Chapter 371
"Oh, ooooh!"
Even the host, Darell, raised his voice with an excited expression.
"A huge match right from the start! This is massive! A big match between Special Admission No. 1 and No. 3!"
"......."
Simon looked at Shatel with a slightly flustered expression.
A giant nearly twice his height was pointing at him with heavy, thick fingers. The dark shadow cast by that massive body seemed to weigh heavily on Simon's shoulders.
'Shatel picked me?'
A bloodline descended from the ancient giants, and the best defense in Keyzen.
To Simon, Shatel was a threatening opponent. During the duel evaluations, he had already considered Shatel, along with Serne and Loraine, as opponents he absolutely must avoid, nearly untouchable.
Murmur murmur murmur!
As the students whispered, a loud bang! was heard from a distance.
It was Hector, his face flushed red with rage, slamming the table with his fist. Blood vessels bulged along his neck, thick and throbbing.
[SHATEL!!!]
Several students screamed and plugged their ears.
It was Dragon Fear.
"H-Hector!"
"Hey, hey, calm down!"
Frightened faction students clung to his arms and legs to stop him, but Hector advanced, dragging them along.
"He's lost it again!"
"Girls! Do something! Hit him with Exhaust or something!"
One of the faction students, being dragged while clutching Hector's leg, screamed out.
Just as the hesitant students in the back began to ready curses—
"Whoa, whoa."
Hector's body suddenly locked in place with a click.
"I get that you're pissed about losing the opponent you had your eye on, but let’s not take it any further on such a nice day, junior."
Snap.
Snap snap.
Before anyone noticed, puppet dolls had surrounded Hector, aiming blades at him.
The one controlling them was the host, Darell.
He, too, had appeared right in front of Hector, as if he had used teleportation.
'Wait, when did he get from the podium to here?'
Faction students recoiled in surprise. Darell spoke.
"Uhuhu, casting an area curse at an official event? Buddy, you must think I’m a joke, huh?"
Darell glanced toward Jane. She was seated at the podium, half-risen from her chair.
"Y-yes! Everything’s fine, Professor! I’ve handled it all! Hahaha!"
Darell forced a cheerful laugh and waved his hand, then gave Hector a light pat on the shoulder.
"Let’s stop, yeah?"
Snap. Crack.
The strings holding the puppet dolls around Hector suddenly went taut.
Hector was trying to move again.
"Aah—come on. I said stop. Hey. Hey. Ah, f*ck."
Darell’s bright smile twisted into a demonic scowl in an instant.
"Do I not even look like a third-year to you?"
Just as the puppet dolls' mouths stretched open and began transforming into monsters—
Thunk! Thunk! Thunk! Thunk!
Multiple feathers embedded themselves into Hector’s back. The blazing rage emanating from him finally cooled, and his movements settled.
"Oh my~"
In the sudden silence, everyone turned their gaze.
A girl in a dress, seated with her legs arrogantly crossed, had a wine glass dangling from her finger.
Successor of the Ivory Tower.
Serne Eindark.
"To think he'd behave like that in front of a third-year upperclassman. Must’ve gone nuts in the heat of the moment."
She tilted her wine glass and sent a sly wink at Darell.
"You’re not mad, are you, senior?"
At her flirty, playful voice, Darell’s facial muscles relaxed, and a dopey grin spread across his face. Then he cleared his throat.
"Of course not! I’m a generous man."
"Hehe, then you’ll let it slide, right?"
"If the Ivory Tower’s successor says so, guess I have no choice. Just this once, okay?"
Feeling honored by Serne’s senior respect, Darell happily returned to the podium.
Serne gently smiled and set her wine glass down. The student sitting at her table leaned in and whispered.
"......Wh-what kind of whim is that?"
"I just thought, no harm in building up a favor or two."
She smiled while looking at her own lips reflected in the wine glass.
"A guy burning with fighting spirit toward Simon... Might come in handy someday."
Just then, Jane’s voice echoed from the voice amplification crystal.
—Hector Moore. Leave the auditorium.
Her voice was frigid.
—Cursing outside of class is forbidden. Student Hector Moore will be moved to the final slot among all first-year participants.
Hector gritted his teeth once, then gave Jane a curt nod and trudged toward the exit.
"Knew he’d blow up one of these days."
Dick, seated in his chair, chuckled with satisfaction.
"That guy seriously needs to get his temper under control."
"Hey, commoner."
Maelyn instantly shushed him, placing a finger to her lips.
"Don’t you get the mood? Zip it."
"Yeees~ milady. Zipping it tight."
Just then, Simon returned to the table where the members of Team 7 were seated. Kamibarez and Maelyn immediately leaned their heads forward.
"S-Simon! Are you okay?"
"Yeah. I’m fine. What about Hector?"
"He’s out."
Dick replied, frowning.
"But man, it’s so weird. Why’d Shatel pick you? That guy usually cares about his grades. I figured he’d aim for the lowest-ranked student among the top squads to keep a 100% win rate."
Simon also shook his head with a conflicted expression.
"I don’t know either."
"Simon."
Maelyn approached with a serious face.
"Withdraw."
Simon blinked.
"W-Withdraw?"
"That Shatel Maer guy, he’s not normal. Every student he fought during the duel evaluations got beaten to a pulp. Even with protective suits, they were bleeding like crazy. Some had to rest for one or two weeks from injuries, and some are still dealing with aftereffects."
"Ah......."
Kamibarez, listening to the explanation, covered her mouth with both hands. Maelyn spoke again.
"You know the second-year promotion exams are just around the corner, right? If you get hurt in an event like the duel evaluations, it’s a massive loss. Injuries are absolutely, absolutely, absolutely not okay!"
"......."
She wasn’t wrong.
There wasn't much left of the first-year curriculum. At most, only one or two duel evaluations remained.
Even with two straight losses, he'd still end up in a lower squad. As long as it wasn’t the very lowest squad, he wouldn’t be expelled.
Logically, it made sense to avoid Shatel and focus entirely on the promotion exam.
But of course—
"I'm confident."
That only applies if you can’t beat Shatel.
In the past, Simon would’ve considered it impossible. But now, with Herseba in his hands, there was no thought of defeat in his mind.
"I’ll fight. If I really feel like I can’t win, I’ll withdraw then."
"Geez."
Maelyn laughed and crossed her arms like she couldn't deal with him.
* * *
The event resumed.
Aside from Simon vs. Shatel, plenty of other exciting matchups were revealed. Most notably—
"Serne Eindark! Come at me!"
Maelyn, who had stepped onto the podium, pointed at Serne.
Simon, Dick, and Kamibarez all dropped their jaws, and even Serne, who had been spacing out the whole event, smiled with interest.
"Huh~ Sometimes our little Maelyn does something adorable."
Even the host Darell laughed in satisfaction.
"What’s this? An Ivory Tower civil war? Another big match! These first-years sure know how to stir the pot!"
Having confidently chosen Serne, Maelyn returned to her table.
Simon gave a wry smile and said,
"You were pressuring me to withdraw from my match with Shatel... and you go and pick Serne yourself."
Maelyn, adjusting her dress as she sat down, swept her disheveled side hair behind her ear.
"That’s that, and this is this. I’ve got battles I can’t back down from too."
"...Maelyn."
Kamibarez looked at her with a worried expression. Dick scratched his head, seemingly feeling the same.
"Out of the three we absolutely must avoid—Serne, Shatel, and Loraine—two are facing our squad members. It's gonna be a bloodbath, a real bloodbath."
Dick himself had been picked by the werewolf girl he had fought during the siege battle. Chuckling, he reacted casually, saying she must’ve held quite the grudge.
And Kamibarez, too, was chosen by a haematology aspirant from another class for a match.
With that, the entire event came to a close. The students exited the auditorium and headed back to their dorms.
"Dick, I’m going to be a bit late today."
Simon said, pulling Herseba out from subspace.
"If the dorm supervisor asks, cover for me."
"Yeah yeah, just don’t overdo it again."
Knowing by now that trying to stop Simon was pointless, Dick let him go calmly.
As Simon ran, he spoke to Herseba in his hand.
"I'm going to practice all night. You're okay with that, right?"
[The little guy’s fired up today. Something happen?]
Simon gave a small smile.
"Tomorrow, I think I’ll be fighting someone stronger than me."
[Oh my! That’s a problem.]
Golden wind fluttered from the staff, and it soon transformed into a long-haired woman, perched atop the shaft like a witch.
[So, how are you going to win?]
"There’s only one way."
Simon replied seriously.
"I’m going to complete that third Authority by tonight."
* * *
The next morning.
First Indoor Arena.
The duel evaluations were held simultaneously in three arenas, but today, the First Indoor Arena was more packed than any of the others.
Not only the first-years, but even second- and third-years who heard about the big match between Special Admission No. 1 and No. 3 had skipped class to come watch.
"Yeeeaah! Go Simon! You got this!"
And at the very front of the stands, Dick was shouting while holding up a signboard.
The sign had the name of his own business, 'Talaria', written in huge letters, and beneath that, in smaller print, ‘Go Simon’.
It was clear that advertising was the main goal, not cheering.
Next to him, Kamibarez was also holding a slightly smaller sign, shouting nervously.
"G-G-Good luck! Simon!"
"Hey now! You think Simon can hear that from the waiting room? Louder!"
Her face flushed red with embarrassment, Kamibarez shut her eyes tight and yelled,
"G-Good luck, Simon!! You can win this!"
Dick gave her a thumbs-up in approval. Meanwhile, the surrounding students squirmed and clutched at their shoulders, overcome by the cuteness.
"Hello, mind if I sit here?"
Just then, a girl with cream-colored hair approached.
Dick’s eyes sharpened with focus.
"Benya Vanilla, senior!"
Dick and Kamibarez shot up from their seats and bowed their heads.
"Ahaha! No need to be so formal."
She said that and took the empty seat next to Kamibarez. Dick quickly handed over his business card.
"I’m Dick Hayword, senior!"
"A student with business cards? Impressive."
"I’m nothing compared to you, senior, but I do run a few small businesses!"
"Oh, really?"
She looked over Dick’s business card up and down.
"Talaria? A delivery business, huh. That’s a clever idea."
"Thank you!"
As Dick eagerly promoted his business, Kamibarez sat with her hands folded neatly on her skirt, glancing nervously at Benya.
Benya noticed this and smiled.
"Got something to say to me?"
"......Ah! Um!"
Kamibarez looked up at Benya, trembling.
"Th-the... Simon..."
"Hm? Ah, our darling boy?"
‘Darling boy?!’
Kamibarez was shocked. Did they already have nicknames for each other?
‘...Simon.’
Kamibarez had recently thought she’d never seen anyone so perfect before.
Beautiful, capable, a student council member, and heir to the massive Vanilla corporation.
She shared interests and majors with Simon, loved summonology, and had the ideal foundation to support him fully.
Kamibarez felt a pang of envy toward Benya.
"?"
Benya blinked with a gentle smile. She could tell the younger girl had something to say, so she waited patiently.
"A-about helping Simon with making Herseba this time...!"
Suddenly, Kamibarez stood up.
"Thank you for your help!"
And then she gave a deep bow.
"..."
Benya looked at the top of her head with a slightly surprised expression.
Dick, who had been pondering how to shift the topic back to business, tilted his head in confusion at the sudden situation.
"Mmm~"
Finally, a deep smile bloomed on Benya’s face.
"Lift your head, please."
At her words, Kamibarez quickly looked up.
Her face was blazing red, and her breath came in quick gasps. The two hands on her skirt were fidgeting nervously.
Then, Benya stood up as well, bent her knees, and aligned herself to Kamibarez’s eye level. Gently embracing Kamibarez’s head, she whispered so only she could hear.
"Trying to conquer Simon, are you?"
At those words, Kamibarez’s face turned impossibly red.
"W-w-w-w-what do you mean, conquer?! That’s not—!"
Benya lightly clenched her fists and smiled with sparkling eyes.
"I’ll be cheering for you, little vampire."
"...Ah."
As Kamibarez stood there slightly dazed, the voice of the referee rang out.
"Student Simon Follentia of Class A! Student Shatel Maer of Class I! Please come to the arena immediately!"
At that call, Simon and Shatel, already waiting in the preparation room, stepped into the center of the arena.
Dick clapped his hands.
"It’s finally starting!"
Superb.
When are we getting more free chapters?
Thanks for the new chapters