Chapter 491
“Grave… graveyard?”
“Why are we in a place like this…?”
The students wore puzzled expressions.
Just a moment ago, they had been scribbling with quills inside the lecture hall, and now they were suddenly dropped into a cemetery.
A gloomy sky, heavy fog, black-leaved plants, and rows upon rows of gravestones came into view. An eerie atmosphere lingered everywhere.
Simon pushed himself up and walked toward the nearest grave.
「In memory of the victims of the Mahilani Landslide.」
That was all the tombstone said; there were no names of the buried.
Judging by the date, it had happened a long time ago. It seemed the victims of the disaster were all buried here together.
Perhaps because it had never been maintained, the graves were in terrible condition. Dried vines and weeds covered them, and there were signs of monsters or stray dogs having dug through the soil.
“Welcome to the cemetery!”
“Welcome!”
The twin professors approached the students with light steps.
“We’ve secured all the necessary permits. This graveyard can be used by our Keyzen for educational purposes, so don’t worry.”
“When it comes to teaching funerology, there’s no better classroom than a cemetery!”
The twins waved their hands through the air. A dome-shaped barrier spread over them and the students.
“It’s just a soundproof barrier!”
“Now then, shall we begin the lesson?”
They exchanged glances, nodded once, and clasped hands, drawing in a long breath.
[La―――――!!]
Simon felt the hair on his body stand on end. A chilling energy traced down his back, stiffening the nape of his neck.
The other students, too, gasped in astonishment.
“Wow, goosebumps.”
“They sound like opera singers!”
Rather than being bright and beautiful, the melody carried an eerie undercurrent, evoking the wails of spirits of the dead.
The twins cut the note off at the same time.
Clap clap clap clap!
Several students clapped instinctively. The twins snorted dismissively and looked back at them.
“We told you, didn’t we, kiddos?”
“Why did we come here, kiddos?”
The students answered in unison.
“To experience the origin of funerology!”
The twin professors nodded.
“That’s right! From now on, we’ll be practicing the basics of basics!”
“The funeral song that calls forth undead!”
“We’ll start with something as simple as a school bell song. If you can’t follow even this, you’re disqualified as a summoner, right, Lin?”
“Exactly, Rune! Just disqualified as a necromancer altogether!”
The two girls clasped their hands.
“We’ll sing a phrase each!”
“You just follow along!”
“Yes, professors!”
The summoning class suddenly turned into a music lesson. Whenever the twins sang a phrase, the students repeated it.
[Ra-v-ri-ma-đưa ra. anh!]
The overwhelming resonance filled the air. The students, though unnerved by the chilling tone, opened their mouths and repeated after them.
Then the professors corrected them.
“Emphasize the Ma in the middle more loudly!”
So far, there was no magical activation—just music.
A completely ordinary singing lesson.
The only difference was that the lyrics weren’t in the continental tongue and the melody, designed to summon the undead, felt alien and difficult to sing.
Still, since it was just a short first verse, memorizing it wasn’t too hard. During the short break, the students were already humming the tune.
Even during the break, the twin professors continued explaining.
“This funeral song has no title and no known author. Among necromancers, it’s called Grave Robber’s Song!”
“Back in the old days, grave robbers supposedly sang this while prowling the cemeteries at night!”
“That way, the graves would move, and they could tell if there were still bodies inside!”
“Of course, these days you can get undead in cities, so it’s just an old tale!”
Their words echoed like a chant.
“Break’s over! Everyone up!”
“Now we’ll teach you how to trigger black magic with music!”
There were countless methods of weaving magical effects through music, but for the first lesson, the twins taught the simplest.
You spread a magic circle before your mouth and sing, letting the song activate formulas or rune-words within the circle. Direct and simple.
Of course, succeeding in this stage was essential to moving on to stronger funeral songs.
‘Oh.’
Trying it himself, Simon found it fascinating.
When he sang into the magic circle, certain points on the circle would glow and fade in sync with the song.
It was as though the circle actually understood the music.
“You must pronounce the Ra-v-ri part with precise breaks!”
“If you slur them together, it becomes a completely different command, and the circle won’t react!”
The twin professors and their assistants walked around correcting the students’ singing.
Simon, practicing harder than anyone, paused when his throat began to grow hoarse, taking out some water for a sip.
“How’s it going? Working out?”
Loraine approached.
Simon scratched his head awkwardly.
“Mm. It’s harder than I thought.”
“Want me to teach you? I used to sing funeral songs often as a child, so I know them well.”
As expected of Loraine.
The power of early education.
“I’d appreciate that.”
Simon didn’t refuse.
Nodding, Loraine spread a magic circle before her lips and drew in a breath.
At last, her lips parted.
“Finde-die Die-be….”
‘!’
With just the first note, chills raced down Simon’s spine.
A clean, graceful tone unfurled. Though it was the exact same song the professors had sung, it carried an entirely different weight.
At the same time, the hair on his back prickled, the true effect of funerology infused in her voice.
Rumble! Rumble!
Her voice shook a nearby grave. And this was with her output deliberately minimized.
Had she sung at full power, the graves would likely have burst open, skeletal hands clawing out into daylight.
“You need to lift the tone at the end like this.”
She sang a line and repeated the instruction to Simon.
“And finish with a mournful cry—ein-dickes Schädel üdbrig!”
Then she stopped, gazing at Simon.
“Now, want to try?”
Snapped from his trance, Simon nodded quickly.
“I’ll give it a shot!”
He stepped forward.
I can do this.
I will do this.
He drew in a breath, tightening his diaphragm.
“Fin-ded-ie D-ie-be!”
As Simon’s voice rang out, Loraine’s eyes widened.
“Ich tre-ffe sie, dieim Grab….”
The surrounding students began murmuring. Toto and Fitzgerald came closer.
“Schädel übrig――!”
With a final push of his voice, Simon wiped the sweat from his brow dramatically.
“Well? How was that?”
“Uh, um… Simon.”
Loraine’s face flushed slightly before she turned her head away as if gazing into the distance.
“You’re… really bad at singing.”
“?!”
Hahahahahaha!
The watching students burst into laughter. Toto, in particular, looked astonished.
“So Simon does have something he’s bad at.”
Fitzgerald adjusted his glasses in agreement.
“Well, a human who excels at everything doesn’t feel very human.”
Simon’s face burned red.
“M-my singing wasn’t that bad! I hit every note!”
“The notes aren’t the problem, Simon~.”
Before he realized it, Serne had arrived, her ivory hair swaying as she wagged a long, pale finger in front of his eyes.
“You were completely off-beat. You’re rhythm-deaf, Mr. Offbeat.”
“…Urgh!”
Serne said that, then drew in a breath with a soft huup.
“die im Grab gefangen ist――!”
The shocking volume, paired with elegant resonance as she scrunched her brows, left the students gaping with their mouths open.
This crazy genius managed to produce funerological effects just with her singing alone, without even using a magic circle. The surrounding graves were shaking.
“Like this, perhaps?”
Serne gave Simon a playful wink before turning her head away. Loraine, meanwhile, clenched her fists tightly in frustration.
Simon let out an awkward chuckle.
Is singing ridiculously well some kind of genetic trait of the Ivory Tower family?
Right—Serne had been adopted by the master of the Ivory Tower.
‘Anyway.’
Simon cleared his throat, trying to refocus, and sang another verse. But the only reaction he got was a round of awkward smiles.
Serne cooed teasingly.
“Aww~ I don’t mind a guy who can’t sing. After all, you’re better at the things I like more.”
‘…Why does that make me feel oddly insulted?’
Loraine added her own comment.
“It’s fine, Simon. Funerary songs aren’t about singing skill. As long as you can rouse the undead, it works. Rhythm-deafness is just an illness you can overcome.”
‘Loraine! You too…!’
While Simon slumped down in despair, crushed against the wall of talent, the twin professors strolled over, chatting merrily.
“Shall we start, Lin?”
“Let’s begin, Rune!”
“All right, kiddos! Time for your performance test! Scatter and practice!”
“If you succeed in awakening an undead in front of us or the assistants, you pass!”
The twins clasped hands, then stretched them outward. The students turned to where they were pointing.
“There’s a teleportation magic circle prepared over there!”
“Anyone who passes and receives a grade can go straight back to school!”
“After that, it’s free time alllll the way!”
At the mention of returning to school, students’ eyes lit up. The twins raised their clasped hands high toward the sky.
“Then, from this moment—!”
“Begin!”
At the starting call, the students scattered in a rush. Everyone wanted to claim a good grave first.
Simon ran as well, finally finding a somewhat secluded spot shaded by trees. He drew in a breath.
‘First performance test in funerology class. I have to succeed!’
Determination burned in Simon’s eyes.
* * *
Four hours later.
Ninety-five percent of the Summonology students who had entered the cemetery had already returned to Keyzen.
Serne, who scored an A+, was the very first. Loraine followed. Aseraz and Hector, naturally, were at the top, and even Toto and Fitzgerald had left the graveyard.
And then—
“Finde… die… be…”
Simon’s voice was completely hoarse.
‘So there really are things effort can’t overcome.’
A moment later, the last boy who had remained with him stepped onto the teleportation magic circle and left.
Before long, darkness completely swallowed the graveyard.
“You’re the only one left.”
“The only one left.”
The twin professors approached with light steps.
“Follow us.”
“Failure.”
“…Yes.”
Simon trailed after them, deeper into the cemetery. Each held a lantern, casting small patches of light in the darkness.
‘Where are they taking me?’
Were they just moving him to another location because this one wasn’t working?
Or were they planning to punish him?
Whatever it was, Simon—this class’s last-place student—had no choice but to follow. He trudged behind them.
At last, they arrived at a dense, overgrown section of graves.
If the earlier places had been poorly maintained but at least orderly, here it was absolute chaos. Graves were haphazardly crammed together, as if people had been in too much of a rush to bury the bodies properly.
“Professors, this is…”
“Do you want to give up?”
Professor Lin suddenly asked. Simon flinched and fell silent.
“That’s right! Giving up is also a student’s right!”
“Want to just take an F and go back to school?”
“……”
Simon clenched his fists tightly. From his hoarse throat came a rough voice.
“I want to keep trying, to the end.”
At his words, the twins tilted their heads.
“That’s strange, Lin.”
“Strange indeed, Rune.”
“No one knows better than you that it isn’t working, right?”
“No one knows better than you that it can’t be improved, that the chances are zero, right?”
“Then why keep trying?”
“Why not give up?”
Though the twins pressed him, Simon only smiled and replied:
“Because I’ve never once thought of why I should give up. I’ve never found a reason to.”
The twins’ eyes went blank for a moment.
“Oh. Lin! He just turned your own words back on you! You got hit!”
“No way, Rune! That was actually your line!”
“Liar!”
The two bickered briefly, then stopped at the same time, stepping back.
“What’s your name?”
“Simon Follentia.”
“All right. We’ll teach you, Simon.”
“The truth is, the funerary song we taught you, maybe it was natural you couldn’t sing it.”
“…Pardon?”
The twins clasped hands and lowered their voices.
“Would a shark ever need to learn the song of sardines?”
“We’ll teach you the one that truly suits you.”
Superb.
When are we getting more free chapters?
Thanks for the new chapters