Chapter 30
“‘New’ Student Council. Does that make any sense at all!”
A middle-aged man slammed the table and stood up roughly.
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To him, the existence of a research society with the name ‘Student Council’ when such an organization already clearly exists is unacceptable.
“Does Professor Louisa have any sense at all, or none at all?! Allowing such a dubious group. Moreover, the president of this so-called ‘New’ Student Council is a problem child from the entrance ceremony! Of course, it should have been stopped!”
The middle-aged man continued to shout and point fingers at Louisa.
Despite attempts from those around to calm him down and sit back, he seemed unwilling to listen.
Louisa sighed with an exasperated expression.
“…The naming of the research society is the right of the students. The authority lies with the professor for establishing it, but in reality, it’s only about judging if the purpose of the society is appropriate. I… “
“This is absurd! So, are you saying it’s okay for a reactionary faction calling themselves the ‘New’ Student Council to exist?!”
Louisa found the interruption quite unpleasant. Given the circumstances, she couldn’t help but furrow her brow slightly.
“It’s just the name. The essence of their so-called ‘New’ Student Council is personal development. They have promised to receive regular reports and inspections on the progress situation, so if they show results based on the purpose of establishment… “
“Why bother writing such details! What if they discard it as a ruse to secretly dismantle the official student council?! Then, Professor Louisa, will you take responsibility?!”
“If they intend to operate covertly, wouldn’t that apply to other research societies as well? And if they truly had such intentions, wouldn’t they have chosen a more noticeable name… “
“Has Professor Louisa forgotten about the incident at the entrance ceremony?! He is not in his right mind. It’s wrong to view this with a common perspective. That’s what I mean.”
“That’s true. I suffered greatly because of his personality when I was at his mansion.”
Paula, who was sitting next to Louisa, nodded her head in agreement with his words.
Then, sensing the lively glint in her long-time friend’s eyes, Paula’s face turned slightly pale.
“Oh, no, I meant…! But surely, a student with an erratic mind wouldn’t blatantly reveal his intentions… That’s what I meant! Louisa, calm down now!”
“We’ll see about that later.”
Paula pouted as the middle-aged man once again expressed his dissatisfaction with her.
Louisa’s body temperature was rising, nearing the boiling point.
“Anyway, I absolutely cannot tolerate the existence of that scoundrel. Dean. Disrupting this research society is not the way for academia to go⎯.”
“Oh, here we go again.”
At the sudden sound of her voice, a middle-aged man looked at Louisa with eyes that seemed to say, ‘There’s all sorts of crazy things going on.’
“Professor Louisa. What did you just say?!”
She began to release the anger she had been holding back, running her hand through her hair.
“Do you feel good only pushing your own words while interrupting mine every time I speak? Isn’t it shameful for someone of your age?”
“Professor Louisa! What kind of language are you using in an official setting right now?! Please think before you speak and act!”
The words of the middle-aged professor were fueling Louisa’s anger.
Louisa glared fiercely as if she were looking at an enemy.
“It was hard to endure thinking about the student council you’re in charge of being harmed. Is it reasonable for the responsible professor to stay silent while you keep insulting my students incessantly⎯⎯?!”
Ziiiing⎯⎯!!
Along with Louisa’s anger, mana burst out. It was a force that made those with low resistance feel as if their bodies were being pressured.
Mana, shaped into a dense blue flame, ignited on Louisa’s body.
“Hey, hey! Calm down! At this rate, you’ll end up receiving disciplinary action like me!”
Hoo, hoo!
Paula tried to extinguish the flames by blowing air from her mouth, but Louisa’s mana was not affected by such attempts.
Finally, as she was sweating coldly, trying to extinguish Louisa’s mana with her own.
“I understand the intentions of the professors. Let’s all take our seats for now.”
A voice was heard.
Outwardly, it sounded like the voice of a weak old man, but his voice was fundamentally different.
Paula’s mentor and the head of the academy, with a terrifying depth and breadth that she might not reach even if she devoted herself to magic for another 100 years.
His language was composed of a magic full of patience and wisdom accumulated over time.
Everyone focused on him.
The two who had stood up and were getting heated suddenly sat down quietly, like well-behaved pets, lowering their tails.
The dean showed a smile of a kind old man that anyone could see, and opened his wrinkled mouth.
“When this old man looks at it, it seems that this matter is not something the professors should intervene in.”
He swept his long white beard.
His tone was leisurely and kind, but there was a definite dignity that could be felt deeply within.
“What is the student council president’s opinion? Since he has a deep connection with the head of the new student council. I am curious about what he thinks.”
The dean left the judgment to the student council president who had been silent until now.
For the dean to say such words meant nothing less than actively supporting his decision.
This time, everyone’s attention turned to the student council president. His words would determine the future of this matter.
“I…”
With his black hair and sharp eyes that forcibly shaped someone.
The eldest son of the Schugenharts family.
Schugenharts Troa Linecarben slowly expressed his thoughts.
***
“You came to see me. Tomorrow, the sun will rise from the east.”
“I didn’t come because I wanted to… But isn’t the sun supposed to rise from the east anyway?”
“I knew you would come.”
Bargan led her into the laboratory with a faint smile. Erica stood quietly, as if rejecting Bargan’s lead.
“…What are you planning to do?”
“It must be from the student council president. If it’s that guy, it’s predictable for him to act like this.”
“Tsk. Can’t deceive blood, huh.”
Erica, feeling uncomfortable that her actions had been anticipated, clicked her tongue.
Bargan teasingly suggested to Erica.
“Wouldn’t it be better to join this research club with me than becoming that guy’s dog?”
“Both options are dreadful. I’d rather stay in the student council than enter your research club.”
“I don’t want to see my fiancée obeying someone else’s orders… but it can’t be helped.”
Leaving Bargan shrugging his shoulders behind, Erica entered the laboratory to carry out her assigned task.
She walked around the lab, flipping through the list she brought.
“The research club’s name is ‘New Student Council’… Even seeing it again, it’s absurd. How did such a name get approved… There are a total of 5 members. Huh? Where are three of them, and only two are here?”
“They have something else to do. By now, they’re probably rolling in the dirt and getting all muddy.”
The people currently visible here included Erica and two others. The rest of the members seemed to be busy with other tasks Bargan had assigned.
Upon hearing the response, Erica sent a suspicious glance and took a step closer.
“Hmm. So, you left the other members elsewhere and were here alone with Yesijong, right? I think I might have an idea why you created such a strange club that doesn’t suit you.”
As it was, Erica, a petite figure, felt even smaller next to the tall Bargan. If it weren’t for her fierce gaze and aura, she would have been easily dismissed based on appearance alone.
“No need to be jealous like that. Nothing you imagine has happened or will happen with Alicia.”
“Jealousy, what nonsense. And between a man and a woman, that’s a different story altogether.”
Erica brushed off Bargan’s words. She passed by Bargan, who was standing there.
She then checked the items in the laboratory.
She seemed to be meticulously searching here and there, hoping to find something, anything.
“Even after looking around like that, you won’t find what you’re hoping for.”
“Ignore me, and do what you were doing. Whether studying with Yesijong, training magic, or engaging in s*xual activities. I don’t need to know.”
“Uh?!”
Pretending to read a magic book, a white-haired woman who had been quietly listening to their conversation was taken aback by Erica’s blunt remark.
She quickly covered her mouth, bowed her head, and tried to continue reading the book as if nothing had happened. But it was futile.
Her ears were already red, and her eyes darted around.
Ignoring her, Bargan leaned back in his chair. Then, as if something had come to mind, he spoke, his gaze fixed on Erica.
“Oh right, Erica. I’m sorry, but it seems like I’ll have to reschedule our meeting for next week.”
“Meeting? What…”
“There’s a lunch appointment next Wednesday. I might be a bit busy at that time. Since you have a class with me on Wednesday morning, I’ll let you know another time for that.”
“….”
Erica showed a slight hesitation rather than outright rejecting the proposal as she had done twice before.
She thought he would question why she was postponing an unconfirmed appointment, but he didn’t.
Their gazes met for a long time. Erica soon turned her eyes towards a woman who had been eavesdropping on their conversation.
“….”
Turning her gaze back, she ambiguously twisted the conversation with the words, “I’ll think about it.”
The words she brought up were unexpected.
“I’ll consider it.”
Three days after Erika visited the lab.
In the ground spider’s realm, on a long late night.
As I was looking through the list of students at the Academy, I heard a knock on the door.
At this hour, when few are awake, who could be knocking on the door so presumptuously?
Halting my meditation, I restored my senses and sensed the mana of the figure outside.
This is…
Why is she here now?
I opened the door and saw the person in the corridor.
With a familiar figure, she entered my room in nightwear.
“Viscount Vargan…”
“……”
With shining white hair, she nestled into my arms without hesitation. The door closed, enclosing us in the same space.
I could hear her gentle breathing. She seemed to want to listen to my heartbeat, as she made no move to lift her face from my body.
“What do you think you’re doing right now?”
It was I who broke the silence.
She looked up at me with sad eyes and began to speak.