I felt tons of stares converge on me even as I sat at the lounge amid the other students present.
This was an emergency meeting to decide the actions we would take concerning the Demons that currently swarmed our campus. Of course, given the state of unrest among everyone, only a few were chosen to participate.
—The best of the best.
Of course, the Rankers were included; as well as those who could be counted on among everyone else.
I was unanimously chosen by everyone in my Class, so it was clear who the Lower Class Representative would be. As for the Middle Class, their strongest—the Rank one of their Elite Ten—took their place.
The most problematic choice was the Upper Class. Since the Rankers were all Upper-Class members, one would think they didn't require anyone else from their section, however…
'The Rankers are a distinct body not really bound by 'Class'.'
Of course, this was only in theory.
The issue of choosing a representative was resolved easily when Kuzon said he wanted it. No one argued with him.
'Why?' I wondered.
Maybe because he took care of a lot of Shadows by himself. But, according to him, there were no witnesses. Plus, after alerting everyone and explaining the situation, he ventured out to find me.
I didn't think he was lying since he had no real motive to, so I simply assumed something else caused everyone's refusal to comment on him being chosen.
And so, while the staff—Aloe Vida—whom I resurrected handled the students alongside other surviving Dorm Masters of the Upper Class, one of them decided to join our meeting as the adult.
Of course, at this point, he was impotent in authority since he must have guessed that everyone gathered at the meeting could mop the floor with him—except the Middle-Class Elite.
With such pressing matters that concerned everyone, I expected people to be more focused on that—not my face.
I received a particularly fierce glare from Richard Novo—the one I one-sidedly beat during the Exchange. Whenever I looked in his direction, though, he whimpered and looked away like a scared bunny.
"I believe we should address the most important matter first." Fabian broke the silence with his deep, commanding tone.
The boy—Fabian Lestrome—had the aura of a Prince of the Eastern Kingdom. His ambiance was cool and collected, but I understood that he was simply putting on a front.
Still, his mask was quite impressive.
'That's a prince for you…'
"These Shadows… they're somehow similar to the Demons we know from the vague collations of history. They've somehow infiltrated the Academy, have spread themselves throughout the campus… and no adult seems to be present."
Of course, there were a few adults, but everyone must have known what the boy meant.
'Adults that count. Adults that are strong!'
Dorm Masters were powerful in their own right, but they simply couldn't be compared with lecturers. Rankers could defeat any Dorm Master, so the fact that the number of the Elite students outstripped the staff spoke volumes of the much-needed manpower.
Five Dorm Masters were currently present.
Two from each Upper-Class Dorm, and Aloe whom I resurrected. Based on utility, the latter was the most important.
Not only had I increased her Mana Core Grade to rival—most likely even surpass—the other Masters, but she could use Light Magic. That made her an asset.
Of course, no one among those seated was aware of this yet. Rushing into the series of conversations that were occurring would not be the wisest choice. I simply had to wait for an opening.
"The Staff are currently having the Academy Review. It's located somewhere on Campus, but even we don't know where. We can't access it as well…" The Upper-Class Dorm Master explained.
Once he told us everything he knew, it checked out as to how we weren't able to get assistance from our Lecturers and trustworthy staff.
'I see… that's a smart move…'
Obviously, this was the work of a mole. Capitalizing on Neron's disappearance and the schedule of the meeting was a wise plan. But, this only made me all the more convinced about their intentions.
"Is there no way to reach out to them?" Fabian asked, his voice slightly trembling for a millisecond.
"N—no… not that I know of."
The Dorm Master must have felt pained to be useless since he bit his lip bitterly and hung his head in a shameful manner. Being unable to help his wards definitely made him frustrated.
"Sigh… so, that's how it is." Fabian addressed everyone.
From the way he spoke, he must have already had this conversation with the Dorm Master earlier. His recent actions were simply to show everyone the current predicament.
"We need to lay out a good strategy, accounting for the fact that help isn't coming. According to Mister Garliad, the meeting takes up a lot of time. Also, we can't expect to be safe if we're not prepared for a way to protect ourselves from those… 'things'."
There was a short moment of silence in the room.
"Now, since we've mentioned the problems, let's deliberate on the way forward." Fabian's calm voice reached everyone with a meaningful tone.
It was time for opinions.
"I believe we should make use of this place as a stronghold and hold out until the lecturers are done with their meeting."
Naturally, the most ignorant and stupid one spoke first.
"Think about it… we have a much better chance of sticking together. Why don't we establish a perimeter and create an absolute defense against those Shadows? T-that way…"
This sounded like a decent plan. In fact, many simpletons would love this strategy. The concept of safety in a monolith was appealing. However… giving in to that temptation would be a fatal mistake.
'Especially considering the circumstances…'
However, as expected, many people lauded the young man's suggestions. He belonged to the lower echelon of the Rankers, but apparently, his words were very wise.
I sighed internally.
'This is a mistake.'
