Chapter 238: Episode 238

He arrived in Rochest wearing a pair of pants borrowed from Dick and a simple white shirt. Having left so early, he was already tired. Simon stuck his hands in his pockets, yawned, and took in his surroundings.

’Incredible.’

As expected of Rochest on a weekend, couples were everywhere. The sight of male and female students clinging to each other, giddy with affection, was enough to make an onlooker blush. But Serne was nowhere to be found.

’She didn’t even give me a proper meeting place, did she?’

He pulled out the letter again; aside from telling him to be in Rochest by noon, there was no mention of where to meet.

’…What am I even doing here?’

Just as Simon was sighing deeply, a pure white feather fluttered down and landed at his feet. A moment later, another drifted down, settling on a paving stone.

’Serne’s feathers. Is she telling me to come this way?’

Simon obediently followed the trail. Wherever he went, another feather would fall, guiding his path. He passed through a narrow alley and emerged onto a main street with a carriage road.

’It’s gone.’

The trail of feathers had vanished. He stopped by the side of the road, searching for another, when a girl running from the opposite direction suddenly lost her balance and staggered. It was too dangerous to ignore. Simon reached out and steadied her.

“Are you okay?”

Her eyes were closed as if she had fainted. Just as Simon was about to speak again, she abruptly lifted her head.

“Wise men say…” she sang. “only fools rush in…”

’What a strange human.’ Simon backed away with a bewildered expression. The girl danced dazzlingly like a ballerina before taking the hand of a male student walking up from behind.

“But I can’t help…”

Now they were singing in harmony. Suddenly, people nearby began to sing along.

“Falling in love… with you♪”

A spontaneous musical erupted in the middle of the Rochest street. People who had been going about their business joined in one by one, the song growing louder. Doors burst open on the second floor of a residence, and a woman folding laundry started singing. A couple who had been arguing stopped mid-fight and joined in.

“Take my hand… take my whole life too…”

Children, beggars, even the boy delivering newspapers—all began to dance in time with the music. Simon stood there, dumbfounded, when someone suddenly pushed his back.

“Whoa!”

He staggered toward the carriage road, where a carriage stopped just in time, its door swinging open.

“For I can’t help… falling in love… with you♪”

A woman he’d never seen before, sitting inside, pulled him into the carriage by the arm and continued to sing. The driver immediately set off.

“Like a river flows… surely to the sea…♪”

The carriage soon stopped. The moment Simon stepped out, people in identical clothes at the mouth of an alley began playing instruments and dancing, guiding him forward. Having finally grasped the situation, Simon followed them, his expression hardening. He opened a door and entered a restaurant where the staff was singing in a choir.

“Darling so it goes…♪”

The dazzling sound of a piano filled the room. Simon followed it to the second floor.

“Some things… are meant to be♪” a male and female employee sang, holding hands.

At the end of the second floor, a woman played the piano with a flourish.

“For I can’t help…” she sang, and everyone danced along. “falling in love… with you♬”

The moment the music stopped, all the employees burst into thunderous applause. Amid the ovation, the girl at the piano slowly rose, held the hem of her skirt, and bowed. Then, she clapped her hands lightly.

Light slowly returned to the employees’ glazed eyes. As if nothing had happened, they went back to their work—sweeping the floor, serving tables, grilling patties in the kitchen.

“Welcome, Simon,” the piano girl said, placing a finger on her lips and smiling brightly. The official successor of the Ivory Tower, the girl who possessed the power of mind control through her feathers.

“…Serne.”

The male waiter who had been dancing just moments before approached and bowed.

“How many in your party?” he asked, as if seeing Serne for the first time.

“A party of two.”

“This way, please.”

They were guided to the best seats behind the piano. A simple tea was served, and Serne elegantly lifted her cup.

“How was the little surprise I prepared? Wasn’t it lovely?”

“Pfft.” Simon covered his forehead, his expression tense. “…Out of everyone I know, you are one of the strangest.”

“That’s hardly a compliment for a lady,” she said with a wink. “Don’t worry too much. It was just a little surprise I put on by controlling some passersby for a moment. There won’t be any after-effects or accidents.”

“That’s not the point.”

“So! How was it?”

…Well, if he had to describe it, it felt like a scene from a play, and he was the main character who had just walked on stage. But at the same time, it was frightening. He was afraid of Serne’s power, which could orchestrate such an event so effortlessly. If she truly wanted to, plunging an entire city into chaos would be child’s play for her. What on earth was she plotting back at Kizen?

“You should be honored,” Serne said, stretching out her long legs and crossing them with a smile. “Not many people are qualified to meet with me like this, just the two of us.”

Her dignified voice and gestures, her overwhelming charisma, and above all, the unique aura that only she possessed—if anyone was born destined to be a queen, it was her. It made sense that she had taken control of Class C. Even at Kizen, a place teeming with the children of powerful figures, dominating an entire class was no easy feat. He felt there was definitely more to her than just her mind control or her status as the successor to the Ivory Tower.

In any case, the conclusion was simple.

’She’s an incredibly annoying person.’

Following her lead, Simon took a sip of tea.

“Why did you call me here?”

She didn’t answer, instead feigning admiration for her own fingers. Just then, a waiter approached and laid out tablecloths.

“Excuse me,” he said, handing Simon a letter. After the waiter left, Simon frowned.

“I’d appreciate it if you didn’t use other people like this.”

She chuckled. “I didn’t use a feather; I just asked him to give the letter to the gentleman while laying the tablecloth.”

’She’s really toying with me.’

Simon sighed inwardly and opened the letter.

“Huh?”

He was startled to see the royal crest of Dresden. He accidentally bumped his teacup, nearly spilling it.

“Wh-what is this?” he asked, flustered, showing her the letter. “Why do you have a letter from the Dresden royal family?”

She tilted her head as if to ask why he was asking such an obvious question.

“Because I was asked to deliver it.”

“Huh?”

The Ivory Tower was an autonomous state, free from the interference of any kingdom. This was the first he had heard of them being close with the Dresden Kingdom.

“Princess Molly of Dresden. You know her, right?”

At the mention of a familiar name, Simon’s tension eased slightly.

“I do.”

He remembered her clearly. He had met her during the Dueling Evaluation—the Overlord’s debut match, no less. It was the duel against Malcolm Randolph, Special Admission No. 10 and a user of Doppelganger magic. At the time, the second-year Prince Andre had lent the Black Knight’s artifact to Malcolm simply because Simon had rejected his invitation to join the ’Noble’ club. But Simon had utterly crushed the armored Malcolm in front of a thousand spectators. Enraged, Andre had cornered Simon and tried to strike him, but Princess Molly had appeared and had him taken away. After that incident, all the corruption Andre had committed using his princely power came to light, and he was ultimately expelled from Kizen.

—”I give you my word that neither my brother nor Dresden will bother you again. I also came here unannounced, so please allow me to arrange a time to formally apologize later. Farewell.”

That’s what she had said. This letter was a continuation of that promise. It was personally written by Princess Molly, expressing her wish to apologize and formally invite him to a royal ball.

Serne elaborated. “It’s a designated mission from the princess. As soon as you return to Kizen, the officials will be looking for you.”

’A designated mission!’

Unlike a normal mission where a student simply took a request from the dorm bulletin board, a designated mission was when a client specifically named a student. He knew only those with enough power to influence Kizen could make such a request. The letter stated the official reason was to act as royal security, but in reality, it was an invitation to come and grace the event with his presence. It even detailed the dress code.

“Of course, I was invited too!” Serne said, waving a letter stamped with the royal seal that she produced from her pocket. “Inviting the most popular male and female students from Kizen! You get the picture, right?”

Simon nodded. An invitation from the royal family, sent by Princess Molly herself—refusing was not an option. There was nothing to be gained from being on bad terms with the kingdom. Since he would mostly be inside the palace, he wouldn’t have to worry about Magnus either.

Still, something felt off. He should certainly go and pay his respects to the princess who had saved him from Andre’s tantrum, but he wasn’t thrilled about being used as a prop for the royal family to flaunt their influence…

“And get this: the fee for the mission is two thousand gold.”

Others might have had their reservations, but Simon did not.

’Thank you, Princess!’

His allowance from Richard was starting to run low. Now that he had acquired the powerful ’Royal Guard’ technique, he wanted to invest more in purchasing skeletons. Once he received the mission fee, he’d go straight to Rochest to recruit more Skeleton Archers, and though it would be expensive, he wanted to prepare a Mage as well. Summoning was a money pit; the bigger the budget, the better.

As Simon was lost in thought, fantasizing about how to spend money he hadn’t even received yet, Serne spoke up.

“So, you’ll do it, right?”

Simon nodded lightly and looked at her.

“Beisdes from the mission, I have a question for you.”

“Go ahead.”

“Did you really use a debt coupon and call me all the way to Rochest just to tell me this?”

If he had just stayed at Kizen, someone would have eventually informed him about the mission anyway.

Just then, Serne planted her elbows on the table with a thump, cupped her face in her hands, and smiled.

“Do you have anything to wear to the ball?”

’Of course not.’ Sensing his hesitation, Serne’s eyes crinkled into a smile.

“So let’s go shopping together.”

It seemed this was her real purpose. Simon eyed her suspiciously.

“…I just have to go shopping with you?”

She opened her palm and folded her slender fingers one by one.

“In return, you have to escort me for the day, carry my bags, tell me I look pretty when I try on clothes, and don’t frown, even if I touch you.”

He felt dizzy just listening to her. He had a strong gut feeling that this would be more difficult than the actual mission.

“I’ll consider it if you use two coupon stamps.”

“Wow. So humoring a girl for one day is the same as fighting the Saintess of Efnel with your life on the line? Have you no shame?”

He had hoped, but as expected, it was a long shot.

“Instead!” she chirped. “I’ll pay for everything we spend on our shopping trip, including the formal wear you’ll be buying for the ball! How about it?”

’Formal wear for a ball is expensive. And I could probably buy a thing or two I want while we’re at it.’

He decided it wasn’t a bad deal.

“Fine, I’ll do it.”

“Get ready. Let’s go right now!”

—

At the same time, while students bustled about in the early morning, some heading out to play and others to study, one person remained dead to the world. Her room was a blend of cream and pink, with frilled curtains on one side and a display case filled with adorable animal dolls on the other. Lying on the bed, dressed in pajamas, was a young girl.

She had been sound asleep until the vibration of the communication crystal on her desk roused her. She rubbed her eyes and sat up.

“…Who’s calling so early?”

Her eyes still heavy with sleep, she trudged over and activated the crystal.

“Yes?”

—”Lady Lorraine, Serne Aindark is on the move.”

The drowsiness vanished from her red eyes, which instantly turned sharp and serious.

“Her location?”

—”Rochester. She has a companion—a Kizen student.”

“She must have used her brainwashing magic on someone again. Who is it?”

A tense voice came from the communication crystal.

—”She is with Simon Polentia.”

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