A Collision of Fates
The story of the 330th Student Council was carrying on through the night and well past dawn.
"Let's introduce a cafeteria rating system!"
Meilin's voice rang out.
"Honestly, the food's mediocre, but there are cafeterias on campus that get away with packing in students at lunch hour purely through nerve, right? So we bring in a student rating system, the council formally demands corrections from any place that scores badly, and if they still don't change? Boot them out and bring in a new cafeteria. What do you think?"
"Ooh, not bad."
Dick chimed in, but Camibarez raised an objection.
"Won't the cafeterias just start catering only to the tastes of the majority, though?"
"Isn't that a good thing?"
"N-no, it's not! Take a vegetarian cafeteria, for example. It might score low with the student body as a whole, but for some students it's absolutely essential! Respecting diversity matters too!"
"There's also the problem of rating sabotage."
Watching the three of them hash it out in a lively tumble of voices, Simon wore a faint smile.
Aren't they all working a little too hard?
He was starting to feel tired and wanted to head to bed, but with the three of them practically radiating enthusiasm, he couldn't bring himself to say it.
"By the way, guys."
Instead, he lightly shifted the mood.
"Would the student council actually be able to replace campus facilities?"
"Of course we can! We're not just any student council — we're the legendary Kizen student council!"
Meilin declared, puffing out her chest.
She was completely swept up in her role as Vice President. Understandably so — she'd become Kizen's number two overnight.
"Thinking realistically, something as big as replacing a campus cafeteria would need to clear review by the adults."
Dick offered a surprisingly analytical answer.
"That said, if we compile statistics reflecting student opinion and relentlessly hammer away at them, I'd say there's a good chance they'd give in."
"Hmm."
"Alright! But the real business starts now! Say Meilin opens up a slot with her rating system. How fierce would the competition get among vendors trying to get into Kizen? We pick the winner through a bidding process!"
True to his merchant background, Dick understood exactly how money moved.
"And honestly, a decent amount of money flows into the student council beyond all this. Handle it right, and before we graduate each of us could probably buy ourselves a ship—"
"Hey! You're already thinking about embezzling public funds? You're seriously gonna get yourself killed!"
"I was merely discussing the efficiency of asset management."
As Meilin and Dick started bickering yet again, Simon quietly turned his head.
"What are you up to, Cami?"
"……Oh."
She smiled shyly and held up her notebook.
"I'm practicing taking meeting minutes!"
"That's our Secretary for you!"
Meilin wrapped Camibarez in a tight hug.
"Unlike some people, someone here takes the student council seriously!"
"I protest the Vice President's discriminatory treatment of officers!"
"Shove it, commoner."
Simon laughed.
He was a little tired, but it was a relief that everyone was enjoying the student council work. And above all, it meant they'd get to see each other often even after second year, when the department system kicked in.
The four of them talked on and on, hearts swelling with dreams of changing the school.
"Um."
Then Meilin sidled up to Simon, sneaking glances at his face.
"What is it, Meilin?"
"Well……"
Suddenly overcome with embarrassment, she squirmed in place, then picked up Camibarez's meeting notebook and used it to half-hide her reddening cheeks.
"That admission ceremony proposal I mentioned earlier — what do you think of it, P-President……?"
Simon smiled faintly.
"Why are you being so awkward about it? Just call me like you always do."
"PUHAHAHAHA!"
Dick slammed the table again and again, roaring with laughter.
"Wow, today's drinking session is legendary! We just got a fresh entry — Meilin's Shy Boss Incident!"
Dick lifted an empty plate to partially cover his face and put on a garbled falsetto.
"What do you think of this proposal, Mr. President~?"
"Hey!!! When did I ever sound like that!"
Scarlet to the tips of her ears, Meilin snatched the plate out of Dick's hands and hurled it at his face.
Dick toppled backward with a whump!, and Simon and Camibarez burst out laughing.
"Simon's our boss now, so of course I have to talk like that!!"
Meilin shouted, flustered, her two clenched fists trembling with embarrassment.
Simon spoke up.
"Just keep calling me like you always have. A president's term only lasts a few years, but we're going to be friends for life."
"……Oho."
Dick's head shot up from where he lay flattened under the plate.
"One glass of wine and suddenly it's a cringe contest? Simon's Declaration of Eternal Friendship!! Now that's a rare specimen!"
"……Should I cut him loose right now, or…?"
The next day.
The four of them, having stayed up all night on excess enthusiasm, didn't wake until a little past noon.
They tidied up their lodgings, changed into traditional outfits they'd rented, and crossed back into the town on the Parona Peninsula.
"There are even more people than yesterday!"
Camibarez's eyes went round. Just as she said, the streets were blanketed with crowds, and the foot traffic was grinding to a standstill.
"Tomorrow will be even worse, Cami."
Dick said, looking back over his shoulder.
"Why's that?"
"Because tomorrow is when you get to see the real highlight of the Parona Peninsula!"
The Parona Peninsula was a landmass jutting out of the continent like a horn. Below it lay a place called Parona Island, and together the two territories were known as the Parona region.
The peninsula and the island were close enough that a bridge could span them. And right in the narrow strait between the two—
"Once every two years! At exactly the same time, always — the whale monster Deimos and its host of sea creatures pass through!"
Simon's jaw dropped.
"Hold on. Deimos — you mean THE Deimos, the one I own?"
"Yep, the very one!"
Deimos was a colossal whale monster from which the special undead known as the Nether Whale could be created. Able to emit special wavelengths that controlled marine life, it had earned the title 'Lord of the Sea'.
Simon hadn't made it all the way to a Nether Whale, but he had gotten his hands on a dead Deimos calf as undead material and used it as his summon.
"This is going to be absolutely insane, right?"
Dick was completely absorbed, spittle flying.
"Just imagine it — Deimos and countless sea creatures, too many to count, all funneling through that narrow strait! It's a mega-scale ocean show you won't find anywhere else on the continent!"
"Okay, okay, keep walking! You're blocking everyone behind us!"
Meilin scolded him, and Camibarez asked again,
"But Dick. If Deimos comes tomorrow, where are we going today?"
"To the Deimos Museum! It's a must-do on the Parona Peninsula."
Thud-thud—
At that moment, Simon, who had been watching their backs, silently wrapped an arm around Camibarez's shoulder and pulled her toward him.
"Ah!"
Camibarez bumped right into Simon, and a moment later an enormous carriage roared past right beside her. Sand swirled up in a cloud, and the people around them took it full in the face.
"Cough, cough! Seriously, what is wrong with people? Who brings a carriage into a crowd like this?"
Meilin's fury carried over the commotion. Meanwhile, Camibarez stood looking up at Simon, her face flushed. Simon said quietly,
"You'd get lost if you weren't careful. Stay close — it's crowded."
Camibarez felt her heart melt into a warm puddle, and nodded.
"Yes! Simon!"
Before long, having fought their way through the throngs, the four of them arrived at the Deimos Museum on the Parona Peninsula.
Just as Dick had said, the place was regarded as essential Parona sightseeing. Stepping into the spacious, comfortable interior, Simon felt the breath that had been stuck in his chest finally loosen.
"Welcome! I'll be your guide for today—"
The museum was so vast that a guide came around every twenty minutes to lead visitors through the exhibits.
Simon's group tagged along with a guide, half-listening to the explanations.
"Please take a look at the map to your left!"
The guide announced, holding up a voice-amplifying crystal.
The entire wall was a map, displaying the Parona region and the surrounding seas in sweeping detail. But on the ocean side of the map, something was glittering.
"This marker shows Deimos's current position. Here in Parona, we've been tracking Deimos since a full month before the festival! If you calculate at this speed, Deimos should be passing through tomorrow afternoon, bringing its retinue of sea creatures along."
The visitors buzzed with excitement at the prospect of seeing Deimos with their own eyes.
Hmm.
Simon in particular, who actually owned a Deimos, was keenly interested. He was listening to the explanation more seriously than anyone.
"Any questions from anyone?"
The guide looked around, but no one raised a hand.
Then the guide's hand pointed toward Simon.
"How about the boy who's been listening the most attentively of anyone here!"
Simon's face froze in surprise.
"Yes! You, the one pointing at yourself right now! Don't you have anything you'd like to ask?"
"Ah, um……"
Simon scratched his head, then spoke.
"You said Deimos will be passing through here."
"Yes!"
"Would it be all right to, you know… catch it?"
A brief silence fell.
Then laughter erupted from every direction — the guide included.
"Haha! Actually, that's a pretty good question! Deimos hunting isn't forbidden, but the number of times humanity has ever caught one can be counted on one hand. One of those few happens to be the greatest necromancer in the world — the 'Witch of Death' herself! Have you heard the story of the Nether Whale that carries Kizen's new students? That very Nether Whale was made from a Deimos."
Hearing that only made Simon want an adult Deimos even more.
He had no idea whether he could beat an 8th-grade danger-class monster, but it was worth a try, at least……
"However! Attack a Deimos once it enters Parona's waters and you become a criminal and get arrested on the spot — so be careful! Provoking Deimos during the festival could cause a catastrophic accident! You must watch from a safe distance, and only watch! Everyone understand?"
So it's a no after all.
"Hopeless. Absolutely hopeless."
Meilin shook her head, laughing.
Beyond that, the guide's detailed explanation of Deimos continued.
The more I hear, the more fascinating it gets.
Deimos, it seemed, had a habit of circling the continent's waters over the course of two years. It always traveled at the same time, along the exact same route — and when that route overlapped with another Deimos's, a colossal sea war broke out between their respective hosts of marine creatures.
The guide even showed photographs taken with mana-recording devices, capturing the state of one such war.
A sea of crimson blood with no end in sight — and countless sea creatures, white bellies exposed, floating lifeless on the water.
Once the war ended, the victor claimed the loser's sea creatures through mental domination, absorbing their territory. And if the contest had been between a male and a female, a one-sided mating would begin before the killing was done.
"And so one of the two dies, and Deimos calves are born! The world of monsters is truly terrifying, isn't it?"
Dick, who had been nodding along beside Meilin, spoke up with a grave expression.
"Kinda hot, actually."
"Please die of a skull fracture. You absolute lunatic."
And so, following the guide here and there through the museum, Simon's group came to the final stop on the tour.
"And now, the highlight of our Deimos Museum! A full-scale skeletal reconstruction of Deimos himself!"
Gasps of awe burst out from the tourists all around.
The skeleton filled an entire floor wall to wall, and even that wasn't enough — the tail had been separated out and displayed down below.
Everyone was overwhelmed by its sheer size and scale.
"Mr. Guide!"
Simon couldn't help but raise his hand.
"Yes, enthusiastic blue-haired student!"
"Is this actually real bone?"
Instead of answering, the guide gave a light wink.
Simon sighed inwardly.
……Right, of course it can't be real.
If it were, necromancers would have gone to any lengths to steal it and use it as Nether Whale or undead material.
"But!"
The guide pointed upward.
"This skull portion right here — this is genuine Deimos bone!"
Simon's and the visitors' eyes turned skyward.
Sure enough, the area around the whale's skull differed from the body in color and size. The teeth glittered gold, and the surrounding lights were focused directly on the head.
"It's said to be an immense paleontological asset too valuable to even price! The teeth were damaged, so the museum director filled them in with real gold! A masterpiece that can only be seen here, at the Deimos Museum on our very own Parona Peninsula!"
Simon immediately began studying the Deimos skull.
It really did seem authentic, at least the head. Scattered throughout were traces of necromancers' techniques — cryo-preservation treatment, and the like.
"Hey, President! Where are you going?"
"Just going to look around for a bit."
Simon examined the bone in meticulous detail, viewing it from angle after angle.
How much would something like this even cost to acquire…… hmm?
Just then, Simon's eyes landed on one particular visitor.
A figure draped in an ordinary brown robe. At the hem of the robe, a few strands of golden hair fluttered.
Hmmm.
Simon's eyes narrowed slyly.
That's a face I've seen somewhere before.
The person noticed Simon too. His eyes went wide, and he stumbled backward a step.
Simon strode toward him.
"Excuse me, but might you be……"
The visitor spun on his heel and started running without so much as a backward glance.
"W-wait a second!"
Simon immediately gave chase, but—
"Halt right there!"
He wasn't the only one pursuing the figure. Out of the side corridor, a red-haired boy burst out of nowhere.
CRASH!
Simon and the red-haired boy tangled together in a mid-run collision, and in the gap, the robed figure darted away with lightning-quick agility.
"Ghk!"
It felt like he'd go tumbling over again, but Simon dug in his heels and reinforced himself with Jet-Black. Having barely avoided a fall, Simon looked up.
"I-I'm really sorry, I…… huh?"
The red-haired boy was staring at Simon too.
"You're the one from yesterday's……!"
Simon remembered as well. That red-haired boy he'd crashed into yesterday, the one he'd sent falling on his rear.
Of all the people to collide with — twice.
"T-twice in a row! AAAAAAH! I am truly, deeply sorry!"
The boy bowed up and down, over and over.
"It really wasn't on purpose! I'm not a pickpocket or anything shady, I didn't do it on purpose, I swear! Please believe me! I'm just a little clumsy……!"
His reactions were far too raw to be an act. His eyes were even brimming with tears.
"Simon!"
"What happened?"
Meilin, Dick, and Camibarez came running over. Simon raised a hand to signal he was fine.
"It's nothing. Just ran into him while running."
"I'm really so terribly sorry! Hnngh!!"
After bowing several more times, the boy held something out to Simon.
"As an apology, please take this!"
"……Huh?"
"I bought it at the market here — it's an artifact! Carry it around and coins dropped on the ground practically jump into your field of vision!"
What the boy forced into Simon's hand was a small keychain.
This is an artifact?
It just looked like a souvenir. No matter how he examined it, Simon could sense no magical effect whatsoever.
"Well then, I have somewhere to be, so I'll be off! Truly, truly sorry!"
With that, he scurried off like a man fleeing the scene.
Simon watched his back with suspicious eyes.
What on earth is that guy's deal?
Hah! Hah! Whew!
The man in the brown robe, having bolted out of the Deimos Museum in a panic, was gasping for breath.
"Why……?!"
He'd run so frantically that his robe had come loose, revealing golden hair.
His identity was Malcolm Randolph.
"Why, of all people, does that bastard Simon have to be here……!"
Grind.
His teeth clenched on their own.
Rank one at Kizen.
And the very person who had been the start of every misfortune in Malcolm's life had walked right into the Parona Peninsula.
What do I do? Do I change the plan?
Pitter-patter.
Just then, he heard footsteps in the distance.
Don't tell me Simon had chased him down. He whirled around — and the footsteps stopped as if they'd never been.
"……"
Suffocating tension coiled tight around him.
Then—
Tap.
The sound of something dropping reached him from the opposite direction of where Malcolm was looking.
Oh no.
Malcolm's head snapped back around. Behind him stood a red-haired boy with a sword at his side, breathing hard.
"Phew! Hah! Found you at last!"
In his hand, the boy held what looked like a wanted poster. Glancing back and forth between the face in the drawing and Malcolm's face, he bared his teeth in a grin.
"Unless my eyes deceived me — no, wait, they didn't! Son of the boss of the Randolph Gang, Malcolm Randolph!"
"……"
Malcolm lowered his stance, warily.
"Who are you?"
SHLAAAAK!
Malcolm's eyes went wide. Without him noticing, a line of blood had surged up along his shoulder.
FLAP!
The cloth bundle strapped to the boy's back burst open into the sky. A single sharp sword now rested in his hand.
"Don't move."
The boy who had been such a bumbling fool only moments ago now held his sword before him, his voice low and flat as still water.
"The next one takes your head."