Chapter 45
Chapter 45
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 44
Chapter Title: The Princess and the Dream
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“Phew.”
Returning to my room, I let out a sigh and flopped onto the hard bed.
The uniquely sweet and bitter scent of Pindenai’s tobacco lingered thickly in the air, tickling my nose.
It seemed like she’d tried to clean up to some extent, but there were hairs and traces of her everywhere.
I hadn’t expected her to clean it perfectly anyway, so I just pretended not to notice and exhaled.
The image of Aria leaving with a bright smile right up to the end still lingered in my mind, making my eyes furrow.
It would probably be right to separate from her, as it should be. In my first playthrough, I must have thought the same.
‘She was more broken than I imagined.’
If I carelessly pushed her away now, who knew how she’d change.
I needed to fix her dependency on me, but without me, I couldn’t even gauge how much she’d break.
For now, I decided on a direction where she could help me while naturally drifting apart.
Conveniently, a perfect opportunity had arisen, so I gave her separate instructions.
She was dissatisfied about having to stay away, but after hearing my full plan, she smiled brightly, calling me Professor as expected, and said she’d follow it.
She seemed thrilled that I needed her, even choking up a little.
It might be tough right away.
But step by step, it would be fine.
Yeah, slowly but surely.
To save the world, there was a role only she could fulfill.
‘Progressing the strategy can be taken slowly. We’ve only just started anyway.’
In game terms, we’d passed the prologue and entered the first chapter.
Plus, my growth was already sufficient from the second playthrough, so there was no rush.
‘I just need to watch over Aria’s mental state.’
I’d suddenly become her caretaker, but there was no helping it. She was the one who had to save this continent in the end.
[Excuse me.]
Then, a voice whispered in my ear. It was soft and seductive, reminiscent of a siren from the sea.
I glanced up, and there stood a woman cloaked entirely in a robe, her mouth covered with cloth.
Anyone else would scream “ghost” at the eerie sight, and she was indeed a ghost.
Moreover, I’d seen her once before.
The necromancer who’d been captured by Setima’s angels and unleashed the spell blurring the line between life and death.
The one summoned by Gideon, only to meet a futile end.
[Where did you get that book?]
As if we both knew everything and didn’t need small talk, the necromancer pointed to a worn volume atop a pile of books.
I’d clearly told her to put books back on the shelf, or leave them alone if there was no shelf, but this was Pindenai’s handiwork, stacking them into a tower.
Anyway.
The book she indicated was the necromancy grimoire Aria had stolen, which I’d bought from a back-alley merchant.
“Bought it from a merchant. Got lucky.”
[That’s mine.]
“...I see.”
Aria had indeed said she stole it from an exceptional necromancer. It seemed this woman was unintentionally entangled with it.
[I came out into the world briefly to retrieve it, and the Zeronia Family approached me, so I helped them once.]
“So you’re here to ask me to return it?”
[...No, I don’t need it anymore. I’m dead now.]
The necromancer accepted her death calmly. There might be some injustice, but black mages like her could die at any moment without it being strange.
Especially necromancers, always close to souls, were often nonchalant in the face of death.
“Then why did you come?”
When I asked calmly, the necromancer sighed.
[Originally, it was for revenge. I died too pathetically, after all. But now, that doesn’t matter.]
“...”
[I’m being hunted right now. When I died, the evil spirits I’d tamed were freed, and they’re looking for me.]
“...So that’s why there were still so many evil spirits in the academy.”
I pressed my throbbing temples with my fingers. We’d resolved the incident and reduced their numbers, but there were more than expected, which had surprised me a bit.
It wasn’t strange if the evil spirits harboring grudges against this necromancer had flocked to the academy upon her death there.
[That’s why I’m hiding here. The evil spirits can’t approach you recklessly.]
“...”
[I thought you were just some mediocre necromancer hiding your identity... But you can see all the souls wandering the continent while awake, right?]
“Yeah. What about you?”
[I could only see those with strong grudges. Now that I’m dead, I realize how many souls drift aimlessly across the continent.]
The necromancer expressed regret, saying it would’ve been nice to know sooner.
“Can’t you use magic after death?”
I wondered if she could, as a mage whose soul was a form of mana.
But the necromancer shook her head.
[Impossible. You need enough resentment to substitute for a body, and I don’t have that kind of attachment left.]
“Good.”
[Yes?]
I shot to my feet and looked at the necromancer. Sitting, she’d seemed tall, but standing, she only reached my shoulder.
She was tall for a woman, for sure.
“What’s your name, Necromancer?”
[Call me Black Necromancer. That’s what the continent knows me as.]
Black Necromancer.
A figure infamous even in the game, though she didn’t appear directly.
“From now on, teach me your necromancy.”
[Ha, you plan to use me?]
The Black Necromancer crossed her arms disdainfully, the corners of her mouth smirking behind the cloth.
[Do you look down on me because I’m a ghost? Necromancy is me. I’d rather be buried than take a disciple.]
“I’m not just asking for help. This is a contract.”
[What contract? You’re not saying you’ll protect me from the evil spirits, are you? I’ve avoided them, but I’m not afraid.]
“No, it’s not that.”
Perfect timing.
I had just the thing to convince her, fresh in my pocket.
I slyly pulled out the gem Aria had given me.
[Reme...gaton?]
Unbelieving, the Black Necromancer uncrossed her arms and reached out. But when I clenched my fist to hide it, she froze and glared at me.
[Where did you get that? The treasure I searched everywhere for but couldn’t find!]
“You don’t need to know. Black Necromancer, I’m giving you a chance.”
[...]
“The pinnacle of necromancy you couldn’t reach. The mage who will upend the very concept of necromancy across this continent stands before you now.”
I possessed the talent to see all the dead, something no other necromancer had.
I had knowledge of the future.
And now, the cheat item Remegaton was in my hands.
With enough time, I was confident I could become a necromancer to shake the continent.
“You can leave a small footprint on my path. You can push the back of the man who will show you the necromancy pinnacle you so desired.”
[...]
“I don’t need you. It’ll take a bit longer, but I’ll reach that end regardless.”
The Black Necromancer clenched her fist. She’d sensed my potential too.
“You’re dead, so everything’s over for you. A dream you must abandon. But I’ll let you witness it up close and help.”
I slowly extended my hand holding Remegaton, offering a handshake.
Without much deliberation, she grasped it firmly.
[Call me Master.]
Nonsense aside.
“Get out of my room, Black Necromancer.”
* * *
Warm sunlight gently draped over golden locks. If colors had ranks, her hair would earn top praise from experts as the highest grade.
That beautiful gold was a royal trait, imbued with centuries of history and symbolism.
“Princess, it’s time to wake up.”
At the maid’s cautious call, Princess Elenoa Luden Griffin opened her eyes.
Not in her familiar bed but slumped over her desk asleep, Elenoa naturally leaned back and stretched.
“Was I asleep?”
She’d been previewing essential subjects before enrolling at the academy, only to doze off.
“You study too hard, Princess. Please rest a little.”
“Yawn. If I get rumored as dumb at the academy as royalty, that’d be trouble.”
Even in a place of learning, there was such a thing as royal dignity.
Top of her class might be too much, but at least top three was necessary.
‘Hm?’
Sensing something off, Elenoa stretched her body and stood.
The maid wiped her down simply with a damp cloth, then changed her out of pajamas into other clothes.
“At least when you fall asleep studying, you don’t have nightmares, so that’s a relief.”
“...Yeah, true.”
Realizing she’d woken without any dreams, Elenoa smiled faintly.
“I should sleep like this more often.”
“Seeing you wake up drenched in sweat from nightmares every day weighed on my heart.”
“Ah, no helping it. Dreams are more shocking than I thought. But now I’m fine.”
“Yes?”
When the maid asked in puzzlement, Elenoa grinned.
“Before, they scared me because I didn’t know they were dreams. Now I’ve found a way to realize it.”
“Such a thing exists?”
Now dressed in her gown, the maid knelt to put on her shoes and asked curiously.
“Yeah, it’s simpler than you’d think. Dreams have no scent.”
Giggling, Elenoa took a big sniff.
“See? Right now, my room...”
“...”
“My... room...”
Had no scent at all.
“Huh?”
Flustered, Elenoa backed away. Her half-on shoe slipped off and rolled across the floor.
The maid slowly rose.
“Huh? You... who are you?”
Come to think of it, she didn’t remember that maid’s face.
The maid smiled contentedly at Elenoa.
“It was the scent, huh?”
“Gasp! Gasp!”
Elenoa bolted awake, drenched and sticky in sweat. Information poured into her mind like flushing a toilet.
Right—she was already enrolled at the academy, and this was the dormitory.
She’d lost the top spot but was still in the top ranks.
And she still hadn’t escaped the long-recurring nightmare.