I Became The Necromancer Of The Academy

Chapter 264: The Opportunity of Enlightenment

“So, this is Wuhua?”

Xiao Hu gazed around the capital of the Han Empire, Wuhua, with her mouth open in awe.

She looked exactly like a young girl visiting the city on a trip with her parents for the first time.

Perhaps finding her reaction amusing, Yun Ye bought a large steamed bun from a nearby street vendor and handed it to Xiao Hu.

“Here, eat this.”

“Th-thank you.”

This journey to Wuhua left Xiao Hu feeling somewhat confused.

While she was supposed to hate Yun Ye for killing the Ancient Dragon, Yun Ye treated her so well.

He was so kind to her; it was almost like he was a completely different person. And it didn’t seem like he treated Xiao Hu in that manner just because he liked children.

She could only speculate that he might have some personal reasons.

However, they weren’t close enough for her to ask him about something like that.

“I’ll be heading to the palace to submit my report and handle some other tasks. You should come across an inn if you just go down to the end of the road. Just mention my name, and they’ll give you a room.”

“When do we set off again?”

“We leave tomorrow at dawn, so keep the sightseeing to a reasonable level.”

After handing a dumpling to Xiao Hu, Yun Ye left without another word. It was hard to tell if he had been matching his pace with ours, but he quickly disappeared into the bustling crowd once he took off on his own.

“Let’s head to the inn for now.”

“Y-yes.”

Xiao Hu stared carefully at the bun in her hand before finally taking a big bite. The filling was piping hot, and steam rose from her mouth, but a faint smile appeared on her lips, hinting that she was enjoying the taste.

As we arrived at the inn, I couldn’t help but think that she was a child who found it inherently hard to hate people.

Although I had no luggage, Xiao Hu had quite a lot, so it took her some time to unpack.

“What would you like for dinner?”

“Uh, hmm… Can I look around a bit?”

“Suit yourself.”

Since I only pretended to eat anyway, I naturally left the choice to Xiao Hu since I couldn’t actually taste the food.

We headed to the bustling city for dinner.

Being a large city, the vitality remained unwavering even as the sun began to set.

I figured that even after nightfall, the taverns would light up their lanterns to welcome patrons.

It wasn’t a bad place.

“I think meat sounds good!”

“Alright.”

It really felt like I was looking after a child.

Following Xiao Hu, we entered a restaurant where we could grill our own meat at the table, and as I sat down, a sudden thought struck me.

I thought of Aria and Eleanor.

I wondered if they were doing well.

Although they were a bit older than Xiao Hu, their behavior didn’t feel all that different.

I hope they don’t do anything reckless.

Due to my unexpected disappearance, I imagined many must be feeling confused.

While it would have been nice if I could have left them a letter, unfortunately, I hadn’t anticipated this situation either.

The academic year at Loberne Academy was still ongoing and knowing me well, it was clear that they would be behaving like proper students.

“What are you thinking about?”

As the side dishes were brought out, Xiao Hu stared at me intently before asking.

Perhaps even she was able to tell my mind was elsewhere.

“Just thinking about some people I know.”

I replied vaguely, and a smirk crept up on Xiao Hu’s lips. The little rascal grinned as if she had found my weakness and asked again.

“You were thinking about someone you like, weren’t you?”

“Not exactly.”

Aria and Eleanor.

Both had shown interest in me… but honestly, they were still too young.

I was 29 now, while they were only 18. Although King Orpheus had once mentioned that Eleanor was of marriageable age…

With an 11-year age gap, it felt more like I was seeing them as children rather than potential lovers.

As I answered rather nonchalantly and started grilling the meat, Xiao Hu scratched her cheek awkwardly.

She probably hadn’t expected me to respond so easily.

“Th-then, do you have someone you like?”

Why was the conversation suddenly heading in that direction? Seeing me remain silent, Xiao Hu snapped her fingers and exclaimed cheerfully.

“So, you do! What kind of person is she? Is she pretty? How old is she? How tall? How did you meet?”

I was starting to wonder if she’d forgotten why she was even following me around.

The girl who was once gritting her teeth, vowing to avenge the yokai seemed to have let go of much of her anger after just a few days of traveling together.

“Just eat your meat.”

I placed the pieces of meat that were almost done on her plate. After taking a few bites, Xiao Hu made a peculiar face.

“It’s not bad, but could you cook it for a little less time?”

“…”

“You know, maybe just a little reddish? Like it’s barely seared on the grill?”

As if afraid that someone might tell her she wasn’t a yokai, Xiao Hu preferred her meat to be barely cooked. It couldn’t even be called rare.

And yet, she hadn’t forgotten the topic as she immediately brought it up again.

“So! Where is this person you like?”

“Sigh.”

“I’m sort of an expert when it comes to these things! Tell me!”

What could this kid possibly know?

Seeing her clinging to the topic with no intention of letting go, strangely enough, maybe because she wasn’t important to me, I felt that I could confide in her about something that was.

“There are some women I hold in my heart. But I’m not sure if I can call it love.”

“Wow! Wow! Wow!”

She looked on in astonishment.

The women who managed to make my heart race.

But I couldn’t pursue all of them, nor was I worthy of doing so.

“I’m still searching for my own answer.”

“Woooow!”

Xiao Hu continued to cheer in excitement, as if she were completely amazed. However, as she listened to the story, she was unable to give a proper response and simply nodded along.

“…Just eat your meat quietly.”

Even though she was a yokai, she was still just a kid. Why did I even bother to share something like this?

Perhaps I was more talkative because I was here as Kim Shinwoo and not Deus.

I began grilling the meat again.

“So… that means you’re in a complicated relationship with several women, right?”

It seemed Xiao Hu had no intention of letting the conversation end there.

“Do they know about each other?”

“…Yes.”

I answered almost involuntarily.

After saying it out loud, I felt a twinge of self-disgust. Wasn’t what I was doing no different from playing with the hearts of several women?

And just as I was about to face that wave of guilt…

“That’s impressive.”

Her tone didn’t sound sarcastic at all.

It might have been because she was a yokai, or perhaps because she thought differently from Griffin’s customs.

She looked at me, her gaze full of pure admiration.

“Impressive?”

“Yes. It means that there are people who like you enough to even set aside their pride as women.”

“…”

“And judging by your personality, you probably turned them down when they confessed, didn’t you? Or you told them, like you told me, that you still don’t fully understand your feelings yet.”

Her intuition was pretty sharp. I nodded silently.

“But you’re still hesitating because they all said they’d wait, right?”

I felt like I was taking counsel from a fortune-teller. This girl, who was just a young child moments ago, had somehow become an expert in this field.

“Why don’t you stop holding back? Just accept all of them!”

Her words were like sweet candy. It was something I’d thought about occasionally but knew I couldn’t allow myself to pursue.

“That’s not possible.”

I only had one body, after all.

Saying that I’d love them all equally would just be empty words.

Even if things started out peacefully, accepting everyone would eventually lead to cracks and give rise to conflicts.

“Really?”

Popping a piece of meat into her mouth, Xiao Hu quickly returned to her usual demeanor and muttered nonchalantly.

“Then it’s going to hurt a lot when you have to turn someone down.”

“…”

“For you, and for the one you turn down.”

Her words were laden with meaning.

After thinking for a moment, I glanced at Xiao Hu. Though the conversation had taken a serious turn, it was a personal issue I’d have to deal with on my own.

The bigger question on my mind was…

“Xiao Hu.”

…about her.

I knew that Xiao Hu wasn’t an ordinary yokai. After all, she ate food and lived a normal life, unlike other yokai.

But seeing her like this made me wonder

“Are you…”

“Oh, please don’t even try to flirt with me.”

I’d intended to ask about her identity, but Xiao Hu waved her hand dismissively.

I thought about correcting her but then realized that it wouldn’t make much difference.

So, I simply stayed silent and continued grilling the meat.

* * *

Standing on the crumbling castle wall illuminated by the moonlight was a solitary man.

His dirty blonde hair, swept back, fell to his shoulders.

His muscles, firmly defined, seemed to throb as if they were alive.

Starting from his hair to his appearance, he resembled a giant lion.

Kee-ah.

A hawk swooped down toward him, landing gracefully with something tied to its leg.

The man untied the item and took it in his hands.

It was a letter from Yun Ye and, along with it, was a scale left behind by the Ancient Dragon—a reverse scale, its greatest weakness.

Without even reading the letter, the man bit into it.

His sharp fangs tore into the scale, and he finally swallowed the Ancient Dragon’s remnant.

“Huff.”

With a deep exhale, a faint glow ignited inside him, only to fade away moments later.

The massive power building within him roared to be unleashed, but he held it back.

Soon, Yun Ye would arrive.

The time to depart for Griffin’s Norseweden Mountain Range was drawing closer.

The man was Lanhardt.

The leader of the hunters and a mercenary known as the Lion of the Duchy of Valestan.

And he was also a vampire who coveted both humans and yokai.