“I understand what you are saying, Vice President Leonardo. In short, the Weinders did nothing more than manage a shop, in accordance with what we were authorized to do. However, considering how it was a special case, and the form our management took, it is not appropriate to evaluate our contributions using the same standards as the other companies. Is that what you mean?”
“Y-Yes, that’s precisely my point,” Leonardo replied as he wiped his glasses.
He averted his gaze from me. The ones who were intently staring at my reaction were actually the poor participants who were surpassed by a copper. The shop rankings during the Academy Festival were to be announced to noble society, as well as within the Academy itself. These companies feared the continuous ridicule they could face for losing to a copper.
I don’t have the time to keep your envy company, though. I also need to make allies of all the neutral students here to accomplish what I’m going to be starting shortly.
“Hmm, thinking about it once more, I do believe I understand what you are getting at. As the vice president, exceptions to the rule should be excluded. That is what you’re thinking, right?” I asked Leonardo with a bitter expression.
We found our common ground. That’s what I want him to think.
“That’s right. The rankings should be determined as fairly as possible.”
The grandson of a bureaucrat, and probably also the son of one, got on board.
“Yeah! Furthermore, that should also apply to—”
“In that sense, the shops who made use of the courtyard should be evaluated even higher, I suppose. I was basically taking a cut from them, after all. Hahaha.”
I cut off Zeldia before she could drag in the other participants of the Food Court. They were fully intent on finding fault with Lilka and the others using the momentum of complaints with our management system as a kickstarter.
Complaints came up against the unprecedented system of the Food Court. This was well within my predictions. But I wasn’t going to let the criticism that I basically bought my rank spread to the other members. Next, I needed to accomplish my responsibility as the Food Court’s manager.
“...Very well. From my perspective, I had the privilege of going through a valuable experience during the festival. Therefore, I will excuse myself from being included in any public announcements of the rankings, in order to adhere to the fair rules. Will that be sufficient?” I said to Leonardo, emphasizing the fair rules.
“If you are in agreement with that, then I don’t see a problem. Very well, we shall exclude you from the official rankings. We’re expecting much of you next year, Weinder.”
Leonardo seemed to be quite relieved. To him, the fact that I declined on my own was likely everything he could hope for.
“Y-You’re right. Even though you did your best, it is difficult to say you were given the same conditions as the others when relying on other companies for your profits. Let’s bring the discussions of Weinder’s accomplishments to an end here.” Hilda somehow kept up appearances as she brought the topic to an end.
It felt like she took much more of a hit from this than Leonardo did. It was only appropriate to set one’s target on an enemy’s weakest point. However, one could not make light of that weakness either.
Things then moved on to the official announcement of the rankings, excluding myself.
“All three of the top spots this year went to companies under the Carlest umbrella. The top-ranking Boulbernie Company in particular received great praise from our visitors.”
“Indeed. I visited the shop for myself. The taste of the new cheesecake unveiled for the Academy Festival was truly superb.”
Leonardo pulled himself together and went on to praise the Carlest participants who monopolized the podium, and Hilda clearly showed her partiality.
“Please wait a moment. I have doubts regarding the earnings of the top ranks,” Jean said as he raised his hand.
He then went on to explain the state of customers who entered those shops. Putting it simply, it was strange that the number of customers decreased by 30 percent, yet their earnings remained exactly the same.
All the participants began murmuring.
“Could you cut the slander? Do you think you can overturn the fact that you’re playing second fiddle to our group using such baseless claims? Know your place!” Theodore roared back.
Leonardo pushed his glasses up with his finger in displeasure.
“Claims of fraud regarding any accounting should certainly not be spoken of without proof. The number of coins has been confirmed by the student council. Could you provide us with some precise evidence?”
“Indeed, it’s just as he says,” Hilda quickly added.
The president’s eyes wandered for just a moment, but the vice president had full faith in himself. Leonardo was likely the one who personally confirmed the count. How awe-inspiring of the duke’s grandson. He’s likely thinking that nobody could possibly doubt him. He’s certainly right too. That stands to reason for us commoner students. Even the teachers would likely hesitate to do so. A normal teacher would, at least.
“Could you excuse me for a moment?”
The door to the student council room opened with a creak. Everyone’s gaze gathered on the entrance, and an old man with a white beard entered the room. He had his antenna in one hand, and a bundle of papers in the other. It was truly a surreal scene.
“Oh my, if it isn’t the Great Sage. Is something the matter? Oh, I almost forgot. We must express our gratitude to you for the special lecture you gave under the student council’s sponsorship,” Hilda said to him.