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Chapter 50
I immediately tried to grab the note and check its contents, but my sister snatched it and tucked it into her chest.
“Why?”
“Let’s check it together when Aiden and Lucas arrive.”
“We could just check it before they come and tell them when they arrive.”
“Checking the note together is a ‘Dulsamo’ tradition.”
“Ah.”
If it was another rule I didn’t know, I had no choice but to follow it.
I quietly accepted it and sat back down.
“Sorry, Olivia.”
“It’s okay, sister. I’m new, so I don’t know these things well. Please explain!”
I drank the tea that had been prepared while waiting for the other members to arrive.
Aiden and Lucas showed up after quite some time, apparently because they had things to do.
“Sorry, sorry. Some urgent student council work came up suddenly.”
“I apologize. The teacher asked me to handle something.”
Both had reasonable excuses, so no one scolded them.
Before they could even catch their breath, all the club members gathered in the center.
“Then, let’s check the new note that just arrived.”
At my sister’s words, everyone looked at the note she held.
It felt like the paper unfolded very slowly.
Holding my breath, I peeked at the note containing my first assignment as an official member:
“Please oversee the magical lantern lighting event.”
“Again, no client listed?”
Noah took the note from Olivia and looked around, but no matter how he looked, the client’s name wasn’t written.
“Couldn’t they at least write specifically what we’re supposed to protect the magical lantern event from?”
Liam complained about the overly brief contents of the note.
“Nothing is ever easy.”
Aiden felt the same way.
But Lucas and I just blinked at each other.
For Lucas, who might be feeling frustrated, I spoke first.
“What’s a magical lantern lighting event?”
“Oh, you’re first-years, so you haven’t experienced the festival yet.”
Aiden naturally placed both hands on our heads.
“Now that midterms are over, you can know. The highlight of school life is coming—the festival.”
“Festival? Similar to the one in the capital?”
“No, the festival at the academy is a little different. Every year, each class sets a theme and holds events, and clubs also participate. There are also school-wide events organized by the student council.”
“So they do a lot of things?”
“Yes, it’s a day when students openly enjoy themselves.”
Just hearing about it made me excited.
Even during the week-long Empire Festival in the capital, I could see streets completely different from usual, so I always looked forward to the annual festival.
I had never seen the festival at the academy, but somehow I was excited about it.
“So what about the magical lantern lighting event?”
Lucas, not the type to get excited about the word ‘festival,’ asked directly.
“It’s the most traditional event among the school-wide events organized by the student council. It’s mainly a competition for those who can use magic well. Magical lanterns will be hung throughout the school, and the person who lights the most lanterns with their pure magic wins.”
Lucas and I naturally looked at Noah.
It was obvious to anyone that Noah would win this competition.
“Of course, Noah also won last year!”
I imagined a sixteen-year-old lighting all the school’s lanterns.
It must be quite a spectacle.
“But then why is the note asking us to ensure the event goes safely? Did the student council decide to cancel it this time?”
Liam asked Aiden.
“They wouldn’t cancel it. It’s the most traditional event at Saint Louis Academy. Besides, we haven’t even properly discussed the festival yet.”
Even the student council members had focused on studying for midterms.
So, the client had sent the note asking us to protect an event that hadn’t even been fully discussed.
“Then at least the culprit isn’t a first-year, right? If they were, they wouldn’t know much about this festival.”
“No, you can’t be so sure. If a senior told them about it, they could know.”
Aiden immediately countered my comment.
“But whatever grade they’re in, is there a reason they’d want to cancel this event?”
“Hmm, that’s the problem.”
Liam, watching Aiden think while stroking his chin, cautiously gave his opinion.
“This is the event where it’s almost certain Noah will win, right?”
“Almost? It’s just Noah.”
Noah, without hesitation, confidently claimed his win.
No one could argue, and he wasn’t wrong.
“So someone wants to cancel this event, and the client wants to stop that. That means the client wants to protect the event from being canceled.”
“Yes, the client wants to stop that.”
Aiden and my sister, being part of the student council, looked more seriously concerned.
“If there’s someone who wants to cancel the event, and someone who knows that and wants to prevent it, then maybe the note’s sender is an associate of the person who wants it canceled.”
Lucas raised the question, and everyone nodded.
“Yes, they have to know that someone wants to cancel it in order to write a note asking us to stop it.”
Liam agreed with Lucas’ reasoning.
“Then the person who wants to cancel it probably holds a grudge against Noah, and the person who wants to protect it is connected to them.”
I summarized aloud what they said.
“Should we first find out who the client is?”
My sister suggested.
“No, I think first we should make sure the student council event proceeds safely,” Aiden immediately opposed.
It seemed wise for my sister and Aiden, both council members, to follow the note’s request first.
“Then Noah and I will try to find out who could be the culprit and who the client is.”
“Sadly, we first need to find someone who holds a grudge against perfect Noah.”
Noah would distract the culprit, while Liam would watch the surroundings to find both the culprit and the client.
“And us?”
When Lucas and I asked, the seniors whispered among themselves and then reached a decision.
“You have work to do too.”
Their shining expressions didn’t seem entirely positive.
Lucas and I just looked at each other, dreading what was to come.
After midterms, the busiest place was the student council room.
As the seniors had warned, Teacher Karen soon announced that festival preparations would start, beginning entirely in the council room.
No matter what activities a class planned, nothing could be done without council approval.
So the student council room now needed even a chick’s wings.
The two fragile chicks deployed were Lucas and me.
“Ugh, it’s so heavy.”
“Bring just one more box to the preparation room.”
One of the council seniors stacked another box on top of the piles already reaching my face.
I thought helping with the council would mostly be sitting and checking papers, but it turned out that physical work was more common.
Most tasks couldn’t be handled by us since we weren’t official council members.
Next to me, Lucas quietly worked without complaint.
Even if I wanted to grumble from exhaustion, it felt pointless.
“Take a short break.”
My sister approached and placed fine teacups on a small temporary table for us.
Inside was delicious herbal tea brewed in perfect proportion.
One sip soothed my burning throat and filled my mouth with rich aroma.
As expected, my sister could do anything, even brewing tea.
“Thank you, sister.”
Lucas seemed quite impressed with the herbal tea as well.
Seeing him like this made my heart ache.
Poor Lucas. If this sister hadn’t helped him wrongly, he might have found the courage by now.
But maybe he was wise to take more time and get closer to her rather than getting rejected outright.
“But why did we become student council assistants?”
