Ch.112Summer Vacation Preparations (4)

# The Commoner Secret Society

A secret club that children of that age couldn’t resist gathered in a hidden space behind the half-ruined “Every Library.”

“This is clearly anti-First Emperor ideology.”

“We should report this to the Imperial Family.”

“I-it’s meaningless. He’s the son of a ducal family, after all.”

“This can’t be happening! It doesn’t make any sense.”

Tom stood up from his seat, grinding his teeth.

“They’re selecting only a minimal number of people for special lectures? What about the rest of us commoners?”

Inadvertently, his true feelings slipped out.

“Ahem.”

Catherine cleared her throat, giving him a pointed look.

Only then did Tom correct himself.

“Ah, no, that’s not what I meant. What I was trying to say was… Right. Forcing us to sacrifice our precious vacation? This is a human rights violation!”

“You mean human rights violation.”

Hannah interjected.

She vented her frustration.

“That’s not what’s important. That smug little brat used magic to force us to accept attending classes.”

“And apparently the ultimate goal is to be dispatched to the First Defense Line.”

“I’m sure of it. They’re planning to kill us all. How is anyone supposed to survive in such a cold northern region anyway?”

The commoners sympathized with each other.

“This is clearly tyranny through abuse of power. It goes against the First Emperor’s logic. Just because they’re nobles, they can do whatever they want?”

“That’s right, that’s right.”

But in reality, most commoners—

Had the same thoughts Tom had expressed.

‘Why were they chosen and not us? We’re all commoners.’

It was inferiority complex at the root.

And the endpoint of this discussion was always Justin.

“Justin, tell us what you think. This is clearly oppression of commoners, right?”

“……”

Justin, who had been staring blankly, came to his senses.

Tom urged him on.

“Come on, Justin. You’re not going, right? You’re not the type to tolerate injustice.”

“I… think it’s better to participate.”

Catherine widened her eyes and looked at Justin beside her.

Since the banquet hall incident, Justin had always seemed like he was missing a screw.

But apart from occasionally appearing dazed, he was the same as usual.

So naturally, she expected him to rise up in protest this time too.

However, Catherine knew this opportunity was rare, so she had planned to somehow persuade Justin.

But he was already expressing his intention to participate?

Justin stood up from his seat.

“For justice, we need power. If we hunt monsters, we can gain strength.”

“……”

As things went contrary to expectations, silence fell among the commoners.

Then, a delicate voice was heard.

“I agree.”

Everyone’s gaze shifted in that direction.

It was an incredibly beautiful girl with black hair.

She approached Justin with light steps.

“Justin can’t be wrong.”

Catherine bit her lip.

‘Who is she? When did Justin get close to a girl?’

At that moment, a memory flashed through her mind.

“Wait, you’re…”

Catherine remembered who she was.

“The one I met at the banquet hall before…?”

“Oh, you remember me.”

“…But when did you become a member of the secret society?”

Catherine frowned, feeling a sense of déjà vu.

Wondering if her memory was wrong.

Lilith spoke in a bright voice.

“Of course. I decided to join your society starting today.”

“Ah.”

Catherine nodded as if she understood.

‘By the way, she smells nice.’

Lilith had a sweet scent.

A pleasant fragrance that was hard to describe in words.

Lilith extended her hand to Catherine and said cheerfully.

“Oh, I’m late with introductions. My name is Lilith. Feel free to call me Lili.”

**

In the Student Council room of the Imperial Academy.

Irene was looking at the Student Council, including Damon, as if they were cute.

Damon twitched his eyes and glanced at Irene.

‘So that’s Irene Windsor.’

His first impression of her was this:

Strange.

Eyes that contained no emotion.

Yet a smiling mouth.

The intuition that one wrong move could cost him his head.

An overwhelming presence without doing anything.

‘I understand why my brother was wary of her.’

But because of that, he couldn’t imagine her not being the head of the family.

She was a woman with an aura perfectly suited to being the head of the Windsor family.

‘My choice was right.’

Damon reassured himself once more.

“My friend has kept his promise. Now it’s our turn to play our part. But before that, let me ask one thing, Ruide.”

Ruide, who was nestled in Irene’s lap as she sat in the chair, yawned lazily and answered.

“Yeah.”

“Will you help the Student Council?”

“As long as it’s not an unreasonable request?”

Ruide answered positively.

He wouldn’t have called Irene to the system without such resolve.

“Good. Then Ruide, I’ll entrust you with training the Magic Department. The Swordsmanship Department is already combat-ready, so they just need to learn how to deal with monsters. I’ll assign that to Amelia Windsor.”

‘I just need to teach them one major spell.’

Ruide thought simply.

He would handle the parts he had to do, and leave the rest to Ella.

If he developed the magic circle, Ella would modify it according to the individual levels of the students.

In other words, he was going to dump the work on his assistant. That’s what professors do.

“Amelia won’t do.”

At that moment, Irene, who had been quietly observing the situation, spoke up.

“May I ask why?”

“If your plan is to go to the First Defense Line, Amelia will be at the forefront, so she needs to practice in advance, doesn’t she?”

Amelia might not be good at everything, but she’s excellent at hunting monsters.

Her specialty, mana emission, is optimal for dealing with monsters.

Moreover, Irene had ordered Charlotte to deal with ‘humans,’ not monsters, as far as he knew.

Ruide looked up.

He could see Irene’s smiling lips.

‘Liar.’

Irene felt Ruide’s gaze and lowered her head.

Her blonde hair tickled Ruide’s cheeks.

Irene grabbed Ruide’s cheeks with one hand and kneaded them.

“I see. Then, would you oversee the Swordsmanship Department?”

“…!”

Hersy, who was trembling like a rabbit in fear of Irene, was startled by Damon’s words.

She knew Ruide had brought Irene into the system for this purpose, but somehow Irene felt like an unapproachable being.

“Do it.”

Ruide provided support.

Irene stroked Ruide’s head and answered.

“There’s no need to teach knights and mages separately.”

Irene said gently.

“Wouldn’t it be better if Rui taught everything?”

That was like a bolt from the blue for Ruide!

“I don’t know swords.”

Irene’s smile deepened.

Embracing Ruide’s shoulders, she whispered in his ear.

“Really?”

“…Don’t know.”

“Really, you don’t know?”

Ruide shuddered. It tickled when she whispered in his ear.

“I, I know a little bit.”

After all, Windsor was a family of knights.

Ruide had received some essential education. So the knowledge was in his head, but…

It was really minimal.

“But not enough to be helpful.”

“I was joking. You don’t necessarily need to teach swordsmanship. But…”

Ruide, afraid of being burdened with something troublesome, quickly said.

“Then sister can teach the Swordsmanship Department. That’s settled. I want to go to sleep.”

Ruide tried to get off Irene’s lap.

But Irene held onto Ruide’s waist and wouldn’t let go.

“I’ll help you from the side, so will you give it a try?”

Hersy watched with a tense expression.

‘There’s no way Ruide will do it.’

From Hersy’s perspective, teaching the Magic Department students was the maximum limit.

There was no need to teach the Swordsmanship Department as well.

However—

“Alright.”

Ruide simply accepted, with just a slightly annoyed expression.

“How admirable.”

Irene smiled brightly and stroked Ruide’s head.

Then she stared intently at Damon.

“You’re the highest-ranking child here, aren’t you?”

“…That’s right.”

“I heard you’ve been taking good care of Rui.”

“Hmph, there’s no need to take care of him. We’re friends.”

Irene quietly smiled.

“May I ask for one favor?”

“Speak.”

“This is a request for everyone here.”

Irene prepared to get up from her seat.

“Continue to get along well with Rui from now on. Then— as a reward, I’ll kill your political enemies.”

“……”

Her words about killing political enemies were met with silence.

Ruide covered Irene’s mouth.

“Is that something you should say to kids?”

“Hmm…”

Irene found it refreshing that Ruide, who was the most childlike, would say such a thing.

She smiled brightly and said.

“It was a joke. Was it not funny?”

‘How is that a joke in any way…!’

It was a thought that always occurred to him, but Irene’s sense of humor was beyond hopeless—it was pitiful.

No wonder she still didn’t have a fiancé.

‘It can’t be helped.’

Irene had resolved that she would have to keep Ruide with her for the rest of her life.

**

“This is Ella. My cherished assistant.”

“Hello!”

Ella bowed her head.

Looking at Ella, who was slightly taller than himself, Irene nodded.

“She’s the type Rui likes.”

“Pardon?”

“Like a skinny polar bear, cute.”

“Th-thank you.”

Ella’s cheeks turned red.

Ruide was slightly annoyed.

‘…Is that a compliment?’

Since the person in question liked it, he had nothing to say.

“If she’s Ruide’s assistant, she’s like a deputy, right?”

Irene sat on the sofa.

She patted the seat beside her.

Ruide pushed Ella’s back.

“W-whoa.”

Ella staggered and landed in the seat next to Irene.

“To be by Ruide’s side, one needs certain qualifications. I’ll ask a few questions, so answer them. Keep your answers short, just responding to the questions.”

‘Ugh, what a stickler.’

But Ruide felt good because it seemed like Irene cared deeply about him.

Although Ella seemed quite nervous, he wasn’t worried.

Ella was an all-around genius magic girl.

She would easily pass Irene’s test.

“What’s Ruide’s favorite food?”

“B-baguette…?”

Irene’s face showed disappointment.

“M-mushrooms? Grass?”

Irene’s face brightened.

“You’re smart.”

‘The difficulty level is too low…!’

Ruide slumped his shoulders.

“What’s Ruide’s specialty? Besides magic, which is obvious.”

Ella thought seriously with a grave expression.

“Running away?”

“Accurate insight. But there’s another area where he’s even more talented.”

“…Aegyo? Being cute? Doing whatever he wants? Making others work for him?”

Ruide’s face flushed with shame.

“When did I ever!”

Irene touched her lips.

“Truly a capable assistant. You found a good one, Rui.”

“……”

Ruide was deeply shocked.

Is that how a third party sees him?

Pushing responsibility onto others, running away when things get tough, using cuteness when at a disadvantage?

No, he couldn’t accept it.

‘You research slave, talking back to your professor? You need to be taught a lesson.’

“Ella.”

“Y-yes.”

Ella looked at Ruide nervously.

She felt like she might have gone too far.

And that prediction was accurate.

Ruide said with half-lidded eyes.

“Draw up a training plan that allows me to move minimally while achieving maximum efficiency. By the end of today. If you fail, you’re banned from research for the time being and will only serve as my pillow.”

“…!”

Ruide decided to work Ella to death.

Starting with overtime work today.