Chapter 4: I’m going to the academy

“You missed?”

A single word from Prince Ferdinand, who was sitting at a high-class table and eating.

Nathaniel quietly lowered his head.

It was an apology from the hunting dog for failing the mission.

“That’s not like you. This is the first time you’ve missed the prey you marked, isn’t it?”

“I seem to have been careless, Your Highness. I heard he was an insignificant low-ranking necromancer… I never imagined that he would have the strength to escape despite being mortally wounded.”

“…Well, whatever.”

He wiped his mouth with a white napkin. Ferdinand said, taking a transparent wine glass, he brushed it off casually.

“It’s your magic, isn’t it? Even if he escaped, he wouldn’t have lived long. He might be buried in a remote garbage dump by now.”

“…”

“Still, did you handle the scene properly? I hate any trouble. Especially while my beloved sister is keeping a close eye on me.”

“Don’t worry. The body was completely burned so it’s unidentifiable.”

“Good. Well done.”

Ferdinand finished his meal and got up, pulling out his chair.

Then, servants came and took away all the remaining food.

The confidants, who were loyal to Ferdinand, who never heard and never saw.

Thanks to them, he could openly share dangerous stories.

“By the way, how did you handle the personnel selection matter agreed with the academy? I’m sure you agreed to pick a good talent.”

“I’m still considering it. It’s not easy to find someone who is highly skilled and easy to exploit.”

Nathaniel, the court magician, who would soon be promoted to the 6th rank.

He received a letter from the academy a while ago.

Professor Kamala Bishop, who teaches the black magic defense course, is about to retire.

Instead of her, who is known to be strict and doesn’t even keep an assistant, the academy side was to recommend a suitable successor.

It was a letter received only by some of the academy graduates who had excelled in Bishop’s courses and refused to stay in the tower.

According to the regulations, the position of a professor at the academy is a position that can be continued only with the consent of the predecessor.

If they don’t use such a shortcut, a vacancy in the black magic defense course professor might occur.

“Originally, I intended to recommend our loyal magicians…”

“I know. Professor Kamala Bishop, doesn’t she hate people who are stupider than her, so she doesn’t even have an assistant? She handles every minor document herself.”

Ferdinand replied, putting his arm into the coat sleeve that the maid was putting on.

“You’re going to send a mediocre talent as a candidate? Then the plan to plant a collaborator as a professor at the academy will fail. But I can’t send you, who must always be by my side.”

“I’m honored. I’m constantly looking, and I’ll have good news soon.”

“Even so, hurry up. I don’t want to miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”

Ferdinand said, wearing a sword on his belt.

He pressed the sun-shaped brooch on his coat and glared.

An academy professor is a useful position that can enjoy wide-ranging authority and privileges.

To be able to completely buy one of those professors? It would surely be a huge merit.

Ferdinand himself, or his hateful sister, has to enter the academy as a member of the imperial family.

“Hoo.”

After escaping the sewer, I leaned against the wall and examined myself.

‘It’s not a delusion.’

The man who was once Crowley Altra was now a woman I had never seen before.

Hair, eyes, body, voice.

There’s nothing like the man from the past.

‘I died and came back to life, and my gender changed? Does that make sense?’

Confusion boiled, but there was no time to be distracted.

Since the water has already been spilled, I must quickly adapt to the reality of being a woman.

Above all, I am the direct descendant of the ancient witch Altra.

If I were to change my gender…

“…”

I quietly gathered my energy throughout my body.

Then I felt it.

Magic that couldn’t be compared to the man I used to be.

A power that was only felt in the women of the Altra family, or perhaps several times more powerful than that.

If the mana capacity I had as a man was like a stream, the new capacity was like a sea that was fluctuating in a typhoon.

“This is amazing?”

It seems my chest and lower body didn’t change just for show.

I really became the witch of the Altra family.

‘No, wait a minute.’

A foreboding worry suddenly loomed.

‘Maybe I’ve also inherited all the disadvantages of a female necromancer?’

That was the reason why the descendants of Altra couldn’t avoid the witch hunt and died young.

First, for confirmation, I imagined the hateful things.

The difficult childhood, the debtors who tormented me, and Prince Ferdinand who tried to kill me.

If my mind had become a woman’s too, I would have caused all sorts of chaos due to my murderous intent.

“…Phew.”

I sighed with relief and wiped away my sweat.

Of course, it’s unpleasant, but I don’t have the urge to run wild and do anything.

The self-control and calmness I had as a man of Altra were still there.

‘Then, what about my knowledge?’

All the necromantic knowledge I had learned and mastered so far.

I thoroughly reviewed it and applied it in various ways.

The witches of Altra lacked systematic learning ability and preferred to rely on intuition and instinct.

‘…Thank goodness.’

My intellectual superiority is safe.

Rather, with the developed senses, my ability to apply it has improved even more.

It felt as if I was reincarnated, choosing only the advantages of the man and woman of the Altra family.

Since the necromancy was created and inherited, there has never been a similar case like this.

Except for one person.

“…Altra.”

The ancestor of our family, the ancient witch who split from the black magic faction and created necromancy.

I remembered the voice I heard before losing consciousness.

She definitely said this.

That she would bless the future of her beloved child.

So please fulfill her long-cherished wish.

Then I remembered the Altra tradition that I had forgotten.

A terrifying witch, whose appearance is not even recorded in portraits, nor are there any other records of her appearance.
But there is also a legend that she was, at the same time, a woman who was shockingly beautiful and alluring.

Could it be…

‘Altra’s face?’

It’s absurd, but it’s not a completely unlikely inference.

It explains why my appearance is no longer like before, and what the voice I heard before my transformation was.

I don’t know why, but it seemed like Altra’s thoughts, which flowed in my bloodline, manifested for some mysterious reason.

‘It’s ironic.’

The chains that had tormented me for a lifetime have become the key to my salvation, saving me in reverse this time.

But why did this happen to me?

There was not a single similar case except for me. Whether a man or a woman of the Altra family.

“…”

I was curious, but I changed my mind first.

The top priority right now is not to delve into that part.

I won’t find the answer no matter how much I think about it, and it is a question that I can sufficiently research later on my own.

Leaving aside, I’m not out of danger.

‘Nathaniel of Sagittarius.’

The Second Prince’s closest aide, and a 5th-rank magician who is known to be specialized in light magic.
Only he has the ability to use a powerful light arrow like yesterday.

‘Unless he confirms the body, he will follow me to the end.’

I don’t know about Ferdinand, but Nathaniel would surely do so.

Because he is known for his tenacity and persistence.

‘And Prince Ferdinand, who ordered my assassination.’

That damn bastard, I could never forgive him either.

If it weren’t for the gender change and the luck of resurrection, I would have rotted away in the sewer.

Now that I am not Crowley, the man, but a ‘witch,’ I must take revenge to feel relieved.

‘…But the option of contacting the princess is out.’

I stroked a strand of silver hair and muttered coldly.

Crowley, who is not a man but a ‘woman,’ could no longer live as a necromancer.

The destruction of the bloodline was a result of the wickedness of the ancestor Altra and her descendants who inherited her teachings.

But a powerful witch who uses necromancy freely has been reborn?

The entire country, led by the church, will try to catch me?

Rather, it is much better to stay away from the princess as much as possible for now.

‘In addition, I have to consider my future livelihood.’

I can’t return as a cause-of-death investigator because I can’t let them know I’m alive.

I also can’t guarantee my safety the moment I leave the capital.

‘Actually, I can pretend it’s black magic instead of necromancy.’

Anyway, necromancy is a kind of bastard child that came out from black magic.

If I’m this strong, I could properly disguise it with black magic.

The problem is that black magic, like necromancy, shouldn’t be abused by the public.

Without the approval of the tower, to make a living with black magic would be a crime violating the law.

Securing safety, revenge, and livelihood.

I must find a breakthrough to solve these three difficult problems.

To do that, the most sure way is…

‘The Academy.’

An international educational institution under the Magic Tower, where various experimental studies are permitted.

Entering the Klomes Academy is the best solution.

Along with the princess, Ferdinand will also enroll as a member of the royal family.

It’s also a place of learning where black magic training is permitted for the purpose of defense and research.

Whether I enroll as a student or get a job as a staff member.

I have to be affiliated with the school by any means.

‘But how?’

I’m a penniless person who has no home.

Moreover, since my gender has changed, my identity is also unclear.

In other words, I can’t even get near the academy’s main gate through normal routes.

How can I, who is nothing, set foot in a place where the world’s leading talents gather?

As I was thinking and thinking,

“…!”

Maybe.

Maybe there might be a way.

A plan to find a way to enter the academy, while also carrying out revenge.