The day before the promotion ceremony, the 247 students who had failed were stripped of their Kizen uniforms and sent away from Lok Island. When Simon and the surviving members of Class A gathered for their final lesson, the empty seats felt vast and cavernous.
In that somber atmosphere, Professor Jane’s last ‘Introductory Black Magic’ class began.
’”You’ve all worked hard under my guidance this past year. This will be the last time I call you ‘First-Year Class A’.”’
For the first time, Simon heard a slight tremble in Jane’s voice.
’”I am proud of you all. Class A.”’
That single sentence unleashed a torrent of emotions, and the classroom instantly became a sea of tears. Kamibarez sobbed openly while Meirin turned away, dabbing at her eyes. Even Dick, ever the jokester, didn’t dare break the mood and remained silent. The grief was contagious, and soon even the TAs standing at the back had red-rimmed eyes.
After class, the students embraced their TAs, saying their final goodbyes.
“Thank you so much for everything this year!”
“Congratulations on your promotion, Jamie.”
One way or another, the students who had survived Kizen had to keep moving forward.
And now, it was today.
The promotion ceremony for the 400 first-year students was set to take place in the Grand Auditorium. Parents and relatives streamed onto Lok Island, bouquets in hand. The students, too, were giddy with excitement at the prospect of seeing their families after so long.
Since it was his last day as a first-year, Simon packed his bags early and left the dormitory to visit the professors he hadn’t yet said goodbye to: Aaron of Summoning, Hongfeng of Martial Arts, Byulya of Venomology, Eric of Jet-Black Dynamics, and Umbra of Spiritology.
Unfortunately, he couldn’t find Bahil. Only his head TA, Chehekle, was in the Cursology lab. She explained that after leaving Simon’s hospital room, Bahil had cut off all contact and vanished. She told Simon not to worry, dismissing him as the type to show up eventually when the new semester began.
His final stop was Parahan, the Professor of Defense Against Divinity and his secret priest master. Parahan insisted that the vacation was the best time to train his Divinity and loaded him up with assignments.
He also collected the divine beasts, Whitey and Blacky, from Parahan’s home and placed them in the divine subspace with Akallion. He felt guilty leaving them with the professor for the entire break, and more importantly, he held a sliver of hope that seeing them might trigger some kind of awakening in his mother, the former Saintess Anna.
“Oof.”
His legs ached from rushing around since dawn. Simon stretched and looked down from the hill, seeing the Grand Auditorium already bustling with students and parents.
“Alright, time to head down.”
Though the ceremony hadn’t started, the air was electric with excitement. If enrolling in Kizen was a family celebration, being promoted to the second year was an honor for the entire clan.
Fathers and sons embraced tearfully, and girls clutched bouquets to their chests, smiling as if they owned the world. Laughter and happy chatter filled the air.
Amidst it all, a girl with sky-blue hair frantically scanned the crowd. It was Meirin.
“He definitely said the fountain! Where could he be?”
After thirty minutes of searching, she finally spotted a man with the same short, sky-blue hair and yelled, “Dad! Over here!”
Meirin waved her arms. The man, navigating the crowd, saw her and smiled.
“There you are, Meirin.”
It was Daniela Villenne, a leader of the moderate faction within the Ivory Tower and Meirin’s father. They didn’t embrace or exchange tearful, sentimental words like the families around them. They simply faced each other with understated smiles.
“Congratulations on your promotion.”
Daniela handed her a bouquet of blue roses that matched her hair. Meirin lifted the fragrant flowers to her nose and grinned.
“Yeah. Thanks, Dad!”
“I heard the news. You made it into the Top 10?”
Meirin flashed a V-sign. “I told you I can do anything I set my mind to!”
“Yes. You’ve finally done enough to face the Tower Master without shame,” Daniela said, sighing as he pinched the bridge of his nose. “You caused me so much trouble, running away from the Ivory Tower to enroll here. Do you have any idea how many times I had to bow my head to the elders?”
“Oh, come on!” Meirin blushed. “S-Still, I worked hard and got eighth place! Can we skip the nagging on a day like this?”
But Daniela’s nagging continued. He brushed his fingertips through the sky-blue hair she had so carefully grown. “You’ve grown your hair out again. Isn’t it a bit long for a student? If you keep fiddling with it, your concentration is bound to suffer.”
“Leave my hair alone! Why are you suddenly picking on that, too?” Meirin flared up, swatting his hand away.
“I suppose I’ll have to call for a hairdresser as soon as we return to the Ivory Tower,” Daniela sighed, then looked around. “More importantly, where has Lady Serne gone?”
At the question, Meirin’s lips formed a deep pout. “...Why bring her up?”
Daniela chided her in a deliberately stern tone. “I told you to address her as Lady Serne, didn’t I?”
“N-No way! Are you crazy?!” Meirin shot back. “A-And didn’t you come here to congratulate ’me’ today? Why are you ruining the mood by bringing up that brat?”
“I came as a representative of the Ivory Tower. I must also congratulate Lady Serne on her promotion.” Daniela revealed a bouquet of white roses he had been holding behind his back.
Meirin snorted. “Hmph. You could just tell the Lord of the Tower to come give them to her himself.”
""he head of the Ivory Tower considers Kizen the heart of enemy territory," Daniela remarked, glancing at his wristwatch. "Goodness, the ceremony is about to begin. Where might the restrooms be?"
"...You can go into any building," Meirin replied. "The Venomology Hall is the closest. Just go straight, and it’s on your right."
Daniela, who seemed to be in a hurry, headed for the restroom, leaving Meirin to hold both the bouquet of blue roses and the white roses meant for Serne. She sighed, her expression sullen.
"...Stupid Dad."
Meirin grumbled, looking down at her feet and kicking at the nearby gravel in frustration. ’I worked so hard. I started from the bottom and broke into the top ten. Couldn’t you just say ’well done’ or ’I’m proud of you’? Is that so difficult?’ A bitter wave of disappointment washed over her.
"Excuse me for a moment, my lady."
Just then, a man approached her.
"Oh, yes."
Meirin turned to look at him, and her breath caught in her throat.
Before her stood a man who looked like a walking sculpture. He wore an ill-fitting pair of glasses and a mustache, but they did nothing to diminish his striking features.
"I’m looking for the Grand Auditorium. Could you tell me which way to go?"
"Ah."
Meirin’s face flushed. He was an incredibly charming man, exuding a charisma so potent it was almost a physical presence. He was the very picture of a distinguished gentleman; the wisdom that came with his years only seemed to concentrate his appeal. Even age was a weapon for this man.
Meirin stammered, "It’s... it’s that big building over there...!"
The man, who had been staring intently at her, gently took her left hand. Startled by the sudden contact, she let out a sharp gasp.
"Wh-What are you doing?"
"...Here."
He lifted her delicate wrist, gesturing toward it with his eyes. She finally noticed it, too. A thin line of blood was welling up.
"It seems you were pricked by a rose thorn."
The man produced a handkerchief from his pocket square. Even this simple gesture was imbued with an air of elegance. He used a touch of elemental magic to instantly stanch the bleeding, then carefully tied the handkerchief around her wrist.
"A rose, nurtured by the morning dew, tempts with its fragrance and boasts a brilliant form, but it can have thorns," the man whispered to the dazed Meirin. "Just like you, my lady."
Meirin’s eyes widened. That cheesy line sounded so incredibly classy coming from him. After securing the handkerchief, he took a step back and smiled. The pain was gone.
"Th-..."
She knew if she thanked him, he would leave, but the thought of parting ways so soon filled her with regret.
"W-Will everyone be scared if I have thorns?"
The moment the words left her mouth, she was consumed by frantic regret. ’What am I even saying? I’m insane! I want to slam my head against a wall until I pass out! I want to crawl into a hole and die!’ While she was screaming internally, the man simply smiled.
"To face its sharp thorns without fear, to be prepared to be pricked and bleed," he said, his smile sincere, "that is the true charm of a rose."
Meirin’s face burned hot. The man gave her a charming gesture before turning toward the Grand Auditorium, leaving a powerful impression in his wake. Meirin plopped down on the edge of the fountain.
’...B-But why does he look so familiar?’
The promotion ceremony began. All the students stood at the front, with their parents seated behind them. Vice Headmaster Jane delivered an impactful speech, which was followed by the Kizen elders’ predictably boring, yawn-inducing addresses.
"You are all now second-year students of Kizen. A second-year at Kizen holds authority equal to that of a professional necromancer and can perform the role of a commander. Do not tarnish the honor and history built by your seniors..."
It went on for an eternity.
"Hey, Simon."
Dick snickered and nudged Simon with his elbow.
"Did your parents come?"
"...No."
There was no way they could. His father, Richard, was branded a traitor and couldn’t even leave Leshill, let alone set foot on Lok Island. As for his mother, Anna, a priestess, it was completely out of the question.
Dick winced.
"Uh, um. Did I ask something I shouldn’t have?"
"It’s fine. I’ll be seeing them at home soon anyway."
He glanced over and saw students waving enthusiastically at their parents. Nearly all of them were holding bouquets. It would be a lie to say he wasn’t envious, but he couldn’t change his circumstances.
"What about you?"
At Simon’s question, Dick shrugged.
"As if my father, who only has eyes for his eldest, would bother coming to the promotion ceremony for his ’measly’ third son."
For the record, Dick was the third of eight sons.
"My mom divorced my dad and lives in another kingdom. But my second-oldest brother and my third and fourth younger brothers came to hang out. I’ll introduce you later."
"Really?"
Simon’s face brightened. Dick’s brothers! He couldn’t wait to meet them.
"Hey, more importantly, did you see Meirin’s dad? He’s just Meirin with short hair!"
A sharp ’thwack’ echoed through the row.
Dick collapsed with a pained grunt. Meirin, sitting behind them, was fuming, her face bright red.
"You were just talking behind my back, weren’t you!"
"What the—you think every time someone says your name, they’re talking trash about you? Maybe if you watched your conduct... ’Ack! Ah!’ Okay! I’m sorry! Let go of my hair!"
Simon chuckled and looked back. Kamibarez was watching with a gentle smile.
"What about you, Kami? Did your father come?"
"I’m not sure," she answered, fiddling with her fingers. "With so many people here, I was hoping he didn’t..."
"...Ahaha."
Her father was the current Vampire Lord, Dietrich Hon Ursula—an unreasonable, troublesome man who doted on his daughter to an embarrassing degree. Kamibarez was utterly mortified by him. Simon had experienced his behavior firsthand. Just before the second semester, Dietrich had suddenly attacked him in Langerstine, demanding that he "prove his worth."
"That is all."
Just then, the elder’s speech finally concluded. The students who had been dozing off erupted in the loudest applause of the day.
"Thank you for your hard work, Elder. Now for the next part of our program," Jane announced as she stepped onto the stage. "The top student of the second year, Simon Polentia. Please come up to the stage."

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