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To obtain permission from the Professor for Marie’s magic cannon to be carried and used, we headed to the faculty office. On the way there from the atelier, we passed the headmaster’s office, the reception room, and the vice principal’s office. Even from the far end of the hallway, I could see that only the vice principal’s office still had its lights on.

Since it was already fairly late after classes, I had been worried everyone might have gone home, but if the vice principal’s office was still lit, we were probably in luck.

Thinking that, I walked a short distance behind Melua when she suddenly tilted her head in confusion.

“Huh? The vice principal’s office is still lit… And Ignis is in there.”
“…Huh?”

Since she was taller than me, I naturally lagged behind her, but I hurried up to her side.

She had mentioned Ignis, but I couldn’t see him myself.

“Ignis?”
“Shhh.”

As she spoke, Melua pointed at her own eyes. She had probably unconsciously used her Pure Eyes to perceive the vice principal’s and Ignis’ aether.

“I wonder what they’re doing here this late?”

I whispered as quietly as possible so only Melua could hear.

“Maybe they’re discussing how to rig the Student Council election…”
“I hope that’s not it.”

It seemed like a real possibility, but I wanted to believe otherwise.

“Well, it’d be a waste to just walk past. Carry sound to me… Seek Hear.”

She cast the spell without the slightest hesitation, but it was clearly an eavesdropping spell. It definitely wasn’t something they taught at an educational institution. The fact that Melua could use it probably meant she’d found herself in situations where it had been necessary more than once.

I had no intention of ignoring whatever Ignis and the vice principal were discussing, so as we continued down the hallway, I listened carefully to their conversation.

“…What’s going on? I had my followers laying the groundwork, and yet Estea’s still in the lead.”
“My apologies. But to be honest, the preliminary survey—”
“Enough!”

Looks like Ignis had raised his voice again now that our footsteps had moved farther away.

When I looked over, Melua pointed at her ear and gave me a playful wink. I copied the gesture and couldn’t help but smile wryly.

“…Then manipulate the vote.”
“You can’t be serious…”

Some muttered curse slipped through during the silence, but I let it pass. Faced with Ignis’ unmistakably irritated tone, the vice principal fell speechless.

“That’s kind of sad. He’s obviously being threatened.”

I nodded at Melua’s remark.

The vice principal, who had gone along with helping Ignis gain the upper hand until now, still seemed reluctant to interfere with something as fundamental as the Student Council election, where the students’ collective will was at stake.

Ignis, however, continued without hesitation.

“Have you already forgotten that I made you the chairman of the Election Committee for this very reason?”

I see.

With the Dulan family’s backing, it wasn’t just vote tampering that was possible—they could even influence who was put in charge of running the election itself.

Marie could probably do the same if she wanted to, but knowing her, she’d never stoop to something like that.

That’s exactly why I was able to put my trust in Estea and the others.

“…What’s there to hesitate about? Just increase our votes and throw out Estea’s. Simple, isn’t it?”
“But if we do that, the will of the students…”

The vice principal’s hesitation was only natural.

Every student at Canalford Academy had the right to vote in the Student Council election.

Unless Ignis genuinely had broad support, vote tampering would be the first thing people suspected.

From where I stood, Ignis’ popularity didn’t seem to extend beyond a portion of the students in the noble dorms, no matter how you looked at it. Even if he intimidated people by invoking the Dulan family’s name, most students wouldn’t want a Student Council that remained under their control.

On the other hand, many students wanted Estea to be reelected.

That was the true will of the students at Canalford Academy.

“Enough with the excuses. My orders are absolute.”

Ignis’ tone grew increasingly harsh.

The vice principal could do little more than repeat, in an almost inaudible voice, “But… I… however…”

“Wow… This is way worse than I imagined…”

Apparently unable to bear listening any longer, Melua dispelled the eavesdropping spell and let out a sigh.

“If they actually go through with this, the election won’t mean anything anymore.”

A rigged election that produced the exact opposite of the students’ will had to be stopped, no matter what.

But if we revealed that we’d learned of the scheme through an eavesdropping spell, it would damage our own credibility, and the information itself would be shaky as evidence.

“What do we do…”

It seemed Melua had arrived at the same conclusion as I had. She clutched her head and rocked back and forth in frustration.

Still, we absolutely had to tell someone about this plot.

The person most likely to help in a situation like this…

As that thought crossed my mind, I remembered who the Professor really was.

He was an agent sent to restore order to this academy.

Naturally, ensuring this election was conducted fairly and brought to a proper conclusion had to be part of his mission.

“…Let’s talk to the Professor.”
“The Professor? Why?”

Melua, who didn’t know his true identity, reacted exactly as expected to my suggestion.

I obviously couldn’t tell her the real reason, so I’d have to come up with a plausible excuse instead.

“He doesn’t seem to belong to any faction. Maybe he’ll be able to come up with a way to deal with this.”
“Now that you mention it, the Professor’s on the Election Committee too. That’s perfect!”

Melua accepted the explanation far more easily than I’d expected.

Feeling relieved, I continued toward the faculty office.