Many of the students found it rather strange that Cæ wasn't willing to show them what he had in mind and was being as evasive regarding questions regarding more detailed elements of the plan.
Unfortunately for them, Cæ had good reason not to.
With the Headmistress' tip on the number of students who could potentially be compromised to the enemy faction due to belonging to the affluent faction, he would be foolish to reveal specific details of the plan.
This would make it easier for the noble faction to sabotage the program or leak confidential details to their families, who could then use the information to sabotage the program. By operating with a strict need-to-know basis, he could minimize the leakages.
That wasn't all.
He had already decided to go one step further.
"Because of how little time we have, we cannot implement any training program to help the members of the student council be equipped with the needed understanding of how to deal with the residents of the slums," Cæ continued, "Therefore, I have decided to shortlist the members of the Student Council who have backgrounds that are conducive to aiding with their understanding of the targets of this program. These particular individuals become a part of the Outer District Task Force, as I have taken to calling it. I will now be reading off the names…"
Without even referring to his magiphone, he immediately began listing off the names of the members that he had hand-picked for his task force.
One by one, the respective students lit up at the opportunity of working in a program with the potential for getting their hands on a juicy reward.
However, a wave of tension swept over the students as they noticed a particular pattern.
One that became increasingly more notable and prominent.
"…and Pamela Milling," he concluded his shortlist. "These are the students who will be appointed to my task force that will handle the execution of this program."
"Mr. Cæ," one student boldly interjected.
His voice was serious.
A luster of pride tinted his tone.
Cæ directed his impassive gaze to the young man who had interjected.
His hair was a sharp red, while his deep blue eyes sharply contrasted against it. His expression was cold while his chin was inclined, ever so slightly,y looking down on Cæ.
"Yes…?" Cæ raised an eyebrow. "What is it, Mr. Douglas Ranbonteau?"
He recognized the scion of the Ranbonteau Family, a wealthy family that founded and ran the Ranbonteau Mining Enterprise up north in the Mohendar Mines.
The young man glared at Cæ with an unfriendly expression. "I cannot help but notice, as I'm sure many have, that all the students you have chosen are from… humble backgrounds while those of affluent origin do not seem to have been picked at all."
Cæ gazed at him with stoic eyes, having anticipated the question.
"I have already informed you of the reason for this," Cæ remarked. "These members have backgrounds particularly conducive to dealing with the residents of the slums. I can confirm this as someone who lived in the slums. Unfortunately, those who have not been chosen have not been rejected merely due to their background but due to my evaluation of their conduct based on their disciplinary profiles from the disciplinary committee…"
Cæ narrowed his eyes.
"Would you like me to go through this data right here and now?"
The affluent students stiffened at those words.
Immediately, their outward display of resentment and dissatisfaction was gone.
"…I thought so," Cæ remarked with a light huff.
Unfortunately, not everybody was convinced by that.
"Really?" Douglas scoffed contemptuously. "Do you really expect me to believe that not a single person from the affluent family was able to meet your standards? Really?"
Cæ shrugged. "I told you; it's not just about their personal profiles, but also about whether their backgrounds are conducive to this particular operation, and unfortunately, that is simply not the case in this particular instance. Commoners have greater exposure to the people of the slums and are able to comport themselves more optimally when engaging with them. With how important this mission is, I simply can't jeopardize the mission for some sense of inclusion."
Of course, while this line of reasoning wasn't entirely false, it was mostly bullshit that Cæ had cooked up on the spot to sound plausible enough to get any backlash off his back.
Douglas tried to fight back, of course. "This is propesterous, I say! I will not toler—"
"If you have any problem with the way that I'm doing things…" Cæ's tone was chilling. "Then you can take it up with the Headmistress herself."
The young man stiffened at those words, gritting his teeth.
"If not…" Cæ huffed, "Shut up."
He immediately shifted his attention to the members he had selected to be a part of his team, nodding at the young men and women. "While you are a part of the Outer District Task Force, you will be excused from your other Student Council duties. We will have a separate task force headquarters elsewhere in the Executive wing of the Student Council and will operate with a network of magiputers that are isolated from the mainframe of the Student Council network and servers."
Many of the members stirred with a surprised expression.
Normally, all task forces formed for programs created by the Headmistress were still considered as a part of the Student Council and operated within the system of the Student Council.
"This measure has been approved by the Headmistress," Cæ clarified. "Our first meeting as the Outer District Task Force will be conducted soon, where I will disclose the full confidential and classified plans that we will be executing as soon as possible. And with that…"
He turned towards President Mileila, who simply gazed at him with a melancholic smile.
"I conclude my presentation. Back to you, Mileila."
The members of the Student Council stiffened once more as he called her by her mean name once more.
"…Thank you for the compelling presentation, Cæ." She stood up as they exchanged places once more. "We have a few more matters on our docket…"
She continued about hosting the meeting like nothing happened, performing her job perfectly for another thirty minutes before the Student Council meeting came to an end. It wasn't long before the members of the Student Council got up, departing the conference hall with mixed expressions.
"Ah, I'd like to have a word with you, Cæ."
Cæ paused at the doorway of the Student Council conference hall upon President Mileila's call. He turned slowly, shifting his impassive gaze behind him as his eyes rested on the president, who leaned on the table of the conference hall.
She brushed a tuft of her long, flowing purple hair as her firm, golden eyes remained fixed on him with a knowing gaze.
A faint hint of tension lingered in the air.
"Your decision to exclude the upper-class students was purely political, wasn't it?" she asked with a pointed tone.
Cæ simply gazed at her before closing his eyes.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
Her smile grew bitter.
And yet, she didn't miss that his tone was measuredly superficial.
He affirmed her question without directly answering it.
He couldn't explicitly confirm it without ceding immense moral high ground to his opponents, of which her family was comprised. The opponents of this program would use this and amplify it to the highest degree to mount tremendous pressure on the Headmistress. The program would need to be scrapped, and in the worst case, they could potentially make the Headmistress take responsibility for letting her political bias bleed into the institution, which would affect the upper class.
They both understand exactly what the dynamics between them were.
Her family, the Karjakin Family, was one of the Thirteen Great Families of Elendir.
She was one of his greatest enemies, politically speaking, in this particular situation.
And yet, he couldn't bring himself to consider her as one.
She had helped him several times when he needed it, when the senior students suspected him to be a thug when he first met Seliphaz, or when he got into a brief confrontation with a member of the Student Council, or when she naturally invited him to join the Student Council.
It even made him feel just a tad bit sorry that he couldn't let her in on it.
"…I'm surprised you even shared any information at all with us then."
Cæ shrugged. "I was just completing my obligations."
It was for the sake of building plausible deniability.
He needed to break down at least some of his plan for the program before everybody, eventually slowly breaking it to them that those of the Upper Class were simply not allowed. If he started off his little presentation with 'all upper-class students will not be allowed to partake in the program' without the context, there would be tremendous outrage.
It was precisely for his sharp situational understanding that the Headmistress deemed him fit to take on this particular program when she would ordinarily not trust a student to be able to handle such an important task.
"…It's a shame," she heaved a regretful sigh. "I had always wanted to visit the slums once and see what it is like. But it looks like I will have to wait for another opportunity."
Cæ scoffed lightly. "The slums aren't a place you visit for fun. Besides, it's not as though it's particularly difficult to get there either. Just walk in almost any direction in this city continuously for many hours, give or take, and you will find yourself in the slums. I'm sure that someone with your means can visit the slums and get a tour any time you wish."
Her smile grew bitter.
"If only."
He furrowed his eyebrows with a hint of confusion, not quite understanding what she meant.
She heaved a soft sigh. "I wish politics didn't have to taint this institution, even if I'm aware that that is hopelessly naive. It appears that the Headmistress is quite determined to push her political agendas this time. I don't blame you for your choices. I wish you the best of luck."
She displayed a soft smile before departing from the Student Council conference room.
Cæ's gaze followed her as she left the room, heaving a sigh in her absence and shaking his head.
"Focus."
He didn't have time for any distractions, especially not at this stage where he would very soon be swamped with work.
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