Heidi’s eyes widened in disbelief. There was no mistake. That blue hair—it was the boy she had seen at the bookstore just yesterday. ’Simon!’
The boy who seemed a bit clueless, who she thought would have trouble adjusting once school started, had appeared and taken down all those terrifying men.
"H-How did you get here..."
Instead of answering, Simon smiled warmly and held out his hand. Heidi reached out a trembling hand and tightly grasped Simon’s large one.
’Ah.’ A pleasant drowsiness washed over her. Having not slept all night, with fatigue and stress at their peak, Simon’s ’Sleep’ spell worked instantly. A sense of comfort washed over her as the strength drained from her body. Simon pulled her into his arms, and her vision blurred as her eyes fluttered shut. Soon, she was fast asleep.
’Phew.’ Simon let out a sigh of relief and wrapped one arm around her shoulder. He wreathed his other hand in jet-black and swung it.
’Clang!’ A jet-black projectile was deflected by Simon’s hand. ’There you are.’ An ominous energy that made his skin prickle. A necromancer in a tattered, hole-ridden robe stood with his arm outstretched. The face visible inside the hood was grotesquely distorted, and he reeked of rotting corpses.
"...Who are you?" the necromancer rasped. "...How did you find this place?"
Simon answered with a question of his own. "You’re a necromancer hired by the Amperji family, aren’t you?"
The necromancer was silent.
"It’s useless to deny it. The prospective student from the Amperji family has already been captured by Kizen and is under investigation for kidnapping a freshman and attempting fraudulent admission."
A withered hand emerged from the necromancer’s sleeve and stroked his chin. His movements were unnervingly calm. "Around this time of year, parents become quite insistent. ’Please get my son into Kizen."
This man had no intention of hiding anything.
"That obsession is frightening even to me," he continued. "The probability of success is low, and if they get caught, their entire family could be erased by Kizen." A grim laugh escaped his lips. "They have permanent magic circles carved onto soldiers who have served the family their whole lives, and even onto their own sons. All because the family’s prestige depends on whether their child gets in."
Simon smirked. "Is it really okay to spill everything so easily?"
"It doesn’t matter." He lowered his hand. "I’ve bought enough time to prepare my black magic, and you’ll be dead soon anyway."
The surrounding walls rippled, and countless zombie arms burst out with sickening thuds, shooting from the ceiling, walls, and floor to grab at Simon’s legs. Simon shielded Heidi in his arms.
"Now disappear," the necromancer sneered. "Along with that child."
"Akemus," Simon said with a nonchalant smile. "Don’t kill him."
The ceiling collapsed in an explosion of black feathers. The last thing the necromancer saw was a mass of darkness descending upon him.
And then, nothing.
Bloodied and slammed into the wall, the necromancer passed out with his eyes wide open. From the strange bundle of feathers that had landed before him, a monstrous arm protruded.
[How dare—] A thick killing intent flowed from within the feathers. [A lowly servant like you... do you have any idea who this is!]
A bloodcurdling, bird-like screech erupted from him. The feathers scattered on the floor fluttered in response.
"Calm down, Akemus," Simon commanded.
The grotesquely shaped bundle of feathers rippled and reformed into the Akemus that Simon knew.
[Are you unharmed, Young Master?]
"Thanks to you." Akemus walked over and picked up a feather from the trash can. [I am glad you did not seem to think much of it.]
When Arthur’s attackers had turned to dust and fled, Simon had quickly stuck one of Akemus’s feathers to them. The attacker must have found it later and casually thrown it in the trash, but they should have completely incinerated it with black magic. Instead, they had led Akemus right to them. Akemus cleaned the feather and returned it to Simon.
Taking it, Simon said, "Please clean up the traces perfectly."
[Yes.]
As expected of an Ancient Undead, the cleanup was immaculate. With a wave of his hand, the feathers melted away like chocolate. The kidnappers were all unconscious.
"Alright." Simon shifted his grip, gently lifting Heidi into his arms, and walked to the terrace. ’To use this place as a hideout.’ The building was the clock tower residence. He placed one foot on the terrace railing and climbed onto it, the cold, high-altitude wind whistling past.
"There’s no time. Let’s go now."
[Understood, Young Master.]
Without a moment’s hesitation, Simon leaped from the railing dozens of stories high. Akemus followed, grabbing Simon’s shoulders with his bird-like talons and flapping his pair of massive wings.
’At this distance, it’s definitely doable!’
Heidi had a dream. A dream where she wasn’t kidnapped and safely enrolled in Kizen. It was joyful. She chatted with kids her age, visited the school store, and stayed up all night studying for exams. On missions, she would catch people’s eyes in her pretty Kizen uniform. And when she returned home for vacation, she would hug her mom and dad tightly. They had spent their entire lives supporting her despite their difficult circumstances. Now, as a Kizen student, she wanted to help them.
But it was a dream that could never be.
Then she had another dream. The dream of being rescued by that clueless boy from the bookstore was so unrealistic that she let out a hollow laugh. It was a foolishly vivid illusion born from her desperate wish. ’I’m sorry, Mom. Dad.’
Just as despair flickered before her eyes, the dream shifted.
A cool wind blew against her face. She was in the sky, flying. Or rather, she was being held by something that was flying.
"Are you awake?"
At the sound of the voice, Heidi lifted her head. ’Ah.’
It was the blue-haired boy who had saved her in her dream, smiling gently as if to reassure her.
"Is this... a dream too?" she asked blankly.
"No." The boy shook his head. "This is real."
The cold wind crashing against her face woke her completely. That’s right. This was real. She had really been rescued by this boy and was flying through the sky.
"Hang on a little longer. We’re almost there."
They were high above Langerstine. And in front of them, she could see the ship heading to Kizen—the place where she was supposed to be.
"As I thought."
Aboard the ship, a Kizen staff member sighed as he looked out at Langerstine. "Rescuing her in fifteen minutes was impossible."
Behind him, the prospective student from Amperji was now on the ship, still tied up.
"Hahaha! I told you!" he gloated. "How could he search all of Langerstine and bring her back in that time? It’s impossible."
"You!" Enraged, Arthur grabbed the student by the collar and shook him. "You kidnapped her, didn’t you?"
"Whoa, what are you talking about?" the student chuckled. "I don’t know anything about it. Anyway, let’s get along at Kizen, okay? Friend."
"I’ve never had a friend like you!"
"Hahaha! You’re funny. I hope we’re in the same class."
Princess Molly was also staring out with a desperate heart, but she couldn’t see Simon anywhere. The other freshmen seemed to have given up and were chatting among themselves.
Just then, an attendant holding a communication crystal ran over, shouting urgently, "The Nether Whale is right in front of us! We need to close the ship!"
The students’ murmuring grew louder. In the far distance, a giant spray of water was approaching from the horizon.
"We have no choice." The Kizen staff member nodded. "We’re taking the Amperji student. Check that all windows are properly closed and activate the barrier."
"Yes!"
The windows were locked, and a sturdy, glass-like barrier began to spread from the bottom of the ship.
"Hahaha! I’m finally going! To Kizen!" the student cackled, shaking with laughter. Arthur gritted his teeth in frustration, while Molly kept her eyes fixed on the horizon.
Then, her eyes widened. "There! There! Look over there!" Molly shot up from her seat, pointing ahead in extreme excitement. "It’s Simon!"
"What?"
"Simon is coming from the sky!"
The Kizen staff and even the attendants forgot their adult decorum and rushed to the windows. The first-years murmured excitedly, crowding around to see.
"He’s really coming!"
"He’s holding a girl!"
"Did he really rescue her?"
The ship erupted in pandemonium. The Amperji student shot to his feet, his face pale. "Th-This! This is impossible!"
As the ’Sleep’ spell Simon had cast wore off, the forbidden black magic in his body began to reawaken. Cracks appeared on his face, and chunks of monster flesh popped out as he lost control of his emotions. [How! How! How could this be? I definitely locked her in the clock tow—!]
"So it was you after all."
Feeling the hairs on his body stand on end, the student turned around to see Arthur smiling menacingly as he lifted his leg.
Before the student could fully manifest his forbidden magic, Arthur kicked him in the back, sending him flying into the sea.
[You bastaaaaaard!]
With a desperate scream, he splashed into the water just as the barrier closed. The attendants remaining at the pier could be seen pulling him out with black magic and arresting him.
A hand landed on Arthur’s shoulder. He flinched, turning to face the Kizen staff member, certain he was about to be scolded.
"Student Arthur, please return to your seat," the staffer said, pretending not to have seen. A mischievous, boyish smile played on his lips.
"Ah, yes sir!"
"Close the barrier completely!"
Hearing this, Princess Molly cried out, "Wait! Simon hasn’t gotten in yet!"
"He is the Student Council President of Kizen," the staff member replied calmly. "He will surely make it."
The headquarters staff member sat down and grabbed a handle. "Everyone, brace for impact! Keep your bodies as low as possible!"
"Yes!"
From Simon and Heidi’s vantage point, the massive spray of water from the Nether Whale was now clearly visible. ’This is going to be close!’ The moment Heidi woke up, Simon had returned Akemus to the subspace and was now flying with a Skulldrone.
"We’re going faster! Hold on tight, Heidi!"
She wrapped her arms tightly around Simon’s neck. He pushed the speed of the Skulldrone to its maximum, and the emerald light spewed fierce flames.
A colossal Nether Whale emerged from the spray, its cavernous mouth opening to swallow the ship whole.
’Cloud!’ Simon reached out, and an emerald rope shot out like lightning, wrapping around one of the whale’s massive teeth. He yanked it with all his might.
At that same moment, with a deep gurgle, the Nether Whale swallowed the ship and plunged back into the sea.
After passing through a long, tunnel-like throat, the ship carrying the freshmen finally entered a designated safe zone inside the Nether Whale. The ship came to a halt, and the boys and girls, who had been cowering, began to raise their heads one by one.
"Dispel the barrier!" the staff member shouted.
As the barrier came down, the freshmen, seeing the inside of a whale for the first time, paid it no mind, instead frantically looking around the ship and its deck.
"What about the Student Council President?"
"Don’t tell me he didn’t make it?"
Everyone lowered their heads, their faces crestfallen. A solemn mood settled over them. The attendants were speechless, and the Kizen staff member covered his forehead with a bitter smile.
’A simple report isn’t going to cut it for this one.’
He was lost in thought when he noticed something.
"Arthur?"
The red-haired boy was silently staring into the pitch-black, tunnel-like throat. Soon, the corners of his mouth lifted into a smile.
"Just as I thought!"
A brilliant green flash erupted from the dark tunnel. Everyone’s head snapped up.
A blue-haired boy descended from the sky, landing with a heavy thud. The ship lurched, tilting sharply to one side. His shoes screeched across the deck as he landed, the kidnapped first-year, Heidi, held securely in his arms.
"H-How..." she stammered, her expression one of utter disbelief.
"I told you, didn’t I?" Simon replied, sweat pouring down his face as he offered her a tired smile. "That I’d get you to Kizen."
A beat of stunned silence hung in the air before it was shattered.
"Whooo-Hoooo!"
Everyone present threw their arms into the air, hugging each other and cheering wildly. Arthur pumped his fists and roared, while Molly’s eyes welled up with tears. The headquarters staff and their subordinates embraced, their faces beaming.
It was a momentous event, one that would be indelibly etched into the minds of the first-years. The Kizen Student Council President had rescued a kidnapped classmate in just fifteen minutes.
In that moment, another legend was born—a story that would be told and retold by underclassmen for years to come.

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