Chapter 8

“Like I said to Card, I have something to take care of.”

And that something just so happens to be the Student Council.

Before I knew it, I had passed through the Martial Arts corridor and reached the central bridge.

Then, I headed straight for the main building.

‘I won’t be late.’

The main building where the professors and the Student Council were gathered.

Upon entering, I looked around.

Since it was lunchtime, the main building was relatively quiet.

The professors were probably enjoying their meals.

‘Where’s the Student Council room?’

This way.

Once I figured out the direction and moved along the hallway, the Student Council room appeared before me shortly after.

Knock, knock—

I knocked twice.

“Come in.”

Upon hearing the voice from inside, I pushed the door open.

And the first thing that caught my eye was a pair of bright green eyes.

That was the Disaster Dragon Maiden.

Nikita Cynthia.

She was still shining with her majestic appearance today.

“You’re here, junior?”

Maybe she didn’t expect me to find the Student Council room so quickly.

Nikita blinked with wide eyes.

On the desk in front of her were papers and pens.

Watching her split her lunchtime to handle the Student Council agenda made me realize anew that she was a genius at hard work.

Nikita tilted her head.

“Junior, we haven’t yet selected additional members for the Student Council. Don’t you think it’s a bit too early?”

“Wherever you work, Nikita-senpai, I need to be there.”

I flattered her casually, though it was just yesterday that I bombarded her with excessive praise.

She swallowed her embarrassment and cleared her throat.

“Junior, while I appreciate the sentiment, there’s quite a lot that can’t be seen until you’re officially selected for Student Council work.”

That much was true.

With so many noble students involved, being a representative of the students held more power than expected.

Thus, there were numerous important matters resolved precariously within the Student Council.

“Ah, it’s all good. I didn’t come here today to help with Student Council matters.”

“Then?”

“I wanted to propose something to the Student Council.”

Nikita once again tilted her head.

“Recently, in the Spirit Great Forest located within the mountain range of the northern region, there’s been an incident where trees have turned as hard as iron, hasn’t there?”

“That’s right. The Spirit Mages are in an absolute uproar about it.”

The trees in the Spirit Great Forest were priceless trees infused with spirits.

As these trees suddenly transformed into iron, the spirits within them were lost, and the Spirit Mages suffered considerable losses.

This was already a well-known story among the students, so it wasn’t surprising that I knew about it.

“I’ll take care of it, so could you grant me permission to visit the Spirit Great Forest?”

“You?”

Entering the Spirit Great Forest without permission, except for the Spirit Mages, resulted in discipline.

However, for the Student Council, entry was permitted under the pretext of checking issues.

But this point raised further questions for Nikita.

“I’d be grateful if you could resolve it, but….”

The real question was why I felt the need to step in to resolve it myself.

“I have personal reasons. It’s also to prepare for a mock battle.”

“You’re planning to contract with a spirit or something?”

“It’s somewhat similar.”

Nikita drummed the pen she held against the desk.

The issue in the Spirit Great Forest was troubling Nikita as well.

The main reason was the absence of the professor belonging to Special Studies, Spirit Studies.

The professor who originally managed the forest got injured while helping a student contract a higher spirit, which caused a spirit to rampage.

As a result, the professor was currently recuperating.

Thus, there was no one left to resolve the issues.

Even a first-year assistant professor of Spirit Studies, with only a year of experience, was struggling to figure things out in the Great Forest.

Seeing that the problem hasn’t been resolved yet suggested something was going quite wrong.

This troublesome Spirit Great Forest was also a headache for the Student Council.

While helping to resolve it would be a welcomed deed, Nikita knew very little about me.

There might understandably be some caution on her end.

“If that’s the case….”

“Ah, just to be clear, I don’t suspect you, junior.”

Nikita corrected my thoughts.

“If you offer to handle Student Council matters, it would really be harsh to interpret that with bad intentions.”

She then rewarded me with a subtle smile, boosting my spirits.

What is this, an angel?

My heart, wounded by the disdain I faced earlier today, felt like it was melting away.

“…Can I take a moment to express my admiration for you, Nikita-senpai?”

“W-Well, I don’t think that’s necessary.”

Nikita hurriedly covered my mouth.

What a shame.

I was ready to scold her with compliments.

Nikita covered her forehead, peeking through her messy hair.

“What concerns me is safety. The Spirit Great Forest dislikes outsiders. You could be at risk.”

“That’s certainly a valid point.”

I didn’t deny it.

Spirits generally despised humans with a weak affinity for spirits.

The boy whose body I had possessed, Bickamon, wasn’t particularly compatible with spirits.

Moreover, spirits absolutely loathed mages who violated the laws of nature.

Even so, Bickamon was, technically, enrolled in Magic Arts.

The trace of magic flowing through him would be easily realized by sensitive spirits.

“Then how about this?”

Nikita offered a new suggestion.

“There’s a Spirit Mage among the Student Council members. I’ll introduce you to them, and you can solve this together.”

Support from the Student Council truly surprised me and felt like a welcome thing.

“Thank you, senpai.”

I bowed deeply.

In response, Nikita waved her hand, smiling.

“If I’m helping, it’s I who should be thankful.”

Although she appeared majestic, she smiled surprisingly often, perhaps influenced by the praises I showered her with yesterday.

Indeed, people look best when they smile.

“Oh, by the way, I haven’t eaten lunch yet.”

I rummaged through my bag and pulled out the sandwich I had brought.

“Would you like to have lunch together? I brought enough for two to share.”

Nikita’s eyes landed on the sandwich.

Since she had rushed to deal with urgent matters, she likely hadn’t made it to the cafeteria yet.

She often ate lunch late or skipped it altogether when in a hurry.

Today too, judging by the empty Student Council room, she was probably planning to skip it again.

Meanwhile, the president and other members of the Student Council were telling her to eat.

She stared at the sandwich in my hand for a moment, then turned back to her pen.

“If you’re in a hurry, it’s alright. The sandwich won’t get cold.”

Upon hearing my words, she quickly set her pen down and got up from her seat.

It seemed like my cute junior’s plea had worked.

“How about we share a ride? What do you think?”

“That sounds perfect.”

It’s a rare treat for the vice president to personally give a ride.

Gotta make the most of it.

With that, I had lunch with Nikita.

And in the middle, I casually complimented her.

Even though she blushed, I did it simply because I wanted to.

＊ ＊ ＊

North, Koryong Mountain Range.

Arriving at the entrance of the Spirit Great Forest, I checked the time.

‘According to Nikita, this should be the right time.’

The incident where the trees in Spirit Great Forest turned into hard iron.

To resolve this, Nikita had attached a Spirit Mage from the Student Council to me.

Come to think of it,

‘Didn’t the Student Council have a Spirit Mage?’

I was well aware of the Student Council situation from going through several game cycles.

Thus, I found the existence of a Spirit Mage in the Student Council puzzling.

‘Well, considering the current transition of power…’

The most important protagonist, Lucas, had died.

It wouldn’t be strange for things to happen.

Handling this myself would be entirely up to me.

Ta-da-da!

Just then, I heard urgent footsteps approaching.

It sounded like the Student Council member that Nikita sent was finally here.

Just as I lifted my head to see who it was, what caught my eye was a boy with brown bobbed hair and large glasses.

“Ahhh, I-I’m sorry! I’m late!”

Not as tall as I was, but he had a pretty petite frame.

Upon seeing me, he immediately bowed his head deeply.

I glanced at the name tag on his chest.

A yellow name tag.

1st Year.

My name tag was blue for 2nd Year.

3rd Year name tags were red.

‘I never anticipated this kid would be in the Student Council.’

My subtle gaze turned back to the boy.

It made sense since I knew who he was.

In the Second Year, 2nd Semester, it began with the Boycott Incident aimed at the Student Council.

In the 3rd Act, after Nikita became the Disaster Dragon Maiden, trouble began.

After causing chaos using Koryong’s power, Nikita ended up dead at the hands of the protagonist Lucas.

With the death of Nikita, who had been the vice president, the entire Student Council was shaken up.

In this process, students who had been dissatisfied with the power of the Student Council staged a massive Boycott.

‘The truth was that it was a means for the ultimate villain, 3rd Princess Iris Haishirion, to monopolize the Student Council.’

In 3rd Year, to completely take over the Student Council, Iris incited the students behind the scenes.

Unbeknownst to them, the students thought Nikita had sullied the name of the Student Council, and that’s why they were boycotting.

Among the central figures of that Boycott was this 1st Year Spirit Mage representative, Poara Silin.

This confused boy standing right in front of me.

‘Is this kid in the Student Council?’

Of course, throughout countless game cycles, Poara had never been part of the Student Council.

Eventually, when the students on the boycott escalated the situation,

Lucas intervened while they were occupying the Student Council room, and when he broke Poara’s glasses, he shouted,

「A student council that overlooks the voices of students should cease to exist! I’ll erase it from this world!」

The way he spewed that enraged line remains vivid in my memory.

At that time, he definitely hated the Student Council.

“Uh, um, senpai, why are you staring?”

Maybe I was staring too intensely.

Poara shrank back.

I might have just transferred recently, but to Poara, I’m a senpai.

This kind of gaze must be uncomfortable for him.

“Just thought your glasses were askew.”

“Ah, yeah, I must’ve run too fast!”

Poara quickly adjusted his glasses.

Even again, he gave off a silly vibe.

“You’re Poara Silin, right?”

“Ah, yes, that’s right. Senpai!”

“Nice to meet you. I’m Hanon Irey. I’m in charge of the investigation of the Spirit Great Forest this time.”

“Nice to meet you!”

Poara responded with enthusiasm.

Instead of darkness, the brightness filled his face, which felt even more out of place.

“Poara, don’t you have any ill feelings against the Student Council, or anything like that?”

“Huh? Oh, no. Rather, I’ve always admired the Jerion Academy Student Council!”

Poara exclaimed as if what I said was absurd.

“It’s such an honor to be a member of the Student Council, even as a temporary member!”

“Temporary member, you say?”

“Oh, they had an opening because of an incident, so I was able to join as a 1st Year. Hehe.”

The previous incident.

This must have surely been Lucas’s event.

‘There was a Student Council member in Lucas’s party.’

Lucas’s party had been wiped out.

As a result, a member who had been nurtured since 1st Year suddenly couldn’t return after graduation.

That must’ve put the Student Council in a bind.

So, they hurriedly chose a temporary member from the new 1st Years this time.

‘Now I understand why Poara readily agreed when I mentioned the Student Council.’

The Student Council was struggling with a lack of manpower.

And just in time, they chose Poara as an additional member.

‘Could it be that Poara has darkened because he couldn’t become the member he longed for?’

If one can’t obtain something they loved the most, it’s vital to transform into what they dislike out of rebellion.

So, Poara must’ve initially liked the Student Council.

But after the vice president became the Disaster Dragon Maiden and stained its reputation, his affection turned to animosity.

‘What a predicament.’

As mentioned earlier, Poara was a key figure in that Boycott.

So if he’s part of the Student Council now, the strength of the Boycott would naturally weaken.

This means if Poara leaves, the narrative will spiral off course.

‘Though the storyline’s already distorted from the moment Lucas died.’

This world is one after the bad ending.

Given that the timeline is now skewed, it’s only natural for it to creak.

The death of the protagonist significantly affects the world.

However, the Boycott incident remains essential to the narrative.

“Fire Butterfly” is a well-crafted game.

If the incident itself doesn’t occur, the scenario will fall apart in an instant.

And the result of that is the world’s demise.

If we can’t stop the Evil Zone in the final ending, the world meets its end.

I don’t intend to die along with the world.

Therefore, regardless of Lucas’s absence, I’m determined to align the script with the original narrative.

Even if I must patch things up, the flow of the scenario must remain true to the storyline.

‘Later, I need to make some efforts to make the Student Council look terrible.’

If it doesn’t work, I might even consider getting expelled from the Student Council.

“Sure, I’ll be joining the Student Council soon, so I look forward to it.”

“Yes!”

Poara answered vigorously.

I hope he responds so energetically when I get kicked out from the Student Council someday.