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“Ugh!”

“Oh… this is quite nice…”

Magdalena was enjoying her cake, wiping the whipped cream from her mouth in a delightful manner.

On the other hand, Chris managed to maintain a touch of elegance as she neatly sliced her dessert and popped it into her mouth.

“This isn’t bad at all, but where did you buy this? I’ve never heard of a shop inside the Academy that sells such things.”

“It’s a new shop that opened recently. It’s a bit off the beaten path, but they sell a lot of delicious items, so people are lining up to get in.”

“Just as I expected from Magdalena. You really know how to dig up good things like this. I have to admit, I’m impressed.”

“Hehe, thanks for the compliment.”

“Ha…”

The two ladies were having a great time enjoying the desserts they brought with them.

Meanwhile, the youngest and only guy among them, Pette, felt like he was somehow being left out today, letting out a heavy sigh.

At that moment…

“Anyway, thanks for your hard work, Pette. Thanks to you, we had a great meal.”

Chris thanked Pette softly, and he felt his earlier frustrations slightly ease as he blushed and replied, “Well, a bet’s a bet, after all…”

“Right, a bet’s a bet. To be precise, it’s more of a show of interest than a bet, though.”

“! Ah… no, that’s…”

“A show of interest? What does that mean?”

Pette expressed confusion, while Chris looked puzzled at Magdalena’s remark.

Seeing their reactions, Magdalena smiled lightly, looking quite entertained.

“Hehe, it’s nothing. You’ll slowly understand in due time, Chairperson.”

She cut off the conversation at an appropriate point, continuing her own enjoyment.

Then, she turned to Shaul, who was sitting across from her, to steer the conversation back to the topic.

“By the way, Shaul. Didn’t you mention something strange earlier? What was that about?”

“Um… yes, that’s right. There was indeed something strange. For me, Shaul, hearing such a peculiar story while working in the Academy’s finance department is a first.”

“What kind of strange thing are we talking about?”

The ladies, now intrigued, leaned in closer.

Shaul paused from eating his egg tart and made a serious face before speaking.

“Well, it’s about something the student council said. Apparently, there’s an object stored somewhere in our Academy that can summon a god that grants wishes.”

“A god that grants wishes…”

“Seriously?”

Their interest was piqued by the unexpectedly grand tale, and the conversation took a lively turn.

“That’s what they say. I can’t be sure if it’s true, but I’ve heard that some students are rummaging around the Academy looking for it. The student council is having quite the headache because of this.”

“…Is that so?”

“It’s not exactly good news if students are chasing after such illusory goals instead of focusing on their studies.”

“True, but it’s still a pretty interesting story.”

Shaul spoke with a fair amount of interest, and Magdalena chimed in, giving a smile that was unusually serious for her.

“I agree. Honestly, the likelihood of it being true is low, but if there’s even the slightest chance, it would be worth searching for. And we definitely need to do our best to stop it.”

“Why’s that? While the story might be ridiculous, if it were true and genuinely granted wishes, wouldn’t that be a good thing?”

Pette questioned, displaying confusion at Magdalena’s words.

In response, Magdalena lightly patted her younger uncle’s head and replied in a teasing tone.

“You’re still naive, our dear uncle. How can you be so clueless about the way the world works?”

“…Huh? What do you mean by that…?”

Pette’s puzzled demeanor prompted Magdalena to adopt a more serious tone as if she were explaining the workings of the world.

“It’s unfortunate, but in this world, nothing comes for free. To achieve something, a price must always be paid. Even buying a slice of cake at a store requires money, so to have a wish granted must mean paying some sort of price too. Likely something that’s not normal.”

“Like a lifespan or a soul. Serious matters could come into play.”

“Ugh…”

Caught up with the validity of Magdalena’s words, Pette couldn’t help but acknowledge her perspective.

Meanwhile, Chris, having listened to their discussion, interjected with a cool tone.

“Even if that’s the case, simply wishing for something is itself likely to be a trap. Regardless of whether it’s true or not, if it has the entire student council in a stir, it would be wise to investigate.”

“I agree. It’s much better to check things out now than deal with a mess after something strange actually happens.”

As responsible members of the student council, it fell on them to manage the affairs of the Academy.

Though the primary responsibility lay with the student council, Shaul indicated that they were maintaining a rather lackluster effort regarding this event.

After all, there were areas within the Academy that were off-limits to them, complicating matters.

With that in mind, student council president Chris decided to treat this seemingly trivial rumor with a degree of suspicion and resolved to investigate further.

“Well then, since we’re finishing up our major tasks this month, let’s gather more information starting tomorrow.”

“Yes, Chairperson.”

“Got it.”

“I think that’s a good idea.”

Thus, the student council of Solomon Academy decided to start gathering information about the wish-granting object.

However, beneath the surface, their seemingly simple quest for maintaining peace harbored a subtle hint of personal ambition.

‘How fascinating! If I can truly meet that god, asking for a ton of gold sounds fantastic. With that, I could live without worrying about money for my entire life.’

‘What a trivial notion. But if it’s indeed true, there’s nothing wrong in using it for my own gain. After all, I am destined to lead this nation… for its sake…’

‘A wish grantor… if that’s true, what wish should I make? Should I wish to turn Magdalena into my aunt as a form of revenge? Or maybe…’

‘This is getting quite interesting! It seems like there’s going to be a lot worth watching!’

*

The following day, the student council of Solomon Academy promptly began their investigation as planned.

Their first step was to gather more detailed information from the student council.

“First off, we appreciate your help, but honestly, we don’t have any concrete information either. Besides the fact that more and more people are starting to believe the rumor, we’ve only noticed an increase in students entering restricted areas.”

“Is that so? That’s unfortunate.”

“By the way, what time are you planning to come home today? I was thinking of having dinner with your father.”

“…Well, personal matters can wait until later…”

“Why not? It’s been tough to even see our son lately. We should carve out some time like this, don’t you think?”

“Ha…”

The young female teacher spoke calmly to Pette with a smile.

In contrast, Pette could only lower his head and let out a sigh.

With red hair tied in a ponytail and a single horn protruding from her head, she was a figure he found quite familiar; she was his mother and the former Demon General, Elias.

Hearing her words brought a sense of annoyance as he realized this family obligation wasn’t what he had hoped for while coming here.

Meanwhile, Magdalena, Elias’s granddaughter, grinned as she maintained an incredibly youthful appearance and spoke to her grandmother.

“Then, are you planning to have dinner with my uncle today?”

“That’s the plan. If you’d like to join, Magdalena, I would be quite happy to have my granddaughter at the family gathering.”

“Hehe, sure thing, Grandma.”

Despite looking more like an older sister than a grandmother, the nature of their conversation unmistakably resembled one between a granddaughter and her grandmother.

Filling the familiar tension created by their compatible dynamic, Pette found himself engulfed in the usual awkwardness.

At that moment…

“By the way, Grandma. If it’s alright, could I see the list of students who entered the restricted area?”

“Hmm… well, it’s a bit against regulations…”

“Pleaaase, just this once!”

“Ha…”

Watching his older cousin charm her way into favor with their mother, Pette couldn’t help but sigh again.

As a result, Elias smiled, realizing she had no choice but to relent.

“Well, given the authority of the student council, I guess there’s nothing too drastic I can’t share.”

“Thank you so much, Grandma!”

With those words, Magdalena pressed a light kiss on Elias’s cheek.

Feeling a chill run down his spine from the scene, Pette began to examine the stack of documents Elias had just handed over.

Then, they discovered one noteworthy fact worth paying attention to.