Step, step—
Lilia walked in silence alongside the man in front of her, heading toward the headquarters of the cult.
Ugh… this is so awkward. Why are there only people with personality defects in our cult, seriously!
Although Lilia never considered herself to be one of “those people”, the fact remained that unlike her who at least had some degree of social skills, most of the other members really did have serious personality issues.
Even just looking at the man walking ahead of her, his excessive silence made the atmosphere so stiff it was almost unbearable.
Well, still… someone like Mist is just quiet and only follows the Vice Leader’s orders, so he probably won’t care much about what I’m doing.
Mist, the direct aide to the Vice Leader was a being whose identity was so ambiguous no one could even tell if they were a man or woman. Mist carried out their duties silently and was known throughout the cult for their barely-there presence, appearing without warning and speaking suddenly.
Surrounded by a strange mist that disoriented one’s sense of direction, Mist was also able to transport large groups of people in an instant. In many ways, Mist was a shrouded, mysterious figure.
“We’ve arrived.”
After spending that awkward time in silence, they finally reached the headquarters of the Heavenly God Church.
“I’ll go bring someone to guide these people, so wait here for a moment… Ah, Vice Leader.”
“What?! The Vice Leader?”
Just as Mist was about to bring someone to escort the captives to the chimera-producing lab, the Vice Leader himself personally came out to greet Lilia.
“You’ve done well, Lilia. It was a short time, but you managed to bring in quite a high-quality group of humans.”
Why did the Vice Leader come out in person? Isn’t this the kind of task that should just be reported on?
“Due to the recent string of incidents, we’ve reached the point where it was necessary to send out the executive ranks. Considering the gravity of the situation, it’s best that I personally oversee the progress.”
“O-Oh, I see…”
Unless it was to deliver special orders to all the executive members or relay the Cult Leader’s words, the Vice Leader almost never showed his face. So the fact that he had come to see her personally made Lilia begin to worry. Had her collusion with the humans been discovered?
“By the way, how were things outside? Was the mission manageable?”
“Y-You know how it is, Vice Leader. The Empire’s been watching everything like a hawk because of us lately. I had to avoid causing a stir, so I only targeted people in the outer regions. That took time, and honestly, the quality wasn’t that great either.”
That was half true.
The reason she had been playing queen in that village was because it had been hard to find a suitable human settlement to harvest test subjects from. So she had just holed up there, using it as a way to relieve stress.
“Hmmm… so you didn’t bother brainwashing the women separately?”
“You know how it is~ My powers don’t work well on women. Sure, if I really tried, I could charm them, but I didn’t want to waste that much energy. Besides, I buried the women with the rest of the bodies, so don’t make a big deal out of it~”
Lilia did her best to act like her usual self, but it was hard to suppress the pounding in her chest.
The Vice Leader was well aware of the limitations of her powers, so there wasn’t much room for suspicion. But still, his gaze, more like that of a lifeless doll than a human, carried a kind of suffocating fear that made it impossible for her not to tense up.
“…I see. You’ve done well.”
Whew… did I get away with it?
“See~ I told you, it was a lot of work! I’m going to go rest now, so please don’t bother me.”
“Very well. I won’t summon you for a while, so be on standby.”
Lilia let out a quiet sigh of relief, reassured by the Vice Leader’s demeanor that seemed to show he hadn’t noticed anything. After handing over the death row prisoners the Emperor had given her to the relevant personnel, she returned to her room.
As she walked away toward her quarters, the Vice Leader silently watched her retreating figure. Before long, he turned his back and headed toward his own resting place.
***
The Academy grew even more chaotic following the sudden decision for “No Entrance Exam Festival”.
Perhaps the most noticeable change was the sudden appearance of large numbers of unfamiliar workers who began construction all over the campus.
Since it was a major event attended by various Academy personnel, the Headmaster and professors who were eager to flaunt the Academy’s prestige began transforming its once elegant and classical look into something increasingly extravagant.
“They even hired famous performance troupes and bards to entertain throughout the entire event. Thanks to that, the student council is completely buried in work trying to handle the arrangements…”
“Oh… that sounds rough.”
The ones hit hardest by all this were none other than the student council.
The princess who was currently serving as the acting student council president was clearly showing signs of exhaustion. Her face and under-eyes darkened noticeably in just a week.
“We’ve always had a lot to do, but this time it’s on a whole other level… The daily flood of paperwork is enough to make you suffocate…”
“Is it really that bad?”
“There are several documents needed just to install a single structure. But now we have invitations to external guests, large-scale construction, decoration purchases, chef bookings, security management….dozens of tasks are piling up, so you can imagine the paperwork…”
These were matters that should have been handled gradually over the course of a year, but they had to be completed within a month. As a result, even the faculty had no choice but to ask the student council for help, and the student council that was saddled with a paperwork bomb was practically dying from the workload.
“Haah… On top of that, as student council president, I have to host the festival in front of everyone and also make connections with the VIPs. Even ten bodies wouldn’t be enough to get everything done.”
“You’re right. Everyone’s working so hard. Pollo’s gone off to train for his public duel, and both the noble lady and the saintess have been practicing intensely as well.”
The Academy had made a request of us: to showcase our talents in front of the public.
Since each of our club members was considered a standout in their field, the higher-ups clearly wanted to show off such exceptional individuals to the world.
Well, if you had an incredibly expensive treasure, it’s only natural to want to show it off rather than keep it to yourself.
Given that the festival’s motto was about growing through duels between different academies, it seemed our members were training harder than ever to shine on stage.
But me? I was banned from participating for being too overpowered.
It was like having a world-champion boxer crash a kids’ talent show. It wouldn’t be fair.
So while everyone else was overwhelmed with preparations, I had the luxury of free time.
Even now, I was out on a leisurely walk when I ran into the half-dead princess taking a short break, and we ended up chatting for a bit.
“Well, if it’s really that bad, should I give you a hand?”
I felt a bit sorry for her. Seeing how hard she was working for the Academy and since I had certainly benefited from her help in both big and small ways, I decided that this time, I would lend a hand purely out of goodwill.
“R-Really?!”
As soon as I offered to help, the princess’s eyes sparkled as she clasped my hands tightly in hers.
With her tone snapping back to normal, the way she grabbed hold of me made it clear. She had no intention of ever letting go of this precious worker she’d found.
That grip, filled with firm determination and desperation, carried a kind of strength that even I, an Aura Lord, couldn’t easily shake off.
“Uh… yes. I mean, I can’t do anything too technical, but I can handle things like organizing documents or writing drafts—”
“Let’s go right now!!”
She didn’t even let me finish. She grabbed my hand and dragged me off toward the student council room.
Overwhelmed by her sheer force of will, I had no choice but to dangle helplessly from her arm as she dragged me along.
***
“…Uuughhh…”
“Ggwwaaack…”
Just hearing the sounds in this place, you might mistake it for the middle of a zombie apocalypse. But no, it was the student council room of the Academy.
From the entrance onward, stacks of papers piled up so high they resembled miniature Everests, occupying every corner of the room.
“Uurgh…”
“You did well… Just leave that one over there.”
“Ooouuhh…”
Another council member, staggering in like a zombie, placed the completed documents on the desk and then trudged off to finish another stack.
“Haah… The president should be back around now…”
The vice president of the student council, Cassandra Aelot.
She was born into an esteemed Marquis family with a long political lineage. Following in the footsteps of her ancestors, she served on the student council at the Academy and was now holding the position of Vice President.
She was a supporter of the Second Princess and had been a longtime friend of the princess. In light of the strenuous preparations for the upcoming festival, the princess had urged her to take a short walk, offering her a brief moment of rest.
Clatter—
“Ah, you’re ba…ck?”
“Kara! I brought a sla—no, I mean, I brought someone to help!”
The princess, who had brought along a man muttering, “Did she just say slave…?”, entered the student council room with a bright smile, with his hand firmly in hers.
His face was a familiar one to Cassandra, so she wasn’t particularly surprised.
Mars Noctus. The youngest person in history to be granted the title of Lord.
It was surprising enough that he had come to help with student council work, but what truly shocked Cassandra was the fact that the princess was holding hands not with the heir of House Helios, whom she had always sung praises about, but with a completely different man.
Cassandra, who had begun to sense that Mars had played a significant role in the recent changes in the princess’s feelings, watched their interaction with quiet delight.
“President. While it’s great that you found someone to help, wouldn’t it be best to let go of his hand now?”
“Huh? O-Oh! Ahem! Sorry about that…”
Cassandra, who thought his tone just a moment ago had been cuter, let out a small chuckle to herself and greeted Mars.
“Hello? I’ve heard quite a lot about you. I’m Cassandra Aelot of the Aelot Marquisate. I currently serve as the student council vice president.”
“Ah, the esteemed young lady of House Aelot, known for serving as the Emperor’s secretary for generations. I’ve often heard of your brilliance. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
Well, well?
Cassandra gave Mars a subtle nod of approval. She was quietly impressed by his polite smile and favorable first impression.
“For now, please sort these documents by category. Once you’re done, bring them over to me.”
“Ah, understood.”
She was aware of his skill with a sword, but she hadn’t expected much when it came to his administrative abilities.
After all, their fields were completely different, and Cassandra still held a bit of a prejudice. She believed that sword-wielders were all muscle-brained and hopelessly inefficient when it came to work like this.
Alright, while he’s sorting, I’ll get started on the remaining—
Flap-flap-flap-flap-flap—!!!
“?”
Startled by the sound behind her, she turned around to see Mars sorting the documents at an incredible speed, stacking them neatly in no time at all.
He was moving so fast that the pile, which had been nearly as tall as a person, disappeared in the blink of an eye.
“Um, Mars Noctus? Even if you’ve never done this before, you can’t just rush through it like—”
“Huh? I sorted them all properly though.”
“What do you mean…?”
Surprised by his words, she examined the documents. And to her astonishment, they were all perfectly sorted, grouped by similar content.
As she stared at the papers in disbelief—
“If you concentrate aura in your optic nerves, you can drastically enhance your dynamic vision. It makes your eyes pretty tired afterward, but I figured this would be the fastest way to get it done…”
Truly, the arrival of the talent they needed most.
Even knowing he had something going on with the princess, Cassandra felt so overjoyed that she could’ve kissed Mars on the cheek.
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