Chapter 495
Summon Materials Science.
Professor Grerion himself described this class as being closer to Chimera Design Theory, and it always required a great deal of cleanup afterward.
The assistants of Materials Science were, as usual, running around drenched in sweat.
Half of them were covering up the soil students had dug up in the botanical garden or cleaning the floor, while the other half were clearing away the debris and trash scattered over the outdoor tables.
— Sssshhhht!
Occasionally, there were still living plant-type monsters on the tables. The assistants casually incinerated them with Darkness Fire and swept the ashes into dustpans.
Because so much manpower was needed, Professor Grerion himself willingly lent a hand with the cleanup.
"Professor Grerion."
While Grerion was carrying trash in his burly arms, the head assistant approached him.
"Do you have a moment?"
"Yes."
Thud!
Grerion dumped the load into the trash heap and turned his back.
They walked toward Simon's table.
"Here, please look at this."
The head assistant pointed to the insectivorous chimera planted in Simon's pot. At the sight, Grerion immediately took off his sunglasses and stepped closer.
"...He grafted Segelo and Kigil. I don't even need to test it in Roinah's pot to know. This is clearly an A+ work."
"I thought the same, which is why I called you."
The head assistant continued.
"But Simon Follentia's grade is only an A. He chose to be evaluated on a different piece, despite having this better one."
"...."
Grerion crossed his arms and stroked his chin.
"Either Simon Follentia made a poor choice... or—"
His eyes sharpened behind his sunglasses.
"—we overlooked something. Is that it?"
The head assistant bowed apologetically. Grerion strode ahead.
"Bring me Simon Follentia's evaluation project!"
"Yes, sir!"
The assistants brought over Simon's potted plant chimera, marked with his name tag. Without hesitation, Grerion uprooted it and replanted it into Roinah's pot.
An illusion appeared, showing the chimera's form six months into the future.
It was alive and thriving.
"As you saw earlier, there's no special change."
The head assistant spoke. Grerion studied it with a grave expression before waving his arm.
"Let's finish the cleanup first, then return."
"Yes, sir!"
Hours later, with the cleanup complete, they returned to Roinah's pot.
"...!"
A shocking sight unfolded before them.
Within Roinah's pot bloomed a brilliant garden of flowers. Simon's plant chimera had expanded outward.
"The chimera..."
Grerion removed his sunglasses again, his hand trembling faintly.
"...It reproduced?"
Normally, plant chimeras were formed by fusing two plants with black magic, which made reproduction impossible. Even in rare lucky cases, they would grow into only one of the two parent species.
But this one... grew exactly as Simon had grafted it.
'That brat...!'
Sweat trickled down Grerion's forehead.
Did he create an entirely new species?!
He had thought Aron was just boasting about his student. But no—Aron had come to warn him.
'About this boy.'
The one who had created a Lich instead of a Mage.
Telling him not to be shocked, no matter what might happen in class.
A rough laugh rumbled out of Grerion's chest.
"Assistant."
"Yes, Professor!"
"We'll amend his grade. Announce it to the Department of Summonology, and after explaining to the students, raise Simon's grade from A to A+."
This was the reaction he gave when he was truly satisfied.
But another assistant, face stiff, protested.
"B-but, Professor! If we make grade corrections starting from the first evaluation, there'll be backlash from the students, not to mention suspicions cast on our class!"
"A mistake was made, so we admit it."
He chuckled, slipping his sunglasses back on.
"What an entertaining lad we've got in the department."
* * *
The next morning.
The long-awaited Mission Evaluation finally began.
Simon woke up and headed straight to Feer's Ruins. He loaded countless undead for battle into his massive subspace.
Feer had once fought against that insane group, and Simon judged that they might even need the power of an army.
"I'll leave the defense of the ruins to you, Akemius."
[Yes, young master.]
Akemius placed his hand on his chest and bowed respectfully.
[Please return safely!]
This time, Simon was accompanied by Feer, Erzebet, Prince, and Herseba.
Akemius, who had shone in the battle at Langerstine, would guard the ruins. Of course, thanks to Herseba's authority, World of Sand, he could be summoned at any time—so he wasn't truly out of the battle strength.
Hopefully, the situation wouldn't escalate to needing Akemius as well.
"Then, I'll be off."
With his preparations complete, Simon departed the ruins.
The 2nd-year campus was deserted. Most students had already teleported away at dawn, and Simon's turn came later.
He crossed the campus, climbed a hill, and arrived at the site where the large teleportation circle was installed.
The chatter of students awaiting adventure filled the air. A group of ten stepped into the teleportation circle, while the managers read out the names of the next group.
"You're here."
Kajan waved from where he sat resting in the shade of a tree.
Since it was best to conceal his identity as a Keyzen during missions like this, he wore adventurer's gear topped with a neat gray robe.
Simon smiled back.
"Thank you for coming to help, Kajan!"
Having long shown interest in Tarados, Kajan had also decided to join this mission. He had promised to cooperate with Simon's true objective: finding the body of the Ancient Undead, Kal.
"Doing the mission evaluation with Kajan, I feel reassured!"
"Mm."
Kajan rubbed his neck with a tired look.
"That code has been nagging at me. I couldn't sleep well."
Apparently, that message of 'Save me'. had left a deep impression even on Kajan, who usually fell asleep the moment his head hit the pillow.
"Hey, look, it's Simon!"
"Siiiimon~!"
"?"
At the sudden call of his name, Simon turned to see Maelyn and Kamibarez running toward him, waving cheerfully.
"Maelyn! Kami!"
"Hey, what's this? You're just leaving now?"
Both wore adventurer gear.
Maelyn had tied her sky-blue hair into a ponytail, wearing a sporty jacket and shorts with black stockings. Her lively aura radiated brightly.
"It's lucky we got to see you before the mission!"
Kamibarez wore a hooded top, a tall-brimmed hat, and a long skirt. It seemed she had already modified her clothes, as her wings peeked out from the slit in her back, flapping gently.
"But why are you two alone? Where's Dick?"
"Dick left at dawn! He had a merchant-related request!"
"Ah, I see."
Maelyn laughed playfully, hooking her arm through Simon's.
"Seriously, boys these days. Not even once joining us for a mission evaluation? Don't you worry about us at all? Won't you escort us?"
Simon scratched his head awkwardly.
"Next time, the four of us will definitely go together."
Kamibarez rose on her tiptoes, fluttering her dainty little wings.
"How about we team up when the Black Request comes in?"
"Sounds good."
"Yay, nice nice! I'm really confident in hiding my Darkness!"
The three of them chatted boisterously, just like when they hung out in the student council room. Maelyn suddenly smiled brightly and glanced behind Simon.
"But who's the friend going with you for the mission evaluation?"
"That would be me."
Noticing the scar across his right eye, she gasped and quickly bowed her head.
"S-sorry, Senior Kajan."
"Just call me Kajan. I'm not your senior."
Kamibarez beamed.
"Kajan! Please take good care of Simon."
Even the usually stony-faced Kajan showed the faintest trace of a smile in front of her.
"Of course. Leave him to me."
Just then, the teleportation manager called out Maelyn and Kamibarez's names.
"Oh, that's us. We'll see you later."
"See you, Simon! And Kajan, come back safe too!"
"Yeah, take care."
Simon waved, while Kajan simply gave a curt nod.
The two girls pulled their robes over their uniforms and hurried toward the teleportation circle.
After Maelyn and Kamibarez vanished in teleportation light, it was Simon and Kajan's turn.
The two of them stepped onto the circle. Since this particular teleportation site was unusual, they were the only ones on the large magic array.
"Departure!"
At the manager's shout, the circle activated.
Woooom!
Their feet lifted lightly off the ground. Simon, long accustomed to this sensation, simply relaxed into it.
'Just a little longer and…'
"?"
But their feet settled back down on the floor.
Had they already arrived? Simon quickly glanced around—but the scenery hadn't changed. They were still standing on the teleportation circle in Keyzen.
"S-sorry. Please wait a moment."
The staff gathered urgently to discuss. Simon and Kajan exchanged looks.
"Not a great start. We're not… stuck here, are we?"
"No, just delayed. We'll get through."
A moment later, the staff seemed to have figured it out and bowed deeply.
"Our apologies. There's been a problem."
"What problem?"
"It seems another student already used the destination circle in Tarados."
Long-distance teleportation like this required two circles: one at the departure point, and one at the destination. When students reported missions from Keyzen, agents across the continent would prepare teleportation circles in advance.
But apparently, someone had already used the Tarados circle.
"This is ridiculous…"
The staffer holding the roster scratched his head.
"We teleported the students exactly according to the list… so why…?"
Simon narrowed his eyes.
"No way."
Kajan scratched at his scar.
"You're thinking the same as me, aren't you? That woman."
Serne Eindark.
If she manipulated the staff with her feathers and then erased their memories, something like this was entirely possible.
'Is it really Serne? Or someone else? Which student used the Tarados circle? And why?'
"What's done is done. What matters is now."
Kajan addressed the staff.
"How long until you can rebuild a circle to Tarados?"
"Half a day at least."
"Any alternative?"
The staff unfurled a document.
"There's a region called Eplun near Tarados. You can teleport there directly, and from Eplun take a carriage. It won't take too long."
Simon and Kajan nodded.
"Then let's do that."
* * *
Simon and Kajan arrived safely in Eplun, a neighboring fief close to Tarados.
When they opened their eyes, they found themselves in the middle of a barren wilderness, sand winds howling across the empty land.
It was normal; teleportation circles were usually built in secluded areas. Pulling their robes close, Simon and Kajan began to walk.
"Ah."
Before long, tower-like structures rose in the distance.
"There's some kind of buildings… could be a village?"
"Let's see."
They needed a carriage to reach Tarados, and to find one, they had to reach a settlement.
But when they arrived, it wasn't a village.
It looked more like ruins.
Overgrown plants hinted it might once have been a garden, but completely neglected. Stone towers lined the place, and strange buildings lay collapsed and abandoned.
Once, people must have lived here, but now it had become an old ruin. Lilies floated on a pond.
"No signs of life. Looks deserted."
"Yeah."
Kajan crouched, sniffing the ground.
"We'd better leave quickly."
"Why?"
"There's poison in the air. Not artificial, but it means a poisonous zone must be nearby."
At that moment—
[Boy!]
Feer's voice rang out.
[Release me.]
"Huh?"
[Quickly!]
Startled by his urgent tone, Simon immediately summoned Feer from subspace.
The towering skeleton, cloak billowing, appeared. Kajan, already familiar with some of the 7th Legion's Ancient Undeads, showed no surprise.
[I sense it here. Follow me!]
"?"
Simon and Kajan exchanged puzzled looks but trailed behind Feer.
At some point, all the surrounding plants had withered, and the pond had turned into a murky, polluted color.
"!"
Shhhhhh—!
The corrupted pond surged upward, mud from the bottom swirling together in the air.
[Heh heh heh! To think I'd see one here!]
Feer grinned darkly. Simon stared, stunned.
The pond's murky mud was shaping itself… into the contours of a face.
'...N-no way…'