Chapter 33

　　"Well done." Aaron nodded, watching the broken bamboo fall to the ground.

　　"For now, it is just at the level of crushing something, but the ability to recycle a destroyed skeleton into an attack gives you a completely new card to play. Train with it consistently so you can use it in a real fight."

　　"Thank you, Professor!" Overcome with joy, Simon quickly bowed his head.

　　Aaron tapped the ash from the cigar held between his fingers. "Professor Jane assigned a Cyclops hunt for the performance evaluation, I hear."

　　"Yes, that is right."

　　"Are you the one fighting?"

　　Simon shook his head. "A student in my group, Meirin, is the designated combatant."

　　"Wise," Aaron said, taking a drag from his cigar. "Focusing on supporting your teammate is also an important role. You will have a lot to learn."

　　"Yes, sir!"

　　"And…" Aaron tossed the burnt-out cigar into a nearby trash bin and turned his back. "This was a supplementary lesson. Nothing more, nothing less."

　　With those final words, he was gone. Simon bowed his head once more in gratitude.

* * *

　　After his private lesson with Aaron, Simon arrived at the lab where his group was waiting. The potion was already bubbling away in a large cauldron. His three teammates, who had been sitting around it, spotted him and shot to their feet.

　　"Simon!"

　　"What happened?"

　　They all rushed over, their faces etched with concern. Simon smiled. "It was nothing…"

　　"Did he hit you? He hit you, didn’t he? I knew it!" Dick exclaimed.

　　"Corporal punishment during the student protection period! That’s awful!" Kamibarez added, her voice trembling.

　　"I heard Kizen’s punishments are brutal," Dick continued, his eyes wide. "They say they chain the student up, take off their shirt, and then use a long whip…"

　　Simon broke out in a cold sweat. What in the world had they been talking about?

　　"He just gave me a supplementary lesson."

　　"What?" The three of them stared at him, then at each other.

　　"Professor Aaron gave you private tutoring? No way!" Meirin scoffed.

　　"Maybe he got hit in the head too hard with the whip," Dick mused, stroking his chin.

　　"Simon, are you really okay?" Kamibarez asked, clasping her hands together as her eyes welled up.

　　Realizing that explaining was futile, Simon simply walked past them to the cauldron. "How is the potion coming along?"

　　"Perfect! Who do you think made it?" Meirin declared, her confidence instantly restored as she wagged a finger. "The amount of water, the ingredient measurements, the boiling time, skimming the impurities—all flawless! Just another twenty minutes on low heat, and it will be done."

　　"Good job."

　　"Hmph! You all get it now, right? Just trust and follow me!"

　　Dick sat down and tapped his legs. "Ah, my legs are stiff from holding that ‘posture’. Maybe I should ‘touch’ them a bit."

　　"Hey!!"

　　While Meirin and Dick descended into another loud squabble, Simon and Kamibarez chatted amicably about the potion. After smacking Dick with the corner of her textbook, Meirin turned to them with a curious expression.

　　"Hmph. You two seem to have gotten a little closer."

　　"Really?" Simon asked, unconcerned.

　　Kamibarez, however, blushed to the tips of her ears.

　　"Fess up," Meirin pressed. "Besides being chased by the watchman, what else happened between you two that night?"

　　Dick, who had been feigning death on the floor, slowly lifted his head. "As they say, to the dirty-minded, everything looks… Oof!"

　　As if on cue, Meirin hurled her textbook at him. Dick let out a groan and rolled around on the floor.

　　"Commoners are all so vulgar," she sniffed.

　　"…Th-That kind of prejudice is not good, Meirin," Kamibarez gently chided.

　　Meirin turned back to them. "So, are you going to tell me or not?"

　　Kamibarez glanced nervously at Simon, who answered with a neutral expression. "Nothing happened. We got lost in the forest, and it took a long time to get back."

　　"Really?" Meirin’s eyes fell on the various bandages on both their bodies, and she sighed. "Alright."

　　Thankfully, she let the matter drop. Just then, Dick approached with an empty bottle.

　　"The potion’s ready! Let’s bottle it up!"

　　He turned the handle on the cauldron, tilting it carefully as he filled the bottle with the simmering liquid. The others watched in silence.

　　"We all worked so hard on this," Kamibarez said softly. "I hope it is effective!"

　　Dick handed the first filled bottle to Meirin. "Curious to see if it works? Then let’s have our esteemed group leader take one for the team and drink up!"

　　"…Keep it up, and you’re going to get beaten to a pulp," Meirin threatened, her eyes narrowing.

　　Dick quickly bowed his head and went back to work.

　　"Ugh, if we weren’t at Kizen, I’d have you arrested for insulting a noble."

　　"Insultin’ a noble, you say?" Dick drawled in a mock-commoner accent. "This humble servant is too ignorant to know what you mean, my lady."

　　"Please, you two, don’t fight!" Kamibarez pleaded.

　　Amid their chatter, they finished their work, ending up with five bottles of the potion. They decided Meirin would keep three and Simon would take the other two, storing them in their respective Subspaces.

　　"Well, at least we have something to present in our next Beginner’s Black Magic class," Simon remarked.

　　"Since we’re all here, let’s figure out what we’re going to say in Professor Jane’s class tomorrow before we leave!" Meirin suggested.

　　"Sounds good!" Kamibarez agreed.

　　The four of them cleaned up their workspace and immediately set off to find an empty classroom.

* * *

　　Life at Kizen was so relentlessly hectic that the incident with the priest was all but forgotten. During their second Beginner’s Black Magic class, each group presented their strategy to Professor Jane.

　　"One main dealer, one summoner, and two curse-users," Jane read from Group 7’s report, then looked up. Simon and his teammates stood before her, their faces tense. "All of you have different majors, yet your assigned roles are not very diverse."

　　This was the question they had been expecting. Meirin placed a hand over her heart and answered confidently. "While it would be ideal for our roles to be more clearly distinguished, we decided on this formation because we believe that taking down the Cyclops quickly and efficiently is our top priority."

　　"So you are saying this is your optimal strategy."

　　"Yes! That is correct."

　　Jane turned her head. "What are your thoughts, Simon Polentia?"

　　Ugh. He had not expected to be singled out. Simon paused, gathering his thoughts. He had a good idea of the answer Jane was looking for, but…

　　"We are aware that our group’s strategy lacks creativity when it comes to combining different types of black magic," he began. It was still the student protection period; this presentation was meant for feedback, not a final grade. In that case, maintaining their team’s morale was more important than simply agreeing with the professor. "However, we believe nothing is more important than safety. We will hunt the Cyclops more reliably than any other group, making up for any points lost in creativity by earning high scores in our areas of strength."

　　Meirin silently clenched her fist, a triumphant Nice! echoing in her head.

　　Professor Jane let out a small, amused huff and nodded. "If you put it that way, very well." Her gaze shifted. "Kamibarez Ursula."

　　"Y-Yes, ma’am!" Kamibarez snapped to attention.

　　"The hemomancy aspirant, who should be the core of your offense, has yielded her combat role to a curse-user and is instead providing support. I would like to hear your reasoning for this."

　　That was a brutal question, far too harsh for the timid Kamibarez to handle. Simon glanced at her from the corner of his eye and saw her pupils trembling, just as he had feared.

　　Kami, you have to answer this well. If she even hinted that she had stepped aside because Meirin was better, she would be failing as a Kizen student. Even if it was true, she could never admit it in front of Jane.

　　Just then, Kamibarez’s desperate eyes flickered toward Simon, as if to ask, What do I do?

　　He could not just give her the answer. There was not time. But he could give her a hint.

　　He mouthed a single word: Cyclops.

　　Her eyes widened in understanding. She turned back to face the professor.

　　"I-It is because of the specific nature of the monster we’re facing, the Cyclops!"

　　That’s it! This time, it was Simon who clenched his fist.

　　"And what do you mean by that?" Jane pressed.

　　"Th-The Cyclops’s hide is too tough and thick to be easily penetrated by hemomancy. We determined that Meirin’s Dark Flare, which can burn it alive, is a more suitable method for taking it down. That is why we made this decision!"

　　The anxious expressions on Meirin and Dick’s faces melted into relief.

　　"Is that so," Jane said, a strange smile playing on her lips as she propped her chin on her hand. "Then what if your opponent were a different monster, not a Cyclops?"

　　"Th-Th-Then…!" Kamibarez’s hands trembled. She was timid by nature, but she had to win this battle with herself. Squeezing her eyes shut, she shouted, "Then I will be the main dealer—!"

　　Her voice was so loud it cracked at the end. The sudden outburst from the usually quiet girl made even the teaching assistants blink in surprise.

　　"I will remember that statement," Jane said with a slight smile, looking more satisfied with this answer than she had with Meirin’s or Simon’s. It was, in a way, the best possible outcome.

　　You did great, Kami!

　　Kamibarez buried her face in her hands, unable to bear the embarrassment. She really was an endearing girl, Simon thought.

　　"Finally, Dick Hayward."

　　At the end of the line, Dick stood tall. "Yes, Professor!"

　　He was ready. He had spent all last night preparing for three hundred potential questions and their answers. He was confident he could handle anything she threw at him…

　　"Do not talk to the person next to you during class."

　　"…What?"

　　"That is all." She tapped her stack of papers and handed them to an assistant. "There is no need to repeat the question I asked Kamibarez. Group 7, you are dismissed. Group 8, step forward."

　　The tense presentation was over in an instant. An assistant led them out of the classroom. In typical Kizen fashion, groups were brought in only when it was their turn, and they were free to go as soon as they were done.

　　"Oh my, Simon? You’re sitting right next to me?" Meirin said with a wink.

　　Simon nodded, and they spoke in unison.

　　""Do not talk to the person next to you!""

　　"Bwahahaha!" Meirin howled with laughter, finally getting her revenge for all of Dick’s teasing.

　　"Hey, is that really funny?" Dick grumbled, his expression sour. "It’s not even that funny."

　　"Yes, it is! It’s hilarious! Ohohoho!"

　　Simon smiled as he watched them bicker. He knew that Meirin’s teasing and Dick taking the heat were their way of helping Kamibarez, who still had her face buried in her hands, mortified by her earlier outburst.

　　"Kami," Simon said quietly. "For lunch, smoked chicken or steak. Which do you prefer?"

　　"…Ah." She slowly lowered her hands, her face still flushed. "I-I… It has been a while, so chicken would be nice…!"

　　"Chicken! Lunch is chicken!" Dick shouted, already leading the way.

　　The four of them headed to the cafeteria, their laughter echoing in the hall.