I Became The Academy's Necromancer Chapter 54

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Chapter 54: The Calm Before the Storm

For several days, we had been engrossed in research at the royal palace.

The kingdom’s magicians, undoubtedly talented individuals, were producing results much faster than I had anticipated.

By nature, magicians have an intense intellectual curiosity towards the unknown. Consequently, without any prompting, they constantly stayed late in the laboratory, as if working overtime was as natural as eating.

Separate from the satisfaction of exploring the unknown, the promise made by King Orpheus—that there would be a grand reward for resolving this matter—undoubtedly fueled their passion.

I too was mostly confined to the lab, spending time with them. It was a valuable opportunity to naturally absorb knowledge from such high-level magicians.

“How about we conceptualize it this way for now?”

In the center of the lab, an image of a Mack made of massive mana floated.

It had the trunk of an elephant, and its body was sturdy like that of a bear. Its claws were as sharp as a tiger’s, and its eyes seemed to be greedily searching for something.

“Excellent. Let’s proceed this way.”

I nodded, for Mack’s concept closely resembled the one I was familiar with.

This research wasn’t solely dependent on logical outcomes. The entire research team needed to share a unified concept, envisioning the same creature to bring it to life.

At my response, several magicians cheered and resumed their tasks. It was time to dive into the specifics of creating a detailed setup for Mack.

How would the trunk, used to seek out nightmares, work? What method would it use to consume dreams? What happens to the dreams once consumed?

This endeavor was akin to the very act of creation. And while the magicians were tense, they couldn’t hide their exhilaration.

“Deus!”

The laboratory door swung open, and in walked Princess Eleanor. As she often did, she approached with determined strides, casting a slightly displeased glance at me.

The magicians, who were preparing for a new meeting, familiarly seized this interruption as a break, rubbing their tired eyes or taking a gulp of coffee.

“Is it real?”

I’ve been posed this question numerous times and have gathered much from it. Most strikingly, I came to understand the princess’s particular areas of interest.

“There is this character called Crong. It’s the green-bodied dinosaur - a friend of the penguin I mentioned before.”

“Hmm? Isn’t the green-bodied dinosaur you’re referring to the one named Dooly?”

“It’s similar but not the same.”

I’ve shared a plethora of information with the princess. From historical figures to complex theories. I even touched upon tools taken for granted in Earthly daily life and internet-related memes.

However, in the end, what intrigued the princess the most were the characters from the animations.

In fact, when she dismissively pushed aside what she considered tedious theories to inquire about characters, I admit I was a tad irritated.

“Similar yet different? Come out for a moment! Explain it to me!”

I can’t shake off the feeling that she now seeks me out not because of nightmares but due to sheer curiosity about new knowledge.

As I stood silently in slight defiance, the princess raised her voice to address the other magicians behind us.

“Everyone’s been working hard. Take a break.”

“Yes, understood!”

They were as obedient as ever. Seeing that, the princess, wielding her authority to enforce a break, promptly grabbed my wrist and began pulling me outside.

The place she led me to was the palace garden. Seated on a bench before the vast flower bed, Eleanor handed me a notebook and pen.

“Draw it for me.”

I’ve lost count of how many times this has already happened.

Starting with the penguin, characters like an eternally mischievous five-year-old, and a cat robot that produces anything from its pocket were drawn - Numerous well-known characters filled the rest of the pages.

As I moved the pen with familiarity, a whispered voice from Dark Sage beside me cautiously remarked,

[The princess isn’t even looking at the drawing, she’s just staring at you.]

I’m aware. I wish she’d just keep it to herself.

At first, Princess Eleanor would sneak occasional glances, but now she openly and intently gazed at me. Lately, I suspected that even her requests for the drawings might be just an excuse.

“How have your nightmares been lately?”

While continuing to draw, I subtly steered the conversation. Princess Eleanor, caught off guard, hastily responded.

“Oh? Uh, yeah. Thanks to Deus, I’ve been recognizing it easily. You see, I’ve discovered another distinction between the reality I know and dreams. Thanks to that, the nightmares can’t deceive me anymore.”

“Hmm?”

With her new insight, she no longer had to differentiate between dreams and reality, leaving the nightmares stuck, unable to blur that line.

“Don’t you ask the question?”

“Well, I do. But it either tells me something I’ve already heard or spouts jumbled nonsense. Those are, of course, based on what I know.”

She beamed, clearly pleased with herself, “I guess it can’t come up with something novel and unheard of, like Deus does.”

Having roughly sketched the character, Crong, I handed the notebook to her. Upon seeing Crong, Princess Eleanor lit up with a bright smile, clearly delighted.

“I... I like this.”

Seeing the princess more pleased than usual, I venture a hypothesis.

“It doesn’t seem to share all of your experiences.”

If it listened to Eleanor’s every thought and word, it wouldn’t need to ask Eleanor what the dream lacked to make it more real.

“It’s also ignorant. It can’t even grasp the basic framework of the world.”

For instance, the fact that it initially didn’t reproduce scent and mana in dreams showed that such fundamental but invisible aspects were unknown to it.

“Its creativity is quite lacking too. It can mimic, but it can’t reinvent or create something new on its own.”

“...”

Princess Eleanor seems somewhat displeased, but I continue.

“It must be feeling anxious now. So, it will likely reveal its desires easily. Did you notice something peculiar? Did you see any distinct goals or principles in its actions?”

“Mmm.”

After pondering with her arms crossed, Eleanor, carefully considering her thoughts, shares an observation.

“It seems to enjoy imitating me - Following etiquette, mimicking how I talk to people around me, and even the way I walk.”

“...”

[It clearly wants to take over Eleanor.]

I agree with Dark Sage’s assessment.

But…

Something felt different.

It does want to possess Eleanor, but there seems to be a crucial difference.

In any case, one thing became clear.

‘The Eleanor I met in the game had already been possessed.’

The Princess Eleanor I see now and the one in the game had similarities, but also stark differences.

Seeing that Eleanor might not prefer this line of conversation, I smoothly steer the topic elsewhere.

“Have you been having trouble sleeping lately?”

“I’ve grown accustomed to it now. Thanks to that, I can study continuously without rest. Maybe it’s not so bad.”

She said, but shadows lingered beneath her eyes. However, catching my gaze, she gives a reassuring smile, as if to say not to worry.

“Lucky, right? When I return to Robern Academy, I won’t need to catch up on lessons. With my thorough preparation, I might even rank first this time?”

“......”

“As a princess, it would be embarrassing if your grades lagged behind, right?”

I chose not to respond.

I may not think it matters, but her royal duties seemed to encompass maintaining stellar grades.

“And Deus. Aren’t you going to keep your promise?”

“Promise?”

Questioning what she meant, I looked at Eleanor, who pouted in response.

“The code. If you see me first, you’re supposed to mention it before I ask.”

Apparently, this had been the cause of her earlier displeasure.

“You always come to me, Princess.”

So naturally, I never have the chance to say it first. With that, she folded her arms, sulking.

“Tsk, I even prepared my response.”

“…Haah.”

Seeing her puff her cheeks, I couldn’t help but wonder if this was really the same princess I knew. While the protagonist, Aria Rias, seemed too mature compared to her in-game character, one of the game’s bosses, Eleanor, acted too childishly.

I decided to share a story I thought Princess Eleanor might like.

“There’s something called a ‘magical girl.’ Ordinary girls, when coming across creatures with mysterious powers, don magical dresses, and vanquish evil.”

“……!”

Before she even asked, I proactively shared the information. When I subtly looked at her, suggesting “Isn’t this what you wanted?” Eleanor cleared her throat awkwardly.

Then triumphantly, she delivered the line she had prepared.

“Of course, this is reality!”

“That’s... all you wanted to say?”

“Yep! I wanted to be the one to declare it confidently, not Deus.”

Pleased, Eleanor immediately handed me the notebook again.

“But magical girls? What’s that about? It sounds really fun!”

I mentioned it because it seemed exactly like something the princess would be interested in. When I was younger, I watched a lot of TV at my grandmother’s house, so I knew about magical girls.

Honestly, it wasn’t really my taste, but I did appreciate the idea of them defeating villains.

Often, magical girls would fend off beings like ghosts, and through that, I felt a kind of vicarious satisfaction.

“Tell me about it!”

“...I can’t give you all the details.”

It’s a memory from childhood.

I began describing what came to mind.

Eleanor, finding it incredibly intriguing, hopped around in excitement. Then, she suddenly stopped and looked at me, asking,

“But Deus, do you like stuff like this?”

“...”

I instantly regretted mentioning it.

--- End of The Chapter ---

[TL: Firstly, I apologize for not releasing chapters; I was unwell. But now, I'm already feeling better and have started translating again.