Group 10: Simon Polentia
“Group 10: Simon Polentia.”
Finally.
The name everyone had been waiting for rang out.
The students still undrawn tensed to the breaking point. Lorraine's eyes hardened, while Serne wore a meaningful smile and flicked her tongue out playfully.
Group A of Squad 10: Simon Polentia.
And next, the teaching assistant reached into Group B's box.
With a squad formed this way, who landed in Group B among the top rankers mattered enormously. It was the turn of the highest-scoring student after Simon to be chosen.
Tap.
The assistant passed a bead along, and the Head Assistant accepted it, writing the name down.
— Group 10: Simon Polentia, Eshu Arzel.
“YESSSSSSS!”
A roar erupted out of nowhere from somewhere in the crowd.
Students scowled and glanced around, and there among the gathered students a girl was sprinting toward Simon at astonishing speed.
“This is the best! I pulled the best card! Woohoo—!”
What incredible energy, Simon thought, managing an awkward laugh.
Who was that again?
Perfectly ripened tangerine-colored hair, and a hairpin with a quirky little accent that practically screamed necromancer.
A short skirt and a necktie. A uniform with the sleeves rolled down.
Her face, brimming with a bright, lively energy, was split by a huge grin.
Yay— yayay—!
Already bouncing around as if she'd taken the top score in the evaluation, the girl bounded straight up to Simon.
“Looking forward to working with you, famous president! No need to introduce myself, right?”
Simon's face flickered with confusion.
“Oh, come on! Don't pretend you don't know me — you saved me back at the initiation ceremony when the third-years were about to break my legs, and you lent me the bone glue!”
“Ah.”
They'd never formally introduced each other, but their faces were familiar — one of those lukewarm relationships where you'd nod at each other outside and think, oh, they're in my class.
“I'm Eshu Arzel!”
Hands behind her back, she beamed.
She seemed the type whose bubbly, explosive energy could power a small city.
“I'm Simon Polentia. Likewise.”
When Simon held out his hand, she blinked a couple of times. Then, with a curious little “Oho~” smile, she clasped it.
So Group B is settled with a fresh face. Speaking of which—
Simon turned his head.
Group C is running a bit slow, isn't it?
An assistant who'd come in from outside was murmuring something to the one drawing the beads. The two nodded to each other and dispersed, and the drawing resumed.
But the moment the assistant's hand entered the box, her pupils glazed over.
Success.
Watching from a distance, Serne curled her lips into a sly smile.
Reinforced feathers strong enough to brainwash a teaching assistant take a little time to make, you see~
She was puppeteering the assistant through mental domination at this very moment.
Hand still in the box, the assistant spun the beads around and around. Even Lorraine, too wound up watching to notice anything amiss — Simon's group members were being decided, after all — stared straight ahead, face taut with tension.
I will absolutely draw my own name and land on Simon's team. First, black magic to control what's visible inside the box—
“I'll say this, though.”
Thud.
Aaron stepped down from the podium and walked over, unhurried footsteps ringing out.
“This squad assignment will be decided fairly, by total random draw.”
As he brushed past the assistant, the light returned to her eyes.
Serne's expression twisted into something vicious, and Aaron, face utterly indifferent, reached into the box in her place.
“Stand aside. I'll do the drawing.”
“Ah — yes, Professor.”
The assistant stepped back, and Aaron pulled a bead from inside the box.
“Lorraine Archbold.”
Whaaah!
Cheers erupted among the students. The Head Assistant recorded the name, and Group C of Squad 10 was locked in with Lorraine, Rank 287.
“Welcome, Lorraine!”
Simon greeted her with a bright smile.
“Wow! Seriously? Is this real? Nephthys's own daughter is on our teamaaaa!”
Eshu bounced up and down as well. Lorraine approached with a somewhat sheepish smile.
“Ah, hi, everyone. Looking forward to it. I'm glad we're together.”
“If you're glad, why that face?”
At Simon's teasing question, she gave a faint smile and looked down at her feet.
“Being on a team with you is a good thing, obviously. If my Authority weren't sealed, I could contribute a lot more.”
“Don't be ridiculous.”
It was humility. Her potential still outstripped anyone else's in the department.
“I'll do my best to help too.”
“Yeah. Let's work hard.”
Simon glanced behind him.
Grrrrrrr—!
Serne was burning with fury, glaring a hole through Lorraine's back.
Lorraine, refusing to engage, crossed her arms and turned her shoulder to her — but a victor's smile played on her lips.
“Yay—! Yes yes! Our team is a total golden lineup! Just one more to go in the final Group D!”
With that, Eshu turned her head.
The last four boys remaining stood staring straight ahead, faces stiff with nerves.
Their expressions weren't bad at all. Two of the four would end up on Simon's team or Serne's, after all.
“Anyone you're hoping for?”
Simon asked, looking at Eshu. She lowered her voice.
“Honestly, they're all about the same~ Everyone says Group D could take whoever and it wouldn't matter. But me—”
She looked at the shortest boy standing at the very end of the line of four.
“Anyone's fine, as long as I can dodge the Death Knight boy……”
“The final member of Group 10 is Toto Amori.”
Aaaaaaah!
Toto came tearing over, eyes brimming with tears of gratitude, and threw his arms around Simon in a crushing hug.
“One out of four cleared! Sob! I was so scared I'd be the one left behind!”
“Welcome, Toto.”
Simon laughed and patted his back. Lorraine welcomed him too, while Eshu turned her head with an embarrassed look.
“Uh, you're the……!”
Toto belatedly looked at Eshu.
“You saved me in Summoning Materials class!”
“Yep. Hey there~”
Eshu waved.
The shock of having witnessed Toto nearly beaten to death by a Ghoul — a first in academy history — had been immense, but she'd figured Simon would cover for him.
“What do you think, Asseraz?”
At a teammate's question, Asseraz turned his head coolly.
“A thorough Simon Polentia one-man show. They're no match for us.”
Hector was also keeping a close eye on Simon's Squad 10.
“……Nephthys's daughter joining Simon's team. That stings.”
“Does it?”
His friend Pierre Buckler stabbed a hand into his pocket.
“Rumor is her Authority's been sealed. Doesn't that just make her ordinary?”
“……Don't you dare underestimate that bloodline, Pierre.”
Hector rose to his full, massive height.
“We have to widen the gap before that girl's talent fully blooms. This exam matters.”
* * *
With that, every other squad was settled.
As for Serne — the one everyone had been watching after Simon — she was assigned to Group 11, where Simon's clubmate Fitzgerald sat in Group A.
A book wedged under his arm, Fitzgerald pushed up his glasses and extended a hand.
“Nice to work with—”
Thwack!
A feather buried itself in the back of Fitzgerald's neck, and he froze mid-handshake, stiff as a statue.
“I knew that would happen.”
“……I told you not to talk to me carelessly.”
Her teammates heaved deep sighs. Sitting in her seat, Serne's expression was downright murderous.
I never imagined the professor would come down here and interfere personally.
But it was already done; nothing to be gained by dwelling on it.
What mattered, in the end, was which faction — Kizen or the Ivory Tower — would win Simon over. Being on the same team as him didn't necessarily guarantee an advantage in the recruitment game.
Her gaze drifted toward Lorraine, who was talking with Simon.
Meeting Simon at the most fragile point of your entire life, hm? Do keep tripping him up like that, toothless tiger.
Once squad selection wrapped up, a short break of about thirty minutes was granted.
Squad 10 huddled down together and started exchanging introductions of all sorts.
“I'm Simon Polentia. I'm serving as Student Council President, and while my specialty covers summoning magic across the board, I'm especially confident with restoration techniques using skeletons.”
Eshu kept chiming in with “Obviously we know that!” and stirred the atmosphere right up, while Lorraine and Toto applauded along.
“Then it's my turn next!”
Eshu sprang to her feet. She was already proving herself a proper mood-maker.
“I'm Eshu Arzel! Rank 180 overall, and my specialty is Curse Dolls!”
Puzzlement crept across the other three faces. Simon asked on everyone's behalf.
“If Curse Dolls are your specialty, why Summoning instead of the Curse Department?”
“Yep. I'm actually more specialized in the ‘doll’ part than the ‘curse’ part.”
At her gesture, a large quantity of summoning magic circles sketched themselves into the air around her.
Poof!
Poof!
Out popped semi-transparent dolls that brought to mind baby spirits from a fairy tale.
Chibi-shaped like little cartoon characters, yet with actual faces. And dolls being dolls, stitch marks showed on their backs where thread had sewn them up — hard to see, but there.
Giggle!
Chuckle!
They played tag among themselves, scampered about, climbed onto Eshu's head, and dozed off.
Lorraine's eyes — a girl who adored cute things — shone blindingly bright, but she soon let out a quiet breath, flushed, and suppressed the feeling.
Simon crossed his arms with a serious look.
A family-inherited black magic. So her summons can link directly into curses.
“Alright, time to go home now.”
When Eshu opened a door with black magic, the dolls giggled and filed inside.
“I've got little ones like these, and one really enormous kid too. I'll show you properly someday.”
“Now I'm looking forward to it.”
Ordinarily, a Curse Doll was used to place a curse on a target and serve as the medium linked to that curse.
For example, you'd cast a Life Link spell between the target and the doll, then stab the doll with a nail to inflict damage on them.
But true to what she'd said earlier, Eshu seemed more specialized in summoning and control than in cursing. She'd probably agonized endlessly in the latter half of first year, weighing the Curse Department against Summoning — and in the end, she'd chosen Summoning.
A type like this was rare in the Summoning Department.
A necromancer skilled in curses pulled their weight on any battlefield and boasted superb versatility. She was a promising asset for the future.
“Then next is…”
Everyone's expectant eyes turned to Lorraine. She swept back her night-sky black hair and spoke.
“Lorraine Archbold. I ranked 287th last year. My specialty is… single-summon control and Jet-Black deployment.”
Watching her hold back the word Authority, Simon silently sent her encouragement.
Whaaah! Eshu clapped her hands and fussed up a storm.
“I believe you! I believe you! I believe in you! Lady Lorraine! I'm so happy we're on the same team! Let's do great together!”
Lorraine, clearly used to this sort of treatment, sighed.
“We're the same second-years — no need for ‘Lady.’ Feel free to treat me like anyone else.”
“You don't remember me?”
Eshu suddenly jabbed a finger at her own chest and thrust her chin up. Lorraine leaned back, blinking.
“First time seeing you in the Summoning Department, aren't I?”
“You are not! I've known you from the very beginning!”
She clapped her palms together and smiled meaningfully.
“When I was little, I didn't even call you Lady Lorraine — I called you Mistress.”
“……!”
What kind of bombshell was that supposed to be?
Simon and Toto flushed and stared at Lorraine. She, too, looked flustered for a moment before running her eyes up and down Eshu and speaking.
“Wait! Don't tell me — back then……!”
“Yes! I worked at your estate for a little while as a maid — an irregular one, technically!”
Ahaha! Eshu laughed and scratched her head.
“Well, it was when I was really little, and I quit around the time I came of age — but working at the Witch of Death's estate, soaking up all that good energy while I grew up, I think that's part of how I became a necromancer! I honestly think about it that way, so I'm always grateful!”
“Now I remember! My only maid my own age moved away out of nowhere, so we never even got to say goodbye — I never dreamed we'd meet like this!”
The two girls clasped hands and poured out old memories in a torrent. Simon and Toto, briefly sidelined, simply smiled quietly.
With childhood friends reuniting right here, there was no opening whatsoever for anyone else to cut in.
Still, it must have been hard on her, working from such a young age.
Simon thought this as he watched Eshu.
She looked overwhelmingly likely to be a commoner — or perhaps the child of a fallen noble house. Either way, seeing her grow up so upright, make it into Kizen, and laugh with such vitality was a good sight.
Before long, it was back to introductions.
“I-I'm Toto Amori!”
Toto bowed his head in greeting.
“It's, it's embarrassing, but I'm rank 382 overall, and I joined the same Mutant Club as Simon. And my specialty is surprise attacks from underground using the Death Worm.”
Simon looked at him.
“Toto, weren't you originally running parasitic undead — Parasites — as your main force?”
He remembered the Mutant Club interview, where Toto had handled dog monsters using parasites.
“Ah, that was the original plan, but everyone at Kizen is so strong that monsters just didn't cut it. So I switched from Parasites to the Death Worm.”
“So you're a bug specialist, in other words? Death Knight boy!”
Eshu cackled. Toto's face went scarlet.
“Please, please stop with that nickname……!”
She raised a hand to her mouth and, imitating a man's voice, called out:
“Professor! If we can make a Dullahan this semester! Can we make one of those next? The dream of every summoner! The Death Knight!”
“GYAAAAH!”
Having his dark history recited right in front of him, Toto frantically waved his hands, face burning crimson. Simon and Lorraine couldn't hold it in either and burst out laughing.
The atmosphere's better than I expected.
There was no one bringing the mood down like a wet blanket, nobody too obnoxiously flashy either — he had a feeling the teamwork would click rather well.
“Everyone, attention.”
Just then, Aaron stepped forward.
“No need to pour your hearts out just because your squads are set. I don't know how many times I have to say this, but this is not the first year's absolute group assignment. More often than not, you'll complete assignments with new team options or entirely separate group members — keep that in mind.”
The students nodded in unison. In other words, these weren't permanent members.
“Break time is over. We're moving to the exam site now.”
“Yes, sir!”
At last, it was beginning.
All the students, clustered in their groups of four, sprang to their feet with vigor.