Knox, Simon, and Rick arrived just in time.
Unlike the stiff atmosphere of the first lecture, the classroom felt noticeably looser now. Students chatted freely, already settling into small groups formed over the course of the morning.
Just as Rick had mentioned, four boys were clustered around Hector, laughing loudly at something only they seemed to find amusing.
When Simon passed by, the laughter stopped.
"Oh look," one of them sneered. "The special entry number one."
"Biggest joke in Kizen's history."
"How the hell did a guy like that beat Serene, Chatel, and Lorain?"
The mockery was blatant.
Hector, seated at the center of the group, didn't join in. He merely glanced at Simon—briefly, dismissively—before turning his head away.
Then—
"Pfft."
A short laugh cut through the air.
Not loud. Not exaggerated. But unmistakably amused.
Hector's group stiffened. They turned toward the source of the sound, irritation already on their faces—only for it to drain instantly.
Knox Aznable.
"Haha, sorry, sorry," Knox said lightly. "I just couldn't help it after hearing that."
The four boys swallowed.
Knox tilted his head, smiling pleasantly.
"So you just called Simon the biggest joke in Kizen?"
He tapped his chin, as if thinking.
"That's interesting. Simon was personally chosen by Nefthis, you know."
The smile didn't change. "Does that mean you were mocking her judgment just now?"
Color drained from their faces. One of them even opened his mouth, then closed it again.
Hector felt the situation slipping and finally tried to speak—
Only to be cut off.
"Also," Knox continued casually, his gaze shifting toward Hector, "I think Simon still did better than your leader over there. Don't you?"
The classroom had gone quiet.
"I mean," Knox went on, voice almost cheerful, "people already understand Simon's a beginner. That much is obvious."
He gestured lazily with one hand. "But your master? He couldn't even make his opponent budge—no matter how many times he cast his curse."
Knox smiled. "And then he went down in one hit."
"Face first."
"Even kissed the floor."
The words landed softly. The humiliation didn't.
Hector's forehead throbbed.
The four boys felt their earlier confidence shrivel into pure regret. Their mockery had rebounded—and hit their leader instead.
Knox looked genuinely thoughtful with a smile.
"Come to think of it… doesn't that also qualify as making history? The biggest joke in Kizen?"
His smile was innocent.
"YOU—!"
Hector slammed his hand against the desk and surged to his feet.
Knox didn't flinch. "Hm?" he asked mildly. "Why so angry~?"
"You should be proud."
"You made history."
He clapped slowly. "First student since Kizen was founded to be defeated by a single curse and end up looking like a clown~."
Clap. Clap. Clap.
The sound echoed unpleasantly.
The four boys wished—desperately—that they could rewind time and shut their mouths earlier.
"Still angry?" Knox asked.
Then—
He vanished.
Before anyone could react—before Hector's mind could even process what had happened—Knox was suddenly behind him.
Two fingers were raised, pressed near Hector's neck in the shape of a blade.
Knox's voice dropped.
"I hear that when pet dogs cause trouble," he said quietly, "the owner has to take responsibility."
His eyes were cold.
"So leash them properly."
"Or rein them in yourself."
"Hector Moore."
Hector froze.
Every instinct screamed at once.
Danger. Death.
His anger evaporated, replaced by a bone-deep chill that locked his body in place.
Knox leaned closer, his voice low and flat.
"You overestimate yourself, Hector Moore," he said quietly.
"Just because your family's unique power lets you turn into some kind of death dragon…tsk."
His eyes narrowed.
"Compared to the rest of your bloodline, you're still just a hatchling."
A pause. "In my eyes?" You're nothing more than a lizard."
"…A winged lizard."
Hector's breath hitched.
Knox straightened slightly.
"So don't cross the line," he continued, tone cold and absolute.
"Know your place."
His fingers withdrew from Hector's neck.
Then—
He was gone.
Before anyone could blink, Knox reappeared beside Simon and Rick.
The pressure vanished.
Only then did the classroom remember how to breathe.
Simon and Rick finally turned toward him, still stiff.
Knox tilted his head, smiling as if nothing had happened.
"Hm? What's wrong?" he said lightly.
"Oh—just so you know, no matter how handsome I am, I still like girls~"
The absurdity hit like a release valve.
Rick snorted and smacked Knox's shoulder.
"You scoundrel."
Simon shook his head, a small smile tugging at his lips.
The three of them took their seats—right near the group of girls from earlier: Jamie, Claudia, Cindy, and Merida.
Around them, the classroom slowly returned to motion.
But inside—
Jamie:
Wow… Knox's face just now was really cool.
Her heart jumped before she could stop it.
What do I do? My ideal type is someone like Hector…
And yet—
Seeing Hector get humiliated like that, she felt nothing. No pity. No regret.
Only one thought lingered stubbornly in her mind.
Knox is really cool.
She quickly averted her gaze when she realized she'd been staring, only to sneak glances at him again a moment later.
Claudia:
She pressed a hand lightly against her chest.
So even someone that gentle… has a side like that.
Her heartbeat felt strangely unsteady.
Cindy:
Whoa. She barely restrained herself from saying it out loud.
He froze the whole room with just a few words! She flashed Knox a subtle thumbs-up.
Merida:
"…Not bad," she thought, eyes half-lidded.
Then, without hesitation—
But my big brother is still way better. No comparison needed. No doubt allowed.
In her world, her brother stood at the absolute peak—and no one else came close.
After the three of them took their seats, Rick leaned closer and said quietly,
"Don't mind them, Simon."
At that, the four Musketeer girls glanced over at him.
Simon didn't react.
He simply sat down, his expression blank, and pulled his Summonology textbook from his bag.
"I'm looking forward to it."
"…Huh?" Rick blinked.
"The Summonology class."
Simon's eyes sparkled faintly.
He didn't need to be told to ignore others. He genuinely hadn't been paying attention to them in the first place.
Seeing that, Rick let out a short laugh.
Knox, however, grinned.
"Simon," he said lightly, "those pervert eyes of yours just came out again~"
"Rein them in a little, will you?"
The reaction was immediate.
One sleeping Musketeer didn't budge in the slightest, but the other three broke into soft laughter at the exchange.
"Knox!" Simon protested, his face heating up.
Knox just laughed.
Soon after, the bell rang, signaling the start of class.
The students quickly returned to their seats.
Step.
Step.
Dragging footsteps echoed from the hallway outside.
So far, every professor—from Bahil Amagar of Katarology to the others—had been overwhelming in their own way. Sharp, intimidating, impressive enough to leave jaws hanging open.
Naturally, anticipation filled the room.
Who's next?
Click.
The classroom door opened. A man in his early thirties stepped inside.
His hair looked like he'd just rolled out of bed. A patchy stubble clung to his jaw, clearly untouched by a razor for days. He wore a loose shirt, shorts—and worn-out slippers.
Simon blinked.
…Did some random guy from the neighborhood wander in by mistake?
Knox, on the other hand, smiled faintly. He already knew that this messy appearance was Aaron's usual state.
The rest of the students shared Simon's confusion. After seeing nothing but neatly dressed, sharp-looking professors all day, this was… jarring.
The man dragged his slippers across the floor and stopped at the podium.
"I'm Aaron Deia," he said.
"I'll be teaching Summonology this semester."
His drowsy voice echoed lazily through the classroom.
Aaron turned toward the chalkboard and wrote a single word.
Summonology
One hand stayed in his pocket while the other moved slowly across the board. His posture radiated complete disinterest in just about everything, that seemed to be part of his charm.
And yet, strangely enough, a few female students were already whispering to each other, faces faintly flushed. Then, as if remembering something, their eyes drifted toward Knox.
The change was immediate. The blush deepened—not out of excitement, but realization. Whatever charm they thought they'd noticed before suddenly felt shallow in comparison.
Aaron set the chalk down and spoke again.
"Summonology is the root of necromancy. You could even say it is the history of necromancy itself."
He gave a gloomy smile.
"Scholars don't like to admit it, but our origins trace back to gravekeepers, tomb robbers, and corpse fetishists."
A ripple of unease passed through the room.
"Anyway," Aaron continued, unfazed, "you've probably heard plenty about Summonology. That it's outdated. Underappreciated. Hard to study. And full of limitations."
Several students nodded instinctively.
"All those things you've heard…"
Simon felt his heart begin to pound.
"…Most of them are true."
"…?!"
Simon stared.
Did this summoning professor really just say that?
Knox merely nodded, as if this was exactly what he'd expected.
Aaron went on, still half-asleep.
"In your previous classes, I'm sure the professors went on and on about how great their field is, and why you should choose it."
He shrugged. "I'm against that. I believe students should understand both the advantages and the drawbacks before making decisions."
He turned back to the board and picked up the chalk again. Quills rustled as students prepared to take notes.
"First drawback of Summonology."
Simon gave a wry smile.
Starting with the negatives, huh…
"Summonology is expensive."
The chalk tapped against the board.
"I'm not exaggerating. No matter how much you imagine it costs, the real number is worse."
The classroom fell silent.
"The cost of materials in Summonology alone can exceed the combined expenses of all your other classes."
Aaron glanced over the room.
"Think about it. Are you going to murder someone every time you need a skeleton or a zombie? Raid villages? Hunt animals and slaughter them one by one?"
He shook his head.
"No. Modern necromancers use specially treated corpses—Skeleton Sets, pre-prepared bodies for zombification. And even then, most undead are disposable."
Several students' expressions darkened. The commoners, especially, looked uneasy.
Knox simply leaned back, relaxed.
Money really does solve most problems, he thought with mild amusement.
"There are plenty of cases where the reward from a mission doesn't even cover what you spent fighting it," Aaron continued.
"If you're planning to major in Summonology, forget about making money."
He paused.
"Now, the second drawback."
Aaron wrote again.
High dependency on summoned creatures
"This one should be obvious," he said. "Summonology is a field where you fight through your summons."
He circled the word dependency several times.
"If your summoned creature is destroyed, your combat power drops by more than eighty percent."
"…"
"Nowadays, people prefer heavily modified, semi-permanent undead over disposable ones. But what happens if that undead is destroyed in a real battle?"
Aaron's lips curled slightly. "While your classmates are opening their maps and planning tactics, you'll be sitting on the sidelines, sucking your fingers because you lost your summon."
Simon felt increasingly dumbfounded.
Is this guy really a summoning professor…?
"And this ties directly back to the first drawback."
Aaron drew a line from dependency to expensive.
"If you lose your main summon, you take a devastating hit—both in combat power and finances. You'll spend ages just gathering the resources to recover."
A heavy silence settled over the classroom.
"And finally," Aaron said, smiling faintly as he wrote again,
"the third drawback."
He turned to face the students.
"This one's the most important."
He tapped the board once.
"Summonology is weak against priests."
————————————
Character Voicelines · Knox: About Shadow Summoning
Knox: Although I do feel a bit of disdain toward raising shadow summons from human corpses… that doesn't mean I won't do it, you know~
Knox: Hmm. But that makes me wonder… if a human could transform into a dragon, then died while still in that form—would the body still count as a human corpse~? (´◕ ω ◕｀)