The Dispatch Evaluation
The Dispatch Evaluation. An external curriculum in which Kizen students formed teams and carried out live missions in the field alongside professional necromancers.
With midterms approaching, Aaron had announced that a full dispatch of the entire second year was scheduled.
"The time limit is five days. Think of it as something similar to the third-years' dispatch evaluations."
Aaron spread open a document with his bleary eyes.
"I understand that Headquarters has gone to considerable lengths preparing this dispatch. They conducted a detailed analysis of every second-year's grades and designed customized assignments meant to maximize each student's strengths. Of course, there are no choices this time. Both your teams and your destinations have been set by Kizen Headquarters."
Sitting in his seat and listening to the explanation, Simon nodded along.
His first-year dispatch evaluation had taken him to the Neutral Zone with the members of Group 10. It had been quite a dynamic experience — that was where he'd met Sasha, and Saywre too.
"The first-year dispatch evaluation came with a helpful mentor attached. This second-year evaluation is different. From here on, missions must be carried out solely by the judgment of the students on-site. And every mission operates on a standard of complete success. In other words—"
Lowering the document, Aaron continued in a calm voice as he swept his gaze across the students.
"No one returns to Kizen until their mission succeeds."
"……!"
Murmurs erupted from every direction. One boy shot his hand into the air.
"Coiter Pizn! Ah, didn't you say the deadline was five days?"
"That is merely how long the school will be empty. Classes resume as normal afterward. Please—"
Aaron twisted the corner of his mouth.
"—return before the midterm exams."
Aaaaagh—!
Chaos broke out across the room as students clutched their heads and gnawed on their uniform shirts in despair.
"This is going too far! They're not even giving us time to study for the exam!"
"If you've got the ability, finish your dispatch quickly and make your own exam period. That's the point."
"Kizen is ruthless. Absolutely ruthless."
As the room buzzed, Aaron spoke again.
"For our Summoning Department, returning on schedule is more important than for anyone."
He held up a new timetable.
"As announced, the second-year Summoning faculty plans to hold a special lecture on the Dullahan before midterms."
The moment they heard that the legendary Dullahan special lecture was being held hostage, cries of anguish rang out from all sides.
"The lecture runs on a brutally tight schedule with the goal of completing a Dullahan within one week. Miss even a single class, and consider your one and only chance to build the headless knight gone forever."
Panic-stricken students began popping up everywhere, Toto foremost among them.
"……I'm serious. If I miss that lecture, I'd rather just drop out."
"Please, Professor. Why are you doing this to us?"
Even Eshu, with her relentlessly positive mindset, was saying such things. Loraine bit her lip, and Toto's legs trembled under the pressure.
But Aaron remained cold.
"This is no time for whining. Moments like these are exactly when you keep your wits sharp and act. Your dispatch destinations will be sent by document from Kizen Headquarters, so check your dormitory mail. Dismissed."
The sudden notice of a full-department dispatch was more than enough to throw the entire second year into an uproar.
Even if they finished their five-day dispatch on time, just over a week would remain before midterms.
The student council members gathered in the Student Council Room had abandoned their work entirely, deep in discussion about the dispatch.
"Is this even legal? What kind of schedule swallows up the exam period whole?!"
Mayrin, more sensitive to exam season than anyone, delivered an impassioned tirade.
And no wonder — she ranked second overall in written scores.
She had been planning, this time at last, to snatch the number one spot away from Aseraz Mikel, and now the schedule had gone sideways from the very start.
"That's part of it, but honestly, what scares me is not being able to come back to Roke Island until the mission is complete."
Camibarez said this, her adorable bat wings drooping as if under the weight of it all.
"The professors write the exam questions during that period too. Missing classes for a whole stretch like this is a massive loss."
Dick spoke gloomily, propping his arm on the back of his chair.
He, too, was the type to predict exam questions using his information network and study only those parts, so wasting exam season stung him deeply.
"If things go really badly, you might not make it back in time for midterms. Kizen never shows any flexibility on this stuff."
"I've got the Dullahan lecture hanging over me too. It starts the moment I get back."
Simon said. The faces of the two girls stiffened in sympathy, but Dick's eyes lit up.
"A Dullahan? You're seriously building one this semester? Whoa, the Summoning Department has lost its mind! When it's done, let me touch it!"
"Ugh."
When Mayrin shot him a sidelong glare, Dick's mouth retracted.
She looked around at the other three.
"So — has everyone's dispatch destination been decided?"
"Mine's confirmed!"
Camibarez raised her hand.
"I'm to meet an agent lying low in a city called Enes, the City of Perfume!"
"Ah, that place. I know it. The wellspring of perfume and its biggest export hub. Do you have to distinguish scents or something? Yeah, I get why they'd send you, Cami."
Mayrin swept the hair by her ear back with a flick.
"I'm going to Snowfield Castle."
"Oh, that place, that place. Special Exemption Number 8 — the hometown of Lord Raheim Northfold!"
Once again Dick provided the commentary, and Simon laughed.
"Raheim, Special Exemption Number 8 — isn't that the guy who used to trail after you, saying how great you were, Mayrin?"
"Gyaah! Don't even say it! I hate him! So much!"
Mayrin shuddered in disgust. Simon chuckled and turned to Dick.
"Dick, what about you?"
"I honestly have no idea why I'm being sent where I'm going. I figured I'd obviously be dispatched to some metropolis where commercial wars are raging, or the trade districts."
Dick pulled a letter from his pocket and held it up.
"The Yahara Desert. A place with nothing but sand."
"Sounds about right."
Mayrin curled her lips into a smirk.
"You commoner types always skirt the rules and only pull cheap little tricks. They're probably sending you there to roll around in a brutal environment, suffer like a dog, and get your head straight."
"I-is that really why?"
Camibarez's eyes went round.
"Dick! Then who's going with you?"
"Er, um. Raheim Northfold, Fitzgerald, and Elisa Celine."
"Ahaha! It's one hundred percent! One hundred percent!"
As the student council members roared with laughter, every head turned.
"Simon! What about you?"
"Mine hasn't come yet."
Mayrin smiled teasingly.
"Aw, what. The Student Council President gets special treatment again?"
"I heard students in the Top 10 or with big name recognition often get invited on separate dispatches. That must be it."
"We can expect good news then, Simon!"
Simon scratched the side of his head.
"W-well. Maybe."
With only two days left until the dispatch evaluation, Simon still hadn't received any notice from the school.
He was pouring his anxiety into exam prep all the harder when—
Knock, knock.
A knock sounded at his dormitory room, where he was studying with Toto. Simon rose from his desk and opened the door.
Good grief.
Standing there with eyes bulging was the hawk-nosed dormitory matron — an object of terror for students in more ways than one.
"It's the matron."
"Ah, yes. Hello."
Did I do something wrong?
While Simon's eyes darted in circles, she spoke.
"Student Council President, someone has come from Kizen Headquarters. Please go to the main building at once."
"From Headquarters? Understood."
It seemed the news about his dispatch had finally arrived.
And yet a faint unease crept over him. Why had a Headquarters staff member come all the way here? And why send the matron personally, when a broadcast announcement would have done?
Questions piled upon questions, but now was the time to move. Simon quickly changed into his uniform, headed out, and made his way across campus.
When he reached the main building, servants were waiting for him.
Headquarters servants.
Even the cut of their suits set them apart. They were known to operate on an entirely different level from the servants who worked on campus.
Following their guidance, Simon walked to the reception room.
Knock, knock.
The servant knocked on his behalf.
"Student Council President Simon Polentia has arrived."
"Yes, send him in."
Click.
The door of the small reception room opened, and a man in glasses, a pinstripe suit, and a black tie lifted his head.
"Welcome, Mr. President."
He was dressed like an ordinary salaryman, but his angular face bore a large gashed scar across the forehead. His wristwatch was cracked, and his eyes were sharp and predatory as a bird of prey's.
Anyone working at Kizen Headquarters proper could hardly be ordinary office staff. The aura he carried was simply different.
"Have a seat."
"Ah, thank you."
Simon took his seat, and the servants served tea. The Headquarters staffer flipped through a file folder. Even his fingertips were covered in calluses.
"Are you enjoying school life?"
A pleasantry, out of nowhere?
Unfazed, Simon smiled.
"Yes, it's fun."
"Good to hear. When I'm worn down by endless work, I close my eyes and recall my own days wandering this campus. The innocent sweetness of cracking candies open for each other in the library during exams. And as we fed each other candy like that, before we knew it, she and I—"
What on earth is he talking about?
Seeing Simon's blank expression, the staffer hastily wrapped things up.
"In any case, the happy days of the past are what keep this tired heart of mine going."
"Ah, so you're an alumnus, senior."
"The overwhelming majority of Headquarters staff are Kizen graduates."
He set down the file.
"I imagine you've been wondering why your dispatch assignment was delayed."
So here's the real business.
Simon focused his eyes.
"Where am I going?"
"I'll tell you once one more person arrives."
It seemed there were others assigned to his dispatch destination. Before long, a knock came, and a servant's voice carried through the door.
"Student Merida Hugh Ikel has arrived."
"Yes, send her in."
Click.
The door opened, and in walked a girl with sleepy eyes, a thin blanket draped over her shoulders like a robe.
Ranked fourth overall, the representative of the Curse Department.
And the one and only younger sister of Phantasus Hugh Ikel.
So Merida's my partner this time!
She was a girl with striking mint-colored hair. Walking over with a blank expression, she sat down quietly in the seat beside Simon, not so much as glancing his way.
"Well then — for the next five days, the two of you are dispatch partners."
The Headquarters staffer said with a smile.
"How about exchanging a friendly greeting with each other?"
Perhaps because he was a Kizen alumnus, this man was oddly adept at this sort of thing.
The truth was, Simon had wanted a proper chance to talk with Phantasus's little sister at least once.
Simon quickly turned to Merida with his brightest smile, but she merely rolled her eyes at him, then looked straight ahead again.
She did not seem inclined to talk.
She simply fixed the staffer with a reproachful stare.
"Hmm, I see. Then let me explain the dispatch."
He lifted the briefcase resting on the floor. Peeling away security magic circles one after another, he flipped it open to reveal a bright red envelope bearing the Kizen crest.
From inside, he drew out a stiff document and spread it open.
"Simon