“Johann, can’t I talk to Rue?”
“Well, I think you should ask Rue that. Rue, can Millia communicate telepathically?”
[Um… I’m having some trouble. Strange.]
“What, what?!”
Did you just talk to Viola? I chuckled at Viola’s startled expression as she looked around.
[It works fine with Viola, though?]
“Uncle, there’s a strange woman’s voice in my head!”
[I’m not strange!]
It just doesn’t work with Millia… is that it?
Is it because Millia isn’t a normal living being? Maybe she’s being treated as some sort of undead. Of course, that’s not true at this point since she’s on the receiving end of Karina’s sacred power…
So, can Millia be unaffected by the outsider’s mental corruption?
Even if she isn’t affected by mental corruption, it doesn’t mean she has any power, so she can’t really do anything… but at least she could manage some mental care. I tucked the newly discovered information into the back of my mind.
“That’s Rue’s voice.”
“Uh, um. What should I say? It’s not like she’s cursing, but it’s subtly different from what I imagined.”
[Huh? What’s different?]
“Looking at the visuals, it looks like a book made by a demon. I thought the main voice would sound much more sinister.”
[That’s not true! I’m not an evil book!]
An evil book, huh. But wasn’t this supposed to be a one-on-one conversation? Why can I hear it too? I thought it was a one-on-one chat, but maybe it’s just because there’s only one person connected?
Anyway, Rue, now being called an evil book, drooped her tentacles and looked dejected.
“Sorry, sorry! I just found it a bit fascinating.”
[Hmph.]
“I’ll buy you something delicious later—”
[Hmm, then the generous me can forgive you…]
What a simple-minded creature.
What about that looks like a magic book created by outsiders? For something so ferocious in origin, it’s kind of cute. Then again, maybe the outsiders are actually peaceful folks, and the mental corruption is the real problem.
Except for the brains behind it, of course.
“Let’s establish some simple hand signals. If Rue taps her thigh once, it means something is happening nearby, so be cautious. Twice means to be on high alert. Three times means… run away immediately. Got it?”
“Yeah! I’ll remember!”
“Then take care.”
“Got it!”
“Uncle, I’m leaving too.”
“I’m going as well…”
“Alright. You both take care.”
The three of them exited the huge door of Yeomyeong-gwan and set off to the academy. I stared blankly at their retreating figures before turning around at the sound of someone calling me, and found Sif looking at me.
“Remember today’s the day we check on the items we ordered?”
“Oh right, it’s already that time.”
“Are you going right away?”
“Since I’m out, I might as well. You seem ready as well…”
She was already all dressed up. Looking into Sif’s eyes, now fully dressed in warm-looking outerwear, I noticed her suddenly avert her gaze and ask.
“…Does it not suit me?”
“No, it looks great. You look like a fairy.”
“…Hehe.”
A pleasant weight pressed against my right arm. I playfully scratched Sif’s chin, and she let out a pleased sound, lifting her chin like a cat.
Is a cat still a cat?
I set off with Sif to Dern’s guild.
—————-
“Millia, is your speech prepared?”
“I’m still writing it!”
‘This is hard…’
Noticing that Millia’s expression showed her struggle to write her speech, Sion poked her cheek encouragingly.
“You’ll do well! You study really well, right? Just don’t overthink it; just think about what you want to say and what you want to do for the students!”
“Hmm, but it’s harder than I thought…”
There was so much she wanted to say, but she needed to trim some of it down. This was the hardest part for Millia. She had so many things she wished to express.
But she couldn’t just keep worrying without acting. Millia groaned and began to write with her pen. As she started to scribble, her friends naturally gathered around her, concerned.
“Are you writing a speech?”
“Just listening is giving me a headache.”
“What was last year’s speech like?”
“I think it was a mess for our department. Wasn’t it just about how the liberal arts department was improving or whatever? Everyone just ended up sleeping.”
“Ugh, I remember that. It was the first time I found a lecture on the empire’s history more boring.”
“Millia, at least it should be more interesting, right? You’re definitely prettier than the glasses-wearing seniors, so it should be nice to look at. Your voice is pretty too. Even if you write something rougher than last year, there should be plenty of people who will vote for you!”
“What about Perinne and Mimosa?”
“Perinne is a given. But Mimosa… well, I’m not a fan of her.”
As soon as Leo heard Mimosa’s name, he grimaced. The surrounding friends nodded in agreement, and the topic shifted towards Mimosa.
“There are some real blockheads in the theology department, but Mimosa is even worse.”
“Those magic department folks are so ruthless. It was nerve-wracking; my heart was racing.”
“It was funny how she kept staring at the saintess without approaching her.”
“…Is she doing something to Millia?”
When someone mentioned that, Leo waved his hands in denial. Surely, someone who was supposed to be a representative from the theology department wouldn’t do anything like that.
“No way. They’re running as candidates for student council president, so would they stir up trouble? Even if they have a reputation as idiots, they wouldn’t cause a major incident. Besides, remember how badly they were beaten by Sir Quartz last semester? They got really quiet afterwards, didn’t they?”
“No matter how strong Sir Quartz is, 300 to 1 odds leave you speechless… I’ve never seen them look so gloomy.”
‘Ugh, what should I write?’
Millia let the friends’ chatter go in one ear and out the other as she diligently jotted down her speech in her notebook.
‘Dear students? That feels too insincere.’
Somehow, saying that makes me feel like my credibility drops significantly right at the start. Millia crossed that line out with her pen and pondered over the opening line again.
‘Hi friends! That might not be suitable for a speech, right?’
Crossing that out again, she spun the pen in her hand. As her pen spun smoothly to complete a rotation, it landed perfectly in her grasp.
‘Nice to meet you! Calon Academy students! That feels like I’m looking down at everyone from above!’
“Ugh…”
“Is Millia having a hard time?”
“Yeah. The opening line is harder than I thought…”
“The opening line doesn’t have to be that important.”
“Can’t we just use something like dear students? The main point is the body, not the introduction.”
“Hmm, it feels like it’ll drastically lower the credibility.”
“That’s true.”
“It also seems a bit hypocritical.”
Other students agreed with Millia’s opinion. It was overly politically sounding. It seemed easily misinterpreted as pompous, and it didn’t fit Millia’s vibrant image at all.
After everyone wracked their brains together, Karin suddenly spoke up like she had a good idea.
“Why don’t you just say it honestly? Millia has wanted to become the student council president for a long time. Just lay it all out there. Something like, ‘I stand here to become the student council president!’”
“Oh, that’s not bad.”
“Actually, I think it’ll work better like that. Let’s face it; we’re not politicians, we’re students. Is there a need to make it complicated?”
“Exactly. The current student council president also had a very simple speech. It was something like, ‘If you elect me, I’ll work hard,’ right?”
“It was super short. The previous candidate spoke for so long that it was a welcome contrast. That’s why I voted for the current student council president.”
“Me too.”
“Me too. It was the only not boring speech I heard.”
“More accurately, it ended right before it got boring.”
“So Millia, don’t overthink it. Just honestly share why you want to be student council president and what you’ll do if elected.
You don’t need fancy wording. We’re not voting for a student council president to hear that stuff, are we?”
“…Thanks, Karin.”
“It’s nothing. I borrow your notes all the time, so I should at least do this much.”
“Wait, is that why Karin’s grades went up…?”
“Millia takes notes really well!”
“What! Me too! Let me borrow them too!”
“Sion, I’m writing a speech right now, so later, okay?”
“Ah… sorry.”
Smiling at the now-silent Sion, Millia picked up her pen again, feeling much more relaxed than before.
Somehow, she felt like she finally knew how to write it.
Millia began to write the sentences with an uplifted spirit.
‘From the moment I transferred to this academy, I wanted to be the student council president.’
A sincere and honest speech, uniquely hers.
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