With their shopping complete, Simon and Eshe headed for the meeting point, their hands full of baskets. Many of the items were fresh and needed to be eaten soon, so they felt uneasy storing them in a subspace.
"I’ll carry that," Simon offered.
"No, no, I’m fine," Eshe insisted, though she was clearly struggling.
Simon took the heavy basket from her.
"Ooh," Eshe wiggled her eyebrows suggestively.
Simon narrowed his eyes. "What’s with the ’ooh’ all the time?"
"President, be honest," she said, sidling up to him with a mischievous grin. "You totally rigged that drawing at the end because you wanted to come with me, didn’t you?"
"...What?" Simon’s jaw dropped.
Eshe covered her mouth, stifling a giggle. "It was ’sooo’ obvious!"
Seeing Simon’s utterly baffled expression, Eshe’s eyes went wide. "You like me, don’t you?"
"Who say that?!" Simon yelped, his voice jumping an octave.
"You kept sending me signals."
"Signals?"
"You saved me during the second-year hazing, I asked the Death Knight boy for bone adhesive but you insisted on giving me yours, you kept me from bumping into that Dullahan, and now you rigged the bet so we could go together. And, and..."
Simon heaved a sigh. "I’m sorry if I gave you the wrong impression, but it’s not like that."
"Oh, really?"
"Really."
She clasped her hands together. "Well, that’s a relief! I actually already have a crush on someone!"
’I see.’ Simon nodded, his face impassive. "Who is it?"
"Whoa!" Eshe covered her mouth in an exaggerated gasp. "Look at you, trying to get all the school gossip! You can’t just ask a girl something like that! Did you really think I’d just tell you if you asked so bluntly?"
"Fine, don’t tell me."
"Ahaha! I’m just kidding, just kidding. You’re not going to use your presidential powers to crush me just because I turned you down, are you?"
"I wouldn’t do that."
Eshe glanced around before lowering her voice. "Actually, I liked someone else in my first year, but that changed when I became a second-year."
Simon’s ears perked up. ’Could that change have happened... today? If so...’
"Hector, our department representative!"
’...Damn it.’ Simon hung his head. Of all the people for Toto to have as a rival, it had to be Hector. Though he didn’t act like it, Hector was surprisingly popular with the girls. He even had an admirer back in their first-year class.
"...Sounds like he’ll be some stiff competition for the class president."
"Who’s the class president?"
"Nothing, never mind." As they walked, Simon asked, "What do you like about Hector?"
"What’s not to like? He’s tall, has a great build, and he’s a total man’s man!" Eshe gushed. "He’s a high noble, so he’s usually a perfect gentleman, but it’s so thrilling when he gets that scowl on his face and starts swearing. He’s great at sports and academics, and since he’s from the Moore family, my future would be set if I married him! Who could possibly say no to that?"
’Hmm.’ It was the first time Simon had heard a girl’s opinion of Hector, and he was just now realizing how ridiculously overqualified the guy was.
"And don’t our names sound great together? Eshe Moore! Mrs. Moore!"
The only problem was that Eshe was already lost in her own wild fantasies. Simon listened quietly, a small laugh escaping his lips.
"What’s so funny?"
"Nothing," Simon said, chuckling. "It’s just... it feels like it’s been a really long time since I’ve had such a comfortable, silly conversation."
"What do you mean, silly!" she shrieked. "What’s more important in school life than romance?"
As far as Simon knew, Eshe was the most normal girl he was friends with. It made sense, considering his circle included a future Headmaster, nobles from the Ivory Tower, the daughter of a vampire lord, and even an active Saintess. While they all seemed to carry their own unique burdens, Eshe was refreshingly ordinary, able to fit in anywhere. She was like an unpredictable spring, bouncing in every direction. Perhaps she was the one truly living the Kizen experience to its fullest.
’This is fun.’
Just a few days ago, he’d been fighting the Tower Master, agonizing over Kizen’s fate, investigating the Union, and contemplating the future of the Dark Alliance. It felt surreal to now be strolling with Eshe, getting worked up over schoolyard crushes.
"So," Simon said, slipping his hands into his jacket pockets with a grin. He decided he might as well enjoy it. "What do you think about Toto?"
"Huh...?" The sudden change in topic made Eshe tilt her head. "The Death Knight boy is a bit... a ’little’... well, you know, right?"
"What about him?"
"It feels weird saying this to his best friend, but... he’s just a bit much! For starters, I like guys who are at least taller than me!" She held a flat palm above her head for emphasis. "Tall! Sturdy! Manly! That’s my ideal type!"
’This is going to be tough.’ Her ideal man was the polar opposite of Toto.
"Then, just out of curiosity, the person you liked in your first year was..."
"The giant half-blood, Martel Shaher, of course! Ugh! I just want to be held in those huge arms!"
’...Her taste is certainly consistent.’ How could two people be such a complete mismatch? Simon sighed inwardly.
"But why are you asking all this all of a sudden?" Eshe’s expression sharpened. "Could it be..."
"I could ask you the same thing," Simon retorted with a deadpan expression. "We still have a lot of group projects left. I was asking about Toto’s potential as a team member. Your answer was a little strange, don’t you think?"
"Uh, huh?"
Having landed a light jab, Simon started walking ahead. "Let’s go. The others will be waiting."
"President! Hey! Wait a minute! You were just messing with me, weren’t you? Hey! Stop!"
The One-Eyed Gentleman arrived at the scene a moment too late.
He was met with a gruesome sight. The assassins he had sent ahead were all dead, strung up in spiderwebs and dripping blood. Some had even activated their suicide curses, a clear sign that someone had attempted to extract information from them.
’Could Simon Polentia have done this?’
Leaning against a wall, the One-Eyed Gentleman peered down the alley. He saw a blue-haired man walking away, his eyes glinting in the dark. Even from a distance, the piercing Jet-Black and killing intent were palpable.
—We will continue the attack.
"No, retreat," he commanded into the communication crystal, his expression grim. "That man is not Simon Polentia."
To attack recklessly now would be to risk annihilation at the hands of that one man. Having confirmed his mistake, it was time to withdraw.
Simon and Eshe safely rejoined their group. It looked as though Lorraine and Serne had gotten into another massive fight. He’d held out a sliver of hope that the Ivory Tower incident might have thawed their relationship, but that hope was in vain. They were still on the worst possible terms, and Toto, caught in the crossfire, looked as if he’d aged twenty years.
"You’re back?" Toto asked wearily.
"Simon!" Lorraine exclaimed, her face brightening slightly.
At least Simon’s arrival seemed to diffuse some of the tension. Watching him get sandwiched between Lorraine and Serne, Eshe let out a quiet, hollow laugh.
’...He’s not bad, honestly, but...’
She stared at Simon’s face for a moment, then glanced at the future Headmaster of Kizen and the heir to the Ivory Tower waging a silent war on either side of him.
’Seriously! How could a normal person like me ever get between those two?’
As much as she loved the idea of romance, she had no desire to make enemies of that pair. A stress-free love life was much more appealing.
"Eshe! What are you doing?" Simon beckoned.
"Ah, coming!" she called, jogging to catch up.
Lorraine summoned two skull horses while Simon took out a golem core. Lorraine, Eshe, and Toto mounted the skeletal steeds. The original plan had been for Toto and Serne to share a horse, but a minor squabble erupted when Serne instead hopped onto the golem core with Simon, clinging tightly to his back.
Despite the bickering, they made it back to the base camp safely. The other students were either out hunting or cramming for exams in the lecture halls. Even during the training camp, it seemed the largest hall was kept open until dawn for midterm prep.
The lodgings were split into four rooms for boys and four for girls. Simon and Toto found a room with some empty space and settled in.
"Oh, President!"
A card game was already in full swing. A student with a familiar face—the leader of Group 4, Simon recalled—waved him over.
"Wanna join?"
Simon didn’t know how to play, but he figured he should at least experience the games his peers enjoyed. He sat down to join them.
A few hands later...
"Hahaha! The President loses again!"
"Even the top student at Kizen has terrible luck!"
Holding another weak hand, Simon set his cards down with a frustrated sigh. "...One more round."
"Oh, that’s the spirit!"
He’s got a competitive streak, huh?
Simon found himself genuinely enjoying the time spent with his classmates.
’So this is what a training camp is like.’
He smiled with satisfaction as he crawled under the covers. Across the room, the students who had lost all their coins to him after he’d mastered the rules were clutching their heads in despair.
The next morning arrived.
"Yaaawn."
They had agreed to an early breakfast, so Simon rubbed the sleep from his eyes and stepped outside. The world was a blanket of white. His breath plumed in the frigid air, and a biting wind whipped around him.
He could hear the gleeful shrieks of the other students.
’It’s awfully noisy for this early in the morning...’
A snowball slammed into his face with a soft ’splat’.
"Pfft—Puhahaha!"
As the snow slid down, it revealed Simon’s thoroughly unamused expression. Eshe, the culprit, was clutching her stomach, roaring with laughter.
"President! Your face is priceless! Ahahaha!"
Without a word, Simon bent down, packed a snowball, and charged.
"Aaaah! He’s coming!" Eshe shrieked, turning to flee.
"Wahahaha!"
A massive snowball fight had erupted. It was rare for Roc Island to see this much snow, and everyone was making the most of it. White projectiles crisscrossed the air.
"Take this!"
"Ack! What did you put in that snow?!"
Laughter echoed everywhere. Some students, exhausted, had flopped onto their backs in the snow, while others were gleefully dumping buckets of it over their friends’ heads. It was the perfect way to blow off the stress from the dispatch evaluation and midterm prep.
"How pathetic." Fitzgerald, bundled in thick winter clothes, was meticulously sculpting a statue of himself in a pensive, seated pose. "Instead of wasting time on such a consumptive game, one could be cultivating their artistic sensibilities..."
A male student ran by and kicked the sculpture with a solid ’thwack’, sending its head tumbling into its lap.
"Look at him, really committing to the theme for the Dullahan special lecture!" he yelled as he fled.
"Puhahahaha!"
Fitzgerald’s expression turned murderous. "You’re dead."
He summoned a skeleton from his subspace, formed a catapult unit, and began launching an indiscriminate barrage of snowballs.
"Hey, using undead is cheating!" a student yelled amidst the boisterous laughter.
And then Simon saw her.
Another girl was in the thick of it, flinging snowballs with wild enthusiasm. Her long, pink hair whipped around as she threw with a full-body swing, her aim unerringly perfect. Students were dropping like flies around her.
But...
’Agh! Aaaagh!’ Simon screamed internally. ’What is she doing here, fitting in so naturally?!’
It was none other than Erzebet.
Panicked, Simon rushed toward her. She had just taken down Fitzgerald in a joint attack with another boy and was casually giving him a high-five.
"Well done!" she chirped.
"The boy nodded, looking dazed. "Uh, yeah. But... are you in our department?"
"Ohoho! You do not recognize this maiden? I am hurt! I am Elizabeth Waffer of the Summoning Department..."
Face beet-red, Simon grabbed Erzebet’s wrist and dragged her away. "What are you doing?! Why are you here?" he hissed, pulling her behind a deserted building.
Erzebet casually threw up a barrier of spiderwebs and smiled. "I came because I have an urgent matter to report, Legion Commander."
She quickly recounted the events of the previous day: how she had been tailing White in the village while disguised as Simon, how strange assassins had suddenly attacked, and how they had taken their own lives before she could torture them for information.
Simon crossed his arms, listening intently. "...Assassins, huh."
"Do you have any idea who they might be?"
The image of the butcher with his memorable face flashed through Simon’s mind. "Erzebet. I need you to go back to the village right now and find someone for me."
They had attacked first. It was time for the Legion to move.
"Phew. It’s cold."
The teaching assistants were starting to emerge from the lodgings. The head TA, warming her hands on a cup of coffee, chuckled at the students’ snowball fight. "They’ve got a lot of energy for this early in the morning."
"They’re kids, after all," a junior TA replied. "It’s cute, though. This is how they should be."
"Yeah, you’re right. I must be getting old, my back is..."
A snowball hit the head TA square in the face with a ’splat’. The junior TAs’ faces went pale. The culprit, Eshe, jumped up and down, shouting, "Got her!"
"Hahahaha!" the students cheered.
The snow fell away to reveal the head TA’s face, blazing with fury. "I give them an inch, and they take a mile!"
She thrust out her arm. Black magic coalesced around her, gathering snow into a massive ball nearly the size of a house.
"Whoa! Using black magic is cheating, ma’am!" a student yelled.
"Take this!"
The camp descended into a chaotic swirl of students and TAs.
And then...
Professor Aaron, having just stepped out of his room wearing only shorts and a T-shirt, stared blankly at the pandemonium.
’It’s too noisy to sleep.’
He stood perfectly still, taking a sip of his morning coffee.
"Professor, heads up!"
A snowball sailed through the air, heading straight for Aaron’s face.
One second before the greatest crisis in the history of the Summoning Department.

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