Chapter 608
The Dark Emperor.
It is one of the grandest events in Keyzen, held once every five years. A kind of public sports festival, it opens the whole of Roke Island to civilians and magnificently showcases the students’ performance to the entire continent.
In fact, the festival itself is as old as Keyzen’s 300-year history.
It began during the transitional era from the Age of Knights to the Age of Necromancers. At the time, “Core Unleashing” was depicted as selling one’s soul to demons, and necromancers were perceived as a cursed clan dabbling in forbidden magic. Parents were deeply anxious about sending their children to study at Keyzen.
In response, Neftis publicly displayed her students competing in a sports festival, and it delivered a shocking impression to the people of the continent.
A festival filled with sweat and passion of the children showed that necromancers were not dangerous monsters but simply people like everyone else. Contrary to the rumors that wearing a Core shortened one’s lifespan, they appeared healthier and brimming with energy.
Above all, the sight of students who had become overwhelmingly strong after just a few years of necromancer training etched itself into the minds of the continent. Only then did the haughty nobles begin sending their children to study at Keyzen.
The promotional effect of the Dark Emperor was remarkable, and since then, Keyzen had faithfully held the event once every five years.
This Dark Emperor, however, was originally supposed to be held last year.
“ As you all know, that whole ‘Saint Incident’ happened last year, right?”
Dick, who was explaining in front of the blackboard, shrugged his shoulders.
“The school shifted into a semi-wartime curriculum, and all events were canceled or postponed.”
Kamibarez’s eyes sparkled brightly.
“So the postponed event will be held this year!”
Simon pressed his fingertips against his forehead.
“And of all times, it has to be when we’re the Student Council….”
“Even better!”
Maelyn suddenly jumped up and rolled up her sleeves.
“This is our chance to show the entire continent the power of the 330th Student Council! If we pull this off successfully, not only will we earn honor, but even if Senior Aizel returns, we might be able to secure our place as the Student Council!”
Dick let out a sly snicker.
“Isn’t that a little too ambitious, vice president?”
“And you didn’t think about how big your guts have grown, running your mouth without seeing where my fist is headed?”
As Maelyn cracked her knuckles, Dick quickly turned his head and whistled nonchalantly.
“Alright.”
Simon clasped his hands together.
“It feels a little heavy, but it’s an honor. Since we’ve been entrusted with such an important role, let’s give it our all.”
Everyone nodded firmly.
When Dick returned to his seat, Maelyn, her sky-blue hair fluttering, stepped forward.
“I’ve already studied up on the Dark Emperor. I’ll just go over the key points.”
She pinned the photos she had prepared onto the blackboard, pictures taken by the “Newspaper Club” during the last Dark Emperor.
‘Looks fun!’
Simon, who had never attended another school outside of Keyzen, had never even seen a sports festival before. The students in the pictures were rolling in mud, falling into water, and laughing with their arms around each other’s shoulders. They all looked like they were having the time of their lives.
Kamibarez, sitting beside him, seemed to share the same thought, her tiny bat wings flapped rapidly behind her back.
“The Dark Emperor lasts for five days and four nights. Roke Island will be fully opened to civilians, and students will compete in events held across the island.”
Maelyn’s clear voice echoed as she explained.
“There are a total of fifteen stadiums, with over fifty different events! The spectators can pick and choose which events they want to attend with a pamphlet. Of course, it wouldn’t be Keyzen without competition, right?”
She pinned a sheet with the department crests drawn on it right in the center of the blackboard.
“The Dark Emperor is a Department Competition.”
“…Oh.”
A fight between the seven departments.
The second-years and third-years team up, and the seven departments battle fiercely.
The department with the highest total score becomes “Department of the Year” and wins enormous departmental funding.
This funding could be used to fix inconveniences in the department or expand facilities.
Naturally, the prestige of the afterparty on the final day was on a whole different level. It was no wonder that departments who won the Dark Emperor repeatedly became wealthier over time.
“Eheheh, and we can’t forget about grades, can we?”
Dick suddenly cut in.
“Actually, each event in the Dark Emperor is tied to performance evaluation! That means it directly affects personal grades.”
Snap!
Dick’s finger pointed straight at Simon.
“I’ve already given up on grades, but Simon—if you’re aiming to take first place again in your second year, you’d better grit your teeth and score well here.”
“R-really?”
A sudden wave of pressure rushed over him.
“Of course! Back in the first year, we had the Island Survival Test, the BMAT, and all kinds of group competition curricula that ranked the entire student body and weeded out stragglers, right?”
“That’s true.”
“In second year, since the focus is more on study, there are fewer school-wide competition curricula. That means the Dark Emperor carries much greater weight.”
In other words, if one’s ranking plummeted during the Dark Emperor, it would be extremely difficult to recover later.
“You idiots! Is that what’s important right now?”
When Maelyn banged on the blackboard, Simon and Dick flinched and looked at her.
“We’re here as members of the Student Council! Worry about grades later—what matters now is how to run this festival well!”
“Sorry, you’re right.”
Maelyn’s explanation continued.
Since this year’s Dark Emperor was such a massive event, it wouldn’t be left entirely to the four members of the Student Council.
Within Keyzen, a “Dark Emperor Committee” had been formed, consisting of headquarters staff, professors, elders, and specialists from various fields to plan and organize the festival.
“For reference, the committee chair is Professor Jane Olivia. She said we’re welcome to make proposals anytime.”
Kamibarez clapped her hands together.
“If Professor Jane is our ally, then I feel reassured!”
“Ahh, I got nervous for nothing.”
Dick cracked a joke.
“With Keyzen HQ involved and a committee too, we won’t have much to do, right? We could just lie back and—”
Knock knock knock.
At that moment, the door was knocked on. Maelyn cheerfully called out, “Yes~!” and skipped over to open it.
The door swung open, and the Student Council’s direct underling leader, Mojo, appeared with other subordinates carrying stacks of paperwork that reached above their heads.
Thud—
Thud—
Thud—
Thud—
Soon, the table was buried under a mountain of documents. The three students’ expressions froze. Maelyn turned to Dick with a bright smile.
“Care to repeat that, commoner?”
“…I regret running my mouth.”
Maelyn chuckled and returned to the blackboard.
“Since the Dark Emperor is strictly a ‘festival of the students’, the Student Council’s role is huge. We’ll work closely with the committee and move forward step by step!”
Just then, Simon raised his hand.
“Yeees~ President, I’ve got a question?”
“Don’t tell me… we’re the ones deciding the festival events?”
Maelyn shook her head.
“That would be a disaster. The events and rules are handled solely by Keyzen Headquarters. This is a sports festival, but it’s also a graded ‘exam’.”
Once grades were involved, it became an inviolable territory no student could ever tamper with.
Simon thought so too—fairness meant Headquarters had to handle it.
‘That’s a relief. At least we can focus only on hosting the festival.’
Just as Simon sighed with relief, Kamibarez raised her hand.
“Yes! Our secretary!”
Maelyn, her voice full of affection, called on her.
“The Dark Emperor is fully open to the public, right?”
“Mhm.”
“Then won’t security be a serious problem? What if bad people sneak in and the students get hurt…?”
Maelyn tilted her head, one eye closed in thought.
“You’ve got a point. The purpose of the Dark Emperor is to showcase Keyzen to as many people as possible, so the ID checks are looser than at other events. But that just means Headquarters will double their security, so don’t worry too much.”
Clack!
No sooner had she said that than the subordinates carried in food.
“Food’s here!”
The members had been thinking about running out for sandwiches, but Mojo had anticipated it and prepared their meal in advance.
“Chicken salad!”
“Looks delicious!”
“Let’s eat first!”
The four of them decided to fill their hungry stomachs right away. They paused the meeting and bustled through a lively lunch.
“Oh! About the security issue Kami mentioned earlier.”
Maelyn spoke as she enjoyed a bite of salad.
“Records say the Dark Emperor has been held for three hundred years without a single major incident! Isn’t that proof of how well Headquarters handles it?”
“Either that, or—”
Dick twirled his fork in the air.
“Incidents did happen, but Headquarters covered them up.”
“Don’t jinx it, you conspiracy nut!”
Dick shook his head.
“It’s not a conspiracy. I just mean we can’t blindly trust Headquarters and sit idle. We need to prepare countermeasures at the Student Council level.”
“What kind of countermeasures?”
Simon asked while biting into a baguette. That was exactly the question Dick had been waiting for. He straightened his back.
“Let’s form a Disciplinary Squad!”
They couldn’t rely solely on Headquarters. Using the authority of the Student Council, they would create a new group to manage the event, oversee civilians and students alike—that was Dick’s idea.
“We can skim a little from the Dark Emperor budget. No pay, of course. It’ll be under the guise of volunteer work.”
“Then who’s gonna do it, you idiot?!”
Maelyn snapped.
“There’s a way.”
Dick pointed to the Student Council armband on his right arm.
“We’ll make armbands for the Disciplinary Squad! Psychology 101—give people authority and a shiny armband, and suddenly their shoulders square up! There are more people than you’d think who’d love that. Plus, it gives them something to put on their career record: ‘Former member of the Keyzen Disciplinary Squad’.”
Maelyn looked like she found the whole thing excessive, but Simon thought it wasn’t bad to have a little more manpower for security.
“But here’s my real plan.”
Dick lowered his head and whispered to the others in a conspiratorial tone.
“After the Dark Emperor ends, we quietly keep the squad running with leftover club funds. Then, when an issue arises, we push to upgrade it into an official club. That way, we’ll have a powerful piece to safeguard our Student Council’s authority….”
“Plan instead for a clean disbanding after the event.”
No chance. Simon cut him off firmly, and Dick clicked his tongue in disappointment.
“Any other ideas?”
“Me! Me!”
Dick shot his hand up again. Maelyn’s face twisted in irritation.
“Can’t you at least space out your crap ideas?”
“No, this one’s flawless! Come closer.”
Dick beckoned them dramatically.
Kamibarez smiled and leaned in, Simon tilted his head, and Maelyn reluctantly bent forward with a scowl.
Dick, wearing an intensely serious face, declared:
“For the Dark Emperor’s celebratory performance, we’ll do a duet musical number with Seiyur and Cat Mask.”
“Die, you lunatic!”
Maelyn’s face turned scarlet as she nailed Dick’s face with a spinning side kick.
“That sounds amazing!”
Kamibarez clapped excitedly.
“Not a bad idea.”
Simon stroked his chin in agreement.
“Why are you two siding with him?!”
Maelyn screamed, her face still red.
* * *
The Student Council meeting didn’t end until late evening.
There was simply too much work; no way it could all be wrapped up in one day. It looked like they’d be stuck coming in every weekend for a while.
After dropping off Maelyn and Kamibarez, Simon returned to the Summonology dorm on his golem board.
But—
‘…?’
No one was around.
The lobby and lounge, usually filled with chatter, were eerily silent.
Because he was so used to the noise, the stillness felt even more unnatural.
‘Did something happen?’
“Ah, Simon!”
Just then, Toto Amoriya came rushing down the stairs.
“It’s bad! The third-years…!”
Superb.
When are we getting more free chapters?
Thanks for the new chapters
Very good story and translation but half the chapter aren't for free and it is wayyyy too expensive will it stat like tjis foreve or will it get free after some time