A Sudden Bloom and a Muddy Face
Summoning Material Science.
Though Professor Grerion himself liked to call it closer to 'Chimera Design Theory,' this class had one constant problem: the cleanup took forever.
Today, as always, the teaching assistants ran themselves ragged, their clothes soaked clean through with sweat.
Half of them covered the dirt the students had churned up in the greenhouse or scrubbed the floors, while the other half gathered the scattered debris and trash from the outdoor work tables.
Ssssh!
Occasionally, a living plant-type monster still lurked on one of the tables. The TAs would casually incinerate it with a low-grade Jet-Black Flame and sweep the remaining ash into a dustpan.
So many hands were needed that even Professor Grerion, the man himself, willingly pitched in with the cleanup alongside his assistants.
"Professor Grerion."
As Grerion trudged along with an armful of trash balanced on his burly shoulders, the Head TA approached him.
"Do you have a moment?"
"Yeah."
Thud!
Grerion dumped the load onto the trash heap and turned around.
Where they headed was Simon's table.
"Here—look at this, please."
The Head TA pointed at the carnivorous chimera planted in Simon's flowerpot. The moment he laid eyes on it, Grerion pulled off his sunglasses and strode over.
"...A cross between Segello and Kigil. I don't even need to plant it in Roina's Flowerpot to know. This piece is, without question, an A+."
"That's what I thought, which is why I called you over."
The Head TA continued.
"But student Simon Polentia's grade is an A. He passed up his own superior work and got evaluated on a different piece instead."
"..."
Grerion crossed his arms and rested his chin on his hand.
"Simon Polentia made the wrong choice. Or—"
His eyes sharpened behind the sunglasses.
"—something slipped past us. Is that it?"
The Head TA bowed his head apologetically. Grerion strode forward, long strides eating up the distance ahead of him.
"Bring me Simon Polentia's assessment piece! Now!"
"Yes, sir!"
The TAs fetched the flowerpot with the plant chimera bearing Simon's name tag. Without a moment's hesitation, Grerion ripped it out by the roots and planted it in Roina's Flowerpot.
At once, an illusion bloomed to life, showing the chimera exactly six months into the future.
It was alive and thriving, six months on.
"As you saw earlier, nothing remarkable happens."
The Head TA said. Grerion stared at it with a grave expression for a long moment—then swept his arm.
"Finish the cleanup first. Then come back."
"Yes, sir!"
Several hours later, once the cleanup was finished, they returned to Roina's Flowerpot—
"...!"
And an astonishing sight awaited them.
Inside Roina's Flowerpot, a riotous flower garden had unfurled. The plant chimeras Simon had created had multiplied and spread outward in every direction.
"The chimera..."
Grerion pulled off his sunglasses a second time, and his hands trembled faintly.
"He succeeded in propagating it?"
Because a plant chimera fused two crops together through the power of dark magic, propagation was impossible in the vast majority of cases. Even with luck on their side, the growth would revert to one of the two original plant species.
And yet this one had grown in exactly the chimera form Simon had grafted.
'That boy...!'
Sweat trickled down Grerion's forehead.
'He's created an entirely new species!'
He'd wondered why Aaron had been making such an obnoxious fuss bragging about his student. It hadn't been bragging at all.
Aaron had been warning him.
'The one who built a Lich instead of a Mage.'
Whatever happens in my class, don't be surprised.
A dry laugh spilled from Grerion's lips.
"Head TA."
"Yes, Professor!"
"The grade needs correcting. Post a notice to the Summoning Department, get the students' understanding, and raise Simon's grade from an A to an A+."
It was his reaction whenever he was supremely satisfied. At that moment, another TA spoke up, his face stiff.
"B-but Professor! Correcting a grade after the very first practical assessment will provoke the students—not to mention raise doubts about our class itself!"
"If you make a mistake, you admit it."
He chuckled low in his throat and slid his sunglasses back on.
"A thoroughly entertaining one has joined the department."
The next morning.
At last, the day of the long-dreaded 'Mission Assessment' had arrived.
The moment Simon opened his eyes, he stopped by Pier's Ruins first. He loaded the combat-ready undead into his massive subspace until it was packed to the brim.
Pier had crossed blades with that band of lunatics once before, and he judged that the power of the 'Legion' itself might yet be needed.
"I'll leave the ruins' defense to Akemus."
[Yes, Young Master.]
Akemus placed a hand over his chest and bowed with perfect courtesy.
[Return safely!]
On this journey went Pier, Erzsébet, Prince, and Herseba.
Akemus, who had distinguished himself in Langestin last time, was assigned to guard the ruins. Besides, with Herseba's Authority, the 'World of Sand,' he could be summoned back at any moment—so he wasn't entirely out of the fight.
One could only pray that the situation never demanded Akemus's blade as well.
"Then, I'm off."
With every preparation complete, Simon stepped out of the ruins.
The second-year campus was deserted. Most of the students had already departed on the earliest teleport slots, and Simon's turn to take the teleport came considerably later.
He crossed the campus, climbed the wooded hill, and finally arrived at the site where the large-scale teleportation circle stood.
The excited chatter of students on the brink of adventure filled the air. A group of ten was just crossing into the teleport circle together, and the teleport administrators were calling the next names on their list.
"There you are."
Kajan, sitting resting in the shade of a tree, raised a hand in greeting.
Since it was best to conceal one's Kizen identity on missions like this, he wore adventurer's garb under a neat grey robe.
Simon smiled back.
"Thank you for coming to help, Kajan!"
Kajan, who had long kept an eye on Tarados, had agreed to accompany him on this mission. He'd also promised his full cooperation with Simon's original objective: 'locating the true body of the Ancient Undead, Karl.'
"A mission assessment with Kajan along—now that's reassuring!"
"Right."
Kajan pressed a tired hand to the back of his neck.
"That code word's been keeping me up at night."
Evidently that 'Save me.' code had left a deep impression even on Kajan—a man who could fall asleep the instant his head touched the pillow.
"Oh, there's Simon!"
"Simooon~"
"?"
Someone was calling his name—it was Meilin and Camibarez.
The two girls came running over, waving cheerfully.
"Meilin! Cami!"
"Huh, what's this. Heading out now too?"
Both were dressed for adventuring.
Meilin had her sky-blue hair tied back in a ponytail, and wore a sporty jacket, shorts, and black stockings. She radiated a bright, energetic aura.
"I'm so glad we got to see you before the mission!"
Camibarez wore a hooded top, a wide-brimmed hat, and a long skirt. She'd apparently reworked her clothes in advance—the little wings peeking out from the back of her top were already fluttering.
"By the way, where are the others? Where's Dick?"
"Dick left at dawn! Says he's got a guild-related request!"
"Ah, got it."
Meilin crossed her arms with a mischievous grin.
"Honestly, these boys. How do they never once do a mission assessment with us? Aren't they worried about us? Not even an escort?"
Simon scratched his head sheepishly.
"Let's definitely go somewhere together, the four of us, sometime soon."
Camibarez rose on tiptoe and fluttered her adorable little wings.
"What about doing it together during the Black request period?"
"Sounds good to me."
"Yes! Yes, let's! I'm totally confident about hiding my Jet-Black!"
The three of them chattered away as boisterously as they always did in the Student Council Room. Meilin grinned brightly and looked past Simon's shoulder.
"So who's the friend going on the assessment with you?"
"Me."
Only belatedly did she notice the scar over the man's right eye—and she started so violently that she bowed her head at once.
"I-I'm so sorry. Senior Kajan."
"Just call me Kajan. I'm not your senior, either."
Camibarez beamed.
"Kajan! Please take good care of Simon!"
Even the taciturn Kajan showed the faintest ghost of a smile before Camibarez.
"Leave him to me."
Just then, the teleport administrator's voice rang out, calling Meilin and Camibarez's names.
"Ah, that's us. We're off!"
"Stay safe, Simon! And you come back in one piece too, Kajan!"
"Yeah, safe travels."
Simon waved them off, and Kajan gave a silent nod.
The two girls unfurled their robes over their uniforms and ran toward the teleportation circle.
Once Meilin and Camibarez had teleported away, the very next turn was Simon and Kajan's.
The two of them stepped onto the teleportation circle as well. Perhaps because it was a somewhat unusual destination, they were the only two standing on the great circle.
"Then, departing now!"
With the administrator's shout, the teleportation circle activated.
Hummmm!
Their feet lifted gently off the ground. Simon surrendered himself to the now-familiar sensation.
Just a little longer to wait, and—
"?"
But their feet settled back down onto solid ground.
Wondering if they'd somehow already arrived, he looked all around—but the scenery hadn't changed a bit. They were still standing atop Kizen's teleportation circle, in the exact same spot.
"M-my sincerest apologies. Please wait just a moment."
The administrators hurriedly huddled together, whispering. Simon and Kajan exchanged glances, wondering what was going on.
"This is a little unsettling right out of the gate. We can still get there, right?"
"Should be. It'll only be delayed—not impossible."
After a while, the administrators seemed to identify the cause, and bowed their heads deeply.
"We apologize. A small problem has occurred."
"What kind of problem?"
"It appears another student already used the arrival circle in Tarados."
The long-range teleportation circles Kizen employed required two separate circles: a departure point and an arrival point.
When students reported field assignments or missions, the henchmen scattered across the continent would install a teleportation circle in the relevant region.
But now, apparently, some student had already used the arrival circle at Tarados.
"Well, that's enough to make a ghost weep."
The administrator holding the roster scratched his head furiously.
"We boarded the students onto the teleports exactly according to this list. How could this possibly—"
Simon's eyes narrowed.
"Don't tell me."
Kajan scratched his scar.
"Seems we're thinking the same thing. That woman, is it."
Serne Aindark.
If she had used her feathers to puppet the administrators and then erased their memories, such a thing was entirely possible.
'Was it really Serne? Or someone else? Which Kizen students went to Tarados? And why?'
"What's done is done. What matters is the present."
Kajan addressed the administrators.
"How long until we can get to Tarados again?"
"Fabricating a new teleportation circle on that end will take roughly half a day."
"Any other way?"
The administrator spread out his documents.
"There's a region called 'Ebrun' near Tarados. We can send you there immediately. From Ebrun, it's not a long journey to Tarados by carriage."
Simon and Kajan nodded.
"Then let's do that."
Simon and Kajan arrived safely in 'Ebrun,' the neighboring territory close to Tarados.
When they opened their eyes, all they saw was the middle of a vast, empty wilderness. Nothing but the sand-laden wind swirling raucously about them.
Teleportation circles were by default installed in sparsely populated places, so this was hardly strange. Simon and Kajan threw their robes over their heads and set off on foot.
'Ah.'
Before long, a cluster of jagged tower-like structures came into view.
"Looks like buildings over there. Think that's the village?"
"Let's find out."
To reach Tarados, they needed to find a carriage—and to find a carriage, they needed to find a village first.
Crossing the desolate streets, the two of them arrived at what seemed to be some kind of ruins.
Plenty of plants still grew there, so it might once have been a garden—but for a garden, it was utterly neglected. Nearby, stone towers of unknown purpose stretched away in a row, and buildings of peculiar design lay abandoned in collapse.
People must have lived here once, long ago, before the place faded into ruins. Lotuses drifted lazily across the surface of a pond.
"No sign of anyone. Doesn't look like anyone lives here."
"Agreed."
Kajan had his nose pressed to the ground, sniffing.
"We should get away from here, fast."
"Why?"
"I smell poison. Nothing artificial—but there's a toxic zone nearby, no doubt about it."
At that very moment—
[Boy!]
Pier's voice rang out.
[Let me out.]
"Yes?"
[Hurry!]
Pier's voice was urgent enough that Simon hastily summoned him out of the subspace.
A towering skeleton flaring his cloak emerged into view. Kajan, who had seen the 7th Legion's Ancient Undead several times by now, didn't so much as blink.
[I can sense it here. Follow me!]
"?"
Bewildered, Simon and Kajan trailed after Pier.
At some point along the way, this ruin had changed—every plant around them was dead, and the pond had turned a murky, polluted color.
"!"
Whooooooosh!
The poisoned pond surged upward, and the mud from its bottom began clumping together in midair.
[Kahahaha! To think I'd witness this in a place like this!]
Pier bared his teeth in a grin, while Simon stared ahead, utterly dumbfounded.
The pond's murky sludge was, unbelievably, slowly sculpting itself into the shape of a face.
'...N-no way. Don't tell me—?'