The Storm-Bringing Student Council
The Storm-Bringing Student Council
I'd finished preparing to be a son of a bitch.
Everything had gone smoothly. Well, I'd occasionally heard people call me crazy after I brought the prince down with the flat of my staff on the training grounds, but no legal action had come of it. A Schoolyard Duel was an affair that took place within the bounds of the law.
Both the prince and I had agreed to the duel based on Chivalric principles. The Imperial Household had no real grounds to demand compensation after the fact. And the insurance had taken care of everything else.
Once the legally sanctioned education had wrapped up, I had two matters to attend to. The first was to watch Vermel's expression shift in real time and try to deduce when the next incident would happen. The other was to push forward on the development of Flare.
Morning assembly drew near. Despite the weekend having passed, the prince did not appear.
The only person who still shot me sharp looks was Professor Haspelt.
Haspelt's complexion had grown darker by the day. The shadows under her eyes weren't enough; her hair had a brittle texture, as if it would crumble if I touched it. Her appearance was not that of someone who ate and lived well.
I knew exactly what it took to produce that face. Three conditions, and three conditions alone, guaranteed that exact expression.
First, you had to drink a liter of instant coffee every day.
Second, you had to wash your face no more than three times a day.
Third, you had to stay in a sealed-off room for over eight hours a day. That would produce precisely that wreck of a look.
[How would you know that, master?]
Exactly.
"...That concludes today's assembly matters."
Professor Haspelt hurried out as if something was chasing her.
"Do you know what's up with her?"
"No idea. She's looked exhausted lately."
[Maybe she's working on Flare research on the side?]
The odds were high. Haspelt was the sort who'd work a graduate student like a dog if it served her research. Maybe she'd acquired a good slave behind my back and was enjoying a little secluded research-play.
"Come to think of it, Rote, you're the Fire Magic assistant. How's the work treating you?"
"Apart from a few extra tasks, it's manageable."
Well, perhaps Rote could hold up. Her passion for academics was exceptional, so she'd probably do the work under Haspelt without complaint. Rote wore her emotions on her sleeve, so when things got genuinely hard, she'd say so.
I'd let it slide until then. Right now, I had other things to do.
I waited for the morning classes to end.
**
April approached. By now, you could no longer find a cold front anywhere in the Empire except the north.
The academy grounds were gradually transforming into a flower garden. All manner of trees and plants, eager to spread their seeds, were beginning to color the grounds in seven hues. Walking the grounds, you could spot couples who knew perfectly well that on-campus romance was forbidden yet still engaged in their covert romantic antics.
Ah, was that the infamous "more than friends, less than lovers"? Not that I had any reason to care.
The important thing was what was happening in the Central Plaza. Around this time, upperclassmen would appear one by one and set up something near the fountain.
Club booths.
When you thought of school life, you couldn't omit clubs. Wasn't it a time when students stepped away from their teachers and accomplished something on their own initiative? Granted, in a certain nation's high schools back on Earth, they'd long since devolved into a mere tool to pad out student records....
But this was an academy. Even if they were called clubs, the school provided full financial backing, so many clubs thrived.
Clubs were broadly divided into two categories: hobby clubs, classified as arts or recreation, and academic clubs, which students voluntarily formed for further learning. Naturally, my interest lay in the academic clubs.
After lunch, I took Rote and Frey around to browse the various booths in the Central Plaza. Rote seemed to share my intention.
"I'd like to join somewhere we can experiment and research freely."
Anyone listening might have recoiled. Still a first-year, and already joining an academic club? Textbook definition of a grind.
I had to join an academic club for the Flare research, but the same wasn't true for Rote. First-year was a precious time for any student. The one moment when you could play to your heart's content, fail, and grow.
Rote seemed willing to throw even that opportunity away to follow my lead. In a way, it was pitiable, but from where I stood, it was a jackpot.
Beep! Beep! Beep!
"Anyone care to join the Student Council?"
A familiar voice rang out from a large booth a short distance from the fountain. It was Shadiel, scion of the Ducal House Argana. She served as this school's Public Morals Committee Chair.
Even the Student Council ran promotions, then. Not that I was interested....
"You there! The golden-eyed girl!"
Oh, for goodness' sake.
"Me?"
I pointed at myself blankly. Shadiel nodded and descended from the platform.
"There's a folktale that the Gold-Eye Tribe are bright. Don't tell me it's true?"
"Yes! Aether's a total genius! She can recite pi to 62.8 trillion digits!"
Frey jumped in before I could get a word out. I gave Frey a solid thump to the head. With a short yelp, she adjusted her wide-brimmed witch's hat and glared at me.
So what.
"Then you're probably confident in memorization and speed-reading?"
"W-why do you ask?"
A feeling of dread set in.
Thump. Both hands landed on my shoulders. Shadiel's eyes sparkled as she made her pitch.
"You'd be perfect as the Student Council secretary or treasurer, then!"
"...I'm sorry?"
"Come with me for a moment. I'll let you see and experience for yourself what kind of work the Student Council does!"
"I... don't have any intention of joining the Student Council."
"Your mind might change after you see it. Now, just spare me a little time!"
Shadiel seized my wrist and dragged me toward the building opposite, where the classrooms were clustered.
"I seriously have no plans to join the Student Council!"
"Give it up! The Student Council's authority is absolute, so you can't refuse! Hee hee!"
As I spouted repeated protests, Rote and Frey waved their hands at me.
I gathered they were telling me to have a good trip, but they receded too quickly for me to hear them clearly.
And so, out of nowhere, I headed up to the third-year classrooms to tour the work of the Guidance Department.
God fucking dammit.
**
Tillet Academy had many clubs.
Most were founded for recreation or academic research, but a minority served other purposes. Among them were organizations like the Newspaper Club or the Broadcasting Club, which helped students enjoy a richer school life.
And then there was one body — not exactly a club in that vein, but rather a large student self-governing organization. The Student Council.
The Guidance Department, a subordinate arm of the Student Council, patrolled the campus every day to foster an atmosphere of diligent study and was responsible for school morals. They enforced these standards strictly enough that I myself had been reprimanded for reading a book while walking.
Beep! Beep! Beep!
Not the sound of vigorous whistles, no. Three armband-wearing members, producing a similar noise through Air Magic, barged into a classroom packed with male students. I quietly followed behind them.
"Surprise inspection! You lot, gathered up over there — what are you looking at?"
Shadiel, arms crossed, passed a hand over her already immaculately styled hair — making it even more immaculate — and strode into the group of male students.
Refusing a Student Council inspection was effectively impossible, since the chairman backed them. A chorus of "we're screwed" sighs broke out among the boys.
Moments later, Shadiel relieved one of them of a book and walked back to us.
"What's this?"
"Looks like a novel...."
While the Guidance Department members flanked her with questions, Shadiel let out a low hum. Her spirited emerald eyes fixed on the book. I poked my head out between the three of them and scanned the title.
[6974]
— George Oyle
God, what the hell was this?
"Can't tell from the title alone. What's this book about?"
At Shadiel's question, one of the male students scratched the back of his head and answered. His eyes darted about nervously.
"It's, uh, a dystopian novel depicting a bleak future.... You know, it's famous for its philosophical themes...."
The moment he got that far, his friends clamped a hand over his mouth. That move only made Shadiel narrow her eyes.
The book was thick. About seven hundred pages, perhaps? Lighter than the Hardcover Book I carried, but it was a weight you couldn't dismiss. Definitely too much to read here and render a judgment on the spot.
Shadiel seemed to reach the same conclusion. She looked at me and spoke.
"Aether, why don't you read it?"
I cocked my head.
"Me?"
"Aren't all Gold-Eye Tribe members speed-readers? The Guidance Department is perpetually busy. Unless it's an indecent comic, we never have time to read several pages and judge whether something is erotica."
"Well, what exactly are the criteria for erotica?"
"Sexual description alone does not make something erotica. We don't censor a work if it contains profound literary value. The Guidance Department only sanctions material that chases base pleasures and ruins the academy's scholarly atmosphere."
Ah. Yes. I see.
So they wanted me to serve as a smut detector. To think they'd make a student they'd forcibly dragged along on a tour do something like this. The Student Council of this school was clearly out of its mind.
"I'm counting on you."
With those words, Shadiel handed me the book.
I looked up at the boys, and their reactions did not look good. It was exactly like watching cattle hauled into a slaughterhouse, facing imminent disposal.
If the Guidance Department disciplined you, the result stayed on your academic record forever. The severity of the punishment aside, the reason for it would be recorded in enormous letters.
It was obvious what would happen if they got disciplined for reading erotica. By student-affairs standards, it was the equivalent of having a note that read: "This child was caught reading smut by a teacher."
I let out a sigh.
If I just did this one favor for the Public Morals Committee Chair, I could get out of here, right? With that in mind, I examined the first page of the book.
— On a clear, brisk day in April, it vibrated thirteen times.
The moment I read the first sentence, I raised my head and looked at the male students. A dozen pupils were undergoing violent seismic activity. The sight reminded me of radios trying to lock onto a resonance frequency.
I flicked through the pages at high speed, my eyes working furiously. The Guidance Department members who saw this murmured in admiration at my speed.
The letters gradually stopped registering. Still, grasping the overall context wasn't an issue. So this was why I'd been shoved into a member of the Gold-Eye Tribe body — to suffer torment like this....
The pages flew past with a rapid rustle. The closer I drew to the end of the novel, the more the boys' faces became painted with wails and lamentation.
Thud.
"Hmm."
"What's it about? Does it qualify as erotica?"
"If you want the plot outline, I'd say there isn't much to it. I did think the final scene — where the heroine's personality is stripped away, shown from the hero's perspective — had a certain literary value."
"So, in any case, you saw nothing problematic?"
"No, I didn't."
Probably.
"Is that so? Then go ahead and return it."
I held out the book to the male student at the very front.
"Shadiel, are you sure we don't need to check it ourselves?"
"If a member of the Gold-Eye Tribe says so, that must be the case. I've heard they're a race that isn't good at lying."
"Well, if you say so...."
"Anyway, lunch is almost over. Miss Aether, thank you for spending time with us. If you develop an interest in Student Council work, please visit our booth again."
With that, the three of them turned their backs and exited the classroom. Seeing the Student Council armbands on their shoulders, I thought they really must have a rough time. Glad I wasn't joining that.
"Whew.... Thought we were fucked."
"Are you crazy? Why'd you bring smut to school? You trying to make sure you never get a job?!"
"You were the bastards who begged me to bring it!"
As the older students bickered and passed the blame among themselves, I stepped backward, retreating to prepare for my afternoon classes.
It looked like joining an academic club would have to wait until the afternoon. What a waste of time that had been.
As I tried to slip out of the classroom, two students bowed their heads repeatedly and thanked me.
Well... I'd saved several people's futures, so I supposed I couldn't call it entirely useless time.
"I don't know who you are, but thank you. Really."
"It could happen to anyone."
Long words weren't necessary between men. I flashed a thumbs-up in lieu of further explanation.
The students who received my thumbs-up looked momentarily bewildered, then soon mirrored the gesture.
"Have a good one."
We exchanged nods. I fled the third-year classroom immediately afterward.
Ah, I was seriously exhausted. Trying to conduct even a single piece of Flare research was a pain in the ass.