I Became The Academy Necromancer

“Haha! I’m back!”

Even with all of us present, Goben immediately headed straight to Illuania and pulled her into an embrace.

Illuania seemed startled by his intense and enthusiastic embrace, but she carefully hugged him back, seemingly understanding the situation.

“Yes, you’ve worked hard.”

Darius, the lord of Norseweden, looked slightly displeased at Goben for ignoring him and failing to greet him properly.

“It’s a sort of reunion. Let it slide.”

“Ahem.”

But thanks to Deia’s intervention, Darius only cleared his throat and let it go.

After he finished greeting Illuania, Goben came over to us and bowed his head.

Taking care of.

That single phrase foreshadowed Goben and Illuania’s plans for the future.

“Well, you have done well.”

“Yes! Luckily, I managed to pick up another commission on my way back! That’s pretty rare, and thanks to it, I made more money than expected!”

Before he left for the Clark Republic, his words might have sounded like a pledge to make Illuania happy.

But for some reason, he now looked like a nouveau riche bragging about the small fortune he had just made.

[…]

And yet.

The creepy sight of the souls clinging to Goben and his carriage, longing for something beyond their will, persisted.

[They look like zombies. Like the type created by low-level Cadavermancers to control corpses.]

I nodded in agreement with the Dark Spiritualist. They resembled zombies, creatures driven by instinct and desire, bereft of thought and a product of violence.

Even though they were spirits, they all appeared emaciated, unable to speak clearly, only uttering faint moans as if their tongues were bound.

[Ah, what could have happened to them…]

Tears welled in Stella’s eyes as she clasped her hands together, praying quietly.

However, neither prayers nor divine blessings could quench their thirst.

As I observed the spirits clinging to the carriage, Darius invited Illuania and Goben to join him for a meal.

He mentioned preparing a small celebration to mark Illuania’s retirement from being a maid.

“Since it’s already midday now, spend the day at the estate. I’ll prepare a fine dinner tonight.”

“Thank you.”

Goben straightened his posture and smiled brightly. In just one week, he had changed significantly.

Only after everyone else had dispersed did I finally move.

Stella stayed behind, wanting to continue her prayers.

[What are you going to do about that?]

The Dark Spiritualist approached me quietly and asked. She seemed unsure regarding the nature of those spirits.

[Ordinary Black Magic couldn’t have ruined them to such an extent. I suspect either mind-related magic or demonic interference might be involved.]

It was a reasonable assumption.

Even though she was a Necromancer, she didn’t have the ability to see all spirits during her lifetime, so it wasn’t surprising that she didn’t recognize these kinds.

“No, it is not something like that.”

However, I had encountered spirits like these in the Clark Republic. They gathered in one place and moved around as a group.

“You have seen such souls before as well. It is just that, there were too many souls to notice them specifically back then.”

[Pardon?]

Back then, the Clark Republic had an overwhelming number of the dead crawling all over the place.

“Huff.”

A deep sigh escaped my lips.

I knew I tended to become a bit sensitive when it came to matters involving Illuania and Sevia, but…

Was that why? Beyond disappointment, a faint despair weighed heavily on my shoulders.

I had sincerely hoped that the man named Goben would not let go of the changes that had come to him.

I truly wished for him to pour all his love and affection into the mother and daughter, Illuania and Sevia.

Even if their meeting and beginning were less than ideal, I wanted them to become his purpose in life.

However, within one week, Goben’s purpose had changed. He found a new opportunity and had changed once again.

“Those spirits…”

I could see the back of Goben’s head as he walked alongside Illuania behind Darius.

I spoke in a voice dripping with conflicted emotions.

“They are people who have been tainted by certain drugs to their very souls.”

In simple terms, they were drug addicts—beings ravaged by substances to a degree that even their souls were corrupted.

They believed they were experiencing withdrawal symptoms, though that was no longer possible as they had become souls. But because their lives were so steeped in drugs, that sensation continued even after death.

[Wait a minute. I’ve seen the souls of people ruined by drugs before. But they didn’t end up that messed up.]

“Yes, that is usually the case with ordinary drugs.”

Take Deus Verdi, for example. He was someone ruined by drugs, yet he no longer sought such substances as a soul.

“But this is not some ordinary drug. This is a meticulously crafted product even in the Clark Republic, which was directly involved in manufacturing drugs.”

Back when I visited the Clark Republic, I saw countless souls while confronting Magan.

Among the countless secrets they whispered to me, this was one of the worst.

“The Golden Flower made by Flowergarden.”

Created in a village that manufactured drugs, it was a drug capable of destroying humans down to their very souls.

“I thought it was lost to history following Magan’s death… but it seems to have shown up in the front yard of the mansion.”

It wasn’t hard to guess the reason the souls who died from Golden Flower addiction were clinging to the carriage.

***

“Huff, I’m tired.”

Goben, who entered the room provided to him by the Verdi Household, sighed while loosening his shoulders.

His expression, becoming more relaxed, carried a strange air of arrogance.

“You’ve worked hard.”

Illuania bowed her head and spoke, to which he smiled and nodded.

“Everything went really well this time. Not only did I expand my business, but I also got a new client. I was really lucky.”

“I’m glad to hear that.”

Listening to his boasting wasn’t difficult. It was something Illuania did often back when she worked at the brothel.

When she thought about it like that, she suddenly wondered if this was really the atmosphere of a family.

A paying customer and a prostitute providing the service.

The only difference was the room’s atmosphere, but the behavior remained the same.

“Haha, it’s all a smooth road ahead from now on. Our family should leave Norseweden and move to a better city.”

Illuania shut her mouth tightly. Personally, she didn’t want to leave Norseweden.

However, it was hard to reject his suggestion when he was smiling so brightly and calling it ‘our family.’

“Ah, right.”

Unaware of her thoughts, Goben smacked the sofa and asked.

“Are you still in touch with anyone from Colton’s gang?”

“…What?”

For a moment, Illuania thought she misheard him.

Colton.

Wasn’t he the gang leader who used to dominate the area when Illuania worked at the brothel?

A man who would do anything for money, mainly selling women and drugs.

And among them, Illuania was in charge of the women.

She was about to ask what he meant by that, but—

Waaah!

Sevia’s loud crying interrupted her. Illuania quickly approached the child, who seemed to have woken up.

“It’s okay. It’s okay.”

Her crying, more intense than usual, showed no sign of stopping.

“Why is she like this today?”

“Shall I take a look?”

Goben leaped to his feet and hurried towards Sevia, before awkwardly adding an explanation.

“As her father, shouldn’t I at least do this much?”

However, Sevia began crying even more intensely the moment he picked her up.

The room shook with Sevia’s cries. Flustered, Goben didn’t know what to do, and in the end, Illuania took Sevia back.

“S-sorry.”

“Holding her is always awkward at first.”

At Goben’s awkward attempt at holding Sevia, Illuania felt a faint sense of familiarity.

She remembered how confused she was at first about how to hold Sevia like that.

Truthfully speaking, Illuania didn’t have strong feelings for Goben. Having been a prostitute from the start, she had lost the ability to truly love a man ages ago. Yet, driven by a longing for unconditional love, she desired a child.

“I’ll do my best from now on.”

Goben scratched the back of his head and responded awkwardly. However, his eyes displayed his sincerity.

“The Soul Whisperer said it, didn’t he? No matter what, I’ll make you and Sevia happy.”

Perhaps because of this, Illuania found it strangely uncomfortable.

However, when she set aside her feelings and judged the situation objectively, there was no better outcome.

In the end, Sevia had gained a devoted father.

Was there anything more important than that?

***

“Huff.”

After seeing Illuania and Goben enter their room, I returned to my own room.

Darius and Deia were bustling about, saying they would throw a grand celebration dinner.

However, even though I should be the one congratulating and helping them the most, I couldn’t hide the conflicted feelings I had.

“It is kind of sad.”

Yes, it was tragic.

I felt like I was about to cry, wanting to shed tears if I could.

Illuania and Sevia.

I had genuinely hoped for a happy future for the mother and daughter whom I was responsible for.

But life was never that easy.

Perhaps it was because I had personally witnessed the moment when the hope I held in my hands turned to despair that my heart ached even more.

[Just go and stop her!]

The Dark Spiritualist swung her fists around as she aired her opinion. Xiao Hu, who was lying next to her, quickly turned her head and looked at us in surprise.

[It’s obvious that Illuania won’t accept the truth even if we tell her!]

“Yes, that is true.”

I also believed that was the best option.

It wasn’t a good thing that the coachman who was working at the Wellington Company had turned into a drug smuggler.

[I agree as well.]

Stella also clasped her hands tightly, lamenting the tragedy that was to come.

She thought a family had been formed.

After a miraculous connection, she was happy that a time when everyone could be satisfied had finally arrived. However…

“It will be really hard for Iluniana.”

I massaged my forehead and sighed.

The truth was, I knew that Illuania didn’t really love Goben.

However, she wished for Sevia to have a father.

A father who would be strong, reliable, and always on the girl’s side.

She needed that kind of father.

“Illuania might not accept it.”

Even if we told her the whole truth, she might endure it for Sevia’s sake.

Even if we told her it was wrong, our voices might not reach her.

Because she was a mother, after all.

Anyway, the justification of doing it for the sake of the child was enough to paralyze Illuania’s rational thinking.

“Especially if Goben is devoted to the family, it would be even more so.”

[…]

[That might be the case.]

She might even respond sarcastically, saying that she herself used to be a woman working at the brothel.

“Even if he is a useless father, she might still think it is better to have one than none.”

But then—

“That is nonsense!”

Suddenly, a voice from someone other than the three of us, echoed. Standing in the center of the room, a yokai girl, whose tails had now become six, was glaring at us.

“Xiao Hu?”

[B-Bokshil!]

Bokshil?

Stella and I simultaneously turned to the Dark Spiritualist. We had clearly told her not to give Xiao Hu a name, but did she still rename her in spite of that?

And on top of that, Bokshil?

“Don’t call me Bokshil!”

At Xiao Hu’s shout, the Dark Spiritualist covered her mouth while looking shocked.

[B-Bokshil!]

With eyes that were half teary, she looked at Xiao Hu.

However, Xiao Hu glared at me intently and screamed.

“Is this true? Do you really want that child to have parents like that? A drug smuggler who ruins souls?”

“Is your yokai act over?”

“…”

Xiao Hu shut her lips.

From the look on her face, I could tell what made her unable to keep up her act, to the extent that even her resolve to live as a yokai had shattered completely.

“Yes, it’s over.”

Xiao Hu said, brushing her hair aside.

“Sevia? I’ve never really seen that child.”

But just as much as she was hurting from her own wounds, she didn’t want anyone else to suffer from the same pain.

“However, you should never leave a child in the hands of bad parents.”

There was genuine sincerity in her tearful words.

As someone who had lived her whole life with yokai as parents, she didn’t want anyone else to become a victim like her.

***

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