Chapter 460: Episode 460

Following the ordeal with the skull bowl, the next hazing ritual was just as terrifying. The seniors had filled a massive, pre-dug pit with contaminated water and thrown in shambling zombies for good measure. A crude bridge, constructed from a haphazard stack of monster bones, stretched precariously over it. The second-years were forced to cross this rickety structure, which looked ready to collapse at any moment.

The condition of the bridge was abysmal. Footholds were missing, and entire sections dangled loosely. One wrong step meant a plunge into the foul-smelling corpse water, where a horrific encounter with the undead awaited. The seniors would likely use their will to prevent any actual bites, but an unsightly and humiliating fate was guaranteed.

“…’Ugh’.” The second-years were nearly out of their minds with fear, but under Will’s coercion, they reluctantly climbed onto the bone bridge. Twelve students had to cross. One by one, they began to make their way over.

“Uuuugh!”

The zombies below looked up, their arms flailing. The students on the bridge were terrified, either squeezing their eyes shut or staring fixedly ahead. From the ground, Will’s annoyed voice echoed up.

“Hurry up and cross! Especially you, Toto!”

“Y-Yes!” After a long hesitation, Toto finally started forward.

The last in line was Simon, who had once again decided to participate.

’He’s walking right into the trap himself!’ Will thought, a smirk spreading across his face. ’I’ll make him suffer so miserably he’ll never act cocky again!’

While Toto crept forward, his body low to the bridge, Simon walked with an upright, confident posture, as if he were out for a neighborhood stroll. Every bit of Simon’s casual demeanor grated on Will’s nerves. He discreetly sent a hand signal to a third-year hiding in the nearby bushes.

Simon saw it all. He watched as the student behind the bushes activated black magic, manipulating something unseen.

The foothold under the female student at the front of the line suddenly gave way.

She screamed as her body plummeted, and the zombies below swarmed toward her. Will roared with laughter. “Hahaha! We have our first winner—huh?”

Just before she hit the water, she stopped, suspended in mid-air. A rope of turquoise smoke had wrapped itself around her waist.

“Got you,” Simon said, having activated his Cloud. The zombies shrieked and clawed at the air, but he effortlessly pulled on the ethereal rope, hoisting her back onto the bridge. “Are you okay?”

“Ah, yeah. Thanks, President!” she gasped.

Will’s face contorted with rage. ’That bastard is pulling his useless tricks again…!’

He gestured again. This time, the footholds under three more students gave way, and they fell simultaneously.

As if on cue, sections of Simon’s Bone Armor shot out and caught them.

“You son of a bitch! Just drop them all!” Will roared, his fury boiling over.

The third-year in the bushes poked his head out, looking bewildered. “Really, all of them? They’ll all fall in.”

“It’s fine, just do it!”

The magical force holding the bone bridge together vanished, and the entire structure came crashing down.

’I have a rough idea of his abilities from his profile,’ Will thought, a triumphant smile returning to his face. ’He can control eight undead at once. There are twelve of them. What can he possibly do…’

’Simon Original: Praetorian Guard’

Of course, Simon was prepared. From the bushes, twenty-four skeletons disintegrated into a storm of bone fragments, flying out in arcs of turquoise light. They caught all twelve falling students, including Simon, then linked together in mid-air, forming a new, stable bridge.

’You’ve got to be kidding me!’ Will’s jaw dropped. ’He made a whole new bridge?’

“Now! Everyone, cross!” Simon shouted.

The students scrambled across the makeshift bridge. Simon was the last to cross, retrieving his Cloud as he landed safely.

“We’re saved!”

“Th-Thanks, President.”

Just as the second-years collapsed on the ground in relief, Will strode toward them. “You bastard!” he snarled, grabbing Simon by the collar. “How dare you use black magic during a serious hazing ritual?”

Simon tilted his head. “Was there a rule against using black magic?”

“No, you fucker! Do I really have to spell it out for—”

“And what about you seniors?” Simon cut him off, pulling Will’s hand from his collar and pointing to the side. The bushes parted, revealing the third-year who had been controlling the bridge. “You were planning to drop all of us from the start by manipulating the bridge with black magic, weren’t you?”

At his words, the expressions of the second-years turned to ice.

Simon continued calmly, “If the point of the hazing was to enter that corpse water, then yes, I would have gladly done so. But your order was only to cross the bridge. So we crossed the bridge. Do you have anything else to say?”

Will ground his teeth in impotent fury. He couldn’t lay a hand on a student council member. He spun on his heel and shouted, “On to the final hazing!”

This time for sure, he vowed. This time, he would break Simon completely.

—

The third and final hazing ritual was divided by gender. A third-year girl led the female students away, while Will gave instructions to the boys himself.

“This course,” he said, the corners of his mouth lifting into a sneer, “is truly the highlight of our department’s hazing.” He glanced over and saw Simon standing there, looking perfectly calm. ’Let’s see how long that composure lasts.’ Will gave an exaggerated cough and addressed the other second-year boys. Toto was already trembling with fear. “The task for this hazing is an ’errand’.”

’Phew.’ Toto let out an internal sigh of relief. An errand was nothing. As long as it wasn’t drinking that foul concoction or wading through corpse water, he could handle it.

“You men,” Will announced, “are to enter the female dormitories of other departments and secretly bring back underwear.”

The outrageous demand left the boys speechless.

“F-For real…?” one of them stammered.

“What, you think I’d have you do it for fake?” Will shot back.

“I’m sorry!”

There were rules, too. They had to learn the name of the owner and report loudly which department she belonged to. This, Will claimed, was to prevent anyone from simply buying underwear in Rochest.

“Once you’ve completed the errand, you can do whatever you want—return the stolen items, go back to your dorm, even rejoin the main event.” He paused, cracking his knuckles. “Of course, any bastard who can’t bring something back… don’t even think about returning. And you can expect your life in this department to get very, very difficult.”

Everyone hung their heads in despair. Getting caught by seniors while sneaking into another dorm would be terrible, but getting caught by female students would mean being ostracized for good.

’Now, Simon Polentia,’ Will thought, sneering at him. ’What are you going to do this time! Even you can’t…’

“Understood, sir,” Simon said calmly. He reached into his inner pocket. Will flinched and took an involuntary step back.

’This bastard, don’t tell me…!’

But what Simon pulled out was not what Will expected. It was the armband symbolizing the student council, engraved with the Kizen mark. He proudly slid it onto his right arm.

“From now on, I will be speaking as the Student Council President.”

A murmur went through the crowd. Simon’s official inauguration was still two days away, but Jane had given the council members their armbands early so they could carry out their duties for the entrance ceremony. Will and the others had no way of knowing that.

’Don’t tell me…! He’s already been given the authority of the President?’ Will’s heart pounded, but he forced himself to remain calm. “…What are you trying to do?” he demanded, though his voice had lost its edge in the face of the armband.

Smiling quietly, Simon took out the Memorial Crystal Orb. “Hazing has been a long-standing custom among students. I participated out of respect for that custom. I drank the alcohol, and I crossed the bridge. But,” a sharp, cold smile played on his lips, “this crosses the line. You, sir, have coerced your juniors into committing a criminal act under the guise of a hazing ritual.”

Will’s own voice echoed from the crystal orb.

’—enter the female dormitories of other departments and secretly bring back underwear.’

’—Of course, any bastard who can’t bring it back, don’t even think about coming back. And you can expect your department life to get really twisted!’

Will’s face went rigid. Simon tucked the orb back into his pocket.

“H-Hey! Wait a minute! I think there’s been some kind of misunderstanding, huh? What I meant by stealing was not that—!”

“I have nothing more to say to you, Will,” Simon said, turning to walk away.

“W-Wait! Where are you going!”

Simon forcefully slapped away Will’s outstretched arm and smiled without looking back.

“I’m going to settle this with the department representative.”

It was time to stop swatting at the tail and go for the head.

—

The atmosphere at the main event, the drinking party hosted by department representative Leonard, was in full swing.

“Why the long faces?” Leonard laughed, sharing a drink with his juniors. While some second-years were chattering boisterously, others were sipping their drinks with grim expressions.

A third-year beside Leonard smirked. “They got picked. They’re probably worried about the hazing.”

“Ah, these kids,” Leonard sighed theatrically. “Can’t even manage their expressions in front of their seniors.”

“It’s no big deal. We all went through it,” another senior added.

Leonard calmed his drunk classmates and then spoke gently to the underclassmen. “It’s okay. I’ll ask them to go easy on you for the next round.”

At his words, a few of the second-years looked up, their faces brightening. “R-Really?”

“Of course.”

After skillfully placating the restless students, Leonard casually turned his head. “Where’s Lorraine?” he asked a third-year girl sipping a drink beside him.

“She said she was going to the restroom, but now she’s searching the Forbidden Forest,” the girl replied without looking at him.

“Will that be a problem?”

“No, she’s searching some random area, nowhere near the hazing site. The way she’s searching by hand without using her authority makes me think ’the rumor’ might be true. I’ve already sent some people to bring her back.”

“Good.”

Thankfully, it seemed the hazing would go smoothly. Just as Leonard was breathing an inward sigh of relief, a loud murmuring rose from the crowd. ’What’s going on?’

Sensing trouble, Leonard stood up. A path opened through the crowd of second-years, and walking through the gap was Simon, the student council armband prominent on his right arm.

’Simon Polentia. He’s back from the student council already.’ Leonard’s mind raced. ’Will didn’t cause any trouble, did he…? Huh?’

Just then, he saw Will trailing hesitantly behind Simon. Seeing him nervously glancing between the two of them, Leonard knew instantly that something had gone terribly wrong.

’That idiot…!’

“Hello, Senior,” Simon said, bowing his head politely.

Leonard forced a friendly smile and raised a hand in greeting. “Hey, Student Council President.”

“That armband suits you,” Leonard remarked.

“I came because I have a question for you, Senior Department Representative.” Simon activated a memorial crystal orb he’d pulled from his pocket, and Will’s explicit order to break into the girls’ dormitory and steal their underwear echoed through the clearing.

The second-years who had been part of the main event stared, their mouths agape. They were appalled that such a command had been given during a hazing ritual, and the female students, in particular, looked absolutely furious.

“Leonard, this isn’t what you promised me.” Even Benya, a fellow third-year, crossed her arms with a deep frown. A bead of sweat trickled down Leonard’s forehead.

“This…”

Simon’s gaze remained fixed on Leonard, cold and indifferent. “Did you order this, Senior?”

Of course not. The third hazing ritual, the ‘errand,’ was never meant to be this extreme. It was painfully obvious that Will, suckered by Simon’s provocation, had overplayed his hand trying to ensnare him, leading to this disaster. Simon could picture the entire scene perfectly. But even cornered, Leonard didn’t let his smile falter.

“And if I say I did, what then?” Leonard slowly spread his arms. “Are you going to run and tattle to the professors? We’re not the only ones who do this. It’s a long-standing tradition carried out by every department. More importantly, I believe we already had an agreement.” His voice dropped to a low murmur. “We don’t interfere with the Student Council President’s affairs, and in return, you don’t interfere with ours.”

“Huh…”

“We tried to honor our agreement like gentlemen, but you broke the promise first. I trust you’ll have no issue if we take this as a declaration of war? It wouldn’t be a problem for us third-years to step up and challenge the Student Council now, would it?”

From the very beginning, the hazing had been a trap for Simon. If he made an issue of it, he would be breaking his pact with the third-years, giving Leonard and the others the justification they needed to challenge his presidency. If he ignored it, rumors would spread among the second-years that he was a president who turned a blind eye to the school’s vile practices, tarnishing his reputation. Either way, his position would be shaken.

Leonard’s smirk seemed to ask, ’Now, what will you do?’

Life at Kizen was a constant series of political battles, and Leonard was no easy opponent.

Maintaining his poker face, Simon met Leonard’s gaze and nodded. “Yes, please do.”

“What?” A dumbfounded sound escaped Leonard’s lips.

Simon shrugged nonchalantly. “I have no attachment to the position, since I’ll be returning it to Aizel soon anyway. However…” He shook the memorial crystal orb. “As Student Council President, I will hold you and Will fully accountable. It will be a stain that follows you for your entire careers. And naturally, the department’s authority will be tarnished as well.”

“If you two are willing to sacrifice yourselves just to drag me down from the presidency, then fine,” Simon stated calmly. “I’ll take this and go see Lady Nephthys tomorrow.”

Leonard’s lips trembled. It had to be a bluff. ’Nephthys?’ No matter how directly the Student Council President reported to the Headmaster, she wasn’t someone he could meet so easily. However, if the by-the-book Vice Headmaster Jane caught wind of this, the entire school would be thrown into an uproar. The school permitted ‘Department Welcoming Parties,’ but ‘hazing rituals’ were strictly forbidden. That was why the students held their so-called traditions in secret, going as far as the Forbidden Forest.

Leonard fell silent. Simon tucked the crystal orb into his pocket, a faint smile playing on his lips. “If you don’t like that option, let’s negotiate.”

Leonard’s eyes narrowed. “N-Negotiate?”

He felt as though he were staring into the eyes of the devil himself.

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