Summoning Genius of Kizen - Chapter 196Simon and his group woke up in the morning and immediately dedicated themselves to their vacation assignments, not even having a bite of bread.Kizen's assignments required students to answer in essay format with their own opinions, and even multiple-choice questions had varying correct answers, making it largely ineffective to copy others' homework.Nevertheless, with Mei-rin's active help, Simon and Kamibarez could see the end in sight, but the problem was Dick."......Uh, excuse me, Lady Mei-rin."Dick stammered, his honorific for Mei-rin having changed without him realizing it."What, you wretched commoner."Mei-rin was the same. She stood with her arms crossed, watching Dick's problem-solving with a cold expression."Can we at least eat, human to human?""You call that 'human to human' when your homework is like this? You beast.""Cough."Having committed the sin, he couldn't win a single word.Their relationship had completely reversed from the theater.Simon thought he should quickly finish his own homework and help Dick, as he wrote down a creative magic circle for his Jet Black Mechanics assignment."Ah."As he wrote, the letters grew faint. He picked up his quill and saw that it was out of ink, and the nib was frayed from overuse. The inkwell was also empty.Simon subtly turned his head. Mei-rin sat with her legs crossed, glaring at Dick with terrifying eyes."M-Mei-rin?""Yes."Perhaps because there was a sign that the vacation homework would be successfully completed, Mei-rin's voice was a little softer when addressing Simon.Encouraged by that fact, Simon opened his mouth."Could I go out and buy a new quill and some ink? I'll buy some food on the way back too."At the mention of food, Dick, who was doing his homework, subtly gave a thumbs-up.Mei-rin sighed."Am I your group leader, or your mother? Just go without worrying about it.""I'll go with you!"Kamibarez raised her hand beside him.This time, Dick mouthed, 'Are you going to leave me alone with this monster?!' and looked at Kamibarez with desperate eyes, but she didn't notice, focused on Mei-rin."......Hmm, Kami is a bit iffy. Can you finish everything today?""Yes! I promise!"Having received Mei-rin's permission, the two left the clock tower together and headed into Langerstein city."Phew, I feel alive again."Simon said, taking a deep breath. Kamibarez chuckled softly."Mei-rin was so scary."Simon nodded in agreement."Still, she's spending her own time for us. I feel a bit bad. Let's buy Mei-rin's favorite foods on the way back.""Yes!"Simon walked alongside her through the streets of Langerstein.Every time he came here, he felt it was a complex, labyrinthine city. Entering one alley, there would be four exit alleys, all confusingly marked with signposts."Should we go to Campbell Road first?""Since we're going to buy a quill and food, wouldn't it be better to go to the shopping district rather than Campbell Road?""Ah, that's a good idea."Simon retraced his memories as he walked.Walking through Langerstein's labyrinthine streets, he found the building arrangements quite peculiar.If there was one house, the next house would be built right next to it, as if an extension of the first. They would use other houses' walls as their own, or build houses by freely encroaching on others' yards, with no regularity whatsoever.It was as if children had competed to stack houses with blocks, creating a chaotic mess."Did you know? One of the ten great mysteries of the Dresden Kingdom is Langerstein's rent."Simon burst out laughing at Kamibarez's words."Yeah. It does seem incredibly expensive. Is it because the land is so pricey that the houses are built so close together?""No! There's a reason for this architectural style. A long time ago, a dragon living in the mountains burned down the entire city with its Breath! At that time, the kingdom's administration was a mess, and private property and real estate were measured by houses, not by land. When Langerstein became ruins and the surveying was a mess, people started building houses indiscriminately, making them big and wide! That became incredibly popular, and a competition ignited, leading to...""So that's how this city landscape was created! That's amazing! How do you know such stories?"Kamibarez's eyes curved into crescent moons."The professor told me.""Ah, the one who taught you Hemomancy during vacation, right?""Yes!"The two walked around the streets of Langerstein, looking for a place that sold quills, enjoying it like a leisurely sightseeing trip.However, unlike the relaxed pair, the local residents of Langerstein seemed to be in a restless mood. Everyone was murmuring with serious expressions.'Is something going on?'"Breaking news! Breaking news!"A merchant selling Langerstein's local newspaper shouted, waving a newspaper. Gentlemen in suits were seen buying newspapers. "Kami, just a moment."Simon also ran over and bought a copy of the newspaper.As he unfolded the newspaper to read it, a gruesome photo of a corpse appeared on the front page.<Five Incidents Already! Mysterious Deaths!><Deaths Not from Injury or Poisoning, but Illness.><A Rare Epidemic? Or a Horrific Serial Murder?>"......"Simon walked back to Kamibarez, meticulously scanning the article's contents.The news about murder cases occurring for a week, and rats and insects suddenly swarming the city, bothered him. The overall restless atmosphere among the residents was probably due to these incidents.'Kazhan's mission must be related to this, too.'"Simon~"Kamibarez approached with a bright smile."Why are you looking so serious?""It's the Langerstein local paper. Someone died.""R-Really?"As Kamibarez came closer to read the newspaper, Simon subtly covered the photo with his palm."?"She looked up at Simon with a question mark floating above her head."Ah, this is a bit... I covered it because the person died in a really gruesome way... Was that unnecessary?""Ah!"She flinched slightly and stepped back."T-That was close. If I saw something gruesome like that, it would appear in my dreams... Thank you, Simon!""It's nothing."She smiled gently as she watched Simon fold the newspaper and put it into his subspace.'Simon is so kind.'"Something seems to be happening in the city."Simon briefly summarized for her."The victims died from unknown diseases occurring simultaneously, not from their usual chronic illnesses. Necromancers specializing in Toxicology say it wasn't poisoning.""S-Something scary."Thwack!Suddenly, Kamibarez shrieked at a loud noise from beside them and jumped into Simon's arms.'Whoa, that startled me.'Simon was genuinely surprised too. Calming his pounding heart, he turned his head to see an old woman with bloodshot eyes and half her face grotesquely twisted, glaring at them with a crutch."What's so scary?! Everything is a righteous judgment! The Spirit of Disease has descended!""......Spirit of Disease?""All those who are not upright will die from the plague! Cackle, cackle!"Sweep, sweep.Just then, a haggard-faced man sweeping the floor in front of a pub on the opposite side yawned."Are you travelers? Ignore that old hag. She's famous in Langerstein for spouting nonsense.""......""And this incident isn't some Spirit of Disease. What's five deaths in Langerstein? In a city where ten people die a day from gang disputes, what's the big deal?""T-Then what is it?"As Simon showed interest, the man smiled with satisfaction."Curious, aren't you? Don't be surprised! This is a political ploy by the Royalist faction to draw people's attention! Do they think I wouldn't know their trick to pass policies haphazardly with this?"The sweeping man shouted, 'No way, you scoundrels!' and the old woman with bloodshot eyes began muttering strange incantations."Let's go, Kami."Simon quietly said, taking care of Kamibarez."They're strange people, don't mind them.""......Ah, okay."This was the problem with going into alleys.The two came out onto a slightly wider main street.Now, the surroundings opened up, and the boisterous chatter of many travelers could be heard. It was strange how the atmosphere changed so drastically with just one or two alleys. 'Big cities really aren't my style.'Simon gave a bitter smile when Kamibarez pointed at a sign with her hand."Simon. I see Hampton Road over there!"Hampton Road was Langerstein's core, a street of youth made up of large shopping complexes.The two followed the sign and walked. "Found it!"And even before they reached Hampton Road, they found the quill shop they were looking for."Should we buy a new quill there? It'll be expensive if we go all the way to the city center.""Good."It was then, as the two walked with light steps.With the jingle of a bell, two men came out of the shop.Simon's steps faltered. Someone more troublesome and undesirable than a Spirit of Disease or an anti-royalist conspiracy was coming out. 'Of all places, why here, with him?'Judging by his fiery personality, he would 100% demand a fight if they met.Simon didn't want to needlessly clash, so he turned his back as naturally as possible."Kami, just a moment.""Yes?"He grabbed her wrist and subtly walked towards a nearby alley."Why, why are you doing this? What's wrong...?""Simon Pollentia."His steps stopped abruptly. He had only glanced and turned away, but he was noticed.Simon sighed softly to himself and turned around."Hector."Hector Moore, from Simon's first-year Class A. And one of his faction members was walking towards them.Hector's lips curled into a wide grin.Just from the sinister chuckle that escaped his teeth, Simon knew he was in trouble.It wasn't during the semester, and this wasn't Locke Island or the Kizen campus, but a completely external area. There were no faculty members to prevent disputes between Kizen students."I thought you'd be in Langerstein too, but to run into you right here!"Thud!Hector stomped his right foot hard and clenched his fist, raising it towards Simon."I've been waiting for this moment all vacation! It's a match, Simon Pollentia!!""Kami."Simon said quietly, just loud enough for her to hear."Let's run.""Yes?"Then he immediately picked up Kamibarez and launched himself forward, Jet Black erupting from his feet.Thump! Thump!Whoosh!Simon covered dozens of meters in an instant, then stepped on a building's roof and soared into the sky.Kamibarez's surprised scream mingled with the murmuring of people on the street pointing at them. The surrounding scenery blurred behind them in an instant.'He's not someone you can reason with.'Perhaps because it had been a long time since they last met, Hector's fighting spirit was explosively large. Explaining 'fighting is bad' would only be a waste of breath. The best way to deal with a mad dog is to just avoid it."S-Simon!"Just then, Kamibarez, who was in Simon's arms, reached out her hand."From above!""!"Simon quickly turned around to see Hector, now with Corpse Dragon wings, descending from the sky, bringing his elbow down.Simon quickly raised one arm to guard.CRASH!Simon's body violently plummeted, crashing through a shantytown and landing on the ground. "Ugh!"Simon groaned, embedded in the deeply dented ground. Thanks to his Kizen uniform, he wasn't injured, but his whole body ached from the impact."A-Are you okay?""I'm fine."Hector, who had landed lightly on the ground, walked towards them with heavy steps."Get up, Simon Pollentia."He said in an overbearing voice."Let's have a proper match now."Kamibarez quickly stood up and spread her arms. Hector's eyebrow twitched."Move.""Are you in your right mind? Attacking someone out of nowhere!"Despite trembling with fear before the massive Hector, she raised her voice even louder."Kizen students have a duty to maintain their dignity even outside! You're just a low-class thug!"Hector replied with a cold face."I won't warn you twice. I'm not interested in small fry, so move.""If you really want to fight Simon that badly."She placed her palm on her stomach, and a click sound was heard.WHOOSH!Her eyes turned red, and the wings on her back grew larger. She bit her thumb, and the blood that welled up from it violently swirled around her body."Then fight me first!""......Kami?"Her aura had completely changed, as if she were a different person. Simon, recovering from the shock, sat up and showed a surprised expression."What are you, you?"Hector was just as surprised. His lips twisted.
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