Necromancer Academy and the Genius Summoner-Chapter 281: Episode

The atmosphere in Team Seiwyr was at an all-time high. They had come thinking it would be a slightly challenging professional work experience, but they were suddenly tasked with the important mission of retrieving a Saintess candidate—a high-difficulty mission that might even involve a battle with Efnel.

"This is at least two months’ worth of bragging rights when we get back to Kizen!" an excited Dick said, throwing his arm around Simon’s neck. "We’re the ones stopping the advent of a Saintess! We get to take on missions like this because we’re working with someone amazing!"

Meirin shot him a look, as if to tell him to be quiet. "You don’t have to overreact. We know it’s an important mission, so shut up."

"Yeah, yeah."

Dick stuck close to Seiwyr, who was walking ahead, and began eagerly asking questions. He wasn’t just sucking up; he was pouring out one hundred percent respect.

"Hey, Simon."

Startled, Simon looked to his side. Meirin had her hands on her hips, feigning an angry expression. "What are you thinking about so seriously?"

"No, it’s just..." Simon tilted his head and continued, "I was wondering if it’s really okay for us to handle such an important mission."

"What are you talking about? It’s Agent Seiwyr who’s handling it, not us," Meirin corrected him. "We’re just extras. He must be taking on missions like this because he’s the ace of Vengeance’s Intelligence Department."

"Hmm."

Simon still couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off. Meirin passed by him and looked at Kamibarez. "Is dear Kami still adjusting? Your expression hasn’t brightened up."

Meirin asked affectionately, but Kamibarez shook her head. "N-No. I’m fine now! Because you’re all here with me."

"Then why do you look so down?"

As she hesitated, Simon spoke in a gentle voice. "It’s okay, Kami. You can say anything."

She fidgeted with her small hands, hesitating, before finally speaking up. "Are we going to... ‘kidnap’ the girl who’s a Saintess candidate?"

’Ouch.’

Meirin flinched before forcing a bright smile. "K-Kidnap! What are you talking about? Haha! We’re going to protect her from those Efnel bastards first!"

When Kamibarez’s expression didn’t change, Meirin nudged Simon’s arm with her elbow and mouthed, ’Do something!’

Finally, Simon spoke up. "If Efnel contacts the girl first, they’ll take her to the Holy Federation regardless of her wishes. That’s for sure." In the Holy Federation, it was mandatory for babies to undergo a divinity test upon birth. If their divine compatibility was high, they were said to have been chosen by the Goddess Deva and had to walk the path of a Priest, regardless of their personal freedom. This entire process was extremely sanctified for religious reasons. "On the other hand, if we contact the girl first..."

"We will ask her opinion," Seiwyr suddenly cut in. "If the girl agrees, it will be protection. If she refuses, it will be a kidnapping."

Kamibarez swallowed hard. "...Wh-What are you going to do with her after you take her?"

Seiwyr pushed up his bangs with the back of his hand and winked. "We’ll wait for the judgment of the higher-ups. Our mission is only to retrieve her." It would be troublesome if the residents of the Neutral Zone all turned their backs on the Dark Alliance. For that reason, they wouldn’t take her life, but she would probably be sent to the Dark Alliance, Seiwyr explained. If she wanted to continue living in the Neutral Zone, a condition might be attached that she must open her Core. If she opened her Core, she couldn’t become a Priest.

"This is just my opinion, but," Meirin said, crossing her arms, "no matter how she lives, I think it’s better than becoming Efnel’s puppet. At least we can enjoy our freedom."

"...Yes." Kamibarez nodded, steeling her resolve.

"Alright, let’s head to the mission destination."

At Seiwyr’s words, Dick clenched his fists as if he had been waiting. "We’re going through a teleportation magic circle, right? Right? Since it’s a critical mission that’s racing against time...!"

However, the place they arrived at was a carriage station. After talking with a coachman, Seiwyr looked at the students and said, "Everyone, get in."

"A-Are we really taking a carriage? All the way to the mission area?" Dick asked with a bewildered expression.

Seiwyr touched his chin with a radiant smile. "Of course! A teleportation magic circle would be fast, but this is the Neutral Zone. There’s a risk of our coordinates being exposed to Efnel. Taking a shabby, ordinary carriage is the best way to avoid attracting attention."

"A-As expected! Agent Seiwyr has a deep plan for everything!"

Dick and Seiwyr got on first. The other three followed them toward the carriage.

---

At the same time, about five hundred meters away from where Simon’s group was boarding the carriage, a man stood stock-still.

"...I didn’t sleep a wink last night." The middle-aged man, dressed sharply in a suit with broad, bear-like shoulders, chattered his teeth and shook his leg. "I hear kids these days are so scary."

Next to the man, a woman with a stern expression, who appeared to be his secretary, was frowning. "No matter how scary they are, they’re just kids."

Block put his thumb in his mouth and chewed on it. "No, they’re Kizen kids. The Kizen of all places! Their parents are probably high-ranking people, and they’re high nobles themselves!"

Block, despite his large frame, cowered like a frightened rabbit. "I heard from my seniors that it’s normal for students to chew you out for not doing your job properly. They summon their high-ranking connections and tear you apart, and some kids complained that the snacks were lacking, so the executives all lined up and bowed their heads in apology."

"Are you really believing such nonsense rumors?" the secretary chided him. "And you’re a seasoned hero who has diligently built your career while overcoming numerous life-or-death situations. Why are you so scared of some kids?"

"...Do kids these days even care about that kind of past? Nowadays, if you start a story with ‘Back in my day—,’ the kids’ expressions immediately harden and they just tune you out."

"Oh, come on!"

Block finally began to beg with a desperate expression. "I hope they’re nice kids. Nice kids. I’m confident I can treat them really well..."

"They’ll probably be kind-hearted kids. Not everyone at Kizen is a jerk."

"Y-You think so? But my assignment includes the Special Admission Number One student. He’s definitely going to be an arrogant and violent high noble."

"Oh, for goodness’ sake."

Block slowly looked at his watch. "But the kids are a little late. Hehe."

Block had been waiting in front of the Vengeance building an hour before the scheduled time. And, an hour after the scheduled time, the Kizen students still hadn’t shown up.

"Heheh, I know. This is like a silent test, right? I’ll wait here for hours, kids! Just please show up..."

The secretary sighed deeply. "Let me make this clear. At the dispatch location, you’re the boss! The boss! No matter how amazing these kids are, Agent Block has the authority to grade them!"

Block was so lost in despair that he didn’t hear her at all, muttering to himself.

"Agent Seiwyr! Agent Seiwyr!"

Just then, a man who had run out of the Vengeance building was heard desperately calling for someone. Then he spotted Block and the secretary and ran over.

"Agent Block! Madam Secretary! Thank you for your hard work! Have you by any chance seen Agent Seiwyr?"

The secretary shrugged. "Haven’t seen him."

"This is driving me crazy! Where on earth did that troublemaker go!"

"Is something wrong?"

The man grabbed his forehead and sighed. "That man, he didn’t take his usual infiltration mission. He took a top-priority mission and left. A target acquisition mission that the combat division is supposed to carry out!"

"What?"

"If you happen to see him, please let me know!"

The man hurriedly ran toward the market to ask the residents.

The secretary, who had been watching him blankly, turned her head. "Agent Block, did you hear that? It seems that troublemaker Seiwyr has caused some trouble again."

Still, Block wasn’t listening to her at all. "I heard this rumor too. At first, the Kizen kids ask where you graduated from, and if you name a school other than Kizen, they start ignoring you completely."

"Ah! Stop it already!"

"A dropout from Moiran will bow his head and wait."

---

"Me? Of course, I graduated from Kizen!"

Inside the moving carriage heading to the mission site, Seiwyr shrugged and spoke, causing Dick to burst out in admiration. "Oh my god! You’re our senior!"

At the mention of being a Kizen graduate, even Meirin looked surprised. He was truly an elite, measured by any standard.

Dick continued. "We’re dying just as first-years, but you endured three years there! I sincerely respect you!"

"Huhu, second year will be harder, and third year will be hell."

Just then, Meirin, who had been staring at Seiwyr, said, "At your age, Agent... do you happen to know Professor Bahil or Professor Aaron?"

"Ah, those fellas? How could I not know them?"

Dick and Meirin’s mouths dropped open. To call the active Kizen professors ‘those fellas’!

"Let’s see... They were my juniors when I was in my third year."

"Wooooow!"

"They were exceptional from their lower years, so I taught them a lot. Even now, when I occasionally have to go to Kizen headquarters and run into them, they greet me with the utmost respect. Haha! I tell them not to do that now that they’re Kizen professors."

"With the utmost respect? Professor Bahil and Professor Aaron?"

As if waiting for it, Seiwyr began to recount his heroic tales from his Kizen days, and Dick, Meirin, and even Kamibarez listened with pricked ears, thoroughly entertained.

’Hmm.’

Simon, on the other hand, had his arms crossed and was thinking that something was strange.

"Yes, that’s right. Back then, Bahil wove a net of blood to catch a fleeing friend."

"Wow! He’s a Cursology professor, but it seems he used Hemomancy as a student!"

"What? Ah, yes. He did. He was in Hemomancy as a kid, but later switched to Cursology..."

Simon closed his eyes. He couldn’t say anything based on suspicion alone. For now, he decided to watch and be careful.

---

The border between the Holy Federation and the Neutral Zone. The Divine Gate.

The Divine Gate was a checkpoint, and anyone who wanted to go out into the Neutral Zone had to pass through it. This time, it was the Efnel students who were passing through. All of them were on dispatch missions in the Neutral Zone.

"This is my first time in the Neutral Zone, Sister Lethe!" Lirinet, Lethe’s roommate with her hair in two braids, said.

Lethe, as usual, had her hands tucked inside her robe and was scowling. "I don’t think it’s been that long for me."

"What? You’ve been here before?"

"...Ah, don’t ask. It brings back nightmares of being in a cramped box."

"I don’t get what you mean."

Just then, three girls in Efnel uniforms were approaching, calling Lirinet’s name. Lethe looked at them with her characteristic indifferent expression. "Are they in your group, Lirinet?"

"Yes!"

"You really picked some unremarkable kids."

"Sister Lethe, did you really decide to do it alone?"

She nodded and yawned. "Having other people with me will only get in the way. I’m just going to wrap it up quickly and go back to the Holy Federation."

"As expected of Sister Lethe! Every move you make is so unconventional!"

"What kind of mission did you get, Lirinet? A tough one?"

Lirinet waved her hand as if it were no big deal. "Just the usual Saintess candidate retrieval."

"Be careful. I hear there are Kizen kids around, too."

"Oh my! Are you worrying about me right now? I’m so happy!"

Lethe shot her a glare, and Lirinet reflexively took a defensive stance. "S-Still, before we part, don’t you have any last words for your roommate?"

Lethe, with her hands stuck in her robe pockets, seemed lost in thought with a sullen expression before spitting out, "A boy with blue hair."

"If you run into a Kizen boy with bluish hair during your mission, just assume you’re dead and run."

"Oof! Me, run away? For your information, in terms of combat ability, I’m in the top ranks of all of Efnel."

"This isn’t a matter of being top-ranked or not." Lethe stared at Lirinet with a serious expression. "If you get on his bad side, someone like you will really die."