Necromancer Academy’s Genius Summoner

Chapter 244

There was dead silence in the ballroom.

The nobles were speechless with shock.

To think that this man with eyes bloodshot after overdosing of alcohol and drugs, his face looking like he hadn't washed in days, and his hair soaked in rainwater, was the third prince of the royal family, Andre.

"Jeez~ Fate is such a harsh thing, isn't it?"

A slurred mess stumbled out of Andre's mouth.

"Someone here wassh kicked out of Kizen, and the succession to the throne is completely ruined."

He lifted an empty glass stained red at the bottom from wine

"Someone here! Wittthhh a noice outfit! And a pretty girl on each arn!! He's having a blast! Fufe! Keheugh…! Bwahahahahaha!"

Self-deprecating laughter echoed through the ballroom.

"How~ shameless of you! The bastard who ruined my life crawled all the way here!"

"Brother!"

Princess Mollie ran over, face ghostly pale.

"I clearly told you not to come in h—"

"Shut upppppppp!"

Screamed Andre like a madman, causing Princess Mollie to flinch and step back.

"Do you think I'm scared of you?! I've got nothing to lose!! What's there to fear when you'd already hit rock bottom! Mm? Heheh! Hahahaha!"

Murmur, murmur.

Not staying quiet for too long, the nobles began to whisper to each other about this serious situation.

Andre was one of the stars of this ball, a royal. No one could defy him for tonight.

And Andre's gaze landed straight on Simon.

"…"

Meeting his gaze, Simon rose from his seat.

"Simon."

Lorain stood up after him, blocking his path.

"You don't have to deal with someone out of his mind."

"I appreciate your concern, but this is what I'm being paid for."

This confrontation was perhaps inevitable when he got involved with Andre in Kizen.

He swallowed back a sigh as he felt his polished shoes squelching against muddy water. He then bowed as deep as would normally be required.

"Greetings, Prince."

Andre laughed, his shoulders heaving with every breath. His army boots crunched against the carpet every time he stepped on it.

"Shameless bastard! You shameless bastard! This is all because of you! If you'd just used common sense during your Duel Evaluation, things wouldn't have gotten to this point!"

By 'common sense', he meant that when Malcolm, whom he had cheered for, wore the Black Knight armor, Simon should've lost on purpose out of respect for the royal family.

Simon raised his head.

"Just as I swore in the entrance ceremony, I put all my effort into everything."

Without hesitation, Simon said what he had to say.

"You took advantage of a fellow Kizen student's weakness and treated them like a servant, intimidated students with your influence as royalty, and you centralized the club's budget and used it for your personal gain, Prince Andre."

None of those actions were Simon's fault, and he was making that clear.

"Dammit!"

Andre snapped, thrusting his fingers to Simon's face, his cheeks flushed with alcohol.

"Do you know why customs are customs? They're customs because they've been done before and have become culture! Am I the only one at fault? People have used their power, they have used club's funds, it's what everyone does! The only ones who don't are the fools!"

His voice grew more and more strident.

"So I did, and then, unluckily, I got caught! None of this would've happened if you had given up on the Duel Evaluation the moment you saw the R symbol of the royal family! You broke the custom, and that's why everything is fucked up! What kind of crazy bastard beats up someone wearing the Black Knight armor?"

"Those kinds of customs…"

Simon closed his eyes.

"…are none of my business."

Whisper whisper,

Seeing Simon refuse to back down to a prince, the nobles watched on in surprise.

"And let me correct you. It is not a custom, but a vice."

"You son of a—!"

As Andre tried to attack Simon out of fury, the Black Knights, the royal family's elite order, immediately grabbed him by the arms.

"Prince."

"Let go of me!"

Andre flailed wildly, shaking them off.

"Okay, fine. If you're so smug enough to ignore me!"

Andre stomped off in another direction, away from Simon.

"I will defeat you with another custom!"

The crowd around him parted like an ocean.

"Ahh~ things have taken a turn for the worst."

Muttered Serene.

Andre headed for the guillotine. Andre stepped up to the execution platform, which was decorated with all kinds of vines, and rang the bell.

"I am Andre Dresden, royal blood! Simon Polentia!"

He pointed directly at Simon.

"I challenge you to a duel!"

* * *

* * *

Pitter-patter, pitter-patter!

The rain was only getting thicker.

Many people were gathered in a large space in front of the banquet hall, the guests holding their umbrellas as two boys in the centre stood facing each other in the rain.

"Simon, it's not too late."

Lorain was drying Simon. Her dark hair was soaked through, as well.

"Even drunk, he was a second-year Kizen student who's been through all kinds of things. This duel is too reckless."

Serene nodded.

"Lorain is right. A former second-year as your opponent is too much~"

For the first time in a long while, they agreed on something.

It was said that one Kizen second-year was worth ten first-years, and the students who endured the hellish competition and stress to become second-years were undoubtedly outstanding.

It was practically a duel between an adult and a baby. The very fact that the duel was organized was absurd.

"Of course, there will be a handicap."

Said Andre with a smirk.

Andre himself, the one who requested the duel, was well aware of the absurdity of it.

'This is a duel to restore my honor.'

Andre also wanted to win with dignity.

He couldn't stand the idea of winning a duel and then being labeled a sore loser who bullied his former junior.

"Say whatever you want. Do you want me to fight with dark spells that only first-years learn? Or that I cannot move? Maybe I cannot use my left arm and leg?"

He wanted to make the game seem a little more fair so that when he won, the resulting honor would be greater.

But Simon shook his head.

"I don't need a handicap."

"Then…"

That's when Lorain stepped forward.

Students were Kizen's property, and Kizen had a duty to protect them from outside pressures.

"I'll personally help him with one thing."

Andre frowned.

'As expected from Kizen bastards. I knew they were gonna do this.'

He didn't like the fact that they were just adding a condition when he was the one who was supposed to give the handicap to display the mercifulness of the royalty.

"Sure, that would be fine. But on one condition!"

Andre spread his arms.

"If Simon loses, even with your help, you will kneel in front of me and bow your head. Are you willing to do that?"

It was a useless taunt, spoken in the hope that it wouldn't be taken.

But…

"Sure."

Lorai nodded meekly. Andre, Simon, and the nobles watching all recoiled in shock.

"L-Lorain!"

"There's no problem. You were already planning to win, weren't you?"

She said nonchalantly.

Simon scratched the side of his head.

"W-Well, that's true, but—"

"Then that's it."

Andre gave a grim laugh.

"But would a single assistant be enough for you? The difference between second-year and first-year is—"

"Then allow me to help~"

Serene popped out as if waiting for this opportunitu, clinging to Simon's right arm.

"I'll help Simon once as well. And in return, if he loses, I'll grant you a chance to lie on the lap of the successor of Ivory Tower. Doesn't that sound good?"

"Serene!"

Simon wondered what was wrong with these two.

'Hm.'

Andre licked his lips as he swept a perverted glance across Serene and Lorain.

When he won, it'd be big news. Those two monsters would have to live with that embarrassing history for the rest of their lives, and his name would be mentioned every time.

He's stand tall as an icon who embarrassed Kizen and the Ivory Tower.

If so, he'd be recognized and empowered by all the anti-Kizen factions of the Dark Territory.

They wouldn't allow him to be sacrificed to politics. Andre, who had paved the road to his revival, nodded.

"I accept!"

And so, the duel between first-year Simon and former-second-year Andre was established.

It was decided that Simon would be assisted once each by Lorain and Serene, while Andre would go all out.

Then, they had time to plan.

"This one's from me."

Lorain handed Simon one of her daggers. The entire blade was tinged with a crimson glow.

"This is a dagger that can take on any kind of impact for you. It's charged with my jet-black. With each impact, the red of the blade will fade, and when the red is completely gone, it'll return to a normal dagger."

Simon grabbed the dagger and swung it in the air. It felt light, and the grip felt nice.

"Thank you, Lorain."

Right after he said his thanks, Serene suddenly hugged Simon from behind.

A pleasant floral scent wafted in from behind, and Simon instantly tensed up.

"What's going on?"

Lorain's brow furrowedm, thinking that Serene was pulling off some tricks again.

"What do you mean~ I'm giving my gift, too."

Serene made a triumphant smile, then stuck her head out and spoke in a hushed voice in Simon's ear.

"Remember when we had a joint class in the first semester and I taught you how to do Jet-Black Eruption?"

"Huh? Yeah."

"I'll give you the same effect."

A moment later, she stepped back. Then, he felt the same huge mental boost as when the feathers were attached to his body.

It was a sort of a simplified compello effect.

'With these…'

Simon tightened his grip on Lorain's dagger with excitement.

'I can't even think of losing, can I?'

It was impossible to tell since he didn't know just how big the gap in skill would be yet, but he felt a surge of confidence.

While he checked out his new powers, preparations for the duel went quickly.

The referee would be a chief royal butler who had previously attended Kizen.

The rules were the same as the Duel Evaluation in Kizen. Disqualification for using forbidden dark magic or stepping outside the lines of the arena. Victory was obtained by forcing the opponent to surrender or making them unable to fight.

After a few moments, Simon and Andre stepped forward.

Andre grinned.

"Right! Shouldn't we make a bet between us?"

"Please, go ahead."

"If I win, how about you quit Kizen? You've ruined my life, so it should be possible for me to do the same."

Perhaps because he had nothing to lose, Andre was getting increasingly ridiculous.

Lorain's eyes fired up at the mention of expulsion. Serene, on the other hand, crossed her arms, struggling to hide her grin as she watched on.

"And what if I win?"

"Say whatever you want."

Simon flicked Pier's clone, hanging silently on his chest.

Pier spoke into in his head, and Simon agreed.

"Of the dungeons that currently exist in the territory of the Dresden Kingdom…"

Quietly, so as not to be overheard, Simon stated his condition.

"I want you to give me 'exclusive access' to one location of my choice."

"…!"

Andre looked dazed.

That would mean handing over any dungeon, and the value of a dungeon was astronomical.

"Do you even realize what you're asking for?"

"If you don't want that, you can quit."

Andre snapped.

If Simon was feeling confident, Andre felt like this duel was impossible to lose. On top of that, the last chance to regain his dignity was on the line.

Drawing an R over his chest, Andre declared,

"In the name of the royal family of Dresden, I accept Simon Polentia's terms!"

Andre voewed this in front of the many guests at the ball. The two then turned and walked away in silence. The fight was about to begin.

[Kehaha! I thought I wouldn't be able to go to that dungeon for a while, but this worked out well!]

Said Pier in Simon's head.

The dungeon they would request was a likely hiding place for the new Ancient Undead.

There was no way to get there, as it was heavily guarded by the kingdom that controlled it, but they hadn't expected to get there by such a legitimate route.

'Of course, that only matters if I win.'

The two boys stood the standard distance away and faced each other.

[There's no turning back, Boy! I'm sure he'll be coming out in full force.]

'Yeah.'

He had to fight Magnus at some point, and a second-year was a mountain he had to overcome sometime soon.

Simon took a fighting stance.

'I will make sure to win.'

The chief butler declared,

"Then, let the duel between Third Prince Andre and student Simon Polentia… Begin!"

——

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