CHAPTER 69: STUDENTS COUNCIL (2)

Chapter 68: Students Council (2)

Emily’s words lingered in the chamber like an unshaken blade.

"Then prove you can back those words."

Her golden eyes locked onto me, sharp and unyielding. She wasn’t testing my pride. She was testing my resolve.

The Council room was silent except for the faint hum of the mana crystals set into the walls. Sergio shifted in his seat, scratching his quill against parchment again, as if eager to capture the tension on paper.

Ren, of course, broke first.

"This is absurd. Emily, you can’t seriously consider placing him on the Council. He’s a first-year nobody. If word spreads we’re dragging commoners into this chamber like they’re equals, we’ll become a laughingstock."

His tone was venom, but beneath it... fear. Not of me, but of what my presence represented for Daven’s plans.

Emily didn’t even glance his way. Her gaze was still pinned on me.

"The offer stands, Michael. A Council seat as First-Year Representative. Not a mere banner—" she cut herself off, then corrected smoothly, "—but a symbol. The first-year voice in our chamber, legitimized and protected. No one could question your strength or loyalty then."

Loyalty. That word again.

Alice tilted her head, her expression unreadable. "The seat comes with privileges. Resources from the Academy, access to classified reports, even the right to influence disciplinary hearings. Few cadets ever touch that kind of authority."

I tapped my fingers once against the polished table.

"Privileges always come with chains. What’s the cost?"

Alice’s lips curved. "Ah, finally, a sharp question."

Emily’s voice remained level.

"The cost is responsibility. To represent your year. To stand beside us. And when the elections arrive..." Her gaze hardened. "To stand beneath the Lionheart banner."

There it was. The truth, spoken plain.

I felt Ren smirk in the corner of my vision. "So it’s out. She just wants a tool. A pawn to parade for votes."

Emily’s eyes sliced toward him like daggers. "Careful, Ren."

But his smirk only deepened.

My mind turned quickly. In the game, Magnus Daven’s rise in the Student Council was nearly unstoppable. His faction of nobles and sycophants grew louder with every month. But here and now, Emily was fighting back earlier. And she wanted me as her weapon.

Joining her could give me cover against noble suppression. A shield against those who’d love to see me dragged down. But it also paints me as her ally, her pawn, her... banner. When Daven moves, I’d be standing in the line of fire.

I raised my eyes and met Emily’s without flinching.

"Tell me, President Lionheart. If I join, am I expected to kneel? Or am I allowed to walk beside you?"

The room went still.

Alice’s eyes gleamed, violet glimmers of amusement flickering within them. Sergio looked up from his notes for once, lips parting faintly in surprise. Ren’s hand curled into a fist, nails biting into wood.

Emily’s gaze didn’t waver. For a moment, the corner of her lips lifted—not into her usual noble smile, but into something sharper. Almost a smirk.

"Walk beside me, then. If you can keep up."

Alice chuckled softly. "What a dangerous promise."

I leaned back, folding my arms. "Promises are dangerous when they’re broken. I’ll consider it."

Ren slammed his palm against the table.

"You arrogant little—! You think you can just stroll in here, spit conditions, and act as though you’re untouchable? You’re just a first-year, damn it!"

I turned my head slowly, fixing him with a cool stare.

"And yet... here I sit. At the same table as you."

His jaw clenched, face flushing red.

Alice’s laughter broke the silence again, smooth and cutting. "Oh, he’s fun. I do hope he accepts."

Emily finally rose from her seat, her presence filling the chamber. "Enough. This meeting is concluded. Michael, the offer remains. Take your time, but not too much time. The elections are close, and I intend to win."

Her eyes locked with mine once more, fierce and resolute.

"When that time comes, I want to see whether your bold words were truth... or just smoke."

---

As the others stood, Sergio gathering his papers, Alice stretched languidly, smirk never leaving her lips.

Ren stormed toward the door first, muttering curses under his breath.

I didn’t move immediately. I let my eyes linger on Emily for a moment longer. Her back was straight, her aura calm but blazing beneath the surface. She was a Lionheart through and through—unyielding, regal, a leader born.

But she wasn’t asking me to be her equal. She was asking me to be her weapon.

And weapons had a way of breaking once the wielder no longer needed them.

I’ll play your game, Emily Lionheart. But on my terms.

---

The door creaked shut behind me as I stepped into the hall. The corridor stretched empty and quiet, torches flickering against the polished stone.

I’d barely taken three steps when a familiar voice spoke.

"So... they’ve already started circling around you."

I froze for half a second before turning.

Leon Lionheart stood there, leaning against the wall, arms crossed. His gaze was heavy, sharp—not the gaze of a rival student, but of a brother watching carefully.

Our eyes met, tension thickening between us like drawn steel.

I smirked faintly. "Guess I’m not as invisible as some hoped."

Leon’s jaw tightened. His silence said more than words.

---

The corridor was empty, save for the steady beat of torches along the walls and the quiet intensity radiating from the boy standing before me.

Leon Lionheart didn’t move from his place. His arms were still crossed, but I could feel the pressure rolling off him, like a lion lying in wait.

"...So it’s true." His voice was low, controlled. "Emily really called you in."

I tilted my head slightly, keeping my tone even. "Word travels fast."

His gaze sharpened. "Don’t play dumb. I know what she’s trying to do. And I know what you are."

That last part made me smile, though it didn’t reach my eyes. "You sound so certain. Care to enlighten me?"

Leon pushed himself off the wall, stepping forward until the distance between us was no more than a few feet. His golden eyes bore down on mine.

"She sees you as a pawn. A first-year shield to wave in front of her banner. That’s all you are to her. And if you’re foolish enough to accept, you’ll find out just how ruthless Lionhearts can be."

His words were like steel, but beneath them, I caught the faintest ripple of something else. Warning? Resentment? ...Fear?

"I’ll take that as brotherly advice," I said dryly, "though I’m not sure if you’re protecting me, or just your sister’s pride."

His jaw tightened. "You don’t understand. If you step into her circle, you’ll be crushed. Nobles don’t forgive. They don’t forget. And they’ll never accept someone like you standing beside us."

Someone like me. There it was again—the reminder of the gap between my blood and theirs.

I let the silence stretch before replying, my voice calm. "Maybe I don’t care about being accepted. Maybe I just care about surviving. Winning. Living."

Leon’s brow furrowed slightly. "That’s not enough."

"It’s enough for me."

For a moment, neither of us moved. The torches hissed faintly in the silence, casting our shadows long across the stone.

Then Leon stepped back, his aura retracting like a blade sliding into its sheath. He turned slightly, his expression unreadable.

"Do as you wish. But know this if you stand beside her, you’ll stand opposite me."

With that, he walked past me, boots echoing against the stone, and disappeared around the corner without another word.

I stood there a moment longer, eyes narrowed.

Emily wanted me as her banner. Leon warned me I’d become her pawn. Ren simmered with barely veiled hostility. And Alice... Alice was the most dangerous of them all, smiling in the shadows, her intentions unreadable.

The Student Council wasn’t just politics. It was war.

And I had just been invited onto the battlefield.

---

Later that night, back in my dorm, I stared out the window toward the Academy’s central spire. The light from the tower glowed faintly, illuminating the campus in pale blue.

I thought about Emily’s steady eyes. About Leon’s warning. About the system quest still waiting unfinished.

I didn’t ask to be dragged into this game. But if the pieces are already moving, then I’ll move them too. I won’t be anyone’s pawn. Not Emily’s. Not Daven’s. Not anyone’s.

My hand clenched into a fist.

The elections were only a month away. And if history repeated itself, that month would decide more than just a title. It would decide who survived the next storm.

"System," I murmured, voice low. "Show me the path forward."

The faint blue screen shimmered to life, numbers and quests flickering across it. I felt my lips curve faintly.

[ Quest : Participate in the Students Council Election]

Task : Gain 500 Votes ( Any position)

Reward: 20000 SP, 1x Affinity Select Card]

Whatever the Council thought of me—pawn, banner, or shield I’d show them something else entirely.

A player.

And this game had only just begun.