Chapter 528: Episode 528
That afternoon, Simon and Lorraine sat across from each other at the campus cafe, sharing coffee for the first time in a while to discuss Tarados. Lorraine had stayed behind until the last day of the mission evaluation to help with the aftermath, and since Simon had liberated the domain, he wanted to remain involved.
"It was quite difficult to endorse General Armin as the new lord," Lorraine said, setting down her cup with a tired sigh. "The royal ministers were against it."
"The ministers?"
"Yes. Something about it being improper to grant the title without due process. They probably didn’t like the idea of some sword-slinger who popped out of nowhere becoming a noble on their level."
Simon propped his chin on his hand, a sour expression on his face. Those same ministers would have looked the other way if they’d been asked to rule Tarados themselves. They were just opposing it without offering any solution.
"So what happened?"
"Kizen applied pressure, demanding accountability for the incident and realistic efforts for post-crisis management. Oh, and from within the kingdom, Princess Molly was a huge help." Lorraine’s eyes shone. "In the end, your decision to contact her personally was the best possible move. The adults would have just tried to cover up or downplay such a huge incident, but the princess immediately stormed Minister Perutz’s mansion with the royal guard, shoved the evidence in his face, and arrested him. It was an astonishing display of efficiency."
Simon smiled and took a sip of his coffee. "I’ll have to be sure to thank her properly when I see her. I wonder if she’s doing well with her studies."
"She seems to have completely fallen in love with life at Kizen. She always did admire the life of a necromancer."
Simon nodded, set down his cup, and looked around the bustling cafe. He let out a small, bitter laugh. "It’s really crowded."
It was lunchtime, and the place was packed, mostly with first-years chattering loudly and shouting like a pack of wild animals. It wasn’t the best environment for a quiet conversation, but Simon leaned back in his chair and watched his juniors with a smile.
"First semester of the first year. The best of times."
Lorraine chuckled. "You sound like an old man."
Simon laughed along with her, his eyes scanning the crowd. He spotted a conspicuous head of red hair a short distance away. It was the first-year Special Admission No. 2, the Mercenary King Arthur, waving his arms and shouting something.
"Hey, Arthur! Who eats a soufflé like that? So unrefined!"
"What the hell is a soufflé?!" he yelled back. He hadn’t changed a bit.
"Oh, and this is a secret," Lorraine said, returning to their topic. "The difficulty of the mission you completed is scheduled to be adjusted. From F to A+."
Simon’s face lit up. "Really? That would be great!"
"You can look forward to it."
The request had originally been rated ‘F’ for simple labor, but Simon had realized it was a distress signal and traveled to Tarados. In the end, he had saved both the client and the domain, a feat Kizen’s headquarters had clearly recognized. For Simon, who was dead set on taking first place overall this year, it was a huge relief.
’I have a feeling Lorraine might have pulled some strings, though,’ he mused.
Even stripped of her official authority, she could still make requests as a student, and headquarters wouldn’t easily ignore a future power player.
Lorraine continued, "Kizen is also helping with the reconstruction of Tarados. We’re sending necromancers to eliminate the chimeras in the wilderness. They’re about sixty percent done. Soon, people will be able to move freely, merchants will come in, and the economy will be revitalized..."
"E-Excuse me!"
Two first-year girls with long, flowing hair cut into their conversation, squirming with flushed faces.
"What is it?" Simon asked gently.
The girl on the left shyly nudged her friend. ’You were supposed to say it!’
The other girl hesitated before speaking. "A-Are you by any chance the Student Council President?"
"Yes, I am."
The two high-fived and bounced on their feet. Thanks to his rescue operation on the first day of school, Simon had become a legend among the first-years.
"We almost didn’t recognize you without your coat!"
"W-We really respect and support you! W-Would it be okay to ask for an autograph?"
It was the first time anyone had asked for his autograph. He hesitated, but wanting to get back to his conversation, he quickly signed their Summoning textbooks and sent them on their way. The girls were overjoyed, bowing deeply before returning to their seats.
"You’re popular," Lorraine said playfully. "Sorry, we were interrupted. So, what happened?"
"Right. Where were we?"
"The chimeras are being eliminated, merchants are coming in, and the economy is improving."
"Ah, right. So, a few merchant associations have shown interest—"
"Woooah!"
This time, three first-year boys popped up. "It’s her! I’m sure of it! Black hair, red eyes! Are you Senior Lorraine?!"
Lorraine just sighed and nodded.
"Wow, unbelievable! It’s her in person!"
"So it was true that Lady Nephthys’s daughter attends Kizen!"
"And the Student Council President is right next to her!"
Simon quickly put a finger to his lips, shushing them. Fortunately, the cafe was noisy enough that they didn’t draw much attention.
’This year’s first-years are something else.’
If Hector had seen this, he would have immediately disciplined them for their lack of respect, but Simon decided to be understanding. They were new, and after being hazed by the third-years, he didn’t want to enforce the same rigid etiquette on his juniors.
"Sorry, but we’re in the middle of a conversation..."
"Are you two dating?"
"Haha! You look good togeth—!"
Just then, another student appeared, clapping the two chattering first-years in headlocks.
"Hello, Senior Simon! Hahaha!" It was Arthur.
"Ugh, ack!"
"A-Arthur! Let go...!" The two struggled, begging to be released.
Arthur subtly gave Simon a nod.
"It’s been a while, Arthur." Simon waved.
"Sorry about my classmates! I’ll come by the Student Council room to greet you properly later!"
"Yeah, thanks."
Bowing deeply to both Simon and Lorraine, Arthur dragged his subdued classmates away. Simon crossed his arms, impressed.
’Maybe he’s grown a little since we first met?’
"You know him?" Lorraine asked.
"The Mercenary King Arthur. We’ve fought together before."
"Ah. So that’s the rumored Special Admission No. 2. He’s very polite."
The two resumed their conversation. Just as they were finally getting back on track, a group of officials from Kizen’s main office approached in sharp suits.
"Young Lady."
"Lady Nephthys is looking for you."
She stood up, the interruption clearly familiar. "Sorry, Simon."
"No, no. We finished the important parts anyway."
Lorraine said her goodbyes and left with them. Left alone, Simon sipped his half-finished coffee.
’I should probably get ready for class.’
Just as he was about to stand up—
’Whoa!’
He was so startled he almost spilled his coffee. A man in a white suit was now sitting nonchalantly across from him, smiling.
"It’s been a while, Simon," he said playfully, tipping his hat.
Simon’s eyes widened. "P-Professor Bahil?"
"Would you care for a cup of coffee with me as well?"
---
It was an unexpected turn of events, but after Lorraine came Bahil. Simon soon found himself in the professor’s office in the Cursology building, sitting tensely on the sofa with his back ramrod straight.
"Haha, you can relax when it’s just the two of us," Bahil said, hanging his hat on a coat rack.
While Bahil clattered about brewing coffee, Simon surveyed the room. As expected, it was perfectly organized. The large chalkboard that occupied an entire wall seemed to be the same one from his first-year office, now densely covered in curse formulas.
"Thank you for your hard work with the transfer students," Bahil said, bringing over two cups of coffee.
"Yes, thank you."
Everyone he met seemed to be talking about it. Now used to the topic, Simon politely took the cup Bahil offered and, following the etiquette he’d learned in Royal Studies, took a sip. As expected, it was incredibly sweet.
"Among your activities, there was a particularly impressive performance." Bahil’s eyes glinted as he took a gentlemanly sip of his coffee. "The Allande match."
Simon blinked. Was he talking about the fight with Benz? That was nothing special.
"Your strategy was excellent. You used ‘Sleep’ to neutralize the opponent’s tamed monsters, cast the curse ‘Delusion’ to deceive his eyes, then threw him toward the monsters and released the sleep effect."
’Bang.’ Bahil made a sound with his mouth, gesturing as if being surrounded. "And you won."
"...Huh?" Confusion filled Simon’s eyes. The only Kizen personnel who had entered Allande were Jane and himself. "How do you know all that?"
"I have a junior who teaches Cursology in Allande. I heard it from him. But more importantly, what happened?"
"Pardon?"
Bahil shot up from his seat and thrust his head forward. "I have not taught you ‘Sleep’ yet."
A shiver ran down Simon’s entire body.
"Who was the nobody that taught you?"
"W-Well, you see!" Calming him down was the priority, so Simon told him the truth: that he had been taught ‘Sleep’ directly by the former Student Council President, Phantastus.
"Phantastus." Muttering the name, an expression of genuine interest finally appeared on Bahil’s face. "Show me the magic circle. The ‘Sleep’ you learned from him."
"Ah, yes, sir." Thinking it wise to obey, Simon displayed the ‘Phantastus Original’ magic circle. There was nothing to hide.
Bahil stared at it for a moment before letting out a sigh that sounded like a lament. "The magic circle is already messy. It seems you’ve used it a lot in combat. It will be impossible for you to learn another version of ‘Sleep’."
"Is-Is there a problem?"
"No problem at all." Bahil sat back down. "It is the ‘Sleep’ of the famous former president. I would say you have inherited an excellent curse. For him to have given you something so precious, he must have made quite a decision."
Simon let out a sigh of relief as Bahil tapped the armrest with his fingertips.
’It’s just a little annoying, that’s all,’ Bahil thought. He had wanted to fill the blank canvas of the genius Simon Polentia entirely with the curses ’he’ taught. This impurity was irksome.
"Since this happened before you registered for my class, I’ll let it slide." Bahil’s eyes flashed as he held up his fingertips. "But when it comes to Cursology, I am the one in charge of you. From now on, if you learn a new curse, I would appreciate it if you would inform me."
"Ah, I understand."
"Still, as a Cursology professor, I can’t let you learn a new curse without giving feedback." He let his arm hang down. "Now that you’ve used ‘Sleep’ in the field, did you find any areas that could be improved?"
Simon quietly looked at the ‘Phantastus Original’ on his palm. It could penetrate most curse resistances, couldn’t be dispelled by ‘Cancellation’, was useful against priests, and was both fast and powerful. Its only drawback was that it required direct touch, but compared to its effect, that was a minor issue. It could even be adapted for long-range use like its advanced version, ‘Sleeping Deimos’. But there was one thing.
"Its range," Simon said. "The fact that it’s one stack on one person at a time is a little limiting. It would be better if it could affect more enemies—"
’Thump.’
Bahil stood up without hearing the rest. He grabbed an eraser, neatly wiping the chalkboard clean, then picked up a piece of chalk and began scribbling formulas like a madman.
’Tap-tap-tap-tap-tap—’
’Wow.’
Watching the board fill up, Simon was dumbfounded. This was likely the first time Bahil had seen Phantathos’s ‘Sleep’. Of course, Bahil couldn’t perfectly replicate it in a real fight, as his own jet-black had already memorized his version, and Phantathos’s strength came from honing that single curse to its absolute limit. Nevertheless, as always, Bahil’s theory was flawless.
"It’s complete."
’Thwack.’
In a mere thirty minutes, Bahil put the finishing touch on the chalkboard and dropped the chalk to the floor with an indifferent expression.
"The ‘Phantastus Original’, the ‘Bahil Remake’, and for the user, Simon—" The corners of his mouth lifted. "‘Wide-Range Sleep’. Please, accept it. It’s a gift for you."
Simon could only laugh.
’This man is truly an unbelievable genius.’