Chapter 56 – Stormy Election for Student President (5)

“Vote for candidate number two, everyone! Let’s all unite in reform for the sake of the academy and our great comrade, Miss Adela!”

“””Let’s reform!!!”””

The decisive day had arrived. Before the final speeches began, Adela and her followers made a round through the academy, distributing flyers and shouting slogans to rally the students.

Adela, finding herself surrounded by a crowd, felt a mix of doubt and excitement as she continued her passionate speech about leading the academy.

“Miss Adela, here’s some water.”

“Oh, thank you. But aren’t we going to the convenience store?”

“Interest in that place has waned among the students recently, so it might not be necessary to visit. It’s also rumored that a strange spell makes it hard to approach.”

“Then, I’ll go alone…”

“Ahem, the final speeches will start soon in the auditorium. After that, we proceed directly to the voting, so you’ll be quite busy.”

“Right…”

Adela nodded, her face sullen as she adjusted the strange laurel wreath on her head.

Initially, she had planned to become the student council president, offer the academy to her teacher, and ask him to marry her. But as time passed, the distance between them seemed only to grow.

“Before the speech, here’s a final checklist for you. The next pages are the lists of applicants for the secretary and vice president positions in the student council, which you need to review by the end of the day.”

“…”

Believing her victory was all but certain, her followers handed her a mountain of tasks that lay ahead. As she flipped through the thick stack of documents, Adela realized that the duties of a student council president were quite different from what she had imagined.

“Let’s head to the main auditorium. It’s time.”

“Ah, wait a moment…!”

For one last time, Adela gazed at the distant, beloved convenience store. For some reason, it felt as if the distance between her and Louis would never close.

Since returning from the North Sea, there was always another woman by his side. She recalled him escorting Baroness Ruhillen with a gentle smile in the dining hall.

Even now, inside the convenience store… he was likely alone with that woman. Adela couldn’t even bear to imagine what might be happening between them.

Grit.

She felt something inside her grinding away. A sharp pain that pierced through her—one she wouldn’t have felt if her heart had been ripped out.

At this rate—would she even have the courage to ask him to marry her if she became the student council president? What did she really know about Louis to make such a request?

What I want, what I truly desire…

“Adela.”

Amidst the loud chants, a familiar voice called out. As she stared intently at the convenience store hidden among the trees, she thought it was just her imagination—but then—

“Over here.”

When she turned her head, she found him standing a bit closer.

“T-Teacher?”

Dressed in his usual casual attire, with an unpretentious expression. This time, however, he had a slightly awkward smile.

He reached out his hand.

“How about a date? Right now?”

The large auditorium nearby and the small, distant convenience store.

But Adela realized neither was the place she wanted to go.

“Yes.”

She responded brightly, smiling more beautifully than a princess leaving her castle with a knight.

“Let’s go!”

Once we left the bustling academy grounds, Farencia at the end of May resembled a white dove scattered on the canvas of peace.

The afternoon sun wasn’t too strong, and every time we passed by the fountain, a cool breeze would light up our clothes.

However, without any time to take in the beautiful scenery, we walked, staring only at our feet.

As we strolled side by side, we occasionally exchanged glances and joked around, but there was a noticeable awkwardness between Adela and me.

“Adela, do you want to eat that?”

I was the first to speak up, pointing at a fairy floss stand selling cotton candy.

This first date had to be more meaningful than her student council presidency. At my age, I couldn’t spend a day timidly trailing behind a girl.

“Yes… I do.”

Still a bit shy, Adela nodded. I considered tearing off a piece and doing something romantic, but she ended up eating it all herself.

“Want a hot dog?”

Next, we had a snack mixing carbohydrates and protein. With sodium and sugar in abundance, Adela’s tension gradually eased.

“It’s delicious~.”

I like women who eat well, even more so if they’re pretty.

Our outing, which started as a thrilling first date, had somehow turned into a food tour.

Located in central Pennheim, Farencia attracted many tourists and nobles from various regions, giving it a rich culinary culture.

Though I couldn’t find distinctly Korean food, especially kimchi, there were still many dishes not too different from Earth’s.

You learn a lot about a person when you eat with them. Getting to know Adela this way wasn’t bad.

“Do you want to try that? It’s stir-fried silkworm pupae.”

“Sure.”

“How about mint chocolate?”

“I like it!”

Not bad.

“It’s a drink made by mixing the eye of a Red Drake with soda and stirring it with pine needles! Want a sip?”

Not bad…

“Should I pour it?”

“You want to die?”

Terrible. Such an outrageous suggestion made me speak harshly.

After filling our stomachs, we browsed through various clothes and accessories in the shopping district. If I bought her food, Adela was the one spending money here.

“Try this on, too.”

Adela held up clothes that caught her fancy, trying them on me, who usually wore old, dirty T-shirts.

She even paid for some fairly expensive items without hesitation.

Though these clothes, more formal than practical, weren’t my style, she ended up thrusting a pile of bags into my hands.

“I don’t need this much…”

“You’ll find use for all of it.”

Seeing Adela so happy, I wanted to give her something, too. Fortunately, I had a germanium bracelet I’d kept after it fell out of a drawer during the convenience store remodeling.

“Do you want this?”

“You’re giving it to me!? I love it!”

Adela wore the shiny bracelet on her wrist and checked herself in the store mirror repeatedly.

Though I considered deducting points for what seemed like her belief in pseudo-science, she looked too happy, so I decided to let it slide.

The bright sun slowly began to set. Fireworks announcing the end of the election shot into the sky from the academy.

A violation of the rules. Since Adela hadn’t given her final speech, she was naturally disqualified, and Erzebert had likely won the student council presidency.

Though her playful behavior hadn’t entirely pleased me, it seemed she’d put her mind to it enough. This would suffice.

Now that my objective was accomplished, I could have returned, but for some reason, I couldn’t bring myself to leave.

“Teacher… I want to rest for a bit.”

Adela seemed to feel the same way.

“I’m so full, I think I’m going to be sick…”

Or maybe not?

Anyway, instead of returning to the academy right away, we sat on a bench in a quiet street, silently watching the setting sun.

As I gazed at Adela’s profile bathed in the twilight, I fell into thought.

What does Adela mean to me?

Lovers aren’t just people who love each other; they also step into each other’s lives.

Ever since I fell into this world, my life has been nothing but darkness, past and present. A swamp of karma, suffocating with not even a speck of mana to breathe.

On the other hand, Adela Silvesta, the second daughter of the Rochear family, was bound to master the unique magic known as the ultimate white magic.

Though I compared us as symbols of mana and karma, I didn’t fit with her, or anyone, to begin with.

Whatever she meant by handing me those expensive clothes fit for a wedding hall, I couldn’t respond to her hopes.

“Teacher.”

Her lips, which had once naively whispered love to me in a starry rural village, looked my way again.

The vow a warrior must keep was too heavy, anchoring me to this earth. Not even the gentle breeze from Adela’s small lips could make me fly away.

I wasn’t qualified to intertwine my future with anyone. If Adela loved me, she’d have to give up many things.

Pain, regret, pity, self-blame, resentment, longing—all those tangled emotions would never reach my bitter and terrible inner self.

Could such a relationship, where one side couldn’t fully commit and wavered, even be called a relationship?

But—

“Shall we rest a bit at that hotel?”

Whenever she showed a sincere side, breaking free from her usual clumsy and naive self, she displayed something so resolute, a conviction—or perhaps an intense passion—that even someone as cold as I couldn’t help but relent.

“Alright.”

I nodded, smiling bitterly.

It’s time to make a decision.

“Next student, please come forward.”

“Me? Are you talking to me?”

“Yes, you. Close your eyes and shout ‘Long live Baor III’.”

“Um, that’s…”

<White Magic: Purification • Mental Cleansing ⌜Purification⌟>

“Ugh—!”

“Alright, next!”

Inside the auditorium, where the voting had concluded.

High-ranking priests dispatched from the Temple of Light were healing the students one by one. A resident of Farencia, witnessing the suspicious mass hysteria, had reported it, and the situation had only been understood later.

Several followers, unable to accept that their leader had withdrawn from the race, slipped out through the back door.

Assistant Bishop Fernan, who ordered them to be pursued, handed Erzebert a sanctified third-grade sacred wood and clasped his hands together.

“Congratulations on your appointment as student council president, Princess. The Farencia branch of the Temple of Light reaffirms its commitment to maintaining close ties with the Pennheim royal family.”

“Oh, thank you…”

“That said, it’s troubling to see such subversive ideas taking root even here, the heart of education in Farencia. It seems there are still factions operating within the kingdom.”

“No, this time…!”

Clutching her aching head for a moment, Erzebert sighed deeply.

“I don’t even know anymore.”

“Pardon?”

“It’s nothing. I sincerely thank all of Hela’s servants for their constant efforts for humanity.”

“Haha, don’t mention it. Traces of groups still worshipping demons and black magic are being found in the North. Recently, there was even a request for analysis at the sect headquarters in Rubié…”

Though Fernan continued his trivial talk beside her, Erzebert’s mind was entirely elsewhere.

In the end, she couldn’t win on her own. Only after receiving that man’s help—and even that through a trick—had she won.

Even enduring immense humiliation that tarnished the royal name.

— Oh? Baroness Ruhillen. Haven’t you undergone purification yet? Let me handle it.

— I don’t need that… Argh! Didn’t I tell you not to?!

— Ah, you’re normal. Sorry about that. The mental corruption among third-year students was especially severe…

— Enough! I’m busy, so I’ll be going. The guards are very unhappy, so I need to sort this out first.

Although it wasn’t exactly electoral fraud, if it became public, it would certainly be a source of ridicule.

If Louis were to use this as leverage to blackmail her, what would she do then?

“Phi—”

“Shut up, Phi. This is all your fault.”

“Phi—”

“Don’t even start about how Louis liked it. I won’t do it again, never again.”

Shooing away Phi, who kept teasing her from her shoulder, she covered her aching face with both hands.