Half an hour later, a group of 8 people was in the student assembly’s office.
Gerald and two eblors were seated in the center of the room, with Harold Weber, the representative of the student assembly, seated across them, and teacher Sol leaning against a wall behind them with her eyes closed.
Jazmine and I plus a member of the student assembly named Alex were also in the room. Alex was the person in charge of showing the celers around.
Right now, Harold had his elbows on the desk as he crossed his hands and used them to hold his chin.
“So, can anyone explain this mess to me? I’m quite sure fights between students are strictly forbidden unless it’s part of the curriculum or you are following the dueling rules.”
“Don’t look at us.” One of the celers, a hairless human-like being with whitish skin and eyes completely black shrugged his shoulders. “He was the one who attacked us. We should be considered the victims here.”
Harold frowned and looked at Gerald.
“What do you have to say, Gerald?”
“I had challenged him to a battle.”
“But I refused him.” The celer stated coldly. “I don’t remember being forced to accept every time you humans want to fight us. Or am I mistaken?”
“… You are not.” Harold hesitated briefly before nodding.
“Then, is it not our right to defend ourselves if we are attacked?”
“It is.” Harold closed his eyes with a complex expression. “I apologize. Don’t worry, I will give you a reasonable explanation.”
“I hope so.” The celer nodded expressionlessly. “We know that humans dislike us, Mr. Representative, and honestly, we don’t like them that much either, so we understand if they show hostility toward us. But I hope something like this doesn’t happen again. Otherwise, we will bring this to the united government.”
After saying that, the two celers stood up and left the office without bothering to glance at the rest of the people in it.
“Arrogant pricks,” Jazmine muttered while clicking her tongue. I could not help but smile bitterly seeing that.
Once the celers were gone, Harold let out a long sigh.
“Gerald, what were you thinking?”
“… I’m sorry, Mr. Representative.”
“Do you think an apology is enough?” Harold’s voice was ice-cold. “Get out. The academy has already announced your punishment. You will be suspended for two weeks and your achievement score for this semester will be reduced to zero. Also, a warning will be put on your record. If something like this happens again, the academy will consider expulsion.”
“But–”
“No buts.” Teacher Sol opened her eyes and interrupted him. “Consider yourself lucky that Jazmine stopped the battle before someone was injured, or the punishment wouldn’t be this small.”
Gerald bit his lips with a frustrated expression while gripping the arm of his chair until it creaked. Eventually, he took a deep breath and forced himself to nod.
“I understand.”
He then stood up and left the office while gritting his teeth with his head lowered.
Teacher Sol sighed while watching him go.
“Poor boy. He usually is not so rash. It looks like his defeat against the celer boy affected him a lot.”
“That is not an excuse for violating the rules.” Gerald’s voice was indifferent. “But he is not the only one in the wrong here. You also made a mistake, Alex.”
The other member of the student assembly in the office lowered his head.
“Jazmine, can you remind him what his duties were?”
“Showing the celers around the campus and making sure to stop any ill-intentioned party from approaching them.”
“Correct. Now, Alex, can you explain to me why you just watched while Gerald attacked the celers?”
“… I’m sorry, Mr. Representative.”
Harold stared at him for several seconds before shaking his head in disappointment.
“I understand your dislike for the celers. I don’t like them either. But as a member of the student assembly, we must put our feelings aside when it’s needed, and you were unable to do that.”
“…”
“So you will just stay silent, huh? Fine by me. You don’t need to come here tomorrow.”
The student clenched his fist and nodded, leaving the room.
“Don’t you think you are being a bit harsh?” Teacher Sol asked.
“The student assembly enjoys a lot of privileges, but it also has a lot of responsibilities. If he can’t fulfill his responsibilities, then he doesn’t deserve to enjoy the privileges either.”
“As serious as always.” Teacher Sol smiled wryly.
I opened my mouth at that moment.
“By the way, can I ask why I am here?”
Harold smiled.
“Sorry about that, Jane. I showed you something unpleasing.”
“Don’t worry, I understand. It looks like you have your share of problems.”
“I do.” Harold smiled bitterly. “I don’t understand what the institute was thinking when they agreed to this stupid exchange program, but it has made our job a lot more difficult. Alex was the third member of the student assembly I dismissed for misbehavior toward the celers and eblors.”
I was speechless.
Well, the relationship between humans and foreign races is very bad. This is not that unexpected.
“But fortunately, there is you.” Harold suddenly stared at me with a hot gaze.
“… I don’t like where this is going.”
“Jane, what do you think about joining the student assembly?”
I was startled.
Furrowing my brows, I considered the representative's proposal, quickly grasping his intention.
“You want to put me in charge of the celers?”
“Not just the celers, the eblors too.” Harold nodded. “Last time you did an excellent job showing the eblors around. Despite the… slight incident at the end, everything else went smoothly. Moreover, the eblors seemed satisfied with you. I'm ashamed to say this, but even if we take into account the attempt of suicide that the eblors witnessed, your performance was the best, so I think that perhaps you are the most appropriate for this job.”
... How bad were the others then?
I was at a loss for words.
But after a brief silence, I started to seriously consider Harold's proposal.
Normally, I would have refused, but it’s a bit complicated this time.
Firstly, I know that my mother will benefit if this exchange program goes smoothly. Even if I dislike the idea of being close to the celers and eblors, I don’t mind doing it if it helps her.
Plus, being part of the student assembly has a few perks.
Just like allowing me to keep an eye on certain students without raising suspicions.
It could make discovering the whereabouts of the fragment much easier.
‘What do you think, demon?’ I asked in my mind.
[If you think the pros and greater than the cons, then you should agree.]
I closed my eyes and considered everything again.
When I opened them, I had already made my choice.
“I’ll do it.”
Half an hour later, a group of 8 people was in the student assembly’s office.
Gerald and two eblors were seated in the center of the room, with Harold Weber, the representative of the student assembly, seated across them, and teacher Sol leaning against a wall behind them with her eyes closed.
Jazmine and I plus a member of the student assembly named Alex were also in the room. Alex was the person in charge of showing the celers around.
Right now, Harold had his elbows on the desk as he crossed his hands and used them to hold his chin.
“So, can anyone explain this mess to me? I’m quite sure fights between students are strictly forbidden unless it’s part of the curriculum or you are following the dueling rules.”
“Don’t look at us.” One of the celers, a hairless human-like being with whitish skin and eyes completely black shrugged his shoulders. “He was the one who attacked us. We should be considered the victims here.”
Harold frowned and looked at Gerald.
“What do you have to say, Gerald?”
“I had challenged him to a battle.”
“But I refused him.” The celer stated coldly. “I don’t remember being forced to accept every time you humans want to fight us. Or am I mistaken?”
“… You are not.” Harold hesitated briefly before nodding.
“Then, is it not our right to defend ourselves if we are attacked?”
“It is.” Harold closed his eyes with a complex expression. “I apologize. Don’t worry, I will give you a reasonable explanation.”
“I hope so.” The celer nodded expressionlessly. “We know that humans dislike us, Mr. Representative, and honestly, we don’t like them that much either, so we understand if they show hostility toward us. But I hope something like this doesn’t happen again. Otherwise, we will bring this to the united government.”
After saying that, the two celers stood up and left the office without bothering to glance at the rest of the people in it.
“Arrogant pricks,” Jazmine muttered while clicking her tongue. I could not help but smile bitterly seeing that.
Once the celers were gone, Harold let out a long sigh.
“Gerald, what were you thinking?”
“… I’m sorry, Mr. Representative.”
“Do you think an apology is enough?” Harold’s voice was ice-cold. “Get out. The academy has already announced your punishment. You will be suspended for two weeks and your achievement score for this semester will be reduced to zero. Also, a warning will be put on your record. If something like this happens again, the academy will consider expulsion.”
“But–”
“No buts.” Teacher Sol opened her eyes and interrupted him. “Consider yourself lucky that Jazmine stopped the battle before someone was injured, or the punishment wouldn’t be this small.”
Gerald bit his lips with a frustrated expression while gripping the arm of his chair until it creaked. Eventually, he took a deep breath and forced himself to nod.
“I understand.”
He then stood up and left the office while gritting his teeth with his head lowered.
Teacher Sol sighed while watching him go.
“Poor boy. He usually is not so rash. It looks like his defeat against the celer boy affected him a lot.”
“That is not an excuse for violating the rules.” Gerald’s voice was indifferent. “But he is not the only one in the wrong here. You also made a mistake, Alex.”
The other member of the student assembly in the office lowered his head.
“Jazmine, can you remind him what his duties were?”
“Showing the celers around the campus and making sure to stop any ill-intentioned party from approaching them.”
“Correct. Now, Alex, can you explain to me why you just watched while Gerald attacked the celers?”
“… I’m sorry, Mr. Representative.”
Harold stared at him for several seconds before shaking his head in disappointment.
“I understand your dislike for the celers. I don’t like them either. But as a member of the student assembly, we must put our feelings aside when it’s needed, and you were unable to do that.”
“…”
“So you will just stay silent, huh? Fine by me. You don’t need to come here tomorrow.”
The student clenched his fist and nodded, leaving the room.
“Don’t you think you are being a bit harsh?” Teacher Sol asked.
“The student assembly enjoys a lot of privileges, but it also has a lot of responsibilities. If he can’t fulfill his responsibilities, then he doesn’t deserve to enjoy the privileges either.”
“As serious as always.” Teacher Sol smiled wryly.
I opened my mouth at that moment.
“By the way, can I ask why I am here?”
Harold smiled.
“Sorry about that, Jane. I showed you something unpleasing.”
“Don’t worry, I understand. It looks like you have your share of problems.”
“I do.” Harold smiled bitterly. “I don’t understand what the institute was thinking when they agreed to this stupid exchange program, but it has made our job a lot more difficult. Alex was the third member of the student assembly I dismissed for misbehavior toward the celers and eblors.”
I was speechless.
Well, the relationship between humans and foreign races is very bad. This is not that unexpected.
“But fortunately, there is you.” Harold suddenly stared at me with a hot gaze.
“… I don’t like where this is going.”
“Jane, what do you think about joining the student assembly?”
I was startled.
Furrowing my brows, I considered the representative's proposal, quickly grasping his intention.
“You want to put me in charge of the celers?”
“Not just the celers, the eblors too.” Harold nodded. “Last time you did an excellent job showing the eblors around. Despite the… slight incident at the end, everything else went smoothly. Moreover, the eblors seemed satisfied with you. I'm ashamed to say this, but even if we take into account the attempt of suicide that the eblors witnessed, your performance was the best, so I think that perhaps you are the most appropriate for this job.”
... How bad were the others then?
I was at a loss for words.
But after a brief silence, I started to seriously consider Harold's proposal.
Normally, I would have refused, but it’s a bit complicated this time.
Firstly, I know that my mother will benefit if this exchange program goes smoothly. Even if I dislike the idea of being close to the celers and eblors, I don’t mind doing it if it helps her.
Plus, being part of the student assembly has a few perks.
Just like allowing me to keep an eye on certain students without raising suspicions.
It could make discovering the whereabouts of the fragment much easier.
‘What do you think, demon?’ I asked in my mind.
[If you think the pros and greater than the cons, then you should agree.]
I closed my eyes and considered everything again.
When I opened them, I had already made my choice.
“I’ll do it.”
