episode_0034

The Academy has dozens of clubs.

These dozens of clubs can be divided into combat clubs and non-combat clubs.

Combat clubs include the Swordsmanship Club, Magic Research Club, Spear-fighting Club, Monster Hunting Club, Bare-Hand Combat Club, and others.

Among combat clubs, the largest in scale are the Swordsmanship Club and the Magic Research Club.

The Disciplinary Committee also counts as a combat club, but unlike the other two, it didn’t recruit many members.

Non-combat clubs include the Cooking Club, Board Game Club, Newspaper Club, Theology Club, and others.

Among non-combat clubs, the largest in scale *was* the Social Club.

Yes, that’s a story from the past.

The Social Club no longer exists at the Academy.

The Social Club was a club exclusively for nobles, aiming for camaraderie and social activities.

Since there were hardly any commoners among the Academy’s students, it was the largest among non-combat clubs.

Being large, it also received a significant amount of activity funds from the Academy.

The fact that only nobles could join wasn’t exactly an issue, but the Social Club had several problems.

One was excessive camaraderie.

One might ask what’s wrong with camaraderie in a club created for that very purpose.

However, they formed a faction and regularly bullied other students they disliked.

The bullied students were, of course, minor nobles or commoners.

Only two people got rid of such a Social Club from the Academy.

Simon Nicholas, who had joined the Newspaper Club, realized something was amiss while investigating the Social Club.

“President, I heard the Social Club was systematically bullying other students, so I looked into it a bit, and the money they’re receiving seems strange?”

“Simon, I told you not to investigate the Social Club. From now on, absolutely don’t touch the Social Club. If you investigate them one more time, you’re out of the Newspaper Club.”

“I’m sorry. I won’t investigate further.”

At that moment, Simon listened to the Newspaper Club President’s words and thought.

*This guy in front of me is useless.*

Simon didn’t say anything more to the Newspaper Club President while investigating the Social Club.

Because he knew that saying more wouldn’t change anything.

“People are information, and information is people.”

Simon mumbled the words his father, who belonged to the Imperial Intelligence Department, habitually uttered, and investigated the Social Club on his own.

The truth he uncovered during his investigation was shocking.

“Wow, they siphoned off a lot.”

They were siphoning off the funds paid as activity expenses by the Academy.

“The Social Club couldn’t have done this alone. Is the Student Council in on it too?”

Siphoning off activity funds paid by the Academy is nearly impossible, but the story changes if the Student Council helps.

The Student Council manipulated the activity funds the Social Club was supposed to receive, allowing them to get more, and the Social Club profited that way.

The reason Simon could investigate so much on his own was his wide network.

He could hear various stories because he was friendly not only with nobles but also with commoners.

“It’s a bit hard to expose this on my own.”

Simon was from a relatively high-ranking viscount family in the Empire, but the Social Club and Student Council also included Marquises or Dukes from other kingdoms.

That didn’t mean there was no way. Simon went to the Magic Research Club.

“Joden, let’s cause some trouble together.”

“Simon, speak so I can understand.”

Simon told Joden everything he had learned during his investigation.

“Tsk, what do I need to do?”

“There’s a secret space in the Student Council office, and there’s a high chance the evidence is there.”

The method Simon thought of was to inform the professors beforehand and find concrete evidence in the Student Council office.

“In other words, I just need to subdue all the Student Council members.”

But Joden left those words and started walking.

“Where are you going?”

“I’m going to break into the Student Council office.”

“What? By yourself?”

Joden walked without answering Simon’s words.

“Hey! Wait for me.”

Simon kept trying to stop him from the side, but Joden ignored him and walked all the way to the Student Council office.

“What is it?”

A student guarding the front of the Student Council office asked, wary of Joden.

“Move.”

Joden ignored the guarding student and entered the Student Council office.

Perhaps they were in a meeting, as quite a few people were gathered there.

“Are all these guys here involved?”

Joden looked at Simon and spoke, regardless of whether the students were staring.

“Yeah, that’s right.”

“What kind of rudeness—”

One of the students in the Student Council office shouted something at Joden but couldn’t finish his sentence.

Because his entire body had frozen.

“What?!”

“Young Master Adelien!”

Other students in the Student Council office shouted at the sudden situation.

“Quiet.”

And everyone in the Student Council office froze at once, unable to even resist.

On this day, many students were expelled from the Academy. The Social Club disappeared.

Joden became the first freshman in Academy history to become the Student Council President.

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I was currently heading to the cafeteria with Lucas to eat lunch.

The “vermin” who had tried to talk to Lucas somehow eventually listened to Lucas telling them to leave and departed with their subordinates.

“What you asked Frederic earlier, was it to meet the Newspaper Club President?”

Frederic is a sorcerer from the Special Class, full name Frederic Nicholas.

He is the younger brother of Simon Nicholas, the Newspaper Club President.

“Yes, that’s correct!”

“Thanks to that, I even got hit with a drink, you know.”

“I’m sorry about that. Honestly, I didn’t think they’d go that far.”

“You don’t need to worry about it. More importantly, is this the method you mentioned for dealing with it within a week?”

“Consider this just a build-up. The final stage is still remaining.”

“What’s the final stage?”

“I’ll tell only you, Lucas-ssi.”

Feeling a little bad for Lucas, who got hit with a drink because of me, I told Lucas my plan.

Lucas was astonished by my words.

“You think that’s possible?”

“You’ll see.”

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After finishing lunch, Lucas and I took a short walk around the Academy grounds.

“Loki, aren’t people gathered over there?”

Just as Lucas said, students were gathered, looking at something.

As we got closer, I could see what the students were looking at.

It was the newspaper posted on the bulletin board.

[The Prince of the Arcshen Kingdom Sprays a Drink and Utters Insulting Words to the Imperial Crown Prince!]

It was a provocative headline that no one could ignore.

“Wow, that was fast, wasn’t it?”

It seems they made it without even eating lunch.

“And when did they take the photo?”

The newspaper had a photo of Lucas being hit by the drink and the “vermin” saying something to Lucas.

“Isn’t this a lie?”

“Exactly, does that even make sense?”

At first, the students couldn’t believe the newspaper.

Because it made no sense for a kingdom’s prince to spray a drink on the Imperial Crown Prince.

“Look at the photo. It doesn’t seem to be lying at all, does it?”

“The current Newspaper Club President has never published a lie in the newspaper.”

“The person who wrote the newspaper article that targeted the Social Club two years ago is also the current Newspaper Club President.”

But the photo and the reputation of Simon Nicholas, the Newspaper Club President, made the students believe.

[This newspaper was personally witnessed and written by Simon Nicholas, the Newspaper Club President, and contains no falsehoods.]

Such a sentence was also written at the end of the newspaper, so they couldn’t help but believe it.

“What?! So that’s true?!”

“How dare he! The Crown Prince-nim!”

Kroa Academy is the best academy on the continent, so although there were many students from other places, most of them were Imperial citizens.

No Imperial citizen existed who wasn’t enraged that the Crown Prince had suffered such an insult.

“I didn’t like that guy from the beginning!”

“I saw that guy loitering near the Special Class!”

“Then, perhaps he did something like that to the Crown Prince-nim on purpose?”

“Yesterday, he also picked a fight with Johanna-nim and Joden-nim in the cafeteria.”

The newspaper posted by the Newspaper Club showed no signs of cooling down until all Academy classes were over.

Yesterday, the students from the Arcshen Kingdom who picked a fight with me were as silent as dead during today’s classes.

Because they knew that acting up now wouldn’t lead to anything good.

“From now on, we will protect the Crown Prince-nim.”

Even people calling themselves “Lucas’s Fan Club” came and escorted Lucas.

Lucas, surrounded by the fan club in an instant, looked at me as if resentfully.

*It’s not… the fan club you chose. Anyway, endure it with sheer grit.*

The Special Class students looked at Lucas, not me, with worried eyes.

As if he couldn’t bear it anymore, Lucas told only the Special Class students that it was my plan.

Hearing that, the Special Class students began to look at me like a madman.

“No matter how handsome I am, if you stare at me like that, I get shy.”

“…………”

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After spending another ordinary day at the Academy, I lay in bed and contacted Yerika via the communication device.

I wanted to confirm if Yerika truly possessed that special characteristic.

A beep, a beep, then a trill.

A signal rang, and then I heard Yerika answer the call.

“Princess-nim.”

[…………]

I called out to Yerika, but she didn’t say anything.

*Has the connection not been established yet?*

“Princess-nim.”

[…………]

Suddenly, I remembered what Yerika had said just before the call ended yesterday.

[Next time, please call me Yerika comfortably.]

*Could it be…?*

“Yerika-nim?”

[………..]

“Yerika-ssi?”

[…………]

“Yerika?”

[Yes!]