Chapter 80

Amidst the excitement of the National Foundation Festival, the members of the Student Council were all lounging about with tired faces, taking a much-needed break.

“Ah, finally, we can relax a bit.”

“Yeah, this time it felt like everything overlapped, and I thought we were dead for sure.”

The Student Council members lamented over the grueling schedule.

With the Nikita incident and the absence of the Vice President.

Plus, the preparation for the National Festival.

And after that, there was the international academy individual exhibition.

The Student Council was getting hit by wave after wave of tasks.

So it was no surprise that even though rumors of unrest among the students were circulating, the Student Council couldn’t mobilize much.

They were too swamped and figured that students causing a big ruckus wouldn’t actually happen.

“By the way, where’s the President?”

“He said he’s going to check on the Student Council room.”

“Isn’t he just going to sleep in there again?”

“No way.”

The members of the Student Council didn’t seem to have much faith in their President.

Often, they asked for the Vice President Nikita’s opinion over Silvester, the President.

Perhaps that’s why Silvester was in such an untrustworthy position.

“Well, the President has worked hard for today.”

“That’s true.”

Despite being called incompetent, Silvester had been working hard since Nikita’s disappearance.

So the members of the Student Council weren’t trying to blame him too much.

“Dude, guys, check this out!”

Suddenly, a student dashed in, interrupting their rest.

They were confused for a moment as it was another member of the Student Council who came in.

But when they looked at the paper in his hand, everyone stood up.

[ The current Student Council is wrong. ]

A list of corruption and past actions committed by the Student Council.

Is the current Student Council truly right?

Underneath were numerous corrupt acts they had committed.

These were issues predating even Nikita’s time.

The Student Council had a long history intertwined with Jerion Academy.

So, naturally, over time, there were those within the Student Council who had engaged in unsavory activities.

However, during Nikita’s time as Vice President, such incidents had completely vanished, making the current Student Council unrelated to them.

But who knew if the current students would see it that way?

Especially since those involved included not just alumni but also currently serving professors, associate professors, and teaching assistants.

Wherever there are people, troublemakers are inevitable.

Even if the Student Council didn’t care, there were plenty of students who resented the professors and such.

Once even a single name was connected, the students’ anger would surely rain down upon the Student Council as a whole.

“Crap, this is incitement! We never did anything like this!”

“…This isn’t about our time. This is aimed at the Student Council, but also at Jerion Academy itself as a hotbed of corruption.”

One sharp student council member caught on to the underlying message in the paper.

“Moreover, this information is something only someone deeply familiar with the Student Council or the Academy would know.”

The perceptive student’s throat tightened.

“It just happened to explode during our time. Someone is set on uprooting the entirety of the Student Council and the corruption in Jerion Academy.”

In that moment, they all felt the weight of something immense looming.

A massive current they couldn’t change, being mere students.

“W-what do we do?”

“What do we do? This is…!”

“First, we have to retrieve that paper! We don’t know how we’ll be tied up if it stays like this!”

“But if we do that, it looks like we’re admitting our guilt, right?”

The students began to murmur among themselves.

Normally, there would be someone to lead in coordinating the response here, but there was no one capable available.

So the confusion in the Student Council only grew.

BOOM!

At that moment, a loud crash echoed in their ears.

It sounded like an explosion from a distance.

The sudden noise froze the Student Council members in place.

“What are you all doing here?!”

At that moment, the door swung open, and a boy with black hair burst in.

It was Hanon Irey.

“The Student Council room has been occupied by those shouting for a boycott!”

Upon hearing his shout, the council members’ eyes went wide.

No matter what, the occupation of the Student Council room couldn’t be left unchecked.

“Everyone, follow me! First, we retake the Student Council room!”

“These bastards are really going off script!”

“The Student Council is nothing but a joke.”

All the Student Council members rushed out in a hurry.

Once they dashed out, Hanon sighed.

He adjusted his wig slightly, feeling it was a bit cumbersome.

“I helped out, but I didn’t think it would escalate this much.”

Hanon Irey—his true identity was Hania Repidia disguised as Hanon.

After planning the boycott with Hanon, she had supported him and the boycott members while providing information.

Initially, Hania intended to lead the boycott herself, but after seeing how Hanon managed the group, she decided to step back.

It seemed wiser to leave it to Hanon.

‘Man, I have no idea what I’m doing.’

Hanon had a much deeper understanding of Jerion Academy than what Hania had gathered.

Hania had initially planned to address corruption in line with Iris’s wishes, but with Hanon’s involvement, it looked like they’d be pulling up even the dirtier secrets lurking within Jerion Academy.

No wonder Hanon suggested they should pave the way for new roots to take hold in the spot they had just uprooted.

This was under the 3rd Princess Faction’s initiative, who were excited about planting members of their faction into Jerion Academy.

So much so that Iris was praised by the Duke of Robliju.

Iris directed her compliments toward Hania.

She expressed her gratitude for everything Hania had done for her.

Receiving her gratitude was truly delightful.

However, the one orchestrating this whole thing was not Hania, but Hanon.

The one who deserved the gratitude was mistaken.

‘…I just wish I hadn’t asked her to keep this secret.’

Hania and Hanon had made a pact regarding this matter.

It was to keep Hania’s support of the operation a secret from Iris.

That’s likely why she felt uncomfortable even after receiving compliments from Iris.

Leeching off someone else’s effort was not Hania’s style.

“Hania.”

At that moment, Hania heard a voice calling her name.

Instinctively, she was about to turn her head, but stopped.

She was no longer Hania but Hanon.

Yet that voice had clearly called out to her.

In the quiet corridor, there was no one else around.

Following the voice that called her, Hania turned her gaze.

Standing there was a girl with honey-blonde hair.

Her crimson eyes sparkled with a smile, but for some reason, there was a chill in that smile.

“Hanon, where did that person go?”

Isabel Luna’s question sent a shiver down Hania’s spine instinctively.

Was Isabel always this eerie?

Back when Isabel tagged along with Hanon, she was as bright as a big golden puppy.

But now, there was nothing resembling that warmth in the current Isabel.

Even Hania felt a cold pressure thick enough to send chills up her spine.

“…I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m right here.”

Hania purposefully tried to play dumb.

But deep down, she didn’t believe Isabel would buy it.

As expected, Isabel showed no particular reaction to Hania’s attempt at deflection.

“Oh, right, it’s fine. I have a rough idea of where they are.”

Hania swallowed nervously.

Isabel turned her back on Hania.

Watching Isabel’s retreating figure, she seemed to recall something and spoke again.

“Oh, by the way, Hania, when that person is trying to play dumb, their eyebrows lift a bit more.”

Hania flinched at Isabel’s observation.

Isabel smiled innocently as if it were nothing serious.

“You should at least remember that much. After all, you’re playing the role of that person’s girlfriend. You should perform your duty properly, right?”

With that, Isabel turned and walked away.

As Hania stood there dumbfounded, sweat beaded on her brows as she pushed her hair back.

Though Hania usually managed her colorful language, at this moment, all she could think was,

“…Hanon, I think you’re screwed.”

She bit her lip tight and turned around to dash away.

“Geez, you’re such a handful!”

* * *

In the corridors near the main building, where even the professors were absent during the National Foundation Festival, ruckus echoed.

The noise came from the group occupying the Student Council room.

The Student Council members clashed with those who had returned to the main building.

Meanwhile, the boycott members were ransacking the Student Council and even the professors’ room for evidence of corruption.

“…What’s the reason behind all this?”

At that moment, a voice reached my ears.

Currently, I was in the Student Council room.

Moreover, I was in the form of Bickamon.

Just in case, I piled on another layer of shroud bandages around my original Bickamon appearance.

So while I looked like Bickamon, I was Bickamon dressed up with shroud bandages.

Thanks to that, the lightning scars on my body were hidden.

Beside me sat Silvester Drapen, bound and seated on the floor.

When asked why this was happening, the answer was simple: to move the story forward.

But of course, if I explained that, no one would understand.

“I’m just correcting what’s wrong.”

The Jerion Academy Student Council was fundamentally flawed.

And that wasn’t all.

Given its long history, Jerion Academy had unknowingly sprouted the seeds of corruption.

Sadly, stagnation inevitably leads to decay.

‘Initially, this academy was created by the sage Jerion to cultivate heroes, but over time, various issues arose internally.’

The corruption linked to the Student Council was the shadow of Jerion Academy.

And that multi-faceted issue called forth various problems.

‘The Evil Zone fits perfectly here.’

Upon hearing my lackluster response, Silvester scoffed.

“Bickamon.”

Silvester remembered me.

“Your actions won’t correct anything; you’ll just end up repeating the same mistakes.”

He was right.

Even if I replaced the corrupt professors, the new arrivals wouldn’t necessarily be any cleaner.

But I was confident.

The ones coming in as professors or associate professors this time would be the Duke of Robliju’s confidants.

They would focus on running Jerion Academy properly for a while.

The 3rd Prince Faction must show that they can run Jerion Academy better than the 1st Prince Faction.

So for the time being, they wouldn’t be able to run it any more cleanly than this.

‘What happens later, who knows.’

This affair provided me with an opportunity to root out the Evil Zone more effectively.

It was a tale that posed no disadvantage for me.

“Silvester, cut the nonsense.”

Just then, Silvester was interrupted by Rozamin, the boycott leader.

His eyes were blazing with anger as he glared at Silvester.

“What you said are just excuses. Don’t belittle those who want to change things after you stood by doing nothing!”

I was quite surprised.

Rozamin, who had shown a somewhat foolish demeanor at first, had grown as he committed himself wholeheartedly to the boycott.

He genuinely wanted to change Jerion Academy through this boycott.

More than that, he aspired to be one who corrects what’s wrong.

‘People can grow, can’t they?’

Originally, Rozamin was just meant to be a villain in Act 4, but now I saw a side of him I had never witnessed before.

“…Makes sense.”

Silvester, surprisingly, accepted Rozamin’s words easily.

“But sometimes, it’s better for the incompetent to remain silent.”

He said that with a sardonic smile.

BOOM!

At that moment, another explosion echoed from the main building.

This explosion was larger than the previous one.

Upon hearing this, Silvester gazed upwards with a displeased expression.

“If you’re going to interfere, then just target the Student Council.”

Silvester assumed he knew who would make a move next.

“No professor involved in this corruption would just sit back.”

The corrupt professors of Jerion Academy.

One of them was beginning to take action.