Simon carried Heidi to the infirmary inside the ship.
"You can put down now. No, I an... please put down," Heidi mumbled, squirming in his arms. Her cheeks were flushed with embarrassnt, her voice barely a whisper.
Simon grinned playfully. "Using formal speech now, are we? Does this an you finally believe I’m a second-year?"
"That’s...!" She covered her burning face. "B-Because there’s no way soone as strong as you could be a first-year."
Simon gently set her down, and they entered the infirmary together where a dic was waiting to examine her.
"There are so signs of stress and an abrasion on her wrist," the dic reported. "Otherwise, her condition is perfectly normal. As long as she gets enough sleep starting tonight, she’ll have no problem attending classes."
"That’s great news, Heidi," Simon said.
Heidi stared at the bandage wrapped around her wrist and blinked. "Am I really okay?" She hadn’t slept a wink, had cried her eyes out, and had even fainted.
"Yes, you’re in perfect health."
Co to think of it, she seed to have dozed off for a mont right after Simon rescued her, and since then, her fatigue had vanished as if by magic.
’Did he do sothing to ?’ she wondered.
Simon simply smiled, saying nothing. While the dic went to retrieve so dicine, she spoke in a small voice. "U-Um..."
"Yes?"
"Thank you so much... for bringing to Kizen." Her eyes darted around, still unaccustod to the formal tone she was using with him. It was strangely endearing. "I should repay you sohow, but... my family isn’t well-off, so if you could just give so ti..."
"I didn’t do it for a reward," Simon cut in, his tone sharp as he dropped his arms to his sides. "It’s the Student Council President’s duty to protect students during a mission. I was only doing my duty. You don’t need to feel indebted."
"B-But!"
"Alright." Simon paused, considering her earnest expression. "If you truly wish to repay , then I want you to survive the first-year competition."
"Huh?"
"It would be even better if you make it all the way to graduation, but that’s a height I’ve yet to reach myself, so I can hardly ask that of you. In any case, you’re the first student I’ve rescued as Student Council President. I want you to overco the countless trials ahead and survive until the very end." He leaned back against the wall and looked up at the ceiling. "Yes. That’s all."
Heidi’s eyes, fixed on Simon, filled with a profound sense of awe. ’He’s incredible. We’re only a year apart, but everything about him—his skills, his mindset—is on a completely different level.’
’I...’ she thought, clasping her hands tightly over her chest. ’I want to be like him.’
She wanted to beco strong, to help as many people as she could. In that instant, the person she respected most in the world was no longer her father, but the upperclassman standing before her.
"Senior."
"Uh, yeah." Still flustered by the title, Simon scratched the side of his head.
’I respect you. Soday, I’ll study hard at Kizen and beco just like you.’ Heidi swallowed the words she was too embarrassed to say out loud and instead offered a brilliant smile. "Thank you so much for saving ."
’Soday, I’ll pay forward the kindness he showed to as many people as I can.’
It was the mont a young girl found her lifelong role model.
---
After a thirty-minute break, a Kizen staff mber gathered the first-years.
"Alright, everyone! In ten minutes, the Nether Whale will arrive at Kizen!"
Simon stood beside him, drawing more of the first-years’ attention than the staff mber did.
"You all received one of these, right?"
"Yes!" the students chorused.
They were all holding crystal spheres. They resembled common amplification crystals but were fitted with several safety features.
"In a few monts, you will all be falling from an altitude of tens of thousands of feet."
A wave of confused murmurs rippled through the crowd.
"At that ti, this crystal sphere will be your lifeline. I will now explain how to operate it. There are two locks. First, you pull this pin..."
The staff mber patiently explained the instructions, but many students were already looking dazed.
"Once you release both locks and wait a mont..."
’Whoosh!’ A bubble shot out from the sphere and instantly enveloped the staff mber. His voice was muffled, but he could be seen striking the bubble and scratching at it with his fingernails to no effect. The bubble was remarkably sturdy.
’Pop!’
He gathered Jet-Black at his fingertips, pierced a hole, and stepped out. "Everyone understand?"
A chorus of unconfident "Yeees..." echoed back.
The staff mber raised his voice. "You can’t call yourselves proud students of Kizen if you can’t even handle this! Just think of it as your final entrance exam. Stay calm and do exactly as you were taught."
This was the official procedure. Last year, Silage had handled everything himself, but since no professor-level necromancer was present this year, they were following the manual.
Just then, a subordinate holding a communication crystal shouted, "We’re about to arrive at Roc Island!"
"Alright, first-years, please return to your seats!"
"Yes!"
The students scrambled back to their places. Simon walked the aisles, ensuring everyone was seated correctly.
"You’re so handso, Senior," a few girls giggled. Simon did his best to ignore them, carrying on with a stoic expression, but the tips of his ears burned red.
"Is this any ti for jokes? Everyone, get ready!" Princess Molly snapped, turning in her seat. The boisterous first-years imdiately fell silent.
The ship was once again enveloped in a barrier, and the whale’s stomach began to fill rapidly with seawater, the water level rising to the ceiling in seconds.
"Mr. President, it’s about to start!" a subordinate called out to Simon.
Simon took his seat and addressed the students. "If you don’t want to fall, hold on tight!"
At his command, every first-year gripped the handles on the seats in front of them.
And then.
’SWOOOOOOOOSH!’
Like a blocked faucet bursting open, the seawater shot forward with trendous force. The incredible velocity created a sense of weightlessness, and the first-years couldn’t even scream, burying their faces in the seats before them.
Soon, the ship passed through the dark tunnel and erged into a dazzling light.
"Whoa...!"
A vast panorama unfolded before them, accompanied by a fierce wind. As the cold air hit their skin, the first-years lifted their heads. They were at an impossibly high altitude, the entire landscape of Roc Island looking as small as a toy set.
But their awe was short-lived. The stream of water from the Nether Whale gradually weakened, and the ship’s bow pitched forward.
’Now,’ Simon thought, a leisurely smile on his face. He’d been through this before. ’We fall.’
"Aaaaaaaah!"
With imnse pressure, their surroundings blurred into streaks of light as the ship plumted endlessly downward. Several students were flung from their seats. The barrier had been deactivated to prevent collisions.
"Whoops."
As their guide, Simon calmly released his handle and dropped from the ship. The vessel fell first, leaving the students who had lost their grip tumbling through the sky.
"Alright, everyone, stay calm!" Simon shouted over the wind. "Activate your crystal spheres and get inside the bubbles! Just do what you learned!"
Most of the first-years who heard him quickly activated their spheres and were safely encased, but a few were completely paralyzed with fear, falling stiffly without even screaming.
’Good thing I prepared for this.’
Simon activated the black magic he had held in reserve.
Praetorian Guard, right after Scouldron. It was the first ti he’d used two Cloud-type spells in a row, but he had no choice. Turquoise bones shot out from his subspace, assembling around him. The Praetorian Guard’s cloak settled behind him, transforming into two pairs of fluttering wings, while the bones attached to his joints like armor, generating a gravitational force and emitting a brilliant light.
A magic circle unfolded behind his back, and from within it, Cloud erupted like flas, launching Simon through the air. He shot toward a female student who was fumbling with the first lock.
"Ugh! Why won’t this work?!" she scread, tears streaming from her eyes.
"Stay calm!" Simon said, approaching from behind. He held her steady and released the lock for her. In an instant, she was enveloped in a protective bubble.
’Next!’
Leaving a turquoise trail in his wake, Simon zipped from person to person, releasing their locks. Bubbles popped into existence across the sky.
"Alright, you’re good!"
In the midst of the chaos, he spotted a praiseworthy underclassman. Arthur was helping another student deploy their bubble.
"Nice work, Arthur!" Simon called out, giving him a thumbs-up.
"This is nothing!" Arthur replied, casually returning the gesture.
The rcenary King, indeed. Years spent on the battlefield had given him a level of experience that set him leagues apart from the other noble first-years. He probably didn’t even consider this dangerous.
"Okay, now deploy your own bubble, Arthur! I’ll get the others!"
"Yessir, Senior!" Arthur took out his crystal sphere and pulled the safety pin.
But he used too much force and shattered the pin.
"Aaaaaaaah! I’m screwed!"
In a display of sheer idiocy that negated all his aforentioned strengths, Arthur plumted.
"Senior Simon! Help !!"
’Seriously, I’m busy as hell. Why him, of all people?’
Simon activated the sphere for another dazed first-year before moving on. "Arthur! You can land on your own, can’t you?"
"What? That’s so an!!"
"You’re a special admission student!" Simon shouted as he released another lock. "If your goal is to be the strongest in Kizen, you can handle sothing like this, right?"
Arthur’s tearful expression instantly hardened. "When you put it like that!"
He drew a new sword from his subspace. "It makes want to do it no matter what!"
Seeing Arthur swing his sword in mid-air to create a blast of wind, Simon moved on to the next student.
"Phew."
One by one, all the students who had fallen from the ship descended safely inside their bubbles. The last few were taken care of by the subordinates and Kizen staff.
Simon switched his Praetorian Guard suit to low-speed flight and looked down.
’It’s just as breathtaking the second ti.’
He could see his alma mater spread out below. The lush jungle, the smoothly polished plains, the waterfall dotted with autumn leaves, the snow-covered mountains. The scenery of Roc Island, containing all four seasons, unfolded like a masterpiece painting. And in its center, the Kizen campus jutted up from the landscape.
The first-years, having regained their composure, were now simply admiring the view.
"Everyone, welco to Kizen!"
As the Student Council President’s voice washed over them, the first-years burned the image of the sky into their mories, a sight they would never forget.
---
And so, all the first-years who arrived on the Nether Whale landed safely on Roc Island. A few students got a face full of sand when Arthur swung his sword wildly to create wind pressure for his landing, but it was no big deal.
Here and there, first-years sat on the ground catching their breath, while a few others were on all fours, vomiting. It was the sa scene as a year ago.
Soon, however, they regained their energy and began boisterously recounting their tales of survival.
"Mr. President! Thank you for your hard work!"
As Simon landed and retracted the Praetorian Guard into his subspace, he was t by teaching assistants from the school.
"Sorry for the delay," Simon said, greeting them. "We ran into so trouble in Langerstine."
"Not at all! We heard what happened. The most important thing is that all the students arrived safely." One of the TAs turned to the students. "Alright, first-years! Please form four lines! We’ll change into Kizen uniforms and head straight to the opening ceremony."
The first-years began to move, but they were too busy laughing and chatting to follow the TA’s instructions, even as he shouted himself hoarse.
"Hey, everyone."
Simon clapped his hands and stepped forward.
"Four lines."
At that single command, every first-year—even those who had been fooling around—snapped to attention and scrambled into formation.
"From the front, sit and count off," Simon instructed.
"One!"
"Two!"
As the first-years sat and counted off in perfect sync, the TAs could only stare in amazent.
"Th-That’s incredible!" one of them exclaid.
"How did you get them to listen so quickly? They’re at their most rebellious age."
Simon gave an awkward smile. "Uh, well. It’s a bit of a long story."
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