The General Student Council of the Union, of course, wasn’t an organization composed of just Loen alone.Even by the most minimal standard, the president required a secretary to assist him, a clerk to handle record-keeping, and a vice president to act as deputy in emergencies.Not to mention the heads of various departments — the General Affairs Division, the Residential Division, the Medical Division, and so on.Thus, in order for the General Student Council to function smoothly, recruiting new personnel was an absolute necessity.Since the secretary’s position already belonged to Ciel, the next person to recruit was naturally the vice president.And the person I designated as most suitable for that vice president’s seat was Freya, president of Ishtal.“……”At my sudden declaration, the once-noisy conference hall fell into silence again.Everyone’s gaze turned toward Freya, who sat in her seat.While all eyes waited for her answer, the meditating Freya let out a faint sigh and slowly opened her eyes.Her blue eyes, gleaming like sapphires, looked at me for a brief moment before being veiled again by her eyelids.Then, a quiet voice slipped from her lips.“I refuse.”Without the slightest hesitation, Freya rejected my proposal.“……”Of course, her refusal was the expected course of action, so I only shrugged with feigned ease.“No need to answer in such a rush, Freya. Take your time and think it over carefully. We have plenty of time.”I hadn’t expected her to accept in the first place — it wasn’t even my true intention.What mattered was merely the fact that I, in front of everyone here, had offered Freya the position of vice president.'…With this, I’ve bought myself some time.'Sixty days.That was the final limit — the time allowed for Freya to consider and deliver her official answer to my offer, to be approved by me, the Student Council President.At least during that period, my activities would be considered official duties essential to the council’s maintenance.Meaning that unless something severely disqualifying occurred, I could retain my position as president.No student votes, no removal proceedings — for sixty days, I was untouchable.'A legitimate loophole, using the Academy’s fundamental ordinances.'Something only possible because I had thoroughly examined even the smallest in-game regulations back when this world was still a game.Unaware of my deeper intentions, Kiriel snorted and shouted,“Heh! I knew it. Why would Freya lower herself to serve under the likes of you?”“You never know. She might change her mind later.”“Change, my ass. If you were her, would you?”I nodded inwardly.'Well, true enough.'Why would someone like Freya humble herself to follow a delinquent like Loen?In any case, unlike the clueless Kiriel, the sharp-minded Beatrice seemed to catch on immediately. She frowned.“...That’s something I hadn’t considered. Using such a trick… Don’t tell me Ciel taught you that?”“Who knows. I’ll leave that to your imagination.”“What are you two talking about? Trick?”For the completely oblivious Kiriel, Beatrice let out a small sigh and explained.“To put it simply, there’s now no way to remove Loen from the presidency for the next sixty days.”“Eh? What are you saying?”“It’s about Article 8, Clause 4 of the Academy’s Basic Ordinance — the law that guarantees the activities of the General Student Council. During this period, no student vote for dismissal can be initiated.”“What?! What kind of law is that? That’s tyranny!”Thump, thump—As fiery as ever, Kiriel stomped her feet on the spot in anger.Not that it would change anything.“Hehe. Even bad laws are still laws. Nothing we can do. Seems we’ve been outplayed.”Elena only propped her chin on one hand and smiled, amused by the situation.“……”Meanwhile, Freya seemed displeased, perhaps because she realized I had used her name in my plan. Her expression turned faintly sullen.Beatrice shot me another glare.“But Loen, that’s only a temporary measure. You know that well enough.”“Of course. I do.”I nodded.I had bought myself some time, yes, but that didn’t solve the fundamental issue.After the Chegevill Rebellion, most of the authority and privileges of the president had been stripped away — yet the conditions for maintaining the title remained unchanged.The first condition to keep the presidency: grades.'The president of the Academy Union must achieve academic performance worthy of representing it.'A minimum of forty credits per semester, and every enrolled lecture must be completed with an A grade or higher.Even while managing the duties of the council, I’d have to take more classes than ordinary students — and maintain top-tier grades in all of them.Considering that the A-grade ratio in most courses was around ten percent, that was a considerable challenge.The second condition:'To remain president, one must place within the top ten during the biannual Academy “Competition.”'To rank within the top ten among the continent’s brightest prodigies — that was nearly impossible without extraordinary talent and bone-grinding effort.'Academic and martial excellence alike.'Outstanding theoretical grades and exceptional combat ability — both were essential to maintaining the presidency.And if those standards weren’t met—“You’ll be expelled. That’s the rule,” Beatrice murmured, her red eyes gleaming as if in warning.That was precisely why, ever since the Chegevill Rebellion, the position of Student Council President had remained vacant for decades.'Expulsion — a severe penalty.'Who would shoulder such a punishment for a powerless, symbolic title?No one.No one except one idiot — the very one sitting here.'Loen de Valis.'I smiled bitterly and looked down at my thin, bony hand.Why had the original Loen coveted this position in the first place?Was it simple vanity befitting a delinquent’s pride? Or something else entirely?“……”I thought for a moment, then quietly clenched my fist.To uncover that reason — and to clear the main quest, to survive, and ultimately to bring Mir-Ellin Saga to a successful happy ending — I had to maintain this position at all costs.It wouldn’t be easy, but it had to be done. And if it had to be done, I could do it.While I was lost in thought, Kiriel jumped in, echoing Beatrice’s warning.“Yeah, and grades aren’t something you can fix with bribes either. What’re you gonna do now, genius?”Though the Academy Union entrusted most affairs to the council’s autonomy, grades were the one area handled with absolute fairness.With the academy having become a proxy battleground for noble families, if the grading system weren’t transparent, it would descend into chaos.'Grades are managed by inspectors dispatched from each noble house.'Given that, bribing the hollow-headed board wouldn’t do any good.But there was no need to worry — I already had my methods.To shut Kiriel up, I replied coolly,“That’s none of your business, pointy-ears. Worry about your own grades. I hear your written exam scores are cutting it close.”Kiriel was a purely practical type who relied on talent — almost hopeless in written tests.The fact that her academic performance was on par with Loen’s old scores said it all.But apparently, what bothered her more than the grades was the “pointy-ears” remark.“P-Pointy-ears?! Why you— I let you off once and now you’re calling me that, you walking skeleton?!”Crash—!She leapt over the round table, about to lunge at me, when Elena intervened.“Kiriel, calm yourself. Picking a fight with Loen will only hurt your reputation. You know that.”“Ugh…”Indeed, even the mere rumor that Kiriel, president of Voltimir, had started a brawl with the notorious Loen would tarnish her image.And beating up a half-starved weakling like me would gain her nothing.You avoid filth not because you fear it, but because it’s dirty.I nodded slightly to Elena in thanks for restraining her, then got back to the point.“Then I suppose all your questions about me are answered now…”Shhrrk—I swept my hand across the round table, spreading out the stack of documents.“Time to work.”***Flip—Scratch, scratch—Only the necessary words were exchanged, and the quiet room filled with the sound of pages turning and pens moving.Beatrice. Beatrice le Cassandra.President of the Magic Academy, Eredor — and princess of the Cassandra Empire.After duplicating the documents signed by all council members, she stored them carefully in the document repository.'The meeting… proceeded more smoothly than expected.'Even so, her attention drifted to the far end of the round table — to Loen.Loen, the delinquent.A stain on the proud De Valis family — the shield of humanity defending the western front.In the year since his enrollment, the academy had seen no end to his misconduct and rumors.In fact, the gossip about him had already spread through high society even before he entered.From childhood, Loen was said to have tormented servants and taken their possessions.He didn’t stop there — he wandered his family’s territories and committed similar acts against commoners.Under the pretext of alchemical experiments, he squandered the family’s wealth like water and toyed with the lives of countless creatures.There were even grotesque rumors that he had used human lives for experiments.'His wrongdoings inside the academy hardly even need to be mentioned.'The victims themselves were proof enough.That such a man, even without real power, held the title of president representing the Union — it was unacceptable.A disgrace not only to the Academy Union, but to the entire Cassandra Empire.He must be stripped of that title — no, expelled from the academy itself to face judgment for his sins.Beatrice glared at Loen for a moment, then turned her eyes away.…Of course, she need not act personally.In the end, he would bring about his own downfall.Being in the magic discipline of Alchemy, Loen was technically under Eredor’s jurisdiction, so she already knew his grades and skill level.He picked only the easiest courses — and even then, his grades barely scraped past failure.Because of his poor attitude, even his attendance was barely passing.Such a man could never produce the top-tier grades required to maintain his presidency.And even if, by some miracle, whether with Ciel’s help or some underhanded method, he somehow met the grade requirement — there was still no chance he would rank in the top ten during the Competition.The Competition was the sacred martial festival of all academies — a place where neither cunning nor family power had any sway.With Loen’s pitiful talent, he wouldn’t even reach the preliminary rounds.'Then why…'Beatrice looked again at the man sitting opposite her.There was something undeniably different about him today.This wasn’t the mere “repentance” he had boasted of — it was as if the person inside had completely changed.Had he hit his head in that recent accident? Or perhaps fallen victim to necromancy and had his soul switched?She briefly entertained the thought, then shook her head.'…What am I thinking.'No one changes that completely overnight.Even if he truly repented, it wouldn’t erase the sins he’d already committed.However…If, by some infinitesimal chance, Loen meets every condition and continues as president—and if he refuses to step down himself—Then I’ll have no choice but to make him leave ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) personally.Clack—Beatrice closed the lid of the document repository with that thought.***After the meeting ended.“Loen, if you have a moment, could we talk?”Beatrice gathered her books and left, while Kiriel, still fuming, was dragged away by her aides.Freya, having spoken not a single word throughout the meeting, quietly signed her papers and vanished like a ghost.The only person left in the room was Elena, smiling brightly.She addressed me.“What is it?”“Nothing serious. I just wanted to talk for a bit. And if you’re still not fully recovered, I can treat you. How about it? Shall we get some tea at a café?”Elena smiled as she suggested tea.That smile was beautiful enough to make most men’s hearts flutter — but knowing what lay behind it, I found it unsettling.'…What’s her intention?'Nothing obvious came to mind.But she wouldn’t have approached me without some hidden purpose.Refusing would be safer, but opportunities to speak with Elena alone were rare.For now, I’d accept and use it to buy time.Casually glancing at my wristwatch — or rather, pretending to — I said,“Go ahead to the café first. I’ll stop by the council room before joining you. Might take a while.”Elena nodded lightly.“Alright then. I’ll be waiting at Café Seraphium on Traum 9th Street~”“Mm.”She waved and left, escorted by the students of Saintea waiting outside.When everyone was gone and the hall finally empty, I leaned back in my chair and let out a long breath.“Phew…”'That was close.'Once my breathing steadied, I looked down at my wristwatch — no, at the black ring on my finger.[Ring of Derode]Durability 1/44

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