Chapter 27

Chapter 27

“I don’t intend to interfere with love being shared within the Academy. However, being outside the dormitory at this hour without permission is something I cannot tolerate.”

“I– I’m sorry, Lady Lisa.”

A third-year female student bowed her head to Lisa.

And beside her, the male student accompanying her also lowered his head.

“This was all my fault. Please don’t hold Gilbert responsible…”

“I’m only following the rules. But wait a second.”

Lisa glanced sideways at the male student.

“Oh, it was too dark to see clearly, but you’re Gilbert, right? We were in the same class last year. You remember, don’t you?”

“Yes, I remember, Lady Lisa.”

“I told you to speak comfortably. Am I still that intimidating?”

“T-that’s… ugh.”

The male student flinched and averted his eyes from Lisa’s gaze.

Seeing that, the third-year female student beside him took his hand.

“Lady Lisa, Gilbert only came out because I dragged him along, so this is my fault…”

“As I just said, I’ll handle this according to the rules without exception. Anyway, if my memory serves me right, your name is… Mina Vendery, correct?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“A count’s daughter and a commoner in love, huh. Not a pairing one sees every day.”

Lisa took a small notebook from the inside pocket of her uniform jacket.

“In any case, both of you… yes, you’ll each receive one demerit point. Just so you know, any student who accumulates five or more will be subject to disciplinary action.”

“Pardon? That’s all?”

“Yes, that’s it. It’s your first offense, and it’s not like you caused a major incident.”

As she wrote down their names in her notebook, Lisa spoke.

“Hurry back to your dorms. And if you want to meet at night again, I’d suggest getting a night-out permit and going to Daigon Village. It’ll make your dates more comfortable.”

“Ah, understood. Gilbert, let’s go.”

“Huh? Oh, yes, Mina.”

The female and male students left together.

Watching them disappear, Lisa tucked her notebook back into her inner pocket.

“Gideon, that’s basically how you do a patrol.”

“So I check the dorm rosters and catch any students wandering around without permission at this hour, correct?”

“That’s right. And make sure to assign demerits according to the rules. I’ll give you a document later listing all the regulations—you’ll need to memorize them.”

“Understood.”

I had a general idea of the Academy’s rules, but if I wanted to do this Disciplinary Committee work properly, I’d have to memorize them all.

Honestly, it was troublesome, but there was no helping it.

For the sake of my future, I had to work hard starting now.

‘If I want to become a knight with Lisa’s help, I need to stay in her good graces.’

Lisa valued sincerity and competence above all else.

So I wanted to show her only my best side—without making any mistakes.

I had already thought of a few ways to do that.

But first, I needed to finish what we were doing.

“Lady Lisa, does that conclude our patrol for today?”

“Mm-hm, that’s it. We’ve found all the students who weren’t in the dorms and checked every building open to student access, right? Those are the two things a night patrol covers.”

Lisa sat down on a nearby bench, and I followed, taking a seat beside her.

“It’s almost midnight now… hmm, we actually finished early today. Usually it takes longer because we end up catching a few more students wandering around without permission.”

“When it runs late, how late does it usually go?”

“Usually until one o’clock. If it’s really bad, sometimes until three. But that doesn’t happen too often.”

“Even so, working until three must be exhausting.”

“It’s fine. It’s not like staying out that late happens regularly.”

Lisa spoke as if it were no big deal.

I tilted my head and asked,

“But does the Disciplinary Committee always have to personally bring back students who sneak out?”

“No, not necessarily. Honestly, it’s not mandatory. The Academy places a lot of importance on personal choice—so whether a student sneaks out and causes trouble or neglects their own future, it doesn’t really intervene.”

Lisa sighed, her expression unreadable.

“But I can’t just sit back and watch the future of this Empire go astray. I want them to learn here how to follow rules and stay on the right path.”

“So that’s why you go this far?”

“I suppose so. I can be a bit rigid and old-fashioned in that sense. And besides, I’m the only one who can really do this. No one else can rein in the nobles running wild around the Academy… well, I guess Lady Layla, Jason, and Sara could, but realistically, I’m the only one who does.”

Upright, almost stubbornly righteous—

It was exactly the kind of person Lisa Balmuth was, just as I remembered.

“At the very least, while I’m still at this Academy, I want to guide the students onto the right path. Though that probably means you, as a Committee member, will have to suffer a bit because of me. I’ll apologize in advance for that.”

“There’s no need to apologize. I’m truly grateful for the opportunity to work alongside you in this.”

“…You’re not lying?”

“Yes, truly.”

I had felt grateful to Lisa ever since she accepted me into the Disciplinary Committee.

But beyond that, I genuinely wanted to help her.

Even when I played the game, Lisa was one of my favorite characters for her strong sense of morality.

And now, speaking to her directly, I wanted even more to support this upright woman.

With that in mind, there was something I wanted to try.

“Lady Lisa, if it’s for student safety, would it be acceptable to install certain structures around the Academy?”

“Structures? Hmm, I don’t see a problem. But since I exposed the Committee’s corruption last year, our budget this year isn’t very large.”

“That’s all right. I was planning to fund this out of my own pocket.”

“Really? That makes it simpler, then—no need for a budget proposal. So, what exactly are you planning to install?”

“I think the Academy is a bit too dark at night.”

I looked around.

Torches were mounted here and there along the walls, but they weren’t nearly enough to properly light up the night.

“There are students who are still active after dark, aren’t there?”

“There are. Some stay out late for academic or club activities.”

“Then depending only on torches seems too unsafe. We need something brighter.”

“I see what you mean. You’re right, torches alone aren’t sufficient. And it’s not ideal for us patrolling at night either.”

Lisa nodded thoughtfully but gave me a curious look.

“So, do you have a solution in mind?”

“Yes. Have you ever gone out into the Imperial Capital at night?”

“Plenty of times. But why—ah, are you thinking of installing streetlights?”

“Yes, that’s right. Even just having those would make it much easier to get around.”

“Hmm.”

Lisa looked as though she was considering my suggestion for a moment.

Though, I wasn’t entirely sure if she was truly thinking it over.

Because of her usual unreadable expression, it was impossible to tell what Lisa was thinking.

“Hmm, normally something like this would fall under the Student Council’s responsibilities… but, well, since it’s related to student safety, I suppose it could be considered part of the Disciplinary Committee’s duties too.”

“Then, may I go ahead with the plan I have in mind?”

“First, make a brief proposal and bring it to me by tomorrow. But more importantly—if you’re planning to install light orbs around the Academy, you’ll need quite a few of them. Where are you planning to get all those from?”

“I happen to know an excellent craftsman.”

I was someone who had poured years into this game.

Thanks to that, I knew exactly who to go to and what to ask for.

“Mr. Regnil, you’re saying you can custom-make all of these items, correct?”

“Yes, that’s right. I have a friend in the capital who makes magical devices. I can order the parts from him and assemble everything here once they arrive.”

The next day, after class, Lisa and I visited the blacksmith in Daigon Village.

There, we met Regnil, and I explained my plan to install streetlights in the Academy.

“The streetlights you mentioned—those are the structures made by attaching a long iron rod to a magically illuminated crystal sphere, correct?”

“Yes, that’s right. I’d like to order twenty-five of them.”

“Twenty-five, huh… They’re not difficult to make, but it’ll take some time for the parts to arrive. I’d say about a week to prepare everything.”

“That’s fine. Even if it takes a little longer, I’d rather they be made properly.”

Since I’d already done the streetlight installation quest in the game, I knew exactly how the process went.

“How much will it cost?”

“It should be about one gold coin for every five streetlights, so five gold coins in total.”

“Ah… five gold coins.”

That was a reasonable price.

I had plenty of money, so it wasn’t a burden, but still—it wasn’t exactly pocket change either.

Still, thinking long-term, this much was…

“Gideon, don’t pay for it.”

“Pardon? But Lady Lisa, I really don’t mind—”

“No, that’s not it. I thought about it, and this really should be covered by the Disciplinary Committee’s budget.”

Lisa stepped forward and handed five gold coins to Regnil.

“Please place the orders for all the parts, and make sure to prepare a receipt.”

“Understood. Then if you’ll excuse me for a moment, I’ll go contact my friend and put in the order.”

Once Regnil left, only Lisa and I remained inside the forge.

“You said the Committee’s budget was reduced this year—will this be all right?”

“It’s fine. The budget’s meant to be used for student safety, so this is exactly what it’s for. Honestly, there’s not much else worth spending it on anyway.”

Lisa replied casually, then began looking around the forge.

“By the way, Regnil seems pretty skilled. How did you get to know him?”

“I’ve brought my sword to him for maintenance a few times since enrolling at the Academy.”

“I see. Maybe I should bring my greatsword here sometime.”

Lisa looked around the forge a few more times before turning back to me.

“Anyway, I reviewed the proposal you gave me at lunch. The one about the streetlights looks solid—I’ll just send it to the Student Council for approval. And I also looked at your second proposal.”

“You mean the one about the surveillance crystals?”

“Yeah. I understand what you’re aiming for—installing surveillance orbs in the Academy’s blind spots for security purposes. The Imperial Palace actually uses a similar system.”

However, she added, her expression uncertain.

“But I think people might have a lot to say about that. After all, the Committee got plenty of bad press last year because of corruption. If surveillance crystals end up being something only the Committee can use… do you think the students will take that quietly?”

“How about we submit the proposal to the Student Council first and let them decide?”

“That might be best. All right, let’s do it your way.”

Lisa nodded, agreeing with my suggestion.

Then, with a curious expression, she continued,

“I’m not complaining, but you’re really passionate about this. Are you doing all this just to get on my good side?”

“That’s one of the reasons, yes. But beyond that, I personally have a goal of making the Disciplinary Committee the top club this semester.”

“Oh… really? Well, technically, the Committee is a club, so that’s possible—but it won’t be easy.”

“Even so, I plan to do everything I can to make it happen.”

The Top Club—

At the end of every semester, the faculty selects one club as the top club based on their evaluations.

Members of the winning club each get to choose one item from the Academy’s Treasure Vault.

“But do we really need to become the top club? If you’re hoping to raid the Treasure Vault, I wouldn’t get my hopes up. I heard it’s not as amazing as it sounds.”

“I know. Still, wouldn’t it feel good to be recognized as the top club?”

“You’re not wrong about that.”

Indeed, Lisa was right—the so-called Treasure Vault wasn’t anything particularly special.

At least, that’s what the Academy’s students believed.

But—

‘There’s actually one very useful item in there.’

If I could get my hands on that, it would prove invaluable later on.

Of course, to do that, the Committee had to become the top club this semester.

‘Well, if I work hard enough, I’ll manage somehow.’

In my experience, when I put everything into a club’s activities, we usually ended up becoming the top club.

So this semester, I planned to do everything I possibly could as a member of the Disciplinary Committee.