The Awakening
Simon slowly opened his eyes.
The scenery had changed, but he wasn't particularly surprised.
A somewhat familiar room. He'd been here a few times before — this was the campus hospital ward.
……When did they bring me here?
He distinctly remembered seizing first place with the power of the Chaos Dullahan made from Manus, and celebrating in a group hug with his squadmates — but everything after that was a blank.
"Simon's awake!"
"Simon!"
The students in the hospital room came crowding over. The first to reach him was a black-haired girl, who took his hands in hers and asked anxiously,
"Are you okay? How's your body feeling?"
"Ah, Loraine."
His head swam with dizziness, but it was bearable. Simon struggled to push his upper body up.
"I'm fine. How did the exam go?"
"Isn't it obvious!"
Eshu threw both arms up into the air.
"You got first place, Simon! And thanks to you, our Squad 10 and Squad 4 both scored the highest! It was incredible!"
"……Haha."
Simon nodded with a dazed expression.
"That's a relief."
"You were amazing! Insane! Like, actually insane! You're a hero, Simon! Should we hoist the whole bed up and carry you around on our shoulders right now?"
"Eshu."
At Loraine's withering stare, Eshu covered her mouth with both hands and backed off.
"I'm so glad you're okay, Simon."
Toto looked worn down, as if he'd been through an emotional wringer. Simon smiled weakly.
"You look pale. Sorry for worrying you, Toto."
"N-no, as long as you're safe, that's all that matt—"
"Still, ten thousand monsters was far too reckless."
Loraine said it with feigned anger — yet she still hadn't let go of his hand.
"What on earth were you thinking?"
There was genuine concern in her voice, and it made Simon's heart flutter despite himself.
"Honestly, I don't really know. Everything happened so fast, so intensely. But—"
Simon smiled.
"I was certain I could pull it off."
Loraine laughed in exasperation.
"That's exactly what makes it reckless."
He thought her smile looked dazzling for a moment. Just then, the Squad 4 leader, who'd been hovering awkwardly at the back, stepped forward.
"I'm really sorry, President."
He bowed his head.
"If I'd pulled my weight on the scores, you wouldn't have had to carry that burden in the final turn."
"I told you, remember?"
Simon shrugged.
"That I'd only do what I was capable of. That's all I did."
The Squad 4 leader chuckled sheepishly and scratched the back of his neck. Eshu, arms crossed, flashed a mischievous grin.
"President, I gotta say, that comment is juuust a little annoying."
Ahahahaha!
At last, laughter filled the hospital room, and the stiff atmosphere melted away.
Knock knock—
With a knock, the door opened, and a doctor from the Kizen ward walked in, white coat billowing.
"You're awake. Thank goodness. I need to examine the patient, so students, back to your classrooms for now."
"Yes, ma'am!"
The squadmates and the Squad 4 leader filed out. Loraine folded her hands neatly and gave a small bow.
"Please take good care of Simon."
"Haha. Of course."
Once the visiting students had all withdrawn and the door closed, the doctor perched on the edge of Simon's bed and said abruptly,
"Alright then, take off your shirt."
"I'm sorry?"
Simon blinked at the sudden order.
"I need to examine you."
"Oh. Right."
With a vaguely uncertain look on his face, Simon unbuttoned his hospital gown.
"How's my condition?"
"Aside from the fatigue and the grogginess, you're fine."
The doctor began running her bare hands down Simon's body, without a single medical instrument in sight.
Just as something was starting to feel distinctly off, an oddly intimate sensation began emanating from the fingers pressing against his abdomen.
"……Erzsebet."
Simon said it flatly, and the doctor froze mid-motion.
Watching that reaction, Simon spoke with near certainty.
"I'm going to get angry. What exactly do you think you're doing?"
The doctor gazed at him for a long moment — then, in a burst of brilliant light, the disguise dissolved. Except it wasn't a spiderweb peeling away; it was white feathers scattering like a swan molting.
"Is this the feeling you mean?"
The light faded slowly.
Sitting there in its place was Serne, lips pushed out in an offended pout.
"When your man starts calling out his ex-girlfriend's name in his sleep and things get all awkward between you?"
"Se-Serne?!"
Simon's face flushed crimson in his flusterment. Serne leaned in close with a devilish smile.
"Who's Erzsebet? What kind of woman is she?"
Her platinum blonde hair spilled down over Simon's face. The fresh scent of her perfume tickled his nose.
"Oh, wait, I remember now. It was the pet name for one of your Ancient Undead, right? So that undead does this kind of thing to you too?"
Serne ran her palm up and down his body, mimicking an examination, and Simon's face went scarlet in an instant.
"S-stop that!"
"Fufu."
Serne flicked her tongue against her lips.
"The dashing man who, drenched in blood just yesterday, cut down ten thousand monsters in a blind rampage — now he can't move a muscle and is making this face. Thinking about the contrast gives me such a ticklish feeling……"
"Serne!"
"Just kidding."
Serne covered her mouth and giggled.
"Anyway, I did hear the Headmaster's daughter asking me to take good care of Simon, so — shall we continue the examination?"
Simon's mouth fell open as he recalled Loraine bowing to the doctor earlier.
"It's the future Headmistress's orders, after all."
She reached into that cascade of ivory hair and plucked out a single feather. Then she laid it on Simon's bandage-wrapped body and began moving it in slow, deliberate strokes.
The feather's touch was soft — and maddeningly ticklish.
It was dizzying, and somehow deeply strange.
"What are you doing!"
Simon cried out in a panic.
"I told you, it's an examination? And later, once you're all recovered and healthy again—"
Her voice, thick and sweet like melting candy, trailed on.
"—feel free to take your revenge on me. Exactly like this."
"Wh-what is that supposed to—"
BANG!
At that moment the door burst open. Mayrin, sky-blue hair flying, rushed in first and shouted urgently,
"Simon! You were hurt! Are you okay?"
Then her face went hot! — scarlet in a flash.
There was Simon sprawled on the hospital bed with his gown unbuttoned — and beside him sat Serne, teasing him with a feather.
Unable to process the scene unfolding before her, Mayrin's face just kept reddening and reddening until she finally shrieked,
"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING IN A HOSPITAL WAAAARD!"
Before anyone could stop her, Mayrin cast dark magic. A bluish radiance flashed, and in an instant the hospital room froze over and began to snow, as if it had been transported to a land of eternal winter.
"Hehehe."
Serne, having nimbly dodged the attack, perched on the windowsill and waved at Simon.
"I'll come visit again later~ Simon. And see you soon, Mayrin!"
Serne leapt out the window. Mayrin unleashed a torrential fury and lunged after her — but this was the sixth floor.
"You are SO dead—!"
Dick and Camibarez, who'd come running behind her, wore expressions of utter soul-leaving-the-body exhaustion. Just then, the real ward doctor appeared between the two of them.
"Ugh, did I overdo it yesterday? Suddenly so sleepy…… hmm?"
He rubbed his eyes and finally looked at the hospital room.
A patient, awake and well.
A wide-open window.
And a hospital room transformed into a winter wonderland of snow and ice — in front of which stood a sky-blue-haired girl, her face burning red, glancing around with the guilty look of someone very much saying, 'I did it.'
"I-I'm so sorry……"
Simon was moved to a larger, cleaner hospital room. Only after cleaning up the mess she'd made and apologizing to the ward staff over and over again was Mayrin finally allowed to leave.
Thankfully, the ward decided not to escalate the incident to the school or her department.
"Man, that girl's a genuine disaster waiting to happen."
Dick, thoroughly enjoying himself for once, grinned.
"Who just hurls an ice bomb because they're mad? Give her a few years and catch her in an affair, and she'll straight-up end the world."
"I SAID I was sorry!"
Mayrin, who had been quietly peeling fruit, shrieked, her face burning. Dick let out a strangled 'yipe!' and clutched his own shoulders.
"Mayrin's furious! Please, I beg you, spare me from becoming an ice sculpture!"
"Hey!!"
Simon and Camibarez burst out laughing. Then their eyes met, and Camibarez smiled softly and fluttered her bat wings.
"I was so worried! Simon."
"Sorry. I keep doing this lately, huh."
"Get better quick and come back, Simon!"
Dick crossed his legs and smirked.
"Something big is coming to the student council soon."
At that, everyone's eyes turned to him. Simon tilted his head.
"Big?"
"Yeah, but it's not confirmed intel yet, so I can't really say it here. Once you're back at the student council, we'll talk it over. Recovery comes first."
Simon scratched the side of his head.
"Now that you've said that, I'm curious enough it's going to bug me."
"You'll find out soon enough, so just hang in there. Oh! Actually, there's something I'VE been wondering about, too."
Dick leaned forward with a sly grin.
"So what was the feather play like?"
Mayrin's face went crimson — and she hurled a chair. CRACK! The corner of the chair slammed into Dick's face, and he let out a death-rattle scream as he rolled across the floor.
Simon devoted himself to rest.
It was fortunate that the weekend was almost upon him. Had he been stuck in the hospital room through the weekdays, he'd have taken a serious hit to his class progress.
Anyway, a great many people came to visit him in the meantime.
The senior members and friends of the Mutant Club, led by Benya and Fitzgerald.
The first-year juniors, centered around Sasha, Arthur, and Princess Molly.
Former Class A classmates from last year — Jamie Victoria, Claudia Menzies, Cindy Vivace, and more.
His seniors and classmates from the Summoning Department.
The student council's direct underlings, and the assistants he'd grown close with over time.
Even the professors came to visit.
Parahan, the Sacred Defense professor, arrived with his baby Holy Beast kittens in tow, and after him came even the desperately busy Jane, Hong Peng, and Byeolya, all stopping by Simon's room.
"To think such a genius would be laid low like this by the mere side effects of a summoning creature!"
Bahil, the Curse Magic professor in particular, held forth at length with one story after another. The curse textbooks he'd brought as gifts filled the entire hospital room.
Bahil lingered well past visiting hours, until the ward staff finally had to physically drag him away.
And then, late in the evening, Aaron — his supervising professor — dropped by the hospital room, his face looking somewhat gaunt.
He said very little.
Simon was so overjoyed he thought his heart might burst — he rolled around on the hospital bed in pure delight and fell right off it, scraping up his knees.
And so the weekend ended, and a new weekday morning arrived.
Simon was safely discharged and returned to class.
With the midterms and the Dullahan practical evaluation just behind them, the Summoning professors ran their classes at a somewhat relaxed pace and let everyone out a little earlier than usual.
Grateful for their consideration, Simon packed his bag and headed to the student council room for the first time in a while.
"Hey, there he is!"
Dick, Mayrin, and Camibarez were already waiting in the student council room.
Simon donned the president's coat and took his seat.
Dick came up to the wheeled blackboard, cleared his throat with a hm-hm, and rapped his knuckles against it.
"Alright, it's time to brief you on 'that issue'!"
Simon smiled wearily.
"I've been dying of curiosity this whole time. Just tell me already."
"Okay, okay. Three weeks from now."
Dick picked up the chalk and rapidly wrote out a single phrase.
THE DARK FESTIVAL
"A national-level event held once every five years! A colossal sports festival co-hosted by Kizen and the Dark Alliance!"
Simon's eyes went wide.
"A sp-sports festival?"