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Chapter 98. Decoding Texts Is Outside My Expertise

“The student council’s authority, huh... That sounds like a pretty big deal.”

“No, not really. At this academy, the student council’s authority fluctuates—getting stronger or weaker depending on the generation.”

Isn't that a bit too free?

“Well... the previous president, Ars Kugel, was someone who took the council's rules seriously. But before that, the top-ranked student, Liester Noble, didn't care about the student council at all. So, the president wasn’t the highest-ranking student back then... It seems the council had no real authority.”

“What the heck was that person doing?”

Maybe I feel this way because I’m ranked second, but if you're ranked first, shouldn't you at least run the student council?

“So... what exactly does the student council do?”

“I can’t tell you everything since some things are classified... but for instance, we manage the Founding Festival in collaboration with the knights. Though, we couldn’t really focus on that last time because of the attack incident.”

“About that…”

Sorry, but I was the culprit.

“...So, about Jeremiah…”

“He declined.”

Of course, he did.

“He’s the heir to a duke’s family, after all... I can understand how he feels.”

“Aren’t you the same?”

Given that she has the same blonde hair as Jeremiah and Princess Elissa, I assume she’s also closely related to the royal family.

“I’m the fourth daughter, though.”

“Oh, I see.”

That makes sense... If you’re not the eldest, especially being the fourth daughter, you’d have more freedom. Most families still prefer to pass on inheritance to their sons, and if you’re the fourth daughter... being born into a duke’s family probably isn’t all that different from being a low-ranking noble. Of course, as you can tell by her appearance, she’s not treated poorly, and she has enough freedom to attend Chronos Magic Knight Academy.

“Hilalda is... probably a lost cause, right?”

“You understand well. I guess that means you really are close.”

“Did Hilalda deny it?”

“She did, but Jeremiah told me you're his best friend.”

That jerk... While we might be friends, I don’t think we’re that close—it's more like an awkward bond. I wouldn’t call us best friends.

“Judging by your face, it seems like Jeremiah thinks of you as his best friend, but you don’t feel the same... but I’d still say that makes you close.”

Is this girl invincible?

“So, I’d really like you to consider joining the student council.”

“Ah...”

What should I do... I just decided I won’t be able to become a magic knight in the future, so I kind of want to refuse... But after such a polite explanation, and with both Jeremiah and Hilalda rejecting the offer... No, I’ll stick to my guns like my father told me.

“I’m sorry, but there’s something I need to do... something I have to do. So I can’t.”

“I see... That’s unfortunate. Next year, the student council’s authority at Chronos Magic Knight Academy will probably collapse.”

Don’t try to guilt me.

“Well... it’s not really a big deal. We might lose a bit of budget, that’s all.”

“Wait... what?”

Why would the budget be cut just because the top-ranked students aren’t in the council? Is it because they’re harder to use in events? I don’t know; maybe it’s up to the school director’s discretion... but still, that’s a bit harsh.

“Oh, and please don’t enter the rooftop without permission.”

“Got it.”

That’s my bad.

Now that I’ve vaguely decided on my future, the next thing I need to do... is to somehow figure out how to decode ancient texts. Luckily—or perhaps unluckily—the Chronos Magic Knight Academy library contains a decent number of ancient texts. Apparently, when the Elgrant Empire was liberated from colonial rule, the Western nations left behind a collection of books, which is why we have so many of them. I wish we had more decoding books, though.

It's not like it’s a completely unknown language. A lot of these ancient characters form the basis of the ones we use today, so I can somewhat pronounce them... but they just don’t make sense.

Ah... it’s kind of like how a Japanese person looking at Chinese characters might be able to guess half the meaning from the shapes, even though they can’t pronounce them.

“...It’s hard to clean up all at once later, so could you put away the books you’re not using as you go?”

“Sure.”

I think Elixira just said something, but I’m too focused on these books right now to really care. It’s probably nothing important anyway.

“Hmm... Isn’t this about the End Dragon?”

“Huh?”

There are no illustrations, but the text looks like the same characters that were in the book with the drawing of the End Dragon I saw earlier. Since the word appears repeatedly, it must be a proper noun.

“But it’s not about a dragon... and aren’t the characters used slightly different?”

“...Hey, could it be that... these ancient texts were written in different eras?”

“What’s with that ridiculously annoying theory?”

Still... compared to the book Elixira found with the illustration of the End Dragon, the characters in this one seem more complex. I feel like that book was written later and made easier to understand.

“If—hypothetically—these were really written in different eras...”

“Then, the End Dragon wasn’t just sighted once?”

Which would mean that this so-called End Dragon comes multiple times at random intervals? Is it really like an earthquake or something? Wait... even if that’s true, there’s no guarantee it’ll show up during my lifetime.

“Since Lord Frodil, the Minister of Internal Affairs, is already preparing countermeasures, doesn’t that mean there’s been some sort of sign?”

“I don’t know. There are always people in every era who think the end could come any day.”

Well, I don’t think Frodil is that stupid.

“...First, we should probably try to guess the era when each of these ancient texts was written and organize them by age.”

“Ugh, that sounds like a hassle...”

“Stop complaining.”

Damn it... I guess it can’t be helped, but this kind of tedious work really isn’t my thing.

Alright, I’ll go call Ivy and drag her into this.