I, Kenneth, am going to get to the root of the problem today.

Page 5

Envisioning his retirement, Kenneth once again threw himself into the noble cause of education.

Chapter Eleven: Reines Meets Her Toy

Meanwhile, in the office of the Plant Department monarch, a irritated May Lydelle Archerlot held a pen under her nose with little interest, her rose-gold twin tails drooping limply onto the sofa.

"Ugh, why did I have to inherit the throne? I really want to hold a concert~~ I wonder how Yuju is doing, is she still stuck in the mansion...?"

"Clang clang clang."

The glass was knocked on, and May Lydeer Acherlott, who was sprawled on the sofa like Ge You, jumped up with a start, cold sweat pouring down her back. She stiffly turned her head to the glass window behind her, and when she saw that it was a pigeon, she breathed a sigh of relief and then patted her thin chest.

"Thank goodness, thank goodness no one else found out, otherwise the Archerlot family's reputation would have been ruined in my hands."

"Clang clang clang."

Just when Lydia thought it was an ordinary pigeon, the knocking sound rang out again.

"No...it can't be..."

Feeling the magic emanating from the pigeon, Lydia was completely enveloped in a grayish-white state.

"Clang clang clang."

The knocking sounded again. Realizing that she absolutely could not leave any survivors, Lydia opened the window and grabbed the pigeon by the neck, looking as if she wanted to destroy the eyewitness. Just then, the letter tube at the pigeon's feet caught Lydia's attention. After pulling the pigeon by the neck and locking it up, Lydia took out the letter that the pigeon was carrying.

Lord Acerlot, I am your fan. Due to the difference in our status, I cannot tell you my name. Out of my admiration for you, I specially wrote a song for you, and I hope you like it.

"Tch, all this boring stuff again. Do they really think I, May Lydelle Archerlot, would care about this stuff?"

Before long, the "it smells so good" principle kicked in, and Lydia, who had been saying no, reluctantly picked up the letter she had thrown into the trash can.

"This is a gift from the fans. As a super☆British beauty and the world's number one idol, I'll just take a look, um, just take a look."

And so, under the pigeon's tilted head and watchful gaze, Lydia once again unfolded the letter Kenneth had sent.

In hope we rise.

We speak your name.

We lift our eyes

......

Subconsciously humming along to the marked syllables, Lydia realized the significance of the song before her, but then her face quickly turned red.

"What?! These lyrics are like a confession! I am May Lydelle Acherlot, the monarch of the Clock Tower, with countless suitors, the first witch in history to have over a hundred million fans! How dare he, a mere third-rate magician?!"

"Well--!!!"

At that moment, Lydel made the sound of boiling water. For Lydel's fortune, Kenneth used the most direct method against the tsundere: a direct attack. Then, in the second stage, he used PUA to make Lydel willingly bring her family fortune into Kenneth's clutches.

"No, this is a fan's gift, I can't... What am I saying, a coward who doesn't even dare to say his name, do you think I, May Lydia Acherlot, care about someone like you? It's just a song! Maybe he didn't think that much about it, I must be overthinking it, yes, that must be it. Considering the song is pretty good, let's use it as the closing act for the next concert."

Just as Lydel was falling into self-hypnosis, the familiar pigeon that was locked in the cage tilted its head. As a mature familiar, the pigeon opened the cage on its own and flapped its wings to fly out.

"No!!!"

Instinctively, she raised her hand to knock the pigeon down, but remembering the lyrics that sounded like a confession, Lydia hesitated. It was this slight hesitation that caused the pigeon, representing Lydia's dark past, to fly away completely.

That night, through the perspective of his familiar pigeon, Kenneth took in all of Lydel's actions that day. Realizing that his number one target was unexpectedly innocent, Kenneth's lips immediately curled into a wicked smile.

Picking up a pen and paper, Kenneth once again began his plan to woo a rich woman. So, the next day, in the office of the Plant Department's monarch, Lydel, who was feeling uneasy about her actions the day before, heard the familiar knocking sound again. She grabbed the poor pigeon, and just as Lydel was about to ruthlessly destroy the evidence, a letter fell from the pigeon's leg once more.

Lord Acherlot, thank you for your generosity. I wonder if you were satisfied with yesterday's song? If possible, could you share your thoughts with me? I think as a generous person, you wouldn't refuse such a small wish from a third-rate magician like myself.

"You arrogant fool, who do you think you are? I am May Lydelle Acherlot! If you want my autograph, just say so! Why beat around the bush like this?!"

With her peculiar thought process, Lydia completely forgot about the idea of ​​erasing her dark past.

"Just a mere fan, thank me for my great kindness!!"

Lydia, the most stubborn of them all, picked up a pen and paper, wrote a long and detailed letter, and then handed it to the pigeon. Watching the pigeon fly away, Lydia realized that her embarrassing past had once again flown far away.

"Ah!!! I absolutely, I must kill that pigeon next time."

Just as Lydel was once again wallowing in self-pity, Reines, accompanied by Sakura Tohsaka and Fujino Asagami, arrogantly pushed open the door to the entire Basic Course in the corridor of the Clock Tower.

"Your foundation is too weak. Starting today, you'll be auditing my classes."

"Okay." x2.

Faced with the little princess of the El-Melloi family, this lecturer from a commoner family dared not say much, and even wanted to explain every word clearly in order to cooperate with Lenis.

Seeing that Tohsaka Sakura and Asagami Fujino were listening to the lesson with complete concentration, Reines, who had already mastered the knowledge under her family's education, looked at the students sitting in the classroom with little interest.

"Webber Velvet."

"arrive!!"

Under Reines's gaze, Waver, dressed in a dowdy outfit and exuding an aura of submissiveness, stood up.

"Explain the five major elements and the two fictional elements."

"The five elements are earth, water, fire, wind, and space. The two fictional elements are void and nothingness. Basically, a magician possesses one attribute, but there are also magicians who possess what is called dual attributes. Above that, there are magicians who combine all five elemental attributes and are called Average One."

"Very good, sit down."

For some reason, the moment Reines saw Waver, she felt an urge to stab him hard. Noticing the gaze behind him, Waver turned around and met Reines's direct eye. Realizing that she was the little princess of the El-Melloi family, Waver instinctively looked away to avoid trouble.

"Weber Velvet? Interesting."

Reines licked her lips, her face instantly filled with pleasure. Under the influence of the cosmic consciousness, today, Waver met his nemesis, and Reines met her toy. The Clock Tower's annual grand drama officially begins: the untold story of the village woman Zhuge and the old scoundrel Sima.

Chapter Twelve: Earth's XX President (Big Fog)

"Roy, what's the schedule for today? How's the financing I arranged going?"

When Kenneth asked him about it, Roy, who had been driving silently the whole time, replied:

"Lord, besides the classes at Advent College today, there's also a meeting. I've already sent someone to put the relevant materials in your office. As for the investments, negotiations with Apple and Big Software have been completed, and the remaining dozen or so are nearing completion."

"I've also sent people to make arrangements in Wall Street and Silicon Valley. Magicians in North America are cooperating with our actions, and we've also acquired controlling stakes in those industries in Japan. Overall, there aren't any major problems."

Nodding, Kenneth was quite satisfied with the efficiency of the El-Melloi family butler. Seeing that Roy seemed to want to say something more, Kenneth raised an eyebrow.

"Anything else?"

Realizing that Kenneth had noticed his change in expression, Roy thought for a moment, and then his calm voice rang out once more.

“Some people in the affiliated families are very dissatisfied with your cash flow during this period, Lord. I have already silenced them, but I have not taken any action against the Archibald family, which is under Lord’s control.”

"Is that so?"

Thinking about those old relics that remained in his memory, Kenneth's lips curled into a dangerous smile.

“Then let them all shut up. The El-Melloi family doesn’t need a second voice right now. How can El-Melloi be revitalized by being with those insects?”

"I understand."

In order to play the role of a competent son-in-law, Kenneth, who arrived at the Spellcasting Department early, first went to Lord Euryph to inquire about his well-being before pushing open the classroom of the Spellcasting Department with his slicked-back hair.

Then, the three little girls, one big and two small, appeared in Kenneth's field of vision. The Moon Spirit Essence Liquid transformed into a pointer in Kenneth's hand. He tapped the blackboard, and Kenneth, following Director Ken's memory, began to deceive the young magician below.

"Lord El-Melloi, séances summon the souls of the dead, but what is the limit to the number of dead?"

The charade was interrupted, and Kenneth looked up. A swaying strand of silver hair first caught his eye. Meeting those straight, amber eyes, Kenneth, adhering to the principles of a good teacher, explained:

"The literal meaning of 'spirit summoning' is magic that summons the soul of the dead and makes it obey according to needs. However, under certain conditions, a magician can also add a very small portion of the power of heroic spirits and gods to himself. Of course, this depends on the compatibility between the caster and the summoned one, and the strength of the summoning is also related to the caster's own qualities. Do you understand this explanation, Animusphia?"

That's right, the arrogant little girl in this moment is none other than Kenneth's former director, Olga Marie Animusfia, also known as the "Earth Country XX".

P.S.: For the sake of the plot, the ages of the director and Reines are exaggerated here.

"Thank you for your explanation, Lord El-Melloi. May I ask, Lord...?"

"Lady, what you want to know is beyond the scope of this lesson. If you would like to learn more, you can come to my office after class."

Using Weber's catchphrase, Kenneth ignored the other students' "I want to hear this" expressions and continued the previous lesson on his own. After being reminded by Kenneth, Olga Marie realized that her next question might touch on some family magic, and immediately sat down obediently.

After class, due to the monarchical council, Kenneth packed up and left the classroom. By the time Olga Marie walked out of the classroom, Kenneth's figure had already disappeared into the corridor.

"Have they already left? But how do we get to the Minerals Department?"

At this moment, Olga Marie, who had just left Animusfia's house, froze. Her attendant and teacher, Trisha Filoz, had not yet returned. Olga Marie, who was visiting the Clock Tower for the first time, was at a loss.

"Let me introduce myself. I am Reines Elmello Archizolti. Greetings, Miss Animusfia."

During class, Reines, upon hearing Kenneth address Olga Marie, realized the other's family background. Combining the other's age and Kenneth's attitude, Reines immediately recognized the other's identity: the Animusfia family's heir who had never appeared before. Based on the fact that the two were close in age, both came from prestigious families, and belonged to the same faction, Reines, who already aimed to become the 10th head of the El-Melloi family, immediately approached with the two little girls behind her.

The voice beside her made Olga Marie turn around. After catching sight of El-Melloi in Reines' self-introduction, Olga Marie immediately returned the courtesy to Reines.

"Greetings, I am Olga Marie Animusfia."

Having already trained at the Clock Tower for some time, Reines quickly got the tsundere Olga Marie in her grasp. After a brief self-introduction, Reines took Olga Marie back to Kenneth's office in the Minerals Department.

When Olga Marie saw Reines open Kenneth's office door, she immediately looked surprised. Magicians value their private space highly, and even Olga Marie herself couldn't open her father's office.

"Come in, elder brother. He is going to attend the monarchical council. Let me entertain you before he goes."

Upon noticing how Reines addressed Kenneth, Olga Marie breathed a sigh of relief, but at the same time, she envied the relationship between Reines and Kenneth. Thinking of her father, whom she only saw a few times a year, the naive Olga Marie also revealed a look of loneliness.

Upon noticing Olga Marie's expression, Reines immediately demonstrated her high emotional intelligence, once again manipulating Olga Marie with just a few words. While the four popular lolis were having a tea party in Kenneth's office, deep within the clock tower, in a dimly lit conference hall, someone was already sitting on the long chair representing the monarch's seat.

Walking to the seat belonging to the aristocratic faction, Kenneth sized up the monarchs who had already arrived.

"The three noble families: the democratic faction of the entire basic science class, Trumberio, and the creative science class, Baljereta; the plant family noble faction, the wealthy woman that Kenneth wants to be with, May Lidel Archerlot."

Because they belonged to the same faction, Kenneth, who was the second to arrive, naturally sat next to Lydel.

Greetings, Lord Acherlot.

In response to Kenneth's greeting, Lydia, who maintained a ladylike demeanor in front of outsiders, returned the greeting and then began to peruse the documents in her hands. Kenneth, who was not in a hurry to have further exchanges with Lydia, also took the time to peruse the materials prepared by Roy.

As representatives from other families arrived one after another, Loreleia, the host, cleared her throat, and the meeting officially began.

Chapter Thirteen: The Tomb of Albion

Watching these old foxes arguing over the division of the spoils of Albion, Kenneth would have loved to bring out a bucket of popcorn and fan the flames if he weren't in a difficult situation.

Albion, the Spirit Tomb, is a vast labyrinth beneath the Clock Tower. In the era when gods and humans parted ways, it served as a physical passage to the Inner Sea of ​​Stars. Thus, it is imbued with the most intense mystery of that time. Even now, various fantastical species resembling those from the Age of Gods still inhabit the depths of Albion. However, due to its protection—which even dragons (Yao Lan) would perish from exhaustion along the way—it is determined that it is impossible for humans to excavate and penetrate it by force alone.

Today's meeting is about the newly discovered large number of cursed entities in the area known as the "Great Magic Circuit" 10-40km underground of the Spirit Tomb Albion, including treasures from the Age of Gods such as Hydra larvae and chimera remains.

As the head of the Minerals Department, Kenneth had no interest in the spoils. More than 30% of the magicians in charge of mining the Albion Tomb were from the El-Melloi School. With this connection, the Minerals Department would get a lot with the tacit approval of many parties, so there was no need to touch the rest of the pie.

Just as Kenneth was waiting with little interest for the vote, the verbal sparring between the monarchs entered its final stage.

"Regarding those cursed bodies, our Creation Department can make concessions, but Flora's flower seeds must be handed over to our Creation Department for management."

Lord Balyereta, the monarch of the Creation Department, was the first to fire. Lord Balyereta, Aozaki Touko's teacher, and the head of the three noble families of Balyereta, whose family magic system is 'a magic whole belonging to beauty and art', this old lady made such a request for the Flower of the Age of Gods, known as Flora.

Flora, a miraculous flower named after the Roman goddess of flowers by modern magicians, is a treasure bestowed upon Baljereta, who seeks ultimate beauty to reach the source. However, since Flora is a flower, Lydel, the monarch of the plant family, will naturally not abandon it.

Putting aside the importance of the Flora flower to the plant family, it is impossible for Lydelle herself to give it up. As a witch who studies black magic, the Flora flower is simply an excellent ingredient for potions. Faced with this flower of the Age of Gods, which last appeared four hundred years ago, both emotionally and logically, May Lydelle Archerlot cannot give up the struggle for the flower seed.

"This is impossible! According to the previous agreement, the Flora flower seeds should belong to the plant family. Your creation family has overstepped its bounds!!"

In response to Balyereta's request, Lydel retorted directly, and the verbal battle intensified. Just as Kenneth was about to fall asleep, Loreleia, who was in charge of the clock tower's operation, spoke up.

"Since neither the Creativity Department nor the Botany Department is willing to relinquish control, let's follow the rules and hold a vote."

Seeing that the two had no objections, Lorelia turned her gaze to the monarchs and agents of other disciplines. Then, under Lorelia's gaze, the red light representing Balyereta lit up, and all the basic disciplines, individual basic disciplines, inheritance disciplines, and spirit summoning disciplines lined up with the creation discipline.

The blue light flashed, and the votes for the Botany family were supported by the Zoology, Celestial, Cursed, and Archaeology families, making it five to five. The next moment, everyone's eyes turned to Kenneth. There was no way around it; everyone knew that El-Melloi and Barthezelloi were in cahoots. In this vote, which had nothing to do with the Political and Legal Sciences, the Mineral Sciences family, to which Kenneth belonged, played the real deciding role.

P.S.: The Department of Magic in the modern era does not have a monarch at this time, only a department head, so there are currently only twelve monarch seats.

Noticing his father-in-law's gaze, Kenneth thought for a moment, and the chair representing the Minerals family lit up with blue light. After Kenneth made his choice, Lorelia was also enveloped in blue light. The voting results were in, and Lord Balyeleta's face showed no change. With Lorelia's final decision, the flower seed officially belonged to the Botany family.

Kenneth didn't care about the vote that contradicted his father-in-law, Kenneth's father. Putting aside the fact that it was not a problem for El-Melloi, who was an aristocrat, to take sides, and that Euryphus, who was also an aristocrat, had not informed Kenneth in advance that he would help him by switching sides, he didn't know about their private deals. Kenneth was not Kenneth's father, so why should he flatter him? Since that was the case, he might as well win the favor of the rich woman and avoid struggling for several lifetimes.

After the meeting ended, Director Ken's father-in-law turned and left the meeting room. Seeing this, Kenneth followed him a couple of steps as a gesture of respect. After most of the monarchs from various disciplines had left, Kenneth happened to run into a passing botanical monarch at a corner of the corridor.

"Thank you for Lord El-Melloi's support. The Acherot family will remember this kindness."

To be honest, when Lydel noticed that the Euryphus family had turned against them, her heart sank. In the Clock Tower, the only well-known things besides El-Melloi and Barthez were their inseparable bond and the ambiguous relationship between El-Melloi and Euryphus. And today, Kenneth actually went against Euryphus, which was truly beyond Lydel's expectations.

“Lord Acherlot is too kind. El-Melloi and Acherlot are allies. Personal feelings should not affect family relations. For both reason and emotion, I must stand on the side of the Acherlot family.”

Kenneth wasn't just saying that casually. This was a corridor, and his words would definitely be overheard by someone with ulterior motives. Combined with his previous actions, Kenneth's move would not only reverse the fixed impression he had of being a brainless sycophant in Lydia's eyes, but also allow him to convey to Kenneth's mentor, through someone with ulterior motives, that he had no choice in the matter. Considering the impression Kenneth had left on Lord Euryphus, Kenneth was fully confident that he could smooth things over today.

Similarly, once the fan's identity is revealed, as long as Lydia can connect it to today's events, Kenneth's image in Lydia's eyes will immediately rise significantly, and Kenneth's plan to seize the family fortune can take another big step forward, with the family fortune doubling in the near future.

Upon grasping Kenneth's discourse on personal feelings and family relationships, Lydel, who was not exactly a proper magician to begin with, immediately felt guilty. Recalling Kenneth's pursuit of Lord Euphoria, Lydel felt deeply indebted to a man who was so devoted to the eldest daughter of the Euphoria family.

“Um, Lord El-Melloi, do you have time tomorrow? Acherlot will not forget your friendship.”

Kenneth wore a pained expression on his face, but was secretly amused. Feigning reluctance, he politely declined: