Chapter 597
Jane’s Darkness Dynamics Class.
It was the final Darkness Dynamics class before the midterm exam. And today, both the morning and afternoon were fully scheduled with Darkness Dynamics, with Jane announcing in advance a high-intensity lecture to cover the unfinished material.
‘Ugh, this is hard.’
Simon, sitting at his desk with a quill in hand, was sweating nervously.
The example problems Jane had distributed were swarming with all sorts of formulas.
The ones often used in Summonology were at least somewhat familiar, but the moment the problems shifted into elemental series, his head began to ache.
‘Was the Revil Formula under the Darkness Flame System? Or the Darkness Earth System? What’s the difference again?’
As Simon clutched his head in frustration—
“That’s Darkness Flame System.”
A soft and gentle voice came from beside him.
Turning his head, he saw Maelyn smiling. She raised her quill and wrote a few words into Simon’s notebook.
“The Revil Formula is arranged like this, but if you want to control the subordinate variables—”
She was clearly in what people call exam mode: hair tied tightly back, sleeves rolled up.
Simon stared at her blankly for a moment.
“Well? Got it?”
When Maelyn finished her explanation and looked up, she met Simon’s eyes. Flustered, her face turned red.
“Wh-what are you doing! Look at your book, you idiot, not my face!”
“Ah, right.”
Fortunately, her emotional state seemed much better. Kindly enough, she even opened her own notes for him to see.
The two of them quietly moved their quills for a while.
“......Simon.”
“Yeah?”
“Thanks.”
“For what?”
Maelyn smiled shyly, scratching her cheek.
“F-for helping the Ivory Tower.”
“It was nothing. It’s only natural as a dispatched student.”
Though he answered nonchalantly, Simon was actually nervous.
He had expected her to ask something—anything—about Serne, but after her thanks, she only spoke of studies.
“Oh, and this.”
Maelyn reached across with her quill and marked Simon’s textbook.
“This will definitely be on the midterm.”
Since Maelyn held second place overall in written scores, her words were absolute truth. Simon gratefully noted it down.
“And here too.......”
“You two.”
A chillingly cold voice cut across from the lectern. Jane, sitting with her legs crossed, raised a finger.
“Stand up. Now.”
‘Ugh!’
Simon and Maelyn flinched and reluctantly rose from their seats.
“I give you time to solve problems, and yet you look awfully friendly.”
The A-Class students burst out laughing. Maelyn’s face turned bright red.
“P-professoorr!”
“You’ve got guts in my class.”
With a flick of Jane’s fingers, two pieces of chalk floated into the air above the blackboard.
“If you’ve got time to chat during problem-solving, then surely this is simple enough for you.”
Failure would, of course, mean punishment.
Straightening his school jacket, Simon strode forward.
“Let’s go, Maelyn.”
“W-we’re going together, idiot!”
The two stepped up to the podium and each grabbed a floating piece of chalk.
As the two began writing out their solutions, Dick rested his chin in his palm, snickering.
“Maelyn’s back. Her face has softened.”
Kamibarez perked her ears and clasped her hands.
“Really? Thank goodness!”
“Ugh, seriously. Just remembering the tense mood in the student council room these past two days, and how we had to watch Maelyn’s every reaction... tsk.”
Muttering, Dick folded his arms.
“So what did Simon say to bring her back? If not that, then.......”
‘It’s not that, you idiot!’
Maelyn smacked Simon on the back in outrage.
“Ha! Whatever.”
Kamibarez also smiled brightly, nodding.
“Yes, that’s a relief!”
* * *
That afternoon.
Mutant Clubroom.
‘I-I’m exhausted.’
After attending Jane’s back-to-back lectures for the first time in ages, Simon felt his head stuffed full of numbers and symbols.
Dragging his weary body, he stood before the shabby Mutant Clubroom door.
‘Seriously, when are they going to replace this?’
He chuckled faintly. A gust of wind rattled the flimsy paper sign taped to the door.
Toto and Fitzgerald had gone to the library, so the place should be empty anyway.
Out of habit, Simon knocked knock knock and entered the room.
But—
“Ah! Senior is here!”
“Student Council President seniooorrr!”
Girls inside the room rushed toward him in a flurry.
‘Oh, right. The first-years.’
Until recently, only three second-years and Benya occasionally visited the Mutant Club. But after recruiting seven first-years, the place had become brimming with life.
“Senior! Welcome!”
“Why do you come so rarely?”
“We were studying for midterms, can you help us with this problem?”
“Let me hang up your coat!”
“Where’s the Student Council President’s jacket?”
The way the first-years hopped about on tiptoe, chirping like little chicks, was undeniably cute.
It made Simon smile unconsciously, though he couldn’t deny it was also a bit overwhelming.
“Hey, hey, calm down a bit.”
Before he could protest further, they had already snatched his uniform jacket, hung it on a rack, and pushed him onto the sofa. The next thing he knew, a teacup was in his hand.
“Ta-da!”
One of the first-years—her name was Lurie, wasn’t it?—sat across from him, gracefully tucking hair behind her ear.
Her friends then scrambled to squeeze in beside her, arguing over who’d sit at the center.
“Wait, girls, calm dow—”
“Simon oppa! You came?”
And boldly taking the seat right next to him—Sasha, the first-year Special Admission No. 1.
“I told you not to call him that!”
Then came Princess Molly, Special Admission No. 10, carrying a tray of refreshments. She placed the snacks before him and quickly claimed the seat on his other side.
“Th-thanks for the warm welcome, but—”
Simon smiled wryly and continued,
“Don’t you all have midterms to study for?”
-We were studying~!
The first-years chorused together, giggling amongst themselves. Simon didn’t get the joke, but laughed along anyway.
“We were studying here in the clubroom, Simon oppa.”
Sasha pointed at the open textbooks and notebooks on the table.
“The library’s got no space.”
“Well, that makes sense.”
Around midterms, the first-year class was nearly 900 strong—the busiest time of year.
Wherever you went—the library, the campus cafe, or any study hall—crowds would be packed in.
“Senior!”
“Seniooor~”
“Student Council President!”
The first-years’ eyes sparkled as they chirped out questions one after another. Simon appreciated their enthusiasm, but he began to feel his mind spinning.
“Um, I’ve got something I need to do right now.”
Simon stammered as he spoke.
“We can talk again lat—”
“Senior! I don’t get this one!”
Suddenly, a first-year lifted her notebook. It was a Summonology problem.
Simon had intended to stand up and leave, but the moment he glanced at the problem, the formulas floated into his mind and the answer became instantly clear.
“Oh, this one is—”
He picked up his quill and explained, writing out the solution alongside it.
“Oooh~”
The first-years, heads tilted forward in unison like chicks, nodded earnestly. The sight was irresistibly cute.
Setting the quill down, Simon smiled kindly.
“Better now?”
“Simon oppa! Teach me this one too!”
“This too!”
The first-years shoved their notebooks forward all at once.
Clack.
Just then, the clubroom door opened. In stepped Fitzgerald, his face marked by the fatigue of midterm season.
‘Nice timing!’
Simon smirked. The first-years noticed him too and quickly stood to greet him.
“Hello!”
“Hello.”
They clasped their hands politely, but their voices lacked the usual bubbly energy. Fitzgerald acknowledged their greetings and walked past.
The first-years returned to their seats.
“Senior! Please keep explaining this one!”
“This one toooo!”
They whined sweetly, pestering Simon, who awkwardly glanced at Fitzgerald for help.
‘……Yikes, what a difference in atmosphere.’
Panicking a little, Simon quickly addressed Fitzgerald.
“Fitzgerald! What brings you to the clubroom?”
“……Just came to pick up some materials.”
“Really? If you don’t mind, could you help the first-years with their questions?”
At that, Fitzgerald pushed his glasses up.
“Of course. When it comes to notes, I’m confident in any subject.”
“I’m counting on you!”
Fitzgerald loved showing off his intellect. Simon stepped aside as Fitzgerald rolled up his sleeves and sat down.
Come on, bring them here!
—That was the kind of gesture he made.
“Well, uh. This one… I’m not too sure either.”
The first-years’ response was lukewarm. Sasha even turned her back, noisily flipping through her own textbook.
‘Sasha.’
Simon gave her a sharp look, and she reluctantly straightened her posture again.
Adolescence hitting late was truly frightening.
Clack.
The clubroom door opened once more. All eyes widened.
“Hello, comrades! Oh my, even the little first-years are here!”
It was Benya Vanilla, the third-year.
Step, step.
Simon and Benya walked side by side down into the basement of the clubroom. With each step on the stairs, the stuffy air clung to their lungs.
“I moved the item here this morning.”
“I’m looking forward to it.”
Simon steadied his pounding chest as he replied.
“We restored it as much as possible, but the original willpower it once had as an undead won’t be there. Think of it as a completely different undead now.”
“Yes, understood.”
She had warned the first-years several times not to enter the basement for the time being.
Even Benya—who always treated the first-years warmly, doting on them—had spoken sternly this time. That alone meant the item was truly dangerous.
Simon adjusted his collar nervously and followed her.
“Since it belongs to you, I brought it just as you asked.”
After dispelling the protective magic sealing the basement, Benya turned back to him.
“But why did you suddenly need this item?”
“It’s urgently required for an upcoming assignment.”
Together, they entered the basement: a large, sealed chamber.
At its center, atop a display pedestal, rested a single skull of a skeleton.
Simon’s heart thumped louder and louder.
‘It’s been a while.’
At last, Simon had retrieved the finest material he could bring to Keyzen.
The skull of the Ancient Undead, Manus.
During his first year, for a practical evaluation, Simon had visited Deathland.
There, two Ancient Undead had existed:
Zombie Prince.
Manus, a Swordmaster of the former Empire.
The two factions were locked in a fierce battle for dominance over Deathland. But with Simon and the Legion’s intervention, Prince emerged victorious.
Prince was then absorbed into Simon’s Legion. Manus, after a brutal fight, was destroyed—only his skull remaining.
Simon had shown that skull to Benya.
—Wh-what the heck! I can feel it! This thing was once an incredibly powerful undead!
Benya had jumped in alarm.
—But its Core and willpower are completely gone. As it is, it’s just an empty husk. I can’t say how powerful it was, but there’s no way this undead could ever regain its living strength or memories.
—If you don’t mind, I could send it to Vanilla HQ for study. Want me to?
Benya had offered, explaining the process might take one or two years.
Now, restoration was complete—at least to some extent.
‘Let’s do this.’
Simon intended to use the skull of this Ancient Undead…
As the head for his Dullahan.
Superb.
When are we getting more free chapters?
Thanks for the new chapters