How to Survive as the Academy Student Council President

"What else? I’m going to take today’s class next to you."
"Why, though."
"……"
Yulina hesitated for a moment, then shut her mouth.
"…?"
What is she playing at?
I frowned, but stopped prying.
I was too tired for a pointless back-and-forth.
I took my attention off her and pressed my eyelids to ease the strain.
The lecture hall buzzed with student chatter for a bit, and soon it was time for class.
Right on the hour, Professor Martelgia came in as usual and took the podium.
Only one thing was different—her attending assistant had changed.
Professor Martelgia spoke.
"As you’ve all heard~, Assistant Demer unfortunately won’t be joining our classes anymore-ing~ So starting today, a new assistant will be helping with instruction~ This is our new assistant, Miss Wayne. Please say hello~"
A woman with a cool, frosty look—Wayne.
She finished her greeting with a slight bow to the students.
I stared openly and furrowed my brows.
'…Who was that again. Looks familiar for some reason.'
I felt like I’d seen her somewhere, but I couldn’t place exactly who she was. She didn’t seem like a mere extra.
Tilting my head at her for a moment, I shelved the thought.
If she’s important, I’ll remember soon enough. For now, focus on class.
Professor Martelgia continued.
"Next. As announced, today is our performance assessment time~ I’ll hand out the test papers, so when you receive them, take one and pass the rest back~"
'Ah… right.'
I closed the textbook I’d left open on my desk and let out a sigh.
I’d been too busy to think about it, but yes—this round of Intermediate Introduction to Magic is replaced with a performance assessment.
Similar to that pop quiz we took in Spirit Studies last time.
I hadn’t prepared anything in particular, but there was nothing to worry about.
The problems weren’t too difficult at this stage; I could handle them easily without special prep.
'…What score would be appropriate.'
While I watched the test sheets gradually travel down the rows, I was mulling over such things when—
Yulina, who’d been sitting quietly beside me, whispered.
"Did you study for this one?"
She went on.
"If not, I could give you a little help."
She took a slip of paper out of her pencil case and showed it to me.
A note crammed with some formulas.
An out-of-the-blue offer to cheat, huh.
"As Eredor’s chief administrator, is that something you should be doing?"
"I don’t usually do this. I’m offering specially—to repay a favor from last time."
"……"
Seeing me waver, Yulina pressed in.
"You need good grades if you want to keep that position, right? You’ve been busy lately and couldn’t really study. You were tied up with the aftermath of the Territorial War and the practical, and then the interview. Well?"
With a sly smile, Yulina extended the devil’s hand.
She must have thought she’d made an offer I couldn’t refuse, but I can get a proper score without Yulina’s help.
I snorted inwardly and looked at her basking in her own confidence.
'…I wondered why the girl who’s dying to take a bite out of me suddenly sat next to me.'
Looks like she knew in advance there’d be a pop quiz today and approached me to make this offer.
It’s definitely not pure goodwill or gratitude for my help…
'She’s probably trying to pry out the source of the information I gave her about the whereabouts of the Dark Magic Stones.'
I rubbed my chin and glared at Yulina.
Most likely Beatrice ordered her, and she decided to use this quiz as a pretext to carry it out.
She must have planned to demand my source in exchange for help on the test—but that won’t work on me.
So I snapped at her coldly.

"I don’t need that kind of help. Repay the favor some other way."
Flap—
I cut down Yulina’s proposal on the spot and accepted the test paper arriving from the front.
As if she hadn’t expected to be refused, Yulina stared at me, blank, then blurted out, flustered,
"Y-you really don’t need it? Huh?"
"Yeah."
"Think again. This exam is on a completely different level from those basic problems you solved last time! You won’t pass like this!"
"We’ll see."
With that, I tuned Yulina out.
Just then, Professor Martelgia’s voice rang out.
"Okay~ let’s end the chit-chat~ We’re starting the exam, so please focus~ I trust there will be no cheating-ing~ Begin!"
***
After the exam.
Assistant Wayne collected all the test papers.
The moment they were taken up, Yulina glared and snapped at me.
"Why did you refuse my offer? What kind of nerve is that?"
"Because I don’t use tricks to make my grades. My own skill is enough to score well. This test wasn’t that hard."
"Not that hard?"
"That’s right."
The difficulty spike was sudden, but it wasn’t unsolvable.
Barring major variables, I should hit the score I aimed for.
Feigning ignorance, I asked Yulina,
"You, on the other hand—why pull a stunt like that all of a sudden?"
"That’s obviously—"
"Spare me the nonsense about repaying a favor. I know you’ve been simmering ever since Chloe’s article."
Chloe ran that piece stating I’d saved Yulina.
After it ran, a terrifying anonymous letter arrived.
The sender was probably Yulina.
"……"
Yulina flinched as if I’d hit a nerve.
I didn’t stop there; I pressed harder.
"Was it Beatrice’s order?"
"N-no. This was my decision alone."
"Is that so."
In that moment, suspicion became certainty.
I nodded once, then widened my eyes and warned her.
"Either way, don’t lay a finger on Chloe. I won’t let it slide. She’s my collaborator."
"…Fine."
Wiping the sweat beading down her cheek, Yulina backed off obediently.
***
When all the lectures were over—
I returned to the lab attached to the Student Council Office.
I’d neglected my condition while dealing with a lot of matters, so I needed to check my body and, while I was at it, enhance a newly acquired artifact.
"Status window."
Ping—
[Life : 30(−15)]
[Agility : 20(−10)]
[Strength : 22(−11)]
[Mana : 41]
[Intelligence : 36]
[Charm : 90(−60)]
My stats had risen slightly thanks to steady physical training and morning meditation.
My infamy had eased recently, so the Charm reduction had lessened a bit as well.
Even in the mirror, my complexion looked brighter, and the dark circles under my eyes seemed lighter.
I looked over the body-related stats and nodded.
'Even with the 50% cut from Gu-eum Jeolmaek factored in, this is above average for a normal person.'
With a Strength Enhancement Stone and Haste spell, my combat power temporarily doubles, so I can handle Academy-level opponents without much trouble.
Of course, both are expensive consumables with severe side effects, so I can’t use them often.
In any case, it’s fair to call the progress smooth.
'Traits… no need to check.'
With steady practice, Loen’s Alchemy had risen to Low-grade Level 6, and aside from gaining [Holy Power Resistance] and [Intimidation], not much had changed.
What’s notable is the alchemy-imbuement spells unlocked at Level 6—[Amplify] and [Restraint].
It’s no exaggeration to say I used those two to subdue Chepesh.
They’re normally locked behind Low-grade Level 8, but Albany’s Alchemy Workbench made them usable.
At any rate, since I’d blown up the magic orbs by spamming those spells, I’d picked up a new, temporary-use artifact in the Underworld to replace them.
Today, it was time to test this artifact’s power.
Click—
I took a pair of black gloves out of the item locker and put them on.
Supple leather that hugged my hands.
I opened and closed my right hand, checking the lore on the item.
[Milia’s Mana Gloves]
Category: Gloves
Rarity: Ancient
A favorite used by the ancient Grand Mage Milia during her apprentice days. Worn with age, but its abilities remain fully intact.
Can store up to 3 low-grade magic scrolls.
Reduces Mana cost by 20% when casting.
Reduces magic casting time by 20%.
Grants 90% Fire Resistance to the equipped area only.
Absorbs a certain amount of the opponent’s Mana upon contact with the equipped area.
Increases damage taken by 30%.
Durability 43/50
I paid an enormous sum—200 million Krone, the proceeds from the two artifacts I’d planned to give Rize—to get this new piece.
Ordinarily, 200 million Krone wouldn’t be °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° enough to buy it; it’s that expensive. But perhaps Rebecca had taken a liking to me and sold it cheap.
These gloves include storage that substitutes for a mage’s essential Memorize, plus excellent perks—reduced Mana consumption and casting time.
On top of that, the bonus Fire Resistance is modest but handy.
And they even absorb Mana on contact, allowing for unorthodox applications in combat—an upscale artifact.
Of course, the price of such performance is a painful penalty: increased damage taken. But given the benefits, it’s acceptable.
If it comes to it, I can just block with Aegis Shield.
'Good enough for Competitive War use, too.'
Smiling in satisfaction, I began processing Bell’s mana orb.
First, I put on a gas mask and switched on the lab ventilator.
Then, with the gloves on, I took out Bell’s mana orb containing Extreme Flame, which I’d stored carefully in the vault.
Fwoosh—
A gentle heat bled through even the fire-resistant gloves.
The air itself warmed, and the radiant heat made my face prickle as if I were grilling meat right under my nose.
Glug-glug-glug—
I poured a mercury-like silvery liquid into a special case I’d procured from the Underworld, then plopped Bell’s mana orb into it.
Sssssss—
The silver liquid began bubbling the instant it touched the orb, venting toxic fumes.
Heated by the orb, it pulsed bright and dim, bright and dim, in cycles.
Watching the boiling silver, I timed it, then added prepped ingredients into the case in order.
'Wings of a Dark Moth, antlers of an Elder Stag, Blue Ice Moss, berry grape, Blood Stone, wild rose oil, Moon Salt.'
Bubble-bubble—
Fresh reagents I’d brought up from the Underworld melted into the silver one after another.
Sliiide—
As they cooked, the silver liquid thickened and began to set.
It clung to the sticky mana orb, suppressing the intense heat housed within.
This process is essential for using the orb.
Instead of scorching my stomach, the orb has to be absorbed into my body and emit a steady, gentle heat to neutralize the yin of Gu-eum Jeolmaek.
And if I just swallowed it and it passed out through digestion, that would be a disaster—so I have to run a separate process to ensure it melds properly inside me.
For the orb’s long-term preservation and its effect to manifest, this coating work is mandatory.
While I continued the coating—
Ping—
[Preprocessing is complete. Please inject Mana.]
"Whew."
I let out a small breath, then poured in my Mana and began the full processing of the mana orb.