Chapter LXVII (67) - Student Council
Kizu decided to skip Brewing S the next day. Having already tallied up a few absences from his excursion down into the World Dungeon, he risked having Shinzou Academy send an absence notice to his parents. But he wasn’t too worried about that. He enjoyed learning from Professor Knoff and practicing new brews the crone would never let him attempt, but he valued avoiding Sene far more. He clung to the vain hope that she might calm down the more time that passed by.
Instead of attending Brewing S, he used the note given to him by Professor Kateshi to gain access into some of the library’s more regulated areas to start the research for the Enchanting C final project. The pass granted him access to the Living Library, one of the three restricted libraries. Kateshi had informed him that the other two libraries, the Grim Library and the Archive Library, were both useless to his project. The Grim Library mostly dealt with less savory spell formulas and records of macabre experimentations. And the Archive Library’s contents were the original copies of books already available in the normal library.
The Living Library, as it turned out, was aptly named. Almost every single book in the room contained some sort of magical feature that exhibited signs of life. Some physically grew paper limbs and crawled around, while others spoke directly to the reader, giving tidbits of information like footnotes. There was an enchanted tree in the center of the library that could have its bark peeled back to read its contents. Kizu was shocked to realize that one of the books he flipped through had an ancient humanoid’s soul sealed within the pages. And not a friendly one. Though Kizu doubted he would be very friendly either after millennia of being sealed inside a book.
He currently wrestled with a book that kept shifting its pages around. Every time he turned a page, it shuffled the pages to something else entirely. And more than once, he thought he heard a quiet giggle echo from it. The book specifically discussed the creation of transporting objects using dimensionalism. And it was the second most useful book he had located so far. Since the first book kept jumping to different bookshelves whenever he tracked it down, this tome was what he decided to slog his way through.
A thump beside him startled both him and the book, causing it to flip rapidly between pages. He looked up at the disturbance and forgot how to breathe.
Sene stood adjacent to him, having dropped a massive stack of volumes on the writing table beside him.
“Your absence was noted,” she said darkly.
“By whom?” he asked, trying to sound calm and carefree. But he over-compensated and squeaked on the final word.
“Me.”
Kizu glanced towards the library exit. He wondered if he’d get caught by the academy’s beacon if he attempted to jump out to it. Regardless, ending up in trouble for jumping on campus likely would be a far better fate than what currently lay before him.
“As the first seat in Brewing S, you have taken on the responsibilities of a member of the Student Council,” she said through gritted teeth. “As the president of the student body, I have graciously brought you the manuals to study your new role.”
Kizu blinked. That had not been what he was expecting. Before he found his voice to ask any questions, Sene continued on.
“As a member of the Student Council, you will be looked at as an example of our academy. All ceremonies need the Student Council’s presence attending them. Our next major function will be the Winter’s End Ball which you will be expected to not only attend, but assist in the management, decoration, and organization of.”
Kizu opened his mouth to protest about the school dance, but Sene launched into the next topic. She spoke over him whenever he tried to get in a word. It took well over an hour before Sene finally stopped instructing him on this random new role and dismissed herself for her next class.
“So, you’re not upset about me passing your rank?” Kizu asked as she was leaving.
She turned back towards him and glared. “Of course not. I requested Professor Knoff move you up to the first seat. He forgot about the rankings entirely. Even a half-wit knows you’re not actually superior to me at brewing. The Student Council needed more seats filled. My bum sister actively avoids responsibility. You speak to her on a regular basis and accounts say she’s fond of you for some reason, so logically you will be able to better motivate her.”
Kizu was fairly certain that he was, in fact, far better than her at brewing. But he decided to keep that opinion to himself. The current ranking obviously still irritated her, despite what she said. So he let her depart without saying anything else on the topic.
During her entire lecture to him, she had never actually answered any of his questions about the Student Council. Instead, she just directed him to the tomes of school regulations that she had dropped on him. According to them, in the middle of every week, at seven in the evening, the Student Council assembled for a meeting. Which, just so happened, to be today. Despite everything Sene had lectured him on, he still didn’t quite understand what had just happened or what he was expected to do.
“Orb,” he finally said, taking out his scrying orb. “What is the Student Council?”
“Shinzou Academy’s Student Council is an assembly of the top seed students in each of the academy’s thirteen subjects. The current members are- Kajima Sene- President, Kaga Kizu- Vice President, Kajima Ione- Secretary and Treasurer.”
Kizu frowned. Somehow, he had suddenly been promoted to the position of vice president. And that was three people listed, not thirteen. By monopolizing the top spot in every subject, it looked as if Sene had shrunk the Student Council down to a fraction of its intended membership. And less members likely meant an increased work-load. A work-load that he doubted Ione intended to help out with. He recalled what Gregor had said about the other student who had gained a first place position. Kizu now suspected his true reason for transferring to a different academy.
Taking a quick break from his dimensionalism reading, Kizu skimmed through the books left behind by Sene. Mostly, it seemed the Student Council acted as a figurehead of the student body. Besides planning a few different social functions every year, his main duties were to brainstorm ways to better the academy’s lifestyle. Examples included things like food in the cafeteria and placement of study corners throughout the academy. He didn’t even need to actually put them into action, just come up with ideas and propose them in a monthly meeting with one of the professors. Other than that, major events needed a representative of the Student Council, but he figured Sene would take up the mantle there without any prompting. Basically, the duties were only as difficult and numerous as the membership decided to make them. Unfortunately, with Sene at the council’s head, he doubted he’d be able to slack off.
“Aren’t you supposed to be in class?”
Kizu looked up from the manual to see Aoi standing over him.
“It’s History F. Krimpit would probably boot me from it anyway. I figured my time would be better spent here prepping for my Enchanting C final.”
“You’re already looking at your enchanting final?” she asked, sounding a bit nervous.
Kizu shrugged. “Better to knock it out early and not have to worry about it later. Besides, I actually kind of enjoy studying dimensionalism. It’s fun.”
“Isn’t it full of arithmetic and physics? It’s practically just a more difficult form of numerology. How is that fun?”
“I see it more as problem solving. Discovering how to get from one place to another. I’ve always been pretty good at judging distances. It’s a bit like eyeballing and figuring out what will work in a specific brew,” Kizu said. “Anyway, what are you doing here?”
“Looking for more maps and records of undead in the area. I found the one here that guided me to my new thralls, so there’s a chance there might be another.” She paused. “Of course, where I would really like to be is in the Grim Library. Any chance you have access?”
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He shook his head. “Why don’t you just make up an excuse to ask for permission?”
“I’m banned. Special order by the academy’s higher-ups. My uncle contacted them about it.”
Kizu nodded along, listening to her rant about her family for a bit. Kizu gained a shred of gratitude towards his own parents. They might have high expectations and be completely superficial in their dealings, but at least they didn’t try to control his life like Aoi’s. They let him do whatever he wanted so long as it didn’t disgrace or embarrass the family. Though, Kizu believed that was moreso due to the fact they didn’t put in the effort to care, rather than respecting boundaries.
But then he recalled what his mother had said about Anna and Anata and that tiny bit of gratitude disintegrated.
“What do you know about the Student Council?” Kizu asked when there was a lull in her ranting.
Aoi looked surprised by the sudden change in topic. “Not much. From what I heard it’s just Kajima Sene. She’s in my Politics S class, but I’ve barely spoken a handful of words to her. I think she’s supposed to organize some academy events. Supposedly, they used to be a lot more fun before my second year when Sene took over. But I’ve never gone to one so that’s just hearsay.”
“Why don’t you go?”
“And spend my entire evening with different people trying to shmooze their way up to me?” She shuddered. “No thanks.”
“You’d rather spend the night with a bunch of undead?”
“Definitely. At least I know where I stand with them,” she said defensively.
Kizu shrugged then packed up his things. The two of them continued to chat on their way to the cafeteria. But when they walked inside, Emilia beckoned him over, causing Aoi to immediately split-up from him.
Emilia pointedly didn’t mention him walking in with Aoi as he sat down next to her. Instead she greeted him and started chatting with him about today’s food selection. One of her friends also sat beside her, munching on cooked celery and carrots.
Kizu scanned the menu. Everything today looked vegetarian. He ordered a heaping plate of rice that had nuts and beans scattered across the top. It wasn’t particularly flavorful, but it filled him up. And it even came with a spoon.
“Congratulations on the rank increase in Brewing S,” Emilia said.
“You know about that?” Kizu asked, surprised.
“Of course. Word spreads fast. It’s the talk of the academy right now. Besides, your placement isn’t a secret. Anyone can research the rankings.”
Kizu winced when Emilia said, ‘the talk of the academy.’ He wanted to study quietly without people constantly gossiping about him every month. First, it was his arrival as a new student at the age of a third year. Then, it was his fight where he ended up with a shattered leg. Now, they all talked about him surpassing Sene.
“Don’t look like that,” Emilia said. “This is an overwhelmingly positive turn of events! Graduating at the top of your class offers you a plethora of unique avenues. And having your name become well known across the academy in this way gains you positive notoriety. The students here won’t be students forever, and they’re now more likely to remember your name after they enter their career paths.”
Kizu saw the logic in what she said. But, honestly, he didn’t care much about any of that. The more time he spent outside the Hon Basin, the more he missed the hermit lifestyle. He had half a mind to return to it after finding his sister and finishing his education.
But he wasn’t an idiot enough to mention that to Emilia. Instead, he cheered up and continued to chat with her about her classes. He couldn’t help noticing that she sat incredibly close to him and, more than once, lay her hand on his knee. At least something good seemed to come from his new rank.
As Kizu made his way out of the cafeteria, he noticed Harvey frowning at him from across the room. He sat alone, with his food untouched in front of him. He showed no sign of noticing that Kizu looked back at him, instead the Tainted boy appeared completely lost in his thoughts.
That evening, Kizu followed his scrying orb across the academy to the Student Council Room. The room was located in the dead center of the academy, up in a tower Kizu previously thought reserved for the professors’ offices. As it turned out, the top floor was dedicated to the Student Council.
It reminded him a bit of his dorm’s common room with several massive windows along the walls. But instead of looking out at a layer of clouds, he could see the academy sprawled out below him, basked in dusk’s light. In the center of the room, thirteen plush chairs lined the side of a large table. Ione slouched in one, appearing to doze with her feet resting up on the table. Sene stood at the end, shuffling papers around and looking irritable.
Kizu realized this was the first time he’d ever seen the two of them in the same place. It was a bit uncanny, like looking at a warped mirror. Physically, they looked identical. And yet they were impossible to mistake for one another.
“Good,” Sene said, not looking up at him. “Now that you’re here, we can start. Ione, read off the attendance.”
Ione snored slightly.
Sene walked over and yanked a clipboard out from under Ione’s feet. Then she made three distinct marks on it before tossing it back on the table and walking back to her position at the head.
“As I mentioned to Kaga Kizu earlier today,” she said. “Our main activity right now is putting together the plan for the Winter’s End Ball. However, this weekend I will also be meeting with academy leaders as our representative for the Festival of Light. I will be giving a short speech in town at twilight the night of the festival. Neither of you need worry about that, but it is on the agenda so I am mentioning it now.
“The ball is our main priority. We need to decide how to distribute our allotted budget. Last year, Professor Kateshi helped me get in contact with two of the best cursebreakers in Hon to give special lectures between dances. I could do that again, but we need to decide soon, or else I might not be able to reserve them.”
“You brought lecturers to a dance?” Kizu asked, confused.
“Of course. It only makes sense as we are attending an educational institution.”
“I’m not an expert, but I think the dance is meant to release the stress of the semester.”
“What better way than to prepare for next semester?” Sene didn’t sound confrontational as much as confused.
As the meeting continued, Kizu quickly realized what Aoi meant when she had said the academy students had begun to lose interest in the Student Council’s events. Everything Sene suggested involved more school work. She even proposed having a pop quiz halfway between the dance, then pairing students up based on their scores. And while she and Finn might enjoy spending every minute of their freetime studying, Kizu doubted the rest of the student body agreed.
“We should buy fireworks with the budget,” Kizu suggested.
Ione opened an eye at the suggestion and Sene froze in place as if rapidly calculating something in her head.
“How would that improve the education of the academy’s students?” she finally asked. “Fireworks are completely temporary. There’s not even a practical use for them like with other explosives. It’s equivalent to burning up money.”
“We could have them explode into math problems,” Ione joked, speaking up for the first time. “Just picture it, numerology equations blasted into the air over our heads. Nobody would be able to look away.”
“I remember the academy shooting off fireworks when I was a kid,” Kizu explained, ignoring Ione. “It was a long time ago and I don’t remember much. But that experience has stuck with me.”
Sene furrowed her brow, still looking confused. But eventually slowly nodded. “We can cast a vote.”
They did so, and it passed with two for and none against, Sene deciding to abstain from the vote.
“We have to decide how much money to put forward for the venture,” Sene said.
“How much do we have?” Kizu asked.
There was an awkward silence as Sene looked over at Ione who once again appeared to be snoozing, then she sighed and answered herself.
“Our treasurer usually supplies that information.” Again, Sene paused, as if she expected Ione to perk up. Finally, she stopped waiting and just continued, obviously already knowing the information. “We have an entertainment budget of 250,000 Yennies. That’s separate from the food and beverage budget as well as the far smaller marketing budget.”
Granted, Kizu didn’t know much about economics and the currency, but that seemed like a lot of money at their disposal.
“So, we will have some money left over as well?” he said.
“Assuming your fireworks get approved by the council supervisor, then most likely, yes. I will bring this up in my meeting this weekend. Do you have another entertainment source in mind?”
Kizu thought about it. His experience with balls began and ended with storybooks. They were a common troupe though. He tried to think about what made them special.
“What about a dance contest in the middle?” Kizu suggested. “We would need judges though.”
“You’re suggesting that as a break between dancing, the students watch people dance? Isn’t that a bit redundant?”
“It seems more relevant than redundant,” Kizu said. “Have you ever been to a ball before?”
“Of course,” Sene replied curtly. “I went to last year’s and the year before.”
“Have you ever been to a ball not planned by you?” Kizu amended.
“Well, no,” Sene admitted. “But the professors gave positive feedback on last year’s ball.”
“Which professors?”
“Professor Krimpit.”
It took effort to keep his distaste from showing on his face. “How about we take a vote on the dance competition?”
Sene reluctantly agreed. Her usual frown turned into outrage when Ione once again joined his side of the vote. Apparently, she was used to her twin sleeping through the meetings and abstaining from votes. Kizu suspected Ione was only selectively asleep.
“Fine,” Sene snapped. “You two are in charge of it then.”
With that declaration out of the way, Sene launched into details the catering for the ball. Not knowing anything about the food, Kizu voted along with her to keep the same catering from last year. Ione abstained, but it hardly mattered. Then Sene started to discuss the marketing campaign. Another subject of which Kizu knew nothing about. By the end of their meeting, Kizu had not only been forced into agreeing to set up the dance competition, but also creating and sending out notices for the ball. As per usual, Kizu added more tasks to his endlessly growing to-do list.