Election Campaign
The lunch bell rang, and as we all ate together, Yuni suddenly spoke up.
“Oh, right. Abel. I’m quitting the Photography Club.”
“What? Out of nowhere?”
“Actually, I haven’t been enjoying it for months now. I can’t even tell if we’re the Photography Club or the Hiking Club. We climb mountains every single day, so the fatigue never goes away over the weekend. It’s exhausting.”
Since she was a mage, her stamina was naturally low. It made sense that she’d be worn out from weekend hikes that never seemed to end. Abel nodded in understanding.
“Yeah, that tracks. So where are you planning to go? Can you even switch clubs at this point?”
“That’s the thing! I’m thinking of joining the Student Council this time around. It’s election season, after all. Once the Student Council President is elected, they’ll probably start recruiting new members, right? Abel, how about you come with me?”
“Me too? Hmm… I don’t exactly hate the idea….”
“Then let’s switch together! Yeah? Please?”
Yuni deliberately acted cute, using her sweetest voice to coax him. Watching the two of them, I couldn’t help but realize how much time had passed.
‘It’s already that time, huh.’
Exactly one week from now, on the following Monday, Isis would take her seat as Student Council President. There were only two candidates: Isis and Remian Herana, the Crown Prince’s fiancée—the same woman who had stomped on my foot back at the club fair.
In this election, Remian Herana would lose to Isis and end up harboring an even deeper sense of inferiority. She would try to rig the vote results. I remembered that Abel would accidentally witness her doing it over the weekend and put a stop to it. Thanks to that incident, she would get noticed by Isis and grow quite close to her.
‘That part I’d rather avoid.’
This place wasn’t a game anymore. It was reality. With so many variables already in play, there was no telling how their relationship might change. The thought that the two of them might grow even closer than they had in the game made my stomach twist with displeasure.
Even though our souls were different, we still shared the same blood. Feeling this way toward my own sister… If Isis ever found out, no matter how much she loved me, she wouldn’t be able to stop herself from feeling disgusted.
“Haa…”
I let out a small sigh and shook my head, clearing away the useless thoughts. There was no time to dwell on pointless worries.
“Oh, Yuni! Then I’ll come too!”
“Huh? Yas too?”
“Hey, why not? I’m in the same Photography Club, aren’t I? You can’t just leave me behind! Let’s head over to the Student Council after lunch. They’re probably recruiting election committee members right now. It’d be good to get some early points. Luan, what about you? It’s your sister’s thing!”
“I dunno.”
“What do you mean, you dunno! You’re coming with us, right? I’m counting on it, got it?”
I didn’t say anything more. In the end, my job was simply to stay nearby, observe the situation, and block any serious variables. Participating as an election committee member wasn’t a bad way to do that.
It definitely wasn’t because I was wary of Abel getting too close to Isis.
After that, we gathered opinions from Alissa and Pernia as well, finished our meal, and marched straight to the Student Council room.
“What brings you all here?”
“You’re recruiting committee members right now, correct? We’d all like to participate.”
“Ah, is that so? Then could you please fill out some personal information here?”
The clerk who had been accepting applications in front of the Student Council room smiled brightly and handed us the documents. After quickly reading through the precautions and rules, we signed without delay.
We were just about to hear our individual roles when—
Commotion detected outside.
A stir rose from beyond the door. Soon it swung open, and Isis appeared alongside Princess Regina. She accepted the greetings of the committee members, scanning the room, until her eyes landed on me. They widened in surprise, and she rushed over in a single stride.
“Luan? What are you doing here?”
“…I came to join the election committee.”
“Really? Is that true?”
A bright smile bloomed across Isis’s face. The serious atmosphere instantly melted into warmth, radiating a dazzling beauty. Soft gasps of admiration rippled through the room. Every male student stared at me with pure envy.
They had no idea. Having to face that face every single day while being forced to suppress my desires because of the wall between us as siblings… Of course, I had already crossed that line with her mouth, but still.
‘Well, that was an accident, so it can’t be helped.’
I ignored the concentrated attention and pointed to the side.
“Yes. My friends dragged me along.”
“Friends? …Ah!”
Isis looked at the group as if she had only just noticed them. Yuni tensed up immediately under her gaze.
“H-hello! I’m Yuni! Pleased to meet you!”
“Is that so? I’m Isis Priuli. Thank you for being friends with Luan.”
“Not at all!”
After greeting the rest of the group, Isis carefully opened her mouth again.
“But may I ask just one thing?”
“Of course! Ask anything!”
She slowly looked over the female students in the group, then glanced at me before dropping a completely unexpected question.
“Is anyone here dating our Luan?”
“E-eh!? No! I have someone I like!”
“Absolutely not! Who would ever date a guy like him…!”
“Not me, nyang.”
Yuni panicked while Alissa burned with anger. In contrast, Pernia simply stated her position calmly. At their intense reactions, Isis looked momentarily startled before her expression softened with what seemed like relief. However, she shot Alissa a slightly sharp look, clearly displeased with her tone.
“I see. I had no idea Luan had so many pretty friends around him.”
Given the many bad rumors about me when it came to women, she apparently never imagined I might actually have female friends. Honestly, even I was surprised by the current situation. If I hadn’t become roommates with Yas, none of this would have happened.
As if reading my thoughts, Yas tossed a stone into the calm lake that was Isis.
“It seems the President’s sister still doesn’t know. This guy is dating the class president from our class.”
“…Did you say class president?”
“Yes. Her name’s Deborah. She’s incredibly pretty and an amazing mage. She’s a disciple of the Grey Magic Tower Master.”
“Grey Magic Tower Master…”
The bright smile that had filled her face vanished in an instant. Isis’s entire aura grew heavy and gloomy. Did she have some kind of issue with the Grey Magic Tower Master? The clearly negative reaction was so obvious that even the shameless Yas sensed something was off and fell silent.
While everyone else watched the situation nervously, Isis, who had been lost in her own thoughts, snapped back to reality and asked me again.
“Luan, is this true?”
“No. It’s a baseless rumor.”
“A baseless rumor?”
“Yes. There was a strange rumor going around the first-years before the break. Something about people dating. It’s the same with me and Deborah.”
“…Is that so?”
The darkness clouding Isis’s face lifted slightly. She opened and closed her mouth as if she wanted to ask something more, then gave an awkward smile.
“Thank you for answering. I’ll be going now. I have something to discuss with the committee chairman.”
“Alright. See you later.”
“Yes. And everyone, please continue getting along well with Luan. I’ll be off now.”
Isis turned and walked away. As I watched her retreating figure, my eyes suddenly met Regina’s. Those golden eyes, brilliant as the sun, were filled with suspicion. They also carried an oddly hostile glint.
‘What’s with her?’
The moment I tilted my head in confusion, Regina straightened her posture and looked away. Something about it felt unpleasant.
Time passed, and the weekend arrived. Late that evening, I was kidnapped.
*
After finishing my training and returning to the dormitory late at night, I lost consciousness. When I woke up, I found myself surrounded by men wearing masks. I was currently tied to a chair with magic restraints on all four limbs.
“Who are you people? Why did you kidnap me?”
First of all, they weren’t from the Dark Cult. It wasn’t the right time yet, and more importantly, I couldn’t sense any demonic energy from them. If it really had been them, they would have one hundred percent dragged me into an experiment to implant a demon spirit. I wouldn’t have had the luxury of calmly assessing the situation. I would have been screaming in agony as my entire body was consumed.
At my question, one of the kidnappers closest to me stepped forward.
“Stay quiet. We’ll release you soon.”
“What?”
“So just stay still. If you keep resisting, you’ll only make things painful for yourself.”
I examined the kidnapper’s eyes. There wasn’t the slightest flicker of agitation in those light brown pupils. He genuinely had no intention of harming me.
‘What’s their goal?’
As I pondered, I suddenly remembered what tomorrow was.
‘It’s the day the voting results are announced.’
The election of the Student Council President. Could this kidnapping be connected to that?
It was worth testing.
“Damn it! Who ordered this!? Was it Isis? Did Isis tell you to kidnap me? Is she trying to steal my position as family heir? You worthless bastards!”
“……”
These guys were ultimately just hired hands following orders from their client. No matter how wildly I acted, they couldn’t treat me carelessly. If my guess was correct, they must have received specific instructions from their employer in advance.
“Release me right now! I’ll grant you all knighthoods! Once I become the family head, that much will be easy!”
“……”
“Argh! How dare Isis do this to me!? If I get out of here alive, I’ll expose every last one of your secrets!”
So if I mentioned that part, they would have no choice but to report it to their client. Just like right now.
The kidnappers exchanged glances, apparently communicating through telepathy, before one of them went up the stairs and disappeared. So this was an underground basement.
After that, I continued ranting for a long time. I never revealed anything truly important, only leaking fragments of information that would spark curiosity. Eventually, after about four hours, the kidnapper returned with the client.
In addition to the original kidnappers, there was one woman and a large man who appeared to be her escort knight. The woman walked right up to me. She must have been wearing lenses—her eyes sparkled silver. I looked up at her as she stared down at me and poured out my rage.
“Isis! You finally showed up. What, were you afraid these guys would learn your secret? Huh?”
“……”
“Say something, damn it!”
Even as I spoke, I felt a pang of guilt. If it really were Isis, she would have been incredibly worried the moment she learned of my kidnapping. Yet here I was, her little brother, spewing curses even though I knew it was all fake. To prevent anything like this from happening again, I’d have to be more careful about my surroundings from now on.
As I reflected inwardly, the silent woman finally spoke.
“…Go ahead. Speak.”
“Heh heh heh… You think I won’t?”
“I’m telling you to do it. What exactly is my shameful secret?”
She referred to herself as “I” without hesitation, just like Isis would. If she was going to imitate her, shouldn’t she at least match the speech pattern? It seemed she hadn’t realized that Isis only changed her tone when she was with me. It was so ridiculous I almost laughed.
“Ha! Your shameful secret, you ask? It’s this.”
I paused for a moment, then looked straight into her eyes and continued.
“The fact that instead of competing fairly, you resort to kidnapping.”
“…What?”
“Did you think I wouldn’t know? You even wore lenses to imitate her. How utterly pathetic. Remian Herana.”
“Ugh!”
The client’s identity was none other than Remian Herana. The daughter of Count Herana, the Crown Prince’s fiancée, and one of the candidates for Student Council President.
Her original plan had probably been to kidnap me and inform Isis, forcing her to miss the vote announcement. No matter the outcome, it would look like a voluntary withdrawal, allowing Remian Herana to win the presidency by default.
The problem was that I had noticed her scheme in advance and lured her here instead.
I sneered at Remian, who was clenching her fists and trembling with rage.
“What’s wrong? Feeling ashamed? Is it because your inferiority complex drove you to do something this pathetic? Or is it because you imitated Isis, the very person you supposedly hate so much, just to get information? Which is it?”
“…Shut up. How dare trash like you—!”
“Puhaha! Then you must be something even lower than trash. Do you admit it?”
“I told you to shut up!”
After I kept mocking her, Remian finally lost control of her anger and slapped me across the face.
SLAP!
The impact made my vision flash white. The inside of my cheek tore, and blood flowed out. When I turned my head back to face her, Remian violently threw off her robe and removed her lenses, dropping her disguise. She had turquoise hair and blue eyes. Her features were calm yet strikingly elegant.
Of course, right now that face was twisted hideously with rage and humiliation.
“You filthy worm dare insult me? All you can do is harass helpless women!”
SLAP! SLAP! SLAP!
Her palm repeatedly cut through the air, striking my face again and again. My vision shook violently left and right. Only after delivering a full eight slaps did Remian finally calm down.
“Ptoo!”
I spat out the blood that had pooled in my mouth. As expected of someone bold enough to run for Student Council President, her hand was no joke. Since she was on the same level as Isis, I would lose for sure if I didn’t use either Hwasin-hwa or the Rape Declaration.
‘That’s actually fortunate.’
Luring Remian here wasn’t just to uncover who was backing her. Conveniently, all the kidnappers were men. I had been worried I might have to turn gay in the worst-case scenario, but now I could relax. Sorry to the Crown Prince, but he should consider this punishment for failing to keep a proper eye on his fiancée.
Just as I was about to open my mouth again—
BOOOOM!
The entire ceiling collapsed, and from above, Isis descended, stepping between me and the others.
“Huh? Isis?”
“Luan! Are you okay?”
She looked at me with deep concern, but the moment she saw my swollen cheek and the blood at the corner of my mouth, her face hardened like ice. She turned her head and delivered a terrifying slap to Remian Herana’s cheek.
SLAP!
“How dare you lay a hand on my little brother.”
Isis’s fury descended upon the entire area.