The Headmaster's office, on the edge of the Academy.
Professor Morg Banshee stepped into the dimly lit room and had to gasp in surprise.
In the darkness, a pair of blazing yellow eyes were staring at him.
"...Did you call me? Principal."
Professor Banshee opened his mouth to speak with a trembling expression.
Then a face emerged from the darkness.
A middle-aged man with a vague look. It was a long-haired man who looked somewhat friendly with a young smile on his face.
Winston Smith, the Principal of Colosseo Academy.
Principal Winston said to Professor Banshee.
"I've heard that you've done a good job of cleaning up some of the messes in this University League."
"...No, There were many shortcomings."
"Not at all. You've done an excellent job of filling in for me as principal, and I don't know what to thank you for."
At Principal Winston's words, Professor Banshee coughed once and looked away.
"You have returned to the Academy after a long absence. Have you accomplished what you set out to do?"
At Banshee's question, Winston nodded with a faint smile.
"During training, I had a mana surge and had a difficult time, but I made it through."
"...That's good to hear."
Banshee glanced away and looked at the hilt of a sword beside Winston's hand.
The Winter Sword 'Orwell', Winston's favorite weapon that looks like the horn of a unicorn. It is a legendary sword that only those who have attained the highest level of mastery are allowed to wield it.
Winston was in the midst of a grooming session when it slipped out of its sheath.
So the white lower part of the blade, the black middle part, and the reddish upper part were visible.
Then.
"...?"
Banshee noticed something strange.
There was a large scratch on the hilt of Orwell's sword, a sword that was said to be able to break a thousand swords and not leave a scratch.
It looked like an arrow mark or a snake slither.
'What in the world happened to that sword to cause it to be damaged?'
As Banshee stared curiously at the sword, Winston spoke softly to him.
"I heard that Professor Sady got into a lot of trouble while I was away on sabbatical?"
"...more than I can say, which is why I've been putting together this report."
Banshee reached out and slammed the mountain of papers onto the table.
With a thud!
A mountain of reports crashed onto the table.
Winston broke out in a cold sweat as he laughed in embarrassment.
"...Haha, ha. This must have been a lot for Vice Principal Morg."
"Sady is not fit to be a professor, and to be honest, she's a criminal who should be locked up in the far-off 'Nouvelle Vague Prison', not in a academy."
"Don't be so hard on her. Isn't she the last descendant of the Marquises of Sade, who were so prestigious before the unification of the Empire?"
"The previous Marquis of Sade, who was the patriarch of that house, is also currently imprisoned in Nouvelle Vague."
"...."
Winston sighed lightly.
Why shouldn't he know about Professor Sady, who's been getting into trouble here and there.
"Still, it's best to keep her inside the Academy. We can't send her back to the imperial court, and we can't have the descendants of high-ranking nobles living in poverty."
"We've got finals and parent-observed classes coming up, and the final ranking battle is going to be a huge event with all the parents in attendance, and if Professor Sady causes trouble again like she did during the midterms, we're really going to be out of control."
"Let's just keep her out of the actual work as much as possible."
" ...If that's what the principal thinks."
Banshee nodded.
Well, it wasn't Professor Sady that mattered now.
Winston, the Principal of Colosseo, had returned from a short sabbatical.
A legendary swordsman whose power is said to rival that of the Ironblood Swordsman, the Spearman, the Divine Archer, and the Mage Sect's Lord.
It's an uncomfortable silence for Banshee who has his sights set on becoming the next Principal.
Moreover, since he is from the Cold Department, he is in many ways the opposite of Banshee, who was from the Hot Department.
Final exams and parent-teacher conferences are the biggest events of the year.
The political battle structure within the school between the principal faction and the vice principal faction was once again becoming chaotic.
* * *
Ryukeion, the newspaper club at Colosseo Academy.
Currently, the club room of Ryukeion was extremely busy.
The mana circulator was running nonstop. Newspapers were stacked and distributed quickly.
[Breaking News] Colosseo Academy's Principal, Mr. Winston Smith, has returned!
-Winston Smith, the principal of Colosseo Academy, who suddenly declared a sabbatical and was away, returned to school last night.
There are many theories as to why the long-serving principal, who has been the spiritual leader of Colosseo's Cold Class, suddenly declared a sabbatical and went into hiding, but the most likely explanation is that he was returning to his hometown to recover from a mana surge....
Meanwhile, Principal Winston, who has returned, looks even more intimidating than before his sabbatical... It was assumed that he had overcome his mana surge and had risen to a higher level.
"Did you hear, the principal is back!"
"Oh good! I liked Professor Winston, he was gentle."
"I really didn't like Vice Principal Banshee because he was cranky and cold whenever he went to take payment."
"It's going to be a sunny day for us Cold students, because Professor Banshee only favored the Hot students."
"From the perspective of the Hot Class, I didn't like the favoritism."
"He must be in a hurry to get back here for finals and parent-teacher conferences."
The newspaper students chattered away about the morning's issues as they took pictures for the evening edition.
Meanwhile.
Amidst all the hustle and bustle, there was one person who was unusually busy.
Dolores. Student council president, newspaper editor, and captain of this year's University League.
As student council president, she had to organize an event to celebrate the principal's return, and as editor-in-chief of the newspaper, she had to report on it.
On top of that, the principal wanted to personally recognize the winner of the University League, so she had to prepare a winning speech for the awards ceremony and a pep talk for the juniors who would be participating in the University League next year.
There was even a ceremony to award various plaques and medals to the top 3rd graders who took the midterm exam....
'Ugh, I wish I had ten bodies!'
Therefore, she was completing all these tasks by working all night long.
But despite the ongoing hard work, Dolores' eyes glowed with life.
She had one transcendent goal that transcended all of these menial tasks.
'I will eliminate the demon in the Bourgeois family and return the Bourgeois family and the Quovadis to normal.'
It's been a long time since she's had a desire.
Now it was time to make it a reality.
When Dolores had finished her work, she found an empty lecture hall and went inside.
She stared at the flyer for yesterday's competition.
'...A mock investment competition organized by Bourgeois Family.
Last night, Night Hound had given Dolores her instructions.
'I will start earning money now, and get the attention of the Bourgeois.'
Night Hound had offered a sizable sum of seed money.
The plan was to roll this out and make a lot of money so that the Bourgeois could approach him.
'In the end, you didn't tell me how you were going to raise the money, but....'
However, Night Hound did ask Dolores for one thing.
He asked Dolores to do one thing: find a handful of competent people to do office, administrative, and other secretarial work.
Dolores happened to create a temporary club under the pretext of a mock investment competition hosted by the Bourgeois family.
The club was created apparently to participate in a competition organized by the Bourgeois family.
However, the money that is being funneled through it is all real money, and it will eventually become a sharp knife that will cut the throat of the demon lurking in Bourgeois Family.
When Dolores was thinking about various things in her mind.
Knock knock knock-
The door to the empty classroom opened and two students entered.
Two applicants were selected after defeating numerous competitors after a rigorous written test and interview.
They were Piggy and Sinclair.
"Hey, guys."
Dolores stood up from her seat.
Piggy, who had demonstrated exceptional intelligence and analytical skills despite being a freshman, and Sinclair, who was nearly flawless in her administrative, office, and secretarial duties.
"Ms. Chairwoman, just like you said, I've been gathering all the information on the Bourgeois family's celebrities and their latest happenings!"
"I've been analyzing the schedule, organization, and structure of the mock competition to perfection."
Hearing their answers, Dolores felt reassured and smiled with pride.
The information and skills Night Hound needed were now in place.
Dolores was careful to make sure that the Oracle looked like a group of honors students from Colosseo Academy.
'These children must never be caught in the act.'
Soon, the battle with the demon would begin.
Dolores even had a plan to get Piggy and Sinclair out before then.
Then. Sinclair asked.
"Ms. Chairwoman. It's a mock investment, so why do you need seed money?"
"Well, actually, it's just a mock investment, but we're actually going to make an investment."
"What?"
Sinclair's eyes widened at the audacity of the idea.
So did Piggy.
Dolores spoke again.
"Literally. We're going to win the mock investment competition, and at the same time, we're going to manage real money and make a huge profit. Of course, I'll take full responsibility for any damage that might be caused."
"I-Is there a reason you're doing that?"
"First, because I'm sure of it. Second, to leave a strong impression."
Sinclair and Piggy exchanged glances at the certainty in Dolores' voice.
If Dolores, the student council president, saying this, there was no reason not to do it.
In any case, the seed money is Dolores's own money, and even if she loses it, Dolores takes responsibility.
Besides, isn't she a genius who stands out in all fields?
"I can't believe the chairwoman is saying this! I'll contribute a small amount of seed money!"
"Me too! I'm entering the competition with the intention of winning in the first place, so I'll show you what I'm made of! I'll give you every penny I've got!"
In any case, Piggy and Sinclair realized that they couldn't do well in the competition on their own.
With Dolores on board, they were going to give it their all.
"...you guys."
Dolores looked at Piggy and Sinclair, impressed.
Then.
Sinclair looked back at Piggy as if she'd just remembered something.
It made Dolores' eyes widen.
"...Really! Should I ask my brother to join us? I'm sure he'd be a great help!"
It was a statement that was somewhat concerning.