Chapter 167
Chapter 167
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 167
Chapter Title: Squishy von Loengrin
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"Hoo."
The student council room.
This place, where only the student council president was permitted to reside, could be adorned with treasures from across the entire continent if she so desired.
That was the level of privilege afforded to Jefrin's student council president.
No need to even wield her authority. A single cough in the Magic Division would bring magic tomes pouring in, and a casual shrug of the shoulders in the Knight Division would summon legendary swords.
That was the tribute that came with the position of student council president.
However, Eve von Loengrin was a woman far removed from such selfish indulgences.
Expensive luxuries were mere extravagance. Excessive ornamentation only dulled the body.
And rightly so, for she was someone who could shine on her own without the name Loengrin, not some fool reliant solely on her bloodline.
Even clad in the rags of a measly Magic Power stat of 22, she possessed the strength to make herself the master of this world.
Because of that, she had once viewed everything in the world through the narrow lens of status—mere numbers. But now, even those rigid preconceptions had shattered, making her a bit more tolerant.
Moreover, she had come to understand a life that pursued a certain degree of amusement and pleasure. This added a regal dignity befitting not just a student council president, but the ruler of the entire empire...
But here arose a problem.
"...Delicious... Ehehe."
Luxury and indulgence. At the center of it all were snacks—luxurious treats made with the outrageous substance known as white sugar. She had fallen completely for these candies.
This wasn't right. She knew it full well, yet the cheap supply of candies began to crack the mental barriers a sixteen-year-old girl had built up.
This student council room, which no one could enter without her permission and had once mirrored her austere mindset in its barrenness, now gradually filled up—from the corners, bit by bit. Dolls appeared here and there, high-end cookies and candies stocked the shelves...
The walls of her fortress shifted from stone to candy, warming and slowly melting away.
"...Ha, just one more, then back to work. Yeah."
Rustle. Searching the bag for the last candy, her fingers merely swiped at empty air—nothing stuck to her fingertips.
"Mm... Hmm."
I see. She'd already polished off the whole bag.
Eve stood and rummaged through the cabinet.
There, a paper bag labeled [Grape] in purple pen.
Casually grabbing it, she peered inside to find sugar-coated candies, finely powdered white sugar clinging to them, neatly separated.
She popped one in her mouth, savoring the flavor.
The moment the outer sugar dissolved, a deep grape aroma burst forth.
This was the taste.
"...It's good."
How on earth had Wolfram von Loengrin made something like this?
Boiling sugar with fruit juice and molding it—Eve's hands trembled at the extravagance of this snack.
"Even so, the price is ridiculously low, that's a fact."
To an average noble, maybe not, but if this broke into imperial supplies, it'd fetch ten thousand rin per piece.
Yet Wolfram sold it at absurd prices in his convenience store.
Convenience store. Ostensibly for public welfare, but did that include these candies too?
This was a luxury good. Distributing it to commoners seemed problematic in every way—logistics, unit costs, and the extra expense beyond necessities.
"Mass production? Popular distribution? ...Of candy? I don't get it."
Murmuring that, Eve popped the next candy into her mouth.
Wolfram's actions were utterly inscrutable.
There were suspicions he harbored grand ambitions... and perhaps even a connection to the founding emperor, carrying on his legacy.
But seeing him cackle over luxury snacks and candies, declaring, "Heh, perfected it again!" made her doubt it...
"He seems like a total airhead just stocking new products at his convenience store without a deeper thought."
But that couldn't be. That deceptive simplicity was what made Wolfram terrifying.
Thinking that, she slipped in another candy. Just then, a voice came from outside the door.
"My liege, it's Sylphia. May I enter?"
"Come in."
Her loyal knight, the one who would become her royal guard.
Sylphia Evergreen Grove was always devoted in her service, but that devotion sometimes felt rigid, creating an unintended distance—which left Eve a touch bitter.
"May I perform the usual Lapis Lazuli examination?"
"Please do."
She wanted to declare herself perfectly healthy, but that would betray her knight's loyalty.
The intermediate wind spirit scanned her body, communing with Sylphia. Sylphia nodded.
"Nothing unusual today."
"As expected."
Eve knew her own condition even without Lapis Lazuli's check—this was just cross-verification.
"However..."
"What is it?"
"...Mm. Never mind. My liege, you're eating candy again."
"Of course. Ah, worried about cavities? I brush diligently, you know..."
"No. It's not that. It's just..."
"What?"
"...Nothing."
Sylphia clenched her fists, lips trembling, saying nothing.
It almost seemed like a knight's resolve: too loyal to speak ill of her liege's habits.
And the next day, Eve understood why Sylphia had held her tongue—why she hadn't urged her to cut back on candy.
"?"
Her uniform felt just a tad snug.
"Huh?"
The buttons fastened. They did fasten...
But that slight tightness struck her with brutal reality.
In the end, fat came from eating without moving.
When excuses like "The brain needs calories" no longer cut it, Eve resolved to exercise.
However.
"President, you need to handle the next set of documents."
"The Knight Division requests a meeting. They'd like to discuss over lunch."
"The Magic Division sent some snacks as tribute. We have fine tea leaves—shall I brew some?"
Jefrin's student council president had... no room even for solo workouts.
Work out with the Knight Division? Only a madwoman would entertain that.
"As expected of our president. Ohoho."
"Yes."
"So, for the next banquet, we'd love to send an invitation... Of course, with the finest treats!"
"......"
Somehow, rumors had spread that Eve von Loengrin loved food—especially sweets.
Where did they start? Easy enough to guess.
Wolfram had rin over the grad students and first-years with sugar candies, and people had seen Eve buying bags from his convenience store and heading to the student council room several times.
So, naturally, the rumor: Eve kept her predecessor alive because he could make snacks and candies to her exact taste. Not strange at all.
And... it was mostly true.
"Ahh..."
She shouldn't eat it. Her mind screamed as much, but her hand snatched a candy and shoved it in.
...An unconscious action she hadn't even noticed.
Too late now, but spitting it out felt like such a waste.
This was all Wolfram's fault.
All Wolfram's fault.
"Ugh..."
No, she knew better.
Like it or not, Eve von Loengrin was fair and just. How could she not recognize her own weak will as the issue?
"I know. I know..."
Exercise starting tomorrow. She'd make time somehow.
Folding the candy bag, Eve sighed.
It's not others' fault—it's mine. Burn it off with exercise!
"Eve, you there?"
"Wolfram? Come in."
She knew it was her own fault, so no animosity toward Wolfram.
Composing herself, Eve faced her bloodline predecessor.
He held a bag, his usual sullen expression in place.
"What's up?"
"Brought something for the Autumn Grand Festival judging. Take a look."
"...Can't you leave it to the judges?"
"Your judgment is the most reliable."
"......Hoo. Fine. What is it? Another snack? Sweet candy?"
"No. You'll see."
She'd been about to snap, but his denial cooled her.
Wolfram untied the bag and swiftly filled a paper bowl.
The moment it emerged, a fragrance exploded.
"......Wh-what is that?"
"Chicken fried a couple times in flour."
"...Then?"
"Drizzled with special sugar-spice sauce."
"...Drizzled?"
"Topped with... crunch. Cheese... sweet and spicy chicken."
"Be useful for once, damn it!!!"
Eve's face flushed crimson, fists shaking.
"Not gonna eat it?"
"...Gimme one."
She couldn't bring herself to refuse.
It was delicious beyond words.
Inevitably, she devoured it all.
No need to mention the beverage she sipped to cleanse her palate.
"...You okay?"
"Yeah... My fault for eating it all. Of course..."
Hm.
Truth be told, Eve's belly fat had little to do with me, and I'd planned to ignore it. But seeing her like that made it hard to brush off entirely.
Eve had considerable mental resistance overall.
But once that broke, it snowballed uncontrollably.
What was it... A washbasin overflows easily with little water but can be managed, while a dam burst floods everything irreparably.
If she went off the rails completely, the kid might break.
Outwardly no big difference, but even back at the facility, some were sensitive about weight.
Acceptance was a whole other story.
"Just exercise, right?"
"...You think I have time for that?"
"Fair point."
Hm.
No helping it then.
Preliminary check first.
"Eve. Gained that much?"
"Wanna die?"
Yup. She saw it as pretty serious.
"Then... how about scheduling dedicated workout time? As president, it's not impossible."
"...I don't want to resort to such cowardly measures."
"Mm. Knew you'd say that. But what if it's an expedition for the students' sake? You could carve out time."
"That might work, but... we haven't extracted anything useful from the Black Flag remnants yet."
"I have info."
"Pardon?"
Eve's Act 4 side story.
There was an episode called [Erhel's Pet Dog].
A monster raised by the half-demon Erhel falls into another Black Flag executive's hands, threatening Jefrin.
Eve teams up to subjugate it... Sorry, Erhel, but faking a casual extermination trip seemed plausible. Solid pretext too.
"Word is, one of the Black Flags is raising monsters."
"Does that mean... your faction still lingers in Jefrin?"
"Hah. Think it's gone?"
I smirked at Eve with all my might.
Of course,
it was gone.
"No way."
"Raising monsters in Jefrin violates the great founder's documented ban. Worth checking out, no?"
"...Heh. Indeed. Excellent intel. It's all the Black Flags' fault. Me racking my brain, the candies going in my mouth, craving only delicious things after... even the workouts I skipped, this filthy flab—all thanks to the Black Flags."
Hm?
Didn't you start on my candies back in early first semester, unrelated to Black Flags?
"So, you in?"
"Yes. Let's go. I'll sweep them all away."
With that, radiant wings—no, [Holy Light Wings]—unfurled behind Eve.
Divine, even.
But oh well.
"No magic on this expedition, if possible."
"Huh? Why?"
"Isn't the goal exercise, not stress relief?"
"Ah."
What's "ah."
"Same reason—no riding the Black King Tiger."
"Ugh, uwgh. Can't I at least ride back?"
"......"
"...Don't look at me like that. I know. I know..."
No matter how resentfully she glared...
"You ate it. Not me."
"I kno...w!"
Good. If you know.
Who told you to eat so much anyway.