Phonograph.A device used to record or play back sound, fitted with a turntable that spins a record and a horn.In modern times, it’s used as nothing more than an interior ornament for its quaint charm, but in the Mir-elin saga it’s commonly used for its original purpose of listening to music.So did I look for this thing to appreciate music? Of course not.Because this thing has a “special” use.“Sir, are you interested in this item?”While I was flicking off the dust piled on the phonograph with my hand, a clerk approached and spoke to me.“How much does it go for? I don’t see a price tag.”When I asked the price, the clerk launched into a long-winded explanation with a face like he’d struck gold.“Ah, this phonograph was manufactured roughly a hundred years ago at the request of Count Doleón, by the dwarf artisan Cold Raymon who was famous at the time for—”“That’s enough. I asked how much.”When I cut off the explanation and asked the price, the clerk rubbed his hands together and opened his mouth.“Haha, that will be twenty million krone.”What? Two thousand for this hunk of junk?“Your greed is excessive.”Thump-.I /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ flicked my finger and rapped the brass horn.A dull vibration with dust shivering down.Even if it were as impressive an heirloom as the clerk claimed, it had already lost its value to the long years.If it were really that great, they wouldn’t have stored it like this in the first place.How dare they try to saddle me with the markup.The special value this phonograph possesses applies only to me, the Player.To anyone else, it’s nothing more or less than a space-hogging antique.I must look like a rich young noble because I’m wearing an Academy uniform, but trying to rip me off like that won’t fly.I immediately cut the price in half.“Make it ten million. It’s a headache to you here anyway, isn’t it? It doesn’t sell and only takes up space. But when you try to throw it out, you hesitate. I’ll dispose of the white elephant for you.”“……Half off out of the blue? That’s outside my authority.”“Then bring your manager.”At the word to call the person in charge, the clerk flinched and shrank a little.Before he went to fetch the manager, he asked my name.“……May I have your name, sir?”I shrugged.“It’s better you don’t know.”“Pardon? Still, to call the manager I at least need—”I cut him off, speaking like I found it all a bother.“Loen de Valis. Go fetch them.”“!”Eyes gone round, the clerk hurried off and brought the person in charge.A moment later, the manager-level figure arrived before me. He greeted me with an awkward smile.“Ahaha, a scion of House de Valis, is it?”“Right. I hope you propose an appropriate price.”After that, I “negotiated” properly with the manager the clerk had brought, and I was able to purchase the phonograph at the price I wanted.Seven million krone, one third of the initial quote.A satisfying negotiation.Somehow it feels like my notoriety ticked up a bit in the process, but that must just be my imagination.***The next day.“Set it here.”“Yes, sir.”The deliveryman brought the phonograph all the way to the Student Council Office.I asked him to place it on top of an empty cabinet.A brass-horn phonograph sitting atop a vintage wooden cabinet.The bare Student Council Office felt a little more tasteful.Also, while purchasing the phonograph and “negotiating,” I got them to throw in a few LP records as a bonus.“The installation’s done, so I’ll be on my way.”“Delivery fee. I’ll count on you again next time.”“Yes, sir!”When I stuffed his pocket with a thick wad of cash, the deliveryman left the Student Council Office with a beaming face.After he left, Ciel eyed the phonograph with a reluctant expression and asked:“A phonograph—did you suddenly pick up a hobby for music appreciation?”“Taking a general education class on classical music led me that way.”“Even so, if you were going to buy one, you should have bought something better. What is this antique? Did you check if it works?”Ciel, with practiced hands, imbued it with mana, wound the spring, and set the needle on the LP.Screech-.“……”The turntable that seemed like it might spin for a moment produced a friction noise and promptly stopped dead.The needle was also worn down and did nothing but scratch the LP for no reason.It was an item from a hundred years ago, and it had been left unattended without maintenance, so this was the obvious result.With an awkward look, I removed the LP and spoke.“Honestly, it’s for interior decor.”“Ah. Yes. Still, it does look stylish. It will do as an interior piece.”“……”I avoided responding to that and discreetly opened the status window.[Union Student Council Office]Comfort 100Owned Item(s): [Cold Raymon’s Phonograph] x1.[When installed in a Player-owned space, the favor gained by visiting individuals increases slightly.]This phonograph may not play music, but it’s effective at raising Favor.There are also several pieces of furniture with set bonuses that, when arranged, multiply that effect several times over, so I should collect them whenever opportunities arise.“Anyway. What time was today’s meeting scheduled for?”I closed the status window and posed a question to Ciel.The Student Council Presidents’ meeting I held on the first day I woke up in the game world.The second of those meetings will be held today in the Student Council Office.“Three in the afternoon. Everyone has indicated they will attend.”“Good. We’ll proceed as planned. Secretary.”I turned my gaze and addressed Illeina, who was seated on the sofa.“It’s your first task since being appointed recorder. Think you can handle it?”Even if it’s an honorary post, there’s still the once-a-month duty of attending the meeting and drafting the minutes.At my question, she clenched the quill in her hand and burned with zeal.“Yes! I’ll do my best!”***A little later.“It’s been a while since we all gathered like this.”Faces I’d grown fairly accustomed to by now gathered once more.Following the first meeting at the start of the semester, we were convening the second meeting today.Its main purpose was to exchange information for the upcoming Sports Festival.Although Ishtal and Freya are in charge of this Sports Festival, fundamentally it’s an event that the entire Union student body participates in.The other student council presidents have the right to offer opinions on it, and to audit the progress of the event and the use of the budget, so gatherings like this are absolutely necessary.Click-.Ciel set freshly brewed tea, one by one, in front of each person seated around the table.I sipped my tea once, then cast my eyes around the people gathered here, conveying a nuance to look around and take note.“How is it? It’s better than that gloomy, dark meeting room from last time, isn’t it?”“Yes, the atmosphere is certainly nice. Are you planning to use that phonograph?”Since Elena showed interest in the phonograph, I kindly explained.“It’s for decor. It’s an antique, so it doesn’t work. I picked it up yesterday at a bookstore in Stella.”“Oh my, I see. If it worked, it would be nice to have in my office too. What a shame.”Rustle-.While I was exchanging that trivial talk with Elena, Illeina, sitting over there, scribbled something with her pen.She was probably recording the conversation into the minutes just now.“Illeina, don’t record this part.”No need to include idle chatter.Rustle-.But the quill kept moving.She didn’t seem inclined to stop recording.“Don’t tell me you recorded the part where I told you not to record it?”Rustle-.“……”Even if it’s her first assignment after appointment, isn’t she being a bit too faithful to the role of recorder? It’s not like we’re writing the Annals of the Joseon Dynasty.“Fine…… do as you like.”Someday even this small talk might be something to look back on.We were loosening up the mood with such meaningless conversation when it happened.Bang-.“Before that!”Kiriel suddenly slammed the table and sprang to her feet.The table trembled, and Beatrice’s cup overflowed.Startled, Kiriel apologized to Beatrice.“Ah, sorry. Are you okay?”“Yes, I’m fine. Ciel, if you have a handkerchief.”“Here you are.”Beatrice wiped the little spilled tea on the table with the handkerchief.Watching that, I warned Kiriel.“Kiriel, making a scene again in a place like this. If you do something like that one more time, I’ll evict you on the spot.”“S-sorry. No, wait, I’m not that sorry to you!”Kiriel glared at me and abruptly raised her voice.“How did you even end up in the Student Council President’s seat? You used charm magic on the Union’s faculty! Nothing else makes sense! Brainwashing or charm magic!”“……”'Here we go again.'At her out-of-the-blue suspicion, every gaze, mine included, turned to Kiriel.Of course I knew Kiriel had fallen into some strange line of conjecture, so I humored her to a reasonable degree.“……Are you saying I’m some kind of demon, like an incubus?”“Yeah. I’m not saying you are a demon, but that would explain everything.”“Sorry, but it’s already a proven fact that I’m not a demon. I once received treatment from Elena.”“What?”“That’s how it is, Miss Kiriel.”Elena tilted her head with a small smile.“W-wha? When on earth.”“At the start of the semester. We met at Café Serapium. I was treated by Elena then.”When I glanced her way, Elena opened her mouth.“Suspecting others of being demons is a serious offense, but I’ll let it slide this once. All right?”“Y-yeah. Thanks, Elena.”But perhaps Kiriel still couldn’t drop her stubbornness, as she continued to raise doubts.“Then you used some similar hallucination-type magic…… A human mage can use that too.”“As you know, I can’t use magic other than alchemy.”“Ah, then some kind of artifact. You’re famous for owning a lot of artifacts……”“There’s no convenient artifact that can brainwash professors of the Academy. Let’s say I bend over backward and grant such a thing exists; how many people would I have to use it on?”“Then you colluded with the Chairman……”“Does that man look like he has that kind of pull? You’d be better off suspecting I bribed some other power-broker.”“T-then a hidden power-broker among the students……”Kiriel’s voice trailed off smaller and smaller as she continued.She glanced at Freya for a moment, but then seemed to rethink it and shook her head.Apparently even she figured that to cast suspicion on Freya here would be going way too far.Even a fool has that level of sense, it seems.“Is the detective game over? If you’ve nothing more to say, go stick yourself in a corner. Don’t waste the precious time of busy people.”“Urk.”“Then that’s enough small talk. Let’s get to the point. Freya, the prepared materials?”“Right here.”Freya distributed the materials she had brought separately to each person.The budget usage for the Sports Festival, neatly organized into tables and graphs.“Hmm.”Kiriel skimmed and tilted her head before flipping the page, while Elena and Beatrice carefully read and checked the entries in the documents they received.“As expected, transparent and tidy work, Miss Freya.”“You flatter me.”“I agree. However, one supplier among the contracted vendors appears disproportionately often. Do you happen to know anything about that?”Beatrice pointed out that a particular firm’s supply volume was high, and Freya answered calmly.“The item in question is something that used to come in as a donated good every year, but since it became hard to procure this time, we resorted to a different route. The details are explained on the back pages.”“Ah, this one. The Gallevier Merchant Guild of the Kingdom of Gilbert. It looks like you received help from Senior Jeremy; is that correct?”“That’s right. Senior Jeremy gave us his help.”When Freya affirmed, Beatrice glanced at me and spoke in a tone meant for me to hear.“Well, if it’s him, he’s reliable. Unlike a certain someone.”“Why look at me?”“No particular reason. Pay it no mind.”“……”Picking a needless fight—she must still be a bit miffed about what happened at the bookstore yesterday.I shrugged and offered Freya a word of advice.“As for some of the merchant guilds selected as suppliers for this Sports Festival, it’d be best to reconsider them. There could be disruptions in the supply of goods.”

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