Necromancer Academy and the Genius Summoner-Chapter 318: Episode

Simon nearly shouted with triumph in the middle of the library. He had finally identified the source of the unease he’d felt since first meeting Professor Walter.

Walter’s acquaintances called him ’Judas’. The name was also inscribed on the fountain pen he always carried.

’Walter is Judas. And Judas is a bishop of the Blood Cult.’

With that realization, all the pieces fell into place.

’He was a member of the Blood Cult!’

The Blood Cult was a heinous organization that had kidnapped and experimented on countless people from the Holy Federation. They had instigated a war between the Dark Alliance and the Holy Federation, hoping to orchestrate the mutual destruction of both powers. And Walter, as a high-ranking executive, had personally approved these directives. His crimes were beyond grave.

’I don’t know what business the Blood Cult has in Kizen, but...’

His scheme was over. Simon considered going to Lorraine right away, but he calmed his racing heart and sat back down. If he was going to report this to Nephthys, he wanted to present irrefutable evidence.

’I need to find out what he did under the name Judas.’

Simon retrieved the library’s directories and began searching for the name.

’...Huh?’

The moment he opened the first book, his hope shattered.

[Official 1st Rank, Judas Callan.]

[Official 1st Rank, Judas Odoro.]

[Official 2nd Rank, Judas Andare.]

[Official 3rd Rank, Judas Haoban.]

[...]

Simon slammed his head on the desk with a dull ’thud’.

’Th-There are this many people named Judas?’

He’d never heard the name before and had assumed it was uncommon, but a single randomly chosen book was filled with it. He clutched his throbbing forehead and looked again at the signature he had deciphered.

[Bishop of the Blood Cult, Judas.]

Without a surname or any other identifying mark, it was useless. The signature, combined with the name on Walter’s fountain pen, wasn’t enough to prove they were the same person. Reporting this to Nephthys was out of the question.

’...Oof.’

Feeling like he was back at square one, Simon slumped in his chair and sighed.

’I really thought I had him.’

He stared blankly at the ceiling for a moment, then pulled himself together. While he lacked conclusive evidence, his nagging suspicion had solidified into near certainty.

’I’ll see this investigation through to the end, even if I have to do it alone.’

A plan began to form in his mind. First, he would return to the dorm and...

"Hey, you!"

The librarian appeared, pointing an accusatory finger at the mess of books on Simon’s desk. "You have to clean all this up before you go!"

"Ah, oh! I’m sorry!" Simon’s face flushed as he returned to his seat.

First things first, he needed to get his head on straight.

---

"Handwriting analysis?" Dick asked, chewing on a piece of dried jerky.

Simon nodded. "Yeah. If I bring you two signatures, can you find out if they were written by the same person?"

Dick snorted. "Hey! I’m not some miracle worker who can solve any problem you throw at me, but... of course it’s possible!"

"...Your premise and your answer don’t quite match."

"There’s an old man in Langenstine who does handwriting analysis. He’s the best in the field, even takes jobs for the royal family."

Dick spread his fingers wide. "For the low price of five gold, service fee included!"

Simon immediately folded two of his fingers down. "Best friend discount. Three gold."

"You’ve got to be kidding me," Dick scoffed, shaking his head. "Fine. Introduce me to your hometown friend, Elizabeth Wefer, and I’ll do it for three!"

Simon let out a hollow laugh. The ’Elizabeth Wefer’ Dick was talking about was Erzebet’s human disguise.

"Let’s just stick with five gold."

He wasn’t about to subject Erzebet to emotional labor just to save two gold. Besides, she was an Ancient Undead who was dangerously sensitive when it came to matters of love. He couldn’t ask her to go on a date with Dick, not even as a joke.

"Ooh, getting good at haggling, are we?" Dick crossed his arms, looking impressed. "Alright, fine. Two gold..."

"Not even for zero gold."

"Ah, why not!" Dick grabbed Simon’s shoulders and shook him. "Don’t be so cheap! You’re surrounded by girls! You exchange letters and go on dates with Serne Aindark!"

"...We’re not in any kind of relationship."

"And you launched a thousand lanterns with Nephthys’s daughter, Lorraine! Why won’t you introduce me?! Don’t tell me... do you like Elizabeth Wefer?"

"That’s not it..."

Suddenly, Dick froze, his eyes darting nervously toward the top bunk. A menacing glint was now fixed on him from within the darkness of the covers.

"...Both of you, be quiet. Do you want to die?" Kajan’s voice was a low growl.

"S-Sorry, Kajan!" Dick squeaked.

He was still terrified of his roommate.

Simon, however, immediately got up. "Kajan, I need to talk to you."

"I’m sleeping."

"I’ll buy you wine."

At the word ’wine’, a faint glimmer of life returned to Kajan’s eyes. He glanced out the window at the full moon. "...One hour. The usual place."

With that, he disappeared back under the covers, and a moment later, the sound of soft snoring filled the room. As Simon got up to fetch the wine, Dick looked on with envy.

"Seriously! Why does Kajan give you special treatment? I feel like I’m being left out!" One of Dick’s primary goals in life was to befriend Kajan.

"I’ll try to convince him to have a drink with the three of us tonight," Simon said, trying to placate him.

"Aww, you’re the best, buddy!" Dick grinned, throwing an arm around Simon’s neck. "So, when are you going to introduce me to Elizabeth Wefer?"

"That’s not happening."

---

An hour later, a man with faded gray hair sat on the moonlit rooftop. Kajan was a picturesque sight, sitting with the soles of his feet pressed together, his head tilted back to gaze at the full moon. He looked like a lone wolf.

"You’re here," he said, his gaze remaining fixed on the moon.

Simon, carrying a bottle of wine, smiled and sat down beside him. He retrieved the wine he’d purchased in Rochest and two glasses from his subspace, uncorked the bottle, and poured. The crimson liquid swirled in the glasses, catching the moonlight with a rapturous, pomegranate-colored glow.

"This is the first time you’ve bought the wine."

"You’re right."

Kajan slowly swirled his glass before taking a thoughtful sip. As Simon watched tensely, a low voice broke the silence.

"...You’re going to ask for a favor."

"How did you know?"

"There’s no such thing as a free brand-name wine," Kajan stated. "Goodwill only extends to the cheap stuff from the school store."

Simon let out a small laugh. He stretched out his legs and gazed up at the moon. "I was wondering how to handle a matter outside of Roc Island as a Kizen student. Then I realized..."

His gaze shifted to the man beside him. "A high-ranking member of the Thieves’ Guild is my roommate."

"You plan to entrust a mission to the guild."

"Yes. I have two favors to ask."

Simon handed over a note. Kajan took it and read it.

"An investigation into Count Caron. A noble from the Dresden Kingdom, if I recall correctly."

"Yep."

Simon quietly recalled the incident at the Ballot Fish Market with his club senior, Benya. He remembered the mountain of hearts piled in the warehouse and the appearance of Professor Walter and his acquaintances. He remembered their conversation.

’Lord Judas. Count Caron has arrived.’

’I’m leaving now.’

Walter had left immediately after. It was a minor detail, easily overlooked, but the tense situation had burned it into his memory. Walter had gone to meet Count Caron. The lead was flimsy, but if there was even a sliver of a chance it could yield information about Walter, he had to take it.

"Alright. I’ll request it from the guild and form a team," Kajan said, tucking the note into his pocket. "And the other favor?"

"Right now. With me." Simon’s expression turned deadly serious. "I need you to help me infiltrate Professor Walter’s lab."

On the silent, moonlit rooftop, Kajan offered a quiet smile. "You still suspect him."

"I do."

"It’ll be dangerous if he’s in his lab. We could both be expelled."

Simon shook his head. "I have intel from Dick that Professor Walter left for an academic conference this afternoon. He’s off Roc Island, so we should be fine."

The schedule information he got from Dick had never been wrong.

Kajan closed his eyes, took another sip of wine, and spoke quietly.

"Get ready."

---

The Kizen campus, shrouded in deep darkness, was eerie. The chirping of insects and the low hooting of owls filled the night air. Perhaps because it was a necromancer school, the campus was home to thousands of ghost stories: secret passages, spirits asking students for directions, priests wandering the forbidden forest. Of course, that last rumor was true.

Kajan and Simon hid behind a building, watching two guards with lanterns walk past. After they were gone, Kajan gave the signal. They darted across the lawn.

Their target was the Magic Marksmanship Hall, where Hemomancy classes were held. Walter’s lab was inside.

"Wait a moment," Kajan whispered.

He put on a pair of goggles that looked like a magical artifact and surveyed the building. "Just as I thought."

"What is it?"

"Kizen activates a campus-wide security system late at night." He handed the goggles to Simon. "If we try to scale the outer wall, we’ll be caught. We’re going in through the front."

When Simon put on the goggles, the building’s exterior was shrouded in a black, magical aura. They had no other choice. The two headed for the main entrance. Kajan was preparing his lock-picking kit, but he paused.

"...Looks like someone’s still inside."

The building’s lights were off, but the door was unlocked. They slipped inside cautiously, Kajan in the lead and Simon close behind.

’It’s so dark,’ Simon thought.

He came here for every Hemomancy lecture, but at night, the place felt incredibly unsettling.

"You said the lab is on the fourth floor, right?" Kajan whispered.

"Yes."

Simon had only been to Walter’s lab once before. They began to slowly ascend the stairs.

A lantern light flickered on the second floor. Someone was there.

"Upper floor is clear," a middle-aged man’s voice drifted down. "Downstairs is clear, too."

"Did you check the basement?" another voice asked.

"Don’t be ridiculous. How could I possibly go down there?"

Kajan and Simon held their breath, eavesdropping on what sounded like two building guards.

"That’s the second person to be carried out of there," one said with a weary sigh. "Does it make any sense for something so dangerous that even the guards can’t get near it to be sitting right in the basement?"

"That’s what I’m saying."

’Something dangerous?’ Simon wondered, straining his ears.

"What can you do? They probably don’t think twice about a few lowly underlings getting hauled away."

"Their research is all that matters. That’s necromancers for you."

"Let’s just call it a night."

Suddenly, two figures started up the stairs. A jolt of alarm shot through Simon, but he forced himself to remain composed. He immediately grabbed Kajan and thrust a hand upward.

"Cloud!"

A plume of turquoise smoke shot from his hand, coiling around the third-floor railing. The smoke contracted, swiftly hoisting them to the third floor just as two guards ambled down from the second, lost in conversation.

The guards descended to the first floor, and the sound of the main doors being locked sent a shiver of apprehension down their spines. Simon and Kajan then climbed the rest of the way to the fourth floor, where Walter’s lab was located.

"Is this it?"

"Yes. I’m certain."

It was Walter’s lab, just as Simon remembered from the time Walter had summoned him.

The door was locked, of course, but for Kajan of the Thieves’ Guild, it was child’s play. He channeled a sliver of Jet-Black through the crack beneath the door, and with a sharp ’clank’, the lock disengaged.

"Going in," he murmured, his gloved hand closing around the doorknob.

"Right."

Simon nodded, his expression grim. The door swung open with a low creak.