Chapter 786
Leonard and Will stood facing each other.
Sensing the unusual atmosphere, the third-year members of the Disciplinary Committee who were watching from behind were sweating profusely.
Will seemed just as flustered, stammering as he spoke.
“Ha, haha! Welcome, Leonard! It’s just that, this guy here violated the school rules….”
“Will, I told you not to mess with the second-years, especially now, when the tension between grades is at its peak.”
A cold fury flickered in Leonard’s pupils.
“And yet, you disobeyed the orders of your representative, hid the fact that you were given the position of Disciplinary Chief, and even secretly dragged the former Student Council President of the second-years into the Forbidden Forest?”
Will spread out his palm as if to calm him down.
“Sorry I didn’t mention it earlier. But this wasn’t a department matter, it was official school business….”
“I heard everything from the middle. At that time I was in Rochest too, so why don’t you tell me how you think I should be punished?”
In the end, some of the other third-years, unable to bear watching anymore, stepped forward.
“Calm down, Leonard.”
“Will was only trying to do his best.”
His peers tried to mediate, but Leonard’s cold gaze didn’t waver. At that moment, Will bit down hard on his lip.
“What the hell are you so afraid of, Leonard!”
The others turned their heads in disbelief.
Will, shouting at Leonard?
He might have been infamous to others, but when it came to Leonard, he had always been the loyal right-hand man.
“We’re third-years now! The long-awaited era of the 328th class has finally come! Why are you so afraid of protecting the second-years? Do you see these bastards treating us with the respect due to seniors? Huh?”
Unable to suppress the fire rising inside him, he thrust out his arm, pointing at Simon.
“You didn’t like the second-year student council system either, did you? Now that one of our peers has become the new leader, restoring rules and order, all we need to do is fall in line! What’s so wrong about that! Is it because you feel compelled to follow the words left by that senior you so admired, Phantasus? Or is it because of that bastard Aizel…!”
“Will.”
Leonard’s breath grew ragged.
“Stop flaunting what a hopeless case you are. If you weren’t my classmate, I wouldn’t have had anything to do with a bastard like you.”
Will’s mouth fell open. Simon and the other third-years watching were no different.
Leonard, who had always looked out for his classmates and valued unity above all, had never spoken such words before.
“Let’s go.”
Leonard grabbed Simon by the shoulder and led him away.
Then, turning back, he warned.
“Be careful. You’re nothing more than pawns being used at Sota’s and the student council’s convenience.”
Grit.
Will gnashed his teeth and shouted.
“Leonard! I’m not done talking yet!”
But Leonard didn’t look back.
* * *
Simon returned to the Summonology dormitory with Leonard.
He thought they would rest now, but Leonard said he had something to say and led Simon up the stairs.
‘This is….’
The forbidden third floor. From here on was where the third-years lived, and Simon had never been up here before.
“This way. We have to go higher.”
Leonard pointed ahead with a soft smile. The cold fury he had shown to Will had faded, and he was back to his usual self.
The Summonology dormitory was structured around an abnormally large tree rising high into the air, with the building encircling it. In the basement, its roots could be seen, in the first-floor lobby, the lower trunk, and on the second-floor corridor, its main body.
Now, on the third floor, the ceiling of the corridor was broken through in places, revealing thinner branches reaching high toward the sky.
Perhaps the true building ended at the second floor, because from the third to the fourth, the room structures and designs looked rather chaotic. Above all, instead of a roof, rooms were perched on the tree branches.
‘Were there really this many rooms in the tree?’
Simon stared up in wide-eyed wonder. Leonard chuckled.
“From outside the building, perception-interference magic keeps it hidden. It was a gift from the seniors who once lived here. You only really see the full rooms once you reach the fourth floor.”
Leonard led Simon up onto the branches. Some parts had stairs built in, while other parts required holding onto ropes. And then—
Ssshh—
With a flick of Leonard’s hand, the branches shifted on their own, forming a new path. It felt like stepping into a magical world.
“You’ve always thought it strange that our dormitory was set apart from the campus, right?”
Leonard’s bangs fluttered in the wind as he walked ahead.
“In truth, this whole area used to be the Forbidden Forest. No buildings, just overgrown with trees and plants.”
“This is the first I’ve heard of it.”
Leonard tapped a sturdy branch with the back of his hand.
“The first Summonology representative couldn’t afford dorm fees, so he built a hideout here on this great tree in the forest. Others grew envious of the freedom and gradually built their own places here too. That was the beginning of the Summonology dormitory.”
He continued his story slowly, like a grandfather telling tales of the past.
“As time went by, this tree became a meaningful place for the Summonology students. Back then, Summonology was strong enough to win the Dark Emperor competition several times. With the funds earned, they decided to build an official dormitory right in the middle of the Forbidden Forest. And then they carved a road leading to campus.”
“I had no idea it had that kind of history.”
When Simon showed interest, Leonard laughed warmly.
“Haha, I like old, trivial stories like this. Learning things like that makes the place we live in feel even more special.”
As Simon climbed higher with Leonard, he spotted several third-years here and there.
Some were hanging laundry, some lounging on the tree reading books. When they noticed Leonard, they waved. Leonard waved back.
“Leonard! What are you doing bringing a second-year up here?”
“Wanna play a game together?”
“Later.”
Simon looked around in awe. That the third-years alone got to enjoy such a spectacular sight.
Still, he couldn’t help but feel excited, knowing that in just one more semester, he and his peers would inherit this place too.
Simon and Leonard finally reached the very top of the tree.
At the peak stood an old, worn-out room.
“Here we are. Welcome to the hideout of the very first Summonology representative.”
Leonard opened the door and gestured for Simon to go in first. Simon crouched low and carefully stepped inside.
“Wow…!”
If there was such a thing as the perfect hideout, this was it.
A small, warm room, filled with coziness.
Under the soft orange light, fluffy cushions and quilts lay spread across the floor. On the walls hung old, faded photographs—likely pictures of past Summonology representatives with their fellow seniors.
“It’s so warm inside.”
“There’s magic woven in.”
Leonard entered casually and plopped onto the floor. Simon sat down hesitantly, glancing around, until Leonard patted the quilt beside him.
“It’s fine, lie down like me.”
“Yes.”
Simon didn’t refuse, stretching out next to him.
From that angle, even the photographs stuck to the ceiling came into view. Some were old black-and-white pictures taken with outdated magic cameras, others more recent.
Leonard stretched out his arm.
“See that senior with the green hair?”
“Yes, I see.”
“That’s the elder who visited during the last Dark Emperor competition. The one who scolded us, asking how Summonology could lose to Katarology. I think he was class 240 or so.”
“Oh, I remember now.”
“And that female senior over there, every winter she sends us sweaters she knit herself. Recently, her grandchild enrolled here….”
Simon lost track of time, absorbed in Leonard’s stories of the past.
It was a distant, strange feeling.
“On quiet days, I come here, lie around like this for hours, and it makes me feel at peace.”
Leonard closed his eyes.
“At the same time, it weighs on my shoulders. Am I really a department representative who won’t bring shame before those seniors? Am I truly leading our department well? Those kinds of thoughts come to me.”
“…….”
Clatter.
Just then, the door opened, and Leonard’s skeletons came in carrying tea. They unfolded a small stand, set the tea upon it, and the two of them enjoyed a short tea time.
“I sincerely apologize for what happened with Will this time.”
“Ah, no. It wasn’t your fault, senior.”
Leonard quietly sipped his tea, then set down the cup.
“Simon.”
“Yes.”
“Not all of the third-years agree with the Ballack situation.”
He pulled a paper out of his bag and handed it over to Simon.
It was a list. Names and signatures written in their own hand.
“It’s a list of third-years opposing Ballack’s student council.”
There were names Simon had never seen before, and even one belonging to a heavyweight in the Top 10.
Simon’s eyes went wide.
“Could this be….”
A coup d’état?
Suddenly, a surge of tension rushed through him. Why was he showing him something like this?
“We deny the legitimacy of Ballack’s entire student council. We demand he step down from the presidency.”
The atmosphere in the room turned serious.
“In that last duel incident, Aizel nearly died, and many others could have been harmed. But the school, only desperate to fill Aizel’s empty seat, covered it all up. They erased his crimes with that absurd ‘punishment mission’, and forced him into the Student Council President’s chair.”
His eyes sharpened.
“I don’t care who sits in that chair, but it must not be Ballack. And Simon.”
“Yes.”
“You are special. I’ve heard you have the legitimate right to challenge him, to drag him from the throne. Keyzen Headquarters will recognize it, and no one can deny it.”
From the drawer below, he pulled out a quill and handed it over.
“The issue of third-year and second-year doesn’t matter anymore. We want to drive out Ballack, and raise you up as Student Council President.”
“…….”
Simon accepted the quill and the document.
“What happens if I sign my name with this quill?”
“Our third-year opposition will step forward in full force, and lead the confrontation against Ballack.”
Leonard explained.
“Will’s appointment to the Disciplinary Committee was only the beginning. Sota Psyche’s new student council is terrified of your return. They’ll use every means possible to crush you….”
Clack—
Simon neatly set the quill back down.
“Sorry, but I’m not interested in politics or factional strife.”
“…….”
“I’ll bring Ballack down, without this. With my own strength.”
Leonard closed his eyes.
“It may be too heavy a fight for you to bear alone. Shouldn’t someone stand at the front, shielding you from all the countless obstacles? Even for the sake of your own growth, we might be necessary.”
“I appreciate the offer, but I’ll be fine.”
Simon smiled brightly.
“With protests, with grade conflict, I don’t want the school thrown into further chaos. Ballack won’t run from a duel with me.”
“If that’s how you feel, then it can’t be helped.”
Leonard flipped the document over. Then, as though relieved, he smiled.
“If you don’t want an organization’s backing, then at least I’ll personally look after you.”
“…Huh?”
“I exchanged letters with Aizel during this vacation.”
He lifted his head, gazing at the ceiling.
The old, shabby ceiling had gaps in the wood with age, and through them the night sky with stars was visible.
“He seemed happy. He said outsiders looked at him without prejudice. And, after traveling, he realized something. That it wasn’t other people’s eyes that mattered, but that he himself had just been building walls around him.”
Simon grinned.
“I’m glad to hear he’s doing well.”
“Yes. And he worried about you too.”
Leonard looked at Simon with serious eyes.
“He said Ballack’s retaliation was inevitable. He asked me to help you as much as possible.”
“Ah.”
“Of course, even without Aizel’s request, I’d already intended to.”
Leonard clasped his hands together.
“As long as you’re inside the department building or the dormitory, rest assured. I’ll clear away Sota’s interference, whatever it takes. Benya will lend her cooperation too.”
Simon smiled.
“Thank you, I’ll do my best as well.”
“Good. But—”
Leonard crossed his arms.
“To keep Sota Psyche in check, I recommend you meet a few key third-years of interest. I’ll arrange it later. How about it?”
Just meeting them once.
For Leonard’s sake, Simon decided not to refuse at least that much.
“Who are they?”
“The current third-year, ranked number two overall.”
Leonard closed his eyes.
“If she joins our side, it will be reassuring indeed.”
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