Chapter 695
Step.
Step.
With noble footsteps, a man entered the student council room.
His neatly brushed-back hair revealed his forehead, a stylish gray cardigan draped over his uniform shirt fluttered lightly in the wind. Smooth black trousers and dress shoes, and cold eyes gleamed behind his glasses.
‘That man.’
Simon swallowed hard.
‘He’s the strongest in Keyzen.’
The static atmosphere was overwhelming.
It was as if the surroundings were being swallowed into silence. Was this the same feeling Simon had when he first saw Serne? There was a charisma that seemed to devour people whole.
Step.
Step.
While countless thoughts circled in his mind, Aizel stopped in front of Simon.
Around them, Maelyn, Dick, Kamibarez, and Malcolm too, all froze in place as if under a curse.
From the very start, Simon refused to lose ground in spirit. He straightened his shoulders and said firmly,
“Nice to meet you, senior. I am Simon Follentia, Student Council President.”
At those words, a faint crack appeared between Aizel’s brows.
The third-years watching began murmuring, calling him crazy.
‘He dares raise his voice directly to Aizel, who came to reclaim the presidency.’
‘He’s got guts, that bastard.’
‘He just doesn’t know his place.’
Even though they were all third-years, everyone present was watching Aizel’s mood carefully.
Then, Aizel slowly raised his right hand.
‘An attack?’
But since there was no movement of Darkness, Simon waited silently.
Aizel’s hand was long and slender.
And then—
Swipe.
With his index finger, he pointed backward once, then turned his back and walked away.
With each step, his gray cardigan swayed side to side.
“?”
As Simon stood there blankly, one of the third-years stepped forward.
“It means follow him.”
This smirking boy, with both hands in his school uniform pockets, was the third-year ranked sixth overall, the representative of the Spiritology department, Sota Psyche.
They’d never spoken, but Simon knew his face.
Of course, because he was suspected of stirring up trouble at the Dark Emperor incident to deliberately hinder the student council.
‘You’re dead now, Simon.’
His grin was twisted with that meaning.
Simon sighed inwardly.
“Fine.”
He nodded coolly, then followed after Aizel.
“S-Simon!”
The student council members hurried to follow him. The third-years also tried to tag along after Aizel, but Aizel turned back with a chilling gaze.
“Oh, there it is!”
“The ice-cold stare!”
Ice-cold stare, what the hell is that?
Behind them, the third-year girls were whispering to each other, analyzing and naming Aizel’s actions like commentators.
Then, for the first time, Aizel’s voice rang out.
“I wish to speak with him alone.”
A moment of silence, then the third-years squealed in reply.
“Mm-hm! Got it!”
“Go easy on him, Aizel!”
Maelyn crept closer to Simon and whispered with a worried face,
“Are you sure? Should we secretly follow?”
“It’s fine. Nothing will happen.”
Aizel and Simon slipped away through the crowd.
* * *
They didn’t go far.
The destination was the shared lounge on the second floor of the student council building.
Two men, looking like school staff, were chatting with coffee in hand. When they noticed Aizel, they scrambled to clear out.
Aizel said it was fine, but they fussed even more.
Watching this, Simon scratched his temple.
‘Even as president, I never got treated like that by the staff.’
Clearly, everyone saw “Aizel” as the strongest in Keyzen.
And in meritocracy-driven Keyzen, the strongest one was the rightful Student Council President. That was the reality.
When the staff closed the door, Aizel flexed his slender fingers as if pressing piano keys.
Clack!
Clack!
Every window in the lounge closed at once, and the curtains slid down with a rattle.
Clink.
The door shut, and the lock clicked into place on its own.
Lastly, magical circles shimmered in the air.
‘A soundproof barrier. When did he even cast the formula?’
Nearly incantationless speed.
It had to be the result of honing Darkness’ “memory-retaining nature” to its limits.
“Sit.”
Said Aizel.
“Yes.”
Both sat down simultaneously.
The room was humid. As Aizel slowly removed his outer cardigan, Simon also took off the council president’s coat he had draped around himself and placed it beside him.
Now the two faced each other.
“Do you know about the contract with the former president, Phantasus?”
“I do.”
“Good. Then we can be quick.”
With the elegance of an actor on stage, Aizel crossed his legs and lightly tugged on his tie.
“A duel, with the presidency on the line. After the duel, as agreed, I will recommend you for the third-year presidency.”
Aizel spoke of his victory as if it were the most natural outcome.
Yet Simon didn’t feel offended.
‘This man.’
It was precisely Aizel’s demeanor. Like water flowing, he spoke as if it were the most natural thing.
This wasn’t arrogance or confidence, it was as if the very concept of defeat didn’t exist in his awareness.
That was unsettling.
“However, vice-chancellor Jane had some words.”
Aizel explained that after his return from a mission, Jane had shared her thoughts.
Currently, Simon’s 330th council had demonstrated excellent competence, earning recognition both within the school and from headquarters.
Professors generally avoided interfering in student organizations, but with multiple projects underway and final exams approaching, replacing the council now would cause unnecessary disruption.
In other words—
“Vice-chancellor Jane suggested that if the council is to be replaced, it would be better to do so starting from the second semester.”
“Ah.”
The unexpected turn made Simon blink.
He knew the council was being well-reviewed, but he never imagined Jane would go this far to help.
—I thought it wasn’t right for me to say, you’d find out naturally.
That was what Jane had meant back then. Now, Simon asked,
“Then, did you accept her suggestion?”
Aizel nodded.
“The vice-chancellor was right. Soon we’ll have large-scale performance tests and final exams. Considering the handover of council duties as well, in truth, I’d only be able to function properly from the second semester.”
He opened his palm.
“If you agree, I’d like to propose the duel take place then.”
Simon had no reason to refuse.
It would mean more time with his council, more focus for exams and evaluations, and a smoother handover later.
Aizel too, having lost nearly an entire semester to a long mission, surely wanted to focus on school affairs for now.
“That works for me.”
“Then it’s settled.”
Aizel rose to his feet.
“The duel’s location, I’ll arrange for a place where neither of us has any terrain advantage, is that acceptable?”
“Yes, I don’t mind.”
Simon was surprised, Aizel was far more reasonable and flexible than he had expected.
Given everything the third-years had done so far, and their jealousy and anger toward the second-year council, he had thought Aizel would immediately explode, demanding the presidency on the spot.
“Anything else to discuss?”
“Doesn’t seem like it.”
Simon also stood up.
Aizel said he would stay here to deal with some personal matters, while Simon had to return to the student council room right away because of the piled-up work.
“Then I’ll take my leave.”
“Wait!”
Just as Simon was about to leave, Aizel’s voice, always calm until now, suddenly rose. He stretched out an arm as if to stop Simon, then quickly dropped it again as if nothing had happened.
“Anything else to discuss?”
I said no.
Simon forced a smile.
“Do you, senior, have something more you wish to say?”
For a fleeting moment, Simon saw it.
The eyes of Aizel, always like an impregnable wall, were quivering uncontrollably.
“......No.”
But if he himself said no, what could Simon do?
He simply thought Aizel was strange, bowed politely,
“I’ll go then, senior. I’ll see you after finals.”
“......Mm, alright.”
After exchanging farewells, Simon stepped out of the lounge.
The third-years all seemed to have gone.
“I need to tell the others right away.”
That they didn’t have to vacate the room yet, and that at least for the first semester, they would remain in charge of the council.
Simon was heading quickly toward the council room when—
‘Ah.’
He suddenly remembered something he had left behind.
‘Of all things!’
He had left his Student Council President’s coat.
Wouldn’t this cause some strange misunderstanding?
He quickly spun back around and ran. Bursting open the lounge door—
“S-sorry, senior! I left something behind so I just—hm?”
Simon’s eyes widened.
He saw Aizel.
But—
“......”
Aizel had taken off his glasses, his head buried against the table, clutching at his hair.
Then suddenly, he froze in that posture.
Ssshh—
He looked at Simon.
Those eyes, once so dignified, trembled as if shaken by an earthquake.
The expression of someone who had just been exposed, as if caught with a tremendous secret.
“......I, I’ll go now.”
Simon began sweating nervously. He decided to act like he hadn’t seen anything, and just grab his coat.
“Wait.”
Aizel’s voice came.
And now, his tone carried a faintly boyish quality.
“......Did you see?”
The undisputed strongest of Keyzen, the top-ranked third-year, Aizel Bringer…
“......I’m ruined, I’m ruined.”
…In truth, had a side no one else knew.
“Damn it, I’m not fit for a burden like the student council presidency. Why is everyone so desperate to force it on me?”
Aizel was astonishingly timid. Simon shuddered at the extreme sense of dissonance.
‘Come to think of it.’
Even his appearance had changed.
The hairstyle that once neatly revealed his forehead, the very picture of an elite, now hung loosely, covering his brows.
Without the glasses, his face no longer looked sharp, but rather like that of a gentle, boyish youth.
And his height, had shrunk.
The shoes he had been wearing were lifts, and his uniform pants were too long.
“You thought I was pathetic, didn’t you?”
Aizel muttered weakly.
“The one ranked number one, the strongest necromancer in Keyzen, and in reality I’m just some nerdy, awkward guy.”
Simon frantically waved his arms.
“N-no! Actually, I think this more human side of you is really great!”
“Those words.”
Aizel lifted his rounded, boyish face suddenly close to Simon.
“Do you mean them?”
“Y-yes, of course!”
He looked back with a slightly surprised expression.
“Thank you. No one has ever said that to me, not even as lip service.”
And so Simon had to sweat bullets, pouring effort into reassuring Aizel until the latter calmed down.
“What in the world is going on here?”
Once Aizel settled, Simon demanded an explanation for this entire situation.
At this point, he wasn’t even sure this was the same famous Aizel-senior.
Aizel pressed a hand to his forehead and continued,
“......I was only acting as the ‘Aizel’ others wanted to see.”
In Keyzen, the greatest school of the Dark Alliance, the one who stood at the top was burdened with endless expectations and demands.
Aizel was undeniably strong, his abilities beyond question.
But—
“Damn it, you can’t fix a personality no matter how much you try.”
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