I Was Reincarnated As The Older Brother Of A Villainess Destined to Die, So I Want To Change The Future By Raising My Younger Sister With My Own Hands. I Am The Strongest In The World, But My Little Sister Must Be The Cutest In The World - Volume 4 Chapter 3.2

Headmaster’s office. It is probably the most prestigious room I’ve seen within the academy. The furnishings and furniture are all top-notch, exuding a dignified atmosphere. However, it’s not filled with flashy aristocratic preferences; instead, there’s a predominance of antique wood finishes. Presumably, it reflects the headmaster’s personal taste.

I’m seated facing the headmaster on a leather-upholstered sofa. It’s a fine sofa; I’ll have to ask where it’s from later.

“Now then, the reason I summoned you—” the headmaster begins solemnly.

“It’s futile to try and act dignified at this point,” I cut in.

Interrupting the headmaster, who starts to speak seriously, I make it clear that I’ve seen enough of her pitiful behavior, including her inappropriate actions from before. There’s no point in her trying to act tough now.

In response, the headmaster furrows her brows and her eyes seem slightly moist.

“Is it so wrong to show a little respect for your elders?” she says, her voice slightly quivering.

“I’ll consider it when you become stronger than me,” I retort.

“Isn’t that impossible…”

The headmaster lets out a dejected sigh.

From our recent exchange, it’s evident that the young girl in front of me knows of my true strength. Not through mere rumors but from personal experience.

In essence, the headmaster and I fought each other. It was a real battle to the death, though I wasn’t using my full power. If I had, she would have been dead before the fight even began.

The reason it came to such a situation was that she is known as the “Witch of Life.”

“No ordinary human can defeat you, the ‘Witch of Life’,” I comment.

“Well, there’s no one among humanity who can defeat you either,” she responds.

The headmaster is indeed a witch.
A witch refers to a magic user who has violated taboos, and these taboos can cover a wide range of actions, often focusing on violations against humanity. As a result, the equation of a witch being an enemy of humanity was well-established.

Knowing that the forces targeting Nina had the support of a witch, I took immediate action upon learning that the headmaster was a witch.

To be specific, I conducted an intense questioning session. I used intimidation to make it clear that I knew her true identity and asked about her intentions. When she attempted to attack me, I fought back and defeated her. Her attitude, which changed drastically from arrogance to humility, reminded me of a certain comic strip, making me feel a bit sorry for her.

I spared her life because her goal was genuinely to “educate the next generation.” Her attempt to fight me stemmed from panic over her identity being exposed, so I decided to show some leniency. Of course, I gathered some insurance just in case.

“Now, what do you, the headmaster who engaged in inappropriate behavior, want from me?” I asked.

“W-well, they said they would ‘get fired up if I received insults,’ so I reluctantly did it. I actually prefer being the one blamed—” she stammered.

“Enough of that. Can you get to the point?” I interrupted, adding a bit of intimidation to my tone.

Thanks to that, she refocused the conversation.

“I called you here because I wanted to make a request,” she said.

“A request?”

“Yes. I want you to take on the role of student council president.”

“I refuse,” I replied promptly.

In fact, I had already guessed that Semaka was dismissed. In the original game, it was the first princess who held that position, so I assumed she would be removed quickly. With her connections, she should have been able to manage something like that.

However, I couldn’t understand why she was offering the position to me. It made no sense. There are more suitable candidates out there. For instance, the first princess could handle it.

“Why me? There must be someone else more suitable for the role. Like the first princess, for example.”

“In the first place, it was supposed to be her (the first princess) taking the role, but she recommended you,” the headmaster explained.

“What!? What’s her reason?” I asked.

“She said, ‘The student council membership requires top-performing students. And if you’re going to be the representative, the top-ranking student is the most suitable candidate,’” the headmaster replied.

“Well, that reasoning makes some sense, but it’s not absolute,” I sighed, feeling puzzled. I couldn’t grasp what the first princess, Arianorth, was thinking.

Knowing her rational mindset, I could imagine that there might be some benefit for her in having me as the student council president. However, I couldn’t fathom it completely. If anything, I felt there would be more drawbacks than advantages.

“Is it still impossible?” the headmaster asked.

“Yeah, it’s impossible. Even if I demonstrate my abilities, there will always be people who resent me just because I lack color. I don’t want to deal with those complainers,” I explained.

Even if I showcased my capabilities, there would always be those who would oppose me simply because I’m colorless. As a Count, overt actions against me might not happen, but the possibility of behind-the-scenes actions couldn’t be ruled out. Discrimination like this runs deep, rooted in emotions rather than reason, making it difficult to resolve.

Besides, “I’m already busy, and I can’t afford to take on student council responsibilities,” I added.

I had to make sacrifices to protect Karon and the others, and I couldn’t afford to dedicate time to school affairs. If I were to accept, it would be unforgivable to Shion and Minerva.

“Alright, understood. I’ll inform the first princess that you declined,” the headmaster said.

It seems my rejection was within her expectations, and she readily backed off.

I furrowed my eyebrows. “Could it be that there’s something else more important you wanted to discuss?”

If she had anticipated my refusal, it didn’t make sense to call me here specifically. If it was just to convey a message, there were other means to do so.

Her response confirmed my suspicion as she nodded.

“Yes, there’s actually something I wanted to tell you directly,” the headmaster said with a serious expression, indicating that it was a rather complicated matter.

I listened attentively, realizing that what she was about to say was more troublesome than I had anticipated.

In the past few years, it has been revealed that several academy students, particularly beastmen, have been kidnapped and gone missing. Yet, until recently, this fact had not come to light.

The reason for the delayed revelation was understandable. Apparently, all the missing students were orphans with few friends. So, when they suddenly disappeared, no one worried about them. The low number of victims each year also contributed to the delayed discovery.

In my previous world, such a failure would be unacceptable, but in this world, I couldn’t strongly criticize it. There are casualties in practical magic classes every year, nobles’ children disappear due to political struggles, and commoners vanish in disputes between nobles. Missing persons are quite common in this world.

Furthermore, the total number of students in the academy is just over 300,000. One or two missing students might be considered within the margin of error. While it is a significant matter for the individuals involved, life is rather cheap in this world.

This event wasn’t present in the original game. Or perhaps, the protagonists were not informed about it. This incident weighed heavily on the two newcomers who had just enrolled.

“How did it come to light then?” I asked.

Based on the story so far, it seemed like a difficult case for the academy to detect.

The headmaster lowered her gaze and let out a sigh.

“…I discovered a former student being sold as a slave,” she confessed.

“I see…” There were no words to express my thoughts.

While she might be eccentric, she was also devoted to education. The shock she must have felt when she found one of her former students reduced to slavery must have been immense.

Trying to dispel the heavy atmosphere, the headmaster continued her words forcefully.

“In addition, the number of incidents has been increasing over the past few years. Sooner or later, it was bound to come to light. Perhaps, because they never got caught, the kidnappers became bolder,” she explained.

“I see. So, what do you want me to do?” I asked.

Since she went through the trouble of explaining, it was clear that she wanted some form of cooperation. The question was how much assistance I should provide.

Considering that my own school life was at risk, I was willing to cooperate actively. However, to ensure proper collaboration with the academy, I needed to understand exactly what she was seeking.

“I want to rely on your information network,” she stated.

That’s a reasonable request. The culprits have evaded capture for ten years. It’s likely that only the highly skilled intelligence network of Foranada would have a chance of identifying them.

“Wait a moment,” I said.

I activated my Conceal Phase Cover Texture and pulled out the report that I received from intelligence. I quickly skimmed through the investigation results of the capital city over the past decade. It was a large amount of data, but since I had read it before, combining it with speed reading made the process quick.

I couldn’t find any mention of attacks that matched this situation. Of course, it’s natural. If there had been any such reports, I would have remembered seeing them when I first read through the information. Even the tiniest hint would be fortunate, but unfortunately, there was nothing of that sort.

In the end, I couldn’t find any information that could serve as a lead.

“We didn’t find anything suspicious in our information network either. If that’s all you need, we’ll conduct our own separate investigation,” I said.

“Is that alright?”

“Yeah. Kidnappings can’t be ignored, after all.”

“Thank you. We will continue our investigation here, and if we find anything, we’ll exchange information,” the headmaster suggested.

“Understood.”

After finalizing the details, I left the headmaster’s office.

So, students from the beastman race are being kidnapped and enslaved.

The thought crossed my mind of Nina back in the original game.

She died around the same time as these incidents came to light, so I couldn’t help but feel it was closely related. I need to prioritize resolving this case.

I mentally placed the search for the kidnappers at the forefront of my priority list.