Necromancer Academy and the Genius Summoner-Chapter 414: Episode

The old woman smiled, disappointed, then took Simon’s hand. "Then we’ll start with this young man."

"...Ah, thank you."

The old woman guided Simon’s hand onto the crystal ball, then placed her own hand over his. "Close your eyes."

Simon did as he was told. The old woman’s hand slid over the crystal ball and his hand.

"What do you see now?" she asked.

"Huh? I don’t see anything."

"Of course."

It was his first time having his fortune told, so Simon waited with a pounding heart. Since she told him to close his eyes, would some kind of image appear in his mind?

"Ooh!" a gasp escaped the old woman’s lips. "I see it! I see it! I see the young man’s form!"

So she was the one seeing it.

"Flying! You’re flying! You’re soaring through the sky!" For a while, the old woman just kept repeating things like ’Flying!’ and ’He’s flying!’ Simon, whose hand was still being held, waited silently, while Lethe leaned against a wall, watching with a look of disbelief. "Flying! He’s flying! What do you call that thing! The thing with wheels!"

"A carriage?"

"Not that! The thing merchants load their goods on and drag around..."

"A cart?"

"Yes, a cart! You’re riding in a cart, being pulled along!"

"...Didn’t you just say I was flying through the sky?" The development was completely unpredictable.

"Oh, ooh, ooh!" the old woman’s voice grew louder. And then, with her own mouth—

"Boom!"

—she made an explosion sound and opened her eyes. "That’s all."

Simon pulled his hand away, looking bewildered. Lethe gave a few half-hearted claps. "Wow," she said flatly, getting up. "That was fun. Well then, Grandma, we’ll be on our way..."

"Oh my! Where do you think you’re going? The young lady has to have her turn!" With that, the old woman forcibly grabbed Lethe’s hand and made her place it on the crystal ball. Lethe had no choice but to sit down with a reluctant expression.

"Close your eyes."

Lethe reluctantly did so.

"What do you see?"

"...Of course I don’t see anything."

"Oh, ooh, ooh! Yes! I see it! I see the young lady’s form!" It was the same routine as before. "Flying. You’re flying! You’re soaring through the sky!" Even this part was the same.

’Are we both flying somewhere?’ Simon wondered.

As he watched, the old woman’s expression suddenly contorted. "Horrifying!"

"What?" Lethe asked.

"Blood. Blood. It’s all blood! The ground is soaked in it, and I hear the clash of weapons. Flames. And screams and groans of pain. Many people are lying motionless on the ground."

Lethe, her eyes still closed, frowned slightly.

"Ah! Aah! The young lady is standing in that place of blood and slaughter!" The old woman’s voice grew so loud it sounded like she was about to pass out. "She is making a strange gesture! Then, the people who had fallen to the ground, cold and still, begin to rise limply. And then they pick up their weapons again...!"

Simon was startled. Lethe had suddenly pulled her hand away from the crystal ball. She then glared fiercely at the old woman with bloodshot eyes.

"L-Lethe?"

She shot up from her seat, turned her back, and strode into an alley.

"S-Sorry! We’ll be going now," Simon said quickly.

The old woman, as if used to this, picked up her crystal ball and smiled warmly. "Farewell. May the Goddess’s blessing be with you."

’Thump. Thump. Thump.’

Biting her lower lip, Lethe walked relentlessly down the alley. Simon quickly followed and grabbed her wrist. "Lethe! Wait!"

’Smack!’

She roughly shook off his hand. Simon blocked her path. "Calm down! What’s wrong?"

"You heard it too!" Lethe shouted, her eyes flashing. "That scene just now! Anyone who heard that would know it was a necromancer raising corpses to fight! Me, a horrifying necromancer? Me?"

Simon’s face fell. As a child, she had lost her parents in a necromancer attack and become an orphan. The sight of the necromancers raising her dead parents and fellow villagers as skeletons had left her with a deep trauma. It would be troublesome if Lethe’s dormant hatred of necromancers resurfaced.

"It was just a fortune for fun. You don’t need to take it so seriously."

"There’s a limit to what you can hear for fun! I can handle whatever happens in my future! But why did it have to be ’that’...!"

Simon calmly held up his palms and approached her. "Let’s stop the investigation and go back to the inn. We can rest there for a bit—"

"Don’t touch me! You necro...!" Lethe stopped short, her fiery tirade cut off.

Lethe’s shoulders trembled. She was silent for a long moment before wiping her face with her palm and letting out a long sigh. "Sorry."

Lethe turned her back. "Let’s continue the investigation."

"...Are you sure you’re okay?"

"Yes," she said with a faint, tired smile. "I’m just a little... tired, that’s all."

---

The last place the two of them headed was the city’s lord’s castle. However.

"The lord is currently in an emergency meeting, so an audience will be difficult. I apologize."

In the end, the two of them had to leave the lord’s castle empty-handed. Lethe shrugged.

"Well, of course. With the city in this state, there’s no way the lord would meet with outsiders like us."

"You’re right, I wasn’t thinking."

Lethe acted as if the earlier incident had never happened. Seeing her quickly regain her composure, Simon felt a sense of relief. Of course, he would have to check over time if she was really okay.

They decided to finally go to the inn Israphel had booked for them and rest. It wasn’t an ordinary inn, but surprisingly, one of the largest in the city.

"You’re our first guests in six months and two days!" the innkeeper greeted them with a broad smile.

Simon looked around. Even though they were inside, a chilly draft blew through, and it was very cold. He could even see his breath.

"Don’t worry, the rooms are warm," the innkeeper said quickly.

"The building is so large, but you have no guests?"

"Oof, just a few years ago, we were so busy there wasn’t a single empty room. But now the city is on the brink of collapse, so there’s nothing to be done. In any case, I’ve cleaned your room thoroughly!" The innkeeper glanced back and forth between Simon and Lethe, a knowing smile playing on his lips. "Enjoy yourselves and have a passionate night! Here, this is your key."

The innkeeper handed Simon the room key and left, saying he had other business to attend to. Normally, meals were available for an additional fee, but it seemed they couldn’t be provided at the moment due to the city’s food shortage.

The two of them climbed the stairs to the third floor. Simon held up the key he’d received from the innkeeper, making it jingle.

"Huh?"

"What is it?"

"I just noticed something." Simon gave an awkward smile. "There’s only one key."

With a horrified expression, Lethe snatched the key from Simon’s hand to see for herself. "Are you serious?! I don’t care if we’re the only guests, what kind of service is this?!"

She spun around and bolted down the stairs at a terrifying speed. "Mister! It’s only one room!" she screamed at the top of her lungs, but the innkeeper was already gone.

Lethe trudged back up the stairs. "Ugh, seriously—!"

"Let’s go inside first. There might only be one key, but there could be multiple rooms inside, right?"

A bit of color returned to her face. "...Hmm, you have a point. I suppose that would be acceptable."

The two of them started walking on the third floor again, chattering away.

"I’m taking a shower the moment we get in. I hope there’s a stall."

"This is a wealthy city, so it looks like they have a proper sewage system. The water should run just fine."

"That’s a relief. After spending time on Sky Island, you really notice the difference in infrastructure when you visit some of the more rural towns."

“This is my first time in a Kizen bathhouse, too. Ah, here we are. Unlocking the door.”

Simon reached their room, slid the key into the lock, and turned it. With a soft ’click’, the door swung open. He ushered Lethe inside first, then followed, closing the door behind him.

“What is it?”

Lethe had stopped dead in her tracks. When Simon stepped inside, he, too, froze beside her.

The room was bathed in a sensual, crimson light, cast from walls covered in deep red wallpaper. A single, enormous bed dominated the space. Worse still, the wall of the en-suite bathroom was made entirely of glass, offering an unobstructed view of the interior.

Simon’s face burned scarlet. A belated realization dawned on him: Israphel had been ’far’ too thorough in his preparations.

“...Haha. Ahaha.”

Lethe stumbled backward, her laughter laced with disbelief. She gripped the doorknob with both hands and offered a single, clipped remark.

“Enjoy your stay.”

’Thud!’

The door slammed shut, followed by the frantic sound of her footsteps echoing down the hall. Simon wrenched the door open again and peered out. He saw her down the hall, her face a mask of rage and bewilderment as she yanked furiously at the handle of another door.

“Seriously? This is so over the line! Fucking hell!”

’Bang! Bang!’

She tried every door, but each was locked. The only room available in the entire inn was theirs.

“...Ugh.”

Lethe raked her hands through her hair in utter frustration. Then, her eyes flashed, and she lifted her leg high into the air.

“Lethe! Wait!” Simon yelled, horrified.

“The room is all yours!” she snarled through gritted teeth. “I’d rather die than sleep in the same room as a man!”

With a final, brutal kick, she shattered the doorknob and stormed into the adjacent room. Simon rushed in after her.

“What are you doing? We’ll have to pay for that... huh?”

The interior of the adjacent room was far worse. A thick layer of dust coated the floor and bed, and cobwebs draped the corners. To make matters worse, the room had no heating and was bitterly cold. After spotting a centipede wriggling across the floor, Lethe slammed the door shut.

A moment later...

She reappeared in the red room of her own accord, sitting primly on the edge of the bed.

A chuckle escaped Simon.

“I thought you’d rather die than share a room.”

“...Shut up.”

Simon laughed aloud as he plopped down on the bed beside her, groaning as he did. His legs ached from the long day of walking.

“Ugh, I’m exhausted. I just want to sleep.”

As he spoke, a pillow landed on the floor in front of him. Simon whipped his head around to see Lethe giving a slight, formal bow. 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

“Sleep well.”

“Hey, hold on! This isn’t right!”

Even Simon’s considerable patience had its limits. Lethe clutched the lone blanket to her chest defensively.

“What do you mean, ‘not right,’ you bastard?! Do you really expect me to sleep in the same bed as a necromancer?!”

“If I’m sleeping on the floor, at least give me the blanket!”

“Then you’d see everything!”

Screaming at each other, they began to bicker over the sleeping arrangements. After thirty minutes of heated debate, they reached a compromise: Simon would take the floor, and in return, Lethe would give him the blanket. She would have to make do with her robe for warmth.

“How did I end up like this... Goddess, why do you keep sending me these trials?”

Leaving her to her prayers on the bed, Simon retrieved his bag and began to unpack.

“Lethe, do you want to wash up first?”

Her prayer finished, Lethe opened her eyes and shot him a frosty glare.

“Don’t even think about it.”

Lethe desperately wanted a warm shower. She truly did. But...

“How could anyone possibly wash up in there!” she yelled, rattling the glass door.

The walls left the interior completely exposed to the room, and worse, the door had no lock. It could barely be called a door at all.

“Then,” Simon announced, getting to his feet.

“I’ll go first.”

Lethe flinched.