Events unfolded just as Serne had planned. The masterminds were ’the Union’ and Tower Master ’Bermude’. With Bermude’s accomplices—the Center Director and the top aides of the radical faction—detained, the situation was settled for the time being.

The Dark Alliance interpreted the incident not as the will of the entire Ivory Tower but as the rogue actions of ’a few extremists’. Bermude trapping people inside the main tower had served as the most decisive piece of evidence.

The greatest contributor to resolving the crisis was, without a doubt, Serne Aindark. She had seen through her adoptive father’s connection to the Union and had thoroughly deceived him until the very end. She had brought Simon in as a legitimate ally and single-handedly thwarted a plot that could have destroyed Kizen. She had even played a crucial role in the final battle.

It was now a certainty that Serne would become the next Tower Master. With Bermude’s downfall, the influence of the Kizen-hostile radical faction was greatly diminished, allowing Daniela’s moderate faction to take power. The desperate radicals were now pushing to expedite Serne’s inauguration, and even the moderates weren’t opposing her claim.

Of course, the gossip had already started.

"She killed her own father, blinded by power!"

"The Union was just an excuse. She was looking for a pretext to drag her adoptive father down and got lucky."

Hearing the whispers, Simon felt a deep, burning anger. How could they, knowing nothing, so easily belittle someone who had made such a great sacrifice? He was about to confront them, but Serne placed a hand on his shoulder and shook her head. 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

"There’s no need to deal with them."

"Aren’t you angry?"

A smile formed on her lips. "I don’t care what the monkeys in our cage chatter about."

Simon walked the streets with Serne, talking about anything and everything. Knowing it would be difficult to see her in the future, he tried to make the most of their time. However, it didn’t last long before a crowd from the Ivory Tower descended upon them.

"Lady Serne! We’ve been looking all over for you!"

"This is not the time for this! The Dark Alliance has also requested a meeting..."

She was now the acting head of the Ivory Tower, leading the cleanup efforts. With her inauguration approaching, she would be impossibly busy. She smiled, her eyes crinkling at the corners.

"Well then, let’s meet again someday, Simon."

That foxy, slightly annoying smile. For the first time, Simon thought it looked sad.

---

At daybreak, Simon returned to Kizen via a teleportation circle. Merida had decided to stay with Phantastus for a while longer and return on the last possible day. She had started pestering her brother about whether he had a girlfriend, and Phantastus could only deny it with a bewildered expression. Simon wished him the best of luck.

In any case, he still had a day to spare. The second-year campus was in an uproar.

"Did you hear? The Tower Master was actually a member of the Union!"

"The Union? You mean the people who tried to overthrow the Dresden Kingdom?"

"Do you think there are any inside Kizen?"

"...No way. Don’t say such scary things."

Simon let the talk wash over him, calmly going about his business. First, he returned to Pier’s ruins and released the legion’s undead. Akemius’s mercury wound had healed in a day, and Pier, who had struggled to calm the rampaging Simon, also needed time to recuperate. Erzebet, who had been tasked with investigating White, had yet to return from following him to his dispatch location.

He also went to see Parahan, the Professor of Divinity Defense. He played with the kittens, Shiro and Kuro, and did some training with the bear divine beast, Akalion.

Then he returned to his dorm and started studying. Toto still hadn’t returned. The Dullahan special lecture was starting tomorrow, and Simon prayed he would make it back in time.

He moved his quill across a blank page, but after only a few words, he set it down.

’Haaah.’

He felt restless. Everything had been resolved. Kizen was safe, the Union’s plot had been thwarted, Meirin and Serne were alive, and he had returned before the special lecture. So why did he feel so down?

’Focus, focus.’

Simon’s eyes hardened as he picked up the quill again.

---

The next day, the Summoning Department classroom was buzzing with even more energy than usual.

"We’re baaack!"

"Ughhh’, I feel like I’m gonna die! I got here just in the nick of time this morning."

"How was your dispatch?"

"I’m telling you, man, I gritted my teeth to get here by today, covered in blood and all. You know what I mean?"

The students who had safely returned chattered excitedly. Simon took his seat.

"Hey, Prez!" Eshe, a member of his Group 10, waved warmly. Simon waved back with a smile.

"I heard! I totally heard!" she exclaimed, running over and perching on his desk. "Your dispatch was at the Ivory Tower, right? Whoa! Were you caught up in the incident?"

Simon smiled bitterly. "Well, something like that."

A few nearby students leaned in.

"What Ivory Tower incident?"

"You don’t know? The entire Dark Alliance was in an uproar yesterday!"

"I just got back from my assignment, how would I know?"

Students who had just returned knew little about what had happened. Eshe, a natural gossip, began to recount the events, and the students’ eyes grew wider.

"The Tower Master was part of the Union?"

"He’s the father of Serne from our department!"

"Prez! Did you see the Tower Master? What happened?"

All eyes turned to Simon, the living witness to the incident.

’Hmm, they told me not to go around saying strange things.’ He had already been warned by headquarters to keep his mouth shut. He was about to calm his excited friends when a voice cut through the noise.

"Excuse me, just a moment."

A black-haired girl pushed through the crowd. At Lorraine’s appearance, the other students parted like a wave.

"I need to see you, Simon."

"Alright."

The other students could only bite their tongues and watch as the two left the classroom.

Lorraine led Simon to a quiet spot outside. She bought a coffee from a small campus kiosk and handed it to him.

"You’ll drink this, right?"

"Yeah. Thanks."

They walked behind a quiet building. Simon finally let out a sigh of relief, adjusted his tie, and took a sip.

"Huh?"

It wasn’t coffee. It was incredibly sweet—a strawberry-flavored drink.

"Ugh."

Lorraine, too, stuck out her tongue and frowned. "Sorry, they got mixed up. My head’s all over the place."

"Can’t handle bitter coffee?" Simon chuckled, swapping drinks with her. She shot him a glare, and he slyly looked away, savoring a sip of his own coffee.

She got straight to the point. "Can you tell me about the Ivory Tower?"

"Sure."

Lorraine was one of the few who knew he was a Legion Commander, so he could tell her most of the story, omitting the private details about Serne and Meirin.

"...The Union. They’re more dangerous than I thought," Lorraine said, biting her lip. "To think they tried to make the Tower of Time go berserk and drop it on Roc Island."

Simon crossed his arms. "The Blood Cult, Tarados, the Dresden Kingdom, and now the Ivory Tower. I think the Union has finally begun to show its ambitions in earnest."

"Who on earth is doing this? The Saintesses of the Holy Federation?"

Simon shook his head. "It’s not the Priests. The Blood Cult, which the Union supported, even hijacked a Holy Federation train, remember?"

"That’s true."

"The Union members referred to their leader as ’the Elder’. Does that ring any bells?"

She stroked her chin, deep in thought. "The word ’Elder’ is... too abstract. It could be one of the elders from the Dark Alliance."

They discussed it further, but even for the future ruler of the Dark Alliance and an active Legion Commander, information on the Union was limited. Simon changed the subject.

"Do you think Serne will be able to come back to school?"

"Probably not," Lorraine said. "Bermude’s faction within the Ivory Tower has been purged. The remaining radicals will try to put Serne on the throne immediately, if only for their own survival."

"Hm..."

"And most importantly," Lorraine continued, closing her eyes, "Serne hated this school. I don’t think she’d want to come back."

"That’s... true." Serne had considered her forced admission to Kizen as being taken ’hostage’. The trouble she caused in her first year had a strong undertone of ’go ahead and expel me if you dare’.

Lorraine looked up with a complicated expression. "To think that I won’t be seeing that troublemaker anymore... I don’t feel entirely relieved."

That was probably it. Serne wanted the downfall of Kizen; that much was likely still true. That’s why she had initially gone along with Bermude’s plan. But when she discovered he was a pawn of the Union and that he demanded Simon’s life, she betrayed him. She had refused to be used and had acted to save Simon and Meirin, but in doing so, she had inadvertently saved Kizen. For Lorraine, her rival, it was an unsettling turn of events.

"Simon! Lady Lorraine!" Eshe shouted from a window above. "Sorry to interrupt your date, but our classroom has been moved! It’s two doors down! Class is about to start!"

Simon nodded. "Thanks for letting us know, Eshe!"

Lorraine, sipping her strawberry milk, pouted. "It’s not a date."

The two returned to the building and entered the new classroom where teaching assistants were decorating the blackboard with balloons and a banner.

’Dullahan Special Lecture – Professor Aaron, Professor Grelion, Professors Lin & Lune’

As they looked for good seats, they spotted a familiar face.

"Ah, Simon! I’m here!"

"Toto!" Simon’s face lit up. He had been worried when Toto hadn’t arrived before class. Eshe and Lorraine also greeted him warmly.

The room filled up in an instant. The massive Hector was there, as was Aseraz, a recently emerged competitor, and White, who was still staring out the window.

Simon glanced back. While other seats were quickly being filled, the one behind him remained empty. The so-called Serne-exclusive seat. She always enjoyed sitting there, and since anyone else who tried would be promptly chased away, the students had learned to leave it vacant.

But Serne wasn’t coming. She was the Tower Master now.

"Professor Aaron is entering," a teaching assistant announced.

The noisy classroom fell silent.

Aaron shuffled in, dressed in his usual comfortable shirt and shorts. His face, which had been haggard, looked a little better after some rest. He stepped onto the podium and raised his head.

"Did you all have a good dispatch?"

"Yeeees!" a loud reply echoed, followed by cheers and laughter. Aaron let the students savor their joy for a moment.

"Before we begin, I’ll take attendance." He picked up the attendance book. "Matt Comer."

"Here!"

"Laubel Buenmas."

"Yup!"

Aaron called out each name in a languid voice. According to Dick, it was normal for about ten students to be late for this kind of evaluation, but the return rate was astonishing. The ’Dullahan Special Lecture’ he had held hostage was a powerful motivator. Many, like Toto, had finished their work at dawn with sheer determination just to make it back this morning.

As the roll call continued, a particular name came up.

"Serne Aindark."

A heavy silence instantly fell over the lively classroom. Aaron just said, "Hmm," made a note, and called the next student’s name.

And so, every student’s name was called except for Serne’s.

"An excellent result," Aaron said, putting down the attendance book. "Fifty-one out of fifty-two have returned. It’s confirmed that the Summoning Department has set a new record."

But this time, no one cheered. Aaron looked around at the students. "I hear a few of you whined and cried to your supervisors to let you go back early..."

Eshe and a few others looked guilty.

"I will recognize that as part of your negotiation skills. You will be responsible for any complaints they file." Aaron opened his textbook. "Now then, turn to page 160..."

"Sorry I’m late."

Every head in the room turned.

"Being a few minutes late doesn’t count as an absence, right?"

"Huh?!!"

Simon shot up from his seat.

A wave of murmurs swept through the classroom. A girl with ivory hair sauntered in, her hair fluttering behind her. Some students even burst into cheers.

’Serne!’

He never imagined he would see her in her school uniform again.

Aaron just smirked and opened the attendance book again. "Don’t be late from now on."

"Okaay," Serne chirped, walking over to her exclusive seat behind Simon. He remained standing, completely dazed.

"You..."

He was utterly confused. What was happening? What about the Tower Master position? He wanted to demand answers, but the words wouldn’t come out.

"Oof." She winked at him. "Let’s just say it was a decision based on priorities."