Negotiating with a Devil
After drinking liquor from a skull bowl, the next hazing ritual proved every bit as gruesome.
The seniors had filled a huge pre-dug pit with filthy, contaminated water and thrown in shambling zombies for good measure. Spanning that pit was a crude bridge, built by lashing together piles of monster bones — a rickety skeleton bridge the second-years had to cross, even as it looked ready to collapse at any moment.
And the bridge's condition was, frankly, abysmal. Planks were broken in places, and entire footholds wobbled loose with every step. One wrong step meant a direct trip into the reeking filth below — and a horrifying close encounter with the zombies surrounding it.
Of course, the seniors were controlling the zombies with their will, so no one would actually get bitten. But a humiliating spectacle was guaranteed.
“……Ugh.”
The second-years, faces drained at the sight of the pit, weren't in their right minds — but Will's relentless urging forced them to climb the ladder up onto the skeleton bridge all the same. Twelve students in total had to cross. One by one, they began to make their way over.
—Uwooooooo!
—Aaaaagh!
The zombies in the filthy water raised their heads and flailed their arms. Every student squeezed their eyes shut in terror or stared desperately straight ahead.
From below came Will's irritated voice.
“Hurry up and cross! Especially you, Toto! Yeah, you!”
“Y-yes, sir!”
Toto, who had dithered forever, finally set off.
And the last in line was Simon. Just as before, he had chosen to participate in this hazing ritual too.
He's walking straight into my trap!
The corner of Will's mouth curled upward.
I'll make a miserable wreck of him so he never dares act so high and mighty again!
While Toto ahead of him crept forward in a low crouch, each step cautious, Simon strode along with his back straight, as if he were out for a casual stroll through the neighborhood.
Naturally, every bit of that attitude scraped across Will's nerves like fingernails on chalk. He shot a subtle hand signal toward the third-year students hiding in the brush behind him.
'……'
And Simon was watching it all with perfect clarity. He could see the student behind the brush activating dark magic, manipulating something.
CRACK!
The foothold of the girl leading the group suddenly gave way.
“KYAAAAAH!”
Her body plummeted downward, and the zombies surged toward her.
Will howled with laughter.
“Kwahaha! There's our first winner… hm?”
Just before she hit the filth, she stopped dead — by a hair's breadth. An emerald-colored rope had wound itself around her waist.
“Got you.”
Simon had activated Cloud. The zombies shrieked and closed in, but he gave the Cloud a light tug and hauled her back up onto the bridge.
“You okay?”
“Ah—yeah. Thanks, President!”
Will's face flushed red and then blue.
That little bastard, pulling his useless stunts again…!
Will made a gesture. The footholds beneath the students still crossing the bridge lost their strength, and three of them fell at once.
Sploosh!
Sploosh!
Sploosh!
Simon's Bone Armor burst out as if it had been waiting for exactly this moment and snatched all three of them up.
“You son of a—! Then just come down, ALL of you!”
Will, fury shooting to the tips of his hair, roared at the top of his lungs.
The third-year hiding behind him poked his head out with a dumbfounded look.
“Wait, actually all the way down? Then they all land in the water.”
“It's fine, so HURRY UP!”
In the end, the human-lever effect across the entire skeleton bridge vanished, and the whole thing came crashing down.
I already know his ability well enough from his profile.
Will wore a knowing smile.
Simultaneous control of eight undead. There are twelve of them in all. There's no way he can—
⟨ Simon Original — Imperial Guard ⟩
He had, of course, been prepared.
From the brush, twenty-four skeletons shattered into fragments of bone and shot through the air in streaks of emerald light.
They caught every single one of the falling students — Simon included — then linked together in midair to form a makeshift bridge.
This absolute lunatic—!
Will's mouth hung wide open.
He just built an entirely new bridge?
“Now! Everyone, cross!”
At Simon's shout, the students scrambled pell-mell across the bone bridge. Last of all, Simon crossed it himself and reclaimed his Cloud.
“We're alive!”
“Th-thank you, President.”
Just as the second-years collapsed to the ground in relief, Will came storming over in long, furious strides.
“You little—!”
He seized Simon by the collar.
“You dare use dark magic in the middle of a sacred hazing ritual?!”
Simon tilted his head.
“Was there a rule saying we weren't allowed to use dark magic?”
“No, you—! Did that really need to be spelled out—”
“The ones I'd really like to ask that, Senior.”
Simon pulled Will's hand off his collar and pointed to the side.
The brush behind them scattered apart, revealing the third-year who had been manipulating the skeleton bridge the entire time.
“You were planning to use dark magic to shake the bridge from the start and drop every single one of us into the water. Weren't you?”
“!”
At those words, the second-years' expressions froze over.
Simon continued with cold composure.
“If the hazing ritual was always meant to end with us in that filth — then yes, I gladly would have done the same. But your order was simply to cross the bridge. So we crossed it. Anything else you'd like to say?”
Pitter-patter. Pitter-patter.
Being student council president really did have its drawbacks.
Will, grinding his teeth and barely holding back his rage, spun on his heel and bellowed:
“On to the FINAL hazing ritual!”
This time, for sure.
Will resolved to break Simon — thoroughly and completely.
The third and final hazing ritual split the students into boys and girls.
The girls were taken away by one of the third-year female students, while the boys received their instructions from Will himself.
“This course, gentlemen, is the crown jewel of our department's hazing.”
Will said it with a smirk — then turned his head and spotted Simon standing there with utter nonchalance.
Let's see how long that composure lasts.
Will gave an exaggerated cough and swept his gaze over the assembled second-year boys. Toto was already frozen in terror, trembling like a leaf.
“The final hazing ritual is… an errand.”
Whew.
Hearing that, Toto let out an inward sigh of relief.
An errand? He could handle anything, as long as it wasn't drinking dung-liquor or diving into a pit of filth.
“You boys are going to sneak into another department's girls' dormitory… and steal their underwear.”
At the sheer, absurd audacity of it, the boys' mouths fell open.
“R-really…?”
“Then would you prefer FAKE?”
“Sorry, sir!”
There were rules, too. They had to learn the name of the girl whose underwear they stole, then report it loudly — which department, whose it was. The point was to prevent any sneaky shortcuts, like simply buying underwear in Rochest.
“Anyone who finishes the errand can return the stolen items, or head back to their dorm room — do whatever you like. You're welcome to join the afterparty too.”
'……'
“But any bastard who can't bring anything back—”
Will cracked his knuckles with a low chuckle.
“Don't bother coming back. And consider your department life thoroughly ruined.”
Every head bowed under the weight of despair.
Getting caught sneaking into another department's dormitory by the seniors would be bad enough — but getting caught by the girls meant social burial on campus. There was no recovering from that.
Now then, Simon Polentia.
Will leered at him.
What will you do this time? Even you can't…
“Understood, Senior.”
The moment Simon slipped a hand into his pocket, Will flinched and stumbled back a step before he could help himself.
Don't tell me—!
But what Simon drew out was not what Will had imagined.
An armband emblazoned with the Kizen crest — the emblem of the student council. He slid it proudly onto his right arm.
“From this point forward, I'll be speaking to you as Student Council President.”
A stir ran through the crowd.
Simon's official investiture as Student Council President was scheduled for the day after tomorrow. But Jane had already handed the student council armbands to its members so they could carry out their duties during the entrance ceremony smoothly. Will and the other students had naturally had no way of knowing that.
Don't tell me… he already has the President's authority?
Will's heart pounded, but he forced himself to stay calm.
“…W-what are you planning?”
Still, there was no helping it — his voice faltered in the face of that armband.
Simon smiled quietly and drew the Memorial Crystal Sphere from his pocket.
“The hazing ritual is a long-standing tradition passed down among students. I participated out of respect for that tradition. I drank the liquor. I crossed the bridge. But—”
Simon's smile turned razor thin.
“This crosses the line, Senior. You ordered your juniors to commit a crime wearing the mask of a hazing ritual.”
From within the Memorial Crystal Sphere, Will's own voice rang out.
— You boys are going to sneak into another department's girls' dormitory and steal their underwear.
— But any bastard who can't bring anything back, don't bother coming back. And consider your department life thoroughly ruined!
Will's face turned to stone.
Simon tucked the crystal sphere back into his jacket.
“H-hey! Hold on! There's been some kind of misunderstanding, okay? What I meant for you to steal wasn't—”
“I have nothing further to discuss with you, Senior Will.”
Simon strode off without a backward glance.
“W-wait! Where do you think you're going!”
Simon smacked away Will's grabbing arm, hard, and smiled without even turning around.
“I'm going to settle this with your Department Representative.”
What needed catching wasn't the tail. It was the head.
The afterparty — the drinking gathering hosted by the third-year Department Representative Leonard — was warming up nicely.
Leonard laughed brightly as he clinked cups with his juniors.
“What's with those faces?”
Some second-years were rowdy and giddy on the alcohol, while others sipped their drinks in stony silence.
A third-year seated beside Leonard snickered and picked up the thread.
“Those kids got picked, remember? They're dreading the hazing that's coming.”
“Ah~ you little punks. Can't even keep your faces straight in front of your seniors.”
“It's nothing. We all went through it too.”
While calming his drunken classmates, Leonard turned to the juniors with a gentle voice.
“Don't worry. I'll ask them to go easy on the next round.”
At those words, several second-years lifted their heads, faces brightening.
“R-really?”
“Of course.”
Having skillfully soothed the anxious mood of the second-years, Leonard glanced casually to the side.
“Lorraine?”
He addressed a third-year girl who was sipping her drink beside him. She answered while looking straight ahead.
“She said she was going to the bathroom, and she's currently digging through the Forbidden Forest.”
“Any problem?”
“None. She's searching some innocent spot nowhere near where the hazing rituals happen. And watching her comb through it piece by piece without using any authority — I'd say the 'rumor' is true. I've already sent a few of ours to bring her back.”
“Good.”
Thankfully, this hazing ritual seemed to be going smoothly.
Just as Leonard was quietly relaxing, a loud murmur began rising around them.
What now?
Sensing something seriously wrong, Leonard rose from his seat.
The second-years were buzzing and backing away — and through the gap came Simon, walking toward him with the student council armband on his right arm.
Simon Polentia. Back from the student council already?
Leonard's mind raced.
Will didn't do anything stupid, did he… hm?
Just then, he spotted Will trailing behind Simon, shambling and hesitant — darting nervous glances between Simon and Leonard. Leonard knew, instantly, that something had exploded.
That idiot…!
“Good evening, Senior.”
Simon bowed politely. Leonard raised a hand with a pleasant, easygoing smile.
“Evening, President. That armband suits you, by the way.”
“I came because I have a question for the Department Representative.”
Simon activated the Memorial Crystal Sphere from his pocket.
Will's command — to sneak into the girls' dormitory and steal their underwear — echoed through the gathering, raw and unfiltered.
'……!'
The second-years enjoying the afterparty stared, mouths agape. They were scandalized that such a thing had been ordered as a hazing ritual — and the girls in particular were furious, every single one of them.
“Leonard, this isn't quite what I agreed to.”
Even Benya, a fellow third-year, stood with her arms crossed and a scowl carved into her face.
A bead of sweat rolled down Leonard's temple.
“This.”
And Simon looked at him with eyes cold as glass.
“Was this your order, Senior?”
'……'
Impossible.
The third hazing ritual, the 'errand,' was never meant to go to this extreme.
Clearly, Will — provoked by Simon — had improvised something reckless to trap him, and this disaster was the result. The whole picture was plain to see.
But even cornered, Leonard did not lose his smile.
“Suppose I say yes. Then what? You plan to run scurrying to the professors and report us?”
Leonard slowly spread his arms.
“The hazing ritual isn't just ours. It's a long-standing tradition carried out across every department. And more importantly — we already had an agreement, didn't we?”
Leonard's voice dropped lower.
“We don't interfere with the Student Council President's business. In exchange, you don't interfere with the third-years' business.”
'……'
“We intended to honor that agreement like gentlemen. But you broke it first. So forgive me if we treat this as a declaration of war. Meaning — our third-years are now free to move openly against the student council. No?”
The truth was, from the very beginning—
this entire hazing ritual had been little more than a trap laid for Simon.
If Simon challenged the ritual, he broke the pact with the third-years — creating the perfect justification for Leonard or the others to contest his seat as Student Council President.
And if he stayed silent, the rumor would spread among the second-years that their President turned a blind eye to injustice and the academy's worst abuses — and his standing would crumble. Either way, Simon's position as President was destined to waver.
Well then. What will you do?
Life at Kizen was an unending political war, and Leonard was no easy opponent.
Simon held his poker face, meeting Leonard's gaze — and then gave a small nod.
“Sure. Go right ahead.”
“What?”
A profoundly unintelligent sound popped out of Leonard's mouth.
Simon shrugged with total composure.
“It's a seat I'll be handing back to Senior Eisel soon enough anyway. I have no attachment to it. However—”
Simon waved the Memorial Crystal Sphere lightly.
“Senior Will and Senior Leonard — I intend to settle things with you both, thoroughly, in my capacity as Student Council President. A stain like this will follow your authority and your careers for the rest of your lives. And the department's prestige collapsing with it goes without saying.”
'……'
“If the two of you are willing to sacrifice yourselves to drag me off this President's seat — then yes, by all means. I'll take this and go meet Lady Nephthys tomorrow.”
Leonard's lips trembled.
A bluff.
Nephthys, of all people — even a Student Council President, despite answering directly to the Headmistress, couldn't simply waltz into a meeting with her.
But if this incident landed on the desk of Jane — the Vice Principal and a rigid rules-fundamentalist — there was no question the entire school would be turned upside down.
After all, the academy officially permitted 'department welcome parties,' but strictly forbade 'hazing rituals.' That was exactly why they had to sneak into the Forbidden Forest and carry on their precious little 'traditions' in secret.
Leonard fell silent. Simon tucked the crystal sphere away and smiled — a small, sweet smile.
“If you'd rather not… then let's negotiate.”
Leonard's eyes narrowed into a sharp, wary squint.
“…N-negotiate?”
He was quite sure he was looking at the smile of a devil.