Villainess and the Stalker - Chapter 12 - Student Council

Chapter 12 : Student Council

Honestly speaking.

My first impression of her was…the worst.

Because at that time, I was solely looking at her beautiful appearance while neglecting her inner beauty.

And the reason why I said that was…..

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「….. Look, they’re about to appear.」

Conrad, who was sitting by my side, whispered to me. At the same time, the band, who must have stayed behind the ceremony hall with their musical instruments ready, started their musical performance.

This situation told me that someone was about to appear.

Moreover, since they were making their entrance accompanied by musical performance, it meant that they must be important figures. I figured out, at the very least, this much.

And at a glance, the people who appeared afterwards did have charismatic presence. And, a few of them entered from the entrance of the ceremony hall too.

「That blonde haired and blue eyed guy walking on the front is…. This Academy’s Student Council President, Alain Valor. He’s a 3rd year student…. The eldest son of Duke Valor, and as his appearance suggests, he’s a gentleman. He has high popularity amongst the students due to his kind treatment towards one and all, regardless of their gender…but, that’s all I’ve to say about him. Because to me, he’s a suspicious person.」

As he apprised me, I blinked at Conrad’s face full of anguish. Since I suspected that it was a rare occasion that he’d show such an expression, I decided to ask him for more details.

「What do you mean by suspicious? 」

「He’s way too perfect…and you know…no matter how perfect someone presents themselves as, at times they’re bound to slip up and reveal some sort of the faults in them. And yet, up until now, he has shown nothing. I mean, it’s fine if his flaw is something simple like being unable to stay awake in the morning, or unable to tidy his own room. AND YET, This Alain has absolutely NO flaws. His perfection is tickling my curiosity…I mean, it’s entirely possible that he might have a hidden side, right?」

「I think you’re just being overly worried about this matter….」

Normally, some humans wouldn’t display anything but their perfect disguise when conducting themselves in society. And while these types of people didn’t seem like they had any defects on the surface, that was most certainly not the truth.

However, only someone who was close enough with the aforementioned person might be able to catch a glimpse of Mr. Perfect’s flaws. And since Conrad wasn’t that close to Alain, it’s more likely that he had yet to find Alain’s imperfection rather than Alain not having them.

Meanwhile, Conrad pondered on the words I spoke to him just then.

「…. Well, you might be right about that part. ANYWAY, that’s the gist of my thoughts about him. For the time being that is. In fact, I need to gather more information about that guy before anything else.」

Really, what a stubborn guy you are!

Well, I could understand where his stubbornness stemmed from. After all, he had bragged that he was the student with the most information in the entire Academy. That’s why, for his pride, he couldn’t accept the fact that there’s someone whose private information was almost unknown to him.

「…. Let’s proceed to the second guy. Well that guy is easier than the first. His name is Ralf, Ralf Mauler. The son of the current leader of the Knight Order of this Kingdom. Ralf himself is pursuing swordsmanship and though we’re not in the same grade, I’ve faced him before in a mock battle during the martial arts lesson that is mixed between the grades. I’ve to say that he is quite skilled. Aside from the fact that he seems to be a little over-confident of his skill, he’s quite an honest person.」

Unexpectedly, Conrad held Ralf in high regard.

Ralf had blue eyes, and his long red hair was styled in one long braid, running down his back. For someone hailing from a house that was famous for their mastery of the sword, that kind of hairstyle seemed more like a hindrance. However, I couldn’t feel that kind of atmosphere from Ralf.

That style felt completely natural on him, as if it was made for him.

And while Conrad said that they had a mock battle against each other, I had yet to see that mock battle myself, so I was unable to gauge the extent of his skills. However, just looking at the way Conrad moved his body, I could guess that he was a considerably experienced warrior who’s able to apply his martial arts knowledge in real combat.

Thus, Ralf, as his opponent, was most likely more powerful than your average warrior as well.

「Have you lost against him? 」

I tried to probe Conrad.

「…. Nah, it’s my loss. From the beginning of the match until the end, I was luring him to chase after me. And, in the end, both Ralf and the spectators booed me, as they shouted at me to fight head on like a real man. That’s why I lost.」

He said.

But, that development was outside of my expectations.

「So you ended the mock battle without inflicting any fatal wound towards Ralf, right? 」

「Well, yeah.」

「In that case, it was a draw. Since you two didn’t actually fight in genuine combat…though from most of the student’s perspective, you lost. However, in the opinion of the experts, that might not be the case. After all, the strategy the warriors use when they fight other warriors changes once they see through their opponent’s true ability.」

Naturally, I’m not referring to Ralf, but to Conrad who had managed to see through Ralf’s true ability.

Conrad shook his head when he heard such an unexpected praise from me.

「… Let’s stop with this topic. I was just running around duri– Ooops, the other three are entering the hall too. That guy is…. Ylermi Parnu. The eldest son of Earl Pernu… Added to that, he’s a powerful sorcerer. There was a rumor that while he had just entered this year’s batch of freshmen, he had already mastered 3rd tier sorcery. Since that’s the case, I can’t get closer to him during sorcery lessons… Well, though it’s rare for me to meet him, since he’s a member of the special class, my class seems to overlap with his every once in a while. Anyway, if it was a martial arts mock battle, I might be able to do something to him, but he’ll absolutely butcher me in sorcery. That’s my evaluation for Ylermi.」

The tall green haired young man, with a mature air about him, had the glint of intellect in his eyes, and Conrad was spot on about Ylermi being a powerful sorcerer.

In fact, even at this distance, I could feel his huge and refined mana flowing. He shouldn’t have any problem if he had to face several sorcerers who had just graduated from this academy.

I could understand why Conrad, who was weak against magic, chose not to fight him in a mock battle.

But well…despite knowing, it’s not like I could tell him that ‘Damn, you’re right.’, in front of Conrad himself. Albeit Conrad could console himself that he wouldn’t get himself insta-killed by Ylermi in a mock battle if he didn’t use sorcery. Though if he did use it…

Well, each sorcerer is bound to have one or two trump cards up their sleeve, but the most basic and simplest method to gauge someone’s sorcery abilities was through comparing their mana tank.

I guess I’d have to investigate this matter later with my own eyes.