Chapter 24: Raid, Part 2

Honestly, the student council president’s duties weren’t particularly unusual.

Unlike the student council presidents of my school days, who were glorified errand runners for teachers and the school, implementing pointless campaigns and acting as mere messengers for student opinions that were already predetermined, the Royal Academy’s student council president felt more like… a servant of the students.

Handling student suggestions, allocating club budgets… similar to the student councils depicted in subculture media.

The fact that the clubs here were actually active and meaningful was a refreshing change.

Though I was initially flustered when tasked with handling their affairs.

“Sigh… Are you quitting? I knew you wouldn’t be able to handle it… Huh?”

“The athletic clubs seem to have excessive budgets, so I’ve reduced their allocations.

The market is flooded with magic stones, lowering their prices, so the research department’s budget can also be reduced.”

Having managed the finances of an organization, I found allocating club budgets relatively easy.

I simply treated each club as a department and prioritized accordingly.

I was also quite knowledgeable about current market prices.

“Senior… no, President… Did you… eat something weird…?”

Haru stared at me, wide-eyed, as I finalized the budget allocations.

Hmm… Was the student council president usually this incompetent?

I wasn’t sure.

I wasn’t particularly fond of the student council president character, so I hadn’t paid much attention to her storyline and never bothered obtaining her in the game.

Her stats weren’t great, and I wasn’t one to prioritize aesthetics over functionality.

So, I only knew bits and pieces of her story, mostly from other characters’ narratives.

Come to think of it, Haru’s personal story involved her complaining about the student council president’s struggles, suggesting Charlotte wasn’t particularly competent.

“Are you… a different person…?”

“Haru… your face is a little too close…”

“She’s definitely the president, but…”

Considering they were questioning my identity despite Leviathan’s Authority still being in effect, perhaps I was too competent compared to the usual student council president.

Or perhaps the obtuse president was simply that incompetent.

Other student council duties included mediating disputes, which was a concern considering my lack of combat prowess.

I was a frail merchant who could be easily defeated by even ordinary students, let alone the protagonist’s party. Fortunately, the academy grounds seemed deserted today.

I asked Haru about the unusual quietness, and she replied with a slightly annoyed tone,

“Today’s the practice run for the end-of-term evaluation. Didn’t I tell you?”

“Ah. Right.”

Something felt off.

The end-of-term evaluation Haru mentioned was a typical “survive in the forest” exercise often seen in academy settings.

Teachers meticulously evaluated each student’s survival skills, teamwork, adaptability, and magic usage. It was the kind of exam that made you worry about the instructors’ workload.

And like most practical exams, this one would be interrupted by a demon cult attack.

Resolving the incident was the focus of Part 2, Act 2 and 3, involving the protagonist, Carmel, Ciella, and others.

But as far as I remembered, the practical exam happened only once at the end of the term, and there were no practice runs.

Practice runs were deemed unrealistic, and even the actual exam, despite its inherent dangers, was conducted under strict supervision.

Had something changed?

Considering common transmigration tropes, while most events followed the original storyline, sometimes the cause and effect remained the same, but the timing shifted.

Could that be the case here?

I wasn’t worried about the protagonist. She would easily defeat the cultists and escape the forest.

The problem was me.

I was currently disguised as the student council president.

And the student council president was the second strongest person in the academy after Lucia, whose divinity was awakened. The student council, besides gathering student opinions, also served as the academy’s security force.

That meant I would be involved in defending against the cult attack.

I couldn’t just unleash my divinity and start throwing punches like the real president. My disguise would be blown, and I’d be captured by the cultists and… well, you know.

While I could summon Leviathan, its presence would likely only intensify the cultists’ fanaticism, as they were already beyond fear and reason.

And that would expose my true identity.

I pondered alternative solutions as I followed Haru, carrying a lamp.

Water dripped from the ceiling of the dimly lit passage, reminding me of the sewers, making me feel uneasy.

We reached a wooden door adorned with a complex magic circle. Haru slowed down and retrieved a key from her pocket.

She inserted the key into thin air and turned it. The glowing magic circle dimmed.

Creak.

The rusty hinges groaned as the door opened slightly, revealing a large chamber.

Small lamps on the walls illuminated the space, revealing rows of objects at the far end.

Each item radiated an aura of power and mystique. It was a treasure vault.

“This is…?”

“As you know, it’s the academy vault. Ah, have you never been here before, President?”

Haru walked along a narrow path between the displayed treasures, answering my question.

“The instructors need crystal balls, ‘Spectors,’ to record the students’ performance during the evaluation. Please retrieve them for me.”

She continued deeper into the vault.

But I could barely hear her.

My attention was captivated by the artifacts surrounding me.

It truly was a treasure trove. I finally understood why there was no way to access this place in the game.

Five-star staves, greatswords, one-handed swords… both gacha and event-exclusive weapons lined the walls, alongside numerous four-star weapons.

And artifacts obtainable only through complex quests and challenging dungeons in the game.

While most artifacts in the game only provided stat boosts despite their elaborate flavor text, they were likely different here.

The Sword that Split Heaven and Earth, the Blade of Promised Victory…

And right before my eyes… the Mask of Anonymity.

Its design was simple, less ornate than my current half-mask, but that simplicity somehow made it more striking.

Was this… modern art?

Or perhaps it was the luxurious embroidered cushion it rested on.

I’d been worried about how to steal the mask, even if I managed to infiltrate the exhibition.

But here it was, right in front of me, completely unguarded. What a stroke of luck.

Rin.

As I reached for the mask, Leviathan, which had been quietly hiding inside my clothes, spoke.

“Yes, Levi. This is the mask I was talking about.”

That’s not what I meant.

Thump!

“Whoa?!”

A powerful tremor shook the entire vault.

Haru, searching for the Spectors, stumbled, startled.

The cult is here.

“The demon worshippers…?”

This wasn’t the right time.

So, my premonition was right.

Beep! Beep!

A small magic circle appeared near Haru’s ear, accompanied by a piercing sound.

[President! Vice-president! We have intruders…! We need backup…!]

“Wait, intruders…? At the Royal Academy…?”

Haru touched the magic circle, her face contorted in disbelief.

It was a natural reaction. The Royal Academy had never been breached, and even I wouldn’t dare attack such a heavily fortified location.

Though technically, I was an intruder.

[And… there seems to be someone impersonating the president…!]

Haru’s eyes met mine.

[It seems… their transformation ability didn’t deactivate after passing through the gate… Unbelievable…!]

“President… the message spell… isn’t working…?”

Haru stared at my ear, her expression vacant.

Right. There was a setting like that. The student council used interconnected message spells for emergencies.

I vaguely remembered seeing it during the academy attack events.

Naturally, as a non-member, the spell wouldn’t work on me.

“Who… are you…?”

“Levi, I think we’ve been discovered.”

What now?

“What else? We run.”

I snatched the Mask of Anonymity and bolted towards the exit.

“Levi, I need your Authority.”

You’re really working me to the bone.

“W-wait…!”

Haru’s voice echoed behind me as I ran.

I felt a pang of guilt.

“Huff… huff…”

Blood trickled down my face.

My mind felt hazy.

This familiar sensation… the dizziness from blood loss…

My right eye throbbed, strained from overuse of Insight. It was difficult to keep it open.

“Ugh…”

Lucia turned and saw Ciella leaning heavily on her staff, her legs trembling.

Carmel, the Second Princess, who possessed the strongest divinity before Lucia’s awakening, had been the first to fall, lying unconscious behind them.

Lucia, leaning on her sword, struggled to catch her breath.

Their opponent, despite having driven them to the brink of collapse, simply smiled, watching them with amusement.

“Is that all? The famed hero candidates?”

His words were laced with disappointment, but his voice held a hint of elation.

It seemed to confirm the superiority of the beings he worshipped over the mere gods.

Rahat, the cult leader, wasn’t the final boss of Part 2.

In the original story, after defeating Rahat, Lucia faced the demon possessing his body, a sort of second phase.

But she hadn’t even managed to defeat Rahat’s first phase.

She lacked the strength, the levels.

“Ugh…”

Lucia bit her lip.