Necromancer Academy and the Genius Summoner-Chapter 280: Episode

"...Wh-What is this?!"

The letter was blank. There was nothing there, just a sheet as white as a fresh canvas.

An awkward gust of wind blew past the four of them.

"I think we might be screwed," Dick said, breaking the silence. "He said this letter had our dispatch location and mentor on it."

"Wh-What do we do?"

Dick whipped his head around. "Did Meirin do something wrong when she opened the seal?"

At that, Meirin jumped. "I-I didn’t do anything! I really just opened the letter! Simon, look!" she pleaded, handing the letter to him.

’Hmm.’

But it wasn’t as if Simon had a brilliant solution. He lightly shook the letter, flicked it with his finger, and checked inside for anything else, but to no avail.

While they were all staring at the blank paper with dejected expressions...

"What!" Meirin screamed.

A pitch-black magic circle had suddenly appeared in the center of the blank letter.

’Clank! Clunk!’

With the sound of interlocking metal, a black membrane shot out from the letter and enveloped the four of them. Kamibarez let out a surprised gasp, and the other three gathered around her, on guard.

Letter —Level 1 security document confirmed. Activating memorial magic.

A clear voice emanated from the letter.

"Ah, no way!" Meirin raised her voice as if she had realized something. "Since the letter’s contents can’t be leaked, they used this kind of security-type black magic instead?"

"That makes sense!" Dick clapped his hands.

Letter: —Confirming subjects.

This time, a magic circle appeared in front of each of their faces.

Letter: —Meirin Villenne, Simon Polentia, Dick Hayward, Kamibarez Ursula.

Letter: —Subjects confirmed.

The magic circles disappeared along with the voice.

"This is amazing!" Dick exclaimed in admiration. Their fear having vanished, the four of them looked around with curious expressions.

Crimson flames shot up from the empty air. Scraps of paper-like debris fell from the flames, gathering in the air to form words.

Everyone stared, their eyes wide.

「Vengeance」

Dark Alliance Neutral Zone Special Agent Dispatch Authority

"Oh my god!" Dick gasped. "Vengeance! It’s Vengeance! Our dispatch location is a jackpot!"

"What’s Vengeance?" Simon couldn’t hold back his curiosity.

"The guardians of the Neutral Zone," Meirin answered, brushing back her sky-blue hair. "The Neutral Zone is, as the name implies, completely ‘neutral,’ so neither Kizen nor Efnel can exert influence there. It’s a private organization that works for the Dark Alliance on Kizen’s behalf."

"And among those private organizations, Vengeance is super famous!" Dick was grinning from ear to ear. "It’s an agency where necromancer agents operate and fight against Priests! Maybe we’re going to fight Priests, too!"

"P-Priests..." Kamibarez’s eyes darted around nervously.

Just then, more debris fell from the flames and assembled new words.

「Intelligence Department, Federation-certified 3rd Rank, Seiwyr Grizmann.」

Meirin nodded. "Uh-huh, it seems this is the mentor who will be in charge of us."

This time, a scorched-looking scroll appeared from the flames. It unfurled, revealing a map. A building in the town they were in was marked in red.

"Maybe he wants us to go there?"

"I think it’s a meeting spot, too."

The map burned away, and soon the darkness that had enveloped them lifted, revealing the townscape once more.

"Whoa! As expected of Vengeance! They’re showing their class with just one letter!"

While an excited Dick was making a fuss, Simon was recalling the map he had just seen and comparing it to the current scenery. "A tavern, a shopping district, the docks..."

Moving his fingers and pointing to each location, Simon nodded. "Hmm, right. This way."

"As expected of Simon!"

The three of them followed behind him. Dick, looking extremely pleased, whistled and threw an arm around Simon’s neck. "Hahaha! A special agent dispatch, isn’t this exciting!"

"It is," Simon chuckled and nodded.

"Honestly, commoner," Meirin said, pressing a hand to her forehead. "You’re the one I’m most worried about. Don’t act all cocky and rude in front of our mentor later. He’s the one who can manipulate our grades."

"Of course, of course. I can tell that much."

Meanwhile, Kamibarez stuck close to Simon, gently holding onto the hem of his clothes. She was like a wary little kitten. She would jump in surprise at the sound of a door slamming open or people shouting, her shoulders trembling as she hid behind him.

"Kami, are you okay?"

"Ah, yes!" she said, forcing a smile. It seemed she was a bit shy in the new environment.

"There it is!" Dick shouted.

It was the wooden house they had seen on the map. While most of the surrounding houses were made of clay, the wooden house stood out, so they spotted it right away. The sign indicated it was a small village tavern.

The four of them walked over, their expressions tense.

"Excuse me." Meirin, as the team leader, took the lead and entered the building. They had been worried about how to recognize their mentor without a secret password.

It was a needless worry. There was only one person sitting inside.

He flashed a bright smile that revealed his white teeth. He wore a gray uniform with a green patterned necktie, which seemed to be the Vengeance uniform, and his blond hair was long only on the left side, covering his eyebrow. He had a lean build, a sharp jawline, and a nose that pointed down. Overall, he was a handsome man with dark eyebrows and a greasy smile.

He spoke first, spreading his arms wide. "Welcome! Students of Kizen!"

His voice was high-pitched, close to a soprano. The four of them bowed in unison.

"It’s a pleasure to meet you!"

"Now, now, please sit comfortably." He brushed back his messy bangs with the back of his hand, closed his left eye, and smiled, revealing his white teeth.

Soon, the four of them sat down at a table across from him. They all straightened their backs and placed their hands on their knees, assuming the most polite and respectful posture possible.

"Haha, there’s no need to be so tense. You can be comfortable in front of me." He placed a hand on his chest and continued. "As you saw in the letter, my name is Seiwyr Grizmann. I work in the Intelligence Department of Vengeance."

"Ah, yes! We will introduce ourselves as well. First, I am the team leader, Meirin Villenne!"

Meirin began to introduce each member one by one. The moment she introduced Simon, Seiwyr’s eyes seemed to sparkle.

"So you’re the rumored Special Admission Number One of Kizen."

Meirin and Dick shot him envious glances. As expected, the title of Special Admission Number One was well-received everywhere.

"I’m satisfied." Seiwyr brushed back his lopsided bangs with the back of his hand and winked. "You are the students who will be working with me at Vengeance for a week. It’s only natural that Kizen would send such excellent students."

Simon listened to Seiwyr’s explanation and felt a sense of relief.

’Thank goodness.’

To be honest, after the seniors from the Mutant club had thoroughly scared him, he had been a little worried about the Dispatch Evaluation. They had given all sorts of examples: mentors with terrible personalities, ones who used physical violence, mad scientists who tried to turn students into undead, scumbags who sexually harassed female students, and even malicious ones who made students do nothing for the entire evaluation period, only to give them the lowest score on the last day.

But at least, based on first impressions, Seiwyr seemed to be a necromancer who fell within the bounds of common sense.

"Seeing you young necromancers reminds me of my student days. Back then, many professors offered to make me their direct disciple, but..."

Though he did seem to be a bit of a talker.

"Oh, by the way, the letter?"

"I have it."

"Please give it to me. I’ll hold onto it."

As Simon politely handed over the letter with both hands, Dick cut in. "I was so surprised when the letter was blank! But then that special effect! Whoa!"

"Dick!"

Meirin shot him a look, but Seiwyr replied with a smile. "It’s only natural to be surprised the first time you see it."

Seiwyr brushed back his bangs, revealed his white teeth, and winked. "Actually, I had a similar experience once—"

He began to pour out a waterfall of stories. As Simon listened, he looked at the letter Seiwyr had placed on the table.

On the letter, which should have been blank, he thought he could see something very faint. Simon widened his eyes to get a better look, but Seiwyr picked up the letter and put it in his pocket.

"Uh, Seiwyr... Sir?"

"Please address me as Agent."

"Ah, yes. Agent!"

"Of course, I will also call you all agents. Agent Meirin." Seiwyr brushed back his bangs and winked. At this point, Simon thought it was less a habit and more a compulsion. "It doesn’t matter that you are students. As long as you are tasked with the same job as me, we are equal comrades who can entrust our lives to one another."

"As expected! Your mindset is truly amazing, Agent!" Dick gave a thumbs-up with both hands. He seemed to have fallen completely for Seiwyr’s charm.

"Jeez."

Meirin kicked Dick’s leg as if to tell him not to show off.

"Agent, I’m curious about what kind of mission we’ll be undertaking."

"A very good question, Agent Meirin!" Seiwyr said, snapping his fingers. The surroundings then turned to darkness, just like when they had first opened the letter. "Pardon me, security is important." After saying that, Seiwyr gestured for them to come closer. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

The four of them lifted themselves from their chairs and leaned toward him.

"Our mission is to secure a person of interest."

"A person of interest! What kind of person!" Dick quickly asked.

"That kind of proactive attitude is very good, Agent Dick. I will reflect it in your mission attitude score."

"Thank you!"

Seeing that, the model student Meirin’s expression showed a hint of envy again. Not to be outdone, she leaned in further and assumed a serious posture.

"It is..."

Simon also pricked up his ears, his expression tense.

"It is... it is... it is..."

He was great and all, but he wished he would stop dragging things out. After confirming that the four of them were reacting with curiosity, Seiwyr spoke in a very small and secretive voice.

"A Saintess candidate."

The four students’ mouths dropped open simultaneously. As if this was the exact reaction he had been waiting for, Seiwyr wore a satisfied expression.

"A-A Saintess candidate?"

"That’s right, Agent Simon! Recently, we at Vengeance received Level 1 intelligence from an agent who infiltrated Efnel!" His voice became a whisper. "A girl with unprecedented divine compatibility has been born in this Neutral Zone."

"And we’ve received information that Efnel is mobilizing Priests to retrieve that girl." He spread his palm. "Coincidentally, this is a matter related to you Kizen students. You know about the Saintess of Purification, right?"

How could they not know? The Saintess who had possessed the body of Francesca, the Head TA of Venomology, and tried to annihilate the entire Kizen first year. In the end, her plot was thwarted by Simon and the other students, and she was killed by Nephthys, but later that very ’Essence of Purification’ had possessed Anna’s body, forcing Simon to travel all the way to the Holy Federation. He had been involved with the Saintess of Purification in many ways.

"Efnel is extremely on edge right now. A considerable amount of time has passed since the death of the Saintess of Purification, yet the next one has not appeared. It is a very rare case for the period until the next Saintess’s advent to be this long."

Everyone nodded with tense faces, listening to Seiwyr’s story.

"In fact, the most suitable person to become the Saintess of Purification was right here in the Neutral Zone. It seems Efnel is quite certain this time. That very girl." Seiwyr clapped his hands together. "We will retrieve her before Efnel does."