Chapter 517: Episode 517
Shahed Kingdom. Lake Millaui.
"It’s huge!"
After teleporting to the Shahed Kingdom, a vast lake spread out before Jane, Simon, and their group. It was as large as an ocean, with a visible horizon and even waves and currents lapping at the shore. The area surrounding the lake was a lush forest dotted with countless other smaller lakes. A few old men, who were leisurely fishing, waved at the students as they passed, their faces crinkling into fond smiles.
’This is actually kind of healing,’ Simon thought, a smile gracing his lips as he took in the vast expanse of water and the cool breeze. It felt as if a weight had been lifted from his chest.
"Everyone." Jane called to Simon and the transfer students, extending a hand. "That is the third necromancer school, Moira."
’Ah!’
To his surprise, the school was situated in the very middle of the lake. It was the great floating city that the Shahed Kingdom and Moira were so proud of. A long white bridge connected the city to the mainland, so long it was hard to imagine how it had been constructed. Most people crossing it were in carriages.
"It’s beautiful," Simon murmured in admiration.
Immediately, Benz, bristling with his usual inferiority complex, piped up. "No, Simon! What’s so great about a place with so much water? The Aland campus, surrounded by nature and forests, is much better, don’t you think?"
Jetz of Sierra was not to be outdone. "Are you saying that after seeing the view from the Sierra campus, nearly ten thousand feet above sea level? You should have seen the sunrise there."
Simon gave a weary smile and turned to them. "You’re all Kizen students now. Stop competing over such strange things."
"But my roots are in Aland!" Benz declared.
As the students grew noisy, Jane lowered her long eyelashes and lightly tapped her fist into her palm. They immediately fell silent and straightened their backs.
"The bridge will take too long, so we will travel by boat," she announced, leading them toward the dock.
Simon fell into step beside her. "Um, by the way, Professor."
"Yes."
"When will I get to meet the other two who will be fighting with me?"
He was, in truth, a little anxious. Given Jane’s personality, he could easily guess that since he was the second-year Student Council President, his teammates would also be second-years. Normally, she would have mobilized someone from the Top 10, but during the mission evaluation period, the pool of available students was extremely limited. He would be grateful for anyone ranked in the top 200.
"That’s a needless question."
"I-Is it?"
Jane pointed ahead with a neutral expression. Simon’s gaze followed.
Standing in front of a rowboat were two female students in Kizen uniforms. His face lit up when he saw the armbands on their shoulders. A smile of pure, undisguisable delight spread across his lips.
"Simon!"
The girls spotted him and waved energetically. Overjoyed, Simon ran to meet them.
"Meirin! Kami! Don’t tell me you two are...!"
"That’s right," Meirin, the Vice President and ranked 8th overall, confirmed. She stood, smoothing her skirt, and swept back a lock of her sky-blue hair. "Hmph. I came all this way despite being exhausted, so you’d better be grateful."
"We had just finished our mission evaluation in the Shahed Kingdom and were on standby when Professor Jane contacted us!" added Kamibarez, the Student Council Secretary and ranked 95th. She clasped her hands in front of her chest and bounced on her toes with excitement.
Jane approached Simon’s side. "I called the Student Council members. Are you satisfied with your reinforcements?"
"They’re the best!" Simon replied instantly.
"The transfer evaluation match at Moira is a best-of-three," Jane explained, holding out her palm. "If Kizen wins two of the matches, we win the evaluation. So there’s no need to feel too much pressure."
If she had been determined to win at all costs, Jane would have called in third-years. But she believed that the growth and experience talented students gained on a grand stage like this were far more important.
Meirin raised her arm with a snap. "Of course, we’re going to win all three games!"
"Yay!" Kamibarez cheered, and Simon clapped along.
Seeing their enthusiasm, Jane nodded. "A good attitude. Then, let’s head to Moira."
---
With ten people in total, they split into two boats. The Student Council members—Simon, Meirin, and Kamibarez—boarded the first boat with Jane, while the transfer students from Aland and Sierra sat side by side in the second. However, when Benz started another argument with the Sierra students, Jane crossed over to their boat.
"I will supervise here," she stated flatly. "You two, over there."
In the end, Benz and Jetz were shuffled over to Simon’s boat. Soon, they departed. Simon had assumed it was an ordinary rowboat, but it was actually equipped with a mana motor. Without anyone steering, the boat automatically followed a route drawn on a magic circle to its destination.
As they glided across the lake, Simon introduced Benz and Jetz to his friends.
"And this is Kamibarez, the Student Council Secretary."
"Ah, hello!" Kamibarez bowed her head, smiling shyly.
’She’s cute...!’ Benz’s cheeks flushed. He could almost hear a harp playing as the world turned a rosy pink.
"Simon, Simon! Look! It’s a swan!" Kamibarez exclaimed.
"Yeah," Simon noted. "It’s not even scared of people."
From then on, Benz’s gaze was fixed on Kamibarez. Jetz smirked and kicked his foot. "Wake up and smell the coffee, Aland."
"What," Benz growled, glaring at him.
Jetz just turned his head and whistled. "Look over there! Dolphins!"
The lake was an ecological treasure trove, home to over 1,700 species. Swans and waterfowl swam along the shore, while sea lions lazed on the rocks, sunbathing. In the distance, a pod of pink dolphins leaped through the water. The lake was teeming with life. According to Meirin, Moira poured an astronoMikel amount of money and time into its management, and it was said to be a lake entirely free of monsters. This symbolic status made it the top resort in the entire Shahed Kingdom. One could travel anywhere on the lake without fear of attack.
"—is what they claim, but it’s impossible for there to be ’no’ monsters," Meirin added with a shrug. "I mean, there’s a necromancer school right there. Apparently, there are even spots teeming with high-risk monsters like Leviathans."
"Th-that’s a little scary," Kamibarez whispered, suddenly looking around nervously, as if something huge had just passed beneath the beautiful green surface of the water.
Simon and Meirin burst out laughing.
"Ah, it’s a shame Dick isn’t here, though," Simon said, scratching the side of his head.
Meirin scoffed. "A commoner? I heard he went to the Neutral Zone. I couldn’t care less about a treasurer who gets blinded by money and takes off every mission evaluation season."
"Ah, we’re here!" Kamibarez announced.
The boat came to a perfect stop at the school’s dock. Simon jumped out first and kindly offered his hand to the girls. Benz, trying to show off, attempted to leap out on his own but missed his footing and fell into the lake, soaking his uniform pants.
Everyone erupted in laughter.
"What’s with that Aland guy today?" Jetz chuckled, taking Simon’s hand to climb out.
Face beet red, Benz dragged himself onto the dock, dripping water.
"Are you okay?" Kamibarez asked, holding out a clean, white towel. "I borrowed it from the dock worker."
"Ah... Um!" The world turned pink again, the sound of a harp filling his ears. Despite having made a fool of himself in front of the girl he liked, he quickly took the towel and brushed back his bangs. "Th-thanks! Kamiba... Kamibaize?"
"It’s Kamibarez!" she said cheerfully. "If it’s too difficult, you can just call me Kami!"
Benz’s heart began to flutter. She was already letting him use a nickname? Could it be that she... liked him too?
"I told you to wake up, you drowned grasshopper," Jetz muttered.
"Sierra, shut your mouth!"
A short while later, the second boat arrived, and they all walked into the city together. Unlike the other necromancer schools, which were closed to civilians for security reasons, Moira’s entire campus was open to the public. People had flocked to the pleasant city, causing it to grow until the line between the campus and the downtown area had blurred. While the public couldn’t enter school buildings or secure areas, the sight of charming shopping streets right outside the school was a scene unique to Moira.
"It’s so pretty!"
"The roofs are all white."
The city itself was beautiful. Picturesque canals crisscrossed the landscape, and it was common to see Moira students and residents traveling together by boat. Apparently, you could reach anywhere in the city quickly by hailing a water taxi.
Jane led the students through the streets to the central plaza.
"This is the entrance to Moira," she said, checking her watch. "The transfer evaluation is this afternoon, so our morning is free. From now on—"
Seeing the students’ eyes sparkle with anticipation, Jane allowed a faint smile to touch her lips.
"You have free time."
"WHOAAA!"
The students threw their arms up and cheered. Passersby glanced over before continuing on their way.
"Disperse and enjoy yourselves, then reassemble here at one o’clock. The three of you from the Student Council, in particular, should make sure you’re in top condition for this afternoon’s match."
"Yes, Professor!"
"Then, you are dismissed."
Jane sent them off and turned to leave.
"Simon!" Meirin grabbed his wrist and started running. "What are you waiting for? Let’s go ride Moira’s famous water slide!"
"That’s right!" Kamibarez chimed in.
"W-wait a minute! You’re too close...!"
Benz reached out a hand as he watched the blushing Simon being dragged away by Meirin and Kamibarez. But he couldn’t muster the courage and could only clench his fists in frustration.
’Hmph! I was going to ask Kami on a date!’
Watching him, Jetz just shook his head and walked off to a candy store with the other female students from Sierra.
---
The free time they had so eagerly awaited passed in a flash. Simon, Meirin, and Kamibarez rode Moira’s famous water slide (Simon grumbled that it cost 500 silver for a single ride), strolled through the shopping center, and by the time they finished their cream pasta, their time was up.
At one o’clock, they all reassembled in the central plaza. The headmaster and faculty of Moira were there to greet them.
"It has been a while, Vice Headmaster Jane," the Moira Headmaster said.
"Indeed. It has," Jane replied.
The headmaster of Moira was a woman. She was a formidable figure, credited with revitalizing a school that had once lagged behind Aland and Sierra. Through innovative leadership, she had improved both her students’ skills and the school’s reputation. Her relationship with Jane also seemed amicable. The usual posturing and tension between schools was completely absent.
They followed the headmaster and faculty to the Moira arena, where the transfer evaluation match was set to unfold.
"WHOAAAA!"
An even larger crowd than they had ever seen before was packed into the arena, their roar shaking the very foundations of the floating city.
The first floor of the arena was a sea of Moiran’s sky-blue uniforms, while the second was crowded with spectators from the general public. Before them all lay the magnificent Waterway Arena. It was a stunning piece of architecture, clearly modeled after Moiran’s famous city of canals. Streams of pristine lake water flowed through the battlefield, lending the entire structure a unique and aesthetic beauty.
"This place is just dripping with home-field advantage," Simon muttered, the collar of his student council president’s coat fluttering in the breeze as he surveyed their surroundings.
Meirin crossed her arms.
"Of course it is. Most Moiran students use water-based techniques—and not just those from Jet-Black Dynamics. Students from every department will exploit it. I think neutralizing the water will be the key to winning."
She continued to rattle off her strategic insights while Kamibarez, by contrast, looked pale, seemingly frozen by the sheer size of the crowd.
"Are you okay, Kami?"
"...Simon."
Her brow furrowed with worry as she looked up at him.
"Y-You’ve already fought in a place like this twice?"
A faint smile touched Simon’s lips.
"I was nervous at first, too. You get used to it."
"Oh, right! I’ll do my best not to fall behind you two!" she declared, though she was still trembling.
Simon figured it would be best if either he or Meirin went first.
"Students! And to our esteemed guests who have graced us with your presence, welcome."
Just then, the Headmaster of Moiran strode to the center of the arena, her arrival met with a thunderous roar and a storm of applause.
"I am sincerely grateful that such a grand event is being held this year as part of our exchange with Kizen. We at Moiran—"
As the Headmaster delivered her polished speech, Simon stretched in the contestants’ waiting area. Across the arena, the Moiran students were warming up. One of them, catching Simon’s eye, even had the composure to offer a casual wave.
And then his gaze fell on someone else.
’Who’s that?’
It was a boy with pure white hair, who he presumed was another transfer student. He was staring up at the sky with a blank, dead-eyed expression that sent a chill down Simon’s spine. For some reason, he couldn’t look away.
The boy’s fingertips drifted slowly through the air as he tracked a lone bird soaring above. Then, he pointed. The bird faltered, its flight becoming erratic, before it suddenly plummeted from the sky, crashing somewhere behind the arena.
Simon’s brow furrowed in alarm. In that same instant, his breath caught in his throat.
The white-haired boy’s dead eyes locked onto his. A cold dread prickled Simon’s skin, making the fine hairs on his arms stand on end.
"That is all."
The Headmaster’s speech concluded, and another wave of applause erupted. She produced a small box.
"Now, let us begin the first match."
She rummaged inside before pulling out two small spheres. The referee accepted them and read the names one by one.
"From Moiran, Alizarin Jacques! And..."
As the crowd held its breath in anticipation, the referee announced the second name.
"From Kizen, Kamibarez Ursula! Please step forward!"