Translator: RaidenTL

Chapter 109

The Sports Festival had ended, and it was time for everyone to return to reality.

Midterm season had finally crept up on us.

Students who had been preparing diligently were fine, but those who had procrastinated were starting to panic.

I was firmly in the latter camp.

The courses I had signed up for were:

Intermediate Introduction to Magic, Basic Swordsmanship, Understanding of the Divine, Easy-to-learn Spiritology, Understanding of Classical Music, Universal Etiquette, and A Year-by-Year Overview of Continental History.

In total, I had evaluations for thirteen subjects looming over me.

Fortunately, my situation was better than the sheer number of courses suggested. Using "adapting to this world" as an excuse, I had signed up for far more general education courses than major-specific ones. Most were theory-based rather than practical, so I didn't expect any major hurdles.

However, if I only took general education courses this semester, I might fall short of the required major credits for graduation later. Starting next semester, I’d have to balance the ratio properly to avoid the nightmare of retaking classes or attending seasonal semesters.

Regardless, I had a goal for today.

To prepare for midterms, I was heading to the Union Central Library.

It was the largest library on the continent, boasting millions of volumes. As befitting Union, the cradle of learning, it housed books on every imaginable subject. The only archive that could possibly compare was the Imperial Library in the capital.

I had ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠visited once before at the start of the semester to register a few books into my System Encyclopedia.

Inside the reading room of the Union Central Library, students were gathered in small groups around the tables, holding study sessions to prepare for their exams.

"Hey, do you know how to solve this problem?"

"Let me see. What is it?"

"If you derive the formula like this…"

Some students were passionately engrossed in their work.

"So, what happened with that person last time? I heard you confessed."

"Did you hear about the new shop that opened?"

"Have you thought about what to eat after this?"

"..."

But not everyone was.

Well, I could understand it if this was their way of enjoying their youth, rather than simply cramming for an exam.

As I walked past the chattering groups, I spotted a familiar face in the distance.

"Ah, you’ve arrived."

Garfield, who had been flipping through a comic book at a table, saw me and waved. I narrowed my eyes and chided him.

"I thought we were here to study. What are you reading?"

"I was merely taking a short break until you arrived, hoho."

"..."

For a "short break," the only things on his table were light novels and comics.

In any case...

"Hasn't Elena arrived yet?"

Today’s study group, led by Elena, was meant to prepare us for the Understanding of the Divine exam. You could call it a study session for the Monster Purification Club.

It was a great opportunity for me. While I found the magic and spiritology lectures fascinating from a modern person's perspective, I had a hard time getting into Divine Studies. Even though it was a simple memorization subject, the detailed proper nouns intertwined with scriptural interpretation and the historical issues of each diocese were truly dreadful.

‘Well, I could easily get through it using the System Encyclopedia.’

But it probably wasn’t a good idea to rely on it for everything. Besides, I needed to visit the library to look up ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠some books on alchemy anyway, and I had some approval documents to hand over to Elena.

I sat down and opened my textbook.

"Studying the moment you arrive? How diligent."

"I just opened the book. Do you have a newspaper?"

"Here you go."

Flip—.

Elena, our ace instructor, would pick out the important topics from the exam scope anyway. I’d just study those parts with her when she arrived. For now, before diving into the grind, I took some time to get used to the text by reading the news.

It was definitely not because I was procrastinating.

I unfolded the Union Daily, published by the Journalism Club. As expected, the front page was filled with articles about the recent Sports Festival. There were pieces congratulating Ishtal Academy on their first-place victory and others reporting that the festival had concluded successfully with positive student feedback.

The exit polls gave the Sports Festival a score of 89—a high rating that was 15 points higher than in previous years.

I smiled with satisfaction.

‘Good to know the response was positive.’

The students were happy, and Freya had successfully hosted the festival just as she wanted. I heard we spent a few hundred million Krone on supplies, but if it generated this kind of reaction, it wasn't a waste. Besides, Sheika had agreed to foot the bill.

Ishtal had also agreed to store the leftover equipment, like the tents and temporary desks. They’ll be useful again someday, unless a new domed stadium is built.

Glancing down, I saw another article analyzing the economic impact of the festival, the development of commercial districts, and the promotional effects on external visitors. The article was quite detailed and based on credible data, making it an easy read. When I checked the reporter's name, it was, as expected, a named character.

"Garfield, was this reporter from your academy?"

"Ah, you mean Sir Michael? Yes. I’m slightly acquainted with him as well."

"Hmm, I see."

While Garfield possessed an epic trait related to trade, Michael had one for managing funds effectively. In the game, it was implemented as a trait that reduced building maintenance and personnel costs when he was appointed as an accountant. It was a very useful ability for managing a large organization. I’ll have to recruit him as an accountant later if I get the chance.

The next article was about the various club booths at the Sports Festival. Among them, the standout was the section on the alchemy club, [Alchemist]’s, carbonated drinks.

Trish told me they had pulled off the incredible feat of earning over 50 million Krone in total revenue over the three days. The article also mentioned the official Sports Festival drink I had sponsored, noting that it had enjoyed a significant promotional effect in conjunction with the club booth.

Indeed, the students’ reaction was explosive. They were already clamoring for an official branch to be opened in Union. Trish had suggested opening a carbonated drink shop on Traum Street, but I politely declined.

Solidifying our foundation is more important than expanding recklessly from the start. The real stage is the Academy Festival, so I decided to save our buzz and strength for then. In the meantime, I plan to further simplify the carbonated water manufacturing process and introduce automation to prepare for mass production.

Besides our alchemy club's achievements, the newspaper was full of other interesting content. There were articles summarizing the unique features and membership benefits of the participating clubs, and others reviewing restaurants and shopping malls one could visit with the store points from the treasure hunt event. This would surely help attract more consumer interest to Ishtal, which had long been known as a rigid and closed-off group.

In a corner of the paper, there was also an article about the "inside story" of the treasure hunt event, which I had asked Chloe to write. The gist of the article was a logical explanation of how I had found the note for a date with Freya and why it wasn't collusion with the organizers.

In a way, it was public opinion manipulation, but that’s why I was sponsoring Chloe. She was playing her part as my pawn perfectly. The gold ingots I gave her were worth it, I suppose.

‘...No articles about the demonfolk.’

I read the newspaper from front to back, but there were no articles about the demonfolk that had appeared in the Black Forest. There was only a single, short line stating that students had to be evacuated due to a "disturbance" in the forest. There wasn't even a mention of gremlins.

From this, it seemed the Chairman had handled the incident appropriately. Kiriel and the other aides hadn't said anything about it yesterday, either. They must have altered memories with magic or issued a gag order.

I folded the newspaper and quietly closed my eyes.

‘Restricting information is sometimes necessary.’

Unnecessary information can confuse people, and the anxiety it causes can make it difficult for them to lead normal lives. Fear, after all, is highly contagious. Of course, the truly important thing isn't just restricting information, but ensuring that appropriate countermeasures are being prepared behind the scenes.

‘The enemy forces are moving faster than I thought.’

The stirring of the Twelve Honored Ones. Their movements felt faster than in the Myrillin Saga story I knew. After all, Gillean and now Carmilla had already made their moves. It was safe to assume their activities had begun across the continent, not just in the Meteor Archipelago.

There was nothing ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I could do while tied down at Union, but I had to continue to pay close attention to this.

As I waited, a murmur rippled through the other side of the reading room. I sensed Elena's arrival and looked over.

As expected, Elena had quietly entered the reading room with her club members. Reaching my table, Elena leaned in and whispered.

"I’m a little late; I had something to take care of. Sorry."

"It’s fine. I was reading the paper and didn’t even notice the time."

Elena glanced around cautiously, then secretly pulled an exam paper from her bag.

"I brought some past exam questions. Let’s study them together."

I narrowed my eyes at her suspicious behavior.

"...This isn’t a leaked exam, is it?"

"Hey, of course not. The exam questions are strictly managed by proctors."

That was true. Due to Union's structure, where the student council presidents and leadership held significant power, grades were strictly managed by external proctors to prevent collusion between students and professors.

For example, grade-related management at Seintea Academy was handled by proctors from Ishtal or Eredor, not Seintea. Since Union was a proxy battleground for noble families, the academies naturally kept each other in check. This structure inevitably led to them monitoring, managing, and supervising each other’s corruption with eagle eyes. Even if the student council presidents were on friendly terms, the proctors dispatched from each family were hostile to one another.

Elena added an ominous line.

"Well, it’s not like I couldn’t leak the questions if I wanted to."

"..."

For a moment, the thought that getting involved with her could be dangerous crossed my mind. Elena grinned as if her last comment was a joke and took out a pen.

"Alright, shall we start with the various doctrines established at the Council of Nicaea, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the topic from our last class? One or two questions from here show up every year. We should definitely cover it."