The Conjurer of the Academy

Chapter 12

I had been forgetting—my opponent was a ghost after all. Having a human form and being able to speak didn’t mean we could communicate.

[Inhale…]

As the restroom ghost inhaled, her chest swelled as if it were going to burst.

And then, in the next moment:

[Dodge!]

I threw my body to the side just as a powerful stream of water shot past me.

The water stream smashed into the urinal behind me, breaking it. Water spouted like a fountain from the damaged urinal’s drainpipe.

“What kind of water pressure…?”

If I had taken that hit head-on, it would have punched a hole in me.

[Why are you dodging?! I need your spiritual power to stop being a toilet-bound ghost!]

The restroom ghost stamped her feet in frustration.

‘She says she hates bidets, but she’s a bidet herself.’

Clap.

I clapped my hands together.

The established bond acts as a larger conduit the bigger the motion is.

‘I’ve used up most of my spiritual energy with all the exertion today.’

Sparks flew from my palms.

The puddle of water on the floor reflected the light, shimmering blue.

With little spiritual energy left, engaging in a drawn-out fight was meaningless.

“Yomi, go full power from the start!”

[Hmph, let’s teach this stinky toilet ghost what hierarchy means.]

Whoosh.

Foxfire filled the restroom.

[Eek, f-fire!]

At the sight of the floating flames, the restroom ghost shrank back.

‘Is she afraid of fire?’

The ghost’s already pale face turned even whiter.

[Damn you!]

This time, the restroom ghost extended both hands. Spheres of water gathered in her palms, eventually shooting out sharp streams of water.

It would have been surprising if I had been hit, but I was fine. Right now, I could see the trajectory of those water streams.

Ssssssh!

With my body enhanced by spiritual energy, there was no way I’d be hit by such large, telegraphed attacks.

“Got you!”

I grabbed the restroom ghost’s sleeve with my spirit-infused fist, planning to slam her into the restroom wall.

[Heehee, you’ve fallen right into my trap!]

The sleeve I held unraveled like tissue paper and wrapped around my wrist.

“No way.”

A sense of impending doom washed over me. In this situation, the only reason the restroom ghost would bind my movements was for one thing.

[I’ll pierce you through and through!]

The ground beneath me was entirely covered in water. Soon, ripples formed on the surface, and water columns shot up rapidly.

“Ugh!”

The rising water stream struck my abdomen. It was a fatal blow that would have been lethal without my spiritual energy shielding me. If I had eaten anything at the welcome party, I would have undoubtedly thrown it all up.

[Why isn’t it piercing through?!]

The restroom ghost stamped her feet in frustration.

“That hurts like hell…”

I held myself up by sheer willpower, my legs feeling like they could give out any moment.

I had no intention of just taking hits.

[You’re the one who’s fallen into a trap.]

[What do you mean—]

Numerous Foxfires rose from beyond the restroom stalls. Making myself bait and directly engaging with the ghost was all for this moment.

‘I had to divert attention to prevent the Foxfire from being extinguished.’

It would have been problematic if the Foxfire were doused before reaching their target. Hence, I had to become the bait and scatter her focus.

[N-No!]

Sensing the threat, the restroom ghost tried to reach for the Foxfire.

“It’s done!”

The binding from the restroom ghost. With our hands connected, just pulling her arm easily destabilized her stance.

Unable to launch a timely water cannon—

Fwoosh!

[Aaaaaaah!]

The ghost was engulfed in the Foxfire.

Taking advantage of the bindings loosening due to the flames, I managed to distance myself before getting caught up in the fire.

[H-Hot! Please, put it out!]

The restroom ghost twisted in agony, trying to escape the toilet stall. Presumably tied to the restroom itself, she couldn’t exit the area completely.

[Heh heh, shall we just exorcise this impertinent spirit?]

Yomi cackled gleefully. At moments like this, Yomi truly seemed like a yokai.

“No, I’ll do a spirit conjuration on her.”

[Tsk, that’s a shame.]

With a hiss, the flames subsided. Freed from the fire, the restroom ghost slumped to the floor like a puppet with its strings cut.

“If we could have talked this out from the start, none of this would have happened.”

Had we formed a contract, she could have escaped her fate as a bound spirit and left the restroom.

Her sudden water cannon attack left no room for negotiation.

‘Well, it’s not like she could have guessed that a spirit conjurer had come for her.’

To the restroom ghost, it probably seemed like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Even if it didn’t end well.

I placed my right index and middle fingers together to form a seal. This was the binding seal for conjuring a defeated spirit on the verge of being exorcised, unlike the contract seal which involved supporting my right wrist with my left hand.

‘This will be my second spirit.’

Just as I prepared to activate the spirit conjuration—

Crack

At the sound coming from the restroom entrance, I instinctively turned my head.

Crack!

The hinge finally gave way, and the door was pulled off. A face poked through the gap, looking into the restroom with an expression full of complaints.

“Why is it taking so long? Did you decide to build a restroom or something, claiming you had a stomachache?”

Jin So-yul casually entered the restroom, holding the door she had removed. Her swollen biceps were so enlarged that they seemed to rip through the fabric of her dress.

“Senior Jin So—.”

[A body with spiritual power!]

Oh no.

Spotting Jin So-yul, the restroom ghost rushed towards the entrance.

[Give me that body!]

This was the ghost’s last-ditch effort. She seemed intent on taking over Jin So-yul’s body, which was brimming with spiritual energy.

“Get out of the restroom immediately, senior!”

The restroom ghost was bound within the restroom, unable to leave. Just a few steps back would solve everything.

“Huh?”

Expecting Jin So-yul to react swiftly to the imminent danger was asking too much.

Her half-closed eyes gazed straight ahead, and just before the ghost’s outstretched hand could reach her—

“Is it a bug?”

Jin So-yul, with her poor night vision and inability to fully see spirits, mistook the approaching ghost for a bug and swung her arm.

Bang!

Jin So-yul’s punch landed squarely on the restroom ghost’s face. The struck ghost didn’t even have time to scream before rolling on the floor and lying sprawled out.

“What was that? I felt something with my fist just now…”

A body imbued with spiritual energy can inflict damage on spirits. Jin So-yul, unconsciously coating herself with spiritual energy, managed to land an effective hit.

‘So Jin So-yul does have spiritual abilities.’

Though the ghost was already weakened, knocking it out with a single punch was no small feat.

[Ugh, this one’s foaming at the mouth.]

Even Yomi clicked its tongue in pity, seeing the ghost sprawled out on the floor, half its eyes rolled back and foaming at the mouth—looking more like a corpse than a spirit.

On the other hand, Jin So-yul was still oblivious to the situation and tilted her head in confusion.

“What the heck? Why is the floor so wet? Don’t tell me someone peed themselves?”

“…The drain pipe suddenly burst.”

Water from the broken pipe continued to soak the floor.

‘Even if I tell her we fought a ghost…’

While Jin So-yul might believe a tale of battling a ghost, the priority now was to clean up and conjure the spirit.

Revealing all my cards isn’t a smart move, so I needed to get Jin So-yul out of the way.

“Senior, would you mind waiting outside for a bit?”

“Why! We need to check if there’s a ghost here right now.”

You just knocked that ghost out with your punch.

Swallowing my retort, I shifted my gaze to the broken urinal.

“Unfortunately, it seems there isn’t a ghost. The sounds we heard might have been from the drain pipe joint coming undone…”

“Now that you mention it, it does sound like that.”

Disappointed, Jin So-yul let out a deep sigh, as if the ground would collapse from the weight of it.

“Well, it can’t be helped. I’ll help you clean up.”

“No, as I mentioned earlier, it’d be better if you leave first, senior.”

“Why?”

Unsure if her poor night vision allowed her to see, I pointed towards the broken urinal with my index finger.

“If you’re caught not only sneaking into the boys’ restroom at night but also breaking the drain pipe, who knows what kind of trouble you’d face.”

“That’s true… But what about you, Ha-baek? If you get caught wandering the second-year building, you’ll be in huge trouble.”

At Jin So-yul’s question, I looked at the floor without speaking.

The floor was soaked, and the urinal was broken. It was a mess that couldn’t be ignored.

“I’ll be fine. I have a plan.”

It’s okay.

Even if I had to face an investigation by the student council, but I could conjure the restroom ghost, it would be worth it.

* * *

Once Jin So-yul left, I immediately formed the Seal of Subjugation.

From the trigrams that appeared on the floor, spiritual chains rose and bound the unconscious restroom ghost.

Flash—!

Just like when I formed a contract with Yomi, the restroom was filled with a brilliant light.

Once the light subsided, the status window displayed information about the successfully conjured spirit.

[Spirit Information]

– Spirit : Baek-Ah

– Rank: C

– A spirit bound to the restroom, who died tragically, she dreams only of escaping this place.

I successfully conjured the spirit. However, it was too early to be entirely pleased.

‘If the number of spirits increases, will I have to carry them all around like Yomi?’

Unless I had a fourth-dimensional pocket or an inventory, I’d have to keep the spirits with me as their numbers grew…

“Hey, wake up.”

[Ugh, ow… it hurts…]

Poking her cheek, the unconscious Baek-Ah groggily opened her eyes. Though she looked dazed for a moment, she recoiled in shock upon seeing my face and quickly sat up.

[I-I’m sorry! Please don’t hit me anymore.]

Baek-Ah sobbed, ready to burst into tears any second, clearly still in pain from Jin So-yul’s punch.

“Don’t worry, I have no intention of hitting you.”

[Then, what?]

“I have something to tell you.”

In response to Baek-Ah’s question, I raised my arm slowly. Baek-Ah’s body glowed with my spiritual energy, a sign that the master-servant relationship had been established.

“You’re no longer just a bound toilet spirit.”

[What do you mean—]

I raised my index finger, pointing towards the restroom entrance behind Baek-Ah. The door had been removed, leaving the hallway fully visible.

“What are you waiting for? Didn’t you want to leave the restroom?”

[…Liar.]

Seeing Baek-Ah’s dumbfounded expression, a smile crept onto my face without me even realizing it.

“Why don’t you see for yourself if I’m lying?”

[…]

As a spirit, you should be able to see my spirit. Then you’ll understand I’m not lying.

[That can’t be. Every time I tried to leave, it was like hitting a wall…]

Baek-Ah rose and took a tentative step towards the entrance. Her bare feet splashed in the puddles, making a soft slapping sound.

[I could never get out.]

But now, Baek-Ah took her first step out into the hallway. Nothing stood in her way.

“How is it?”

I asked gently as I watched Baek-Ah stand there, motionless.

[Oh…]

She lowered her head. Her shoulders trembled. While I was enjoying the sight, a thought suddenly made me freeze.

“Wait! If you start crying now—”

[Waaaah! I finally got out of the restroom!!]

Crash!

The windows in the hallway shattered simultaneously. Watching the flying shards, I couldn’t help but smile wryly.

‘This is bad.’