Chapter 33 of the Summoning Genius of the Necromancer School
"Well done."
Aaron nodded as he watched the bamboo break and fall to the floor.
"It's still just a level of squeezing with bones, but the fact that you can recycle the destroyed skeletons for attacks means you have a completely new card. Keep training steadily so you can use it in real situations."
"Thank you, Professor!" Simon quickly bowed his head, filled with happiness.
Aaron flicked the ash off his cigar and said, "Professor Jane included a cyclops hunt as a practical assessment, right?"
"Yes, that's right."
"Are you participating?" Simon shook his head.
"A student named Meilin from the same group is part of the participating team."
"Wise choice."
Aaron took a puff of his cigar.
"Focusing on supporting your teammates is also important. There will be a lot to learn."
"Yes!"
"And."
Aaron tossed the burnt cigar into a nearby trash can and turned his back.
"This is an additional lesson. Nothing more, nothing less."
With that, Aaron left.
Simon bowed his head once more in farewell.
After Aaron's private lesson, Simon arrived at the practice room where he was supposed to meet his group members.
The potion preparation seemed to have already begun, as the contents in the cauldron were bubbling away.
The three people sitting around the cauldron, each in their own unique way, stood up simultaneously upon spotting Simon.
"Simon!"
"What happened?"
Everyone rushed over, breathless.
Simon replied with a smile, "Nothing much......."
"Did you get hit? You really did, didn't you......!"
"It's too much to punish you while you're still in the student protection period!"
"I heard Kizen's punishments are brutal. They chain students up and strip them before whipping them with a long whip......."
Simon began to sweat.
What on earth were they talking about?
"He just gave me an additional lesson."
"What?" The three of them focused their gazes on him.
"Professor Aaron gave you a private lesson? No way!" Meilin denied it.
"Maybe you got hit hard with the whip."
Dick stroked his chin.
"Simon, are you really okay?"
Kamibarez clasped her hands with teary eyes. "......."
Since explaining didn't seem to get through, Simon simply walked past the three of them toward the cauldron.
"How's the potion coming along?"
"Perfect! Who made it?" Meilin instantly returned to her confident demeanor, waving her finger.
"The amount of water, the measurement of ingredients, the boiling time, and removing impurities—everything is perfect! Just let it simmer on low heat for another 20 minutes, and it will be complete."
"Good job."
"Hmph! Now everyone knows, right? Just trust me and follow along!" Dick sat down, thumping his legs.
"Ah, standing like this is making my legs sore; should I 'massage' them a bit?"
"Hey!!" While Meilin and Dick were bickering loudly, Simon and Kamibarez chatted amicably about the potion.
Meilin, who had punished Dick with the corner of her textbook, looked at the two with a strange expression.
"Hmm—have you two gotten a bit closer?"
"Really?" Simon brushed it off casually, but Kamibarez's ears turned bright red.
"Honestly, spill it. Other than being chased by the guardian, what happened between you two that night?" Dick, who had been knocked down and lying on the floor, lifted his head slightly.
"See, you only see what you want to see...... ugh!" Meilin threw her textbook at him as if she had been waiting for the moment.
Dick rolled on the floor, wailing.
"Commoners are all so low-class."
"...... That kind of prejudice isn't good, Meilin."
Meilin turned her head back to the two.
"So, are you not going to tell us?"
Kamibarez glanced at Simon, gauging his reaction, and Simon replied without changing his expression.
"Nothing happened. We just got lost in the forest and took a long time."
"Really?" Meilin sighed as she looked at the bandages and wraps all over Simon and Kamibarez's bodies.
"I see."
Fortunately, Meilin didn't press further.
Just then, Dick approached with an empty bottle in hand.
"The potion is done. Now let's bottle it!"
Dick turned the handle connected to the cauldron, tilting it carefully to pour the liquid into the bottle.
Everyone quietly watched the scene.
"I hope all the hard work pays off and it has an effect!" Kamibarez said.
Dick handed a filled bottle to Meilin.
"Curious if it will work? Then our team leader will take a sip as a representative!"
"...... Are you really asking to get beaten for being so cheeky?" Meilin glared at him, and Dick quickly bowed his head and resumed his work.
"Ugh, if it weren't for Kizen, you'd be arrested for insulting a noble."
"Insulting? I don't understand what you're saying because I'm not educated."
"Both of you, stop fighting!" As they chatted and filled the bottles, they ended up with five in total.
Three bottles were to be stored by Meilin, and the remaining two by Simon in their spatial storage.
"Now we have something to present in the next beginner dark magic class."
"Since we're meeting, let's decide how to present it in Professor Jane's class tomorrow!"
"Sounds good!" The four of them tidied up and set off to find an empty lecture room.
As the priest incident faded from Simon's mind, Kizen's school life flowed by in a whirlwind.
In the second beginner dark magic class, they had a time to present their strategies in front of Jane.
"One main dealer, one summoner, and two curse casters."
Jane looked up from the materials of Group 7. In front of her stood Simon and his group members with tense expressions.
"All your team members have different majors, but the roles aren't very diverse."
Here it comes.
Meilin placed her hand on her chest and spoke confidently.
"Of course, it would be nice if the roles of the team members were clearly defined, but I thought that quickly and efficiently taking down the cyclops was the priority, so we decided on this."
"So this position is the best choice?"
"Yes! That's correct."
Jane turned her head.
"What does Simon Polentia think?"
'Ugh.' A sudden question.
Simon, with a tense face, fell into thought.
He could roughly guess what kind of answer Jane wanted.
However, "We recognize that our group lacks creativity in the combination part of dark magic."
After all, it was still the student protection period.
This presentation wasn't about grading the students' strategies but correcting them.
Therefore, maintaining the current teamwork and atmosphere was more important than being swayed by the professor's opinion.
"I believe nothing is more important than safety. We will hunt the cyclops more reliably than any other group and make up for any loss in creativity by scoring high based on our strengths."
Inside, Meilin silently cheered, clenching her fist.
Jane smiled and nodded.
"If you're saying that much, then that's good."
Her gaze shifted.
"Kamibarez Ursula."
"Yes, four!" Kamibarez replied with a tense face.
"I want to hear your thoughts on the situation where a blood flow major, who should be at the core of the attack, has given up their participation to a curse major and is instead supporting with curses."
......
That's tough.
Wasn't this question too heavy for the timid Kamibarez? When Simon glanced at her, just as he expected, her pupils were shaking.
'Kamibarez, you really need to answer well.' If she answered with the nuance that Meilin was better, so she gave up her participation, that would disqualify her as a Kizen student.
Even if that were the case, she must never say that in front of Jane.
At that moment, Kamibarez's eyes flicked toward Simon.
Her gaze seemed to plead, 'What should I do?'
With the professor in front of her, she couldn't ask for an answer.
There wasn't time to give her the right answer.
But this much.
Simon mouthed a word to her. 'Cyclops.'
Her eyes widened.
Soon, she turned her gaze back to Jane.
"Um, um, it's because of the special characteristics of the cyclops monster that our group is facing!"
That's right! This time, Simon clenched his fist tightly.
"What does that mean?"
"The cyclops' tough and thick skin is difficult to target with blood flow magic. I judged that Meilin's Dark Flare, which can burn it alive, is more suitable for taking down the cyclops, which is why we made this decision!"
The expressions of Meilin and Dick, who had been nervously watching, brightened up as well.
"Is that so?" Jane rested her chin on her hand, a strange smile on her face.
"Then if a different monster were to appear instead of the cyclops..."
"Th-then......!" Her hands trembled with tension.
Kamibarez was timid, but at times like this, she had to win against herself.
She squeezed her eyes shut and shouted, "Then I will be the main dealer!"
'I'll be!' Her voice was surprisingly loud.
The last word even cracked slightly.
The usually quiet girl shouting startled the surrounding teaching assistants, who blinked in surprise.
"I will remember that statement."
Jane smiled slightly.
She seemed more satisfied than with the answers from Meilin or Simon.
In a way, it was the best outcome.
'Well done, Kamibarez!' She couldn't stand the embarrassment and covered her face with her palm.
She was a girl who was hard to hate.
"Lastly, Dick Hayward."
At Jane's call, Dick, who had been standing at the end, answered energetically.
"Yes! Professor."
Dick tensed up.
He had prepared answers for three hundred possible question patterns from the previous night.
He was confident he could answer anything thrown at him.......
"Please don't talk to the person next to you during class."
"...... Huh?"
"That's all."
She tapped the stack of papers and handed them to the teaching assistant.
"There's no need to ask questions that overlap with Kamibarez's. Thank you, Group 7. Next, Group 8, please."
The tense presentation time ended in an instant.
Group 7 followed the teaching assistant out of the classroom.
They had entered just in time, and the group that had finished their presentation now had free time.
It was the kind of freedom that was typical of Kizen.
And then.
"Oh my, Simon? You're sitting next to me?" Meilin winked and signaled, and Simon nodded.
The two of them spoke simultaneously.
"Please don't talk to the person next to you!"
"Ahhahaha!" Having caught Dick's weakness after a long time, Meilin was returning the favor for all the times he had teased her.
Dick made a face as if he had eaten something sour.
"Hey, is that funny? It's not even that funny."
"Isn't it? It's super funny! Oh ho ho ho!" Simon smiled as he watched the two bicker.
In truth, he knew that Meilin's teasing and Dick's misfortune were all to consider Kamibarez's feelings.
That was because Kamibarez was still burying her face in her palm, unable to shake off the mistake she made in front of Jane.
"Kamibarez."
Simon spoke quietly.
"For lunch, do you prefer smoked chicken or steak?"......
Ah."
She slowly lowered her hand and revealed her face.
"I, I...... since it's been a while, I'll have chicken......!"
"Chicken! Lunch is chicken!"
Dick shouted as he took the lead.
The four of them headed to the dining hall, laughing and chatting in a cheerful atmosphere.