About two or three years ago.
Back when, at least on paper, I was still a citizen of the Republic of Korea rather than a citizen of <Jjam Academy>.
I once went along to one of Representative Han Gyeong-su's election rallies.
“Beloved residents of my constituency! Esteemed small-business owners and self-employed citizens! How much have you suffered because of COVID all this time?”
“Yes!”
“I will not waste words. Twenty-five trillion won! In this budget review, Han Gyeong-su! The Great Han Party! We will make sure it passes for all of you!”
“Waaaaah!!!”
“If we all stand together, we can certainly win!”
“Han Gyeong-su! Han Gyeong-su!”
It felt as though I were watching a concert live.
Representative Han Gyeong-su's vigor and forcefulness as he delivered his street speech atop a truck were enough to make one forget his age.
That did not mean I stood there blankly listening to his speech, either.
Naturally, I waved a glitter stick and shook my ass beneath the truck. I worked so hard that people told me I could become a girl-group member later.
“Ah, I am dying.”
“You worked hard, Representative!”
“Yeah, yeah. Whew...... I feel a bit more alive after some cold water.”
The moment Representative Han Gyeong-su got into the Carnival Hi-Limousine, he unbuttoned his dress shirt like a real macho man.
Perhaps he thought today's street speech had gone quite well, because his reddened cheekbones were sitting fairly high.
“Representative.”
“Yeah.”
“May I ask you one question?”
“If it is really just one question, did we not finish a moment ago? Kidding, kidding. What is it?”
Thanks to that, I found an opening to cautiously bring up a question that had been bothering me all day.
“Was the COVID emergency-support budget submitted to the Budget Committee not eighteen trillion won?”
“It probably was.”
“But at the street rally, you pledged twenty-five trillion.”
“Mm-hm.”
After hearing just those two lines, Representative Han Gyeong-su grinned as though he had grasped the point of my question.
“You mean, why did I boldly promise something I cannot keep when the ruling party and the government will never accept adding seven trillion?”
“That is correct.”
“Oh, Lee Seong-min still has a very long way to go.”
“Pardon?”
“Seong-min, is the government ours right now, or theirs?”
“If you mean the party the current President belongs to, it is the People's Nation Party.”
“That is why I made the pledge. I have nothing to lose.”
Increasing a budget for cash assistance would eventually lead to rising prices.
That was why the government tried not to distribute cash directly whenever possible, and that stance was naturally reflected in the budget it sent to the National Assembly.
But to the overwhelming majority of the public, compared with the ‘minor’ matter of future inflation.
“What matters is getting a few hundred thousand won into my pocket right now. This is not a question of good and evil. It is the realm of human instinct.”
That was why the government and the ruling People's Nation Party had no choice but to be pushed back whenever the opposition Great Han Party launched a public-opinion offensive.
“But what if the current government and the ruling party hold their ground in the National Assembly, saying they cannot give out more? That is perfect.”
That was Representative Han Gyeong-su's secret sauce.
“Even so, you were the one who made the pledge, Representative. If it ultimately is not increased to twenty-five trillion in the plenary session......”
“Why would that mean I failed to keep my pledge? It means the other side made a mess of things.”
He laughed as he cheerfully crushed the empty water bottle in his hand.
“Seong-min, a politician is not someone who makes promises he can keep. He is someone who makes promises the people with votes want to hear.”
That day, I realized that one could get drunk on the spirit of Yeouido without drinking beer.
And a few years later, I was elected in the end.
It would have been a perfect ending, aside from the minor problem of being possessed in the middle of my acceptance speech.
To be honest, the Academy's entrance ceremony was an event for their kind alone.
After all, there were far more people who could not afford to send their children to an Academy notorious for its murderous tuition than people who could.
Conversely, that meant it was a festival for those who could afford it.
“There, there is our child!”
“Where? I cannot see them......”
“Over there, the third one by the big pillar.”
The parents attending the entrance ceremony were busy finding their sons and daughters and happily waving to them.
Their sons and daughters were secretly delighted, yet somehow embarrassed all the same.
Of course, not everyone created such a harmonious scene. In fact, it would not be an exaggeration to say the harmonious ones were a minority.
“......Of course they would not have come.”
“Hey, hey. You are disappointed because you expect something.”
“......”
Because they were sons of concubines, illegitimate children, or for other reasons they could not speak of.
Most of the freshmen who had been sent to the Academy as though they had been cast out by their families hung their heads in a gloomy atmosphere.
“I will make them regret abandoning me.”
And among them, there were even a few freshmen burning with a twisted desire for recognition from the families that had abandoned them merely because of a ‘difference in mothers.’
Unlike the first floor, where such a diverse assortment of people mingled.
“Ho ho, it is truly a pleasure to see you again this year.”
“I am only grateful that Your Excellency the Court Count welcomes me so warmly.”
“This, too, is surely thanks to the grace of His Majesty Solarian III.”
The second floor, where the upper class had gathered, was so sweetly harmonious it could rot one's teeth.
Chairmen and senior staff from various patronage associations raised their glasses and exchanged pleasantries.
There were even several hereditary nobles who had deliberately come up in person from their own territories.
The second floor of the Academy's Great Hall was faithfully performing its function as a small venue for socializing.
At least on the surface.
“We discovered a new scholarship student this time, and this child's talent for magic is so outstanding that we are even considering sending them to the Mage Tower.”
“Talent is one thing, but one cannot simply overlook their background.”
“Ahem, why are we suddenly talking about background here?”
“I hear the mother of that scholarship student with such outstanding magical talent is actually a courtesan.”
“......What does that matter? It is harder to find a student at the Academy who does not have a story.”
“At the very least, our patronage association has none.”
“You are so narrow-minded that you cannot help but struggle to find scholarship students.”
“Who says we are struggling? Stop your baseless slander. It is unsightly.”
“What? Unsightly?! You bastard, just because I have let it slide......!”
From the perspective of patronage associations based in the capital, the Academy's entrance ceremony was a kind of arena.
It was a place where they openly judged the backgrounds and credentials of the scholarship students they had decided to sponsor, as well as those of their rival associations' scholarship students.
They used information obtained in advance to relentlessly tear down the other side's students while unhesitatingly building up their own.
It was an arena where they measured one another's accomplishments, then savored glorious satisfaction or bitter defeat.
“Now, now, that is enough from both of you.”
Wegner clicked his tongue inwardly at the patronage association officials and stepped in to mediate.
There was no greater disgrace than grown adults behaving this way at an entrance ceremony where the students ought to be the protagonists.
“Come to think of it, I heard that there is a scholarship student causing quite a stir at the Imperial Patronage Association this time.”
“Ho ho, I would not call it quite a stir...... Let us just say that I was somewhat surprised.”
Of course, as the man who led the Imperial Patronage Association, he had no intention of yielding so readily, either.
'They run private patronage associations, while mine is officially recognized by the Imperial family. Why should I?'
This was the imperial capital, where the Academy was located, and in the capital, no one could hold a candle to the Emperor.
Wegner, who boldly selected scholarship students under the name ‘Imperial’ in such a capital, had no reason to feel inferior to patronage associations run by other nobles.
'At most, they are viscounts. I am a Court Count. Mm-hm, even by title, this is only right.'
The moment Wegner mixed a little self-praise into his pretense of mediating, countless checking pitches came flying at him.
“Somewhat surprised, you say. I am certain you said something similar last year and the year before that as well......”
“Ah, you certainly did. Who was it again? They vanished the moment they graduated, only for us to find out later that they had joined the Mage Tower.”
“It must have gnawed at you quite a bit. I wonder how you resolved that.”
The chairmen of the patronage associations who had been tearing at one another just moments earlier had united to tear at Wegner.
“......Let us stop bringing up stories that are already long past. Ahem.”
“Was that not an issue that had yet to be resolved?”
“Come now. Why are you saying that we should not turn red on such a good day......”
Just as he had endured as much as he could and was about to retort in earnest.
[Attention, distinguished guests and students. The entrance ceremony will begin shortly, so please take your seats.]
A voice announcing the start of the entrance ceremony flowed from a magical device.
In the end, Wegner and the others all withdrew after saving a suitable amount of face.
As the entrance ceremony proceeded, beginning with the Academy anthem that never became familiar no matter how many times one heard it.
'Come to think of it, I heard that His Majesty himself was scheduled to attend this entrance ceremony. Where is he?'
On that sudden thought, Wegner looked around, but he could see neither Solarian III nor even the Imperial Guard Knights.
[Next, we will present an award to the top scorer on the written placement test.]
“Oh, so this year's top incoming student has been decided.”
“But only the written test, not the placement test as a whole?”
“Have you not heard? The reason the entrance ceremony was moved forward was because His Majesty......”
Amid the murmuring of the patronage association chairmen, the master of ceremonies' voice rang out.
[Graysong Silva, please come to the front of the stage.]
“That is it!”
At that, the chairman and staff of the patronage association Graysong Silva belonged to broke into enthusiastic cheers and applause.
“How can this be?”
“After I stressed the importance of the placement test so strongly......”
“Nngh, tch.”
In contrast, members of the other patronage associations drooped like jellyfish washed up on a shore.
'That is strange...... Marta certainly delivered the documents, did she not?'
Rather than drooping, Wegner was left puzzled.
After all, Lloyd had very boldly declared that he would ‘adjust’ his own grades.
He had even taken the personal information of the professors who received sponsorship from the Imperial Patronage Association.
There was no way Lloyd would have carelessly let the placement test, where he could make a strong first impression, pass by.
[Next, the new-student representative will deliver a speech.]
“The new-student representative will be the top incoming student, will they not?”
“Of course. That is the custom.”
Beneath the dim lights, the patronage association chairmen whispered as they dwelt on their disappointment.
[New-student representative Lloyd Schultz, please come up to the stage.]
“Hm?”
“The top incoming student is not the new-student representative?”
“Could it be that student, Graysong Silva, is of......”
A name entirely different from their expectations was called.
“Hm, ahem. Well, well. There is no hiding an awl, even if one tries.”
At the same time, Wegner's shoulders rose as though they would break through the Great Hall's ceiling.
“......Chairman of the Imperial Patronage Association?”
“Could that young man be the one from the rumors?”
“I hear he receives sponsorship from Sachsen, Frank, and Rheinland, as well as the Red Tower and the Blue Tower?”
“Is that even possible?”
Ripples spread among the other patronage association chairmen.
The more they did, the harder Wegner had to work to restrain his cheekbones, which wanted to ripple upward.
An exhilarating satisfaction raced through his entire body at having landed a blow against those people, who were busy snatching away Imperial Patronage Association scholarship students by cowardly throwing around money.
'Well done, Lloyd. Very well done!'
He might not have been the top scorer on the placement test, but the speech could make an even greater impact.
Come to think of it, if he became the top scorer by adjusting his grades, it could arouse needless suspicion, so he must have deliberately given it up.
“Your Excellency the Court Count must be very pleased.”
“Oh, well, there is no need for that, ahem. Is there?”
Wegner was happy enough to laugh off even praise that was closer to mockery.
But the moment Lloyd's new-student representative speech began.
[Greetings, you half-measures.]
“Pfft!”
Nothing but shock remained on everyone's face, including Wegner's.
***
“Your Majesty, would it not be better to announce your arrival even now and receive the proper ceremony?”
“Then it would not be any fun.”
The Emperor of the Empire.
Solarian III smiled beneath a black hood that called a dark priest to mind.
“Who else could be the protagonists of an entrance ceremony but the freshmen? It is enough for me to quietly cheer for their future.”
Judging only by what he said quietly to the chamberlain, he was the very image of a wise ruler.
'He is full of thoughts about arresting anyone who happens to insult him......'
Neither the chamberlain nor any of the Imperial Guard Knights accompanying the Emperor believed him at his word.
Separate from his ability to govern the Empire, Solarian III's paranoia was one of the Imperial family's open secrets.
“......Knights, make every effort to ensure His Majesty's safety.”
The chamberlain had no choice but to pretend not to know Solarian III's true thoughts.
And not long afterward.
[Greetings, you half-measures.]
Lloyd Schultz's explosive declaration, amplified through a magical device, struck Solarian III's eardrums.
“Ho......”
A blood-tinged smile formed on his lips.