouse.

It was something he could have easily missed, but the urgency of the situation in the warehouse made every moment stick in his memory.

Walter said he was meeting with Count Caron. It was a small detail, and the chances of getting any kind of hint here were slim, but if there was even the slightest chance he could get some information about him, Simon would make a move.

"Alright. I'll try requesting the guild to organize a team."

Kajann rustled and shoved the note into the inner pocket.

"What was the other request?"

"With me, right now…"

Simon's face became serious.

"I want you to infiltrate Professor Walter's lab."

"…"

On the deserted moonlit rooftop, Kajann smiled silently.

"I see you're still suspecting Professor Walter."

"I am."

"It'd be dangerous if Professor Walter is still in the lab. We could both be expelled."

Simon shook his head.

"Rick has information that Professor Walter is traveling to an academic conference this afternoon. He's off Roke Island, so it should be fine."

So far, Rick's information about people's schedules has always been right.

"…"

Kajann closed his eyes, took a long sip of wine, and then said quietly,

"Get ready."

* * *

The Kizen campus was eerie in the deep darkness. The only noises to be heard were the buzzing of cicadas and the hooting of owls.

Perhaps because it was a school for necromancers, the campus was home to hundreds, if not thousands, of ghost stories.

Secret passages, ghosts asking students for directions, priests roaming the Forbidden Forest… But that last one, of course, was true.

Kajann and Simon were hiding behind the wall of a building. They saw two night guards patrolling the street ahead, holding up a lantern.

After they passed, Kajann signaled for Simon to follow after him. The two of them sprinted across the grass.

Their goal was the 'Magical Bullet Shooting Range' building, where Hemomancy classes were held. Walter's lab was located there.

"Hold."

Kajann scanned the building with a pair of goggles. Glyphs were drawn on it, and it hummed with magic.

"As expected."

"What's wrong?"

"In Kizen, they activate a security system for every building at night."

Said Kajann, handing the goggles to Simon.

"We'll be spotted if we try to climb the wall outside and enter through a window. We're going through the main entrance."

When Simon put the goggles on, sure enough, the outside of the building was visibly darker than the surroundings, jet-black swirling across the walls.

With no other choice, they headed for the main entrance. Kajann was getting his lockpicking kit ready, expecting the door to be locked.

"…It seems like someone's still inside."

The building's lights were off, but the door was open.

The two cautiously went inside. Kajann led the way, and Simon followed after him.

'It's dark.'

It was the same place he'd come to for every Hemomancy class, but it couldn't have been more eerie and bizarre to see it at night.

"You said the lab was on the fourth floor, right?"

"Yes."

Simon had been to Walter's lab once before. They slowly walked up the stairs.

'!'

They saw the light of a lantern on the second floor. Someone was on the second floor.

"All clear upstairs."

A voice could be heard. It was a middle-aged man's voice.

"Downstairs is clear, too."

"Have you been to the basement?"

"That's ridiculous. Why would I go there?"

Kajann and Simon listened to them talk without even taking a breath. It was a conversation between two men who appeared to be building security.

"Two people have already been snatched."

A lamenting sigh was heard.

"How does it make sense that there's something so dangerous in the basement of this building that guards can't even get near it?"

"That's what I'm saying."

'Something so dangerous?'

What could it be?

Simon leaned in, trying to not miss a single work.

"There's nothing we can do about it. A few lowly Keepers being hospitalized would be something trivial for them."

"Research comes first… Damned necromancers."

"Let's go for now."

The two suddenly started to approach the stairs.

Simon was surprised, but he moved quickly. He immediately grabbed Kajann and reached his hand upward.

'Cloud!'

A turquoise smoke stretched out and wrapped around the railing of the third floor. The two of them were swiftly pulled up to the third floor, and the two guards chatted away as they went down the stairs of the second floor.

'Phew.'

The guards reached the ground floor and locked the building's doors behind them.

Safe once more, Simon and Kajaan pulled themselves the rest of the way onto the stairwell and then walked up the stairs until they reached the fourth floor.

They were on the floor of Walter's lab.

Simon was shivering. The words the guards said circled in his mind, and his worries only grew deeper.

"Is this the place?"

"Yes, I'm sure of it."

Walter's lab…

Click. Click.

Of course, the door was locked, but this was a piece of cake for Kajann, being from the Thieves' Guild.

He poured raw jet-black through the cracks beneath the door, and then, with a click, the door was unlocked.

"I'm going in."

Kajann grabbed the doorknob with a gloved hand.

"Okay."

Simon nodded, and the door creaked open.

——