Chapter 106
"Alright, the teleportation magic circle to return to Keyzen is on the exhibition hall rooftop. Just go up those stairs."
With teary eyes, Shun gave Simon a tight hug.
"I, and Blue Harbor, will never forget this favor. No matter what happens to you from now on, we’ll always be on your side. You’re welcome anytime, Simon brother."
"......."
Simon smiled as he patted Shun’s head.
"Thanks, Shun. I’ll never forget what happened here either."
Just like that, the Overlord was transferred into Simon’s subspace, and Erzebet entered as well. After saying goodbye to Shun, Simon headed up the stairs.
On the rooftop of the exhibition hall, there truly was a teleportation circle leading to Keyzen.
A minion bowed deeply.
"Are you ready to return to Keyzen?"
"Yes."
Simon grinned.
"Let’s go back."
* * *
The magic circle activated normally. Back in Keyzen safe and sound, Simon took a deep breath.
"Fuuuh, ha! I missed this air."
At a relaxed pace, he descended the flower-covered hill and arrived at the first-year courtyard.
Since it was still during the mission period, today should have been quiet.......
"Huh?"
It was anything but quiet!
Colorful triangular party flags fluttered all over the high places on campus, and vibrant banners and balloons could be seen everywhere. Promotional banners even hung on the building walls.
Most notably, the open square of the first-year campus was filled with all sorts of booths, big and small.
Inside the booths, students were energetically shouting to attract visitors, while others handed out flyers or strolled around checking out other booths. The area buzzed with life.
'What the heck? What’s going on?'
After being away for a while, the school had suddenly turned into a festival.
As Simon looked around in confusion—
"Hey, you! You’re a first-year, right?"
A female student in a Keyzen uniform called out to him. She specifically asked if he was a first-year, and a red mark on her collar indicated she was a second-year.
Simon quickly bowed his head.
"Yes, senior! Good morning!"
"Huh? Oh, good morning."
She pulled a flyer from her arms and handed it to him.
"I’m with the Dungeon Research Club. Come check us out if you’re interested."
"......Huh?"
She winked and walked off, soon seen handing flyers to other passing students.
'A club?'
Simon looked at the flyer.
<The report of monsters, danger and treasure coexisting in the greatest mystery of our time! Aren’t you curious about ‘dungeons’?>
<Membership perks – Activity allowance, club points, free rental of exploration gear, dungeon expeditions instead of missions!>
‘So it’s club season today.’
He had heard a bit about clubs from Dick.
Looking up, he saw an utterly absurd scene.
The once-dignified second-years were acting totally unrecognizable due to the club season. Dressed in ridiculous outfits and making fools of themselves, they even acted cutesy to win over passing juniors.
‘This is... kind of overwhelming.’
From a first-year’s perspective, the second-years at Keyzen weren’t exactly friendly.
Sure, there was some respect for the fact that they’d survived over a year of this lifestyle, but most second-years were arrogant and sensitive.
Just bumping into one could get you scolded for not greeting properly or being called rude. Some even sent juniors on personal errands or dragged them into alleyways for hazing (which was punishable if caught by professors or assistants).
Recently, things had gotten even more tense with incidents of commoner-born second-years harassing noble-born first-years.
So seeing the second-years actively approaching first-years like this was downright bizarre. It was a sight only seen during club season.
As Simon walked toward the dormitory, he glanced around.
It was a fierce battleground of competition.
Two beautiful upperclasswomen were each pulling on the arms of a chubby first-year boy, arguing over him. His face flushed red, the boy had a dazed expression.
On the other side, a male upperclassman with sculpted looks had a first-year girl cornered against a wall, waving a club flyer at her.
Just as she started to waver, a tough-looking upperclassman from the athletics club stormed in with a club flag and began yelling at the guy. The girl tried to break them up, saying not to fight over her, but her eyes darted back and forth as she tried to choose between them.
‘.......’
Simon felt his brain go numb.
This wasn’t some end-of-days Keyzen scenario, what in the world was going on?
‘I need to get out of here fast.’
Sensing instinctive danger, Simon turned to head toward the dormitory.
"A first-year! There’s a first-year here!"
"Where do you think you’re going!"
A group of second-years spotted Simon and rushed to block his way.
"Hey, first-year! Physical fitness is national strength! Want to join the Physical Club?"
One male student suddenly lifted his shirt, showing off his toned abs.
"Get lost, you meathead! Hey, first-year! No, first-year-junior! Interested in black magic that lets you dream whatever dream you want?"
"Keyzen is all about practicality! Forget that crap—how about our Transformation Club? Super useful for infiltration missions......!"
Murmur murmur murmur!
With more upperclassmen closing in, Simon was surrounded and frantically searching for an escape.
Just then, a female student suddenly grabbed his wrist and started running.
"Ha ha! This first-year is ours, taken by the Darkness Kendo Club!"
"They’re escaping!"
The other second-years charged after them, and a chase broke out out of nowhere.
"Urgh!"
Suddenly, the kendo girl drooped her head with a drained expression.
"Ughhhh...... I’m so tiiired."
"S-Senior? What’s wrong......?"
The other second-years also began to collapse, complaining of fatigue and dropping to the ground.
As Simon blinked in confusion, a man calmly approached him.
He was at least 190 cm tall, with darkness radiating from his entire body. Wherever he stepped, nearby grass and flowers wilted or sagged.
"Found you, Simon Follentia."
The man stopped in front of Simon.
"I’m the president of the Keyzen Curse Research Club."
An unexplained sense of dread caused the hairs on Simon’s entire body to stand on end. As the man raised his arm, Simon tensed and prepared himself.
Thud.
"......?"
But instead, he suddenly dropped to his knees in front of Simon.
"Please, join our Curse Research Club!"
"Y-Yes?"
"I’m begging you! If you don’t join, I’ll die!"
The second-year senior clung to Simon’s pants. Flustered, Simon tried to pull him up, but he didn’t budge.
‘How did I end up in this mess......!’
The president of the Curse Research Club still couldn’t forget Bahil’s eyes from a week ago.
—By any means necessary, make Simon Follentia, first-year, join the Curse Research Club.
—P-Professor?
—If you can’t even accomplish that, then I suppose our relationship ends here.
Bahil’s lips curled into a smirk.
—If you fail, resign from your position as my direct disciple.
There was no way—absolutely no way—he could give up his position as Bahil’s direct disciple.
He didn’t know why that first-year was such a big deal to Bahil, but for him, this was a matter of survival at Keyzen.
"S-Senior! Please don’t do this here!"
Simon tried to pull him up again, but the man held firm.
Just five more seconds. If he could hold out for exactly five more seconds, a high-purity mental-type curse would take root in Simon’s body. After that, it would be easy to...
Sssss.
Just then, a red thread shimmered between Simon and the Curse Research Club president. His eyes widened rapidly.
BOOOOM!
A haematology spell activated in midair, and both of them were blasted backward. The Curse Research Club president was sent flying and landed flat on his back.
"A so-called ‘senior’ shouldn’t be trying such filthy tricks, should he?"
A blonde girl wearing a coat embroidered with crimson thread approached them.
The surrounding students murmured and stepped aside to make way. Simon looked up at her.
"I’m the president of the Haematology Research Club, Sadam."
She declared firmly.
"Ah, yes. I’m Simon Follentia, a first-year."
"I’ve received reports about your new blood type, SM-1. Whether you’re good at curses or summoning isn’t the point. In the haematology field, you’re one of a kind."
She walked up slowly and traced a finger under Simon’s eye.
"Darkness depletion symptoms. Looks like this mission was pretty intense, huh."
"......!"
She folded her arms again.
"If you join Sadam, we’ll mobilize all of our society’s resources to research SM-1 blood. SM-1 amplifies Darkness by consuming blood. With proper training, you could escape the symptoms of Darkness depletion and eventually wield a much greater volume of it."
Simon blinked. He hadn’t been particularly interested in clubs, but this was quite an enticing offer.
‘Join us.’
She had been waiting for Simon to show up as well. And with good reason.
—The appearance of SM-1 blood will turn the world upside down. And, I plan to list your name right after mine on the research paper.
That’s what Sillage, who had taken her in as a direct disciple, had said.
Sillage wanted Simon Follentia as a direct disciple, and the first step toward that was joining the Haematology Research Club, Sadam.
If Simon were to explore haematology through the club and gradually find it enjoyable, he might eventually switch his major naturally.
"Hey."
A voice came from behind, and the girl immediately reacted, stepping back. The ground she had been standing on began to rot black.
"Wait your turn, will you?"
Ssssss.
The previous pitiful figure was nowhere to be seen, as the Curse Research Club president rose with a chilling expression.
"Wait my turn? What is this, a lunch line?"
"You’ve grown bold. Seems like just yesterday you were bawling after losing in the first-year evaluations."
The Sadam president scoffed at his comment.
"And you conveniently forget that I’ve beaten you three times in a row since then? You were just a stepping stone for my growth."
"......You little!"
Just as the two of them were about to ignite their Cores for a fight—
KRAAAASH!
Out of nowhere, a chair fell from the sky. The two club presidents, along with the nearby students, screamed and backed away.
‘Ugh!’
Simon looked toward the dust-filled space. A boy sat arrogantly in the chair with his legs crossed.
He was in uniform, but wore a cape and a crown on his head. Resting his chin in one hand, he grinned slyly.
"You the kid Special Admission No. 1, Simon?"
"Ah, yes."
He was a second-year. The boy flicked a club application form to the ground at Simon’s feet.
"Consider yourself lucky! I’m giving you the honor of joining Noble!"
"......Huh?"
CRAAAASH!
SPLAT!
Half of the chair he had been sitting on rotted away, and the other half was drenched in blood. The boy leapt off the chair and clicked his tongue.
"Interlopers, huh."
""I was talking to him first!!""
The three glared at each other with killing intent.
And as Simon watched the seniors from a short distance away, he had only one thought in mind.
‘Ah, I just want to go try out Overlord already.’
Superb.