It wasn't hard being the President of the Student Council. With all the experience acquired from the ancestral memories, even a fool with zero leadership skills could sort everything out fairly well through replicating, let alone the fact that Nathan Modernson was far from a fool.
Arthur Paradox had returned to the Imperial Academy just recently. He stayed isolated from Nathan's reign and the new rules he set. Daniel Whitedawn, who spent most of the time watching him in the shadows, always provided Nathan with the same report: that Arthur locked himself in his room after the lessons, studying for the End of Year examination that was close to arriving. To a point, Nathan stopped caring about what Arthur was going to do. It was obvious to him that there was also someone watching him, sent by Arthur, and no matter who it was, he doubted that a mere Daniel Whitedawn could equalise with their skills.
People asked him why he was not concerned about Arthur's inaction after he had accomplished his goal of making him the next President, but Nathan never explained. This confidence almost felt odd. It was certain like concrete, like how people were never sceptical of whether they would wake up tomorrow.
Setting Arthur aside, it wasn't like there was only one spy who was watching Nathan's actions. Genesis's friendly smiles carried a tone of falsehood that either sprouted from his artificial heart or was coded into his human consciousness.
Nathan knew he did not need to worry about things he couldn't control. From the moment he became the Student Council President, it meant that he welcomed attention and the stares of people's eyes. Everything after that point was simply unavoidable, and he could only get on with life from there.
One day, a couple of orderly knocks on the door disturbed the peace in the Student Council room without any prior notice. Nicolas, who was once again reporting the complaints sent by the students, swallowed the remainder of his sentence calmly. Before Nathan signalled anyone to go open the door for the unwelcome guest, Arthur Paradox pushed the door open with his usual cold authority.
"Long time, Nathan Modernson," he orated with a voice that was too formal to leave any room for warmth.
William Schwarz and Leo Blanc turned their faces to Nathan instantly, inquiring for a command that could soothe their uncertainty. Dorothy Rumble stood up instinctively, but as she slowly closed her mouth, she thanked herself for remembering that the person before her was no longer the President.
Nicolas didn't even bother to turn his head. He stared at Arthur with the corners of his eyes before turning back to the document, uttering in neutrality.
"A disruption in my report, very unfortunate, we'll continue soon."
Nathan, on the other hand, couldn't help but relax back into his chair. "You think so?" he questioned.
"Ha, very true, not so long, it has been." Arthur nodded in agreement and apologised politely with a slow bow. "My mistake."
Nathan's body shot up in exaggerated anxiety, pushing himself up from his chair slightly. "Please refrain from that, Mister Paradox, I don't deserve an apology from you. There is no Nathan Modernson now without President Paradox before."
Usually, speeches of flattery like this that came out of Nathan Modernson sounded so truthful that doubting them would prompt guilt, but this one was clearly a mockery. Why Nathan never gave Arthur a good attitude after he returned from Lostburg was a question that Arthur already had an answer for. Before the suspension, even if their relationship couldn't exactly be called serene, it wasn't coated with hate.
"Hm… That thing behind you," Arthur pointed at the hanging parchment under the clock behind Nathan, covering a huge portion of the wall, "The Ten Commandments…"
"I'm sure you've heard of it," Nathan shrugged with hostility.
"You…" Arthur's face turned dark, but he immediately took control of his mouth. "Your decision. If this is the 'justice' you seek."
"Anything else you want here?" Nathan interrupted. "You see… We are in the middle of something important."
"Of course," Arthur lowered his head in respect, but the grin on his face sent chills down everybody's spines. "Remember the tradition of the Student Council? We will sort out the memory record when you are off to the palace. I'm just here to place the object I want to leave." He pulled a rectangular device out of his pocket and quickly illustrated a green Rune. A gentle gust sent the device upwards towards the corner of the roof. With another brown Rune pressed on the wall and a nimble click, it attached itself to the wall and blended into the picture perfectly.
"That is?" Nathan asked.
"A security camera," Arthur smiled. "A RAPI that had been around for a while, I'm sure you've seen it around. You see, even the Student Council needs to be supervised for integrity, because not everyone who climbs to this position is deserving of it, nor are they always the noblest ones of the bunch. This carefulness… It aligns with the beliefs of your notion quite well, President Modernson. I hope you appreciate it."
Nathan didn't reply with haste. His vision shifted from Arthur's smile to the security camera, whose eyes were pointing directly into his.
The other members of the Student Council remained silent, knowing that they weren't worthy to speak between these two monsters of their generation. This tension left Arthur, who was the last one to speak, in an uncomfortable awkwardness that he hid well under his unreadable smile.
"What a waste." Nathan finally broke the silence as he sat back in his chair, like he finally got back home from a long day of work. "I expected a bit more than a provocation," he whispered to himself, controlling the volume just so Arthur could catch some traces of the articulation.
"Rightfully so, President." Arthur bowed again and turned towards the door. "I'll bid my farewell to you now. Please continue with your work."
"Nicolas, send Mister Paradox off appropriately," Nathan commanded flatly.
Nicolas nodded once and stood up, opening the door for Arthur and signalling him outside. "Please, Mister Paradox."
Watching their backs as they disappeared into the hallway towards the giant elevator at the centre, Nathan Modernson couldn't bring himself back to the topic the Student Council was immersed in before. All that filled his mind were the endless questions of Arthur's appearance and the camera he left behind. It felt meaningless for the heir, or rather, almost the head of the Paradox Clan, to use something like that to surveil others' privacy. He knew that it was more than a stupid provocation. Arthur Paradox was more than that.
"David knows a lot about RAPIs," Leo whispered into Nathan's right ear, "I'll have him check the legitimacy of that thing."
"I'm sure Genesis would know better," William objected from the left, "He knew so much I once doubted he created them."
Nathan Modernson closed his eyes in thought for quite a time, then said, "No need, just let it be."
William and Leo exchanged glances, mixed with concern and confusion, but ultimately decided to trust Nathan's intel. Thinking about it, Arthur wasn't foolish enough to detonate the entire Student Council Room. It would be crazy to think that the RAPI was even a weapon at all.
"Shall I continue, now?" Nicolas interrupted, indifferent to anything but restarting what had been left unfinished.
"Nah, I'm not in the mood. You sort it out yourself." Nathan's expressions seemed off. "Dorothy, is everything prepared for the attendance at the Royal Palace?" he asked.
"In every aspect," Dorothy lowered her head in respect. She had already gotten used to working under Nathan's arrogant tyranny, not like she had any other choice but to.
"How much was the budget?"
Dorothy straightened her back and recalled naturally, like a machine announcing a pre-coded series of numbers. "Accounting for all the necessary requisites, such as the Parade Squad, invitations of dignitaries, and relieving fees for the citizens, all fees count up to exactly ninety-three million, eight-hundred and eighty-one thousand, seven-hundred and fifty-two Dollars and seventy cents. That is, 10.12% of the budget allocated to the Student Council. If you wish, we can increase this number to enhance the magnitude of our poise as the Imperial Academy." She added proudly, waiting for Nathan to compliment her on how much budget she was willing to spend on this not-so-special event.
"Triple it," Nathan replied instantly after she finished her report, with no emotion under such a massive decision.
"Triple?" Dorothy couldn't keep from swallowing a deep breath down her throat. "Triple what?"
"The budget," Nathan grinned. "Let's have the whole Endnest witness this coming of a new future."
"Are you sure?" Dorothy confirmed for one last time. It wasn't that the Student Council or the Imperial Academy couldn't afford it; it's that such an astronomical amount of funds was utterly unnecessary to be thrown into a parade. She sighed in her heart. "Not my business anyway. I'm just in charge of spending the money, not earning it."
"Don't worry, don't worry," Nathan lay back lazily again, like he just wrapped his head around a mystery troubling him for years. "Dorothy, I don't lack many things in this world, and money is definitely not among that list."
William and Leo exchanged glances again, but this time with unconcealed humour. Everyone in the Salvation Club knew that Nathan did not carry even a single cent on him. All his money came from David Edmonds, who was willing to share a semi-quarter of his pocket money.
Under the circumspect effort of Treasurer Rumble, the new enhancement took only around one week to be implemented, leaving just the right amount of time until the day of attendance. Few people knew what the heck was going on on a day when the sun rose in the same direction, colour, and speed as usual, and even if they knew, they probably wouldn't care. All of this aside, though, it was undeniable that this day was one of the most lively and bustling days Endnest had experienced for quite a time.
Nathan Modernson marched steadily outwards to the gates of the academy, with a red carpet with gems and gold stripes lying casually by the side like the stars on a clear night. With the accompaniment of the best choirs at that period of Runalond, along with a whole row of honour guards looking like replications of one another by the side, Nathan didn't know whether to feel pleased or embarrassed.
Everything was soaring orderly through the sky: confetti, balloons, Rune Arts in different spectrums, and even humans. This calculated chaos and the harmony of applause and the vibrance of people's hails all couldn't take away the spotlight from the protagonist of the day, Son of the First Seat, Student Council President of the Imperial Rune Arts Academy of Runalond, Nathan Modernson himself.
"Has Nathan's vanity always been so…" Genesis asked Jennifer Lumendra among the crowd, their presence barely holding any visibility or significance to the bigger picture.
Jennifer scoffed in soft disdain, "His face wouldn't look like that if he actually cared."
Nathan was exceptionally handsome today, far from his original appearance. Everything was thanks to the makeup team Dorothy had thoughtfully selected to best fit Nathan's style. His hair, which was usually either messily dropped down like a waterfall or unassumingly tied up, was now transformed into a haughty yet still chivalrous ponytail coupled with two symmetrical strands hanging before his forehead to fix the shape of his face. This was exactly the appearance one would expect from someone as significant as Nathan, but everyone who knew him just found it amusing and nothing else.
After all, the feature that truly set him apart from the ordinary was still his sharp, determined yet somewhat hollow stare that signalled that he was not someone you want to mess with.
As Nathan reached the gate, a suffocating crowd had already been waiting outside, pushing forward and backward to be the first to receive this rising star of the new generation. Some of them were nobles worthy of earning their heirs membership in the Imperial Academy, but before Nathan, all they wanted was a quarter of attention and perhaps to leave a memorable first impression. They did not forget the news that flipped Endnest upside down almost a year ago, the boy who did not need to lower his head before the First Seat.
They came forward one by one, though this was only achievable via the compelling Runes the guards fortified Nathan with. Nathan could barely tell who he was bowing to among this pandemonium.
"The Rune Arts Federation, here to advocate for President Modernson." A thundering voice silenced everyone from above. Every member of the Supreme Seven Seats, and the seven presidents of their respective departments, floated in an authoritative formation above the crowd. This was the first time the organiser, Dorothy Rumble, dropped her jaw in disbelief. The number of times the Supreme Seven Seats and the seven Presidents could all attend an event was countable in the course of history, and this seemed like the most meaningless of all of them.
Everyone lowered their head in respect, creating a contrast to Nathan's uplifted head and casual smile towards his mother.
After the crowd lifted their heads again, spinning in astonishment, another voice instantly brought their heads down again.
"The High Court Ministers, here to advocate for President Modernson."
The High Court Ministers, whose identities and faces were usually completely hidden from the general public, now travelled down the road without even masks to put on an act. One would call themselves fortunate and could boast for their whole life if they managed to see one, not to mention today, when the total number that showed up was ten.
Ten.
Nobody even knew if there were ten High Court Ministers, or if there were only ten High Court Ministers in total.
"The Pathtower Spireheads, here to advocate for President Nathan Modernson." Another voice interrupted.
The four Pathtower Spireheads appeared as a part of the air was ripped out of reality. Their unique and unsettling appearances brought not only fear among the citizens, but also more acknowledgement and respect.
If all four Spireheads showed up at once, it was treated as if the King was present himself.
Nathan Modernson looked towards their direction. Among them were his mentors Lily and Nathan, a weird robotic figure with eight extra arms, and a face that he could recall easily.
The Undefeatable, or rather known to Nathan as Angela Pompeii. Her crimson red hair wavered in the wind like a flag of victory. For a short moment, their eyes met.
The Rune Arts Federation, the High Court Ministers, the Four Pathtower Spireheads. Nothing needed to be said to describe the grandeur of this formation apart from their names themselves.
Nathan felt as if he were in a dream, an unrealistic, mindless daydream. He couldn't even hold his composure, fearing that all of this would fade with the blink of an eye…
…Is what Nathan Modernson would have acted, thought, if he were still the orphan living in Lostburg.
In fact, he had adapted so well that scenery like this barely caused even one tiny ripple in his heart.