The Struggle

“V, is this for real?”

Not long after returning to the classroom with his appointment letter, Lilo was entangled by a new brand of “trouble.”

To avoid any misunderstanding that he was some sort of popular character, let it be clarified: within this forty-person tenth-grade classroom, there were two distinct factions—the “Popular Group” of thirty-seven, and the “Unpopular Group” of three.

And I, Lilo V. Watch, happened to be a member of that three-person “Unpopular Group.”

“…”

Lilo didn’t respond.

Despite belonging to the “Unpopular Group,” Lilo hadn’t degenerated to the point of needing to lick wounds with his own kind; if anything, he actually enjoyed his current situation.

After all, they weren’t really the same type of people to begin with…

“Hey, hey, say something, V.”

An restless little finger kept poking Lilo’s cheek. The girl seemed to unilaterally decide they were close, even though he hadn’t even bothered to memorize her name.

She had waist-length, ash-white hair and a face that should have been popular with boys, but she wore round glasses with incredibly thick lenses. As a fellow “four-eyes” like Lilo, her prescription was likely several times stronger than his.

But that wasn’t the real reason she was relegated to the “Unpopular Group”…

Plop!

A severed head suddenly landed on Lilo’s desk.

Such a grotesque and horrifying sight would have caused a myocardial infarction in anyone else, but what was even more bone-chilling was that the severed head actually started to speak!

“Are you really going to keep ignoring me?”

That voice was unmistakably the person who had been talking to Lilo just moments ago!

As soon as she finished speaking, a headless “corpse” dressed in a school uniform pulled over a chair and sat opposite Lilo, picking up the head and cradling it in her arms.

It was a visually shocking scene, but for the residents of the Empire, it was a familiar part of daily life.

Ever since the two worlds collided and the old social order collapsed, humans and demi-humans had been forced to live together. The resulting “Sydia Empire” was now the largest existing settlement zone.

“Sigh…”

Lilo sighed and slowly closed his textbook. He truly couldn’t enjoy even a moment of peace.

“I’m not trying to ignore you. It’s just that there’s a quiz the day after tomorrow.”

“V, you can pass those easily, right? Get some rest, okay? Your dark circles haven’t gone away at all.”

“I used foundation, but it didn’t work well.”

“Dark circles can’t be cured with just foundation… only you would say that.”

Matching the tone of the head in her arms, the headless “corpse” gave a helpless shrug.

A Dullahan…

The fact that a creature existing only in Western fantasy novels had one day descended into reality was wild enough, but with the existence of someone as impossibly cute as Teacher Xiaohuo, this world was already crazy enough.

“So, were you really chosen as the Vice President of the Student Council?”

“Apparently…”

Eeeeeeek!?

The Dullahan girl’s shriek drew the attention of the entire class. However, as soon as they saw the horrifying sight of her head separated from her body, some felt physically ill and quickly averted their eyes.

“Vice President… as in the Vice President who stands above all but one? You can mobilize nearly half the academy’s resources, deploy the campus security guards at will, ignore school rules, and even the nuclear bombs hidden underground… Waaah, this is a never-ending source of inspiration!”

The girl’s body immediately pulled out a notebook she carried and began scribbling down her sudden ideas.

‘That’s entirely your imagination. It’s not nearly that exaggerated…’

Lilo complained expressionlessly in his heart.

Incidentally, this Dullahan girl was apparently a novelist in her public life. According to her own accounts, her stories never featured female protagonists; furthermore, she had recently been using Lilo as material for her novels.

Yes, she was actually a fujoshi…

But that wasn’t the real reason she was in the “Unpopular Group.” It was simply because her family business was related to funerals and took up the vast majority of the city’s business. To put it bluntly, at least half the people in this classroom had relatives or friends buried by her family.

“Just in case, can I ask what you’re writing?”

“Why, the forbidden love between the Vice President and the President, of course~”

“But the President is a girl.”

“Hmph~ Don’t underestimate the rich imagination of a BL author! Besides, ‘gloomy loners’ like you are surprisingly popular.”

“…”

Despite being used as a main course to satisfy a fujoshi’s fantasies, Lilo didn’t care. In fact, he was currently considering whether he could extort some money under the pretense of “violation of portrait rights.”

“But V…”

The Dullahan girl’s tone shifted.

“I’m not sure exactly what a Vice President has to do, but why did you take on this burden? It’s not like you at all.”

“Don’t act like you know me so well…”

“But V, you never go to parties, and you even hate crowded places. You wouldn’t even come when I invited you for free snacks last time. Being Vice President means dealing with a lot of people. Didn’t you say you couldn’t handle those situations?”

“Because there’s a subsidy.”

“Is that… really the only reason?”

Lilo fell silent again.

He didn’t like being pried into; everyone should have secrets that aren’t to be touched.

But he couldn’t bring himself to hate this Dullahan girl.

He vaguely remembered the first time the three-person group met…

Lilo, who was trying his best to dilute his presence, was suddenly found by two other equally unpopular people. They said something strange like, “Since everyone else is isolating us, why don’t we become best friends?” and forced their way in.

And back then…

“Can I call you V from now on?” the Dullahan girl had asked.

“Hey, shouldn’t you call him Lilo or Alo like a normal person?” the other person had complained.

“Because…”

The Dullahan girl tilted her head, adjusting the thick frames on her nose.

‘V, you don’t seem to like the name Lilo very much.’

“…”

I give up.

Was it because she had buried so many dead people with her family? Her perception in this area was surprisingly sharp…

And so, they started hanging out together.

Back to the present.

“It has nothing to do with you. Stop asking.”

“Haha, that’s exactly what V would say. So cold and heartless~”

The Dullahan girl suddenly leaned in close to Lilo’s face mysteriously. Perhaps because of her family’s corporate culture, she didn’t wear strong perfume, which was one of the reasons Lilo hadn’t driven her away.

“But for the coming period, you’re going to be quite busy.”

?

Lilo frowned in confusion.

“But I haven’t—”

“Student Lilo.”

Their conversation was interrupted by a sudden third party… no, by many people.

At some point, a crowd of strangers had appeared in the classroom. By strangers, it wasn’t just the classmates whose names Lilo hadn’t bothered to remember; it wasn’t just students from his grade, but even upperclassmen had joined in.

?

“Congratulations on becoming Vice President.”

“I’ve always wanted to meet you, but never had the chance…”

“Interested in a private chat?”

The once-spacious classroom was now packed tight. The sheer number nearly suffocated Lilo, who was accustomed to being alone.

What exactly was going on?

Then, countless application forms were thrust in front of him.

“Please, you must join our club!”

“Honestly, I can’t believe this.”

To avoid being cornered by those fanatical students after school, Lilo was forced to go to the Activity District again. But this time, he wasn’t looking for the Student Council.

“…”

Pulling the application forms from his pocket, Lilo felt a headache coming on.

So that was what the “Headless Girl” meant?

A long-standing tradition at Saint Tias Academy was that enrolled students must participate in club activities—meaning they had to join a club. Even members of the Student Council were no exception. And judging by the timing, it was exactly the season for club recruitment.

Lilo had no interest in club activities; however, as the man about to become Vice President, he was undoubtedly at the center of the storm.

“Even among clubs, the competition is quite fierce. Especially those clubs that can’t fill their quotas; they’ll be abolished by the Student Council. That’s why they’re going crazy trying to recruit,” the Dullahan girl had kindly explained before school ended.

“But what does that have to do with me? Why are they looking at me like I’m a long-lost younger brother?”

“What a strange metaphor… well, I heard it from my club president. Members of the Student Council have many privileges, and one of them is that any club they join will not be abolished, even if they don’t have enough members or have a terrible track record.”

I see…

That really is cheating.

No wonder he was being targeted. In their eyes, he was probably a walking “get out of jail free” card.

“Of course, if you’re really unwilling, you can join our BL Literature Club. I’d welcome you as the Vice President!”

With that, the Dullahan girl had thoughtfully handed Lilo an application form.

Why does a club like that even exist?

But Lilo had his own ideas.

Rather than joining some BL Literature Club and being stared at daily by a group of fujoshi as their creative material, Lilo just wanted to spend his school life more easily. That was why he came to the Activity District after school.

Every building here housed dozens of clubs.

Lilo’s plan was to find a deserted club—ideally one on the verge of being abolished. He would flatly refuse any “enthusiastic” presidents; they would definitely bother him incessantly later. He wouldn’t join any club with more than two members either, otherwise, noisy group outings would be a waste of money.

Once he found a target, he would use his authority to threaten the president: no more recruiting, and no activities for him, or he’d quit.

It should be quite effective, right?

“Why isn’t there a ‘Go Home’ club…”

Strolling through the deserted corridor, it was a good time for a “Vice President” to inspect, as almost no one was recruiting right now.

Antique Club, Badminton Club, Pornography Inspection Club, Waste Recycling Club…

What is wrong with this school?

The mess of clubs kept hitting the limits of his common sense. Better just to abolish them all.

“…What a pain.”

If he hadn’t been chased by those people for his signature, he would have been at his part-time job by now.

The people he didn’t know were one thing.

But why were even the classmates who never talked to him suddenly trying to get close?

They had never even looked him in the eye before…

“The Poor Honor Student.”

That title alone was enough to block off Lilo’s entire social circle. The students at this academy were just that realistic—or rather, profit-driven.

Was it because he was now the Vice President?

Even Ken… he couldn’t remember the guy’s name. Even though he and his two lackeys had taken a leave of absence, the classmates seemed to ignore their absence. Those people were even placing junk and trash on their desks at will.

It was as if they were certain they wouldn’t appear again.

Their disappearance mattered to no one.

“…This is rotten.”

As Lilo muttered to himself, a sudden noise echoed from deep within the empty corridor.

!?

Is someone still here?

To be in the Activity District at this hour, this must be a black-hearted club that exploits its members. Avoid it.

Coincidentally…

Lilo happened to pass by the source of the noise.

[The Occult Research Club]

The door was wide open, and Lilo peeked inside out of curiosity.

The scene inside was disastrous. It looked like a crime scene; bookshelves and books had collapsed, scattered everywhere in utter chaos. The noise must have been the sound of the bookshelf falling, yet there was no one to be seen.

Did they run away after realizing they caused trouble?

?

Suddenly, a small mound of books began to wriggle.

“…You’ve got to be kidding.”

Rustle, rustle—

A head poked out from the pile of books.

She had smooth, emerald-green hair, though it was now messy due to the collapse. Even after struggling to free herself, several books remained on top of her head, yet she seemed completely oblivious, staring around blankly.

And Lilo took the opportunity to see…

Hidden within those strands of hair were long, pointed ears.

It was a dreamlike race that appeared in many classical works, especially fantasy novels—a magical creature known as the “Children of the Forest.”

They had a beautiful and elegant name.

“Elf.”