“Here it is. The date ticket with Freya.”I confidently rose from my seat and walked up to the stage.The students stirred at my sudden action.Even the announcer, who had been desperately calling out for the whereabouts of the S-rank treasure note, seemed a little flustered, looking at me and speaking «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» in a trembling voice.“Y-yes~ President Loen is walking forward, saying he has the note, but is that really true!”“It’s true, of course.”Standing on the stage, I took the announcer’s mic.“Since it seems everyone’s been waiting, I’ll personally read what it says.”Then I unfolded the golden slip and read its contents in a calm voice.The note written in Freya’s handwriting.“Congratulations. Though I don’t know whether this prize will be of any value to you, if you wish, I will gladly share a meal with you. If you deliver the enclosed letter to the Ishtal Student Council Office, I will contact you separately regarding scheduling. Signed, Freya Gunhild,” is what it says.As I recited the contents, the stands filled again with murmurs.“What, it really existed?”“Seems so. But where did he find that?”“You never know, the two of them could’ve staged it.”“Come on, would they go that far?”People tossed around talk about some connection between me and Freya or the two of us staging it, but that died down quickly.“Rather than rigging it with Loen, they’d just say the note didn’t exist in the first place.”“Yeah?”Because everyone knew it’d be better for public opinion not to hide the S-rank reward at all than to collude with someone like Loen.The announcer threw me a question to fully calm the debate.“Yes, President Loen? Where did you happen to find it?”Showing the slip, I answered exactly as the Chairman had told me.“That note was found at the very bottom of mailbox number seventeen in the Union’s main hall. That is all.”In fact, I had dragged my exhausted body near that location to build myself an alibi.There should be a few students who saw me stumbling around looking for the letter, so there would be no reason to doubt my explanation.“…….”Both the students’ murmurs and the voices raising suspicions noticeably dwindled.In this situation, Freya looked at me and let out a small sigh.“In the end, you found it.”“Yeah.”“……May I ask how you found it?”Does she think I have some great mana-detection ability or deductive skill? But I don’t.“That’s a secret.”A secret indeed.Because I don’t know how I found it either.I just accepted what the Chairman gave me.“I see.”She gave a small nod, then quickly brightened her expression again.After that, taking the mic back from the announcer, she spoke in a vigorous voice.“The final prize of the treasure-hunt event hosted by Ishtal will go to Loen de Valis, the Union’s Student Council President. Please give a big round of applause.”Waaah!Amid roaring cheers and hot applause, the second day of the Sports Festival drew to a close.***The next day.The last day of the Sports Festival.The finals of each event held over three days were staged, and the awards ceremony according to ranking was also conducted.First place was Ishtal Academy with a total score of 383. No upset there.It was only natural—Ishtal students had outstanding physical ability to begin with, and as the host academy, their motivation was at its peak.“Congratulations, Miss Freya.”At the ceremony, Freya hung a gold medal around her neck with a satisfied expression.The rest of the rankings went straight down in the order of Saintea, Voltimir, and Eredor.Until here, it was much the same as previous festivals; however, this time, the Student Council’s prepared “special awards” were also presented.Forty-one minor academies with more than 100 total festival points.We promised to build tram stops and lines for all of those academies.It was a larger number than I’d expected, but that was fine.It meant that many academies would raise my approval rating.The problem was funding, but that too wasn’t a major concern.We weren’t going to build forty-one stops all at once, and we had already announced we would construct them sequentially based on the points earned.Since the Chairman also said he would contribute funds for tram construction, we would proceed step by step.***On the final night of the Sports Festival, after all the event finals, the awards ceremony, and the closing ceremony had ended.Starlight glittered brightly in the sky, and beneath it the shopping district’s night streets shone.Walking the festival night streets with Ciel, I headed for a hidden gem of a restaurant I had scouted in advance.“Welcome~”A cozy pub selling char-grilled sausages and dark beer.It felt like a snowy mountain lodge in the cold winter.The snug wooden bar tables and the round tables where people could sit together had weathered with time, giving them a certain charm.“Over here, here!”As we stepped inside, Trishi, who had secured seats on the second floor, waved to us.Tonight’s dinner was the after-party.It was both the Sports Festival after-party and a celebration of the Alchemy Club’s successful debut.And the most important purpose.“You’re here.”To celebrate the joining of Beatrice, Yulina, and Bell to the Alchemy Club.Beatrice, who hadn’t been seen throughout the festival, was seated at the table with Yulina and Bell.The other members of the Alchemy Club at the next table were already dead drunk.I took an empty seat and offered a greeting.“Beatrice, I heard you weren’t feeling well. Are you all right?”Looking tired, she slowly parted her lips.“I can move around. It’s a bit much to appear in formal settings, but in a comfortable atmosphere like this, I can manage. However, you don’t look so well either.”In truth, I was practically being supported by Ciel.The after-effects of the [Overload] trait I’d used yesterday still lingered, and I felt unwell.“Well, there was a thing.”The demonkin appearance incident during the festival.Since I didn’t know at what level this incident would be settled, I chose my words carefully.I glossed over it and changed the subject.“What made you decide to join the club? You were always lukewarm about external activities.”Beatrice preferred sitting quietly in her office reading books to going out.For her to personally express her intention to join a club was no ordinary matter.When I asked about it, Beatrice shrugged.“A personal interest was sparked, that’s all. Trishi, you said the club made and sold carbonated water?”As Beatrice showed interest, Trishi seemed a bit nervous.“Y-yes, Your Highness.”“You said the manufacturing of the carbonated water generator was done by the triplet dwarves, and the method of production was provided by Loen?”“T-that’s right.”Beatrice turned her gaze back to me.“Loen, how did you discover the method to manufacture a carbonated water generator?”From the continent’s technological perspective, the carbonated water generator was clearly an out-of-place artifact.It wasn’t strange for Beatrice to take an interest.And since there was a dungeon I could only clear with Beatrice’s help, I might as well lay some bait in advance.“Beatrice, do you know about the Academy’s Seven Great Mysteries?”“You mean that unreliable bit of gossip.”“Unreliable? You must not have been reading the papers lately. Not long ago, together with a member of the Newspaper & Broadcasting Club, I successfully explored the dungeon located beneath the closed schoolhouse. It even ran as an article.”“No way…”“Yes, I found the carbonated water generator’s blueprints there.”When I spoke confidently, Beatrice let out a short laugh as if it were absurd.“Heh, why would that thing be found there?”“…….”‘Right?’A reasonable question. I didn’t know the exact reason either.In the first place, those blueprints were merely something scattered throughout the Academy as a player perk.If I absolutely had to tie it into the in-game setting, it would be something like: the technology of the lost Golden Age had been stored in ruins…“In any case, the point is that the Academy’s Seven Great Mysteries aren’t mere rumors—they’re real.”“Hm, if that’s true, it’s quite interesting. Worth exploring at least once.”“Right, let’s try it sometime at the club level.”As we chatted about this and that, a server soon came up carrying a large tray.“Here is your course meal. Where shall I put the dark beer?”“Here, right here!”Taking off her party hat, Trishi grabbed the big boot-shaped beer stein the server set down.The rest of the party only stared blankly at the scene.“What? Am I the only one who ordered alcohol?”You people don’t know how to enjoy yourselves, she grumbled.The others each received juice or other drinks and set them in front of themselves.“Then let’s have a toast before the meal.”On the table were appetizing smoked roasts, hotpots, salads, and more.Let’s all shout a cheer before we eat.When I raised my glass first, Ciel, Bell, and Trishi followed.Beatrice and Yulina looked a little displeased, but they raised their glasses after us.After confirming everyone had lifted their glasses, I spoke calmly.“…To a peaceful academy life. Cheers.”“Cheers!”Clink—Our glasses met with a crisp sound.And thus, in a lively bustle, the last night of the Sports Festival ripened.***The next day.A weekend morning following the end of the Sports Festival.Students who had partied through the night had all crashed, or would only be dragging themselves out of bed when the sun was high to have a late breakfast.Of course, I was fine since I hadn’t particularly drunk the day before.My stats, which had dropped due to Overload, had returned to normal, and my condition had recovered nicely.After finishing meditation and morning exercise and taking a refreshing shower, I headed straight to the lab.‘The battle just two days ago against the demonkin.’In that process, I had managed to realize exactly the battle scenario I’d only run through in my head.A fighting method that absorbs the enemy’s demonic energy and uses it to manifest magic.This did not use the mana in my body—in other words, the low-efficiency mana converted by Bell’s Mana Orb.As the phrase implies, it converted the surplus demonic energy absorbed from the opponent directly into magic.‘If I can refine this method, it might be of tremendous help later.’An efficient method of storing the absorbed demonic energy and taking it out when needed, without having to take on the risk of accepting demonic energy throughout my body.Though it wouldn’t be usable in ordinary battles that aren’t against demonkin, it should prove useful in the battles against demonkin I’ll continue to face.“Phew.”With a deep breath, I took out the Dark Magic Stone I had received from the Chairman and began the experiment.

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