Kapitel 119: Chat

I sigh, massaging my temples as I try to wrap my mind around the situation. These two are frustrating, how the hell am I supposed to get them to piss off?

Raelle grins and takes another bite of the pizza, her eyes twinkling mischievously. "Hehe~ We're given special permissions, you know. There's no student that can escape our gras—"

But before she can continue her self-indulgent speech, Elith interrupts. "Ha, it was truly a spectacle. She bothered and begged Professor Ayla for over an hour without a single shred of shame." 'I don't know why she thinks so highly of him,' Elith thinks, rolling his eyes. 'Although his performance is somewhat good, I don't think he's the one.'

"You idiot!" Raelle hisses, covering Elith's mouth with her hand. "You promised to keep it a secret!" 'You idiot! you're not supposed to tell him that! Goddammit, I found someone capable of representing the freshmen, and you're over here ruining it! He can't think we're some sort of stalkers!' she thinks, her eyes narrowing.

I sigh again, my patience at its end. "Just why would you do such a thing? You must be some sort of stalker, right?" What the hell... hmmm, I can't think of any reason why she would do that... Wait, don't tell me she wants me to go to that damn ruin. Fuck, Isabella was the chosen one in the story, why did it change? Fuck, I don't like how things are playing out. Although this is a good opportunity, Isabella needs to head there.

"No, no, no! I promise that was not my intention," Raelle backpedals, standing up. "Listen, I think you're the best choice. Well, right now it's a tie between you and Seraphina, but I still haven't decided." 'V, you are the best choice, for crying out loud! Dammit, out of all the other freshmen, you're the most mature one. Shit, I really want to force a position onto you and have you work with me. If you can get Isadora to help us with some events, that would be amazing. Should I have brought a leash? There's no way I'm letting him go, I'll find a way to force him into the student council. I don't know why you want to hide from me, but I won't let you! I can't, all the talented individuals are unwilling to join the student council, I won't let it happen again.'

The room falls silent, save for the crackling of the forgotten buffalo wings in the bowl. It's an electric pause, the air thick with tension and the smell of lunchtime betrayal.

I finally break the silence. "Listen, both of you. I appreciate the, umm, compliment, but if you're going to invade my space and eat my food, at least give me something concrete. What's your end game here? What do you want?" These bastards, you gonna force me into doing something just cause you can? Go for it, I dare you, I won't let you get off that easily. Hmmm, I could actually use them to get rid of a certain cultist.

Raelle opens her mouth, probably to make another teasing comment, but I hold up a hand. "And for the love of all that is sacred, please be straightforward. You've already ruined my lunch; don't ruin my day."

For a split second, a flicker of seriousness replaces the mischief in Raelle's eyes, and Elith—still chewing on the buffalo wing—pauses to actually consider the weight of my words.

Elith sighs and lowers the chicken wing he's holding. "I apologize for eating some of your food... please excuse my question, but were you really planning on eating this huge dish and these dozens of chicken legs and wings by yourself?" 'There must be at least 4 dozen wings here. I know it's disrespectful to eat someone else's food, but there's no way he could finish all this, right?'

I click my tongue in annoyance. "I don't see ho—"

Raelle interrupts me, her head bowing apologetically. "I'm sorry, V! It just looked good, and I thought there was a lot, so I thought I could try it. Please don't get angry!" 'I'm so stupid! How could I have made such a mistake? I was just trying to be friendly, behaving like all the freshmen do. I can't lose another talent. The student council has lost so much influence to other student groups in the last couple of years. We're still in control but it's getting harder and harder to maintain our position. It's all about money now—those damn bastards bribing everyone with money money money and more money. I'm confident Seraphina will join us, but I can't let someone like V go. He'll be stuck with us until the end of the year once he joins, and maybe by then, I can convince him to stay another year.'

I sigh as I watch her earnest apology. This is new. Nobody has ever apologized this quickly. How am I supposed to react to this? Fuck, she's a tease by nature; I designed her that way. But this wasn't what I expected. What's her deal anyway? The student council will soon be merged with some other student group. Was it... ah, never mind. I don't feel like aiding her ego.'

I lean back, folding my arms. "I still don't understand why you'd eat my food. Do you think an apology is going to fix this?"

The room goes quiet for a second. All that can be heard is the ticking of the clock and the distant laughter of Flora passing by.

Elith finally swallows the last bite of his wing and tosses the bone into the empty bowl. "If apologies won't fix it, then what will?" 'Time to get to the point. We've made enough of a spectacle. Raelle has done so much for this academy and she never gets the respect she deserves, I hate seeing her like this.'

Raelle raises her head, meeting V's eyes. Her expression is serious now, stripped of all its earlier mischief. "We're here because we believe we can help each other. There is an annual event in which a group of students from each Academy branch are chosen. A recently found ruin will be the chosen site for this year's competition. Although there won't be any prizes, there is a slight chance you might find an artifact. You may keep anything you find, if you're worried about your safety please know that the ruin was inspected and there are only a couple of threats." 'Straightforward enough for you?'

My eyes narrow. Hmmm, Isabella needs to go there no matter what, even if I hate her, she is still an important character. And there's a cultist I can take care of by using them. This could be a two-birds-with-one-stone situation. As long as they don't bother me, I can join them for a short period of time, I should take advantage of this situation as much as possible.

I sigh, the weight of their offer hanging in the air. "I don't see how that would help me. There is no benefit in doing this. So what if there's a slight chance of finding an artifact? Even if an artifact is located in the ruin, what are the chances of coming across it myself? This would be a waste of time." Heh, let's see what you guys will offer me for my hard work~

Raelle leans forward, her eyes alight. "Hey, have some confidence... maybe you'll end up lucky and find some ancient artifact... I can give you the benefit of exiting and entering the academy whenever you wish. And I can also allow you to use the portal gate whenever you need it for free." 'Come on, V. I don't have much I can give you; I'm already using most of my allowance to help improve the student council. I'm desperate here, having you work with me would mean half of class A will join events under the student council.'

I rub my chin, my eyes narrowing slightly. Hmmm, that would be useful, but I can still milk them some more. Hehe, I'm not a saint~ You brought this upon yourselves. "Uughh, tsk... I don't know. Your offer isn't very tempting. If needed, I could just pay for the portal gate, I don't wish to involve myself with any unnecessary problems."

Raelle stands abruptly, her mouth opening as if to plead. "Plea—"

Elith's hand lands firmly on her shoulder, sitting her back down. "That's enough, Raelle. Let me speak." He runs his hand through his blond hair and sighs. 'V, you better be worth the investment. I'm putting my trust in you, Raelle. You've never let my expectations down. Since you see potential in him, I'll support your choice.'

From his bag, Elith produces a spirit stone. It gleams with a subtle light, promising untapped power. "I'll give you this. In return for joining the Student Council, I'll hand you a mid-grade spirit stone. You will not be forced into any conflict between other groups. Of course, you can choose to help us. However, you must help us during big events, especially when freshmen are needed."

My eyebrows shoot up, my eyes widening for a fraction of a second before I compose myself. A spirit stone? Are you for real!? What a jackpot! I can't say no to that. A mid-range one costs around 15 platinum coins. What should I use it for? There are so many options. Hehehe~ They are so hard to come by, and for one to appear before me, today is a good day~

Gingerly, almost as if suspecting a trick, I take the spirit stone and examine it closely. "I'll gladly take it, but do you realize what you're doing?"

Raelle's eyes widen, and she opens her mouth to interject. "T—that's not—"

Elith interrupts her, his gaze locked onto V's. "So, V. Do we have an agreement?"

The room falls into a silence once more, heavy with unspoken understandings and hidden agendas. The air is thick, and the clock seems to slow down, its ticking stretched into long moments of waiting.

Finally, I smile, my eyes glinting with a mixture of cunning and satisfaction. "Hahahaha. You are insane handing over a spirit stone like this. But since you're willing to invest a spirit stone into a nobody, I'm willing to help you."

Raelle falls to her knees, her laughter a mix of hysteria and relief. It swiftly turns into sobbing as her shoulders shake uncontrollably. "T-thank you so much, you have no idea how relieved I am. I was afraid I would lose all of Class A." 'Elith, thank you so much. That spirit stone was what you won in last year's championship. I'm so glad you haven't left my side yet. I'm always overworking you and you've never complained.'

I look at her with bemused confusion, then turn to Elith. "Is she alright? Why the hell is she sobbing? Is it because of the spirit stone? 'Cause I won't give it back anymore. No way, it's mine."

Elith exhales deeply, concern etched in his eyes as he watches Raelle. "I'm sure you're unaware since most people are, but Raelle is always stressed. It's been difficult for her to recruit new students." 'I just hope V appreciates the lengths we've gone to. I want to see the day when Raelle finally decides to quit being content with her achievements.'

I arch an eyebrow. "And why is that? Is no one interested?"

Elith approaches Raelle, handing her a holographic tablet, and then turns back to me. "Every benefit, new rule, and fun event added to the Academy in the last two years has been fought for and approved by Raelle. All the fame and respect she deserves was taken by Kuza. He has gained support by throwing money at everyone, and despite it being written on paper, students seem to believe Kuza is responsible for everything. Although by paper we are more influential and have more control than any other student group, our influence is constantly being broken down by Kuza. At this rate, it won't be long before we're forced to hand our positions over to Kuza."

A smirk blooms on my lips. Hahaha, this is better than I thought. Kuza is definitely one of the cultists. I did mention in the story that he used wrong and despicable means to gain influence. I guess this is one of them.

"Interesting," I muse aloud. "Very interesting indeed. It's tragic that someone's hard work goes unnoticed, don't you think?" I can't help but add a tinge of irony to my voice.