“Luna, Rudy.”
Rie greeted us with a gentle wave as she entered the library.
“Oh, Rie, you're here?”
Luna cheerfully greeted Rie in response.
I also lifted my head slightly and raised a hand in greeting.
Rie looked at both of us and smiled warmly.
“You two are studying hard.”
“We have to. It's midterm season,”
I replied, shrugging as if it was only natural.
Rie chuckled.
“Are you aiming for second place again?”
I frowned at Rie’s joke.
“Don't you remember? I ranked first during the last final exam.”
“But you only tied for first place, right?”
I shot Rie a slightly annoyed look.
A tied first place is still a first place.
She felt the sting of my look, then turned her gaze to Luna, tilting her head slightly.
“By the way, Luna, shouldn't you be busy with your teaching assistant duties?”
“Oh, I've already finished all my tasks.”
“…You finished them all?”
Rie looked at Luna with a puzzled expression.
It was unheard of for a teaching assistant to finish all their work.
Normally, as soon as one task is completed, another one is assigned.
However, Luna claiming she had completed all her work was indeed curious.
“Did you just run away from your tasks?”
Rie questioned jokingly.
“No, not at all! First Rudy, and now you too, Rie?”
Luna responded, waving her hands in protest.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64ce79d606107d003c23ea27", id: "pf-5140-1"})Seeing Rie's baffled expression, I spoke up in Luna's defense.
“Rie, it seems Luna is even more competent than I initially thought.”
“What do you mean?”
It turned out she genuinely had finished all her tasks.
I initially thought that, as a student, Luna was given less work.
But that wasn’t the case.
Luna's efficiency surpassed everyone else’s.
She wrapped up tasks at an incredible speed, to the point where she ran out of things to do, even outpacing the graduate teaching assistants.
Considering Luna's diligent nature, she wasn't the type to shirk her responsibilities.
This meant she had indeed completed all her assigned duties in the lab.
“Professor Mcguire must be over the moon,”
Rie remarked.
“More than the professor, the other teaching assistants are probably crying tears of joy,”
I chuckled, imagining the scene.
I understood now why Professor Mcguire was so fond of Luna, and why the other teaching assistants always spoke so highly of her.
Luna giggled modestly, brushing off the praise,
“Hehehe…”
But I had something more important I was wondering about,
“Rie, how are things with the student council elections?”
The current election campaign was proceeding with the help of others, and although we were maintaining our momentum, the situation had not changed much.
Yuni's student council had a solid support base that was becoming more consolidated.
The student council president election was just 10 days away.
Although the elections were just a few days away, Rie still hadn't done anything to counter Yuni.
However, Rie behaved confidently, as if everything was normal.
"You don't trust me? I'm a ‘Hyunmoyangcheo*’."
"...What?"
Hearing that, my eyes widened in surprise. Luna, who was standing next to me, tilted her head and asked,
"What's a ‘Hyunmoyangcheo’?"
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64cc9e79c7059f003e4ad4b0", id: "pf-5109-1"})I inwardly groaned upon hearing the question.
‘Hyunmoyangcheo’ was not a word that existed in this world.
"Rudy briefly explained it to me. It's a term referring to someone wise, kind, and beautiful."
"Oh, that sounds nice."
I laughed awkwardly in response.
Originally, ‘Hyunmoyangcheo’ meant a good mother and a good wife.
Sure, it encompassed the notion of someone being wise and such, but that wasn't its precise definition.
I was taken aback to see the term being misinterpreted this way.
"Then I want to be a ‘Hyunmoyangcheo’ too! I'll work hard, Rudy!"
"No, no, that's not exactly..."
Flustered, I was about to wave my hands and clarify.
But I eventually decided against it.
After all, no one here really knew the true meaning of ‘Hyunmoyangcheo’.
It might be alright to let it slide and allow them to use it in this way.
Although hearing such a term directed at me did feel a bit odd.
Noticing my slightly uneasy expression, Rie gave a faint smile.
"Don't worry. I've deliberately been waiting for the elections to draw closer."
"Huh?"
I tilted my head in confusion.
Rie seemed to think my earlier bewilderment was about the upcoming election.
"Supporters gathered hastily often scatter just as quickly."
Rie smirked.
"Ugh... How did I end up in this mess?"
Kuhn leaned against the corridor wall, frowning deeply.
From the start, Kuhn never intended to join the student council.
Neither when he first entered the academy nor when Rudy suggested it.
If he joined, he'd have less time to spend with Emily.
Ever since he was young, Kuhn had made a promise: to protect Emily.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "663633fa8ebf7442f0652b33", id: "pf-8817-1"})If he became part of the student council, his time with her would diminish, and he couldn't protect her as he wanted.
That's why he was against joining.
But what Kuhn hadn't considered...
"Wait... you get these benefits from the student council?"
"They offer this even after graduation?"
"No way!"
Instead of persuading Kuhn, Rudy approached Emily.
And Emily was easily convinced.
When she learned about the benefits and privileges of joining the student council and what lay in store for members afterward, her eyes widened in astonishment.
"Kuhn, we absolutely have to do this. There's no other option!"
Emily is usually quite reserved.
But she's always had a strong survival instinct; whenever money or benefits were involved, she'd become uncharacteristically eager.
Once Rudy successfully persuaded Emily, Kuhn found himself without a counterargument.
“What kind of person does that?”
Rudy Astria knew too much about him and Emily.
Watching Rudy speak to Emily, occasionally shooting him mischievous glances and smirking, Kuhn couldn't help but feel he'd been duped by a con artist.
But Rudy wasn’t the only one.
"Hey, aren’t you free?"
A few days after joining the student council, Kuhn was summoned by Rie.
"Make this potion for me. Once you're done, tell me. I'll let you know what you have to do next."
Kuhn looked at the vial in his hand. It was the potion that Rie had instructed him to make.
He sighed deeply, leaning against the wall, and glanced down the hallway.
From afar, he spotted Diark Verdès, chatting with a few others as they approached.
Kuhn took another deep breath, "These sly foxes..." picturing Rie and Rudy sharing a sinister laugh.
With another sigh, he poured the prepared potion into his coffee, making sure not to inhale the potion’s fumes as he did.
As he prepared himself, Kuhn heard snippets of Diark’s conversation,
"...So, with Princess Yuni..."
As Diark’s voice grew louder, Kuhn suddenly darted out from his hiding spot.
Wham!
“Ugh!”
“Tch.”
As Kuhn emerged, Diark couldn’t react in time.
They collided, and Kuhn's coffee, now mixed with the potion, splashed all over Diark.
The coffee stained Diark's uniform a dark hue.
“What the...”
Diark stared at Kuhn, the freshman now part of Rudy Astria's student council.
Recognizing him, anger bubbled within Diark.
"Diark, are you okay?"
People nearby approached Diark with concern.
Diark suppressed a curse and responded,
“Ah, I'm fine. Accidents happen.”
Thump...
Suddenly, Diark felt his heart pounding heavily.
He felt heat rising to his forehead.
‘What’s going on? Why am I...?’
Diark glanced at Kuhn, who had bumped into him and now lay sprawled on the ground.
That commoner who was part of Rudy Astria’s student council.
A mere commoner.
To anyone watching, it simply looked like an ordinary accident.
However, Diark felt an inexplicable surge of anger.
Even though it was a minor incident and there were people around, he was boiling with rage.
Kuhn brushed himself off and stood up, looking at Diark with a smile.
"Are you okay? Sorry about that."
Seeing Kuhn's smile, Diark felt his anger reach its peak.
The innocent smile seemed like a mockery to him, as if Kuhn had deliberately spilled coffee on him.
Diark retorted sharply,
“Watch where you're going, will you?”
“Di... Diark?”
Hearing Diark's response, the surrounding students started murmuring in surprise.
But Diark didn’t care about the situation or their reactions.
"I apologized, didn't I? It wasn't just my mistake. You weren't paying attention either, right?"
“What’s with this guy?”
Diark's face turned red with fury as he glared at Kuhn.
Kuhn narrowed his eyes and muttered quietly,
"This is why I dislike nobles..."
It was a soft comment, but it was audible enough for everyone to hear.
Hearing Kuhn's remark, Diark's eyes widened in disbelief.
“You think you have the right to talk back, a mere commoner?”
Diark approached Kuhn, poking him in the forehead.
“Do you think we’re on the same level just because we’re both in the academy, or because our student councils are competing? Do you see us as equals?”
Poking Kuhn’s forehead, he continued,
“Without Princess Rie or Senior Rudy Astria, what do you even have?”
Kuhn glared back, his voice cold,
“And without your family name, what do you have?”
“What did you just say?”
Diark grabbed Kuhn by the collar, his voice icy.
"You sure have a long tongue for a commoner."
“Enough, Diark!”
Other students rushed forward to intervene.
"Diark, look around you..."
Only then did Diark look around and notice the crowd that had gathered, all of whom had witnessed his public belittling of a commoner.
Recollecting his words, the realization struck him.
He had insulted a commoner in front of many who supported the student council, which was largely backed by commoners.
Diark released Kuhn, his face pale.
Straightening his clothes, Kuhn gave a sly smile.
"You should be careful with your words, my friend."
