CH 106

Chapter 106

"Now, the teleportation circle back to Kizen is on the roof of the exhibition center. You can go up those stairs."

Shun hugged Simon tight with teary eyes.

"I, and the rest of Blue Harbor, will forever remember what you did for us. Whatever happens to you in the future, big brother, we'll be on your side. We'll welcome you anytime, big brother Simon."

"Thank you, Shun. I'll never forget what happened here."

Then, Elizabeth entered Simon’s subspace along with the Overlord. Simon also bid farewell to Shun, and then walked up the stairs.

There was a teleportation circle headed toward Kizen drawn on the exhibition center's roof.

The servant bowed his head.

"Are you ready to return to Kizen?"

"I am."

Simon grinned.

"Let's return."

* * *

The magic circle functioned normally. Simon, returning safe to Kizen, took a deep breath.

"Haah… I missed this air."

Simon slowly walked down the hill where wildflowers were in full bloom, and arrived at the first-year campus.

As it was still a mission period, the campus should be quiet for the rest of toda—

"Hm?"

It wasn't quiet at all!!! Colorful triangular party flags were strung up across the campus, and fancy flags and balloons were everywhere, giving the place a festive atmosphere. Promotional banners were also hung on the walls of the building.

In the vacant lot of the first-year campus, many booths both small and large had been set up.

The students in the booths were screaming enthusiastically to attract guests' attentions, and it was bustling with students looking around and handing out flyers.

'What? What's going on?'

The school was suddenly in a festive mood.

As Simon was looking around in confusion…

"Hey, you! Are you a first-year student?"

A female student in a Kizen uniform spoke to him. She purposely asked if Simon was a first-year student, and there was a red mark on the collar of her uniform signifying that she was a second-year.

Simon quickly bowed his head.

"Yes, Senior! Good morning!"

"Hm? Ah, good morning."

She said as she pulled a pamphlet out of her pocket.

"I'm in a dungeon research club. If you're interested, come take a look."

"…What?"

She winked and moved on. She could be seen handing out pamphlets to other passing students, as well.

'A club?'

Simon looked at the pamphlet.

Aren't you curious about 'dungeons', the great mystery of the present generation where the repository of monsters, danger, and treasures coexist?

Benefits of joining: Activity funds, club points, free rental of exploration equipment, can do dungeon exploration instead of missions!

'So today was the start of club season, huh?'

Simon had heard a brief explanation about clubs from Rick.

When Simon looked up, there was most certainly an unbelievable sight taking place.

The second-years, who had remained aloof, were completely ruining themselves in the club season. They put on ridiculous makeup, made themselves a laughing stock, and even grabbed passing juniors and acted charming.

'It's a bit overwhelming.'

To the first-year students, the second-years weren’t particularly welcome guests.

Of course, they had some sort of respect for those who survived this lifestyle for over a year, but the second-years were all snobby and easily offended.

There were many cases of them bad-mouthing the first-years for not greeting them properly when running into one, and even giving them personal errands or taking them to a dark alley to punish them. (Of course, getting caught by the professors or assistant professors would lead to disciplinary actions.)

Recently, there was an incident in which second-year commoners persistently bullied a first-year noble, which made the situation even more sensitive.

In such an atmosphere, it was surprising to see the second-years actively stepping forward as equals to the first-years. In fact, it was a sight that could only be seen during the club season.

Simon looked around as he walked toward his dorm.

A huge competition was unfolding. Two beautiful female seniors fought over an obese first-year male student, pulling him toward themselves by the arm. The male student was blushing, and he looked like he had a screw loose.

And on the other side, a male senior with clear-cut features was pinning a first-year female student against the wall and waving a club flyer.

As she was about to be tempted, a tough senior from the sports club holding a club banner came up and started to get angry at him. Even though she told them not to fight over her, she was looking back and forth enthusiastically to decide which one to choose.

'…'

Simon felt his head go numb.

They were acting like it was the end of the world. What in the world was going on?

'I need to get out of here quickly.'

The moment Simon felt a sense of danger and was hastening his steps as he headed toward the dorm…

"A first-year! A first-year is here!"

* * *

Reaper Scans

Translator - Ramen

Proofreader - Artethrax

* * *

"Where do you think you're going?!!"

The second-year who had found Simon rushed over and blocked Simon's way.

"Hey, first-year! Healthy students make a strong school! Would you like to join the physical club?"

A male student lifted up his shirt and showed off his trained abs.

"Get out of the way, muscle head! Hey, first-year!! No, sorry… Oh kind first-year, would you perhaps be interested in dark magic that allows you to dream whatever you want?"

"Kizen's always about adopting pragmatism! How about us, the transformation club, rather than those bastards there? It'll be a great help when you're on an undercover mission…!"

They were all shouting over each other!

As the seniors continued to rush in, Simon, all on his own, was looking every which way in a desperate attempt to find an escape.

But at that moment, a female student ran in and grabbed Simon by the wrist.

"Haha! This first-year student will be taken by us, the jet-black kendo club!"

"They're running away!"

The other second-year students all followed after Simon. Just as a chase was about to start…

"Kugh!"

The female student from the kendo club bowed her head with a droopy face.

"Ughhhh… I'm so tired."

"S-Senior? What's wrong with y—?"

The rest of the second-years also suddenly became tired, and began to fall to the floor.

As Simon blinked in confusion, he saw a man approaching him, completely unaffected by whatever was happening.

He was a tall man, standing at least 190cm, and jet-black was flowing from his body. Every time he took a step, the grass and flowers around him rotted or fell.

"I found you, Simon Polentia."

The man stopped in front of Simon.

"I'm the president of the Kizen curse research society."

Simon felt all the hairs of his body rise up after feeling an unexplainable ominousness. As the man raised his arm, Simon tensed up and prepared himself.

Thud.

"…?"

But then, he knelt down before Simon.

"Please join our curse research society!"

"Wh-What?"

"I beg you! I'll be dead if you don't join us!"

The second-year grabbed Simon by the leg. Simon panicked and tried to shake him off, but he wouldn't budge.

'Why is this happening to me…?!'

The president of the curse research society couldn't forget the look in Bahil’s eyes when they met a week ago.

"Use whatever means you must to make Simon Polentia, a first-year student, join the curse research society."

"P-Professor?"

"If you can't even do this, then it'd mean our relationship is over."

Bahil began to grin.

"If you fail, step down from your position as my direct disciple."

He could never let that happen.

He didn't know how great that first-year student was to make Bahil go this far, but for him, it was a matter of life or death at Kizen.

"S-Senior! Please don't do this here!"

Just five more seconds … If he could hold on for just five more seconds, the high-purity mental curse would be applied to Simon's body. After that, everything would be simple…

Sshhk.

At that moment, a red thread fluttered between Simon and the president of the curse research society. His eyes went wide.

Kaboooooom!

Blood magic activated in the air, and the two of them were pushed back. The club president fell on his back.

"If you're his so-called senior, let's not pull dirty tricks here, shall we?"

A blonde girl in a red embroidered coat was approaching them.

The students around them whispered amongst each other and backed away as though making a path for her. Simon also raised his head and looked at her.

"I'm the president of Saddam, the blood research society."

She said vigorously.

"Ah, yes. I'm the first-year student Simon Polentia."

"We have heard about the new blood type that you own, SM-1. It doesn't matter if you're good at curses or summoning. You're a unique being in the field of the blood."

She slowly approached and ran her finger under Simon's eyes.

"Symptoms of jet-black depletion. The mission you had this time must've been quite daunting, I see."

"…!"

The woman folded her arms again.

"If you join Saddam, we'll use all our available resources in our research group to conduct research on blood type SM-1. SM-1 consumes blood and amplifies jet-black. If you train enough, you'll finally be free from the symptoms of jet-black depletion and be able to handle a larger amount of jet-black.

Simon blinked. Actually, he wasn't very interested in clubs, but this was a pretty interesting offer.

'Come on, take the bait.'

She had also been waiting for Simon to appear. That was because…

"The appearance of blood type SM-1 will turn the world upside down. And I'm considering putting your name in the SM-1 research paper next to mine."

It was because Silage, who made her his direct disciple, said so.

Silage wanted Simon Polentia to be his direct disciple, and the first step to that was making him join Saddam, a blood research club.

If he became more and more interested in hemomancy through coming across it in the club, there'd naturally be room for him to change his chosen major.

"Hey."

At the voice from behind her, she quickly stepped back. The ground she was standing on was rotting black.

"Why don't you wait in line?"

Ssshhh.

The humiliating appearance from before was nowhere to be seen. The curse society president stood up with a bloody expression on his face.

"Wait in line, my ass! Do you think this is a food distribution center or something?"

"You've become big, huh? It seems like just yesterday you were crying like a baby after losing in the first-year duel evaluation."

The president of Saddam laughed at those words.

"Why aren't you talking about the fact that I have won three matches in a row since then? You're nothing but a sacrifice for my growth."

"…You little!"

The moment the two of them were about to activate their cores, looking like they were about to start fighting at any moment…

Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaang!

A chair fell from the sky out of nowhere. The two presidents, as well as the students around them, screamed and stepped back.

'Kugh!'

Simon looked ahead, covered in dust. He saw a man sitting proudly in the chair with his legs crossed.

He was in school uniform, but he was wearing a cape and had a crown on his head. He rested his chin on his hands.

"Are you the Special Admission No.1, Simon Polentia?"

"Ah, yes."

He was a second-year student. He threw a club registration form at Simon's feet.

"Consider yourself lucky! I shall give you the honor of joining Noble!"

"…What?"

Kaboom!

Poow!

Half of the chair the man was sitting on was rotting, and the other half was covered in blood. The man quickly jumped out of his chair and clicked his tongue.

"There are disturbances. I see."

"I was talking to him first!!"

The three of them stared at each other with vicious force.

And Simon, who was looking at those seniors from a distance, had only one thought.

'Ah, I want to return already and try using the Overlord.'

——