After exchanging silent bows with Ciel, Freya looked at me with a cold gaze and asked,“Loen, what brings you here?”Thick hostility bled through her chilly voice. I could roughly guess why.She probably thought I’d come to watch her struggle after rejecting my proposal.I let out a small sigh and opened my mouth.“What do you mean, what brings me—I'm also one of the Sports Festival executive committee members. I came to check whether preparations are proceeding well.”When I showed the nameplate hanging from my neck, Freya quietly clenched her fist.“A visit to check, is it…… It seems you’ve come to watch me flounder because I couldn’t fully prepare the Sports Festival.”“What a thing to say. How do you see me. And in the first place, it was your side that refused my proposal, so you should accept at least that much.”“…….”I hadn’t come with such a base intention, but even if I had, this was a price Freya deserved to bear.Freya twitched her eyebrow for a moment, then sighed and spoke.“No, even had I accepted your proposal, the situation wouldn’t have changed. If anything, it would have gotten worse.”“Worse?”“Yes. There’s no way you could easily procure what we couldn’t obtain at the academy level. In the end, it would have turned into a situation where I exercised my voting rights in the wrong place without receiving proper support from you. I simply couldn’t bring myself to accept such an uncertain proposal.”“……You refused my proposal over such mere conjecture?”“Yes, but I do not regret my choice.”She bit her lip with a resolute expression.It didn’t seem good for either of us to discuss this any further.“Fine, leave it. Let’s stop there.”I hadn’t come to engage in a fruitless argument with Freya.I visited to inspect the Sports Festival preparation process.I looked around and asked,“Did you secure the canopies for the stands? Where did the planned folding chairs and desks go? I don’t see them.”The Grand Stadium had tiered stands like walls enclosing its perimeter.When hosting the Sports Festival, canopies are needed to cover those stands, but there were none at a size matching the inter-level gaps, so a custom order was necessary.Of course, the items Freya ordered couldn’t arrive due to merchant-guild circumstances.At my question, Freya lightly bit her lower lip and said,“……We couldn’t secure them. Instead, we rushed to procure mats and decided to distribute them by group.”“Mats on concrete. That’ll be rough on the backside. Ah, of course I’ll be provided a chair?”“…….”The faint tsk I heard as Freya slightly turned her head must have been my imagination.I shaded my eyes with my hand and looked up at the sky.“Besides, it may still be spring, but the sunlight is strong. It’ll be hard for students to sit for hours without shade.”“……At high noon when the sun is strong, they’ll rest at the all-weather training ground where there’s shade. And anyway, around that time people will disperse to nearby restaurant streets for lunch.”“I see.”If there are no teeth, use gums.Compared to the initial plan it felt meager, but it seemed she had put together countermeasures of a sort.“The designated seats for faculty and outside guests will be placed near the command platform.”“…….”I swept my gaze around the Grand Stadium, organizing in my head from which side to bring in what, where, and how much to place.'A few days ago, through Bellatea’s merchant ship, the supplies to be used for the Sports Festival arrived.'Since then, they’ve been unloaded, cleared customs, and now they’re checking for defects and assembling the canopies.If assembly finishes today, installation will only be possible tomorrow.Unavoidably, we can only supply the items on the very day of the Sports Festival.'It’ll draw some aggro, but it can’t be helped.'It’s a tight process barely matching the schedule, but as long as installation is finished before the opening ceremony, it’ll be fine.We’ll garner considerable attention in the process, but that much we must accept.No, rather, it could be seen as a good opportunity to let the students see my trouble and effort.Having finished my thoughts, I slowly parted my lips.“Freya.”“What is it?”“If, not as a condition of trade but purely as goodwill, I were to help host the Sports Festival, would you accept it?”“……?”Freya tilted her head as if asking what I was suddenly saying.But soon she nodded with a complicated expression.“I don’t know exactly what your intent is, but if it’s pure goodwill, it’s always welcome. I’d borrow even a cat’s paw right now.”At Freya’s frank answer, I smiled slightly and nodded.“Good, then look forward to tomorrow. A gift you’ll find pleasing enough will arrive.”***A late night shrouded in black clouds without a speck of moonlight.Rustle-.Several shadows used the cover of night to stand in the warehouse district at the harbor.After checking for signs of people as they surveyed their surroundings, they exchanged glances and carefully headed somewhere.As with any royalty, Jeremy also possessed a personal direct unit called “Shadows.”To put it nicely, they were a group that conducted classified operations—like infiltrating enemy territory under orders from above to carry out intelligence missions, or eliminating traitors without loose ends.To put it badly…… they were hounds that handled all sorts of dirty work out of sight.The mission given to them today was to raid a certain merchant guild’s warehouse.The Bellatea Merchant Guild, a guild specializing in spice distribution.The order was to burn all goods stored inside.And not only that—the order included using this “item” to deal massive damage to that guild.“…….”Mora, the Shadows’ operations captain.He quietly gripped the glass bottle he’d received from Jeremy.Within the bottle, a jet-black crystal exuded black energy like heat haze.And beside him slumped a prisoner from Alakat, bound and limp.If they turned him into a Demon and incited uncontrollable chaos in the area, then escaped safely, the mission would be complete.'It’s not something you’d call honorable, but.'Shadows must neither judge nor doubt orders from above.They simply move as their master commands and intends. That is the very duty of Shadows.As Mora briefly contemplated this operation, one member who had gone to reconnoiter the area returned and reported.“Captain, the warehouse guards have been subdued.”“Good. We go inside.”Rustle-.At Mora’s command, just as the Shadows were about to enter the warehouse in perfect coordination—Swoosh-.“!”A mysterious mana was felt from over there.In an instant, a chill ran down his spine, and he felt as if his whole body were being constricted.'D-dangerous.'He had waded through countless hellscapes performing innumerable missions, but this was the first time he’d felt such a foreboding sensation.Sensing something was off, Mora called his members to a halt.“Wait……!”But it was already too late to stop them.“Bang-.”A clear voice rang out from somewhere. And—Thud-.With a grotesque fleshy sound, a subordinate walking beside him simply vanished.“……?”Like being hit by a mana cannon’s bombardment, he left not even a shape behind—just red fragments scattered across the ground.In the blink of an eye, before they could even grasp anything, one member died instantly.“…….”Even assassins honed by countless drills froze on the spot at the unreality of the sight.Operations Captain Mora also stood rooted, blankly staring at the blood-soaked floor, then fixed his gaze on the darkness from which the voice had come.A moment later—Click-clack-. Click-clack-.With the sharp sound of high heels ringing through the warehouse, a woman emerged, parting the darkness.Red eyes glowing ominously beneath the overcast night sky.Skin pale as a corpse and black hair flowing like silk.A beauty who seemed like she’d steal your soul if you stared, dazed.At the same time, a being that seemed the very embodiment of “ill omen” opened her mouth.“I thought I smelled fresh blood~ What a lucky find on my walk.”“…….”When she flicked her finger, the glass bottle Mora had been clutching tightly slipped out on its own.The glass bottle floated up lightly, flew through the air, and was sucked straight into her hand.“……!”And the red blood and flesh scattered on the ground vanished like melting snow the moment they touched her shadow.A surreal sight, unbelievable even as you watched it.Blankly observing, Mora asked in a trembling voice,“W-who…… are you?”“What will you do knowing? You’ll soon be a pool of blood.”At the woman’s words, Mora looked at the bloodstains left on the floor and swallowed.Gulp-.“Still~ since I’m in a good mood today, I’ll tell you as a special favor.”Sweeping the black hair over her shoulder back, she tilted her head slightly, her red eyes flashing.“You humans call me this. A name that must not be spoken…… one of the Twelve Honored Ones. No, was it the Twelve Disciples of the Demon God?”“……!”The Twelve Venerables of the Demon God.Not the disciples of an enlightened seeker who attained nirvana in the past, but humanity’s twelve betrayers who borrowed only that name.A host of darkness moving to break the covenant the First Emperor made with the divine.To run into such a mythical being of all places, here.What misfortune—what mockery of fate—was this.That being of darkness spoke again.“I’ll put your blood and this item to uses far more fun and useful~ so don’t be too upset.”Sliiide-.From the darkness, she slowly raised her hand.A fist extended forward, index finger raised, thumb pointed up.“Then bye-bye~”Bang-.Along with her bizarre hand gesture, a wave of blood-scent crashed over them.Thud-.With an unpleasant fleshy sound, his world disappeared.***Dawn of the next day.Even if it was the Sports Festival, my morning routine didn’t differ much.“Hoo.”Throwing the window wide open, I sat cross-legged and absorbed the energies of great nature and mana through my breathing.Thanks to steadily continuing mana breathing, my Mana stat was increasing slowly but surely.I also did a light morning workout.Thanks to the artifact that assists Strength increase, the pose was ridiculous, but the effect was certain.And one thing added to the morning routine—Work to raise the synchronization rate of Bell’s Mana Orb absorbed into my body.If I simply fire a few Fire Bolts into the wall, my mana gets depleted, and afterward the synchronization rate rises slightly.Conversion efficiency is abysmal for now, but time will solve that problem.Lastly, I summon Kavelthar’s egg and tap the shell to check that the thing is fine—then the morning routine ends.Sometimes, when I tap it, it sounds as if a growl comes from within the shell.It hasn’t hatched yet, but I suspect its temper won’t be very mild.After finishing my morning routine and taking a light shower, by the time I came out Ciel had already arrived for work, ironed my clothes, and prepared tea.Seated, I first unfolded and read the letter on the table.“…….”Information that there had been an incident around the warehouse at Stella Harbor last night.No casualties on the merchant-guild side, but they’re investigating the circumstances for now. And—“Preparation is finished.”News that assembly of the items to be used for the Sports Festival was done, and they were waiting for loading and delivery.Ciel spoke.“All that’s left now is for you to make your entrance, in grand style along with the goods.”“Not that I intended it that way.”I shrugged.I hadn’t known Freya would reject my proposal, and I hadn’t anticipated the prepared quantity would only barely be ready on the very day of the Sports Festival.It was the result of coincidences piling up, but now all that remained was to bring Freya her gift before today’s opening ceremony.“Let’s head out.”Flutter-.Donning my school uniform jacket and straightening my clothes, I left the Student Council President’s Office °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° with Ciel.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.