Necromancer Academy’s Genius Summoner - Chapter 463
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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 463
“Mind if I sit here?”
At Simon’s question, Lorain gave a small nod.
“Sure.”
Scrape.
Simon pulled out the chair, set down his bag, and sat.
He’d hurried over on the Golem Board and felt a bit warm. He removed his school uniform jacket and draped it over the back of his chair, then loosened the necktie from around his neck.
Between the fine beads of perspiration, a sharp collarbone came into view. Lorain, who had been watching with only her eyes moving, reset her gaze forward and spoke.
“What’s in your bag?”
“Oh, this?”
Simon lifted the bag he’d set on the floor to show her.
“I brought it out of habit, but honestly there’s just a quill pen and ink.”
“There wasn’t any announcement about which textbooks to buy.”
“Right, the professor will tell us today.”
This time Simon turned to look at Lorain.
He could see her long eyelashes and ruby-like eyes as she gazed ahead. Even during break time, there was not a hint of disorder about her.
Though Lorain herself didn’t particularly care for such comments, she did seem two or three years older than her actual age.
Far more mature than Benya, a third-year senior. A girl who suited a quiet, jet-black formal dress far more than a bright, cheerful school uniform.
Simon’s gaze, which had been fixed on Lorain’s face, shifted to the necklace around her neck.
A silver padlock hung like an ornament from the end of a chalk-colored necklace. For mere jewelry, the design was rather unusual.
‘There are plenty of other beautiful decorations, yet she chose a lock. There must be a reason.’
Simon remembered the necklace Rette had worn in the Sacred Federation—the one that sealed the power of the Saint. It had the same chalk-colored necklace design. There was no padlock, though.
What could have happened between Lorain and Neftis during the break?
“Simon.”
Simon jumped and turned his head back.
“Oh, yes!”
“Congratulations on becoming Student Council president.”
Simon answered “Thanks” with an awkward smile.
“You should have been the one.”
“No. You’re better suited for it than me.”
It didn’t seem like mere courtesy. Her tone was calm and plain. She truly believed what she was saying.
“Do you have the Student Council armband?”
“I put it in my bag.”
Simon pulled out the armband from the front of his bag to show her.
“Professor Jane told me not to reveal that I’m on the Student Council during class. She said to attend lessons with the pure attitude and mindset of being just another student.”
She nodded in agreement.
“Right. Professor Jane is truly wise.”
“She is.”
……
He wasn’t sure if it was because it was the first day of class, but things still felt awkward between him and Lorain. He hadn’t quite adjusted to the fact that he was even talking with her in the same classroom.
This time Simon brought up a topic first.
“Lorain, there’s something I’m curious about.”
“?”
“Why did you choose the Summoning Department?”
Among the many types of Necromancers, she was a typical “Anomaly all-in” type.
Whether in combat or elsewhere, she tended to rely on her Anomaly rather than pure Dark Magic, so he’d thought she might go to the Dark Reversal Magic Department instead.
“My Anomaly is summoning-based to begin with.”
“……oh, really?”
“Yes. I apply my Anomaly to summoned creatures to strengthen them, or I summon creatures composed of Anomaly.”
‘Now that I think about it.’
He recalled the sight of her granting her Anomaly to her skeleton horse, enhancing it into a massive crimson skeleton horse.
And her signature move—that red flash that opens a portal and fires—was not actually her shooting it, but rather a mysterious life form within that portal launching it.
“To broaden the spectrum of my Anomaly, I thought choosing the Summoning Department was the right choice.”
“That makes sense.”
“Aren’t you curious about something like this too?”
A sly voice came from behind. Turning around, Simon saw Serne, a girl with reddish-brown hair, flashing an alluring smile.
“Why I chose the Summoning Department.”
Lorain’s formerly gentle face was instantly tinged with wariness. Simon responded with a wry smile.
“You told us yesterday.”
“Oh, did I? What was it, what was it?”
Serne pressed forward, as though she’d been waiting for that very question.
Simon’s reason came to mind, but embarrassment made his voice falter.
“Well, um. The value judgment standard was… what did I call it again.”
She stepped closer and gripped the back of his chair.
“I’ll make it clear for you.”
Then she leaned forward slowly. A soft rose fragrance washed over him as her face drew near.
“My value judgment standard is—”
Her voice dropped to something intimate and murmuring, tickling his ear.
“Whether you want something. Whether you don’t. That’s all.”
Simon’s face flushed crimson. Serne straightened, entirely satisfied with how rigid and motionless he had become.
“Got it?”
With a fox-like smile in her eyes, she claimed the empty seat to Simon’s left.
She crossed her legs arrogantly and settled in, draping both arms over the armrests and tilting her chin up. A complete opposite to Lorain’s poised posture—utterly, deliberately her own way.
‘Here we go again.’
Simon closed his eyes.
Lorain was glaring at Serne, who sat unmoved, as though inviting provocation. The other students around them glanced back and forth between the two girls.
Truly, wherever they went, all eyes were on them.
Tap-tap-tap!
Just then, Toto returned from his urgent errand and slipped into the classroom. He scanned the surroundings quickly, searching for Simon, whom he’d come to school with.
“Toto, over here.”
Seeing him, Simon kindly waved.
“Oh, Simon! You were there—!”
Mid-sentence, Toto’s body went rigid as stone. Lorain and Serne, occupying the seats on either side of Simon, had both looked his way.
‘Eek!’
Lorain had only glanced over because Simon was waving. But to Toto, whose terror of girls had only deepened, it felt like a cold, piercing stare.
And Serne’s gaze beside her was far more naked in its contempt.
‘……’
The look one gives to an insect.
‘T-terrifying!’
Having encountered Merin several times over, Toto’s female phobia had only worsened. He trembled as Simon, oblivious, urged him to hurry over.
‘Ugh. Th-they’re incredible. How does he even talk to girls that scary?’
Toto crept forward and settled into the seat behind Simon as though sitting on hot coals.
Directly ahead sat the two girls—one with black hair, one with white.
“Hello.”
The black-haired one, Lorain, turned and greeted him.
Crash!
So startled was Toto that he toppled from his chair. As a flustered Lorain moved to help him up, Toto shot to his feet at lightning speed.
“A-hello, ma’am!”
The daughter of Neftis had actually spoken to him!
Toto bowed and scraped nervously, and Lorain, uncomfortable, waved her hands in denial.
“Please don’t do that. We’re the same year, after all.”
“Yes! Or, I mean—yes!”
“Ugh, so loud.”
Serne, glancing back, fixed him with that same insect-viewing stare.
“Should I just turn you into a monkey?”
Toto decided he was glad he’d gone to the bathroom.
If it had been urgent, that look alone would have drenched his trousers.
“Stop it, Serne.”
Simon cut in. At once, she smiled sweetly, as though she’d done nothing wrong, her voice turning silken.
“Simon, Simon, want to go to Rochester this weekend and have fun? Or Langoustin would be nice too.”
Toto marveled at how a person’s voice could change so completely.
And Lorain reacted sharply, as though she’d heard a trigger word.
“Langoustin? Are you planning to sneak off the island again without the school’s permission?”
“What, are you a teacher? Why do you keep butting into me and Simon?”
The two were squaring up for another clash when a student came bolting in from the corridor.
“Professor’s coming!”
The students scrambled back to their seats. A moment later came the distinctive sound of slippers dragging across the floor.
Creak!
The door swung open, and Aaron appeared, his shaggy hair unkempt as always, dragging his slippers. The assistants rushed in behind him, standing at attention.
“Glad to see you all.”
Aaron spoke in a languid voice.
“Some of you know me, some don’t. I’m Aaron, and I’ll be teaching Summoning Studies for the year.”
Applause erupted from every corner.
Aaron walked to the blackboard and wrote “2nd Year Summoning Studies” in leisurely strokes, one hand thrust into his pocket, the other moving with all the indifference of someone for whom the world held nothing but tedium—his bearing unchanged from before.
“Put your minds at ease.”
He let the chalk-filled hand droop as he spoke.
“Today we’ll only do a simple orientation and call it done.”
Simon thought artillery was being fired from all sides. Cheers of “Yay!” erupted in waves across the room.
Aaron added the word “Orientation” beneath the “2nd Year Summoning Studies” he’d written on the board.
“Kizen demands we come in hard from the first class, but the school has some circumstances at the moment.”
He tapped the blackboard with his chalk.
“Tomorrow there’s a major entrance ceremony, so you’ll get a break then. Think of serious classes as starting the day after. But don’t let yourselves get lazy about it.”
“Yes!”
Aaron spun his chalk and wrote more words beneath “Intermediate Dark Magic.”
“The first semester has three core courses in Summoning Studies.”
Intermediate Major Summoning
Summoning Funerary Arts
Summoning Materials Science
Aaron stopped writing and looked at the students.
“All of 2nd Year, 1st Semester’s major courses are required. And the other specialized professors—every one of them has credentials that far outstrip mine. They’re masters who wield absolute influence in their fields, so absorb everything you can from them.”
Essentially, Aaron’s “Intermediate Major Dark Magic” formed the backbone, with the curriculum advancing mainly from the textbook, while the other two courses branched into more specialized and advanced genres built upon that foundation.
Beyond that, to strengthen professional competency, lectures from practicing Necromancers in the field and outside scholars were held regularly.
“To give a brief overview of the course, the summon we’ll cover first is the Skeleton Knight.”
Skeleton Knight!
Simon’s eyes gleamed at this new undead. Toto and several 2nd Year students made grimaces suggesting they found it “intense.”
“You’re all specialists in your field now. I trust you’ll dispatch something like a Skeleton Knight without trouble. For specifics, check the handout.”
Teaching assistants moved quickly, distributing printouts to each desk.
Simon rapidly skimmed through a few pages, then his mouth fell open.
‘All these materials…’
The list was crammed with course supplies: textbooks, materials for the Skeleton Knight itself, and countless other items like Mana Oil, Bone Adhesive, and Slime Byproduct.
‘The initial cost is steep.’
Some items, of course, lasted a long time once purchased, but consumables would need replenishing eventually. Several students’ faces darkened as they reviewed what was needed.
“But understand this: securing materials is itself a crucial skill for a Necromancer.”
Aaron continued in his languid tone.
“Establish regular sources of income and secure logistics networks to procure materials cheaply. Don’t just think about playing around today and tomorrow—build this infrastructure now. Your status and creditworthiness as a 2nd Year Kizen student are far more powerful than you imagine.”
A student raised their hand.
“A regular source of income, you say?”
Aaron gestured.
“Take Simon Polentia as an example—by the end of 1st Year, he’d registered a thesis with Pentamonium and has been receiving royalties from it steadily.”
Suddenly, all eyes converged on Simon. He turned away, embarrassed.
“As Kizen students, you can receive patronage from nobles, exhibit work, or sell directly to Rochester merchants. Whatever it takes—establish yourselves as quickly as possible. Don’t run up debt trying to keep pace with your studies and end up destitute. And especially, don’t keep borrowing from your parents.”
A heavy silence fell. Aaron’s eyes sharpened.
“To your parents, the fact that you attend Kizen is hope itself—the greatest hope they have. They would never tolerate seeing their children unfree here due to lack of support. They may never say the words, but I’ve seen many cases where graduates returned home only to find the family buried under debt, mansions being sold.”
Students swallowed hard.
“I say again: your status and creditworthiness as a 2nd Year Kizen student are more powerful than you think. If you truly can’t establish a source of income, come find me. That’s all.”
Simon was grateful he’d completed Israphil’s mission at least. He still had ten thousand gold in his possession.
“I’ll have to pick up a part-time job tomorrow.”
Lorain sighed from the seat beside him. She too seemed short on spending money.
“Chicken feed.”
Serne was laughing with utter composure.
“Uh, um…”
Toto, meanwhile, was experiencing an earthquake in his pupils. Simon turned back to look at him.
“If you’re short on funds, I could lend you some.”
“Oh, no! It’s fine!”
Toto waved his hands frantically.
“I can’t impose that much! I think I can manage at this level!!”
“Is that so?”
And so the orientation class ended.
The students felt the weight of financial pressure, yet still couldn’t suppress the joy that came with dismissal. With a day off until tomorrow, there was no greater happiness to be found.
It was then that Simon, having left the classroom, walked along talking with Lorain and Serne.
“Hey!!”
A hand suddenly shot out from the crowd and seized Simon’s wrist. Lorain and Serne came to an abrupt halt.
“Merin!”
Merin, wearing a Student Council armband on her right arm, yanked his wrist toward her. She turned to Lorain with an apologetic look.
“Hey Lorain! Sorry! I’m in a rush, so I’m borrowing Simon for a bit!”
“Oh, sure.”
Lorain waved her hand with an awkward expression. Serne cried out with unmistakable disappointment.
“My goodness, Merin! You don’t even see me?”
“You can freeze to death, you lunatic! Beat it!!”
She grabbed Simon’s wrist and bolted. Simon had no choice but to run along with her.
“Merin! What’s going on all of a sudden?”
She laughed sharply as she spoke.
“What else? Student Council assembly! Put on your armband, quick!”
* * *
Student Council Office.
“Welcome, Simon!”
As Simon stepped through the door, Kamibarez, who had been organizing stacks of documents, broke into a bright smile.
“Hey~ you’re here?”
A man sitting on the sofa, scanning through a submission list, looked up. Both of them wore Student Council armbands on their right arms. (The man is Dick, per glossary context.)
Merin followed him inside and clapped her hands together sharply.
“Alright, let’s work, people! We need to finish all the Entrance Ceremony preparations by the end of today.”
“Yes!”
“Okay.”
Everyone stood from their seats and gathered their things when a knock sounded from behind.
“Excuse me, Student Council members!”
Poking his head into the Student Council Office was Jane’s Senior Teaching Assistant.
“Professor Jane’s assistant!”
“Professor Jane was supposed to come in person, but she’s gone into an emergency meeting right now. Could you all follow me for a moment?”
The four of them left the Student Council Office and followed the Senior Teaching Assistant down the corridor.
“Assistant teacher… I mean, Sir! Where are we going? We don’t have time—there’s too much work today.”
The Senior Teaching Assistant smiled at Merin’s question.
“The four of you wouldn’t have enough hands to prepare everything by yourselves, would you? We’re going to meet the Student Council’s direct subordinates now.”
Everyone’s eyes widened at the word “direct.”
“Wow! We actually get to command subordinates?”
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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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