—Asher Frostblade's point of view.
Asher and Luna entered the meeting section, where they met Freddy, Julian, Grey, Emilia and Gloriana. After being seated, more cadets began to appear and settle in, awaiting the arrival of the teachers.
The voting wouldn't take long, but until the results were in, the cadets would have to wait.
"Ahem..." At that moment, a black-haired, dark-eyed professor stood at the podium, clearing his throat as he looked at the cadets present.
His sharp, stern voice echoed throughout the section and the cadets stared.
"Before the ballots to elect the chairman of the first-year disciplinary committee, we have selected a few cadets, and, of course, they are the top ten who were left in the test."
Asher was speechless; he had never thought of such a thing. He just decided to win the tryout purely by chance, but this was unexpected.
"These ten cadets will be taking a short written test in a few moments. They will have only ten minutes to complete it. I will then call out the names of these ten cadets."
There was silence as everyone waited for the professor to speak. In the meantime, Grey commented:
"This was unexpected. Truth be told, I'm not interested in the position, but it looks like we'll have to take the written test."
"You know it's necessary, right?"
Grey spoke up and Freddy replied.
"Of course I know, you idiot, but it was unexpected."
"That's true, what do you guys think?"
Freddy looked at the rest. Then Luna spoke up.
"Mmm, I'm not interested."
"Me neither, but maybe I'd like the secretary position," Emilia commented.
"Uh, well, if I had the opportunity to be the vice president or the president herself, I would like it," expressed Gloriana, showing her interest.
Asher, for his part, listened to the others' words. Of course, it's not that he's interested, but in fact, he's curious.
"How will it feel to have such a high position in the academy?"
Actually, it's just curiosity. After all, in all those light novels Asher read in his spare time when he was an assassin, he always wanted to know what the role of the disciplinary committee chairman was like, and this is his chance.
"I'd feel like a protagonist in a novel."
A chuckle appeared on his face at the idea.
With that curiosity in mind, Asher spoke up.
"I'd like the position of president."
"..."
"..."
The reaction of the others, especially Luna and Gloriana, was to be expected.
"Why?"
"Curiosity, that's all."
"..."
Luna was puzzled at that. While she knows Asher to some extent, that was the last thing she expected him to say.
Curiosity. Now Luna was curious as to why Asher wanted that position.
After some chatter among the cadets, the professor's voice was finally heard.
"Next, I will call out the names: Asher Frostblade, Grey Elaris, Freddy Siegfried, Julian Reinhard, Luna Hazard, Gloriana Mengral, Emilia Merwin..."
The next three names of the cadets were not known to anyone. From the reactions of others, it seemed that the last three cadets who placed in the top ten in the event were lucky to be in that position, so no one paid attention to them. In fact, some muttered Asher's name, and most of the stares were directed at him, while the rest were for cadets like Grey, Freddy, Gloriana, and so on.
As expected, the cadets' reactions to Asher were full of confusion.
Thus, the reactions of many cadets to Asher's identity remained a mystery, and, of course, Asher noticed all those mutterings they made.
"These ten cadets have been selected. Next, the ten cadets will come to the front and sit at the back of the podium. They will be given a page of questions to answer."
"This is to assess the intelligence of the ten cadets, so don't waste any time and come forward."
All ten cadets, including Asher, stood up. Of course, most of them, like Grey, Freddy and the others, were not so happy about having to take this written test. To them, it was basically a waste of time and they were not even interested in these ballots.
On the other hand, Asher, Gloriana and Emilia were the only ones who seemed interested in one of the three seats on the disciplinary committee.
After a few seconds, the ten cadets sat down right behind the professor. There were ten seats and ten small tables so they could write comfortably.
The professor's voice echoed again.
"These ten cadets will take the written test. Why is this necessary? It is simple: we need to know how intelligent each cadet is, as it is a requirement for the position of disciplinary committee chairman. On the other hand, these ten cadets are already strong enough; now all that remains is to assess their intelligence."
The professor turned around and looked at the ten cadets, watching each one, until his gaze settled on Asher.
"Is there something on my face, why is he smiling at me?"
That was Asher's thought as the professor looked at him closely. Then the professor spoke again, his voice echoing once more.
"Next the tests will appear on your desks."
The professor waved his hand, and suddenly ten pages of white paper appeared on the cadets' desks.
"Okay, you have ten minutes to complete the written test."
The professor looked at his watch and then announced:
"As of now, you have ten minutes. Begin."
Asher calmly looked at the questions on the white paper. There were a total of ten, covering topics such as the history of the continent, mathematical equations, physics, mana theory, how mana manipulation works, and two questions on how mana is distorted. But in addition to these questions, Asher noted three additional ones.
"Why do these three have more room on the paper?"
"Is it possible that time mana can reverse past events?"
"Is it possible that there is a limit to the amount of mana a time spell can hold, or is time itself an unlimited resource?"
"If mana flows constantly through time, what dangers do we face in trying to control a power that never stops?"
These were three very different questions from the others on the page, and of course, as he watched the faces of the other cadets around him, Asher realized that these were questions that could not be easily answered.
"So why can I answer them, could it be because I read a lot of light novels in my past life?"
That might be the case. After all, Asher used to read novels, comics, and manga related to mana, and similar questions to the ones in front of him used to appear in those kinds of stories. For some reason, those three questions were not difficult for Asher.
"But others don't seem to understand them."
Seeing Grey, Freddy, Julian, Emilia, Luna and Gloriana with expressions of confusion and frustration over those three questions, it was more than obvious that none of them had any idea how to answer them.
After all, these three questions were related to the unique affinity of time, a very rare affinity that very few magicians possess. Other affinities, such as holy mana and magecraft mana, are also strange and considered unique.
"I guess I'll answer all of them."
***
-Scene change.
A few hours had passed, and the cadets were still waiting for the results on who would be the chairman of the disciplinary committee. During that time, the cadets voted for one of the ten who were taking the written test.
After a few hours, finally the professor returned to the podium with ten papers in the form of letters, each with a red seal bearing the Laosa Academy symbol.
The professor spoke.
"That's a total of one thousand new first-year cadets. Next, I will tell the names of the ten cadets and how many votes they got."
The professor opened one of the cards, took out a white piece of paper and read it carefully before speaking aloud.
"Sara Merlaig, 64 votes; Mark Ori, 77 votes; Riki Mard, 80 votes; Emilia Merwin, 590 votes; Gloriana Mengral, 877 votes; Luna Hazard, 799 votes; Julian Reinhard, 490 votes; Freddy Siegfried, 650 votes; Grey Elaris, 802 votes; and Asher Frostblade, 978 votes."
"Well, I guess you already know who the president is. So, the winner and appointed as chair of the first-year disciplinary committee is Asher Frostblade."
Walking to the podium, Asher looked around. Applause and some praise reached his ears, but as he walked, he kept his emotions in check, as if none of it mattered to him. However, when he stood in the center of the podium, a smile appeared on his face.
Of course, it was a fake smile. Asher still couldn't completely control his emotions, and every now and then, they would come out without him realizing it.
While standing in the center of the podium, Asher took a breath and looked around at everyone present before speaking. His voice rang out firmly and calmly.
"First of all, I appreciate the trust you have placed in me by electing me as chair of the disciplinary committee. I'm not going to lie, this is as unexpected for me as it is for many of you. My motivation was simple: curiosity. I wanted to know what it's like to be in a position of power at this academy, a place I'm just getting to know."
He paused, his red eyes scanning the crowd before continuing.
"But now that I'm here, I have no intention of letting you down. I understand that this position is not just a title, but a responsibility. And if you have chosen me, I will do my best to fulfill that responsibility. If I have learned anything in my life, it is that discipline is the basis of all true power, and it will be my duty to make sure that we all, including myself, follow that principle."
Asher drew a small smile, trying to remain as firm as possible. After all, these words were coming out of his mouth unconsciously.
"So, with that said, I invite you to work together to maintain order and justice in this academy. Because it's not just about enforcing rules, it's about building a community where we can all strengthen each other."
He returned to his seat, where the others were, at which point applause resounded so loud it could have deafened anyone.
"I guess I shouldn't have said the same words that character in one of the novels I read in my past life said."
Recalling a light novel Asher had read long ago in his previous life, he realized that everything he had just said were the exact same words as the main character in that novel.
"I never thought I'd hear words like that from you."
"..."
"Yes it was very unexpected."
"Well, the moment made those words come out of me."
Luna and Gloriana were the only ones who spoke at that moment, and then Grey and Freddy intervened.
"Although we don't know you very well, you seem to be good at this."
"I guess."
Julian then spoke as he smiled.
"You're amazing, Asher."
"Hehe," a chuckle escaped Asher at that moment.
After all, Asher was beginning to see Julian as a good friend, and obviously Freddy and Grey as well, although he hardly spoke to those two. On the other hand, Julian was very talkative when it came to personal tastes, especially when it came to coffee.
After a few more seconds, finally the professor spoke again, and all the cadets fell silent.
"So, the election of the disciplinary committee chairman ends here."
"Finally, these words are for the new chairman of the first-year disciplinary committee, Asher Frostblade. As the new chairman, you may select the vice chairman and secretary. If you wish, you may also select an assistant as treasurer and so on."
After that, the professor stepped back from the podium, and slowly the cadets began to file out of the meeting session.
But that's when the eyes of the others were fixed on Asher, specifically those of Luna, Emilia, and Gloriana.
"So, can I be your secretary?"
"I can be the vice president."
It was Emilia and Gloriana who spoke, while the rest were puzzled, and Asher simply couldn't say a single word....