Chapter 179: The Student Council’s Judgment

Kael hid behind Cairo as Sylvia stepped into the office.

She glanced at Cairo, then at Lynx, who stood off to the side, before finally turning her attention to Kael, who was doing a rather pathetic job of hiding behind Cairo’s back.

Sylvia rubbed her forehead.

"You do know that I can see you, right? You’re not exactly doing a great job of hiding yourself," she muttered, already exhausted by the conversation she was about to have.

Kael slowly emerged from behind Cairo, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.

"Oh, Sylvia! When did our lovely student council president get here? Is there anything I can help you with?"

He tried his best to play off the intense panic he was feeling at that moment.

Sylvia ignored him and turned to Cairo instead.

"You do understand that the student council will be taking charge of this case, and Kael will have to stand trial before the council, right?"

Cairo reluctantly nodded, looking at Kael with the same expression a mother might wear when her son had just been drafted into the military.

"I understand where you’re coming from, and I don’t plan on making things difficult for you. This might help Kael in the long run, for better or worse," Cairo replied, turning back to Sylvia.

Sylvia noticed the exchange between the two of them and narrowed her eyes slightly.

"Okay..." She drew out the word, clearly finding the situation somewhat awkward. Then she turned to Kael. "Kael, you’re coming with me to the student council."

Before anyone could say another word, someone else barged into the office.

It was Raya, the tiger-kin vice president of the student council.

"Wow, Kael! Did you really do that? I didn’t think you had it in you!" she exclaimed, practically bouncing with excitement.

"Raya, there is a certain level of decorum expected of a member of the student council," Sylvia reprimanded her, feeling a headache beginning to form.

"Why would I bother with that? It just makes things boring. A little fight here and there helps spice up life," Raya replied with a carefree grin.

"Raya, we’ve already talked about this. This particular situation is very serious. Kael assaulted another student while serving as a member of the disciplinary committee," Sylvia pointed out.

"Well, when I questioned the student who was supposedly assaulted, he refused to support that claim. According to him, the disciplinary committee reached that conclusion on its own," Raya explained.

Kael’s expression brightened.

"So, the charges have been dropped?" he asked hopefully.

Sylvia completely ignored him.

"Why would you meet with the victim before consulting me? You were supposed to come here and discuss the matter with me, not go around poking your nose into things that don’t concern you."

Sylvia’s usually composed expression began to crack.

"I see. So, you want to go at it?" Raya replied, her grin widening. "Well, I don’t see a problem with that."

She casually turned toward the members of the disciplinary committee.

"We can still take Kael into custody out of spite for the disciplinary committee, though. After all, Felix changed his testimony when I told him that Kael would be the first person to hear it."

For a moment, Sylvia closed her eyes and imagined herself somewhere peaceful.

A quiet beach. A gentle breeze. No paperwork. No troublesome students.

Then she opened her eyes.

Her vice president was the problem now, but the real target of her frustration was still standing right in front of her.

Sylvia slowly turned to Kael.

He immediately put on his most innocent expression, looking as though he had never done anything wrong in his entire life.

Sylvia wanted to strangle him.

"Well, Cairo, we’ll be taking Kael with us now. I’ll see you when the council convenes to discuss his case," she said.

A magic circle materialized in her hand, and a magical binding wrapped around Kael before she began dragging him out of the disciplinary committee’s office.

"Cairo! You can’t abandon me! I’m your protégé!" Kael screamed.

Cairo looked away.

"This is betrayal, Cairo! Betrayal!"

Cairo continued looking in the opposite direction.

"Cairo, look at me! Look at the protégé you’ve abandoned! I thought we were family!"

Kael’s voice grew louder with every sentence, his cries of betrayal echoing through the hallway.

Sylvia finally reached her limit.

With a flick of her hand, wooden materialized restraints appeared and sealed Kael’s mouth.

"MMMMMPH! MMMMPH! MMMMMPH!"

Kael struggled against the gag, his muffled protests growing increasingly frantic.

I DEMAND FREEDOM OF SPEECH! CAN’T YOU SEE HOW THEY’RE MALTREATING ME, CAIRO?!

Cairo watched them disappear down the hallway.

He sighed.

Perhaps sending Kael to the student council was the right decision after all.

When Kael opened his eyes, he had no idea when he had blacked out.

All he remembered was that his incessant complaints had continued until Sylvia apparently decided she could no longer tolerate them.

She must have knocked him unconscious at some point, although he had no idea how she had managed it.

That woman...

Kael slowly looked around.

He was in a dark room, with no windows and barely any visible furnishings. The only thing he could make out was the faint outline of the walls surrounding him.

To think that just yesterday, we were discussing who to add to the Inter-High Tournament team. And now, here I am, locked up like some kind of fugitive.

He sighed.

Still, as the top-ranked student among the first years, there are certain things I should be able to get away with.

After all, he had been freed even after the incident in which he was allegedly possessed by a demon, and the Order of Black Knights hadn’t come rushing into the academy to investigate.

That meant the academy had managed to keep the incident quiet.

It could also have something to do with his noble status.

Or, more specifically, his mother.

Yeah, I should be fine. There’s no way this will become a big deal.

Just as Kael was reassuring himself, a bright light suddenly illuminated the room.

The light was focused entirely on him, leaving the rest of the room shrouded in darkness.

Kael squinted and looked around, trying to discern the positions of the people present, but the intense light made it impossible to identify anyone clearly.

He clicked his tongue.

How amateurish. Do they think I’m going to confess to a crime just because they’ve put me under a spotlight?

Kael began circulating his darkness mana toward his eyes, intending to enhance his vision and reveal the positions of everyone in the room.

"I wouldn’t do that if I were you. I thought you were supposed to be some kind of genius."

A familiar voice echoed through the darkness.

Kael’s expression stiffened.

He attempted to circulate his mana again, only to discover that he couldn’t.

His mana pathways felt as though they had been sealed shut.

Mana-binding chains.

"Well, it seems you’ve figured it out," the voice continued. "These are mana-binding chains. They’re primarily used to restrain mages because, at the moment, there isn’t any equipment capable of suppressing Aura. Fortunately for us, you can’t use Aura."

Kael’s lips curled into a faint smile.

"And why exactly did you take such precautions? Are you afraid of me, Student Council President?"

His teasing voice carried through the room.

The lights shifted slightly, revealing that the student council members were all present, along with several members of the disciplinary committee.

Sylvia stood at the center of the gathering, her expression as composed as ever.

"That is because we’re about to bring in the victim of your assault, and I don’t trust you enough to let you sit here without some form of restraint," she replied.

Kael’s smile widened.

"Oh? So you’re into kinky stuff? I didn’t know that about elves. I’ll be sure to keep that in mind from now on."

Sylvia looked down at him.

For several seconds, she said nothing.

Then she rubbed her forehead.

Why me?

Raya, who had been watching their exchange with great interest, struggled to suppress her grin.

To think someone could actually make her this tired.

Meanwhile, Cairo was beginning to regret not personally knocking Kael unconscious himself.

Both Auriella and Verdia were present, although their attendance was largely a formality. Neither of them had much authority to influence the proceedings, and it was unlikely that their opinions would change anything.

Sylvia took a deep breath before addressing the restrained student.

"Let’s get down to business. Kael Draven, can you give us a good reason for attacking Felix this morning?"

"Let me correct you there. I didn’t assault him. I challenged him to a duel," Kael replied smoothly.

Sylvia nodded, then turned toward the part of the room where Felix was standing, hidden from Kael’s direct line of sight.

"Can you verify that, Mr. Felix?"

"Yes," Felix answered. "But he didn’t give me a chance to respond, and I was unarmed at the time."

Kael’s expression changed.

"Wait a minute. Is Felix actually here?"

A savage grin spread across his face.

The mana-binding chains rattled as he shifted, their tension increasing slightly with his movement.

"Settle down, Kael Draven," Sylvia ordered.

She waited until the chains stopped rattling before continuing.

"As you’ve heard from Felix himself, he was unarmed when you attacked him. You used the declaration of a duel as an excuse to strike him before he could respond. Can you give us a legitimate reason for your actions?"

Everyone in the room turned their attention to Kael.

He fell silent, adopting a thoughtful expression as though he were genuinely struggling to understand the question.

Sylvia watched him for a few seconds.

When he still didn’t respond, she prepared to deliver her verdict.

"Wait. I haven’t given my reply yet," Kael interrupted.

"And we’re still waiting for that reply," Sylvia answered, her patience visibly thinning.

Kael cleared his throat.

"I allegedly assaulted Felix this morning as a form of training for the upcoming tournament."

Silence filled the room.

"My actions had nothing to do with any personal grievances. I simply wanted to ensure that Felix wouldn’t be caught off guard during the actual tournament."

Kael raised his chin slightly, looking every bit like a student delivering an important speech before the entire academy.

"As the top-ranked student among the first years, I took it upon myself to train the first-year students participating in the Inter-High Tournament. After all, that’s how these tournaments work. Once the competition begins, there are no excuses and no time to prepare. You’re thrown straight into a fight, and you either adapt or lose."

He paused briefly, allowing his words to sink in.

"So, my actions were not personal. They were motivated by my desire to ensure the continued greatness of our academy. I was simply doing my duty as a responsible student."

Kael finished with a deeply patriotic expression.

Every single person in the room shared the exact same thought.

Bullshit!

It was painfully obvious that he had invented the entire excuse on the spot.

Sylvia pressed her fingers against her forehead.

"I’m sorry, Kael, but a training decision of that magnitude should have been discussed with the student council beforehand. I cannot approve of your methods, even if your intentions were supposedly for the benefit of the academy."

Kael stared at her as though she had just said something utterly incomprehensible.

"What do you mean? I’m the top-ranked student among the first years, and I made that decision on behalf of the first years. That’s precisely why I handled it myself."

He tilted his head.

"I wasn’t aware that I needed your permission. After all, the academy prides itself on student autonomy, doesn’t it?"

Sylvia’s expression darkened.

Before she could respond, Kael’s eyes suddenly turned pitch-black.

The change was immediate.

The mana-binding chains trembled as the mana restriction around him began to lose its effect.

Everyone in the room stared at him in shock.

Kael paid them no attention.

Instead, he looked past Sylvia, his gaze settling on someone standing behind her.

"Isn’t that right, Principal?" he asked casually.

The room fell silent.

Every first-year student present turned toward the direction of Kael’s gaze.

What is the principal doing here?