I Became The Academy Necromancer

“It will only end when you all become corpses.”

“Huh?”

Victor Wellington exhaled as if trying to suppress the rising heat of anger.

He squeezed his not-so-functional brain to think of something and, in an attempt to buy time, snatched a wine glass from a passing servant and gulped it down.

“…”

As I waited silently, Victor seemed to grow increasingly uncomfortable and, with a pained breath, he asked.

“Do you have any evidence that we’ve dealt in drugs?”

“I was wondering when you would ask that question.”

Although laughable, it was a conversation I had been waiting for.

The drug dealers had no contract with the Wellington Trading Company whatsoever. They had made the deal directly with Goben, and not the company itself.

“I’m sorry, but the Wellington Trading Company doesn’t deal with drugs. It seems like you’ve been trying to spread misunderstandings about us.”

“Getting bold now, aren’t you? I should have recorded our previous conversation.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Victor feigned ignorance, calmly denying the obvious.

From the very start, the Wellington Trading Company had intentionally used Goben to conceal their activities and reduce the risk of exposure if discovered.

That meant if Goben hadn’t been enticed when he had gone to the Clark Republic, the Wellington Trading Company would have been forced to find another way to move the drugs.

“I heard that one of your employees was arrested. He was caught trying to smuggle drugs from the Clark Republic and was detained in Norseweden.”

The smile returned to Victor’s face. From the very moment he’d heard the news of Goben’s arrest, he’d been frantically working to cut off all connections.

While Victor had indeed fallen for the provocation, upon reflecting calmly, he realized there was no need for him to feel rushed.

“I’m truly sorry. I’ll take responsibility for this incident and make amends by donating to the church and offering discounts on our products as a form of deep reflection.”

If what he was saying sounded like it was trivial, that was exactly what they intended.

The Wellington Trading Company sincerely believed that this was the appropriate level of punishment for them.

The drug smuggling charges would fall solely on Goben alone, while the company was merely found guilty of poor employee management.

In fact, it wasn’t entirely a lie.

Goben himself was aware that he’d been scheming behind the Wellington Trading Company’s back.

And if the person involved testified in this manner, Wellington could easily wash their hands of this matter.

“Now, let me ask again.”

Feeling completely at ease, a smile slowly crept onto Victor’s face as he placed his hand on his chest and bowed deeply, just like when he first greeted me.

“Do you have evidence?”

Seeing his newfound confidence, I decided to answer him frankly.

“No.”

“Really, your answers never fail to surprise me.”

Victor scratched his cheek awkwardly at my bold response, before returning to his original posture.

To be honest, there was no clear, undeniable evidence to prove that the Wellington Trading Company had tried to use Goben for drug trafficking.

Even the person involved, Goben himself didn’t know he was being used. So, all I had on them was that they had assigned him as the coachman to visit the Clark Republic. And all this was merely circumstantial evidence.

“Even if I had evidence…”

Furthermore, I gave them time.

“Starting from Goben’s arrest to the attack on Fosville Village, you had ample time to eliminate any loose ends and make excuses.”

“…What exactly are you saying?”

Unable to comprehend the flow of our conversation, Victor frowned.

His politeness was now gone and replaced by irritation. However, I actually found this honest reaction more to my liking.

“Are you toying with me? Can you clarify whether you intend to go against the Wellington Trading Company or cooperate with us?”

“Go ahead, prepare yourself.”

I folded my arms behind my back and watched him. His reactions were so predictable that it felt like watching a puppet show.

“With all your might, for the sake of protecting your company.”

“No evidence, no means. Even if you attack us, it will only result in both of us spilling blood. Are you sure you want to go through with this?”

“…”

“Fine, go ahead. You’ll have to hope that we don’t survive.”

After making this declaration, Victor turned and left the banquet hall. His steps were laden with emotion as if he believed I had humiliated him.

[What does that actually mean?]

It seemed like the Dark Spiritualist had the same thought. I grabbed the staff resting on as nearby table to resume contact with her.

[You’re going to attack the Wellington Trading Company, but you’ve already warned them in advance, telling them to prepare and not leave evidence.]

“…”

[Only crazed martial artists usually act like this, but you’re not one of those hot-blooded types.]

“It was a calculated move.”

[You’ve been acting really strange since the village incident.]

Even though she said this, the Dark Spiritualist didn’t press further. Even if I appeared odd, she decided to believe me for now.

Stella, who had approached us quietly, also seemed uneasy.

[Why were the bishops in Fosville Village?]

As a former Saintess, that was probably the most important point for Stella.

Especially since the church persecuted me and supported Mul after she had stepped down, doing all sorts of foolish things.

[I just wish they would pray quietly now.]

Stella was reacting sensitively enough to the bishops’ movements to make such a remark.

But, them being present there surely wasn’t for a good cause.

[What do you think?]

I hesitated as Stella subtly asked for my opinion, wondering if I should tell her the truth, but I figured she wouldn’t believe me even if I lied.

Additionally, I didn’t want to deceive her either.

“First, we need to understand the Wellington Trading Company’s position clearly. They are merchants. They don’t use things, they sell them.”

[…]

“And I believe the supply existed because there was a demand.”

I didn’t know how it worked on this continent, but on Earth, there were religions that sometimes used this method to retain followers.

They would get their followers addicted to drugs, then package the effects of those drugs as miracles of God to prevent them from leaving.

It was a method of forcefully trapping and destroying their followers under the guise of religion.

[Ugh, really.]

Shaking her head and looking at Lucia, her junior, it seemed like Stella was getting a headache already.

Busy meeting with various nobles, Lucia was having her own conversations because a Saintess wasn’t just someone who prayed all the time.

[Do you mind if I go and speak to Lucia about this?]

“Do as you please.”

I was sure that the bishops close to Lucia would be staying out of this incident.

“I am tired.”

Was this what it felt like to get older?

Of course, it wasn’t due to the passage of time but my body, soaked in drugs and alcohol, that was screaming.

I should be more careful around the alcohol.

Just enough to not get drunk.

Yet, even the drink I had been sipping on seemed like something I shouldn’t be touching anymore.

Wanting to take a break, I placed the glass on the table and headed to a corner.

“I am glad I have a staff.”

[Is that so?]

The Dark Spiritualist, who had been following me, sat down on my lap as I took a seat.

“Move.”

[You don’t even feel my weight.]

“I cannot see ahead of me.”

The Dark Spiritualist was blocking my view, but she seemed rather pleased about it.

[Isn’t it nice not having to look at anyone else?]

“…”

In a way, she was right. The Dark Spiritualist subtly turned her body to the side, and her ample chest brushed right in front of my face, but I pretended not to notice and simply averted my eyes.

“It is quiet.”

[I’ve blocked all sounds with magic. I’ll release it if anyone approaches us.]

Was that so?

No wonder.

The banquet, which had been lively until now, suddenly became eerily quiet, and I only just realized it.

It seemed like the fatigue made my senses feel dull.

It was just a small amount, but perhaps the alcohol was affecting me more strongly than I imagined.

“Damn you, Deus.”

Perhaps because of that, I let out a bitter smile as I cursed at Deus for once.

Come to think of it, the man who was once completely obsessed with drugs was now actively eradicating them with his own hands.

To anyone else, it might look like I had repented and put that past behind me.

Gazing down at me with wide, curious eyes, The Dark Spiritualist subtly rested her hand on my shoulder, naturally hugging me.

“Dark Spiritualist.”

A quiet party.

In this situation, where the phrase feeling lonely in the crowd seemed perfect, I called out to her.

[What is it?]

“What makes you so happy?”

I asked her, who was grinning widely, and the Dark Spiritualist chuckled as she replied.

[It’s been a while since I saw you dozing off like this, Deus.]

“I see.”

[It’s cute. By the way, would you ever consider wearing something like cat ears? Maybe you could become my Fluffy III.]

Fluffy, Fluffy II, and now Fluffy III? She really struggled to come up with proper names.

“A long time ago.”

Perhaps because I was tired, I let my hand rest around the Dark Spiritualist’s waist as she sat on my lap. She flinched at first but gradually relaxed and responded positively.

“I once said that I hoped my life as a Soul Whisperer could be a comfort to you.”

[You’re talking about the time when you stopped just before committing a massacre in the Marias Great Forest, right? It was a relief back then.]

The time when I almost became a Dark Mage instead of a Whisperer.

If not for Sevia’s birth, my future would have turned out very differently.

“What do you think now?”

My eyes were growing heavy.

My body felt unusually tired, but my mouth kept moving.

“Have I been a comfort to you?”

[…Deus, as I told you before, I had always been working hard toward my goal. And no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t see it clearly, and at some point, I could only feel it vaguely.]

“…”

[But in the end, I failed. And while I thought it was impossible, you showed me that I had been running in the opposite direction all along.]

It was a sad story. Life was often compared to a marathon. However, it was not something that could be defined that easily.

Just like the Dark Spiritualist right now.

She had been running nonstop, only to realize she had been moving in the wrong direction. It was a sad story, one that anyone could experience without even realizing it.

[It’s not about treating souls as tools. After all, they too were once humans, and should have been treated with respect, just like you did.]

The Dark Spiritualist’s eyes, filled with melancholy, were moist. She must have been thinking that there were so many possibilities before she went down the wrong path.

[What I wanted was…]

In response to her self-mocking mutter, I replied in a low voice.

“You just wanted to see your parents.”

I still remembered the Dark Spiritualist from the Dream Demon Manor; the long nights we spent talking still lingering in my heart.

“You wished to see your parents, the ones who loved you but parted early, which led you down the path of necromancy.”

[…]

“You were an evil Necromancer who used humans as tools and ultimately met an appropriate end.”

The fatigue finally caused my eyelids to close.

And my heavy eyelids refused to open.

It was quiet, and so, I continued speaking in the darkness.

“But in the beginning, it was just the innocent wish of a little girl, a heartbreaking desire to see her parents once more.”

[Does that even matter?]

“To me…”

It mattered enough.

“The fact that your starting point wasn’t wrong is a relief and of great comfort to me.”

[…]

Was it because my eyes were closed? Gradually, sleepiness began to take over.

“So, Jenny.”

While I was sitting in a chair, it felt like I was slowly walking into a dream.

Thanks to the sleep demon, I was able to say things I usually couldn’t.

“Do not leave.”

Srrrkkk.

Though I could feel my strength leave my body, I tightened my grip on the staff.

“Do not confuse me as well.”

[Deus…]

“This life will last at most 20 years.”

[Don’t say that.]

Now the Dark Spiritualist’s voice came in faint bursts and saying this made me sound like someone on the verge of death.

“20 years.”

[…]

“It is too short a time to forget you.”

Very slowly, I could feel my strength draining away, and my lips no longer moved.

If death was drawing near, this must be the sensation. But I couldn’t die yet as I still had a mission to fulfill.

For now, I would fall into a sleep akin to death.

[I understand.]

Chu.

With the last sensation of the warmth on my lips, I fell asleep in her arms.

***

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