Summoning Genius of Kizen Chapter 62Simon, having stayed up all night, attended his first Hemomancy class with a haggard face.His condition was not good. He needed to take notes from the blackboard, but the blackboard appeared to be split into three.‘Did I exhaust myself too much last night?’As Simon dozed off, Mei-rin, sitting next to him, nudged him with her elbow.“Hey. What’s wrong with you?”“......I think I’m not feeling well after staying up all night.”Mei-rin sighed softly.She then placed her bag, which was hanging on her desk, onto her lap and rummaged through it, pulling out a white pill bottle.“Hey, open wide.”“What’s that?”“Fatigue recovery pill. I take it when I stay up all night. Open your mouth.”As Simon awkwardly opened his mouth, she picked up a pill with her fingertip and flicked it inside.“Don’t bite it, just keep it there. It’s really strong, and if it bursts, the whole classroom will smell.”Mei-rin then took out a water bottle from her bag and handed it over. Simon nodded in gratitude, opened the cap, and brought it to his lips.Gulp.“......?”Simon turned his head, and Mei-rin was somehow blushing, looking very tense.“What’s wrong?”“Ah, I don’t know! Just drink it quickly before the TAs come!”Simon slightly pulled the water bottle away from his mouth, drank the water, and swallowed the pill.“Thanks, Mei-rin.”Mei-rin, receiving the water bottle back, turned her head, feeling unnecessarily embarrassed.Just then, Dick, who was sitting behind them, poked his head between the two.“Ack! You scared me!”“Heheheh, I heard it. I heard it. I heard everything~”As Dick hummed and prepared to tease, Mei-rin instinctively growled.“Hey, don’t.”“What?”“I don’t know what, but just don’t!”Dick pulled his head back and shrugged. Then he looked at Kamibarez, who was diligently taking notes beside him.“Kami.”“Yes, what is it, Dick?”“Oh, it’s nothing much. Just that a conversation like ‘open wide’ and ‘spread’ happened between a boy and a girl, and I wonder what kind of situation you’d think that was.......”Kamibarez’s cheeks turned bright red. And Mei-rin, whose face was even redder, furiously hit Dick’s head with her notebook.“You crazy bastard!”“Ack! Ack! No, why are you hitting me! I was just stating a fact.......!”“Simon!”Kamibarez said in a trembling voice.“Th-th-that kind of talk isn’t allowed! We’re still minors! And that.......!”Simon made an aggrieved expression.I just quietly sat here and received a pill, why am I getting scolded? “Students there~”Suddenly, a voice flew into their ears, and Simon’s group flinched, turning their heads. The teaching assistant, who had appeared out of nowhere, was smiling with his hands behind his back.“Are you talking after you’ve finished taking notes~”It was a strangely gentle voice, as if dealing with young children.“T-TA! That.......”“Stand up as you are. All four of you.”In the end, the four of them were called to the back of the classroom.“Put your arms tightly to your ears~ Yes, just like that. I’ll get angry if you try to cheat, okay?”Even the way he punished them felt cute. As soon as the TA left for another spot, Mei-rin glared at Dick.“Ah, how embarrassing! It’s all your fault!”“No, I mean, my only fault was stating facts.......”“Don’t fight! We’ll get scolded again!”Meanwhile, Simon was looking at the blackboard alone.His vision had somehow returned to clarity. Whether it was the effect of the medicine or because he was being punished, his drowsiness had also vanished.“Mei-rin.”“Hm?”“The pill you gave me is effective.”At Simon’s compliment, she immediately smiled and puffed out her chest.“Hmph, of course! This is super expensive.......”“Pill? What kind of pill?”“You just shut up.”Just then, another teaching assistant for Syllage rushed into the classroom.“Professor Syllage will be about 20 minutes late! We’ll move the break time forward a bit.”He said, looking at his wristwatch.“We will have a break until 30 minutes from now.”At his words, the quiet classroom instantly became boisterous. With the break starting, Simon’s group, who had been standing in punishment, naturally returned to their seats.“Hold on, group members. Look at me for a second.”As Dick gestured, the three who were about to return to their seats turned to him. They gathered in a quiet corner of the classroom.“Ah, what is it now?”Mei-rin grumbled.“I was going to tell you at lunchtime, but since we have time now, I’ll tell you.”“?”Dick pulled a note from his inner jacket pocket.“Heheh, I’ve got information about your Duel Evaluation opponents, you guys. Let’s start with Simon, who’s the most urgent.”“Me?”“Yeah. You were preparing a Skeleton Archer for this Duel Evaluation, right?”Simon nodded.“You should stop that right away.”“Why?”“My words aren’t 100% accurate, but the compatibility with your opponent is too bad.”Dick read the note in a serious voice.“The opponent’s name is Haren Koke. From the infamous Necromancer family of the Oldwin Kingdom. The Jet Black magic he uses is Black Hand.”“Black Hand? Never heard of it.”Mei-rin, on the other hand, squinted her eyes as if she had an idea.“......It must be a unique Jet Black magic of his family.”“Correct! Simply put, he pulls out a hand made of Jet Black from his back, and it has excellent defensive capabilities against long-range projectiles. It can easily swat away Jet Black Arrows flying at high speed.”Simon bit his lip slightly.If it can just swat away Jet Black Arrows.“There’s a high chance that the Skeleton Archer’s arrows won’t work, Simon.”“......Ugh.”Simon swallowed a groan.Although he had decided to go with Summoning Studies, he wasn’t so stubborn as to push through with a Skeleton Archer when it was clearly a bad match-up.While Simon was contemplating other methods, Dick continued.“Black Hand is a powerful offensive and defensive tool, but its weakness is clear. Haren Koke cannot use other Jet Black magic while maintaining Black Hand.”“Ah, if that’s the case, the strategy is clear!”Kamibarez’s eyes sparkled as she spoke.“Curses!”“Yeah. That’s right.”Mei-rin also agreed.“If both long-range and close-range attacks are difficult, then just keep your distance, stack curses to weaken him, and that’s it. It’ll be an easy win, right? We could just practice Exhaust for the remaining time!”Simon leaned against the wall, deep in thought.He had finally gotten properly fired up while assembling the Skeleton Archer, but now such a variable had appeared.He felt that things in the world never go exactly as planned.‘What should I do?’Time was limited. Should he push through with the Skeleton Archer? Break his initial resolve and practice curses?Or, if not that.‘.......’Simon’s eyes shone with intelligence.***Day by day, time passed quickly, and now the Duel Evaluation was just one day away.Mei-rin, who had come into the classroom early again today, yawned and sat in her chair. In the front, students who had arrived earlier were gathered, chatting enthusiastically, the topic, of course, being the Duel Evaluation.“Ugh, I’m nervous. How should I deal with a Martial Arts major?”“Professor Bahil’s Leg Down curse is a direct hit!”“I’m most scared of the Toxicology kids. They keep chipping away at your barrier gauge.......”“Haaah, I just hope I don’t meet a Curse Studies major.”Mei-rin snorted at such talk.It’s better to train individually than to worry about opponents or compatibility.Isn’t it enough if I’m strong and confident in my skills?She was inwardly clicking her tongue and taking out her textbook when.“......Hi, Mei-rin.”“Whoa!”She was startled and turned her head.She saw Simon, with a haggard face and very dark circles under his eyes. He forced a tired smile and said.“Mei-rin, you look good today. Did you get a new hairstyle?”“.......”Mei-rin frowned.Why is he suddenly doing things he doesn’t usually do?“Did someone tell you to do that?”“Dick did.”“Ugh, seriously.”Simon imitating Dick’s tone was incredibly creepy. More than anything, it didn’t suit him.“Alright, what’s with the flattery? Just tell me the reason quickly.”“......Some medicine, please.”“Ugh.”Mei-rin grumbled but took out the pill bottle from her bag and handed it to him. After taking her medicine, he felt a little more awake.“Do you know I’m more anxious watching you? What’s wrong with you these days?”“Preparing for the Duel Evaluation.”Mei-rin frowned.“Yeah. Right. It’s good to prepare diligently, but you’re really going to collapse. Medicine isn’t some magic that makes fatigue disappear. I only take it occasionally myself.”“I just need to hold out until the Duel Evaluation tomorrow.”“......Crazy.”Soon after, class began.Of course, even after class began, Simon’s condition continued to worsen.Throughout the class, he couldn’t concentrate, scribbling strange things in his notebook and muttering to himself.“Dick! What’s wrong with him?”Mei-rin, unable to bear it, asked Dick. Dick also seemed troubled by Simon, running his hand through his hair with a complicated expression.“I don’t know either. He barely comes back to the room these days, and he’s often not in his seat even when I wake up.”Kamibarez, watching with a worried expression, tugged at Dick’s sleeve.“He’s going to collapse like that. Please do something, Dick!”“Right. You’re his roommate!”“Do you think I haven’t tried to stop him? The problem is he doesn’t listen to a word I say.”Dick turned his head.Even during break time, Simon was still scribbling strange doodles in his notebook like a madman. He was the typical image of someone completely engrossed in a topic, oblivious to everything else.“He’ll probably keep being like that until the Duel Evaluation is over. I think he’s preparing a new Jet Black magic.”“A new Jet Black magic?”Mei-rin let out a hollow laugh.“What’s the need for that? He could just practice Exhaust a bit and easily win against that opponent.”“......A new Jet Black magic is good, but I still think health comes first.”Mei-rin, scratching her head in annoyance, her eyes suddenly gleamed.“This won’t do. I’ll go tell him off.”Dick propped his head with his arm.“You’d better not. Whatever you say, it won’t get through to him.”“Just watch me.”Mei-rin steeled herself and approached Simon.“Hey, Simon! If you keep doing that.......!”Simon slowly turned his head.‘......Gasp!’His completely messed-up eyes were visible.When a peer suddenly created such an intimidating atmosphere and glared at her, she, feeling a little intimidated, stammered.“If, if, if you keep doing that, your body will break down, I’ve told you how many times.......!”“Thanks for worrying, Mei-rin. I’ll really get some good rest starting tomorrow.”And Simon turned his head back to scribble in his notebook.‘Th-this isn’t right.’Mei-rin was wondering what to say next when Simon suddenly shot up. Mei-rin was startled and let out a short yelp.“Dick.”This time, Dick flinched and said.“Huh? Uh-huh.”“What I asked for.......”“Ah, news about Professor Aaron? I think I’ll only know around lunchtime.”“Yeah. Thanks.”Simon sat back down and continued writing in his notebook.The worried gazes of the three gathered.What kind of Jet Black magic was he preparing, anyway?***That evening.Aaron was entering Kizen.He wasn’t in his usual shabby attire for class. He was dressed smartly in Kizen headquarters’ uniform and a cool black fur cloak.Some of the minions cleaning the building couldn’t even recognize him as Aaron.‘......Exhausting.’The mission ended earlier than expected.Today was supposed to be a day off, but he decided to stop by his lab for class preparation.‘Suffocating.’As he walked to his lab, Aaron casually took off his outer coat and loosened his tie. With each step, his clothing became lighter, and the pile of clothes in his right hand grew.When he arrived at the lab door, shedding clothes one by one, he saw someone sitting on the floor. With hollow eyes, they were scanning a notebook and muttering strange words.“......Simon Pollentia.”Simon raised his head. Upon seeing Aaron, he quickly stood up and bowed.“Professor Aaron!”“What are you doing here?”Simon, whom he hadn’t seen in a week, looked somehow haggard and thin.Simon spoke politely.“There’s something I really need to ask you, Professor.”“.......”Aaron silently looked at the watch on his wrist.“Even though it’s past quitting time?”“......Ah.”“Just kidding.”Aaron chuckled. “It’s also a professor’s duty to solve a student’s problems. Come in.”
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