Chapter 74: Chapter 74

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Translator: Vine

Chapter Title: Recruiting for the Boycott

-----------------------------------------------------------------

I had secured the heroine who would clear the scenario for me. But I was still facing another problem.

That was, I still didn't have enough people for the student council boycott.

Honestly, I had no idea where to even find them.

'For now.'

I recalled and selected the existing boycott members. I had already informed Rozamin about them.

These were people who already harbored grievances against the student council and the academy. If their hearts were swayed, they would listen to Rozamin's words.

I intended to personally persuade the main factions among them.

'I'd use Bikamen's guise for *those* guys, not Hanon's.'

But for the person I was meeting now, Hanon's appearance would be far more effective.

Creak—

Opening the familiar door, an unfamiliar sight greeted me.

Books were scattered everywhere, documents lay in disarray. And in the chair where someone else usually worked, sat a young man surrounded by several other figures.

This was the student council office. The very office that had been left vacant by Nikita, the Vice President.

"Oh, Hanon, you're here?"

The man, who had been moving his quill with a pained expression, lifted his head, showing his pleasure.

A handsome man with striking light blonde hair and a smiling face. Outwardly jovial, his name was…

Sylvester Draven.

He was the Student Council President of Jerion Academy. Furthermore, he was also the youngest son of Duke Draven, one of the Empire's Four Great Dukes.

This was precisely why Duke Robliaju was so intent on bringing down the student council.

'Since Duke Draven belongs to the First Prince's faction.'

If the student council fell, all responsibility would fall on Sylvester, the president. Bringing Sylvester down and allowing Iris to restore the student council's authority would also strengthen their political standing.

My gaze returned to Sylvester.

Sylvester's nickname. It was 'the Incompetent Idler.'

Born into the Draven family, he had nothing to inherit from the ducal household. Nor was his personal ability particularly outstanding.

However, thanks to the Draven name backing him and his decent appearance, he had ascended to the presidency.

'The lack of suitable talent among the third-years probably played a part too.'

That's why he had always dumped various tasks onto Nikita, the Vice President, until now.

But Nikita was absent due to the recent incident. As a result, he was overwhelmed by the flood of work, day after day.

During the semester, it wasn't too bad, but when a new semester began, the student council had a truly immense amount of work.

Yet, Nikita had managed this work alongside her own training. It truly made me realize Nikita's competence anew.

"You're going through a lot of trouble."

Although the student council office had seen comparatively less traffic since Nikita's disappearance, I had continued to attend regularly. To instigate a boycott, I consistently needed information about the current student council.

And today, there was a specific reason I had come to the student council office.

"Poara."

"Ah, yes, Senior!"

Poara, who had been diligently moving last year's documents, answered me hastily.

The Spirit Lord's Contractor. A key figure in Act 4's student council boycott.

Poara Silin.

I helped Poara so he wouldn't spill the documents, and smiled faintly.

"Can we talk for a bit later?"

Want to join our student council boycott?

***

After finishing up at the student council office, I walked home with Poara.

"Yes, that's right. That happened last time, didn't it?"

Poara was conversing with spirits that were invisible to my eyes.

It was a sight I'd witnessed many times, but it was still fascinating. It felt like watching someone talk to ghosts.

"Ah, I'm sorry, Senior. The spirits are particularly chatty today."

"It's fine. Don't worry about it."

These were the spirits that always gave Poara strength. I had to make sure he took care of them.

As I spoke casually, Poara smiled from behind his glasses.

Though Poara had seemed quite timid at first, he had become noticeably more confident now that a semester had passed and he had adapted to the academy.

It was as if the gravitas of being the Spirit Lord's Contractor was settling upon him.

'I've also gained the Flame of Fire, but…'

Unfortunately, the spirits still didn't show themselves to me. Bikamen's spirit affinity was close to despair.

"So, what did you want to talk to me about privately?"

Fortunately, Poara brought up the main topic first.

"Poara, do you remember our conversation from last time?"

"If it's about our last conversation…"

"About you granting me a favor."

Poara blinked. Then, he clenched both fists and nodded vigorously.

"Yes, of course! Thanks to you, Senior, I was able to form a contract with the Spirit Lord! Just say the word!"

Such a reliable junior. I smiled faintly.

"Poara, recently a group has formed that intends to reject the student council."

"A boycott?"

"You remember Senior Nikita's incident recently, right?"

Poara's face instantly darkened. Though not as much as I did, Poara had gotten along well with Nikita.

Nikita was someone who treated juniors without discrimination. That's why Poara also respected Nikita greatly.

Even though quite some time had passed, Nikita's absence was still keenly felt. Perhaps because of this, Poara was deeply troubled by the incident involving Nikita.

"It seems they're trying to use that incident as an excuse to launch a boycott."

"Such a wicked thing to do… Senior Nikita worked so hard to improve the academy! To try and exploit their suffering like that. They're unbelievable scum."

A strong sense of defiance emanated from Poara. It struck me anew how much Poara had changed.

In the past, Poara was the one who had proactively led the boycott. But now, he was standing on the student council's side, angrier than anyone.

"Right, and that's why, Poara, I need you to infiltrate that boycott group."

"Huh?"

Poara unconsciously echoed, his face bewildered.

Just moments ago, Poara had been fuming about Nikita's situation. He couldn't believe he was being told to join a boycott himself.

So I had to persuade Poara carefully.

"Listen closely. If you, as a member of the student council, express dissatisfaction with the student council itself, what do you think the boycott group will think?"

"…They'd welcome me with open arms, wouldn't they?"

"Exactly. To them, you'd be a convenient spy and a justification. But on the other hand, as a member of the student council, you would be…"

"Ah, you mean I should become a spy!"

Poara nodded, a look of understanding on his face.

"Precisely."

Of course, Poara would ultimately lead the boycott group under my direction. But as long as it was clear he was acting as a spy for the student council, I could pull him out whenever I wanted.

"B-but, can I really pull off being a spy?"

Poara was usually far from being an actor. The phrase 'simple-hearted youth' suited him best. Asking him to play the role of a spy was an extremely difficult task.

"What are you talking about? Poara, you can do it better than anyone."

"Uh, m-me, really?"

"Yes. More importantly, you have spirits that are invisible to others. If you borrow their eyes, extracting information will be a piece of cake."

"…Will the spirits really help with something like that?"

They would absolutely help.

Poara seemed to cherish the spirits because he loved them. However, spirits were beings with a clear hierarchy. If it was a command from Poara, who had contracted with the Spirit Lord, they would help with anything short of their own annihilation.

"Trust me, who trusts you. Poara, you're the junior I trust most in the student council."

"Ah, ahem, ahem."

Poara coughed, embarrassed.

I didn't particularly want to see a guy get shy. I should stop the compliments here.

'I miss the days when I praised Nikita.'

Nikita, I miss you. I hope I can hear more news about you later.

Meanwhile, Poara puffed out his chest confidently. Confidence shone in his eyes.

"Yes, Senior, just trust me! I will perform my spy role excellently!"

Indeed, Poara was simple and reliable.

"I'm counting on you."

And so, I successfully inserted Poara into the boycott group. All that remained was to draw in the other key figures of the boycott.

Fortunately, I knew the weaknesses that would compel them to join the boycott. And the one who would exploit these weaknesses was Bikamen.

Third-rate villain, Bikamen Niffleheim. I would lead the boycott to a successful conclusion.

***

Preparations for the boycott steadily continued.

Initially, the numbers were far from sufficient, but thanks to Rozamin and Eiling, who were inspired by my words and worked tirelessly, they managed to gather a decent number of boycott members.

Additionally, those whom I held weaknesses over swallowed their tears and participated in the boycott.

"That cruel bastard, how did he find the poem I wrote for my first love…?"

"H-hngh, I never liked the student council anyway, but to use *that* as an excuse is too much!"

"…How did he find out about me drawing a map in the carriage after eating clams?"

Victims emerged from all corners, but the boycott roster was filled nicely. Thanks to this, I believed there would be no issues until the scheduled boycott date.

'Now, all that's left is for Iris to make contact.'

I intended to leave Iris's initial contact mostly to Rozamin.

Of course, since the scenario was a precarious tightrope walk, I planned to secretly observe when that happened.

I had thought things would proceed smoothly. But I was confronted with an entirely unexpected problem.

"Good morning. Morning training again today, huh? You're certainly diligent."

My daily morning training with Aisha. Recently, a new person had joined that training.

Beside me, clad in tight shorts and a light jacket, was the owner of honey-blonde hair. Isabel Luna.

There she was.

"…"

Aisha quietly looked my way. It was a silent question: *What on earth is going on?*

I didn't know either.

Isabel had declared she would stop me during our conversation that day.

I had, of course, interpreted that as her intending to stop the boycott incident. But it seemed that wasn't all Isabel had meant.

'Could she possibly have intended to fundamentally change *me*?'

Isabel stood beside me with a bright expression. Her smile conveyed her intention to transform my anger through positive energy.

A headache throbbed for a moment. This overly cheerful main heroine.

Then again, this very aspect was also why I had liked Isabel.

After killing Nikita with his own hands, Lucas suffered a great wound in his heart.

This wound continued to grow, eventually shattering Lucas.

At the end of Act 4, Isabel comforted and encouraged such a Lucas. And finally, seeing Lucas rise again, Isabel came to harbor feelings for him.

That scene was one I, who had enjoyed the 'Flame Butterfly' arc, particularly loved.

It was the scene where Isabel, always the childhood friend, awakened as the main heroine. As someone playing the protagonist, it was a scene I couldn't help but adore.

'Hmm?'

As I thought that, I suddenly paused.

Now, in this world, Lucas didn't exist. Instead, I had partially taken on Lucas's role for the scenario's progression.

And so, now. To Isabel, I appeared as someone enraged and wounded by Nikita's death.

Even if this was a situation I had fabricated, coincidentally aligning with events, that was how Isabel was bound to see it.

That meant, if the scenario progressed as it was, I would follow the same path as Lucas.

Isabel would fall for me.

'No, it's not *exactly* the same, though.'

Lucas was Isabel's childhood friend. But I was Isabel's rival.

Even if she felt a sense of pride seeing me overcome my resentment, she wouldn't fall in love.

'I probably don't need to worry too much about that.'

The problem was that, having replaced Lucas's role, Isabel seemed intent on sticking by my side like this for a while.

"…Aisha, let's train."

But there was nothing for it. Just because Isabel had joined didn't mean I could skip training.

Aisha nodded. We continued our usual training routine.

Isabel kept up with the training quite well. She was, after all, a top-tier talent in second-year martial arts.

Naturally, she could keep up with most training. But the problem was that the training we did was far from 'most training.'

"H-huh, huff, are, are you two seriously insane? H-huff, d-do you really do this much in the morning?"

Isabel gasped, seeing the dozens of kilograms of iron weights strapped to our backs and arms.

Aisha's eyes met mine. A smile spread across both our faces.

"To complain about something as trivial as this…"

"Senior Isabel, are you perhaps weak?"

Aisha and I were perfectly in sync.

A vein throbbed quietly on Isabel's forehead. As a martial arts student, she naturally had pride in her discipline.

She was provoked.

"Weak, you say?"

Isabel tightly gripped the iron weights and pushed herself up.

"That's a word I've never heard applied to me before."

That's what I like to hear.

"Aisha, let's continue."

"Yes, Senior."

We resumed our morning training with full intensity. Isabel stubbornly tried to keep up, but eventually, she completely collapsed midway.

Since we had pushed ourselves unnecessarily just to mess with Isabel, we decided to end the training there.

"Ugh, huff."

Isabel's legs trembled as she tried to make her way back to the dormitory, her body shaking.

Watching her silently, I walked over to her side.

Isabel flinched.

"Y-you don't have to help me!"

"No, I wasn't going to."

I simply walked past her, wondering why she would say something so obvious. I was just trying to get a head start, as the boys' dormitory was a bit further than the girls'.

I had to move quickly if I wanted to wash up and not be late.

Isabel stared at me from behind with a dumbfounded expression. Then, she made a face as if recalling our relationship anew.

"Senior, I'll help you."

"Ugh, thanks…"

And so, Isabel quietly allowed Aisha to support her.

"You don't smell of sweat at all."

When Aisha quietly said this, Isabel merely lowered her head, her face flushed red.