Chapter 611
In truth, this time’s Dark Emperor wasn’t something that only the students were fired up about.
“Winning the department championship is so obvious, it doesn’t even need to be discussed.”
The man in an elegant white suit that looked like it would stain easily, Bahil, lifted his coffee cup as he spoke.
Before him, the core members of the Katarology Department, including the third-year representative, stood at attention.
“But there’s something more important than that.”
Clack.
Bahil set his teacup down on the desk.
“No matter what else happens, the Summonology Department must be dragged down. Use whatever means necessary.”
A third-year student rubbed his palms together and said,
“Understood, professor! Honestly, those guys don’t even need us to act. Just look at their recent Dark Emperor results—6th, 5th, 7th, 7th, 7th. Left alone, they’ll ruin themselves anyway...”
“That’s exactly the kind of drivel I don’t want to hear.”
A vein bulged on Bahil’s forehead.
“I. Am. Talking to you right now for a reason.”
The overwhelming pressure froze the students’ expressions. The atmosphere felt so heavy, it was as though their heads and shoulders were being crushed beneath its weight.
“My apologies.”
He dispelled the oppressive air and smiled gently again.
Once more, he was the refined and gentlemanly Bahil who received the admiration of many students.
Clack.
He raised his teacup again, eyes closing slightly.
‘...Phantasus Hugh Ikel. That fellow made the department far too soft.’
When Bahil had been teaching the third-years, the Katarology Department was a pack of elite mad dogs obsessed solely with victory and achievement.
But during the short time he had gone down to teach first-years after his academic research, Phantasus had completely transformed the department’s atmosphere.
Now he had to aim for victory with these third-years who were only wearing soft smiles, lacking any competitive spirit, it was giving him a headache.
“Especially, the role of the second-years is crucial.”
Snap!
As Bahil flicked his fingers, Merida Hugh Ikel, who had been dozing off, snapped her head up. She tried to pretend she hadn’t been sleeping, but the drool running down her chin betrayed her.
Glares of ‘Are you insane, dozing in front of the professor!’ poured toward her, but Merida only sniffled and sucked the drool back in, staring drowsily into the air.
“Your target is Simon Follentia. The second-years must defeat him in the tournament.”
Her sleepy eyes flickered with a subtle change, and Bahil caught it.
“Oh? Seems you have some interest in him.”
It was rare for Merida to react to anything, so the other students also looked at her in surprise.
“Now that I recall, you were dispatched to the Ivory Tower with... my, I mean, Student Council President Simon, weren’t you?”
Nod.
She only moved her head in reply.
“Do you think you can win?”
“...”
Merida blinked her round eyes several times before answering.
“I can’t win.”
The students glared at the back of her head in shock.
‘At least pretend you could win!’
At this moment, all they wanted was to survive and leave Bahil’s office alive.
Bahil leaned forward, pulling one knee up, his expression peculiar.
“You’re admitting that Simon Follentia is a level above you?”
“Normally, I’d beat him.”
She replied curtly.
“But Phantasus senior taught Simon the same Sleep spell that I use. During the Ivory Tower dispatch, I even showed him ‘Lost in a Dream’.”
“Honest. I like that.”
Bahil wriggled his fingers.
“It’s true that he’s strong. But he doesn’t have any special curse resistance or counter-techniques, so there’s plenty of room to exploit. I shall gift you all with the new curses I’ve recently created.”
‘The chance to learn Bahil’s new curses!’
Merida’s face didn’t change much, but the other second-years clenched their fists in excitement.
“Thank you! Thank you! We’ll truly give it our all, Professor Bahil!”
“I’ll make Simon Follentia into a half-corpse with my own—”
BOOOOOOM!
The student making that bold claim was suddenly struck by a black lightning bolt, blown across the room, and slammed into a bookshelf. Massive shelves collapsed with screeches, papers scattering like snow.
“Poison must be administered in small doses, or it becomes toxic.”
Bahil lowered the index finger he had been pointing upward.
Amidst the falling shelves, a mouse twitched and convulsed violently.
“In my presence, watch your tongue.”
The students stiffened.
‘Then what are we supposed to say?!’
He told them to defeat Simon Follentia, yet when someone vowed to crush him, Bahil lashed out.
They didn’t know what rhythm to follow.
Knock, knock.
Just then, there was a knock on the laboratory door. Bahil didn’t even look back as he spoke.
“I told you, no interruptions.”
But the door opened anyway with a creak.
“Pardon me, Professor.”
It was the Katarology chief assistant, Chehekle.
It took her all of five seconds to grasp the situation.
Collapsed bookshelves, a twitching mouse, and students silently begging ‘Please save us!’.
A typical sight.
“It’s very late. The dorm warden must be looking for them, so I’ll escort the students back now.”
She cast Cancellation, restoring the mouse back into its original human form. The student trembled, utterly terrified.
“Go on, all of you. Take this one with you.”
“Y-yes!”
“Excuse us!”
The students bolted from Bahil’s office like their lives depended on it.
Even then, the still-dozing Merida was left behind until the third-year representative panicked, rushed back in, and carried her off.
Clack.
Chehekle closed the door, silence settling over the room.
“My, my.”
Bahil smiled as he lifted his cup again.
“Too much leniency spoils the students, Chehekle.”
“You crossed a line, Professor.”
Chehekle’s voice was sharp.
“What kind of professor curses his student into a mouse?”
“For that, I apologize. They were being unbearably insolent, and I lost my temper.”
She shook her head, massaging the spot between her brows.
‘He must be jealous of Student Simon after hearing he fought using a Dullahan.’
“Time flies. In the blink of an eye, midterms are already over. At this rate, we’ll miss our chance.”
Bahil tapped the armrest with his finger.
“This Dark Emperor is the opportunity. I may even have to consider hardline measures.”
* * *
Flutter!
As always, Simon reported to the Student Council office.
He stylishly donned the Student Council President’s coat hanging on the rack and turned around.
“Alright, let’s get star—”
“Simon?”
Bang!
Maelyn dropped a mountain of documents onto the desk with a bright smile.
“Late again. Instead of posing, review this pile.”
“Uh, right...”
Simon shrank immediately, sitting obediently at his chair. Maelyn rushed off to fetch more papers, shouting,
“Oh, check the ones beside you first! They’re student complaints from the last Dark Emperor. We’ll review them in an hour!”
“Got it.”
Work kept piling on.
As Simon quickly skimmed the documents beside him—
“Work, wooork~”
Thud!
Dick dropped yet another bundle of documents onto the desk. Simon stared at him blankly, mouth hanging open.
“...And what’s this now?”
“The list of Dark Emperor sponsors.”
Dick grinned, showing his teeth. Simon flipped through the pages.
“...Wait, hold on. Isn’t something this important supposed to be reviewed by the committee?”
“That’s for the official Dark Emperor sponsors. This here is for those providing free support directly to the students, you could say.”
“And what’s the difference supposed to be?”
Simon felt his head ache as he began handling more Dark Emperor paperwork.
Compared to their usual Student Council tasks, the workload and complexity of this Dark Emperor business was on an entirely different scale.
Things he had always brushed off as trivial turned out to have detailed, intricate procedures beneath them.
Was... studying actually the easiest part?
He almost believed it. That’s how overwhelming the Dark Emperor work was.
On top of that, the Student Council President’s role required judgment.
Maelyn, Dick, and Kamibarez filtered the incoming reports, discarding trivial matters and presenting only the essential issues to Simon—but the responsibility of judgment and decision rested with him.
As Simon studied maps and reports, he rubbed his temple.
‘Cutting a highway through the hill? Won’t that cause landslides when it rains? The event only lasts less than a week…’
But still, the judgment—and the consequences—were his to bear.
His shoulders felt heavier.
Can’t let the tail wag the dog.
Stamping the rejection seal, Simon moved on to the next document.
And before long—
“All right, meeting time!”
An hour had passed in the blink of an eye.
Work, meeting. Work, meeting. Even late at night, their duties showed no sign of ending. Normally they had to return to their dorms before curfew, but thanks to Jane’s intervention, they were granted special privileges.
Though by now, Simon wasn’t sure if this could be called a privilege.
“Wow, the campus looks spooky.”
Dick spoke as he peered out the window.
“All the lights are out. Feels like this is the only building still lit.”
Thwack!
A wad of paper smacked into Dick, making him stagger.
“I told you to stop slacking off!”
Maelyn shouted.
“Geez! Can’t I even breathe for a second? You’re like some evil boss squeezing us dry!”
“You’ve been slacking since earlier, so don’t talk!”
Then Maelyn pressed her forehead.
“Ugh, my sugar’s low. I need something sweet.”
“Me too!”
Knock knock knock.
As if on cue, Mojo, their loyal servant leader, entered the Student Council room.
“Professor Jane sent this. She said you should eat while you work.”
The four pairs of eyes widened.
Freshly baked pies, roasted chicken, and a spread of mouthwatering dishes were carried in by the minions.
Maelyn quickly cleared the cluttered desk.
“Mojo, have some too!”
“Thank you, but we already have food in the minions’ lounge. Please, enjoy.”
The members paused their work, gathering around the table to enjoy the late-night meal.
“Mmmm~”
Maelyn’s face lit up blissfully as she bit into pizza drenched in honey.
“I feel alive again~!”
“It’s so good!”
Simon and Dick devoured the food with soldier-like intensity.
“Wow, I had a huge dinner earlier, but this still goes down easy.”
“Same here.”
The four of them ate in a warm, cheerful atmosphere. Dick leaned back against the sofa, gnawing on a chicken drumstick.
“Sure, it’s nice while we’re eating, but doing this all-nighter grind for almost three weeks? Just kill me already.”
“I’m so happy right now!”
Kamibarez flapped her bat wings lightly as she spoke.
“Being in the same room with you three, working late, eating good food, chatting together! Later on, I think this will really be one of my best memories!”
Working for the Student Council was, after all, part of their school life too.
Simon and Dick nodded with smiles. Kamibarez clenched her small fists with determination.
“I’ll work even harder from now on!”
Maelyn couldn’t resist anymore.
“Kamiiii! You’re so cuteee!”
She suddenly lunged, burying her face into Kamibarez’s chest.
Startled, Kamibarez blinked wide-eyed, then lowered her eyelids gently and stroked Maelyn’s head kindly.
“Maelyn, why are you such a spoiled child lately?”
“Hehe, I’ve always been like thaaat~.”
Simon chuckled quietly to himself.
With all the recent incidents, Maelyn had gone through much emotional turmoil—but she seemed to have recovered, regaining her stability.
“Ugh, that baby-talk voice is disgusting.”
Dick pulled a face of disgust, only to be kicked in the back by Maelyn. Laughter from Simon and Kamibarez rang brightly through the room.
* * *
Two days later.
Simon and the Student Council members climbed a hilltop.
“There it is!”
The Roke Island of Keyzen, usually battered by strong currents and towering waves.
But today, the sea was calm. It would remain so for several weeks.
“I’m so excited! The Dark Emperor!”
“Yeah. Now it truly begins.”
And with the blue ocean as the backdrop, thousands of ships cut through the waves, entering Roke Island.
Superb.
When are we getting more free chapters?
Thanks for the new chapters