It was late at night, and silver-white moonlight covered the flagstone path outside the Oak Restaurant. Yavi and Mel walked side by side along the tree-lined avenue leading to the girls' dormitory. The night breeze brushed through the treetops with a soft rustle.
On their way back, on their way back, the two walked over moon-dappled flagstones, chatting on and off.
Before they knew it, the Gothic spires of the girls' dormitory had come into view. Mel stopped before the steps, the moonlight tracing a silver edge along her long, fiery-red hair.
"Oh, right." She suddenly turned around, her expression growing serious. "Don't forget the student council badge I gave you this afternoon." She pulled an identical silver badge from beneath her collar, engraved with a pair of scales. "This is the symbol of our Popular Election Faction. If you meet anyone wearing the same badge at the academy, they'll be more than happy to help you."
Yavi nodded, took the exquisite badge from his inner pocket, and pinned it to his collar.
"But be careful," Mel lowered her voice. "If you see anyone wearing a badge with a crown on it, they belong to the Royal Election Faction." Her eyes looked particularly sharp in the moonlight. "They're our rival faction, and the conflicts have been getting more and more intense lately. It's best to avoid them."
Yavi keenly caught the worry in his older sister's voice. He reached out and gently smoothed her wind-tousled hair. "Don't worry. I'll be careful. But you..." His voice grew low. "Is the factional struggle at the academy really that serious?"
Mel gave him a reassuring smile. "I can handle it. After all..." She winked mischievously. "I'm a daughter of the Morgan Family!"
The clock atop the dormitory struck ten. Mel stepped forward and gave her younger brother a tight hug. "I'll be a little busy over the next few days, so I might not be able to come see you. Make sure you take care of yourself. I'll come spend time with you when I'm free."
Yavi gently hugged her back, catching the familiar citrus scent in his sister's hair. "I will."
Even after Mel disappeared through the dormitory doors, Yavi remained where he stood. The night breeze stirred the hem of his clothes, and his silver badge gleamed coldly in the moonlight. He cast one last look at the windows of the girls' dormitory, then turned and melted into the night...
Over the next half month, Yavi did not see Mel again. Wearing his Popular Election Faction badge around campus, he found that fellow faction members were always very friendly toward him. Occasionally, he also encountered students from the Royal Election Faction, but they all glared at him when they saw him. Yavi could not be bothered to take issue with them; he simply treated them as air and ignored them.
During that half month, Yavi led a quiet yet fulfilling life. He studied alchemy in the mornings and learned how to use magic from Instructor Loriess in the afternoons. Apart from attending afternoon tea with the quartet of beauties on Saturday afternoons, his daily routine was very stable.
Another weekend arrived. As usual, Yavi went to the cafeteria for lunch, and he had just collected his food when he heard someone calling him.
"Yavi! Over here!" Mel waved at him from a table by the cafeteria windows. Beside her sat Kent and Pep, the senior students he had met before, along with several people he had never seen.
Mel made room for Yavi to sit beside her. "It's been half a month. You seem to have put on a little weight." She affectionately pinched her younger brother's cheek, then turned to her companions at the table. "Everyone, this is my younger brother, Yavi, whom I'm always telling you about."
She introduced them in turn. "You've already met Kent and Pep. This is Saina Green." Mel pointed to a bright-eyed girl with a ponytail. "She handles our external relations."
Saina warmly held out her hand to Yavi. "I finally get to meet Mel's little brother. You have no idea how often she's been worrying about whether you've been eating properly these past few days."
Mel continued the introductions. "Maxim Bryan, our Popular Election Faction's 'chief of staff.'"
"Nice to meet you, Yavi. I hope we can become friends." Maxim smiled and shook Yavi's hand.
Yavi accepted the bread Saina passed him and enjoyed lunch with everyone. Cheerful chatter and laughter filled the cafeteria. Every so often, Mel added more food to Yavi's plate, drawing good-natured teasing from the others.
"Mel, are you trying to feed your brother into a little fatty?" Saina teased with a wink.
"My little brother is too thin. Of course he needs to eat more," Mel said unapologetically. As she spoke, she placed another piece of honey-roasted chicken on Yavi's plate.
Just as everyone was getting along warmly, the area by the cafeteria entrance suddenly fell silent. A group of students wearing crown badges walked in, led by a tall, pink-haired girl. Her sharp gaze swept across the cafeteria, pausing noticeably when she spotted Mel's table.
"Vivian Ross," Maxim said quietly, unconsciously tightening his grip on his fork. "The leader of the Royal Election Faction."
Yavi keenly noticed the seven or eight students following Vivian, all wearing crown badges. Their gazes were full of hostility as they looked toward his table. The atmosphere throughout the cafeteria instantly grew tense.
Vivian curled her lip in disdain, turned to say something to her companions, then led them straight out of the cafeteria. Before leaving, she deliberately knocked over a Popular Election Faction student's schoolbag beside the aisle.
"Those bastards!" Kent slammed the table so hard that the plates jumped. "Just looking at them pisses me off!"
Pep pressed down on Kent's arm. "Calm down. They're trying to provoke us."
Mel's expression also grew serious. "They've been getting more and more arrogant lately."
Yavi noticed his sister's fingers unconsciously twisting her napkin. He lightly touched the back of her hand. "Is there anything I can do?"
Mel shook her head and forced a smile. "Just ignore them. Let's keep eating."
But the atmosphere at the table had already changed. Maxim lowered his voice. "The next competition should be scheduled for next week. Although we won't know what the event is until shortly beforehand, we'd better prepare as thoroughly as possible."
"Competition?" Having only recently arrived on campus, Yavi did not really understand the situation within the student council.
"The current student council president is about to graduate. Mel and that Vivian you just saw are competing for the position. They earn points through competitions, and whoever gets two points ahead of the other wins the election. We're one point behind right now. If we lose again next time, we'll lose the election," Saina explained to the puzzled Yavi.
"Then how big is the gap in strength between our Popular Election Faction and their Royal Election Faction? And how do our ideals differ?" Yavi had not expected the struggle among students at Oxenfurt Academy to be so serious.
"The two sides are fairly evenly matched. We have more people, but their supporters are all students with money and influential backgrounds, so we can only keep each other in check. In terms of ideals, our faction favors student independence and making progress together, while the Royal Election Faction believes in supporting the elite. Ordinary students are supposed to provide support for those above them. If they win the student council presidency, every student at Oxenfurt will become nourishment for them." Mel looked in the direction Vivian had left, speaking with some worry.
"Won't the academy step in to stop them? Their behavior is already seriously affecting students' normal lives." Yavi found it somewhat hard to understand.
"Do you remember the last words at your entrance ceremony? 'Welcome to a campus where strength reigns supreme.' That means exactly what it says. The academy probably tacitly accepts this situation, too, and won't favor either side. After all, real political struggles can be far crueler than this!" Maxim pushed up his glasses, his expression somewhat gloomy.