"Confident, Are You?"
Simon nodded with a serious expression.
"Yes. I am confident."
As soon as Simon's answer fell, Jane picked up her quill and signed the request form.
"Go ahead."
"...... Yes, yes?" Simon felt the countless excuses he had prepared in his mind crumble away.
Is she really just allowing this? "There must be a reason you said you were confident in front of Professor Kizen. You don't need to persuade me. You are Kizen, and you only need to take responsibility for the results."
Her gaze turned chilling.
"I hope you are not deceiving me, Simon Polentia."
Simon met her gaze head-on, his expression stiffening, but he did not waver beyond that.
He bowed deeply.
"Thank you for believing in me."
"......."
Her quill paused for a moment before moving again.
"Please return safely."
It sounded like a casual remark, but for some reason, Simon felt warmth in her voice.
As soon as Simon returned to the dormitory, he moved busily.
"Dick! I'm thinking of heading down to Rochester for a bit. Is there a safe route?"
"Huh? Today?" Simon took the route he heard from Dick and headed to Rochester.
There, he bought a few pieces of equipment and also purchased a set of adventurer's robes and clothes to conceal his identity.
Then he immediately went up to the Forbidden Forest and visited the ruins of Pier.
"Pier! Isn't this perfect?" What Simon eagerly presented was an empty plate armor that looked like it could be used for the interior design of an old castle.
Pier made a face as if he had bitten into something sour. [You can't be telling me to go in there, right?]
"You said you would stick with me during the mission, right? You can't wander around looking like that."
"[...... Tch.]" In the end, Pier stepped into the armor.
It was more accurate to say he really entered it rather than just putting it on.
A moment later, the armor began to move awkwardly with a clanking sound.
"[...... You really want me to go around like this?]"
"You look great, Pier!" Simon clapped his hands with a wide smile.
Pier turned around, flaring up.
"Damn! Don't smile like Anna!"
"Hahaha!" After putting Pier and the legion of skeletons into the spatial pocket, Simon returned to Kizen.
When he entered the dorm room, Dick was asleep, and Kazan was nowhere to be seen.
Simon packed his things and prepared for the journey.
He would be departing for the mission early the next morning via teleportation. 'It's been a long time since I've been outside Rock Island.' Simon closed his eyes with a flutter of excitement.
The next morning, Simon packed his belongings and moved to the designated location.
On the hill behind Kizen, a long-distance teleportation device was set up, and many students were already waiting for their turn.
"Simon!" Hearing his name called, he turned around to see Maylin waving and running towards him.
She seemed to be heading to the teleportation device as well.
"Hello, Maylin."
"Hi! But are you really going to take that mission?"
"Yeah."
Maylin crossed her arms with a displeased expression.
"It's hard to complete a reconnaissance mission in just five days. I told you to pick something easier, right?"
Simon replied with a grin.
"Thanks for worrying about me."
"That's not worry!" she shouted.
Simon laughed it off and asked again, "Where are you going?"
"I'm going for a merchant escort mission near Langustin."
She smiled proudly.
"Isn't it great? It's a carriage trip starting from Langustin."
"Still, be careful. If you run into a band of thieves..."
"Hey, do you think they still act like they used to? And even if thieves come..."
She slightly opened her adventurer's robe.
Underneath, she wore the black jacket, white shirt, and skirt of Kizen's female student uniform.
"If I show this and tell them to get lost, those stupid thieves will know what happens if they touch Kizen."
Simon chuckled.
He recalled the memory of facing gangs in Langustin the day before enrollment, when Lorraine revealed the name Kizen and they all lost their will to fight.
"...... That's a bit underhanded."
"That's why the merchants request missions from Kizen students."
Just then, the teleportation staff began calling out the names of the students.
Maylin waved her hand when she heard her name.
"Well then, see you! I'll see you next week."
"Yeah, don't get hurt."
"You be careful too. The Calros you're going to is at the forefront of the Dark Alliance."
Maylin left those words behind and ran off.
It seemed there were quite a few students heading to Langustin, as they crowded around the teleportation device.
Langustin was popular because it was close to Kizen, and students could have fun there after their missions.
After a while, Maylin and the other students were teleported, and the staff called out Simon's name along with a few others.
Simon walked over.
"Please present your ID and request form."
The waiting staff bowed politely.
Simon handed over his student ID issued by Kizen and the request form signed by Jane.
"To the Arnis territory of the Calros Kingdom, is that correct?"
"Yes, that's correct."
"Please sign here."
"Sure."
After Simon signed, the staff member smiled brightly and stepped aside.
"Confirmed. You may proceed."
"Thank you."
Simon stepped onto the teleportation device.
However, he noticed a student who had arrived before him. 'Ah.' It was a familiar face.
She had even sworn in as a student representative alongside him.
At that time, Simon was the male representative, and she was the female representative.
The beautiful girl with ivory hair fluttering in the breeze wore a white coat over her Kizen uniform and held a delicate parasol.
When she met Simon's gaze, she lifted her skirt in greeting.
"Nice to see you again."
The official heir of the Ivory Tower, special case number two, Serne Aindark.
A sense of tension flowed through the air.
It was not because of her background, but because of the strange aura emanating from her. '......
It's suffocating.' Among the many students of Kizen, only Lorraine had such a unique aura.
Lorraine had a strong, imposing presence, but with Serne, there was a sense of an incomparably high dignity.
It was the kind of dignity that made one feel small and intimidated, making them look up in awe.
It made Simon wonder if she was really of the same age as him.
At that moment, her lips parted.
"I heard our Maylin is in your care."
"......."
She knew that Simon and Maylin were in the same class and group.
"She can be a bit prickly, but she's a kind and gentle girl at heart. Please take good care of her."
Simon took a slow breath.
Gradually, the trembling and tension in his body faded, and distracting thoughts flew away.
Finally, a relaxed smile appeared on Simon's lips.
"Why are you telling me that?"
"...... Huh?"
"Maylin is not someone who needs your protection. She is a fellow new student of Kizen, just like you."
Simon caught the meaning behind her words and tone.
Serne was treating Maylin as if she were beneath her.
That fact was quite irritating.
"You don't need to worry; Maylin is doing just fine."
A deep smile spread across Serne's lips.
"I see."
It was the first time Simon had met someone who consumed so much mental energy just by talking.
He turned his head, wanting to avoid further interaction, but Serne blinked her jade-colored eyes and stared intently at Simon.
Sweat began to bead on Simon's forehead.
"Then I will activate the device!" Fortunately, at that moment, the staff announced the activation of the device.
Whoooosh! The teleportation device activated, engulfing Simon and Serne in dazzling light.
Serne smiled sweetly and said, "See you next time."
I don't want to see you again! Simon thought as he surrendered his body to the sensation of floating in the air.
Dark Alliance.
Calros Kingdom, Arnis Territory.
In the lord's office of the territory castle.
"...... It has appeared again?" A middle-aged man with a long brown beard frowned and sighed.
He was Count Raymond, who managed Arnis.
"Yes, I apologize."
The captain of the guards bowed his head with a grim expression.
Beside him was a corpse covered with a white cloth on a stretcher.
The face was hidden by the cloth, but the limp hands were dried and shriveled like a mummy.
"The frequency of these incidents keeps increasing. There have already been three this month!" The count slammed his hand on the table.
Then he loosened his shirt collar and sighed.
"I can't live in such anxiety any longer! What about the mercenaries we hired from outside?"
"We are continuing the search, but despite thoroughly scouring the territory, we haven't found anything..."
The count frowned.
"They are just eating our money without doing their job properly! Send them back!"
"Understood! And I apologize for asking, but what about Kizen...?"
"There is still no news from Kizen."
The count gritted his teeth.
It had already been three months since he submitted the request.
With the unknown situation causing more victims, Kizen had not responded at all.
The captain of the guards bowed his head.
"Perhaps it would be better to formally request support from the Kizen headquarters instead of submitting a general request..."
"Call the necromancer from the headquarters? Do you want to waste the entire territory's budget on request fees?"
"I-I misspoke!" The count leaned back deeply in his chair.
"You may leave now."
"Yes, rest well!" The captain and the guards took the corpse and left the room.
The count sighed and poured wine into an empty glass.
"Would you like a drink?" The count raised his glass.
Just then, a voice came from behind the curtain.
"Thank you for the offer, but I must decline as I am still in the middle of my duties."
The curtain parted, revealing someone seated in a chair.
Dressed in a robe with a hood pulled low, pale hair peeked out from beneath the hood.
The count downed his wine in one gulp.
"I apologize for calling you to such a place. But as you know, the situation is quite urgent."
The prince was scheduled to visit the territory next month.
It was crucial that such unsettling events did not occur at this important time.
The count's eyes gleamed.
"You can truly resolve this, right?" The person seated slowly rose.
As the staff in hand lifted the hood, flowing hair revealed the face of a youthful girl.
"Do you not trust Efnell?" The count flinched.
"That's not what I meant......!"
"Do not worry, Count. Saving the people of the continent from the evil deeds of the undead is the will of the great goddess."
A bright smile appeared on her lips.
"I stake the honor of His Holiness the Pope. I, Ellen Zile, a second-year student of the Holy University, will surely resolve this incident."