Chapter 551

Luke glanced to his right.

Seated there were the fifth-years, the pinnacle among the sunbaes he looked up to.

At the very center, in what could be called the seat of honor, sat Hark Riguard, the Vice President who currently handled Lumene’s affairs in practice.

'Though he’s practically lying down.'

Hark had tilted his chair back until only its rear legs touched the floor. His head hung backward, and both feet rested on the desk.

Judging by the steady rise and fall of his chest, he was clearly fast asleep.

'He won’t fall over, will he?'

After watching Hark with concern for a moment, Luke turned to the other side.

The fourth-years were seated there.

At their center, Elena Zeron sat reading a book with perfect posture.

Known as both Lumene’s greatest beauty and its queen, Elena exuded effortless elegance.

On appearances alone, no one could have looked more like a model honors student.

The problem was that the book she was reading was a grimoire designated as forbidden by Lumene.

'Are the two of them really allowed to behave like this?'

This was the Student Council, where the students representing the academy gathered for meetings.

Yet the two at its core were unmistakable delinquents.

As a grade representative attending for the first time, Luke found the sight impossible to adjust to.

“Luke-gun.”

“Ah, yes! Lily Sunbae!”

“Your Mana Trait is Mana Amplification, correct?”

“Yes.”

“I envy you. I’m far too ordinary. Whenever I see a brilliant talent like yours, I truly feel envious.”

“Come on, Sunbae. You’re far more amazing.”

“No. You’re the more amazing one, Luke-gun.”

As Lily gazed at him with genuine envy, a scene flashed through Luke’s mind.

It had happened at the Magic Department’s practice grounds a few days ago.

Rumble—! Crash!

“Aaaaaagh! Our golem! We poured our entire first semester into it!”

“This is far too weak. I believe you should make it sturdier.”

“You’re the monster here! You monster!”

“Who are you calling a monster? I have a proper epithet—the Spirit Mage of the Gale!”

“Is that really what matters right now?!”

It was the sight of Lily destroying a combat golem built by third-year Magic Department students with her bare hands.

'They said it was made entirely of mithril, didn’t they?'

Luke broke out in a cold sweat as he stared at Lily.

“Ah, I’m so ordinary. Just painfully ordinary.”

The first-years could only stare in disbelief at Lily, who genuinely considered herself ordinary.

The students from the other years, however, remained unfazed, as though they were accustomed to it.

'I thought I’d grown somewhat used to Lumene.'

Lumene still far exceeded the bounds of the first-years’ common sense.

Just then, Hark raised his head.

Elena also closed her grimoire.

At the same moment, the door opened and Leo entered.

After confirming that Leo had taken the Student Council President’s seat, Hark spoke in a sleep-deprived voice.

“Now that the President is here, shall we begin the meeting?”

Normally, the Student Council President would lead the meeting.

However, Hark was responsible for the current Student Council’s practical affairs, so Leo merely sat back and watched him conduct it.

Hark repeatedly yawned and made no effort to hide how bothersome he found everything, but he still carried out his role flawlessly.

“Now, for the final matter. This concerns next year’s entrance exam.”

The first-years flinched.

“This year, the person overseeing the exam will be... Hm? What is it?”

Hark looked at Juen Torbina, who had raised her hand high.

“If you have something to say, say it.”

“Yes! I’m Juen Torbina from the first-year Magic Department! If the format hasn’t been decided yet, I strongly recommend using last year’s entrance exam!”

“We all agree!”

“We learned so much from our sunbaes during the entrance exam!”

Every first-year Student Council member voiced their agreement with Juen.

“Unfortunately, Lumene’s entrance exam must be changed every year.”

Turning the impossible into the possible was one of the most important qualities of a Hero.

That was why the entrance exam was also the first trial faced by Lumene’s students.

A predictable trial was no trial at all.

For that reason, Lumene changed its entrance exam every year.

Hark’s answer drew groans from the first-years.

“We could have paid them back!”

“What a waste!”

Watching them, Hark continued.

“Professor Harrid will be overseeing this entrance exam.”

The entire Student Council froze.

Known as Lumene’s Wailing Wall, Professor Harrid was currently in charge of the first-years, but he remained an object of terror for every student at Lumene.

“Professor Harrid asked us to select the necessary number of students from each year, so the grade representatives can choose them among yourselves.”

Hark spoke indifferently and started to rise from his seat.

“Now that every matter has been settled, this meeting is adjourned.”

“Wait.”

Leo spoke.

Hark furrowed his brow as deeply as he could.

“Why? Again? What now?”

“There’s a matter I’d like to propose as Student Council President.”

“As Student Council President?”

The corners of Hark’s mouth curled upward.

“You don’t handle any of the actual work, yet you intend to exercise your authority as Student Council President? Even if you are the President, don’t you think that’s an abuse of power?”

Hark openly displayed his hostility toward Leo.

The first-years tensed, and even the previously relaxed upperclassmen grew uneasy.

The students swallowed hard.

Since Leo had taken office as Student Council President, there had been no outward friction between him and Hark.

Leo was the President, but he had delegated all practical authority to Hark.

In reality, this Student Council belonged to Hark.

He was the one who had exercised authority as Lumene’s leader throughout the past year.

Leo, meanwhile, had never once asserted his authority as Student Council President.

'That was why they never had a reason to clash before.'

Even the fifth-years looked tensely between Leo and Hark.

This could be considered the first clash between a Student Council President without practical authority and the Vice President who possessed it.

“Well? Aren’t you going to answer?”

Hark smiled coldly.

The fifth-years nodded as they watched him.

'No matter how extraordinary Leo Plov may be, even Hark can’t tolerate this. He has no right to interfere so carelessly with the Student Council that Hark... that we have led for the past year.'

The fifth-years directed cold gazes at Leo.

'Leo Plov, we know how extraordinary you are. But you can begin exercising influence over the Student Council next year—'

“You think being Student Council President makes you everything?! So what if you’re a Hero?! So what if you were chosen by a god?! You ungrateful hubae, always working your sunbae to the bone! Do you have any idea how sleep-deprived I’ve been since becoming a fifth-year?!”

'This bastard! He’s only holding a grudge because he hasn’t been able to sleep!'

The fifth-years cursed Hark inwardly.

Dark circles covered the skin beneath his eyes.

His eyes were completely bloodshot.

His appearance was the very embodiment of sleep deprivation.

Amid the tense atmosphere, Luke spoke.

“But Hark Sunbae was always sleeping whenever I saw him. Was he really sleep-deprived?”

“That’s right, Luke. Hark Sunbae needs far more sleep than most people. Perhaps because he has spent the past year sleep-deprived, he’s become much more irritable.”

Hark’s murderous gaze turned toward Lily and Luke.

Luke flinched beneath it, but Lily clenched her fists and continued.

“Even if he has grown irritable, I still respect Hark Sunbae! He’s done an excellent job running the academy as Vice President!”

“Lily, you should correct yourself. His personality was never particularly pleasant to begin with.”

Elena joined in with a smile.

'Stop it, you idiots!'

'The atmosphere is tense enough already!'

The students screamed inwardly as Lily innocently fanned the flames while Elena deliberately poured oil on the fire.

“President, what matter did you want to propose?”

A fifth-year Student Council member intervened.

“I was planning to replace the Vice President starting today.”

“What? That was the most important matter of all. You should’ve said so sooner. Let’s resume the meeting.”

Hark broke into a radiant smile as though his earlier outburst had never happened.

Chen Xia, one of the Student Council secretaries, raised her hand.

“Hark Sunbae, it’s time for lunch.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. No one is leaving until this meeting is over.”

“But even the Student Council President shouldn’t be allowed to decide something as important as appointing a new Vice President on his own, should he? He hasn’t done anything for the past year.”

“Who said such nonsense? The President’s word is absolute.”

Hark spoke with blazing eyes.

Leo looked at him and said, “Then please recommend a candidate for Vice President.”

“I recommend Elena Zeron.”

“I recommend Lily.”

Hark and Elena spoke simultaneously.

Lily’s eyes widened at the sudden nomination.

Hark curled his lips into a smile.

“What’s with you? You’ll be a fifth-year next year. Of course you should become Vice President.”

“Since the position will change again next year anyway, wouldn’t it be more stable to let Lily serve as Vice President long-term?”

“Lily still has much to learn. And you can surely teach her a great deal.”

“Oh my, you flatter me.”

“I’m serious. Your administrative abilities are undoubtedly superior to mine.”

“How could I possibly work as efficiently as you, Hark Sunbae?”

They laughed and showered each other with praise, but their eyes were vicious.

'You should suffer too.'

'Like hell I will.'

In truth, this year’s Student Council was among the busiest in Lumene’s history.

One major incident had followed another, and the Student Council, responsible for managing all of Lumene, had inevitably been buried beneath an enormous workload.

As Hark’s assistant, Elena had spent days every bit as busy as Rhys, the previous Student Council President.

Naturally, Hark, who handled the President’s practical duties, had suffered enough to make his head feel ready to burst.

Given the current state of the world, next year’s Lumene Student Council would undoubtedly be even busier, certainly no less so than this year’s.

Having served on Lumene’s Student Council could become the finest credential after graduation.

The Lumene Student Council President alone wielded influence comparable to the king of a nation.

The position brought tremendous prestige and opened a path to a prosperous future after graduation.

Even without those benefits, it was a position coveted by every Lumene honors student who constantly sought greater heights.

'The problem is that they’re both delinquents.'

Leo clicked his tongue.

“If you entrust the position to me, I’ll do my best.”

Lily spoke with a serious expression.

“Rejected.”

“Why, Hyung-nim?”

Leo answered the dejected Lily.

“Lily Sunbae, you have no administrative ability.”

“That’s not true! I can do it! Right, everyone?”

Clenching both fists, Lily turned toward her fellow third-years.

They all looked away.

“Let’s just leave it to Elena Sunbae.”

“Yeah, Lily. I don’t think you’re right for this.”

“You might be fine with combat-related matters, but administration is another story.”

“The President really does have a good eye for people.”

Lily’s shoulders drooped at her classmates’ responses.

Everyone’s gaze turned toward Elena.

Receiving their stares, Elena smiled sweetly.

“Lower your eyes.”

The second-, third-, and fourth-years flinched and looked away.

She had behaved relatively well since becoming a fourth-year, but Elena Zeron was still the student once known as both Lumene’s queen and its witch.

Leo looked at her and said, “Elena Sunbae, please become Vice President.”

Elena twirled a lock of hair around her finger.

“No. Make someone else do it.”

“I believe you’re the right person for the position.”

“Why?”

“Because you’re capable.”

Elena stared silently at Leo.

“Do I have the right to refuse?”

“No.”

After gazing at Leo for a moment, Elena spoke.

“Fine. But I have one condition.”

“A condition?”

“Yes.”

Elena smiled beautifully.

“Go on a date with me.”

Everyone inside the Student Council chamber reacted with shock.

“E-Elena Sunbae. You want a date with Hyung-nim as your condition? Isn’t that a little strange?”

At Lily’s bewilderment, Elena widened her eyes.

“Hmm? Is there a problem? It’s only one date.”

“Th-That’s true, but how should I put it? It seems a little... inappropriate.”

“What indecent things was our adorable Lily imagining to make a date seem inappropriate?”

“I-I wasn’t imagining anything!”

As Lily shouted with a reddened face, Elena rested her chin on one hand and smiled at Leo.

“So? What will you do, President?”

Leo answered leisurely.

“That isn’t a difficult request.”

“Does that mean...?”

“Sure. Let’s go on a date.”