Chapter 451
"Next, the Student Council President candidate, please."
All the second-year students turned their bodies toward the third-year students.
However—
Rrrrrk!
The sound of a chair scraping wasn’t coming from the back, but from the front.
Simon was standing up from his seat.
"Huh?"
"Why is Simon going up?"
All the second-year students were either confused or surprised, but the third-years seated at the back only maintained an awkward silence.
Belya, who had been skimming through some documents, looked up.
"Oh, you’ve picked the vice president too? Come up together."
Rrrrrk.
As if waiting for this moment, Maelyn rose, her sky-blue hair flowing. Feeling the stunned gazes of Jaime and Claudia, she squared her shoulders and walked confidently.
She had been waiting for this moment all along.
And from the moment she had been sitting here, she had been watching Serne’s seat.
‘How’s that? I’m Keyzen’s vice president! It’s me, not you, who was chosen!’
During the vacation, Serne had been such a thorn in her side at the Ivory Tower.
Maelyn reveled in the surge of pride as she looked at Serne, only to find—
"......."
She was leaning her head to the side, quietly sleeping. Maelyn made a frustrated face.
‘Ah! She knew everything! Pretending to sleep!’
"Maelyn?"
Simon pointed ahead.
"The podium is this way."
Quickly regaining her composure, Maelyn put on a charming smile.
"Ah, yes."
Soon, the two of them walked up to the podium. Belya patted Simon’s shoulder.
"Wow~ Our little cutie is the Student Council President? Moving up in the world!"
"No, I’m not."
Simon bowed politely, whereas Maelyn was so happy her smile could have split her face in two.
I’m standing here representing all the girls in the school. I’m the best!
"As you all know, the official Student Council President inauguration will be at the opening ceremony the day after tomorrow."
Belya explained that today was only the second-year opening ceremony, and the official student council appointment would take place at the grand ceremony during the school opening.
"Still, it’s a procedure, so we have to do it."
There was a simple ritual conducted by student representatives. The broadcast assistants handed them the oath scripts and briefly explained how the ceremony would proceed.
While the instructions were being exchanged, the second-year students became extremely noisy.
"Simon is the Student Council President? And he’s a second-year?"
"I thought the president would obviously be senior Aizel."
"But look behind. Senior Aizel isn’t here."
"How did this situation even happen?"
Gruuuuk.
Hector, ranked third in class, gripped the armrest of his chair tightly, his face hard.
‘Damn it, now he’s even taking the Student Council President seat…!’
Merida Hugh Ikel, always dozing off, opened her sharp eyes.
‘…He’s the one Phantasus picked over me.’
Aseraz Mikel, ranked fifth, licked his lips with a curious expression.
‘A second-year is the president. Then I might still have a chance, right?’
Elisa Celine, owner of the Ghost Ship, seventh in rank, scratched her head in a daze.
‘Ugh! I was going to make sure I caught the president’s attention this year! Now I have to fawn over Simon? No way!’
While the second-years were having all sorts of thoughts about Simon becoming president, the third-years’ mood was tense.
"…Are we really just going to let this slide? Leonard."
A male voice from the third-year table spoke with sharp eyes. It was Will Douglas, ranked twelfth overall.
"We can’t help it."
A male with slightly brown-tinted blonde hair, sitting in front of him, sighed.
Leonard Feiron.
Ranked fourth among the third-years.
"It was an agreement between Aizel and senior Phantasus. It’s not something we can argue about."
"No way."
Will frowned sharply.
"Aizel might not even be able to come back, 100% guaranteed. Senior Phantasus used to be terrifying when he was above us, but now he’s just an ordinary person! What’s there to fear? We’re the ones running the school now!"
Leonard chuckled.
"Yeah, you’re right, Will."
"Right?"
In the 330-year history of Keyzen, there were only a handful of times a second-year became Student Council President.
That’s why some third-years, including Will, were unsettled.
A second-year as president! What would the seniors think of our batch? They might laugh, thinking we’re so lacking in talent.
"Think carefully, Leonard. Our batch is getting sandwiched, both ways."
Will crouched down like a bear and spoke persuasively.
"Look at the seniors. The legendary president Phantasus and his family had everything under control. Then, what about the juniors? From what I see, it’s even worse! This generation is the one where Neftis’ daughter and the Ivory Tower heir entered at the same time!"
"Moreover."
Leonard continued.
"After going through the first semester’s saint incident and the second semester’s Blood Heaven Cult incident, and with BMAT hyping us up in the media, this batch is very publicized."
"Exactly! Then what hit product do we have to show the outside world? Damn, besides Aizel, is there anything else?!"
Will ranted passionately.
"And Aizel is tied up with duties."
"......."
"And the student council presidency went to a second-year. If it were Loraine or Serne, we could understand. It might have been due to political reasons by the adults. But now, it’s this Simon, not a giant hybrid, not from the Moore family, suddenly popping up as president! How do people see our batch?"
Leonard stayed silent, but his messy bangs showed he was troubled.
At that moment, Belya’s voice came through the amplification crystal.
"All students, stand up! Third-years in the back, rise as well!"
Drdrdrk.
Drk.
Everyone stood from their seats. On the podium, Simon and Maelyn raised their hands, palms open, and spoke in clear, ringing voices.
"Oath."
"Oath."
All the students present raised their hands as well and echoed in unison, "Oath!"
"One, we—"
For Will, and for a considerable number of third-years, this moment was humiliating.
A second-year student representing everyone to take the oath as Student Council President? Ridiculous.
"Leonard."
Will quietly spoke, raising his hand.
"This is ridiculous. We need to take that Student Council President position."
"......."
"We can just take it for now and return it when Aizel comes back, right? Before the outside world stamps us as powerless…!"
"Not yet."
Leonard shook his head and directed his gaze toward the Toxicology table far away. There, a male student with large horns on his head was raising his hand.
"Even Ballack, second in rank, is staying put. Let’s just observe the situation for now."
"…Ugh."
Simon and Maelyn lowered their hands, finishing the oath. Will’s fierce gaze remained fixed on their backs.
* * *
Once the formalities were complete, Simon and Maelyn returned to their seats.
"Good job!"
"You both were amazing!"
Dick and Kamibarez greeted them warmly. The moment they sat down, heads turned in every direction.
"Simon! Simon! Simon! What happened? Are you really the Student Council President?"
"Taking the position over Aizel-senior! Incredible!"
"Hey, Maelyn! Why didn’t you say anything?"
Before they could respond, Belya shouted, "Hey! Quiet over there!"
"Cooperate and let’s wrap this up quickly so we can get off duty, you lot."
Once the noise subsided, Belya checked her list.
"Alright. Now, let’s bring up the professors who will be responsible for each second-year department to the podium!"
Finally, the main event.
Keyzen’s system has professors follow students from first year into higher years, teaching them continuously.
A professor with specialized expertise provides highly personalized education based on a deep understanding of each student.
Thus, the "departmental professor" responsible for all second-year students in a department is extremely important. Think of it as the first-year homeroom teacher evolving into the second-year departmental professor.
"Let’s start with… let's see."
Her lips curved into a smile.
"Summoning Department first!"
A wave of tension spread across the students’ faces. Simon was so nervous it bordered on praying.
"Please, please, please…!"
Among the thousand first-years, professors were split between the front and back classes, and typically, the higher-performing professor continued with the class into the second year.
"The foundation and core of necromancy, right? The professor in charge of our Summoning Department is—"
Belya glanced at her list, smiled, and raised her voice.
"Professor Aron Deia!"
Waaahhhhh!
Amid enthusiastic cheers, Aron stepped onto the podium from behind the curtain.
He was the same as always.
Disheveled, limp hair, a prickly beard, wearing shorts with zero sense of formality, dragging his slippers along. He casually waved at the students before sitting in the designated professor’s seat on the podium.
"Hey, already sitting down? Say a few words!"
Belya waved frantically to her assistants, who, a little confused, handed the amplification crystal to Aron.
Aron accepted it with a tired expression.
"Wasn’t this procedure unnecessary?"
"Aww, boring! You’re the MC, but I said to do whatever I want, right? Just do as I say!"
Belya, given control of the MC position, clearly intended to do things her way.
Aron let out a light sigh, picked up the crystal, and stood.
Everyone held their breath, waiting for his words.
"There’s nothing grand to say. One thing I want to make clear: if you don’t have resolve, don’t set foot in this field."
Simon blinked. This sounded familiar.
"Now that you’re second-years, you all know how tough the Summoning Department is. Crying, whining, blaming yourselves—that won’t be tolerated anymore. I am not your nanny. That’s all."
With that, Aron put down the amplification crystal and sat.
The back students murmured in slight confusion, while the front students merely smiled quietly. Simon did the same.
"Professor Aron still hasn’t changed!"
Next, the other departmental professors were announced one by one.
The professor for Spiritology was selected as Stacy Sezan, a middle-aged woman teaching the second class after defeating 'Umbra' in the first class. Simon felt a twinge of disappointment.
The result for Haematology was obvious. Because of the previous Blood Heaven Cult incident, Walter Han (i.e., Sillage Visabar) had died, so the back-class professor, Preston Patton, was promoted to second-year departmental professor. A tall elderly man.
No surprises for Toxicology either.
"Hahaha! I’m your departmental professor, you lot! Take care!!"
Belya, despite having faced boycott incidents and coming from the grasslands, earned the students’ recognition with two powerful tools: the "Darkness Poison System" and "Immune System", and thus became the second-year Toxicology professor.
Simon considered it a natural outcome.
From a distance, Claudia Menzes could be seen clapping with tears in her eyes.
"Next is Magical Combat!"
Belya glanced at her list and smirked.
"Ah, this result is too obvious, isn’t it?"
Known for 100% outdoor classes surrounded by nature, consistently ranking at the top for student satisfaction, classes are tough but rewarding, rivaling the popularity of Bahil from the Katarology department. Keyzen’s star professor, Hongpeng Tun Sokum Marlat, stepped onto the podium.
"Hello everyone!"
She waved both hands with a bright smile, prompting loud cheers from both second- and third-years.
"I’m so happy to spend this year training with all of you!"
She raised her voice.
"Necromancers must maintain a balance between discipline and physicality. If one side collapses, the other follows. I’ve opened intermediate Magical Combat courses not only for majors but also for non-majors among the second-years!"
She clasped her hands and smiled warmly.
"I hope you’ll all attend."
Her gaze rested on Simon in particular.
Waaahhhhh!
Receiving the loudest cheer and applause so far, Hongpeng sat down.
"Good job, my rude little brother."
Belya chuckled, turning her head.
"Next is Katarology… hmm."
Belya’s expression stiffened slightly as she checked her list. Then she spoke in a somewhat heavy tone.
"There is one announcement for the Katarology Department."
Superb.
When are we getting more free chapters?
Thanks for the new chapters
Very good story and translation but half the chapter aren't for free and it is wayyyy too expensive will it stat like tjis foreve or will it get free after some time