Ever since we grew closer at the family dinner, I had been spending a lot of time with the twins, Iliad and Neiad.
I loved it when Iliad, with his boundless energy, would hoist me up for a piggyback ride.
“Did you hear, little one? They’re finally electing the Vice President tomorrow.”
“Owa!”
In the garden, spring was in full bloom, and colorful butterflies danced through the air. We were tucked away on a thin cloth spread out beneath the sprawling canopy of a giant tree.
“Did Cedric Teacher come today?”
“Yep.”
“Where did he go?”
“Who knows. He’s a man with too many things to do, so he’s always off on business trips. It’s rare for him to manage more than four classes in a row. Oh, I want that!”
Iliad, who had been hanging upside down from a thick branch by his knees, reached toward the bucket of popcorn.
“Yap.”
I tossed a handful his way. He caught it perfectly, his body swaying in time with the motion.
Neiad, leaning against the trunk and communing silently with the greenery, drowsily opened his eyes. He cast a look of pity at his twin, then shifted his gaze toward me.
“We have no interest in such a position. You wanted to be Vice President, right?”
“Ung.”
“You’re in for a hard time. I heard Angela is going around telling all the kids she’s close with not to vote for you.”
“Um….”
I looked at Neiad, blinking blankly, then parted my lips.
“Yuchi-hae (Childish).”
To think she’d say, *“Don’t play with her because she’s close to me!”* Isn’t that just too immature?
“Puhaha! Ah, getting called childish by a four-year-old. That’s hilarious.”
Iliad laughed so hard he clutched his stomach, eventually thudding to the ground from the branch. He let out a pained sound, but he didn’t stop laughing, so I giggled along with him.
“Ah, okay, I’m done. Little one, to become Vice President, you have to get the most votes, right?”
“Ung.”
“But it doesn’t matter *how* you do it. As long as you don’t use direct threats or physical violence… using your abilities is allowed.”
Iliad’s green eyes twinkled with mischief.
“Everyone knows you’re under the protection of the Spirit Kings. You should make good use of that.”
So, it meant I could borrow the power of the Spirit Kings.
*‘But I only have one Great Job Stamp yet.’*
What could I do with just that?
[Intermission: Eden Trivia! ( ღ’ᴗ’ღ )]
It was then.
Eupheros, who had been quiet lately, suddenly appeared.
[Eden’s substances exert their effects starting from 10g. The higher the gram count, the longer the duration! It’s not that there’s no effect if there’s less of it!]
*‘Ah, then Eupheros. There’s 10g of Cheer-up Butter, right? If I put that in and make something… will the person who eats it help me?’*
[Indeed! However, since there’s only 10g, the effect will only last for an hour. ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ]
Oh, that… that’s enough!
“Say, Ned Oppa, is it really not a foul?”
Because Iliad was a bit hard to trust, I asked Neiad again. “Can I use my abilities? Anything?”
“Yeah. Using abilities is the rule in the first place. Didn’t you hear about Cecilia Aunt?”
Then I should make something delicious with the butter. And I’ll have to share it.
Eager to reach the kitchen, I suppressed the urge to jump up and shook my head.
“Didn’t hear.”
“That lady is a Medusa. As soon as she stood at the front, she turned her hair into snakes and petrified everyone.”
“Huck.”
The people who turned to stone—were they still alive?
When I looked at him worriedly, Neiad smirked.
“Back then, her ability was still incomplete, so I think the petrification lasted for about 30 minutes? Aunt collected all the voting papers in the meantime and wrote her own name.”
“Owa. Amazing!”
So that was allowed. I could rest easy.
*‘I should make Turtle Shell Bread filled with plenty of cream puffs!’*
Suddenly, my heart raced with anticipation.
* * *
The next day.
The atmosphere among the children gathered at the Pashayen Education Hall was sharp.
Because they were young and had yet to learn how to keep their energy in check, the aura they emitted was ominous. Not a single mouse dared scurry near the hall.
Even for the young Awakened, the pressure was immense.
They were acting tough, but the faces of several children had gone deathly pale. Lewis and Jillian, adoptees from a collateral branch, were being crushed by the intimidation, looking as if they might collapse at any moment.
Both of them had skipped breakfast. Their stomachs were growling, their heads were pounding, and they were exhausted. In such a state, they were naturally in a foul mood, ready to pick a fight with anyone.
“Hey, what’s that?”
“What is she holding so much of?”
The door opened, and a baby walked in, toddling. She clutched a paper bag as big as her own body in her arms.
“The way she waddles is cu… no, like a duckling… no, it’s strange.” Jillian stuttered.
Her pink hair fluttered with every step. The dress she wore and the pure white bunny ear headband on her head were incredibly cute. Her cheeks were so plump and puffy they looked like they might burst, making one want to reach out and touch them.
But the children spit out hateful words anyway. Shuperti Pashayen was a rival.
As much as the Ancestor Whale had hinted she was the closest to the next-generation Attuner, she was an obstacle that had to be eliminated. Since their parents had whispered as much at home, the children naturally felt the same…
“Here, I’ll give you this.”
They should be thinking.
“It’s, Chu made Turtle Shell Bread! I put lots of cream puffs in it too.”
Thinking.
“Try it. There’s so many cream puffs?”
They should be.
“Is it yummy?”
The…
“…Cute.”
A snippet of sincerity slipped from Lewis’s mouth.
There was clearly cream puff on the corner of his mouth; he’d eaten a bite simply because he was hungry.
“Hey, how do you know what she put in there and just eat it?”
“Huh? No. This is just a cream puff bread. In a turtle shape.”
“Who doesn’t know that? She could have drugged it!”
When Jillian shouted that, all eyes were drawn to them.
1 second.
2 seconds.
3 seconds.
“Hu, hue….”
Tears welled up in the eyes of the baby, who had been standing blankly holding the bread bag.
“Chu… Chu worked hard to, make it….”
She stood there, brimming with tears as if she would burst at any moment. She was so pitiful that anyone would want to rush over and soothe her.
“Huck, she’s making her cry.”
“No, she already made her cry.”
“If it were me, I wouldn’t think of making Shuperti cry. You’ve got guts. Right?”
As the twins, Iliad and Neiad, whispered that from the back row, Jillian turned even paler. It sounded like a warning.
*‘Don’t, don’t make her cry!’*
Sweating, Jillian opened his mouth.
“Ku, koochie-koo!”
“…….”
The baby looked at him with an expression asking what he was doing.
It was Lewis who saved the speechless Jillian.
“Hey, just eat it.”
“Uh, uh….”
“It’s good.”
“It is…?”
Once the two loudest children gave a positive evaluation of the taste, others began to show interest as well. They were, after all, at an age where snacks were always welcome.
*‘Phew.’*
I let out a sigh of relief while watching my classmates.
*‘I almost actually cried when they doubted me.’*
Actually, I felt a little guilty since I *had* put something in. It wasn’t bad—just Cheer-up Butter—but still.
Before long, Cedric Teacher arrived, and I sat on my cushion, clutching my share of the turtle bread tightly.
*‘I have to give Hans the Chef two more kisses!’*
Thinking that, I focused on the front.
“I believe you all know what today is for.”
Cedric Teacher’s eyes were dark underneath again. The teacher, who had been limp like a saggy squid, saw me and his eyes sparkled immediately—which was actually a little scary.
[The Water Spirit King ‘■■■■’ makes a pitiful expression.]
[Hmm, it seems Cedric has properly seen the effects of the cookies with Orca Sugar in them. Indeed, it’s true that I’m often overworked.]
[The Fire Spirit King ‘■■■■■’ worries about you, saying you seem like a lunatic who has spun 360 degrees.]
Wouldn’t spinning 360 degrees just bring me right back to where I started?
Setting that trivial question aside, the candidates for vice president stepped forward one by one to begin their self-introductions.
“Hi. I’m Shuperti.”
My turn was the last one.