Chapter 239
The scale had suddenly grown much larger.
Simon thought they’d just do some shopping in downtown Rochest, but Serne had already prepared an expensive teleportation magic circle.
As Simon stepped onto the magic circle at her urging, the city of Langerstine unexpectedly unfolded before his eyes.
“Hurry up~!”
Serne said, tugging at his sleeve.
“Wait, hold on. Isn’t leaving Roke Island without a report a serious school rule violation?”
“I don’t think someone who sneaks over the wall into the Forbidden Forest all the time has the right to talk.”
As she said that, she twirled around and bent her knees to peer at the fragment of Feer clinging to Simon’s shirt.
“It’s been a while for you too. How have you been?”
To the casual eye, it just looked like a skull ornament.
As she playfully poked at Feer’s fragment, Simon spoke the voice ringing through his mind without a filter.
“He says he’ll kill you.”
“Oh, how scary.”
She stopped teasing, turned her back, and said with her hands behind her.
“Let’s go! Should we drop by the shopping complex first?”
* * *
A few hundred meters away from Simon, on a rooftop.
Men in black robes with mana telescopes were running around busily, keeping a close watch on the two.
“Target confirmed moving. Heading toward Hampton Road.”
“Understood.”
Amidst the bustling movement of the men, a pop!—a dark red flash flickered on the rooftop.
Soon, a black-haired girl wearing a dark-toned long coat and a hat landed lightly in the air.
Thud.
Tap.
The men respectfully bowed their heads to the girl.
“Welcome, Lady Loraine.”
She nodded.
“And Serne?”
“She’s moving toward Hampton Road with Student Simon.”
When Loraine held out her hand, one of the men respectfully handed her the mana telescope. She placed one leg on the rooftop ledge and adjusted the view.
In the distance, she could see Serne and Simon walking side by side, chatting like lovebirds.
‘…Serne Eindark. What scheme are you up to this time?’
From Keyzen’s perspective, Serne was like a walking time bomb.
Her cheat-like mind control abilities were so influential that they could manipulate other students’ rankings in exams at will.
Lately, she was even suspected of sabotaging students scouted by the Ivory Tower during entrance exams, making them fail Keyzen, and then the Ivory Tower immediately swooping in to recruit them.
But suspicions were just that, there was no solid evidence.
Serne was as cunning as a fox and acted so thoroughly that she left no trace. There was no way to tell where her manipulation began or ended. She could even erase fragmented memories.
‘But it’s hard for the adults to intervene directly.’
Serne was a 17-year-old first-year student at Keyzen like the others and was taking exams fairly using her own abilities in this meritocratic school.
Of course, if they really wanted to, they could find a pretext and expel her.
But the upper echelons of Keyzen didn’t want Serne expelled. Due to political reasons within the internal factions, and because if they gave up the position of holding the Ivory Tower's successor as leverage, it would only benefit Serne and the Ivory Tower.
If Serne were to leave, the Ivory Tower might openly become hostile toward Keyzen. That underlying concern lingered.
Thus, Loraine’s current mission was to stop Serne.
There had been countless cases of adult intervention in student issues spiraling into large-scale conflicts.
Having Loraine—also a first-year student—act would avoid escalation.
‘If only I had one decisive piece of evidence.’
For Loraine, the best-case scenario would be exposing Serne’s misdeeds to the public and making her face legal punishment.
That way, they could expel her and simultaneously hit the Ivory Tower with a handicap. According to Keyzen law, they could even imprison her.
Today, that opportunity had come.
Serne had boldly approached Simon, who held Special Admission No. 1.
‘The Ivory Tower must definitely want Simon.’
Unfortunately for them, Loraine had no intention of letting that happen.
* * *
“Yap!”
Serne let out a strange cry and clung to Simon’s arm.
Startled, Simon tried to shake her off, but she only clung to him more tightly.
“Hold on, Serne.”
Simon said sternly. She blinked innocently like a pure-hearted girl, then whispered in a very soft voice.
“Weren’t we supposed to act like we’re close?”
“…Still, isn’t this too close? Why are you going this far?”
“Oh, cotton candy!”
Instead of answering, Serne pointed at a food stall with a voice laced with cuteness.
“I want something sweet!”
“……”
Simon’s pockets felt suddenly heavy. He reached in and pulled out a few coins.
He sighed inwardly. He knew it was all an act, but he didn’t understand why she was doing it.
Still sighing to himself, Simon walked over to the stall and ordered two cotton candies.
“Oh my, isn’t it normal to buy one and share it?”
“No.”
The stall owner chuckled as he started spinning the candy.
“Young folks look great together. A couple, right?”
“Yes!”
Serne immediately answered, pressing herself close to Simon’s side. Simon mouthed the word “Move” at her, but was ignored again.
“Young man, you better treat this lady right. A pretty girl like her sticking to you like that, and you’re just ignoring her?”
“Oh-ho-ho! It’s okay~ He’s just shy, that’s all!”
They made quite the perfectly matched duo.
As the two chatted and laughed, a feather fluttered down and stuck to Simon’s body.
—You hear me? If you do, blink your eyes twice.
Simon blinked as instructed.
—Don’t make it obvious. Look just a little to your right. See the man two blocks down? Not him. The one in dark blue. Yes, him.
—And right above him, leaning on the second-floor glass railing. Yes. Both of them are from the Ivory Tower. A tail was just put on you.
‘A tail!?’
Simon’s mind raced.
Handing the freshly made cotton candy to Serne first, he spoke in a whining tone.
“You’re too clingy. Always trying to watch me no matter where I go, it’s exhausting.”
Serne took the cotton candy and smiled sweetly.
—That’s right. We’re being watched by those people right now.
The voice flowed out from the feather, while Serne spoke of something else.
“Isn’t a little obsession just a sign of healthy affection? Don’t you think so, mister?”
“Of course, of course.”
The street vendor, who handed Simon the second cotton candy, cleared his throat.
“When there’s love, you’ve got to treat them right. I still regret it sometimes. Now that I can’t even bring in money properly, my wife nags me every day…”
‘I’m really sorry, but I’m not interested at all.’
Simon let the man’s awkward family story go in one ear and out the other, falling into thought.
Serne was the official successor to the Ivory Tower. Why was she being monitored by people from the Ivory Tower? And why did that mean she had to act close to him?
Simon stared at Serne with such questions in his eyes.
—Actually, the elders in the Ivory Tower have started questioning my results.
There were two factions within the Ivory Tower.
One faction, including Serne and the current Lord of the Ivory Tower, emphasized traditional values and wanted to break away from Keyzen to reclaim their former glory.
The other faction, which included Maelyn and her family, believed in adapting to the changing times and promoting harmony through cooperation with Keyzen.
Simon knew this much. The problem was with Serne’s faction.
Originally, they planned to kill Simon and take control of the Legion for themselves. But Serne had indefinitely postponed the assassination using her full authority, saying she’d persuade Simon herself.
However, now that the second semester had started, dissatisfaction was beginning to boil over.
Simon’s popularity as Special Admission No. 1 was rising, and people were saying they’d missed the best window to eliminate him. Others criticized Serne for failing to produce any results after suspending the plan.
So Serne had brought Simon out to Langerstine, putting on a public display of closeness in front of the Ivory Tower’s people.
—Simon. I don’t think this is a bad thing for you either.
Speaking through the feather, Serne took a bite of her cotton candy.
—Support me, someone who’s friendly to you. There’s no need to turn the Ivory Tower into an enemy, is there?
That part was true.
Dealing with Magnus alone was already exhausting, there was no need to make an enemy out of the Ivory Tower as well.
“I’ve got a question.”
Simon said aloud.
“Why are you helping me?”
Why are you supporting me within the Ivory Tower? That was what Simon was really asking.
“Hmm~”
—Because I thought you were an irreplaceable asset.
At first, Serne didn’t care who became the Legion commander. What mattered was that the Ivory Tower possessed the Legion.
So if she failed to persuade Simon, she planned to get him expelled from Keyzen and then eliminate him.
But after witnessing several incidents firsthand and seeing Simon’s abilities right in front of her, her thoughts had changed.
Who in the Ivory Tower could wield the Legion’s power as perfectly as Simon? She realized the key wasn’t the Legion itself, but the person who controlled it.
That’s when she got greedy, she wanted not only the Legion, but Simon himself to join the Ivory Tower.
“Just so you know, I might not be able to return your interest.”
Simon had no intention of joining the Ivory Tower any time soon, and he couldn’t even promise to do so after graduation.
“But for now, I’m still the closest to you, aren’t I? That’s enough.”
Indeed, in the race to recruit Simon two years from now, the Ivory Tower was currently in the lead. That alone was enough for now.
Simon’s expression finally relaxed after hearing the explanation.
‘Now I finally understand the situation clearly.’
Everything Serne was doing was essentially political theater, to put on a show for the adults.
Hihihihing!
Just then, Simon’s gaze shifted. On the adjacent carriage road, a horse, seemingly startled by an insect, was charging forward while kicking up clouds of dust.
If they were going to act, might as well do it right. Simon reached out, pulled Serne close by the shoulders, and wrapped himself around her protectively.
“??”
Even the great Serne blinked in surprise. The carriage veered noisily onto the sidewalk, then barely corrected its course.
After confirming the position of the tails, Simon spoke gently.
“You okay?”
“……”
Serne’s cheeks turned faintly pink, then curved into a sly smile.
“So you’ve finally decided to escort the lady properly?”
“I’ve been doing that from the start.”
Simon replied as he walked along the carriage road side.
She giggled and quickly stuck close to his side again.
Loraine, who was watching the scene unfold from a building rooftop, had a steadily darkening expression.
‘They’re really doing everything.’
Clinging to arms, sharing cotton candy, Simon walking on the roadside, acting like a couple in every way.
‘No matter how I look at it, Simon isn’t the type to behave like this. He must be under mind control.’
Loraine zoomed in further, trying to spot the feather embedded in Simon’s body, but couldn’t find it. It was likely hidden under his clothes.
‘……’
Watching the two flirt like that, Loraine felt an inexplicable irritation welling up.
There was no way she could let Simon be taken by the Ivory Tower through such disgraceful tactics.
He was a valuable asset for Keyzen, and she wanted him to stay even after graduation. Of course, that choice ultimately belonged to Simon, but Serne’s methods just didn’t sit right with her.
“…This won’t do.”
Unable to bear watching the two stroll and eat cotton candy so sweetly, Loraine lowered the telescope.
“I’m stepping in. Right now.”
Superb.
When are we getting more free chapters?
Thanks for the new chapters