Rescued in Fifteen Minutes
Heidi's eyes flew wide open in disbelief.
There was no mistaking it. That blue hair—it was the very boy she'd seen at the bookstore just yesterday.
Simon!
That scatterbrained fellow who'd seemed like he'd struggle to adapt even if he did get into Kizen—here he was, having knocked every one of those terrifying people flat on their backs.
"H-how did you get here……"
Instead of answering, Simon simply broke into a warm smile and held out his hand. Trembling, Heidi reached out and clutched his broad hand tightly.
Ah.
A pleasant drowsiness washed over her. Having spent the entire sleepless night with fatigue and stress piled up to the breaking point, Simon's Sleep took hold of her all the more easily. As a soothing comfort spread through her, the strength drained from her body. Simon drew her hand toward him and let her lean against his chest, and Heidi's blurred vision fluttered shut before she slipped entirely into sleep.
"Whew."
Simon let out a sigh of relief, wrapped one arm around her shoulders, and swirled Jet-Black around his free hand.
Thud!
A projectile made of Jet-Black struck his palm and ricocheted away.
So you finally show yourself.
A sinister darkness that made his skin prickle. A necromancer in a ragged, hole-ridden robe stood there with his arm outstretched. The face visible beneath the hood was grotesquely twisted, and a stench like rotting corpse wafted from him.
His mouth opened, and a gloomy voice spilled out.
"……And who might you be?"
"How did you find this place?"
Simon answered the questions with questions of his own.
"You're the necromancer hired by House Amperge, aren't you?"
"……"
"Denying it won't do you any good. The Amperge candidate has already been taken into custody by Kizen and is under investigation—for kidnapping a freshman and attempting fraudulent admission."
A withered hand emerged from the necromancer's sleeve and propped up his chin. His manner remained perfectly composed.
"Around this time of year, the parents of gifted children are an absolute plague. Please, they say, get our son into Kizen."
"……"
He has no intention of keeping anything secret.
"That obsession frightens even me, frankly. The odds of success are slim to begin with, and if they get caught, the entire house could be erased by Kizen."
A gloomy chuckle trickled from his mouth.
"They carve Perpetual Magic Circles into the soldiers who have served the family their whole lives—and now they carve them into their own son. Because the family's standing now rises and falls on whether that boy gets in."
Simon smirked crookedly.
"You're awfully free with your mouth, aren't you? Is that really wise?"
"It doesn't matter."
The man drew his hand downward.
"I've bought enough time to prepare my dark magic. And you'll be dead shortly."
Grrrrrgggghhh—
The surrounding walls quivered, and countless zombie arms burst forth with wet, slapping sounds. From the ceiling, from the walls—even from the floor, zombie arms shot out and seized Simon's legs.
Simon shielded Heidi in his arms.
"Vanish, then. You and the girl both."
"Akemus."
Simon smiled with perfect composure.
"Don't kill him."
CRASH!!!
The ceiling caved in, and black feathers erupted outward in a storm.
The last thing the necromancer saw was a mass of jet-black feathers descending upon him. And then—
FWOOOOOSH!
He would remember nothing after that.
The necromancer, smashed bloodied against the wall, lay unconscious with his eyes still bulging wide. From the eerie pile of feathers that had landed before him, something like a monster's arm jutted out.
[How dare—]
Pure killing intent poured from within the feathers.
[How dare a lowly wretch like you lay hands on the Young Master!]
SCREEEEEEECH!
A spine-chilling cry of avian fury tore from its throat. The scattered feathers on the floor rustled and shuddered in response.
"Calm down, Akemus."
Simon restrained him. The horrifying mass of feathers rippled, then reshaped itself back into the familiar Akemus that Simon knew.
[Are you hurt anywhere, Young Master?]
"Thanks to you, no."
Akemus strode over and plucked a single feather from the trash can.
[I am relieved you regarded it as such a trifling matter.]
When the men who had ambushed Arthur had dissolved into dust and fled, Simon had swiftly taken out one of Akemus's feathers and planted it on them. The attackers had later found the feather and tossed it carelessly into the trash—but that hadn't been nearly enough. They would have needed to burn it away completely with proper dark magic. In the end, they had simply told Akemus exactly where they were.
Akemus shook the feather clean and handed it back to Simon.
"Please erase all traces, cleanly."
[Yes, sir.]
True to his nature as an Ancient Undead, his cleanup was immaculate. With a flick of his hand through the air, the feathers melted away like chocolate. Everyone who had kidnapped Heidi lay unconscious on the ground.
"Hyah!"
Simon braced his strength, lifted Heidi lightly into his arms, and moved toward the terrace.
To think they'd use this place as a prison.
This building was the Clock Tower Lodging.
Simon planted one foot on the terrace railing and climbed up onto it. The icy wind of the high altitude whistled past.
"No time to waste. Let's move out."
[As you command, Young Master.]
Without a moment's hesitation, Simon leapt from the railing dozens of stories up.
FWOOOOM!
Akemus swooped after him, shifting into bird form and gripping Simon's shoulders with two transformed legs, then beat his pair of enormous wings.
A distance like this? That's more than doable!
……
Heidi was dreaming.
A dream of passing Kizen's entrance safely, never having been taken by those terrible men.
It was wonderful. In the dream, she gossiped endlessly with kids her own age, dropped by the campus store, pulled all-nighters studying for exams together, and on missions she strutted about in her pretty Kizen uniform, savoring the envious stares of strangers.
And then she came home for the holidays and threw her arms around her mother and father with all her might.
Two people who had spent their entire lives looking after her, despite their meager means. Now, as a Kizen student, she wanted to be the one supporting them.
But.
It was a dream that could never come true.
Then another dream followed. Being rescued by that scatterbrained boy her own age from the bookstore was so absurdly unrealistic that a hollow laugh escaped her—yet for something conjured from her own desperate longing, it felt achingly real.
How foolish of me.
I'm sorry, Mom. Dad.
The moment despair flickered before her eyes, the dream shifted.
Whiiiiine—
A crisp, refreshing wind rushed over her. This was the sky. She was flying through the sky—no, more precisely, she was cradled in the arms of something that was flying.
"You awake?"
At that voice, Heidi lifted her head.
Ah.
The blue-haired boy who had saved her in her dream. He was smiling gently, as if to tell her not to worry.
Heidi murmured blankly.
"Is this…… also a dream?"
"No."
The boy shook his head.
"This is real."
Whiiiiiiiiiine!
The biting headwind slapped her awake.
That's right. This was reality. She truly had been saved by this boy—and she was flying through the sky in his arms.
"Hold on just a little longer. We're almost there."
They were high above Langestin. And dead ahead lay the place where she was supposed to be—the ship bound for Kizen.
"……As I thought."
At that same moment, a Kizen staff member on the ship gazed out at the city of Langestin and heaved a deep sigh.
"Rescuing her in fifteen minutes was always going to be impossible."
Tied up with rope at the stern was the Amperge candidate, aboard the ship.
"Hahaha! I told you, didn't I? How could anyone comb all of Langestin and bring her back in that time? It's impossible, I say."
"You!!"
Furious, Arthur grabbed the candidate by the collar and shook him.
"You did kidnap her, didn't you?"
"Whoa there. Whatever are you on about?"
The candidate snickered.
"I know nothing about any of that. Anyway—see you at Kizen, friend."
"I've never had a friend like you, and I never will!"
"Hahaha! You're hilarious. I hope we end up in the same class."
Princess Molly, too, was staring outside with her heart in her throat. But no matter how hard she searched, Simon was nowhere to be seen. The other freshmen seemed to have given up as well, chattering among themselves.
Just then, a henchman clutching a communication crystal came running up, shouting urgently.
"The Nether Whale is right upon us! We must seal the ship!"
FWAAAAAAAASH!
The murmur of the students swelled into a roar. From the distant horizon, an enormous wall of spray was bearing down on them.
"Then we have no choice."
The Kizen staff member nodded.
"We take the Amperge candidate with us. Confirm every window is properly shut, and activate the barrier."
"Yes, sir!"
Clack, clack!
Locks engaged over the windows, and a barrier—hard and clear as a sheet of glass—began spreading across the ship from its hull upward.
"Eheheh! So I'm going after all! To Kizen!"
The candidate's shoulders shook with snickering laughter.
Arthur ground his teeth in fury, while Molly kept her eyes fixed straight ahead. And then—
"There! There! Look over there!"
Molly shot up from her seat, pointing forward in utter excitement.
"It's Simon! Senior Simon is coming from the sky!!"
"What?"
"Senior Simon's coming through the air!!"
The Kizen staff member—and even the henchmen—dashed out in a scramble, dignity as adults be damned. The freshmen rose from their seats in an excited clamor and crowded against the windows.
"He's really coming!"
"He's got that girl in his arms!"
"He actually rescued her?"
"WOOOAAAAAHHH!"
The ship erupted into a crucible of euphoria. Even the Amperge candidate shot to his feet, his face drained of color.
"Th-this is! Impossible!"
As the Sleep Simon had laid on him wore off, the forbidden dark magic planted in the candidate's body began to manifest once more. Cracks spidered across his face and lumps of monstrous flesh bulged out—the side effect of his uncontrollable self-emotion was flaring up again.
[How?! How?! How can this be happening? I locked her away in the Clock Tower……!!]
"So it was you."
Feeling the fine hairs on his whole body stand on end, the candidate turned around.
Arthur was smiling a murderous smile, his leg already raised.
WHAM!
Before the forbidden dark magic could fully manifest, Arthur kicked him square in the back and sent him flying into the sea.
[You bastard—!!]
With that last desperate shriek, the candidate plunged into the ocean and the barrier sealed shut. Through it, one could see the henchmen left behind at the docks hauling him up with dark magic and taking him into custody.
Tap.
The Kizen headquarters staff member clapped a hand on Arthur's shoulder. Arthur flinched and turned around, half-believing he'd done something he'd now have to answer for.
He was certain he was about to get scolded. But—
"Arthur, you'd best hurry back to your seat as well."
The staff member said it while pointedly looking away, a mischievous grin from childhood playing at the corners of his mouth.
"Ah—yes, sir!"
"Seal the barrier completely!"
At those words, Princess Molly cried out.
"Just a moment! Senior Simon hasn't boarded yet!"
"He is the Student Council President of Kizen. He will find his own way in—count on it."
Clack!
The headquarters staff member took his seat and gripped the controls.
"Everyone, brace for impact! Hunch down as low as you can!"
"Yes, sir!"
In the eyes of Simon and Heidi as they flew, the massive spray kicked up by the Nether Whale now came into view.
This is going to be close!
Ever since Heidi had woken, Simon had already sent Akemus back to subspace and was flying by means of his Skull Drones.
"We're going faster! Hold on tight, Heidi!"
She wrapped both arms around Simon's neck with all her strength, and Simon pushed the Skull Drones bearing him up to their absolute maximum speed.
The emerald flash spat rough, blazing fire.
FWAAAAAAAASH!
From within the spray, the unimaginably colossal Nether Whale revealed itself, gaping its jaws wide to swallow the ship whole.
Cloud!
As Simon flung out his hand, an emerald cord shot forth like a lightning bolt and coiled around the beast's teeth. Simon hauled on it with every ounce of strength he had.
And at that very moment—
GLLLLLRRRRRK!
The Nether Whale swallowed the ship and dove beneath the waves.
After passing through a throat like an endless tunnel, the ship carrying the freshmen finally reached the safe zone prepared within the Nether Whale's body.
The ship's movement stopped, and the boys and girls who had been huddled down for dear life lifted their heads one by one.
"Drop the barrier!"
At the staff member's shout, the barrier fell away. The freshmen didn't spare so much as a glance at the whale's belly they were seeing for the first time in their lives—all of them were scanning the deck and the railing instead.
"Where's the Student Council President?"
"Don't tell me he didn't make it?"
Heads drooped in hollow defeat. A heavy, solemn gloom settled over the crowd. The henchmen were at a loss for words, and the Kizen staff member smiled bitterly and covered his face with one hand.
This isn't going to end with a simple written apology.
With that thought, the staff member turned his head.
"Arthur?"
The red-haired boy was gazing in silence at the jet-black, tunnel-like throat behind them. And then the corners of his mouth lifted.
"I knew it!"
FLASH!
A dazzling emerald light burst from the dark tunnel of the throat. Everyone's heads snapped up.
THUD!
From above, a blue-haired boy descended. The ship lurched and tilted to one side.
SHAAAAAAAK—!
His shoes skidded across the deck as he landed. Cradled in his arms was Heidi, the kidnapped freshman.
"H-how did you……"
She was staring right at him, and still couldn't believe it.
"I told you, didn't I?"
Sweat streamed down Simon's face in sheets as he smiled at Heidi.
"I'd take you to Kizen."
A heartbeat of silence.
And then, without anyone needing to be first—
"WOOOAAAAAAAHHHH!"
Everyone present threw their arms into the air and embraced one another, cheering at the top of their lungs.
Arthur roared with his fists clenched, Molly's eyes brimmed with tears, and the headquarters staff and henchmen beamed brightly in each other's arms.
It was an incident that would be seared into the minds of every freshman there: the Student Council President of Kizen, who rescued a kidnapped freshman in just fifteen minutes.
Another legendary event was born in that moment—one that would be told and retold from the lips of juniors for years to come.