Simon’s group left the beach and entered the downtown area. As darkness fell, lights flickered on across the buildings, and the surroundings grew boisterous as the night casinos opened their doors.
“By the way, Dick, where exactly is this place you have in mind?” Simon asked.
Dick shrugged. “It’s something I overheard while doing business earlier, but apparently, a huge fight broke out in the plaza. Some massive guy was swinging his arms around, tearing up the road and cracking building walls or something.”
Meirin crossed her arms. “And what does that ridiculous story have to do with Kami?”
“Think about the letters we exchanged with Kami,” Dick replied. “She said she was trying to come up with a way to shake off her dad, right? Do you really think she could have actually given that doting Vampire Lord the slip and come all the way here by herself?”
Somehow, that made perfect sense.
Simon and Meirin nodded, and Dick crossed his arms boastfully.
“Not missing these trivial hints and piecing them together to find a clue—that’s true skill!”
“Can I smack you right in the mouth just once?” Meirin muttered.
While Dick and Meirin bickered, Simon stopped walking.
‘It’s here.’
The downtown plaza.
The building walls were literally cracked open. Simon reached into a fissure and felt around. It was as sharp and smooth as a sword cut, but rather than a straight line, it had a strange curve to it.
‘Claw marks.’
Simon then examined the ground. Water had spread out, perhaps from the plaza’s fountain overflowing, and there were several muddy footprints.
Amidst the chaotic scatter of various people’s footprints, Simon found a set leading from the inside out.
The stride was long, and the footprints were quite wide.
“This way,” Simon gestured.
The three of them moved quickly through the alleyway. Not long after, a loud commotion broke out.
“Hey! What the hell?!”
“Get out of the way!”
Along with the shouting, a familiar voice rang out. Simon immediately sprinted in the direction of the sound.
“Kuhahaha! How dare you look at my daughter with such lecherous eyes? I’ll gouge them out!”
“Dad!”
As they got closer, the voices became clearer.
Channeling jet-black, Simon vaulted over several building walls in a single breath and landed on the ground.
A man who looked like a tourist was slumped on the ground, trembling with a terrified expression. In front of him stood a man draped head-to-toe in a large cloak.
The lower body wrapped in the cloak looked thin, but moving up past his legs, his upper body grew massively bulky, with shoulders as broad as an open field. He had a neck as thick as a pillar, crimson eyes, and sharp fangs.
It was Kamibarez’s father, the current Vampire Lord.
Dietrich Horn Ursula.
And clinging to him, struggling to hold him back, was a girl. With her light purple hair tied into twin tails, it was unmistakably Kamibarez.
Just then, Dietrich and Kamibarez spotted Simon.
“Oh! Look who it is.”
Dietrich’s contorted expression relaxed into a wide grin. Kamibarez, who had been fuming, suddenly brightened up and waved her hands enthusiastically.
“Simon! Over here!”
“Hey, Kami.”
While Simon drew their attention, the tourist scrambled to his feet and bolted down the alley. Dietrich, seemingly losing interest in the small fry, didn’t give chase.
Dick and Meirin arrived right after. Seeing the three of them, Dietrich let out a hearty laugh.
“Right, you lot! It’s been a while since I saw you at the end-of-term ceremony!”
It was their friend’s dad.
The three of them bowed at a right angle, greeting him politely.
“Hello, sir!”
“Good to see you! Hahahaha!”
Dietrich was as boisterous as ever.
By the time Simon raised his head, Dietrich was already right in front of him, gripping his shoulder.
“Delinquent thugs are wandering around ogling my daughter. What took you so long to get here?”
“Excuse me?”
“I’m pretty sure I asked you to take care of my daughter before, but it seems you only half-listened to my instructions.”
“Daaad!”
Kamibarez, her face as red as a tomato, lightly pounded on Dietrich’s chest. Dietrich smirked, gave Simon’s shoulder a light pat, and turned his head.
“Right, Meirin Villenne of the Ivory Tower!”
“Hello, Mr. Ursula! Have you been well?” Meirin clasped her hands together and smiled prettily.
Dietrich chuckled. “You’ve got the basics of etiquette down. Daniela of the Ivory Tower raised her daughter well!”
“You flatter me.”
“And you, slacker! You haven’t changed a bit!”
Dick pointed at his own face. “M-Me? Why am I the only slacker, sir!”
“I’ve never been fond of merchants by nature, but since my daughter has benefited from your assorted little tricks, I’ll let you live!”
“Yes, sir! I owe you my life!” Dick replied cheerfully.
Dietrich stroked his chin, then turned right back around to look at Simon.
“Now then. Simon Polentia.”
“Yes.”
Dietrich’s pupils flashed. “Shall we test how much you’ve changed?”
Simon, who had been meeting his gaze, felt his pupils dilate. Suddenly, his heart pounded, and his fighting spirit boiled over.
Before he could blink, Dietrich transformed into a swarm of bats and flew off. Simon, who had been standing in a daze, instantly spun around and raised his leg.
His lightning-fast roundhouse kick sailed through the air, aimed right at the face of Dietrich, who had suddenly appeared behind him.
“Impressive.” Dietrich effortlessly caught Simon’s leg with his fingertips. “Your senses have gotten sharper. You’ve gained strength and speed, and reducing unnecessary movements is good too!”
As Simon raised his arm, his bloodshot eyes blazing, his subspace opened, and he summoned a horde of skeletons. Dick and Meirin jumped in surprise and backed away.
“Kuhaha!”
Dietrich excitedly stomped his foot on the ground. The skeletons charging across the floor collapsed all at once, and Simon staggered from the impact, dropping to one knee.
Following that, a massive arm shot out from within Dietrich’s cloak. Simon calmly pressed three fingers together and made a motion as if lifting them to the side.
[Bone Net]
The bones of the collapsed skeletons transformed into a net, blocking Dietrich’s arm. The bones tangled around Dietrich’s arm, exerting an attractive force that slightly deflected its trajectory.
Simon tilted his shoulder and threw his head back, narrowly dodging Dietrich’s attack.
“Twisting the direction instead of blocking it was wise!”
‘Open!’
Five Overlord tentacle blades shot out from behind, and as Simon stood up, he pulled his left arm back.
All the remaining bones covered his left arm, making it as massive as Dietrich’s.
[Bone Armor – Heavy Armor Type]
“Yeah! Bring it on!” Dietrich also pulled his other arm out from his cloak.
Just as their arms were about to clash in the middle...
“Stop right there!” Kamibarez intervened.
Having unleashed the blood of Ursula, her eyes turned a vivid red. She curled her body up tight, then forcefully threw both arms out to the sides.
A fierce, crimson gale violently whipped out, pushing both Dietrich and Simon’s arms away at the same time.
“Wow,” Dick breathed in awe.
“Kami is scary when she’s mad,” Meirin muttered, rubbing her wrist.
Landing lightly on the ground, Kamibarez immediately rushed over to Simon. Simon, still with a dazed expression, was preparing his next attack against Dietrich.
Kamibarez ran up with all her might, hugged Simon, and whispered, “Cancellation.”
The light returned to Simon’s eyes just as he was about to prepare his Royal Guards. He blinked, a confused look on his face.
“W-Why was I...?”
“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, Simon! My dad put a curse on you!”
Kamibarez bowed repeatedly, apologizing over and over, before shooting a sharp glare at Dietrich.
Dietrich flinched.
“How many times did I tell you not to lay a hand on my friends!”
“N-No. I was just testing to see if that punk was qualified to protect you,” Dietrich trailed off.
Kamibarez thrust her tightly clenched fists backward and screamed at the top of her lungs. “I really hate you, Dad!”
‘Hate you, hate you, hate you.’
Those words echoed in Dietrich’s head. His fighting spirit finally broken by the devastating blow from his precious daughter, he staggered and slumped to the ground.
“Now’s our chance! Let’s go quickly, Simon!”
“K-Kami?”
Kamibarez grabbed Simon’s wrist and ran. Dick and Meirin glanced back and forth between them before following Simon.
“We’ll be taking our leave first, sir!”
“Goodbye!”
Simon looked back as he was dragged away by Kamibarez.
Dietrich, who had seemed to be slumped over powerlessly, soon grinned, pointed two fingers at his own eyes, and then aimed them at Simon.
‘Don’t worry.’
Simon mouthed those words and followed her.
There had been a few incidents here and there, but in the end, all four of them safely regrouped.
Kamibarez bowed and apologized several times, and Simon waved his hands, insisting that he was really fine.
It was just a minor happening.
“I booked us a nice, clean place to stay. This way!” Dick pointed ahead and started walking.
Located slightly away from the downtown area, this place was a fairly large outdoor cabin. Seeing the lights on and hearing the noise from the other cabins, it seemed there were quite a few guests.
The four of them prepared without taking a break.
They lit a campfire right in front of the cabin and hung up pork skewers. Dick had prepared all the ingredients. There was even wine.
After quickly finishing the setup in an hour, the four of them raised their wine glasses.
“Alright, let’s survive the second semester safely too! To the day we become Kizen third-years!”
“Cheers!”
The four of them chatted loudly and laughed.
Seeing each other after a long time, there was so much to talk about. Exchanging letters was one thing, but meeting in person to talk was completely different.
“I’m so, so excited to go to Professor Hongfeng’s house!” Kamibarez said, flapping her cute bat wings.
Dick was already blabbering on about what activities they could do once they reached the grasslands. There were guides run by adventurers and locals in the grasslands as well, and he pulled out a travel pamphlet provided by them to show the group.
“Look at this! Crossing the mud river on a hippo! There’s a reason Professor Hongfeng has hippos in her classes!”
“Going to the crocodile forest sounds fun too! They say crocodiles climb trees in the grasslands!”
“I’d like to try sleeping in a nomadic tribe’s lodging.”
As the three of them each talked about what they wanted to try, Dick wagged his index finger.
“You guys don’t know what’s really fun.”
“What do you mean?”
“The most fun and profitable thing is this!” Dick pointed to the back of the pamphlet.
“Ancient civilization excavation?”
“Yeah!” Excited, Dick smacked the table with both palms. “Another ancient civilization that existed on the continent is sleeping somewhere in the grasslands! They say a ton of ruins have been found too! If we excavate one and sell it, the money...”
“Money, money, again.” Meirin rested her chin on her hand with an unimpressed expression.
Dick chuckled and looked at her. “They say there were ancient runes on a stone slab excavated from the grasslands! It might be a civilization related to the magical civilization that you Ivory Tower folks go crazy for!”
“You attach ‘magic’ to everything. Do you think the magical civilization is a joke? I don’t believe in such baseless mysteries.”
“I’m telling you, it’s real!” Dick jumped up from his seat. “The one in the grasslands was a terrifying but mighty civilization! They were famous for things like human sacrifices. And there’s a high priest who came back from the dead to revive that civilization, but even though he’s already dead, because of his powerful grudge...”
“Yeah, not interested,” Meirin said dismissively.
Kamibarez also spoke with concern. “Dick, are you okay? I think you’re a little drunk.”
“Ugh.” Dick covered his forehead and sat down.
Just then, Simon leaned forward. “So? What happened to the high priest’s vengeful spirit?”
“I knew it! I knew my bestie would be interested!” Dick giggled and continued his story. Meirin shot him a resentful glare, but Simon listened with genuine enjoyment.
“Man, I’m stuffed.”
“Ugh, I only drank a little, but I feel like I’m getting drunk.”
Meanwhile, in the cabin opposite theirs, the party was already over.
They were also teenagers who looked to be around Simon’s age. They yawned widely as they cleaned up.
“I told you to drink in moderation, didn’t I? We need to pace ourselves if we’re going into the grasslands tomorrow.”
“Alright, alright.”
While cleaning up, one boy turned his head.
There was an unusually energetic and noisy group.
“They sure have a lot of energy.”
“Uh, wait.” The boy raised his head and squinted his eyes. “I feel like I’ve seen them somewhere before.”
“That blue-haired girl who stands out the most over there. That’s Vice President Meirin! And next to her is...” the boy trailed off.
The cabin door opened, and a man appeared, yawning sluggishly.
“What’s all the fuss about? Who is it?”

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