HTACS 71

Chapter 71

Zefflin.

The educational center of the entire Lohengrin Empire.

Basically—’talented commoners,’ ‘children of merchant families,’ ‘nobles and royalty,’ and ‘imperial family members.’

Everyone here is someone who could make a living in their hometown.

Though it’s publicly declared that everyone is equal except for the greatest imperial family, the world doesn’t work that simply.

Fundamentally, factions are formed around the Lohengrin Empire’s nobles, followed by the royalty and nobility of neighboring vassal states, or the children of merchants who span the entire empire.

It’s only natural. Zefflin is only four years of schooling.

Beyond that awaits a harsh society where one must survive for decades, and the factions built in Zefflin become a solid safety net for their futures.

So they gather in groups—by region, by hobby, by major—forming factions, expanding their influence, and checking each other’s power.

But all those factions ultimately kneel and bow before the ‘faction created by the Lohengrin imperial family.’

And currently, there are two imperial family members enrolled as students in Zefflin.

One is Eve von Lohengrin.

The faction ruled by the imperial princess currently in her second year of the Magic Department—honestly, it can hardly be called a faction.

To be precise, the student council executives are her core faction, and they swear loyalty only to Eve von Lohengrin.

As for Eve herself, she doesn’t discriminate against any faction, appearing at tea parties here and there, sending proxies when she can’t attend, or writing letters of congratulations by hand.

From each faction’s perspective, the fact that Eve von Lohengrin doesn’t lean toward any one side is a great relief.

No… it would actually be better if she took sides. Like the previous student council president, who sowed discord, made factions oppose each other, and demanded tribute in exchange for favor. That would be true hell.

And so, that former student council president—who created that hell and seemed to have faded into history, yet whose appearances are still reported all over Zefflin—Wolfram von Lohengrin. What is he doing?

“…Did you hear? I heard that Wolfram President is building a faction again.”

“What?!”

Rumors were spreading that he was building his own faction.

Then, who exactly is in that faction? Most of it is wild gossip, but a few names are clearly pointed out.

The second-year Knight of Faith. The third-year Black Crystal. The Abyssal Dagger and the Magic Merchant. They say he even speaks with the Spirit Knight.

Most are well-known figures with titles.

But around the time when rumors of “Wolfram’s faction” or “not his faction” floated around like clouds among Zefflin students—especially the current 2nd to 4th years who lived through Wolfram’s reign—it appeared.

“…Wh-what is that? A carriage? But why is a wolf driving it? And on the driver’s seat…?”

A two-carriage linked carriage, driven by a wolf sitting on the driver’s seat.

No, calling it a carriage was an understatement—it was massive and heavy.

Steel plates added to the carriage, wrapped in jet-black metal, or perhaps black crystal.

A symbol of power that made your heart tremble just by looking at it. With eight wheels, it was like a black dragon, instilling instinctive fear in those who saw it.

Before this steel giant, was humanity truly so powerless and fragile? It made you feel small—yet also evoked a different kind of awe. But no one wanted to approach the carriage driven by the red wolf.

The carriage—no, it’s not pulled by weak horses—the ‘Wolfs Carriage’ driven by a wolf soon drew the full attention of the Common Department.

Especially since the signboard boldly declared: ‘To Wolfram von Lohengrin’s Convenience Store.’

Everyone thought the same thing:

【That is a steel giant that only Wolfram von Lohengrin’s faction can ride.】

【Everyone permitted to board is undoubtedly part of Wolfram’s faction.】

And those who could ride it were all well-known enough that anyone would nod in recognition.

Black Crystal. Student Council President. Knight of Faith. Abyssal Dagger. Talents more than worthy of belonging to the imperial prince’s faction.

Most people watched them board the wolf-driven giant with a mixture of fear, awe, recognition, and envy.

But among them—one, or sometimes three—there was a selection that was utterly incomprehensible.

“…Ah. Wolf-nim. Hello. Are you going to the convenience store?”

“…Grrr.”

“Ah, I see. Yes. I’ll leave it to you today as well. Everyone, he said let’s go. Sit down quickly.”

“…Grrn.”

“Can Mille-feuille communicate with the wolf? That’s amazing! I didn’t know you had this talent! Yogurt, aren’t you surprised too?!”

“Vanilla. This… isn’t just a wolf. It’s something really… really amazing. Hmm. I think so.”

“It’s not that I fully understand, but I can vaguely sense he speaks through mana. Ah, Wolf-nim. I think you can depart now.”

“Grrrr…”

“Right. Wolf-nim! Let’s hurry! Our Mille-feuille wants to see her beloved senior soon… no, not senior, but husband… Ughk. Yogurt! Why did you hit me?!”

“Don’t say nonsense. Let’s go, Wolf-nim. We’re all seated.”

“Grnn.”

A selection that no one could understand.

It was three first-year Common Department chicks, dyed in various colors.

‘…Why are they even riding it?’

‘Are they part of his faction too?’

Without resolving the countless questions of Zefflin’s students, the wolf-driven steel giant carried the three chicks and moved on.

—

That day, the three chicks visited the convenience store for the first time in a while.

“Senior! You haven’t fried donuts lately?! I want donuts!”

“Hmm. …I’m sorry. My friend is being noisy. But I’d also like to eat some donuts.”

The yellow chick was as noisy as ever, and the green chick beside her pretended to be cool and composed on her behalf.

“Ah, Senior. Hello. …Ehehe.”

And the pink chick scratched her reddened cheek and bowed her head.

“Sit down. I’ll fry some donuts right away.”

“Wow, really?! Wow! Waaaa!”

“Vanilla, you’re too loud. Ah, Senior. I’d like to try a new flavor if you have one.”

“Thank you. Ehehe…”

It took a bit of time for the oil to heat up, but after putting a donut in each of the noisy chicks’ mouths, I sat down.

Vanilla and Yogurt were busy focusing on their donuts, so I asked Mille-feuille, who happened to meet my eyes.

“How’s life been lately?”

“Lately?”

“Hmm. Yes. Anything unusual happen?”

“Y-yes. Nothing particularly major.”

“How’s the overall atmosphere among the first-years? I haven’t properly heard any news since you defeated that Kelterus.”

“Hmm. Ah… There is one thing. Regarding Kelterus-kun…”

“Tell me.”

Since Kelterus is the protagonist and needs to play a central role in the story, his every move can put the academy in danger. Curious, I straightened up and asked Mille-feuille to continue.

“Kelterus-kun… for various reasons regarding his conduct, he lost his top student position. So now everyone’s focused on who the next top student will be.”

“Is that so.”

I see. So Kelterus isn’t the top student…

“What?”

What?

For real?

“That’s not all. Well, hmm… It’s not just an ordinary matter!”

“Yeah. …We’re pretty tired. The three of us came here today to ask for your advice.”

While I was in shock, Vanilla and Yogurt, who had been focused on their donuts, joined the conversation.

“Advice? What kind of advice?”

“Mille-feuille is in big trouble, Senior! She’s completely at the eye of the storm! It’s crazy! For real!”

“……”

Vanilla’s language center seems to be on par with Rudika’s. No, Rudika’s is a concept… no, thinking such bad thoughts might get me killed, so let’s just say she’s Rudika-level. In other words, she’s hard to understand, and I looked at Yogurt for further explanation.

Yogurt alternated glances between Vanilla and me, then let out a deep sigh.

“I apologize for my friend’s unsightly behavior, Senior.”

“I accept your apology. Now, tell me—what exactly happened? From the moment she defeated Kelterus, briefly and step by step.”

With a loud *click*, Yogurt pulled out a pair of oversized glasses from somewhere and calmly began her explanation.

“Yes. Thanks to the seniors’ help, Mille-feuille defeated Kelterus-kun, the grade top student. After that, an agenda came up to re-evaluate the top student position due to Kelterus-kun’s interference with student council work and poor grades. Up to that point, there was still room for review—but then he was caught by the dorm supervisor sneaking out at night to buy snacks…”

“He went that far, huh.”

“Yes. So he was removed from the top student position. Of course, he himself has applied for a re-evaluation. The problem is what happened afterward. While the top student position was vacant, the second-year—I mean, the first-year second-ranked student declared that he would finally claim the grade top position.”

“…Gale Strike.”

“Yes. The eldest son of the Strike family. And that guy started setting his sights on Mille-feuille.”

“Why?”

“It seems he thinks that if he brings Mille-feuille into his faction, he’ll have someone who defeated the former grade top under his command. In other words, he wants to use Mille-feuille as a piece to undermine Kelterus-kun’s re-evaluation application.”

Hmm. I see.

Gale Strike was a pretty annoying rival in the original too.

Well, anyway.

“You know quite a bit. That was good information.”

“…I’m a candidate for the next student council executive, you know. Hehe. A capable first-year, you see.”

“Good. Have another donut.”

“Yesss!”

“Ah! I was going to say that too! Give me one as well!”

“Fine. You too.”

“Yay!”

Feeding the two chicks more birdseed, I looked at the pink chick, who was smiling awkwardly at me.

“Looks like you’re in trouble.”

“Yesss… I don’t want to join any faction…”

“But factions are a good system. There’s no harm in joining one.”

“No. To be precise, I already have a faction I want to join in my heart.”

“…Is that so.”

“Yes. It’s a really great faction. So much so that my goal is to stand beside its leader.”

With a flushed face, she glanced at me and muttered.

Standing beside a faction leader—no matter what faction, that’s incredibly difficult.

“Good. I’ll cheer you on.”

“R-really? You’ll really cheer me on? Can I stand beside that faction’s leader for life?”

“Hmm. I don’t know which faction it is, but if that’s your wish, I’ll help you achieve it.”

“…Ah. You d-don’t know. Aha… haa. You don’t… know which faction it is.”

The unexpectedly deflated pink chick glanced at me again, puffed out her cheeks slightly, and muttered things like ‘That’s why… even Senior Ayla…’ and ‘No, if no one has achieved it before…’

“Wow! That was good! Anyway, that’s why we came to see you, Senior! Senior! We’d like you to help Mille-feuille!”

“…We can’t defeat Gale Strike on our own. Senior, is there another way?”

Hmm. A way to defeat Gale Strike.

To be honest, the best way to reject a faction offer is to prove it with strength.

But I doubt Mille-feuille wants that.

Does she even want to fight?

“Mille-feuille. Even if you defeat that Gale Strike, do you still want to reject his offer?”

“Yes. Very much.”

A firm answer.

And even though she was smiling, the smile was cold—quite scary.

“…Uh, hmm? I see. I see.”

“Yes. I don’t like weird rumors either. I don’t like hearing that I’m being targeted either. I hate it all. I really… really hate it.”

“Understood. I’ll help.”

Perhaps because she was like me—someone with an ‘early exit role’—I want to help her even more.

Well, watching a chick grow into a rooster should be fun.

“Th-then…”

“I’ll start working on a solution tomorrow. Just like when you defeated Kelterus before.”

“Really? Wow…! Yes. I’ll come every day from tomorrow, Senior!”

“…You don’t have to come every day.”

“I’ll come every day. Thank you!”

With that, the three chirped and chattered as they left the convenience store. They even took a box of donuts each. How much do they love donuts?

Anyway, Gale Strike is both an interesting opponent and an annoying one.

As I was thinking about countermeasures, Patrasche passed by and curled his lips.

“Do you know?”

“What?”

“A hawk is a predator that snatches prey in an instant. A master hunter.”

“I know.”

“Kheh. But from what I’ve hunted, chickens and hawks look similar when they’re young.”

“So what?”

“If you mistake a young hawk that might hunt you someday for a chick and feed it, you might end up being devoured. That’s all.”

“?”

What is he saying?

As I tilted my head, Patrasche chuckled and passed by me.