Chapter 206: Zex-kun, Finally Achieving His Lifelong Desire
───Once again, the season for student council recruitment had arrived.
At present, Alice served as the council secretary, while Lena supported the Imperial Academy in her role as vice president.
And today, the two of them had come to the first-year dormitory building for the sake of scouting a certain student.
As she slowly looked around the familiar hallway, Alice murmured softly,
“…This brings back memories. The first-year building.”
“And to think we were coming here every single day just four months ago too~”
“Yeah. It feels kind of strange somehow.”
A nostalgic smile touched her lips.
Hanging around Alice’s neck was a necklace adorned with emerald-green scales that shimmered faintly under the academy lights.
Incidentally, a silver-white version of the same necklace gleamed proudly around Lena’s neck as well.
As for what exactly had happened to Alice—
At this point, there was hardly any need to explain further.
◇◇◇
Inside Classroom 1-A.
“Hey, Zex. You were seriously depressed ever since Ryu-sensei disappeared, but lately you’ve been ridiculously cheerful again. Everyone was worried about you, so honestly, it’s a relief. Did something happen?”
“Fufufu… The truth is, I recently delivered something to Ryu-sama personally, and as a result, the relationship between House Arden and House Mondo has grown even stronger. Furthermore, Ryu-sama personally praised me to the fullest extent possible, and personally told me that I was welcome to visit whenever I had free time.”
“…You really don’t have to emphasize every single ‘personally.’”
“That is the most important part!! This is exactly why Ryu-sama beginners are hopeless. You should work harder too—at the very least, become someone worthy of entering the farthest edge of the farthest corner of Ryu-sama’s field of vision.”
“R-Right… I’ll do my best. Ahaha…”
His classmate laughed awkwardly, clearly overwhelmed by Zex’s frightening level of devotion.
At that moment, the front of the classroom suddenly grew noisy.
Two familiar figures had appeared.
The student council vice president and secretary.
“Woooow… she’s gorgeous…”
“Isn’t that Ryu-sensei’s little sister?”
“The Arden family’s face genetics are honestly unfair.”
“The knight-looking woman behind her is cute too.”
“That’s Alice Blanc-sama. One of the major figures of the frontier.”
“I heard the Grace Marquis family, the Blanc Count family, and the Arden Viscount family are all deeply connected, but they really do seem close.”
“At this point, the only people who can rival the frontier faction are probably the Mondo Duke faction.”
Amid the hushed excitement spreading through the classroom, the two girls calmly climbed the steps between the rows of seats and stopped directly in front of Zex.
Then Lena smiled brightly.
“You’re Zex-kun, third son of the Mondo Ducal House, correct?”
“L-Lena-sama…! The fact that you personally spoke to me means…‼”
His entire body trembled with anticipation.
Lena nodded gently.
“We were hoping you might join the student council and help support the academy alongside us.”
“I ACCEPT‼ No, please allow me to join‼ I’ll do anything‼ I’ll even lick your shoes‼”
“T-That’s… quite the enthusiasm…”
Even Lena recoiled slightly at the sheer force of his response.
Beside her, Alice let out an exhausted sigh before pulling a sheet of paper from her pocket.
“If you sign this, you can officially join the student council immediately. So, what’ll it be?”
Originally, she had intended to hand him the paperwork in the council room later.
But honestly—
This guy was far more motivated than either of them had expected.
“I’LL SIGN‼”
“Okay then, write your name here.”
Without a second’s hesitation, Zex completed the registration paperwork on the spot.
“Fuuuh… Fuuuh…!! Lena-sama must be protected with my life at all costs…!”
“Th-Thank you. We’ll be waiting in the student council room after school, okay?”
“Yes‼ With this, I can become even more useful to House Arden…‼”
Having successfully completed one major task, Lena and Alice left Classroom 1-A together.
“Huh. Was Zex-kun always like that?”
“He gets a little… overreactive whenever my brother is involved… But big brother said ‘Zex is talented,’ so I’m sure he’ll work hard!”
“Ohhh~ Ryu-sensei said that?”
“Yep. He even said, ‘Zex is basically like my underling.’”
“Then there’s nothing to worry about. If Ryu-sensei says so, it must be true.”
◇◇◇
After school.
Zex walked through the academy halls in exceptionally high spirits as he headed toward the student council room.
Then—
He spotted two rough-looking male students leaning lazily against the wall, chatting noisily.
“Hey, did you see those second-year girls who walked past here during lunch break?”
“Yeah, yeah. Pretty sure they were the student council vice president and secretary.”
“They were insanely cute, right?! Think I’ve got a shot if I confess?”
“No chance, idiot. Rumor says both of them are already engaged.”
“Ehhhhhh. …Well, they were ridiculously cute.”
“Oh, and apparently the vice president’s older brother is that part-time lecturer, Ryu.”
“Huh. Then why’s he only part-time?”
“How should I know? Probably got shoved into the position using viscount family connections or something.” snicker
“Seriously, right?! I thought it was weird for someone that young to be a lecturer!! Man, that’s pathetic.” snicker
The two burst into crude laughter as they mocked Ryu without restraint.
And then—
Suddenly, both of their bodies lifted off the ground.
““???????””
Something had seized them by the throat with terrifying force.
Their feet dangled helplessly in the air.
Standing before them—
Was Zex.
His face resembled that of a wrathful demon straight out of hell.
“Apologize to Ryu-sama right now. Otherwise I’ll kill you. Open your mouths and I’ll kill you. Breathe and I’ll kill you. Actually… I’ll kill you regardless.”
(K-Kuh… can’t breathe…!)
(If opening our mouths gets us killed, then apologizing’s impossible in the first place, dumbass…!)
((What the hell is wrong with this guy?!))
The boys could only kick their legs desperately in panic.
At this rate, death by suffocation was inevitable.
And then—
“Huh~? Zex-kun isn’t here. He was taking so long, so we came to pick him up…”
“Maybe he’s still in the classroom?”
Lena and Alice appeared from down the hallway.
“…Ah!! This is bad!!”
Zex instantly snapped back to his senses.
In a blur of motion, he rushed into the nearby boys’ restroom while still holding the two students aloft—
—and shoved both of their heads straight into a toilet bowl.
““…………”” blub blub blub
“Stay there and reflect for the rest of your miserable lives. You worthless pieces of trash. And if luck abandons you, then die there.”
Leaving the two drowning in terror, Zex calmly exited the restroom and approached Lena and Alice as though nothing had happened.
“I AM HERE‼ My sincerest apologies for causing concern‼”
“Ah, there you are, Zex-kun~ Let’s head to the student council room together~”
“Where were you?”
“Just taking care of… a minor matter.”
With perfectly pleasant smiles, the three of them walked off together toward the student council room.