Necromancer Academy’s Genius Summoner - Chapter 244

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Necromancer School’s Summoning Genius Episode 244
The ballroom had fallen into a deathly silence.
The nobility stood speechless with shock.
Eyes rolling white as though steeped in alcohol and drugs, a man whose filthy appearance suggested days without washing, drenched in rainwater and draped in tatters—this wretch was truly Andre, the third prince of the royal family.
“Oh~ fate is so cruel. Isn’t it?”
Andre’s words tumbled out in a slurred, drunken slur.
“One person gets kicked out of Kizen, loses all claim to the throne, becomes a worthless wretch.”
Andre’s dead eyes fixed themselves on Simon.
“And somehow, someone else gets it all! Wears fancy clothes so magnificently! Has pretty girls on both sides! Enjoying himself without a care in the world! Hehehehe! Cough, cough……!”
Puhahahaha!
A bitter, self-mocking laugh filled the ballroom.
Each time his body trembled, rainwater dripped onto the red carpet, soaking it.
“Oh~ shameless wretch! That you’d crawl all the way here after dragging my life into the gutter!”
“Brother!”
Princess Molly rushed forward, her face pale with panic.
“I clearly told you not to come in……!”
“Shut your mouth!”
Andre’s convulsive shout made even Molly flinch and stop in her tracks.
“Do you think I still fear you? I have nothing left to lose! With a life already at rock bottom, what have I to fear? Heh, hehehehe! Hahahaha!”
Murmur, murmur, murmur.
The nobility began to whisper uneasily. And since Andre was still a member of the royal family and the guest of honor for this ball, none dared contradict him tonight.
Then Andre’s gaze fixed sharply on Simon.
……
Receiving that stare, Simon rose from his seat.
“Simon.”
Lorain stood and moved in front of him, blocking his path.
“There’s no need to engage someone who isn’t in their right mind.”
“Thank you for worrying. But this is something I need to face.”
Since Simon had become entangled with Andre in Kizen, this confrontation now felt inevitable.
Having stepped into the mire himself, Simon swallowed a heavy sigh and offered a formal bow in accordance with protocol.
“Your Highness.”
Andre’s shoulders shook with laughter, and his military boots squeaked against the carpet with each step.
“Shameless bastard! Such a shameless bastard! It’s all because of you! If you’d only acted with common sense during the Duel Evaluation, we wouldn’t have come to this!”
What he meant by “common sense” was that Simon should have conceded the Duel Evaluation out of deference to the royal family’s honor when Malcolm, whom he’d backed, was wearing the Black Knight Armor.
Simon lifted his head.
“I simply did my best in all matters, as I swore during the entrance ceremony.”
Without inflection, speaking plainly, Simon said what needed to be said.
“Exploiting a fellow Kizen student’s weaknesses and treating them like a servant, intimidating other students through noble authority, monopolizing the club budget and using it for private gain—these were all actions taken by Your Highness.”
The consequences simply came back to him. That was what Simon was saying.
“Damn it!”
Andre’s face turned crimson with alcohol as he jabbed a finger at Simon.
“Do you know why precedents are precedents? When past examples harden into culture, that becomes convention! Was I the only one wrong? Using club power! Swindling the budget! Everyone does it—those who don’t are the fools! That’s reality!”
His voice grew louder and more forceful.
“So I did it, and my rotten luck caught up with me! From the start, if you’d simply abandoned the Duel Evaluation the moment you saw our royal house’s symbol on the Black Knight Armor, as convention dictates, none of this would have happened! You broke precedent and ruined everything! What madman beats down someone wearing the royal Black Knight Armor?”
“Such conventions.”
Simon closed his eyes.
“Are not my concern.”
Murmur, murmur, murmur.
The nobility’s faces showed surprise at his blunt response.
“And I’ll correct your terminology. Not a convention. An evil custom.”
“You bastard……!”
Andre lunged forward in fury, but the Black Knights—the royal house’s elite guard—immediately seized his arms.
“Your Highness.”
“Let me go!”
Andre thrashed violently, wrenching himself free from their grip.
“Fine, good. Since you’re so superior and look down on me!”
Andre strode away in a different direction, his footsteps sharp and heavy.
“I’ll destroy you by that very convention!”
The crowd parted like the sea, withdrawing from his path.
“Ah~ this has taken a terrible turn.”
Serne murmured to himself.
Andre was heading toward the execution platform. He climbed onto the platform, decorated with sprawling vines, and rang the bell.
“I am Andre Dresden, heir to the blood of kings! Simon Polentia!”
His finger pointed toward Simon.
“I challenge you to a duel!”

* * *
Whoooosh!
The rain had grown heavier than before.
In the wide clearing before the Banquet Hall, guests gathered beneath umbrellas. In the center of that open space, two boys stood facing each other, drenched in rain.
“Simon, it’s still not too late to back out.”
Lorain was trying to dissuade him. Her black hair was already soaked.
“He may look young, but he’s a second-year student at Kizen who’s been through everything. This match is reckless.”
Serne nodded in agreement.
“I have to agree. Going up against a second-year isn’t the best idea.”
For once, the two of them saw eye to eye.
There was even a saying that one second-year student at Kizen was worth ten first-years—those who had endured the hellish competition and stress to reach second year were, without question, exceptional.
It was fundamentally a match between an adult and an infant. The fact that such a pairing had been accepted at all defied reason.
“Obviously this has to be a handicap match.”
Andre said with a smirk.
Even Andre himself, the one who had challenged in the first place, understood perfectly well that the match made no sense.
‘This is a duel for my honor.’
Andre wanted a victory he could be proud of.
To win a duel only to earn the infamy of a sore winner bullying a junior was unbearable.
“Just name it. Want to fight using Dark Magic learned only by first-years? Or stay rooted in place as a condition of defeat? Fight with one limb tied behind your back?”
By layering on enough handicaps, the match would appear more legitimate, and his own honor in victory would grow all the greater.
But Simon shook his head.
“Such handicaps aren’t necessary.”
“Then.”
That was when Lorain stepped forward.
Students were Kizen’s assets, and Kizen had a duty to protect them from outside pressure.
“I’ll provide one form of personal assistance.”
Andre’s expression darkened.
‘Of course these Kizen bastards would do this.’
He was supposed to give the handicap so the royal looked merciful, yet instead they were trying to add a bonus on their side rather than a handicap—it rankled him.
“Fine, that works too. But I have a condition!”
Andre spread both arms wide.
“If Simon loses even with your help, you’ll kneel before me and bow your head. You’re prepared for that much while helping him, aren’t you?”
It was a provocation without substance, something he spat out never expecting acceptance.
But.
“Yes.”
Lorain simply nodded, matter-of-fact. Andre and the watching nobles were taken aback, as was Simon.
“Lo, Lorain!”
“You’ll just have to win.”
She spoke as though it were nothing. Simon scratched the side of his head.
“Well, I suppose that’s true, but—”
“Then we’re settled.”
Andre let out a dark laugh.
“But will one form of help be enough? Between a second-year and first-year……”
“Then I will too—”
Serne leaped forward as though he’d been waiting for this moment, clinging to Simon’s right arm.
“I’ll provide one form of help to Simon. In exchange, if Simon loses, I’ll offer the knees of the Ivory Tower’s heir. That works, doesn’t it?”
“Serne!”
Simon wondered what in the world these two were thinking.
‘Hmm.’
Andre regarded Serne and Lorain with cunning eyes, his lips curling.
If he won, this would be huge news. The dark history of those two monsters would follow them forever, and his name would be invoked at every mention.
And he would stand as the icon who had made fools of Kizen and the Ivory Tower.
When that happened, every anti-Kizen faction within the Dark Alliance would take notice of him and lend their support.
They wouldn’t allow him to be sacrificed in some political struggle. Andre nodded, envisioning his comeback.
“Accept the duel!”
And so the duel between first-year Simon and former second-year Andre was set.
Simon would receive assistance from Lorain and Serne, one item each, while Andre would fight at full strength—that was the agreement.
They called for a strategy break.
“I’m giving you this.”
Lorain handed Simon one of her short daggers. The entire blade was stained a deep crimson.
“It’s a dagger that can absorb any kind of impact for you. I’ve reinforced it with my Dark Element. Each time it bears a shock, the red color fades bit by bit, and once it’s completely gone, it returns to an ordinary dagger.”
Simon gripped the dagger and swung it through the air. It was light, and the grip felt good in his hand.
“Thank you, Lorain.”
The moment the words left his mouth, Serne suddenly appeared from behind and swept him into her arms with a laugh.
A sweet floral scent rushed in from behind, and Simon’s body went rigid.
“What are you doing?”
Lorain, thinking it was just some frivolous nonsense, furrowed her brow sharply.
“What do you mean~ I’m just giving my gift too~”
Serne, wearing a victorious smile, leaned her head close and spoke softly near Simon’s ear.
“Remember when we had that joint class last semester and I taught you the Internal Black Aura Manifestation?”
“Ah? Y-yes.”
“I’m giving you that effect right now.”
A moment later, she released him. He felt as though feathers had alighted on his body—his mental state suddenly elevated.
It was a kind of temporary Compel Effect.
‘If that’s the case…’
Simon’s heart raced as he gripped Lorain’s dagger tightly.
‘Then there’s no way I can lose, is there?’
He didn’t yet know the true power of Kizen’s second-year students, so he couldn’t be certain, but all the same, confidence surged through him.
While Simon checked his newfound advantages, the duel preparations moved forward swiftly.
The role of referee fell to the royal Butler, who had once attended Kizen in years past.
The rules matched those of the Duel Evaluation at Kizen: using forbidden Dark Magic or stepping beyond the marked boundary meant disqualification; securing your opponent’s surrender or rendering them unable to fight meant victory.
Soon after, Simon and Andre, both ready, stepped forward.
Andre grinned and spoke.
“Say—shouldn’t we make a wager between ourselves?”
“I’m listening.”
“If I win, you quit Kizen. You’ve ruined my life, after all—only fair the opposite could happen too.”
Perhaps because he had nothing left to lose, Andre was raising the stakes higher and higher with each demand.
At the mention of expulsion, Lorain’s eyes flashed with killing intent. Meanwhile, Serne seemed quite drawn to the proposal, arms crossed as a smile played at the corner of her mouth.
“And if I win instead?”
“Name anything.”
Simon quietly tapped the Pier’s Pendant hanging from his chest with his fingertip.
Pier relayed the terms into his mind, and Simon agreed.
“Among the dungeons currently existing within Dresden Kingdom’s territory,”
Speaking softly so no one else could hear, Simon laid out his condition.
“I request that you grant me the Exclusive Conquest Right to one dungeon of my choosing.”
“……!”
Andre’s face went pale.
That meant he’d have to hand over any dungeon Simon wanted—and the worth of a dungeon was astronomical.
“Do you understand what you’re asking of me?”
“If you’d rather not, we can forget it.”
Andre bristled.
If Simon was brimming with confidence, Andre was certain this was a fight he absolutely could not lose. Especially with his Second Chance on the line.
Andre traced an R across his chest and made his declaration.
“In the name of the Dresden royal house, I accept Simon Polentia’s condition!”
There in the ballroom, before all those gathered, Andre made his oath. The two turned and walked away in silence.
[Ha! I thought we wouldn’t be able to visit that dungeon for a while, but things are falling into place quite nicely!]
Pier spoke inside his mind.
The dungeon they intended to request was a likely location where a new Ancient Undead lay hidden.
The kingdom, which held the conquest right, had sealed access strictly—there had been no way in until now. But through this legal channel, they would finally have entry.
‘Of course, assuming I win.’
The two took their positions, facing each other across the space.
[There’s no turning back now, boy! Your opponent won’t hold back—he’ll come at you with everything he has.]
‘I know.’
Someday he would have to face Magnus, and the second year remained a mountain he had to overcome.
Simon took up his combat stance.
‘I will win. I must.’
The Butler’s expression froze.
“We shall now begin the duel between Prince Andre and Simon Polentia.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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