Chapter 404
As Simon rose from his seat and walked toward the podium, loud cheers erupted from all around the audience seats.
— Thank you! You're a hero! That was amazing! — Voices like those buzzed in his ears. Every student was well aware of Simon’s efforts and achievements during the recent advancement exam.
Simon felt a twinge of emotion.
On his first day of admission, all he got was “Who’s that guy?” But in just a year, everything had changed.
Soon, Simon stepped up onto the podium, bowed his head to Jane, then looked down at the students from the platform.
‘There's even a script ready.’
After lightly clearing his throat, Simon began reading the eloquently written script line by line.
Though the embellishments were excessive, the main point was the same old promise to stay diligent and fulfill his duties as a student.
‘Still, it’d be kind of dull to just read through it like a textbook.’
Simon paused near the end of the script and looked out at the students.
“The Saintess incident, the Blood Heaven Cult crisis, and the semi-wartime curriculum with the integrated second semester. There were many major events, but I’m thankful to stand before you like this at the advancement ceremony.”
The broadcasting assistant, who had been listening in satisfaction in front of the magic recording device, suddenly turned pale.
Never mind ignoring the script, the Blood Heaven Cult incident was strictly forbidden from being mentioned.
‘I went through all that, Keyzen HQ. Let me have this much.’
The broadcasting assistant frantically gestured to cut it off, but Simon simply smiled and raised his head. Jane beside him smiled as if to say, “What can you do?”
“We survived the competition. To put it another way, we eliminated 600 students through competition. Let’s not forget the weight of that. Let’s not grow complacent, and keep doing our best, for their sake as well.”
With that, Simon concluded his speech with a light heart.
“I’ll be counting on you again in our second year. Thank you.”
To the sound of student applause, Simon stepped down.
The assistant, face red as a beet, waited for him, fuming.
Swoosh.
But Jane called Simon over with a gesture as she moved into her next line. The assistant waiting below was left looking like a dog who lost its prey.
In a small voice, she said,
“Sorry, Simon. I was on-site but couldn’t be of any help.”
“What are you saying, Professor?”
It wouldn’t have made a difference if someone had been there.
A professor who’d worked at Keyzen for 20 years turning traitor, and a monster like Sillage enacting a plan a century in the making, even Simon knew it was inevitable.
Just then, as he turned to leave, Jane said to his back,
“Congratulations on your second-year promotion.”
“Ah, thank you!”
Simon parted ways with Jane, exited behind the stage, and returned to his seat.
Then came the final course of the event.
The moment all the students had been waiting for.
“Wahaha! Finally!”
Dick pinned the red badge symbolizing second-year status to the lapel of his uniform.
“We’re second-year Keyzen students nowww!”
“How do I look, Simon?”
Maelyn, now wearing her red badge, spun once in place like a model.
“Do I look more like a proper upperclassman now?”
“Oh, definitely, way more dignified.”
Simon, arms crossed, let out a chuckle.
He remembered how just seeing that red emblem in his first year used to make him freeze up. And now they were the ones wearing it, it was a strange feeling.
“Simon!”
Kamibarez came running over.
“Shall I pin your badge for you?”
“Ah, thanks.”
She rose on tiptoe and pinned the red badge on Simon’s lapel. Then she stepped back a couple of paces and, with hands behind her back, admired him.
“It matches your tie perfectly! Looks great!”
“Thanks.”
This time, Simon pinned the badge on Kamibarez in return, and with that, the advancement ceremony concluded.
Students scattered freely, and parents who had been waiting in the back or sides of the auditorium rushed forward. They hugged and cried and laughed. Cries of joy erupted from every corner.
“We’re so proud of you!”
“You’ve fulfilled our family’s long-cherished dream!”
Simon, separated from the crowd, was observing these emotional reunion scenes unfolding all around.
“Hey, Simon!”
Then Dick approached with a sly grin and tapped him on the shoulder.
“Just in case, try looking for your parents! They might’ve come, you never know.”
“No, my parents could never make it to—”
Simon’s eyes widened mid-sentence.
“Wait, when did you change into casual clothes?”
Pffft!
Dick suddenly burst out laughing, clutching his stomach. Simon blinked in confusion, then realized something and opened his mouth.
This person… was slightly different from Dick.
“Hey, Simon!”
And with the exact same line, Dick in his uniform appeared from behind. He grinned and waved.
“Come on, man! We were roommates for a whole year, and you couldn’t tell?”
“I told you he wouldn’t recognize me! Bwahaha!”
The casually dressed Dick gestured, and the uniformed one clicked his tongue and flicked a coin toward him with a ting! Seems like they had a bet.
“Wh-what’s going on, Dick?”
“Let me introduce you.”
The uniformed Dick slung his arm around the casually dressed one's neck and grinned.
“This is my second-oldest brother. Name’s Dan Hayword. And this guy’s my best friend, Simon Follentia.”
“I’m Dan. Nice to meet you!”
“Y-yeah! Pleasure to meet you.”
Simon and Dan shook hands, and Dick added,
“Oldest, second-oldest, and me — we’re triplets!”
“W-wow.”
Dick had often said their dad only cared about the eldest, so Simon never even imagined the three of them were triplets.
“Hello! Friend of Dick bro!”
“Hello! Friend of Dick bro!”
Then more of Dick’s brothers showed up. They looked like Dick, but with slightly different features and shorter height.
“Right one's the fourth, Bill Hayword. Left one's the fifth, Al Hayword! Those two are twins.”
It was an incredible family. Triplets, followed by twins.
“So you're the younger brothers. Nice to meet you.”
Simon extended just his right hand, but the twins grabbed his left hand too, turning it into a two-handed handshake.
‘…It’s like there are four Dicks now.’
These brothers looked and acted exactly like him.
“Dick bro! I smuggled in a bouquet today! Made a decent profit selling it on Roke Island!”
“Bouquet? That’s small-time. I went all out with a gift set!”
“Anyone interested in a Roke Island stone business?”
Even the way they talked about business…
“Whoa! The Keyzen girls are all gorgeous!”
“Lucky bastard, Dick!”
“Being a necromancer and that pretty should be illegal!”
And their obsession with girls, exactly the same.
The heads and eyes of all four brothers moved in perfect sync. As female students passed by, skirts fluttering, they stared reverently at their legs as if admiring art.
“Guys! Hold on—!”
Simon panicked, flailing his arms to block their line of sight and yelling at Dick.
“Dick! Do something!”
“Doesn’t help to stop them. Let it go.”
Dick shrugged, shaking his head.
“My brothers have only ever seen burly sailors at the port. It’s no wonder they’re overwhelmed by all these schoolgirls.”
“Dick bro! That girl’s the prettiest!”
Just then, the fourth, Bill, pointed at a girl with sky-blue hair.
“Ooh, good taste.”
The fifth, Al, snickered in reply. And that girl was actually walking toward them.
“Simon!”
It was Maelyn.
Her radiant smile as she approached made Dick’s brothers freeze up. Liking girls and being liked by them were two very different matters.
“Simon, say hi. This is my dad.”
“Huh?”
Simon’s eyes widened. A man in a crisp suit, with the same sky-blue hair as Maelyn, was smiling warmly.
“Dad, this is Simon. He’s my groupmate and helped me a lot throughout the semester.”
“I’ve heard a lot about you from my daughter. Nice to meet you.”
Daniella Villene extended his hand.
“N-nice to meet you, sir!!”
Maelyn’s dad?!
No wonder Simon immediately stood stiff and bowed respectfully after the handshake.
“Hmm.”
And Daniella, watching Simon’s posture, tone, and manners, nodded in satisfaction like a nobleman evaluating etiquette.
“Well-taught. Where are your parents? What fief does your father govern? Does he enjoy wine?”
“Daaad!”
Maelyn smacked Daniella on the back. Simon chuckled and said,
“They’re busy with work, so they couldn’t make it today.”
“Haha, that’s a shame.”
Maelyn then introduced Dick to Daniella, and Dick introduced his brothers to Maelyn.
“Second-oldest, Dan Hayword.”
“Nice to meet you. I’m Maelyn Villene.”
Maelyn lifted the hem of her skirt and gave a polite bow. Dan, his face slightly red, quietly smacked Dick on the back of the head.
“Whoa, shit! Dick! Looks like you really made it, huh?”
“Ah! That hurts!”
“Isn’t Maelyn pretty? Why haven’t you made a move on her?”
“...Bro.”
Dick contorted his entire body in disgust.
“I’ll just say this. Forget everything else, just spend one week with her. You’ll see her true colors…”
Whack!
Suddenly, Maelyn flew in from the side and kicked Dick away with a flying side kick.
Then she casually stood up and smoothed her skirt.
“What were you two talking about? Dan?”
Dan quickly raised his hands and replied,
“I don’t know that guy.”
“Dan-bro! Traito— Aaaagh!”
Watching Dick get stomped on by Maelyn, Dan’s mind was thrown into chaos.
‘…Just what kind of place is Keyzen?’
“Simon~”
From behind, Kamibarez came trotting up, waving her hand. The tiny bat wings on her back fluttered as she moved.
“She’s now my number one pick.”
Said the fourth brother, Bill, quickly.
“She’s not a noona, I think she’s our age.”
Added the fifth, Al.
Kamibarez also stopped in her tracks, startled, staring at the Hayword brothers.
“F-four Dicks…?”
“Let me introduce you, Kami.”
Dick, who had been flattened from the kick, sprang up swiftly.
“From the right, second-oldest Dan, fourth Bill, fifth Al.”
“Nice to meet you!!”
The brothers all rushed forward.
Kamibarez, shy around strangers, darted her eyes nervously, then bowed deeply.
“I-I’m Kamibarez Ursula! N-nice to meet you all.”
‘…Cute!’
The brothers’ cheeks all turned red at the same time. Bill spoke up quickly.
“R-really, you’re a necromancer too, noona?”
“Have you touched skeletons before?”
“Ah. Yes. They were a bit scary at first, but I’ve gotten used to it.”
As expected, Kamibarez was quite popular. She answered the Hayword brothers’ barrage of questions sweetly and gently.
While Simon watched with a smile—
[It’s been a while.]
—a voice suddenly echoed from above, audible only to Simon.
Startled, he looked up and saw a man standing upside-down on the ceiling, like a bat.
The strongest living Ursula, a Vampire Lord.
And Kamibarez’s father.
‘Dietrich Von Ursula!’
Fwump!
Dietrich dropped from the ceiling and landed in front of Simon.
With a thick neck like a tree trunk and shoulders broad as a field, his legs were slim, and he wore something like a black cloak over his body, just as Simon remembered.
Simon immediately placed a hand on his shoulder and bowed in respect.
“I greet the Vampire Lord.”
“Ho.”
As Dietrich grinned, his protruding fangs flashed.
“A human, yet you know the etiquette of vampires!”
That signature pressure was still overwhelming. Simon, sweating coldly, looked up.
“W-was that inappropriate?”
“Bwahahaha! No, well done!”
He smirked, raising the corners of his mouth.
“Who taught you such things?”
“My fa—”
“Dad!!”
Kamibarez came rushing over in a panic. Dietrich flinched and turned around.
“Dad! Why are you causing a scene again?!”
“Ahem! My dear daughter Kamibarez, I was merely…”
Simon chuckled awkwardly. The strongest vampire in the world still didn’t know how to handle this tiny girl.
“Hmph! At any rate.”
Dietrich stepped up to Simon again.
“I never expected my frail daughter to make it to second year at Keyzen.”
He turned his eyes to Kamibarez.
“Thank you. I imagine it was thanks to your help, as the top-ranked student, that she survived.”
“What are you saying?”
Simon was smiling with his mouth, but his eyes grew firm.
“It was entirely the result of Kami, no, Kamibarez Ursula’s own effort.”
“Ho.”
“You say I helped her? If anything, I was the one who received help. She stayed by my side when things were tough, and during one of the practical evaluations, when I was poisoned, she saved my life.”
“S-Simon…!”
Kamibarez looked at him with wide, astonished eyes.
“She’s not someone you have to protect forever, Vampire Lord.”
Dietrich’s face twitched. Seeing that reaction, Kamibarez panicked and stepped in front of Simon.
Ha.
Bwahahahahahahaha!
A thunderous laugh shook the great auditorium.
“Still as arrogant as ever, human!”
An overwhelming sense of pressure and presence.
Dick stood frozen, completely dazed, unable to even approach.
“...Kami’s dad is terrifying.”
“Your friend talking like that to him is even more terrifying.”
Said the second-oldest, Dan.
The mood soon lightened, and Simon and Dietrich were freely chatting.
“Is your father here today? I’d like to meet him.”
“Ah, well…”
Step. Step.
Simon stopped speaking. Someone was approaching.
Sensing the presence, Simon turned around.
‘…!!’
Simon’s mouth dropped open in shock upon seeing the man walking toward them.
“Pardon me, ladies.”
The man passed by Maelyn and Kamibarez with a courteous nod. Their faces flushed red with a poof.
‘He looks… just like Simon…!’
Kamibarez looked frantically back and forth between Simon and the man.
‘That man…! That’s who he reminded me of!’
Maelyn glanced at her wrist. She was still wearing that handkerchief tied around it.
But the most shocked of all was Simon.
‘F-Father?!’
“Ha ha!”
Disguised, Richard raised his hand cheerfully and smiled.
“Long time no see, nephew!”
Superb.
When are we getting more free chapters?
Thanks for the new chapters