The first weekend morning at Kizen had arrived.
The location marked on Nefthis's map lay within the restricted forest, so Simon decided to set out after nightfall.
During the day, Knox went out to wander around the campus. Rick and Kajann had both left early as well, leaving Simon alone to bury himself in advance studies with his summoning textbook.
Of course, Knox's so-called "wandering" had a purpose.
He was waiting. Waiting for Simon to head toward the restricted forest—so he could follow him.
Nefthis had handed the map to Simon right in front of Knox. There was no way that was an accident. Knox was almost certain she had done it deliberately.
Most likely, she wanted Knox to help Simon.
Exactly how she wanted him to help was still unclear. But for now, Knox decided to act in his own way first—and ask Nefthis about the rest later.
There was another reason as well.
Based on the original story he remembered, Serene Aidark would eventually learn that someone had reached the ruins where the Seventh Legion's administrator, Peer, was sealed.
She must have placed some form of detection magic—something designed to alert her the moment anyone crossed its boundary or tampered with it.
And when that happened—
She would come. So Knox chose to remain outside and intercept her.
At the very least, it would divert her 'attention'… buy Simon precious time to grow.Even if that time amounted to nothing more than a fleeting advantage.
But more than anything else…
Knox was curious.
Just how strong was Serene Aidark, the one known as one of the strongest individuals of Batch 329?
After spending the entire day immersed in Summonology, and with the sun beginning to sink toward the horizon, Simon finally made his move.
Of course, it didn't escape Knox's surveillance.
"Hehe… looks like the time has come," Knox muttered.
"Now then… when will you arrive, Serene Aidark?~"
A low laugh slipped from his throat. Anyone seeing him like this would definitely mistake him for a villain plotting something vile.
"Once Simon gets close to the ruins, I'm certain she'll notice it. And when she does, she'll move immediately—convinced that she's the hunter, patiently stalking her prey."
His smile widened.
"But she won't even realize it," Knox continued lightly, "that this is nothing more than the mantis stalking the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind it."
"Hehehe". Standing beside him were Igris and Beru.
Igris remained silent, as always—watchful and composed. Beru, on the other hand, reacted instantly.
"As expected of my liege!" Beru declared enthusiastically.
As he passed through Kizen's main gate, dusk was already settling in.
Before long, Simon arrived at the edge of the forbidden forest. The reason Kizen had banned entry to this place was simple.
Monster habitat.
Simon carefully checked Nefthis's map as he moved forward. So far, everything was going smoothly.
But the deeper he went, the more frequently he heard strange animal cries. Droppings began to appear along the path. He poked one with a branch.
Wet. Sticky.
Whatever had left it had passed through here recently.
…Sssh. I just want to go back.
It would've been a lie to say he wasn't scared.
Still, Simon steeled his resolve. Even as he slowed his pace, he did his best to muffle the sound of his steps.
And then—
Grrrrr.
A low growl echoed from nearby.
Simon's body went rigid. He immediately clamped his mouth shut and lowered his posture.
Now that his eyes had adjusted to the darkness, he caught sight of a black silhouette standing beneath the shadow of a tree. The creature sniffed the ground, its nose twitching.
Meanwhile—
From a safe distance, Knox watched the scene unfold with a piece of popcorn in hand.
Of course, he had already detected the monster long before Simon noticed it.
"Hmm… a werewolf, huh?" Knox muttered. "With Simon's current level, this is a bit much."
He paused, then smirked. "But with his 'protagonist halo'—and because he needs to grow—he has to pass this 'trial'~," Knox said with a smile.
At that moment, the creature's twitching nose snapped toward Simon. From the darkness, a pair of glowing eyes locked onto him.
Tatata!
It's fast!
Simon hastily reached for the dagger at his waist. A silver trail tore through the air with a sharp swaak!
Simon drew his dagger and swung it toward the incoming strike.
Clang!
The impact knocked him flat onto his back. The werewolf's claws swiped again, carving a long scar into a nearby tree.
A… werewolf!
An encounter with one was practically a death sentence for ordinary people. Fortunately—this one was smaller. Not fully grown yet.
If this were before I entered Kizen… I would've run.
Simon clenched his dagger and forced himself back to his feet. With his left hand, he channeled Darkness into the ring on his finger and pulled an imaginary lever.
Rrrk.
A subspace opened beneath him. Bones shot out from within.
Restore!
The scattered bones snapped into alignment, starting with the skull. In the next instant, two skeletons fully formed and stood before him.
Got it!
Three versus one—just like that.
The werewolf hesitated for a split second upon being outnumbered.
Then it bared its fangs.
Thud. Thud.
Simon summoned two old shortswords from his subspace. The skeletons caught them midair.
Kyaaaargh!
The werewolf lunged forward.
And the battle began.
As if Knox had pressed a skip button, the battle was already over.
Simon staggered to his feet and attempted another Restore. One skeleton was too badly damaged to recover, but the other barely managed to reassemble itself.
Simon returned the restored skeleton to his subspace and continued walking.
After another twenty minutes—
"This is it," Simon muttered.
He arrived at the spot marked with a skull on the map. Looking around, the area was completely empty.
The only oddity was that no trees or grass grew here at all.
"…Guess I'll have to dig."
Simon opened his subspace and pulled out the shovel he'd borrowed from the dormitory gardener.
Catching the spinning shovel midair, he rolled up his sleeves and began digging.
Thud! Thud!
If anyone had seen him, they would've been impressed by how clean and efficient his movements were.
From a distance, Knox watched in silence—then gave a mental round of applause, complete with an imaginary thumbs-up.
"…Wow," Knox muttered. "He'd make an amazing Minecraft player!"
It didn't take long. The shovel struck something solid.
Clack.
Simon crouched down and brushed the dirt away. "A stone floor…"
It was made of a special, dark-colored rock. As he cleared more soil, he noticed a hand-shaped indentation carved into the center.
He placed his right hand over it. It fit perfectly—but nothing happened.
"…So it's not a simple contact trigger."
Closing his eyes, Simon activated his Core and released Darkness through his palm.
Wooooooooom!
As his Darkness flowed in, glowing lines spread across the floor. With a deep grinding sound, the stone shifted and split apart.
"…Stairs!"
A staircase leading underground revealed itself.
Simon grinned.
What secrets lay hidden below?
Why had Nefthis guided him to this place?
His heart pounding, Simon took a step forward. And descended.
The moment Simon stepped down the stairs, the atmosphere abruptly shifted.
Outside—
Knox, who had been quietly observing just moments ago, suddenly appeared right in front of the entrance.
Calmly. Casually.
As if this were the most natural thing in the world.
He pulled out a small table and two chairs, then proceeded to set them up neatly. After that came an assortment of tiny desserts—tarts, mini cakes, scones, and macarons—beautifully arranged on a three-tier stand.
It looked like a perfectly proper afternoon tea.
The only problem was its location. This was the edge of a restricted forest.
After finishing the setup, Knox dusted his hands off and cleared his throat.
"Ahem. Ahem."
With a playful tone, he spoke aloud.
"Huh… how strange~ It looks like a lovely spread of desserts has suddenly appeared right in front of me."
He leaned back slightly, resting his chin on his hand.
"They look delicious, but…"
"…I feel like dessert tastes much better when you have company."
His smile widened—slow, deliberate.
"Even better if that companion happens to be a beautiful lady."
Then, his gaze shifted ever so slightly toward the forest.
"Don't you agree, Miss Serene Aidark~?"