Chapter 22 : Social Committee

There’s a rumor that when an Academy student causes trouble, a Disciplinary Committee meeting is held. I really liked that story.

The reason it’s in the past tense… is because now that I’ve experienced it myself, I can’t exactly say it’s enjoyable.

At the heart of the Academy grounds stands an almost abandoned student council building.

Unlike the place near the fissure in some isolated corner, this building is small, poorly maintained, and messy.

After a long time, people gathered here again, all thanks to Seria blowing up the cafeteria ceiling, prompting a Disciplinary Committee meeting.

Since this incident involved the student cafeteria, which everyone uses, the response was surprisingly swift.

Of course, it probably also had something to do with the fact that the person involved was a princess and a member of the student council, but still, having a Disciplinary Committee meeting organized in just a couple of hours was unprecedented.

And so, five people gathered here today.

First, the protagonist of this incident, Seria.

The student council president, Alkine, who was in charge of leading the meeting and rendering judgment.

The vice president, Diggers, who seemed to have just tagged along.

Teacher Reina, playing the role of the committee supervisor.

And lastly… me, the student council secretary.

It was a lineup that made my heart sink. What kind of Disciplinary Committee was this? At this point, it felt more like a casual student council meeting.

In fact, the atmosphere was far from that of a formal disciplinary committee.

“Ahaha! In all my years working as an Academy staff member, I’ve seen people destroy training grounds, but you’re the first to blow up a cafeteria! That’s impressive!”

“Please don’t tease me…”

Still, one good thing was that Seria wasn’t trying to shift the blame onto me for what happened.

By the way, the reason the student council was handling this instead of the disciplinary committee was simple: there was no disciplinary committee.

If you had enough strength to serve on a disciplinary committee, the Academy would rather have you help the student council conquer fissures or something like that. Makes sense, right?

Anyway, the mood was so lighthearted that even Alkine, who usually approached matters seriously, let out a dry laugh.

“Alright then… we’ll now proceed with the Disciplinary Committee regarding the destruction of Academy property.”

After that, things became boring.

It was all just formalities, like reading from a script, leaving no room for any enjoyment.

As the secretary, I diligently recorded everything and organized the details, but the meeting, which dragged on tediously, ultimately boiled down to a single sentence:

• “Using offensive magic in the student cafeteria was a serious mistake. However, since no one was injured and there was no significant collateral damage, Seria is sentenced to one week of on-campus community service.”

Case closed. Bang, bang, bang.

Considering she’s a princess, a week of community service seemed like a lot. I thought they’d just make her write a reflective essay or something.

Since there were many witnesses, they likely couldn’t avoid imposing a visible punishment.

Seria accepted the outcome without much complaint.

“Rudion, you’ll help me, right?”

“Why should I share your punishment?”

“Because you’re partly responsible too.”

I thought she had accepted it, but the moment the meeting ended, she started saying that again.

At this point, I started questioning if I had really done anything wrong. No matter how hard I thought, I hadn’t done anything.

When I firmly refused, she pouted visibly.

“You helped Lilith, so why won’t you help me?”

“That’s different. Helping her was about self-improvement, whereas you’re being punished for doing something wrong.”

“Then how about this? I’ll help Lilith too, and in return, you can use the energy you save by helping me. Deal?”

Good grief. I was so dumbfounded that I couldn’t even respond. She wasn’t like this before—how did it come to this?

Still, it felt better than her original cold personality, where she would keep her mouth shut and avoid interacting with anyone.

Back in the day, she’d snap at anyone who tried to talk to her. Now, seeing her ask for help so openly, I couldn’t help but feel a little softhearted.

Seria helping Lilith with her training could have its benefits too.

Lilith, despite being a brawler, relied heavily on magic as a saintess. Seria’s magical knowledge would undoubtedly be a great help to her.

The more I thought about it, the less inclined I felt to refuse. At this point, I was practically searching for reasons to say yes. In situations like these, the reason doesn’t matter—it’s the decision that counts.

“Fine, fine. I’ll help you since I don’t have anything else to do anyway.”

“Really?! Thank you, Rudion!”

She lunged at me in delight.

Why is she wasting the dramatic hug scene from the final boss battle here?

Though it felt like something was off, the embrace from a beauty made it seem not so important.

Afterward, I headed to the ceiling-less student cafeteria with Seria.

The others had either already eaten dinner or had other things to do.

I wasn’t particularly hungry since I had a late lunch, but if I didn’t eat now, I knew I’d get hungry at night, so I reluctantly decided to eat.

It’s not that I have anything against eating late at night, but the concept of a midnight snack practically doesn’t exist at the Academy.

The cafeteria doesn’t operate at night, and it’s the only place to eat on campus. If you really want something, you’d have to leave the Academy and explore the night markets, but that’s against school rules.

While I might bend the rules for something urgent, breaking them just because I’m hungry? Not worth it.

So, to avoid any late-night cravings, I arrived at the cafeteria. At the entrance, there was a board I hadn’t seen before.

It read, “Even without a ceiling, our cafeteria operates as usual!” The sign featured a cute character drawing that looked unmistakably like Seria. It was clearly targeting her.

I wondered what kind of nerve someone had to mock a princess, but then I remembered who managed the cafeteria, and it all made sense.

I decided to tease her about it.

Pointing at the board, I called out, “Hey, Seria, check out this cute drawing. Isn’t that you?”

“Are you saying I’m cute? Hehe, thanks.”

“Wow, now you can’t even understand sarcasm.”

Something really seems off about her. What happened to the girl who could pick up on even the faintest sound like an auditory genius?

I’m starting to wonder if the original story and its setting compendium even matter anymore.

I gave up teasing Seria and stepped inside the cafeteria, which was crowded with people gathered for dinner.

With all the noise, I couldn’t make out what they were saying, but they were probably talking about why the ceiling was gone.

I had worried it might be dark since the ceiling lights were gone along with the ceiling, but fortunately, some excellent friends with light magic had managed to handle it with “Light” spells.

Thanks to that, we were able to enjoy a meal while gazing at the sky, adding a touch of ambiance.

Seria barely touched her food, claiming she wasn’t very hungry, so I ended up eating most of it.

Seriously, if she wasn’t going to eat, why did she even come?

I trudged through the food, which was deserving of a five-star review, only to realize that even the best food becomes tiring when forced down.

On the way back to the dormitory, I reflected on this and more.

The sun had already set, but thanks to the lighting fixtures scattered around, it wasn’t too dark.

As we walked, Seria spoke lightly.

“You’ve had a busy day, haven’t you?”

Seria had heard about everything that happened with the student council.

Technically, I had casually mentioned it during dinner.

“You have no idea. The moment I hit the bed, I’ll probably pass out.”

Between the entrance ceremony, watching Reina’s grand brawl, agreeing to help Lilith with her training, saving the student council from near destruction, and then dealing with Seria blowing up the ceiling and the subsequent disciplinary meeting—it had been a lot for one day.

No wonder I was exhausted.

“You look completely wiped out. But don’t just fall asleep like that. Wash up properly before bed.”

“Ugh, isn’t there a spell to take care of that?”

“There is a spell for that, but it doesn’t feel quite the same. I’d recommend just washing up.”

Of course, there is. I wasn’t even surprised anymore.

Practical magic for everyday life probably wasn’t implemented because it wasn’t essential for the story’s progression.

Since using it feels unsatisfactory anyway, I decided I’d just stick to a proper shower for the refreshment it brings.

Chatting about trivial things, we soon reached the point where we had to part ways.

The boys’ dormitory and the girls’ dormitory were located in completely different areas, so we had to split paths.

I turned to say goodbye to Seria, but she showed no signs of leaving my side.

In fact, she’d just walked past the path leading to the girls’ dormitory. What’s going on?

As I wondered, Seria called my name.

“Rudion.”

The lighting wasn’t great, so I couldn’t see her face clearly, but I could tell she wasn’t looking directly at me.

I wondered what dramatic thing she was about to say, but her words were surprisingly mundane.

“Tomorrow… or rather, from now on, why don’t we walk back together like this?”

It didn’t seem like a big deal—just walking together and parting ways when our schedules aligned.

Considering we’d likely attend the same lectures and work on her community service together, it would happen naturally anyway.

“I was planning on it, to be honest.”

“…You always answer so lightly. Never mind. See you tomorrow, Rudion.”

Her reaction was peculiar, but if I had to analyze it, it seemed positive, so I decided not to dwell on it.

Under the dim sky, I watched Seria’s figure grow smaller as she walked away, and I finally felt the day coming to an end.

‘It’s been exhausting, but at least everything ended without too much trouble.’

That thought brought a faint smile to my face.

Still, I hoped tomorrow—or for a while, really—would be uneventful. This was too much.

…Not that I could expect that, now that I was entangled with the main characters.

Oh well, what’s done is done.

After returning to the dormitory, I forced myself to shower.

The bed looked so tempting, but I remembered what Seria had said and couldn’t bring myself to skip it.

Once I finally lay down, I fell asleep instantly without another thought.

The next morning, I woke up to find my room larger than before.

“What the hell?”

It wasn’t that my room had gotten bigger—it was that the walls were gone, connecting my room to the one next door.

What the hell, give me my walls back!