Chapter 472
The freshmen followed the teaching assistants to the auditorium. Soon, they would change into their new Keyzen uniforms and participate in the entrance ceremony.
Simon stayed behind, chatting briefly with the assistants.
Apparently, the event had been slightly delayed because freshmen from Langerstine hadn’t arrived on time, but the assistants assured him it wasn’t a big deal.
"So, what should I do now?"
With nothing else to do, Simon asked.
"…Hmm, well… just take a look around here and make sure any freshmen sneaking off are sent back to the auditorium. The ceremony is about to start soon."
"Understood."
After parting ways with the assistants, Simon leisurely wandered through the first-year campus alone.
The area was quiet, and he didn’t see any freshmen.
He was about to make a quick round nearby and be done with it when he heard a familiar voice.
"You can’t do that! Got it?"
'Kami?'
Simon immediately ran toward the sound.
A girl with light purple hair wearing the student council armband was raising her voice, flapping her wings as she scolded the freshmen.
Three male students in Keyzen uniforms stood in front of her, and from the crispness of their uniforms, Simon guessed they were freshmen.
In their hands were cigars.
"You can’t smoke on campus! No, first of all, you’re underage, so you can’t even be smoking!"
Seeing Kamivarez flapping her wings and confronting the juniors, Simon felt his chest tighten.
'Good job, Kami!'
The shy, introverted girl was bravely standing up to those big male students. Anyone who had seen her at the start of the semester would have been moved.
While sending her an encouraging thought, Simon noticed the three freshmen.
They looked slightly flustered at Kami’s appearance. Holding the cigars awkwardly, they listened to her scolding.
Of course, her reprimands didn’t seem to be fully effective.
They were standing on tiptoe, fidgeting, not so much scared as blushing and scratching their heads.
"Are you listening to me?"
Kami raised her arms in frustration, and the two freshmen in front flinched, glancing nervously behind them.
Behind them stood a dark brown-haired student, bigger than most second-year boys, staring coldly at Kami.
"…Sh-should we go back?"
"Y-yeah! I think she’s a senior."
The two freshmen spoke, but the dark brown-haired student just smiled and put the cigar to his lips.
"We’ll just smoke a little and leave quietly."
His calm, commanding voice seemed to say, don’t interfere.
But Kami didn’t back down.
"No! Go back to the auditorium right now! The ceremony’s about to start!"
She stepped forward to confiscate the cigar in his mouth, but he simply tilted his head, dodging her arm.
'What a brat.'
The dark brown-haired student had a very defiant expression.
"Ah, seriously! I only said I’d smoke a little…!"
The student flinched slightly, and Kami, thinking her anger was being acknowledged, only got more intense.
"……"
But the freshman’s gaze wasn’t on Kami—it was on someone behind her.
Gooooooo!
A blue-haired student was hiding behind the wall, staring at them expressionlessly.
Despite the neutral face, his hand gripping the building wall was trembling violently.
Crack—
The wall under his hand cracked, dust falling to the ground.
'W-what the hell is that guy?'
The dark brown-haired freshman felt every instinct in his body screaming a red warning.
His pupils held a terrifying malice.
It was as if a monster were glaring savagely at him.
Even though he had considered himself the “crazy guy” of his hometown, Keyzen was on a whole other level.
'T-that guy’s actually insane.'
Panic-stricken, the dark brown-haired freshman opened his mouth—and the cigar fell from his hand. Kami quickly picked it up and shouted.
"Get back to the auditorium, now!"
"Y-yes, mam!!"
The delinquent freshmen bolted back to the auditorium.
After confirming they were all inside, Kami placed both hands over her chest and let out a relieved sigh.
"Hey, Kami."
A familiar, cheerful voice came from behind.
"Ah, Simon~!"
She turned around to see Simon smiling warmly and waving.
Kami bounced toward him like an excited puppy, flapping the bat-like wings on her back.
"Did you see? Did you see? I got the freshmen to go back!"
"Yeah! You were amazing, Kami."
Relief washed over her upon seeing Simon, and she let out another deep breath.
"I was scared the freshmen wouldn’t listen to me. These ones were my age, too… but I’m in the student council now! I might have to manage the juniors, so I kept practicing scary faces in the mirror at the dorm!"
"Scary faces?"
"Yes!"
She struck a pose, hands on her hips, eyes intense.
"No, you can’t do that!"
Simon felt a bit dazed for a moment.
"See? Scary, right?"
He wasn’t sure about scary—but it was undeniably heart-stoppingly cute.
Blushing, Simon nodded repeatedly.
"As expected of Kami! No wonder the freshmen ran away."
"Really? Thank you, Simon. Ah!"
Kami turned her head. Two female freshmen were trying to sneak out of the auditorium.
"Simon! I’ll go handle this!"
She dashed over, shouting at the girls to go back. The two had no choice but to return to the auditorium. Kami ran back to Simon, her eyes sparkling as if waiting for praise like a happy little puppy.
"Simon! I did it!"
Simon’s heart could barely take it.
He fought the urge to scoop her up and shower her with affection.
Now he finally understood why Maelyn always clung to Kami.
But the praise she sought wasn’t for being cute—it was for asserting her authority as a senior.
"I think you can become a better senior than anyone else."
Hearing those words, she smiled brightly, like a flower in full bloom.
"Thank you, Simon!"
Since there was still some time before the entrance ceremony, the two of them walked side by side, chatting as they scouted the surroundings.
Simon told her about the Heidi kidnapping incident that had occurred in Langerstine, and she listened, completely captivated.
"Ah."
Her ears twitched.
"Someone’s skipping class again! I can hear voices over there!"
"Let’s check it out."
Ha ha ha ha ha!
Kyaaa!
The laughter of one boy and two girls could be heard.
But one of them sounded unusually familiar. Simon peeked quietly from behind a building wall, and Kamibarez poked her head out underneath him.
Three people sat on a bench.
Among them, a second-year boy with a red badge on his collar and two first-year girls were laughing loudly.
And the boy was none other than Dick.
"Ah— you guys got in at such a convenient time. Back in our day, we had to handle the semi-war curriculum!"
"Oh my, semi-war?"
"What happened?"
"Didn't you hear about the saint who infiltrated Keyzen last year?"
The two first-year girls covered their mouths in shock.
"S-Scary! D-Did you see her too, senior?"
"Of course!"
Dick puffed out his chest.
"She looked terrifying. Her hair was wild and white, her eyes slanted, and her mouth gaped open like a monster—RAAAH!"
"Kyahhh!"
"While the other kids ran screaming, I didn’t back down! The saint’s goal was the downfall of Keyzen and the lives of all first-years. I approached her, drew my sword, and shouted..."
Dick, who had been spinning a ridiculously exaggerated story, froze mid-sentence.
"......."
"......."
Simon and Kamibarez glared at him with ice-cold eyes. Sweat trickled down the back of Dick’s neck.
"Ah, Simon! Kami! You’re here? Hahaha! Well, you see..."
Simon pointed vaguely toward the main hall with her finger.
"All first-years should return to the main hall immediately."
"Y-Yes!"
"Sorry!"
Startled, the two girls bolted off. After the first-years disappeared, Kamibarez furrowed her brows.
"Dick! I’m disappointed! Making up stories and deceiving the underclassmen!"
Dick scratched his head awkwardly.
"Ahem, sorry. I just tried to act like a senior and ended up adding a pinch of bravado..."
"Forget that."
Simon said with a slight smile.
"Even if the other second-years behave that way, at least our student council should’ve sent the kids back properly."
"Yeah, yeah. I’ll apologize!"
Dick got up from the bench.
"Alright! Anyway, the ceremony’s about to start. Let’s go and get ready!"
He nudged Simon and Kamibarez forward.
* * *
When Simon returned to the main hall, people filled every floor up to the third.
It truly was one of Keyzen’s biggest events.
On the first floor, first-years in crisp new uniforms looked around excitedly. Understanding their excitement, Simon quietly smiled.
The student council members’ seats, including Simon’s, were at the very front of the first floor. Maelyn, who had arrived early, waved to them.
"Over here~"
"How’s the preparation for the entrance ceremony?"
Simon asked as he sat down beside her.
"Perfect! Who do you think I am?"
She brushed back her hair proudly and placed her hands on her lap, eyes sparkling as she stared at the stage.
"I’m looking forward to it. Our student council’s first planned event is about to begin!"
"I hope everyone likes it!"
Pop!
Fwoosh!
The lights in the main hall began to dim one by one. Student council assistants, following Maelyn’s instructions, quickly drew the curtains, plunging the hall into darkness.
Even the murmurs of the crowd died down.
Moments later, a display of lights appeared on the stage. They danced and formed shapes, assembling into a dazzling show like fireworks.
Flare!
From the center of the stage, crimson flames shot up. Pieces of paper-like debris fell from the flames, floating and joining in the air to form words:
"Welcome to Keyzen!"
The first-years, still in their new uniforms and buzzing with excitement, erupted in enthusiastic cheers. Maelyn clapped her hands and giggled.
"That guy really loves doing stuff like this."
She said.
Gradually, the hall lights brightened, and the stage curtains swayed as a man appeared.
A tall man in a high-crowned hat and suit bowed like a gentleman.
"Greetings, everyone! I am honored to be the host of Keyzen’s entrance ceremony! My name is Seiyur Griezmann!"
"Seiyur!!"
Being one of the hottest stars in Langerstine recently, the first-years greeted him enthusiastically.
Seiyur spread his arms, and as he gestured, flower bombs exploded, showering petals in the direction of his hands.
Waaah!
Seiyur soaked in the adoration, overwhelmed with emotion.
It was ironic—he had never received such applause as a necromancer, yet now, at the heart of Keyzen, he was being cheered as the host.
His gaze fell on Simon and the student council members clapping below.
To repay those who forgave his past mistakes and gave him another chance, he was determined to give his all on this stage.
"Then, let’s begin Keyzen’s entrance ceremony!"
Seiyur’s hosting exceeded expectations.
He turned what could have been a stiff ceremony into a lively event with humor and charm, adding special effects at every opportunity to keep the audience engaged.
The first-years were thrilled to see such a popular star in attendance.
"Simon, it’s about time to prepare for the student council president appointment."
Dick said, rising from his seat.
"It’ll be after the first-years’ oath. I’ll head to the second floor first."
He added.
"Got it."
The external speeches quickly ended, and the moment for the oath that Dick mentioned arrived.
"Thank you, elders, for your kind words! Please keep them in your hearts! Next is the first-year representative oath! First-years, please rise from your seats!"
The first-years stood up. Simon stepped aside to prepare for the Student Council President appointment.
'Hmm.'
Simon paused for a moment and glanced around.
'Let me just see who first-year number one is.'
"Now! The male and female students being called, please come up to the stage!"
The first-years murmured among themselves.
"First-year number one must be that ‘Mercenary King’, right?"
"Yeah, no doubt."
"I wonder who number two is. There’s the Kagrek family, and Princess Molly too."
Seiyur, holding the list, spoke.
"Special admission number two: Arthur Bleman!"
Murmur, murmur, murmur!
Everyone had assumed the Mercenary King would be number one, yet he was number two.
Then who on earth was number one?
"Ah."
Simon noticed a familiar brown-haired girl already rising from her seat. She was looking at Simon.
'Hello, Simon-oppa.'
She smiled brightly, eyes sparkling. Then Seiyur’s voice rang out.
"Special admission number one: Sasha Endrasil! Please come up to the stage!!"
Superb.
When are we getting more free chapters?
Thanks for the new chapters