I Will Carry as an Academy Veteran

39

And the next day.

I found my way to hell.

“Ugh….”

“Ugh….”

Entering the Student Council room, I heard the silent cries of those buried under piles of documents.

“Amidst the clash of midterms and duties, have they forgotten they are human…”

Poor souls, may there never be a Student Council in my next life.

Leaving the pitiful students to fend for themselves, I headed towards the Student Council room.

“…What’s up, Adrian? Why are you here? You know this isn’t a place you can just waltz into, right?”

The Student Council President, with glasses perched on his nose.

The canary was stamping among the towering stacks of documents with a stern expression on their face.

Even with six cushions underneath, the stacks of documents were twice as high.

“…Don’t even dream of wandering around the student council just because you won the bet. It’s not like you can meet me without setting up an appointment months in advance.”

Of course.

There’s a reason why an outsider like me can freely enter the student council room.

It was one of the wishes I demanded as a reward for winning the bet against Schucross.

“If you want to talk to me, sit down and wait.”

“Do you need help?”

“No, I can’t risk giving you anything to handle, as the academy could turn into chaos.”

Canary said as they stamped the documents with a hefty seal.

“So, what brings you to me? Even if you defeated Daisy, if it’s a trivial matter, I’ll kick you out right away.”

“It’s not trivial.”

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Amidst the continuous sound of stamping.

I looked at Canary, who was stamping tirelessly, and said, “It’s about the Sports Festival.”

“Yes, I’m listening, go on.”

“They say the 5th Prince Lutellus is coming.”

“Yes, the 5th Prince Lutellus…”

She casually flipped through the papers.

“The 5th Prince?”

She paused.

“That’s correct.”

“Prince Lutellus?”

The stamp stopped, and her eyes met mine.

She immediately furrowed her brows.

“Him… Why is he coming here? He said he’d never return to this trashy academy when he graduated.”

Hmm.

Was that the setup?

Quite intriguing.

Then Canary looked at me sharply and asked, “And where did you get this information?”

She looked at me from her high seat.

“Adrian, no matter how much you’ve changed, you’re just a commoner now. Information like that about royalty isn’t easily obtainable. Do you understand the weight of mentioning royalty?”

Well.

I expected this kind of response.

Honestly.

Can’t she trust me at all?

I thought winning the bet had built some trust, but it seems I still have a long way to go.

In that case.

“Write an ‘order’ to confirm with me. ‘Is the source of information not illegal?’ And ‘Is Prince Lutellus really coming to Selenium?’ All of these will be judged by ‘magic’ for their truth.”

“…Well, then. [Order: Grant: False Detection].”

Soon, a disturbing sense of magic enveloped me.

[The dignity of lineage… is wavering?]

[Accepting the owner’s will and calming down!]

[The dignity of lineage says it will give ‘orders’ a pass this time!]

“How is it?”

“Hmm.”

She blinked with surprised eyes.

Hmm.

I understand without words.

* * *

She took a sip of tea and let out a deep sigh.

“…I understand. It’s all true.”

“I didn’t say it wasn’t.”

“But we’ll send the information to the sources for cross-verification later. If even a single lie is detected, severe punishment will be imposed. Deceiving the Student Council is a serious offense!”

Hmm.

Since it’s the truth anyway, there’s no point in resisting.

“Do as you wish.”

“Alright, then… Hmm, during the Sports Festival period, the royal family will visit… Yes. There will be more to prepare. Hmm, moving forward, we will have an additional 3-day night shift for everyone here, and Daisy will also temporarily handle office work at the leadership office… Hmm.”

“Are you okay?”

“I seem… hmm!”

As the incessant blinking continued, her complexion turned pale.

“Is there so much work to handle in a day?”

“With hundreds of reports coming in daily, well, hundreds are actually on the lower side. Hmm, in addition, during the Sports Festival preparation period, the Student Council executives need to personally inspect the venue. Hmm, hmm… Hmm!”

“Have some water.”

“Oh, thank you.”

The Student Council President, after drinking the water I offered, finally looked a bit more relaxed.

“Shouldn’t external inspections be entrusted to others?”

“Hmm, we have a duty to ensure the event proceeds safely. Can we trust outsiders?”

Hmm.

As Salenium was the Empire’s top academy, it was natural for people to be envious and suspicious.

From journalists lurking around looking for any gossip that could tarnish Salenium’s reputation…

To individuals from other academies eyeing to snatch even a single talent from Salenium…

There were even those from the ‘shadows’ who would secretly take away expelled students.

But if the prince were to appear at the Sports Festival, and they were to face the royal family unprepared?

Not only Salenium’s honor but also the Student Council’s reputation would suffer.

Given Salenium’s nature where everything had to be handled by students without professors’ interference, it was understandable why the Student Council was so sensitive.

I turned to the Canary with a stern expression.

“Well, we can’t trust outsiders. But can’t we trust insiders?”

“What?”

I opened my mouth again towards her, who seemed to not understand English.

“I’m suggesting that we assign the inspection to other students like a commission, receive the reports, and then pay them some compensation.”

“Huh?”

Canaria’s stamp stopped.

After pondering for a moment, she spoke up.

“…Hmm, that’s an interesting idea, isn’t it? Since we’ll be selecting only the good reports to review anyway, there’s no chance of choosing inappropriate places. By doing so, we can prevent executives from trying to escape under the pretext of student council inspection and give them more work. It’s actually a pretty good suggestion.”

Hmm.

It felt like a tremendous wave of magic just passed beneath the floor with those words.

“…Alright, then, got it.”

She snapped her fingers and said, “I’ll say it again, I’ll personally look into the matter of the 5th Prince separately.”

And then a moment of silence.

After a brief moment of contemplation, she continued speaking.

“If it turns out to be true even after verification… I’ll have to prepare for the ceremony. And we’ll conduct inspections of the tournament venue and such in a commission format… To be honest, thanks, Adrian. Thanks to you, I’ll have more time to prepare and work more efficiently.”

Seeing her even saying thank you, she seemed quite satisfied.

I opened my mouth towards her.

“As a reward for providing information and solutions, I have one request.”

At my words, the student council president pushed up his glasses on his nose, crossed his legs, and straightened his back.

“Oh, negotiating with the student council president on a student matter? Go ahead, say it.”

I mentioned the terms of the deal, and Canaria nodded.

“Alright, that’s acceptable. I agree.”

“And there’s one more thing.”

“…Go on. But remember, just by what you’ve said already, you’re already pushing the limits of my authority.”

Well, it’s not about authority.

It was a simple matter anyway.

“I’d like to be allowed to participate in the first event of the Athletic Festival, the ‘1 Kilometer Flag Snatching Race.'”

“…”

Canaria, the student council president, stared at me without a word, eyes wide open.

“What?”

“Why are you so surprised?”

“Oh, no… Well, did something change in your mindset?”

What’s with that?

The reason I want to participate in the ‘1 Kilometer Flag Snatching Race’ is to win first place here to increase my stamina by 1.

Right now, the most important thing for me is stamina, not muscle power or magic power.

You need stamina to do the most basic activities.

And when Prince Lutellus comes, I’ll have to do some engraving as well.

The ‘1 Kilometer Flag Snatching Race’ is the honorable first match of the Athletic Festival, you see.

“Adrian, you won’t hold me responsible even if I get injured, or, or die, right?”

“If you get hurt there, isn’t that your own fault? And you won’t die because of protective magical equipment.”

“….Huh? Did I, did I not warn you? Did I not give you a warning?”

Why is he so flustered like this?

“So, is the deal done?”

“[Decree: Granted: Deal Established]. Done. Our deal is now bound by magic.”

As she spoke, she felt magic enveloping her entire body.

Just as she was about to rise from her seat, she hesitated and said,

“…Really, even if something happens, it won’t be my fault, right?”

No, you won’t die.

* * *

Walking outside with the Student Council, I could feel it once again.

After the exams, the atmosphere in Salenia was truly peaceful.

The midterms were over, the finals were far away, and what was coming up was the Sports Festival.

Of course, even in such an atmosphere, there were people who didn’t get swept away and instead trained themselves… but most just went along with the flow, wandering around and enjoying short breaks.

Yes.

Wandering around.

There are monsters wandering around in this world.

“Something else again.”

“Is that something I need to say?”

While walking, I unexpectedly ran into Evelyn, who was wearing gym clothes instead of the school uniform.

“But why are you alone? Don’t you have a friend to walk with?”

“I-I do have friends! I was just on my way to the training grounds!”

“Good to hear.”

“W-What’s good about it!”

Evelyn clenched her fist, took a deep breath, and then shot me a fierce look.

“Since we’ve met, let me ask, how did the exams go? By the way, I maintained my top spot with 5 consecutive wins.”

“I got perfect scores in all subjects except one.”

“What…?”

What’s going on?

She looks like the world is falling apart.

“Lies… It can’t be true, right? Weren’t you the one who threw the book into the garden because you refused to attend the etiquette class with the family tutor? And didn’t the head butler mention a disciplinary warning from last semester?”

No way, is my reputation that tarnished?

I retorted nonchalantly.

“Tsk, if you don’t believe me, ask the professors at the Department of Magic.”

“Eh, eh, eh, eh!”

Steam rose from Evelyn’s head.

“I also saw your match with Erhan. I thought you would lose miserably, but I must admit, you did quite well.”

At my words,

Evelyn’s shoulders trembled.

“Even if I receive your praise, I’m not happy at all! You’re the villain I must defeat!”

“But it will be me who becomes the victor.”

“Are you even listening?!”

I passed by Ebnyss without saying a word.

“Oh, Adrian. Just a moment!”

Ebnyss followed me, speaking with a voice full of dissatisfaction.

“The athletic festival is coming up soon, right? I’ll crush it perfectly there, so wait for me.”

“What if we end up on the same team?”

“T-then… um…”

Looks like I didn’t think about that.

Ebnyss, who had been lost in thought for a moment with his chin in his hand, raised his head confidently after a brief pause.

“I’ll crush it based on my personal ranking!”

Yes.

Go ahead.