Necromancer Academy’s Genius Summoner - Chapter 403

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

Summoning Genius of the Necromancer School, Episode 403
The day before the Promotion Ceremony.
Two hundred and forty-seven students whose elimination was confirmed had shed their Kizen uniforms and left Rocksum.
When the surviving Class A students, including Simon, gathered in the lecture hall for their final class, the empty seats seemed particularly conspicuous.
Against that melancholy backdrop, Professor Jane’s last lesson in Elementary Dark Magic began.
—I’m grateful for your perseverance in following my guidance this past year. Now, calling upon you one last time: Class A, First Year.
Jane’s voice carried a tremor Simon had never heard before.
—I’m proud of all of you. Class A.
At those words, a torrent of emotion swept through the room, and the class dissolved into tears within moments.
Kamibarez wept openly while Merin turned away, wiping her eyes. Even Dick, who’d been ready with a joke, didn’t dare break the moment and sat in silence.
The tears spread quickly, and the teaching assistants standing in the back grew red-eyed as well.
When the class ended, the students embraced the assistants and exchanged goodbyes.
“Teaching assistant! Thank you so much for everything this year!”
“Congratulations on advancing to second year, Jamie.”
Whatever lay ahead, the students who survived Kizen had to move forward.
And today was the day.
The Promotion Ceremony for four hundred first-year students was scheduled in the Grand Hall.
Parents and relatives were entering Rocksum with bouquets in hand. The students were equally excited at the prospect of seeing their families after so long.
Since today marked the end of his first year at Kizen, Simon packed early, left the Dormitory, and sought out the professors he hadn’t had a chance to thank properly.
Aaron from Summoning Studies, Hong Peng from Magical Combat, Byeol-Ya from Poison Magic, Eric from Dark Reversal Magic, and Umbra from Necromancy.
Unfortunately, he missed Bahil from Curse Magic—only the head teaching assistant, Chehekle, was in Bahil’s office.
According to her, Bahil had severed all contact and disappeared since leaving Simon’s hospital room.
Chehekle assured him not to worry, saying Bahil would return once the new term started.
His last stop was Parahan, professor of Holy Defense Magic and Simon’s priest mentor.
Parahan explained that the break was the best time to train in Holiness and assigned him various tasks related to it.
He also brought the divine beasts in Parahan’s home—Hayag and Kamang—and placed them in the Holy Subspace where Acalion dwelled before heading back.
He felt awkward continuing to trouble Parahan during the break, but more than that, he held onto hope that his former Saint mother, Anna, might offer some clue to awakening his Holiness.
“Phew.”
His legs ached from rushing around since dawn. Simon stretched languidly from the hilltop, gazing down at the grounds below.
He could see students and parents clustering thickly around the Grand Hall.
“Guess I should head down and join them!”

* * *
Though the ceremony hadn’t officially begun, the energy of students and parents alike was electric.
If admission to Kizen was a family blessing, advancing to second year was the family’s glory.
Fathers and sons embracing with tears streaming, young women clutching bouquets and smiling as if they possessed the entire world—happiness and laughter filled every corner.
And among them was a girl with sky-blue hair, eagerly craning her neck in all directions.
It was Merin.
“He said he’d meet me by the Fountain! Where on earth is he wandering?”
After searching the crowd for thirty minutes straight, Merin finally spotted a man with the same short sky-blue hair and cried out.
“Dad! Over here!”
Merin waved her arms.
The man, parting through the crowd, caught sight of her and smiled.
“There you are, Merin.”
Daniella Villenue—the leader of the moderate faction within the Ivory Tower and Merin’s father.
The two didn’t embrace like those around them, didn’t cry, didn’t exchange embarrassing words. They simply faced each other and smiled calmly.
“Congratulations on your advancement to second year.”
Daniella handed over a bouquet of Blue Roses that matched Merin’s hair color.
Merin took the bouquet, breathed in its fragrant scent, and smiled gently.
“Thanks, Dad!”
“I heard you made it into the Top 10?”
Merin threw up a V-sign with a grin.
“If I set my mind to something, I do it right!”
“Indeed. You’ve certainly given the Tower Lord’s face something to contend with.”
Daniella exhaled a long sigh and pressed his forehead.
“You ran away from the Ivory Tower and enrolled at Kizen on a whim, causing such trouble. Do you have any idea how many times I had to bow to the elders?”
“Seriously!”
Merin’s face reddened.
“Still, I worked hard and made eighth place! Save the lectures for another day!”
But Daniella’s scolding continued. He gently ran his fingertips through the sky-blue hair Merin had cultivated so carefully.
“Your hair’s grown longer. As a student, isn’t that too long? If you keep fussing with it, you’ll lose your focus.”
“Don’t concern yourself with my hair! Why are you suddenly bringing this up?”
Merin brushed his hand away with fierce indignation.
“Once we return to the Ivory Tower, I’ll have to summon a hairdresser.”
Daniella sighed deeply and glanced around.
“By the way, where did Serne go?”
“…….”
At that question, Merin’s lips pouted out stubbornly.
“……What’s with him?”
Daniella chided her in a deliberately stern tone.
“Your father told you to address him as Serne, didn’t he?”
“N-no way! Am I out of my mind?!”
Merin jumped back indignantly.
“And—and didn’t you come today to celebrate for me? Why does Father have to bring up that wretched subject and ruin my mood?”
“I came representing the Ivory Tower. I should offer my congratulations to Serne as well on his advancement to second year.”
Daniella held up the bouquet of white roses he’d been carrying at his back.
Merin let out a dismissive snort.
“……Surely the Tower Lord himself would want to present something like that.”
“The Tower Lord considers Kizen to be deep within enemy territory.”
As he spoke, Daniella consulted his wristwatch.
“My, the ceremony will be starting soon. Where’s the restroom?”
“……Any building will do. The Poison Studies Building is closest from here. Keep straight, then it’s on the right.”
Seemingly in urgent need, Daniella hurried toward the restroom.
Merin was left holding both her own bouquet of blue roses and the white roses meant for Serne.
She exhaled with a sullen expression.
“……Father’s an idiot.”
Merin muttered petulantly, looking down at her feet. She even kicked at the gravel around her absently.
She’d worked hard.
She’d made it into the Top 10 starting from the very bottom.
Excellent. Praiseworthy. Was one such word really so difficult for him to say?
A tide of disappointment washed over her.
“Pardon me, miss. Might I have a word?”
Then a man approached Merin.
“Oh, yes.”
Merin turned to look at him.
“……!”
A walking sculpture stood before her. Though incongruously adorned with glasses and a false mustache, they did nothing to diminish this man’s beauty.
“I’m looking for a place called the Grand Hall. Could you direct me?”
“Ah.”
Merin’s face flushed instantly.
He was extraordinarily attractive. It was as though pheromones emanated from his very being.
The epitome of distinguished middle age. Rather, the refinement that came with maturity only deepened his elegance as a gentleman. Even his years were a weapon in his arsenal.
Merin stammered.
“Th-that large building over there……!”
Just then, the man who’d been regarding her intently took hold of her left hand. Merin let out a sharp cry of surprise.
“Wh-why are you doing this?”
“……Here.”
The man lifted her delicate wrist and indicated it with his gaze. She soon noticed what he meant.
Blood was seeping from it.
“Pricked by a rose thorn, it seems.”
The man withdrew a handkerchief from his pocket. Even so simple an action brimmed with grace.
He summoned Elemental Magic, staunching the bleeding in an instant, then carefully bound her wrist with the handkerchief.
“A rose, nurtured delicately on morning dew, seduces with its fragrance and displays its splendor—yet bears thorns.”
The man spoke softly to the dazed Merin.
“Much like a lady.”
Merin’s eyes went wide. The clichéd line somehow sounded dignified coming from him.
The man who’d bound her wrist stepped back and smiled.
It no longer ached.
“Th-thank……!”
Once she offered her thanks, they’d part ways now.
But there was something unsatisfying about parting like this.
“If—if there were thorns, would everyone be frightened of them?”
The moment the words left Merin’s lips, she regretted them desperately.
What on earth am I saying? I’m insane!
I want to bash my head into the wall and pass out! I want to disappear into a mouse hole!
While Merin screamed silently to herself, teetering on the edge of madness.
“To face sharp thorns without fear, to accept the possibility of being pierced and bleeding. That is—”
The man laughed with genuine warmth.
“The beauty of a rose.”
Heat flooded Merin’s face. The man offered an elegant gesture and turned toward the Grand Hall.
He’d left a striking impression. Merin dropped onto the edge of the Fountain with a thud.
‘……But—why does he remind me of someone?’

* * *
The Promotion Ceremony had begun.
All the students stood in front, while parents gathered behind them.
Vice-Principal Jane delivered an impactful speech, followed by the predictable, yawn-inducing remarks from Kizen’s elders.
“You are now 2nd Year students of Kizen. As 2nd Year students of Kizen, you hold authority equal to that of Professional Necromancers and may assume the role of Commander. Do not tarnish the honor and history that your seniors at Kizen have built…….”
It went on interminably.
“Hey, Simon.”
Dick nudged Simon with his elbow, snickering.
“Did your parents come?”
“……No.”
There was no way they could have.
His father, Richard, bore the mark of a traitor and couldn’t leave Leshil, much less travel to Rocksum. As for Anna, who was a Priest—there was no question.
Dick’s expression fell slightly.
“Oh, um. Guess I shouldn’t have asked.”
“It’s fine. I’ll see them soon enough when I go home.”
Looking to the side, he could see students waving their arms enthusiastically toward their parents, each holding bouquets of flowers.
It would be a lie to say he wasn’t envious, but some things simply couldn’t be helped.
“What about you?”
Dick shrugged at Simon’s question.
“My father only dotes on the eldest—he’d never show up for the third son’s promotion ceremony.”
For the record, Dick was the third of eight sons.
“My mother divorced Dad and lives in a different kingdom now. But my second and third older brothers, and a couple of my younger siblings came to visit. I’ll introduce you to them in a bit.”
“Really?”
Simon’s face brightened.
Dick’s siblings? He couldn’t wait to meet them.
“Hey, did you see Merin’s dad? It’s literally just Merin with short hair!”
Smack!
Dick toppled over with an “Oof!” Merin, seated behind him with a flushed face, was huffing indignantly.
“You were just trash-talking me!”
“What, so now anyone whose name gets mentioned is automatically having their reputation destroyed? That’s why your conduct outside of class is so— Ow! Ah! I got it! I’m sorry! We don’t need to talk about your hair!”
Simon turned around, chuckling. Kamibarez was also watching with an amused smile.
“What about you, Kamibarez? Did your father come?”
“I’m not quite sure.”
She fidgeted with her fingers as she answered.
“With so many people here, I was hoping he wouldn’t…….”
“……Aha.”
Kamibarez’s father was the current Vampire Lord, Dietrich von Ursula.
He was stubborn, a troublemaker, and painfully doting on his daughter—so much so that Kamibarez was thoroughly embarrassed by him.
Simon understood well enough.
He’d experienced it himself just before the start of the second semester, when Dietrich, alongside her in Langoustin, had suddenly attacked him demanding that he “prove his worth.”
“That concludes the ceremony.”
Right then, the elder’s speech ended. Students who’d been dozing off moments ago suddenly offered their most enthusiastic applause yet.
“Thank you for your words, Elder. Now, let us proceed to the next part.”
Jane stepped up to the podium and opened her mouth.
“Top student of the 2nd Year Class: Simon Polentia. Please come forward.”

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