Ch.99Student Council (1)

# Student Council?

Ruide’s sudden question made Fenicia raise a curious eyebrow.

“Yes.”

“…Young master, what is a student council?”

“Representatives of the students. Think of it like a nobility council.”

Ruide’s plan was simple.

Create a student council and put Damon in it.

Since they need to guide other students, they get immunity from the demerit system.

Since they have more responsibilities than other students, they get recommendation letters that help them get jobs after graduation.

The commoners get a new opportunity, so they’re happy.

Damon gets to throw his weight around without worrying about others, so he’s happy!

‘Plus, we can manage those noisy commoners.’

This was truly a system that fit the saying “good for both sides.”

…Though it was simply bringing a modern advanced system into the medieval era.

Ruide explained the student council in broad strokes. Fenicia responded with a troubled expression.

“It sounds like a good policy. I’d like to implement it right away. But… will the commoners accept it?”

“No one dislikes power.”

“What…?”

“We’ll elect them through equal voting. By becoming part of the student council, a commoner could be positioned above a noble. Who wouldn’t want that special experience?”

This would be a position especially beloved by the meddlesome Justin, who wanted to righteously change the entire world.

“C-commoners can join the student council too?”

Fenicia’s eyes widened as if she couldn’t even imagine such a thing.

“Of course.”

“…I hadn’t thought of that. I couldn’t even imagine the possibility of commoners standing above nobles.”

“They’re not standing above them. They’re simply representatives with slightly more authority than others.”

“Is there a difference?”

“It’s important to phrase it this way. Otherwise, they’ll say it can’t be done because of the First Emperor or whatever.”

Fenicia’s face clearly showed that he was right.

“Indeed, if you put it that way, there shouldn’t be any problems.”

But Fenicia still looked uneasy.

“You can tell me if something’s bothering you.”

“If my guess is correct… you’re proposing this policy to prevent Damon’s expulsion, aren’t you?”

“That’s right.”

“Won’t this accelerate the protests? If Prince Damon, who already faces so much discontent, is elected to the student council…”

“I never said Damon would be elected as the student council president.”

“…What?”

“The student council is an organization. Not all members are elected by vote. Only the president is elected. The president then selects the remaining necessary members.”

For that, they needed someone who could gain support from both nobles and commoners and become student council president through a fair election.

There was only one person who met those conditions.

“Hersy Minerva. There’s no one more suitable.”

Fenicia’s expression brightened a bit.

“If it’s Hersy, she could get a majority. She has support from most nobles, and commoners don’t particularly dislike her.”

“Right. Hersy has no flaws.”

A pure-blooded noble among nobles.

The heir to a great noble family.

With outstanding magical ability and good character, Hersy was the absolute candidate.

“We’ll have Hersy select Damon.”

“Hmm… I have no objection to Hersy becoming president, and once the student council is formed, they’ll be exempt from the demerit system, which would naturally prevent Prince Damon’s expulsion, but…”

Fenicia spoke carefully, not wanting to seem too opposed.

“Prince Damon’s behavior is difficult to understand. Even if he becomes a student council member, if his attitude remains the same, I’m afraid the policy itself might be rejected, beyond just Hersy.”

Ruide replied without hesitation.

“I’ll take responsibility when that time comes.”

‘I should try something like this at least once.’

“If it becomes a problem, I’ll tell my mother.”

“—!”

After all, being born as the empire’s only prince…

Shouldn’t he use this kind of power at least once?

**

When a young child says “I’ll tell mom!” it’s cute and trivial.

But what if that child is a prince? What if that prince says “I’ll tell my mother”?

That’s absolutely destructive!

There was nothing Ruide couldn’t do at the academy.

Fenicia quickly accepted Ruide’s “student council” policy. Soon, a large notice would be posted, and voting for the president would begin.

Ruide visited Damon’s villa with Hersy to inform him of this.

“An interesting proposal. A student council.”

After hearing the story, Damon smiled arrogantly.

“I was getting tired of barely maintaining 49 points anyway. This works out well. Leave it to me.”

Clatter-

Ruide was standing on tiptoe with sparkling eyes, touching something.

‘Wow, a deer.’

There was a large deer head decoration that looked incredibly plush and cute.

He had always liked cute animals, but after being possessed as the “lazy Ruide,” he simply couldn’t resist such soft things.

[Miho is cuter!]

Miho, afraid of losing her position, desperately rubbed her head against him, but Ruide’s heart had already been stolen by the deer.

“By the way, Ruide.”

Damon rested his chin on his hand as he looked at Ruide.

“…How long are you going to keep touching that?”

“L-leave him be.”

Hersy quickly stopped Damon.

She covered her mouth as she watched Ruide fiddle with the deer.

‘Oh my… how cute!’

“At times like this, he’s completely like a child.”

Damon smiled slightly.

After watching Ruide for a moment, he shifted his gaze to Hersy.

“So, if I understand correctly, I’m a student council member, and you’re the student council president?”

“According to what Ruide said, yes.”

“There’s a contradiction in this otherwise perfect plan.”

Damon crossed his arms and shook his head.

“Do you think it makes sense for me to be beneath a woman? Drop it. I’ll be the student council president.”

“But Ruide…”

Whether they were engrossed in conversation or not…

Ruide was still exploring the deer.

He was even standing on a box to see it better.

The more he looked, the more he wanted it.

‘But is this real?’

He didn’t think they’d actually cut off a deer’s neck. It didn’t smell, and was actually quite fragrant.

Ruide grabbed the deer’s antlers with a curious face. They felt very good to hold.

‘Would they break if I hung from them?’

If they were real, they shouldn’t break, right?

Ruide’s body weight was very light.

After a brief deliberation, Ruide grabbed the antlers with both hands and hung from them.

“Ooh…”

At that moment.

Crack—.

Thud.

…The deer’s antlers broke, and Ruide rolled on the floor.

“……”

Ruide looked at the broken antlers in his hands with cloudy eyes.

He glanced furtively at Damon.

He was still engrossed in conversation and hadn’t noticed yet.

Fortunately, Ruide had cast a silence spell just in time.

‘Let’s reattach it.’

Ruide brought the antlers back to their original position.

‘I can quickly develop an adhesive spell.’

Ruide’s insane calculations began.

After finishing his calculations, Ruide cast a spell that didn’t exist in this world—the “super-strong adhesive spell”—to attach the antlers.

The antlers were perfectly reattached.

Ruide wiped his forehead with a sigh of relief.

He turned his head and—

“……”

His eyes met Damon’s.

Ruide said in surprise:

“D-did you see?”

“That decoration costs 200 gold. Not much for you.”

Ruide’s pupils trembled.

He put his hand in his pocket.

The gold coins spread on his small palm were…

Just five.

Not nearly enough.

“But you don’t have money to pay since your allowance has been cut off.”

“…!”

Damon raised the corner of his mouth with a smirk.

“I’ll pay instead!”

Hersy quickly offered. Damon immediately shook his head.

“Why, why not?”

“I don’t accept money from women.”

“……”

“Hmm, what to do.”

Damon stood up and put his hand in his pocket.

“Unfortunately, I don’t have a hobby of collecting broken items. If you can’t pay, you’ll have to give me something else.”

‘If I tell you that, the chess board would be flipped once more. I don’t want that.’

Damon’s eyes deepened for a moment.

But it was just for an instant; he continued with his usual smile:

“Unfortunately, the reward I was going to give you for this matter—consider it gone.”

“Reward?”

“Don’t you remember? I said I’d give you useful information if you solved this problem.”

Ruide, who had been sweating nervously, brightened at those words. That’s right, there was that.

“Fine.”

“The deal is done. Take that broken item with you.”

Ruide quickly devoured the deer into his spatial storage.

His face lit up like a child who had received a new toy.

**

Ruide’s group headed to the academy.

It wasn’t far from Damon’s villa.

“So, the student council works for the academy’s honor and disciplines the commoners. They can also propose various systems to the headmaster for implementation.”

“That’s right.”

“Hmm, this is more interesting than I first thought. I don’t need it, but the commoners in the student council will gain experience as rulers. You’ve thought of something quite clever.”

Up to this point, Ruide was fine with it.

But then…

“When I become student council president, I’ll need to create several subordinate organizations. We’ll need a treasury department for finances, a planning department for various entertainments, a service department to suppress commoner resistance, a guidance department to educate those who don’t know their place, and finally a secretary to coordinate the president’s various schedules. Well, these are just the basics. I’ll be busy for a while.”

‘Is he also possessed…?’

It was a frighteningly accurate deduction.

He had established the structure of a future student council—something that wouldn’t exist for at least 500 years—within just 3 minutes of hearing about it.

‘…He’s really smart. Damon.’

Ruide saw Damon in a new light.

But he had to say what needed to be said.

“Maybe you could become student council president later, but for now, why not leave it to Hersy? The commoners are so noisy I can’t sleep.”

“Don’t worry about that. If they can’t take advantage of what I’ve done for them, they’re the lowest of the low. Are you saying I’m the lowest of the low?”

“Of course not.”

Ruide had zero intention of getting involved with the student council. He wanted it to run smoothly.

From what Damon was saying, that part seemed sufficient. So he was about to tell him to handle it himself when—

“Hmm. Here’s a good example walking around.”

Damon suddenly said this and walked somewhere.

There stood a commoner with a pale face.

“You dared to run away last time. Take your punishment, commoner.”

Slap!

Without a moment’s hesitation, Damon struck the commoner’s cheek.

The commoner’s body spun exactly three and a half times before crashing to the ground.

Ruide was shocked by Damon’s character, suddenly approaching and slapping someone.

“What do you think? Is this what you want from me?”

Damon crossed his arms with a smirk.

‘Can he really handle this…?’

Ruide was genuinely worried about Damon’s future.