novelraw Chapter 114 : Declaration of War (2)
Chapter 114 : Declaration of War (2)
Chapter 114: Declaration of War (2)
The special announcement declaring the start of war ended in less than twenty minutes.
The citizens who had gathered throughout the city were left speechless by the sudden, grand proclamation.
Only after a long silence did murmurs begin to swell.
“…What the hell is going on?”
“Dellowell… is attacking Karbenna? Why on earth?”
“Hey, didn’t you hear? They said Karbenna committed blasphemy and even stole holy relics!”
“But they didn’t even show any evidence!”
“Come on, you think Dellowell’s stupid? You think they’d attack the Imperial Academy without solid proof?”
“Why are you yelling at me, then?”
“Because I can already hear the prices rising, you idiot!”
“Stop saying such ominous things! Karbenna’s not that foolish! Of course they’ll surrender!”
“I don’t know. These days, who can tell what the nobles are thinking? For all we know, they might actually fight.”
Some citizens began arguing back and forth, while most others hurriedly left the area.
There were even those who shrugged it off, thinking nothing serious would come of it.
Karbenna and Mallet were, after all, closed groups by nature.
They believed such matters had nothing to do with ordinary people like themselves.
However—
Those directly involved in the situation reacted far more urgently and violently.
“…Are we going to issue a statement too, Colonel?”
“Wasn’t the Special Task Force created to hunt Beasts?”
“No one said we’d be fighting Dellowell fanatics!”
“Watch your mouth when talking to the Colonel, you bastard!”
“But Major…!”
As heated voices rose among the soldiers, Belfor—the highest-ranking officer present—drew his spear.
Kwaaaang!
“Hey. You idiots planning to lose your minds? Did you forget your place?”
Though he himself still couldn’t make sense of the situation, he scolded the troops without changing his expression.
“You’re soldiers, aren’t you? Since when do soldiers get to choose their enemies, huh?”
“……”
The soldiers fell silent and lowered their heads.
Among the tense faces, a faint breeze stirred.
Their eyes seemed to say, ‘Still, shouldn’t we avoid fighting our own people?’
Ignoring those expectant gazes, Belfor lowered his spear.
“Remember your duty to obey orders. The schedule will be announced through the administration soon, so stay alert. Got it?”
“……”
“No answer?”
“Yes, sir!”
“You lot have gotten soft… Move it!”
At their superior’s outburst, the soldiers scattered from the lobby in a panic.
“Phew…”
Scratching his forehead, Belfor headed alone toward the Special Task Force Commander’s office.
The discussions would have ended that morning, so he figured he could finally hear the details.
As expected, Lieutenant General Alvin was inside the commander’s office.
But his response was quite different from what Belfor had imagined.
“We’ll be deploying just over two hundred men.”
“…What?”
He had expected an answer like: ‘We’ll discuss things further with Dellowell’ or ‘We’re still deciding whether to side with Karbenna–Mallet.’
“Why? Are you scared now that it’s actually happening?”
“That’s not it, sir…”
Still, a sliver of doubt lingered in his heart.
Nothing was ever absolute in a human war.
No matter who the opponent was, victory or defeat could never be guaranteed until the battle began.
Even so, it was hard to ignore the subconscious weight of a certain name.
The influence carried by Dellowell within the Empire was immense.
“If we were to lose… the casualties would be massive. Our reputation and standing would take a huge blow as well.”
“Then what you’re really asking is why we’re going this far to help that Carter kid, right?”
“…Yes, sir.”
Belfor averted his gaze slightly as he spoke his honest thoughts.
“To be honest, it doesn’t sit right with me. Things have gone smoothly so far, but we can’t keep giving him everything he wants forever.”
“There’s no need to.”
The commander, after scanning the documents on his desk, lifted his head.
“In the future Carter envisions, there may be no place for us to stand.”
“……”
Even so—
“If that Eugene Carter was the one who spoke of loyalty, then isn’t this level of risk worth taking?”
“…He really said that?”
“The same man who once said he didn’t care about comrades or anything else, so long as he could lead a revolution.”
“Hmm…”
“So don’t question me any further about this, Colonel. The decision’s been made.”
“…Understood.”
“I’ll summon the officers at four. Don’t be late. Dismissed.”
“…Yes, sir. Excuse me.”
Belfor quietly exited the commander’s office.
“A man who once only cared for his own safety and reputation… now fighting for loyalty, huh.”
Why, though?
Had he realized something after those long, wasted years?
Was it atonement for the countless lives he had taken?
Or perhaps… simply a sincere desire to protect the few bonds he had left?
“…I suppose I’ll find out.”
Now that things had come to this, he’d make sure to dig deep.
To uncover just what it was that Eugene Carter wanted to protect.
With that thought, Belfor began walking toward the administration office.
There was a strange sense of exhilaration in his step.
At the same time, inside Karbenna’s main building—
All departments, including the Academic Affairs Office, had cut off every line of communication under the Chairwoman’s orders.
It was Sunday, and barely any time had passed since the declaration, so almost no outsiders had shown up yet.
Instead, chaos was brewing within.
While trying to calm the anxious cadets who feared the worst, the faculty and most of the staff gathered at once in the J Hall’s main conference chamber.
Over three hundred people had already packed the room.
“Wait, are we seriously fighting Dellowell?”
“Are you insane? You want us to commit suicide? The smart move right now is to raise both hands and pretend we don’t know anything!”
“We didn’t do anything wrong in the first place.”
“How can you be so sure of that? Who knows what might’ve happened behind the scenes!”
“Well, that I don’t know either.”
“I know everyone’s still angry about the recent embarrassment, but I didn’t think it’d come to this…”
“Come on, when were those bastards ever not shameless? Just say we’re out of luck and forget about it.”
“But still…”
As various opinions flew among the teachers,
the Chairwoman, along with the heads of each department—and at the center of it all, Eugene Carter—appeared on the platform.
The pro-Bernhardt faction teachers, who had been waiting for the perfect time to speak up, immediately started shouting.
“What on earth did you do for Dellowell to react this strongly?”
“Beg for forgiveness now, Chairwoman!”
“Are you just going to stay silent, Professor Carter? This whole mess started because of you!”
“See? This is why you never should’ve accepted such a troublemaker in the first place…!”
At that moment—
A blast echoed through the air.
Kwaaaang!
The deafening roar silenced the hall in an instant.
Amid the quiet, Michel Bernhardt, standing on the platform, spoke firmly into the orb.
“Do you all really think this situation is normal? We’ve done nothing wrong, yet here we are—ready to kneel, bow our heads, and beg for mercy?”
“……”
“And then, pathetically, we cling to a sliver of hope—telling ourselves, ‘Maybe they’ll forgive us. Maybe they’ll let us live.’”
The sharp truth pierced the room, and one by one, the professors’ expressions began to change.
After watching in silence for a moment, Michel concluded,
“Since they’ve already defined us as enemies, there’s only one option left if we wish to survive.”
And that option was never submission.
“Remember this well—expecting mercy from Dellowell is the height of foolishness.”
At that, a professor sitting in the front row, an eight-year veteran, shouted in protest.
“We can’t expect mercy, sure! But standing up to them won’t do us any good either, will it?”
Now it was Eugene’s turn to respond.
“Do you really believe that?”
“…The difference in strength is too great. Even if we join forces with Mallet, I doubt it’ll change the outcome…”
“If that’s what you think, then you may leave.”
“…What?”
The professor fell silent, bewildered by Eugene’s calm yet resolute expression.
“The same goes for the rest of you. If you disagree with the Chairwoman’s decision, resign. Karbenna has no need for such professors.”
At first, there had been murmurs of anxiety and fear.
Then came shouts soaked in blame and defeatism.
And finally, futile outbursts from those desperate to preserve their authority and pride.
“Who the hell are you to tell us to resign, Carter?!”
“You’ve barely been at Karbenna for three months, you fledgling brat…!”
“You’re no better—a coward just trying to survive among the other professors!”
“I’ve trusted and respected the Chairwoman until now, but I must say—her decision to take you in was the worst mistake she’s ever made!”
Watching the few professors who vented their rage with such vigor, I couldn’t help but laugh quietly.
‘Finally showing your true colors, you small-minded cowards.’
Opportunists who ride the tides for their own gain, yet spew sophistry when called out.
Cowards so terrified of death that they tuck their tails the moment danger approaches.
And yet, they can’t stand anyone touching their bowl of rice—hence their furious tantrums.
We don’t need people like that in the coming fight.
Put them in the front lines, and they’ll flee in panic.
Leave them at your back, and they’ll stab you, pretending they didn’t.
Better to weed them out now—even at the cost of some manpower—than let them fester and become a nuisance later.
Such people are not the kind who can be inspired or changed.
On the other hand, the more than half of the professors who hesitated, watching the shouting crowd in silence, were still worth persuading.
So, turning to them, I continued my argument.
“Tell me, is the book ‘Basics of Divine Magic’ really a heretical text? Are all mages heretics, as they claim? Is the world beyond the Empire truly an illusion, and are their so-called guardian gods false idols?”
“……”
“If we can’t even call falsehoods false, then what purpose does education serve?”
The room, once filled with protest, fell silent. My voice echoed with an appeal that bordered on a plea.
“Though I stand here as an instructor, in essence I’m still a soldier—one who tears apart Beasts for the sake of the Empire.”
“But you, as educators, should know better than anyone… the fate of a nation that abandons education.”
“Karbenna has already made its stance clear. We will join forces with Duel—Mallet and the Imperial Special Task Force to stand against Dellowell’s tyranny.”
If even Karbenna—the Empire’s only Imperial Academy—were to be crushed without mercy, there would no longer be a place for any academy in the Empire.
For the sake of both my own survival and theirs, the academy’s continued existence was essential.
That was why, with a firmer expression, I struck the podium and declared:
“The academy is the cradle that raises those who will lead the future. Without roots, no prosperity can endure.”
Thus, we will fight—
not to lose,
but for the future.
“Those willing to join this journey, stay. Those who are not, leave. I won’t resent you. Life is precious to all, even if it means abandoning pride and conviction.”
“……”
“So then—what will you choose?”