Chapter 368
The first-year students were having the busiest days since Keyzen’s founding.
The infamous “5th BMAT + 2nd Year Promotion Exam”, rumored to be of unprecedented difficulty, was just around the corner.
And the only written exam of the combined second semester, the “Final Exam”, was also fast approaching.
Even while preparing for those two major exams, they couldn’t afford to neglect their performance evaluations, which were the most immediate fire on their feet. As Keyzen professors began to include performance scores in their homework and report grades, the students struggled to stay sane.
And this weekend, it was a truly important one for the students. With such heavy schedules looming, they had to make the most of this brief window of time.
Simon and the rest of Team 7 had also agreed to meet up to study for both the performance evaluations and the final exams.
As always, they reserved an empty classroom.
“Hi, Simon~”
“Hey, Kami.”
The two who arrived first greeted each other warmly.
“You’re early.”
Kamibarez smiled sheepishly as she put her bag down.
Simon tried to smile back, but she quickly turned her head and scratched her cheek, looking embarrassed.
“...W-What about Dick?”
“He said he’d be a little late since he had to go down to Rochest for business. What about Maelyn?”
“Oh! She was at the library, but she’s on her way now!”
The two of them pushed four desks together and each took a seat.
Simon took out all the homework and study material he had to go through today and crossed his arms, staring at the pile for a moment.
A sigh escaped him.
“That’s... a lot.”
“Ahaha! Let’s work hard!”
Kamibarez squeezed her tiny fists cutely through the sleeves of her cardigan and shook them with encouragement. But she still avoided Simon’s gaze.
‘...Ugh, I keep remembering Simon’s face from then.’
It had only happened yesterday.
Kamibarez had gone alone to the Summoning Department to cheer Simon on during his Life Vessel practical training.
After the session ended and Aron had left, she tiptoed into the lab holding a white towel and a bottle of water.
And then she saw it.
—Ah.
Simon’s face, splattered with blood.
He was slumped to the floor, his face weary, wiping a blood drop off his philtrum. When he noticed Kamibarez standing there, he gave her a sheepish smile.
—Kami. How did you know I was here?
As a half-Ursula, she was naturally sensitive to blood, and seeing Simon’s bloodstained face smiling at her was an overwhelming stimulus.
She nearly pounced on him again.
Even though the blood had come from a heart during practice, mixed with Simon’s sweat and scent, it was dangerously intoxicating.
—Thanks. I’ll drink it well.
Especially when he gulped down the water she brought, loosening his school tie with one hand and flapping his shirt to cool down... that sharp neckline exposed beneath...
She had nearly lost all control.
‘Ack.’
Kamibarez’s face flushed red once more as the memory returned.
“What’s wrong, Kami?”
“N-Nothing!”
She answered in a panic and smiled awkwardly, her ears tinged with pink.
Just as the two of them were opening the first page, the door to the classroom burst open with a loud clack!
“Hey there!”
It was Maelyn.
She walked in with a light step, a long bag slung over one shoulder, and her hair tied up with a ribbon.
“Welcome, Maelyn.”
Simon greeted her with a smile.
But she froze for a moment, turned her head sharply, and replied somewhat stiffly, “Ah, yeah. Hi.”
‘...What’s up with everyone’s reaction?’
Simon scratched the side of his head.
* * *
‘...Huuu.’
Maelyn pretended to be unpacking her bag as she subtly glanced at Simon from the corner of her eye.
‘He doesn’t look any different from usual.’
Her sharp eyes scanned Simon’s every feature.
‘His voice is upbeat. His face looks bright. He looks like he’s in a good mood.’
Her hand tightened. The paper she was holding crinkled with a crisp sound.
‘He looks like he’s on cloud nine!!’
It was getting on her nerves.
At a time when she needed to focus 100% on studying, it was infuriating how distracting this was.
The problem had started last night.
After finishing the afternoon Toxicology class on a high note, excited for the weekend...
—What about Simon?
—He ran off somewhere holding hands with a beautiful upperclassman.
Just like Dick had said, Simon had been holding the hand of Benya, a second-year upperclassman, and running off. Clearly headed toward Rochest, no excuses possible.
And more importantly...
‘Simon didn’t come back to the dorm last night!’
Maelyn clenched her fists tightly.
Of course, she knew Simon wasn’t the type to be promiscuous or overly interested in girls.
But.
But still!
‘It’s bugging me!!’
Right before the weekend, alone with a female senior, went to Rochest, and didn’t return all night.
Isn’t it weirder not to be suspicious?
Of course, just as a friend.
They’d stuck together for the entire first year since admission, after all.
‘S-Still, doing that kind of thing...! That’s a serious school rule violation.’
At Keyzen, dating was allowed, but any inappropriate physical conduct as a minor was strictly forbidden.
And what bothered her the most was that, while she was stewing in frustration, Simon was just sitting there solving problems with a carefree smile.
‘How can he focus on his work right now!’
Maelyn’s hand, holding her quill pen, trembled with fury.
‘What do I do? Is there a way to ask without making it obvious?’
Scratch, scratch.
There was no way she could focus.
As time passed, her textbook filled only with doodles. She hoped Kamibarez might bring it up first.
“Simon~ I don’t understand this part!”
“Which one?”
...She just seems focused on studying.
Seeing Simon explain problems so casually with his usual calm expression made Maelyn flare up again.
Why am I the only one stressed and anxious?
Not like I care what happens to any guy besides Lord Feon, anyway.
Honestly, other than Lord Feon, men are irrelevant to me.
Yeah, fine. I’ll just ask straight out.
“Hey, Simon!”
Maelyn mustered up all her courage to shout.
The two who had been studying side by side looked up at once.
“Hm?”
“......”
She was going to say it...!
But the moment she made eye contact with Simon, the dirty question she had ready got stuck in her throat like a lie.
It reached the tip of her tongue, then sank back down, her cheeks blazing red.
“U-Um...!”
“?”
Her shoulders trembling, Maelyn finally muttered in a defeated voice.
“...I-I don’t get this part either.”
She pointed at a random problem, then bowed her head, unable to overcome the embarrassment.
“I never thought I’d see the day you’d ask about a problem you didn’t know.”
Simon grinned.
“I’ll help Kami first, then I’ll explain it to you.”
“...O-Okay.”
Simon and Kamibarez turned their attention back to the textbook. Maelyn pressed her flushed face with both hands, trying to cool it down.
‘You idiot! You dumbass!!’
The moment Maelyn locked eyes with Simon, she realized something.
No matter what, there was no way she could say, “What were you doing in Rochest with Senior Benya all night?” right to his face.
But she couldn’t just let it go.
She had to find out what happened last night, clean and clear.
For the peace of her mind, her emotional stability, and the sake of her exam prep!
‘Okay, new strategy. Instead of bringing up anything indecent myself, I’ll guide Simon into saying it naturally.’
While all three were momentarily focused on solving their problems, Maelyn stretched her arms high.
“Uuugh~ I’m so sick of being cooped up in the library all day just studying.”
“Me too.”
Kamibarez responded gently with a smile.
“But let’s push through a little more! We all need to move up to second year together!”
“Yeah, you’re right. But studying in the same setting every time kinda kills the efficiency. Maybe that’s why? I heard camping study sessions are all the rage these days. Kami, have you heard of it?”
“Camping study?”
“Yeah, yeah! The class rep and Claudia went camping over the weekend—”
Maelyn smoothly continued chatting with Kamibarez. Since the two often gossiped in the dorm kitchen, Simon wouldn’t find anything suspicious.
“They ended up crying and running away because they saw a monster, then spent the night in Rochest!”
“Ahaha! I could never spend the night out like that!”
“Hey.”
Maelyn turned her head toward Simon.
“Simon, have you ever spent the night in Rochest?”
Perfect!
Camping, staying overnight, then smoothly to sleeping in Rochest, a flawless triple link!
Now what will he say...!
“I have.”
Thump!
Maelyn’s heart dropped like a stone.
He really did?
With that senior, just the two of them?
Her mind was instantly filled with an uncensored image of the two lying in bed together.
“We all stayed there together, remember?”
The scene in her head suddenly updated, with herself and the rest of the group now appearing in the bed too.
Maelyn’s face turned bright red.
“Y-Y-You, you crazy idiot!!”
Flailing her arms, she scooted away in her chair at incredible speed. Simon looked at her, puzzled.
“Don’t you remember? During the 3rd BMAT? The theme was ocean, so we had a prep meeting and stayed over in a Rochest lodge. The next day, you even bought swimsuits and went to the beach.”
“Oh! I remember! That day was so, so much fun!”
So that’s what it was!
Maelyn’s head, which had been boiling with frustration, now ached with confusion as she pouted at Simon.
As Simon and Kamibarez naturally transitioned into beach talk, she started to feel a headache coming on.
‘This won’t work!’
She realized she had to bring up Benya Vanilla directly.
The timing came quickly.
After the beach topic faded and the others resumed studying, Maelyn casually spoke.
“Ugh, I want something sweet. Vanilla! I want vanilla ice cream!”
She deliberately emphasized “vanilla” just a bit.
Scrape.
Right on cue, Simon pushed back his chair and stood up.
“I’ll go grab some from the store. Kami, what flavor do you want?”
‘That’s not what I meant!!!’
Maelyn felt like coughing up blood.
“I’ll come too!”
Kamibarez also pushed her chair back and stood up.
“Ah, but Simon~”
Kamibarez shyly smiled, brushing her hair lightly.
“Speaking of vanilla ice cream~”
“Yeah?”
“I’m thinking of buying that vanilla-brand skeleton mage.”
“Oh, for your summoning performance evaluation?”
“Yes! Do you happen to know anyone connected to Vanilla? It’s a bit expensive, so I’d like to get it cheaper if I can.”
At that, Maelyn suddenly looked up.
Wait a second.
Don’t tell me...
“Want me to introduce you to Senior Benya Vanilla? She might give you a bit of a discount.”
No way!
“Yes! But...”
Kamibarez’s face turned crimson red. Then, with a voice trembling sweetly, she asked,
“D-Do you... um, y-you and Senior Benya... w-what’s your relationship?”
Kamiiiii!
Maelyn cried out inside her heart.
As expected, she didn’t disappoint! Kamibarez must’ve been dying to know too!
“She’s the president of the club I joined. Didn’t I mention that?”
“...”
“...”
Maelyn and Kamibarez both pouted at the same time.
‘Dense.’
‘So dense.’
They had basically asked him outright, and this was how he responded?
As the two girls bit their lips and chewed their thumbs in frustration, Simon blinked in confusion.
“S-Simon...!”
Kamibarez opened her mouth again.
The most nerve-wracking moment in her entire school life.
Her shoulders trembled like a baby penguin.
Her hands fidgeted nervously, her face flushed tomato red, and even her big, round eyes were brimming with tears.
“Senior Benya and you! Are you, maybe...!”
Maelyn was so touched by Kamibarez’s courage, she gulped. Time felt like it was slowing down. She waited, trembling with anticipation for the next words.
Kamibarez paused, then closed her eyes tight and shouted with a raspy voice.
“Are you twooooo...!!”
CLATTER!
Just then, the classroom door burst open and Dick jumped in.
“YOOOOO, Simon! Did you have fun last night with Senior Benyaaa?!”
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