novelraw Chapter 614: Episode 614
Chapter 614: Episode 614
Having successfully completed their inspection, Simon and Meirin took a carriage to their next destination. Jane had told them to rest after their hard work, but there was simply no time.
"Woooow!"
They arrived at the central area of Roc Island. It had once been an empty lot, but now, countless stalls were being erected in preparation for the Dark Festival.
"This is the market street!" Meirin announced cheerfully. "The heart of the festival! During the Dark Festival, you can buy all sorts of food and goods here!"
"Yeah, but..." Simon managed a wry smile. "...why are there so many students?"
The stalls weren’t supposed to open until the first day of the festival, yet the market street, still a bustling construction site, was swarming with them. First-years, taking advantage of their lunch break, were especially numerous. It seemed word had already gotten out.
"How is it?"
"It’s so delicious!"
"I’ll be back a lot once the festival starts!"
Since it wasn’t the official festival period, vendors couldn’t sell their food. Instead, they offered free samples as a way to test their recipes, and the students were more than happy to fill their stomachs. It was a clever way to generate buzz and word-of-mouth promotion.
"Should I put the box here?"
"Oh my, thank you so much, dear."
A stall run by an elderly couple was getting help from students, who used their skeletons to move materials and push heavy carts. Heartwarming scenes like this were unfolding everywhere.
’But...’
Simon’s eyes landed on a familiar face.
"Materials coming through!"
Among the construction workers was a female student with familiar tangerine-colored hair. She wasn’t just volunteering; she was dressed in the same work clothes as the crew, using her undead to direct the construction.
Simon approached her. "Eshe, what are you doing here?"
She whipped around, then shrieked as if she’d seen a ghost and stumbled backward. "Y-You’ve got the wrong person!"
"...You’re Eshe, aren’t you."
"Nooo! P-Please, anything but disciplinary action!" Panicking, she tripped over her own feet and fell with a yelp.
Simon asked with a deadpan expression, "Are you, by any chance, working here for money?"
It went without saying that any monetary transactions between students and outsiders were strictly forbidden during the preparation period.
"N-No! I’m just helping out of the goodness of my heart...!"
"Student! How long are you going to sit there?" a middle-aged man struggling with a stack of lumber shouted. "You said you’d do the work of five people if we paid you five times the hourly wage, right? You’d better work hard."
"M-Misterrr!" Eshe wailed.
She was caught red-handed. Simon walked up to where she sat on the ground and smirked. "The goodness of your heart?"
"...Ugh!" Sweating profusely, she finally broke. "F-Fine! I was broke, so I begged them to hire me as a part-timer! Are you happy now?"
"...Broke?"
"I spent it all! I used everything to buy the Abaddon set for the special Dullahan lecture! Without the materials, I can’t keep up with the next class! At this rate, I’ll be expelled before the first semester is even over!"
’Ah.’
He had momentarily forgotten, but Eshe was poor. Her family’s financial situation was so dire that she had even worked as a maid at Lorraine’s house when she was younger. Her cheerful personality usually hid it well, but she had her own struggles. She had even signed up for Kizen’s work-study program, waking up earlier than everyone else to clean the swimming pool and lecture halls just to make ends meet, sacrificing her own time to sleep and study.
’But rules are rules...’ As he was thinking, a memory surfaced.
"You guys are just going to transfer majors again anyway, right?"
"Summoning department? More like the transfer preparation department! Hahaha!"
The corners of Simon’s mouth twitched with anxiety. Eshe’s specialty was curse dolls. She claimed she had joined the Summoning department to focus on controlling her summon, but she was talented enough to have no trouble in the Curses department. It would deviate from the path she wanted, but transferring might be better than being expelled for being unable to afford class materials.
’Ugh.’
He didn’t want that. He’d grown fond of Eshe, and her leaving would crush the morale of Lorraine and Toto, the remaining members of Team 10. Most of all, he worried about Professor Aaron, who had suffered greatly from the mass student transfers in the past.
While Simon was lost in thought, Eshe resignedly held out her wrists as if for handcuffs. "Do what you want."
"Huh?"
"You’re going to arrest me on the spot, aren’t you?" she shouted, shaking her hands. "You’re going to have your subordinates drag me away and throw me to the disciplinary committee!"
The problem with her was that she let her imagination run wild.
"Simon, is something wrong?" Meirin, having heard the commotion, walked over.
’Oh no!’
Simon flinched. Eshe, seeing the student council armband on Meirin’s arm, shrank even further. ’Meirin would definitely handle this by the book!’ She was a strict follower of the rules when it came to council business.
As sweat beaded on the back of Simon’s neck, Meirin crossed her arms and stared down at Eshe. "Who’s this?"
"Ah... uh! Let me introduce you. This is Eshe Arjel, from my group in class. And this is Meirin, the vice president of the student council."
"Hmm, I see." Meirin nodded indifferently, her eyes shifting to Simon. "So, what did she do wrong?"
She already assumed Eshe was at fault. To be fair, Eshe’s expression screamed ’I am a sinner’.
"Ahaha, it seems she has some personal troubles!" Simon said, stepping in front of Eshe to shield her from Meirin’s gaze. "She’s been having a tough time lately!"
Meirin’s eyelids lowered. "Personal troubles, you say?" she murmured. She walked past Simon and crouched down in front of Eshe, meeting her gaze. The frightened girl turned her head away, but Meirin spoke softly. "I’m not sure what’s going on, but..."
Eshe squinted, and a white business card entered her field of vision.
"If you have any worries, the student council can offer counseling. If you don’t trust that idiot," she said, jerking a thumb at Simon, "you can talk to me."
"Ah." Eshe took the card, looking bewildered. "Thank you," she mumbled. The card had a simple design, with ’Student Counseling Center’ printed in the middle.
Meirin stood and turned to leave. "And if you’re worried about money—"
Both Eshe’s and Simon’s eyes widened.
"An official notice will be sent out soon. Work-study students will be officially permitted to provide labor and receive payment from Kizen-approved businesses."
"Ah!" Eshe’s eyes welled with tears. "Th-Thank you, Vice President!"
Meirin just waved a hand over her shoulder as she walked away. Simon smiled, watching her go.
’Thanks, Meirin.’
---
Three weeks flew by in a flash. And then, the day finally arrived.
"A sincere welcome to everyone who has come to the ’Dark Festival’!"
With a series of brilliant pops and bangs, massive fireworks exploded in bursts of color, marking the opening of the festival. Students filled the front rows of the outdoor ceremony venue, with dignitaries seated in the VIP sections on either side. Surrounding them all was a massive crowd, packed so tightly there wasn’t an inch of space to spare.
On the stage, a man in a flamboyant costume stood with his arms outstretched.
"Hello, everyone! I am Seiwyr Grizman, and I will be your host for this year’s Dark Festival opening ceremony!"
He swept into a gentlemanly bow, and the crowd erupted in an explosive cheer for the undisputed superstar.
-Seiwyr!
-Seiwyr!
"It’s a pleasure to be here! Yes, hello! Hahaha!" He tapped the amplification crystal to check the volume, then continued. "Like many of you, I too once dreamed of becoming a necromancer."
He placed a hand over his heart. "I was lucky enough to be born with the innate ability to create illusions! It was common knowledge that an ability user who becomes a necromancer is set for life, so my mother sold our mansion to open my core and send me to an academy."
This was a side of the great star Seiwyr that no one had heard before. The audience fell silent, captivated.
"But it wasn’t easy! My innate ability had no synergy with Jet-Black, and my skills in black magic were mediocre at best. I had no talent, only ambition! I told myself I could do better, that I was just unlucky! That I was destined for greater things! On days when my superiors scolded me, I would wrap myself in my illusions and live there. In my illusions, they were the ones groveling at my feet."
A ripple of empathetic laughter spread through the crowd.
"But there were friends who pulled me out of that fantasy and guided me to a new path! They are this year’s 330th graduating class student council members!"
A murmur of surprise went through the audience.
"Though I couldn’t achieve my own dream, I have developed a deep interest in and affection for these young necromancer students. I hope they will make the Dark Alliance shine brightly in my stead! That is all!"
Seiwyr’s sincere words earned him a storm of applause.
"And now, we will begin the Dark Festival opening ceremony! Will the students and our esteemed guests please rise!"
---
"Ugh! Why did he have to bring us up! It’s so embarrassing," Meirin muttered, her face flushed.
Behind her, Kamibarez, who was diligently combing Meirin’s long hair, smiled brightly. "I thought it was wonderful that Seiwyr mentioned us!"
Dick chuckled and shrugged. "A precarious second-year student council like ours can use all the public recognition we can get. He really knows how to see the big picture."
In the waiting room behind the stage, Simon was adjusting his coat, sharing a smile with the others. His speech was next, and a team of stylists had come to fix his hair and apply a touch of makeup.
When they were finished, Dick sidled up to him with a smirk. "You look pretty mature when you’re all dressed up. Don’t you think?" he said, turning to the girls.
Meirin and Kamibarez nodded in surprise.
"W-Well! Not bad!"
"It really suits you, Simon!"
"Thanks."
Just then, Seiwyr’s voice boomed from the stage.
-And now! Let’s introduce Student Council President Simon and the members of the student council!
"That’s our cue!"
"Let’s go!"
Simon straightened his tie and walked toward the stage. This was his first major public event as president.
’I must,’ he thought, his resolve hardening. ’I must make this a success.’
Walking toward the light, Simon finally stepped onto the stage.
A thunderous cheer erupted. Simon and the student council members—the representatives of the student body and the stars of the festival—ascended the podium. As an official ceremony, etiquette was paramount. Simon gracefully lowered himself into a bow and extended his hand to Meirin.
An escort from the student council president. She was secretly thrilled but fought to keep a neutral expression, suppressing the smile that threatened to spread across her face. With the utmost poise, Meirin placed her hand in his.
’Are you watching!’ she thought, feeling a powerful urge to scan the crowd for Serne.
Finally, they reached the center of the stage. Simon exchanged a nod with Seiwyr and took the amplification crystal from him. Taking a slow, deep breath to calm his nerves, he looked out at the crowd below. The entire student body of Kizen. The great powers of the Dark Alliance. And surrounding them, countless citizens.
This was the view from the top.
Simon raised the amplification crystal.
"I am Simon Polentia."