141. The Chairwoman in Crisis (3)
141. The Chairwoman in Crisis (3)
I walked down the long corridor, checking the articles that had popped up on my phone.
"Whoa, shit....... This whole thing's been set up way better than I thought it'd be......?"
The reactions were completely different from the articles that blew up in the original.
The sudden gate explosions all across Korea.
A Demonized Human barging in out of nowhere during the Midterm Evaluation.
Two major incidents had gone off at the same time, so the public sentiment and the media around this point in the original should have been a total mess.
A mudslinging match between people who revered the Magic Emperor, calling it a hero's cold-hearted resolve to prioritize rescuing civilians,
and comments pinning the blame on her for leaving the cadets to the Demonized Humans.
Either way, cadet deaths were cadet deaths, so an atmosphere that could have seriously shaken Velvet Academy's unshakable prestige would have formed.
But right now.
No cadets died, and thanks to the footage Sofia recorded, the Demonized Humans were folded in as just another part of the Midterm Evaluation.
There were the occasional comments saying wasn't the test too harsh for cadets who were still so young, but the overwhelming majority were praising it, saying that part actually proved Velvet Hunter Academy's class.
"This is probably Shin Se-hee's handiwork, huh."
I'd only planned things out enough to keep the academy from getting shaken up,
but with Shin Se-hee getting involved, it felt like the academy's prestige only went up instead.
And on top of that, she'd meticulously made sure to boost the Utopia Party leader—meaning my reputation too, which was exactly like her.
It hit me all over again that when I first agonized over whether or not to put Shin Se-hee in the party, deciding to include her really had been a masterstroke.
As I scanned through the articles and comments like that, I'd reached my destination before I knew it.
A door so tall you had to tilt your head back to look up at it.
Isn't the handle a little too high for this room's owner after all?
Well, she'd just open it with telekinesis anyway.
I let out a small laugh and knocked.
Knock knock knock─
And then.
Creeeeak─
The heavy door split apart to both sides and opened.
"......Jin Yu-ha."
Chairwoman Rina was sitting at her desk on the other side of the door.
She was glaring at me with a complicated expression, her fingers laced together.
"Yes."
"You schemed this far, did you."
"What do you mean by that?"
When I tilted my head and asked,
the Chairwoman's body trembled before she shot to her feet and jabbed a finger at me.
"The articles!!! I saw the articles! This was all your doing, was it not!!!"
"Ah, that? Heh─ you don't have to thank me separately, you know?"
"Wh- who! Who asked you to do something like this─!!"
Rina had totally dropped the solemn air she'd first put on and was yelling like a brat who'd gotten her toy taken away.
"Chairwoman Rina."
I cut Rina off and called her name in a serious voice.
"I believe the academy must not be shaken."
"......What? The academy, must not be shaken?"
"Yes. I do not fail to understand your desire, Chairwoman, to show only the truth to the cadets and the public. But Velvet Hunter Academy is the hope of humanity."
"......."
"Once hope begins to waver, people start to feel anxious. And our enemies are not the sort to let that wavering gap go unchecked."
"B-but......!"
"I sincerely respect you, Chairwoman. But separately from that, you are still human, and you can make mistakes."
"......!"
Step. Step─
I nodded my head and walked slowly toward Rina.
Rina stared hard at me.
"However, there are also positions where that is not permitted."
She bit down hard on her lip.
"Even so, are you telling me to speak falsehoods! And to act as though I did something I did not!?"
"Yes. Do it."
"......What?"
I stopped right in front of her and shrugged.
"With how much you've sacrificed for the world, Chairwoman, and how much effort you've put in, who's going to say anything if you take a little credit for a feat that one mere cadet pulled off? When that mere cadet is even giving his permission."
But Rina still looked unconvinced.
Guess I need to prod a little more.
"And the reason you founded this academy, Chairwoman....... Wasn't it to lessen that burden from the start?"
In that instant, Rina's violet eyes expanded greatly.
"That burden. I will share it with you."
"......."
"So, please just hold on a little longer until then."
Hmm.
'Now that I've gone and said it, I think I might've laid it on a bit thick.'
I ended up just reciting the frustrated feelings I'd had watching Rina gradually break down in the game,
and it somehow turned into a situation where a mere first-year cadet was lecturing the lofty Magic Emperor.
Feeling suddenly sheepish, I scratched my cheek.
And the Magic Emperor stared at me like I was absurd, then let out a hollow laugh.
"Ha. To think a whelp who's only been here a year is spouting such nonsense......."
But still, she looked lighter, as if she'd set down a little of the heavy burden that had been on her face at first.
"Guess so."
I agreed with her words, laughing it off lightly.
"......."
Rina had gone back to her usual sullen brat face and was staring at me.
Then, she dropped a remark.
"What is it you want."
"......Huh?"
Rina turned her head away sharply and spoke in a grumpy voice.
"Y- you must want something! Why else would you do all... all this unasked-for nonsense!! Sp- speak what you want quickly! And get out of my sight this instant!!!"
At Rina's words, the corners of my lips pulled up into a smirk.
'Say what I want? If you just keep handing it out like this, I really can't hold back......?'
* * *
.......
In the Chairwoman's office after Jin Yu-ha had left, a heavy silence settled in.
Sitting in the large chair, Rina was deep in thought, tapping her lips with her finger.
─ That burden. I will share it with you.
The words Jin Yu-ha had spoken suddenly surfaced in her mind.
Ha─
The more she thought about it, the more dumbfounded she was.
A mere first-year cadet just declared he'll share her burden?
No matter how irreverently he looked at her, he couldn't possibly fail to understand what those words implied.......
But she couldn't deny that, honestly, that audacity had been no small comfort to her heart.
Because, the reason she founded the academy.
It was exactly the same as what Jin Yu-ha had said.
'How in the world did that guy know.......'
How surprised she'd been when those words jumped out of his mouth.
Her true intention, one she'd never spoken aloud even once.
The actual reason Rina founded Velvet Hunter Academy was certainly in part to set right a Korea that had fallen into crisis after the Gate Incident,
but her real, honest, innermost desire had been to nurture hunters who could replace her, sketching a picture where she would step down from her current position.
And here was a first-year male cadet boldly declaring he would achieve that himself.
'For some quota student.......'
Truthfully, since founding the academy,
she had guarded this position for a long time, but a cadet like him was a first.
Everyone merely admired her, looked up at her with eyes full of reverence.
Or if not that, then gazes of fear, gazes that saw a monster.
─ I sincerely respect you, Chairwoman. But separately from that, you are still human, and you can make mistakes.
How utterly unfamiliar was this sensation of someone seeing her as a fellow human.
Pfft─
Rina rose from her seat and headed toward the window.
Through the large window, she could see the back of a black-haired boy walking away.
'An irreverent guy, after all.'
─ What do I want? Hmm, well, for now, a new Healer named Sofia joined my party. Could you, perhaps, also engrave a Subspace Tattoo on Sofia?
─ And.
─ And? Hmm, then could you increase the size of my party members' Subspace Tattoos a bit? They're fine right now, but the sizes are a bit unsatisfactory.......
─ And.
─ Um, there's an item our Utopia Party needs.......
─ Not Utopia! You! State what you desire for yourself!
─ Ah? Umm? Me, me? Hrmm, hold on? Let me think for a bit....... Ah! I thought of something! I, then, if possible....... C- could you just, look into a rental place for me? A cheap and good one.......
She'd had to ask three times what he wanted.
And she'd had to ask directly.
Only then did the guy finally say something he personally needed.
The first two requests hadn't actually been for Jin Yu-ha. They were solely for his party members.
If she hadn't asked him outright, he probably would have just listed off only the things the party needed.
'And the question was asked to hear what on earth it is that guy wants....... And that turns out to be nothing more than asking me to find him a rental place.......'
When she asked him why he needed a rental place when he had a dorm, Jin Yu-ha had answered with a sheepish attitude utterly different from how he'd made the earlier demands.
─ W- well, you see....... When I came here, I terminated my room contract before leaving....... So now it's vacation starting today, and I have nowhere to sleep. Well....... I mean, I could just sleep in a hotel or something, but it would be nice to have a place to stay.......
She was the Magic Emperor.
Her influence in the country was second to none.
Offers came pouring in from every nation every single day.
Meaning, if Jin Yu-ha wished it, she could bestow upon him power, money, even rare artifacts.
He had consistently maintained a bold attitude and demanded what was needed for the people around him,
but what he wished for, for himself, was nothing more than asking her to look into a single rental room.......
He really was an utterly dumbfounding guy.
The black-haired back of his head was now so distant she could barely see it.
The corners of Rina's lips subtly turned up.
She kept watching his retreating figure for a while.
Then she took out a communication magic tool and pressed its switch.
Click─
"Yeah, it's been a while. Mm, the reason I'm calling, how many buildings do I currently own? I'd like to transfer the title of the best one among them......."