Besides bombs, there were plenty of preparation items brought for the Student Council tour.
A pencil engraved with a cutting spell to silently slice through glass windows or walls.
A “Good Job!” stamp inscribed with a disturbance spell to disconnect summons or artificial beings.
Ziang showed deep interest in the carefully selected tour supplies that could be used in daily life without raising suspicion.
“Looks like you got everything ready by midnight.”
“Today’s the weekend, so there’s no test or lecture. I was planning to find you first if you didn’t show up!”
“How’s the howling plant doing?”
“The nice goo should be going to sleep!”
Leaving the howling Mandragora, who was dozing off with goo goo sounds, we leaped over the window and broke through the Guard Post at the First Year dormitory.
Avoiding the patrolling Security Instructors, we were moving through the trees towards the Main Building where the Student Council was, when I called out to Ziang.
“Over there, there’s a dimensional rift due to the Fourth Year test, so if you jump wrong, you’ll end up in another dimension. Let’s not go through the trees and head down instead!”
“…Why is there such an unknown rift in the academy? If a First Year falls in, they’ll die.”
“That’s why First Years aren’t allowed to wander around at night! By morning, the seniors will have sealed it up and stabilized or isolated the space.”
“……From now on, I’ll just stay in my room the week after tests.”
“Then let’s go visit Titosso’s room together! Pajama party? I wanna do that!”
“What’s a pajama party?”
“It’s a secret ceremony that girls hold quietly at night in the forbidden zone!”
“Is that so? It’s a place to measure the assassination scores of men and choose who’s the best or hardest to assassinate. I definitely want to participate in that party.”
Was a pajama party really like that…? But hey, if the participants enjoy themselves, I guess it’s a party!
“By the way, why was the howling plant pretending to sleep? It was really on guard against Oknodie.”
“Really? Awww. Do you think the goo hates me?”
“I’ll let it lose in the pasture and take it for walks later. It’s only acting up because it’s cooped up in the room. Be honest, how many times have you taken it for a walk this week?”
“I don’t know… Maybe not even once! Or maybe once or twice…?”
“Such a bad Mama! Reflect on that.”
“Ugh. I’ll reflect…”
As we exchanged updates on our lives, we soon spotted the Student Council Building that was entirely occupied by the Student Council.
[Tour Spell has been certified.]
[Intruder Detection Spell will be deactivated.]
[Intruder Elimination Spell will be deactivated.]
“Did that speaker just say ‘elimination spell’?”
“Yep, it did!”
“…Want to stop the tour?”
“After coming all the way here? No way! Let’s just close our eyes and get it over with quickly. That way, we can get the treasure and event going sooner.”
“Treasure?”
“I’ll tell you later!”
As we entered the Student Council Building, the modest exterior transformed the entire surrounding scenery into a vast cityscape in an instant.
“What’s all this?”
“Space expansion!”
“What kind of expansion is on a city level?”
“It’s the same at the Magic Tower!”
“Unbelievable. Where did all the people roaming this city even come from? Is it an illusion?”
I didn’t need to answer that question.
“Welcome, tour students. I am [Jessica], the Student Council’s dedicated administrative officer in charge of tours.”
Ziang gave a suspicious glance at the adult woman in military-style attire and pants with her hair in a ponytail.
“She doesn’t seem to be breathing.”
Ziang circled around Jessica and poked her thigh with his finger.
“Ouch.”
Jessica let out a sound of discomfort, but Ziang’s certainty grew stronger.
“When I poked her waist and elbow, she didn’t react at all. This is just a simulation of pain based on visual information.”
“Wow. Ziang is so smart!”
“So what is this?”
“It’s a Human-type Golem! It’s one of the products developed by past student councils after various enhancements in the Student Council Building!”
“The information about the Oknodie tour student is accurate. However, this is the first confirmed visit of the Oknodie tour student to the Student Council Building. May I inquire about the source of this confidential information?”
“Absolutely not!”
“Understood. Then let me begin the guided tour of the main facilities of the Student Council. Please hold hands and follow me.”
When I grabbed the left hand of the Human-type Golem Jessica, Ziang took my left hand instead of Jessica’s right.
“What if the golem suddenly shoots a paralysis spike from its hand?”
“Then what about me?”
“Oknodie has a high resistance to paralysis, right?”
“True!”
Standing side by side while walking down the boulevard, a large building with a sign appeared.
━━━
Student Council Execution Headquarters
━━━
“This is a subordinate organization of the Student Council, led by Director Velvet. Under Director Velvet, there is one manager, six execution staff, and 1278 administrative units.”
Ziang couldn’t hide his nervousness in front of Velvet’s hideout, who was the top figure of the current Seoguyeon and ranked in the top 5 across the Gift Academy.
“I should have brought Titosso.”
“Tito would have fussed for at least 30 minutes saying he was too scared to go in.”
“If I had him as a shield, I’d feel safer.”
“That’s true! It would be reassuring to take someone weaker than me as a shield.”
The friend shield strategy was a tactic I often used in reckless runs; binding one on each arm and holding one in each hand would give me four, which was super handy.
If I could hit the seniors, who weren’t supposed to kill First Years, with them, it was a go-to strategy for special branching routes or speedrun achievements.
It would have been great to have Uncle Oh, who was big, as a shield, but it was a shame I hadn’t seen him this time around!
Bang.
As I opened the door to the Execution Headquarters, countless gazes of the administrative staff fell upon us.
A staff member hauling a heavy bag, another one walking by with a folder for a report, even someone coming in with a dislocated arm being fixed by their good hand—all these commissioners stopped what they were doing at once and stared at us in a chilling silence until Jessica finally spoke up.
“Official tour participants Oknodie and Ziang’s tour spells have been verified.”
“Spell verification.”
“Scan complete.”
“Entering data.”
Only then did the staff resume their duties, moving back to their respective tasks as if returning to normal.
“Oknodie… what was that just now?”
“Tourist registration!”
“What would have happened if we had walked in without the spell?”
“Probably, they would have dropped everything and rushed us, overpowering us and dragging us off to jail?”
“Is that how you treat First Years who naively visit the Student Council?”
As Ziang posed his question, an execution staff member wearing a special cloak that marked their affiliation with the Student Council approached us.
“Surprised, huh? Sorry, Freshmen. But due to the frequent invasions and attacks we face, we have no choice but to detain anyone who doesn’t have permission.”
“Why?”
“Because the Execution Headquarters has the authority to monitor and punish strong sub-organizations like the Student Council’s Absentee Regulation Bureau, External Cooperation Bureau, and Anomaly Handling Bureau.”
“And?”
“There have been cases where spies or assailants disguised as First Years were sent by organizations abusing their power for espionage, surveillance, or evidence concealment. So, we monitor the tour spells more stringently within the Execution Headquarters.”
“…What in the world is going on with the student council’s internal struggles?”
“Haha, if you’re curious, why not come inside and find out? If you get on Velvet-senpai’s good side, joining the execution staff should be no problem at all.”
“I’ll think about joining after the tour!”
As Ziang was stumbling over his words, I quickly interjected to steer the situation.
My clear response made the execution staff member look at me with disappointment before they left.
“If you change your mind, just let me know any time. It’s always better to have one more capable execution staff member.”
Even after the older student left, Ziang remained quiet for a while, whispering with gestures.
He must have sensed a monitoring agent hiding and keeping an eye on us, pretending to leave.
Thanks to that, we explored the insides of the Execution Headquarters to our heart’s content.
Jessica, who helped with the tour introduction, explained the inner workings of the headquarters joyfully.
“The Execution Headquarters conducts tax audits and monitors malpractice under the leadership of the director, manager, and agents to prevent the afflictions of other organizations within the Student Council. Given the potential for significant casualties, Human-type Golems were created for advance reconnaissance and surveillance purposes. This place is the maintenance area for the Golems of the Execution Headquarters.”
In a scene filled with golem parts resembling human limbs, bodies, and faces, even Ziang, a current assassin, showed signs of fear.
His pupils were trembling wildly, just like when we went to listen to Professor Sadako’s lecture.
“These Human-type Golem units are referred to as staff and are sometimes dispatched to assist in combat, field control, and legal interpretation, providing execution assistance services.”
“Can’t they just roam around in their mineral bodies? Why do they need parts that look like people?”
Jessica had a clear answer to Ziang’s question.
“It’s the preference of the past directors of the Student Council.”
“Ah.”
We should respect their preferences.
