The Twilight Rebellion.
One of the darkest moments in the history of the Democratic Republic of Elendir.
It was an insurrection led against the Elendir Government, and the existing political order, by Twilight.
The name of the organization was not spoken lightly.
It was not an exaggeration to state that the organization had almost torn the country apart as it attempted to take over governmental institutions and centers of power of Elendir such as the manaplants, managrids, and the maginet by causing a class uprising of workers and laborers against the government and capital class.
It had occurred more than thirty years ago in a time when the field of magic was more abundant and had long-lasting effects on the role and presence of magic within the nation.
The Rebellion had taught the capital and political class just how dangerous the free spread era of free dissemination of magic was.
Consequently, an era where general information about magic was public and common knowledge was gone.
It was why Mr. Selvig had been able to sneak the military book 'Foundations of Magic' off with him back when he was discharged from the military. After the Twilight Rebellion, such an act would be impossible to get away with and was highly punishable.
There were sub-fields of history within the nation dedicated exclusively to the study of this event, and its causes and effects. Cæ was hardly familiar with any of the details of why the Rebellion had occurred beyond obvious.
"Poor leadership is one of the lesser known reasons," she remarked, anticipating his thoughts on the matter. "Even though it is one of the significant reasons and one of the most avoidable reasons, of the many that led to the Twilight Rebellion. Weak decisioning. Incompetent decisioning. Indecision. Manipulatability. These were what characterized the leaders that made poor decisions that arguably led to the founding of the insurrectionist rebel group Twilight and the class tensions between labor and capital in our great nation."
"I see…" Cæ stirred at her words.
Assuming he took what she said at face value, then it would explain why there was so much of a push by the power blocs of the nation to have extremely competent leaders. It would also explain why only those who attained the position of the student council were deeply appreciated for this merit of leadership.
"Enough of these high-minded topics," she shook her head lightly with a bemused smile. "They aren't relevant to what I have invited you here for. At least, not directly."
A small smile cracked at the edge of his mouth. "I almost forgot that you had invited me for an 'important matter.'"
"I won't beat around the bush anymore," she gazed straight at him with her powerful golden eyes. "I would like to invite you to the Student Council."
"…"
He stared at her as she simply waited without even the slightest hint of awkwardness.
His answer had already been decided.
He had not forgotten about his deal with the Headmistress, she had asked him to become a leader and to join the Student Council so that she could use him as political capital for her equitist ideals.
"…May I ask why?" Cæ raised an eyebrow.
Her smile grew amused and impressed. "I must admit, I assumed you would jump at the offer."
"Maybe I will," he replied quickly. "But, I do wish to understand why you are inviting me, in particular. A controversial student with a spicy Honors Student Addressal."
"I suppose that's a fair question," she easily admitted. "The simplest reason is that it is customary for this offer to be made to the Honors student; you, in this case."
"Ah…" Cæ considered it.
That was reason enough, he supposed.
"However, I am also personally inclined to invite you to the Student Council for a variety of reasons," she continued with a knowing tone. "For one, I like you."
Cæ raised an eyebrow with an unimpressed expression.
Perhaps Kelton was not as knuckled-headed as he appeared.
Her smile widened. "That. I like that. You have an air of unyielding solidity in your body language. Putting aside false modesty and speaking the truth plainly, I don't think most male students in this magicademy would have been able to maintain their composure unflustered in your position."
Cæ resisted the urge to scoff with disdain at her conceit.
Then he recalled the reaction of not just his three new little friends but also much of the apprentice freshmen at a simple formal invitation from her. Just the fact that she had spoken to Cæ had earned the attentive scrutiny of every single person.
Perhaps she wasn't being conceited with that comment.
"Additionally, I admire you," she replied. "I am aware of your background and past. I cannot even begin to imagine the sheer challenges, tribulations, and hurdles you have overcome to reach where you have today. I think the fact that you're the first person from the slums to enter the Elendir Institute of Magic is a testament to just how much you have overcome to reach where you are today. And despite that…"
She smiled appreciatively. "I can feel that you have a burning drive to achieve even more. That is what is truly impressive to me. I do not know much about your life, so this may sound very presumptuous, but I believe most people from your background would have been satisfied with what you have achieved, understandably so, than harbor even greater ambitions."
He stirred at her words.
She was not wrong.
In fact, before the accident that ruined his life, he had indeed been satisfied with a relatively humble life.
He had found a lover and a partner with whom he wanted to spend a life with.
He had a decent job and an optimistic future.
He had decent standards of living. A humble but quiet home, with decent safety. Decent food.
This was a dream to him back when he was in the slums as a kid. A life living in filth and dirt, under unsafe structures that could crash down on him at any given moment, and a universal constant of danger at all moments.
It was only after Lilia died, and he lost everything and more with absolutely no path to justice, he finally snapped and decided he would destroy the world order and build a better one.
"You're not wrong," Cæ limited himself to a simple response.
"All in all, with several of our older former members having passed out of the senior program last year, I have been looking for suitable candidates for at least one of the spots among the freshmen. And you, I believe, would be a very valuable asset to our team."
Cæ simply gazed at her with a composed expression, not letting such basic flattery get to his head. "And what are the merits for me, might I ask? So far, you have only detailed how you would benefit. I have not heard of a single incentive for myself."
He was going to join because of his agreement with the Headmistress, but it was best to try and squeeze as much out of this little invitation that he could possibly get away with it.
Her smile grew amused. "Well, a lesser degree of prestige than what former presidents of the Student Council get when they pass out. Years worth of experience in a position of authority and so on and so forth."
Cæ raised an eyebrow. "And? Surely the Student Council has more to offer, right?"
She giggled at his blatant attempt to play hard to get. "Well, you have exemptions for magic wielding, you have a lot more liberty and leeway, a lower attendance requirement, more academic scheduling flexibility, a priority for several programs including but not limited to our international student exchange programs, apprenticeships, and even our extracurricular sponsorship programs."
That last bit lit Cæ's eyes up with a hint of eagerness.
His deal with the Headmistress only covered the one business he was working on with Mr. Norton.
He didn't intend to limit himself to one business, after all. He was certain that no one business, especially not his housing idea, was enough to propel him to his ultimate goal. Thus, if being a student council member would put him in for priority on the Elendir Institute of Magic's deep pockets, then he would take that deal in a heartbeat.
"You have won me over," he relented with a composed tone. "I accept your offer, I would love to be a member of the Student Council."
Her smile grew wry. "This conversation has made me more certain of my decision. Well then, it's not official yet, but welcome to the Student Council."
And just like that, he had made sure to follow through with his deal with the Headmistress. Based on this conversation, either the President was very good at playing dumb, or more likely, she was entirely unaware of his conversation with the Headmistress.
It meant that the latter had adhered to the non-disclosure agreement that prevented them from disclosing it to anybody else.
"Thank you," Cæ replied simply. "So, what exactly does the student council do on a day-to-day basis, again?"
She stared at him for a moment.
"…Pffft! Hahaha!"
She burst into a mirthful laughter.
Cæ simply gazed at her with a raised eyebrow.
"…That is something that you ask before you accept the offer, Mr. Cæ," she quipped at him after regaining her composure.
Cæ shrugged.
The only thing he had asked about was why she had chosen him and what he gained from the job. Things like what they actually did weren't nearly as important to him as these two questions.
"I'm sure you've heard that the Student Council is the executive of the Magicademy," she told him.
"I did hear that," he replied. "I just don't quite know what that means in the context of this school."
"We enforce and execute the directives and rules of the Headmistress," she explained, shifting a tuft of her green hair to the side. "We are responsible for ensuring that the rules are followed. The Director issues annual expenditure directives on how the school's money will be spent, we adhere to the fiscal directives and ensure that it is executed. She may issue non-fiscal directives, such as a directive to organize an event, or so, we take care of that. Ah…"
She paused. "You were rank two on Magic Aptitude exam, right? Then you must have gotten an extravagant invitation from our magicademy."
Cæ's eyes lit as he recalled how Executive Neiman had emerged from a gate, a gate through the very fabric of space and time itself, and ushered Cæ into the magicademy through it. "Right…"
President Mileila smiled with pride. "That was organized by the student council under my leadership in an attempt to stoke and maintain the cultural craze for the Elendir Institute of Magic."
He found himself a lot more interested in the duties of the student council now that she had detailed exactly what kind of duties they undertook.
"In practice, this means paperwork, approving and overseeing cashflows and expenditure, event planning, scheduling, inventory, and other operations such as maintenance and supply chains," she explained in more detail. "The school needs a lot for it to function as it does. And the student council is responsible for overseeing this."
Cæ's eyes lit up at those details.
They were exactly the kind of things that were managed in businesses!
While his Acquired Savant Syndrome aided him with divergent thinking and imagination, it didn't help him with operations nearly as much. It was most useful in business strategy. If he also gained solid experience over the most nitty gritty issues of maintaining the operations of the magicademy.