NOVEL NEXT chapter 34
34 – Dispute 8
The academy has dozens of clubs.
The dozens of clubs can be divided into combat and non-combat clubs.
Combat clubs include swordsmanship, magic research, spear fighting, demon hunting, hand-to-hand combat, and more.
Among the combat clubs, the largest are the swordsmanship and magic research clubs.
The leadership club also falls under the combat clubs, but unlike the other two clubs, it did not recruit many people.
Non-combat clubs include cooking, board games, newspaper, theology, and more.
The largest non-combat club was the social club.
Yes, it’s a story from the past.
There is no social club in the academy at the moment.
A social club is a club that only nobles can join, aiming for fellowship and social activities.
As there were very few commoners among academy students, the social club was the largest among non-combat clubs.
The activity fees received by the academy for such a large club were also quite substantial.
It wasn’t a problem that only nobles could enter, but there were some issues with the social club.
One of them was excessive camaraderie.
In a club created for fellowship, one might ask what the problem with camaraderie is.
They formed a faction and systematically harassed other students who did not appeal to them periodically.
The students being harassed were naturally either minor nobles or commoners.
Only two people had removed such a social club from the academy.
Simon Nicholas, who joined the newspaper club, realized something strange while investigating the social club.
“Chief, I heard that the social club is systematically harassing other students. I investigated, but there’s something strange about the money the social club receives.”
“Simon, I told you not to investigate the social club. From now on, don’t ever touch the social club. If you investigate the social club again, you’ll be expelled from the newspaper club.”
“I’m sorry. I won’t investigate anymore.”
At that moment, Simon heard the chief of the newspaper club and thought.
This guy in front of me is not helpful.
While investigating the social club, Simon did not say anything more to the chief of the newspaper club.
He knew that it wouldn’t change anything even if he said more.
“A person is information, and information is soon a person.”
Simon muttered to himself, recalling the habitually spoken words of his father, who belonged to the royal information department, while investigating the social club.
The facts I discovered during the investigation were shocking.
“Wow~ They’ve embezzled quite a lot.”
It turned out they were embezzling the funds provided by the academy for activities.
“It can’t be just the social club, and is the student council involved too?”
Embezzling the activity funds provided by the academy seemed nearly impossible, but with the student council’s assistance, the situation changed.
The student council manipulated the activity funds that the social club was supposed to receive, allowing them to take more, and the social club took advantage of the situation.
The reason Simon could investigate all of this alone was that he had a wide network.
Not only did he associate with the nobility, but he was also friendly with commoners, allowing him to hear various stories.
“It’s a bit challenging to handle this alone.”
Simon, though a high-ranking imperial count, had counterparts from other kingdoms in the social club and student council.
However, that didn’t mean there was no solution. Simon went to the magical research department.
“Joden, let’s solve this together.”
“Simon, speak so I can understand.”
Simon told Joden everything he had learned during his investigation.
“Hmm, what should I do?”
“There’s a hidden space in the student council room where there’s a high chance of finding evidence.”
Simon’s plan involved informing the professors beforehand and then finding conclusive evidence in the student council room.
“So, it means we have to subdue all the student council members.”
But Joden, leaving those words behind, moved on.
“Where to?”
“I’m going to break into the student council room.”
“What? Just you?”
Joden didn’t respond to Simon’s question and continued walking.
“Hey! Let’s go together.”
Simon persisted, but Joden ignored him and walked all the way to the student council room.
“What’s going on?”
The student guarding the front of the student council room asked warily.
“Move.”
Ignoring the guarding student, Joden entered the student council room.
Whether there was a meeting or not, quite a few people had gathered.
“Are all the people here involved in this?”
Joden looked at Simon, ignoring the stares from the students.
“Yeah, that’s right.”
“What a rud…-“
One of the students in the student council room tried to say something to Joden but couldn’t finish the sentence.
His body had frozen entirely.
“What’s going on!”
“Adelian Gongja!”
Other students in the student council room shouted at the sudden turn of events.
“It’s too noisy.”
And all the members in the student council room froze at once without even a hint of rebellion.
On that day, many students were expelled from the academy. The social club disappeared.
Joden became the student council president in his first year in the history of the academy.
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I was on my way to the cafeteria to have lunch with Lucas.
The beggar who was trying to talk to Lucas somehow obeyed Lucas’s command to leave, along with his subordinates.
“Earlier, you asked Frederick to meet the head of the newspaper department, right?”
Frederick is a special class sorcerer, full name Frederick Nicholas.
He is the younger brother of Simon Nicholas, the head of the newspaper department.
“Yes, that’s correct!”
“Thanks to that, I got the drinks right, but still.”
“I sincerely apologize. Honestly, I didn’t think it would go that far.”
“Don’t worry about it. More importantly, how are you going to handle it within the week you mentioned?”
“Just consider this as a buildup. There’s still a final step remaining.”
“What’s the final step?”
“I’ll let Mr. Lucas know about it specifically.”
Feeling a bit sorry for Lucas, who even got the drinks because of me, I explained my plan to Lucas.
Lucas, having heard my words, was astonished.
“Do you really think that can happen?”
“You’ll see.”
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Having finished my meal, I briefly discussed the academy correction with Lucas.
“Hey, Loki, aren’t those people gathering over there?”
As Lucas said, students were gathering and looking at something.
Approaching, I could see what the students were staring at.
It was a newspaper posted on the bulletin board.
[Prince of the Arshen Kingdom Disrespects the Imperial Crown Prince by Spraying Drinks and Uttering Insults!]
It was an irresistibly provocative headline that no one could ignore.
“Wow, that’s fast, isn’t it?”
Seems like they made it without even having lunch.
“When do you think they took the pictures?”
The newspaper featured images of Lucas being sprayed with drinks and a paparazzo insulting him.
“Is this for real?”
“I mean, can that even make sense?”
At first, the students couldn’t believe the newspaper.
It is unthinkable for the prince of the kingdom to splash a drink on the prince of the empire.
“Look at the photo. It doesn’t seem like he’s lying, does it?”
“The current head of the newspaper department has never published a lie in the newspaper.”
“The person who wrote the article criticizing the social department two years ago is now the head of the newspaper department.”
But the reputation of Simon Nicholas, the head of the newspaper department, as seen in the photo, made the students believe him.
[This is a newspaper personally written and reported by the head of the newspaper department, Simon Nicholas. There is no lie in this newspaper.]
With such a sentence written at the end of the newspaper, it was impossible not to believe it.
“What, so that means it’s true!”
“How dare you, Your Highness!”
Croa Academy is the best academy on the continent, so there were many students from other places, but most of the students were from the empire.
There was no one from the empire who did not get angry when the prince was insulted.
“I never liked that guy from the beginning!”
“I saw him loitering near the special class!”
“Could he have planned to do that to the prince?”
“He even picked a fight with Johanna and Joden in the cafeteria yesterday.”
The newspaper posted on the bulletin board by the newspaper department did not think about cooling down until all the academy classes were over.
Yesterday, the Arshen Kingdom students who picked a fight with me didn’t say a word during today’s class as if they were dead.
They know they won’t see a good sight if they provoke me now.
“From now on, we will protect His Highness.”
Even people from the Lucas Fan Club came to escort Lucas.
In an instant, surrounded by the fan club, Lucas glared at me as if blaming me.
You didn’t choose this fan club… Anyway, endure it with your willpower and strength.
The special class students looked at Lucas with concern, not at me.
Unable to bear it any longer, Lucas told the special class students that it was my plan.
Upon hearing that, the special class students began to stare at me as if I were insane.
“Even if I’m good-looking, it’s embarrassing to be stared at like that.”
“…………”
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Having spent another ordinary day at the academy, I lay on my bed and contacted Erika through the communication device.
I really wanted to know if Erika truly possessed that ability.
Beep – Beep – Ring.
After the signal, I heard Erika answering the call.
“Your Highness.”
[…………]
I called out to Erika, but she didn’t say anything.
Was the call still not connected?
“Your Highness.”
[…………]
Suddenly, Yerika’s words before our call ended yesterday came to mind.
[Next time, please call me Yerika comfortably.]
Really?
Yerika?
[………..]
Miss Yerika?
[…………]
Yerika?
[Yes!]