How to Survive as the Academy Student Council President

“Please come again.”
Sheika and the Bellatea Guild’s managers personally came to see us off all the way to the entrance.
“Right. I’ll drop by again at a suitable time.”
“I shall visit again.”
“May peace be with you.”
Having successfully concluded the contract with Sheika, we strolled out of the guild at once.
Tapping the contract inside my breast pocket, I wore a satisfied smile.
With this, I had accomplished every purpose for which I’d come all the way to Stella over the weekend.
Just thinking that I’d invested in something with certain profit put me in a good mood. I already felt as if I were sitting on a cushion of money.
It was time to bid farewell to the days when I was strapped for funds.
'What should I do once I make money?'
It was counting my chickens before they hatched, but I let myself drift into a brief happy daydream.
First, I should return the money I received from Illeina.
After that, I could replace all my items and artifacts with new models, and it wouldn’t be bad to buy a heap of high-grade alchemy materials.
In the process, I could also borrow the help of the underworld and Rize.
Or I could reinvest elsewhere to maximize returns, or even use it for populist policies to raise my approval rating.
There were endless ways to spend money; just imagining spending it was enough to make me unreasonably cheerful.
Seeing me wearing a strange smile, Garfield spoke in a displeased tone beside me.
“Lord Loen, you’re making an extremely villainous face right now.”
“Villainous? The real villains are the ones who spread false rumors to manipulate stock prices, slam short sales, and wreck a perfectly fine guild to pocket the profits. I’m only planning to teach such people a lesson.”
“And make a tidy sum in the process.”
At Ciel’s interjection, I shrugged.
“Well, that’s just additional income.”
Make the bad guys choke on it and make money too. How wonderful was that.
Moreover, since the ringleaders behind this stock manipulation were guilds of the Kingdom of Gilbert, I could deal a heavy blow to Jeremy as well.
As I pondered for a moment, Ciel asked,
“Then, Lord Loen, what do you estimate the profit to be roughly?”
Stroking my chin, I opened my mouth slowly.
“Hm. I’m thinking at least three to four times.”
If I invested the remaining five hundred million in cash I had, I could probably make a minimum of one and a half billion in profit.
Depending on the case, five times, even ten times or more was possible.
In theory, it approached an infinite figure, but the opposing forces also had a total amount of capital they possessed.
It depended on how well Sheika could seal off information so they wouldn’t notice, and on the timing of executing the plan.
I fell silently into thought.
'They’re probably planning to gorge themselves only until the right timing and then bail out.'
But things wouldn’t go according to that plan.
There was nothing more I needed to do in this situation.
Let’s stop the complicated, headache-inducing calculations.
Since I was out of the Union anyway, I decided to enjoy myself a bit more.
Coming down here in the first place took a fair bit of effort.
“Ciel, since we’re out, anywhere else we should drop by?”
“Ah, if we go up to that high ground, there’s a café street with a good atmosphere. Some double as bakeries, and their slice cakes made by a master are famous.”
“A café? Didn’t we just go?”
“This one is different.”
Ciel’s firm voice.
A café is a café, or so I thought… but since she was so adamant, we could swing by later.
She’d been working hard lately; I could buy her as many desserts as she liked.
“Garfield, you?”
“I must purchase the latest issue of a new magazine. How about stopping by the bookstore near the wharf?”
“A magazine? Is there a comic you’re waiting on?”
“Hehe. Indeed. Among recent new series, there’s a rather fine piece. Like finding a rough gem amid the flood of spectacles. Also, the results of a contest I submitted to will be posted this time, so I must check it. Are you interested?”
At Garfield’s question, I gave a small nod.
That was perfect. If it was a bookstore by the wharf, there were also things I wanted to get.
“Not a bad idea to drop by since we’re out. And we can work up an appetite before we eat.”
Between the café and the guild, we’d been served tea and refreshments, so my stomach was a bit full before the meal.
For a delicious lunch, let’s walk around here and there to aid digestion.
***
Leaving the market and walking a bit near the wharf, we arrived at Stella’s largest comprehensive bookstore, “Water Melon Books.”
This was a mega bookstore that sold not only books but also a variety of secondhand goods and merch.
It had a different flavor from the Union’s stuffy bookstores or libraries packed only with textbooks and workbooks, and being near the harbor, you could access new releases faster than at bookstores inside the Union.
Upon arriving at Water Melon Books, Garfield puffed out his chest for no reason and began taking deep breaths.

“Huff, huff. This different air. This place is, to this body, truly the homeland of my heart.”
“…Tsk.”
Ciel shot Garfield a glare as he put on his eccentric act and stealthily widened the distance.
She seemed unwilling to be treated as part of the same group.
Having moved some distance away from Garfield, Ciel told me she would check another section.
“I’ll be looking over the professional books section. Please browse as you wish.”
“Professional books?”
“Yes. There’s something I want to look up.”
Guessing roughly at Ciel’s intention, I spoke.
“If you intend to gather information related to Demian’s blueprints, there’s no need. Take it easy. It’s nothing urgent.”
Though I was the one who’d delegated the task…
“…Understood.”
Whether she took my request to heart, I couldn’t tell, but Ciel bowed to me and then disappeared beyond the shelves with quick steps.
Ciel had vanished, and Garfield had somehow already disappeared into the store’s basement, leaving me suddenly alone on the first floor.
“Hm.”
All the better.
Since I was alone, I decided to take my time and look around the bookstore.
Inside the bookstore, shelves arranged neatly by category extended in rows.
Near the registers were eye-catching, colorful stationery and interior goods perfect for decorating a desk.
They even sold simple snacks and some magic tools, not much different from a modern bookstore.
Savoring the feeling of having returned to modern times for the first time in a while, I poked around various corners of the store.
'How curious.'
In the game, this bookstore had merely been a place where you could pick up a few books containing side stories for achievement purposes, or buy and sell skill books.
Only a few interactions created by the devs had been possible; most of the books on the shelves couldn’t even be taken out to read.
But reality was a bit different.
If it was a book I wanted, I could take anything off the shelf and examine it, and inside were crammed information I hadn’t been able to confirm in the game.
So I leafed through cooking books for no particular reason, and skimmed books of various genres without discrimination—travel guides or past exam problems for the mage certification, and so on.
Local specialty dishes of each region, various local ingredients and their recipes, famous people’s comments on each dish.
Means of transportation for travelers moving between countries, lodging procedures, currency exchange, and simple conversational language information.
Also, detailed information on national exams for becoming a mage or knight, tips for passing, even past problems.
Whatever book I pulled to read in this store, it would have similar volumes of information inside.
Books processed stitch by stitch in the form of information—text and images—containing someone’s experiences, efforts, and knowledge.
They were different in nature from the books in the game, which were merely lumps of graphics whose outsides had been carved to look plausible.
Experiencing this firsthand, I felt that this world was not just a game but another living, breathing world.
Tap-.
I returned the book I had opened back to its original place on the shelf.
Then, closing my eyes, I fell into brief thought.
'The gap between reality and the game.'
Was this truly inside a game? Or was it truly another world that existed?
And why had I fallen into this world?
The realities I had tried so hard to look away from crashed over me like waves.
“……”
My head unnecessarily tangled up, I shook it and ended the thoughts.
A problem for which no answer would come no matter how much I brooded. I would simply do what I had to do.
“Hoo.”
Just then, as I moved my steps with a deep sigh to stroll the store again—
“…?”
Rustle-.
Between those shelves, for some reason, the back of someone familiar came into view.
Though her face was hidden deep under a robe, she couldn’t hide the blazing, crimson hair spilling out.
Curious, I called her name in a quiet voice.
“Beatrice.”
“……”
Whether she heard my voice, the figure flinched slightly, then slipped away from me without a word.
Slide-.
As she hid beyond the shelves, I called her name again toward the back of her head.
“Beatrice le Cassandra.”
“……”
She still ignored me and kept walking away.
Let’s see who wins.
Since lightly extending her name yielded no reaction, I gladly decided to call out her full name.
“Beatrice Yuraphim Lorraine le Mirel Cassan—”
At that—
“Please have some decency.”
With a voice tinged with irritation, Beatrice spun around and cut me off.
She threw back the robe she’d been wearing and glared at me.
“Why don’t you spread the news to every corner of the land while you’re at it—that I’m at the bookstore.”
“Then why wander a bookstore in such a suspicious getup?”
How could I not say hello.
When I pointed out her outfit, Beatrice fiddled with the hood of the robe and snapped «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» back.
“Suspicious? I merely wished not to draw unnecessary attention.”
“Where’s your attendant?”
“Yulina is currently on a mission. She isn’t so idle as to accompany me on a simple bookstore outing. And if I bring an attendant, it naturally draws others’ eyes, does it not? Try putting some thought into things.”
Ignoring the barbs in her words, I mentioned Yulina.
“On a mission, huh. Don’t push Yulina too hard. I’ll be annoyed for nothing.”
It was very annoying how she stuck to me, shoving unnecessary cheating notes at me.
“?”
Beatrice only tilted her head, as if she had no idea what I was talking about.
Confirming her reaction, I shrugged.
“If you don’t know, then never mind.”
It seemed she didn’t know in what manner Yulina was carrying out her orders.
Changing the subject, I glanced at the basket in Beatrice’s hand and spoke.
“You’ve filled it up. Do you like books?”
The number of books in her basket, at a glance, easily exceeded ten.
I already knew Beatrice had the bookworm trait.
Whether it was the price of her outstanding talent for magic or not, weak in body by nature, she’d enjoyed being shut in and reading books from a young age rather than going out.
It wasn’t strange that she would appear in a bookstore like this.
It was also an event that occurred probabilistically every weekend.
When I tried to look over the list of books Beatrice had gathered, she stealthily hid the basket behind her.
“An awfully suspicious movement, as if there were subversive books inside.”
“Hmph, I have no obligation to show my purchase list to someone like you.”
Clicking her tongue in a voice that was barely more than a mutter—ill-mannered, or something to that effect—Beatrice continued, glaring at me again.
“So why are you here, Loen? I thought you’d burned all bridges with books.”
“I did. I’m only here today to look around, following an acquaintance. But it’s more interesting than I thought. The range of books is diverse. It’s perfect for killing time.”
“So you visited without any particular purpose. You seem to have leisure to spare.”
At that, I tilted my head slightly and let my gaze fall on a magazine in Beatrice’s basket.
“Purpose, huh—shōnen comic magazine… You don’t need such a grand purpose just to visit a bookstore.”
“…Ugh.”
As if I’d uncovered some great secret, Beatrice froze for a moment and hid the basket completely behind her robe.
But what could she do—I had already seen it.
Watching her reaction, I smiled inwardly.
There was nothing at all wrong with reading comic magazines.
However, the imperial princess, hiding her identity, secretly choosing comic magazines at a bookstore—now that was quite interesting.
Interesting enough to make the front page of the Union Daily as today’s headline.
“An unexpected taste. Don’t worry. I won’t go around telling people. I’ll keep your secret.”
“…I don’t need such trifling consideration. Say it or don’t; do as you please.”
Perhaps offended, Beatrice left with a sharp swish after saying only that.
Not forgetting to pull her robe back over her head to hide her hair.
'Cold as ever.'
No—perhaps I had provided the cause. In any case, the melancholy that had crept over me lifted a notch.
Watching her figure vanish beyond the shelves for a moment, I shrugged.
Feeling better, I made my way down to the bookstore basement.
Creak-.
With each step downward, the old wooden stairs let out a scream.
'I’m sure I could obtain a piece of furniture here.'
Passing the first basement floor—where comic magazines and genre novels were located—and going further down, I found a corner dealing in various ancient texts, used books, and secondhand goods.
The second basement floor, with its distinctive old-book smell.
It wasn’t fragrant, but it wasn’t that bad either—tolerable enough.
“Welcome.”
I began to explore slowly, wandering among piles of books tied up here and there with string.
And before long—
“Here it is.”
I found what I wanted.
A shabby corner where antiques were gathered. An item thick with dust.
 
[Cold Raymon’s Phonograph]
Category: Furniture
Grade: Common
An old phonograph that looks worthless. It appears to need repair.