The Magic Academy's Physicist-Chapter 41: The Storm-beckoning Student Council

I was fully ready to be an asshole.

Everything was going as it should. I’d occasionally hear someone in the school call me a crazy bitch after smashing the Prince’s head with the horizontal plane of my staff; however, there were no legal actions taken or anything. Because the Campus Duel was something that took place within the confines of the law.

The Prince and I had both agreed upon the duel based on chivalry. There was no cause for the Imperial court to demand compensation for damages, and everything was covered by insurance, too.

With the end of the legitimate, disciplinary correction, there were two things I had to do. The first was to constantly observe Vermel’s face and estimate when the next incident would occur, and the other was to advance the development of Flare.

It was time for the morning meeting. The weekend was over yet the Prince didn’t show.

Now Professor Hasfeldt was the only one giving me hot stares.

Hasfeldt’s face grew darker by the day. There were shadows under her eyes and her hair looked like it’d crackle when touched. It wasn’t the appearance of someone who was eating or doing well.

I knew what resulted in that kind of face. There were only three things one needed to do in order to produce this specific look.

First, drink a liter of instant coffee daily.

Second. Wash your face no more than three times per day.

Third. Spend over eight hours a day in an enclosed space. Then that was the look you got.

[How do you know that, Master?]

Exactly.

“... Those are all the announcements for this morning.”

Professor Hasfeldt left the room as if she was being chased.

“Do you know why the teacher’s like that?”

“I don’t know. She’s been looking exhausted lately.”

[Maybe she’s researching Flare on the side?]

There was a good chance. Hasfeldt was the kind of person who worked graduate students like a dog for the sake of her research, after all. Maybe she got a decent slave without my knowledge and was enjoying some research confinement play.

“Come to think of it, Lotte, you’re the TA for Fire Magic. How’s that going?”

“With the exception of a few extra errands, it isn’t that bad.”

Yeah, Lotte would probably be handling it. She had a burning passion for studies so she’d probably work without much complaint under Hasfeldt. Lotte was honest about expressing her feelings so she’d mention it if she was really having a hard time.

I should just let it be until then. More importantly, there was something I needed to do right now.

I waited for morning class to be over.

**

April was coming. There weren’t any more cold fronts that could be found in the Empire except for the north.

The campus was about to bloom into a field of flowers. Many varieties of seed-dispersing trees and flowers started to color the Academy in seven hues. When walking along the school grounds, one could catch sight of inconspicuous couples who were rubbing it in while knowing that dating was forbidden on campus.

Indeed, was that what they called more than friends, less than lovers? Not that it really mattered.

What actually mattered was the thing going on at the central square. Around this time, the seniors would show up near the fountain and set up something.

They were the club booths.

School life wasn’t complete without club activities. It was the time that students could do something on their own initiative apart from the teacher. In one country’s high school in the other world, it had long since become a means to fill out one’s student record. However....

This was the Academy. Even though they were clubs, they were fully funded by the school which allowed for many activities.

There were two main categories of clubs. A hobbyist club categorized by arts or recreation, or academic clubs voluntarily formed by students for further learning. My interest, of course, lied with the academic clubs.

After lunch, I looked around the many booths in the central square with Lotte and Freyr. Lotte seemed like she had the same intentions as me.

“It’d be nice to join one where I could experiment and research as much as I wanted.”

Someone would be appalled at hearing that. A first year who was already joining a club related to academics? Totally a geek.

As for me, I needed to join one for the sake of researching Flare but that wasn’t the case for Lotte. The first year of school was a valuable period for a student as it was the only time that they could play as much as they wanted, experience some failures, and grow.

Lotte was kicking that opportunity to the curb and sharing my intentions. It was sad in some ways but from my perspective, it was jackpot.

This chapt𝓮r is updat𝒆d by ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom.

Phweet! Phweet! Phweet!

“Would anyone like to enter the Student Council!”

There was a familiar voice coming from a large booth some distance from the fountain. It was Shadiel, the daughter of the Duke of Argana’s family. She was the head of the disciplinary committee of this school.

So the student council promoted themselves, too. Not that I was interested....

“You there, Golden-Eyed girl!”

Oh god, please.

“Me?”

I absently pointed to myself and asked. Senior Shadiel nodded and came down from the platform.

“I’ve heard tales that the Golden-Eyed are intelligent. Is that true?”

“It is! Aether’s an absolute genius! She could recite the numbers of pi up to 62.8 trillion decimals!”

Before I could say anything, Freyr jumped in. I knocked her on the head. Yelping “Ouch!”, Freyr readjusted her wide-brimmed witch hat and glared at me.

So what?

“Then you’d be confident at memorizing and speed-reading, right?”

“W-why?”

I got a bad feeling.

Thup, hands landed on both my shoulders. With sparkling eyes, Shadiel made a suggestion.

“Then you’d be perfect as the Student Council’s scribe or accountant!”

“... Excuse me?”

“Follow me for a minute. I’ll let you see for yourself what kind of place the Student Council is!”

“I.... have no thoughts of joining the Student Council.”

“You might change your mind once you get a tour. Alright, then, let me borrow you for a moment!”

Shadiel grabbed me by the wrist and took me to the opposite building where there was a concentration of classrooms.

“I really don’t have any intentions to enter the Student Council!”

“Forget it! The Student Council has absolute authority so you can’t refuse! Hehe!”

As I kept letting out dumbfounded noises, Lotte and Freyr waved at me and spoke.

It was something like ‘see you soon’ but I didn’t really catch it because they were soon far away.

And just like that, I was unexpectedly dragged up to the third year classrooms to get a tour of how the disciplinary committee worked.

Fucking hell.

**

There were numerous clubs at Tilette Academy.

Most were either for recreational or academic research purposes, but there were a select few that were neither. Out of those, there were ones like the newspaper or broadcasting club which helped students enjoy an abundant school life.

And one such club of that nature... was not really what it was, but rather a larger self-governing body within the school. That was the Student Council.

The disciplinary committee, which was under the umbrella of the Student Council, made daily patrols through the school for the sake of cultivating an academic atmosphere, committed to keeping school morals. They maintained strict standards, which could be seen from how I had been called out for reading while walking.

Phweet! Phweet! Phweet!

It was... not the sound of a loud whistle. Using Air Magic to produce a similar sound, three people with bands burst into a classroom full of male students. I followed after them quietly.

“This is a random inspection! Over there, what are you all looking at?”

Shadiel, who had her arms crossed, brushed down her already-neat hair and walked up to the group.

Inspections conducted by the Student Council were supported by the chairman so it was basically impossible to refuse cooperation. The students let out groans of the ‘we’re fucked’ variety.

Not long after, Shadiel confiscated a book from them and returned to where we were.

“What is it?”

“It seems to be a novel....”

As the committee members asked questions from either side, Shadiel let out a hum. Her spirited emerald-colored eyes fell on the book. I stuck out my head amongst the three people and looked over the book’s title.

[6974]

─ George Oill

What the fuck.

“I can’t tell from the title alone. What is this book about?”

At Shadiel’s question, one student answered while scratching his head. He rolled his eyes this way and that, exuding uneasiness.

“It’s a dystopian novel about a depressing future.... that, uh, is famous for its philosophical content.......”

The student was stopped at this point by his friends who were nearby. It was an act that had Shadiel’s eyes narrowing.

It was a thick book, around 700 pages long. It was lighter than the hardcover I carried but it wasn’t a length to be ignored. At least, it would be hard to read the whole thing on the spot and make a decision.

As if Shadiel thought the same, she looked at me and spoke.

“Aether, you try reading it.”

I tilted my head.

“Me?”

“Are not the Golden-Eyed known for speed-reading? The committee is always busy. A perverted comic is one thing, but we don’t have enough time to read a few pages of a book to decide if it’s an erotic novel.”

“Uh, what’s your criteria for an erotic novel?”

“They aren’t all considered erotic stories for having sexual descriptions. We don’t prohibit it if it has deep literary value. The committee only prohibits things that disrupt the studious atmosphere of the Academy through chasing primal pleasures.”

Ah, I see. Is that so.

So, they were wanting me to be a porn reader? The Student Council of this school must be crazy, asking this of a student who was forced to accompany them.

“Please.”

Shadiel handed me the book as she said it.

As I looked in front of me, the guys’ reactions weren’t so good. It felt like I was seeing cows that were about to get slaughtered at a slaughterhouse.

If one received disciplinary action from the committee, it left a mark on their student register for the rest of their life. Level of punishment aside, the reason for it would be recorded in huge print.

It was obvious what would happen if they got punished for reading erotica. It’d be like jotting down ‘This student has been caught by the teacher while reading inappropriate novels’ in terms of student records.

I let out a sigh.

‘They’d let me leave if I do as the head of the committee asked, right?’ was my thought as I looked at the first page.

─ It was a bright cold day in April, and that thing vibrated thirteen times.1

As soon as I read the first sentence, I raised my head and looked at the students. About ten pairs of eyes trembled intensely. They were like radios trying to match the resonance frequency.

I rapidly flipped through the pages and moved my eyes diligently. The committee members who were watching exclaimed how fast I was.

The words were starting to blur yet I had no issues with understanding the overall context. This was what I got for being in a Golden-Eyed’s body....

Shhhliff,the pages quickly turned. The closer I got to the end of the story, the students’ faces sank with anguish and despair.

Tap.

“Hmmm.”

“What was it about? Does it qualify as an erotic novel?”

“If you’re wanting to know the storyline, there wasn’t much to it. I did find some literary value in the last scene where it showed the emotional castration of the female lead from the male lead’s point of view.”

“You didn’t see any problematic scenes, then, correct?”

“Yes, there weren’t any.”

Probably.

“Is that so? Then you can return it to them.”

I held out the book to the student who was at the very front.

“Senior Shadiel, is it really alright to not check it ourselves?”

“If that’s what the Golden-Eyed is saying, then it should be fine. I’ve heard that they’re a race who don’t really lie.”

“Mmm, if you say so....”

“Anyway, lunch will be over soon. Thank you for accompanying us, Miss Aether. If you’re interested in Student Council duties, please come find our booth again.”

Like that, the three turned around and left the classroom. I saw the band for the Student Council on their shoulders and thought how hard it must be. I wasn’t going to go there.

“Whew.... thought we were fucked.”

“You insane fucker! Why would you bring porn to school? Do you not want to get hired?!”

“You guys were the ones begging to see it!”

I retreated while these senior students argued and blamed each other, needing to go and get ready for the afternoon class.

It seemed like I would have to go join the club in the afternoon. That was a waste of time.

Just as I was leaving the classroom, two of the students kept bowing their heads in gratitude.

Well.... I guess it wasn’t completely a waste since it saved a few lives.

“I don’t really know you, but thanks a lot, Junior.”

“Well, it happens.”

There needn’t be many words between men. I gave a thumbs up and let that speak for me.

The students were a bit dumbfounded by it, then returned the gesture in the end.

“Have a good day.”

We nodded at each other. Afterwards, I pretty much ran out of the third year class.

Man, how tiring. Why is it so friggin’ hard to research Flare?

1. Parody of the first line of George Orwell's 1984"It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen."