novelraw Chapter 607: Episode 607
Chapter 607: Episode 607
Simon slowly opened his eyes.
The scenery had changed, but he wasn’t surprised. It was the familiar interior of the school infirmary.
’...When did I get brought here?’
He remembered the victory, the power of the Chaos Dullahan, the cheers of his teammates as they celebrated. After that, everything was a blank.
"Simon’s awake!"
"Simon!"
The students in the room swarmed his bed. A girl with black hair was the first to reach him, grabbing his hand.
"Are you okay? How are you feeling?" she asked, her voice laced with worry.
"Ah, Lorraine."
He was dizzy and his head was foggy, but it was bearable. Simon struggled to sit up. "I’m fine. What happened with the exam?"
"What do you think!" Eshe threw her arms in the air. "You got first place, Simon! That means Group 10 and Group 4 got the highest scores, too! It was incredible!"
"...Haha." Simon nodded, a dazed look on his face. "That’s a relief."
"It was insane! You’re a hero, Simon! Should we just toss you in the air, bed and all?"
"Eshe."
At Lorraine’s pointed stare, Eshe covered her mouth and sheepishly backed away.
"I’m so glad you’re okay, Simon." Toto looked gaunt, the stress of the past day etched on his face.
Simon smiled wryly. "You look pale. Sorry for making you worry."
"N-No! As long as you’re safe..."
"Still, 10,000 was too reckless," Lorraine said, her tone feigning anger. She still hadn’t let go of his hand. "What possessed you to do something like that?"
The genuine concern in her voice made his chest flutter. "I’m not sure myself," he admitted. "Everything happened so fast. But..." He smiled. "I was certain I could do it."
Lorraine laughed, a sound of fond exasperation. "That’s exactly what makes it reckless."
For a moment, her smile was dazzling.
Just then, the leader of Group 4, who had been hesitating in the back, stepped forward. "I’m really sorry, President." He bowed his head. "If I had gotten a proper score, I wouldn’t have put so much pressure on you."
"I told you," Simon said with a shrug. "I was just going to do what I could. That’s all it was."
The group leader smiled awkwardly, scratching the back of his neck.
Eshe crossed her arms, a playful grin spreading across her face. "You know, President, that comment sounds a little smug."
Laughter finally filled the room, breaking the tense atmosphere.
A knock sounded at the door. It opened, and a doctor from the Kizen infirmary walked in, his white coat fluttering. "You’re awake. That’s a relief. I need to check on the patient, so the rest of you should return to your classrooms."
"Yes, sir!"
The students filed out. Lorraine paused at the door, clasped her hands, and bowed her head. "Please take good care of Simon."
"Haha. Of course."
After the last visitor had gone, the door clicked shut. Once they were alone, the doctor sat on the edge of Simon’s bed and said abruptly, "Alright, now take off your shirt."
"Pardon?" Simon blinked at the strange command.
"I need to examine you."
"Ah, yes."
Simon hesitantly unbuttoned his patient gown.
"How are you feeling?"
"I’m fine, just weak and a bit foggy."
The doctor, without any medical instruments, began to run his bare hands over Simon’s body. A strange feeling began to creep over Simon. There was something oddly personal about the way the hand touched his abdomen.
"...Erze."
At the name, the doctor’s hand froze. Seeing the reaction, Simon’s suspicion hardened into certainty. "I’m going to get angry," he warned. "What are you doing here?"
The doctor stared at him for a long moment before a dazzling light flashed. But instead of a spider’s web, the form dissolved into a shower of white feathers, like a swan molting.
"Is this what it feels like?"
The light faded, and in its place sat Serne, pouting. "When your man mutters his ex-girlfriend’s name in his sleep and the mood turns sour?"
"S-Serne?!" Simon’s face flushed.
She leaned in close, a devilish smile playing on her lips. "Who’s Erze? What kind of woman is she?" Her platinum blonde hair cascaded over his face, the fragrant scent of her perfume tickling his nose. "Oh, right, I remember now. The pet name for your Ancient Undead, isn’t it? Does she do this sort of thing to you, too?"
Serne traced her palm over his body, mimicking an examination. His face turned beet red.
"D-Don’t do that!"
"Hehe." She flicked her tongue playfully. "The charismatic man who was drenched in blood yesterday, cutting down 10,000 monsters, is now completely helpless. The contrast is... ticklish."
"Serne!"
"I’m kidding." She covered her mouth, giggling. "Anyway, the daughter of Kizen’s head asked me to take care of you, so shall we continue the examination?"
Simon’s mouth fell open as he remembered Lorraine bowing to this "doctor."
"It’s an order from the future head, after all." Serne ran a hand through her waterfall of ivory hair, plucked out a single feather, and placed it on Simon’s bandaged chest, moving it around lightly. The sensation was soft, ticklish, and dizzyingly strange.
"What are you doing!" he shouted, flustered.
"It’s an examination," she purred, her voice as sticky as melted candy. "Later, when you’re all better, you can get your revenge on me in the same way."
"What are you talking about—!"
The door flew open with a ’clatter’. Meirin burst in, her light-blue hair flying. "Simon! I heard you were hurt! Are you okay?"
Her eyes landed on the scene, and her face instantly turned a shade of crimson. Simon, lying on the bed with his gown unbuttoned, and Serne, sitting next to him, tickling him with a feather.
Unable to process what she was seeing, Meirin let out a piercing shriek. "What are you two doing in a hospital room!"
Before anyone could stop her, she unleashed her black magic. A bluish light flashed, and the room was instantly plunged into a deep freeze, snow and ice coating every surface.
"Heehee." Serne deftly dodged the attack, perching on the windowsill. She waved at Simon. "I’ll come again later, Simon. And see you around, Meirin!"
With that, she leaped out the window. Meirin, exploding with rage, rushed after her, forgetting they were on the sixth floor. "You—!"
Dick and Kamibarez, who had followed her in, stood dumbfounded. Just then, the real infirmary doctor appeared between them.
"Ugh, did I overdo it yesterday? I suddenly got so sleepy... Hmm?" He blinked, his eyes slowly taking in the scene. The awakened patient. The open window. The hospital room, now a winter wonderland. And a girl with light-blue hair, her face beet red, looking as guilty as a criminal caught in the act.
"I-I’m sorry..."
---
Simon was moved to a larger, cleaner room.
After cleaning up her mess, Meirin had to apologize profusely to the infirmary staff before she was allowed to leave. Fortunately, they didn’t report the incident to the school.
"Wow, you’re a real menace," Dick said with a sly grin, having found new material to tease her with. "Who just unleashes an ice bomb because they’re pissed off? When you grow up and catch a cheating spouse, you’ll probably destroy the world."
"I said I was sorry!" Meirin shouted, her face flushing as she demurely peeled an apple.
Dick yelped and clutched his shoulder dramatically. "Meirin’s pissed! Please, just don’t turn me into an ice statue!"
"Hey!!"
Simon and Kamibarez burst out laughing. Their eyes met, and Kamibarez smiled sweetly, fluttering her bat-like wings. "I was so worried, Simon."
"Sorry. This seems to be happening a lot lately."
"Get well soon and come back!" Dick said, crossing his legs and snickering. "Something big is coming to the student council soon."
At that, everyone’s attention turned to him. Simon tilted his head. "Something big?"
"Yeah, but it’s not confirmed yet, so I can’t say more here. We’ll discuss it when you’re back. For now, just focus on getting better."
Simon scratched the side of his head. "Saying it like that just makes me more curious."
"You’ll find out soon enough. Ah! But speaking of curious..." Dick leaned forward with a sly smile. "So, what’s the feather treatment like?"
Meirin, her face beet red, threw her chair at him. The corner of the chair slammed into Dick’s face with a ’thwack’, and he let out a strangled cry as he rolled on the floor.
---
Simon focused on resting.
Fortunately, the weekend was approaching. Being stuck in the infirmary on weekdays would have been a major setback for his classes.
In the meantime, a steady stream of visitors came to see him. The seniors and friends from the Mutants club, led by Benya and Fitzgerald. The first-year juniors, including Sasha, Arthur, and Princess Molly. His former classmates from Class A, like Jamie Victoria, Claudia Menzies, and Cindy Vivace.
Seniors and peers from the Summoning department also visited. The student council’s direct subordinates and the teaching assistants he’d gotten close to came as well.
Even professors came to visit. Professor Parahan from Divine Protection brought the baby divine beast kittens, and after him, even incredibly busy people like Jane, Hongfeng, and Byulya stopped by.
-For such a genius to be injured by the side effects of a mere summon!
The Curses professor, Bahil, was particularly passionate, ranting about the injustice of it all. He brought so many Curses textbooks as gifts that they filled the room. He stayed long past visiting hours and had to be physically dragged away by the infirmary doctors.
Late in the evening, his supervising professor, Aaron, stopped by, looking a bit haggard. He didn’t say much.
-I’ll prepare the Bone Dragon lesson.
Simon felt like his heart would burst with joy. He rolled around on the bed so excitedly that he fell off and scraped his knee.
The weekend passed, and on Monday morning, Simon was discharged and returned to his classes. Since it was right after midterms, the Summoning professors kept the pace relaxed and ended their lectures a little early. Grateful for their consideration, Simon packed his bag and headed to the student council room for the first time in days.
"Hey, you’re here!"
Dick, Meirin, and Kamibarez were already waiting. Simon put on his student council president’s coat and took his seat.
Dick strode to the wheeled blackboard, cleared his throat, and tapped it for attention. "Alright, it’s time to discuss ’that issue’!"
Simon smiled wryly. "I’ve been dying of curiosity. Spit it out."
"Okay, okay. In three weeks..." Dick picked up a piece of chalk and wrote a single phrase on the board.
’The Dark Festival’
"The national-level event that happens once every five years! The massive sports festival co-hosted by Kizen and the Dark Alliance is about to begin!"
Simon’s eyes widened. "A s-sports festival?"