Necromancer Academy’s Genius Summoner - Chapter 670
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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 670
“A hidden secret?”
Simon tilted his head.
Earl Boldmont’s eyes gleamed as he leaned his upper body toward Simon.
“Yes, so won’t you join hands with me?”
A sudden alliance proposal.
“I’ve been watching your every move. Your impressive exploits in Kizen, the way you became a disciple of the Grand Duke—who maintains no personal relationships—I’ve seen it all. You even blocked an arrow shot by her! And you sent one of those three brothers flying with a single strike from the Grand Duke’s arrow!”
The Earl opened his palm.
“Your strength would be useful to me. Work with me!”
He was only building Simon up while keeping his own hand hidden.
Simon’s response was somewhat lukewarm, and the Earl chuckled at his reaction.
“Right, good. This is truly classified information.”
The Earl clasped his hands together, his face growing serious.
“Resources. Underground resources of unimaginable scale lie buried in the Northern Region—more precisely, near Frost Field. From what I’ve discovered so far alone, there are eleven Mana Stone mines and two Sapphire mines!”
He spread both his arms wide.
“Can you imagine it? You and I. Our entire house could live comfortably for several generations without earning a single coin! The barbaric Northerners don’t know the value of it! Even when I explain, they couldn’t care less! They ask how it helps their struggling lives of constant fighting. Fools who know nothing but combat! If we just pick up some jewels lying around there and sell them, we could build magnificent estates and live in the warm, peaceful South—free from ever seeing a monster again for the rest of our lives.”
He clapped his hands together with a sharp sound.
“Let’s do it! Ten percent!”
Then he pointed at Simon’s chest.
“I’ll give you ten percent of all profits! Let’s overturn the world together! Kick the backsides of those high-born nobles who mock us……!”
“Wait.”
Simon raised his hand. The excited Earl stopped and blinked.
“Don’t like the terms? Fine, fifteen percent?”
“No, no. The premise itself doesn’t make sense.”
Simon sighed inwardly and continued.
“The Northern Region belongs to the Grand Duke. How do you plan to take the mines?”
“To be precise, only the Northern Region excluding Frost Field belongs to the Grand Duke. But you needn’t worry about that part at all. I’ve laid out a flawless plan! The Northerners don’t know the value of underground resources, so if I subtly tamper with the contract, extracting ownership of the mines is child’s play.”
Already thinking about contracts, Simon smirked wryly.
“You’ve barely dealt with the three brothers, and you’re already rushing ahead like this?”
“Is that so?”
Earl Boldmont’s expression grew meaningful.
“The Northern God without his three brothers is nothing. He’s only frightening because he commands vast hordes of undead, but the Northern God himself has no combat ability! He can never stop the Grand Duke. This battle is already decided.”
He pointed at Simon again with his fingertip.
“What matters is that while everyone else focuses on destroying the Northern God, we broaden our vision and think ahead to what comes after!”
……
Simon closed his eyes.
Still hiding the important cards, still dancing around the real issue. Boldmont is young, but he’s no fool.
Against someone like this.
“You’re asking me to betray the Grand Duke once the war ends?”
It was better to drop the pretense and strike at the core.
In that instant, Simon saw the Earl’s fingertips tremble slightly. Yet his expression remained a soft smile.
“Not betrayal—efficient handling for everyone’s benefit. It’s all for the good of the North.”
The Earl countered confidently, gesturing to his own chest.
“I never said I’d pocket all the resource profits myself. Whether we like it or not, the Northern Region after the war with the Northern God can’t avoid change. Pride in guardianship, courage, fighting skill—none of it will be needed anymore. I’ll lift the people out of mere survival and let them live as humans should, enjoying what they deserve.”
He tapped his chin lightly.
“Of course, it’s true that in the new North after the war, an abnormal monster like the Grand Duke becomes unnecessary. Honestly, it’d be best if she volunteered to go fight on the Sacred Federation front or something.”
From his conversation with the Earl, Simon sensed many things.
A love-hate relationship with the Northern Region where he’d lived over a decade.
An inferiority complex toward the Grand Duke, who possessed absolute strength and charisma.
And most of all.
“You.”
Simon fixed a steady gaze on Earl Boldmont.
“You deny the Northern culture.”
This duality—holding affection and resentment for the North while simultaneously denying its culture.
“Exactly.”
Earl Boldmont raised his hand and acknowledged it readily.
“Have you even tried to earn the acceptance of the Northern people?”
“There’s no need to receive acceptance from barbarians.”
The Earl’s expression, until now relaxed, sharpened.
“I’ve constructed a railway connecting the North and South this whole time! I’ve been dealing with merchant guilds, supplying food without gaps! I provide necessary materials without shortage and tried to bring in diverse cultures. I’ve done my part for the North too! But the residents mock me as a money-grubbing materialist who does nothing but fiddle with a calculator!”
The Earl’s face flushed crimson.
“Ten years! I came to the Northern Region when I was nine years old and lived here for a full ten years, and they still call me an ‘outsider’ or a ‘southerner’! I’ve lived here longer than I ever lived in the south! Without me, those people would have starved to death trying to survive the winter!”
Bang!
He brought his fist down on the armrest.
“Why? Why is anyone who doesn’t fight in this place treated like garbage? People simply have different strengths! I……!”
The Earl bit his lip, cutting himself off.
A fierce resolve flickered across his face—he couldn’t let those next words escape. After a moment, his breathing steadied, and he exhaled slowly through his nose.
“I’m sorry, friend. You shouldn’t have seen me like that.”
“It’s fine.”
As a fellow outsider, Simon understood his frustration.
Simon too had been harassed by warriors on his first day in the Northern Region, and faced retaliation the next. Of course, having strength, he could handle it—but what of ordinary folk without power?
‘And.’
Simon recalled the servants he’d seen in this mansion.
One might assume they were simply hired for the Earl’s convenience, but their wrists and necks bore the marks of chains.
Likely criminals who’d fled south to escape justice.
But too weak to adapt to the Northern Region’s harshness. Boldmont was taking in outsiders who could never become northerners.
The Grand Duke had her justice.
The Earl had his own.
Which would he choose?
“Simon.”
Boldmont pointed at Simon with his index and middle fingers pressed together.
“Twenty percent of all mining profits. I’ll be honest—our finances are stretched thin just rebuilding the Northern Region, but that’s the greatest sincerity I can offer.”
“…….”
“I don’t know how long you’ll stay here before returning to Kizen, but necromancer work requires substantial funding, doesn’t it?”
A smile played at his lips.
“By the time you leave for Kizen, you’ll be its wealthiest capitalist! Of course, I’m not asking for an answer right now. Take your time thinking it over…….”
“No, I’ll tell you right now.”
Simon rose from his seat and gathered his cloak.
* * *
Simon had left.
Boldmont stood at the window, hands clasped behind his back, gazing out in silence.
—I’m sorry, but I can’t accept that offer.
That had been Simon’s answer.
The Earl watched with a bitter smile as Simon returned alone to the Grand Duke’s Castle.
Knock, knock, knock.
“My lord.”
“Come in.”
An elderly Butler entered.
“The Student Council President…….”
“Unfortunately, it seems we won’t be able to bring him to our side.”
Boldmont turned to face him.
“There’s no room for choice anymore. Proceed with the plan as scheduled.”
The Butler bowed deeply.
“Yes, my lord. I shall follow your command.”
* * *
The next morning.
Simon reported to the Grand Duke’s Castle as usual.
The warriors who’d been scattered throughout the streets and castle, having drunk so heavily the night before, were now going about their duties without a trace of wear.
The signs of the duels had been cleaned up neatly, and the wounded, sporting fresh bandages, were already up and moving—preparing for the next battle.
‘The final confrontation with the Northern God draws near.’
As Legion Commander, Simon needed to grow stronger still. Steeling himself with renewed resolve, he knocked on the Office door.
Knock, knock, knock.
“Grand Duke, it’s Simon.”
Crash!
Clatter-bang-bang!
A loud commotion erupted inside the Office. He heard hurried footsteps darting about. Startled, Simon knocked again.
“Is something wrong?”
“Nothing’s wrong! Don’t come in yet!”
A short while later.
Simon entered. The room was neat and orderly. A dark-haired woman sat in a chair, her back to the door.
“You’re wearing your uniform today instead of training clothes?”
Simon settled onto the guest sofa and spoke.
“One cannot spend all one’s time in training.”
She remained turned away as she said this. Simon noticed training clothes draped over the edge of a dresser drawer.
“Did you sleep well last night?”
Simon made small talk as usual, but the Grand Duke’s responses seemed different somehow.
She gave short answers, or sometimes took a while before replying.
Most strikingly, since they’d first met in the office, she hadn’t turned to look at him once.
Sweat beaded on Simon’s brow.
‘Did I… did I do something wrong?’
Perhaps something had gone amiss when he’d escorted the drunk Grand Duke to her chambers last night. Maybe he’d said or done something she found offensive.
But if it wasn’t that kind of mistake.
“Your Grace.”
Simon lifted his head and looked directly at the Grand Duke.
“I met with Earl Boldmont yesterday.”
Many soldiers had seen him talking with Boldmont’s servant, and immediately afterward Simon had vanished from the reception hall.
People would certainly have assumed he’d gone to meet with the Earl.
The Grand Duke and Earl Boldmont could hardly be on good terms, so there was little to say even if rumors spread. It might be better to lay the facts bare here.
“I see.”
She still didn’t turn around.
“Since he knew my name and status precisely, I wanted to verify it.”
“Yes.”
The Grand Duke shrugged her shoulders.
“Predictable. He probably offered you some sort of deal.”
She said it as if she’d already guessed as much.
Simon nodded in agreement.
“Whatever was discussed between you, whether you accepted his offer or refused—it matters not to me.”
The Grand Duke rose from her seat.
“Are we not already conducting a transactional relationship where we both use one another? I teach you, you cooperate with me. That is all. It is no concern of mine if you’ve made another arrangement with someone else.”
Simon smiled faintly. She spun around and walked away.
“Come. The decisive day draws near. Today we’ll train in actual combat.”
“Yes!”
Yet as Simon followed the Grand Duke out, she never once looked back at him.
Simon scratched at his temple.
And.
‘This is difficult.’
The Grand Duke was dragging her palm across her forehead.
‘I could simply ask. Why am I being so uncharacteristic about it, drawing it out like this?’
The Grand Duke glanced back toward Simon.
But the moment their eyes were about to meet, she quickly turned her gaze forward again.
Ever since that night, she couldn’t bring herself to look him in the eye. That face kept superimposing itself beside him.
‘They truly are absurdly alike.’
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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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