Simon told Serne everything that had happened in the North. At first, he focused on the events that led to the region’s liberation, but as she listened, her eyes curved like a fox’s.

"Don’t you think you’re leaving out the most important part? Why did our dear Seventh Legion Commander travel to such a cold, distant land just to meet the Second Legion Commander?"

It was pointless to hide anything from someone who was always ten steps ahead. Simon told her the truth, and she finally nodded in satisfaction.

’Interesting,’ Serne thought, taking a sip of her juice. ’First Desland, and now the Frost Field is in the hands of the Seventh Legion Commander. Does Simon even realize the implications?’

Originally, the Frost Field was strategically meaningless, held in check by the Grand Duke of the North. But now, the Grand Duke and the entirety of Kalos North were Simon’s staunchest allies. If necessary, Simon could move the Northern God and march the forces of the Frost Field down to the continent. The Grand Duke would willingly clear the path.

A useless force had become a useful one. And what if the armies of Desland and the Frost Field could move simultaneously? The territories that would fall within their range... the powers that would come under immense strategic pressure...

Various scenarios rapidly formed and dissolved in Serne’s mind. It was very satisfying.

’If only I can get my hands on him.’

She looked at Simon, her eyes languid. For a moment, a chill ran through his body.

"Are we done now?"

"Yeees’. So, what should we do with the pervert who fearlessly entered my room?"

Simon flinched. "Wait, that’s not what we agreed on! You said it would be over if I told you everything."

"Oh my, I don’t recall saying that." She chuckled and waved a hand. "I doubt someone like you would fall for the same trap twice. Besides, shouldn’t the price for seeing my body be worth at least a few kingdoms?"

"I didn’t see anything!" She was the one who set the trap; she’d had everything covered from the start. As Simon glared, his face beet-red, she giggled.

"Alright, alright. Instead..." She aimed the tip of her long, white finger at Simon’s forehead. "Promise me that, the day after tomorrow, you’ll hide the fact that you’ve claimed the ’Northern God’ from Lorraine Archbold. How about it?"

Simon’s expression soured. "If you’re trying to keep Kizen in check, Nephthys probably knows everything already. She’s the one who sent me."

"Oh my, that’s not my intention at all."

"Then what’s the reason?"

She propped her chin on her hand and smiled. "Self-satisfaction?"

’I know something Lorraine doesn’t.’ For now, that was enough. It was a cheap price to pay. As Serne said it, she felt she was being far too merciful.

"I’ve already paid the price," Simon said, standing up. "I don’t want to lie to Lorraine."

"Oh."

Serne blinked. Not bad. Did he know how to raise his own value? Of course, Simon wasn’t the type to care about such trivial things. Integrity. Since he’d told her, he would tell the other side the truth as well.

’He’s different.’

The feather-infested humans couldn’t act like that. They always moved based on the situation right in front of them, and while that might get them average results, they always made critical mistakes and fell to ruin. That’s why Serne simply eliminated variables with her feathers.

What if everyone thought and acted like Simon? What would it have been like then?

"Then shall I add a few more cards to my side?" She flicked the edge of the towel wrapped around her body.

"Wait!"

Simon’s face turned the deepest shade of red imaginable. He couldn’t let himself be dragged along at her pace any longer. Squeezing his eyes shut, he stretched out an arm. The bones attached to his clothes shot out, throwing open the window, and Simon launched himself through it.

"Oh my?"

Serne walked to the window. As he fell, Simon shouted up at her, "See you in class tomorrow!"

Then he was gone. She snorted. "Who does he take after, being such a prude?"

She let the towel slide to the floor. Underneath, she was wearing a simple tank top and shorts. Walking lightly to the mirror, she began to tie up her wet hair, preparing for bed.

---

The next morning, Simon was riding a golem board to school with his roommate, Toto, his eyes hollow.

"Simon! Are you okay?" Toto asked, poking his head out from behind him. "You don’t look well. Was the special class that tough?"

"...It’s not that. I just didn’t sleep well last night."

Last night had been hectic. He had fallen into Serne’s trap, gone to Pier’s ruins to drop off the legion’s undead, and then returned only to read a few lines of his textbook before passing out. In his dream, Serne had appeared, pouncing on him after he was captured by her feathers.

’Ugh, I’m so tired.’

He drove the golem board in a daze and finally arrived at the classroom. His first class since returning was Aaron’s ’Intermediate Summoning’. Today’s performance evaluation was on creating the spider undead, Arachnia.

The evaluation was being held outdoors. Tables were lined up for each student, and teaching assistants were moving quickly, setting up the necessary materials.

"President!"

An energetic voice called out as a head of tangerine-colored hair popped up from below. It was Eshe Arjel from his group.

"Hi, Eshe," Simon greeted her warmly.

"Yep! Hiii, Toto." Eshe waved at Toto, who was standing awkwardly behind Simon. His ear tips turning red, Toto waved back. "Ah, hi."

Eshe quickly turned back to Simon. "I’m glad you’re back safely! You’re later than your scheduled return, huh?"

"Something like that. The situation on-site got a little complicated."

"It was so chaotic in the department! When Senior Aizel came back, everyone was saying you might ’become the next Aizel’!"

’What’s that supposed to mean?’ Simon smiled wryly. Kizen was always a headache with its strange slang that appeared and disappeared so quickly.

"Ah."

Just then, another familiar face walked past: Aseraz Mikel, ranked fifth overall. They weren’t close, but since they’d made eye contact, he was about to raise a hand to greet her. She pretended not to see him and walked away with a cold turn of her head.

"That girl, honestly," Eshe grumbled, then lowered her voice. "Do you know what happened while you were gone? Everyone was worried about you, but Aseraz openly said that with you gone, everyone moves up a rank, so isn’t that a good thing?"

Simon smiled wryly. "Well, this is Kizen, where skill is everything. I guess that makes sense."

"Honestly. And..." Eshe stepped back a little and gave a sly smile. "On the other hand, the person who was most worried about you not coming back was Hect—"

"Shouldn’t you be most worried about your own mouth, Eshe Arjel?"

Eshe yelped and stumbled backward as the massive figure of Hector approached, his faction members snickering behind him.

Eshe’s face turned red as an apple. "Ah, h-hi, Department Rep...! ’Ehehe."

Hector gave her a look of utter disinterest and clicked his tongue.

At the cold reaction, Eshe’s shoulders trembled. The single strand of hair sticking up on her head drooped dejectedly. Behind Simon, Toto also seemed to deflate.

Hector’s eyes turned to Simon. "Did you prepare well for the evaluation last night?"

Simon scratched the back of his head. "Actually, I barely did."

A triumphant smile spread across Hector’s lips. "That’s what you get. No matter how much you fool around, relying on talent alone, this time there’s no way out for you..."

"Students! The professor is arriving! Please line up!"

At the teaching assistants’ shout, the students quickly formed lines. Professor Aaron walked over, flanked by two assistants, dressed in his usual messy hair and sloppy shorts. He scanned the students before his gaze landed on Simon. Simon gave a silent nod, and Aaron returned it.

"As announced, today we will be conducting the Arachnia performance evaluation. You’ve easily created humanoid or animal-type undead so far, but this is your first time assembling an arthropod of the spider order, so I expect many of you will struggle. Still, an evaluation is an evaluation." He turned his back. "We will begin without further ado."

’Click.’

He activated the timer in his hand. "Begin."

---

Two hours later, the evaluation of the results began.

"...Simon Polentia." Standing before the Arachnia Simon had made, Aaron let out a dumbfounded laugh. "A+."

"Ooooooh—!"

Gasps of admiration erupted from the students. Simon smiled awkwardly and bowed. "Thank you."

"You couldn’t have had time to prepare separately, given the special class."

A bead of sweat trickled down Simon’s face. "...I-I think I got a little lucky."

In truth, an Arachnia was nothing compared to the upgraded ’Corpse Spiders’ that Erzebet was currently creating for the legion.

The results were as follows:

- 1st: Simon Polentia

- 2nd: Hector Moore

- 3rd: Aseraz Mikel

- 4th: Guinevere Venners

’Fwoooosh!’

In the distance, Hector, unable to contain his anger, kicked a table, threw his materials, and breathed fire from his mouth. His faction members clung to him, trying to hold him back.

"You fell for his tricks, Hector."

"There’s no way Simon didn’t study."

Hector had been in excellent condition and had actually beaten Aseraz, but he’d lost the top spot due to Simon’s sudden return.

Aaron gestured for Simon to follow him.

"The next class is also about spider undead," Aaron began once they were in a quiet place. "But it seems you won’t need it. We’ll do the Bone Dragon class during that time instead. It’ll probably be a long-term project. Are you ready?"

Simon nodded, his face determined. "Yes!"

"Good."

After that, a counseling session with his supervising professor followed. They talked about his Summoning studies and briefly caught up.

"Aizel Bringer from the third year is back. What have you decided about the student council presidency?"

"I’ve decided to maintain the presidency until the final exams. We’ll have a duel after they’re over."

"...I see." Aaron seemed lost in thought, a complicated expression on his face.

Simon blinked. "What is it, Professor?"

"If you want," Aaron said, looking up, "we can postpone the Bone Dragon to the second semester, and I can give you lessons on interpersonal dueling instead."

"Ah."

Simon was moved, not having expected Aaron to show such special consideration. He smiled brightly. "Thank you very much for the offer, but I’m fine! I can’t get my priorities mixed up, can I?"

Creating a Bone Dragon was so difficult that some necromancers would pour decades into it. It was called the ultimate art of Summoning for a reason. Simon had promised Nephthys he would create one within his second year, so starting now, with the first semester almost over, was already a little late.

"If that is your wish, I understand." Aaron nodded and stood up. "Return to your seat."

"Yes! Thank you!"

---

That afternoon.

’Pfft... Pfft...’

Chehekle, the head teaching assistant of the Cursology Department, looked on as if she’d seen it all. She sighed. "...Are you going on a blind date, Professor?"

Bahil was spraying himself with cologne in front of a large mirror. His attire was a high-end suit, far more formal than usual, and his shoes were freshly polished. After slicking back his hair, he admired his reflection and smiled.

"Of course not. It’s just a supplementary class."

"That supplementary class is ’my’ responsibility as the head teaching assistant."

Bahil, stylishly adjusting his bow tie, retorted, "Even for you, Chehekle, I cannot concede on that."

’What’s gotten into him?’

It was a supplementary class, not a regular one. Nine out of ten professors left them to their assistants and went home, and Bahil himself had always done so. But now he was insisting on taking it himself?

"A one-on-one private lesson between me and Simon Polentia." He walked away from the mirror with a meaningful smile. "I can’t possibly miss this golden opportunity."

"...What nonsense are you spouting? There are four students from your General Curses class eligible for this supplementary class." She shook the document on his desk. "I asked you to please at least check the list, didn’t I?"

"Ah, did you?" Bahil turned his back. "The names of the mediocre don’t register in my eyes."

’You crazy bastard.’

He had probably only remembered Simon Polentia’s name again.

’Pfft... Pfft...’

Spraying himself with cologne once more, Bahil’s lips curled into a smile. "Then I’ll leave the lecture for the other three mediocre ones to you. Just bring Simon to my lecture hall in secret."

’Argh!’

Chehekle’s arm trembled. She felt an intense urge to pull the resignation letter from her pocket and throw it right in that smiling face.