Chapter 96: Council Affairs 3
“Please have a seat and make yourself at home. Amy, could you please brew some tea for our guest here?” Dorothy asked, her tone polite but slightly nervous as she addressed a girl named Amy, who had dark circles under her eyes.
Just looking at the disappointed and angry expression Amy directed at the president, I could tell she hadn’t had a wink of sleep since yesterday.
“Are you serious right now?” Amy’s voice was thick with irritation.
“Ahaha—well, we can’t just leave our guest unattended, right?” Dorothy’s voice grew quieter with each word as Amy’s murderous gaze intensified.
“Then do it yourself… Or even better, take care of this yourself!” Amy snarled in anger, presenting dozens of stacked papers she had been reading through ever since I entered.
Judging from the amount she had already stamped and the piles left, it would probably take her a few more days to sort through all of it.
“Amy, my dear, you know I’m busy too, right—” Dorothy began, her voice pleading.
“So, do you want to?” Amy interrupted, her tone a mixture of challenge and exhaustion.
“N-no…” Dorothy conceded, looking a bit deflated.
‘I can’t tell if they’re close or if Amy is just incredibly fed up with her’
“Ah, let me do it,” Rose suggested, trying to lighten the mood. She quickly moved to a corner where she began brewing hot tea.
As Rose worked on preparing the tea, the tension in the room seemed to ease slightly. Dorothy took a seat across from me, her expression softening as she focused her attention on me.
“I’m sorry about that, Riley. It’s just that our dear Amy has been too stressed lately, you see, so please don’t misunderstand. She’s actually quite the nice and honest kid,” Dorothy said with an apologetic smile.
“Don’t call me a kid!” Amy snapped.
“I mean, lady,” Dorothy corrected herself, her tone placating.
I nodded at her words, trying not to say anything that might annoy Amy further. Although she did give me an annoyed glance, she quickly ignored me and refocused on her task at hand.
“Amy, aren’t you going to greet our new member?” Dorothy asked, her voice gentle but insistent.
“What’s the point? He already knows my name anyway, and he’ll probably only be here for less than three months. Nah, he’ll probably only last a week with your leadership,” Amy retorted, her words dripping with sarcasm.
“Hey, I’m a very good president! You know how I’ve been re-elected three times in a row! right?” Dorothy replied, her tone defensive but slightly hurt.
“Hah! I don’t know about that… maybe you did the same thing to me? By lying and scamming to people?” Amy shot back, her eyes narrowing.
“What? I don’t do such things!”
“Yeah, right… If you were such a good president, this whole office would be full of members right now”
“That’s…” Dorothy’s voice trailed off, unable to find a suitable rebuttal.
‘That was true….’
Even in the game, when Dorothy tried to reclaim her position as president by running again, there weren’t exactly that many people who were part of her team.
Snow pretty much had all the most important first years and sophomores by her side, while Dorothy only had Celine and Amy as her big backing.
Some seniors also proclaimed there support for her but since majority of the school populace resided within the lower years her downfall was inevitable.
So, the problem was rooted since the first semester, huh?
Now I can see why she had to use underhanded tactics during the second semester.
Though she wasn’t the main villain, she did put up a really annoying thorn in the protagonist’s side.
In the academy, voting’s are only applicable for those running for president and vice president.
After winning, they can choose who gets to fill the remaining positions.
If the whole student council now wasn’t understaffed, Amy wouldn’t be struggling just to keep her eyes awake right now.
Glancing at Rose, I wondered who she had in mind for the other members of her party.
She said I wouldn’t have to run and only stay by her side, so any position would probably suit me if she does win.
As I pondered this, Dorothy took a deep breath, her expression softening.
“Ahem! Once again, I’m so sorry about that, Riley…”
“No, it’s fine,” I said, trying to divert things further. It was fun watching the two banter, but now time was just being wasted at this rate.
Rose didn’t exactly give me a reason as to why she brought me here, but if I had to guess, it was either to learn from the student council now or to help them out with a problem at hand. And if I had to take a guess, it’s probably the latter.
Dorothy straightened up, her demeanor becoming more business-like.
“Fufu~ I’m glad you don’t find our small little group distasteful. I thought a noble of your prestige would’ve walked out by now.” She coughed once more and looked at me more seriously this time.
The fun and friendly atmosphere she had was replaced by the grace and aura of someone serious and in a high position.
‘This was the Dorothy I knew in the game.’
“Allow me to introduce myself properly. My name is Dorothy Gale, the current student council president of the academy. The beautiful lady I just had a small banter with is Amy Heart, our newly hired secretary. And the sleeping junky over there is our disciplinary head, Celine,” she said, pointing at a sleeping woman on the couch in the very corner of the room.
‘There was someone there? How come I didn’t notice…?’
“There’s also Alice Holloway, our vice president. Anyway, she has multiple roles, so just treat her as any member here, fufu~ And then lastly, the person who invited and recommended you to join, Rose Brilliance. Although she’s a new member like Amy, she holds the role of treasurer…”
Dorothy continued, “Now that you’re acquainted with everyone, let’s discuss why you’re here shall we?”
She’s rather quick on the uptake…
“As you know, the Grand Festival is approaching, and we’ve been facing numerous challenges. Disputes between student clubs, logistical issues, and tensions between noble and commoner students have been escalating. We need your help to mediate and resolve these conflicts.”
“How exactly am I going to mediate things?” I asked, genuinely curious and slightly skeptical.
“Exactly as we’ve been doing for years now,” Dorothy replied. “Authority. I believe a high-ranking student like you should help settle things down. From what Rose told me about you and from what I can see now, I can tell you’re perfect for the job, Riley,” she said with a coy smile.
“I don’t think that’s the case, President Dorothy. And besides, do you really think the club leaders would listen to someone new to the council?”
“Please, just call me Dorothy…. Although what you say is true, the problem doesn’t really stem from that fact. Once they see your brooch, they should probably comply immediately.”
“The reason we’ve never been able to properly mitigate things until now wasn’t just because of the number of things we have to approve and get approved upon, but rather due to the subtle status quo that we had to follow.”
“Though the academy presents itself as equal to everyone, you know for sure that isn’t the case, right, Riley?”
“Yes.”
Even when I walked past the lower-ranked classes, I could see some subtle bullying happening, and there were even some students who were quite open about it.
But all the professors just turned a blind eye to it—all because of certain statuses they couldn’t touch.
Even Lucas wasn’t an exception to this. In the game, if you somehow failed the tutorial of the evaluation test and ended up in the lower classes, you basically set yourself up for a hard-mode school life.
Though there were a number of players who liked such an underdog route, for someone like me who wanted to prioritize getting a one hundred percent clear in the heroines’ role plays, paths like that weren’t exactly my thing.
What she’s basically trying to say to me is simple: “You’re a noble, aren’t you? And a top-ranking student at that. There’s no way they could defy you normally in any way whatsoever…”
Well, as much as most of that was true, even I can’t openly defy someone of higher status, like those whose family is marquis rank and above. In order to do that, I would need the duke’s backing, which I can’t openly admit to right now.
Dorothy continued, “With your status and the brooch, you’ll have the leverage needed to enforce rules and mediate conflicts. We need someone like you to restore order and balance within the academy.”
“I could fix it myself but~ as you can see, I’m stuck here due to IMPORTANT~ paperwork that needs my approval. Amy is also here for the exact same reason, hehe~” Dorothy said, her tone teasing.
Amy subtly glared at Dorothy but immediately went back to her job as I made eye contact with her. I couldn’t shake the feeling that she disliked me for some reason. Did I do something wrong?
“Of course, you have the full support of the council with whatever you need to do to mediate things,” Dorothy continued. “But if it involves moving the budget of the club funds, please make sure to consult Rose or me first. And also…” She clapped her hands, and a small firework exploded near Celine.
“What!!?” Celine woke up immediately, her voice tired and annoyed.
“Miss Celine here will help you out with the rest, so you don’t have to handle everything on your own,” Dorothy said with a satisfied smile.
Celine rubbed her eyes, clearly trying to shake off her drowsiness. “Great, more work,” she muttered under her breath, but then she turned to me with a slightly more focused expression.
“Who’s this guy?” Celine asked, her tone skeptical.
“I told you yesterday, he’s our new member,” Dorothy replied with a light tone.
“Hmm… He looks weaker than expected,” Celine said, putting a hand on her chin thoughtfully.
“Celine!” Dorothy scolded, her tone a mix of exasperation and amusement.
Although it was my first time meeting Celine in this world, it felt like I had known her my entire life. Maybe I shouldn’t have put Celine in all of my party in the game…
Now I don’t even know how to properly react due to the nostalgia.
Just like in the game, the way she talked, dressed, and moved was as tomboyish as ever.
Instead of wearing the girls’ uniform, she was wearing the boys’ version, topping it off with her short hair. I couldn’t blame anyone for thinking she was just a very beautiful boy.
“Anyways, nice to meet you, Junior,” she said, offering me a wide smile.
“Yes, it’s nice to finally meet you as well, Senior,” I replied, trying to match her energy.
“Judging from the way you talk, you sound like you wanted to meet me?” she asked, her eyes narrowing slightly in curiosity.
“I’m from the knight department, so I’ve heard a rumor or two about the academy’s strongest knight,” I explained.
“I see,” Celine replied with a satisfied smile.
‘Just like in the game, this girl really liked compliments.’
Dorothy, noticing the positive interaction, added, “Celine is indeed one of our best. She’s not only strong but also very dedicated.”
Celine shrugged modestly but couldn’t hide her pleased expression. “I just do my job.”
I nodded, feeling a bit more at ease now. “Well, I’m looking forward to working with you and learning from you, Senior.”
“Don’t worry, Junior. I’ll make sure you keep up,” she said with a wink.
Dorothy clapped her hands, bringing our attention back to her. “Alright, now with all of that out of the way, let’s get to work, shall we?”
“I’m starting now?” I asked, a bit taken aback.
“Of course! We’re very short-handed, you know,” she said with a playful smile. “And our vice president hasn’t arrived yet, so can you please handle her part until she gets here? Don’t worry, we’ll compensate you for it. The duties regarding the club problems can be solved next week, so make sure to talk it out with Celine before you start going to the clubs.”
Dorothy handed me a stack of papers. “All you have to do for now is to continue where Alice left off. I believe she was handling the competitor schedules. Wait, let me get it,” she said as she quickly approached her desk, rifling through the piles of papers.
With the amount of paperwork stacked up, I wondered how she could find anything in that mess.
“Huahh~! I’m going back to sleep. Wake me up if there’s something I can help with,” Celine said, yawning as she headed back to her couch and promptly fell asleep.
How can she fall asleep that easily? I wondered, watching her with a mixture of amusement and disbelief.
But she’s seriously intending to work me through the bone now huh… we haven’t even fully establish if I will actually join or not.
She must’ve assumed I wouldn’t say no, due to the benefits of being a council member brought.
‘Well it’s not like I have much complains’
At least now there are certain areas I can have access through without needing the permission of a professor.
All the work she mentioned were rather easy to do, management wasn’t exactly my forte but back in my hometown.
Mother and father used to teach me managerial stuff most of the time. Maybe it was because they fully expect me to inherit their land and title becoming the next count.
So now it’s mostly ingrained in my head.
‘Now that i think about it…. the pressure of being Liyana’s fiancé actually helped me improve back those days…’
Dorothy finally found the right papers and handed them to me. “Here you go. These are the current registrations and a tentative schedule for the interdepartmental tournament. We need to confirm these with each department head and make any necessary adjustments.”
Knock…!
Knock…!
Suddenly, a knock interrupted the room, grabbing everyone’s attention momentarily before the door swung open.
Since Dorothy mentioned her not arriving yet, I knew she would come eventually, but it was still a surprise.
It was my first time seeing her with her hair completely down and without her iconic witch hat.
“Good morning, Pres—” she began, but her voice trailed off as she locked eyes with me, freezing in place like a deer caught in headlights.
It was clear she was surprised to see me, but her reaction seemed unusually intense.
“Senior…?” I started, unsure of how to break the awkward silence.
“R-Riley?” Alice stammered, her expression a mix of confusion and disbelief. “W-Why—”
“Riley, you can’t have a member waiting, now, can you?” Dorothy interjected smoothly, urging me to welcome Alice inside.
“Ah, yes. Please come in, Senior Alice,” I said quickly, trying to ease the tension that seemed to rise in the air.
“Y-yes…” Alice replied softly, still visibly flustered as she stepped into the room.
