I Became the Student Council President of the Academy City

18 – Boyhood ~Let’s get a feel for it~

“Are you really okay?”

At the worried voice of his aide, Li Xiao put down the glass he was drinking.

“Are you anxious?”

“Anyway, it’s an imperial banquet. Kidnapping in a place like this…”

Taeui sighed inwardly at the words of a very nervous aide.

“I’m not specifically trying to kidnap an important person.”

“But it’s still the imperial family. Even if it’s because of the emperor’s face, they will take the lead in investigating.”

“I’d rather you investigate.”

“…Taeui?”

“Was it a bandit?”

Tae-eui struggled to recall her memory and recalled my vile gang of bandits.

Those who follow their desires without any reason whatsoever.

The bugs that stretched out their hands a little, gave strength to their shoulders as if it were their strength.

“They’re nothing but discard cards.”

“You mean the bandits?”

“So, did you really think that I would be picking up that crap in the first place?”

“No, it doesn’t matter.”

At the sharp gaze, the aides bowed their heads deeply.

“Recently.”

“Tell me.”

“Isn’t His Highness keeping an eye on the slavery they were in charge of?”

“That’s right. So, sooner or later we have to withdraw from slavery…”

“That’s right. I know because I got a report from you.”

He nodded his head once, closed his eyes and said quietly.

“We have already decided to give up on that side. It would be difficult if we had regrets and were stepped on by His Highness.”

“I see.”

“But wouldn’t it be a pity for us to just withdraw?”

The previous kidnapping of the princess also failed, so the loss would be very severe if this project was to be closed.

“That’s why I’d like to give you a little present.”

“…What do you mean by gift?”

“The bandits. They are using those guys who played a key role in the slave trade this time to kidnap the children of the nobles. Until now, we’ve been trading while hiding our identities, so there’s nothing wrong with abandoning those foolish guys.”

“Really!”

“Besides, wasn’t the military responsible for this banquet? If something unprecedented like this happens at such a banquet, it will be an opportunity for the military’s power to weaken.”

“Ohhh! To think that far! You’re as expected!”

Ignoring the exaggerated reaction from his aides, Tae-eui turned his head away and slowly cleared his mind with his eyes closed.

‘Those thieves don’t have any information about this side. Even if there is a cheater, it’s just a matter of killing it from this side first. If that happens, the damage of this incident will be borne by the military.’

If this happens at a large-scale banquet held for the first time in decades, the military in charge of security will not be able to avoid responsibility.

If you do well, you will be able to cut down not only the 10 empires that held the power of the military, but also the forces of the royal guard led by the general.

“But Tae-ui, wouldn’t it be difficult to succeed even if you tried kidnapping at the banquet? There should be a lot of talented people there, including the 10th emperor, but…”

“Heh heh heh, that’s fine. I’m not really going to raid the banquet hall.”

“…Then when?”

“Doesn’t even those who are in the best of times need time to catch their breath?”

Especially at an imperial banquet where you have to constantly pay attention to etiquette and gaze, you will be even more tired.

“Then…!”

“Yes, we will kidnap the nobles who escape the banquet hall and get wind.”

In a way, it is also the best target.

After escaping from the eyes and crowds, they will naturally try to head to a place where there are few people.

“As the son of a noble, he must have his own escort. However, an escort of only one or two people will not be able to stop the organized bandits.”

As the number of people is the number of people, not only the killing of escorts but also the destruction of evidence will be finished in an instant.

No matter how smart the 10th generation is, they won’t be able to track down those who hid their presence using magic tools.

That’s how you go about kidnapping step by step.

“There won’t be a fuss if one or two people disappear. A number is a number. But what if it becomes three, then five, or dozens?”

Taeui let out a pleasant laugh from the depths of his heart.

“The nobles will go into a frenzy, and the banquet will be canceled. Whoa, whoa, I’m looking forward to it. The bewildered emperor and the emperor’s face stained with anger.”

Listening to the sound of the banquet coming from beyond the door, Taeui smiled deeply.

The banquet had just begun.

───

It’s strange.

“…….”

Yeon Je-seong, who had been talking with the other children for a while, suddenly felt a sense of incongruity and looked around.

‘Why are there so few?’

The crowd that used to fill the banquet hall when he was talking to the 10th emperor was now sparsely empty.

It’s not noticeable, but once you recognize it, you definitely feel a sense of incongruity.

Yeon Je-seong, feeling a sense of crisis, stepped up and the girls who were talking with him widened their eyes.

“…Young master?”

“Something is strange. Guys, I think you’d better be with your family now.”

“Yes? Suddenly, what is that…”

Yeon Je-seong slowly aroused the surroundings to the girl who spat out a voice mixed with embarrassment.

“Look around you. Don’t the crowds seem much smaller than before?”

“Is that so…?”

“I’m fine…”

“If you say so, it seems a bit small…”

Isn’t that not noticeable yet?

The girls tilted their heads as one and looked back at Yeon Jeseong.

“Of course it’s not enough to worry about, but I still feel something unusual.”

The soldiers guarding the banquet hall were oddly cluttered.

A man who seemed to be an aide to the emperor was walking around with a serious expression.

Recognizing the situation and looking back, I could find a sense of incongruity throughout the banquet hall.

‘This is probably thanks to being sensitive to the surroundings. Certainly ordinary girls would be hard to get to know.’

After half forcing the girls with troubled faces out, he moved on and went closer to his father.

“Father!”

The owner of the kite was on his way to his son, but the owner of the kite found him and took his son to the terrace in the corner.

“Father, something is strange. It seems that there are fewer and fewer people around…”

“You’ve just arrived. Let’s have a banquet like this and then go back. There will be an attendant of the open family outside, so follow them to the annex.”

The owner of the house who said that there is a detached house built in Heodo stopped her words when her son came over.

“Wait a minute, what happened?”

“You don’t have to worry about it. I’ve told His Majesty beforehand, so you can just go home.”

Yeon Je-seong closed his mouth and stared at Yeon Ga-joo, who openly changed his words.

“…….”

“I’ll stay here a little longer before I go. When you get to the annex, don’t wander around and go to sleep.”

“…I see.”

I had a lot to ask, but he didn’t bother asking.

Instinctively noticing that it was a complicated task, he nodded, and Yeon Gageo, who was looking uneasy, patted him on the shoulder and turned around.

“Remember. You have to go straight to the annex. Don’t even leave the annex.”

After spatting out warning words until the end, Yeon Ga-joo went straight to the emperor and moved away from sight.

“There must be something…”

Little by little, the banquet hall was starting to feel blatantly cluttered.

A sensation engraved on one side of his head warned of danger with a slight pain, so he hurriedly moved out of the banquet hall, hiding the anxiety rising inside him.

.

.

.

The atmosphere outside the banquet hall was much more chaotic than expected.

I could see armed soldiers moving and searching the surroundings, and it was also not uncommon for nobles to shout and search for someone.

Even though it was so cold that the air came out, it was not unusual to pretend that all of them were making serious expressions.

“What is this…”

I wonder if the banquet hall was protected by a barrier, so I couldn’t hear the commotion.

Yeon Je-seong, unable to hide his bewildered eyes at the commotion he heard when he went over a door, moved to find the attendant.

“Did someone go missing…?”

Looking at the situation around me, it seems like that.

A missing person appears among the nobles invited to the banquet hall.

“It’s a catastrophe.”

No wonder his father’s expression was so serious.

If people personally invited by the emperor go missing, it’s a matter of prestige for the imperial family.

“Brother!”

At that time, an attendant waiting for a carriage outside the imperial palace approached like flying.

“I was waiting for you!”

“What the hell is this all about?”

“…It seems that the descendants of nobles have disappeared.”

The attendant approached and said so in a low voice.

The attendant, who had been looking around several times to see if someone was watching, spat out words cautiously.

“Because of that, the imperial palace is now upside down. At first, I was carefully searching so that the nobles in the banquet hall would not know. It seems that more than one or two people are missing. It looks like it does.”

“I see…”

It would be nice if we went as a group for at least the second round, but the probability of that would probably converge to zero.

“What kind of a big guy is…”

You’re not just a nobleman, are you kidnapping a high-ranking noble enough to attend the imperial banquet?

Still, after listening to the attendant’s words, the tension disappeared in an instant.

That’s right, because there are a lot of human weapons in the banquet hall right now.

Not to mention the 10 empires that exist alone to deter the nation.

To the Imperial Wizards and Shamans the Emperor gathered from all over the Empire.

Even the emperor himself who beat the demon king.

There was even a possibility that the emperor would take full action since this incident was at stake for the prestige of the imperial family.

At this point, it’s only right to worry about the kidnappers instead of worrying about the abducted nobles!

‘I was nervous for no reason!’

As I let out a sigh of relief and put on a comfortable expression, the attendant who had been looking at me suddenly made a puzzled expression.

“What? Bocchan, what did Miss Seonhwa do?”

“……What?”

“The Bocchan’s exclusive attendant. Weren’t you with the Bocchan?”

“… No, she fell out with me a long time ago. Wasn’t she waiting for you to come first?”

Since he didn’t come after a while, I thought the banquet hall was uncomfortable and waited in the carriage with the other attendants.

“No, Mrs. Seonhwa has never been here.”

As I heard the servant shaking his head, the dissipated anxiety began to rise again.

“Bocchan, no way…”

Looking at the attendant with a worried expression, I desperately calmed down.

“…Gather the attendants right now and search the surroundings. Don’t miss even the slightest trace. If there is a scuffle with the imperial soldiers, tell them it’s my order.”

“Oh, I see!”

“Then I’ll act separately from now on, so give my father a proper look around.”

“Yes, I understand…Wait? Master!? What is that…!”

Immediately after that, I turned around and went back to the imperial palace.

I put the mask behind me and put it on.

“Brother.”

At the same time, a familiar woman emerged from the shadows.

“…Don’t stop me. I’ll find it myself.”

“But, boy.”

“Yoo Chae-hyun.”

I met her gaze with her behind her mask.

“I said I’d find it myself.”

In an instant, I hear the sound of breathing in——

“…The honorable name.”

She disappeared into the shadows again.

“…….”

For now, I am grateful for the effect of the mask that hides my emotions.