Two hours later, the students reassembled in the eting room the king had prepared for them, having finished their survey of the castle walls and supplies.
"Is everyone here?" Dick asked, stepping forward.
A female student who was counting heads replied, "We’re still missing one person."
irin glanced around and let out a small sigh.
’He’s always late.’
The missing person was, of course, Simon.
"The Khan Kingdom will be attacking soon," Dick continued. "We don’t have ti, so let’s start. Everyone, go around one by one and explain what you saw..."
"Hold on."
A male student raised his hand. He had half of his head shaved, thick eyebrows, and sharp, defined features.
"The na’s You. First off, it’s good to be on the sa team, but I have one question." He glared at Dick. "Why are you acting like the leader as if it’s a given?"
The other students nodded in agreent. irin pressed her throbbing forehead and mouthed, ’I told you not to get ahead of yourself!’
Dick quickly put on a smile and waved his hands dismissively.
"I have no intention of being the leader. This is just my third ti doing the siege battle, so I have so know-how. I was planning on acting as a strategist."
"...Make sure you keep that promise," You said, shooting up from his seat. "The right way to do this is to pick a leader and establish a chain of command first. And you said it’s your third ti? Is there anyone here who ’isn’t’ experienced?"
"That’s right!"
"This is my third ti, too," a few students boasted.
A sudden sense of crisis washed over irin. She glanced at Fitzgerald.
"Don’t tell you’re experienced too?"
Fitzgerald pushed up his glasses.
"This is my second ti."
It seed that once people got a taste of the siege battle, they kept coming back. The majority were veterans, which was probably why they had been better at finding the card on the wall.
’Don’t tell Simon and I are the only beginners?’
While irin was worrying, the atmosphere in the room had turned against Dick.
"And you, Dick!" another student accused. "Don’t you rember screwing up big ti during the last defense? You concentrated all the troops on the north gate, and we got annihilated!"
"That’s right!"
Dick, without batting an eye, barked back, "Hmph! You’re nitpicking over every little thing! Is there only ever one reason for losing a war? I recognize all of your faces. You want to point out every single mistake you all made?"
"Quiet!" You shouted, his voice booming over the others. In a eting, a loud voice was half the battle. "We don’t have ti to fight over crap like that. Let’s pick a commander-in-chief. The naplate?"
"Here."
Dick placed the naplate he had received from the king on the table. This was the symbol of the ’Commander-in-Chief.’ Inside Endolas’s ga, all crystal spheres brought from the outside were useless. However, the person wearing this naplate could communicate with all the Guardians and gained the authority to command the ’entire army.’
"Let’s cut to the chase. I want to be the commander-in-chief for this ga," You declared, reaching for the naplate. "If there are no objections—"
"Not so fast."
With a smooth motion, a foot placed on the table pushed the naplate aside.
"Trying to snatch it on the sly, are you?"
The one who had put his leg on the table was a male student with long hair. He had a classic, serpentine face, with wide-set, narrow eyes that looked like slits.
"In siege gas, there’s always an ’MVP’ chosen. Besides, with Endolas’s generous prize on the line, I can’t just give up the commander-in-chief position so easily. I’m Bwuin."
This ti, a hand suddenly shot out ’through’ the table and snatched the naplate.
"My na is Pengel." A female student erged from the tabletop and sat perched on its edge. "A commander’s greatest virtue is survivability. In the last ga, the defending side fell apart because the commander was caught too quickly. It’s only natural that a Summoning major takes it..."
"No. A commander’s greatest virtue is judgnt."
Appearing out of nowhere, Fitzgerald snatched the naplate from Pengel’s hand.
Pengel’s expression stiffened, and he froze as if cursed.
"I am Fitzgerald of Class R," he announced. "I pride myself on having knowledge and judgnt second to none."
"And who decided your judgnt was so sound?"
It was Fitzgerald’s turn to freeze as a sheath of glistening ice suddenly encased his arm, forcing him to drop his naplate. irin caught it from below, a faint smile playing on her lips as she swept back a lock of sky-blue hair.
"Ranked second in the entire school for the practical evaluation. Top ten in the BMAT twice," she stated coolly. "With the special admission students gone, all these nobodies keep crawling out of the woodwork. I think the Commander-in-Chief should be soone with a proven track record."
The student who had spoken first shot her a glare. "irin Villenne. How many siege battles have you actually experienced?"
She flinched, then sheepishly averted her gaze. "...It’s my f-first ti."
"See? Look at this." The student smirked, his voice dripping with condescension. "Only the Commander-in-Chief can communicate with the other Guardians. We can’t give such a critical position to a rookie who doesn’t know the first thing about it."
"That’s right!" another student chid in. "If you don’t know how to play the ga, you shouldn’t try to lead it."
"Hey! I’ve been listening to you, but this is too much!" Sparks practically flew from irin’s eyes. "It’s not like you’ve done it a hundred tis! Why are you making such a big deal out of a few more battles?"
"Experience is what matters most," her challenger drawled.
"You stay out of it, snake-boy!" irin snapped.
"Clearly, I’m the most qualified candidate!"
"No, it’s !"
The eting had descended into a cacophony of overlapping argunts as everyone vied for the position of Commander-in-Chief. Dick, who had been observing the chaos with a thoughtful expression, quietly turned and took out a note and a quill. He began to scribble furiously.
’Hey, the eting’s a total ss. Ti for a grand entrance. Make it count.’
He then summoned a skeleton from his subspace and sent it scurrying outside. Lost in their squabbling, no one paid him any mind.
The first student slamd his fist on the table, his face a mask of rage. "This is infuriating! Fine! Before the siege, let’s have a round—!"
Without warning, the doors to the eting room exploded inward, flying off their hinges. They shot clean through the wall directly behind the furious student.
"Aahhh!"
"Huh!"
The entire room shook from the impact. The student stared at the dust billowing from the hole in the wall and staggered back, his breath catching in his throat. Every eye swiveled to the ruined doorway, where the leg of the person who had shattered the doors was visible. The leg lowered, and a figure stepped inside.
The sound of heavy, deliberate footsteps echoed in the sudden silence. All around the room, people swallowed hard. The arrival of the black-haired student had silenced the entire assembly. In the heavy quiet that followed, he finally spoke.
"Sorry I’m late. I’m Simon Polentia."
And just like that, the commander of the defending forces was decided.
---
The hour of war drew near. Along the castle walls, every soldier of the Aon Kingdom stood deployed, their preparations complete. The outer castle had four gates, and Simon, along with Dick and irin, had taken charge of the south gate.
’The air is so thick with tension it’s difficult to breathe,’ Simon thought.
Countless emotions flickered in the eyes of the beastn, clad in heavy armor and helts: tension, fear, excitent, terror, and a grim resignation. The sheer detail in their expressions was chilling, making it hard to believe this entire world was the creation of a single mind.
Simon shook himself from his thoughts and peered down from the castle wall. It wasn’t as high as he’d imagined, but it would be effective enough. Facing an enemy with ten tis their strength, they had to leverage the castle’s defenses for all they were worth.
"By the way, Simon," Dick said, his hands glowing as he applied enchantnts to the soldiers’ quivers. "What took you so long?"
"I had to switch the skeleton mages to their fla elent and scout the castle to get things set up," Simon replied.
"What kind of setup?"
"Well..." Simon lowered his voice, his tone turning secretive.
Hearing Simon’s whispered reply, Dick dropped the arrow he was enchanting.
"...Holy shit, are you insane? You’re going to use ’that’ here?!"
"It’s a last resort," Simon said with a faint smile.
Dick shook his head, looking utterly baffled. "Seriously, you look so normal, but your strategies are truly insane."
"Is that a complint or an insult?"
"For a necromancer? It’s the highest praise!" Dick declared before heading off to enchant the rest of the soldiers’ equipnt.
After finishing his placent of the skeleton mages, Simon stretched his arms wide with a sigh.
"Ah."
His eyes fell on irin. She was leaning against the ramparts, chin in hand, gazing up at the sky. Her expression was deeply serious, prompting Simon to approach her with a leisurely stride.
"What are you thinking about?"
"Whoa!" She jumped, her shoulders trembling in surprise. She whirled on him, glaring. "Hey! Don’t sneak up on like that!"
’She startles so easily.’ If one watched her closely, irin had a surprisingly timid side.
Simon chuckled softly and stood beside her, his gaze following hers out beyond the castle walls. She pouted for a mont before her expression softened, and she too looked out at the horizon. For a long while, neither of them spoke, simply watching the sky.
"The sky is pretty," irin murmured.
"It is."
"It’s a sha Kami isn’t here."
"Yeah."
An awkward silence descended. Was it because they hadn’t been alone in so ti, or did it only feel awkward because he was dwelling on it? Simon felt a sudden urge to fill the silence.
"What were you talking about with Serne earlier—?"
Her expression, which had been peaceful, instantly ignited with fury. Simon resisted the urge to clamp a hand over his own mouth and quickly looked away.
"Don’t you dare ntion that woman’s na here," she hissed.
"S-Sorry."
irin let out a heavy sigh. "It was just so pointless conversation."
’irin!’
At that very mont, Serne’s voice echoed in her mind.
’If you can bring Simon to the Ivory Tower, don’t you think the way the elders see you will change? You would have accomplished sothing even I couldn’t, irin. Isn’t that right?’
irin sighed in frustration. Serne’s condescending attitude, the way she acted like she was above everyone else, was infuriating.
"The second sester is almost over," Simon said, sweating as he scrambled to change the subject. "When we beco second-years—" His voice faltered slightly. "We’ll all be separated then, won’t we?"
"It can’t be helped. Our majors are different," irin replied, just as Serne’s voice intruded again.
’I’m going to major in Summoning in my second year and stick with Simon! Haven’t you ever thought that now, as a first-year, is your only chance—!’
"Aargh!" irin cried out, scratching her head furiously.
Simon flinched and took a step back.
"No, I wasn’t talking to you... Ah," she trailed off.
"What is it?" Simon asked, following her gaze.
Their eyes shifted forward. A troop of pitch-black soldiers was approaching.
"The enemy!" a soldier yelled. "The soldiers of the Kan Kingdom have appeared!"
"Prepare for battle!"
His expression instantly hardening, Simon placed a hand on his naplate. "Everyone, get ready. Unless sothing unexpected happens, defend your assigned sectors and do not leave them."
Blue flags rose across the wall, signaling their acknowledgent.
’I’m incredibly nervous,’ Simon admitted to himself.
The dark tide of soldiers sward toward the castle. He steeled his resolve, and behind him, the spectral lights in the eyes of his skeleton mages flared to life.
The war was about to begin.
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