Chapter 34
Lunchtime.
Simon, who finished his meal quicker than usual, stopped by Class L’s lecture hall before the next class began.
‘Not here.’
Among the Class L students in the classroom, the person Simon was looking for was nowhere to be seen. The building for the next class was quite far away, so if he dawdled too long, he might miss the lecture.
‘Hmm, should I just come back tomorrow?’
As he loitered anxiously in front of the classroom, someone approached.
It was a pretty girl with a pink ribbon in her hair, clutching a textbook to her chest.
“Excuse me. Sorry, but do you have a second?”
“Huh?”
The girl blinked and stopped walking.
“There’s someone in your class named Loraine, right?”
“Yeah, yeah, that’s right. Loraine’s in our class. Why?”
Simon cautiously pulled an envelope from his chest.
“I was hoping you could give this to Loraine.”
“……?!”
As if someone had hit the pause button, the girl froze with her mouth wide open.
And then—
“Kyyaaaaaah!”
She suddenly let out a scream.
‘Why are you screaming?!’
Simon flinched and looked around. Fortunately, there weren’t many people nearby, so he didn’t draw much attention.
“Oh, right! I remember now!”
With excitement in her eyes, the girl stood on her tiptoes and examined Simon’s face closely.
“You’re Special Admission No. 1, the one who gave the oath as the freshman representative, right?”
“……”
“Right? Right? Kyaaaah! Oh my gosh! I knew it! Elites really do stick together!”
She snatched the letter out of Simon’s hand.
“Yup yup! Got it! I’ll risk my life to deliver this to Loraine!”
“…No need to risk your life.”
She gave a sly smile.
“It’s an obvious question, but, you don’t want me to tell Loraine who it’s from, right?”
“I don’t mind.”
“Oh, really? So I can tell her?”
Her eyes sparkled a little too brightly. Simon suddenly felt a chill of danger creep up his spine.
“Ah, no. On second thought, never mind. Just give her the letter without saying anything!”
“Hohoho! Got it! You act all bold, but you’re actually super shy, huh?”
She smacked Simon on the arm playfully and laughed like a proper lady.
She looked like she was absolutely loving the situation.
“…You.”
Simon narrowed his eyes.
“You’re not having weird misunderstandings or anything, right?”
“Yup! Yup! Of course not!”
Why was she winking then?
Suddenly, this letter courier didn’t feel all that trustworthy. But Simon didn’t have much time left before class. Even if he sprinted, he’d barely make it across campus in time.
“…Alright, I’m counting on you with the letter.”
“Leave it to me!”
The moment Simon turned his back with an uneasy heart, the girl sprinted into the classroom at full speed.
“Kyaaaaah! Guys! Guys! Guess what I just got outsideee?!”
Simon pressed his forehead and let out a deep sigh.
* * *
After all the day’s classes were over, Simon headed alone to the campus café.
‘This is my first time here.’
As he grabbed the doorknob and pushed it open, a bell rang above his head. The café was packed, more than he expected.
Students filled every table, big and small, chattering loudly.
Those seated near the walls were deep in their studies, flipping through textbooks with one hand, taking notes with the other, and sipping coffee through straws without breaking focus.
It was impressive how they could concentrate despite the people bustling around them.
‘…Amazing. And they say it’s even more crowded during exam season?’
Just as Simon found a reasonably empty seat and looked around—
Murmur murmur murmur.
The room suddenly grew noisy.
From the café’s entrance—the same one Simon had used—walked in a girl with jet-black hair flowing down like darkness itself.
“Wow…!”
“It’s her, right?”
From her very presence, she was clearly different from other students.
Graceful steps, red eyes that seemed beyond the world, and a cold, expressionless face.
She had such an overwhelming aura that it was hard to believe she was just a fellow student. No one dared speak to her lightly.
Loraine Arkbold.
The only daughter in 300 years of Neftis, the Witch of Death who ruled half the world.
With such a celebrity entering, the crowd buzzed as everyone craned their necks to get a look. Loraine sighed softly and lifted her eyelids.
“Are you here for a show?”
With that one sentence, students within dozens of meters vanished like smoke. Even those sitting far away couldn’t meet her gaze and bowed their heads.
With that miracle of clearing a crowd in an instant, she walked forward, her heels echoing with each step.
“……”
And where she stopped was right in front of Simon.
Simon swallowed hard. A sudden rush of tension overwhelmed him.
‘Why… why does she feel so unfamiliar?’
They’d gone shopping together, eaten meals together. He thought they were friends now. But now, seeing her again in her Keyzen uniform, she felt oddly distant.
“L-Long time no see. Haha…”
“……”
He tried to muster the courage to speak, but Loraine’s face remained as cold and expressionless as ever.
As Simon began to wonder if he had done something wrong, the corners of her eyes slowly curved like crescents, and a gentle smile formed on her lips.
“Hello, Simon.”
It was the very smile Simon knew so well.
The two carried their coffee and headed up to the cafe’s third floor.
The cafe owner, seemingly on edge, personally took their order, and when Loraine asked for a quiet spot, he immediately opened the usually closed third floor for them.
Thanks to that, the two of them were able to sit at a spacious outdoor window seat. A cool breeze blew, making it a pleasant atmosphere.
“This is the first time since Langerstine, huh.”
Loraine, sitting across from him, swept back her night-sky hair. Simon, still tense, gave a stiff smile and nodded.
“Y-You look good in the uniform. Surprisingly.”
“Huh?”
She glanced down at her own uniform, then gave Simon a pouting look.
“Hey, what’s that supposed to mean? Are you saying I look old or something?”
Simon’s face flushed red, and he frantically waved his hands.
How did the conversation go there?
“No, no! It’s not like that…! It’s just that when we met in Langerstine, I couldn’t really imagine you in a school uniform…!”
“Why not? Because I look older?”
‘That’s not it!’
Why did every conversation with Loraine go sideways?
From Simon’s perspective, when he first met her taking down gang members, her presence was beyond that of even a professional necromancer.
Now, that same girl was sitting across from him in the same school uniform. It just felt… strange.
‘But why is it so hard to explain in words?’
Simon sighed heavily in his mind.
“Just kidding.”
She sipped from her straw and winked. Realizing he’d been lightly teased, Simon gave a bitter smile.
“Alright then.”
Lowering her gaze, Loraine slowly crossed her legs and spoke.
“What’s the reason you wanted to meet?”
The air shifted.
This was it. That same aura, like that of an unapproachable upperclassman.
Simon could sense it, it was time to get to the point.
He checked once more to make sure no one was around, then opened his mouth in a solemn voice.
“...There’s a traitor inside Keyzen.”
Simon calmly began recounting the story.
How he had been chased by the wardens and gotten lost in the Forbidden Forest, and how, at that location, he witnessed a priest praying before a cross.
Of course, he left out the part about Feer helping him escape. He simply said that he had been in danger but survived thanks to the wardens appearing at just the right time.
“……”
Loraine listened with a serious expression and sank into thought.
“Loraine. It might be a hard story to believe, but I—”
“I believe you.”
She raised her head.
“More importantly, that cross you saw, can you describe its appearance in detail?”
“...Uh, hmm. From what I remember, there was a woman carved on the largest cross in the center. A naked woman entwined in vines?”
“That confirms it.”
Loraine’s crimson eyes gleamed.
“That’s Goddess Dave. The one and only deity worshipped by the priests of Efnelle.”
The Holy Academy ‘Efnelle’, under the direct authority of the Pope.
It was the polar opposite of Keyzen, which trained necromancers. Efnelle trained priests.
Within the Holy College, it held influence and recognition rivaling that of Keyzen. The ‘Saintesses’, considered the highest combat power, were exclusively chosen from among the female students of Efnellee, monopolizing all authority.
Keyzen and Efnellee.
Efnellee and Keyzen.
Which side is stronger? Which school has the better students?
These were age-old topics of debate across the entire continent.
“...How dare they.”
Crack!
The glass Loraine was holding shattered in her grip, and coffee spilled everywhere.
“A damn priest dares sneak into Keyzen?”
Her expression was filled with genuine rage. Even though Simon knew the bloodlust pouring from her wasn’t aimed at him, he couldn’t help but feel tense.
“...Simon.”
“Yeah.”
“Is there anyone else who knows about this?”
“Just me and Kamibarez, the one who went into the Forbidden Forest with me. That’s it.”
She nodded.
“Thanks for reporting this. I’ll tell my mom right away.”
Simon had a reason for keeping this matter secret.
Because even Keyzen professors could be suspects in this incident. Only Neftis should know, to allow the investigation to unfold from multiple directions.
“Let’s go, Simon!”
Loraine shot up from her seat.
“Huh, where?”
“The Forbidden Forest. There might be some clue left at the place you saw the priest.”
Simon’s eyes widened.
“...Right now?”
* * *
Dudududududu!
Late in the evening, Simon rode a Skeletal Horse for the first time in his life.
They said one skeletal horse cost as much as a house and for good reason. It was not only faster than a regular horse, but also tireless and surprisingly smooth to ride.
“You’re better at this than I thought. Have you ridden before?”
Loraine, riding her skeletal horse beside him, asked.
“Just a bit, back in my hometown.”
In truth, it had little to do with riding skills, Simon and the skeletal horse were simply a perfect match.
Most of all, the skeletal horse listened to Simon well. If he so much as reached out his hand, it would nuzzle against him affectionately.
“This way, Loraine.”
“Yeah.”
Since he had traveled this path once before, it wasn’t difficult to find the way. They leaped over the valley he had crossed with Kamibarez, riding deep into the forest.
“It’s around here.”
“Thanks for guiding me. Let’s walk from here.”
The two dismounted from their skeletal horses. When Loraine opened a subspace in midair, the horses galloped into it and vanished.
Simon smacked his lips.
‘I wanted to ride a little more.’
He now had two things on his bucket list for when he started making money. First, a Skeleton made from demon bones, and second, a Skeletal Horse.
The two walked in silence, suppressing their presence, as they entered the Forbidden Forest. Simon realized the path was much clearer than when he had first come here with Kamibarez.
They soon arrived at the spot where he had seen the priest.
“This is the place?”
“Yeah, I’m sure.”
The two began searching with serious expressions.
‘...All the traces are gone.’
This was definitely where he had seen the priest. But the altar, the decorations, the cross, even the ground where Feer and the priest had fought, it had all been cleaned up without a trace.
As if nothing had ever happened.
Simon felt as though he were haunted by a ghost.
“What do you think, Loraine?”
“……”
She knelt on the ground and swept her palm across the grass. Soon, she shook her head.
“It’s strangely clean. Not a single trace.”
“...Ugh.”
“But that just confirms they erased the evidence.”
She stood up and crossed her arms.
“Simon, based on your story, that person’s highly skilled. In combat ability, yes, but more so in how perfectly they covered up a wide area. And the most shocking part? That, despite claiming to serve a god, they implanted a Core in their body and infiltrated Keyzen. To them, the Core is a power that denies holiness.”
“But if they activate the Core, they can’t use the priest’s ‘holiness’, right?”
Loraine nodded.
“I don’t fully understand the theory either, but according to their logic, Darkness is the power of a cursed demon, and Holiness is a power that comes from faith in God. Regardless, it’s true the two powers conflict.”
She turned her back.
“This is serious. Let’s return to Keyzen. I need to report to my mother immediately.”
Superb.