The Unwanted Class President
The first magic class at Mirinae Academy had a unique twist compared to ordinary classes. The class president wasn't just responsible for menial tasks for the class; they also had to chair occasional meetings and moderate the cross-feedback sessions. These sessions involved students exchanging feedback and opinions among themselves before the professor stepped in at the end. The real problem was how sharp and relentlessly critical those sessions could be.
"People who don't give much feedback usually end up hurling insults instead of criticism, and even when they receive criticism, they take it as an attack."
Moderating feedback exchanges among first-year cadets who weren't used to the process? It was basically hell. And the bigger issue was that Mirinae Academy had far too many opportunities for this kind of student-to-student interaction. No one wanted to be the class president who constantly had to mediate instead of voicing proper opinions every single time.
Ring ring ring ring—
The moment the bell signaling the end of break time rang, Gainard entered the classroom and immediately explained what the class president was expected to do. When no one volunteered, even the students who had been thinking "Maybe I should give it a try" turned to look at me after hearing his explanation.
"There's no need to overthink something like feedback. We'll help you at the end anyway, so just apply with a light heart."
Becoming the head of major events sounded incredibly prestigious, but the accompanying sense of responsibility and pressure was crushing. Even Benras, who wanted to achieve great success at Mirinae Academy, and Velos, who took noble pride more seriously than anyone, stayed quiet. That said everything.
'This is the worst.'
The reason everyone was staring at me was obviously because of what had happened at the training ground. The feedback I'd given there had naturally led to the perception that "Lee Seokhyun is the right person for this." There were several other solid reasons beyond that. Being Akasa's only disciple, for example, or having solved all five of Lee Hwaryeong's high-difficulty problems. I was the only cadet in S-class who had both the achievements to represent the class and the ability to deliver clear feedback.
'Why didn't I think of this when I was charging ahead at the start?'
There's always a reason the cheetah laughs from behind. I never dreamed that the turtle crawling forward and taking first place would lead to this disaster.
"Any volunteers?"
I looked around without raising my hand, just in case. The only real merit of being class president under these terrible conditions was the title of "S-class president." Even so, I wondered if anyone would still raise their hand.
'No one.'
After glancing around for just a moment and seeing everyone staring at me, any hope I had evaporated like smoke.
"I'll do it."
With the feeling of swallowing bitter medicine, I raised my hand. Rather than dragging things out and ending up chosen by someone else, I figured I might as well volunteer and at least leave a good impression of taking initiative. It was better to take the beating first.
"No one else? Then we'll proceed with a yes-or-no vote... Hmm, that doesn't seem necessary."
Gainard had been about to prepare ballots when he saw everyone raise their hands in approval and simply nodded.
'Feels like I just got saddled with this.'
Becoming class president didn't feel good at all.
'I need to keep things as thin and long as possible at the academy...'
An ominous first button had just been fastened with a loud snap.
"Alright, now we'll begin the actual classes. Make sure you remember the lecture halls for the subjects you registered for and get there on time."
""Yes, sir!""
"Class president, come to the first-year faculty office as soon as classes end. That's all for the announcements."
""Yes, sir!!""
With the cadets' loud responses, everyone scattered toward their respective classrooms. Since Mirinae Academy was divided into magic, martial, and external studies, even students in the same class didn't have identical schedules. Of course, some chose double majors and took multiple subjects at once, but as the years went on and the advanced major courses became exponentially more difficult, very few students opted for that.
'The only ones who chose double majors are me and Benras.'
Benras had decided to take both magic and external studies, which was why he'd received a lot of help from me. Since there wasn't much interaction with seniors, students tended to ask professors for advice when making their schedules. First-years who still found that awkward usually sought help from those around them instead.
'I see some people who chose both martial and magic studies too.'
While thinking that, I was about to head to the magic classroom when—
Pat.
I felt something stick to my arm and turned to look.
"Meiri?"
"What?"
"...What are you doing?"
"I'm going with you."
I swallowed the words "Do you really need to link arms for that?" Since she came from Sinmibi, I figured she simply lacked common knowledge about human customs. In reality, if any other cadet had done this, there would've been immediate whispering, but because it was Meiri, everyone just let it pass.
'She's so small that it feels more like...'
More like a father and daughter than anything romantic. I moved toward the classroom without making a big deal of it and scanned my surroundings.
'Sohyun and Velos are also taking magic... Oh, that guy too?'
Even as a veteran player, I couldn't know every single detail. I knew everything related to Lee Seokhyun, but for everything else, I had no choice but to keep checking.
"By the way, how tall are you?"
"131. Why?"
"Just curious."
"How about you?"
"I'm 170."
"Not that big of a difference."
"..."
While exchanging trivial conversation with Meiri because there wasn't much else to do, Yu Sohyun pushed through the crowd and appeared beside me. Velos positioned himself in front since I was at the very front, and Benras followed closely behind me. Velos had moved ahead because he couldn't stand being behind a commoner, while Benras was probably trailing me because I'd beaten him soundly both in the survival exercise and at the training ground. The result was a strange formation with one cadet positioned on each side of me.
'Is this really necessary?'
Being sandwiched between three main characters and one supporting character felt like a bad omen for my future. It was like a prophecy warning me that I was destined to be at the center of a storm.
The one saving grace was that cadets from other classes couldn't see this. The meritocratic academy didn't even allow students from different classes to attend the same lectures. That was why so many professors had been prepared.
'Dumbasses. Even if you stick them between smart kids, no synergy comes out of it.'
I suddenly remembered something a notoriously foul-mouthed professor had said while I was playing the game. Just let them cluster with their own kind, and only the truly venomous ones would break away from the pack. Even if they didn't say it out loud, most professors taught with that mindset.
"By the way, what are we learning?"
"For the first class, we'll probably cover basic magic theory."
The most important thing when choosing a double major was selecting which time slots to attend. Mirinae Academy didn't give double majors any special privileges. If two double-major subjects overlapped, a student had to choose one and miss the other. This often resulted in cadets who naively chose double majors ending up on academic probation from their very first year. Now that information had accumulated, fewer students attempted double majors and some know-how existed, but it remained a difficult area.
That was why establishing priorities was crucial right now.
'I've already analyzed the entire major curriculum—when each subject is taught in the first period and what kind of exams they'll give.'
Even though I hadn't visited the academy often, I had the curriculum completely figured out. It was the same principle as not neglecting maintenance on a path you didn't walk often. Knowing which time slots were most efficient and which required subjects were worth taking versus which weren't—when it came to this field, no one could match me.
"You don't even know that? As expected of a commoner. Even after becoming class president, you're still lacking in many areas. Today's class is Mana Sensitivity."
"Then you take over as class president."
"..."
Velos had opened his mouth as if he'd finally remembered the curriculum after hearing me, but immediately shut it after my follow-up remark.
'Mana Sensitivity.'
The reason I'd chosen to attend magic class before external studies was precisely because of Mana Sensitivity. Lee Seokhyun had the worst possible constitution for holding mana, but that was no longer the case.
'Natural mana.'
If I could properly use this, everything from here on would become much easier.
'I will obtain it.'
With firm resolve, I took my seat according to class ranking.
"Class president, please come forward."
I stood up immediately.
'Damn class president title.'
It wasn't helpful in the slightest.