Page 74

w

Chapter 73: Do You Want to Boycott Together?

Although I had secured a heroine to clear the scenario, I was still faced with yet another problem.

That was the fact that I still lacked the numbers needed to boycott the student council.

Honestly, I had no idea where I was going to find them.

‘For now…’

I compiled a list of the existing boycott candidates in my mind.

I had already informed Rojamin about them.

They were people who originally held grievances against the student council and academy.

If they were interested, they would surely listen to Rojamin.

Among them, I planned to persuade the key figures personally.

‘I’ll meet those guys as Vikamon, not Hannon, but…’

The person I would meet today would respond much better to Hannon’s appearance.

Click—

When I opened the familiar door, I was greeted by an unfamiliar scene.

Books were stacked everywhere, and papers were scattered across the room.

In the chair where someone else would usually sit and work sat a boy and several others.

This was the student council office.

It was currently vacant because the vice president, Nikita, was absent.

“Oh, Hannon, you’re here?”

A man who was busy moving a quill pen with a pained expression looked up, his face brightening at the sight of me.

The man, with light blond hair and a cheerful face that marked him as handsome, was—

Sylvester Drapen.

He was the president of the Zerion Academy student council.

Furthermore, he was the youngest son of the Drapen Duke, one of the empire’s four great ducal families.

This was also the reason why the Robliage faction was so intent on dragging down the student council.

‘The Drapen Duke supports the first prince.’

If the student council fell, all of the blame would land squarely on Sylvester.

By disgracing Sylvester and allowing Iris to restore the student council’s authority, it would lend strength to their political faction.

My gaze fell once again on Sylvester.

Sylvester’s nickname was ‘the incompetent loafer’.

Born into the Drapen family, he had nothing worth inheriting from the duchy.

On top of that, he wasn’t particularly exceptional in his personal abilities.

However, thanks to the backing of the Drapen family name and his decent outward appearance, he rose to the position of president.

‘It didn’t help that there were no other suitable candidates among the third years.’

For that reason, he had relied on the vice president, Nikita, to handle most of his responsibilities.

But with Nikita’s absence due to the recent incident, the flood of work overwhelmed him day after day.

During the school term, the workload was manageable, but at the start of a new semester, the student council’s responsibilities multiplied exponentially.

However, Nikita had managed to juggle this work alongside her training.

It was a reminder of just how competent Nikita truly was.

“You’re working hard.”

Although the student council office had seen less foot traffic since Nikita’s disappearance, I had continued to frequent it regularly.

To stage a boycott, I needed constant intel on the current state of the student council.

And today, I had a specific reason for coming here.

“Foara.”

“Yes, senior?”

Foara, who was diligently moving last year’s files, quickly responded when I called his name.

Foara Silin.

A contractor of the Spirit Sovereign.

A key figure in Act 4’s student council boycott.

I smiled warmly at Foara as I helped him avoid spilling the files.

“Let’s talk for a bit later.”

Want to boycott the student council together?

* * *

After finishing his duties in the student council office, I walked home with Foara.

“Yes, that’s right. That happened back then.”

Foara conversed with spirits that were invisible to my eyes.

No matter how many times I saw it, it still amazed me.

It felt like watching someone talk to ghosts.

“Ah, I’m sorry, senior. The spirits are unusually chatty today.”

“It’s fine. Don’t worry about it.”

The spirits always supported Foara.

They deserved some care in return.

When I made lighthearted comments, Foara smiled through his glasses.

At first, Foara often seemed nervous, but after one semester, he had adapted well to the academy.

He was noticeably more confident.

It seemed like he was living up to the title of the Spirit Lord’s contractor.

‘I’ve also gained the Flame of Fire Spirit.’

Unfortunately, the spirits still refused to appear before me.

Vikamon’s affinity with spirits was as hopeless as ever.

“So, why did you call me aside today?”

Thankfully, Foara brought up the main topic himself.

“Foara, do you remember what we talked about last time?”

“What we talked about last time…?”

“You said you’d do me a favor.”

Foara blinked and then clenched his fists with determination, nodding eagerly.

“Yes, of course! I was able to contract with the Spirit Lord thanks to you, senior! Just say the word!”

What a reliable junior. I smiled warmly.

“Foara, recently, there’s been a group forming to reject the student council.”

“A boycott?”

“Do you remember the incident with Nikita?”

Foara’s face darkened immediately.

Although he wasn’t as close to Nikita as I was, Foara had still gotten along well with her.

Nikita treated juniors without discrimination, so Foara deeply respected her as well.

Despite the time that had passed, Nikita’s absence was still deeply felt.

It was clear that the situation weighed on Foara’s mind.

“It seems they’re trying to use that incident as leverage to stage a boycott.”

“How could they… Nikita senior worked so hard to make the school a better place! To exploit her suffering like that… Those are some unbelievable bastards.”

I could feel Foara’s strong sense of opposition.

It was surprising how much he had changed.

Back then, Foara himself had led the boycott.

But now, he was firmly on the student council’s side.

“That’s why I need you to infiltrate the boycott group.”

“…What?”

Foara looked dumbfounded.

Just moments ago, he had been seething with anger over Nikita’s incident.

Now I was asking him to join the boycott?

He couldn’t believe his ears.

I needed to persuade him carefully.

“Think about it. If someone from the student council—like you—expresses dissatisfaction, what would the boycott group think?”

“…They’d welcome me with open arms?”

“Exactly. To them, you’d be the perfect spy and a symbol of legitimacy. But as a member of the student council, you would…”

“Oh, you want me to be a spy!”

Foara’s expression shifted as he nodded in understanding.

“Correct.”

Of course, under my direction, Foara would actually lead the boycott group.

But as long as I positioned him as the student council’s spy, I could pull him out whenever I needed.

“But… will I be able to play the role of a spy well?”

Foara wasn’t exactly someone who excelled at acting.

A pure-hearted young man.

That description suited Foara perfectly.

For someone like him, pretending to be a spy was a daunting task.

“What are you talking about? Foara, no one can do it better than you.”

“R-really?”

“Yes. More importantly, you have spirits that no one else can see. With their eyes, it’ll be easy to gather information.”

“…Would the spirits even help me with that?”

They definitely would.

Foara adored the spirits and treated them well, but spirits operated under strict hierarchies.

As a contractor of the Spirit Lord, anything Foara ordered—short of their annihilation—would be done without question.

“Trust me, Foara. You’re the junior I trust the most in the student council.”

“A-ah, um, ahem.”

Foara coughed awkwardly, clearly embarrassed.

I didn’t particularly enjoy seeing a grown man blush.

I’d stop the praise here.

‘I miss the days when I praised Nikita.’

Nikita, I miss you.

I hope I’ll hear more news about you soon.

Meanwhile, Foara puffed out his chest confidently.

w

His eyes were brimming with newfound determination.

“Yes, senior! You can count on me! I’ll perform my role as a spy flawlessly!”

That’s the simple yet reliable Foara I knew.

“I’m counting on you.”

With that, I successfully planted Foara in the boycott group.

Now all that was left was to pull in the other key figures of the boycott.

Fortunately, I know their weaknesses that will force them to join.

And the one shaking those weaknesses is Vikamon.

Third-rate villain, Vikamon Niflheim.

I shall lead this boycott to success.

* * *

Preparations for the boycott proceeded smoothly.

At first, the number of people was far too insufficient, but thanks to Rojamin and Aerin, who were moved by my words and worked hard, we managed to gather a decent number of members.

On top of that, those whose weaknesses I held had no choice but to join the boycott while swallowing their tears.

“You devil, how did you find the poem I wrote for my first love…?”

“Sniff, I never liked the student council anyway, but using that against me is too cruel.”

“…How did you find out I ate clams and drew a map in the carriage?”

Here and there, victims emerged, but the boycott team filled up well enough.

Thanks to that, I thought there would be no problems until the set boycott date.

‘Now, all that’s left is for Iris to make contact.’

I intended to leave Iris’s contact to Rojamin.

Of course, since the scenario is a precarious tightrope walk,

I planned to secretly observe things when the time came.

I thought everything would go smoothly like that.

But I faced a completely unexpected problem.

“Good morning. Morning training again today? You’re so diligent.”

The daily morning training with Aisha.

Recently, a new participant joined that training.

The owner of honey-blonde hair, wearing shorts and a light jacket, sticking close to me.

Isabel Luna.

She was there.

“…….”

Aisha quietly looked at me.

It was a question asking, What on earth is going on?

I didn’t know either.

During our conversation that day, Isabel declared that she would stop me.

I naturally interpreted that as her trying to stop the boycott.

But apparently, Isabel had something more fundamental in mind.

‘Don’t tell me she’s trying to fundamentally change me.’

Isabel stood beside me with a bright face.

Her smile held the determination to turn my anger into positive energy.

I felt a headache creeping in.

This cheerful, main heroine energy of hers.

Well, this is partly why I liked Isabel in the first place.

After killing Nikita with his own hands,

Lucas suffers a deep wound to his heart.

This wound continues to grow until it eventually destroys Lucas.

At the end of Act 4, Isabel comforts and encourages Lucas.

And upon seeing Lucas rise again, Isabel begins to hold him in her heart.

Even as someone who enjoyed the Flame Butterfly arc, I really liked that scene.

It’s the moment when Isabel, who was always just the childhood friend, awakens as the main heroine.

As someone playing the protagonist, I couldn’t help but love that moment.

‘Hmm?’

As I thought about that, I suddenly froze.

Right now, there’s no Lucas in this world.

Instead, I’ve taken on part of Lucas’s role to move the scenario forward.

Given the current situation,

I appear to Isabel as someone angry and wounded by Nikita’s death.

Even if this was something I fabricated that coincidentally lined up,

it was only natural that Isabel would see me that way.

This means that if the scenario continues as it is,

I’ll follow the same process as Lucas.

Isabel will fall for me.

‘No, not quite.’

Lucas was Isabel’s childhood friend.

I’m her rival.

At best, Isabel might feel proud of me for letting go of my resentment,

but there’s no way she’ll fall for me.

‘So I don’t really need to worry about that.’

The problem is that, having replaced Lucas’s role,

Isabel seems determined to stick by my side for the foreseeable future.

“…Aisha, let’s train.”

But there’s nothing I can do about it.

Just because Isabel joined doesn’t mean I can skip training.

Aisha nodded.

We proceeded with our usual training routine.

Isabel kept up with the training well enough.

She was, after all, a top student in 2nd-year martial arts.

Naturally, she could follow along with most training.

The problem was that the training we did wasn’t exactly normal.

“Huff, huff, are you two insane? Ah, spit, huh, do you really go this far?”

Isabel gawked at the dozens of kilos of iron pouches strapped to our backs and arms.

Aisha and I exchanged glances.

Then, smiles crept across our faces.

“To think you’d complain over something this light.”

“Senior Isabel, you’re surprisingly weak, aren’t you?”

Aisha and I got along well.

A vein quietly bulged on Isabel’s forehead.

As someone who studies martial arts, her pride was pricked.

She had been provoked.

“Weak, huh?”

Isabel gripped the iron pouches tightly and pulled herself to her feet.

“That’s not something I’ve ever heard before.”

That’s the spirit.

“Aisha, let’s keep going.”

“Yes, senior.”

We resumed our morning training.

Isabel followed us stubbornly, but in the end, she completely collapsed midway through.

We, too, had pushed ourselves unnecessarily to tease Isabel.

So we decided to call it a day.

“Ugh, huuuh…”

Isabel trembled, struggling to steady her wobbly legs on her way back to the dorm.

I quietly watched her before stepping closer.

Isabel flinched.

“Y-You don’t have to help me!”

“I wasn’t going to.”

I simply passed her by, heading toward the male dormitory, which was farther away than the female dormitory.

I had to move quickly if I wanted to wash up and avoid being late.

Isabel stared blankly after me.

Then, she seemed to recall the nature of our relationship.

“Senior, let me help you.”

“Mm, thanks…”

Isabel quietly accepted Aisha’s support.

“You don’t smell of sweat at all.”

Aisha commented softly, and Isabel’s face turned a deep shade of red as she bowed her head.

w