Loverock City was the third largest city in the Empire in terms of population and also had one of the largest CBDs in the whole world (CBD - Central Business District). This was one of the reasons they decided to build the academy there instead of in the capital, which was more of a military stronghold than an actual city. As I navigated the busy streets, it didn’t take long to reach the restaurant. Upon entry, I saw many people coming in and out, ordering takeaway for the road. It was a familiar sight in most business districts, where many couldn’t always cook because of time constraints.

Inside the restaurant, it was easy to spot the student who had called me. She was the only one wearing an academy uniform and, thankfully, she was sitting alone. She sat close to the window, and her long white hair fluttered in the wind every now and then. I approached her and got a closer look at her face.

Her dark eyes seemed completely devoid of any emotion, but her expression was different. The moment she saw me, a bright smile appeared across her face as she spoke.

“Ah, I didn’t think you would come. You can have this, so please, take a seat.” She pushed a half-eaten burger and some fries toward me. I was a bit surprised by the sudden action but acted composed and sat down opposite her.

“Why did you call me?”

I decided to go straight to the point. Between her weird behavior and her eerie, hollow eyes, there was something dangerous about her whole demeanor. Her eyes were even scarier than Lily’s whenever she activated her authority.

“You are on a date with a beautiful girl, and that’s all you have to say?” She pouted at my words as she casually reached for some fries in the tray she had given me.

“You are nothing like what Lily described.”

Is that why she called me here?

In my previous life, even after people found out I was Lily’s brother, no one paid much attention to me, so this meeting never happened. In fact, this was the first time I was seeing this girl, after all—she died during the first semester of her first year.

One of the uncrowned Kings of Rezen Academy, a title that Lily would also hold very soon.

She was the only child of the Tink family, Precious Tink.

“Well, then I guess I'll go straight to the point. I heard what’s going on in your class and wanted to offer some help.”

“What kind of help?”

“I can convince your classmates to vote for you.” Precious gave an ominous smile as she bit into some fries. I grabbed a fry from the tray after convincing myself it wasn’t poisoned and replied to her daring words,

“And how do you plan on doing that?”

“Well now, aren’t you a talker, asking a frail girl about her plans for the future and stuff.” She gave a playful smile, but I didn’t react and simply stared at her. It was hard to tell when she cracked a joke because of her eyes, those eyes that seemed to carry a darkness greater than my own. I felt uncomfortable at how comfortable I was in her presence.

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“I can send out some of my best classmates to talk to them. I’m sure even Lily would be willing to do it.”

It was obvious what she had in mind—beating them into submission. I also didn’t doubt that Lily would gladly do it if she thought it was to help me, but unfortunately, her concern was for nothing.

“If that’s all, then you don’t have to worry. I don’t need your help.” She frowned at my response but didn’t look like she would push it further. However, I decided to add,

“By the way, my phone is dead right now. Do you mind showing me the time on yours?”

Precious gave a childish smile; it was a strange reaction to such a simple question. She placed her cell phone on the table, and the figures, 03:42, brightly reflected in my eyes. Though, this wasn’t the current time.

03:43

03:44

03:45

It was how long the voice recorder app had been running since we sat at the table.

Is she acting on his orders?

Even under normal circumstances, there was no way I could have accepted her help, but because she went out of her way to say out loud exactly how she would help, it sounded like a setup. If she had said something like, “Just leave the methods to us” or “We have a plan,” then it might have sounded more convincing than bluntly suggesting violence. But the problem didn’t go away even if she said something convincing. The problem lay in the fact that if I accepted her help and she went out and assaulted my classmates, it would make me responsible and imply that I supported her misconduct.

Declining was the only way out.

“How did you know?” She seemed amused as she asked me with a childlike tone; it didn’t seem like me catching on bothered her in the slightest.

“I don’t know what you are talking about. Anyway, thanks for showing me the time, that means my time here is up. If that’s all, I’m leaving.” I stood up from my seat and was about to leave, but her voice reached me.

“Well, I guess Dante might really lose, huh?”

I didn’t answer and simply left the restaurant. I once again realized how little I knew about the students in the high classes. If I really wanted to save Precious, I would have to find out more about her, especially what her authority is—if I could find that out, I might know why they murdered her in the future.

I'll have to contact Lily to investigate for me.

As such thoughts raced through my mind, I dragged myself back to campus and immediately collapsed on my bed from exhaustion.

***

[Thursday, 11 April]

The morning class went as usual, and our class commenced the voting session for the day. This time, the results were more surprising than usual.

“Sigh. Today’s results: Ian has 6 votes, and Dante has 80 votes. Since the conditions are still not met, we will have a final vote tomorrow.”

“Well, it’s over.”

“Yeah, there’s no way anyone would vote for him after this.”

The students didn’t seem surprised by the outcome. After all, the majority of them had already voted for Dante, and with today’s result, there was no doubt the rest of them would simply do the same. Dante needed just 2 votes to win, so dragging it on just so Dante loses could be detrimental to the class; that’s likely what the other six voters are thinking now.

The class went on as usual, and surprisingly, Dante never approached me to ask me to forfeit or anything like that. It seemed he wanted to win until the very end.

Classes finally ended for the day, but I didn’t leave immediately. After telling Roran to leave alone, I went straight to the staff room to find a certain professor. My situation wasn’t something I could solve using conventional means, and my goal wasn’t to prevent Dante from leading; it was to completely win the election.

I waited outside the staff room as more and more professors clocked out until finally, my target left. The moment she saw me, her face went stiff, but I smiled brightly as I spoke up.

“Hey, Professor Bloodthorn. I think we need to talk.”

Eliana looked at me with an uncomfortable gaze, as if all her sins were being read out loud to her.