Chapter 99
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Translator: Kell Editor: Weasalopes
League’s Time to Shine
Hikaru finally met League the day before Claude’s departure to Jarazack – eleven days before the Foundation Anniversary .
「Hikaru, please read this before the ceremony begins . 」
League showed up at his house alone early in the morning and handed him a bunch of papers .
「What’s this?」
「The bylaws of the student alliance . I think I covered almost everything, but it’s my first time drafting something like this, so I might’ve missed something . 」
「This is right up Catherine’s alley . 」
「I know . It’d be great if you went over it with her . 」
「I see . Better not to get in touch with her directly . 」
「Yes . I apologize if I offended you, but I don’t think of you as a mere messenger . I want you to read it as well . 」
「I’m just an amateur . 」Hikaru shrugged .
「But you have a way of seeing things that we don’t . 」
「You’re giving me too much credit . 」
「I always knew you were special from the start . By the way, I heard the news about Zubura, Kirihal, and Kotobi . It seems you put in quite the effort . 」
That was indeed true for Kirihal and Kotobi . Since then, the Alchemy King kept sending a bunch of letters, and Hikaru had to answer every single one of them . He could give information about the relics in Zubura, but most of the questions were about magic items . Roland’s knowledge was limited as well . He couldn’t confidently say he was contributing to their research .
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「How’s Claude doing?」League’s expression turned serious .
「He can win five out of ten fights against Professor Mikhail . 」
「What?」
「He’s now almost as strong as Professor Mikhail . 」
The day after Claude defeated the Ludancia professors, he and Mikhail fought each other several times a day . Claude made remarkable progress . At first he was way behind in terms of power and speed, but as of yesterday they were almost evenly matched . Hikaru did casually put points on his Strength and Power Burst, however .
「That means we’ll have a chance with Jarazack’s boss . 」
League looked relieved . Out of the four votes they were trying to get, Jarazack’s was the most uncertain . Kirihal’s vote – persuading the queen – was just as uncertain, but Hikaru managed to settle that one early .
Claude was departing for Jarazack tomorrow . He would talk to the boss and the latter would probably agree to a one-on-one fight . Hikaru most likely wouldn’t know the results until the actual ceremony, which Alexis himself was going to attend . So Claude trained until the last minute, at least just in time before the boss left Jarazack .
「How are things on your end?」Hikaru asked . 「I was thinking of letting you play your part during the meeting . 」
「There’s much pressure on me, but I somehow manage . I just have to bear with it until the event . I’m leaving Scholarzard today and going home to Rumania . 」
「Sounds like you’re busy . 」
「Yeah . I need to be prepared since I’m going with my father . So what is it you want me to do?」
「I need you to speak up during the meeting . 」
「What should I talk about?」
「Rumania will object to the creation of the student alliance . Strongly . 」
「Oh…」
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Hikaru’s plan was as follows: The moment Zubura made the proposal, League would object before anyone else could . He would make it look like he was really against it . Then Silvester would refute him . Basically they would argue back and forth and as much as possible, without anyone else butting in .
「If you draw the argument long enough until it’s time to vote, we win . But we don’t know what Ludancia and Euroba will do . They could mention something that can overturn Kirihal and Kotobi’s decision . 」
According to Catherine, outrageous dissenting opinions in the past had lasting effects . There had been plenty of matters brought up that were rejected . Hikaru wasn’t aware of this, but it served as proof of his worries .
「So you want me to control the flow of the discussion so nothing devastating happens . 」
「You’re smart, all right . 」
「Very well . I’ll do it . 」
Hikaru thought League was the only one who could do something like that . As Rumania’s next leader, if he stated his opinion, most people wouldn’t say a word .
「Thank you, Hikaru . 」
「For what?」
「You knew I couldn’t do much for the alliance right now, so you prepared the biggest stage for me . 」
「I have no idea what you mean . 」
「You really don’t want other people giving you credit, huh? I will never forget this . 」
「Say that after the alliance is actually established . 」
「Okay, then . I’ll wait until then . 」
Then League left .
「I guess it’s too obvious, huh? Well, he’s a smart guy . 」
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While the student alliance was League’s idea, he couldn’t really make a move . And that weighed heavy on the young man’s mind . Unfortunately, if he did something, it might draw the attention of his nation and soon enough they would find out about the alliance . If that happened, the alliance could be shut down even before the ceremony .
The students had to make sure that the formation of this organization would be a surprise . They would then get four votes . Until then no one else could know about any of this . It was their only path to success .
「I’m sure League can handle it . 」
Hikaru arrived in front of Building C where Claude and Mikhail trained . They would draw attention at the actual training grounds, so they mostly fought here, a place that the academy practically abandoned .
「Are you nervous?」Hikaru asked Claude .
Claude was the only one around today . Ivan was busy getting ready for the trip back to Jarazack with Claude and Luka . Bringing Luka would involve the risk of drawing Ludancia’s attention, but Ivan insisted that to convince the boss, they had to bring her with them .
「Not really, strangely enough . I never thought I’d get this strong . I always wished to get stronger, you know . 」
「You must be happy . 」
「Hmm, I suppose . I’m happy not for myself, but because I can protect Luka now . 」Claude gave a smile .
「Bragging about your love life?」
「Hahaha . Luka’s the best . Thanks, Hikaru . 」
「For what?」
「I thought getting married to Luka was impossible unless we left Forestia . But it’s not like we hate this place . 」
Hikaru heaved an exasperated sigh . Here we go again, thanking me before we even succeeded .
「Please stop saying that . You can thank me when everything’s over, okay? You’re setting up a flag . 」
「A flag?」Claude asked, when Mikhail arrived at an incredible speed .
「Claude! Oh, Hikaru! You’re here too! Perfect timing . 」
「What’s wrong?」
The professor wore an unusual look that Hikaru couldn’t even joke around with him .
「Sorry, but we’re cancelling today’s fight . 」
Something bad must’ve happened, Hikaru thought .
「What happened?」
「I told you about the monster hunt, right?」
「Yeah . The one where adventurers set out to the border . 」
「Apparently the team that went there suffered a catastrophic blow . 」
「Catastrophic… Did they fail?」
「Simply put, yes . An emergency request has been issued requesting skilled adventurers to head to the site . 」
Mikhail paused to moisten his lips .
「The place is overflowing with monsters . At this rate, Forestia could be on high alert soon . Damn it . There’s only ten days before the ceremony . It might even get cancelled . 」
Cancel the ceremony . That meant the meeting would be cancelled, and the subsequent postponement of the proposal to create a student alliance until after winter – the season of politics, when no one knew what would happen .
Claude simply stood there, staring blankly .
「Please tell me more, Professor . 」Hikaru said .