Chapter 576
The course of events unfolded exactly as Serne had planned.
The main culprits of this incident were the Executioners and the Ivory Tower Master Bermude.
Along with Bermude’s collaborators—the Center Director and the radical faction’s closest aides—being captured and dragged away, the situation finally came to an end.
Even the Dark Alliance interpreted this incident not as the will of the entire Ivory Tower, but rather as the reckless deviation of “a few extremists”. The fact that Bermude had cast a barrier on the main tower and imprisoned people served as the most decisive piece of evidence.
The greatest contributor to resolving this incident was, without doubt, Serne Eindark.
She had seen through her foster father Bermude’s connection to the Executioners and succeeded in deceiving him thoroughly until the very end.
Through the legitimate method of summoning an envoy, she had brought in Simon as her ally, blocked Bermude’s evil plan that nearly destroyed Keyzen, and finally even played her part in the decisive battle against Bermude himself.
That Serne would claim the position of the next Ivory Tower Master was now almost a certainty.
Even considering the internal circumstances of the Ivory Tower, this was the same. With Bermude’s downfall, the influence of the radicals hostile to Keyzen was greatly weakened, and the moderate faction led by Daniella—who was favorable toward Keyzen—took control.
The desperate radicals now insisted that Serne’s appointment ceremony as the Ivory Tower Master should be hastened.
Even the moderates did not object to Serne, the greatest contributor to resolving the crisis, ascending to the seat of Ivory Tower Master.
Of course, there were whispers behind her back.
“Blinded by power, she killed her own father!”
“This whole talk of the Executioners is just an excuse. She was looking for a pretext to bring down her foster father, and luck handed her one.”
Hearing the murmurs of the townsfolk, Simon felt a surge of bitter anger. How could people, knowing nothing, so easily belittle someone who had borne such great sacrifice?
Simon was about to confront them, but Serne placed a hand on his shoulder and shook her head.
— There’s no need to deal with them.
— You’re not even angry?
She curved her lips into a sly arc.
— I don’t care what the monkeys around us chatter about.
Simon strolled the streets with Serne, exchanging stories. Knowing he might not see her often anymore, he tried to talk with her as much as possible.
But before long, people from the Ivory Tower rushed over.
— Lady Serne! We’ve been looking everywhere!
— This is no time to be idling here! Even the Dark Alliance has requested a meeting…
She was, after all, the current person in charge of the Ivory Tower, personally overseeing the aftermath. And with her inauguration as the next Ivory Tower Master imminent, she would have no time to rest.
She narrowed her eyes and smiled.
— Then, let’s meet again someday, Simon.
That slightly sly, fox-like smile.
For the first time, Simon thought that her smile looked… sad.
* * *
The next morning, Simon returned to Keyzen via teleportation circle.
Merida had stayed behind to spend time with Phantasus, planning to return exactly on the final day.
She suddenly began pestering her brother about whether he had a girl he liked, while Phantasus denied it with a bewildered look.
Simon wished him luck in enduring Merida’s teasing all day long.
Anyway, there was still a full day of respite left. Upon his return, the second year campus was abuzz with disorder.
— Did you hear? The Ivory Tower Master turned out to be with the Executioners!
— The Executioners… aren’t they the ones who tried to topple the Dresden Kingdom?
— Could they be inside Keyzen too?
— …Oh, come on. Don’t say scary things like that.
Simon let the chatter wash over him and calmly set about cleaning things up.
First, he returned to Feer’s ruins and released the Legion’s Undeads.
Akemius’ wound from the mercury had healed within a day, and Feer, who had suffered to suppress Simon’s rampage, needed time to recuperate.
Erzebet, who had been tasked with investigating White, had yet to return—she had secretly followed him to his assignment site.
Simon also visited Professor Farahan of Defense Against Holiness. He played with the kittens, Whitey and Blackie, and trained in Divine Beastology with the bear divine beast, Akallion.
Then he returned to the dormitory and began studying for exams.
Toto had not yet come back. With the Dullahan special lecture starting tomorrow, Simon only hoped he wouldn’t be late.
Scratch—scratch—
Moving his quill across blank paper, Simon wrote only a few words before setting it down.
‘Haah.’
He felt strangely unsettled.
In truth, everything had been resolved. Keyzen was safe, the evil scheme of the Executioners thwarted, Maelyn and Serne alive, and he had returned in time for the Dullahan special lecture.
So why did his heart feel so heavy?
‘Focus. Focus.’
Simon forced strength back into his eyes and picked up his quill again.
* * *
The next day.
The Summonology classroom was more vibrant than usual—no, far more than usual.
“I’m back!!”
“Ughhh—I thought I’d die! I just barely made it at dawn.”
“How was the assignment?”
“Seriously, I bit down and clawed my way here, all blood-soaked, you know what I mean?”
The students who had safely returned just before the special lecture were bubbling with excitement.
Simon also took his seat.
“Hey, President!”
His teammate Eshu, from the same Team 10, waved cheerfully. Simon returned the wave with a smile.
“Did you hear, did you hear! You sure did!”
She rushed over and plopped herself on Simon’s desk.
“Your assignment was at the Ivory Tower, right? No waaay! You got caught up in that Ivory Tower incident?”
Simon gave a wry smile.
“Well, yeah. That’s how it turned out.”
Several students around them perked up.
“What was the Ivory Tower incident?”
“You don’t know? The entire Dark Alliance was flipped upside down yesterday!”
“I just got back from work—how would I know?”
Students who had only returned yesterday or today still didn’t know the details. With her gossipy nature, Eshu eagerly spilled the story, and the students’ eyes grew wider and wider.
“The Ivory Tower Master was with the Executioners?”
“But that’s Serne’s dad!”
“President! Did you see the Ivory Tower Master’s face? What happened exactly?”
The students’ attention focused entirely on Simon, the living witness of the event.
‘Ugh, they told me not to go around blabbing about this…’
He had already been ordered by headquarters to keep quiet.
Simon was trying to calm down his excited classmates when—
“Sorry, but… a moment.”
A black-haired girl suddenly slipped between the gathered students.
At Loraine’s appearance, the crowd parted like waves.
“Let me talk to you, Simon.”
“Sure.”
The others had to suppress their itching tongues and could only stare at the two as they left the classroom.
Loraine brought him outside to a quieter spot. She picked up drinks from a small campus stall and handed one to Simon.
“You’ll drink, right?”
“Yeah. Thanks.”
The two of them each holding a cup, they slipped behind a quiet building.
Simon adjusted his necktie and finally took a sip.
“?”
It wasn’t coffee.
It was incredibly sweet. To be precise, it tasted like strawberries.
“Ugh.”
Loraine too stuck out her tongue and furrowed her brows.
“Sorry, it got switched. I’m out of it today.”
“You don’t like bitter coffee?”
Simon chuckled and swapped drinks with her. She gave him a sharp look, as if to tell him to quit laughing, and he feigned innocence as he savored the coffee.
She got straight to the point.
“Can you tell me about the Ivory Tower incident?”
“Sure.”
As one of the few who knew Simon was a Legion Commander, Loraine could hear most of the story.
Of course, he left out Serne’s and Maelyn’s privacy, sticking to the sequence of events.
“…The Executioners. They were more dangerous than I thought.”
Loraine bit her lip.
“To think they tried to overdrive the Tower of Time and drop it on Roke Island.”
Simon crossed his arms and replied.
“Blood Heaven Cult, Tarados, the Dresden Kingdom, and now the Ivory Tower. I think the Executioners, who had been lurking in the shadows of the continent, are finally revealing their ambitions in earnest.”
“…Who on earth would be behind such things? The Saints of the Holy Federation?”
Simon shook his head.
“It’s not the priests. Remember, the Blood Heaven Cult supported by the Executioners even hijacked a Holy Federation train once.”
“That’s true.”
“People on the Executioners side keep calling someone ‘Elder’. Don’t you have any guesses who that could be?”
She rested her chin on her hand, thinking.
“‘Elder’ is… too vague. It could be one of the senior figures in the Dark Alliance.”
They exchanged theories, but even as a future leader of the Dark Alliance and a current Legion Commander, their knowledge of the Executioners had limits.
Simon changed the subject.
“Do you think Serne will be able to return to school?”
“Most likely, no.”
Loraine replied,
“Bermude’s entire faction in the Ivory Tower was dragged away, right? The remaining radicals, in order to survive, will want to put Serne on the seat of Ivory Tower Master immediately.”
“……”
“And above all…”
Loraine closed her eyes and continued.
“Serne hated this school. She probably won’t even want to come back to Keyzen.”
“…Right.”
Serne had always thought of her forced special admission to Keyzen as being held “hostage”. The trouble she caused in her first year carried that strong message: Expel me if you dare.
Loraine looked up with a conflicted expression.
“And yet, the thought of not seeing that troublemaker anymore… doesn’t feel as relieving as I thought it would.”
That was probably true.
Serne wanted Keyzen’s destruction. That much still hadn’t changed.
At first, she had even gone along with Bermude’s plan. But when she discovered Bermude was a pawn of the Executioners, and when he even demanded Simon’s life, she betrayed him.
Serne had refused to be used by the Executioners. She acted only to save Simon and Maelyn—but in the end, she had saved Keyzen.
For Loraine, who had always been at odds with her, this left a very tangled feeling.
“Simon! Lady Loraine!”
At that moment—
From outside the window came Eshu’s shout.
“Sorry to interrupt your date, but our classroom’s been moved! Two rooms over! Class is starting soon!”
Simon nodded.
“Thanks for letting us know, Eshu!”
Loraine, sipping her strawberry milk, pouted.
“This isn’t a date.”
The two returned inside and entered the new classroom.
Assistants were busy decorating the blackboard. Balloons were tied up, and a banner hung in the middle:
<Dullahan Special Lecture – Professor Aron, Professor Grerion, Professors Lin & Rune>
As Simon and Loraine searched for good seats, a familiar face caught Simon’s eye.
“Ah, Simon! I’m here!”
“Toto!”
Simon’s face lit up with relief. He had been worried since Toto hadn’t arrived before classes began. Eshu and Loraine, both from Team 10, greeted him happily as well.
The seats quickly filled up.
The burly Hector, the newly risen rival Aseraz, and the ever-distant White, staring out the window as usual—all were present.
“……”
Simon glanced behind him.
Seats were filling rapidly everywhere—except one. The seat directly behind his own remained completely empty.
The infamous “Serne’s reserved seat”.
She had always enjoyed sitting right behind Simon. Anyone else who dared to sit there would be chased away, so by now students automatically left it vacant.
But Serne would not be coming.
She was the Ivory Tower Master now.
“Professor Aron will enter.”
The assistant spoke. The noisy classroom immediately fell silent.
Click.
In strolled Aron, still in his ever-lazy attire: a comfortable shirt, shorts, and slippers dragging along. But his face looked somewhat healthier after a short break.
The students watched in silence as he stepped onto the podium and lifted his head.
“How was the assignment?”
“Good, sir!”
With the loud reply came cheers and laughter of celebration. Aron let them savor their joy a moment longer.
“Before we begin the lecture, I’ll call attendance.”
He picked up the roll.
“Matt Comer.”
“Yes!”
“Laubel Brenmers.”
“Yep!”
Aron lazily called one name after another, and each student raised their hand and answered.
According to Dick, in these types of assignments it was normal for at least ten students to be late returning—but this time, the turnout was astonishing.
That was the power of the “Dullahan Special Lecture” Aron had held hostage. Students had fought tooth and nail through their assignments to make it back alive. Many, like Toto, had forced themselves to finish by dawn and stumbled back just in time for class.
Then came the fateful name.
“Serne Eindark.”
The classroom, moments ago brimming with vitality, sank into heavy silence.
Aron simply murmured, “Mm”, checked the roll, and moved on.
One by one, every student’s name was called. All except hers.
“Excellent results.”
He set down the roll and spoke.
“Fifty-one out of fifty-two returned. That sets a new record for the Summonology Department.”
But this time, no cheers followed. Aron’s gaze swept the students.
“I hear some of you cried and begged your assignment hosts to let you return early…”
Eshu and a few others flinched guiltily.
“…That too counts as negotiation skills. But any complaints from your hosts, you’ll handle yourselves.”
He opened his textbook.
“Now, turn to page 160—”
“Sorry I’m late~”
All heads swiveled.
“Just a few minutes late doesn’t count as an absence, right?”
“?!!”
Simon shot up from his seat in shock.
Murmurs filled the room.
Flowing in with ivory hair gleaming, the girl’s appearance set off cheers from some students.
‘Serne!’
Never had he imagined he would see her in uniform again.
Aron chuckled and reopened the roll.
“Don’t be late again.”
“Yees~”
Smiling brightly, Serne walked straight to Simon’s back seat—her own reserved place. Simon remained stunned, frozen on his feet.
“You…”
Confusion gripped him. What was going on? What about the Ivory Tower Master’s seat?
He wanted to ask right away, but strangely, no words came.
“Ufufu.”
She winked mischievously.
“Let’s just call it… a decision based on priorities.”
Superb.
When are we getting more free chapters?
Thanks for the new chapters