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Chapter 277: I Want It All

In Building 1’s Classroom 14, Roel silently heaved a sigh of relief while maintaining a composed expression. At the same time, Lilian’s worries were also allayed.

She placed her teaching materials back in place, tidied up her clothes, and prepared to leave the classroom. However, before Roel could bid her farewell, her footsteps abruptly came to a halt, as if she had suddenly recalled something important.

Hm? What is it this time?

Roel watched as Lilian slowly turned around to face him, and his heart began thumping nervously once more. He was worried that she had suddenly changed her mind about Paul’s matter. However, it turned out that she was just handing something to him.

“This is for you.”

“Ah?”

Lilian walked up to Roel’s desk, took something out of her pocket, and placed it onto the table. The curious Roel took a look at the item, only to be stunned right after.

An adorable pink plush toy sat quietly on the table, staring at him with its small ruby eyes. It was clearly made out of premium material. Not only did it have a fluffy texture, but it also had a nice supple touch that made it pleasant to hold onto.

“Senior, t-this is...”

“It’s a magic communication device. I’m temporarily lending it out to you.”

“Ah?”

Seeing the bewilderment on Roel’s eyes, Lilian began explaining calmly.

“It’ll stir suspicions if we often meet up at night. I’ll be informing you about the timings of the remedial classes through this communication device from now onward. You should know how to use it, right?”

“I do, but...”

Roel prodded the rabbit plush toy in a daze, clearly having yet to snap out of his astonishment.

Magic communication devices were a common way for students to contact one another in the Saint Freya Academy. These devices were paired, meaning that they only allowed for one-to-one communication, and there was a limit to the range where messages could be sent and received. Nevertheless, it was still a convenient way for students in the same academy to communicate with one another.

Roel knew of their existence, and it wasn’t that surprising for Lilian to propose using these devices to keep in touch.

But... why this design? This pink rabbit plush toy does look adorable, but... is this actually the kind of person Lilian is deep down?

Roel alternated his gaze between the stoic-faced ice beauty and the adorable communication device, and before he knew it, his cheeks had already begun twitching.

“Is there a problem here?”

It was a voice so cold that it sent shivers down Roel’s spine.

Roel immediately realized that his overly conspicuous response had triggered Lilian’s ire. Knowing that it would be bad to offend Lilian, he quickly picked up the pink rabbit plush toy on the table. There was a momentary pause before he raised his gaze to reveal eyes sparkling with excitement.

“What a beautiful communication device this is! Wait a moment, doesn’t this logo belong to the café run by the enchanter in the commercial street? This means that this plush toy is the super rare exclusive the café owner gives out at random! That’s incredible! How did you obtain it?”

Roel stroked the furry plush toy as he asked with a look of deep curiosity. It was fortunate that Charlotte had mentioned it in one of their lunch conversations before.

Lilian blinked her eyes in surprise. She hadn’t expected Roel to know so much about the plush toy. Her sharp eyes softened down, and the tense atmosphere loosened up a little.

“... It’s actually not that hard. The café owner usually gives out the magic tool to the first customer the following day after she finishes her enchantment on it. You just have to keep an eye out for the day her enchantment supplies arrive and take note of the free time she has everyday. With this information, you’ll be able to project the dates when the magic tool is likely to be completed.”

“...”

You actually made such a complex calculation for a plush toy? Just how much do you like it?!

There were so many retorts in Roel’s head that he was starting to have difficulties keeping up the act. He squeezed the fluffy ears of the rabbit and hurriedly thanked her.

“It’s really beautiful. Thank you, Senior Lilian. I’ll take good care of it.”

“Is that so? That’s good,” replied Lilian before leaving the classroom.

Roel stared at the closed classroom doors for a long while before turning his eyes toward the plush toy in his hands. He felt like he had just seen a side to Lilian he had never known of.

There was nothing in the game that indicated that she had such preferences. Now that I think about it, Lilian does dress herself up quite femininely. It’s just that her personality is so cold that no one really pays heed to that.

Now that I think about it, it’s actually quite cute.

The thought of Lilian using the rabbit plush toy communication device with her usual stoic face tickled Roel a little. He used to think that Lilian was an austere individual, but this incident softened his impression of her considerably.

There was just one small problem here.

“Am I going to have to bring this plush toy with me wherever I go from now on?”

Looking at the fluffy pink rabbit in his hands, Roel found himself sighing helplessly.

...

“Paul, I’ll be leaving the establishment of the Request Club and its recruitment of members to you.”

“!”

On the dining table, Roel was in the midst of slicing into his steak when he said those words, leaving Paul, who was in the midst of stuffing bread into his mouth, with widened eyes. The latter thought that he was hearing things.

Recruitment was extremely important to all factions. It involved bringing in core members and building a following, and this would form the faction’s foundation. The type of people who were brought in would have a profound impact on the future development of the faction.

The person in charge of recruitment could stand to gain a lot if he were to play his cards well, for the power of appointment was a great one.

In the Saint Freya Academy, the responsibility of recruitment in a faction usually fell on the shoulders of the second-in-charge.

Had Roel not become a Ringbearer, he would have been the one recruiting for the Goldenrose Faction. All who wanted to approach the future successor of the Theocracy would have to first satisfy him. As long as he refused to give a nod of approval, even the most talented individual would only be able to stand helplessly before the tall gates of the Goldenrose Faction.

And right now, Roel was entrusting this great power to Paul.

The trust Paul had received from Roel left him deeply moved. His hands trembled a little as his face swiftly reddened in agitation. However, after a moment of careful thought, he couldn’t help but worry about the implications of this move.

“Big brother Roel, wouldn’t it backfire on you if I were to be in charge of the recruitment?” asked Paul nervously.

As someone who was shunned in the Saint Freya Academy, he was worried that talented individuals might turn their backs on the Bluerose Faction upon learning that he was the recruiter. This would definitely be detrimental to the development of the faction.

Unexpectedly, Roel wasn’t bothered by that issue at all.

“Anyone who chooses to shun the Bluerose Faction because of you doesn’t deserve to join us. It would mean that either their brains are not functioning well or their hearts are not aligned with us. Bringing in such people would only cause problems,” remarked Roel calmly as he took a sip of wine.

Despite his nonchalant appearance, he was actually extremely excited about this matter.

Naturally, he understood the significance of the ‘recruiter’ role, but that was precisely the reason why he entrusted this position to Paul. After all, Paul was the protagonist of Eyes of the Chronicler!

The most important factor in the development of a faction was not its facilities or its finances—it was manpower.

Having many faction members had its own benefits, but the difficulties that the Request Club would eventually face were not problems that could be solved with numbers. For that reason, Roel decided to prioritize quality over quantity.

And when it came to quality, who else could possibly beat the allies of the original protagonist?

That’s right, Roel wanted it all! Just having the protagonist wasn’t enough for him; he wanted the protagonist’s team as well!

Of course, he understood that there was a divergence in the story and things might not necessarily go as planned, but he felt that it would be better to leave it to Paul rather than to work on it himself. After all, Paul did successfully recruit those people in the game, so there was definitely something about him that drew his allies in.

Other than that, it was also a deliberate choice from Roel to filter off prejudiced individuals through Paul. His aim was to build a neutral organization independent of any country’s circumstances, but to achieve that, he needed to bring in like-minded personnel, or at least people who didn’t oppose it.

Considering the trials the Request Club would be put through, it was essential that its members were united on the same front. Any infighting that arose due to the differences from the members’ respective countries was intolerable. He would rather not take in such members at all.

“Just look for people whom you admire and we can work with. The number of people you bring in doesn’t matter. Feel free to take it slowly. We’ll officially begin recruitment once you find enough people on your side,” said Roel.

His intention was to preserve the conditions where Paul recruited the original members of the Request Club as far as possible. However, Paul himself took a different meaning to those words.

I get it now. Big brother Roel was afraid that I would be isolated in the faction, so he would rather slow down the recruitment process for my sake.

Paul was deeply moved by the sentiment. He raised his head to look at Roel and saw the latter staring back at him with expectant eyes. It was one of the rare occasions where the feelings conveyed more than words.

Seeing this, he decided not to hesitate anymore.

“Big brother Roel, I’ll take charge of the recruitment. I can’t assure you that I’ll be able to secure talents for the Bluerose Faction, but I’ll try my best,” said Paul with clenched fists.

On the opposite side of the table, Roel felt his heart bursting with joy.

“You should trust yourself a bit more. I believe in you,” he said with a deep smile.