Chapter 47
The impression that something was dazzlingly glamorous and bright, and had made my parched heart flutter just a little, didn’t even last five minutes.
“The professors all go on grandly about how our Four Seasons Council is, like, the top students protecting the academy’s traditions and discussing the future and all that—but”
The student council president sitting across from me, Senior Seraphina, stretched gracefully.
“Hmm, honestly, it’s nothing special. It’s basically just a social get-together held twice a year to let people outside the academy know we’re doing well.”
President Seraphina let out a quiet laugh and continued.
“So all we have to do is kill time a bit, go out there, and smile, saying, ‘We had a very useful and pleasant discussion.’”
That didn’t seem to be the president’s opinion alone, either.
Senior Miriel across from me was just savoring fragrant tea, and Senior Gaios was focused solely on tending to the blade with his sword drawn.
Suddenly, this gathering... started looking incredibly trivial.
No, if that was the case, why the hell had they dragged me here by force.
I’d have been much better off sleeping a little longer instead.
On the other hand, I did feel a tiny bit of kinship with the people seated here.
I wanted to offer some modest comfort to the others who’d been dragged here against their will like me...
...Wait. Senior Miriel and the president don’t really look like they were dragged here against their will, do they?
If anything, they came here of their own accord.
“Haaam...”
Unable to stand the boredom, I made a suggestion with a long, drawn-out yawn.
“Um... now that we’ve all seen each other’s faces, and it doesn’t look like we have much to say, why don’t we just wrap this up and head back?”
“That won’t do, Lunaris.”
Senior Miriel set down her teacup and let out a chuckle.
“Still, now that we’ve gathered, we have to at least ‘propose’ something.”
“Isn’t it a little much to force an issue when there’s nothing in particular to propose?”
At my words, the president smiled as if troubled.
“I think so too, but the problem is these automatically generated meeting minutes.”
“...Huh?”
“The summary of what we discuss here is seen by the Chancellor and the deans of your faculty. So, well, we have to at least pretend we’re having a meeting.”
Then even this kind of silly conversation gets recorded in the minutes?
But judging by how the other seniors don’t seem to care, it looks like only the important points are summarized.
Or maybe they just don’t care either way.
“If we’re short on ideas, I’ll go first as usual.”
Senior Miriel smiled brightly and continued.
“Don’t you think our Four Seasons Council regular meetings—twice a year—is too few? I’d like to increase them a little.”
Eek— she wants to have this annoying gathering even more often?
Absolutely not.
“I have to disagree with that.”
But before I could speak, Senior Gaios shook his head first.
As expected, he was the only ally I had here.
“Considering the weight of each and every motion brought up in the Four Seasons Council, holding meetings any more often would be an abuse of privilege.”
“My, Sir Gaios. In the end, only proposals that pass unanimously can exert any influence, so isn’t calling it an abuse of privilege a bit of a stretch?”
“Every topic brought up in the Four Seasons Council gets passed on through the minutes to the Chancellor and the deans of your faculty, doesn’t it?”
In the end, Senior Gaios said with a resolute expression that the people above us inevitably influence how the academy is run, whether we realize it or not.
“So our meetings have to be cautious.”
“Then shall we have informal gatherings more often?”
As expected, Senior Miriel, who had a sharp temper, didn’t back down at all.
“I think we need to get a little closer.”
“...In any case, once we graduate and leave Elterion Academy, these connections will just turn awkward.”
“Oh my, Sir Gaios. If anything, once you leave the academy is when the real thing begins. You could say the school ties that bind you are just as strong as blood ties.”
I never thought blood ties, regional ties, and school ties would be terms that still held up in this fantasy world too.
By the way, Senior Miriel really is impressive when you look at her.
It feels like she’s already stocked her little fishpond with nothing but premium catches, male and female alike; if she keeps adding more connections there, can she even handle it? Just thinking about it is exhausting.
“Hmm~ The idea of becoming closer itself is certainly a good one, though.”
The president stepped in to mediate with an awkward smile.
“It’s probably hard for everyone to set aside separate time. I’m busy with student council work as usual, and Miriel, you’re always in the Government Affairs Salon during work hours, aren’t you?”
“Time is something you make, President Seraphina. Early mornings or late nights.”
“Haha. Well, as you say, if we really wanted to, we could make time...”
The president’s bright yellow eyes slid toward me.
“That’s sleeping time.”
I shot back as if I’d been waiting for that.
I even threw in a refreshing yawn.
“Looks like there’s one person here who’ll oppose it no matter what, so this motion is rejected.”
The president laughed as if she’d expected as much.
“More than that, is there really any need to set a separate date? If our paths happen to cross and our schedules line up, can’t we just meet then?”
“...I can guarantee it. There won’t be a single appointment scheduled before I graduate from the academy.”
Senior Miriel grumbled in displeasure.
Of course.
“Let’s meet sometime” is the same as “It was nice meeting you, and let’s leave out meeting again because it’s a hassle.”
Its sister phrase is “Let’s grab a meal sometime.”
“If nothing else, there’s also a way for Lunaris and you to join the student council, Miriel.”
The president tapped the table with her finger and made the joking suggestion.
“Then we’d be able to stay together all day during work hours. And getting closer to me or Lunaris would be a bonus. Hmm? What do you think?”
“I’ll pass.”
Even the mighty Senior Miriel seemed completely against joining the student council and quickly shook her head.
“I’m not nearly qualified enough to join the student council.”
“There’s no need to be so formal with us. You can just be honest.”
The president burst out laughing, saying that if even being the top student of a year wasn’t enough, who in the world could join the student council?
“Well, leaving that aside.”
Then she turned back to me.
“Lunaris, do you have anything you’d like to suggest?”
“...Me?”
“Why, something that’s been inconvenient, or something you’d like changed.”
“There are too many to count.”
“Well, you’ve only been at the academy for three months, so I don’t really know... huh? Too many...?”
The president tilted her head to the side.
“First of all, the maids—especially the maids assigned to Linea Hall—seem to have far too much authority. The issue of student rights violations is way too serious.”
I took this chance to pour out all the grievances I’d built up until now.
“We need to introduce a minimum sleep guarantee system. Not getting enough sleep during a growth phase is a huge problem.”
“W-wait... wait just a second...”
“At this rate, it’ll seriously cause problems for the Empire’s average height. So at the very least, they should let us sleep twelve hours.”
Having firmly seized the floor, I rattled off my complaints in a torrent.
“More than anything, forcing lecture attendance is the biggest problem. Isn’t it enough to just not go and lose points?”
“Uuuh... Lunaris?”
“If students are supposed to take responsibility for their own grades, I don’t understand why you need to force behavior on us.”
Come to think of it, students are ‘customers’ who pay tuition and school fees.
Isn’t it weird to be treated like this?
“What? You’re saying I shouldn’t say that while on a full scholarship?”
I never asked for a scholarship. More than that, I didn’t even want to come to the academy.
After I poured out everything I’d been keeping inside, the president touched her forehead and shook her head helplessly.
“Hmm... there are so many things to push back on that... I’m not even sure where to start...”
I yawned lazily and waited for the president’s next words.
Was she going to try to persuade me with a boring, highbrow speech?
I was ready to rebut it properly.
But at that moment, someone completely unexpected cut in.
“If you want freedom, all you have to do is become the best at the academy.”
It was Senior Gaios, who until just before that—and even now—was still leisurely tending to his sword.
“...Huh?”
“The means and methods don’t matter. Whether you gain favor with the students and professors like Miriel, or build influence within the academy like Seraphina.”
Senior Gaios sheathed his sword again and continued.
“If you become the best in even one field, then you’ll be able to do whatever you want. In your case, that would be brute force, I suppose.”
The senior looked into my eyes for a moment and gave a faint smile.
“If you had power that no one in the academy could approach, then you could do whatever you wanted, couldn’t you?”
“So... you’re saying it would be enough if I could crush all the maids, professors, and everyone else?”
Siiigh— that’s a little rough.
...Of course, it’s not impossible.
“Why go through the trouble of using your body at all? That’s a pain.”
Senior Gaios snorted with laughter.
“Why not join the Imperial Mage Corps? Ever since my entry into the Imperial Knights was confirmed, nobody’s touched me.”
...Ah, that’s a bit...
“I hear your patron, Deputy Director Albert, has been constantly sending you invitations.”
“Applying to some place where I’d have to rot for forty years just to enjoy four easy years is a bit...”
“Really? Then you should at least aim for the Sword Master title. No, in your case, the Archmage title.”
At that level, even just the honor that comes with the title would mean no one at the academy could treat you lightly.
“...Hmm.”
That doesn’t sound bad.
“Isn’t this kind of like waking a sleeping dragon?”
“Anyone who can get motivated by this little was already motivated to begin with.”
At the president’s words, Senior Gaios replied indifferently.
It certainly seems quite feasible.
I already kind of found a clue when I pushed magic beyond its limits against the magitech golem a little while ago.
...Ah, right. Come to think of it, the magitech golem matter probably should be shared with these people.
“Something just occurred to me. It’s not so much that it was inconvenient as that I feel like I should mention it...”
“Hmm?”
“A while back, there was that incident with the magitech golem, right?”
“Ah, that time.”
Senior Miriel abruptly cut me off.
“It was quite a hassle. For Lunaris, and for me too.”
“It’s an incident the student council has been keeping a close eye on.”
The president said with a serious expression.
“We’re handling the fallout based on testimony that the blueprint came from an outside sponsor. We’ll need to review the sponsorship system and the regulations on outsider access. But why?”
I scratched my head and said in a flat voice.
“The magitech golem blueprint turned out to be a dangerous one.”
At my words, Senior Gaios narrowed his eyes and asked back.
“What do you mean? Was there some kind of coded phrase hidden in the blueprint?”
“It wasn’t anything major, but if the core had been completed properly according to the blueprint, the golem would have kept endlessly absorbing mana from the air... and I think mana-depletion desertification would have spread across the entire Empire.”
“...!”
“So, in other words, someone with malicious intent seems to have planted a very carefully prepared trap... or maybe they were aiming so high they tore the paper.”
As I kept talking, I could see the three of them growing more and more rigid.
Senior Miriel froze, teacup still in hand.
Senior Gaios gripped his sword tightly.
The one who showed the most intense reaction was none other than President Seraphina.
Her usual relaxed expression was gone, and she was staring straight at me with eyes wide.
“Huh? Why do all of you look so serious?”
“U-uh... Lunaris.”
The president called my name with a heavy sigh.
“Something that important... you should have said it right when the meeting started...?”