The Protagonist's Party is Too Diligent

The term academy might sound grand, but in reality, the academies depicted in games, manga, and light novels are not much different from a typical high school.

In fact, the Imperial Rondarium Academy follows a Japanese high school-style curriculum. While the classes themselves are quite different from those of a regular high school, the academy's schedule is almost identical.

Of course, this year, that schedule had been completely disrupted due to a major incident. The winter break had been drastically shortened, and even after the new year began, we were still at the academy.

The Cultural Festival, originally scheduled for late October, had been pushed back indefinitely. Given that the school only returned to normal in November, there was no helping it.

And since it had already been delayed, the student council proposed moving the festival to late December. If it was going to take place in the cold winter anyway, they figured they might as well schedule it during the time of year when the most people were celebrating.

Simply put, the festival would be held from December 30th to January 2nd.

Even if the academy was effectively a high school, the concept of high schools barely existed in this world. In other words, Imperial Rondarium Academy was one of the very few institutions capable of hosting a cultural festival. The few other schools that resembled high schools were merely larger-scale tutoring centers or academies.

That was why the Imperial Rondarium Academy’s Cultural Festival was practically a festival for the entire capital city. While it wasn’t truly an event for everyone—since only invited guests could attend—even the streets surrounding the academy would take on a festive atmosphere, and students would mingle with the celebrations. So, in a way, the description wasn’t entirely inaccurate.

Though, Alice and I had never attended before. We could have, if we wanted to, but neither of us had the time.

Cultural festivals in Japanese subculture are often depicted as far more extravagant than actual school festivals, but in this world, it was even more extreme.

And the event organizers? The children of noble families.

Since this era still retained aristocratic and masculine pride, many noble families considered it humiliating not to contribute financially to such festivals. While the amount varied by social class, any parent who sent their child to the academy generally made a large donation to ensure the festival was even more grand.

Managing and efficiently distributing that massive budget was one of the student council’s responsibilities.

"This year’s donations are particularly generous. Compared to last year, we received nearly 40% more. At this rate, we’ll have a surplus even after expanding the festival."

One of the student council members commented. She was a girl with round glasses. Despite her modest appearance, she was also from a high-ranking noble family. After all, only those recommended by other student council members could join.

"We don’t have to spend the entire budget. We can save some and allocate it elsewhere if needed."

The student council president shrugged as he spoke.

"Since the festival overlaps with New Year’s, it’d be wise to keep some emergency funds. We never know when unexpected expenses might arise."

Another student at the table raised a hand slightly as he spoke.

"......."

"......."

"......."

Alice, Charlotte, and I simply sat in silence.

The term nobility was often used as a catch-all, but it didn’t exclude royalty and imperial family members. In theory, nobles, royalty, and the imperial family were distinct, but in practice, imperial and royal families often integrated into the nobility through marriage or the granting of noble titles.

Moreover, in terms of society, royalty and the imperial family were too small a group to form a separate social class. Naturally, to function within society, they had to associate with the nobles.

And among them, the ones who had to uphold their pride the most were, without a doubt, the imperial and royal family.

Both the Imperial Household and the Royal Family of Belvur had donated enormous sums. In truth, the academy was already funded by imperial money, but that wasn’t enough—they had to contribute even more.

Saying something like "We can’t donate this year due to financial difficulties" was simply unacceptable.

This pride wasn’t a personal sentiment—it was a mathematical equation among nobles. It wasn’t explicitly quantified or written down, but it existed as an unspoken rule.

And that pride included the imperial and royal families.

Both the Imperial Household and Belvur’s Royal Family had recently suffered financial setbacks, yet they still provided huge contributions to maintain their dignity.

Moreover—

"...Have you given any thought to the budget allocation?"

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

After finishing their discussion, the student council president cautiously turned to us, noticing that we had remained silent the entire time.

Lately, the student council had become extremely careful around us. They had always been somewhat cautious, but now, there were even some who couldn’t meet our gaze.

Well, it was no surprise. Alice wasn’t just a princess anymore—she was now the Crown Princess. And I was second in line to the imperial throne. This dynamic would remain until Alice eventually had children.

"...I have no objections. Use it as you see fit."

At least here, we remained silent.

Because appearing petty was out of the question.

If the person donating the money also started interfering in how it was spent, it would come across ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) as petty. It was far better to say nothing at all.

Had Alice still been just a princess, she might have been able to voice some opinions. In that case, she would have simply been the daughter of the donor, no different from the other students here.

But Alice was now the head of the imperial family. She was the one who approved the donation.

"I don’t know what last year’s festival was like, so I’ll leave it to you."

Charlotte added.

Charlotte wasn’t quite the head of her royal family yet, but she was here as Belvur’s representative. As a student and not the direct donor, she had some grounds to speak, but she likely refrained out of awareness of her position.

"......."

As for me, well, even if I had the right to speak, I had no intention of doing so.

In the original story, the festival proceeded just fine. Even if I didn’t come up with some grand plan, these guys would inevitably craft something straight out of a manga.

"Then, we’ll proceed with this plan."

The student council president, who had been extremely tense, responded with a look of relief, as if he had been holding his breath the entire time.

"Sometimes, I envy the way Iberia handles things."

"But you guys think their methods are underhanded, don’t you?"

"Isn’t the Empire the same?"

Charlotte countered Alice’s remark and let out a small sigh.

"Still, I can’t deny that their approach seems efficient at times."

"...I agree with that."

Alice sighed as well.

Unlike the Empire and Belvur, where people believed in openly voicing grievances and fighting for justice, Iberia valued results over methods.

There, people who single-mindedly pursued their goals were respected, regardless of the morality of their methods. In the Empire and Kingdom, a man using poison to kill his enemy would be seen as a coward, but in Iberia, as long as the target was eliminated, no one cared how it was done.

They called it Vendetta.

And this philosophy extended to money—contributing more than one could afford was seen as foolish.

"But at the end of the day, we live in the Empire. We follow its laws."

"And yet, are those same people respecting Belvur’s laws?"

Charlotte’s words were a pointed jab at the former Emperor’s ongoing legal troubles. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

"......."

Alice averted her gaze.