Chapter 13: Life is not always fair, but that is not an excuse (5).
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Of course, no one dared to mention the matter publicly; it is ugly to point out people's flaws in front of society and others.
No one wants to appear in a bad light unnecessarily.
"Damn! If I didn't feel myself in such a sensitive situation, I would have tried to discover more, to get closer to the good side of the president!"
The girl, whose name is Xiao Yui, thought with annoyance.
She was just a girl from humble origins; for her to enter the student council, how much effort did she put in? And how many people did she cling to?
Although this academy does not distinguish between students and values a student based on their effort more than anything else, that is not everything.
In recent years, nobles and children of prestigious clans have been trying to undermine the authority of common students and anyone else, and they succeeded with great ease.
Through their immense wealth and the absence of anyone who could publicly suppress them, who could stop them? They made anyone loyal to them after promising to support them.
What common people lack the most is support and resources, and what do nobles and children of well-known clans have more than that?
It was, of course, a foregone conclusion!
The world is often unfair, but what can be done? One must move forward whether they want to or not, if they want to survive.
Not everyone has the courage and bravery to face dangers; it is always better to grow in peace and tranquility.
What about Olivia? Why didn't she try to change the situation? Even if she fought for the students on several occasions, she couldn't do much.
She herself was the daughter of a prestigious clan in Kanghua, and with Kanghua's fluctuating relationship with the southern nobles, how could she act nonchalantly? It was impossible.
That is unless her clan was very strong, and unfortunately, the clan forces of the Eternal Night tribe were on the rise.
Thus, she couldn't do much.
Xiao Yui, who paid great attention to the general situation, understood to some extent the character of the student council president, and so she did everything she could to attract her good side.
She hoped that after graduation, she would obtain a good status due to the scholarship that all graduates from the student council have.
Risk was not something she cared about, as long as the benefits were high.
Now, if she intervened more, Olivia would feel delighted, and that might affect her interests within the student council.
The audience was indeed staring at her with unpleasant looks now.
She needed to correct her position quickly.
"I'm sorry... I was just worried about the president; I hope you forgive my rudeness!"
She quickly changed her position, speaking in a remorseful tone, as if she were asking for forgiveness.
The student council president said she didn't mind, and Loki waved his hand lightly as if he were uninterested.
The public's displeasure lessened, although it did not disappear.
After the scales shifted, she sighed in relief.
She did not forget to send a glare of hatred towards her opponent.
"Anyway, sister, from what others said, it seems you have become the president of the student council?"
To break the scattered atmosphere, Loki led the conversation and got to the point.
"... Yes"
"That's just great; from this, I can say that the situation in the clan is good then."
"To some extent, yes."
"Is that so?" Loki said, continuing succinctly: "You should be proud of yourself then; your childhood dream has come true, thanks to your efforts entirely."
"Um..."
As if she didn't know how to respond, her voice came out like a moan, unsure whether to agree or contradict his words.
Embarrassing.
That is all that can be said about what is happening.
The white-haired boy was talking about this and that, but the response that came out was embarrassing and simple.
From time to time, her tone fluctuated between surprise and worry, and astonishment.
The problem was that the boy seemed not to notice and continued talking.
Thus, despite the breaking of the silence, the uncomfortable atmosphere did not completely dissipate.
There was a conversation between a brother and sister, but the listener did not feel it that way.
Instead of family, it felt like a stranger asking how your affairs were going.
That is how everyone felt, and because of this stifling atmosphere, no one dared to speak, and Deus Orpheus was no exception.
"I wanted to continue the lovely chat, sister, but we must welcome the survivors of the storm."
As he finished his talk, Loki walked ahead towards the dock, followed by Firon with wide strides.
Silence continued on the side...
"W-why?"
That was until a weak voice came from Olivia's mouth.
"Hmm?"
Loki turned back and stared questioningly.
"I mean... how... why are you...?"
Why are you not angry with me? How are you still alive?
As her younger brother, who knows her better than anyone, Loki could easily tell what she wanted to say.
He chuckled lightly and shrugged his shoulders as he said, "That's life, isn't it?"
"Ah..."
Upon saying that, he continued on his way and did not look back, leaving the girl with her astonished gasp.
His retreating back was deeply etched in Olivia's mind.
The girl remained silent.
And no one dared to approach her; they only followed the two departing young men.
As the ship approached the dock, the passengers cried out joyfully as they waved their hands like madmen.
"We survived!"
"Damn! Who would have thought that I, just an ordinary servant, would suffer such bad luck!"
"My bad luck! Be thankful we are alive!"
Voices of people talking rose here and there on the ship; Lilith, who was watching this, thought deeply in her mind.
Although she did not show it, she was also happy to have survived; she could attribute it to luck, but that is not everything.
Without her efforts to guide and calm the passengers, what would have been their fate? She could only think of the worst.
She was one of the reasons for their survival; this fact was as clear as the sun.
And she would make the best use of that fact.
She was a merchant to the core; how could she not make this matter advantageous for her?
No matter how many dangers there are in the world, a merchant will always pursue profits.
She was a seventeen-year-old girl; still, she understood this truth deeply.
People in the world are not of good intentions, and unless she makes the situation in her favor, she will lose her initiative to form a chain around the necks of those with money in their pockets.
The world will go on, and she must gather her daily bread.
With the gears working in her mind, the island's shore appeared, which had been far away before.
After observing for a while, a slight disappointment appeared in her expression.
"He is not there..."
Among those standing on the shore, it was impossible to see that person.
Is he already inside the academy?
While holding the young man's coat in her hands, the ship finally docked.
The passengers disembarked noisily from the ship, finally releasing all their pent-up emotions.
It was difficult for the crew to disembark them quietly.
"Shore! We finally reached the shore!"
"Hahaha! I survived! That damn storm couldn't take me down!"
"I, Yang, did not expect to survive this savage storm!"
Voices of joy and people sobbing were heard.
You could even see people hugging the ground, as if they were afraid of it suddenly disappearing.
"Miss, there are no more of us left on the ship."
In her deep thoughts, Lilith snapped out of her daze when someone called her.
She turned to see the former old man, who was the head of the relief unit.
"Sorry, I was a bit distracted; let's disembark now."
"It's okay; it's only natural; who can stay alert all the time in such a situation? Instead, I admire your mental stability, my young lady," the old man said deeply as he moved ahead of her, his hands on his back.
His current appearance was different from before.
As she thought about that, Lilith moved to disembark as well.
The journey — which was both short and long — finally ended.
This ship had passed through a group of pirates while crossing the mainland.
The mainland has another name: the southern eastern border.
That mainland marks the border between the Cairo Empire in the east and the Nanman state in the south.
The sea that divides them is called the mainland, as it was one of the important maritime trade routes; the most traded there were industrial mermaid gills and mainland fish.
It can be said that there has been a tense relationship between Nanman and Cairo lately, due to the migration of fish from the mainland a few years ago.
Many tried to find out the reason, but there was only one explanation, which is that the storms that have increased recently caused the forced migration of sea creatures.
Although people do not publicly acknowledge it, industrial gills were being traded in the black market among various sectors of the two states in abundance.
This was a fact known to merchants and high-ranking officials in past years, but this fact has spread to the general public recently.
It seemed as if someone was secretly inciting them.
There was initial resentment, but due to people's hatred of half-breeds in many cases, the voices of resentment diminished over time.
Industrial gills were traded in several ways.
And that was either through bandits and fugitives or through pirates.
Noble clans would not dirty their hands with such disgraceful acts publicly, and the same applied to noble families.
Thus, pirates were not hunted down much or suppressed publicly.
It was a loss for the mermaids to leave such an area, but what could they do?
Naturally, a place like the mainland was also teeming with pirates.
Fortunately, the ship avoided trouble after paying 'sufficient fees' and crossed safely.
That was Lilith's idea, praised by many when she advanced in a situation that could have led to a fight.
After that, without warning, they entered a violent storm.
After entering a life-or-death situation, when the situation settled, she saw a young man sleeping peacefully in such a position, and for some reason, she fell asleep next to him.
Then she dreamed of a strange nightmare that twisted and distorted her past in an unfamiliar way.
After waking up, she felt a strange feeling.
More than anything, there was an unusual desire to see that young man, named Leon, deep within her.
She did not know the reason, but she wanted to meet him!
It was not a romantic feeling like a crush or interest in a boy her age; it was something new that she was not accustomed to.
It was like....
"I really want to meet him."
And that was exactly after she woke up from her sleep.
She finally concluded her eventful journey.
The journey that should have taken two days took longer due to the storm.
Thus, they arrived on the fourth day compared to the day the others arrived.
Under normal circumstances, they should have arrived on the second day at the latest.
The teachers tried to comfort the students and other travelers as much as possible and congratulated them on their survival.
They may have lost some luggage, but staying alive was their greatest wealth.
After stabilizing their side, the teachers began to move towards the head of the relief team, who stood alongside Lilith.
"How are you, supervisor?"
He greeted the teacher standing in front of him routinely while staring at the group beside him.
"What an interesting group," he said deeply before directing his gaze to one person in particular: "Really interesting."
The person waved his hand in greeting, as if sensing his gaze.
"Oh, Med-"
"M-Master! Come quickly!"
As Deus wanted to speak, he was interrupted by a panicked voice from someone running.
His voice was, of course, audible to the crowd.
"What is he talking about...?"
"Did problems start already?"
"Oh my God! What is this disturbance..."
Panic spread among the crowds quickly.
Deus, who noticed that, acted quickly.
He slapped the person who came to him and said, "You fool! Running out of papers doesn't mean it's an emergency! Don't you see what's happening? People are already panicking because of you!"
He quickly pulled the person towards him and whispered to him without anyone noticing.
After understanding the situation, the boy apologized while scratching his nose in embarrassment: "... I'm sorry, I'm passionate about my work, so I thought that the lack of papers would cause a problem, hahaha."
"Is that it? And we thought something important had happened."
"Tsk tsk, there are always those people who never realize the environment."
After hearing the boy's explanation, the audience lost interest immediately.
"Explain to us on the way, lead us, quickly!"
Deus whispered while walking with the boy, keeping the teachers and student council members.
The ones who walked were the two young men, who were the reason they were waiting for the director eagerly, and the student council president, who insisted on coming under the pretext that the student council had the right to inquire about what was happening.
Then finally, the old man, and Lilith, who also wanted to come, the old man said it was fine, and they went immediately.
After moving a sufficient distance away, Deus inquired about the situation: "Tell me, what happened?"
"I don't know how to say this, but there is a big problem among the students on the eastern coast!"
As if recalling what his eyes had seen, he said in a trembling voice: "We found the person you told us to look for, but... he knocked down all the students who wanted to catch him!"
"What?!"
"Impossible?!"
As if in disbelief, Deus's and the student council president's jaws dropped, as if they were in disbelief.
"I told you this."
Loki's voice came out, unperturbed, and he said calmly.
Firon thought deeply as he said: "It seems he has already started; you, tell me, did he do it alone, or did he have other people with him?"
The young man replied in panic: "H-How did you know?"
"It doesn't matter, just answer!"
"He had four people with him!"
"Four? It's obvious who two of them are, but who are the others?" Loki thought as he inquired with his gaze.
Questioning looks filled the faces of those present.
The boy answered after gathering his courage: "They are three young men and a girl! It was fine with them, but the problem was with the person in question! That devil showed no mercy to anyone!"
His body trembled as he recalled how that 'scoundrel' beat the other students without any restraint.
"That sounds like him."
"Even after all these years, it seems he hasn't changed that habit."
Loki and Firon exchanged words as they quickened their pace.
They were the only two who seemed to understand the situation, so Deus inquired about what they knew.
"You need to see for yourself."
"It's better to see him than to hear about him."
That was all they said before they fell completely silent.
Deus tried to pull out any more words, but nothing was useful; he sighed and continued his pace; after all, they were close to the eastern coast.
As she followed the group, Lilith tried to piece things together: "Could it be him?"
A wanted person, not to mention that, after thinking deeply, it was strange that there weren't many people at the docking site of the ship they came in.
Did he do something after entering exactly?
It was easy to know who was meant, as he was the only one who went to the island in a conspicuous manner.
More than anything else, she could say he was strong, whether from what he showed or after the boy's words who brought the news.
"He is a strong person."
And that was the most important thing.
Lilith felt strange about everything happening, but she also felt curious, of course.
Her anticipation to meet Leon again after the short separation was rapidly increasing.