Chapter 8: Leading (2)

Aisha clicked her tongue in disbelief and walked away first.
Left alone, I stood there, realizing I had become a member of the Disciplinary Committee.

But honestly, can I even call this place a Disciplinary Committee?

I knew it was a chaotic group from the start.
With not a single normal person among the members, it’s only natural.

Selena is definitely eccentric, but if I had to categorize her, she leans more toward good than evil.
It’s just that her twisted personality warps how she expresses it.

Of course, like any other character in <Eterna Online>, Selena has a backstory.
In this game, heroines without tragic backgrounds are extremely rare.

Selena despises the Holy Empire.
The reason is simple.
She lost everything because of them.

“About the new freshmen this time, right?”
“Yes.”
“Each class will probably have a practice duel during the first lesson.”
“Got it.”

Selena briefly explained the role of a Disciplinary Committee member.
So far, I didn’t notice anything strange about her.

However, Selena is the biggest rebel in <Eterna Academy>.
That’s why, even within the community, opinions about her are consistently negative.

< Saintess Odette >

Selena constantly clashes with Odette, one of the must-clear heroines.
No player could ever have a positive view of Selena, considering how she always hinders progress.
No matter how tragic her story is, to the players, it’s just extra text.

She’s not only hard to approach, but she also constantly interferes with progressing through the heroine route.
For players, Selena is nothing short of a walking disaster.

“Luke, you’re in S-Class, right?”
“Yes.”
“Hmm~ Is that so?”
“……”

Selena’s intense gaze locked onto me.
Instinctively, I turned my head to avoid her stare.

“You’re not just tall; you’re pretty well-rounded too, huh?”
“……”
“They say you used a 6-Star spell in the exam hall. Though, it’s probably exaggerated.”
“…Who knows.”

I did use a 6-Star spell.
Though I don’t remember it at all.

Angela, who had been listening to our conversation, seemed to be deep in thought.
Then, as if realizing something, she widened her eyes and asked me.

“Luke! Was your homeroom teacher Professor Louise?”
“You know her well.”
“Pfft! You’re gonna have a hard time from now on!”

Angela seemed exasperated, as if recalling some unpleasant memories.
Did she know Professor Louise from before?

“Are you acquainted with Professor Louise?”
“Of course! Do you know how much trouble that crazy woman causes? We’re always stuck cleaning up after her mess!”
“Cleaning up?”

So, it’s not the Disciplinary Committee causing trouble but cleaning up after her?
Angela puffed her cheeks indignantly, clearly not pleased with my skeptical expression.

“Yeah! She’s always dragging freshmen on group projects as an excuse to take them to high-level dungeons! And lately, during sparring lessons, she doesn’t even intervene until someone surrenders, using realism as an excuse!”
“Sounds like a tough job for the Disciplinary Committee.”
“Right? You’re pretty sensible for a freshman!”

Seeing Angela’s eyes light up at my casual agreement, I couldn’t help but feel a bit embarrassed.
She’s just as cheerful and straightforward as I remembered.

“Anyway, because of that, the S-Class sparring practice will have one of us from the Disciplinary Committee assisting!”
“Assisting?”
“Yep! It was already annoying enough, but now that Luke’s in S-Class, it’s perfect!”

Damn it.
Angela just casually dumped the job on me.
She’s clearly a pro at passing the buck.

“Is it okay to assign a freshman that kind of task?”
“Of course~ No problem!”
“And what if something goes wrong?”
“We’ll think about it when it happens~”

Angela turned her head to look at Selena, who casually gave her a thumbs-up.
What the hell are you two up to?

“Hehe! That’s it for the explanation! Good luck!”
“That’s it?”
“Yep! Good luck!”

My brain was spinning at full speed.
Come to think of it, this proposal isn’t bad for me at all.

The special event, <Inferiority Complex>.

It’s not even a main episode—just a trivial event.
But considering that it’s an event where the Crown Prince of the Belkin Empire becomes consumed by his inferiority complex, I can’t just sit back and do nothing.

If I can intervene in the sparring match as a Disciplinary Committee member, it couldn’t be more ideal.
This might be better than I thought.

“Alright.”
“Yep, my heart… huh? What did you say?”
“Let’s give it a try.”
“What the… boring…”

If the Crown Prince’s inferiority complex escalates later, he’ll turn into a main villain.
However, if I intervene early on and reduce the progression of that complex, it’ll make the episode flow much more smoothly.

“Hooh.”

Selena seemed intrigued by my easy acceptance, her gaze once again fixed on me.
Then the right corner of her mouth curled slightly.

“Hey, Luke.”
“Yes, Disciplinary Committee Chief?”
“I recently heard some interesting news.”
“…What is it?”

Why is she hesitating so much to ask?
No way…

“There’s a rumor that the Saintess of the Holy Empire enrolled in this year’s S-Class…”

Damn it.
I had a bad feeling about this.

“Have you met her by any chance?”

She enrolled under a pseudonym, and even the professors don’t know her identity.
At this point, only three people know about Odette’s enrollment:
Odette herself, Principal Stella, and me.

How did Selena get wind of Odette’s admission?
There’s no way Stella went around blabbering about it.

“It’s the first I’ve heard of it.”

In situations like this, there’s only one way out—act shamelessly.

“First time hearing it, huh?”
“Completely new to me. Why would a saintess even bother coming to the academy?”
“Are you serious?”
“Yes, is there a problem?”

I kept my composure, keeping up the tug-of-war of hidden intentions with Selena.
A chilling silence pressed down on the Disciplinary Committee office.

Just when the suffocating tension was starting to gnaw at me—

“Really? I must’ve gotten it wrong then. Sorry about that.”

Her declaration of giving up hit my ears like a blessing.

“That’s understandable. No worries.”

So she wasn’t completely sure yet.
But seriously, where did she hear about Odette’s enrollment?

This whole situation doesn’t make sense, but there’s no point in sticking around.
I need to get out of here as soon as possible.

“Then, I’ll be heading out now.”
“Alright! Good job, newbie!”

Angela, sticking close to Selena, waved her hand energetically.
Without looking back, I turned and walked away.

“Oh, I almost forgot to mention something.”

I flinched.
Now what?

“Your glasses… They don’t have any prescription. Why do you bother wearing them?”

Glasses?
Wait… Is she talking about the Sage’s Glasses?

‘Wait, where are my glasses?’

That’s when it hit me.
The Sage’s Glasses I had been wearing just a moment ago were gone.

“Looking for these?”

I quickly turned my head.
Selena was casually dangling the Sage’s Glasses from her fingertips.

“Give them back.”
“This is the final entry test. Try taking them back.”
“You said I was accepted without a test.”
“Think of it as an initiation.”

Hah.
I don’t have time for these petty games.
I let out a short sigh and started walking toward her to retrieve my glasses.

———————————————————-

[ System: Player-only item loss detected! ]
[ System: Would you like to retrieve it? ]

———————————————————–

A familiar translucent system message appeared in midair.

‘What? The retrieval function still works?’

Well, that makes sense.
If the status window still works, it’s not strange that the retrieval function remains active too.

Even if the combat applications are limited due to the countless penalties,
it’s more than enough to mess with Selena.

There’s nothing to think about.
As I mentally confirmed the retrieval, the glasses dropped out of a crack in the air and fell to the ground.

“…Huh?”

Selena’s face went blank in shock.
Angela’s eyes were also wide with disbelief.

“What the hell! How did you do that?!”

Behold, the power of the system.
Any primitive magic is nothing compared to the power of the system.

“Aargh!”

Selena’s face flushed bright red like a ripe tomato.
It seemed my smug expression had thoroughly provoked her competitive spirit.

“One more time!!”

Gone was her usual cold, confident tone, replaced with a shaky, almost pleading voice.
But too bad for her.

—————————————————————————————-

[ System: Warning! ]
[ System: Multiple instances of loss detected! ]
[ System: Would you like to block <3-Star Spell: Psychokinesis>? ]

——————————————————————————————-

Where does a mere mage think she can challenge the system?
I didn’t hesitate. Yes.

Bang!

“Ugh!”

The spell circle that had formed over Selena’s hand distorted and exploded with a loud pop!
Thrown off balance, she toppled out of her chair and crashed onto the floor.

“Selenaaaa!!”

Angela’s scream pierced my ears, but I didn’t bother looking back.
I left the Disciplinary Committee room as quickly as possible.

“Ugh, what a mess.”

This is seriously exhausting.