Chapter 153 – Student Council Presidential Election (3)

Creak.

With the tension still lingering in the intermediate meeting room, Leon entered.

It was the classic case of the protagonist making his entrance at the very end.

His arrival only heightened the intensity in the air.

If the hostility had been restrained before, now it was completely evident.

Especially from the tall brute, who was openly showing his animosity.

He clenched and unclenched his fists repeatedly, as if looking for an excuse to throw a punch the moment no one was watching.

Leon, on the other hand, completely ignored all the sharp gazes directed at him.

He walked forward with steady steps and extended his hand toward me.

“Funny how we meet again like this. It’s a bit strange being candidates in the same election, Kang Geom-Ma.”

I shook his hand with a look of disgust.

I couldn’t find the words to respond, so I simply nodded in silence.

Leon gave a slight smile before going to sit far from me.

For a good while, he endured the envious stares without saying a word.

‘For being seniors, what a pathetic display of pettiness.’

Clicking my tongue, I scanned the room again.

The faint magical presence I had felt earlier had completely disappeared.

‘Did they suppress it?’

That was impressive.

Hiding mana so perfectly wasn’t something just anyone could do.

In fact, it was far more difficult to suppress energy than to release it.

This wasn’t going to be easy.

To make things worse, there was a villain infiltrating the students.

I couldn’t just stab someone on the spot.

If I mistakenly attacked an innocent cadet, the situation would turn into a disaster.

And if the enemy was skilled enough to manipulate their mana with precision, they could also use it to create confusion.

Until I had concrete proof, I had to act cautiously.

I let out a quiet sigh and relaxed my posture.

Shortly after, Section Chief Sung and Deputy Director Ha stepped onto the podium.

“Ahem, ahem. Mic test, one, two.”

Sung cleared his throat and leaned closer to the microphone.

“First of all, I’d like to thank all the candidates for attending.”

After some formalities, Sung began explaining the competition.

He took several minutes to talk about the reasoning and purpose behind it.

And finally, he got to the main point.

“Now, I’ll explain the content of the competition. After careful deliberation, our Hero Association has decided to follow the tradition of Joaquin Academy.”

He took a sip of water before continuing.

“The duels will take place in a subdimensional space, in a tournament format. Though it won’t be a conventional tournament, we’ll refer to it as such for convenience. Oh, and don’t worry, the details of the fights won’t be disclosed to the public.”

‘Does this academy only know how to solve everything with fists?’

I couldn’t help but find it absurd.

Even for choosing the student council president, did it really have to be settled through combat?

“I have a question.”

The tall brute spoke with an arrogant tone and zero respect.

Sung raised an eyebrow for a moment but quickly responded with a smile.

“Yes, go ahead, Cadet Den Range.”

“You mentioned a tournament, but there are seven of us. That’s an odd number. So what’s the Association planning to do? Or are you all so incompetent that you didn’t even consider that?”

His mocking tone made Sung work even harder to maintain his composure.

This damn class system.

Even though he was twenty years older than these kids, his social status was below theirs.

And not just his status.

Even in combat, Sung was no match for Den Range.

Den wasn’t just the current vice president of the student council—he was also one of the strongest third-years.

It was said that multiple elite hero agencies were trying to recruit him.

Of course, he was still beneath the current student council president, who was a second-year.

But even so, Den Range was an exceptional cadet.

‘…Too bad his personality is garbage.’

That was also taken into account when he was sent to the academy.
Section Chief Sung responded with a forced smile.

“Good observation. Of course, the Association had already anticipated that issue. If a candidate were to advance automatically without fighting, that would be unfair. Therefore, a representative from the Association will participate as a combatant. However, keep in mind that this person will not be registered as a candidate. They are only here to balance the competition.”

“I have a question~!”

This time, the sharp-eyed girl raised her hand. She also spoke with complete audacity.

“I understand that you want to be fair, but does the Association even have someone capable of fighting us? Let’s be honest, your agents aren’t that strong.”

Sung let out a calm laugh.

“Don’t worry about that, Cadet Sion. I assure you, the combatant we’ve selected won’t disappoint.”

“Deputy Director Ha, please step forward.”

Deputy Director Ha, who had been waiting quietly, let out a small “Ah!” before stepping forward.

Sung introduced her with enthusiasm.

“The sole combatant from our Strategic Planning Department. She reached Senior rank at the age of 26. Allow me to introduce our supervisor, Hana Eun.”

“Ah, a-a pleasure to meet you!”

“Supervisor Ha is one of our finest agents. Although she didn’t graduate from Joaquin, she managed to stand out through sheer effort and—”

“Section Chief! That’s too much already!”

What a surprise.

That seemingly innocent-looking woman was a Senior-ranked hero.

If she had reached that rank at 26, it meant her skills were more than sufficient.

‘Didn’t Shail become a Senior at 20…?’

Well, in any case, if she became a supervisor at her age, she must have followed an elite path.

I glanced at Sion.

She was staring at Ha with a tense expression.

Clearly, she hadn’t expected them to bring in a Senior-ranked hero.

That left her speechless.

Her expression twisted in frustration.

She seemed irritated that her attempt to mock the Association had failed.

But instead of continuing to argue, she simply scoffed and turned her head indifferently.

Sung formed a slight smile.

‘…This student council is definitely not normal.’

An uncomfortable silence filled the room.

And then, the cadet who had been staring at the ceiling spoke in a calm voice.

“I have a question. Why do we have to fight in a subdimensional space? Can’t we just fight in reality? After all, duels involve bloodshed. Besides, if the fight is secret, what does it matter if someone ends up hospitalized?”

“…….”

Everyone fell silent.

The looks on their faces reflected disbelief.

I was speechless too.

I had thought this guy was the most normal one, but he turned out to be completely insane.

Compared to him, Den and Sion seemed like rational people.

The reason for using a subdimensional space?

Obviously, it was to prevent cadets from suffering severe injuries.

If the fights took place in reality, it wouldn’t be surprising for someone to lose an arm or a leg.

I myself had decapitated Knox and dismembered Mao Lang in duels.

If they hadn’t been fought in a subdimensional space… well, best not to think about it.

But this guy spoke as if spilling blood was a trivial matter.

In that instant, he became my prime suspect.

Even I, who had already lost part of my humanity, had never thought that way.

Sung, recovering from the shock, tried to provide a logical explanation.

It was a difficult task—explaining the obvious to someone like that.

But Sung did it.

And the “patient,” no… the current student council president, Kim Woo-Jin, nodded unconvincingly.

He didn’t seem to understand the issue, but he accepted the answer.

After a long breath, Sung finally continued.

“It looks like everyone understands. Now, we’ll proceed with the match draw.”

***

As soon as I returned to class, Ryozo impatiently asked me.

“How was it? What’s the competition about?”

“They’re holding a duel tournament in a subdimensional space. But it won’t be a typical tournament where you advance to the finals. Instead, it’ll be one-on-one matches. Like you said, Ryozo, there are too many candidates. Looks like they want to cut the number in half right away.”

Hearing that, Ryozo rubbed his temples and shook his head repeatedly.

“This damn academy… In the end, the only way it solves anything is through violence… But wait, if there’s an odd number of candidates, how is a tournament supposed to work?”

“The vice president asked the same question earlier. He said one person would be left out. So the Association decided to include an extra combatant—a Senior-ranked hero.”

“A Senior?! Doesn’t that completely throw off the balance? I seriously doubt the Association has someone that strong.”

“It’s Deputy Director Ha. They said she reached Senior rank at 26.”

“……”

Ryozo fell silent. Her expression made it obvious—she was thinking, ‘That soft-looking woman is a Senior-ranked hero?’

For a moment, confusion was clear on her face, but then she stared at me.

“That much I get. But the most important thing isn’t that, right? Kang Geom-Ma, your opponent. You just found out who it is, didn’t you?”

He knew exactly where to probe.

I couldn’t help but be impressed.

Ryozo’s perception was razor-sharp.

Instead of answering out loud, I wrote a name in my notebook.

Saying it aloud risked someone else overhearing.

The moment Ryozo read it, his expression hardened.

He whispered in a barely audible voice.

“Sion, the student council finance director… I’m not sure if you got lucky or if this is the worst-case scenario.”

“You know who she is?”

“More or less. She’s the student council’s finance director and comes from a well-off family, so I’ve seen her before. She’s annoying, yeah, but not just because of that. This senior has a reputation for being incredibly persistent.”

Ryozo spoke with a deep frown.

“She’s not particularly strong. In terms of combat skills, she’s mediocre. You can’t call her a formidable fighter. But her tenacity is enough to make up for her lack of talent. Not just anyone makes it to finance director in the student council… For someone like you, this kind of opponent could be more of a headache than a strong one.”

After saying that, he crumpled the paper with her name on it.

The shadow of concern that had appeared on herface vanished, and he let out a small chuckle.

“But well, I’m sure you’ll handle it fine. Worrying about you is one of the least profitable things to do.”

* * *

…A week passed, and finally, the day of the competition arrived.

As always, I kept the sashimi knife against my chest.

When the metal touched my skin, it vibrated with a fierce pulse, as if it had a heartbeat.

After feeling its resonance for a moment, I left my dormitory.

The competition was taking place in an annex building on the outskirts of the academy.

Inside, it resembled a scaled-down version of a training field.

To put it simply, if the regular training grounds were like an open track, this place was more like an indoor gymnasium.

It looked like it hadn’t been used in a long time, but it was immaculately maintained.

As I scanned my surroundings, inspecting the venue, a silhouette appeared in the corner of my left vision.

“Hello.”

Sion greeted me with a bright smile.

I returned a slight nod, without much enthusiasm.

“Yeah, let’s have a good match today.”

“Huh~? You’re so serious! Well, I hope it goes well too~ After all, you’re the Sashimi saint . You’re not going to slice me in one blow like you did last time, right? I’d appreciate it if you could forgive me in advance~”

Her tone was hard to interpret.

It sounded like a compliment, but at the same time, it felt like mockery.

And her expression remained unchanged.

Her eyes reflected an odd emptiness.

“Hm? What’s wrong? Why are you staring at me so intensely? You’re making me shy!”

Sion stepped back slightly, keeping some distance.

I kept observing her before muttering under my breath.

“I don’t think this will end in a single strike.”

“Are you saying you’ll go easy on me? If that’s the case, I’m a little disappointed.”

Sion tilted her head cutely.

But her emotionless demeanor only made her attitude more unsettling.

That sensation… it felt familiar.

I smirked slightly.

“If you show me your full ability, who knows? Besides, this fight will help me confirm something.”

Whether Sion was a villain or not.