Ch.138I am the Chairman and You are (1)

I think I need to modify my plan.

“Why did you say such nonsense at the end? There’s graduate school employment? You’re quite skilled at tanking your approval ratings. If I were there, I would have stormed out.”

Sonia berated me.

“Don’t become a politician when you grow up.”

“I won’t.”

I didn’t realize that mentioning MegaCorp would recruit me after graduation with my doctorate would be such a fatal blow.

“Ireh, this is my fault.”

“No. Adelbein clearly used an underhanded tactic. Like vote manipulation.”

“I don’t think it went that far.”

There’s no evidence that Zernya committed any illegal acts. Probably.

“Given the situation, I’ll take responsibility and handle Zernya until the end. As vice president, I should be able to detect immediately when foreign media starts making moves.”

“…What can I do to help?”

“Just focus on studying hard.”

Ireh is reluctantly immersing herself in her textbooks.

“Damn it, this is boring.”

“It’ll get interesting as you go along.”

Professor Feynman once said that physics is like sex. For innocent people, it’s difficult and strenuous at first, but they come to enjoy it later. And once you get a taste for it, it’s hard to quit. Or so they say.

“Wait!”

Ireh called out to me as I was about to return to school.

“Let’s create a code name for each other in case foreign media appears.”

“That’s a good idea.”

I approached Ireh. She flinched.

“W-why are you coming closer…?”

“Because even Sonia shouldn’t hear this.”

We need to be absolutely thorough about this.

After all, only Ireh and I know each other’s true identities.

She nodded reluctantly and whispered.

“If you really know me well, call me by my stellar name when discussing confidential matters. I’ve never told anyone about it in my life.”

Altair.

That’s her code name from now on.

“Then I’ll tell you my real name.”

Of course, revealing my actual Korean name might elicit responses like “what kind of name is that,” so I decided to share my college nickname instead.

Binary.

And so my code name became Binary.

***

“I won! I won!”

Zernya shouted and jumped around as soon as she entered the front door.

It wasn’t just anything.

She had become the student council president.

Her sense of fulfillment and satisfaction was no joke.

But what made her even happier was that for the first time in her life, she had met someone who could be her rival, fought with all her might against them, and won.

Intoxicated by the sense of achievement welling up from deep within her chest, Zernya forgot her routine of washing her hands upon returning and executed a screw dive straight onto her bed.

“Ahahahaha!”

She hugged a white teddy bear that matched her hair color and rolled around on the queen-sized bed.

The plush mattress and soft microfiber sheets provided a cozy comfort as sweet as winning the election.

Her body relaxed completely, and a smile spread across her face.

Then.

[“You did it.”]

A voice resonated in her skull.

[“Defeating the boy called the hero of humanity—how impressive. Young lady, may blessings fill your future path.”]

“Hehe…”

Eidel’s warning to not even engage in conversation with a constellation attempting to make a contract came to mind, but she was in an excellent mood right now.

“This was the expected outcome from the beginning. Because I’m amazing.”

A little conversation should be fine.

[“You’ll become even more famous from now on. If the Rheinland boy is the sunset, you are like the dawn. Now that you’ve placed him beneath you, this is practically your era.”]

The nameless constellation continued praising Zernya for a while.

But the more praise she heard, the stronger her sense of discomfort grew.

[“It’s an undeniable fact that you’re more exceptional than the Rheinland boy.”]

It was putting Eidel down to elevate her.

Did the constellation really need to do this?

Eidel was a once-in-a-century genius who had achieved historic accomplishments.

“No, him being below me…”

[“To think you’re humble too! You’re the perfect young lady. Ah, how wonderful it would be if I could contract with a human like you! If I could become your first stellar constellation among all the stars, I could give you infinite coins.”]

Zernya got up, wetting her lips with her tongue.

The constellation’s whining was starting to irritate her.

Just then, she received a call from her father.

“Yes, Father.”

[I heard you became student council president, Zernya. You’ve produced the expected result.]

“Yes, of course.”

The word “expected.”

Something about it stung.

Is there any first place that isn’t expected of an Adelbein?

[Remember that the Rheinland family has always been our Adelbein’s competitor. You understand what I’m saying, don’t you?]

“I know. You want me to keep checking the person who became vice president, right?”

[Not just checking. You must always be superior to that boy. You must achieve even greater accomplishments. If you can do that, I will gladly pass the position of family head to you.]

Click.

The call ended without even a simple greeting.

The room fell back into silence as the voice disappeared.

She felt an inexplicable loneliness.

Zernya turned on her computer without any particular purpose.

[“Will you contract with me?”]

“Give me some time to think.”

[“Of course, take your time. I’m ready whenever you are.”]

Making a contract with a constellation whose name and abilities she didn’t know while intoxicated with victory would be amateur behavior.

An Adelbein must always handle everything meticulously, without mistakes.

So there was something she needed to do first.

Contact Eidel.

[“Why suddenly contact that boy?”]

“I’m the president, and he’s the vice president. Isn’t it common sense for the president to contact the vice president and greet them?”

That’s right. It’s common sense. As the incoming president, Zernya had an obligation to contact Eidel first.

[“Do you know his phone number?”]

“No.”

She had never intended to share the phone number of the noble Adelbein. That’s why Zernya’s contacts were very limited except for family and her homeroom teacher.

But not anymore.

Now that she’s become student council president, she needs to exchange phone numbers with many people.

[“If you don’t know his number, how will you contact him? Don’t tell me you’re planning to meet that boy at this hour?”]

“I got his email contact when we were at Academia.”

Zernya opened her email.

Excluding spam, the email she had sent to Eidel appeared at the very top.

She remembered sending him the first semester grades and communications on behalf of the teacher when he was at Alcatraz, but that was already a year ago.

“Time flies.”

Their first meeting was at Ergos General Academy.

Until then, she had thought he was just a passing extra.

But then he surpassed her in the mock exam, took the top spot in the Academia exam, and thoroughly defeated her in the first semester.

Perhaps that’s when she gradually began to acknowledge him.

My only rival.

Smiling gently like a cat smelling flowers, Zernya carefully typed out her email, one character at a time.

She asked how he was doing.

Told him what she planned to do next.

Asked about the date to meet with the current student council president for the handover.

And finally.

“My, my phone number is…”

She had forgotten it.

She rummaged through her phone to find it.

Carefully, she typed it without making any mistakes.

After clicking the send button, a sense of powerlessness came over her entire body, as if she had just completed a triathlon.

“Haah.”

She was tired.

Lonely.

After the day’s events, she had no family, friends, or even a loved one to exchange greetings with.

Woong.

[You have received an email.]

She had been sprawled on the bed like dried squid jerky, but upon hearing the notification, she jumped up in a hurry.

[Sender: Eidel von Rheinland]

[To my friend Zernya]

[Congratulations on becoming the student council president. I admit defeat. It was good to see you prepare and work hard this time.]

[Let’s set the meeting time as you wish. My schedule is open for the time being, so it doesn’t matter to me. If you want to discuss anything specific, feel free to call me now.]

Below that was Eidel’s phone number.

Zernya picked up her phone with trembling hands.

Click.

After capturing the number, she immediately dialed it.

After two or three rings, there was a click.

“Hello? Is that you?”

[Yes, it’s me. President’s lackey.]

Zernya’s lips quivered slightly. President’s lackey? She almost burst into laughter.

[Congratulations, Zernya. You beat me. I wanted to be president too, but I ended up as vice president. Still, I don’t feel frustrated since I lost to you.]

Her lips curled up at his words.

“Ahem, hmm. Wasn’t it the expected outcome?”

[It wasn’t expected. If it had been, would you have worked so hard? Would I have worked so hard?]

“…You’re right.”

After hearing Eidel’s words, she realized.

The fact that she had always been first, and that she had won the presidency in this election.

None of it was expected.

Because without effort, she couldn’t have achieved any of it.

[Alright. See you then. Rest well.]

Unlike with her family, the call ended with a proper farewell.

“Haah…”

It gave her a warm feeling.

She couldn’t yet understand why.

***

Meanwhile, at the same time.

There was a girl wildly swinging a sword at the small field of Academia, preparing for college entrance exams.

Her golden hair was tied back like a pony’s tail, and her turquoise eyes focused as she drew her blade.

Every time she swung the sword with elasticity, beads of sweat flew from her forehead.

The girl was not alone.

On the opposite side, a woman with platinum hair was receiving all of the girl’s sword strikes.

“You’re slow, still too slow. Can you protect your boyfriend with a sword like that?”

“…!”

Responding to those words, the girl unleashed a swift attack.

“That’s more like it. This is the minimum.”

The woman twisted her waist, her lips twitching.

Her name was Naiere Clarke, a member of the Zodiac 12 with the infantry bow Aquarius as her stellar constellation, and a Great Omega-grade swordsman, the highest rank.

And the student she was personally tutoring was Rustila Kersil, a genius among geniuses who had awakened her “physical nature” at seventeen.

“Phew, good. Let’s stop here for today.”

“Haa, haa… thank, haa, you…”

Having pushed her sword to the limit, Rustila collapsed again today.

Training to build her stamina to the extreme.

Honestly, even Naiere was starting to get tired.

“At this level, you could directly enter the military academy with top honors and graduate at the top of your class.”

“Really? Do you mean it?”

“Of course. Your skills now are better than mine when I graduated from college. They’re clean and well-honed enough that it wouldn’t be a problem even if a constellation on the level of the Zodiac 12 came looking for you soon.”

“Thank you!”

Rustila, moistening her throat with an ion drink, imagined her future.

Herself contracted with a constellation, becoming a Great Omega.

Herself defending people against foreign gods.

And.

If by chance Eidel were to face great danger from a foreign god, herself perfectly protecting him.

Just thinking about it sent shivers down her spine.

“Breaking news! Breaking news!”

At that moment, Seti, who had finished her evening class, came running cutely and made a soft landing in front of the two.

“What is it?”

“Sis, it’s a disaster.”

“What?”

“Eidel oppa became the vice president of the college student council.”

“Really? That’s amazing! Isn’t that good?”

“That bitch Zernya is the president.”

Splash.

Rustila spilled all the drink she was drinking onto her chest.