Chapter 545
As Maelyn and Seiyur began their duet, their rich voices filled the entire Central Plaza.
Serne watched with a faint smile, quietly enjoying the song for a while.
“Even though she looks embarrassed, she’s still singing with all her heart.”
Serne covered her lips and chuckled.
“As expected, talent can’t be hidden.”
“Come to think of it, Serne.”
Simon turned to her.
“You also like watching Maelyn sing, don’t you? Every vacation, you even wager the successor’s seat just to send her to the Grand Theater. Why do you do that?”
“Ah, that?”
Serne lowered her eyelids slightly.
“Because it hurts when you’re hated too much.”
“......?”
She turned her head toward Maelyn, who was passionately singing on stage.
“When we were little, we were closer than anyone. When I first entered the Ivory Tower, she accepted me without prejudice.”
Indeed, regardless of how Maelyn felt toward her, Serne still liked Maelyn.
“Watching a girl like that suffer, obsessed, and mentally collapse because of the pressure of inheriting the Ivory Tower seat… I tried to redirect her focus, to give her some relief. She always liked singing, so I let her do what she loved. But—”
Serne’s eyes softened.
“Now she’s much more stable mentally, beyond what I expected just from music. I don’t know whose influence it is though?”
“.......”
Simon slowly closed his eyes.
“I’ve said this before, but if you don’t want Maelyn to hate you, you should change your attitude first.”
“That’s what’s strange, you see.”
A sticky, strange emotion shimmered in her eyes.
“Being hated is sad, but when I see her desperately trying to catch up to me, it feels like… a strange thrill runs up my spine. When I step on her hard but then give her the smallest opening, she clings to it through tears, desperately chasing after me… and I find myself liking that pitiful sight of hers.”
‘...That’s just a rotten personality.’
Seeing Simon’s reaction, Serne burst into laughter.
“Trying to understand human emotions in just one way is lazy convenience. If you don’t want Maelyn to hate you? Then reconcile with her. That’s too simple. I’m a necromancer who manipulates people’s minds—I know well. Joy, rage, love… don’t interpret emotions by their literal words—”
Serne suddenly stepped closer and pressed her finger against Simon’s lips.
“Interpret them from multiple perspectives.”
“......!”
Startled, Simon’s ears turned red as he stumbled back. Serne grinned mischievously like a little devil.
“That’s your homework for today.”
‘Out of nowhere...?’
Leaving only those words, she hummed the lyrics as she walked away.
Waaaah!
At that moment, applause and cheers erupted as Seiyur and Maelyn bowed to the crowd.
The performance was a huge success.
But strangely, it was unusually quiet beside him. Turning his head, Simon saw Dick and Kamibarez staring blankly at the sky with unfocused eyes.
As expected, white feathers were stuck in their necks.
Serne must not have wanted others overhearing her personal conversation.
Simon walked over and pulled them out, and life returned to their eyes.
“Ugh, what the hell?”
“Ah.”
They blinked rapidly.
“Sorry! Guess I spaced out for a moment.”
“Simon, what did you say?”
“Maelyn’s performance is over.”
“Oh, you’re right? Kyahahaha! Then let’s go tease her again! Keyzen’s new idol—the Cat Mask!”
Simon could already picture her blushing furiously and screaming “Waaah!”
“If she strangles you out of embarrassment, don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
“Uh, o-oh… that might be a bit much…”
* * *
Maelyn, before even the student council members arrived, was already covering her face and running away.
Hearing shouts from first-years calling for an encore and asking for autographs, she repeatedly muttered that she wanted to die as she fled.
Still, she managed to meet Seiyur before leaving.
“Thank you for coming, Seiyur.”
“Hahahaha! I should be the one thanking you for inviting me, Agent Simon!”
The two shook hands. Simon thanked him and paid his fee.
Seiyur also said he was very satisfied with the impromptu performance in Keyzen. But since he had another schedule, his direct subordinates took him back to Langerstine before they were late.
Though the surprise concert ended, thanks to Seiyur and Maelyn’s performance, the Central Plaza was buzzing with energy.
Simon, Dick, and Kamibarez also patrolled with student council armbands, in case of emergencies.
“That’s a good idea, Simon!”
“Yeah, it really is.”
Many clubs had set up creative booths, each showing off their own unique flavor.
The physical club’s punching machine booth, in particular, was swarmed with first-year boys. Whoever won in a 1:1 match got a “Victor” placard hung around their neck, while the loser received a “Defeated” placard.
Beside them, the art club was drawing quick 10-minute portraits.
They captured students’ facial features and whimsically rendered them with black magic. The quality was surprisingly good, and the students laughed as they mocked each other’s portraits.
The student council members marveled at all the creative ideas as they walked around.
“Oh my, are you a first-year?”
“Want to check out our club?”
Since the crowd was large, some second-years mistook the short Kamibarez for a first-year. But upon noticing the armband on her shoulder, they panicked and quickly apologized.
Kamibarez puffed out her cheeks angrily, and Simon and Dick burst into laughter. It was all just fun little happenings.
‘...Come to think of it.’
Simon started getting curious about how the Mutant Club was doing.
He left patrol to Dick and Kamibarez for a bit and unfolded the booth map, heading toward the Mutant Club’s booth.
Last year, they didn’t even have enough members to secure a booth and only handed out flyers, but this year they had managed to secure one.
‘I hope a lot of new first-years join our club too.’
As it was located on the outskirts, the crowd thinned compared to the central area.
Finally, he reached the Mutant Club’s booth.
Whoooosh—
A lonely breeze blew.
Above a shabby foldable tent, the words “Mutant” were scrawled messily.
Next to the tent, a bizarre Seiren Chimera with six arms was flailing around, making strange gestures, while behind it a Death Worm gagged and vomited loudly.
Inside the foldable tent, decorated with incomprehensible occult trinkets, sat Fitzgerald and Toto with blank faces.
“......”
In front of them lay a stack of flyers, seemingly free for the taking—but none had been taken.
Whoooosh—
Another gust blew, slapping a flyer onto Simon’s face. He pulled it off and read it.
Special Undead Research Club “Mutant”.
Though it’s an undead research club, any unique summon creature is welcome.
What is a mutant? Philosophical interpretations and personal reflections required. Intellectual conversation skills preferred.
Distinguish between act utilitarianism and rule utilitarianism. If one claims that all things that damage happiness are evil, should we value passive happiness above the minimization of suffering...?
Simon silently crumpled the flyer and stuffed it into his pocket.
‘Pathetic.’
Even Simon, who prided himself on being bad at aesthetics due to his mountain upbringing, found this excessive.
“Toto, how many of these flyers have students taken?”
“Uh, um.”
Sweat dripped down Toto’s face as he raised two fingers. Simon’s eyes lit up.
“Twenty?”
“Two...”
“One.”
Fitzgerald corrected from the side, pointing with his fingertip. A sauce-stained flyer rolled along the ground in the breeze.
Simon pressed his palm to his forehead.
“...You guys seriously intend to do this properly?”
“Of course.”
Fitzgerald replied as though it were an unnecessary question.
“This year, the number of club members is more important than ever. We must work harder.”
You know that, and yet you’re doing this?!
Simon didn’t even know where to begin nitpicking.
As both Student Council President and a member of Mutant, his head throbbed.
His mistake had been being too busy with Student Council work to pay any attention here.
“Alright! Fitzgerald, Toto. This isn’t the time to sit around.”
Simon grabbed a bundle of flyers.
“You both know, right? Today’s the last day of Club Season! If this keeps up, not a single first-year may join! Get up!”
Toto timidly stood and shuffled toward Simon.
“Here, Toto. Go hand these directly to first-years.”
“Hand them out myself?! This many?!”
Toto nearly jumped.
“N-no way, that’s way too embarrassing!”
“I know it’s embarrassing, but we don’t have a choice! Fitzgerald! Are you just going to sit and watch?”
Fitzgerald adjusted his glasses.
“Is that an order as Student Council president?”
“Ah, no… just as a fellow member…”
“I am the Mutant president. That task falls to members.”
This guy. He was authoritarian in the strangest ways.
Simon sighed.
“Do the other third-year seniors in Mutant know about this situation?”
For once, the ever-calm Fitzgerald flinched.
And as soon as Simon brought it up—
“...Hello.”
The only other third-year in Mutant appeared.
His name was Dio, inseparable companion of Benya Vanilla. With dark circles under his hollow eyes, he shuffled in like a zombie.
“Senior Dio!”
“...I just stopped by before heading out on a mission.”
Dio held up the envelope he’d brought.
“You must be exhausted from Club Season, so have thi—”
He froze.
His expression hardened as he took in the state of the booth and the pile of ruined flyers.
“...What happened here?”
Dio scanned Fitzgerald and Toto before finally settling his gaze on Simon.
Simon scratched his head and explained the situation.
“....”
After listening, Dio silently beckoned Fitzgerald and Toto aside.
For a while, the two stood at attention, enduring a senior’s scolding.
After Dio left—
“We will actively cooperate with your direction, Simon.”
Even Fitzgerald’s attitude changed.
“What should we do? Just go hand out the flyers?”
“The problem is… the flyers themselves.”
Even distributing them as-is wouldn’t solve anything.
Simon pulled a communication crystal from his pocket.
“There’s a specialist for things like this.”
“?”
A short while later, Dick arrived at Simon’s call.
“Hey, Simon! Did something happen again?”
“No, nothing like that. Sorry for calling you on a personal matter, but… if you don’t mind, could you lend me a hand?”
Simon scratched his cheek awkwardly.
“It’s our Mutant club. We still haven’t recruited a single member. Do you think you could give us a simple bit of consulting?”
“Hm.”
Dick’s gaze swept over the scene.
He looked at the sign scrawled on the tent, the occult trinkets dangling around, the bizarre six-armed Seiren Chimera, the Death Worm still retching and vomiting, and finally, the blank-faced Fitzgerald and the timid Toto.
“Uh…”
Dick scratched his head.
“This is on the level of total annihilation.”
Superb.
When are we getting more free chapters?
Thanks for the new chapters