Chapter 28
Chapter 28
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 27
Chapter Title: Negotiation Table
-----------------------------------------------------------------
“Shall I bring you some tea?”
The maid who had guided Keren and the dean asked, but Deius waved her away with a gesture.
“No need. He’s not a guest worth entertaining.”
At the blunt declaration that he was an unwelcome intruder, the dean gritted his teeth, forcing back the twitching of his facial muscles.
He was a man who had risen to the position of academy dean.
Even if emotions sometimes ran high and clouded his judgment, in a situation like this one he had prepared for in advance, he was capable of making rational choices.
“I’m sorry, Professor Deius.”
He immediately bowed politely and began.
“The dismissal of a professor like yourself was highly unjust, and we failed to follow proper verification procedures. We relied on mere rumors and skipped over confirming the facts.”
This was also backed by testimonies from reliable professors like Erika and Gideon.
From the start, he had only been a visiting professor.
And one brought in through Erika’s connections at that. Once she pushed him out, there was no reason to keep him, so they had discarded him lightly.
“No need for apologies.”
Deius spat it out emotionlessly. He truly seemed utterly indifferent.
“I wonder if your doubts about my actions have now been resolved. That’s what I’d like to ask first.”
He knew everything already.
Keren knew that Deius was deliberately demanding this back-and-forth, but from the dean’s position, he had no choice but to answer.
They were absolutely in the weaker position right now.
“Yes, we understand it was to resolve the evil spirits haunting the academy.”
“......”
“We... we had never dealt with such entities before, so our response was inadequate. We’re sorry.”
Evil spirits.
Ghosts, in a word.
Truly mysterious beings, weren’t they?
Among black mages, there were those who manipulated corpses into undead.
Such people were called corpse sorcerers.
They handled bodies, but not the souls contained within.
That was why, even among black mages, necromancers who dealt with souls were all the rarer existence.
Here, Keren stepped forward.
“I have one question, Sir Deius.”
The dean was startled by the unprompted interruption, but Deius naturally shifted his gaze from the dean to Keren.
“What is it?”
“I’ve crossed countless lines of death and gained much experience. Among them was some knowledge of necromancy.”
Deius nodded for him to continue.
“I understand that souls enter eternal rest after death. They fall into everlasting slumber. However, I’ve heard that those with deep grudges or strong egos sometimes awaken as specters.”
Deius said nothing. It was an affirmation.
“I know that most such souls are invisible and intangible to us, impossible for us to interfere with. If I had to pinpoint it...”
He glanced briefly.
Keren swept his eyes over Darius and Deia, naturally gauging their reactions.
“...only a necromancer could manage it.”
A twitch.
Deia maintained her composure, but Darius shuddered slightly.
‘Necromancer possibility: 50%.’
Keren raised the probability in his mind and continued smoothly.
“To be frank, in order to resolve this incident, we secretly brought in a necromancer.”
Darius and Deia swallowed hard. Not only that, but the dean was glaring as if to say why reveal that.
But there was no helping it.
He wanted to shake this man even slightly, the one maintaining a perfect poker face without the slightest reaction, like a stone statue.
‘Well? What’s your reaction?’
He was curious what it would be.
But then.
“Huh?”
Seeing Deius’s expression in turn, Keren let out a bewildered breath.
Because.
He was furious.
His face contorted beyond measure.
Veins bulging on his pale forehead, half-hidden by his black hair.
“Pathetic... nonsense.”
Deius spat it out like an exhale. His reaction was so sharp it made Darius and Deia step back a pace.
The air in the room changed.
A chill beyond mere coldness settled firmly in the space.
Everyone present knew it was because of this man named Deius.
“I’m sure I wrote it in the letter. Did you ignore what was written in number 8?”
“......Number 8, number 8! That was the missing number you mentioned!”
At that, even Deius’s eyelids trembled slightly this time. He fell silent for a moment, exhaled, and returned to his previous emotionless expression.
“I see. So that’s why things escalated this far.”
Deius muttered to himself in realization. Curious, Keren asked.
“What exactly was written in number 8?”
“......”
Deius glanced at Keren and tossed it out casually, as if it no longer mattered.
“Do not provoke them carelessly.”
“Ah.”
“And after bringing in the necromancer, the situation worsened, I presume?”
As if he’d been waiting for the question, the dean jumped in.
“Y-yes! That’s exactly it! Students and professors are suffering terribly because of it right now. Especially the many students who lived on the second floor of the dormitory—they’ve fallen into comas and can’t wake up!”
At those words, Deia seemed to soften emotionally, swallowing and glancing at Deius.
No matter what, it was regrettable that students were in such a state.
But Deius declared coldly.
“Spare me the emotional appeals. Let’s end the chit-chat and get down to business.”
“Ugh.”
The dean had thought to leverage the students as part of his ace strategy, but Deius shut it down with icy firmness.
Keren pulled out the contract from his bag and handed it to Deius.
After scrutinizing it closely for a moment, he slid it back with a faint smile.
“This falls far short of what I have in mind.”
“What? Whaaat?”
The dean’s mouth gaped like a toad’s as his voice rose in disbelief.
“N-no! This is the level top professors receive! You’re still a rookie professor without any years of service, Sir Deius! Honestly, this is already unreasonable!”
“Then you should leave.”
Seeing Deius refuse to negotiate at all, the dean looked like he was burning up inside.
If they failed to secure him now?
The protests and screams already echoing from the academy. The parents who would follow, demanding accountability.
And the royal funding getting cut off.
Dizzy with dread, the dean asked with trembling lips.
“Th-then... how much more do you want? Name a figure, and we’ll try to meet it.”
“Two hundred million. We’ll settle at exactly two hundred million gold.”
“Ah......”
What did this madman just say?
His guts twisted in agony. Sweat had soaked him through like he’d been caught in rain, beyond mere wiping.
He shot Keren a signal begging for help.
After all, wasn’t he a veteran mercenary who’d haggled plenty over compensation?
Better than the dean, who’d only sat at a desk turning his brain.
In the end, Keren stepped forward subtly to intervene.
“Even so, two hundred million is too much. Professor Deius, to be blunt, even my annual salary is seven million. Isn’t that a bit too greedy for a first-year?”
“Hmm.”
“At least compromise to around one hundred fifty million...”
“If you plan to haggle like at a market stall, then leave.”
Deius placed his hands on the desk, interlocking his fingers, cutting Keren off.
He showed not the slightest give. Like a mountain, immovable, he gave the opponents a stifling pressure.
With every word from him, the dean reacted as if on the verge of fainting.
“No, that’s impossible! Two hundred million? Two hundred million? What nonsense is that!”
“Hmm.”
Deius picked up the nearby quill and added something to the contract, ignoring the dean who was practically begging on the verge of tears.
“Additionally, annual research equipment support.”
“Wh-what is this!”
Didn’t I just say no?
The dean was at the point where he couldn’t tell if the sweat pouring down was his tears.
“Pl-please, give us a little room to negotiate. Two hundred million is too much!”
“Hmm.”
Again!
That damn “hmm” again!
The dean wanted to sew his own mouth shut. Every time Deius opened his, he felt a year shaved off his lifespan.
“Privatization of the research equipment used over the past four years. After all, no other professor could reuse what I’ve handled.”
“Ah, aah!”
Turning academy-funded purchases into his personal property after four years?
This utter bastard!
“What kind of ridiculous demand is that! Privatizing items bought with academy funds!”
“And access to the forbidden list at the Millennium Library in the palace.”
He felt like he was losing his mind.
Truly, the only thing boiling in the dean was the desire to smack that bastard’s mouth.
But with Verdi’s giant, Darius, glaring daggers beside him, he couldn’t even clench a fist.
“N-no. Please judge this calmly! I beg you!”
“Also, quarterly private outings for research investigations and on-site verifications.”
“Aaahhh!”
“Wait, be quiet.”
Keren hurriedly covered the dean’s mouth. At this rate, he’d hand over his liver and gall to Deius completely.
Keren found the dean’s damp sweat on his palm disgusting but first asked Deius.
“Let me confirm one thing. If you return to your position, Sir Deius, will the current crisis truly be resolved?”
“Yes.”
Simple and direct—yet so bold it lent even more credibility.
It meant he was that confident, needing no extra words.
On top of that, Deius declared coldly.
“You seem to be under some misunderstanding.”
He slowly leaned back against the chair. If there had been tea, he would have sipped it elegantly, savoring the moment.
“This isn’t a negotiation.”
It was exactly right.
This wasn’t negotiation—it was blackmail.
Pay up what we demand if you want to save the academy, phrased in a remarkably gentlemanly way.
Their mistake had been treating him as merely a professor. This was a matter tied to the academy’s very fate.
Keren honestly admitted he’d been too fixated on the professor title.
That was why Keren voiced the sudden doubt that arose.
“Do you really intend to return?”
Deius paused for a beat.
“No.”