Chapter 33
“Well done.”
As the shattered bamboo fell to the floor, Aron nodded.
“It’s still just rattling bones for now, but the fact that you can repurpose a destroyed skeleton for attack means you’ve gained a whole new card. Keep training so you can use it in real combat.”
“Thank you, professor!”
Simon, basking in happiness, quickly bowed his head. Aron tapped the cigar on his finger and spoke.
“Professor Jane included a Cyclops hunt in the performance assessment, didn’t she?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“Are you participating?”
Simon shook his head.
“A student named Maelyn in our group is the one competing.”
“Wise choice.”
Aron said, inhaling a puff of cigar smoke.
“Focusing on supporting your teammates is important, too. You’ll learn a lot.”
“Yes!”
“And one more thing.”
After tossing the finished cigar into a nearby trash bin, Aron turned away.
“This is just extra class time, nothing more, nothing less.”
With those parting words, Aron left. Simon bowed once again in thanks.
* * *
After Aron’s tutoring ended, Simon arrived at the lab where he was to meet his teammates.
The concoction must’ve already started, the contents in the cauldron were bubbling vigorously.
The three others sitting around the cauldron in their own unique styles all jumped up at once when they saw Simon.
“Simon!”
“How’d it go?”
Everyone rushed over, panting. Simon smiled and answered.
“It wasn’t a big dea—”
“Did he hit you? He hit you, didn’t he? I knew it...!”
“Corporal punishment during the student protection period? That’s too much!”
“They say Keyzen’s punishments are brutal. Chains students up, strips their shirts, and then uses a long whip…”
Simon started to sweat nervously.
What the hell were they even talking about?
“He just gave me an extra lesson.”
“What?”
The three of them all looked at each other in disbelief.
“Professor Aron tutored you? No way!”
Maelyn denied it outright.
“Maybe he hit you on the head too hard with the whip.”
Dick said, stroking his chin.
“Simon, are you really okay?”
Kamibarez clasped her hands with teary eyes.
“……”
They didn’t understand even when he explained, so Simon just walked past them and headed to the cauldron.
“How’s the potion coming along?”
“Perfect! Who do you think made it?”
Maelyn snapped her fingers, her confidence returning instantly.
“Water volume, ingredient weights, boiling time, even removing impurities, perfect! Just simmer on low heat for 20 more minutes and we’re done.”
“Well done.”
“Hmph! Now you all get it, right? You just need to trust and follow me!”
Dick sat down and patted his leg.
“Ah, standing in this ‘position’ has made my leg stiff. Should I give it a little ‘rub’?”
“Hey!!”
While Maelyn and Dick shouted and bickered, Simon and Kamibarez chatted peacefully about the potion.
Maelyn, after punishing Dick with the edge of a textbook, turned to the pair with a peculiar look.
“Hmmm—you two seem a bit closer now?”
“Really?”
Simon brushed it off, but Kamibarez’s ears turned bright red.
“Spill it. Aside from getting chased by the wardens, something happened that night, didn’t it?”
Dick, who had been laid out on the floor, slowly lifted his head.
“As expected, pervs see pervy things... Ugh!”
Right on cue, Maelyn threw a textbook at him. Dick rolled around on the floor, groaning.
“Seriously, commoners are so crude.”
“...T-That kind of prejudice isn’t good, Maelyn.”
Maelyn turned her head back to the two.
“So, you’re not gonna tell us?”
Kamibarez glanced at Simon for a cue, and Simon answered with a straight face.
“Nothing happened. We just got lost in the forest and took a while to get back.”
“Is that so?”
Maelyn looked at the bandages and patches all over Simon and Kamibarez and sighed.
“Alright.”
Thankfully, she didn’t press further. Just then, Dick approached with an empty bottle.
“The potion’s all done. Let’s bottle it up!”
Dick turned the handle attached to the cauldron, tilting it carefully and filling the bottles. Everyone silently watched the process.
“We all worked so hard on this. I really hope it’s effective!”
Kamibarez said. Dick handed a filled bottle to Maelyn.
“Wonder if it works? Then let’s have our leader do a little taste test as our representative!”
“...You’re really asking to get killed, huh?”
As Maelyn gave him a death glare, Dick quickly bowed and resumed his task.
“Phew, if we weren’t at Keyzen, that’d be a noble defamation charge right there.”
“Defamation? I’m just a dumb country bumpkin, I don’t know what that means.”
“Don’t fight, you two!”
After some playful chatter, they finished bottling the potion, five bottles in total.
Three went into Maelyn’s subspace, and the remaining two into Simon’s.
“Now we’ve got something to present in the next Elementary Black Magic class.”
“While we’re at it, let’s plan what we’re gonna say to Professor Jane tomorrow!”
“Sounds good!”
The four cleaned up and set off to find an empty classroom.
* * *
The priest incident temporarily slipped Simon’s mind, as Keyzen life flew by in a whirlwind. In the second Elementary Black Magic class, each group presented their strategies before Jane.
“One main dealer, one summoner, two curse casters.”
Jane looked up from reviewing Group 7’s data. Simon and his teammates stood nervously before her.
“Your group members have different majors, but your roles aren’t very diverse.”
Here it comes.
Maelyn placed a hand over her chest and spoke with brimming confidence.
“Of course, it would be ideal if our group’s roles were more clearly divided, but since we prioritized hunting the Cyclops quickly and efficiently, this is the setup we chose.”
“So, you believe this formation is the best.”
“Yes! That’s right.”
Jane turned her head.
“What do you think, Simon Follentia?”
‘Ugh.’
That was sudden.
Simon fell into thought, tense. He could more or less guess what kind of answer Jane wanted. However…
“We’re aware that our group lacks creativity in the black magic combination aspect.”
After all, it’s still the student protection period.
This presentation wasn’t about grading the students’ strategies, but rather guiding them in the right direction.
If so, maintaining the current team dynamic and atmosphere was more important than swaying to the professor’s expectations.
“I believe there’s nothing more important than safety. We’ll hunt the Cyclops more stably than any other group and earn high scores with our strengths to offset any point deductions for creativity.”
Maelyn clenched her fist inwardly with a silent “Nice!” Jane chuckled softly and nodded.
“If you insist that much, very well.”
Her gaze shifted.
“Kamibarez Ursula.”
“Y-Yes!”
Kamibarez responded with a stiff, nervous face.
“A student focused on Haematology, who should be taking the lead in offense, instead gave up her position to a Katarology student and is providing support. I’d like to hear your thoughts on that.”
...That’s harsh.
It seemed like too much for the timid Kamibarez to handle.
Simon glanced sideways at her, and sure enough, her pupils were trembling like an earthquake.
‘Kami, you really need to answer well.’
If she said something like, “Maelyn’s better than me, so I gave up my spot”, then that would be grounds for disqualification at Keyzen.
Even if that were the truth, she must never say that in front of Jane.
Just then, Kamibarez’s eyes flicked toward Simon. Her desperate expression seemed to say, “What do I do?”
He couldn’t answer with the professor right in front of them.
There wasn’t enough time to feed her the whole answer.
But just this much…
Simon silently mouthed a single word.
‘Cyclops.’
Her eyes widened. Then she looked back at Jane.
“I-It’s because of the special nature of the monster we’re facing, the Cyclops!”
Yes! Simon clenched his fist in triumph this time.
“What do you mean by that?”
“Th-The Cyclops’ tough and thick hide is hard to attack using haematological magic. We judged that Maelyn’s Dark Flare, which can burn it alive, was better suited for tackling the Cyclops!”
Maelyn and Dick, who had been watching nervously, both brightened immediately.
“Is that so.”
Jane leaned her chin on her hand with an amused smile.
“Then what if a different monster appeared instead of the Cyclops?”
“Th-Then, then…!”
Her hands trembled from nerves.
Kamibarez was a timid person, but in moments like this, she had to overcome herself. She squeezed her eyes shut and shouted:
“Then I’ll be the main dealer—!”
Her voice cracked at the end of “dealer”. The usually quiet girl shouting startled even the assistants, who blinked in surprise.
“I’ll remember that statement.”
Jane smiled faintly.
She seemed more satisfied with Kamibarez’s answer than with Simon or Maelyn’s.
In a way, it was the best outcome.
‘Well done, Kami!’
She covered her face with both palms, unable to bear the embarrassment. Simon couldn’t help but think she was an endearing girl.
“Lastly, Dick Hayword.”
At Jane’s call, Dick, who had been standing at the end of the row, answered boldly.
“Yes, Professor!”
Dick straightened his posture.
He had prepared 300 possible questions and answers the night before. No matter what he was asked, he was ready to respond.
“Don’t chat with the person next to you during class.”
“...Sorry?”
“That’s all.”
Jane tapped her stack of documents and handed them to the assistant.
“No need to repeat questions already asked to Kamibarez. Good work, Group 7. Group 8, step forward.”
The tense presentation was over in an instant.
Following the assistant’s instructions, Group 7 exited the classroom.
Only the group scheduled for their time entered, and once their presentation was done, they were free. It was a very Keyzen-style freedom.
And then—
“Oh my, Simon? You’re sitting next to me?”
Maelyn winked at him, signaling, and Simon gave a nod. Then the two said in unison:
““Don’t chat with the person next to you!””
“Kya-ha-ha-hat!”
Maelyn, finally getting her revenge on Dick after all the teasing, laughed heartily. Dick, his face twisted like he’d chewed a lemon, muttered:
“Is that even funny? It’s really not.”
“Wrong! It’s super funny! Ohohohoho!”
Simon smiled as he watched the two squabble.
In truth, he knew that Maelyn teasing and Dick playing the fool were both their ways of being considerate to Kamibarez.
And sure enough, Kamibarez still had her face buried in her palms, likely haunted by the mistake she made in front of Jane.
“Kami.”
Simon gently spoke to her.
“For lunch, smoked chicken or steak. Which one do you want?”
“...Ah.”
She slowly lowered her hands and lifted her face.
“I-I... Since it’s been a while… chicken sounds good…!”
“Chicken it is! Lunch is chicken!”
Dick shouted and took the lead. The four of them laughed, chatted, and cheerfully headed toward the cafeteria.
Superb.