I Became The Academy Necromancer-Chapter 254: Leave Him To Go On His Way

Did I scare her too much?

While I did feel a bit sorry for the kid named Xiao Hu who went on her way to deliver food, from my perspective, I couldn’t just ignore something like that.

How could I possibly ignore the non-human presence passing the vicinity of the crime scene where six people died overnight?

Well, whatever happened.

Anyway, since Xiao Hu had to finish her delivery first, I headed toward the Lanlan Diner, her place of work.

It had been three months since I set out on my journey.

To be honest, experiencing this land as Kim Shinwoo was more enjoyable than I anticipated.

Seeing, feeling, and touching the continent as Kim Shinwoo rather than Deus made my heart race.

Officially, it was to ensure that Deus’ body stabilized without any issues and to confirm that the souls on this land had indeed departed properly.

Although I was still on my journey—if I had to be precise—it could be said that I was on my way back rather than a journey.

There’s nothing visible here, either.

The continent had remained empty since that day. Though I accepted the souls, there was nothing that could be done for those who had already passed during those three months.

The continent had become so empty, that I couldn’t even catch sight of a single soul while wandering around.

In the far future, once again, at least a few thousands of years down the line, the continent shouldn’t be on the brink of destruction due to souls, and I had already spread awareness among the people regarding the dangers of the continent.

Now, it’s time to leave it to the next generation.

Yes, even if the number of souls began to pile up again, the responsibility would fall on that generation.

They were given enough time to study and make an effort. I couldn’t solve all the problems that would arise in the endless future, nor should I.

However, it shouldn’t be too difficult, right? After all, I had already set a precedent.

Is that it?

There was a diner with a sign that read Lanlan Diner. It didn’t seem to have any visitors, probably because it was an odd time between breakfast and lunch.

I was currently in the Han Empire.

And though the only real connection I had with this place was the War God Han So, the scenery, rich with martial arts and an Eastern atmosphere, was truly a feast for the eyes.

As only items from the Han Empire appeared, and there were no separate visiting events in the game, this place felt completely new to me.

Clang clang!

As I opened the door and stepped inside, only the sound of the bell greeted me. No other greetings or staff in sight.

Does that kid work here all by herself?

I was about to sit down at the closest table to at least look at the menu, but…

“…There’s no menu either.”

The table felt a bit sticky for some reason. I wondered if the chopsticks and other items were even cleaned properly.

I clicked my tongue at the place’s hygiene, wondering if this diner actually attracted any business.

“What the-?”

A large-built woman emerged from the kitchen. With her huge build, she looked like she had a fiery temper as well.

Seeing a huge cleaver in her hand, she seemed to be the cook of this place.

She was probably the owner as well.

“Get lost, we’re not open for business.”

Seeing the bold woman yell made me sigh and slowly get to my feet.

“Are your eyes just for show? You look like a dweeb but it seems that you have no sense at all.”

She shouted something at my back as I walked towards the exit, but instead of leaving, I shut the wide-open door and looked at her.

“I need to ask you something.”

“Did you not hear me asking you to get lost?”

Even though she was coming at me aggressively, I didn’t feel agitated. I simply found it to be rather ridiculous.

It felt as if a little kid was chattering annoyingly in front of me.

“I told you, get out!”

She pointed the large cleaver at me. As I watched her expression gradually twist, I immediately figured out her true identity.

“So, you’re a goblin, huh.”

I knew she was a yokai from the start, but it wasn’t clear which kind. Now, it was obvious that she was a goblin.

Since the Han Empire had many yokai that were similar to those from my previous world, it wasn’t that difficult to identify them.

“…!”

As soon as she heard my words, her appearance began to distort. Her molars grew till they protruded up to the corners of her eyes, and her face flushed red like a ripe persimmon, swelling to twice its size. ȐÀꞐồ𝖇ƐⱾ

The cleaver in her hand suddenly transformed into a guandao, something an executioner might wield.

“I can smell Xiao Hu on you!”

Boom!

Just one step and the poorly arranged tables around us were knocked away by the impact.

The inside of the diner quickly expanded as the space cleared.

“You stray dog bone, I don’t know where you came from or what you did to that child…!”

Boom!

In an instant, the Goblin fell to her knees, her cheek pressed against the floor. I slowly walked up to her and sat down on her back with a thud.

“Thanks for clearing the space.”

I didn’t have any money on me right now, so it’d be hard to compensate if I broke any of the tables.

But since she had voluntarily cleared the space for me, I didn’t hesitate to subdue her.

While it was a bit difficult with the minuscule amount of mana in the body, as a Necromancer and also as the Soul Whisperer, I had enough experience.

I had killed no less than five Demon Lords, so dealing with a yokai in this remote region was nothing more than a warm-up.

Th𝓮 most uptodate nov𝑒ls are publish𝒆d on ƒreewebηoveℓ.com.

“Kkiiii, eek! Eeeeeek!”

She let out a bizarre scream and began scraping the floor with her guandao, seemingly trying to resist.

Crunch!

I pressed down with more mana and warned her.

“It’s still hard to control my strength. So, you better stay still.”

I had to be careful not to accidentally annihilate her.

Thankfully, it seemed that my threat had worked as she took a deep breath and slowly let go of the guandao.

Now, she seemed ready to talk.

Still sitting on the back of her massive head, I asked.

“Are you well-versed with the yokai around here?”

“…Yes, I… I know.”

Taking deep breaths as if the pressure on her was quite painful, she stuttered out an answer.

“L-Lanlan Diner only caters to yokai. T-That’s why we don’t accept regular customers.”

“Hmm?”

That pretty much explained it.

So that was the reason the tables and basic utensils were so poorly maintained?

Then, was that kid from earlier delivering food to yokai?

I already found this diner to be quite strange. But it turned out it was a yokai selling food to other yokai.

“Why are you doing something like this?”

And it was not like yokai would be buying and selling food just for money, right? Besides, with a goblin’s personality, it didn’t seem like something they’d do either.

At my question, the Goblin gulped and hesitated for a moment before squeezing her eyes shut and shouting.

“I-It’s an order! I was ordered by the guardian deity of this land!”

“…”

“He… He doesn’t like the noise, so he ordered me to stop any yokai or evil spirits from causing trouble in his land! That’s why I’ve been managing it!”

I was already familiar with the guardian deities as I’d met several of them before.

The Mountain Lord from the Norseweden Mountain Range.

Horua from the Great Marias Forest.

And like the others, it seemed that a guardian deity was also living in this land.

That is quite surprising.

Guardian deities usually didn’t take any action unless the natural order was disturbed or their land was damaged.

However, it seemed that the guardian deity of this land governed it quite strictly.

“B-But… haven’t all the souls just disappeared to who knows where recently?!”

Although I hadn’t meant to, as I was lost in thought, the Goblin continued speaking hastily, seemingly interpreting my silence as ominous.

“That’s why, with the yokai acting up more frequently, I’ve been busy trying to keep things in order!”

“…What’s that got to do with anything?”

While I wondered if there was any real connection between the disappearance of the souls and the rampaging yokai…

The Goblin quickly answered my question.

“Th-The yokai of this land usually consume human souls to sustain themselves! But now—!”

Crunch!

“Kyaaaaackkk!”

The Goblin let out a painful scream. Whether she knew it or not…

“You just told me something that I can’t simply ignore.”

A deep sigh escaped my lips.

I did tell the delivery girl, Xiao Hu, that I was just passing through. However, it seemed like I would be around for a little longer than I thought.

***

The dark and somewhat nauseating stench of the city’s underground sewers stung her nose.

Xiao Hu, the delivery girl and server for Lanlan Diner, carefully held out the food she was carrying on her back toward the flowing sewer.

“Here it is!”

Then, a snake’s tongue shot out from within the sewer. And since there was a danger that Xiao Hu could have been eaten as well, she quickly jumped up and latched onto the ceiling.

Ugh.

She hated the sticky, damp feeling of the ceiling and wanted to wash her hands immediately, but she couldn’t help it.

If she stayed with the food, she might end up becoming the guardian deity’s special dish.

It only took about three seconds for the snake’s tongue to swipe the food and devour it.

Once Xiao Hu came back down, she bowed her head hurriedly and spoke.

“Then, I’ll come back again tomorrow!”

She wanted to leave this place as soon as possible and avoid talking about today’s incident. However…

[Someone has come to this land.]

His voice echoed from the flowing sewage, causing the surroundings to vibrate.

For some reason, the sudden question caused Xiao Hu to briefly think of the man she had passed earlier but quickly rectified her thoughts.

“Wh-Who are you referring to, Sir?”

Xiao Hu was worried that the yokai might be involved in the incident she had seen earlier, the one which had claimed the lives of six people.

But the guardian deity was speaking about something else entirely.

[The heaviness on the land means someone who shouldn’t have come has arrived. Go and deliver my message to the yokai.]

“…”

[The master of a world is passing through. Leave him alone and let him be on his way.]

***

“Sssshhhh.”

Findenai’s nose tingled, and she smacked her lips, wondering if it was due to the spicy fried peppers she had just eaten.

Deia, sitting slumped over across from her, started giggling.

“Are you crying? Hey, are you crying? She’s crying! Sevia! Look, she’s crying!”

“Sevia was sleepy, so I sent her home.”

Illuania sighed and replied to Deia, who was talking to an empty bottle and calling it Sevia.

She was the one who had offered them alcohol because Findenai and Deia seemed to be really down. However, seeing how this drinking session had gotten out of hand, she was regretting it a bit.

It made her wonder how she used to deal with this back in the old days, back when she worked in the red-light district.

Yet, it was also proof of how much her life had changed.

“Crying, my ass! Dangggg it! This Ai is not crying!”

As Findenai pounded on the table in frustration, Illuania hurriedly took away the empty bottles before they shattered.

But… Ai?

Illuania stared at Findenai, realizing that, as she’d always heard, people really did change when they were drunk.

Perhaps it was the alcohol, maybe it was the fried peppers she had just eaten, or maybe it was because she truly missed him, her eyes were tinged red.

“Puffff! How nice it is for youuuuu two!”

Illuania was still reeling from this unexpected side of Findenai when Deia let out a long sigh and slumped her face onto the table.

“With him, huh? Sigh.”

“Pardon?”

“I’m telling you… there are precisely two people in this world I wish weren’t my brothers!”

Deia hiccuped, her hair falling messily over her face.

Yet her hands remained still, trapped between the chair and her buttocks.

“One is Deusssssss, and the other is Kim Shinu!”

“…”

“Why, you askkkk?!”

Why indeed.

For some reason, Illuania felt like she shouldn’t be hearing this.

Sensing that the woman in front of her was on the verge of revealing a forbidden thought, she hastily tried to cover her mouth. However…

“Hic.”

Before Deia could elaborate, she hiccuped again and promptly fell passed out.

“Oh, thank goodness she passed out before the Lord got here.”

Since Darius said he would come and pick the two women up later, Illuania began tidying up.

“Ai is not drunk!”

“You’ve really turned into a child…1”

Footnotes

1. This is a word play. Ai in Korean also means /genesisforsaken