episode_0061

I explained why I wanted to hide my involvement with the student council, but Cecilia still wore an uncomfortable expression, as though she remained unconvinced.

“Excuse me, Dave. Would you mind switching seats with Eric? There’s something I’d like to ask him personally.”

“Sure, I don’t mind.”

Dave readily agreed and swapped seats with Cecilia.

Since we were seated at each corner of the square table, Cheryl, who had been sitting next to Dave, twitched with displeasure—though she wasn’t slow-witted enough to let it show openly.

Sorry. I’ll find a way to give you two some time alone later.

“What is it?”

Cecilia leaned in close to my ear and whispered sharply.

“What I’m curious about isn’t that you were in the student council. It’s why you didn’t mention it.”

“Why does it matter?”

“I mean, why didn’t you tell us in the last loop? Was there a reason you couldn’t?”

“No, I just didn’t see the need to bring it up. Was I supposed to?”

“‘Supposed to’? What kind of—”

“Do you really think telling you would’ve changed anything back then?”

My relationship with them in the first loop had been downright awful. They weren’t wise enough to listen to anyone’s advice, and I didn’t have the time or patience to explain everything to them step by step.

Even if I had yelled until my throat bled, telling them I was part of a secret student council helping the president, the best I could’ve expected was being brushed off as spouting nonsense. Odds were, they wouldn’t even have pretended to listen.

Perhaps Cecilia knew that too—she stayed quiet for a moment before pulling away with a reluctant sigh.

“Understood?”

“…Yes.”

Good. Because in the end, the president was a genius no less than the [other four]. It didn’t take long after I started assisting her before she learned to bow her head just enough to secure budgets—along with how to handle them afterward.

“Alright, then. Let’s get back on track. What’s our next move?”

“I’m curious too. Right now, we’re completely plan-less.”

“Hehe. Don’t worry. I’ve already mapped everything out. But first, there’s someone I’d like to introduce—is that alright?”

“Introduce someone? Who?”

“If everyone’s fine with it… I don’t mind.”

“Hey. You’re not seriously about to drop a new member on us now, are you?”

At this stage, adding someone new would bring far more losses than gains. Dave and Cheryl are proven talents—people Cecelia and I knew from the previous loop. Not to mention, after sneaking through the church’s illegal den together, we’re technically accomplices. Even if they wanted to switch sides now, they’d have to expose their own actions first.

And now, we’re adding another person?

“Don’t worry. She’s thoroughly vetted. I’ve already gotten approval from the professors too, so it’s fine. Eric, you know better than anyone that she’s trustworthy.”

Creak—!

The classroom door opened, revealing a familiar face.

Familiar was an understatement. I’d seen her just hours ago.

“Hi.”

As Chris waved at me, I slammed my head onto the desk.

“…Me.”

“…No way. Did Sister… really…?”

“…Looks like it.”

“Should I… channel a bit more divine energy, perhaps?”

“BWAAK!”

The unmistakable noise jolted me back to reality.

“Ah, good. You’re awake.”

“It seems it was just a mild shock-induced faint.”

“Okay…?”

Lifting my head from the desk, I glanced around. My teammates’ faces came into view—Cecilia grinning ear to ear, Dave wearing a worried frown, Cheryl as expressionless as ever.

And Chris, sitting beside me, glowing even brighter than Cecilia. Like she was making sure I hadn’t hallucinated her.

“Tell me this is a dream.”

“It’s not, so snap out of it. Because of you passing out, we didn’t make any progress at all.”

“Progress? What kind of terrifying nonsense is that?”

“What else? Our next steps—who to target, how to present, all of that. Did you think we just sat here twiddling our thumbs?”

“Funny. You talk like you’re actually part of our group now.”

“That’s because I am.”

I shot Cecilia a pitiful look.

“Can you at least lie and say she isn’t?”

“Chris will be a huge asset to our team. Her strength goes without saying, but more importantly, she’s trustworthy—something Eric knows better than anyone, right?”

“Urgh… That’s…”

As much as I hated to admit it, there was no one more suited as an extra member than Chris. Elia was far too unpredictable, and Luciella would undoubtedly insist on rigidly solving everything “the right way”—no surprises there.

Still, I had to struggle. Facing someone I’d just resolved to distance myself from—while digging into church corruption? I’d rather eat a lunchbox buried deep in the trash.

Luckily, before I could open my mouth, Dave asked the question I wanted to.

“But… if I may, why exactly?”

“‘Why’?”

“I understand how Lady Grayve would immensely help our team—personally, I welcome it. But that’s exactly why I’m confused. What reason would someone like you have to participate here, even attending classes a year above? Unless—”

“Are we just collateral for something?”

Uh, no.

Seems Dave was worrying about the wrong thing.

“That’s not it, Senior Cheryl.”

“Not it?”

“Lady Cecilia’s topic isn’t about political strife or stirring conflict between the church and the Empire. If anything, it’s more aligned with the Empire’s peace. That’s all I’m helping with. Plus, it’s good to get acquainted with professors I’ll be meeting sooner or later.”

Chris bowed her head slightly, as if asking for understanding.

“I’ll do my best not to burden you, Seniors.”

Do my best.

Not a word about being accepted or asking for cooperation—she already knows that since Cecilia’s given the green light, the others rejecting her won’t matter.

Though, let’s be honest… Who could refuse her to begin with?

Dave and Cheryl exchanged bewildered glances before nodding silently.

“Why are you even here? Attending a second-year class doesn’t benefit you much.”

“It’s fine. I’ve already secured more than enough credits to breeze through second year. Perfect scores. Impressive, right?”

“That’s just cheating.”

“So what? It’s still my skill.”

Knowing all the answers beforehand, and she calls that skill? Memorizing them is impressive, but isn’t that something any academy student could manage?

“Now, now. Eric, no need to be so prickly. You know having Chris here is a massive advantage for us, right?”

“Yeah, sure.”

“And besides, you’re planning to nab that, aren’t you? Even if we tried to stop you.”

“Yeah.”

“That?”

“You don’t need to know.”

Knowing will only get you hurt.

While Dave and Cheryl are trustworthy, if I assess them purely as combat assets, I’d hesitate. Not that they’re weak—by academy standards, they’re above average.

But simply being above average isn’t enough.

“We’ll talk about that later. It’s not like we can catch him just because we want to right now. Let’s focus on cleaning up the mess with that den first.”

I turned to Chris.

“You’re fully aware of everything we’ve done up to now, right?”

“Yeah. Sister Cecilia explained.”

At least she saved me the trouble.

“Eric, about that den—maybe we should investigate elsewhere first?”

“Elsewhere?”

“I was about to mention—security around the dens has tightened.”

“Tightened?”

“Yeah. Guess what we pulled was too big. Word got around—said to be extra cautious because of suspicious individuals.”

“How severe are we talking?”

“Celestial, Abl, and Partan are definitely locked down. Even the people I secretly planted there reported no progress.”

I cut in.

“Hold on. You planted people? When did you even have time for that?”

“Of course I posted surveillance the moment we left. The church might be rotten, but not everyone is. There are still those who refuse to succumb to demons and trust my word.”

“Ugh…”

The moment Cecilia said this, Chris visibly shifted uncomfortably. So I wasn’t the only one.

“Who exactly?”

“Special Inquisitors.”

I barely suppressed the urge to clamp Cecilia’s mouth shut before gritting out:

Losing my temper here would put me at a disadvantage.

“You mean those battle-crazed lunatics, right?!”

“Such harsh words~ Shouldn’t you show more respect to the devout followers of the Light?”

“This time, I’m with Oppa. Even for you, using them is… yikes.”

“Eh?”