What Is the Student Council President Doing?
The next day.
“Ahaha! Is Selene here?”
“Ugh?! B-Brika, Instructor?!”
Brika appeared wearing a top that boldly exposed her midriff and tight shorts so short they revealed the full length of her legs. Rubelia immediately covered her eyes in panic.
“What is this?! Wearing something like that first thing in the morning?!”
“What do you mean? Morning exercise clothes are supposed to look like this, obviously!”
“Who on earth exercises in clothes like that?!”
“Who? We always wore this in the military. What’s the problem?”
“B-But the exposure is way too extreme!”
“Exposure?”
At the word, Brika glanced down at her own outfit.
“Haha! What does it matter between women? This is normal in the military! The guys even strip their tops off!”
“T-That’s…”
“Since you’re already up, how about exercising with us?”
“What?! You want me to walk around in such shameless clothes too?!”
“Wear whatever you want… If you don’t like it, forget it!”
Taking the refusal at face value, Brika ignored Rubelia and strode over to Selene.
“Right! Get up!”
“Ugh… Brika.”
“Yeah! This is Brika, the one who became unemployed thanks to you!”
“W-Wait, what are you doing to the Professor?!”
“What else? You can’t do morning exercise in those clothes, can you?!”
“Eek! Don’t just strip the Professor’s clothes off like that!”
“What’s the big deal? We’re all women. Of course, in the military I stripped the men’s clothes too…”
“Th-This isn’t the military, it’s a school!”
With a loud rustle, Rubelia’s efforts to stop her were useless against Brika’s powerful grip. In the end, Selene was forced out of bed wearing an outfit almost identical to Brika’s.
“Ahem. The size fits perfectly. Military-made gear really is the best!”
“N-No, these clothes are far too tight! Don’t you have a larger size?”
“…It’s stuffy.”
“We don’t! Anything bigger won’t fit right!”
“Then it’s not the right size!”
“Wrong! It’s not about the clothes fitting the person! The person fits the clothes! That’s how it works in the military! So these clothes are perfect for Selene!”
“What kind of nonsense is that?!”
Rubelia turned to look at Selene. Though shorter than Brika, the clothes clung just as tightly to her, revealing every curve of her figure. Rubelia stared blankly for a moment before her face flushed bright red.
“N-No way! If we go out like this… We’ll definitely be taken for perverts!”
“Pervert? What kind of ridiculous talk is that? Everyone trains like this in the military. I always run morning drills at the academy at dawn, you know?”
“Ugh… So the rumor about a ghost in strange clothes wandering at dawn was actually…”
“Anyway! We’re going!”
“W-Wait a minute! Even if that’s how it is in the military, who does exercise dressed like this here?! That’s abnormal! Completely abnormal!”
“Abnormal?”
“Yes!”
“Hmm…”
At the word abnormal, Brika suddenly stopped moving. Then she began looking Rubelia up and down.
“W-What? Why are you staring at me like that?”
“This whole abnormal thing. Who decides what’s abnormal?”
“Huh? That would be… the majority of people…”
“Right. Well said. The ‘majority’!”
“Huh?”
“Ah, I came in a bit early today, Professor. I wonder why Lady Estelle keeps looking at me with such suspicion. Hoho.”
Mona, the maid who had come to Selene’s room early that morning, witnessed the scene.
“Eek!”
“Hmm? A maid? Perfect timing!”
“Ugh… D-Don’t look…”
For the first time, Mona laid eyes on military-regulation exercise clothes.
“Wh-Wh-What is this?! Why are you all panting in those outfits?!”
“P-Panting?!”
“Huh?! Even Lady Rubelia?! So… you really are that kind of person? A woman who likes women…”
“Wh-Wh-Who said I feel lust toward our Professor?!”
“Professor? Our professor?! This lady?!”
For some reason the two immediately began sparking like flint and steel.
“Whatever, this worked out nicely!”
“Huh? Hyat?! Where are you touching?! Instructor Brika?”
Brika looked at Mona, then began forcibly dressing her in the pile of exercise clothes she had brought.
That dawn at the academy.
“All right, move out!”
“Hueeeeng. At this rate I’ll never get married…”
With the three of them in the lead, Brika grabbed every person they encountered inside the academy and forcibly dressed them. As a result, forty men and women wearing dangerously revealing outfits were rounded up and made to do morning drills.
“Left foot! Left foot!”
“One! Two! Three! Four!”
“Your voices are too weak! Fire a powerful shout forward for five seconds!”
“Hueeeeeeeeeeng!”
Afterward, the academy guards who had been called in detained Brika.
A short while later, in the academy detention room.
“Please be more careful next time, Lady Brika. This is civilized society.”
“Tsk! Bunch of stiff-necked bastards!”
“I didn’t say anything before because you were my superior in the military, but when someone with a figure like yours wears clothes like that, everyone… Ahem. Never mind.”
“Huh? What was that?”
“N-Nothing at all. A-Anyway, you have a visitor.”
“Visitor?”
When Brika, now back in normal clothes, turned her head, a woman wearing a veil stood there.
“Ah, it’s the young lady of Valcazar. What was your name again?”
“Adria Valcazar. Could you leave us alone for a moment?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
At Adria’s gesture, the guards on duty flinched and quickly vacated the room.
“What is it? Did we have something to talk about?”
“Of course. Have you forgotten our previous agreement?”
“Agreement? Oh, that? Was that even worth calling an agreement?”
“Remove Professor Selene from the swordsmanship instructor position.”
“......”
“That was the agreement, and you consented. Yet the matter is being delayed.”
“Remove Selene…”
“Yes. Therefore, rather than remaining idle like this…”
“No… I never made any such promise.”
“Pardon?”
Brika, who didn’t shrink even before the Valcazar name, smiled boldly as she looked at Adria.
“‘A bastard with insufficient skill in swordsmanship took the instructor position.’”
“......”
“‘So get rid of that guy and reclaim my instructor seat for me!’ Wasn’t that the story?”
“You’re playing word games.”
“No. You’re the one playing word games. Do you really think I’d move for mere political scheming?”
“No. But the conclusion would be the same, wouldn’t it? The idea of a professor who only handled theory classes taking over swordsmanship is something even you…”
“Yes. I did get angry, saying it made no sense… But…”
With a soft rasp, Brika casually opened the storage locker, checked her weapon, and fastened it at her waist.
“I was wrong.”
“Wrong?”
“That kid is strong. Strong with the sword as well. In that case, I should retire.”
“If you end things here, your pension will disappear, you realize?”
“Yeah, and that’s all because of you bastards’ political tricks that dragged me out when I was working just fine.”
“......”
“Was it also your doing, dragging me out of my seat and putting Selene there instead?”
“I will not answer that.”
“So you provoked me like this to get rid of Selene? Sorry, but no.”
Brika gathered all her equipment and walked away, ignoring Adria completely.
“I like that kid. So I can’t accept your request.”
“You would turn your back on Valcazar?”
“Turn my back? From the beginning, did it look like this body would cling to any noble house?”
Brika turned to glance at Adria and pointed at the eye covered by her eyepatch.
“You. Do you know how this happened?”
“......”
“You don’t. But if you did, you wouldn’t have said such things. If I were the kind of human who would fold to threats like that, my head would have flown off on the battlefield long before my eyeball ever did.”
“You will regret this.”
“Do as you please.”
“The great imperial family of Valcazar will remember this incident.”
“Haha. Will they now? In that case…”
Brika stopped in her tracks. Looking at the flinching Adria, she gave a bold, hearty smile.
“The Empire’s war hero Brika will not care about this matter at all.”
“The tournament is right around the corner.”
“So soon…”
The imperial swordsmanship tournament, which had been announced would be moved forward, arrived far sooner than Leonia had expected.
“No… Does this even make sense? They’re holding the swordsmanship tournament next week? Can everything really be prepared in time?”
“Well, the higher-ups will take care of that, I suppose.”
It had been only ten days since Leonia began to waver after her defeat to Selene.
In just ten days, the swordsmanship tournament would begin.
It was the result of Damian persuading the Valcazar family, and Valcazar had agreed. With the tournament suddenly advanced by an entire month, Valcazar effortlessly seized control of the market.
The nobles and merchants capable of handling the sudden demand for supplies, construction, and every other logistical chain required for the pulled-forward event somehow all belonged to Valcazar.
Everyone pointed fingers behind their backs at Valcazar’s schemes, but no one dared voice their complaints openly.
“We simply need to prepare comfortably for the swordsmanship event. Isn’t that right?”
“Y-Yes…”
It was Damian who had planned every step in advance and explained it all to Valcazar. He possessed the same worldly wisdom and political acumen his father had gained while dominating the marketplace.
By offering those abilities to Valcazar, he earned trust while simultaneously claiming Valteria during the planning process. He believed it was an utterly flawless operation.
“You must be quite nervous, though.”
“About what?”
“Hehe. Isn’t the very first match of the opening ceremony yours, Lady Leonia? Your opponent will probably…”
He judged this the perfect opportunity to completely shatter Leonia and make her his own.
“Professor Selene, correct?”
“What?”
“Oh? You hadn’t heard?”
“Professor Selene… is my opponent in the opening match?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
Just as Damian predicted, Leonia’s face turned deathly pale the moment she heard Selene’s name. From here on, Leonia was truly stepping foot into Damian’s trap.
“Are you feeling unwell?”
“N-No, I’m fine.”
“Then…”
And so Damian began to act in earnest.
“How about a match with me?”
“A match?”
“I’ll serve as your swordsmanship practice partner.”
“What? With you?”
“Ah, what’s with that look that says it’s ridiculous?”
“No, I didn’t think that far.”
“I may not be a match for you, but I can still serve as practice, can’t I?”
“Hmm…”
“I’m also participating in the swordsmanship tournament. Of course, I won’t be starting in the main bracket.”
“True. You’ll need practice time as well.”
“Exactly. Since it’s the Empire’s sword, could you please help me a little?”
“The Empire’s sword…”
And so Leonia,
“All right. I’ll help my colleague.”
followed Damian without the slightest suspicion.
The garden behind the student council room.
“Hmm?”
Leonia looked around as if she had sensed something strange.
“Something… There’s a strange smell…”
“It must be the flowers. It’s that time of year, after all.”
“Is… that so?”
If it had been any other day, she would have noticed immediately, but today she could not.
Crack.
“Huh? Didn’t you hear something break?”
“No? I didn’t hear anything.”
Thus, Damian shattered the expensive pendant he had purchased from Cassian, releasing the magic contained within it into Leonia.
“I see.”
In that garden where paralyzing poison was now spreading through her body…
“Then… shall we begin?”
Leonia drew her sword without the slightest suspicion.
“Yes. Let’s begin.”