The Midnight Question
Ever since their enrollment at Kizen, the first-year students had been living through their busiest days yet.
Word was spreading about the legendary difficulty of the upcoming 5th BMAT combined with the 2nd-Year Promotion Exam, and on top of that, the schedule for the final exams — the only written test of the Integrated Second Semester — was staring them in the face.
And even while preparing for those two massive examinations, they couldn't afford to neglect the practical assessments, the fire already burning at their feet. With Kizen's professors tripping over one another to cram homework, reports, and assessment points into every syllabus, the students barely had a moment to collect themselves.
And then there was this weekend.
For the students, it was a genuinely crucial weekend. With a wall of major deadlines ahead, they had to squeeze every last drop of use out of this stretch of free time.
Simon and the members of Group 7 agreed to meet up — partly to prepare for their practical assessments, and partly to study for finals.
As always, they rented out an empty lecture hall.
"Hi there, Simon~"
"Hey, Cami."
The first two to arrive exchanged a friendly greeting.
"You're here early."
Camibarez set down her bag with a bashful smile. Simon smiled back at her — at which point she whipped her head away and scratched her cheek in embarrassment.
"…I-is, is Dick running late?"
"He had some business down in Rochest, so he'll be a bit late. What about Meilin?"
"Oh! She's at the library — she'll be here any minute!"
The two of them pushed four desks together and took a seat at each.
Simon laid out the full mountain of studying and homework he had to get through today, crossed his arms, and admired it for a moment.
A sigh escaped him of its own accord.
"Th-that's… quite a lot."
"Ahaha! Let's work hard!"
Camibarez clenched the two adorable little fists poking out from the sleeves of her cardigan and shook them cutely — but she was still avoiding Simon's gaze.
'…I-I keep picturing Simon's face from that night.'
It had happened only yesterday.
Camibarez had gone alone to the Summoning Hall to cheer Simon on during his Life Vessel practical.
Once the practical ended and Aaron stepped out, she had slipped quietly into the practice room carrying a white towel and a bottle of water.
And then she had seen it.
-Ah.
A droplet of blood smeared across Simon's face.
Exhausted, collapsed on the floor, wiping away a spatter of blood from just beneath his nose — Simon had only noticed her a beat later and given her an embarrassed smile.
-Cami. How'd you know to find me here?
As a half-blood Ursula, she was already constitutionally sensitive to blood — and a smile aimed at her from a face smeared with it was maddeningly stimulating. She had very nearly pounced on him then and there.
Yes, it was blood spattered from his heart mid-practical, but mixed with Simon's sweat and scent, it was almost too much to bear.
-Thanks. I'll drink it right down.
Especially the sight of him gulping down the water she'd brought, one hand tugging loose his uniform tie and fanning his shirt to cool off — the sleek line of his nape flashing into view with every movement.
She had very nearly lost her mind.
'Ah!'
Camibarez's face flushed crimson the moment the image surfaced again.
"What's wrong, Cami?"
"N-nothing at all!"
She fumbled through an answer with an awkward smile, the tips of her ears tinged faintly pink.
Just as the two of them were about to open to the first page, the lecture hall door swung open with a vigorous creak!
"Hey there!"
It was Meilin.
She breezed in with a light, jaunty gait, the long strap of her bag slung over her shoulder, her hair pulled back tight and finished off with a ribbon.
"Welcome, Meilin."
Simon greeted her with a smiling face.
But she, too, flinched visibly, turned her head sharply away, and muttered a rather lukewarm, "Ah. Yeah. Hi."
'…What is with everyone's reactions today?'
Simon scratched the side of his head.
* * *
'…Phewww.'
Meilin pretended to unpack her bag while sneaking sidelong glances at Simon.
'He looks exactly the same as always, though.'
Her sharp gaze swept over every point of interest on him.
'His voice is extra upbeat. His face is practically glowing. That's the expression of a man in a VERY good mood.'
Her hands tightened. The paper she was holding crumpled with a crisp crunch!
'He looks like he's having the time of his LIFE!!'
It was bugging her.
At a time when she needed to focus 100% on studying, it was irritatingly, insufferably bugging her.
The trouble had started last night.
It was right after the afternoon Toxicology class had let out, and she'd been in a great mood with the weekend ahead of her —
-Where's Simon?
-Dragging some gorgeous upperclassman off by the wrist, heading who-knows-where?
Just as Dick had said, Simon really had been running off hand-in-hand with Benya, a second-year senior. And their direction led — with no room for excuses whatsoever — straight toward Rochest.
And above all else.
'Simon did NOT come back to the dormitory that night!'
Meilin's fists clenched tight.
Of course, she knew perfectly well that Simon wasn't the type to act reckless, or to chase after girls.
But.
BUT!
'It's bugging meeeee!!'
The weekend ahead.
Alone with a female upperclassman.
Gone to Rochest and out all night.
Wasn't it only natural for that to be on her mind?
They were friends, after all.
Friends who had been joined at the hip since the day they enrolled, all through first year, no less!
'Th-they couldn't have…! That'd be a serious violation of school rules, too.'
Kizen permitted romance, but as a matter of policy it cracked down hard on any lines crossed while its students were still minors.
And the thing that stung most of all was the sheer unfairness of it — here she was, agonizing and stewing over every detail, while Simon sat there in perfect peace of mind, smiling away as he worked through problems.
'Can you not SEE the problem in front of you right now?!'
Meilin's pen-holding hand trembled with indignation.
'What do I do? Is there any way to ask him without letting on?'
Scratch, scratch, scratch.
There was no way she could concentrate.
As time passed, the doodles in her textbook only multiplied. She'd briefly held out hope that Camibarez might broach the subject first, but…
"Simon~ I don't really get this one!"
"Which part?"
…Yeah, they're just busy studying.
And seeing Simon explain a problem with the most blissfully composed expression in the world made her blood pressure spike all over again.
Why was she the only one getting worked up and stressed out over this?
Her heart belonged to one man and one man only — Lord Pion.
Honestly, every other man could fall off the face of the earth for all she cared.
Right. Fine. She'd just come straight out and ask him.
"Hey, Simon!"
Meilin scraped together every last scrap of courage she didn't have and shouted.
The two of them, heads bent together over a problem, looked up at the same time.
"Yeah?"
"…"
She'd been sure she was going to say it…!
The moment her eyes met Simon's, the words jammed in her throat as if by magic.
The scandalous question that had been right at the tip of her tongue slid straight back down her gullet, and both her cheeks flared scarlet.
"I, uh…!"
"?"
Meilin's shoulders trembled, wobbled, and finally sagged as she spoke in a deflated voice.
"…I-I don't get this one either."
Pointing at some random problem, she buried her face, unable to bear the embarrassment.
"Never thought I'd see the day you asked me about a problem you didn't know."
Simon grinned.
"Let me finish with Cami's first, then I'll help you out."
"…Ah. Yeah, sure."
Simon and Camibarez turned their attention back to the textbook, while Meilin cupped her blazing face in both hands and tried to cool it down.
'You IDIOT! You absolute FOOL!!'
Meilin had realized it the instant she locked eyes with Simon:
She could be beaten to death and still never manage to ask him, "So what did you do with Benya-senpai in Rochest overnight?"
But she couldn't give up like this either.
She had to find out, cleanly and completely, what had happened last night.
For her peace of mind! For her mental health! For the sake of all her future exam prep!
'Right. Time to change tactics. Instead of me bringing up anything scandalous with my own mouth, I'll lead Simon into answering naturally.'
While all three of them were absorbed in their own problems and the room had gone quiet, Meilin stretched her arms up with a long, theatrical yawn.
"Uuugh~ stuck in the library all day with nothing but studying, I'm bored to death."
"Me too."
Camibarez chimed in with a gentle smile.
"But let's hang in there a little longer! We all have to make it to second year together!"
"Yeah, true. It's just, studying in the same old environment every day kind of kills my productivity. Is that why, I wonder? Apparently camping study sessions are all the rage lately. Have you heard about them, Cami?"
"Camping study sessions?"
"Mm-hmm! The class rep and Claudia went camping last weekend—"
Meilin carried on the conversation with Camibarez as naturally as she could manage. The two of them holed up in the girls' dormitory lounge gossiping was an everyday occurrence, so it ought to look perfectly unremarkable to Simon too.
"And get this — she saw a monster, got scared, ran away crying, and just ended up sleeping over in Rochest!"
"Ahaha! I could never do an overnight trip like that!"
"Oh, that reminds me."
Meilin's head swiveled toward Simon.
"Simon, have you ever stayed overnight in Rochest?"
Perfect!
A flawless triple-combo chain — camping, to lodging, to an overnight stay in Rochest!
Now he just had to answer, and…!
"Sure I have."
THUD!
Meilin's heart plummeted.
He really stayed over?
Alone with that senpai?
An unspeakably scandalous image of the two of them in one bed materialized in Meilin's head, completely unfiltered.
"We all stayed together, remember?"
And into that bed she'd just been picturing, the images of herself and the rest of Group 7 were abruptly added.
Meilin's face went up like a bonfire.
"Y-y-y-y-YOU ABSOLUTE LUNATIC!!"
She flailed both arms and rocketed away in her chair at terrifying speed. Simon's face filled with question marks.
"Don't you remember the 3rd BMAT? The theme was the ocean, so we all stayed in a Rochest inn while we held our strategy meeting. We even bought swimsuits the next day and went to the beach."
"Oh! I remember! That was really, really so much fun!"
THAT'S what he meant?!
Meilin, her brain still boiling, pursed her lips into a pout and glared at Simon.
Watching him and Camibarez chatter away about the beach — somehow the topic had migrated there all on its own — made her head throb.
'This approach isn't working!'
She decided she would have to bring up Benya Vanilla directly.
The timing came sooner than expected.
Once the beach talk died down and the two of them returned to their books, Meilin said it in the most casual offhand tone she could manage:
"Ah, I'm craving something sweet. Vanilla! I could really go for some ice cream!"
She deliberately put a tiny bit of extra emphasis on Vanilla.
Scrrreech.
Simon pushed back his chair and stood up.
"I'll grab some from the campus store. What flavor do you want, Cami?"
'THAT'S NOT WHAT I MEAN!!!'
Meilin nearly coughed up blood.
"I'll come with you!"
Camibarez scrambled up as well, her chair scraping back.
"Oh, actually, Simon~"
Camibarez smiled shyly and touched a hand to her hair.
"Now that vanilla ice cream came up, actually~"
"Mm?"
"I've been thinking of buying a Vanilla Brand Skeleton Mage."
"Ah — for your Summoning practical, right?"
"Yes! Do you happen to know anyone on the Vanilla side? It's a bit pricey, so I was hoping to get a better deal."
At those words, Meilin's head snapped up.
Hold on just a minute.
Don't tell me you—
"Should I introduce you to Benya Vanilla-senpai? She might give you a bit of a discount."
Don't tell me!!
"Yes, please! But…"
Camibarez's face flooded scarlet. And then, in a voice trembling like a leaf, she asked:
"Wh-whatwhatwhat, wh-what, exactly… is your relationship with Benya-senpai, Simon…?"
'CAMIIIIEEE!'
Meilin wailed inwardly.
She never disappoints! Cami must have been dying to know too — of course she was!
"She's the president of the club I joined. Did I never mention it?"
"…"
"…"
Meilin and Camibarez made identical dead-fish faces at the same time.
'So dense.'
'So very dense.'
She'd asked point-blank, and this was the reaction they got?
While the two girls bit their lips and gnawed their thumbnails in agonized deliberation, Simon just blinked at them, bewildered.
"S-Simon…!"
Camibarez opened her mouth again.
The single most tension-filled moment of her entire school life.
Her shoulders quivered like a baby penguin's. Her hands fidgeted in her lap, her face was tomato-red, and the corners of her wide, doleful eyes were glistening with the faint sheen of tears.
"B-Benya-senpai and you, Simon! Could it possibly be…!"
Meilin, moved nearly to tears by Camibarez's courage, swallowed hard. In that moment, time seemed to crawl. She waited, on tenterhooks, for the rest of the sentence.
Camibarez drew a breath, held it for a moment — then squeezed her eyes shut and cried out in a hoarse voice:
"Could it possiblllyyy…!!"
CREAAAK!
At that exact moment, the lecture hall door burst open and Dick came flying in.
"HEEEY SIMON! Heard you had yourself a REAL good time with Benya-senpai last niiight!!"