Chapter Chapter 103: (2/2)
“Stop it, it’s dangerous. Think about what will happen after the imperial festival!”
High society of the wives of nobility were always thirsty for fresh gosisp.
And a topic which was always a drought-breaking rain was the love affairs of our peers!
Countless rumours enter that place and come out grossly exaggerated.
Even if they are nothing more than false rumours, those rumours that spread discreetly could be fatal weaknesses for women.
Someone’s lover, or fiancee was actually meeting another man.
The moment those rumours began to circulate, whether those rumours were true or not, the man cannot afford to not take notice of them.
But… to say those things at the greatest event in the imperial calender?
And the president’s closest confidant, the vice-president saying these things, taken without context?
The validity of everything here is way too high!
I could already imagine the noble wives discussing this scene amongst each other.
“Sometimes… there are things a man must do even though he knows he may die in the process.”
“Sure that’s a cool line, but if know what’s being said then it isn’t cool at all! And the fact that we can actually get killed here makes it even scarier!”
If things went wrong here, the people mentioned just now might not be able to get engaged.
Although all their families were extremely influential so it might not matter as much, but they liked another man, and all five of them liked the same man to boot.
…Wait a second?
“There’s… There’s still one more!”
“Yes, there is. I have not said the names of all five!”
Just who else is he bringing into this?
All the famous beauties of Arucia, Marcis and Mercaria have all come out.
Since we were students of the same school, the name of a Yugrasia student couldn’t come out.
That meant that the only possibility was an external one…
“And finally… of the family that guards the borders of the empire, the youngest daughter of the Terecia family!”
“S, stop…”
Ignoring my face which was turning whiter by the second, the vice-president went and crossed the line he should never have stepped beyond.
‘We’re done for…’
He went and brought in a marquis family.
And a margrave at that!(1)
Why were the Ten Great Families called by that name?
It was because even among the high-ranking nobles, they worked very close to the imperial family, and their political influence was extremely powerful.
But not all of the noble families ranked marquis or higher were part of the Ten Great Families.
On the borders of the empire, there not very many, but nor were just a few, Houses that held the rank of marquis or higher, and among them, the margraves were the ones that protected the border.
Their political influence wasn’t anywhere near as powerful as the Ten Great Families, but their military prowess was at least as strong as Father’s, who was the commander of an army in his own right.
But Risen had gone and involved one of these families into this.
And a margrave House whose territory was suspiciously close to Pres’s own family!
“We’re done for…”
It felt like this imperial festival would be, for many different ways, a special moment in the history of the imperial festival.
There would probably be a lot of changes to the rules.
For example, regulations preventing blatant lies.
And something else I could guarantee.
Before those rules were even written down, we Yugrasia were completely and utterly doomed.
Unless Yugrasia was secretly harbouring a bastard child of the imperial family, or the rumoured secret lover of the imperial princess, nothing could stop Yugrasia from closing its doors!
-Aris, isn’t that a good thing?
-Huh?
But one sentence from the goddess overturned everything.
‘Hang on…?’
To sum up the situation.
[Vice-president’s lies = margrave, head of the Magic Tower, Foreign Affairs, assorted heads of various Count Houses all angered = Yugrasia closed down = no more need to meet with the silver devil from now on = hooray!]
-That’s our goddess! There was a reason you were called the goddess of wisdom!
-Ahem!
Even if the night study disappeared, there was no guarantee that the silver devil wouldn’t.
He could use the school rules to threaten us like before.
And therefore vice-pres’s actions was the perfect way to thoroughly root out the root of all our evils!
“Very good, vice-president. Just like this, keep it up!”
A still silence continued to hold.
One hundred people looked up towards the sky with dead eyes.
Anger, despair, anger, gloom, anger, lament, anger, regret, anger…
The fires of anger were swallowed up by the absurdity of what they had been told.
But the embers of rage did not die.
They simply hid themselves momentarily among different emotions.
But vice-president, was a specialist in pouring oil onto those emotions.
He was a talent that even Professor Nicerwin would keep a special eye on to teach him personally.
“You poor sops, who including me, have never got to meet a woman.”
A dark space filled with naught but despair.
They themselves may not know, but their blank faces were visibly dark and gloomy.
Because senior Reedan’s darkness elemental was casting darkness on the surroundings!
“Do you know why Nerkia betrayed us?”
In the middle of that dark space.
In a scene orchestrated by Reedan, our vice-president stood in the middle of a single beam of light with both arms raised high, and looked as he was receiving a divine oracle as he announced.
“If Arucia wins in this imperial festival, Nerkia will officially, with those five girls… become engaged to them.”
There was a lot one could retort to that announcement.
Why the hell would one demand an Arucia victory from the Yugrasia student council president.
Moreover, there were students from Marcis and Mercaria mixed in those ranks as well!
“Aah…”
But the ones who were already in despair could not think of that, and could only blindly stare up at Risen like the faithful receiving their god’s orders.
“I, do not want that to happen.”
“I… don’t… want… that… either…”
“Engagement with five beautiful girls…”
“And… marriage?”
One by one, reason began to restore itself to them.
But that reason was but a false rationality swallowed up by the emotion named anger.
“If there are any that wish judgement upon the traitor Nerkia… raise your hands and shout out loud!”
“Judgement!”
“Judgement upon the traitor!”
“May the curse of the silver devil come down on Nerkia!”
“Sentence him to death!”
I looked at the zealots howling to be the first to raise their hands in assent, and as I wondered whether or not I should deal with vice-pres for the future of the world, the vice-president took out a small book from his pocket.
“The way to sentence judgment down on Nerkia is written right here. And the that honourable role, is something only you can do! Only you can sentence judgement against Nerkia!”
“”””””Uwooooooooooooohh!””””””
“Huh?”
Everyone was fanatically howling.
But I, standing beside the vice-president, was horrified at something else entirely.
The words written on the battered old cover of that book.
It was…
[The Book of Summoning, Volume 12.
Author – Nicerwin Ain]
It was none other than the book that had sent shivers throughout the empire during our enrolment period, Professor Nicerwin’s legendary book.