‘What does it mean to be the student council president to me?’
“It’s both a goal and a means. The reason I want to be the student council president is…”
Millia paused for a moment and surveyed the crowd. Looking at her friends cheering her on one by one, she opened her mouth again to continue her speech.
“…to become friends with all of you here. Of course, some people might think it’s strange. But, as we entered this Academy, we all came in with personal goals, right?
I just came here with such a goal.”
Millia closed her mouth at that point and observed the reactions around her. Though her words might seem a bit odd for a speech, people were listening to her with interest.
Perhaps it drew attention precisely because it wasn’t typical speech.
Taking a deep breath, Millia immediately resumed her speech.
“That’s why I want to be friends with all of you. I want to be a student council president who is always by your side, whether you’re happy or sad. I want to be a student council president who listens to your stories and empathizes with you, not one who looks down from above.”
Millia turned to make eye contact with each student looking at her.
Cheering students, curious students, students tilting their heads. All kinds of people were focused on Millia’s speech. She smiled and opened her mouth again.
“If you have worries, please speak up. If you have suggestions, feel free to come see me. Being friends means that.
I don’t want to look down at you from atop my title as student council president; I want to find and solve issues from the same eye level as you.”
Isn’t that what being friends is all about?
Looking not from above, but from the side, sharing the same view.
Thinking of Karina and Johann, who weren’t here, Millia brushed through her speech notes with her hand.
“For instance, the crack on the wall of the old Liberal Arts Department on the 1st Floor, or remodeling unused spaces like the basement of the Theology Department into clubs or lounges, or really personal issues are totally fine too.
For example… relationship advice? Concerns about a friend you’ve grown distant from are perfectly alright too. Academic worries are good too. Because we are friends. Sometimes personal worries can feel more serious than anything else, right?”
Hmm, am I doing well?
Having never written or delivered a speech before, Millia couldn’t be too sure. Still, the fact she was continuing her speech was probably because the students were all looking at her.
She kept reading her speech, trying her best not to lose her smile.
“I will be a friend by your side, not above you, so if you could spare me your precious vote to become friends, I would be grateful.”
She raised her gaze. The minute hand of the clock had moved quite a bit.
Her eardrums were buzzing maddeningly from the continuous applause.
Millia lowered her gaze and glanced at the waiting room. What did Mimosa say right before she went out?
“I hope Karina doesn’t feel too restricted by the title of Saint.”
Tradition is good, but should it be forced to the point of ignoring individual will?
After finishing her speech, as the applause started to die down, Millia opened her mouth again.
“Thank you for listening up till now. Finally, if I may add one last thing… since this time traditions have been broken in one way or another, I think it’s also okay to throw away the old traditions.
I don’t think it’s good to impose the undeniable responsibility of being the student council president just because of being a Saint… So please remember, that a Saint is also a student like us.”
It was a blatant rebuttal to Mimosa’s statement, but no one contradicted her.
Naturally, many people were against Mimosa’s actions of preaching about the Saint and traditions when she was asked to give a speech.
The Theology Department students were somewhat restless, but under William’s leadership, they gradually quieted down. Considering it’s not strange to think that it was odd to simply give the position of student council president via ‘vote’.
Millia turned her eyes to the chilling gaze piercing her cheek. There, Mimosa with a twisted face, staring at her as if she were looking at the enemy’s murderer.
“Millia…”
After the professor signaled that five minutes had passed, Millia smiled brightly and bowed.
“Then friends! I’ll be heading back now!”
With a bright smile that didn’t quite match the heavy occasion of the student council election, Millia exited the podium to the cheers of her classmates.
Naturally, Millia had no choice but to bump into Mimosa, who was standing on the way to the waiting room.
“…You really say some interesting things.”
“…Ignoring Karina’s feelings and acting on your own is not something one should do.”
“How disrespectful…”
A gaze mixed with anger and hatred. However, Millia did not avoid her gaze. She wasn’t someone who would be intimidated by the stare of such a mad one.
When Millia stared back at her, Mimosa felt her reason break.
“Karina is not someone you can treat recklessly while talking about traditions. If you really care for the ‘Saint’… just stay quiet.”
“Quit being such a heretic!”
Huh?
Millia’s vision spun in confusion.
Her body, having been pushed, collapsed, and her limbs flailed. A reflexive reaction to being suddenly shoved.
Dizzy.
And… amid the spinning vision, she saw the horrified faces of her classmates.
Without realizing it, Millia squeezed her eyes shut.
“Mimosa! What the hell are you doing! You, yo, you’re killing…!”
“No, I’m just…!”
In an instant, she found herself in a situation where she was branded as a heinous murderer who has slit the throat of a fellow student. Millia couldn’t figure out what to do in this awkward situation.
If this goes on, I might be treated like a dead person! I don’t want that!
But wouldn’t jumping up now cause an even worse issue?
All the efforts she’d built up until now would come crumbling down.
Friendships, grades, and memories.
She wanted to avoid such a situation, but… Millia couldn’t gauge how to break through this predicament.
What would Johann have done?
“I, I didn’t! I just pushed her…!”
What would Johann, who had first brought her out into the world, have done?
If Johann were in my position… in her half-closed eyes, she caught a glimpse of Mimosa’s disgruntled face, filled with grievance over the murder accusation.
After all, being accused of murder was not quite right.
Millia didn’t like her, but framing someone was another matter.
Shaking off her fear of being disliked, Millia slowly raised herself.
“Is my body… moving?”
“This… this is a surprise or something, isn’t it? There’s no blood…”
Millia stood on the stage. A headless body.
Everyone’s eyes widened at the impossible sight. Millia trudged, picked up her head, and placed it back on her neck.
“W-w-w-wait…”
Gazing into the horrified eyes, Millia naturally took the podium and looked at her classmates.
“Not human!”
“Monster… monster! It’s because you babbled such blasphemous words that you’ve become a monster!”
Mimosa’s cry echoed through the auditorium. With her one utterance, the gazes surrounding Millia filled with distrust and wariness.
Millia smiled sadly.
“I didn’t want my secret to be revealed like this…”
“What on earth is happening?”
The one who first regained composure among the crowd was Principal Merlin, who questioned Millia. Even he, despite seeing it with his own eyes, had a disbelieving expression.
“As you see…”
“Was it all an act until now?”
“I’ve never acted.”
“…Then that’s good.”
“Huh?”
“No matter what your identity is, you are one of my students.”
“How could a student who studies so diligently be a bad student? Ha ha…”
Professor Galeon smiled warmly as he defended Millia. After all, she was a student who sparkled her eyes even during classes others found dull and asked questions multiple times in a day.
He could never believe that Millia, even if not human, could be a monster.
“Professor…”
“Don’t cry. It’s not over yet. You need to explain this to your friends too.”
“Professor! How can you protect such a monster?!”
“A monster…”
As Mimosa’s shout stirred a commotion among the students once more.
The Principal backed a monster?
A look of disbelief washed over the students as they stared at Principal Merlin, bewildered. Millia clutched her wildly beating heart and opened her mouth.
“Everyone…”
“Why is the monster here?”
“Shouldn’t we hunt it down immediately?”
“Has it been watching us secretly until now?”
“A spy sent by the demons?”
A torrent of unfounded assumptions and misunderstandings sparked in real-time. Millia’s eyes shook.
Am I a monster?
For the first time, she questioned herself.
Her heart drowned in sorrow.
“Millia’s a monster! What nonsense is this! Millia is the kind one who often lends me her notes!”
“That’s certainly… an act…”
“What kind of monster would help couples get together!”
“Exactly!”
“Millia is a kind friend!”
“That’s right!”
“I’ve never seen Millia do anything bad! Have you?!”
Students who were friends with Millia began to push back against the swift change in mood. In an unexpected formation of public opinion, the atmosphere in the auditorium split in two.
Those who believed Millia should be hunted down as a monster and those who said that can’t be right.
Millia gazed at her friends, who stood up for her, moved by the fact they were there for her.
“Guys…”
“What does it matter if she’s a monster or not! As long as she does her job well, she’s still our friend!”
“I told you, she’s been deceived by the demons!”
“Have you ever seen a cute monster like her!”
“Millia can’t perform such acts!”
The rift grew deeper among the students. Desperate to stop this situation, Millia leaned forward and opened her mouth.
“Um—”
“What’s happening right now?”
A beautiful voice echoed through the auditorium.
In an instant, the heated atmosphere in the auditorium cooled.
Karina glared at the students with a rarely fierce gaze. The students, under her fierce glare, couldn’t speak and hurriedly exchanged glances.
As the auditorium fell silent, Karina quietly walked forward, stepping onto the stage. Upon her appearance, the agitated Mimosa cried out.
“Saint! This girl is an evil monster! We need to hunt her down immediately…!”
“Shut your mouth.”
With that single retort laced with anger, Mimosa’s pale face went silent.
“Karina…”
“Who says Millia is a monster?”
“B-but… her head…”
“Millia is merely a poor child cursed by evil beings.”
That wouldn’t work on an ordinary person, but the one speaking was the Saint. A testimony from the Saint was weightier than any words.
At her words, the distrust and fear filling the auditorium dissipated in an instant.
“Has Millia ever done anything wrong? Millia studies diligently, makes friends, and has actively prepared for the student council election. Whatever she is, does that even matter?”
No one dared to rebut Karina’s claim.
In this unprecedented situation, no one’s mind could keep up.
To have a monster supported by the Saint. It was an entirely unexpected development.
“Such an interesting story you’re telling.”
“Johann!”
Millia instinctively shouted at the familiar voice infiltrating her ears.
The Crow Hunter.
No, now called the Demon Hunter, Johann frowned and regarded the students. Students flinched and avoided eye contact every time he locked gazes with them.
His stare was uncommonly intense.
“What does it matter whether Millia’s head detaches or not? Are the ‘elites’ gathered from all over the continent really going to judge someone by their appearance? It’s absurd.”
The atmosphere tilted the other way. There were no longer suspicious stares at Millia. After all, how could there be any opposition when the continent’s hero and the Saint were on her side?
Tears welling up in her eyes, Millia looked at Johann, quickly wiped her tears with her sleeve, and banged on the podium.
The wooden podium produced a sharp noise in the auditorium.
Naturally, all eyes turned toward Millia.
Millia took a few deep breaths, and after her heart calmed down, she opened her mouth.
“I… want to be your friend just as I have until now and in the future!”
Short, but a heartfelt statement.
“…Please, I ask for your pure vote.”
Millia embraced her overwhelmed heart and stepped down from the stage.
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