Chapter 188
Chapter Title: The Phoenix Gambit
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Leo and Chen Xia immediately headed for the club building.
“Now that I think about it, Young Master Leo, didn't you say you were going to create a Hero Studies Club?”
Leo looked on with an indifferent expression as Chen Xia tilted her head and bit her index finger, as if the thought had just occurred to her.
“I was. But I became the student council president before I could.”
“That’s a shame. I was thinking of joining the club you were making.”
“You seem very interested in heroes.”
“Is there anyone who dislikes tales of heroes?”
Chen Xia had a point.
In what was called the Age of Heroes, many people admired heroes.
As such, tales of heroes were also objects of admiration.
If you grabbed any Lumerne student and asked, they would each have a favorite hero's tale.
“Is that so?”
“Yes.”
Chen Xia said with a faint smile and a nod.
“They’re cool, aren’t they?”
Her murmur, which sounded as if she were gazing at some distant ideal, made Leo tilt his head.
“You say that as if you could never become one.”
Chen Xia’s eyes widened as she looked at Leo.
“Didn’t you enroll in Lumerne because you dreamed of becoming a hero?”
Watching Leo’s back as he walked away after saying that in passing, Chen Xia burst into laughter without realizing it.
“You know, Young Master Leo, sometimes you really sound like an old man.”
“Do I?”
“See? You don’t even deny it.”
Chen Xia came up beside Leo, leaned forward, and looked up at him.
“Are you really an old man who got younger?”
*Well, I was reborn.*
*She's strangely sharp,* Leo thought with a smirk.
In the meantime, the two arrived at the club building and immediately began their student council work.
“Where should we start?”
“Hmm. The Gardening Club is close. Should we go there first?”
“Let’s.”
Nodding, Leo headed toward the Gardening Club with Chen Xia.
Seeing the area around the Gardening Club, Leo looked dumbfounded.
*This is practically a jungle.*
Summer was now over, and autumn was approaching.
The students were wearing their fall uniforms, but the area around the Gardening Club had a hot and humid climate created by magic.
Entering the Gardening Club, which could easily be called a small jungle, they saw countless plants.
Seeing them, Leo’s expression turned strange.
“There are even phantasmal beast-type carnivorous plants mixed in.”
“Yes. It’s Lumerne’s Gardening Club, after all. They wouldn’t grow anything ordinary, would they?”
Leo looked at Chen Xia, who shrugged, and said.
“I heard the Art Club and Music Club do pretty normal activities.”
“That’s true. But a lot of Lumerne’s club activities are quite dangerous.”
As a student council officer, Chen Xia was well-informed about matters concerning the entire school.
“And there are also ordinary fruit trees like this.”
Walking by, Chen Xia reached out, picked an apple, and took a crunchy bite.
Leo looked at the tree she had reached for.
Besides apples, the tree bore a variety of other fruits.
*This is practically a chimera.*
Someone with considerable expertise in magical engineering was clearly in the Gardening Club.
Leo and Chen Xia headed toward the clubroom.
Just then, several large flower buds gaped open and lunged at Leo and Chen Xia.
An ordinary person would have been terrified, but Leo and Chen Xia didn’t even bat an eye.
It wasn't just because they were the top first-year students.
You couldn’t survive at Lumerne if you were startled by something like this.
Leo dodged the lunging bud, grabbing its stem to subdue it, while Chen Xia flicked another bud on its head.
*Thwack!*
Of course, the carnivorous flower hit by her finger went flying.
*Tweet!*
Just then, a sharp whistle blew.
The rampaging carnivorous flowers immediately calmed down.
“Who’s here? We don’t usually get visitors in the Gardening Club.”
A female student emerged, parting the bushes.
Wearing a fourth-year badge and the Magic Department emblem, she had light green hair and green eyes.
Chen Xia spoke to her.
“We’re from the student council.”
“Huh? You’re Chen Xia, right? Are you here because of the Lumerne-Seirun Exhibition? And… Leo Flove?”
The fourth-year from the Gardening Club flinched upon seeing Leo.
“We’re here for an inspect—”
“Oh my! Mr. President! What brings you to such a humble place!”
The fourth-year, not caring in the slightest that Leo was a first-year, rushed over at incredible speed and began rubbing her hands together.
“You must have suffered in this sweltering heat! If you were planning to visit, you should have told us beforehand! Come, come! Inside!”
Her attitude was so polite it was hard to believe this was how a fourth-year treated a first-year.
*She’s certainly sensitive when the budget is on the line.*
The club presidents weren’t just upperclassmen.
Lumerne’s club activities were so in-depth that they were more than just extracurriculars, often proving immensely helpful even after graduation and entering society.
In related fields, research that surpassed the level of a mere club was frequently conducted.
And the most important thing for research was, of course, funding.
As a result, club presidents were always starved for research funds so they could conduct the studies they wanted.
*A first-year? Who cares? He’s the student council president! The moneybags!*
The Gardening Club president, Ninea, was confident she could bow at a ninety-degree angle even if she were facing a goblin.
Having guided Leo and Chen Xia to the clubroom, Ninea kicked the door open and said.
“Everyone, bow your heads and kneel! The money— ah, no! The next student council president has graced us with his presence!”
“Huh?”
“The, the student council president?”
The Gardening Club members shot up from their seats in surprise.
And they all crowded around Leo and Chen Xia.
“Welcome!”
“We’re honored by your visit!”
“The placard! The placard!”
The students gave them a fervent welcome.
They were all students from the Magic and Summoning Departments.
“Hmph. What an honor for someone so important to grace this hovel with their presence.”
Just then, Eliza, a first-year who was in the far back of the clubroom, spoke while filing her nails as usual.
“You were in the Gardening Club?”
“Yes. I like flowers.”
*Hoo!* Blowing on her nails, Eliza stood up from the sofa.
“For someone who likes flowers, there weren’t any outside.”
“Th-that’s because! The seniors in the club have such bizarre tastes…!”
“Bizarre? Then why does our dear Lady Eliza remain in such a bizarre place?”
As Ninea spoke mockingly, Eliza scoffed.
“Hmph! If I become the president of this club, I’ll get rid of all these weird plants and turn this place into a beautiful flower garden!”
“Noooooo!”
Ninea shrieked and clung to Eliza.
“Don’t do it! These are the babies I’ve worked hard to raise for four years! They’re like my own children! Eliza! Don’t do it! *Sob sob!*”
An elite like Eliza was sure to naturally become the club president over time.
The thought that the plants she had painstakingly raised might all die in the distant future made Ninea weep with genuine sorrow.
“Ah, alright! I won’t do it, so… Aaaah?! Stop pulling on my skirt!”
Eliza tried to shake Ninea off in horror.
She had absolutely no dignity, neither as a fourth-year senior nor as a club president.
However, Eliza, who was known for her temper, was completely powerless against Ninea.
*A natural enemy.*
While Leo was murmuring to himself, Eliza barely managed to calm Ninea down.
And she cleared her throat.
“Ahem! In any case, if you’re here on student council business, it must be for an inspection and budget assessment, right?”
Eliza’s eyes sharpened.
“Shall we have a little talk, then?”
At her question, Leo glanced at Ninea.
“Isn’t there a Gardening Club president?”
“I’m the vice president. And I handle all the budget issues.”
At Eliza’s words, Leo looked at Ninea.
“Yep. After Eliza joined, the club’s finances improved dramatically.”
“That’s because the so-called president is the type to empty the club budget to buy any plant she fancies.”
“My goodness, such an irresponsible person…!”
“That’s my senior! My senior!”
“Anyway, Eliza! For the Lumerne-Seirun Exhibition, you need to squeeze out a huge budget—”
“You’re not helping, so drag her away.”
As Eliza spoke coldly, the third-year club members grabbed Ninea by both arms and dragged her away.
“This is insubordination! Hey! Aaaargh! Listening to a first-year! Don’t you have any pride as seniors… Mph! Mph! Mph!!”
“You’re not one to talk, senior.”
“Just come quietly. We’ll leave the additional budget to Eliza.”
Watching the scene, Chen Xia chuckled and took a memo from her pocket.
Eliza had the two of them sit at a sofa and table on one side of the clubroom and sat down across from them.
She clapped her hands elegantly, and another first-year student brought out refreshments.
“This is expensive tea.”
As Chen Xia sipped her tea in admiration, Eliza picked up her teacup and smiled.
“We are the Gardening Club, after all. We’re also running a tea leaf business in conjunction with the Commerce Club.”
“I think I heard something like that from Karl.”
In Lumerne clubs, you could engage in as much economic activity as you wanted, as long as you had the ability.
Of course, a portion of the profits had to be paid to Lumerne, but the value provided by the Lumerne brand name was so immense that the money wasn’t considered a waste.
“You’re aware that economic performance is a major factor in budget increases, right?”
“I know. But with this much profit, it seems like you wouldn’t need an additional budget.”
“It’s the Lumerne-Seirun Exhibition. There’s a lot to prepare.”
“How much do you want?”
“As much as the Gardening Club’s entire annual budget.”
At those words, Leo looked at Chen Xia.
Chen Xia shook her head.
It meant the amount was excessive.
“Make it one-fourth.”
“No compromises. We’ve prepared all the supporting documents to justify this budget.”
As the heir to the Hergin family, a famous heroic house from the northern continent, Eliza had been thoroughly trained not only as a summoner but also as a future head of the family.
As such, she was very proficient in this kind of paperwork and budgetary matters.
“Hmm.”
Watching Leo review the documents, Eliza’s lips curled into a smirk.
*As long as you submit reasonable data, you can get a budget increase of any amount.*
Eliza elegantly crossed her legs.
*Leo Flove. He may have won the presidency with his skills, but are his administrative abilities just as good?*
Eliza saw right through the fact that Leo, the new student council president, being sent on an inspection was the student council's way of testing him.
Therefore, she intended to respond by giving him her all.
*I’ll fleece him for all he’s worth.*
“The documents are solid.”
Chen Xia, who had plenty of experience with student council work, spoke with a slightly troubled expression.
Chen Xia, too, was less capable than Eliza in this area.
“What is the Gardening Club planning to do for the Lumerne-Seirun Exhibition?”
Eliza’s eye twitched.
“Th-that is…”
“We’re going to fight the carnivorous plants from Seirun’s Gardening Club! For the past four years, our club has been victorious—”
“Seniors!”
Eliza shouted sharply, and the other Gardening Club members dragged Ninea away again.
Pressing her temples, Eliza said.
“A-anyway! Beating Seirun is what’s important, right? We desperately need that budget!”
In truth, they didn’t need that much money.
She had requested the budget increase simply because she wanted to make future club activities more comfortable.
*You have to get as much budget as you can, when you can!*
Eliza lifted her chin.
“We are demanding our rightful due.”
If Leo and Chen Xia had been upperclassmen on the council, they would have been well-versed in club affairs and might have found something to nitpick, but the two were in the dark about club activities.
*What should I do?*
Chen Xia was scratching her cheek.
Leo raised his palm.
*Fwoosh!*
*Chirp?*
Piora appeared through a summoning circle.
Seeing her, Eliza flinched.
*A ph-phoenix?*
“Piora.”
*Chirp?*
Leo placed the approval form, with one-fourth of the budget Eliza had requested written on it, in Piora’s beak.
“Go get that person’s signature.”
*Chirp-!*
Thinking she’d been given a pointless errand, Piora spat out the document.
Looking at her, Leo said.
“This is a job only you can do.”
Piora paused at his words, then lifted her head high and nodded firmly.
Then, she took the document in her beak and hopped over to Eliza.
*Chirp-! Chirp-!*
“Ugh…!”
Eliza, her face flushed, began to panic.
She had no confidence she could win against someone she couldn't reason with.
*Scrape!*
“Let’s go. She’ll get the signature on her own.”
Leo led Chen Xia out of the Gardening Club.
Watching him, Chen Xia tilted her head.
“Will that be alright?”
“She’ll get the signature.”
“Miss Eliza seemed quite firm.”
“Summoners have a huge soft spot for phoenixes.”
After a moment’s thought, Chen Xia let out a dry laugh as if she understood.
“But that seems a little harsh.”
“A friend of mine once told me that if negotiations seem unfavorable, you should grab hold of a weakness and relentlessly tear into it.”
“Hmm? You had a friend like that? That seems like a rather cowardly idea for a hero to come up with.”
Looking at the surprised Chen Xia, Leo thought to himself.
*Those were the words of Lisinas, who was called the Hero of Heroes.*
Recalling the King of Wisdom, who was also often called a swindler, Leo looked at Chen Xia.
She was the most mature of the first-years, but it seemed she still had a pure side to her.
*Or is it? Maybe it’s me and the others, aside from Ar-on, who are the dirty ones?*