Chapter 481: Episode 481

The day’s schedule was finally over. After finishing his afternoon major classes, Simon trudged toward the Student Council room. On the way, his direct subordinates, who were cleaning the Student Council building, greeted him with crisp bows. Simon smiled and returned their greetings.

A moment later, he arrived at the Student Council President’s office. He knocked twice.

“I’m here, guys.”

When Simon opened the door, he saw Meirin and Kamibarez chatting over tea. The two girls turned their heads in unison and greeted him cheerfully.

“Simon.”

“You’re here!”

Across the room, Dick gave a quick wave before gesturing toward the Student Council President’s desk.

“Now that you’re here, could you sign these?”

“Got it.”

Today was a day for official duties. Simon took off his school uniform jacket, hung it on the coat rack, and then slipped on the Student Council President’s coat that was already hanging there.

’This feels nice.’

It was a symbol of power and the highest honor a Kizen student could achieve. He still couldn’t forget the awe in the first-years’ eyes when he first wore it. The feel of the high-quality fabric was exquisite.

Dick watched him with undisguised envy.

“Wow, you look so cool. If that were me, I’d wear it everywhere—to the bathroom, even to sleep.”

Meirin and Kamibarez giggled. Simon willingly took off the coat and handed it to Dick.

“Go on, try it on.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

Dick didn’t refuse. He immediately draped the coat over his shoulders and began preening in front of the mirror. The girls, their curiosity piqued, came over, and a moment later, Meirin was whining that she wanted a turn. Dick desperately clutched the coat and scrambled away.

“Alright.”

Simon, in his shirtsleeves, sat down in the spacious president’s chair. The quill pen used for the president’s signature was also ridiculously luxurious; its feather was as long as a person’s forearm.

’Let’s get to it.’

Simon had to review and sign various documents that had come to the Student Council. Since it was still early in his term, there were no complex forms, mostly just student suggestions and complaints.

’Install a temporary restroom behind the outdoor training ground? This is definitely necessary.’

Simon had struggled with this many times himself. During training, a trip to the bathroom meant a thirty-minute walk to the nearest building. He signed the document.

’Permit for a cafe near the entrance. This one’s a bit ambiguous, so I’ll put it on hold.’

He wanted to approve everything, but he had to reject matters that were too expensive or unrealistic. Even if the Student Council approved it, the school would likely put it on hold anyway. Balance was key.

There were also cases where he could only choose one of two proposals, like what to build on an empty plot of land.

’This is fun.’

Handling the school’s affairs made Simon truly feel like he had become the Student Council President. After happily finishing his work for the day, he leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes.

’I wish the workload after school was always exactly like this.’

“Simon.”

Simon opened his eyes. Meirin, who had finally managed to wrestle the president’s coat onto her shoulders, was standing there with a bashful look on her face.

An exclamation escaped Simon’s lips.

“It looks great on you, Meirin! I’d believe you if you said you were the real president.”

Meirin smiled, playing along.

“Hmph, then why don’t we switch? You can be the vice president.”

“That sounds good to me.”

“Ah, enough joking around. Take a look at this, too.”

She rustled out a document and presented it with both hands. Simon took it and read it.

“Oh, the Restaurant Evaluation System. This is the one you mentioned before, right?”

“That’s right!”

Meirin launched into a detailed explanation. Since the four of them had decided to do this together, Simon signed the document without hesitation.

“Yes! So you approve? Thank you!”

Meirin hugged the document to her chest, her face lit with a bright smile. Just then, the president’s coat on her shoulders slipped off with a soft ’whoosh’. Meirin spun around and shouted, “Hey!!”

“Kami should get to wear something like this too. Here.”

“So cuuuute! You look like a little captain!!”

Simon smiled, satisfied with the warm and friendly atmosphere of the Student Council. He was glad he could continue to spend time with these friends. They were a true source of vitality in his Kizen life.

They were sitting on the sofa, having a cup of tea and talking about their classes, when Dick spoke up.

“Playing around is nice, but shouldn’t we start planning this out?”

He held out a blank form. Kamibarez, who was cozily nestled in Simon’s president’s coat, tilted her head.

“What’s this, Dick?”

“It’s a timetable. And course registration is tomorrow!”

’It’s tomorrow.’

Simon was well aware of Kizen’s notorious reputation when it came to course registration. The required major courses for second-years were fixed, but the general courses were not. He could choose up to four from Cursology, Jet-Black Dynamics, Necrology, Hemomancy, Venomology, and Combat Magic, with a minimum of three.

The one mandatory course was Jet-Black Dynamics. And ’Defense Against Divinity’, newly added by Nephthys’s order, was also a requirement to prepare for the looming war with the Holy Federation. Dick mentioned that Defense Against Divinity was assigned by each department, so it had nothing to do with course registration.

“The dorms are going to be in an uproar. Now, I’ve compiled a list for us!”

The other three leaned in, their eyes sparkling as they looked at the list. Simon stroked his chin.

“This is pretty complicated.”

“Only if you sweat the small stuff. No need to overthink it. In the end, all we have to do is choose which professor’s class to take.”

While the first-year timetable was in constant flux, the second-year schedule was more or less fixed. The first two days of the week were for major classes, the last two were for general classes, and the middle day was a mix. You could roughly guess which classes were available on which day.

「Intermediate General Jet-Black Dynamics – Professor Jane Olivia / A」

“By the way, what does the ’A’ next to the course mean?” Simon asked.

“Umm…”

Meirin pushed back her hair and frowned.

“Since it’s Professor Jane’s class, doesn’t it mean it’s an ’A-level class’?”

“Wrong. It just indicates the ’time slot’,” Dick corrected, shaking his head and pointing to another course as an example. “Look here, Professor Byulya’s ’Intermediate General Venomology’ also has an ’A’ next to it. It means they’re at the same time. In other words, you can’t register for two classes in the same A-line. You have to pick one.”

“Ah!”

“So, if you really wanted to take Venomology, you’d have to take Professor Crowley’s class instead of Professor Byulya’s, since his is in the D-line.”

“I get it now.”

Simon looked over the list with interest. Besides the core necromancy subjects, there were also liberal arts courses like history, economics, and foreign languages. These didn’t affect grades much but could be taken as light electives.

“There it is! This is too easy,” Meirin said, scribbling on a blank piece of paper.

「Intermediate Jet-Black Dynamics – Professor Jane Olivia / A」

「Intermediate Cursology – Professor Bahil / C」

「Intermediate Combat Magic – Professor Hongfeng / D」

“For starters, these three are a definite lock! What do you think?”

Dick let out a dumbfounded laugh.

“That’s an insanely luxurious lineup. I mean, if we could actually pull that off this year, I’d be happy just thinking about it.”

“The problem is—”

Simon raised his index finger.

“That every other student will have planned the exact same schedule, right?”

“You got it, Simon.”

Dick nodded and clicked his tongue. A timetable that allowed one to take classes from all of Kizen’s star professors: Jane, Bahil, and Hong Feng.

“This is an idealistic dream schedule.”

“So what? Aim high! Dream big!” Meirin declared with a broad smile.

Kamibarez looked at Dick.

“By the way, Dick, how exactly does course registration work?”

“Ah, right. I’ll explain.”

The process itself was simple. You go to the professor, submit your registration form before the class is full, and get their signature. That’s it.

But there was no way the infamous Kizen would make it that easy. They typically littered the paths to the professors with monsters, obstacles, and other dangers.

“Last year, they supposedly released a ton of monsters all over the second-year campus. To register for a course, you had to risk your life just to go outside.”

“…Ugh, classic Kizen.”

Meirin shuddered.

“To sum it up, course registration is another competition,” Simon said, crossing his arms. “We don’t know if Kizen will release monsters or set up obstacles, but if we can get through them faster than everyone else, we can claim the best courses, right?”

“Exactly!”

Dick’s eyes gleamed as he raised his index finger.

“That’s why we have to plan this out perfectly. First, let’s decide on the first class to register for. We should be able to get into the first place we visit without much trouble.”

“Obviously Professor Jane’s class!” Meirin announced.

Kamibarez looked at her.

“But Meirin, you’re a Jet-Black Dynamics major, so you’re already taking it, right?”

“Look here, Kami.”

Meirin showed her the next page of the list Dick had brought—the course syllabi, which outlined overviews and required materials.

“It says, ’The core of this class is the acquisition of essential knowledge and enhancement of capabilities that a necromancer must know.’ It even says that Jet-Black Dynamics majors are welcome to register! There might be some overlap, but the more of Professor Jane’s classes you take, the better!”

“Okay! If even Meirin says so, the first course is Professor Jane’s. What’s next?”

Kamibarez made a thoughtful face.

“Professor Bahil’s class and Professor Hong Feng’s class! It’s hard to choose which one to go for first!”

“Ah, but according to my intel, registering for Professor Hong Feng’s Combat Magic is the toughest. To find him, you have to search not just the second-year campus, but the entire Roc Island.”

“Then let’s put Professor Hong Feng third for now and do Cursology first,” Simon suggested.

And so, the four Student Council members’ desired timetable and registration order were decided: Jane, Bahil, then Hong Feng. As for the fourth and final course, they decided to take whatever they wanted individually.

Simon didn’t have any particular thoughts about a fourth course. He was already taking three major courses, three general courses, and Defense Against Divinity, for a total of seven classes. Since he was also busy with his duties as Student Council President, adding an eighth class was something he’d have to consider carefully.

They had set their timetable and even devised a backup plan in case things took too long or their initial plan went awry.

“I’m a bit worried about Professor Bahil’s Cursology,” Dick said, stroking his chin. “Every necromancer has to take Cursology, but is Professor Bahil okay? He didn’t even show up for the department selection ceremony.”

Simon’s expression faltered, and Meirin shot him a glare.

“He must be fine if his name is on the list. You dummy!”

“I want to keep learning Cursology from Professor Bahil, too!” said Kamibarez.

Simon nodded. He felt the same way.

—

That night. Summoning Dormitory.

Toto was snoring softly, apparently exhausted from the day’s classes. Simon sat at his desk, lamp on, pondering a new rotation formula for his Skeleton Knight.

A cold droplet hit his face, then another. Simon turned his head.

’It’s raining.’

A fierce downpour was lashing against the window.

Simon got up and closed all the open windows.

’Course registration starts at dawn. I wonder if it’ll stop by then.’

He stretched and sat back down at his desk, the quill scratching against the paper. The sound of the night rain seemed to heighten his concentration.

’Oh, this is good.’ Simon wrote down the idea that had just occurred to him and underlined it with a few quick strokes. ’What if I start the axis of rotation right from under the skeleton’s feet…?’

A sudden thump made Simon flinch and raise his head.

He was sure he’d heard something nearby, but there was nothing. Toto was asleep, and outside, only the sound of the rain lashing against the window filled the silence. He held his breath and waited, but heard nothing more.

’…Did I imagine it?’

Just as Simon was about to focus on his studies again, another ’thud’ echoed through the room.

His senses now on high alert, Simon immediately whipped his head toward the sound.

’!!!’

And then he saw it. A clear, human handprint pressed against the windowpane.

Simon was so startled he nearly jumped out of his seat.

A hand struck the glass again and again, followed by the sickening slap of long, soaking-wet hair plastering itself against the pane. A terror that stole his breath seized him, and he backed away.

“Wh-who’s there? Toto! Toto! Wake up, quick!”

Simon grabbed Toto and shook him, but his roommate wouldn’t wake up no matter how hard he tried.

The hand kept thumping against the glass.

’Oh, wait a minute.’

Just then, Simon’s eyes widened. That ghost… its face looked strangely familiar.

Simon swallowed hard and slowly walked toward the window.

He threw open the window.

A roar of rain instantly filled the room, and through the downpour, he saw her: a woman, soaked to the bone, clinging to the wall just below his window.

Simon’s eyes widened in shock.

“TA Chehekle!”

It was Chehekle, Professor Bahil’s head teaching assistant for Cursology.

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