The Protagonist's Party is Too Diligent

To be completely honest, if someone asked whether we worked hard on our student council activities last year, I couldn’t honestly say we did.

There were plenty of excuses.

We were still first-years, so we didn’t know much, and if people from such high-status families like us kept showing up at the student council, the committee members would definitely feel uncomfortable. And when we voiced our opinions, even if we were wrong, no one would dare to oppose us.

In fact, that situation hadn’t really changed.

If anything, it had only gotten worse.

Alice, once a princess, was now simply the Crown Princess, and I, who had once been a princess myself, was now the second in line to the royal family after Alice.

Charlotte, who had been with us in Belvur, had started to gain recognition as a royal princess after the events there—at least, that’s what the rumors said. To us, she was just the same Charlotte, but it seemed like the Belvur royal family was using those events as a marketing tool to promote their own reputation.

And Claire, Leo, and Mia were the same. They had all fought alongside us, risking their lives.

Mia’s mother might feel differently, but Mia herself had already become an important figure within the royal circle. If nothing changed, the Crowfield family would undoubtedly be aligned with the royal faction in the next generation.

So, when we started voicing our opinions, the student council could do little to stop us, just like back in first year—but this time, things were a bit different.

"You’re running for student council president?"

"Why? Is there some rule that says foreign students can’t be the president?"

"Well, there isn’t such a rule, but..."

This time, however, the ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ situation was different.

The reason we didn’t interfere with the student council last year was simply because we didn’t want to complicate things. At the start, we were just first-year students, and getting involved in too many things would attract negative attention. We were still in the phase of learning, and if we got involved too much, it would have made school life unnecessarily difficult.

But this year, the student council president who had been there last year had graduated.

In other words, the position was now vacant.

While the student council president’s term was officially only one year, they could run for re-election as many times as they wanted. And since most students would just re-elect the previous president, the position usually stayed with the same person unless something drastic happened.

In other words, if anyone wanted power at the academy, running for student council president was practically a given.

"You didn’t really think that since you became the Crown Princess, no one else would challenge you, did you? You thought no one would run against you and that it would be an easy win?"

"......."

Charlotte provoked Alice openly, and Alice didn’t hide her displeasure.

"I just knew I could win, no matter who ran against me."

"Then you can try competing against me."

Charlotte shot back at Alice with a confident grin.

"As I said a moment ago, I’m running for student council president."

"...Alright. I won’t let Rondarium Academy fall into the hands of an outsider. I’ll accept your challenge."

"Oh, really? You’re the one challenging me?" 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

Why were they fighting like this? Weren’t they friends?

It would have been better if they had fought over food instead. At least then, I wouldn’t have to wonder if they were seriously fighting.

As they argued in the middle of the student council room, everyone around us was watching.

"Silvia."

"Hm?"

I was sitting quietly, drinking tea without getting involved, when Alice suddenly turned toward me.

"Why are you sitting there with such a relaxed look on your face?"

"...What kind of look am I supposed to have?"

"If I’m running for president, then it’s obviously natural for you to be my vice president."

"............Why is that obvious?"

Despite how it may seem, I didn’t have any desire for power.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

If I had to be honest, I did have a bit of a desire for money. I believed that if my pockets were full, my heart would be too. The thought that I wouldn’t have to worry about hunger made my steps lighter, and the idea that I could buy what I wanted whenever I wanted made me feel at ease.

Of course, here in this world, I didn’t need to show off my greed for money. I had more than enough for when I needed it.

As for power... well, it wouldn’t hurt to have some, but I was well aware of the heavy responsibilities that came with it. And I knew that if I failed to carry out those responsibilities, I’d be the one blamed.

Most importantly, I hated trouble. And “work” was, naturally, a form of trouble.

If I climbed to a high position, I knew I’d only be saddled with more responsibilities, and that was why I had no intention of ever reaching for that power.

I could never understand why the former student council president had taken on such a role.

"You’re the second in line to the empire. You’re naturally expected to protect the empire from external threats."

"What external threat? It’s just a fellow student running for student council president."

"......."

Alice was momentarily stunned, her mouth hanging open.

“Are you saying that seriously?”

“Well, I’m just speaking the truth. Here, I’m simply a student from Belvur, nothing more. Same goes for Lena and Sophia. Just like the other students here at the academy, I have the right to run for student council president.”

Charlotte said this while slightly lifting her chin, eyes partially closed. Honestly, even from a neutral perspective, she looked a little annoying.

“You’re my sister. You were supposed to help me, weren’t you?”

“...”

No, even so, there was no need to look at me like that—like I was a traitor.

It seemed Alice thought that I had expected her to run for student council president.

And of course, she also seemed to think I would be helping her with that.

Honestly, I had thought that too.

But it wasn’t because I knew what happened in the original story. After all, by this time in the original, the war should still be ongoing.

The reason I thought this was because I had watched Alice for a year. Over the last year, it seemed like she had regained a lot of herself—her confidence, her will. Rather than worrying about what others thought, she had started doing things she wanted to do.

Given Alice’s nature, I was sure she would want to step up and try when an opportunity like this arose.

And, of course, I was certain she would ask for my help.

“I’m not saying I won’t help...”

And just as well as I knew Alice, she knew me too. After all, I had changed a lot over the past year. In fact, I had changed more than Alice. My speech alone was completely different. If you compared me from last year to who I am now, people would probably say I’ve become an entirely different person.

Though that was mostly because I had been acting desperately to appear that way, it wasn’t just my speech that had changed—there were plenty of other aspects that were quite different.

“Right? Well, that’s fine then.”

Alice turned her gaze toward Claire and Leo.

“Why are you looking at me?”

Claire immediately responded to that.

“...”

Leo obviously turned his gaze elsewhere.

“...Well, I don’t expect you two to help me.”

Alice said this before turning her head back toward Charlotte.

“I’ve already brought a vice president candidate with me. What about you? Do you have someone who can follow you?”

“Why would I not have someone?”

Charlotte asked with an incredulous expression.

“Are you planning to bring Sophia with you?”

“No. I wasn’t thinking of doing that. She’d probably reject me right away if I asked, so I didn’t bother. And, I’ve already chosen my vice president candidate. They’re right here.”

“Here?”

Alice’s gaze shifted from our table to another group of students.

“That’s not who I meant.”

After seeing Alice’s reaction, Charlotte stood up from her seat and walked toward Mia.

Placing both hands on Mia’s shoulders, Charlotte spoke.

“My vice president candidate is right here.”

“...Huh?”

Alice, looking at Mia who had stiffened the moment Charlotte placed her hands on her shoulders, made a slightly dumbfounded sound.

“...Mia?”

“Yes.”

“Your vice president?”

“Is there a problem with that?”

“Uh...”

We were all left speechless for a while after Charlotte’s bold declaration.