"...thank you...?

"

Zoemi was slightly taken aback – though that was mostly because of the appearance of the supposed teacher since for the most part he wanted to appreciate the gesture.

"...but what's the point of bringing me here...?

"

He added, assuming that it wasn't just because Aspakeony couldn't wait to show him the corpse puppet that she herself described as unfinished – for the most part.

"You'll see in a moment – stay there and watch carefully.

"

The gray-haired necromancer commanded, glancing at him with a grumpy expression, and turned towards the door to her office – and the dark-haired corpse puppet did the exact same thing after it was released from the gold-haired corpse puppet's grip.

The man walked towards the door and grabbed the doorknob – turning it and...

*thump*

...pulling on the door making it let out a soft noise that indicated them still being very much locked...

"They are sealed, alright? Now then...

"

Aspakeony pointed out glancing back at the unamused Zoemi and declared while her corpse puppet began using the spell – and Zoemi could clearly see it because of his ability to see shadows cast by both the living humans and the magic spells.

Then, the dark-haired corpse puppet turned the knob again and pulled on the door...

*thump*

"...huh...?

"

...just to end up with the exact same result as before, making Zoemi frown and let out a surprised voice...

"See? Tat's what I'm talking about – this guy is a shadow magician and my own mana was used as a basis to replenish his nearly gone shadow mana. If any shadow magician would be able to use their spells and open that seal, that would be him.

"

Aspakeony pointed out and approached her corpse puppet, patting his back with a serious expression.

"Now – show me how you did it.

"

The necromancer beckoned the black-haired boy to come over – which Zoemi did after a brief moment of hesitation.

|Is she serious...?|

The black-haired boy furrowed his brows and reached towards the door as the dark-haired corpse puppet stepped away, making a place for him.

Zoemi didn't have to confirm that the door was blocked off with the magic seal – he could clearly see its shadow after all.

Instead, he grabbed the doorknob and focused on the world of dancing shadow – grasping the necromancy spell was much easier than the first time he did it since the source of the shadow was standing a few feet away from him...

With that, he merely needed a few seconds of concentration and...

*click*

The seal unlocked and so did the lock in the door, allowing the black-haired boy to open it ajar...

"...this is getting ridiculous...

"

Aspakeony breathed out in defeat, swallowing her saliva nervously as she turned away in an attempt of hiding her shock.

"What does this proves thought...?

"

Zoemi asked, raising his brow.

"You aren't a shadow magician – that's for sure – you are a variant, but not one that I've ever encountered or heard about.... is it my fault...?

"

The necromancer shrugged her shoulders and sighed again – letting her guard down and slipping a rather peculiar complaint at the end...

"Your fault? How so?

"

Zoemi instantly picked up on it – considering that he did have a feeling of meeting the gray-haired girl before he entered the Academy.

"What...? No, just a slip of the tongue – don't mind me.

"

The necromancer furrowed her brows and shrugged her shoulders indifferently, playing it off far better than before.

"Let's put the matter of your attribute to the side for the time being and talk about why do you think that the security of my academy is insufficient... although I guess after you just breached my own hideout's defenses your worries might seem justified...

"

Aspakeony changed the subject, starting a new one in a rather cold voice but then glanced at the wide-open door to her office and her tone changed by a lot...

"But I can assure you that without the help from the outside, no rogue magician can enter the Academy without my knowledge – and I definitely will not allow any of my students to die, alright?

"

...still, she shook her head and recovered almost instantly, ending her declaration with conviction.

"Even a hostile transcended ice magician...?

"

Zoemi pointed out carefully observing the girl's reaction.

"The complete lack of reaction caused by mana freezing over is a signal all on its own, don't you think? The moment that happens I can bring several dozen light attribute corpse puppets of mine to check things out and subdue the danger from afar.

"

Aspakeony boasted and puffed out her chest proudly.

"...I see... so there will be an accomplice...

"

Zoemi frowned and looked to the side, muttering to himself in grim realization.

"...!

"

|Hold on! Surou's mysterious supporter – what happened to that guy?! He is a shady character from the get-go – what if he is planning something else now...!|

The black-haired boy flinched and straightened his back in realization.

Still, it was far too late to ran to the heroine's room – showing up at such a late hour would definitely scare her even more than she was already – but talking with her was definitely the first thing on Zoemi's to-do list for the morning.

"...How many corpse puppets do you have in the first place...?

"

Suddenly, the black-haired boy turned ack towards the gray-haired girl and asked.

"Around a thousand – I had several hundred times that before but after the wars – and the Ghosts of Bellcephora hunting me and my puppets down – this is the number I have at my disposal.

"

"...

"

The necromancer admitted in a casual tone without even a second of hesitation, leaving the black-haired attendant speechless for a moment.

"...I see... then as long as I find the potential accomplice, you can promise me that you will deal with the murderer if he happens to show up?

"

Zoemi took a deep breath and asked in a serious voice, making Aspakeony furrow her brows.

"Boy, besides you for whatever reason, the little prince, the little miss Victureo, and me – no one knows that Ludier Galamroze is the murderer in question – not even little Derizno since his father specifically contacted me – that is Burdoff the headmaster – about the matter and asked for increasing the security without notifying the boy.

"

Aspakeony rolled her eyes and explained...

...but even though she thought that she was right that wasn't true...

Not entirely.

|If Burushi is the reincarnated person like me and she knows about the game, she most likely knows about Ludier too... Now I literally must talk to her as soon as possible without turning her hostile...|

Zoemi thought to himself.

Honestly, now he wanted nothing more than to go and wait under the heroine's room until she will wake up in order to talk to her and make sure she isn't involved in any of this – but that wasn't really feasible...

"...Aspy, say since you have this guy now, could you make him keep an eye on a certain student from the shadows...?

"

"...I want to say no because I do my best to respect my students' privacy – but if you have an actual viable reason...

"

Aspakeony raised her brows, intrigued by the sudden change in the boy's behavior, and walked inside her office, beckoning Zoemi to follow her.

--------

Almost an hour later the black-haired boy was returning to his room with a satisfied smile on his face.

He managed to convince Aspakeony to put the shadow attribute corpse puppet on Burushiitto's tail – it was difficult to come up with convincing arguments, but it worked out somehow in the end.

On one hand that could make talking about the heroine about the reincarnation a bit difficult considering that Aspakeony would end up listening in on that conversation – but in Zoemi's opinion that was a far better option than ignoring the blond girl completely.

...also, it was high time that the bullies messing with the heroine were outed out already...

Honestly, Aspakeony's policy of not intervening with the student's life unless it was absolutely necessary was far too lenient...

Zoemi was thinking about that while sneaking through the dimly lit hallways back to the dormitory – Aspakeony tipped him how to sneak past the patroling teachers so the black-haired boy only needed to check his watch and not use his spells at all.

Everything was going on fine – until he picked the slightly different route to return to the dormitory building – one that would ensure that no one spots him accidentally.

...his path included him walking past the entrance to the academy's dungeon, which should definitely not be in use – especially not at that time of night...

"...!

"

So Zoemi was in for a great surprise when he almost walked in on the middle-aged red-haired teacher – the very same one who was amongst the three examinators during the magic examination...!

|Wha...? Huh? What is he doing here?|

Zoemi furrowed his brows backing himself behind the corner of the hallway and glancing at the man carefully looking around after exiting the dungeon...

After confirming that he was alone – even though he actually wasn't – the red-haired teacher carefully locked the door and left the area trying to be sneaky...

"...I'll have to check it out later... I think there was something about this dungeon beside Xeonith's event...

"

Zoemi murmured to himself, glaring at the disappearing teacher's back and stopping the urge to instantly barge into the underground.

"Tomorrow... Aspy promised me to watch out for anything suspicious.... ugh... why does this sound like a flag...?

"

The black-haired boy whispered to himself trying to convince himself it was alright to return to his room and go back to sleep for whatever was left from the night – but accidentally ended up making himself feel worse and far more anxious.