Chapter 260
Fortunately, nothing like a show of force occurred despite the intrusion of those students into Class A’s lecture hall.
While Claudia stood on the podium, appealing for signatures and participation in the boycott, the students from the other classes merely scattered near the exits or along the walls, silently watching.
Perhaps that alone created enough pressure, two students could be seen reluctantly signing the petition, as if pushed into it.
“Guys!”
Jaime, the class president, couldn’t hold back any longer and stepped forward.
“Can’t you just leave? Our class is feeling uncomfortable.”
Jaime protested, but the students from other classes pretended not to hear, loitering or feigning ignorance.
“It’s fine, rep.”
Maelyn stood up.
“Those losers aren’t even worth our attention. What’re they gonna do, huh?”
She confidently strode out of the classroom. Following her lead, other hesitant students quickly followed in a rush.
“Please, everyone!”
Claudia, standing at the podium, cried out even more earnestly.
“We all agree that Professor Belya’s class is abnormal, right? So why aren’t we trying to change it? I wish you’d join us and take action!”
At that moment, Simon gave Dick a subtle signal with his eyes. Dick nodded and casually spoke to Kamibarez.
“Let’s head out too, Kami! I’m craving something nice and crispy for lunch today.”
“Oh, um, crispy sounds good…”
Dick kept talking to her so she wouldn’t feel uncomfortable and left with her.
Simon, after gathering his belongings, was just about to exit the lecture hall when—
“Simon!”
Claudia, who had been at the podium, ran over and grabbed the hem of his sleeve.
“Have you changed your mind at all?”
Currently, the proportion of Class A students supporting the boycott stood in the upper 30% range.
In Claudia’s judgment, if that number was to break past 50%, there were three key people she absolutely needed to win over:
Hector, Jaime, and Simon.
Of course, Hector was too headstrong and wouldn’t be swayed by persuasion.
Jaime was friendly with everyone and recognized by all as the class rep. Claudia was determined to at least get her signature.
And then, there was Simon.
He wasn’t just an influential figure in their class, he was one of the school’s representatives, closely connected to all members of Team 7.
Even though Maelyn was the official leader, everyone knew Simon was the real center of Team 7. Claudia believed that if she could convince Simon, the rest would follow.
“We need to stop this vicious cycle.”
Claudia pleaded.
“This isn’t just something I’m doing for myself. It’s about protecting the rights of Keyzen’s students. If we fail now, Keyzen will never change. I believe someone as smart as you will understand!”
Simon was a bit taken aback.
He wasn’t particularly close with her, but at least the Claudia he knew wasn’t like this.
Aside from being the top student in Toxicology, she was just an ordinary girl you could find in any class.
But in the span of a week, she had changed dramatically.
She genuinely believed the fate of all Keyzen students rested on her shoulders, and she was even willing to use somewhat extreme methods to realize her ideals.
He even wondered if she had fallen under Serne’s mental domination spell, her transformation was that drastic.
‘So this is the power of belonging…’
When people speak as individuals, their words are light. They bear no responsibility and can change their minds freely.
But when people with the same thoughts band together and speak as one, their voice gains massive influence—powerful enough, perhaps, to drive out a professor from Keyzen.
Of course, with great power comes greater responsibility.
“I’m sorry, Claudia.”
Knowing that no matter what he said, it wouldn’t reach the Claudia in front of him now, Simon simply turned away.
“Why won’t you help?!”
But she wouldn’t let go of his sleeve.
“Everyone knows! Everyone knows it’s wrong to feed poison to students! Demanding change is the right thing to do! We’re doing this for you! So why won’t you support us?!”
When Simon didn’t answer, she spoke again with a trembling voice.
“You care that much about your grades…?”
“Claudia.”
“…Ah, yeah?”
“If you could turn back time…”
Simon continued in a calm voice.
“You wouldn’t want to do all this again, would you?”
Thump.
Claudia’s pupils trembled as if an earthquake had struck her eyes.
That question, that single sentence—
It shook her resolve.
Because she couldn’t deny it immediately.
She stood flustered, and the students who had joined the boycott were quietly watching her.
“N-no!”
She quickly responded. Though it felt like her true feelings had been exposed, she raised her voice even more defiantly.
“I would fight the same fight, again and again, even if time rewound! I’m not wrong! It’s you cowards, afraid of challenging the professors, who are in the wrong! Got it?!”
“……”
Simon gave her a pitying look before turning away again.
By then, Claudia’s grip on his sleeve had completely weakened.
* * *
The Toxicology class that afternoon ended without incident, and so did the rest of the day’s schedule.
Looking to unwind, Simon went with Dick to the communal bathhouse in the male dormitory.
‘Haaaah, this is great. So this is the pinnacle of civilization.’
It had been a chaotic day in many ways, but soaking in hot water made for a powerful mood booster.
After melting away in the warm bath for a good while, he stepped into the changing room and dried off with a freshly folded, fluffy towel.
As he changed into comfortable clothes, Dick—who had been waiting in the changing room—grinned.
“Wow! This is nuts.”
“What is?”
“Just went to the restroom and took a purple dump.”
The two burst out laughing at the ridiculous remark.
“Let’s go up. Is Kajan back?”
“He was already asleep.”
As Simon opened the door of the bathhouse, feeling refreshed—
TATATATATA!
BOOM! BAM! BAM!
All hell broke loose.
A mob of students was stampeding down the hallway like a herd of enraged bulls.
“What is this, lunch rush?”
Dick mimed checking his watch.
Even at that moment, doors burst open, and students with half-worn shoes were dashing downstairs in a panic. Shouting and shrieking echoed through the halls.
“Jeez, looks like a zombie outbreak.”
Dick chuckled dryly.
“Why do we even pay to buy zombies in Rochest? We could just catch one here for free!”
As Simon watched the students rushing down the stairs, he turned to Dick.
“Dick, got any idea what’s going on?”
“No clue. Maybe the dorm’s handing out snacks for the first time in forever… Oh!”
Dick clapped his hands.
“That’s right! Professor Jane said today the dueling evaluation opponents would be announced!”
“Oh!”
The two of them joined the zombie horde and sprinted to the first floor. But before long, they had to stop.
Looking down from the third-floor stairs, Simon saw that students were already lined up. The first-floor lounge was so packed that there wasn’t even space to stand.
Dick shook his head.
“Ugh, it’s always the ones who suck the most that act like this. It’s not like their squad is going to get picked just for checking the list faster.”
“And yet here we are, standing in line.”
Dick smugly wagged his index finger side to side.
“Nope! We’re using another method.”
“?”
Dick led Simon to the window. He skillfully tied a rope—pulled from subspace—to a pillar, then gently climbed out the window and began descending down the rope.
“If we get caught by the dorm supervisors, we’re in trouble, so you clean up, Simon!”
With that, Dick quickly rappelled down to the first floor.
‘Clean-up’s always my job, huh.’
Simon let out a small sigh and summoned a skeleton. After descending the rope himself, he mentally ordered the skeleton to cut it.
Snap.
Once the rope was severed and recovered, Simon raised his arm over his head. The skeleton disassembled into bones and returned to his subspace.
“You always get what I’m thinking!”
Dick grinned in satisfaction.
Now on the first floor, the two of them quickly crossed the courtyard.
“So, where are we headed?”
“We’re going around to the side—to the dorm duty office!”
They passed the crowded front desk on the first floor of the dorm and slipped into a quiet, empty hallway. Dick lowered his voice.
“This is a secret, but there’s a copy of the duel evaluation list on the duty room bulletin board. I think they get the official notice earlier.”
“Is it okay for students to just go in there?”
“As long as you’ve got a reason! From here on out, it’s all about acting!”
Dick said he’d show the example and threw open the duty office door. He grabbed his stomach and let out a loud screech.
“Aaagh! My stomach! Feels like my intestines are splitting!”
He staggered into the room, groaning in a dramatic tone.
“Professor Belya! What did you feed us during class?! Aaaggghh!”
While shouting like that, Dick winked at Simon and gestured for him to come in.
‘Why is the embarrassment always my job?’
Simon felt his face flush as he reluctantly followed inside.
“Oh my, what’s going on?”
A female dorm supervisor’s voice came from beyond a curtain. She had her back turned and was busily searching for something.
“Agh! My stomach! Cramps...! I feel like a digestive pill might help... maybe…”
While Dick kept up his act, Simon quickly scanned the room and found the bulletin board.
‘Found it… huh?’
He did find the board, but there were some unwelcome faces already there.
“You’ll do anything, huh. Trash.”
The towering Hector glared at Dick with cold eyes. Two male faction members beside him snickered mockingly.
Then Hector’s gaze turned toward Simon.
“……”
“……”
The two stared at each other in silence. One of the faction guys whispered quietly,
“Hector! Found your name!”
Hearing that, a grim smile curled on Hector’s lips.
“This time, I’ll clearly prove who’s superior, Simon Follentia.”
“We’ll see who’s the real deal.”
Hector scowled deeply and turned to look at the spot his follower was pointing to.
Simon discreetly rolled his eyes sideways to check as well.
[Arena 3 – Round 2, Match 6]
Class A – Hector Moore vs Class L – Malcolm Randolph
“Damn it!”
As Hector’s face turned red and blue in turns, Dick clutched his stomach and shouted,
“Aaagh! My stomach! There are hundreds of squads in the top tier! The odds of those two being matched are so low it’s hilarious, that’s why my stomach hurts!”
Snrk!
Pfft!
Even the faction members couldn’t hold back and covered their mouths to stifle laughter. Hector stomped toward Simon.
His face was so fierce that Simon instinctively braced himself, but Hector simply muttered,
“The showdown will be at the 3rd BMAT.”
And with just that, he walked past Simon and out. Simon scratched the side of his head.
‘Something’s fishy, there sure are a lot of people gunning for me this time around.’
“Wait up, Hector!”
The faction guys hurried after him. At that moment, the dorm supervisor’s voice called out,
“Oh, Hector! I found the disinfectant!”
But Hector slammed the door on his way out with a loud bang.
A few moments later, the door creaked open again and one of the faction guys poked his head in, speaking sheepishly.
“H-he says he doesn’t need it anymore. Haha!”
He quickly shut the door and bolted.
“Tch, what a temper.”
Dick clicked his tongue.
“That guy’ll probably have ‘It’s a duel! Simon Follentia!’ carved on his gravestone.”
“What brings you boys here?”
The dorm supervisor suddenly poked her head out and asked.
Snapping back to his senses, Dick grabbed his stomach and resumed his act.
“Aagghhh! My stomach! Oh, Professor Belya, I curse youuu!”
While Dick distracted her, Simon quickly checked the duel evaluation list.
He found Dick’s opponent first and memorized it. Then, just beside it, he found his own name.
‘As long as it’s not Serne, Shatel, or Loraine… preferably not Maelyn either…’
Thinking that, Simon looked to see who he was up against.
‘Ah, great.’
A wry smile formed on his lips.
Superb.
When are we getting more free chapters?
Thanks for the new chapters
Very good story and translation but half the chapter aren't for free and it is wayyyy too expensive will it stat like tjis foreve or will it get free after some time