Necromancer Academy’s Genius Summoner

“Well done.”

Aaron nodded his head as he looked at the bamboo fall to the floor

“It’s still on a level where you’re just choking with a bone, but the fact that you can recycle a destroyed skeleton as an attack, it’s like you have a whole new card up your sleeve. Keep training so you could use it in actual fights.”

“Thank you, Professor!”

Simon, soaked in happiness, quickly bowed his head.

Aaron said while shaking off the cigar in his fingers,

“I heard that Professor Jane added Cyclops Hunting as a performance assessment?”

“Yes, you’re right.”

“Are you the participant?”

Simon shook his head.

“A student named Meilyn from the same group is our participating member.”

“Wise move.”

Aaron spoke after taking a puff of the cigar. 

“It’s also important to focus on the support of a team member. You’ll see a lot of things to learn.

“Yes sir!”

“And,”

Aaron turned his back, throwing his burnt cigars into a nearby trash bin.

“This is just an extra lesson, nothing more, nothing less.”

Aaron left after saying those words. Simon bowed his head once more.

* * *

After Aaron’s lesson, Simon arrived at the lab where he was supposed to meet with his group mates.

From the looks of it, they had already begun. The contents of the cauldron were boiling.

The three of them, each sitting around the cauldron, saw Simon and stood up simultaneously.

“Simon!”

“How did it go?”

Everyone approached hurriedly. Simon answered with a smile.

“It wasn’t any big d—”

“Did he hit you? Did he? I knew it……!”

“Giving you a punishment when we’re still on our student protection period. That’s so mean!”

“Kizen’s punishment is known to be brutal. Like they tie the students in chains, take off their shirts, and with a long whip……”

Simon started sweating. 

‘What in the world were they talking about?’

“He just gave me an extra lesson.”

“What?”

The gaze of the three of them gathered in the middle.

“That Professor Aaron gave you a private lesson? No way!”

Meilyn denied it.

“Maybe he was hit hard in the head with a whip.”

Rick placed his hand on his chin.

“Simon, are you really okay?”

Camibarez clasped her hands with tearful eyes.

“……”

Since even trying to explain it felt like talking to a wall, Simon just walked past the three of them and went near the cauldron.

“How’s the potion going?”

“It’s perfect! Who do you think made it?”

Meilyn, who instantly returned to her usual confident face, wagged her finger.

“The amount of water, the measurement of ingredients, the boiling time, and the skimming off of impure substances is perfect! Now, all we have to do is boil it down for another 20 minutes on low heat, and it’s done.”

“Great work.”

“Hmph! Do you guys get it now? You just have to trust and follow me!”

Rick sat down and tapped his legs.

“Agh. My legs are stiff after standing in this ‘posture’. Guess I gotta ‘touch’ my legs a little.”

“Hey!!”

While Meilyn and Rick were having a back and forth, shouting at each other, Simon and Camibarez had a conversation about potions in peace.

Meilyn, who pushed Rick with the edge of the textbook, looked at the two with a strange look on her face.

“Hmm. You guys look kinda closer now, don’t you?”

“Is that so?”

Simon shrugged it off lightly, but Camibarez’s ears were burning red.

“Tell me honestly. Aside from being chased by the Keepers, did something happen between you guys on that night?”

Rick, who had been knocked to the floor, lifted his head.

“It takes one to know one after al— Ugh!”

Meilyn threw the textbook as if expecting it. Rick groaned and rolled around the floor.

“After all, all commoners are vulgar.”

“……H-Having that kind of prejudice isn’t good, Meilyn.”

Meilyn turned her head again to look at the two.

“So, you won’t tell me?”

Camibarez tried to read Simon’s face, and Simon answered in a complete poker face,

“Nothing happened, really. It just took us a long time because we got lost in the woods.”

“Is that so?”

Meilyn sighed as she saw the bandages all over the bodies of Simon and Camibarez.

“Fine.”

Thankfully, Meilyn moved on without asking any further questions. Then, Rick came with empty bottles.

“The potion is ready. Let’s bottle it up!”

Rick titled the cauldron by holding the handle attached to it, carefully putting it near the bottle, and filling it with the liquid. Everyone watched him in silence.

“I hope it’s effective with how everyone worked so hard to make it!”

Said Camibarez. Rick handed a fully filled bottle to Meilyn.

“You’re curious if it’s effective? Well then, we’ll take a moment for our group leader to sample the potion as the representative!”

“……You keep fooling around like that, I’ll actually beat you to death, okay?”

When Meilyn started glaring at him, Rick quickly bowed his head and resumed his job.

“Ugh. If only we weren’t in Kizen, I’d have you arrested for contempt of nobles.”

“Contempt? I’m uneducated, so I don’t know what you’re talking about, ma’am.”

“Stop fighting, the two of you!”

While talking about this and that, five bottles were filled with the potion.

Meilyn decided to keep three, and left the remaining two bottles with Simon, in his subspace.

“With this, we have something to present in our next Beginner Dark Magic class.”

“While we’re here, let’s decide on how to answer Professor Jane tomorrow!”

“Sure thing!”

The four of them cleaned up their surroundings and immediately left in search of an empty lecture room.

* * *

* * *

Life in Kizen was hectic, to the point where the Priest incident was utterly forgotten in Simon’s mind for a while. In their second Beginner Dark Magic class, each group was given time to present their strategy to Jane.

“One main attacker, one summoner, and two cursers.”

Jane, who was examining the document of Group 7, raised her head. Simon and his group mates stood in front of her with nervous faces.

“All of the members have different majors, but I see that the roles aren’t that diverse.”

Here it comes.

Meilyn put her hand on her chest and spoke in a confident voice.

“Of course, it would be great if the roles of the group members were clearly divided, but we decided to go with this because we thought that hunting the Cyclops quickly and efficiently was the top priority.”

“So you’re saying that this positioning is the best?”

“Yes! That’s right.”

Jane turned her head.

“What do you think, Simon Polentia?”

‘Urk.’

Coming in all of a sudden, huh?

Simon got lost in thought with a nervous face. He has a rough idea of what kind of answer Jane wanted. However,

“We’re aware that our group lacks creativity in the combination of dark magics.”

After all, it was the student protection period. This presentation was a time to correct students’ strategies, not to grade them.

Then, it was more important to maintain the current teamwork and mood than to be swayed by the professor’s opinion.

“I think there’s nothing more important than safety. We’ll hunt Cyclops more stably than any other group, and we’ll make up for the deductions in creativity by scoring high with our own strengths.”

Meilyn, who shouted ‘nice’ inwardly, clenched her fist. Jane grinned and nodded her head.

“Sure, if you put it that way.”

Her gaze shifted.

“Camibarez Ursula.”

“Y-Yes!”

Camibarez answered with a tense face.

“I’d like to hear your opinion on this situation where a Hemomancy aspirant, who should be the core of the attack, is yielding the participation to a Curses aspirant and taking the role of curse support instead.”

……This one’s tough.

Simon thought that the question might be too tough for a timid person like Camibarez to handle.

When Simon glanced at her, her eyes were shaking, as expected.

‘Cami, you really need to answer well on this one.’

If she answered in a way that suggested she yielded her participation because Meilyn was better, then she’d be disqualified as a student of Kizen.

Even if it was the truth, it should never be said in front of Jane.

At that moment, Camibarez’s eyes glanced towards Simon. Her eager eyes seemed to be asking, ‘What should I do?’.

He couldn’t answer her while the professor was in front of her.

There was no time to give her the answer either.

But this much would be fine.

Simon gave her a word with the shape of his mouth.

‘Cyclops.’

Then her eyes widened. She soon turned his gaze back to Jane.

“I-It’s because of the special nature of the monster called Cyclops that we’re going to deal with!”

‘Good!’

This time, Simon clenched his fist.

“What does that mean?”

“Th-The tough and hard leather of Cyclops is difficult to attack with Hemomancy. We made this decision because we thought that Meilyn’s Dark Flare, which can burn a monster alive, would be more suitable for hunting a Cyclops!”

The expressions of Meilyn and Rick, who were watching anxiously, also lit up.

“Is that so?”

Jane rested her chin on her hands and gave a strange smile.

“Then, if a monster other than Cyclops becomes your group’s target?”

“Th-Th-Then……!”

Her hands trembled with nervousness.

Camibarez had a timid personality, but she had to win the fight on her own in times like this. She shouted, closing her eyes tight.

“Then, at that time, I’ll become the main attacker!”

Her voice was loud. It even cracked at the end.

The assistant teachers around them blinked their eyes in surprise as the quiet girl shouted.

“I’ll remember your statement.”

Jane gave a smirk.

She looked more satisfied with that than with Meilyn’s or Simon’s answers.

In a way, it was the best result.

‘Well done, Cami!’

She couldn’t stand the embarrassment and covered her face with her hands. Simon thought that she was a girl that couldn’t be hated.

“Lastly, Rick Hayward.”

Rick, standing at the end, answered vigorously with Jane’s call.

“Yes, Professor!”

Rick stiffened up.

Last night, he prepared three hundred possible question patterns and answers to them. He was confident that he could answer anything, no matter what was asked……

“Stop chit-chatting with your seatmate during lectures.”

“……What?”

“That’s all.”

She tapped the pile of papers and handed it to the assistant.

“I believe there’s no need to ask questions that overlap with Camibarez’. Well done, Group 7. Group 8, please come forward.”

The nerve-wracking presentation time was over in an instant.

Group 7 followed the assistant teacher’s guidance and left the lecture room.

Only the group that would soon present was stuck to a schedule, and the groups who had finished their presentations had free time afterward. It was indeed a Kizen-like freedom.

And,

“Oh my. Simon? You’re seated next to me?”

Meilyn gave a signal with a wink, and Simon nodded. Soon, both of them said at the same time,

“Stop chit-chatting with your seatmate!”

“Kyahahahahah!”

Meilyn, who after a long time, found Rick’s weakness, diligently gave back what she had suffered in the past as revenge. Rick said with a sour face,

“Hey, you think that’s funny? It’s not even that funny.”

“What? It’s extremely funny! Ohohoho!”

Simon smiled as he looked at the two of them arguing.

In fact, he knew that Meilyn’s teasing and Rick’s taking blame was to take care of Camibarez’s feelings.

Because Camibarez was still burying her face in her hands, as if she couldn’t stop thinking about the mistake she made in front of Jane.

“Cami.”

Simon silently talked to her.

“Smoked chicken or steak for lunch. Which one would you like?”

“……Ah.”

She gently lowered her hands and revealed her face.

“I-I…… want chicken, since it’s been a while……!”

“Chicken! Our lunch today is chicken!”

Shouted Rick, and he took the lead. The four of them headed to the restaurant, laughing and chatting with a friendly atmosphere. 

——