Chapter 460
After drinking from the skull bowl, the next initiation was even more terrifying.
The seniors had dug a huge pit in advance, filled it with contaminated water, and even thrown in some moving zombies.
Above that pit stretched a crude bridge, pieced together from monster bones and lashed joints. The second-years had to cross this precarious bone bridge that looked ready to collapse at any moment.
Of course, the condition of the bridge was far from reassuring. Some of the stepping planks were broken, others dangled loosely as if they might fall off with the slightest pressure.
One misstep would send them plunging straight into the stinking mire, where they would be swarmed by zombies in a ghastly experience.
The seniors controlled the zombies with thought, so the second-years wouldn’t actually be bitten, but humiliation was guaranteed.
“......Ugh.”
The sight of the pit alone was enough to shake the second-years’ minds. Yet under Will’s harsh urging, they reluctantly climbed the ladder up onto the bone bridge.
There were twelve students in total who had to cross. One by one, they began.
—Uwoooooo!
—Uaaaaargh!
The zombies in the sewage-like water thrashed their arms and lifted their heads, snarling. Faces contorted in terror, the second-years either squeezed their eyes shut or forced themselves to look only straight ahead.
From below came Will’s irritated voice.
“Hurry it up! Especially you, Toto! I’m talking to you!”
“Y-Yes, sir!”
After hesitating for ages, Toto finally set off.
The last to go was Simon. As before, Simon had chosen to participate in this initiation as well.
‘Marching right into the trap yourself, huh?’
Will’s lips curled upward.
‘I’ll make sure you end up so miserable you’ll never dare act arrogant again!’
While Toto shuffled forward with his body crouched low, Simon strode calmly across, upright and unhurried, as if taking a casual stroll through town.
Naturally, such a posture grated heavily on Will’s nerves.
He subtly signaled to a third-year hiding in the brush behind the bridge.
‘.......’
Simon saw it clearly. Behind the brush, a third-year was weaving black magic, tampering with the bridge.
Clunk!
Suddenly, the plank beneath the leading girl gave way.
“Kyaaaaaa!”
Her body dropped down, and the zombies surged toward her.
Will burst into boisterous laughter.
“Bwahaha! Our first unlucky draw—huh?”
Just before she plunged into the sewage, she stopped short. An emerald rope had wrapped around her waist.
“Got you.”
Simon had activated Cloud. While the zombies shrieked and lunged, Simon easily pulled her back up to the bridge with a tug.
“You alright?”
“Y-Yes. Thank you, President!”
Will’s face flushed red with rage.
‘That bastard sticking his nose in again!’
He gestured again. The planks under several students weakened all at once, and three fell simultaneously.
Squelch!
Thud!
Clack!
Simon’s Bone Armor shot out as if waiting, snatching them back up.
“You son of a bitch! Forget it, just drop them all!”
Will shouted furiously, veins bulging.
The third-year in the bushes peeked out in disbelief.
“All of them? They’ll all fall!”
“It’s fine, just do it!”
The spell sustaining the bridge vanished, and the whole structure collapsed with a crash.
‘I’ve studied his profile. I know his limits.’
Will grinned confidently.
‘At most, he can control eight undead at once. There are twelve students falling. No way he can save them all…’
<Simon’s Original – Royal Guard>
But of course, Simon had prepared.
From the bushes, twenty-four skeletons burst apart into bone fragments, glowing teal as they shot out.
They caught all twelve falling students—including Simon himself—and interlocked mid-air, forming a makeshift bridge.
‘What the hell?!’
Will’s jaw dropped.
‘He built an entirely new bridge?!’
“Now! Everyone, cross!”
At Simon’s command, the students scrambled across in a panic. Last to cross, Simon calmly retrieved Cloud.
“We’re safe!”
“T-Thank you, President!”
The second-years collapsed in relief. That was when Will stormed up furiously.
“You bastard!”
He grabbed Simon by the collar.
“How dare you use black magic during a solemn initiation?!”
Simon tilted his head.
“Was there a rule saying black magic was forbidden?”
“Goddammit! Do I really need to spell out—”
“You seniors, on the other hand.”
Simon pried Will’s hand off his collar and pointed aside.
The bushes parted, revealing the third-year who had manipulated the bridge with black magic.
“You planned from the start to use cheap tricks to drop us all into that sewage, didn’t you?”
“!”
The second-years’ faces hardened in icy anger.
Simon continued, his voice calm.
“If the initiation’s intent was truly to make us fall into that pit, then yes—I would’ve accepted it. But the order you gave was to cross the bridge. And we did. Do you have anything else to say?”
Grit. Grit.
As a member of the student council, Will couldn’t lash out.
Grinding his teeth furiously, he spun around and shouted:
“On to the final initiation!”
This time for sure.
Will swore he would utterly break Simon.
The third and final initiation divided the boys and girls.
A third-year girl led away the female students, while Will personally oversaw the males.
“This course is the true highlight of our department’s initiation.”
Will sneered as he looked around, his gaze lingering on Simon standing there calm as ever.
‘Let’s see how long that composure lasts.’
He cleared his throat theatrically, surveying the second-year boys.
Toto was already trembling, knees knocking.
“This initiation is called a ‘task’.”
Haaah.
Toto sighed in relief inside. A task sounded harmless—anything was better than drinking corpse-liquor or plunging into zombie filth.
“You boys are to sneak into another department’s girls’ dormitory… and steal a piece of their underwear.”
The absurdity stunned them all into silence.
“R-Really…?”
“Like hell it’s fake!”
“S-Sorry, sir!”
There were rules, too.
They had to learn the owner’s name and loudly report which department and whose underwear they had stolen. This was to prevent tricks like buying something from Rochest’s shops.
“Once you finish, you can return it, go back to your dorm, or rejoin the event. Your choice.”
“......”
“Of course, anyone who fails—”
Will cracked his knuckles with a nasty grin.
“—don’t bother coming back. And expect your school life to turn to shit.”
The boys bowed their heads in despair.
If caught sneaking into a dorm by seniors—or worse, by the girls themselves—it would mean social death.
‘Now, Simon Follentia.’
Will smirked at him.
‘What’ll you do this time, huh? Even you can’t—’
“Understood, Milord.”
Simon slipped a hand into his inner pocket, and Will instinctively flinched back, heart pounding.
‘He wouldn’t dare…!’
But what Simon pulled out was not what Will feared.
It was the armband engraved with the Keyzen emblem, symbol of the student council. He boldly strapped it on his right arm.
“From here on, I speak as the Student Council President.”
The students stirred.
Simon’s inauguration was scheduled for the day after tomorrow.
But Jane had entrusted him with the armband in advance so the council could smoothly handle the entrance ceremony duties. Naturally, Will and the others had no idea.
‘No way… he’s already exercising presidential authority?!’
Will’s chest pounded, but he forced himself to sound composed.
“W-What are you playing at?”
Still, his voice faltered in front of the armband.
Simon smiled faintly and drew out a Memorial Crystal Orb.
“Initiations have been a long-standing tradition among students. Out of respect for that tradition, I participated—drank the liquor, crossed the bridge. But…”
A sardonic smile crossed his lips.
“This has crossed the line. You’ve forced your juniors into criminal acts disguised as initiation.”
The orb projected Will’s own recorded voice:
—Sneak into another department’s girls’ dormitory and steal a piece of underwear.
—Anyone who fails, don’t bother coming back. And expect your school life to turn to shit!
Will’s face froze.
Simon tucked the orb away again.
“H-Hey, wait! This is a misunderstanding! I didn’t mean—”
“I have nothing more to say to you, Senior Will.”
Simon strode off.
“W-Wait! Where are you going?!”
He swiped Will’s grasping hand away, never even looking back, smiling faintly.
“To settle things with our department representative.”
It wasn’t the tail he needed to grab, but the head.
* * *
The main event—the drinking party hosted by the department representative, Leonard Feiron—was in full swing.
Leonard laughed brightly as he clinked glasses with his juniors.
“Why the long faces?”
Some second-years, tipsy with drink, chattered loudly, while others drank quietly with stiff expressions.
A third-year sitting beside Leonard smirked and answered.
“They got picked. They’re probably worried about the next initiation.”
“Ah~ these kids, letting their faces slip in front of their seniors.”
“It’s nothing. We all went through it too.”
While calming his drunken classmates, Leonard spoke in a gentle voice to the juniors.
“It’ll be fine. I’ll ask them to take it easy on you next round.”
A few second-years brightened instantly and lifted their heads.
“R-Really, sir?”
“Of course.”
Leonard skillfully soothed the uneasy mood among the second-years, then turned his head slightly.
“What about Loraine?”
He asked a third-year girl sipping her drink nearby. She replied without looking at him.
“She said she was going to the restroom, but she’s been poking around the forbidden forest.”
“No trouble?”
“No, she’s searching some unrelated area away from the initiation site. Since she’s combing it by hand without using her authority, I guess the ‘rumor’ is true. I’ve already sent people to bring her back.”
“Good.”
It seemed this initiation would go smoothly after all.
Leonard was inwardly relieved when suddenly, a commotion spread through the crowd.
‘What’s going on?’
Sensing trouble, Leonard rose from his seat.
The second-years stepped back in a murmur, and through the gap walked Simon Follentia, wearing the student council armband on his right arm.
‘Simon Follentia. So he’s already returned from the student council.’
Leonard’s mind worked quickly.
‘Don’t tell me Will made a scene… Hm?’
Behind Simon, Will Douglas trailed, shuffling awkwardly, eyes darting between Simon and Leonard. The sight made Leonard realize instantly—‘It’s blown up’.
‘That idiot…!’
“Greetings, Senior.”
Simon bowed politely. Leonard raised a hand with a warm smile.
“Hello, Student Council President. That armband suits you well.”
“I came to ask you something, Representative.”
Simon drew out and activated a Memorial Crystal Orb.
From it rang Will’s unfiltered command: sneak into the girls’ dormitory and steal underwear.
“......!”
The drinking second-years froze, jaws dropping.
The very idea that such a thing was part of initiation left them aghast, and the female students in particular wore expressions of fury.
“Leonard, this isn’t what you promised me.”
Even Benya Vanilla, a fellow third-year, frowned with arms crossed.
Sweat trickled down Leonard’s forehead.
“This…”
Simon looked at him with cool, detached eyes.
“Was this your order, Senior?”
“......”
Of course not.
The third initiation, “Task” was never supposed to be that extreme.
It was clear Will, goaded by Simon, had overreached trying to trap him—and caused this disaster. Leonard could picture the whole scene.
Yet even cornered, Leonard never lost his smile.
“And if I said yes? What would you do—run crying to the professors?”
Leonard slowly spread his arms.
“Initiations aren’t just our department’s. They’re a long tradition all departments hold. And more importantly, we already had an agreement.”
His voice dropped.
“As long as we don’t interfere with the council’s affairs, you don’t interfere with the third-years’. That was the deal.”
“......”
“We tried to honor it in good faith. But you broke it first. If we treat this as a declaration of war, that’s fair, isn’t it? That means we third-years are free to openly strike at the student council.”
From the start, this initiation had been a trap set for Simon.
If Simon objected, it meant breaking the pact with the third-years—giving Leonard and others the “justification” to challenge him for the student council presidency.
If he stayed silent, word would spread among the second-years that he ignored corruption and abuse, undermining his authority and prestige. Either way, Simon’s position as council president would be shaken.
‘Well? What will you do?’
Life at Keyzen was a ceaseless political battle. Leonard was no easy opponent.
Simon, keeping his poker face, met Leonard’s gaze and nodded.
“Yes. Let’s do that.”
“What?”
Leonard let out a dazed noise.
Simon shrugged nonchalantly.
“I don’t care. I’ll soon be handing this seat back to Senior Aizel anyway. But one thing.”
He raised the Memorial Orb, shaking it lightly.
“I’ll hold you and Will responsible as Student Council President. This will leave a stain on your authority and careers for life—and of course, disgrace our department as well.”
“......”
“If you’re willing to sacrifice your reputations to drag me down, fine. I’ll bring this straight to Lady Neftis tomorrow.”
Leonard’s lips trembled.
Bluff.
Neftis? No matter if the student council president answered directly to the chancellor, she wasn’t someone a student could just go see.
But if the vice-chancellor Jane—a strict traditionalist—decided to take issue with this, the whole school would be thrown into chaos.
The academy permitted “welcome parties” but strictly banned “initiations”. That was why students secretly carried them out in the forbidden forest, disguised as tradition.
Leonard fell silent. Simon slipped the orb away and smiled sweetly.
“If that doesn’t suit you, then let’s negotiate.”
Leonard’s eyes narrowed half-shut.
“...N-Negotiate?”
He felt like he was staring into the smile of a devil.
Superb.
When are we getting more free chapters?
Thanks for the new chapters