Chapter 354
"Interested in the next student council president’s seat?"
At the shocking proposal, Simon’s thoughts froze for a moment.
"I’m about to graduate myself, so I have to step down from the Keyzen president’s seat, but honestly, the second-years are… not exactly satisfactory! Hm!"
Phantasus stroked his chin.
"The second-years are excellent and capable, but they’re too calculating. You can’t call them men with fiery hearts."
Simon’s eyes widened in surprise.
"A fiery heart! My father once told me the same thing!"
"Indeed! You have an excellent father!"
Contrary to his grand and weighty appearance, Phantasus turned out to be more talkative than he seemed.
Before long, Simon was the only one fully focused on his overlong conversation. Serne was looking away, and Kajan was spacing out.
However—
"As for the student council president matter, I can’t really say anything for sure yet."
In truth, even if he said yes, it wasn’t a seat he could just take, and Simon didn’t even know exactly what the student council president did.
"Indeed, it’s a position that comes with heavy responsibility."
Phantasus nodded.
"The student council president of Keyzen must always be outstanding. Even if I give you the position, the second-years won’t stand still, and you’ll have to overcome their challenges!"
"......Ah, I see."
"Still, I hope you’ll think about it slowly! Of course, I won’t force you! As I said earlier, who is the master of your life?"
"Myself!"
"That’s right!"
Sensing the conversation might drag on endlessly, Kajan checked his wristwatch and cut in at the right moment.
"Let’s wrap it up. We have to move on to the next schedule, President."
"How unfortunate! I finally met friends I can talk to after so long. Hm!"
Phantasus thumped his chest.
"Remember this, juniors! Don’t let others steer your life, live your own life, armed with a fiery heart and grand dreams! That is the way of a man!"
"I’m not a man, though?"
Serne cut in with a sweet smile.
"Then that is the way of a great woman as well!"
Phantasus corrected himself.
"If you need help, come find me anytime! If you intend to fight for true freedom, I will help you as much as you need! Hm!"
* * *
After the storm-like meeting with the student council president, the three stepped outside.
Their next stop was somewhere Simon had insisted they visit. He glanced back and said,
"This is a bit of a personal matter. You two can go elsewhere if you’d like."
"Guarding you is my mission."
Kajan replied.
"I want to stay with Simon too."
Serne kept spinning happily in place, sticking close to Simon’s side.
"If the elders of the Ivory Tower see us apart, they’ll get suspicious!"
"......Uh, well, do as you like."
Thus, Simon headed toward one of the seven glass-tower buildings, the one where the Darkness Dynamics event was being held.
Here, Simon experienced riding a so-called magic circle elevator for the first time. After handing his student ID to the attendant for identity verification, he stepped on the magic circle, which instantly transported him to the desired floor.
The floor was the 37th.
The wall was transparent like glass, giving a clear view down below. The grand sight of the Pentamonium city spread out before them.
"Kajan, what’s that place over there?"
Simon pointed toward the outskirts of Pentamonium. Beyond the protective walls surrounding the city, the outside world was shrouded in something like pitch-black fog.
"The Demon Realm."
Pentamonium was a treasure trove of the continent’s knowledge and historical archives. Many of the continent’s powers had tried to make this city their own, but not a single one had succeeded.
The reason was its geographical location.
Pentamonium was located at the exact center of an area called the Demon Realm.
This region had no oxygen. Wrapped in a thick third layer of atmosphere that didn’t exist anywhere else in this world, it was naturally uninhabitable for humans or other life forms, and it had become a paradise for the undead.
The only way to enter Pentamonium, surrounded by the Demon Realm, was to receive permission from the Pentamonium authorities and teleport in via their magic circles.
"According to legend, a thousand years ago, a meteorite fell on this very spot."
Kajan said, gazing outside.
"Only the spot where the meteorite landed remained safe, while everywhere else was shrouded in black clouds, forming the ‘Demon Realm’. And based on the alien knowledge contained inside that meteorite, the natives of this land built the city of Pentamonium. That’s the gist of it."
Simon’s eyes sparkled.
"That sounds fun."
"Of course, the barrier has never once been breached in Pentamonium’s long history, so you can rest assured."
Chatting about this and that, the three arrived in front of a hospital room. The door was open, but Simon knocked lightly out of courtesy.
There was some rustling, followed by a "Yes~" in response.
"I’m coming in."
As Simon slowly pushed the door open and entered, he saw a young girl in a patient’s gown lying on a white bed.
"Have you been well, Sasha?"
She widened her eyes at the sight of Simon.
"Simon oppa!!"
She was the Saint candidate named Sasha, whom he had met during the Neutral Zone dispatch.
It had only been a few months, so the memory was still vivid for Simon.
Back then, Sasha had been kidnapped by a priest named Figaro, who was researching the essence of a Saint, and had been forced into an uncontrollable ability rampage, ending up as a vegetative Saint. But Simon had succeeded in rescuing her safely using the power of a Legion Commander.
The news that she was receiving treatment in Pentamonium had reached Simon only relatively recently, after he had declared his intent to participate in the academic conference.
"Have you been well?"
"Mm!"
Simon set down the fruit gift he had brought from Rochest and chatted with her about various things.
When he had first met her in the Neutral Zone, she had looked frail, withdrawn, and shy, opening her heart only to Kamibarez.
But since coming here, she seemed much livelier. Her complexion had improved, she had grown a little taller, and her hair had grown longer.
Currently, she was participating in experiments in Pentamonium, receiving cutting-edge treatment to restore her health.
After losing the essence of a Saint, she could no longer wield holiness, but more recently, persuaded by Pentamonium, she had opened her Core and become a necromancer.
Her ability—controlling the rapidly growing branches from her body—required training through some kind of power, whether white magic or black magic.
"Here, this."
Simon handed her a letter, making her eyes round.
"What’s this?"
"A letter from Kami."
"Really? From Kami unnie?!"
Kamibarez hadn’t been able to come to Pentamonium due to thesis preparations, but upon hearing that Sasha was here, she had left her a long letter.
Sasha read it with a happy expression, and soon tears began to well up in her eyes.
"She says when the first year ends and vacation starts, she’ll definitely come visit."
"......Mm, thank you for delivering this, Simon oppa."
Simon smiled gently and patted her head.
"Oh! Look at this, Simon oppa!"
She spread her arms, and wooden vines grew from her body. She could lengthen or shorten them at will.
Kajan and Serne, seeing this for the first time, also looked intrigued.
"It’s not yet confirmed, but—"
Kajan suddenly spoke up.
"According to Lady Neftis, she’s expected to be brought in as a special admit next year and enrolled in Keyzen."
At those words, Simon jumped in surprise.
"S-Sasha? As a special admission?"
"Yes. Sasha’s ability holds an extremely rare, top-class potential."
Indeed.
When Sasha fused with that mad priest, even if she had the help of the essence of a Saint, the sheer size of the great tree she created spoke volumes about her potential.
In fact, common knowledge said that those with high holiness potential tended to have low darkness potential, yet she excelled in both.
"But, isn’t Sasha too young?"
Simon spoke with a worried expression, but Kajan shook his head.
"Sasha is fourteen. She meets the minimum age requirement for admission."
Simon looked back at Sasha with a shocked face. She puffed her cheeks at that look.
"Why are you looking at me like that?"
"Ah, it’s nothing."
He had thought she was maybe around ten at most, so to think she was only three years younger than him.
"Because of the side effects of her plant-growing ability, her physical growth seems to have slowed. Much like Lady Neftis."
"I-I see. But Sasha,"
Simon forced a smile as he continued.
"Do you remember, by any chance?"
"Hm?"
"What happened back then."
She shook her head.
"After I was kidnapped by that… bad priest, I don’t remember anything."
"Really?"
Simon thought that might actually be for the best.
"......."
Sasha stared at Simon.
In truth—
Sometimes, she had nightmares.
Dreams of becoming a great tree.
The pain was unbearable.
Pain and more pain, again and again.
To survive, her brain had erased those memories on its own, but fragments remained, surfacing now and then in her dreams.
And yet, in those nightmares, there was a moment she loved most.
—No matter what happens!
From somewhere far, far away.
—I’ll take Sasha!
A white-haired man, cape fluttering.
—And bring her back!
A dream where he rescued her.
And in the final scene, that long-haired white-haired prince always held her in his arms.
That strength.
That smile.
That gentleness.
In the moment she fell into his embrace at the end, she could fall asleep peacefully without waking from the nightmare.
And that prince she dreamed of—
"What’s wrong?"
—was right here beside her, smiling like this.
"......."
Sasha’s face flushed as she looked at Simon. She quickly turned her head away.
"I-It’s nothing."
She didn’t know if it had really happened.
The prince in her dream had a different hair color and eye color from Simon.
And above all, if Simon were truly that prince, it wouldn’t make sense for a necromancer to use holiness.
But she was certain.
Her heart, her skin, told her so.
‘It was this person who saved me.’
Because Simon was in Keyzen, Sasha also decided to enroll in Keyzen.
"Simon oppa, I’m curious about life at Keyzen."
"Really? Then should I tell you briefly?"
Simon straightened up and began to speak.
"Freshmen ride a giant whale to enter, and the view when you disembark is really beautiful. As for the subjects you can major in, they’re called Intro Summon and Spirit Blood Magical Combat, and if I explain each one—"
It seemed this conversation would be a long one again.
Kajan silently watched the two chatting, then turned his head. Serne Eindark was standing crooked, letting out a dry chuckle.
"What is it."
"Nothing. Just—"
Simon was enthusiastically telling a junior about Keyzen, while Sasha, cheeks faintly flushed, looked only at Simon’s face.
"I was just thinking, how much more smitten does she need to be before she’s satisfied?"
"? I have no idea what you mean."
"You’ll probably never get it in your whole life!"
* * *
At the same time.
Second-year necromancer student thesis presentation.
Rip—rip—rip—
In front of a girl in a green checkered school uniform, trembling with tears in her eyes, her thesis lay in shreds all over the floor.
"Trash."
The judges glared.
"Trash!"
"Did you think this kind of patched-together thesis would pass in Pentamonium?"
"It’s laughable to even call you a necromancer!"
Amid thousands in the audience, the judges were tearing apart the student’s mental state. The crowd also booed loudly.
The students were all in shock, and the next one to present was pale with fear.
"Trash! Trash! Nothing but trash! For second-years to be at this level! How can not a single one of you satisfy us?!"
The judge sitting in the middle slammed the table.
"Next! Bring in the next one!"
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