Chapter 63
Chapter 63
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 63
Chapter Title: Your Back of the Head, Is It Safe? (10)
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#12 Their Side: A Certain Student Council President's Side Story
"Of course we have to split it up and eat."
After desperately charging in but realizing it still wasn't enough against the Silver Devil.
It felt like we'd been hit by the space-time magic from legends—when we came to, we were on the rooftop again, getting thoroughly punished by the student council execs for a good while.
While Vice President Karen was in the middle of stomping one of the student council execs, she suddenly remembered and told us about what happened with Professor Niserwin.
And that was about preparing food for us.
But the professor didn't have much to give, and as expected, for twenty people, he only prepared rations for ten.
On top of that:
"Around 1 p.m. is prime time for students to make their escape, right?"
Asking us to scrounge up food in the middle of that intense battle!
"Exactly. And it's when the Silver Devil shows up."
"He's basically setting us up as decoys."
"But we still have to escape."
"But we need to secure food in case we fail."
"Our ultimate boss is the Silver Devil, after all."
"Damn it, I'd rather fight the Demon King. At least fighting him might get you killed."
"The heroes from the old legends had it easy. If they lost, they died."
"We can't even die."
Even the soldiers heading into that great war that shook the continent probably didn't have our kind of worries.
Those who marched out to defend their homeland and families with death on the line—they're respectable. But what are we fighting death's terror for?
Our studies? Were studies always this dangerous and scary?
The other academies aren't like this!
"No choice. That's just our fate."
Didn't some famous Imperial Army general say that to the scholars forcibly drafted because of the war?
[If you don't die, this too shall pass!]
"Let's just endure for another three months or so. Once the Imperial Tournament ends, we'll have our freedom."
"I'm not sure our sanity will hold out that long, President."
"I totally agree, but no helping it for now. Let's have Lisén and four others who are fast form the food-gathering team."
Someone suggested splitting up to secure food, but opposition came right away.
"What if we skip lunch? Wouldn't focusing on the strategy be better?"
Even at full strength, we couldn't breach the academy's front gate.
Well, we hadn't even left the first floor to begin with.
"No, that 'one person's share' Professor Niserwin mentioned might not be a normal person's portion."
"Like a kid's serving, or an elf's."
"Yeah, so securing food is essential. Plus, he said he'd leave ten at the academy, but never said he'd give ten to us."
But our opponent is always Professor Niserwin, who defies common sense.
Against someone who might do anything with the food—calling it food is generous—we need reserves for a prolonged fight.
"Alright, let's start gathering from tonight's dinner!"
Two hours after declaring that so confidently.
"I-is there even any?"
We couldn't find a single scrap of food.
"Really none?"
"None. I even had a dog-type familiar sniff around, and aside from the duty room, there wasn't a whiff of food anywhere."
"Checked for invisibility spells or other magic interference?"
"We checked everything we could in the rooms. Still nothing."
Did that mean we could secure food starting tomorrow?
But if so, they'd have told us right away... unless?
"Hang on, I need to check something."
"Want me to come?"
"Nah, better if I go alone."
It was such an absurd hunch that I'd check it solo first.
If it were last year, I'd have dismissed it as ridiculous. But this year? Different story.
"I'm Nerkia, the student council president."
"Hm? Oh, come in."
A light knock and my name got permission from the other side.
It was nearly 10 p.m. now.
The dark academy had no students or professors left.
Except for us on the rooftop—and one other place.
"What's up this late?"
The duty officers in the academy's duty room!
Due to the emergency, the academy always kept a certain number of professors on site, guarding it until the others arrived in the morning.
"And it's the only place where food's been found."
"Hm? From Professor Niserwin?"
The professor thought for a moment, then shook his head.
"Nothing special. Just that since you're holed up on the rooftop, don't worry about you unless you try to escape. Nothing for you to concern yourselves with."
So, first intel: the duty professors are the ones who'd come after us if we bolted.
But that's as expected, so not huge news.
"Even stories unrelated to us are fine."
"Hm? Other than that... Oh, right! Weirdly, he insisted we pack two lunchboxes each. And eat only after 7:30 exactly. Odd order, but Professor Niserwin's basically the real number one here now, so we follow. Thanks to it, one for dinner, one for a snack."
Ah... my wild guess was turning real.
"Professor, if I recall, there are five duty professors total. Did he say that to all of them?"
"Yeah. It came down in the duty notice. Applies to everyone on shift."
Five on duty. Two lunchboxes each.
Exactly ten lunchboxes total.
And eat precisely after 7:30.
Right there witnessing my insane hunch becoming reality, my brain started spinning fast.
"Must be unrelated to us."
"Yeah, it'd be weirder if it was."
My poker face was so perfect, I thought about acting if nothing else panned out.
Lucky that the ones guarding our food don't even know it's ours.
Or unlucky—at least five were already gone.
No, the real kicker: Professor Niserwin, who cooked up this nonsense, isn't human.
Chatted a few more pointless minutes to keep it natural, then headed straight back to the rooftop.
"Listen up. Our food is the professors' lunchboxes."
If I said that at another academy, what'd they think?
Most would call me crazy. But this is Yuglasia.
The already-mad academy's mad students took it in stride.
"Just raid the duty room, easy."
"Professors? We've fought 'em plenty already."
"Some profs might've eaten theirs."
"Damn, gotta hit 'em faster from now on."
Seeing my utterly reliable execs accept it without question, I laid out the plan.
And then.
"Professor?"
"Hm? What is it, Karen?"
"Found something weird over there. Could you come check it out?"
"Hm? In the academy?"
Classic Yuglasia student council acting chops.
Pretending to be dead while threatened by a steel pipe? Our skills were grandmaster level.
"Breaching."
With Karen luring the professor out simple as that, we stormed the duty room and started searching for lunchboxes.
"Lunchboxes here!"
"Here too! But these are empty."
"One secured so far? What's inside?"
"Ugh... simple fruits and veggies. No... meat."
"No whining. It's precious rations."
"Infiltration Team 5F reports! 5F wiped out! All 5F lunchboxes gone!"
"3F Infiltration Team reporting! Large meat-packed lunchbox found!"
"7F Infiltration Team reporting! 7F contents: bread!"
"Good, now just need 1F to succeed..."
I nodded in satisfaction at the report from the comms guy post-swift exit.
Combine the menus, and we could issue simple sandwiches.
The key now: 1F. They might react differently once we near it—or even 2F—since it's our escape route.
"1F Team reports food secured! Smoked chicken and meats, bit of veggies!"
"Nice work! Professor didn't suspect?"
"Straight-up begged. Clung on saying we were starving, and he tossed it over."
"Good. Pride like that won't survive Yuglasia. But can't use it again, right?"
"Agreed. Professor Niserwin wouldn't allow handouts this easy."
"Grab your haul and return to the rooftop!"
First op: 50% success.
Per person: quarter-portion bread, meat, veggies.
But as I ate this meager grub, a tear streamed from my right eye.
"Ah..."
Tears of joy at how delicious it was?
Or for my plight—as a noble's kid, if not high nobility?
Or as a human, for what we'd lost?
"President, why're you crying?"
"You're crying too."
"Sob... So good! This bread's too good!"
"The meat... melts in your mouth!"
"Delicious, so good it's bringing tears!"
Not just me—everyone teared up eating their shares, same feelings.
"Hey, doesn't this feel like camping? Nice vibe."
"What bullshit, this camping?"
"Yeah, watch your words."
"No, let's at least pretend! Don't drag us back to reality right away!"
"Yeah, let's pretend. How often do we get the academy at night?"
"Till we escape."
"Please, just the mood?"
Watching the mood-makers bicker with reality-checkers, we started laughing one by one.
Maybe 'cause they're comrades in suffering.
These memories—now seeming precious—would later be horrific standouts.
-Or so I thought.
For exactly a week.
Or precisely...
"I figured you wouldn't know, so I came to tell you myself."
"Uh, know what?"
Professor Niserwin's sudden arrival threw us, and then those words.
"Student Council Vice President Lisén safely escaped the academy at dawn today and earned the 'right' to attend classes starting now."
We froze staring at the professor who left after that.
What snapped us out:
"Again? Lisén again? You again!"
Was Vice President Karen's furious howl.
"What the hell!"
"Escaped? Possible?"
"We agreed to go together! Why alone?"
"Forgot vacation? Plan A's first traitor was Lisén!"
"Damn, once a traitor, always one?!"
Everyone here had betrayed at least once.
No, forget that—we'd hustled to become traitors.
But now, for unity, to escape this hell, we pool strength!
"Skip lunch rations today—proceed with the plan!"
Cherishing even precious food for this.
Namely!
"Forget escaping—we're grabbing Lisén and executing him today!"
Bloody vengeance on the traitor.
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 63
Chapter Title: #12 Their Side: A Certain Student Council President's Side Story
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