—————————————————————–
Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Chaos
—————————————————————–
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Simon gulped. Lena, after examining Camibarez’s wounds once more, said calmly,
“You fought with other students, didn’t you? It’s best to deal with these things during the student protection period. It won’t do any good to just suffer in silence…”
“I didn’t fight with other students.”
He had been attacked by a Priest who had betrayed Kizen, but he couldn’t tell her the truth.
It was a secret that could shake the very foundation of Kizen, and it could put Lena in danger.
“Then what happened?”
“It’s a complicated situation; I can’t explain everything. I’m sorry.”
“…….”
Lena frowned and rubbed her forehead.
She could see Simon’s silhouette bowing its head from behind the curtain.
From her long experience, she knew that a servant couldn’t change anything by interfering in student affairs.
‘Treatment first.’
She took out a first-aid kit and various medicines from the drawer.
She cleaned the wounds with gauze and expertly disinfected them.
Camibarez, still asleep, frowned and groaned.
After disinfecting the wounds, Lena carefully applied a slime-based healing agent to prevent scarring and then bandaged them.
Fortunately, the wounds weren’t serious.
She wrapped a bandage around Camibarez’s thigh, where the deepest cut was.
Camibarez’s sleeping face relaxed.
“Simon,”
Lena emerged from behind the curtain.
“Take off your clothes.”
“…E-Excuse me?”
Simon’s eyes widened.
Lena crossed her arms, her expression impassive.
“I need to see your wounds too. Take off your shirt.”
“Oh. Right!”
Simon, thinking he had been surprised quite a few times today, removed his uniform.
He took off his jacket and shirt and rolled up his pants to his knees.
“I’ll disinfect them first.”
Lena knelt in front of Simon, dabbing a cotton ball with antiseptic.
‘Ahem.’
Seeing Simon’s bare torso made her blush involuntarily.
Why did this student have to be so unnecessarily well-built?
Abs like that at his age?
‘…Oh, this is embarrassing. Calm down, heart.’
She had her adult pride to maintain; she couldn’t harbor impure thoughts about a minor.
Composing herself, she professionally disinfected his wounds.
Simon winced and twisted his body.
“Ow, that hurts!”
“Just bear with it.”
Lena smacked his leg lightly.
He was still a kid, after all, prone to exaggerating.
After disinfecting the wounds, she applied the healing agent and bandaged them.
“You shouldn’t overexert yourself for a while, or the wounds might get infected.”
“Thank you!”
Simon bowed politely.
A student saluting a servant?
Lena was taken aback and took a step back, then cleared her throat awkwardly.
“I don’t know what happened today, but…nothing is more important than your health. You need to be in good shape to survive at Kizen. You understand what I mean?”
“Yes!”
“The girl is safe too. I’ll call some trustworthy colleagues from the girls’ dormitory to take her back quietly.”
“Thank you so much! I won’t forget this.”
Simon bowed again.
After Simon left the duty room, Lena sat down with a sigh.
‘…I wonder how long that student will last.’
She thought he was a rare find at Kizen, a boy with a surprisingly human touch.
A strange feeling lingered within her.
***
“S-Simon! You’re safe!”
As Simon entered his dorm room, Rick, who had been pacing anxiously, rushed towards him.
“What happened? Where’s Cami?”
Simon calmly explained what had happened.
He told Rick that they had been chased by the Watchmen, got lost deep in the forest, and eventually made their way back.
He omitted the part about the Priest.
He would discuss that with Camibarez later.
Rick, who had been delayed while evading the Watchmen, arrived a little later.
He said that Meilyn, left alone in the practice room, had been trembling with rage and frustration.
Of course, once he explained about the Watchmen, she seemed to understand.
In the end, Rick had successfully obtained the ingredients from Rochester, so they could make the potion tomorrow.
Thud!
“Whoa! You scared me!”
The door burst open, and Kajann Edvalt entered.
He had a towel draped over his wet hair, having apparently just come from the bath.
“You’re back, Kajann?”
Simon greeted him with a smile.
Kajann didn’t reply.
He tossed his uniform aside, climbed into his bunk bed, and pulled the covers over his head.
Within a minute, they could hear him snoring.
“…I really don’t understand that guy.”
Rick shrugged and went to his own bed.
Simon stared at the sleeping Kajann for a moment, then grabbed his blanket and headed to his bed.
He was exhausted.
***
The next morning.
Simon told Rick to go to class ahead of him and waited by the building entrance, leaning against the wall.
As familiar Class A students passed by, he saw Hector and his clique arrive.
They looked at Simon with surprise and whispered amongst themselves.
‘She’s late.’
Simon glanced at the wall clock, anxiety creeping into his heart.
Class was about to start, and there was still no sign of Camibarez.
What was wrong? Was she too sore?
Or was she too shaken by last night’s events to attend class?
Even Simon felt a chill run down his spine when he recalled the image of the Priest praying in the Forbidden Forest.
He had even had a few nightmares.
Simon was somewhat accustomed to the sight of prayer, as his mother was a Priest, but it must have been far more traumatizing for Camibarez.
‘I’ll have to go to the girls’ dormitory after class… Huh?’
Just then, he saw a female student with a familiar face walk past, carrying her bag.
She smiled brightly when she saw him.
“Oh, Simon! Good morning!”
Camibarez hurried over.
Contrary to Simon’s worries, she seemed energetic.
“…Wait a second, Cami.”
They moved to a quiet area behind the building.
“You were really scared yesterday, weren’t you? Are you sure you’re okay?”
She nodded slightly.
“Yes, I’m fine. It just feels like…a dream.”
“A dream?”
A pleasant evening stroll in the forest.
Picking mushrooms with Simon.
Being chased by the Watchmen.
Simon carrying her across the ravine.
And finally, the terrifying encounter with the Priest.
“It feels like a dream that turned into a nightmare, and then I woke up with fragmented memories… I don’t know how to explain it. It feels unreal.”
She said, rubbing her scraped elbow.
‘Is she coping by treating it like a dream?’
Whatever the reason, he was relieved she seemed alright.
Simon got straight to the point.
“The Priest ran away when they saw the Watchmen. It’s likely they didn’t see your face.”
“Oh…”
“Don’t tell anyone about this, and just act normal. I’ll find out who that Priest is.”
“I also…!”
She suddenly stepped closer and stood on her tiptoes.
“I want to help you, Simon!”
“H-Huh?”
“It’s not fair that just because my face wasn’t seen, I should be excluded from this! This is our problem!”
Simon was taken aback by her intensity and leaned back slightly.
“O-Okay. Alright. I’ll ask for your help when the time comes.”
“Okay!”
Just then, the bell rang, signaling the start of class.
They hurried to the classroom.
***
Their first class was Curseology with Bahil.
Once class began, the events of last night in the Forbidden Forest faded from Simon’s mind as he focused on the lesson.
Bahil finished his theoretical explanation and moved straight to practical exercises.
“In the last Exhaust curse lesson, I saw many students relying on correction tools. So, this time, we’ll practice with a simpler curse.”
The ‘Curse of Transfer’ used the basic formula for all curses, imbuing a target with Jet Black.
The goal of this lesson was to successfully cast this spell by creating a magic circle in mid-air without using correction tools.
‘Focus.’
Simon held his palms facing each other, concentrating.
As if holding a large fruit in his hands.
He had to release Jet Black from his palms and draw a magic circle in the air.
Simon’s dark blue Jet Black flowed out, forming a ‘circle,’ the first step of the magic circle.
‘…This is tough from the start.’
After painstakingly creating the base circle, he drew runes in the center.
It didn’t go as smoothly as he had hoped.
As he tried to add more runes, the base circle wobbled, and his hands trembled.
Despite the difficulty, Simon continued to draw the runes and formulas.
Ideally, it should have been a clean, precise image, like a printout, but Simon’s magic circle looked like the letters were wriggling around on their own.
‘Ugh.’
He decided to try casting the spell anyway.
On his desk was a plant that resembled a tall pole.
It was a plant that thrived on Jet Black, and if the Curse of Transfer was successful, flower buds would bloom on its stem.
Simon activated the magic circle with bated breath.
Poof!
Instead of activating, the magic circle exploded and dispersed.
Simon sighed in disappointment.
‘This isn’t easy.’
He had to catch a Cyclops next week; he didn’t have time for this.
He gritted his teeth and held out his palms again.
“How is it? Manageable?”
A warm hand rested on his shoulder.
He turned to see Bahil standing there, smiling warmly.
Simon tensed up and replied,
“Y-Yes! I’m working hard…”
“Core control.”
Simon stopped mid-sentence.
“Your Core control is lacking, which reduces the density of your Jet Black and hinders the proper construction of the magic circle.”
“Ah…”
His heart pounded.
He had been aware of his limitations, but hearing it directly from a Kizen professor was a different experience altogether.
“There’s no place where you can properly learn Core control. It’s too basic for Kizen to teach, and the method varies from person to person.”
Bahil raised his index finger from the hand resting on Simon’s shoulder.
“Excuse me for a moment.”
He pressed his finger against Simon’s shoulder.
Click.
Simon’s mind went blank, and he heard the sound of water droplets.
The noise of the other students faded away, and he felt like he was adrift in a silent void, separated from the classroom.
“There’s a prejudice that curses are always harmful. It’s quite unfortunate, as someone involved in the field.”
Bahil said with a wry smile.
With the surrounding noise gone, his voice was exceptionally clear.
“Professor, this is…”
“Don’t be alarmed. I’ve simply amplified your senses using a modified sensory curse. Now, focus again.”
Bahil’s gentle voice calmed Simon.
He didn’t seem to have any malicious intent.
“Take a deep breath and gather the mana from the atmosphere into your body.”
Simon did as instructed.
Bahil placed his other hand on Simon’s shoulder.
“Now, we’ll pass the mana through your Core. Watch closely as I demonstrate.”
Simon felt a strand of mana within his body, one he couldn’t control.
It flowed into the Core below his heart.
But it didn’t just pass through.
The mana rotated around the Core, undergoing a viscous transformation.
“Your Jet Black is different from ordinary people’s. Simply extracting it like you’re doing is inefficient.”
“Then…”
“Circulation.”
The mana rotating within the Core naturally transformed into Jet Black and was released outwards.
It resembled the corona of a black sun.
“Discard the idea of conversion, transformation, or modulation. Think of your Core as a living being, and gently guide it. Patiently wait for the Jet Black to flow out naturally.”
“Ah…!”
“Now, it’s your turn.”
Simon nodded and focused on the mana within his body.
Not conversion, but circulation.
The image of circulation.
He repeated the words in his mind, visualizing them with mana.
As if responding to his will, the mana flowed into his Core and began to circulate.
“There’s no need to forcefully control your Core. Relax and observe. Let it do what it wants.”
As Bahil instructed, the Core moved on its own.
It rotated the Jet Black, drawing in the surrounding mana, and the Jet Black grew stronger.
The Core filled up and released the Jet Black outwards.
‘Ah…!’
Finally,
A black sun formed within Simon’s body.
“Well done! Now, let’s reduce your amplified senses by 50%.”
His blurry vision cleared.
The muffled voices of the other students returned.
“Now, try again.”
“Okay!”
Simon repeated the process several times.
The first attempt failed, as the Jet Black wasn’t as responsive without the heightened senses and focus, but he got the hang of it on the second try and succeeded on the third.
“Jet Black has a tendency to remember.”
Bahil said, tapping his forehead.
“Like a person’s hands and feet. If you repeat the same motion hundreds or thousands of times, the Jet Black will eventually try to replicate the learned flow without conscious effort. It’s fascinating, isn’t it? That’s why repetitive practice and establishing good habits are crucial.”
It felt good.
The realization sunk in.
Simon had thought Bahil was a cold and calculating person, but he was seeing a new side to him.
“Now, let’s try applying this to the curse, shall we?”
Bahil’s voice amplified Simon’s senses again.
All other thoughts vanished, and he focused solely on his body, his Jet Black, and the plant in front of him.
“Generate your Jet Black.”
At Bahil’s instruction, Simon raised his hands, palms facing each other.
Jet Black flowed from his fingertips like paint.
“Don’t worry; I’m assisting you. Feel free to complete the magic circle as you wish.”
“O-Okay!”
It felt completely different from when he was doing it alone.
The magic circle floating in the air was perfectly stable, allowing Simon to generate as much Jet Black as he needed.
It was an amazing feeling.
The struggles from just moments ago seemed laughable as the magic circle was completed in an instant.
“Now, activate it!”
As his senses returned to normal, Simon opened his eyes and activated the magic circle.
A streak of Jet Black, resembling lightning, shot out and struck the plant.
Whoosh!
An incredible sight unfolded.
Countless flower buds bloomed explosively from the plant’s stem.
The flowers quickly covered Simon’s desk and spread outwards.
Simon was engulfed in a sea of blossoms.
“Whoa!”
“What’s going on?”
Exclamations erupted from the students.
“P-Professor, this is…!”
“This is your potential.”
Bahil whispered, just loud enough for Simon to hear.
“Don’t misunderstand. I merely assisted you in achieving stable output. This is a level you’ll be able to reach on your own in the near future.”
His words were true.
It was Simon’s power that had made the flowers bloom.
“Your Jet Black is special, Simon Polentia.”
Bahil’s fingers twitched on Simon’s shoulder.
The blue flowers continued to grow, reaching Simon’s chest.
“Please, think carefully.”
Bahil’s expression turned serious.
“About the best way to cultivate your talent. And the direction you should take to fully utilize this special Jet Black.”
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
