The next morning, Simon’s first class was Curses. He walked to school on pins and needles, terrified of what rumors might be circulating, but the classroom atmosphere was completely normal. His friends greeted him just as they always did.

’What a relief. Does that mean those girls didn’t say anything?’

It was an optimistic thought, but the reality was that the girls hadn’t been able to keep their mouths shut and had spread the story far and wide. The rumor went something like this:

’Student Council President Simon and the fourth-ranked Merida were in the main building late at night, spread out on a blanket and tangled up doing... something weird.’

For a rumor to catch fire, it usually needs a spark of credibility. This one, however, was all sensation and no substance. It just didn’t align with Simon and Merida’s known behavior. More importantly, the idea of them brazenly spreading a blanket in the high-traffic main building to do anything "weird" was completely unbelievable. If the supposed location had been an empty classroom, the story might have had legs. But as it was, even the most dedicated gossips quickly lost interest, realizing they’d just be made fun of for repeating it. Only the two girls who had seen it with their own eyes were going mad with frustration.

Of course, there were some who believed it.

"You depraved pervert!" Meirin shrieked. She was in the same class and, without warning, grabbed Simon’s wrist, dragged him into the hall, and began relentlessly smacking him with a cushion.

"M-Meirin! Wait! ’Mmph’!"

"H-How could you! The Student Council President is supposed to be a role model! At school! With a girl! D-Doing such a shameless thing...!" Her face beet red, Meirin continued her furious assault.

Simon finally managed to grab the cushion.

"Hold on. What exactly is this ’shameless thing’ you heard?"

He was genuinely curious about the specifics of the rumor, but his question only made Meirin’s face turn the color of a ripe tomato. She stumbled backward, stammering, "W-Well, I mean..." until her embarrassment hit its peak and she shrieked, "Why are you making ’me’ say it? You pervert!"

"...Simon." Next to them, a haggard-looking Kamibarez was fidgeting with her hands. "I’m shocked. You became an adult before us..."

"That’s not what happened, Kami! Not you too!"

’Hehehe.’

He glanced toward the sound of laughter and saw Dick covering his mouth, his shoulders shaking. Simon glared at him.

"You’re the culprit, aren’t you, Dick?"

Even a ridiculous rumor could be made to sound plausible with Dick’s special touch.

"Ah, I just happened to hear an interesting story and thought I’d share it with the student council members," Dick said with a grin. "Now, I suppose we’ll have to hear the explanation from the man himself, won’t we?"

"...Fine." Simon recounted the entire incident.

"Merida cast ’Sleep’ on you?" Dick asked, intrigued.

"So that’s how you ended up tangled together!" Kamibarez exclaimed.

"...Please don’t say ’tangled,’ Kami. It sounds weird." Simon scratched his cheek, then turned to Dick. "I’m counting on you." The unspoken request was for him to spread the real story.

Dick, who had been perched on the windowsill, hopped down and shrugged.

"That rumor is already dying down on its own. No need for me to get involved. If you just leave it be, it’ll disappear."

"I hope so."

"Hehehe, but you’ll probably be linked with Merida for a month or two, just for fun," Dick said, nudging Simon’s arm. "If it were true, you’d be a hero to all the guys. Simon, the legend!"

"...Please keep your voice down." Simon glanced around nervously, afraid someone might overhear.

Meirin, still clutching her cushion, looked worried.

"But Simon, why are you suddenly involved with Merida?"

"We were assigned as partners for the upcoming dispatch mission."

"Oh?" Dick’s interest was piqued again. "Wow! Then maybe that rumor could become a reality at your destination..."

A heavy thwack resounded as Meirin clocked him in the back of the head with her cushion, sending him flying.

"I’m glad it’s finally decided, Simon!" Kamibarez said brightly. "Where are you being sent?"

"Ah, about that." Simon scratched the side of his head and glanced at Meirin. "The Ivory Tower."

"Huh?" Meirin looked completely surprised.

Simon explained the situation.

"...The Festival of Time. Right. It is about time for that to start," she mused.

"You know about it?"

"What do you think? I’m from the Ivory Tower, of course I know! I’ve even been inside a few times."

From her description, it didn’t sound like a particularly dangerous place. Of course, Meirin had been young at the time and hadn’t even awakened her core, so she had mostly stayed on the lower, safer levels. She admitted she had no idea what the upper floors were like.

"A place where the continent’s time flows... how amazing! I want to go there someday!" Kamibarez said, flapping her little wings excitedly.

"I’m jealous," Dick grumbled. "Some people get sent to the desert for their dispatch, and others get to go enjoy a festival? Talk about unfair." 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

As they chatted, Simon snuck a sideways glance at Meirin.

’From now on, this is a secret mission from headquarters, entrusted solely to you, the Student Council President.’

It was a top-secret assignment, one he couldn’t even mention to his friend from the Ivory Tower. This wasn’t a simple dispatch. Kizen headquarters had given the mission to Simon alone. In short, he was to acquire information and data from inside the Tower of Time—to act as a spy.

He had made one thing clear to the staff member.

"I know I’m not in a position to refuse, but I have no intention of getting involved in the power struggle between Kizen and the Ivory Tower."

"Oh, I see how you could misunderstand," the man had replied, his expression turning serious.

’This is a top-secret matter, so I can’t give you the details, but the peace of the continent is at stake.’

’What?’

’The Master of the Ivory Tower is plotting something.’

Simon replayed the conversation in his mind. Meirin truly seemed to have no idea. She knew about the festival, but she was completely unaware that he was being sent there.

However, there was one person who almost certainly knew.

’Something fun is about to happen.’

Serne Aindark. The official heir of the Ivory Tower, a member of the faction hostile to Kizen. And most importantly, the Tower Master was her adoptive father.

’Ugh, I really hope I haven’t gotten myself into something messy.’ Simon pressed his temples. All he wanted was to complete his mission, return safely, and finally learn how to create a Dullahan.

---

On the evening of the dispatch, Simon left the dormitory dressed in a tuxedo and bow tie. It had been a while since he’d dressed up. He’d slicked his bangs back to reveal his forehead and was breaking in a new pair of formal shoes.

[Kuhuhu! I am quite looking forward to this venture to the Ivory Tower!]

’I’m counting on you, Pier.’

To prepare for any contingency, he had decided to bring his Ancient Undead on this off-campus mission. Pier, Herseva, and Akemos would accompany him directly through his subspace. Erzebet was currently tailing White on his orders, but he could summon her with Herseva’s ability if the need arose. The Beast of Disease, Kal, was dissolved within Pier’s sword, and Prince could be summoned as long as there were zombies nearby. The entire 7th Legion could be mobilized at a moment’s notice.

His preparations complete, Simon stepped into a teleportation circle at Kizen.

He crossed through space and arrived.

"Ah."

A night sky, densely packed with stars, spread out above him. When he looked down, he was blinded by the city’s brilliant lights. He had been dropped into the heart of a metropolis. Towering structures stretched toward the heavens, each one seemingly trying to outdo the last, and the cacophony of the city was deafening.

Simon was stunned. ’The Ivory Tower is this developed?’

Most people on the continent pictured the Ivory Tower as a single, massive spire in a desolate field, home to eccentrics who did nothing but research. But the Tower’s technology had clearly spread far beyond its walls, giving rise to a sprawling urban center.

A train whooshed past, running through the city center. ’Amazing! A train, and this isn’t even the Holy Federation!’

Even in the age of necromancers, everyday items were still typically powered by mana: mana stones, mana screens, communication crystals, mana lamps, and so on. While Jet-Black-based items were superior in performance, their high cost was a major drawback, as there was no means of production more efficient than a necromancer’s own core. Mana-based items, on the other hand, could be mass-produced cheaply. The Ivory Tower must have amassed an incredible fortune with this technology.

’It’s pretty incredible.’ A city of wealth and cutting-edge technology that surpassed even Rengestian. That was Simon’s first impression. The architecture, the fashion of the people on the street—everything screamed affluence.

Enjoying the new environment, Simon unfolded a map under the glittering lights. ’It’ll take a while to walk to my destination.’

Since he was here, he decided to try the train. Not a regular one, but a special tourist train that only operated during the Festival of Time. He paid the rather steep price of 500 silver and boarded.

’Oh.’

The train moved at a leisurely pace. One of its walls was almost entirely glass, offering a spectacular panoramic view of the city at night.

"Welcome, tourists, to the Ivory Tower!" a guide announced in each car. "For over 2,000 years, the Ivory Tower has served as a pioneer, leading humanity..."

As he listened to the guide, Simon examined the photos and paintings on the train’s wall. Most were works celebrating the Ivory Tower’s long and storied history, including images of it standing proudly in jungles, deserts, and on glaciers. ’So they had outposts in places like this, too. Did they move around a lot in the past?’

Next to them was a rather amusing piece: a photograph of a naked, primitive-looking ape with its arm around a robed wizard, both of them smiling and flashing a V-sign. ’This is a bit of a stretch!’ Leaving aside the absurdity of an ape and a wizard taking a photo together, things like magic cameras didn’t even exist back then.

"Excuse me, this photo," another tourist piped up, voicing Simon’s exact thought. "Weren’t there no magic cameras in that era?"

The guide, however, didn’t seem the least bit flustered.

"In the ancient world," he answered gravely, "there existed a legendary magic system known as the ’Magical Civilization.’ These secret technologies, which cannot be analyzed even with modern knowledge..."

Whenever something seemed off, the guide would invoke the Magical Civilization to smooth it over. It was the ultimate fallback, a perfect explanation for any inconsistency. Still, looking at all the evidence, Simon began to wonder if it might have actually existed. ’Is that why the Ivory Tower was researching how to turn back time?’

After a pleasant bit of sightseeing, Simon finally arrived at his station. ’It probably would have been faster to walk.’ The tourist train had taken a slow, meandering route.

He unfolded his map again. Looking at the cityscape, two massive towers dominated the skyline. The smaller, white tower on the left was the current headquarters of the Ivory Tower. On the right stood the largest and tallest of them all, a faded gray spire known as the Old Tower, or the Tower of Time.

’So this is it.’

The place that had served as the Ivory Tower’s base for 1,700 of its 2,000-year history. The Tower of Time stood right before him.

A low hum seemed to emanate from the tower as an unknown energy swirled around its peak. A golden ribbon of power, much like Nephthys’s innate ability, coiled around the tower, disappearing into its structure before reappearing. What in the world was going to happen here? A pleasant thrill of anticipation ran through Simon as he walked forward.

"Hey, let us through!"

City carriages clattered to a halt in front of the Tower of Time. Gentlemen and ladies emerged one by one.

"Count and Countess Calvrine, confirmed," a butler announced at the entrance, checking the invitations. Behind him, armed soldiers stood guard. Security was tight.

’I made it, but...’

His partner, Merida, was nowhere to be seen. He had assumed they would leave Kizen together, but she had insisted on taking a different route, promising to arrive right on time. There was no sign of her.

Growing anxious, Simon scanned the area.

In the dark of night, he spotted a girl sitting on a bench under the soft glow of a streetlight. She wore a black, off-the-shoulder dress, and her face was one Simon knew all too well.

’Merida?’

She was on the bench, her head bobbing as she dozed off.