Bathhouse Escape and a Bad Feeling
"You're one to talk, hiding something and worrying over it yourself."
Simon flinched internally, but he was no longer a novice when it came to acting. He answered as casually as he could manage.
"Well, Kajan knows why Magnus is after me."
"I have my suspicions."
Kajan said, leaning back in the bath.
"He's after the Ancient Undead you carry, isn't he."
According to Kajan, Magnus hadn't come to Room 409 in a clone of himself from the start. It was the Ancient Undead 'Alaze' that had slipped into the room in slime form and lain in wait — presumably intending to move only after securing hard proof that Simon was a Legion Commander.
But Kajan had caught it the moment it entered. After a ferocious fight, he'd succeeded in destroying Alaze once.
"I knew it!"
Simon clapped his hands together.
"So Kajan didn't just get knocked down like that!"
"...That's true enough. But after that, once Alaze transformed into Magnus, I lost. And a few minutes later, you walked in."
"Understood."
Splash.
Kajan tipped himself back into the bath as though lying down, propping the back of his head on his arms.
"Setting aside the Magnus problem—"
"...Yes?"
"Anything else you're fretting over?"
...Sharp as ever, Kajan.
But when it came to Walter, Simon still wanted to be careful.
Frankly, even Simon wasn't sure what to believe.
Walter was collecting 'hearts'.
Walter's real name was 'Judah'.
And Simon felt like he'd heard that name somewhere before.
Specifically, he seemed to have heard it back when he crossed into the Holy Federation — which was why he'd asked Lethe to look into it.
That was the extent of it.
Truthfully, even his suspicion was nothing more than a gut feeling. The only concrete fact he had about Walter was the heart collection. And above all, he hadn't yet told anyone — not even Nephthys — that the name had surfaced in the Holy Federation.
This was an extraordinarily delicate matter, one that could be interpreted as outright treason.
Which meant there was only one thing he could say here.
"Professor Walter is collecting hearts."
Simon said carefully.
"An enormous amount of them, too."
"I see."
Kajan nodded.
"And that's all?"
"...Yes."
Saying it out loud was almost embarrassing. Simon bowed his head, sheepish.
"Necromancers' research is eccentric, unethical, and dangerous by necessity. Even Kizen professors sometimes dabble in forbidden studies, and it's true the academy turns a blind eye to a degree for the sake of dark magic's advancement."
Having said that much, Kajan closed his eyes.
"In short — I understand that you find Professor Walter suspicious. It's not something worth reporting to Lady Nephthys, but I'll keep an eye on Professor Walter myself, and I'll let you know if anything strange turns up."
"Ah — yes! Just that much is more than I could ask."
This was the first time he'd laid any of it bare to another person. That alone made Simon feel a great weight lift from his chest.
"!"
Splash.
Just then, Kajan turned his head and stared intently through the wall, his expression grave.
"What is it, Kajan?"
"Shh."
Simon fell silent too, straining his hearing. From outside came footsteps and the chattering murmur of voices.
"Simple problem, isn't it?"
Girls' voices.
"If the first-year dorm's got no hot water, just go use the second-year dorm!"
"Hehehe! Leave it to me, leave it to me!"
"Nobody's using this one right now anyway."
Simon's face went white.
'W-we're done for.'
A situation practically engineered for misunderstanding — and they were stark naked in it.
Simon bolted for the entrance.
"Kajan! I'll shout and warn the—!"
Thud, thud.
Somewhere along the way, Kajan had already left the bath and wrenched the washroom window wide open with raw strength.
"And how long were you planning on sitting there explaining yourself?"
Kajan pointed outside, his face utterly impassive.
"This way is my way."
"Kajan, no! That's the fourth floor!"
But the girls' voices were getting closer and closer outside.
And as if that weren't bad enough, this was a tiny bathhouse — no changing area at all, just the tub the instant you opened the door.
'Are you kidding me!'
Left with no choice, Simon thrust out his arm.
'Cloud!'
Verdant smoke shot outward, snatched up Simon and Kajan's clothes baskets, and dragged them back. Kajan was already diving out the window.
"Huh? Doesn't seem like anyone's in there?"
"Oh, come on, no way~"
Simon bit his lip hard.
'No idea!'
Basket clamped under both arms, Simon leapt out after him — and the instant he did, the door swung open behind him.
"KYAAAAAAAAAA!!"
An ear-splitting scream rang out from beyond the window.
Hanging in midair, Simon glanced back at the building and let out a long sigh. Alive and breathing, yet here he was, escaping a bathhouse stark naked from the fourth floor at night. One of the strangest experiences of his life so far.
"You've got guts, at least."
Kajan, who had landed first, curled the corner of his mouth upward. Simon laughed as he dropped after him.
"Kajan, you know you look absolutely ridiculous right now, right?"
"Takes one to know one."
Then he pointed at the ground far below.
"I'll be fine, but aren't you going to get hurt?"
"Hardly."
Simon drew his arm back and opened his large subspace pocket. Thankfully, he'd only just returned from the Neutral Zone dispatch — the Legion was still with him.
"Erze, come out!"
At Simon's command, Erzsébet burst from the subspace, arms outstretched. Simon's body vanished beneath a thick cocoon of soft webbing.
Reeled in by the threads, he was lowered safely to the ground.
'...Glad I'm not hurt and all.'
But wrapped tight as a mummy, he hovered with his feet just brushing the air, unable to move so much as a finger.
'Why did she weave it like this?'
[Ufufufufufu.]
The moment that lewd chuckle reached his ears, a terrible premonition washed over Simon.
[You do know how much I've had to endure lately, don't you, Master~?]
In the darkness, the spider queen was approaching, her eyes glittering like a wild beast's.
[Shoved into a subspace the second we got dispatched! Scolded for turning into a Kizen schoolgirl! Forced to do nothing but play-act 'Legion Commander' in the Neutral Zone!]
Simon's face froze in a wince.
[And then we come back to Kizen and it feels soooo good, Masterrr~ I was already at my limit holding it in, and now here you are right in front of me, buck naked! Jackpot!!]
Erzsébet, every shred of reason apparently evaporated, was slithering closer, her tongue flicking.
Simon let out a deep, deep sigh.
'Releasing Erzsébet just because we were in midair was a mistake.'
[Your reward! Give me my rewarrrd!!]
The instant she spread both arms to lunge at him, a hand seized her by the hair from behind. With a strangled "Hk—!", her head jerked backward.
"Simon is still a minor, Erzsébet."
It was Kajan.
She twisted around to glare at him and let out an irritated shriek.
[GRRR! You AGAIN?!]
Erzsébet spun webbing around her fingers and flicked it — the surrounding trees sheared apart with a resounding crash.
She apparently still hadn't gotten over the grudge from the Saintess manhunt.
And Kajan, who had leapt high to evade, now stood wrapped in jet-black armor.
'Black Clothes! So Kajan can do it too!'
Erzsébet tore out the webbing in a fit of blazing fury, and Kajan settled into a guard stance.
"Erze."
Simon heaved a sigh and spoke with a listless expression.
[Stop.]
WHUMP!
Erzsébet's body shuddered violently — then dropped to one knee before Simon.
[H-how cruel of thee, Master! To lay an Absolute Order upon thy devoted servant!]
"Words weren't exactly working. Get ahold of yourself, Erze."
The webbing binding Simon slackened and fell away of its own accord.
'Ugh, freezing.'
The world around them was pitch-black night. Simon's teeth chattered in the night wind.
Kajan spoke.
"Let's get back to the dorm first."
"Yeah."
They sent Erzsébet back into the subspace and threw their clothes on haphazardly. Then Simon and Kajan sprinted toward the dormitory.
"Haha!"
Partway through the run, the sheer absurdity of their state wrung the laughter out of him unbidden.
"Mm. What's funny?"
"Nothing, it's just — feels like Kizen's back to being noisy again!"
Tomorrow, a brand-new schedule would begin.
Brimming with anticipation, Simon pushed his speed even higher.
And then, the next day.
Kizen students, armed to the teeth with stories to swap, donned their uniforms and made their way to campus for the first time in ages.
"You all survived!"
"Anyone run into a Priest?"
"Where'd you get dispatched?"
The air was thick with murmurs from every direction. Simon and Dick had risen early and were crossing the courtyard.
"Assembly at the Great Auditorium on our very first day back..."
Dick mumbled around a piece of toast, scanning his schedule.
Simon asked.
"Why an assembly, though? You think they're giving us intel on the 4th BMAT?"
"Pfft, as if! The whole point of the BMAT is figuring it out for yourself. But calling us together like this—"
Dick crossed his arms and went on.
"I'd bet they've got some kind of regulation change to announce."
"A change?"
"Heheh! And I actually got this from a pretty well-connected henchman — apparently the professors are up in arms about the BMAT. Some kind of schedule overhaul, I'm guessing."
"Now that's a fascinating story."
Both boys froze mid-step, faces startled. Around them, the other students were murmuring too.
"Shall I continue?"
At some point, Bahil was standing before them.
"Professor Bahil!"
An entirely unexpected appearance. Simon bowed in greeting with a genuinely glad face — while a sly smile crept across Dick's lips.
"Sliding in at exactly the right moment! Suspicious timing, don't you think? Were you waiting here for us by any chance? Hoping to catch a glimpse of me, the future ace of Curse Studies?"
Bahil gazed quietly at Dick's smirking tongue and thought to himself.
'How I'd love to lay a curse on that yapping mouth of his.'
Were the boy not Simon's friend, he would long since have been drifting in the waters off Kizen's shore as a bloated corpse.
Bahil turned his head to Simon.
"I hear your performance in the Dispatched Evaluation was quite remarkable. You worked out of Vengeance in the Neutral Zone?"
Simon scratched the side of his head, embarrassed.
"I did. Though I wouldn't call it remarkable. I slipped up once midway through."
"Oh come on~ false modesty is a disease, a disease! Just say it: 'We absolutely shredded the Neutral Zone!' Fought the Efnel kids! Weakened the Federation's grip on the region! Wiped out a whole gang—"
Bahil was smiling, but only the corners of his mouth twitched, spasmodically.
Shut your mouth for one moment.
He wanted to talk about curses. With Simon.
"Simon, if I may—"
"Oh, and who do we have here? Hahahaha!"
Someone barged in yet again.
Bahil's eyes flared as he whipped around — and there, gliding smoothly through the crowd, was a familiar figure.
"Professor Byeolya!"
Simon's face brightened yet again.
"Ah, you brats! Made it back in one piece, huh? Missed your big sis?"
Watching Byeolya, who wouldn't spare another person's feelings so much as a glance, a vein twitched faintly at Bahil's temple.
"Professor Byeolya! During this dispatch I fought using what you taught me! Venom Swamp!"
"That's the spirit! Dark magic only grows sharper when you work up the nerve to use it in real combat!"
As Dick and Byeolya laughed with their mouths wide open, Bahil's expression grew darker and darker.
Shall I eliminate both of them. Right here. Right now.
Bahil sent a hand behind his back. A jet-black magic circle unfurled, and a curse began to take shape.
"...You two."
At that very moment—
"What exactly are you doing with students here?"
Neither of them had sensed so much as a flicker of a presence. Byeolya and Bahil both flinched and turned to look behind them.