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The final day of campaigning for the Student Council election had arrived.

The speeches would be followed by voting, which was scheduled to begin at noon, so we gathered at the auditorium early. There wasn’t enough time for an actual rehearsal, so all we could do was check our positions and equipment. Fortunately, Marie and her butler Joslan had handled all of that perfectly, so there was nothing to worry about.

“Thank you for everything, Marie.”
“This is Re:berty’s first live, produced by yours truly! It is my duty to make sure everything is prepared to perfection so that everyone can relax and perform with confidence~!”

Marie declared proudly, and Estea’s expression softened.

Even though they were friends, it was heartwarming to see how Estea always remembered to be grateful and treated everything her friends did with respect. I suspected that this mutual trust was a major reason why Hom had grown so close to Estea so quickly.

I was glad to see that the two of them had practiced together yesterday as well.

“Today, we’re going straight into the real thing, so are you all prepared?”
“Nya-haha! We practiced enough to make sure we’d be fine. We even had an early-morning practice session at the dorms.”
“Yeah. I think my voice is warmed up perfectly!”

Farah answered brightly, and Alfe followed suit.

Alfe had always tended to get nervous in front of people, but perhaps because she was surrounded by everyone, it was clear that she was looking forward to the concert today.

“You doing okay, Alfe?”
“Leafa.”

When I asked, Alfe held out her hand.

I took it and felt it trembling slightly.

“Want to keep holding hands for a little while?”
“Yeah.”

Alfe nodded and squeezed my hand in return.

Maybe I was being conceited, but if having me by her side like this—and being someone she could talk things over with—had helped Alfe gain confidence, then that was all that mattered to me.

“…Are you okay, Hom?”
“I have Master and Estea with me.”
“Then you’ll be fine.”

Estea smiled at Hom’s reply.

“What about you, Estea?”
“I have everyone with me. I can’t imagine anything more reassuring than that.”
“Hee-hee-hee! This is youth! This is friendship~!”

Marie clasped her hands in front of her chest, her eyes misting over as she swayed from side to side.

With the performance so close, she seemed almost unable to contain her excitement.

“All right, the speeches are about to start~. Ignis’ loooong speech aside, make sure you knock it out of the park, Estea!”
“Of course. Leave it to me.”

Estea answered Melua’s encouragement with a smile.

At this rate, everything should be fine.

All that remained was for us to give it our all and make it through the concert without a hitch.

Perhaps sensing what I was thinking, Marie looked over at me with an amused, expectant smile.

“After that comes Re:berty’s first live~! We’re going to set off one heck of a fireworks display!”
“Huh? Fireworks in the auditorium?”

Alfe sounded surprised by Marie’s expression. Marie held the back of her hand to her cheek and laughed merrily.

“It’s just a figure of speech~! Though, if we have some room to spare, I’d like to add a little magical flair to the performance.”
“We don’t know what kind of sabotage Ignis might try, after all.”

Hom picked up on the implication behind Marie’s words and looked toward the auditorium with a stern expression.

And for good reason.

Ignis had arrived at the auditorium with his entourage.

“Lord Ignis!”
“May Lord Ignis finally achieve his long-awaited goal!”
“Ignis! Ignis!”

Cheers and applause broke out, but they didn’t exactly seem enthusiastic.

If anything, it looked more like they were being forced to put on a show against their will.

Knowing Ignis, he was probably invoking the Dulan family’s name to strong-arm students in the noble dorms into supporting him and voting for him.

Even if he managed to win through methods like these, it was obvious that the Student Council wouldn’t improve. If anything, it would inevitably get worse.

The bright students of this academy had probably already realized that much themselves.

Once the entire student body had gathered in the auditorium, the speeches began as scheduled.

Ignis was the first to take the stage.

He was dressed in a brand-new formal outfit that appeared to have been tailored especially for the occasion, his attire making a deliberate display of his high noble status.

“As you all know, there are two kinds of people in this academy. We, the chosen noble class, and the commoners who make up everyone else. Since the academy’s founding, it is an undeniable fact that we of the noble class have continued to support this academy to this very day, using our superior talents and the honors and wealth that come with them. It is self-evident that our duty, as those who value tradition and bloodline, is to preserve what we have inherited without allowing it to die out, strengthen and develop those bonds, and bring even greater glory to this academy.”

Ignis spoke in a remarkably composed voice, delivering his words to the students with carefully measured emphasis.

His manner of speaking gave the impression of someone intelligent and well-reasoned—an impression that was almost impossible to reconcile with Ignis’ usual words and behavior.

“Ugh… He’s actually making sense…?”

Melua couldn’t hide her surprise and muttered under her breath. I nodded and listened carefully to what Ignis said next.

Ignis had clearly devised a strategy of his own.

And judging by the student body’s reaction, it was working remarkably well.

“Now, as for who should shoulder this great responsibility, I hereby declare that there is no one more suited to the task than myself, Ignis Dulan, heir to the Dulan family’s noble bloodline. I suffered an unexpected disgrace at the recently held Zersteller—Canalford Cup, but that only goes to show that I am not yet perfect—that I am still growing. Through that humiliating defeat, I learned what I lacked, and having gained that insight, I have been reborn and now stand before you. There is nothing to be ashamed of. It is precisely because I am not perfect that I need the support of all of you students. Needless to say, the support I speak of will begin with the precious first step you can take in the upcoming Student Council election: your vote.”

When I glanced at Estea, I could see the anxiety on her face.

We couldn’t say anything.

We couldn’t.

No matter how much we struggled here and now, we couldn’t change the direction we’d been preparing to take all this time.

All we could do was stay true to the convictions that had brought us this far.

Our silence was our own way of fighting.

Melua’s initial startled reaction had actually helped me regain my composure.

At first glance, Ignis’ words sounded perfectly reasonable.

But if I listened carefully, without losing sight of the ideology at their core, I could sense the danger lurking underneath.

That much was undeniable.

“Finally, I’d like to speak about the other candidate, Estea Sidra. After the previous election, I narrowly missed the presidency and had to settle for the position of Vice President. During that time, I received many opinions from her that favored the commoners, and we clashed with one another time and again. Looking back, I now realize that those were precious experiences that I could never have gained elsewhere. Nothing is ever wasted. If I am to stand here as Student Council President and pursue the true development and glory of this academy and its students, then there is no alternative but for me to exercise leadership and bring the powerful tailwind of my Dulan family to bear. Even if all the commoners banded together, none of them could overcome that tailwind. I trust that all you intelligent students understand this. Think rationally about which candidate will serve the academy’s future, judge carefully with your own eyes, and cast your vote accordingly… That is all.”

Ignis finished his speech without a single stumble, then surveyed the entire student body with a commanding expression.

That look in his eyes was probably the same one he’d used to look down on us, whom he’d singled out for discrimination simply because we were in Class F.

I could sense that much, at least.

However, the reactions from the students in Classes A through E seemed quite favorable, and a much louder round of applause echoed through the auditorium than we’d heard when Ignis first entered.

“Everyone, vote for Lord Ignis! No matter what!”
“Please take good care of this academy, Lord Ignis!”

After being showered with praise by his entourage, Ignis left the stage with a satisfied smile, walking away at a leisurely pace that seemed to savor his sense of superiority.

“Listen up! If Lord Ignis loses to some frivolous clown who gives a speech like this and puts on a live show, then the students of this academy must be—”
“He already lost to her once!”

Someone heckled from the crowd, cutting off the heated rant from one of Ignis’ followers.

“Who said that!?”

Ignis immediately wheeled around and glared in the direction of the voice, but no one stepped forward.

I recognized Vannabelle’s voice right away, though.

“…So, this is how commoners operate—by making disparaging remarks about their opponents. We’ll conduct ourselves with fairness and dignity. We won’t be distracted by some childish amusement like a live show.”

Ignis issued the warning in a sharp voice before leaving, surrounded by his entourage.

He clearly had no intention of listening to Estea’s speech—or watching our live.

“I-Ignis… Ignis!”
“Lord Ignis!”
“Ignis! Ignis!”

Perhaps Vannabelle’s heckle had spurred them on, but voices praising Ignis began ringing out among the students.

In an instant, they formed a chorus that reverberated throughout the auditorium. Receiving their encouragement and support, Ignis raised one hand in satisfaction and made his way through the crowd.

“…That was incredible…”

Alfe murmured in a trembling voice, sounding more stunned than impressed.

“Yeah. For Ignis, that was surprisingly reasonable.”

Honestly, I hadn’t expected him to give a speech like that either, so I was caught off guard myself.

There was no denying the discriminatory attitude woven into his words, but with such a large proportion of the academy’s students being nobles, the atmosphere wasn’t really one where a large number of students would feel discriminated against and consequently avoid voting for him.

More than anything, I never expected him to incorporate his defeat at the Canalford Cup and his clashes with Estea into his speech like that.

Ignis was genuinely serious about becoming Student Council President, in his own way.

Then again, when I thought about it, Ignis being the son of the Dulan family—a family with that much influence—losing the election two years in a row was probably something they had to avoid at all costs, if only to preserve the Dulan family’s honor.

To that end, the Dulan family itself was surely involved, and they had probably offered all sorts of things, including substantial financial support.

Fortunately, however, the final decision was still in the hands of us students.

The deciding factor would be how much Estea’s upcoming speech—and our Re:berty live—could reach the hearts of the students.