Chapter 52 – Stormy Election for Student President (1)

The dreaded midterm exam period at the academy had finally come to an end.

This year, an unusually high number of students were admitted to the temple for treatment. Some were there due to exhaustion, while others were overwhelmed by stress after receiving lower-than-expected grades. Most of the patients were freshmen.

In particular, many students fainted from trauma during Professor Vincent’s “Fundamentals of Elemental Magic” exam after encountering the final question.

Thanks to this, Adela managed to avoid failing the hastily prepared exam. She casually guessed the answers and even took a nap during the test.

As a result, she did not fail more than half of her courses and could avoid being expelled from Farencia Academy.

“Whew, I barely made it…!” she exclaimed.

Watching Adela’s relief from beside her, Erzebert also let out a small sigh of relief.

She had stayed with Adela throughout the exam period, helping her improve her grades even slightly. She would have been disappointed if the results had not been favorable.

Regardless, this period after the exams is when students are most relaxed, but Erzebert was more anxious than ever.

This was because of the highlight of the first semester that followed the midterms: the student council presidential election.

The position of student council president was Erzebert’s ultimate goal for enrolling at Farencia Academy.

Usually, the headmaster does not involve herself in daily operations, so the president’s role is crucial for acquiring influence within the academy, managing various interests, and networking with influential figures in politics and finance.

Every year, many children of royal officials fiercely competed for the position of student council president, but this year, the seat’s owner was practically predetermined.

Erzebert Brunhard de Baor.

The most prized jewel of the Pennheim Kingdom and a direct descendant of the current king—she was at the academy.

Officially, the royal family declared it would not interfere in the election in any way, but which noble would dare obstruct the future queen’s path to candidacy?

Most people wisely kept their distance.

“Freshman Erzebert Brunhard, do you wish to run for student council president?” asked the receptionist.

“Yes, I will do my utmost for the development of Farencia Academy,” Erzebert replied confidently.

During the candidate selection period, Erzebert remained cautious and watched how things unfolded. As expected, no prominent noble families or previous student council members applied to run in this year’s election.

At this rate, I should be able to win with just a little campaigning, she thought to herself.

The auditorium was sparsely filled, with only a few students wandering around to watch. Erzebert nodded as she saw her name appear on the large poster plastered on one of the walls.

Beside her, Adela, who had just finished reviewing her last exam answers, was also peeking around curiously.

“Princess, are you going to be the president?” Adela asked innocently.

“Yes. That’s why I came here,” Erzebert replied.

“What’s so good about being president?”

“Hmm… To put it simply for you, Adela, it’s like owning a part of this academy.”

Of course, it was meant metaphorically.

However, Adela alternated her gaze between the receptionist in front of her, Erzebert, and the poster a few times before taking a big step forward.

And then—

“I want to run, too!” she declared enthusiastically.

After the midterms ended, I reopened the store. However, after much deliberation, I decided to remove the traps that could have harmed the students.

With the mental barrier Liv had set up and now having acquired the iron dogs, the store’s defenses were adequate. The terrifying traps that could even neutralize Goliath were unsettling to leave as they were.

So, I resumed business right after the exams, and little by little, students began to return. However, I still couldn’t open the café.

It wasn’t because the renovations weren’t finished or because the café had gone out of fashion.

Though I hate to admit it, the reason was that Adela, who had been the main attraction of the Farencia store Café, hadn’t shown up recently.

I remember only telling her to stay away until the exams were over. Yet, even after that, she hadn’t shown her face.

And it’s not like I could go knocking on the dormitory door to look for her.

Right now, I thought it was best to focus on the store rather than overburdening Liv, who was still recovering from her injuries.

“Now that you mention it, I haven’t seen Adela around lately,” a student remarked.

“What? N-No!!” Liv exclaimed, flustered.

“Have you seen her anywhere, Baroness Liv?” I asked casually.

“No, absolutely not. I’ve never seen her in my life,” she replied, her voice tinged with an odd finality.

I occasionally asked Liv, who seemed to deny even the faintest hint of a future encounter for some reason, but there was no news of Adela’s whereabouts.

On the other hand, since the store had just reopened and was still receiving few customers, the time Liv and I spent alone together was gradually increasing.

“Mr. Louis, what does this word mean?” Liv asked, pointing to her book.

Her attitude towards me had subtly changed since I treated her injury.

It’s hard to explain exactly, but small things were different.

She no longer kept her back straight while reading a book but would sometimes put extra emphasis on her abdomen.

“Abdominis massage… It means abdominal massage. What kind of book are you reading?” I asked, curious.

“Just a general interest book…” she replied, averting her gaze.

She occasionally asked about words unrelated to magic.

Besides that, she often tucked her hair behind her ears and stared intently at my hands. Thankfully, she didn’t seem too traumatized by the previous incident.

She was quite startled by the iron dogs growling in a corner of the store, but I lied, saying I found them abandoned during a walk and took pity on them.

One idle afternoon, while I was sweeping outside the store, a poster with a familiar face on it was blown to my feet by the wind.

[Farencia Academy Student Council Presidential Election Notice]

[Candidate No. 2: Adela Silvesta de Rochear]

[Self-Introduction: Adela here~! Let’s make the academy a paradise on earth! And turn the store into a sweet, loving home!! Vote for me!]

“What the hell…?” I muttered, feeling a sudden chill.

A sense of unease crept over me. I threw down the broom and rubbed my eyes a few times. Did I just see something I wasn’t supposed to…?

When I looked again, the poster was already fluttering away with the wind, as if it had legs.

Maybe I imagined it. Have I been thinking about Adela that much?

With her absence, I must have conjured up this horrifying fantasy that she was too busy campaigning for the student council president.

I resumed my sweeping as if nothing had happened.

Now that I think about it, this time of year was also when new clubs sprang up like mushrooms, and I had trouble taking down posters.

“Maybe I should set up traps again,” I mused aloud.

Surely, they would plaster the walls or windows of the store with them. The store’s location in the academy’s center meant it was an excellent spot for publicity.

I still don’t understand why they would use someone else’s building for their posters, but the silver lining this time was that the poster’s responsible party was clearly indicated.

Since it was an election poster, the candidate’s face was plastered all over it.

Last year, one of the clueless students who covered the store with posters had their head fixed to the spot where the poster was hung.

Hopefully, that won’t happen again this time. After finishing my sweeping, I went back inside the store.

And a few days later, I was utterly shocked to hear that Adela had indeed entered the student council presidential race.

“Excuse me, Miss Adela? Are you…serious?” Professor Roilen asked, his brow furrowed in concern.

“Yes,” Adela replied, tilting her head innocently.

Looking at her shining eyes full of naivety, Roilen showed a troubled expression.

“Even if the academy is only implementing this election system as a trial, it’s not a joke.”

“I’m serious,” Adela insisted.

“Where are you going to get the manpower and funds?”

“My friends said they’d help me. And I have money.”

She showed the money pouch hanging from her waist. It certainly wasn’t the money she earned working at the store.

For Adela, who was living on support from her family, the money from her part-time job was merely pocket change. The money Louis had given her was something she cherished and wouldn’t use frivolously.

For some reason, even after she ran away from the Rochear family, money kept flowing in, so funding her campaign wasn’t an issue.

Though her chances of winning seemed close to zero, Roilen couldn’t bring himself to oppose her when her resolve was so firm.

“Sigh… Alright. Here are the rules the candidates must follow. You must not run your campaign with illegal funds, and you must attend the two speeches before the main vote. If you don’t show up, you’ll be disqualified. There are many more detailed regulations, so be sure to read them.”

“Got it!” Adela chirped.

Leaving the interview room, Adela climbed to the highest clock tower in the academy with a light step.

From the top, under the clear blue sky and a gentle breeze blowing from the distant hills, she could see the entire grounds of Farencia.

After chasing away the birds that had taken the prime spot, she took a deep breath and looked around.

“It’s so beautiful…” she whispered in awe.

Adela hadn’t forgotten her promise to Louis.

A wish.

She had passed her exams and avoided expulsion, so now it was time to tell him about the wish she had always dreamed of.

But she needed to prepare for it.

A bride can’t go to a wedding empty-handed, after all, she thought. She didn’t have her family’s honor, a grand parade to grace the wedding hall, or even a torn, dirty dress she could wear again.

Though she still received financial support under the pretext of living expenses, she couldn’t expect much more help from her family.

In that case, she had to win everything with her own two hands.

By becoming the student council president of the academy.

She would give Louis this beautiful view in its entirety.

“And then, we’ll live together in the store, just the two of us… Hehe,” she giggled to herself.

Dong, daaanng~! Dong!

The sound of the clock tower’s bell at noon signaled the beginning of her grand plan.

Adela spread her arms toward the sun and spun around.

“Alright. Let’s do this.”

May. The stormy student council election had begun.