107 — What Kind of Leader Do You Want to Be?

1

A strange tension filled the academy.

Remember the atmosphere when a major event or something significant was about to happen?

The period for electing the first-year student council president had arrived.

Young souls, looking at those they supported or disliked.

Candidates, now so well-known that their names were recognized by everyone, stepped onto the school grounds under countless gazes from early morning.

Murmured voices could be faintly heard.

Yet the students walked proudly, their chests out.

“Are you ready?”

“Yes. I’m confident.”

Manus was walking alongside Anais in front of the academy gates.

Kael had either arrived earlier or was nowhere to be seen this morning.

Anais maintained a bright expression as usual.

The heavy burden that had been weighing down her heart seemed to have lightened considerably.

Seeing her like this, Manus felt a sense of pride.

It seemed the time and emotional energy he had invested in counseling her had not been in vain.

Climbing the Tower together, overcoming life-threatening situations, and the time spent growing stronger together had visibly shaped her character and skills.

“Good luck.”

“Thank you. First, I need to make it to the finals.”

“Don’t let your guard down.”

Anais nodded.

Though she spoke like that, both she and Manus knew.

Now that she had shed the shell that had once confined her, those challenges would be nothing.

The two walked in different directions.

Anais watched Manus’s back for a moment.

The senior with black hair felt like a parental figure.

A solid tree, providing support without asking for anything in return.

There was a story like that in an old fairy tale.

A tale of a tree that gave everything of itself every time someone came by.

‘Senior probably only sees me as a junior, right?’

“Hey, Anais! Are you going off on your own? I was calling you from over there, but you didn’t even answer. Are you okay—ack!”

“Shut up. You’re too noisy in the morning.”

Pearson came running over to Anais, only to be stopped in his tracks when she pushed his face away with her hand.

The sudden impact caused him to stumble back a few steps, unable to hide his surprise.

Anais looked at him with a smirk as he stared back at her in a daze.

When Pearson hesitated, Anais, who had taken a few steps forward, turned back.

Tilting her head slightly, she asked in an innocent voice.

“What are you doing? Aren’t you coming?”

“Huh? Oh, yeah. I’m coming. How are you feeling?”

“My condition? I feel great. Like I could beat anyone.”

Anais walked confidently, her beautiful smile radiating.

Despite the restless atmosphere that filled the academy from early morning, she calmly entered the classroom and took her seat.

Turning her head, she saw that Kael had not yet arrived.

Could something have happened?

Recently, they had been climbing the Tower separately, so they hadn’t met much outside of sharing the same classroom.

Guilt, worry, and an overwhelming anxiety began to weigh down on her chest once more.

‘Phew… It’ll be okay. Let’s not get anxious again, Anais.’

With a deep sigh, she brushed off her anxiety.

Kael, unlike her lost self, was strong and steadfast.

Anais believed that she would do well.

She wanted to stand proudly in front of her and have a sincere conversation.

If she were to crumble over something like this, she wouldn’t be the Kael who had weathered countless storms.

However, contrary to her resolve, Kael didn’t show up even after class started.

Anais’s expression gradually became tinged with unease and impatience.

2

[All first-year student council president candidates, please gather in the auditorium on the 33rd floor.]

A giant tower.

A tower built with the mysterious and profound power of magic.

Inside it, many diverse facilities lay dormant.

The 33rd floor.

It was one of the few open facilities, often used for various internal events.

As Anais made her way to the 33rd floor, she kept looking around.

Kael, with her blue hair, still hadn’t shown up.

‘Where is she? Don’t tell me she got stuck in the Tower?’

Knowing her somewhat airheaded nature, it wouldn’t be surprising.

Her naturally slow gait, and the way her eyes kept scanning her surroundings, made her look somewhat withdrawn.

The looks aimed at Anais grew sharper.

Predators instinctively target the weak.

Those vying for the student council president’s position were born hunters.

They instinctively pressured Anais.

“Anais, you were so confident, and now you’re nervous?”

“Heh, looks like the Flois girl isn’t so special after all.”

“…”

Anais didn’t even seem to hear them properly, but some took her lack of reaction as a sign of being overwhelmed and started talking even more.

With their spirits high, they began to chatter excitedly.

“Hey, if you just applied for the fun of it, why don’t you give up now and head back? We’ll make sure you get into the student council.”

“Yeah. Maybe the Flois family is still too young to have a student council president.”

Comments like these, whether out of arrogance or an awareness that they were within the academy, questioned the Flois family.

Bringing up one’s family name was akin to declaring enmity with that family outside the academy’s bounds.

Since the academy’s unwritten rules didn’t necessarily apply to the outside world.

Anais, hearing this, blankly turned her head and looked at the speaker.

She only caught some vague words, but it was enough to know they were insulting her family.

Despite hearing such words, she didn’t feel particularly angry.

Why was that?

“That’s strange.”

Her vacant comment made some of them flinch.

“Why don’t I get mad when you say that? It’s fascinating.”

“That damn…”

“You guys, do your best. After all, this academy is about proving yourself through skill.”

Leaving those words behind, Anais continued to look around.

The ones who had made the useless provocation growled, as if they were hyenas that had been bitten by a real predator.

Anais didn’t care about them. She continued searching for Kael, unable to hide her concern.

Despite her worry, Kael didn’t appear.

Even when all the candidates were seated, waiting for the interviews to begin.

“Is everyone here? Then we will start the interviews.”

“Kael, the commoner, hasn’t shown up!”

Someone raised their hand and shouted.

The professors of each grade level frowned slightly.

The student council president represented the entire grade.

Not only did they make decisions about large and small events, but preparing for such events was also part of the president’s job.

Failing to keep an appointment time alone was a major demerit.

If it was Kael, she was the freshman recently garnering attention for her exceptional magic skills.

Overconfidence because of magical prowess was a behavior seen in many before.

‘Based on how she behaved in class, I didn’t think she was like that—.’

The first-year professor, Trent, recalled the name Kael.

The bright eyes she showed during class had no trace of arrogance.

Perhaps there was some circumstance.

As he was about to say something, the door to the auditorium swung open with a loud sound.

There, standing in a rather surprising appearance, was a girl with blue hair.

Her neatly cut bob.

A face enhanced with light makeup.

Her uniform, usually left undone, was now buttoned up neatly.

Her blue eyes sparkled, looking almost like a smaller version of Manus.

“I apologize for being late.”

“Kael, you—”

“Hello, Anais.”

She smiled brightly.

Anais stared at her friend in shock.

‘How could she…’

Time flows equally for everyone.

Anais had achieved significant growth in a short time.

Perhaps she had been under the delusion that she alone was growing, that she alone was ascending the steps.

That she had climbed two steps at a time, quickly making progress.

Now it was clear that the friend standing in front of her had grown along a different path.

“You made it just in time. Please take a seat.”

“Yes.”

What in the world had happened?

Everyone who knew Kael stared at her with their mouths open.

“Then, everyone is here. We will begin the interviews now. When your name is called, please proceed inside.”

The space, now resembling a job interview, was filled with a strange atmosphere of tension.

As the first candidate was called and went inside, Anais glanced at Kael, who was sitting next to her.

Kael had her eyes closed for a moment but then turned her sharp eyes to look at Anais.

“Are you okay now?”

“More importantly, nothing happened to you, right?”

“Yes, I just did some thinking. About a lot of people.”

Kael replied calmly.

Anais felt an odd sense of unease at seeing her look almost like a different person.

But no matter how she looked at her, it was still Kael.

“Thanks for worrying about me.”

“No, I…”

“We can talk more about it later. For now, we’re competitors, right?”

Kael’s radiant smile made her look even more dazzling.

Anais nodded blankly.

Where had her naive friend gone, replaced by this confident classmate?

What surprised her most was that even though she had been so worried, seeing Kael come out like this was a relief.

If Kael was willing to take the lead, showing that there was nothing to worry about, it was something to be welcomed.

The knot in her heart began to dissolve with Kael’s smile.

The feeling of guilt gradually faded, as if she were showering in holy water.

“Yes, and… I’m sorry.”

“Me too.”

After a brief pause, Kael spoke again.

“…Will you go up the Tower with me?”

“Yes. I’ve gotten pretty strong, you know.”

The two exchanged quiet words, sharing feelings that hadn’t been spoken before.

Kael remembered the time when she had said she wouldn’t climb the Tower together and had disappeared for three days.

What had Anais been doing during that time?

During the period when Kael had been most worried, what had her friend been going through?

Carefully, Kael asked.

“Back then, you seemed really worn out. How was it?”

“I wanted to get stronger, so I went into the Tower alone.”

“Alone?”

“Yes. I really thought I was going to die.”

“You could’ve gone with Pearson.”

Though they spoke casually, Kael couldn’t forget the image of Anais from that day.

She hadn’t looked this bright, and it had seemed like no one could save her.

As expected, the one who had brought her back must have been…

“I also needed to apologize to Senior Manus.”

“…”

“Anais, please come in.”

The teaching assistant’s voice abruptly cut off Kael’s words.

Anais stood up with a determined expression.

She looked back at Kael and said.

“For the rest of the conversation…”

“—Do well.”

Kael nodded with a smile.

As soon as Anais stepped inside for her interview, a soft voice whispered in Kael’s ear.

“…I’m jealous.”

When she turned around, there was nothing where the voice had come from.

Did I mishear that?

Kael paused briefly but soon turned away.

The feelings of someone filled with anticipation were utterly trampled.

–TL Notes–
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