Necromancer Academy’s Genius Summoner - Chapter 696

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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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The Summoning Genius of the Necromancer School — Episode 696
Aezel’s story continued. He sighed heavily, again and again, as he spoke.
“Before I came to Kizen, I attended an Aristocratic Academy where I was bullied relentlessly.”
Aezel had a diminutive frame, a timid disposition, and such overwhelming shyness that he couldn’t even imagine making eye contact while speaking.
He was the perfect toy for troublemakers to play with.
At the start of the semester, Aezel had managed well enough, but once the delinquents began harassing him, no one stayed by his side.
His classmates feared that associating with the ostracized Aezel would make them targets too, so they naturally joined in with those who mocked and ridiculed him.
As time passed, a hierarchy formed within the school, and soon even those children who had felt guilt for ignoring Aezel vanished.
“……Then, following my family’s wishes, I opened my Core and became a Necromancer.”
Simon, who had been listening with a sinking heart, clapped his hands together sharply.
“So the situation reversed for you!”
“……It didn’t, actually.”
What good was opening a Core? Even the most trivial Dark Magic spell would result in immediate expulsion if used against another person. Not only would the victim’s family rise up in protest, but it could cause serious problems with my admission to Kizen.
And the children weren’t frightened at all.
—So you can do a neat little trick now, huh Aezel?
—Well, he’s still just Aezel.
The bullying only grew worse.
“That’s when I understood something.”
Aezel clenched his fists.
“The problem was entirely how others perceived me.”
So Aezel made a decision.
At my next school, I would never be looked down upon again.
Before the Kizen entrance ceremony, he bought a pristine formal suit, changed his hairstyle, hid wooden blocks inside his shoes to add height, and wore a pair of glasses that made him look elite.
From now on, I am elite.
He repeated this to himself over and over like a mantra, working to change his speech patterns and accent as well.
And then he entered Kizen.
“People’s reactions really did change!”
As Aezel said this, his eyes gleamed with joy.
“No one looked down on me or ignored me anymore. No one hit me. Instead, because of my status as a Special Admission Student, people approached me first. They asked me to eat together. They even smiled at me warmly!”
His eyes shone with vitality.
“Do you understand the elation I felt in that moment?”
“Of course I do.”
“Hah.”
Aezel leaned the back of his head against the sofa and closed his eyes for a moment.
Then his voice grew colder.
“The problem came after that.”
Aezel became consumed by the ‘new self’ he had created, and the image he had constructed grew only more solid.
—Aezel, you’re handsome, but isn’t your height a bit short?
He replaced the wooden blocks in his shoes with taller ones.
—Sometimes your speech pattern breaks. It sounds like a Callos dialect or something.
He practiced in front of the mirror every day, reworking his speech pattern entirely.
There could be no gaps. Any sign of inadequacy, and I would plummet straight back to how things were at my old school.
Aezel became consumed by the image of himself that others perceived. He made things that were beyond his capabilities appear possible on the surface.
Combined with his already formidable Dark Magic skills, Aezel became a star at Kizen, where ability is everything.
Close friends, female students, seniors, instructors, professors, and even Neftis himself came calling. The media ran endless articles praising him, and the Kingdom back home awarded him a royal commendation as Callos’s most promising Necromancer.
Aezel belatedly realized something had gone wrong, but by then the situation had spiraled beyond control.
‘So that’s how I got swallowed by the persona.’
Simon let out an awkward laugh.
“But even if it’s a persona, your personality wouldn’t suddenly become outgoing, and you wouldn’t suddenly become skilled at things you couldn’t do before, right?”
At that question, Aezel scratched his head with a sound of discomfort.
“Remember that kid who talked to you earlier? The Command Magic Department Representative.”
“Ah, you mean Sota Psuche, right? The one ranked 6th overall……”
“Yeah, that’s who caused the problem.”
He let out a long sigh and continued.
“He was in my class from 1st Year, and as my friend, he desperately elevated my image and authority. If I stayed silent because I had nothing to say, he’d just fill the void spouting nonsense about subtle refusals or the silence of ice, claiming Aezel was angry or whatever.”
“……I see.”
As the image of someone so remarkable and great became entrenched within the school, people now began to fill in the blanks whenever Aezel made a mistake or misstep.
The Aezel they knew was an endlessly perfect being, after all.
“I’ve never felt comfortable, even in my room or the Dormitory. Setting up Sound-Proof Magic Circles everywhere I go is basic necessity.”
Aezel drew his legs up to his chest and sipped his drink through a straw.
Simon couldn’t help but smile at how uncharacteristically docile the 3rd Year Senior had become.
“The thing is, I found Aezel remarkable because the previous Student Council President, Phantasus, was so incredibly exceptional.”
“True. He was legendary.”
“So there was no avoiding comparison with his predecessor, and Aezel decided to take on the Long-Term Mission that Phantasus had attempted a year before—to confront those doubting gazes head-on.”
Aezel’s reaction was explosive at those words.
“That’s not true!”
“Pardon?”
“I didn’t do it because I wanted to!”

* * *
The actual chain of events had unfolded differently.
Several months before the semester began this year, during an academic scheduling meeting.
-This is absurd!
Once again, the catalyst was Sota Psyche.
-Why are you removing all the activities the previous Student Council President did? Are you disrespecting Aezel?
The headquarters staff member laughed awkwardly.
-What, is Phantasus something special? Those were items Neftis added arbitrarily because of him, and we’re simply returning to normal scheduling like it was two years ago. Is that really such a problem?
At the time, Aezel was nodding to himself inwardly.
Thank you, staff member.
-Our Aezel is no way inferior to Phantasus!
Please shut up, Sota.
Just stay quiet.
-Stop it, Sota.
A female classmate grabbed Sota’s arm and tried to stop him, but he was relentless.
-Let go! Who do you think you are to evaluate Aezel like that? When you were students at Kizen, were any of you as excellent as Aezel? Huh? Tell me!
In a room filled with classmates about to enter their 3rd year, Kizen headquarters staff, professors, and even elders, Sota was raging without restraint.
-Now that you mention it.
An elderly professor spoke up, holding some documents.
-Aezel rejected both the visits to the three Necromancer Schools and the Katin Dungeon mission on his own.
Murmurs rippled through the room.
-Of course he’d reject them! I’d reject them too out of spite!
But Sota pressed on undeterred.
-The very first mission! Phantasus didn’t even assign Aezel the SS-Rank Mission he took on before becoming Student Council President!
-What?
-Aezel! You said it yourself—you’re tired of being compared to Phantasus!
Aezel’s heart sank.
He’d only thrown that out casually at a drinking gathering.
He’d just mentioned it in passing, brushing off their constant praise at the time.
Aezel trembled in confusion, gripping the bridge of his Glasses with shaking hands.
And then.
-That’s affirmation! Gripping the bridge of the Glasses means affirmation!
-Aezel affirmed it!
The crowd murmured in agreement.
The narrative was taking shape again.
-Is that so, Aezel?
The professor asked with an uncertain expression. Aezel looked around the room. Countless hopeful gazes from all the people present were fixed upon him.
-If you truly feel that way, then we’ll put the Long-Term Mission that Phantasus undertook front and center. We’ll decide on the subsequent schedule based on your results. How does that sound?
-…….
Aezel was at it again.
This was so like him.
The man of miracles.
The hope of the 328th generation.
Countless expectations swirled around him.
At the same time, there were plenty of skeptics.
-No matter how remarkable Aezel is, that’s a bit much.
-He doesn’t need to push himself.
Simon, listening to the account, couldn’t contain himself any longer and asked.
“So what did you answer?”
“…….”
Aezel hesitated for a moment, then spoke with a self-satisfied air, rubbing his forehead.
“For me, it’s a simple matter.”
‘It’s your fault!’
When Simon looked at Aezel with that expression, Aezel’s face flushed red and he waved his hands frantically.
“I had no choice! I had no choice! Back then, rumors about my past at the Aristocratic Academy were spreading, and there were kids who doubted my identity! If I’d made even the smallest mistake then, if my image had cracked even a little, it would’ve been finished!”
…….
Simon sighed inwardly.
For Aezel, the events of the past were probably the worst trauma of his life. He would walk through fire itself to maintain who he was now.
“……Still, you did manage to complete that supposedly difficult long-term mission.”
“Yeah. I managed it. But I was busy with the mission the whole time, so I didn’t really know what was going on at school. Then I heard the news and the world went dark.”
One reason Aezel had taken on the long-term mission was to maintain the image of “Aezel as others see him,” but the real reason was that he didn’t want to be Student Council President no matter what.
He lacked the confidence to hold such a weighty position, and public speaking or reading formal declarations in front of crowds terrified him. Until now he’d managed to make excuses and evade it, but as Student Council President, he wouldn’t be able to use such excuses.
So he’d assumed that while he was away, either Ballak, his vice president, or the other 3rd year students would take Simon’s Student Council President position.
But Ballak had simply muttered “Aezel will return” and never encroached on Simon’s seat, and the other 3rd years were too busy watching Ballak’s face.
In the end, Simon maintained the Student Council throughout, and it happened to coincide with the Dark Festival.
If he returned now and took the Student Council President position, he’d be forced to stand before tens of thousands of spectators. To avoid that alone, Aezel had dragged out his return until after the Dark Festival was over.
‘So that’s how it happened.’
Simon nodded as if understanding at last.
Then Aezel leaned forward and asked.
“You gave the speech at the Dark Festival, right? How was it?”
“Ah, yes. It was fun.”
“……Fun?”
His expression registered shock.
“Weren’t you nervous standing in front of all those people?”
“Of course I was nervous. But once I opened my mouth, I just…… managed somehow.”
“That’s amazing. So there are people who can just do it the way they decide to.”
Aezel suddenly grabbed Simon’s hand.
“You’re the perfect fit to be Student Council President! I don’t know why Phantasus chose an idiot like me to be your successor, but I don’t want to sit in such an important position and I don’t want to stand in front of people. I just want to stay as quiet as possible and graduate. What about you?”
Simon himself didn’t have much obsession with maintaining the power of the Student Council President position.
But.
—It felt like a midsummer night’s dream, he thought.
—We worked so hard for it! We studied, cut back on sleep, pulled all-nighters for major events like the Dark Festival, and kept people’s opinions of us positive! And now you want to take away all our accomplishments? That’s too much, isn’t it? Just because you’re a senior?”
Simon, recalling the faces of his council members, opened his mouth.
“Yes, if at all possible, I’d like to keep the Student Council President position.”
“Good, good. So our interests align.”
Aezel smiled with satisfaction.
“But the problem is the duel. The fact that we have to fight a duel for the Student Council President position doesn’t change.”
“Then you would let me win……?”
“If I wanted to, I would. But I care about maintaining Aezel’s image even more than I dislike being Student Council President. No—I absolutely must maintain it.”
Simon nodded. That would be Aezel’s absolute top priority, no compromise.
And considering what people thought of Aezel Bringer’s image, it would be impossible for him to lose to a 2nd year or forfeit.
“Is there any possibility that I could win through actual skill……?”
“What? Don’t say impossible things.”
Snap.
This time Simon, slightly annoyed, laughed as he spoke.
“Isn’t there at least a 1% chance?”
“Impossible.”
Aezel said it plainly, his eyes narrowing.
Right. This wasn’t a matter of confidence.
This timid, weak-hearted person held absolute certainty about one thing: victory.
His winning was an immutable law. It wasn’t a domain that required confidence.
“In any case, the duel will happen, and I need to find a way to pass the presidency to you while damaging my image as little as possible. If you underperform in the duel, if you’re so weak that passing the presidency to you would tarnish my honor and image—”
His expression vanished.
“Then I have no choice but to put on a show of thoroughly crushing you in front of the entire student body.”
The feeble strongest of Kizen.
The small demon, Aezel Bringer.
At least in terms of power, there was no room for doubt. Simon felt a chill run down his spine without realizing it.
This person, too, was far from normal.
“I want to find a path where everyone is happy, but I would rather die—I would rather be expelled or hang myself—than have the dignity I’ve built up over three years be tarnished. That’s the depth of it.”
“……That’s quite resolute of you.”
Aezel rose from the sofa.
“Anyway, keep thinking about it until the duel on the day your final exams end. Think about what would be best. If you come up with a good approach, I’ll follow it.”
“…Very well.”
“Then.”
Aezel gestured, and the cardigan draped over the table lifted on a current of air and wrapped itself around him.
He then bounced off the sofa in his socks.
He landed precisely in front of his discarded shoes, and the pant legs fell to cover his feet. Simon’s mouth fell open in bewilderment.
‘Was he floating in the air the whole time?’
With a flick of his fingertips, wind swept through his hair, lifting it sharply to reveal his forehead in a crisp, elite style.
When he finally donned the glasses from the floor, his gentle appearance vanished entirely, replaced by the sharp, angular features he wore before.
They were no ordinary spectacles—they seemed to be an artifact enchanted with magic.
“I’ll be looking forward to it.”
Aezel turned his back, his voice suddenly cold, as if his earlier warmth had never existed. He kept one hand in his pocket while gesturing back with the other.
“Simon Polentia.”
Clang! Clang!
Every window in the break room swung open at once, and the curtains rattled shut. All traces of the sound-proof magic circles vanished without a mark.
By the time Simon stepped out into the hallway to see him off, Aezel had already disappeared like the wind.

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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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