As Damian entered the room, he saw Elizabeth alongside Liam, Gareth and Arielle already sitting at the table with their food placed in front of them.
When they saw him enter, Arielle waved her hand first.
"Come sit beside me. This side is for Disciplinary Committee members."
Damian nodded slightly and sat down. He exchanged greetings with everyone present.
Something feels weird…
He noticed the way all these senior members were glancing toward him and treating him.
It was as if they considered him their equal.
Damian shrugged and ignored these useless thoughts. Instead, he started wondering about food.
"Good morning, sir. You must be Sir Damian Valcor. I am called Robert Gilligan.
I am responsible for managing things inside the council and also responsible for serving your food.
Is there anything specific you would like to eat?"
As Damian was lost in his thoughts, an old man with greying hair spoke to him politely from behind.
Robert was dressed in a butler outfit and seemed very excited to serve him.
"Good morning to you as well, Mr. Robert. I don't particularly have any likes or dislikes, so you may serve me anything you find satisfactory.
Also, don't call me Sir. I'm not a Noble."
"I know you are not a Noble, Sir Damian. And that is why I respect you even more.
It is my first time, since working here for 60 years, that I have the opportunity to serve a commoner.
You bring us honour. And for me, you deserve to be called Sir.
I will be back with your food. Please excuse me."
Robert smiled happily as he went to bring Damian's food.
Damian's mood was starting to become a bit complex.
Previously, he thought this social construct was nothing but childish games affecting only students.
But now… it seemed to be bigger than he imagined.
'I need to take this seriously…'
Everyone else at the table had also listened to the conversation between Robert and Damian.
They were a bit surprised by the politeness and soft expression Damian showed toward the butler.
It was not as if they treated Robert harshly. It was just that they never really gave him a thought.
Yes. For them, he was only a servant meant to ease their time inside the council building.
They themselves were not doing anything wrong, but ever since they were born, they had similar servants serving them.
They never paid them any attention. Even Elizabeth was the same.
This was the subconscious reaction of every noble... something commoners picked up easily.
Nobles never saw them as equals.
****
"How was your first day of classes, Damian?" Elizabeth asked with a smile.
"I enjoyed it. Especially Professor Seraphina's class. The amount of knowledge one can gain through her lectures is immense."
"… You really are lucky. We never got to study under the legendary General of the battlefield," Liam spoke, jealousy clear on his face.
Soon everyone started engaging in miscellaneous conversations.
Robert also arrived with Damian's breakfast and left quietly after being thanked by him.
Other members also started entering the room, and soon everyone was gathered together.
Damian and Michael listened to the discussions around them and stayed quiet as they ate their food.
After some time, Victor Cross, who seemed frustrated for some reason, opened his mouth.
"Are we all going to pretend like everything is normal!?"
Startled by his shout, everyone stopped eating and looked toward him.
Naomi even dropped her spoon as she flinched.
"… What are you trying to say?" Gareth asked.
Victor was his vice head, so it was his duty to handle him.
"It's all over the academy forum! All those commoner bastards are treating this Damian fellow as their saviour!
Someone who broke the social construct.
Just because one single commoner managed to enter the council, they think they can challenge us.
This is affecting the atmosphere of the academy. There are already fights happening in my year.
The harmony of the students is getting affecte–"
"Harmony?"
Damian's cold voice rang inside the room.
Everyone turned toward him.
He was leaning back against his chair, his chin resting on his right hand placed on the armrest.
"Maybe you mean to say that the students you suppressed are trying to fight back?"
"Enough. Calm down, both of you. I don't want to ruin my morning on this topic," Arielle spoke in an irritated voice.
"You know… There are not many Nobles from where I come from.
Our northern area is very harmonious. No one even cares about the Nobles and their power.
All they care about is that they are part of the Earth Federation.
But ever since I came here, I got to know this interesting social construct that has been built in the rest of the world.
I don't care for your so-called Noble Honor.
I don't care for your need for validation.
And I certainly don't give a fuck about what you all think."
Damian paused as his eyes roamed across the room, meeting everyone's gaze, before continuing.
"I only care about one thing… Power.
And if someone stands in my way, I certainly won't give a fuck whether he or she is a noble or a commoner.
So let's close this conversation forever. Shall we?"
Damian looked toward Victor with an intimidating gaze, as if daring him to speak.
Victor's face turned red as he stood up. He was about to release his Aura, but Elizabeth spoke first.
"Sit down!"
Her eyes held anger as she ordered Victor to sit down.
Then her gaze moved toward everyone else in the room.
"Just because I don't speak much doesn't mean this Academy is not in my control.
I don't care for these petty struggles. I don't want them in my council. Is that clear, Victor Cross?"
"… Yes."
"Alright. The meeting is over. Damian and Michael, stay behind to take your Aura Jamming devices. The rest can leave."
No one spoke.
One reason was that most of them were nobles.
And some even agreed with Victor.
They were proud of their lineages, and seeing commoners stand up against them was not something they wanted to see.
If someone paid attention to everyone's expressions, they would see that except Gareth, Arielle, Liam, Naomi and Elizabeth herself, all of them looked at Damian differently now.
'So… from the start, I was bound to be against them just because I'm a commoner.
Though it is not yet time to openly start a war with the nobles.
I need to be patient and lie low for a year.'
Damian took note of the change in everyone's expression. But he didn't say anything.
As only Elizabeth was left in the room with Damian and Michael, she looked toward the two of them.
"Listen to me. Your batch is the batch with the strongest potential in recent years.
The Federation has taken note of this as well.
I don't want any conflicts to happen in your year.
Michael, you should try to stop nobles from suppressing commoners.
You both must remember one thing clearly… even though power is given to the Student Council, the Headmaster and the professors are always watching how things are handled by us.
Just focus on growing and stop bothering with anything else.
And Damian… try not to get involved in another incident."
Both Michael and Damian looked at each other before nodding.
"Here, wear these bracelets. These are Aura Jamming devices.
Only use them if any student is using Aura to attack someone else.
You both can leave now."
After wearing the bracelets, both of them nodded respectfully toward Elizabeth before heading out.
****
As only Elizabeth was left in the room, her hologram made a noise.
[I'm afraid your council does not hold the same view as you.
Nobles benefit a lot from suppressing commoners.
They won't let this slide.]
"… I know, Lilly. But what I said was for their own good.
Damian is not someone they should make an enemy of."
[Can you not even tell me what you saw in that vision of yours?]
"… "
Elizabeth remained silent as a complex expression unfolded on her face.