LGHTNOVELBOOK Chapter 34
✦ Chapter 34 ✦
「Translator – Creator」
᠃ ⚘᠂ ⚘ ˚ ⚘ ᠂ ⚘ ᠃
There were dozens of clubs at the academy; these clubs could be divided into two categories — combat clubs and non-combat clubs.
Combat clubs included the Swordsmanship Club, Magic Research Society, Spearmanship Club, Demon Beast Taming Club, and Hand-to-Hand Combat Club. Among them, the Swordsmanship Club and the Magic Research Club were the largest; the Disciplinary Committee also fell under the combat category, but unlike the other two, it didn’t have many members.
On the non-combat side, there were clubs like the Cooking Club, Board Games Club, Newspaper Club, and Theology Society.
Of these, the largest was the Social Club—once.
Yes, once.
The Social Club no longer exists at the academy.
The Social Club was a club exclusively for nobles, aimed at fostering friendship and social interaction. Since there were very few commoners among the academy students, it was the largest of the non-combat clubs. And as it was large, the activity funds it received from the academy were significant.
The fact that only nobles could join wasn’t the problem, but there were a few issues with the Social Club.
One was their excessive camaraderie. ‘What’s wrong with camaraderie in a club designed for it?’ you might ask.
They became a faction, regularly harassing other students they didn’t like. The students being bullied were, of course, either low-ranking nobles or commoners.
Only two people were responsible for eradicating such a Social Club from the academy.
Simon Nicholas, who had joined the Newspaper Club, realized something was strange while investigating the Social Club.
‘Chief, I heard rumors about the Social Club systematically bullying other students, so I did some digging. The money they receive is very suspicious.’
‘Simon, I told you not to investigate the Social Club. Don’t ever touch the Social Club again. One more investigation into them, and you’re out of the Newspaper Club.’
‘I apologize. I won’t investigate them anymore.’
At that moment, hearing the Newspaper Club President’s words, Simon thought: ‘This guy in front of me is useless.’
Simon, continuing his investigation into the Social Club, decided to keep his findings to himself and not share anything further with the Newspaper Club Chief.
He knew it wouldn’t change anything even if he spoke up.
‘People are information, and information is people.’
He murmured the words his father, an agent of the Imperial Intelligence Bureau, used to say habitually. Driven by this mantra, Simon continued investigating the Social Club on his own.
What he discovered was shocking.
‘Wow, they’ve siphoned off quite a lot.’
It turned out they were embezzling the funds the academy provided for club activities.
‘There’s no way the Social Club could’ve pulled this off alone. The Student Council must be in on it too.’
It would be near impossible to embezzle the activity funds provided by the academy, but with the Student Council’s help, it was a different story; the Student Council manipulated the amount of activity funds the Social Club was supposed to receive, giving them a surplus, and the Social Club profited from it.
The reason Simon, on his own, was able to investigate this far was his wide network of connections. He was close friends with not only nobles, but also commoners, which allowed him to hear diverse perspectives and stories.
‘This is a bit too big for me to expose by myself.’
Though Simon himself came from an esteemed Count’s family within the Empire, the Social Club and Student Council counted among their ranks Marquises and Dukes from other kingdoms.
Still, Simon wasn’t without options. He headed straight for the Magic Research Society.
‘Jorden, let’s cause some trouble together.’
‘Simon, speak clearly so I can understand.’
Simon told Jorden everything he had found out in his investigation.
‘Tsk… What exactly do you need me to do?’
‘There’s a secret room in the Student Council room. There’s a high chance the evidence is in there.’
Simon’s plan was to inform the professors beforehand and then secure definitive proof from the Student Council room.
‘In other words, we need to subdue every single member of the Student Council.’
But before Simon could clarify, Jorden turned and started walking away.
‘Where are you going?’
‘To break into the Student Council room.’
‘What? By yourself?’
Jorden didn’t answer, continuing towards the Student Council room.
‘Hey! Wait up.’
And ignoring Simon’s constant pleas to wait, Jorden walked right up to the Student Council room.
At the entrance, a student guard eyed him warily.
‘What business do you have here?’
‘Move.’
Ignoring the guard, he entered the Student Council room; there were quite a few people gathered, likely in the middle of a meeting.
Jorden, looking at Simon as if the staring students didn’t faze him, asked, ‘Are all these guys involved?’
‘Yeah, that’s right.’
‘What’s the meaning of this impudence—’
One of the students in the Student Council room started to shout at Jorden but trailed off, his entire body suddenly frozen stiff.
‘What the—!’
‘Young Master Adellian!’
The other students in the Student Council room cried out in surprise at the sudden turn of events.
‘Quiet.’
And with that, everyone in the Student Council room was frozen solid, unable to even muster a hint of resistance.
That day, many students were expelled from the academy, and the Social Club ceased to exist. And Jorden became the first freshman in the academy’s history to be elected Student Council President.
.
.
.
.
I was on my way to the cafeteria with Lucas to grab some lunch; the annoying guy who had been trying to talk to Lucas finally left with his cronies after Lucas told him to get lost.
“So, that thing you asked Frederic earlier about meeting the Newspaper Club President?”
Frederic was the Shaman from the Special Class, his full name being Frederic Nicholas. He was the younger brother of Simon Nicholas, the Newspaper Club President.
“Yes! You’re right!”
“Thanks to that, I got hit with a drink, though.”
“I’m so sorry about that. To be honest, I didn’t think it would go that far.”
“Don’t worry about it. So, is this what you meant by solving it within a week?”
“Consider this just the build-up. The final phase is still left.”
“What’s the final phase?”
“Since it’s you, I’ll tell you as a special favor.”
Feeling a bit guilty that Lucas had gotten a drink spilled on him because of me, I decided to share my plan. As Lucas listened, his eyes widened in astonishment.
“You think that’s actually going to work?”
“Just you wait and see.”
.
.
.
After finishing lunch, Lucas and I were taking a leisurely stroll around the academy grounds.
“Loki, isn’t that a crowd gathering over there?”
Just as Lucas said, students were huddled together, seemingly captivated by something. As we got closer, we could see what had piqued their interest – a newspaper article posted on the bulletin board.
[Prince from the Kingdom of Archen throws a drink and hurls insults at the Imperial Crown Prince!]
The headline was so provocative, so sensational, that no one could simply pass by.
“Wow, that was fast.”
They must have written and printed this without even stopping for lunch.
“And when did they even take a picture?”
The article included a photo of Lucas, drenched in a drink, and the annoying guy yelling at him.
“No way that’s true.”
“I know, right? That’s just absurd.”
Initially, the students couldn’t believe what they were reading; the very notion of a prince from another kingdom splashing the Empire’s Crown Prince with a drink was preposterous.
But then…
“Look at the picture, though. It doesn’t look fake.”
“The current Newspaper Club President has never printed a single lie in his articles.”
“He’s the same guy who exposed the Social Club’s corruption two years ago.”
However, the photo and the reputation of Simon Nicholas, the Newspaper Club President, lent credibility to the article.
[This article was personally witnessed and written by Simon Nicholas, Newspaper Club President. Its veracity is unquestionable.]
With that declaration at the end of the article, it was impossible to disregard.
“So it’s true, then!”
“How dare he disrespect the Crown Prince!”
As the most prestigious academy on the continent, Croa Academy had a diverse student body. Even so, the majority were citizens of the Empire; there wasn’t a single one who wasn’t enraged that their Crown Prince had suffered such an insult.
“I never liked that guy anyway!”
“I saw him lurking suspiciously around the Special Class!”
“So you’re saying he planned this whole thing to humiliate the Crown Prince?”
“And yesterday in the cafeteria, he picked fights with Johanna and Jorden too.”
The news spread like wildfire throughout the academy; the article remained a hot topic of conversation until the end of the day’s classes. The students from the Kingdom of Archen, those who had been causing trouble, remained as silent as the grave throughout the day, knowing that causing a scene now wouldn’t bode well for them.
As if things couldn’t get more ridiculous…
“From now on, we will personally protect His Highness!”
Suddenly, a group of students claiming to be the “Lucas Fan Club” showed up and began guarding him on all sides. Lucas, now completely surrounded by his zealous ‘protectors,’ cast me a resentful glare.
Not the fan club you wanted, huh…
Well, just grit your teeth and endure it.
The Special Class students looked at me with concern… well, not for me, but for Lucas. It seemed as if they were worried about how he was handling all of this. And unable to endure the mounting awkwardness, Lucas eventually confessed to them that the entire scheme had been my plan
The moment the words left his mouth, their expressions shifted.
Now they were looking at me as if I were insane.
“I know I’m handsome, but if you keep staring like that, I’ll get embarrassed.”
“…………….”
Silence. They simply continued to stare.
.
.
.
The rest of the day at the academy passed by without incident—surprisingly. That night, nestled in my bed, I used my Communication Orb to contact Yerika.
I needed to confirm whether she truly possessed that trait.
*Beep-beep-beep-ring.*
The ring rang a few times before the call finally connected.
“Your Highness.”
[…………]
Silence. I waited, but Yerika didn’t say a word.
Maybe the connection is bad? I thought.
“Your Highness?” I tried again.
[…………]
Still nothing.
It was then, I remembered what she had said right before our conversation ended yesterday.
— Next time, feel free to call me Yerika.
Could it be…?
“Lady Yerika?”
I said tentatively, testing the waters.
[………..]
Still nothing.
Okay, maybe a little less formal…
“Miss Yerika?”
[…………]
Still no good.
One last time…
“Yerika?”
[Yes!]
END of CHAPTER
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