"But Simon," Knox suddenly said as he looked toward him, "didn't you get an invitation from that mushroom head?"
"Mushroom head?" Simon tilted his head in confusion.
"Andre. That second-year Andre."
"Pfft!"
Rick and Cindy immediately turned their faces away, desperately trying to hold back their laughter. The nickname fit Andre's hairstyle a little too well, making it impossible for them to keep a straight face.
"Heh." Meilyn scoffed. "Why are we even talking about that piece of dirt? His fate is practically sealed already, isn't it?"
Before anyone else could answer, Serene suddenly wrapped an arm around Meilyn's shoulders from behind.
"Oh, my cute Meilyn~ You're so naive."
"Guh!" Meilyn struggled to pry Serene's arm away. "Get away from me!"
Claudia, who had been quietly listening until now, looked at Serene with mild curiosity.
"But... what do you mean by 'naive,' Serene?"
"Because," Serene replied with a knowing smile, "you don't think he'll get expelled immediately, do you? He still hasn't given Kizen a 'legitimate' reason to expel him."
Lorain let out a quiet sigh before joining the conversation.
"...As much as I hate to agree with this woman, she's right."
Her expression remained calm as she explained.
"Right now, Andre is standing at the very edge of expulsion. His first offense was threatening a first-year student, his own junior. The second was launching a sneak attack on Knox after he had already admitted defeat in the duel."
She paused briefly before continuing.
"Under normal circumstances, those two offenses alone would have been enough to get him expelled. However, the Dresden Kingdom pushed back by using what happened to Andre during the duel as leverage."
"The negotiations became... rather intense."
Rick and the others quietly listened without interrupting.
"At first, Kizen strongly condemned Dresden's argument." Lorain's lips curved into a faint smile. "Vice President Jane almost swung her scythe right there."
A few people couldn't help smiling at the mental image.
"In the end, though, both sides reached an agreement. Kizen decided to suspend Andre's expulsion." Lorain gave a casual shrug.
A moment later, however, a wicked grin slowly spread across her face.
"Of course~ that was only after Kizen squeezed every possible concession they could out of the Dresden Kingdom."
A moment later, however, the atmosphere suddenly changed.
The wicked grin vanished from Lorain's face, replaced by an icy gaze. Even the air around her seemed to grow noticeably colder as all traces of amusement disappeared from her expression.
"...That said," she continued quietly, "what he did to Knox is unforgivable."
Her crimson eyes narrowed slightly.
"So even if Kizen ultimately decides to let him stay...I won't."
"Hehe~ It's pretty rare for you and me to actually agree on something," Serene said with an amused smile as she looked at Lorain.
"Hmm?" Meilyn frowned. "What do you mean by that?"
"What I mean is..." Serene leaned back in her chair, looking rather pleased with herself. "I've already used every bit of authority I have to make Andre's life as difficult as possible. With my status as the Ivory Tower's successor~" She giggled mischievously. "I'm pretty sure the high-ranking nobles of the Dresden Kingdom are having a massive headache right about now."
"What?!" Meilyn's eyes widened. "You did what?! And more importantly, how could the Tower Lord possibly allow something like that?"
Serene simply smiled sweetly.
""Hehe, guess~"
"Guess my foot!"
Watching the two of them go at it again, Knox let out a helpless chuckle before deciding to steer the conversation back on track.
"Ahem. Anyway, Simon," he said, turning toward him, "have you found a club that caught your interest?"
Hearing the question, Simon lowered his gaze to the flyer he had received from one of the second-years before coming here. The bold words Special Undead Research Society were printed across the top, with Mutant written underneath in much larger letters.
"Hmm... I think I'm interested in this one."
He handed the flyer to the others.
"Let me see, let me see." Cindy took it first before reading it aloud. "Special Undead Research Society... Mutant?"
"Hehe." Rick grinned. "That name practically screams 'Summoning geeks.' Sounds exactly like the kind of club you'd join, Simon."
Simon could only smile awkwardly as everyone around him laughed.
The conversation continued for a while longer before everyone gradually began leaving the classroom one after another. Knox, meanwhile, decided to accompany Simon to the Mutant clubroom to see what the club was like.
Before they parted ways, however, Cindy suddenly clapped her hands together as though she had just come up with a brilliant idea.
"Wait! We should throw a celebration party for Knox's victory over Andre!"
The suggestion was immediately met with enthusiastic approval.
"And Knox's the one cooking!"
"Agreed."
"No objections."
"Sounds good to me."
Everyone nodded without the slightest hesitation.
"..."
Not a single person bothered to ask the cook for his opinion.
Then, Knox and Simon headed toward the clubroom of the Special Undead Research Society, better known by its nickname, "Mutant."
The building assigned to the club was located slightly away from the first-year campus. It sat much closer to Kizen's central district, an area bustling with restaurants, cafés, and all kinds of shops where students usually gathered after class.
"Hey! You two over there!"
Hearing someone call out to them, Knox and Simon stopped walking and turned around at the same time.
A young woman with long cream-colored hair flowing down to her waist was making her way toward them. Although she had tied her academy jacket around her waist, the red badge pinned to her uniform clearly identified her as a second-year student.
Compared to the relatively modest appearance of most first-year girls, her makeup was noticeably bolder. Her eye makeup was more refined, and her skirt had been shortened considerably. It wasn't unusual, though.
By their second year, many students had begun customizing their Kizen uniforms to suit their own styles. Some male students tailored their trousers to fit more closely, while many female students shortened their skirts. Since every academy uniform came equipped with a full-body protective barrier, appearance was largely left to personal preference.
"Did you call for us, Senior?" Simon asked politely with a slight bow.
The senior walked over with a confident smile, casually folding her arms.
Then, the moment her eyes landed on Knox, her smile froze.
"Greetings, Senior Vanilla," Knox greeted with a small smile. "Or perhaps I should say... nice to meet you again."
"Junior Aznable?!"
Her eyes immediately lit up.
"Hahaha! It really is you!" She laughed cheerfully before giving Knox a friendly pat on the shoulder. "Now that I think about it, the last time we met was right before your duel against Andre, wasn't it?"
"Hehe, you're right." Knox nodded. "By the way, I never had the chance to properly thank you. You stood up for me when Andre was threatening me before the duel."
"Haha, don't worry about it!" she replied with an easy wave of her hand. "Besides, congratulations on your victory! And come on, just call me Benya. No need to be so formal."
"Can I?" Knox chuckled. "Then you can just call me Knox as well."
Benya's face immediately brightened. "Deal!"
Watching the two greet each other so naturally, Simon suddenly found himself standing quietly to the side.
Somehow, this felt strangely familiar.
The last time something like this had happened was when he had been with Knox and Lorain. Back then, the two of them had immediately started chatting, leaving Simon standing there wondering when he had become invisible.
And now, it was happening again.
"...Ahem."
Simon deliberately cleared his throat, finally reminding the other two that he was still there.
"Nice to meet you again, Senior."
"Hm?"
Benya blinked before snapping her fingers.
"Ah! You're the junior who was standing beside Knox when he challenged Andre to the duel, right?"
"That's right." Simon smiled politely. "My name is Simon Polentia. It's a pleasure to meet you, Senior."
"Hehe, nice to meet you too! I'm Benya. Benya Vanilla."
She looked back and forth between the two of them before asking with obvious curiosity,
"By the way, seeing both of you here... does that mean you've already decided which club you're joining?"
"Not really." Simon shook his head. "I haven't made up my mind yet. I just wanted to learn more about this club first."
At that moment, Benya's eyes fell onto the flyer Simon was holding.
"Oh! Oh! Oh! That one!"
Her excitement exploded instantly. "Are you thinking about joining Mutant?!"
"I was only planning to ask about..."
"Hahaha! That's awesome!"
Before Simon could even finish his sentence, Benya enthusiastically slapped him on the back.
Smack! Smack!
Simon could only force a smile while enduring the surprisingly powerful blows.
Still grinning, Benya turned toward Knox.
"What about you, Knox?"
"Me?" Knox shrugged with a relaxed smile. "I'm just tagging along. I wanted to take a look at the club first."
The moment she heard that, Benya's eyes sparkled even brighter.
"Perfect!"
Without waiting for another word, she grabbed both Knox's and Simon's wrists.
"Then what are you guys waiting for?! Let's go!"
Neither of them even had a chance to object before Benya dragged them away.
She clearly belonged to the type of person who acted first and listened later. Full of boundless energy and overflowing confidence, she marched ahead with long strides while her shortened school skirt fluttered carelessly behind her.
Before long, the place she dragged them to came into view.
"..."
"..."
Knox and Simon stared silently at the old, worn-down clubroom in front of them.
A single sheet of paper had been taped onto the crooked wooden door.
The tape holding it in place had been slapped on so carelessly that it looked as though it might fall off at any moment.
Written across it in uneven, smudged handwriting was one word.
Mutant.
————————————Character Voicelines · Benya: About Her Fashion Style
Benya: "My fashion, you say? Hehe, what do you think? Pretty cute and awesome, right?"
Benya: "Hmm? Junior Knox, why are you suddenly asking if I'm interested in dyeing my hair blonde?"
Benya: "And what's with that name, 'Kitagawa Marin,' you just gave me? Is that supposed to be a nickname, or is she one of the characters from your novels?"