Necromancer Academy and the Genius Summoner-Chapter 114: Episode

As the hood fell away, a tremor of shock ran through Simon, as if the very ground beneath him had split open. It was a face he already knew—no, more than knew. It was someone he saw at least once a day.

‘Kajan Edvalt...!’

The faded gray hair, the long scar bisecting his right eye, and those distinct, piercing eyes. It was unmistakably Kajan. The shock was so profound that Simon struggled to gather his thoughts, but he forced himself to maintain a veneer of calm.

[Answer me. Are you the Priest?]

Kajan’s expression was one of pure languor. "Let me ask you instead. Do I look like a Priest to you?"

Simon bit his lip. [I’m not in the mood for jokes.]

"The only answer you’ll get from me is ‘no.’ In the end, it’s all up to your judgment. Kill me or let me live. Do as you please."

Simon forced himself to think clearly, replaying the fight he’d just had with Kajan. He simultaneously recalled his battle with the Priest back when he was with Kamibarez. Their fighting styles were completely different. Kajan was a pure martial combatant, while the Priest he’d encountered before had focused on Jet-Black magic.

Of course, Kajan could have been deliberately fighting differently to deceive him. But if he had been a master of Jet-Black from the start, he never would have been caught in this situation. It had been too desperate a fight to be a mere deception; Kajan had fought with everything he had.

Besides, there was the unique aura a person exuded—their gait, their mannerisms, their habits. It wasn’t difficult to discern that they were two entirely different people.

Still, Simon didn’t lower the greatsword aimed at his roommate’s neck.

[Answer me. What were you doing in the Forbidden Forest?]

Kajan slowly closed his eyes. "I was looking for the Priest who infiltrated Kizen."

Simon’s lips formed a tight line. His objective was the same as his own.

"I was searching the forest, following the Priest’s trail, when a strange woman who identified herself as a Priest approached me. I initiated a fight to interrogate her. Is that a sufficient answer?"

[One last thing.] Simon swallowed, his throat suddenly dry. [Why are you chasing this Priest?]

"I was commissioned. Normally, revealing a client’s name is forbidden, but..." Kajan’s gaze fell to the artifact necklace around Simon’s neck. "For you, it should be fine. The client is Nephthys Archbold."

Finally, Simon lowered his greatsword.

’—For now, I’ve commissioned some trustworthy confidants to investigate. They’re slowly finding clues.’

It aligned perfectly with what Nephthys had told him at Lorraine’s home. As if to erase any lingering doubt, Kajan produced a commission letter from his Subspace, stamped with Nephthys’s official seal. There was no room for suspicion.

"By the way," Kajan said, scratching the scar above his right eye. "When did you get such a cool skull helmet, Simon Polentia?"

Simon let out a soft sigh and removed Pier’s skull, letting it settle behind his neck like a hood. "You knew from the start?"

"I had a vague idea," Kajan admitted with a smirk. "When you first shouted ‘Erze,’ I recognized your voice and was about to intervene. But I quickly realized you and that woman were on the same side."

At that moment, Erzebet crossed her arms and shot Kajan a venomous glare.

"I engaged you, thinking you might be an Efnel collaborator, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. If you were really with them, you would have cleanly taken my head off, since I was a witness. And..." Kajan’s gaze returned to Simon’s artifact. "That’s a genuine article imbued with Nephthys’s power. That’s something the Priests couldn’t even hope to imitate."

"What exactly is this?" Simon asked, fiddling with the necklace.

Kajan plopped down on the grass and pulled a potion from his Subspace. "You’ll find out the moment you truly ‘experience death.’ Just know that for now." He then began to strip off his torn clothes and pour the potion over his wounds.

[Boy. If you’re going to kill him, now is your only chance,] Pier’s voice warned inside Simon’s mind.

Simon’s own gaze was fixed on Kajan’s exposed back.

[He saw the Legion. It’ll be a problem if he blabs about it to Kizen.]

’Leave it to me, Pier. It seems Kajan is one of Nephthys’s people, after all.’

Simon crouched beside Kajan and helped him apply the potion. ’Oof, that must hurt,’ he thought. The pitch-black potion sizzled the moment it touched a wound, releasing a thick plume of smoke as it forcibly sealed the flesh. It was clearly agonizing; though Simon couldn’t see his face, Kajan’s back trembled uncontrollably.

"...My apologies, Kajan."

"This is common in a fight. You don’t need to apologize."

The wounds were hastily sealed, but they left behind a fresh set of scars. The countless other marks crisscrossing his body had likely been earned in similar ways. As they bandaged their injuries, they exchanged more information. The most surprising revelation was...

"The Thieves’ Guild... you mean ’the’ Thieves’ Guild?"

"That’s right."

Kajan was the son of the head of the Thieves’ Guild Association. And there was more: Kajan was already a ‘complete individual.’ At only eighteen, he was an undefeated monster capable of beating down most professional necromancers with his bare hands. His loss to Simon, the Legion Commander, was his first, and that was only because he’d been terribly outmatched.

But Kajan didn’t call himself a genius. He called himself a ‘manufactured monster,’ hinting at a secret about his birth that he refused to elaborate on. In any case, the only reason Kajan—a warrior who had already surpassed the level of a student and had nothing left to learn—had bothered to enroll in Kizen was because of Nephthys’s commission.

’—I think there’s an Efnel spy inside Kizen.’

Nephthys had tasked him with an undercover investigation. After officially enrolling, Kajan had focused on his mission rather than his classes. That explained why he always left the dormitory at night and on weekends, and why Simon often found him buried under his covers during the day, catching up on lost sleep. The Priest also seemed to operate as a member of Kizen by day, moving mainly at night for ‘worship’ and other rituals. Kajan, in turn, prowled Roc Island at night to hunt him.

"Wait a minute! Kajan, you were held back a year, so you were at Kizen last year, too, right?"

"Yeah. I received the commission from Nephthys last year."

Simon stroked his chin. That meant Nephthys had known about the spy for over a year.

"I’ve provided this much information, so I’ve paid the price for you sparing my life, right?" Kajan said as he got to his feet and turned to Simon. "Simon."

"Yes."

"I will solve this case, no matter what. I’ll inform Nephthys, so you stay out of it. It’s too dangerous for you."

Simon offered a faint smile. "It’s fine. I’m stronger than you, aren’t I?"

At those words, Kajan’s face stiffened. The expression was so unexpectedly amusing that Simon almost burst out laughing.

"...I’ll admit that," Kajan conceded. "But this isn’t about who’s stronger; it’s a matter of safety. You should focus on your life at Kizen with your friends. Enjoy the happiest time of your life to the fullest."

"No," Simon stated plainly, slowly rising to meet Kajan’s gaze. "That Priest wants me dead, and I’ve come close to dying several times. More importantly, they hurt my friend and endangered my other group members. I have my own reasons to hunt them down."

Kajan sighed deeply and ran a hand through his hair. He stood rooted to the spot for a long moment, lost in thought, before finally looking back at Simon.

"...If Nephthys wanted to stop you, she would have."

"Huh?"

"Alright. We have a clear, common objective. Let’s form a joint front."

This was exactly what Simon had wanted to hear. 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

"Those undead you command seem quite useful," Kajan continued. "I’d like you to keep covering the Forbidden Forest as you are now. And I propose we meet once a week—when that ‘loud one’ isn’t around—to share what we’ve found and narrow down our list of suspects."

The ‘loud one’ was undoubtedly Dick. Simon chuckled softly and nodded.

The night was growing deeper. It wouldn’t do to be late returning to Kizen, so the two started walking back, continuing their conversation.

"Ahem." Simon cleared his throat quietly, glancing at Kajan. "But... you’re not asking about me."

He felt it would be better if Kajan just came out and asked, ’What was all that?’

Kajan kept his eyes fixed ahead. "What do you think is the biggest risk for an agent of the Information Guild?"

"...I-I’m not sure."

Kajan tapped the side of his head. "Knowing."

Simon tilted his head, confused.

"There’s a saying: ‘Ignorance is bliss.’ People in our line of work inevitably learn dangerous information. But secrets make people anxious, the more others know them, and people want to eliminate the source of their anxiety." Kajan sighed softly. "We who buy and sell information face more threats to our lives the more we know. There’s no need to learn things you don’t have to. I will exercise my right to be oblivious."

"Kajan..."

Simon looked at him, a flicker of admiration in his eyes.

[Muahahahahahaha!]

Suddenly, Pier’s booming laughter echoed in Simon’s mind.

[Hmph! Well, at least he knows his place! Do as you will!]

Even Pier no longer insisted on killing Kajan.

---

Back in Room 409, Dick was worrying himself sick for no reason. ’I told them to avoid the days the watchmen are out.’

Simon had gone down to Rochest, and now Kajan was nowhere to be seen either.

"Ah, whatever. I definitely warned them," Dick muttered, rolling around on his bed.

Just then, Simon and Kajan walked into the dorm room side by side, towels wrapped around their wet hair as if they’d just come from the bathhouse. Dick’s eyes went wide.

"Wh-what? Why are you two together...?"

It was completely random. A more mismatched pair didn’t exist. Didn’t they usually act like the other was invisible? Why had they come in together?

Kajan climbed up to the top bunk as usual and prepared to get under the covers, while Simon gathered his clothes.

"Kajan, I’ll take this to the laundry room, too."

"...Thanks," Kajan replied before pulling the covers up over his head.

Simon smiled faintly and left the room.

The door closed. Dick, who had been staring blankly, feeling utterly left out, suddenly shot up from his seat.

"Wh-what? Why did you two suddenly get so close?!" he yelled. "Wait, Simon! What’s going on—!"

A pillow flew through the air and hit Dick squarely in the face, cutting him off with a muffled "Oof!"

"I thought I told you not to be loud before I go to sleep."

Seeing the chilling glare from under the covers, Dick quickly put the pillow back where it belonged. Kajan retrieved it and disappeared under his blankets. Within minutes, the sound of soft snoring filled the room.

’Ugh! Why am I the only one being treated the same as before?!’ Dick lamented silently. Kajan was the one person he couldn’t seem to win over, despite his characteristic affability. The truth was, he secretly wanted to be friends with him.