NOVPUBIchrite Academy, located on the edge of the Magic Engineering College, the gothic revival building is one of the landmarks of the campus—
The Old Literature Building of the Magic Engineering College.
This ancient building, its red brick walls inlaid with classical reliefs, was once a workshop where magic artisans worked their wonders. It was renovated decades ago and has since been used as a public building which provides magic engineering technology services for students from other colleges.
Lanci had visited this place once when he first enrolled to receive his student bracelet, but he did not venture to the higher floors.
The first floor is the Public Magic Work Technology Service Center.
The second floor belongs to Professor Bolao, the Magic Engineering College’s head of research, where the New Magic Work Technology Creative Workshop is located.
The third floor houses the Student Management Committee.
The wind was blustery that day.
Lanci and Hyperion came directly to the Old Literature Building along the campus road after their only morning class ended, following the stairs up to the third floor.
As soon as they stepped out of the staircase, a wide and bright corridor appeared before them.
Several exquisite small chandeliers hung from the ceiling, casting a soft glow throughout the hallway. Gilded patterns adorned the reddish-brown wooden walls, giving Lanci and Hyperion an impression of solemnity and peace.
They walked on the soft carpet that stretched to the end of the corridor, right up to the door of the student council room. Looking aside, they could see the college’s scenery through a row of massive windows: the green lawn, rows of trees, and students scattered around.
Finally, they reached the double doors of deep red color at the very end.
"Hyperion, are you ready?"
"Yes."
Accompanied by Hyperion’s nod, Lanci tapped lightly on the door twice.
"Come in,"
Soon, a warm and steady male voice came from behind the door.
Lanci pushed open the heavy mahogany door; the air, a mix of coffee and candle scent, rushed to meet them. The sight that greeted them was a spacious meeting room of hundreds of square meters with only three occupants-
Sitting behind the desk facing the door, was a handsome male figure with a straight back, and eyes that sparkled like stars, exuding an air resembling a learned scholar.
His long table, made from dark wood, was smooth as a mirror, and next to it, on the huge half-curtained window, crimson curtains shone under the sunlight as if it were a theatre curtain.
A gentle-looking woman stood beside the table, looking slightly puzzled at Lanci and Hyperion. She had a stack of files in her hands, seemingly ready to take them to the tall bookcase along the right wall.
The left of the meeting room seemed to be a resting area, furnished with a coffee table and luxurious leather sofas on either side, matching the color of the table and chairs.
On the exceedingly comfortable-looking sofa, sat a man with grey-white hair, and small sunglasses.
"May I ask, have both of you encountered any trouble in school?"
The student council president seated in the main seat looked at the two visitors with a friendly, self-assured smile.
He seemed to recognize Lanci and Hyperion, two newcomers causing quite a stir at the very beginning of their enrollment.
Still, the president did not consider them as anyone special, merely asking them a common inquiry.
"Hello, we were wondering if the student council is still recruiting?"
Lanci found the president’s demeanor rather enjoyable.
Not only did he harbor no hostility towards Hyperion.
But his gaze did not waver when he looked at Lanci, unlike the novelty other students felt upon seeing Lanci.
Indeed, just as Vivian had said, the president is a man of discernment.
The president nodded, indicating that he understood their intention. Then, he stood up from his chair, signaling them to move to the resting area for a more detailed discussion.
Soon, the president sat next to the grey-white-haired youth, and Lanci and Hyperion took their seats on the opposite sofa.
The woman beside the bookcase brought over tray and porcelain cups after putting away the files. She then poured coffee for each person.
"I am Monasite, president of the Student Team Management Committee, and she is Vice President Asina.
Monasite thanked the woman pouring coffee and introduced her to Lanci and Hyperion.
"He is Frey, a freshman knight, new to the student council."
He then pointed at the grey-haired youth on the sofa.
Lanci and Hyperion glanced at each other, they both had a slight impression of this guy named Frey.
The second round of their entrance examination was a unified exam for the Knight College and the Sage Academy, and they only split up during the third round.
This eccentric individual from the Knight College cleared the second round of examination faster than Lanci did—
Rather than Lanci’s method of legally arresting the wicked couple, he opted for a direct paycheck loan, using his physical stamina to endure the intense cold.
Initially, Lanci and Hyperion wondered which team Frey was recruited to. To their surprise, he was already part of the student council.
"The Student Management Committee is currently suffering a severe shortage of manpower. After the graduation of the previous student council members, only Frey has joined under the recommendation of the Dean of Knight College. We were originally considering handling a lot of the tasks this semester by ourselves once we have processed the paperwork and handed it over to school, but you two came in just in time."
President Monasite took a weary sip of his coffee, slowly placing the porcelain cup down, and then looked at the two with a smile.
It seemed that their mere presence and expression of intent to join had relieved him from much of his work stress.
Lanci nodded, apparently interpreting the president’s words as a signal of his acceptance of them.
"I’ve already heard of your abilities. If you’re not deterred by the possible hard work and trouble that may come from being in the student council, then it would be my pleasure to invite you, Lanci Welfort, and you, Hyperion Alansar, to join."
"..."
A moment of silence.
A breeze blew in from the window, the curtains fluttering lightly, bringing in fresh air from outside. The breeze softly swept across the table, the sofas, the pages, making the silence in this meeting room echo with the soft rustling of pages.
President Monasite and Vice President Asina were both friendly. Although not sure what Frey was thinking, the look in his eyes when he looked at the two was no different from when he saw ordinary people.
After one final glance at each other, both Lanci and Hyperion nodded.
"I would very much like to join the student council."
"So would I." 𝒏𝒐𝙫𝙥𝙪𝙗.𝒄𝙤𝙢
"Then welcome to our student council. You can leave the application procedures with the school to me as the president. Besides, we also have a second-year alchemy college student who is the secretary, but she is generally busy with press matters, and only comes here occasionally. You will meet her when the opportunity presents itself."
Both of them nodded solemnly.
However, looking at the president’s solemn gaze, it seemed as though he had some troubling matters he wished to entrust to them right now.
"Actually, the student council currently has an urgent task at hand. I was slightly unsure about letting Frey handle it alone, and was planning to accompany him after sorting out my backlog of tasks. However, if the three of you were to cooperate, I would be able to focus on my work."
