The Extra’s Academy Survival Guide - Chapter 104

As the student council president election drew closer, the atmosphere within the school was also getting tenser.

There seemed to already be a general consensus among students as to which students would announce their candidacy. Among them, interest in Princess Penia shot up to the sky. Even the students that weren’t interested in anything other than schoolwork were waiting for her declaration of candidacy.

“As of this morning, Lortel Kehelland has announced that she will run for student council president.”

The news brought over by Claire, her escort knight, had Princess Penia taken rather aback.

“The Elte Company’s… Lortel Kehelland…? She said it herself?”

“Yes.”

Princess Penia tilted her head, showing her astonishment.

Lortel Kehelland was a powerhouse that worked under the water. She wasn’t the kind of person to seek a position on the surface.

Also, Lortel was already busy taking care of business for the Elte Company. There was no way she would be able to take the seat of student council president due to the heavy workload that came with it. If she really did take such a position, it was safe to say she would barely have the time to take care of the work for the Elte Company.

Knowing Lortel’s personality, she didn’t think that she would make such a choice.

However, there was no way that Claire’s information was wrong. She was always carefully selecting what to bring, making sure to double and triple check it.

“It’s actually not that strange… What’s certain is that, since she’s already in full control of the commercial district, if she becomes the student council president… She will be able to rule over Silvenia like a king. As much as I possibly can… I want to stop her.”

“But as the Princess…”

“However… I still have no intention of becoming the student council president.”

Princess Penia quickly cut off Claire’s words.

After putting down her teacup on top of the luxurious table in her private room of the royal residence… After thinking for a moment, Penia finally came to her conclusion.

“I need to go and see Miss Tanya in the guest room.”

***

“This isn’t a situation where you can just hide forever, Miss Tanya.”

Even though it was on the first floor of the royal residence, you would have to walk all the way down the hallway and take several turns just to reach the guest room.

It was a secluded space, where no one aside from the cleaning staff had a reason to visit.

Due to the geography of Acken Island, which was located on the outskirts of the empire, it was rare for a guest of nobility to come over and stay. Therefore, the guest room was built following architectural conventions but wasn’t really meant to be used.

Still, right now it was acting as a home for Tanya, who was on the run. So, thinking about it, it wasn’t a total waste to have.

When Princess Penia entered the room, Tanya was quietly sitting at a table, trembling.

“Princess Penia…”

“I don’t know what type of relationship Ed Rothstaylor and Lortel Kehelland had while he was still alive, but… Either way, that merchant seemed determined to trap you, Miss Tanya.”

The image of Lortel always supporting Ed Rothstaylor was a clear memory for Princess Penia.

There’s no way to know exactly what type of relationship the two of them had, but at the very least she was able to infer that Lortel thought of Ed as someone very meaningful to her.

“Anyway, whatever you end up deciding to do, Miss Tanya, the first thing is that you have to do is get rid of the charges of you being the one behind the death of Ed Rothstaylor.”

“But… No matter how much I think about it, with all the circumstantial evidence, I clearly look like the culprit. This… This isn’t good.”

“…Then, I have no choice but to ask for your opinion.”

Princess Penia swept her shiny platinum hair to one side as she sat down at the table opposite of Tanya.

Looking at the girl, who had fiery blonde hair and features similar to Ed Rothstaylor, she recalled the man that had abruptly died in vain before she had the chance to make up for her mistakes with him.

Although he was no longer in this world, she promised to not repeat the same mistake twice.

“If Miss Tanya wasn’t the one who ordered Ed Rothstaylor’s murder, then who do you think was the one that did?”

That question was related to the suspicions that Princess Penia had been holding in for a long time now.

The darkness of House Rothstaylor was completely unknown. If even a fragment of it could be found… Then lending a hand to Tanya wouldn’t be pointless.

“That…”

Tanya lowered her gaze as she hesitated.

Kadek and Nox, who were being accused as the murderers, were longtime vassals of House Rothstaylor.

Having such a status meant that they were no longer considered independent individuals. Instead, it meant that they carried the prestige of the House on their backs. The two of them were educated to be careful of their every action, so as to not tarnish the House’s name.

So, what were the chances of such a person committing a murder that the House itself had no interest in?

Even though they came all the way to Acken Island as a dispatched assistant, only to stab and kill the master they used to serve in the past… there was no way it was all just arbitrary.

Their plans had become tangled, making their crimes come to light, but in any case… There still must have been a black curtain behind the scenes that ordered the murder.

“Th-That’s… It was probably…”

Tanya knew it, too. Aside from him… there weren’t many that could order Kadek and Nox to take such an extreme action.

She began to think of him as the most likely suspect.

And that was… the father that she highly respected. Krepin Rothstaylor.

No one else could order Kadek and Nox to kill Ed Rothstaylor.

“……”

Looking at Tanya’s hesitation, Princess Penia was able to infer who was behind it. In the first place, she was also somebody that already had her own doubts about the hidden underside of Krepin Rothstaylor.

Still, she didn’t press her any further. The fact that her father, whom she believed and followed her entire life, did such a thing without a thought… For Tanya, that fact would be a difficult truth for her to accept.

“…The reason Kaden and Nox came to Silvenia… Assisting me was all just an excuse… In actuality, it was probably in order to kill my older brother, Ed.”

Suddenly, as if she had finished organizing her thoughts, Tanya slowly spoke.

“Miss Tanya…”

“I… I was just a puppet.”

Tanya lowered her head as she quietly spoke.

Looking back, Tanya’s entire life was like that.

How many times has she achieved something by her own judgment?

Growing up, all she ever did was sit still and bear with the pain under Ed’s tyranny.

Then, after arriving at Silvenia… The only thing she had done was lift her chin high, walking around under Rothstaylor’s glory as if she had accomplished something herself.

Nothing in Tanya’s life could have been accomplished without the name Rothstaylor.

Other than the fact that she was a daughter born into an incredible family, she was just a girl of young age that studied quite a bit.

As if that fact had struck her again, she sniffled with her head lowered.

Still, she didn’t shed any useless tears. After a moment, she looked back up at Penia and the frightened appearance she once had disappeared quite a bit. Penia was highly impressed to see her try and hold back her tears, forcing a strong expression on her face.

Every single member of House Rothstaylor was arrogant and greedy beyond belief.

Penia, who had believed in such a prejudice, had sent Ed away. But seeing Tanya like that… Little by little, the psychological prejudice she held against the Rothstavlors started to break down.

“I’ll… I’ll run for the student council president, Princess Penia.”

“It won’t be easy. After all, you’ve been accused of murder.”

“That’s right, it won’t be easy… But thinking of those who helped me when my back was up against the corner, I can’t just sit around depressed like this.”

Tanya gripped the end of her skirt tightly as she nodded her head.

“My father, who never paid any attention to my older brother Ed. The reason he suddenly took such an extreme action was probably… Because I wrote about my brother in a letter that I sent him about my daily life.”

“…Then, that means…”

“Yes, that’s right. In a way… I was the one who brought my brother to such a horrific end.”

Of course, it wasn’t something that could be considered a crime. Tanya had only given an update about her life, like usual.

She couldn’t have predicted that it would have led to Ed’s death.

Regardless, the situation ended up like that.

“After coming to Silvenia, I realized something. Even though my older brother is no longer in this world, while he was here in Silvenia, a land of learning, many things about him had changed. And until the day my brother passed away, I couldn’t let go of the doubts I held against him… Only now can I admit it.”

She remembered the time she went to Ed’s camp and was served tea.

She became resentful of the fact that she couldn’t trust the heart of the boy named Ed. And the fact that she couldn’t get rid of the suspicions she held against him.

After coming to Silvenia, devoting himself to his studies, and meeting many people, Ed had finally started to act like his original self from so long ago. It was so sudden that she couldn’t admit it. And because of that, she could never show a loving smile to Ed, who had treated her with kindness.

If the cause of his death really was because of her actions, she has no choice but to carry it on her back.

The only way she could atone for his death was to make sure his death wasn’t in vain. To continue living while bearing such a weight.

Motivation started to return to Tanya’s eyes. Her once empty eyes began to shed a new light.

“I will stand on equal footing with Lortel and reach a place where she cannot easily have influence over me. At least here on Acken Island…she won’t be able to threaten me recklessly.”

“Running for student council with the current state of things… It’s quite disadvantageous for you. More than anything, you’re still being investigated by the school for murder.”

“It’s still just ‘suspicion’ and I’m only a ‘potential suspect.’ The charges haven’t been finalized against me, so technically I’m not a criminal yet. There isn’t any reason I wouldn’t be able to run for student council president as long as I stop living in hiding and cooperate with the investigation. Plus, Kadek and Nox are currently keeping their mouths sealed, so it’s safe to say that my charges won’t be finalized until new evidence shows up.”

Of course, it wasn’t a matter that would just end with whether or not she was allowed to run for student council president under the regulations.

Being charged with murder was still a completely disadvantageous weakness for a candidate during an election. Chances were that people would view it as extremely arrogant of her to run for the position of student council president with such a weakness.

However, determination was written across Tanya’s face.

Seeing Tanya like that, Princess Penia let out a soft smile.

“Then… I’ll officially support you, Miss Tanya.”

It wasn’t possible for Tanya to not know the importance of receiving the official support of Princess Penia.

But the major political burden that Princess Penia would also be faced with in doing so… was also obvious.

When Tanya opened her round eyes and looked towards Penia, Penia had lowered her gaze, as if to tell her to not worry about it.

“I also have an unpaid debt I owed to Ed Rothstaylor when he was still alive.”

Closing her eyes, she thought of various different reasons.

The first being that she couldn’t sit still and watch the entire school get taken over by such a cruel merchant.

The second being that she couldn’t just leave Tanya, who had her back against the corner, all alone.

And finally, the feeling of regret and debt she owed for not being able to apologize to Ed Rothstaylor in the very end… Penia raised her hand, reaching for Tanya’s.

Who could have ever imagined? An alliance between Penia Elias Kroel and Tanya Rothstaylor.

***

[ C-Can I talk to him now? ]

[ Please just leave him alone. Mugg, if it were your business, he would have called on you. ]

[ But… He’s been sitting on the rock for two hours without moving. It’s going to be high tide soon, so shouldn’t he start going back into the cave? ]

[ Do you think Young Master Ed is an idiot? When the water comes, he will move. ]

I could hear Lacia and Mugg arguing back and forth with each other.

Was it because I had been sitting down in deep thought for quite some time now that the spirits were starting to think something was strange?

Spirits didn’t always stay nearby. Fluid spirits tended to wander around, while the completely independent high-ranking spirits did their own thing… Spirits sticking around you for a long period of time was much less common than you might think.

Yet Mugg and Lacia continued to linger around me, as if they had nowhere else to go.

So, whenever they thought something was strange, they would mummer to each other like that. On the other hand, Merilda barely spent any time near me. She wandered around the entire island as if it were all her domain, but when something important would take place, she would pop up in a flash. Because of that, it didn’t really matter.

“Hmm…”

The thing I had been thinking about while I sat on the rock was the conversation I had with Lortel.

“I will sell the seat of the student council president.”

“It won’t be an easy task, but the return will be as great as the effort put in.”

Act 3 Chapter 2. Before The Student Council Election.

If my memory was correct… It was the steppingstone episode before the subjugation of the mid-boss of Act 3, ‘The Disaster Alchemist, Claude.’

A storyline that changed the composition of characters around the main character, Taylee.

The villainous Tanya Rothstaylor would continue to compete against Princess Penia until the very end… and was ultimately defeated.

Even though she was introduced like a boss, she didn’t really have a fighting sequence. That was because the student council president election in itself was nothing more than a battle for power within the school.

The main character Taylee was supposed to be actively supporting Princess Penia. All because Taylee had also been bullied by Ed Rothstaylor at the start of the school year. It was an inevitable fact that Taylee would always be hostile towards the members of House Rothstaylor.

His treatment towards Tanya Rothstaylor was the same. In the first place, Tanya is also a character that was portrayed as an arrogant villain.

Either way, Taylee was on the side of Penia, with the goal of trying to persuade the students. Of course, in the main storyline it wasn’t possible for him to convince the entire school. Forcing the player to do something so boring would be bound to make the game fall part.

So, Taylee’s job in the storyline was… to meet the top students of each grade and convince them to support Penia. Systematically, receiving the support of the top students of each grade could be the difference in whether a candidate was elected or not.

As long as you could convince five of the eight students, Penia would be elected, and Tanya would be defeated in an unpleasant fashion after continuing to resist up to the very end.

While trying to persuade each student, various sub-quests asked by each character were introduced. And the quest conditions required by each student were all different. I remembered having a major headache over that part.

“I know that the support of the top students is extremely important…”

I muttered to myself as I scratched my chin a few times.

Being reasonable, the number of students that could be persuaded in each grade was two.

First year magic department’s top student Joseph, and the alchemy department’s top student, Claude.

Second year combat department’s top student Clevius, and the alchemy department’s top student Elvira.

Third year combat department’s top student Drake, and the alchemy department’s top student Atalanta.

Fourth year combat department’s top student Daike, and the magic department’s top student Trayciana.

Having the support of five of the eight top students was a key condition to winning the election.

First year’s combat department’s top student Wade was already supporting Princess Penia and the fourth year’s alchemy department’s top student Dorothy was already supporting Tanya. So, the two of them were already out of the question.

In addition, in the end the second year’s top magic student Lucy and the third year’s top magic student Yennekar decided to not cast a vote. Lucy was annoyed by it all and Yennekar was just completely neutral.

“Hmm…”

If everything perfectly followed the original timeline, then that’s how things would be. Of course, in actuality with the story progressing like it was, it had all become a mess.

The cracks appeared little by little in the 1st Act, but by the time of the 3rd, it had completely snowballed out of control. It was impossible to imagine just how the entire structure of the election had changed.

However, when we have to fight against Krepin later on, at the very least I hope that we will still have the support of Princess Penia and the power she has. I hope that at least that part of the storyline would stay the same.

Even if I couldn’t make sure every single aspect was the same, as long as everything had been made so the bigger picture in the future is the same, that would be great.

But… I couldn’t get over the words that Lortel had said.

“First off, I’m going to make Tanya the student council president. Through any means necessary.”

With the small waves crashing against the shore in the background, she sat on a light brown rock as she hugged her knees and smiled.

It was clear that inside the head of the Elte Company’s business magnate, it must be completely full of mischievous tricks and methods to achieve whatever she wanted.

When I had asked why she wanted to make Tanya the student council president, she answered just like I thought she would.

“Because she’s your younger sister.”

That answer that Lortel had put together inside her head was nothing more than perfect.

Whenever I start to think that it was the end of her scheme, a deeper section remained.

That was why I couldn’t sit around and do nothing.

However… It’s difficult to think of exactly what actions I could take. First off, I was still officially considered ‘dead.’

Once I quickly got rid of uselessly having to fake my death, taking various actions would become so much easier.

***

“I have gathered all the relevant documents and articles. You really are running for student council president, acting deputy Lortel.”

“Oh my, thank you Secretary Lienna. You can just leave it over here.”

As if she were in a good mood, Lortel continued to hum as she gave brief instructions to the cute red-haired secretary.

Even though Lortel handled most of her work directly, without the need of a secretary, Lienna, a junior employee of the Silvenia Branch’s Elte Store, still thought nothing much of being given the job. Surely, with Lortel having to take on the work for the student council election, her workload had just become too much to take care of by herself.

The strange thing was that she clearly knew that fact, yet she continued to run for student council president. Was she really planning to leave the company if she won?

“Miss Lortel. I…”

“Don’t ask me any useless questions.”

As if she knew what Lienna was wondering about, Lortel didn’t stop flipping through the documents as she responded.

“Anyway… I have no intention of becoming the student council president.”

“Sorry? Then, the documents…”

Suddenly, Lortel’s hand—which had been dancing across the papers—stopped. Ink slowly spread under the unmoving quill.

“Can you only ask me things that are necessary?”

Although her smile looked like the most beautiful and loving thing in the world, Lienna suddenly got goosebumps as she apologized. She quickly closed the doors to the office as she left.

“Either way… I know everything~ that will happen…”

Tanya Rothstaylor was afraid of Lortel. Because right now, on the surface, it looked as if Lortel seemed to think Tanya was the one that killed Ed.

Keeping that position and openly hinting at revenge, Lortel became a ‘whip’ that pushed Tanya.

On the other hand, whether it was Penia or Tanya… They both had a strange sense of guilt and debt towards the officially deceased Ed Rothstaylor.

The psychological debt that formed from the fact they didn’t recognize his sincerity, treated him harshly, and ignored him until the day he died… None of that would go away easily.

By leaving things as-is and constantly pushing the name Ed Rothstaylor into their consciousness, it would develop and become something like a sanctuary of sorts that could never be touched.

Then, once Ed Rothstaylor came back to life, all the accumulated debt and guilt that bloomed inside them would turn Ed Rothstaylor’s actions and opinions into a ‘carrot.’ A bait that would be hard for the two of them to deny.

In doing so, as long as she continued to provoke their sense of guilt and debt to Ed Rothstaylor, it would eventually reach the point where they’d all fall into the palm of Ed’s hands. As a person was mentally pushed into a corner, the more extreme change they would go through. And all of that made Lortel herself the whip.

The art of controlling something in the palm of one’s hand through the idea of disappointment and recognition. She would be able to control them to her own taste.

Holding both the whip and carrot in her hands, she could slowly hand pick the next student council president in the palm of her hands. Like a puppeteer controlling a puppet.

She had spent half of her life working alongside the people that lived in a world of business. Now, a dirty struggle for power was as natural as breathing for Lortel.

***

“You know, Bell.”

“24 days and 3 hours are left.”

“……”

At that point, Bell had begun spitting out the answer like an automated machine.

However, the date didn’t decrease.

Lucy sat on a chair in her private room with her knees bending back and forth as she tried to balance the chair at an angle.

Crash!

She suddenly lost her balance, falling over. She collapsed onto the floor as she looked up at the ceiling, but the world was still motionless.

“Kill me…”

“I can’t do that.”

“Kill me…!!!”

She was reflecting on the fact that she would never again be swept up in her emotions, blacking out, and causing a riot. But still, two-thirds of the price was still left to be paid.

Silence.

“……”

The face of the head maid Bell, who stood elegantly nearby, shone brightly—as if she were greatly relieved.

Lucy’s face, on the other hand, was completely miserable and upset.