At the farthest corner of the academy grounds.
If you glance around, you might even doubt if this is the right path, but if you follow the faint, blurry trail, you’ll suddenly come face-to-face with a stone building that seems to pop out of nowhere.
Despite being tucked away in a remote spot, the building had a surprisingly sleek design. Though it was only a single-story structure, its height and scale made it hard to believe it was just one floor.
And this building was none other than the Student Council Hall, where the Student Council carried out their activities.
There’s another one closer to the center of the grounds, but that one’s smaller and mostly used for administrative purposes, so it’s usually empty. This one, though, out in the boonies, is the main hub.
As Seria and I stepped inside, we were greeted by a group of people sitting around a large circular table, as if they’d been waiting for us. The two empty seats made it pretty clear they’d prepared for our arrival.
“Welcome. We’ve saved you seats, so take a seat.”
A black-haired woman sitting at the center of the table smiled faintly and gestured for us to sit.
There was no mistaking who she was. In this world, black hair mostly belonged to those from the northern regions, and within the academy, black-haired individuals were as rare as hen’s teeth.
Alkiné Devaran. A duke’s daughter from the north. And the current Student Council President of the academy.
At this point in time, she was the most powerful force within the academy, and there was something about her gaze that made you feel inexplicably overwhelmed.
Seria hesitated for a moment, but since I’d seen this kind of thing way too many times in games, I wasn’t particularly impressed. I just casually walked over and took a seat.
Seeing me sit down, Seria quickly filled the remaining empty seat. After glancing around at everyone, the Student Council President—Alkiné—spoke up.
“Thank you all for gathering here. Especially Seria and Rudion. It must’ve been sudden, but you managed to find your way here just fine.”
Her speech was oddly formal for her age, but the air of authority she exuded made the awkwardness of her tone fade away.
But… I knew that stiff way of speaking was all part of her act.
She was trying to emulate her father, whom she deeply admired, but deep down, she was a delicate, sensitive girl who took after her mother.
…Why is it that the strongest characters in this world all have such a gap between their outer and inner selves?
Seria, who looks like a cold, aloof beauty but has the soul of a bespectacled bookworm.
Lilith, who appears to be a benevolent saintess but actually has a fiery, aggressive personality.
And Alkiné, who radiates the dignity of a monarch but secretly collects cute plushies by her bedside…
From where I’m standing, whoever wrote these character settings was definitely a pervert.
“Rudion was pretty good at finding his way. It seems like everyone was waiting, so it’s a good thing we weren’t late thanks to him.”
“Honestly, I thought he wouldn’t be able to find his way, so I was about to send the vice president… But I guess he knows the academy’s layout surprisingly well?”
Well, that was obvious. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say he had memorized every location in the game.
Still, it was a bit odd how he found the Student Council Hall, which has a somewhat hidden vibe, right away. It could easily come off as suspicious.
“Well, it’s not like the path is completely nonexistent, so it’s not impossible to find.”
Luckily, she didn’t seem too bothered by it.
“Then… let’s not waste any more time and get straight to the point.”
Alkiné said that and began explaining what they do.
It wasn’t anything too complicated, but to summarize, it went something like this:
There are a few places in Rubetia where Rifts occur, and surprisingly, one of them is on the academy grounds.
And while such places are usually strictly monitored and managed at the national level, the academy’s Rift is handled by the Student Council.
Those two points were the core of the explanation.
Finally, she emphasized how important the Student Council is, saying it’s a group that only the most talented individuals can join, and that we should be proud to have been called here.
After pouring out all that information like a speech, Alkiné seemed a bit parched and asked the vice president standing by her side for a glass of water.
“Yes, President! I’ll be right back!”
Wow, she really is the vice president. How is her running speed almost the same as my dash-cancel speed?
Anyway, Alkiné’s explanation pointed to one thing:
She called Seria and me here because we’re overflowing with talent, and she wants to recruit us into the Student Council.
“Let me be blunt. I want both of you to join the Student Council.”
As expected, the first thing she said after downing the water the vice president brought was this.
But as if something was bothering her, she hesitated for a moment before carefully continuing.
“Honestly, this year, I only planned to recruit Seria into the Student Council. Like the other freshmen, you still have a lot of room to grow, but your potential is undeniable. But…”
Alkiné’s gaze turned toward me. The corners of her eyes curved slightly, and she had the expression of someone looking at something utterly desirable.
Knowing her possessive tendencies, it gave me the chills.
“I never imagined I’d be so impressed by the entrance exam.”
Because of that, we had to forcefully go through with an additional recruitment we hadn’t planned for. But… hmm.”
She let out a small sigh and turned her gaze back to me. “Even if you keep giving me those looks, nothing’s gonna come out of it, President.”
“I had only gotten everyone’s agreement in advance for Seria, so when I suddenly said we’d recruit Rudion too, there was quite a bit of backlash. So… um…”
Alkiné, who had been speaking, suddenly started acting out of character, hesitating and glancing at me nervously before struggling to continue. “I know it’s an unreasonable request, but… could you maybe show us a bit of your skills?”
It really was an unreasonable request. They had already dragged me, a new student who hadn’t even officially enrolled yet, all the way here, and now they were asking me to prove myself because some people doubted my abilities.
Well, I guess it made sense. She was the type of person who, driven by her determination to discover new talent, would watch the entire practical exam from start to finish. She probably wanted to keep me around, even if it meant making such a bold request.
But honestly… while this kind of thing might upset some people, I didn’t really care. In fact, it felt kind of nice that they were going out of their way to need me.
So, pretending to think it over, I casually glanced around at the Student Council members sitting at the table.
If there were people who’d argue against the President’s recruitment decision… it’d probably be them.
Cain, Golid, Grain. Out of the nine current Student Council members, these three were the ones who always opposed increasing the number of members for no good reason.
Of course, I knew why. It’s a bit complicated to explain, but… let’s just say Grain was the main cause.
Knowing their stance, I didn’t feel particularly resentful about their opposition. After all, they weren’t really trying to kick me out or anything.
Still, it was annoying that something that should’ve been straightforward had become so unnecessarily complicated.
On top of that, they kind of resembled that trio from that one anime where the detective shrinks after taking a pill—you know, the skinny guy, the big guy, and the tiny girl. It made them even more irritating to look at.
Maybe that’s why I felt like poking at them a bit.
Of course, if I did that, everyone here would probably wonder how I knew, but… a real man doesn’t care about that kind of thing.
“Senior Cain, Senior Golid, Senior Grain. Actually, Senior Grain’s in the scouting division, so let’s exclude him. How about I have a quick match with the two of you in front?”
After saying that in a tone that suggested I knew everything, I glanced around, and everyone looked shocked. Especially the three I mentioned—they froze up, clearly caught off guard.
And in the midst of that…
The one who was surprised was Alkiné.
“Did I… tell you who opposed it?”
“No, President! If you say it like that, it sounds like we’re admitting we opposed it!”
“Grain. As a senior, don’t show an embarrassing side to your juniors and just stay still.”
“No… sigh… fine. But, I don’t think Cain and Golid need to step in. I’ll handle it.”
At Grain’s sudden declaration, Alkiné was slightly taken aback.
“Are you sure that’s okay? But still, Cain or Golid could…”
“No. I’m enough. Even though I’m specialized in reconnaissance, do you think I’d lose to a freshman… or even someone who hasn’t even enrolled yet?”
At Grain’s insistence, Alkiné was momentarily speechless. Logically, it made sense, but she couldn’t give a definitive answer.
But if she avoided answering here, it was clear that Grain’s pride would take a huge hit, so she had no choice but to give a vague response that was neither positive nor negative.
“Well… logically, that doesn’t make sense.”
“Exactly, I’ll handle it. I need to teach that arrogant guy some discipline.”
“Alright. Hmm… so… make sure to go easy and not hurt him.”
Was that comment directed at Grain, or at me?
It seemed like her gaze landed on me at the end… but whatever, it didn’t matter. I didn’t have any means to hurt her anyway.
Similarly, she wouldn’t be able to lay a finger on me either, so Alkiné’s concern, no matter who it was directed at, really didn’t matter.
“There’s an open space behind the building that we use for training, so let’s head there.”
Following Alkiné’s guidance, we moved to a fairly wide open space. Seria and all the Student Council members trailed behind us.
And then, only Grain and I moved to the center of the plateau, maintaining a reasonable distance, and faced each other.
Grain’s intense glare pierced through me. It seemed like he didn’t like me, probably because of the blatant criticism.
“Alright, since this isn’t a serious duel, we’ll proceed without weapons, just hand-to-hand. It’s just a simple spar to gauge your skills, so keep it controlled.”
Alkiné’s voice signaled the start of the duel.
I didn’t plan to take it lightly, so I got into a serious stance.
Grain also seemed to take the duel seriously, not intending to completely underestimate me.
Seria and Alkiné, who had seen my practical exam firsthand.
The two who had opposed my recruitment along with Grain.
The rest of the Student Council members.
Under the watchful eyes of these three groups…
“Then, let’s begin.”
With Alkiné’s declaration, the duel began.
