Chapter 258

“What a gaze full of hostility.”

The moment Ulan felt it, he quickly pinpointed the source: three boys huddled near the library.

‘No way, could it be…?’

Is that the gaze watching Iris? For a moment, he thought so, but then shook his head.

‘No, that can’t be right.’

Because their stares were downright blatant. It was so intense that both Iris and Kamila could feel it, not just Ulan.

Just then, Kamila, glancing at where Ulan was looking, whispered.

“Ah, they’re the Student Council Executives.”

“The Student Council…”

“Those are the members of the current Student Council led by Cliff Anton. By the way, that blue-haired guy is Iris’s rival.”

Elvin Adict.

A second-year from the Magic Department, he is the second son of the noble Adict family from the western empire.

Summarizing her thoughts on their stare, Kamila deduced why Elvin’s group was acting this way.

“They must be feeling upset seeing you and Delia support Iris.”

As soon as she finished, Kamila wore an awkward smile. Although she said they were upset, it felt more like they were furious.

If they were truly upset, there wouldn’t be a hint of malice in their eyes.

As Ulan pondered whether to correct his earlier assumption—

“Huh?”

Kamila’s eyes widened in surprise.

Ulan, who had been silent until now, had suddenly made a bold move.

“U-Ulan?”

She called his name with a confused expression, but there was no reply. Ulan hopped off the platform and walked steadily forward.

Before long, he reached his destination—where the Student Council Executives were gathered, including Elvin.

“W-What’s going on?”

“Do you need something from us?”

Were they caught off guard by the sudden approach?

Two executives standing by Elvin stepped back slightly. Meanwhile, when Ulan didn’t respond, it was Elvin who spoke up.

“Let me clarify, we weren’t looking at you but at that girl.”

His tone was calm, unlike the other two.

Elvin glanced at Iris to avoid getting dragged into unnecessary trouble. And soon, the executives who had stepped back raised their voices.

“Y-Yeah! You guys are too noisy in front of the library, it’s making it hard to concentrate on studying.”

“I just can’t understand how anyone could want to be the Student Council President while being such a nuisance to other students!”

With contradictory statements, the two berated Iris for all to hear as if they had found something to pick at.

But once again, Ulan remained unfazed.

He simply stared at Elvin, sniffing the air like a hunting dog.

‘I smell something familiar.’

A scent that lingered in his memory.

Unpleasant yet unsettling. It was a smell he had experienced many times—not just from his past life but even now.

‘However…’

The scent was faint.

Thus, he couldn’t quite recall where he had smelled it before. While he was lost in thought, a sudden voice jolted him back to reality.

“Ulan, are you okay?”

A girl looking up at him with concern.

It was Delia.

As soon as their eyes met, a memory surged back like wildfire.

“…!”

The group he had encountered twice before.

A bunch of mad mages who saw humans merely as materials, unafraid to cross forbidden lines—their distinctive smell.

‘Abyss Worshippers!’

As soon as he recalled this, Ulan instinctively expanded his territory and closed the distance to Elvin’s group. In a flash, he grabbed Elvin by the collar.

“Gack! Cough!”

A strangled scream.

Elvin was lifted off the ground in an instant, thanks to Ulan’s grip.

“E-Elvin!”

“What are you doing out of nowhere?!”

The two surprised executives cried out, but Ulan paid them no mind. Instead, he focused entirely on the scent emanating from Elvin.

‘Still faint.’

And something else.

There was no trace of the Power of the Abyss that all Abyss Worshippers should possess.

‘That means…’

He wasn’t an Abyss Worshipper.

But the fact that there was still some lingering scent meant he had been in contact with them.

Just then, Ulan’s eyes narrowed.

“Calm down, Ulan!”

“Violence is never the answer!”

It was Fertisha and Kamila.

They rushed over, clearly surprised by Ulan’s aggressive move against Elvin. Having assessed the situation, Ulan finally released Elvin’s collar.

“Gah! Cough, cough!”

Elvin sputtered as he struggled to breathe.

Hastily, the two executives helped him up. Then Ulan casually explained why he had grabbed Elvin.

“Just got a bug stuck on him.”

“W-What?”

“A bug? What kind of ridiculous excuse is that…?!”

It was now the season right before winter.

There weren’t even the most common of insects flying around. Even if a bug actually were stuck, Ulan’s action was more like grabbing a collar than removing a bug.

Yet, Elvin and the two executives couldn’t muster a proper rebuttal since Ulan reached again to grab Elvin.

“This time, there’s a bug on your head.”

“…!?”

Elvin’s face quickly turned pale.

Facing Ulan’s enormous hand slowly approaching, the three students shrieked and stumbled back. They immediately bolted from the plaza.

Watching the trio flee into the distance, Fertisha and Delia suddenly chimed in.

“What the heck was that all about?”

“Right? I totally get wanting to smack someone, but if you do that, it’ll cause trouble for Iris-senpai.”

In their shared confusion, Ulan briefly explained his reasoning.

“I caught a scent.”

“Huh? A scent?”

“The smell of Abyss Worshippers.”

“……!”

The girls’ faces turned serious.

Meanwhile, having finished explaining, Ulan now stared intently at the three who had retreated into the distance.

“I’ll have to follow them later.”

“…Okay, I’ll help you.”

Delia offered, and Ulan silently nodded. With her support, the investigation would undoubtedly be easier.

Just then, as they decided on their next objective—

“…That was the candidate for Student Council President, Iris Senior. Thank you.”

Iris finished her speech, persisting through the chaotic situation.

She stepped down from the platform to the cheers of the students who had been watching her speech.

Afterward, seeing her group gathered, she spoke.

“The next agenda is this.”

What she pulled out was a thick stack of documents.

It contained a portrait of her and papers listing Iris’s information and her campaign promises.

“Huh? What’s this?”

“Iris’s election flyer,” Kamila answered briefly.

Then she suddenly let out a deep sigh.

“Actually, I put them up a week ago, but all the Student Council Executives tore them down.”

“Huh? Is that allowed?”

“Of course not. I formally protested, but all they said was they’d take care of it.”

The election management committee, made up of three professors and around twenty students, mostly supported the current Student Council.

So, even with the obvious sabotage, the Student Council Executives received no warnings or reprimands.

“…This is a real mess.”

Delia grimaced and laughed in disbelief. Nodding in agreement, Iris looked around once more.

“So, I want to put the flyers up again. If you’re not busy, could you help me?”

“Yes, of course we’re here to help.”

“We promised to help!”

Following the responses from Ivella and Fertisha, Ulan and Delia nodded as well, expressing they would follow Iris’s request for help.

“Thank you.”

After thanking them, Iris began to explain.

There were five major areas where they had permission to post the election flyers.

Now, with the ten students that Ulan’s group and Iris brought along, they could pair up into groups of two to tackle each area.

“Now we need to form the groups…”

Before Iris could finish her sentence, Ivella, Delia, and Fertisha all chimed in simultaneously.

“I’ll team up with Ulan.”

“I’ll take care of the dorm with Ulan.”

“I prefer to be in the same group as Ulan!”

The three girls showed no signs of leaving Ulan’s side. While Iris wore a troubled expression, Kamila suddenly interjected.

“…I kind of figured it would go this way, so I prepared these to draw lots.”

Ulan’s rapport with the three girls had been established through friendly mock battles and sports festivals.

Kamila faced Ulan directly.

“Alright, you get the first chance to draw. If you pull your own name, you can draw again.”

“Got it.”

After answering, Ulan picked from the closest lot and opened it. The name written on it was one of the three girls.

“Sweet!”

A blonde girl with a radiant expression cheered.

Ivella tightly clenched her fist and dashed over to Ulan, sticking by his side.

Meanwhile, the expressions of the other two girls who suddenly lost their chance turned dark.

Moments later, as the drawing continued smoothly, Delia suddenly began to murmur.

“…Senpai.”

“Just so you know, there won’t be a re-draw. This is a fair contest.”

Kamila replied firmly.

She quickly cut off any potential issues that might arise. On the other hand, Delia shook her head as if to indicate that wasn’t her intent.

“No, it’s just that I thought of a way to reduce the time for distributing the flyers.”

“Really? What is it?”

“We could float the flyers up in the air and make them explode so they scatter everywhere.”

“Yeah, hurry up and pick your lot.”

Kamila giggled as she dismissed Delia’s suggestion. Delia pouted, and the group continued drawing lots.

A little while later.

As all the groups were formed, Iris and Kamila bowed their heads toward the students.

“Then we’ll see you again later.”

“Thanks for your effort, everyone.”

Each group of paired students scattered around the plaza to post and distribute the election flyers as Iris had requested.

10.

Meanwhile, at that moment.

Having escaped as if fleeing from the plaza, Elvin and the Student Council Executives finally paused in a secluded area of the forest, far from the library.

“Phew, are we not being followed?”

“Uh, it seems that way.”

Realizing that Ulan wasn’t pursuing them, the three let out sighs of relief. They all grimaced at the same time.

“But really, of all times…”

“Didn’t we hear he’d be back after the election was over?”

When they learned that Ulan’s group was involved in overseas events during the school trip, they had cheered.

It was only natural.

If Ulan’s group wasn’t around, Iris Senior’s chances of winning would drop significantly.

‘But…’

To think he’d return at such a time.

Elvin Adict, the candidate for the next Student Council President, bit hard on his lips. Anxiety was etched on his pale face.

On the other hand, the two students helping Elvin didn’t share such a worried expression.

“Well, we’ve only got three days left…”

“That should be fine, right?”

With just three days remaining until voting, they figured there wouldn’t be enough time for a complete turnaround. However, unlike the optimistic outlook of the two, Elvin’s thoughts were different.

“No. This is not fine at all.”

“What? But…”

“Didn’t you see in the plaza earlier? The moment that damn barbarian and Delia Arpen showed support for Iris!”

Almost all students in the plaza had turned their attention to Iris Senior. Just by Ulan and Delia expressing their support.

“…I can’t let it go like this.”

Recalling how things had played out, Elvin frowned.

The atmosphere around them turned heavy with his displeasure. Sensing this, the two students hesitantly ventured their opinions.

“So what should we do?”

“Oh! How about we spread some rumors?”

“Rumors?”

“Yeah. Like saying Iris and that barbarian had some sort of scandalous relationship.”

Since the election campaign began until now, Elvin and the current student council executives had spread various fake rumors around the school.

Most were to criticize Iris’s campaign promises as unrealistic or to tarnish her image.

“That way, it explains why that barbarian is supporting Iris. Makes sense, right?”

“Yeah, that works!”

The faces of the two students brightened.

However, Elvin shook his head.

“That weak approach won’t work.”

They needed something more solid.

Above all, they mustn’t provoke Ulan.

Elvin shuddered at the memory of being grabbed by the collar in the blink of an eye.

Just then, a voice echoed from not too far away.

“You’re right, it’s just what Elvin said.”

As the sound drew closer, someone emerged from the bushes.

A young man with a gentle appearance.

As the figure with gray hair came into view, Elvin’s face quickly lit up with a smile.

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