Chapter 153 – Student Council Election (3)

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Translated by Jinmu

Read only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

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Creak.

While taut tension hung over the conference room, Leon entered it. It suited the saying that the protagonist always appears last perfectly.

At his appearance, the atmosphere grew even more intense. If the mood had been somewhat restrained just moments ago, now it was extremely blatant.

The tall beanpole in particular was especially hostile. He kept clenching and unclenching his fists as if he would throw a punch immediately if there were no eyes on him.

Leon, on the other hand, completely ignored the hostile looked being poured onto him. He strode over and held out a hand to me.

So we ended up running into each other like this again. It felt strange, being told I was a candidate alongside you, Sword Demon.

I clasped his hand with an awkward face. Unable to choose what to say in response, I eventually just nodded in silence.

Leon gave me a faint smile, then sat down a good distance away from me. For quite a while, he quietly endured the envious gazes directed at him.

‘For a senior, he’s sure narrow-minded.’

Clicking my tongue, I swept my gaze around the room once more. The trace of mana I had sensed, however faintly, had already disappeared.

‘Did they hide their mana in the meantime.’

To hide mana this perfectly. They were no ordinary person.

By nature, it was harder to rein in presence than it was to let it out. Mana was probably the same.

This would likely be no ordinary matter either. On top of that, a villain disguised as a cadet had slipped in at just the wrong time.

In this situation, I could not just start by stabbing first. If I ended up slashing some innocent cadet by mistake, things would get badly tangled.

Moreover, if the opponent was someone highly skilled at controlling mana, then it would also be possible for them to use mana in reverse and throw things into confusion. Unless clear evidence emerged, I had to be cautious.

I withdrew both my gaze and the hand that had been groping at my pocket. A short while later, Manager Seong and Assistant Manager Ha stepped onto the platform.

“Ahem, ah, ah. Microphone test, one, two.”

Manager Seong cleared his throat and stood very close to the microphone.

“First of all, I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to all the candidates who have attended today.”

After the routine remarks, Manager Seong explained the competition. He spent several minutes on an introduction about the reasons and purpose for holding it.

Before long, Manager Seong got to the main point.

From this point on, I would explain the details of the competition. After much deliberation, our Hero Association had decided to adopt a method that follows Hoakin Academy’s educational culture.

Manager Seong wet his throat with a drink from his tumbler, then continued.

One-on-one subspace sparring. The format would be a tournament. It was not a tournament in the conventional sense, but for convenience we would call it a tournament. Ah, and the contents of the matches would not be disclosed to the outside at all, so you did not need to worry about anything that came afterward.

Did this damned academy really teach nothing but fighting? Even in a setting to decide the student council president candidates? It was absurd.

I had a question.

The beanpole asked in a haughty informal tone. Manager Seong’s eyebrow seemed to twitch for a moment, but he answered with a smile.

“Yes, please ask, Cadet Den Range.”

“You said the format is a tournament, but there are seven of us. An odd number. That means one person would be left out. It makes me wonder whether the Association is foolish enough to overlook even something like that.”

Despite the mocking tone, Manager Seong tried his best to remain calm. This damned status system was the problem.

Even if he was twenty years older, his social standing was lower than that teenage boy’s.

In fact, not just status but martial ability as well, he fell short of that cadet, Den Range.

Den was the current vice president and a highly capable fighter who ranked among the strongest of the third-years.

Rumor had it that numerous major hero agencies frequently sent him love calls.

Though the fact that he still fell short of the current president, who was only a second-year, was a blemish on his record. Separate from that, however, it was clear that Den Range was an exceptional cadet.

‘…The problem is that his character and ability are inversely proportional.’

Still, even taking that into account, the Association had chosen to dispatch itself here. Forcing the corners of his mouth upward, Manager Seong replied.

“A sharp observation. Our Association had, of course, taken that point into account as well. If we were to advance one person by default, it would compromise fairness. Therefore, one person from our side will participate as a sparring opponent. However, please note that the sparring opponent we put forward will not be registered as a candidate and will participate only in the competition.”

“Question~”

This time, the female cadet with flatfish eyes raised her hand with a snap. She spoke informally too.

“I get that the Association wants to keep things fair by putting in a sparring opponent from your side~ but I kind of wonder how many talented people you’ve got who can compare to us. To be honest, all the people on the Association side are pretty much middling in skill, aren’t they.”

“Haha, you do not need to worry about that part, Cadet Shion. Our sparring opponent will not disappoint any of you cadets. Assistant Manager Ha, step forward.”

Assistant Manager Ha, who had been standing blankly in the back, let out an ah and stepped to the front of the platform. Manager Seong introduced her.

The only combat agent in our Planning Strategy Department, and a talented individual who reached senior rank at the age of twenty-six. Senior Assistant Manager Han Eun.

P-p-please take care of me!

“Assistant Manager Ha is a renowned talent within our Association. While she is not from Hoakin, through bloody effort she bloomed belatedly…”

“M-manager! That’s way too much!”

That was unexpected too. To think that person with such a clear, innocent face was a senior-rank hero. If she had achieved that at twenty-six, then her skill was certainly sufficient.

‘Did Shile say she reached senior rank at twenty…’

Well, she had secured a senior assistant manager position at that young an age. Even if she had followed an elite course, skill would absolutely have had to back it up.

I looked at Shion, the female cadet who had asked the question. She was glaring at Assistant Manager Ha with eyes twisted up fiercely.

Apparently she had never expected a senior-rank hero to appear. Because of that, Shion had been left speechless.

Spite swelled into her cheeks. She looked full of dissatisfaction that her mockery had failed to land.

However, Shion soon let out a prim snort and sharply turned her head away. A faint smile spread over Manager Seong’s lips.

‘…At a glance, the student council doesn’t look normal either.’

While a strange silence briefly flowed, the senior who had only been looking at the ceiling opened his mouth quietly.

What I’m curious about is, is there really a reason to spar in a subspace? It seems like you could just fight in reality. Sparring, by nature, is supposed to involve a bit of blood and all that. And if the contents are going to be kept secret anyway, it doesn’t seem like it would matter if one or two people wound up hospitalized.

“……”

At those words, everyone’s eyes grew round. Their expressions said, what was this guy even talking about. I was one of them too.

He looked a bit sickly, but I had thought he was the most normal one there. But what he was saying was utterly insane. To the point that it made Den and Shion, who had been bluntly throwing around informal speech, seem normal by comparison.

Why spar in a subspace? Obviously it was a measure meant to prevent the cadets from getting hurt. One mistake, and it would not stop at severed limbs.

In fact, I had filleted Nox, and I had separated Mao Lang’s limbs. It was only because those spars had taken place in subspace; if they had happened in reality… I would leave that to the realm of imagination.

But that bastard was talking as if shedding a little blood was nothing. With that one remark, I felt he was the most likely villain by far. Even I, whose humanity was wearing away, had never had a thought like that.

Manager Seong, belatedly regaining his senses, stepped in to repair the situation. Beads of cold sweat trickled down him as he spoke the proper line.

What could be more difficult than having to explain utterly obvious common sense all over again. Manager Seong was accomplishing that difficult feat.

At that, the patient, no, the current student council president Kim Woo-jin nodded with a sullen expression. He looked like he did not understand at all, but for now it meant he had heard it.

Once the situation had been more or less sorted out, Manager Seong looked like he had aged ten years in the space of ten minutes. Even so, he somehow barely managed to open his mouth again.

“Now that everyone seems to understand, we will begin drawing the match groups.”

* * *

As soon as I returned to class, Ryozo asked me as if she had been waiting.

“How did it go? What was the competition?”

“They’re doing a tournament through subspace sparring. Though it’s not a normal tournament that goes all the way to the finals. It’s more like individual sparring matches where people are paired off two at a time. Just like you said, Ryozo, there are too many candidates as things are now. Looks like they’re going to slash the number down in one go.”

At my words, Ryozo pressed her fingers to her temple. She kept shaking her head.

“This damned academy really does end up choosing things through violence…? But the number of candidates is odd, so does a tournament even work?”

“The current vice president asked that same question a little while ago. That one person would be left out. So the Association put forward one separate sparring opponent, a senior-rank hero.”

“A senior rank?! Isn’t that way too broken in terms of balance? There shouldn’t even be someone that capable on the Association side to begin with.”

“Assistant Manager Ha. She’s the Association’s representative. Apparently she’s a talent who reached senior rank at twenty-six.”

“……”

Ryozo fell silent. Judging by her expression, it roughly seemed to say, That girl who looked like soft milk candy was senior rank?

Looking briefly confused, Ryozo stared straight at me.

“I get that part. But that’s not the most important thing, is it? Sword Demon, your opponent. You just got that decided too, right?”

To think she would pinpoint the heart of the matter immediately. I gave a short inward note of admiration. As expected, Ryozo’s eye for things was sharp.

Instead of answering, I wrote a name in my notebook. If I said it out loud, someone might overhear.

The next moment, Ryozo’s eyes, which had been on the notebook, warped. She muttered in a tiny voice that was almost too quiet to hear.

“Shion, the head of the Student Council General Affairs Department. I don’t know whether I should call that lucky or unlucky…”

“Do you know who this person is?”

Roughly. She’s the head of the student council’s General Affairs Department, and her family was fairly well-off too, so I recognize her face. Well, she’s troublesome, but not just because of something like that. That upperclassman Shion is famous for being incredibly tenacious. Normally she’s all smiles, but she was notorious for having a nasty heart.

Ryozo spoke with a worried expression.

“Her martial talent is only so-so. You definitely couldn’t call her strong. But she has a tenacious personality that covers for that shallow martial talent. Enough to secure the position of student council general affairs head, no less… Maybe for someone like you, Sword Demon, this kind of type will be even more troublesome.”

Ryozo crushed the paper with the name on it in one swift motion. The shadow that had fallen across her face disappeared in an instant, and she let out a small laugh.

“Still, whatever. You’ll handle it somehow. There’s nothing with worse cost performance than worrying about you, Sword Demon.”

* * *

…A week passed, and the morning of the competition day dawned.

As always, I shoved Sashimi into my arms. As the steel touched my chest, it resonated fiercely like a heartbeat. After feeling the ringing of the metal for a moment, I left the dormitory.

The competition venue was an annex located on the outskirts of the academy. Its interior looked like a smaller version of the training hall.

To compare it simply, if the training hall was an outdoor sports field, then this competition venue was a gymnasium.

The annex looked as though footsteps had long since ceased there, but it was well maintained and clean.

I was standing in place, looking around here and there. Then, with a slide, a figure appeared at the left edge of my vision.

“Hello?”

Shion greeted me with a bright smile. I reluctantly dipped my head.

“Yes, please take care of me today.”

Wow~ so stiff! And anyway, I should be the one asking for your favor~ you’re the Sashimi Sword Saint, after all! You’re not going to just slice me cleanly in one stroke like before too, were you? I’d kind of appreciate it if you’d go easy on me there~

It was a voice whose true feelings were hard to gauge. It sounded like praise, yet the tone was thoroughly mocking.

And that expression without the slightest movement. A kind of emptiness, as though something were hollow, flickered in her eyes.

“Oh my, what’s this. Why are you staring at me so hard! You’re making me shy!”

Shion took a step back, putting distance between us. Staring at her, I spoke in a low voice.

“I don’t think it’ll end in one blow.”

“Don’t tell me that means you’ll go easy on me? Then that’s a little disappointing.”

Shion tilted her head cutely. Combined with her expressionless face, it created a sense of incongruity. At the vaguely familiar feel of that sensation, I smiled faintly.

If you show all of your strength, Senior, then who knew. As it happened, this spar had also given me something to confirm.

Shion, whether you were a villain.