The Canal City on the Lake
Shahed Kingdom. Lake Milawi.
“It's huge!”
Before Jane and Simon's group, who had crossed over to Shahed Kingdom through a teleportation array, an impossibly vast lake stretched out to the horizon.
It was a lake the size of an ocean. There was even a visible horizon line, and like a real sea, it had waves and currents. The lake water hissed as it swept across the ground and receded again.
The lake was ringed on all sides by forest, dotted here and there with smaller lakes of its own. Old men who had set down a bucket and were lazily dangling fishing lines into the water waved at the passing students with affectionate smiles.
This feels kind of healing.
Basking in the endless water and the cool breeze, Simon smiled. It felt like something in his chest had finally opened up.
“Everyone.”
Jane stretched out a hand toward Simon and the transfer students.
“That is the third of the great Necromancer Schools—Moiran.”
Whoa!
Amazingly, the school grounds sat right in the middle of the lake.
That was the great water city that Shahed Kingdom and Moiran alike took such pride in. The shore and the floating city were connected by a white bridge—so absurdly long that one wondered what could have possessed anyone to bridge that distance in the first place. Most of the people crossing it did so by carriage.
“It's beautiful.”
Simon murmured in genuine admiration. The very next second, Benz—bristling with inferiority—shot out of the crowd.
“Come on, Simon! What's so great about a place with nothing but water! The Aland campus, surrounded by nature and forest, is way better!”
Zetz of Sierra wasn't about to be outdone either.
“You're only saying that because you haven't seen the view from Sierra's campus, three thousand meters above sea level. You guys really should have caught the sunrise up there.”
Simon turned around with a wry smile.
“You two are Kizen students now. Stop competing over such weird things.”
“My roots are in Aland, though!”
When the students started getting noisy, Jane lowered her long lashes and rapped her fist lightly into her palm. The students shut their mouths at once and snapped their backs straight.
“Now, walking to the bridge would take too long, so we'll travel by boat.”
She led the students toward the dock.
Just then, Simon came up alongside Jane and fell into step with her.
“S-so, Professor?”
“Yes?”
“When will I get to meet the other two who'll be fighting alongside me?”
Truthfully, he was a little anxious.
Knowing Jane's personality, it wasn't hard to guess that since Simon was the 2nd-year Student Council President, she would have matched the rest of the team with 2nd-years as well.
Ordinarily she might have pulled from the Top 10, but with the Mission Assessment underway, the pool of available students was extremely limited. Even those ranked around two hundred had barely made it here.
“You needn't have worried.”
“R-really?”
Jane pointed ahead with a blank expression, and Simon's head swiveled in that direction.
Two girls in Kizen uniforms stood in front of a ferryboat. The moment Simon saw the armbands on their shoulders, his face lit up.
An irrepressible smile of recognition spread across his lips.
“Simon!”
The girls spotted him and waved furiously. Simon, swept up in the joy of it, closed the distance in a single dash.
“Mayrin! Kami! Don't tell me it's you two this time—!”
“That's right~”
The Vice President and overall Rank 8, Mayrin, rose with her skirt held modestly in place and swept back her sky-blue hair.
“Hmph. I dragged myself all the way here despite being exhausted, so you'd better be grateful.”
“We finished our Mission Assessment in Shahed Kingdom and were on standby, and then Professor Jane's offer came in, so we came over here!”
The Student Council Secretary and Rank 95, Camibarez, hurried over with both hands clasped in front of her chest.
Jane stepped up beside Simon.
“I called in Student Council members. Are you satisfied with the reinforcements?”
“They're the best!”
Simon answered without a moment's hesitation.
“This transfer evaluation match at Moiran is best two out of three. Win twice, and Kizen takes the whole thing.”
Jane spread her palm open.
“So there's no need to feel pressured. One way or another, you only have to win twice.”
If she had been determined to win at all costs, Jane would have summoned the 3rd-years instead. But she believed that on a stage this grand, the growth and experience of talented students mattered more.
Mayrin thrust her fist into the air.
“Obviously we're sweeping all three!”
“Yaaay!”
Camibarez cheered, and Simon clapped along. Watching the students brimming with fighting spirit, Jane nodded.
“Good attitude. Then let's head to Moiran.”
Ten people in total, five to a boat.
The Student Council trio of Simon, Mayrin, and Camibarez boarded the first boat along with Jane, while the transfer students from Aland and Sierra filed into the one behind.
But when Benz promptly picked a fight with the Sierra contingent, Jane crossed over from the first boat.
“I'll supervise this boat. You two go over there.”
And so Benz and Zetz were shunted over to Simon's boat.
Soon the boat pulled away.
Simon had assumed it was just an ordinary ferry, but it was actually fitted with a mana motor. With no one at the helm, the boat followed a route etched into a magic circle and carried itself to its destination.
As the boat glided across the lake, Simon introduced Benz and Zetz to the Student Council members.
“And this is Camibarez, our Student Council Secretary.”
“Ah, hello!”
Camibarez bowed her head in greeting and smiled shyly.
She's adorable...!
Benz's cheeks flushed crimson.
It was as if a harp were shimmering at the edge of his hearing, and the whole world took on a rosy glow.
“Simon, Simon! Look~ A swan!”
“Yeah. They don't even get scared when you get close.”
From that moment on, Benz's gaze stayed glued to Camibarez. Zetz smirked and kicked him under the seat.
“Wake up, Aland.”
“What's your problem?”
When Benz glared at him indignantly, Zetz turned his head away and whistled.
“Look over there! Dolphins!”
This lake was a treasure trove of life, home to some seventeen hundred species.
Swans, waterfowl, and ducks paddled along the shallows while a seal sprawled across the rocks, sunning itself. In the distance, pink dolphins could be seen darting playfully through the waves.
Everywhere you looked, the lake was bursting with creatures.
According to Mayrin, Moiran poured astronomical sums of money and time into maintaining the lake—and astonishingly, it housed no monsters at all.
Because of that symbolism, the lake was regarded as the finest resort in all of Shahed Kingdom. No matter where you traveled by boat, there was no risk of being attacked.
“—or so they claim, but honestly, there's no way it's completely monster-free.”
Mayrin shrugged.
“A Necromancer School's sitting right next door, after all. Word is there are actually spots crawling with high-risk monsters—leviathans and the like.”
“Th-that's a little scary...”
Camibarez suddenly began glancing around warily. It almost seemed as if something enormous had passed beneath the beautiful green lakebed.
Simon and Mayrin burst out laughing.
“Ah, it's a shame Dick isn't here, though.”
When Simon said that while scratching the side of his head, Mayrin laughed as if the very idea were absurd.
“That commoner went off to the Neutral Zone, I heard? A treasurer who runs off chasing money every Mission Assessment season—don't know the guy.”
“Ah, we're here!”
Strange as it seemed, the boat stopped precisely in front of the school's dock. Simon hopped up first and gallantly helped the girls disembark.
Benz, trying to show off with a stylish leap of his own, lost his footing and plunged into the lake, soaking his uniform trousers through.
Everyone roared with laughter.
“What is with that Aland kid today?”
Zetz chuckled as he took Simon's hand and climbed up. Red-faced, Benz dripped water the whole way as he hauled himself onto the dock.
“Are you okay?”
Just then, Camibarez held out a soft white towel to him.
“I borrowed it from one of the dock workers over there.”
“Ah... um, yes!”
The world flooded pink again, and there went the harp music.
He'd made a fool of himself right in front of the girl he liked, but he snatched up the towel and swept back his wet bangs.
“Th-thank you! Camiba... Camibazzi?”
“It's Camibarez! If my name's hard, just call me Kami!”
Benz's heart began to soar.
They'd only just met, and she was already letting him use a nickname?
Could it be that she—?
“Hey. Wake up already, waterlogged grasshopper.”
“Sierra, shut your mouth!”
Before long, the second boat arrived, and they all walked together toward the city.
Unlike the other four schools, which kept their gates closed to civilians for security reasons, Moiran had thrown its entire campus open to the public.
People flocked to the pleasant city, it grew and grew, and by now the line between school grounds and city center had all but dissolved.
Civilians still couldn't enter the school buildings or the restricted security zones, of course—but the sight of charming little shopping streets packed right up against the academy walls was something you could only see in Moiran.
“It's so pretty!”
“Even the roofs are all white.”
The cityscape itself was strikingly lovely.
Canals unfurled like paintings at every turn, and it was a common sight to see Moiran students in uniform and townsfolk riding the same boats. Apparently, hopping onto a floating water-taxi in any canal could whisk you swiftly to anywhere in the city.
Jane and the students walked the length of the street until they reached the central plaza.
“From here on, this is the entrance to Moiran.”
She checked her wristwatch.
“The transfer evaluation match is in the afternoon, and since we've arrived early, the morning is free. From this moment—”
Watching the students' eyes sparkle as they waited on her next word, Jane let a faint smile slip.
“You have free time.”
“Waaaah!” The students threw their arms into the air and cheered. Passersby glanced their way, then went about their business.
“Split up, enjoy yourselves freely, and regroup here at the central plaza by one o'clock. Especially the three Student Council members—pace yourselves for this afternoon's matches.”
“Yes, Professor!”
“Then, dismissed.”
Having sent the students on their way, Jane turned and walked off.
“Simon!”
Mayrin grabbed his wrist and took off running.
“Come on, let's go! Moiran's famous water slide!”
“She's right!”
“W-wait a second! It's right—!”
Watching a flushed Simon get dragged off by Mayrin and Camibarez, Benz stretched out a hand. But he couldn't muster the courage, and his fist only trembled.
Argh! I was going to ask Kami on a date!
Watching him, Zetz shook his head and strolled off toward a candy shop with the Sierra girls who had come along.
Their rare stretch of free time flew by far too quickly.
Simon rode Moiran's famous water slide with Mayrin and Camibarez (five hundred silver for a single ride—Simon grumbled the whole way up), then the three of them strolled through the shopping center arm in arm, ate cream pasta, and the morning was gone.
At one o'clock, everyone regrouped at the central plaza. The Headmistress of Moiran and her staff had come out to greet them.
“It has been far too long, Vice Principal Jane.”
“Indeed. It has.”
The Headmistress of Moiran was a woman.
Once lagging behind Aland and Sierra in capability, Moiran had been transformed under her innovative administration—a female trailblazer hailed for seizing both rabbits at once: her students' skill and her school's honor.
Her relationship with Jane appeared warm as well. None of the inter-school turf wars that other headmasters and professors had shown were on display this time.
So, following the Headmistress and her staff, they made their way to Moiran's arena, where the transfer evaluation match would unfold.
WAAAAAAAH!
The largest crowd Simon had ever seen packed the stadium.
The first tier was filled to bursting with students in Moiran's sky-blue uniforms, and the second tier held ordinary civilians come to watch.
And there before them stood the Canal Stadium.
Designed to reflect Moiran's water city, the stadium had clean lake water flowing throughout its grounds—an aesthetic beauty all its own.
“They've got home advantage plastered all over this place too, huh.”
Simon murmured, sweeping his Student Council President coat as he surveyed his surroundings. Mayrin crossed her arms.
“Obviously! Most of Moiran's students fight with water-based techniques—and not just the Dark Mechanics kids, every department does. Sealing off their water is the key, I think.”
Mayrin rattled off her tactical read.
Camibarez, on the other hand, seemed frozen by the sheer size of the crowd—her color looked bad.
“You okay, Kami?”
“...Simon.”
She lowered her brows and looked up at him.
“Y-you've fought in a place like this twice already, Simon?”
Simon smiled.
“I was terrified the first time too, but you get used to it.”
“Ah, right! I'll work hard so I don't fall behind you two!”
Camibarez was trembling. Simon thought it would be best if he or Mayrin went first, if the order allowed it.
“Students! And honored guests, thank you for joining us.”
Just then, the Headmistress of Moiran walked to the center of the Canal Stadium. Thunderous shouts and applause erupted.
“I offer my sincere gratitude that this grand event is being held once again this year through our exchange with Kizen. We of Moiran—”
While the Headmistress delivered her practiced address, Simon stretched in the contestants' waiting area.
In the waiting area across the way, Moiran's students were loosening up.
When their eyes met Simon's, some even waved—a show of composure.
And then.
Who's that?
A boy with snow-white hair, presumably a transfer student like the others.
He was staring blankly at the sky with dead eyes.
Somehow, Simon's gaze kept drifting back to him. The boy was slowly waving his fingertips while gazing upward, and on closer look, Simon could make out a single bird flitting through the sky.
The boy pointed a finger, and the bird wobbled as though struggling to fly before finally plummeting behind the stadium.
The moment Simon's brow furrowed—
“...!”
The white-haired boy turned his dead eyes on Simon.
Simon felt every hair on his body stand on end.
“—That concludes the address.”
Just then the Headmistress finished her speech, and another great cheer swept the stadium.
The Headmistress of Moiran produced a small box.
“Then, we shall begin the first match.”
She rummaged through the box and drew out two beads. The referee took them and read each name in turn.
“From Moiran, student Alizarin Jacques! And—”
As everyone held their breath, the referee's mouth opened.
“Student Camibarez Ursula! To the front of the arena!”