At dawn the next day, Simon rubbed his sleepy eyes as he headed to the pier. He had spent the previous day buying supplies at the bookstore and a necromancer shop before spending the night at an inn near the port.
The navy-blue sky was just beginning to lighten. The early morning air was chilly, so he walked with a light robe draped over his shoulders. In the distance, servants bustled about the pier, making final preparations for departure. In the surrounding alleys, boys and girls stood enjoying the sea breeze. There was still time before assembly, but it seemed they were too excited to sleep.
’I know exactly how they feel.’
As Simon walked past them, a male student called out.
"Hey, it’s not time for assembly yet."
He must have thought Simon was a freshman.
"Thanks for the heads-up, but I’m with the staff, so it’s fine," Simon replied with a smile.
"Staff?" The freshman looked Simon up and down and snickered. "What kind of bluff is that? Stop talking nonsense and come chat with us. Which kingdom are you from...?"
But Simon simply continued toward the pier.
"Hey!" the freshman called out, bewildered.
"Welcome, sir."
As Simon stepped onto the pier, the servants all bowed deeply in greeting. To make matters more surprising, a man in a sleek Kizen suit rushed over and shook Simon’s hand.
"You’re here early!"
Simon shook his hand and glanced back. The freshman was standing there, dumbfounded.
"See you in a bit," Simon said before disappearing onto the ship.
The freshman’s face turned ashen.
’He was really a senior! Great, my school life is already off to a rocky start.’
"Mr. President, have you already made friends with your juniors?" a Kizen staff member asked playfully.
Simon smiled awkwardly.
"I’d like to, but it’s not easy. How are the departure preparations?"
"Everything’s going smoothly. The Netherwhale also departed on time. In an hour, we’ll start checking the students’ admission certificates and get them boarded."
Simon accepted a document from the staff member. It was the passenger list for the Netherwhale. Capacity: 300. All their names were listed. Simon smiled when he saw Heidi’s name.
"Do you know someone on the list?" the staff member asked, noticing his reaction.
"I do. Ah, by the way, this is just a personal question."
"Go ahead, Mr. President."
Simon scratched the back of his neck.
"Do I really look that much like a freshman?"
The staff member paused for a moment before bursting out laughing.
"Ah, well. Hahaha! If you were mixed in with that group of freshmen, Mr. President, it would be hard to tell you apart!"
’Hmm.’
Simon studied his reflection in a porthole window. A freshman who casually dropped formalities. A freshman who didn’t believe him even when he said he was a second-year. As Student Council President, he wished he had a bit more dignity, but his face certainly lacked that kind of gravitas.
He checked off the document and went aboard the ship to inspect its condition. After pointing out a few minor issues, he returned to the deck just as the sun was rising. It was time for assembly.
A female servant in a uniform bearing the Kizen mark stepped forward with a list. She held a magical megaphone crystal to her mouth.
"We will now begin the boarding process! All freshmen, please have your letter from Kizen and your admission certificate ready, and form a single line!"
The freshmen who had been loitering around swarmed over, their faces alight with excitement. They seemed so happy just to be standing in line that smiles crept onto their faces.
’Welcome, everyone.’
Simon had removed his robe, revealing his Kizen uniform and the Student Council armband. He watched the scene from a short distance.
"Excuse me, what should I be doing now?" he asked the staff member next to him.
"Mr. President, you can just stand here with me and watch."
"Pardon?"
"Isn’t that the role of the person in charge? Haha!" The staff member shrugged. "In an emergency, you just need to protect the students and us. Otherwise, you can help keep the students in line. That’s the escort’s job."
In other words, he had nothing to do.
"Rikerman McNeill. Confirmed."
"Dudley Shamilan. Confirmed."
Servants organized the freshmen into a line, where another official checked their admission notices with a quill pen. Students who passed were directed onto the ship to take the seats at the very back. Watching their curious eyes dart around, Simon couldn’t help but smile like a proud father. They were only a year younger than him, but they all looked so adorable.
"One hundred students have boarded!"
A third of the process was already complete. Everything was proceeding smoothly.
"Mr. President!" A servant rushed out from the ship. "I’m sorry, but a student is causing a bit of a disturbance...!"
"I’m on my way."
Finally, something to do. Simon strode onto the ship. A blonde girl in a fancy dress was screaming at the servants.
"You’re seating me in a filthy place like this? This is an insult to my family!"
She was small, but her voice was shrill and loud. Two servants stood before her, at a complete loss.
"Causing such a disturbance here is not permitted."
"Not permitted? Kizen begged me to attend, and this is how you treat me? Is the Postad family a joke? Bring me the person in charge, now!"
Simon sighed and approached her.
"What’s the problem?"
The fidgeting servants brightened at his arrival. The screaming girl shot back defiantly, "Hmph! Are you the one in charge?"
"I am. If you have a complaint, tell it to me."
"Look! Right here!" She pointed a finger. There was a tiny, barely noticeable tear in the seat, with a bit of stuffing poking out. "See? Seating the daughter of the Postad family in a place like this is a grave insult!"
"Umm..." The servant was sweating profusely, glancing nervously not at the freshman, but at Simon. "This is Simon Polentia, the Student Council President of Kizen."
"!" The girl’s eyelids twitched, but her pride wouldn’t allow her to back down. "So what if he’s the Student Council President? In the end, family is what matters! Polentia? I’ve never even heard of it! How dare you speak to a ducal family—!"
"Apologize."
The students who had gathered to watch parted. Simon turned. Princess Molly was approaching, dressed not in her usual glamorous gown but in simple clothes, her wavy hair unbound.
"P-Princess Molly...!" The protesting student’s eyes widened as if they would pop out.
"There is a limit to how much you can disgrace the Kingdom of Dresden," Molly said, her voice colder than Simon had ever heard it.
"P-Princess! I was...!"
"Silence." The defiant freshman’s face turned deathly pale, her hands trembling. "I will not forgive any disrespect toward the Student Council President."
Molly then turned to face Simon directly.
"As a royal of the Kingdom of Dresden, I apologize on behalf of my citizen for her rudeness, Senior." She bowed deeply from the waist in an extremely formal gesture. A shocked murmur rippled through the crowd.
’Whoa.’ An apology from a princess. Normally, Simon would have panicked and told her to raise her head, but this was an official setting. He was here not as Simon Polentia, but as the Student Council President of Kizen. Refusing the apology would be impolite; he had to establish the authority of his position.
Simon held his head high.
"I accept your apology."
"Ah..." The freshman stared back and forth between them, stunned.
Molly raised her head and spoke sharply.
"You will apologize to the senior as well."
With the highest-ranking student from Dresden having bowed, a mere ducal daughter could not remain defiant. That would be an insult to the royalty itself.
Her face flushed with humiliation and tears welling in her eyes, the freshman bowed to Simon. Her neck was so stiff she could barely move, but she forced herself into the posture.
"I-I-I apologize, Mr. President."
Proper etiquette demanded she bow lower than the princess, so her head nearly touched the floor.
"I’ll let it slide this time for the princess’s sake," Simon said quietly, placing a hand on her shoulder with a smile. "There won’t be a second time."
The freshman hiccuped, her face ashen.
Simon and Molly stepped out onto the ship’s railing, away from the students’ eyes.
"I’m truly sorry, Senior," Molly said, bowing her head again. "You should have been the one to scold her, but I interfered..."
"N-Not at all, Princess! Thank you so much for your help." In a private setting, Simon reverted to his usual self. "It would have been stranger if you hadn’t intervened. Thanks to you, it was resolved peacefully."
"Thank you for saying so." The awkwardness between them quickly dissipated, and they chatted about various things. "I was so surprised when I heard the news! Becoming the Student Council President as a second-year...!"
"Which is why I have more than a few headaches. Haha." Simon scratched the side of his head.
Molly watched him for a moment before speaking.
"Senior."
"Yes, Princess."
She blushed and looked down at her feet, then gathered her courage.
"Actually, this time I also..."
Just then, a voice called from a second-floor window, "Mr. President!"
Simon looked up to see a servant waving.
"A fight has broken out between the freshmen! Could you come for a moment?!"
"Yes, I’m coming now!" Simon started to run, then glanced back at Molly. "I’m sorry, Princess! It seems there’s been an accident."
"Hohoho, n-not at all. Please, attend to your duties, Senior!" Molly waved at his retreating back.
She shot a sullen glare at the second floor before letting out a resigned laugh and returning to her seat.
Once, Dick had said:
’Kizen second-years are always stuck in the middle. The third-years push you down from above, and the clueless first-years cause trouble from below.’
Simon finally understood what he meant.
"Hey! That’s mine!"
"Stoooop!"
"Are you going to let go or not?"
’It’s a total mess,’ Simon thought, chuckling to himself. He was beginning to understand how the upperclassmen must have seen his year. Fights were breaking out constantly. At first, the freshmen had seemed like cute, chirping chicks, but now they looked like little devils who could cause trouble at any moment.
’It’s the same situation as last year, but it’s strange how different it looks from this side.’
Simon shook off the memory and returned to the present.
"He hit me first!"
"No! This bastard insulted my hometown first!"
A fight had broken out between two boys from neighboring estates in the Kingdom of Kallos. Simon grabbed them and pulled them apart.
’Well, our class was probably like this in our first year, too.’ The kids from Class A had often treated the teaching assistants like servants until they learned a harsh lesson. It couldn’t be helped. It took time to shed the noble attitude at Kizen.
’Whoosh! Whoosh!’
The two chicks squirmed in his grip, still huffing and trying to fight.
"Enough," Simon said, his voice cold.
The two boys froze. One was already bleeding from the nose; the other’s cheek was bright red.
"Fight some more, you idiots!"
"Loser fights are more fun!"
"Hahahahaha!"
A few students from high-ranking families were giggling, egging them on. Simon shot a frigid glare toward the seats.
"All of you, shut your mouths."
The crowd fell silent.
Simon turned to a servant.
"Have the student in the worst seat on the first floor switch places with this one."
"Yes, Mr. President!"
"And please bring medicine and a potion to treat them immediately."
"Understood."
The freshmen hadn’t yet shed their pampered noble ways. They didn’t understand that at Kizen, they had to bow even to commoner seniors. So Simon tried a new method of control, inspired by how Molly had handled the ducal daughter.
"Kingdom of Kallos," Simon announced.
The freshmen just blinked. A male servant frowned.
"Students from the Kingdom of Kallos. Answer."
"Yes!" the Kallos natives shouted in unison.
"The student from Kallos who believes their father’s rank is the highest here, stand up."
As the freshmen exchanged glances, a black-haired boy stood up as if it were a matter of course. Simon beckoned, and he ran over. Simon put an arm around his shoulder, turned him away from the others, and spoke quietly.
"Name."
"Berna Felton, sir!"
The Felton family was a well-known ducal house. Perfect.
"Good." Simon patted his shoulder, and a strange light gleamed in the boy’s eyes. "A high-ranking family must show the appropriate dignity, right?"
"Yes! That’s right."
"If those two try to fight again, you stop them." Simon smiled gently and offered him a hand. "I’m entrusting this to you. Got it?"
The words ’entrusting this to you’ echoed like magic. A wave of emotion washed over the boy’s face.
"Leave it to me, Mr. President! If those damn losers try to fight again, I’ll..."
"That doesn’t mean you should intimidate or bully your friends. If you do, you’ll be called before the Student Council."
"I’ll keep that in mind!"
The freshman, believing he had earned the Student Council President’s trust, walked back with a confident stride, basking in the envious gazes of the other students.
’Haaah, that should do it.’
It was exhausting, but he was starting to get a feel for how to manage the new students. He sat down for a short break, and a servant discreetly offered him a glass of cool juice.
"Ah, thank you." Simon, who was thirsty, gulped it down.
The servant gave him a thumbs-up.
"You’re a natural. I’d believe you if you said you were the president last year, too."
At that, Simon laughed out loud.
"I’m a second-year."
"I know."
But the break didn’t last long. As Simon was chatting with the servant, he glanced out the window toward the pier. A problem had arisen during the admission certificate check.
’That’s an annual event, too,’ Simon thought with a wry smile. It seemed he would have to work today to make up for yesterday’s rest. ’Time to go.’
As Simon stood up, the surrounding freshmen quickly cleared a path for him.

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