Chapter: 11
As I lay in bed, effectively postponing my surveillance methods for the six troublemakers, I ended up dozing off. After the drudgery in the Ministry of Finance and the suffering in the carriage, resting alone in a room felt like a luxury. The bed wasn’t merely furniture; it was magic. And so, morning arrived on the second day of my academy dispatch.
Of course, waking up didn’t suddenly spark any brilliant ideas regarding my surveillance methods, so even after opening my eyes, my situation remained unchanged. I even briefly entertained the thought of marching boldly into one of the three nations and saying, “Hey, you all know who we are, right? So, how about letting this slide?”
Should I just act crazy and charge in?
But then, I’d probably end up minced to bits by the ministers, so I abandoned that idea. It would have been nice to have some guidelines to work with; something like this really should have had a precedent.
After scratching my head a few times in vain, I decided to head to the main building. Perhaps seeing how things were operating at the academy would trigger some inspiration? Plus, I should at least feign some semblance of oversight—after all, as the inspector, if I’m not inspecting, what’s my reason for being stationed at the academy?
As I entered the main building with a sense of duty, something pink caught my eye.
“What’s she doing here?”
I spotted a pink-haired girl, Louise, shuffling around with a seemingly lackluster gait. I thought classes were supposed to start soon—what’s with her being here?
“Louise.”
After a brief moment of hesitation, I called out to her. I had avoided her on the first day due to the pressure, but it would certainly make things easier to get chummy with her. The international nuisances were bound to flock to her anyway, so securing some rapport with her would simplify half the trouble. Luckily, I was just one step removed from her as the brother of her friend.
Now that I think about it, that’s not exactly reassuring. Erich, that fool.
Louise turned around at the sound of her name, and her face, previously drained of vigor, suddenly lit up as if she remembered me. She came running toward me and bowed her head. She’s genuinely a sweet kid.
“Mr. Carl, hello!”
Definitely a sweet girl. I nodded and glanced at the paper she was holding. Hmm, was that why she came all the way to the main building? I figured I should greet her with fake enthusiasm.
“Wow, it’s been just a day! What brings you here?”
“I’m trying to start a club. I was looking for a teacher willing to be our adviser.”
“A club?”
My eyes went back to the paper I had seen earlier. She was holding it so carefully—was it some sort of application? Sensing my gaze, she thrust the paper toward me and exclaimed, “This is the application!”
“No need to hand it to me directly…”
“Is it okay for me to look?”
“It’s fine!”
Well, if she’s okay with it, that’s all that matters. I was actually a little curious about what kind of club the protagonist would set up. It was a pastry club—a perfectly average choice. The reasoning behind starting it was to whip up snacks to soothe the weary souls of students stressed from their studies. Not a bad reason at all.
The club members included Louise Naird as the leader, naturally, the head of the club. Second was Erich Krasius, expectedly. And the last member was…
Wait, has the second one already been roped in?
The third prince, Ainter Livnoman. The moment I saw that name, I squeezed my eyes shut. I’d spotted him near Louise yesterday, so I had a hunch, but I hadn’t assumed he’d already become member number two. I wondered if there was already a third. Since he is the third prince, the answer likely leaned toward no.
With a mix of confusion and astonishment, I stared at Louise. It had only been a little over ten days since the semester began, and she’d instantly captivated someone she’s probably never met before in her life—the third prince, famous for his social prowess.
“That, uh, seems like a great club.”
I really didn’t have anything else to say, so I handed the application back. Yet even with my compliment, Louise only responded gloomily.
“But no one wants to be our adviser….”
Of course, that’s expected.
Who in their right mind would agree to be in charge of a club that includes a prince? With a sprinkle of luck, one might win favor with the prince, but any slight misstep? Who knows what trouble could come knocking next? It’s like betting your life on a gacha game with hidden odds.
Still, this didn’t really faze me. I’d dealt with royalty a few times; I was already desensitized to the presence of the third prince. Besides, I was here to keep an eye on them, not be intimidated by who I was meant to watch.
An adviser, huh?
I needed a good excuse to get close to those important figures. If Louise was the one to start the club, it would naturally attract people, and I could just keep my focus on managing it. I needed to confirm whether I could actually fulfill an advisory role; I should check that with the Principal later.
I reassured Louise she’d find someone soon and sent her on her way.
Of course, no one would appear until someone was picked as the sacrificial lamb.
I thought it would be best if I stepped in before that unfortunate soul emerged. Louise could create her club; the teachers got to dodge a bullet, and I could keep things rolling comfortably. Sounds like a win-win situation for everyone, right?
“An adviser?”
The Principal reacted as if I had just delivered the most shocking news imaginable. I totally get it—I never thought I’d sign up to be the adviser for a club at the academy either.
“Is that even possible?”
“Well, I’m not sure. It hasn’t been done before…”
The Principal stroked his beard, wearing a troubled expression. It’s no surprise it hasn’t happened before. If it had, I would’ve been the one to jump out of my skin. What kind of fool would try to become a club adviser while wearing the inspector’s badge? Particularly when I was genuinely that fool; it’s quite embarrassing.
But since he realized that none of the teachers wanted anything to do with the third prince, plus the fact that I was requesting this as an inspector, he thought it over for a bit and finally nodded.
“I’ll check the conditions. If there’s a possibility, I’ll let you know.”
“I’m sorry for putting you in this position, Principal.”
“Haha. It’s okay.”
Surprisingly, the solution came within an hour. The vice-principal, who was sweating more than a sinner in church, was the one to find it.
“According to the authority of the inspector, it states that an inspector can be involved in academy operations. Essentially, it’s power granted just in case, like when illegal funds come into play.”
The vice-principal brought out a thin book and began his explanation. The crux of it was this: the inspector could interfere in academy operations, which included club activities.
“To be honest, this is a bit of a convenient interpretation. Still, since there’s no clause expressly prohibiting the inspector’s involvement in clubs, we could argue this.”
“That seems like a stretch. Do you think that’s okay?”
“If it’s not this, we have no other options.”
The vice-principal shot me a look that almost seemed to say, “Didn’t you say you wanted to be a club adviser?” Right, that was me…
In the end, we decided to proceed with his suggested method. Admittedly, it was a pretty self-serving interpretation, but frankly, we were left without any better solution.
I also asked the Principal to subtly gauge the influence of the three nations stationed at the academy. The fact that I was already a target of their worries as the inspector surely made them cautionary. Though I felt a bit bad for using the Principal like a pawn, it was all for the greater good. Surely, he’d understand.
Fortunately, their replies were rather stable.
“Our kingdom respects the authority of the Empire and shall not interfere so long as it remains in accordance with goodwill.”
“As long as the inspector’s actions don’t transcend his authority, we leave the matter to the Empire.”
“God cherishes diligence as virtue.”
Sequentially, these were the replies from the Armein Kingdom, the United Yuben Alliance Kingdom, and the Holy Dominion. Considering that the inspector was already a given at the academy, it seemed they were opting to avoid conflict to handle more pressing matters later. There was not much for them to gain by intolerable refusal.
It’d be more prudent to step back, creating an opportunity to remind the Empire of this situation should a mischievous interpretation crop up from the three kingdoms in the future. Not a flawed strategy by any stretch.
“If they’d known their important figures would join the club, they’d have fought me tooth and nail.”
Currently, there were three members in the club, all from the Empire. However, soon, dignitaries from Armein, Yuben, and the Holy Dominion would likely enroll. One could only imagine how frantic their forces would become by then.
“Regrettably…”
No matter how central their forces were to protect their key players, they are fundamentally just pitiful beings rolling about as told by those above them. A wave of empathic feelings washed over me, and I shut my eyes involuntarily, uneasy about placing someone else in a bad spot like me.
But what can I do? My first priority is to make it out alive. Worrying about others is a luxury only afforded if I have the bandwidth for it. If they feel the pinch, they can go summon a vessel from another world. If they can find one.
In the end, my role as the adviser to the “Pastry Club” was approved amid agreeable nods from everyone. At lunchtime, I approached Louise, who was still searching for an adviser, to inform her that I would be taking on that role. Her eyes went wide, and she broke into a bright smile, which was adorable. After being stuck with a gloomy younger brother, it felt nice to look at her as if she were my little sister.
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