Who On Earth Am I?
Who on earth am I?
No one here could answer Serne's question.
No—chances were, no one in the whole of the Dark Alliance could.
"……"
Simon simply looked at her.
Amid the shower of black feathers drifting down around her, she stood with her head tilted quietly upward, gazing into the empty air. There was something otherworldly and strangely beautiful about the sight—and, at the same time, something achingly lonely.
Then her eyes shifted and met his, and in that single moment, the loneliness seemed to fade just a little.
"We really were born under cruel fates, haven't we? Don't you think, Simon?"
"……"
Those who could wield both Jet-Black and Divinity. One born with a power suited to the divine, who became a necromancer anyway.
Watching those feathers—dyed pitch black when they should have been white—Simon felt the same strange ache she must have felt.
Tak.
She snapped her fingers, and a clear, crystalline note rang out. The feathers vanished one by one, a window swung open, and a fresh breeze flowed into the room.
With unhurried steps, Serne walked back to her seat and sat down, resting her chin on her hand before glancing once at Parahan.
"That being said—Professor Parahan, how goes the matter I mentioned before?"
"The matter you mentioned? Whatever do you mean?"
At Simon's question, she smiled, her eyes curving into crescents.
"Oh, well—you see, I asked Professor Parahan to find someone for me. Well, 'asked.' I may have… commanded. Just a little."
You were about to say 'commanded,' weren't you.
When Simon shot her a silent glare, Serne covered her mouth and laughed like some delicate noble lady.
"A request from his adorable student? Or pressure from a future power-holder? He said he hoped I would choose the former while I'm still in the position of a student who follows his professors' instructions—and so he agreed."
Just how did Serne's mind work? Perhaps because she was so used to issuing commands, the very act of asking for something struck her as unnatural.
"…Let's set that aside. Who exactly did you ask him to find?"
"A certain someone in the Holy Federation named Gahen. You're the one who told me I simply had to find him, Simon?"
"Me?"
"Future Simon, to be precise."
"If you wish to find your roots, seek out the one called Gahen of the Holy Federation."
The words that 'Future Simon' had left behind for Serne during their brief meeting in the Tower of Time. She had evidently been searching for Gahen ever since.
"Ahh, what a magnificent man he is."
She must have been picturing Future Simon again, for a bewitched expression spread across her face.
"It was the first time in my life I'd ever been overwhelmed by another person. He was the first to grant me, someone who has always been the one doing the dominating, the joy of being dominated myself."
"Don't say things like that!"
There were other people present. Was nothing off-limits for her?
Simon flushed bright red and lunged to cover her mouth, but Serne turned her head smoothly out of reach.
"That dark, chiseled blue hair, the lightly grown stubble, that roguish smile. And above all, those eyes that seemed to transcend everything within him. If I could just see that splendid figure once more, I would want for nothing."
Saying all that with the man himself sitting right in front of her—Simon's face burned.
She spread the index fingers and thumbs of both hands and laced them together in reverse, forming a little window frame, then framed Simon's face inside it.
"Hurry up and get older."
"Stop saying weird things!"
She wiggled her fingertips and cast an illusion spell. Simon's hair darkened, stubble sprouting along his jaw—but she clicked her tongue in disappointment.
"Still looks like a kid playing dress-up as his dad? That dignified air needs a bit more time to steep."
Simon tore the phantom stubble off with a scowl. The illusion magic scattered and dissolved into the air.
"As for Gahen—the matter you entrusted to me,"
Parahan spoke up abruptly.
"I asked an acquaintance to send a letter to Professor Gahen over in the Holy Federation. I'm sorry to say no reply has come yet. He's an exceedingly busy man, I'm sure—but the moment anything arrives, I'll let you know."
"Please do, Professor. Make certain of it."
Simon let out a soft sigh and turned to her.
"No need to be so anxious, Serne. We'll find him—I'm sure of it."
"Mmm~."
She clicked her tongue lightly.
"I do hope we run straight into him when we cross over into the Holy Federation this time."
"…Aren't the odds of that a bit too low?"
"If you two do end up going to the border, be very careful."
Parahan said worriedly.
"A posting to the Federation is nothing unusual for Kizen students, but from everything I hear, the situation at the border is far from ordinary."
The two of them nodded.
"We'll come back safe. We promise."
A few days later.
For reasons no one could fathom, every one of Professor Aaron's morning classes had been replaced with Grelion's Materials Studies. The sudden change of venue meant the students had to scramble for carriages and rush out to Grelion's cave.
Once everyone had gathered and the Head Assistant finished calling attendance, Grelion made his entrance.
"Good work getting out here, everyone!"
He raised his sunglasses from within the cave.
"Let me bring you all up to speed on how things have developed! Professor Aaron has finally secured official approval for the operation to obtain Death Knight materials!"
Astonished murmurs erupted among the students.
"I knew the professor had something up his sleeve!"
"So we're actually going to the Holy Federation?"
Half the students clapped and cheered; the other half fidgeted in their seats or chewed their nails, visibly anxious.
"M-my stomach's doing flips."
Toto was firmly in the latter camp. Among the people of the Dark Alliance, the Holy Federation carried a fearsome reputation—an abyss of evil that spelled death for anyone who set foot inside.
"There's no need to be so frightened! With headquarters' approval secured, this operation is completely safe. Now, I'll be collecting signatures from those participating in the operation! Once you sign, there's no turning back—so think it over carefully!"
It was the standard waiver—the usual document declaring that if anything happened to you, the school bore no responsibility. Honestly, Kizen students had signed these so many times by now, before every island survival assessment and advancement exam, that they scrawled their names without a second thought.
Once all the signatures were collected, Grelion dragged over a wheeled blackboard.
"Now then—operation briefing begins!"
He pinned a map onto the board.
The seated students craned their necks or dropped to their knees, upper bodies rising, each vying for the best view. It was the first frontline map of a military operation any of them had ever seen, crammed with jargon and military slang.
"This really makes it feel real, huh. Actually going to the Federation."
A tense hush settled over the cave.
Grelion laughed heartily and pointed the tip of his pointer at the map.
"On the day of the operation! Separate from us, necromancer agents will be carrying out an operation along the frontline. The details are classified, so I can't say more—just know that it will be proceeding!"
He tapped the pointer at various points across the map.
"As you all know, an enormous barrier stands along the Holy Federation's border. It detects not only physical attacks but any kind of external wave or disturbance whatsoever! Don't even think about teleportation circles—they won't get so much as a toe in!"
Flap!
An assistant hurriedly pinned up a mana-photograph of the border barrier beside the map. Grelion's pointer swung toward it.
"Our plan is as follows! The necromancer agents on assignment will punch holes straight through the barrier. To conceal where they entered, they'll tear open more than two hundred holes in a single instant!"
He made a slashing gesture through the empty air with his pointer as he spoke.
"Moments later, the agents will slip inside and storm the target area within twenty minutes to carry out their mission. Massive explosions and blasts will erupt one after another. Every last bit of Holy Federation power in the vicinity will be drawn toward the commotion. And in that window—we move!"
Twang!
Grelion jabbed his pointer at a corner of the map.
"While the defenses are stretched thin, we infiltrate through the holes our agents have already opened!"
The students began buzzing loudly.
Eshu thrust her hand into the air.
"Eshu Arzel! I heard that if so much as a single strand of hair touches the barrier, your whole body burns pitch-black and you die! Is that true?"
Grelion let out a booming laugh. Hahaha!
"Worry not! Passing through the barrier and traveling to the operation site will both be done in my chimera! All you have to do is wait comfortably inside until you're told to come out!"
Sighs of relief rippled through the room.
"My chimera will reach the operation zone within twenty minutes! We expect the zone to be empty, but the assistants departing ahead of us will have already neutralized any enemy guards lying in wait. You will dismount from the chimera and infiltrate the operation zone on foot!"
He clenched his fist.
"And there, we secure the most crucial material for the Death Knight."
The remains of a Paladin, a hundred years old. Good preservation was a given, and securing such a thing would be difficult under any circumstances—but Aaron and Grelion were both certain it waited at the operation site.
"Upon arrival, the operation runs for exactly thirty minutes. No more. When those thirty minutes are up, you leave immediately—core material secured or not. No lingering out of regret, no stupid stalling! As much as you may want that Death Knight, nothing is worth more than your lives! And anyone who fails to reach the rally point on time—"
Grelion's expression turned grave.
"—we leave behind."
Gulp.
The sound of swallowing rose from all around the cave.
Grelion let his expression soften a little and smiled.
"Oh, come now—as long as you all follow instructions properly, every one of you will make it home safe! Once the material is secured, we ride my chimera back the way we came and slip out through the barrier without a hitch. Understood?"
"Yes, sir!"
Some of the more battle-hungry students answered with relish, clearly disappointed there would be no direct clash with the priests. But the majority wore faces full of worry.
And no wonder—on paper, the plan had no flaws. In vulgar terms, the students were simply tagging along on the edges of the necromancer agents' operation.
Breaking the barrier, the fighting, the retreat—all of it would be handled by the agents, and any guards who might happen to be at the operation zone would be dealt with by Grelion and the assistants. The students only had to slip quietly into the zone, grab the material, and get out. The only combat they might face would be taking down a priest hiding in ambush; otherwise, they simply needed to watch out for the zone's security systems and traps.
Just as Grelion said, the operation itself was simple. But crossing the border in times like these was a heavy burden in its own right.
"If you have questions, ask away!"
Hands shot up all around the cave.
"Vicente Boromeo! I'd like to know—where exactly is this operation site?"
Grelion shook his head.
"Classified, by order! If it reaches the priests' ears, they could be lying in ambush—so careful now. You'll find out where it is when we arrive!"
Having answered, Grelion pointed to a student in the back.
"Matt Comer! Is Professor Aaron not coming with us?"
"Professor Aaron—"
Grelion smacked his lips, then went on.
"—has committed himself to the main mission. Just keep that in mind."
At those words, worry began to creep over Simon, slow and cold. Lorraine looked at him too.
"Simon, it seems like…"
"He must have offered the agents his own assistance—as the price for getting our department's students approved."
Aaron had clearly staked a great deal on this. Just look at the fact that he'd gotten a Death Knight material acquisition mission approved in such dangerous times.
By all appearances, every bit of it would rest on Aaron's shoulders alone. If a student was injured at the operation site—or, worst case, captured by the Holy Federation—Aaron would be stripped of his professorship on the spot.
Before long, Grelion had fielded a few more questions, then bellowed "Attention!" to gather every eye in the cave.
"Now then—to prepare for any eventuality, I intend to select three volunteers."
Volunteers?
The students' uneasy gazes converged on him.
"The assistants and I will take responsibility for your safety—but if, truly and only as a worst case, the priests' attacks reach you, we will need a defense squad to hold them off!"
A defense squad. If a battle did break out, the ones who would stand on the front line against the priests alongside Grelion and the assistants.
Grelion flapped the documents in his hand as he spoke.
"Students with strong marks in Sacred Defense Studies—and strong results in that practical combat training you all just finished—would be ideal! Any volunteers?"
The room went quiet. Choosing to step forward and brave the danger for the sake of their classmates was not an easy decision to make.
And yet—
"I'll go."
From among them, someone raised a hand without a moment's hesitation.