Chapter 152
Chapter 152
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 151
Chapter Title: Each One's Path
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“Wearing a dark robe, with a curvaceous figure, and a beautiful womanly face.”
Even though the final lecture of the semester had ended, the students were still gathered in the auditorium, staring up at me on the podium.
Today, I had deliberately set aside extra time to let them guess the Black Necromancer's appearance.
The reward was a Millennium Library reading pass—something even students couldn't obtain—so they all came charging in eagerly, but in the end, they all failed.
From the moment Aria and Elenoa failed, I had already concluded there would be no correct answer.
But one noble boy, who had been bribing students from the start to gather bits of information on the Black Necromancer one by one, kept spitting out answers that were remarkably close.
[Oh, is this kid going to succeed after all?]
The Black Necromancer beside me nodded as she gazed at the boy describing her.
“She’s shorter than the professor and not particularly large in build. An average adult woman.”
Since I didn’t declare it wrong and simply listened silently, exclamations of “Ooh!” rose from the students.
Everything so far had been spot on.
“Her eyes are violet. Her skin is pale white, as if she hasn’t seen sunlight in a long time.”
“Hmm.”
“How about that?”
I slowly nodded to the boy, who seemed to think he had nailed it.
But there was still one part he hadn’t mentioned.
“Isn’t there one more thing you should say?”
“……Pardon?”
The boy looked flustered at my question. It wasn’t quite the direction I wanted, but his effort to uncover the Black Necromancer’s appearance was commendable.
Showing initiative and passion with the means at his disposal meant I had no qualms about rewarding him.
But an answer had to be precise to count as correct.
“If you saw the Black Necromancer, there’s one part that stands out most. You haven’t described that yet.”
“The most, standout part?”
“That’s right.”
“…….”
The boy bit his lip hard. He clenched his fist with an indignant expression and shouted.
“Isn’t this enough? You just don’t like that I found out this way, don’t you?”
Realizing his failure, the boy yelled in frustration. I understood his anger—he had spent quite a bit of money bribing students and using them as proxies to get the Black Necromancer’s information.
But I couldn’t let him question my fairness.
“That’s not it. I knew from the start that you were paying other students to piece together her appearance bit by bit.”
[That’s right. We knew from the beginning.]
The Black Necromancer nodded in agreement beside me.
No one else could hear her, yet she stubbornly added her two cents.
“That’s your personal ability, so I allowed it. But you can’t get the answer wrong.”
Click.
My footsteps echoed long and loud through the entire auditorium. After a few steps, I stood before the boy and looked down at him.
“The most prominent feature you can’t miss if you see her. What is it?”
“…….”
A stinging silence followed.
When sweat dripping from the boy’s forehead reached his chin, he finally squeezed his eyes shut and answered.
“I don’t know.”
“Fine. What’s your name?”
“……Leyton Hellish.”
The Hellish family.
They maintained close ties with the royal family.
“Good, Leyton. You got the closest, so I’ll give you extra credit separately.”
“Thank you.”
His expression showed he wasn’t satisfied with that. But I immediately threw him a lifeline.
“No one ultimately guessed the Black Necromancer’s appearance correctly, so the Millennium Library reading pass remains unclaimed. I’ll give it to the top student in my class.”
“……!”
The students stirred, and Leyton snapped his head up to stare at me.
Naturally, with the extra credit, he now held the highest score for the moment.
Realizing the opportunity wasn’t over, the students reignited their determination.
It was one of the methods Erika had mentioned for stoking student motivation.
“Professor, could you tell us what that final feature is?”
Leyton, now suddenly amicable toward me, asked cautiously. Well, he wouldn’t be able to use that method next time anyway.
I extended my hand to the Black Necromancer.
“Grab it.”
[Huh?]
She looked puzzled but slowly reached out toward me. The moment our hands overlapped,
My mana flowed into her, and the translucent Black Necromancer began to gain vivid color.
Exclamations followed.
“Wowww!”
“What! What! That’s insane!”
“The professor’s been hanging out with someone like that?”
“She’s my type, sis!”
I had overlaid the Black Necromancer’s appearance onto her soul using my mana. The startled Black Necromancer looked around, pointing at herself.
[Y-You can see me? Me?]
“No one can hear your voice.”
She stared at me in disbelief. I quickly let go of her hand, and the mana enveloping her dispersed, causing her form to vanish once more.
Amid the students’ disappointed gasps, I turned to Leyton.
“So, what did you miss?”
At my question, Leyton made a dumbfounded face and surrendered.
“I never imagined she’d be covering her mouth with a black cloth.”
Exactly.
If you saw the Black Necromancer, the first thing that catches your eye is the translucent black cloth covering everything below her eyes.
Without mentioning that, it couldn’t be called correct.
“That’s it for today’s lecture. Study hard for finals.”
I descended from the podium. I had tossed them another tasty bait to motivate them for the final exam, so they’d study diligently.
It was a far more realistic goal for top students than guessing the Black Necromancer’s appearance.
As I stepped out of the auditorium, the Black Necromancer peeked out right beside me.
[How did you do that just now?]
She stared at me with wide eyes, unable to believe it.
“I simply cloaked your soul in mana to give it form. I got the idea from illusion magic.”
Necromancy includes illusion-related spells, but they’re usually used aggressively.
I broke that mold to make a soul visible to others.
It was akin to adding color to a colorless painting.
“It’s fairly difficult, mana-intensive, so it can’t be sustained long-term. And she can’t make sounds.”
I added that it came with several drawbacks, but the Black Necromancer gaped at me.
[You’re truly amazing.]
She left lingering words, as if deeply moved. It irked me strangely, furrowing my brow as I looked at her.
“Master!”
Beyond her stood Pindenai. I unconsciously followed the Black Necromancer with my eyes as she naturally stepped aside.
But Pindenai filled my entire view.
“……What is it.”
I looked at her, wondering what was up, and she spoke dramatically.
“That was the Black Necromancer just now? First time seeing her in person? Wow, she’s hot.”
“…….”
“I was wondering why you had no interest in women, Master, but you had another pocket? She’s almost on par with Professor Per’s……”
“Cut it out.”
I sighed and warned her. She giggled and nodded.
“Sorry, didn’t expect her to look like that.”
As she neatly wrapped up her words, a small doubt crept into me again.
The unease in my chest, stirred by the Black Necromancer, grew a bit more at the sight of Pindenai.
“Do you have something to say?”
Barging in dramatically and defusing the mood like this was Pindenai’s specialty.
She scratched the back of her head awkwardly, realizing I’d read her.
“Why read my mind and make a fuss.”
When Erika brought cake.
Pindenai had briefly stepped away, and the atmosphere had felt off since then.
She thought she was hiding it well, but perhaps because I knew her for some time,
It wasn’t hard to notice.
“Here’s the thing. Our informant in the Clock Republic hasn’t been in contact lately.”
“…….”
“And it’s not just us—none of the other Resistance groups have either.”
“So what are you trying to say.”
I asked impatiently, uncharacteristically. Pindenai’s eyes trembled slightly in surprise, then she smiled as usual.
“You’re heading to your fiancée’s family for the formal meeting soon anyway, right? So…… could I go back there for a bit?”
“No.”
“……Huh?”
My sharp, blade-like refusal left her blinking in confusion. She hadn’t expected me to respond so harshly.
But I hadn’t expected it from myself either.
Emotions surged, and I recalled Pindenai’s previous trip to the Clock Republic.
If the Mountain Lord hadn’t been there,
She would have died on the spot.
“I already let you go once. Don’t forget our contract, Pindenai.”
“Oh, I know, I know. But I don’t need to go to the formal meeting. Iluania and Owen are there.”
She shrugged awkwardly. Her unusual stubbornness stirred my unease again, so I asked.
“What’s wrong?”
“……Huh?”
“Tell me. If you’re this insistent, there must be a reason you absolutely have to go.”
“…….”
Pindenai clamped her mouth shut.
There was no trace of hesitation. It was clear she had resolved not to speak.
“Tell me.”
“I won’t.”
“……Tell me.”
“Sorry, Master. Absolutely not. Because this is our side’s issue.”
“…….”
One that didn’t include me.
‘Our.’
A clearly drawn line.
The mood grew heavy.
In the silence, Pindenai burst out laughing.
“Ah, damn it, fine. I won’t go. Geez, you really can’t function without me, Master.”
“…….”
“I’ll go smoke a cigarette. Let that much slide.”
As she walked away saying that, her shoulders looked heavier than usual today.
* * *
Suck.
Exhale.
White smoke billowed out.
Only about eight cigarettes left of the ones Master had gifted her.
“Tastes good.”
Pindenai gave a wry smile as she gazed at the cigarette between her fingers.
Normally, she’d light one up right away upon seeing it, but strangely, she was rationing these.
Probably because Master gave them to her. That’s why she was subconsciously treasuring them, even if it looked unseemly.
Suck.
Exhale.
She blew out another long trail of smoke.
Leaning against the wall in a back alley, Pindenai slowly looked up at the sky.
The sky visible between buildings looked narrow.
If she had been born here and only seen this sky, she might have thought the sky was long and narrow like that.
‘Just like I used to.’
To her, life had been a struggle. Having never known freedom, its meaning was vague, but since everyone shouted for it, she fought for freedom.
She learned what freedom was.
She realized what she had endured wasn’t truly life.
Struggle wasn’t life.
“Exhale.”
All contact with Resistance groups in the Clock Republic had been cut off.
It was familiar.
Many Resistance leaders had been caught last time with Doberman’s summons, so a few more didn’t faze her.
What mattered was that before the Scrap Merchants crossed the North Wedden Mountains,
Contact had been lost with the orphanage where she had left the surviving children.
Probably the Extermination Squad had stormed in.
“Sorry, Master.”
If I told you,
You’d definitely try to help me.
You’d drop your own important matters and follow me.
Even if not,
If I told the truth and you still refused to let me go,
It would only burden you with unfounded guilt for abandoning the children.
That’s why I couldn’t say it.
To a man already carrying too much weight,
I didn’t want to add myself as another load.
- This time, I’ll help you.
His words from Robern’s summer festival echoed in her ears. She had nearly responded impulsively in relief but barely held back.
She instinctively pulled a photo from her skirt’s front pocket.
Her usual expressionless face, but with wings on her back from a mural on the wall.
Taken by a photographer while wandering Claren, the city of artists, together.
Pindenai had Deus’s photo, and Deus had Pindenai’s.
It was a secret, but Pindenai often looked at this photo. She always carried it close, unknown to anyone.
She didn’t know why.
She just wanted to.
“Exhale.”
Staring blankly at the photo, Pindenai finished her cigarette and tossed the butt to the ground.
She pocketed the photo again.
Then, stepping on the cigarette gifted by Deus Verdi,
Pindenai left the narrow alley.