novelraw Chapter 51 : Retribution (1)
Chapter 51 : Retribution (1)
Chapter 51: Retribution (1)
“The top three students will be granted a special exemption to skip Class 2 and advance directly to Class 3……”
Although the new reorganization plan had already been announced to the students, Etar called Former separately to the Headmaster’s office.
“Yes.”
He didn’t particularly like this clause.
There had never been a case of a student skipping an entire class through a special exemption before.
Although the entire reorganization plan had originated from Etar’s mind, it was Former who had adjusted it to suit the situation.
And that particular clause was something Former had added on his own.
“This feels like too much of a special privilege.”
“But it can’t be helped.”
Etar had wanted to remove the privileges altogether, but Former firmly refused.
Normally, Former would have obeyed Etar’s words without a hint of objection, so seeing him act like this piqued Etar’s curiosity.
“What’s your reason?”
“You saw it last semester, didn’t you? The students deliberately lost in duels out of fear of penalties.”
“I did.”
“And why do you think that happened? Because there were no rewards. Young students need immediate, visible incentives.”
“Go on.”
“In the first semester, graduation was still far off, and only the penalties were visible, so the students resorted to extreme measures. But if the top three are allowed to skip the beginner level and move directly into the intermediate level, it’ll certainly serve as motivation.”
“But why include second and third place? A special exemption for just the top student should be enough.”
“Because of the Joint Admission System, I had no choice but to include them.”
What Etar and Former were most invested in right now was none other than the Joint Admission System, whose core principle was shared responsibility.
Shared responsibility might be unbearably unfair for those on the receiving end, but for those enforcing it, it was the perfect justification.
Naturally, for this system to work properly, all three had to stay together.
But what if one of them took first place?
Judging from the grades so far, Artel was highly likely to maintain first place.
If that happened, Artel alone would advance to Class 3 while the other two remained in Class 2, which would disrupt their future plans.
That was why Former had tied Artel, Kiena, and Hei together as a single team.
“And if this privilege is granted not to one but to three people, the other students won’t be afraid to challenge them. The more duels there are, the better for us, since through Professor Nide’s Mob, we’ll be able to observe all of Artel’s magic in detail.”
It was a reasonable argument.
If the privilege were given to just one person, students with lower grades might become intimidated and give up before even trying.
“But the lower-ranked students also need a wake-up call. That’s why I changed the original ‘expulsion after five years of retention’ clause to ‘expulsion for the bottom ten students.’”
“There’ll be a lot of backlash.”
“Well, the Draco Family already noticed our Sculptor’s movements long ago, and their surveillance has only grown tighter. At this point, we’ve got nowhere to hide anyway.”
This was precisely why the Draco Family had stationed their mages—specializing in Dark Elements and communion positions—throughout the school.
Draco Tyrant had already discovered that Ed Etar was plotting something.
The very fact that Ed had deliberately delayed sending him to the main school for so long had been the clue.
Thus, he decided to monitor not just Ed Etar himself but the entire Ed Branch School.
It was an order from the Archmage, and even though Ed Etar was the master of the school, he couldn’t refuse.
“Well, it makes sense. Still, it seems the Joint Admission System we intended to exploit has turned into a trap for us.”
“There’s no need to interpret it so pessimistically. And it’s still too soon to call it a trap.”
“So you’ve thought of something else?”
“Yes. To be honest, with the current revised regulations alone, we won’t be able to expel Artel. That’s why I plan to target the other two students, Hei and Kiena, relentlessly.”
“So you’re saying you’ve given up on expelling him from Class 1?”
“Yes. You told me before, didn’t you, Headmaster? I don’t know what you’ve foreseen, but you said that if your prediction is right, no matter what we do, we won’t be able to expel that student.”
“……”
Etar pressed his lips tightly together.
He fell into deep thought for a long moment, then murmured softly, like a passing breeze.
“I hope that’s true… but it might not be.”
“That’s why we need this test all the more. No ordinary student could ever graduate after facing such obstacles.”
“Vice Headmaster, you’re curious too, aren’t you—about which way this will go?”
“I’m curious about the true nature of the ‘thing’ you foresee, Headmaster, rather than about Student Artel himself.”
To Former, it was still an unsolved mystery.
Why couldn’t Jick, the guardian who had been with Artel, remember anything?
Etar alone knew the answer, but strangely, he was keeping it secret—something highly unlike him.
Believing that it must be a matter of great importance, so serious that even his own father wouldn’t tell him, Former didn’t press further.
“Even if he safely graduates from Class 1, the chances of expulsion increase dramatically from Class 3 onward, so you needn’t worry too much.”
“Really…? We’ll see.”
“Yes.”
Former’s voice was filled with certainty.
“Where does that confidence come from?”
“Artel might be able to handle the lessons in Class 3 just fine—he’s a Double Caster, after all. But what about the other two students?”
“……I see. So that clause was added with that in mind?”
The privilege granted to the top three students in Class 1 was, in truth, a carefully laid trap.
Suppose Artel advanced directly to Class 3.
Then Hei and Kiena would follow, meaning all three would skip straight to Class 3.
But would they really be able to keep up with upper-circle magic lessons without any foundation?
Artel, with his abundant magical talent, might manage, but Hei and Kiena, being comparatively ordinary, would fall behind.
“If Artel advances to Class 3, you plan to apply this rule there as well, don’t you?”
“Of course.”
From Class 3 onward, it was the intermediate stage.
The two new students would have to jump straight into duels without even a moment to adjust.
Even with Artel on their side, by the end of the semester, it was highly likely those two would rank near the bottom.
“Even if this plan fails, there’s nothing to lose. If it fails, then Student Artel will grow closer to whatever it is you foresee, Headmaster. If it succeeds, we can simply make separate contact with him in the Underworld.”
It was quite a refined plan.
They said failure was the mother of success, and Former had turned a single failure into a plan closer to success than ever.
Etar smiled in satisfaction and said,
“So what remains is for us to protect Student Artel during that period.”
“That shouldn’t be difficult. Though he has many enemies within the school, he also has plenty of allies. And we haven’t yet announced the complete revised rules. The final, ninth rule remains.”
That was something even Etar didn’t know about.
“What is it?”
“I intend to announce it after the semester progresses a bit. For now, I’ve judged it premature.”
“Then I’ll learn about it when the time comes.”
“Yes.”
Just then, Former’s Mob rang.
Etar’s Mob remained silent, which meant the call came from Former’s own house—the Draco Family.
At that moment, Etar’s expression stiffened, and he motioned for Former to take the call.
“What is it?”
–This is the Gatekeeper, Vice Headmaster Former.
The Gatekeeper was stationed at the entrance atop the main school—one who stood beside and assisted the current Archmage, Draco Tyrant.
“To contact me so suddenly—what’s the matter?”
–Tomorrow at 11 a.m., a member of the Mihael Family will be visiting the Ed Branch School. Please open the portal in advance and hand over all Class 1 students to him.
“What is this all of a sudden?”
–It has already been authorized by the Full Moon.
The Gatekeeper drew a clear line, implying not to bother him with questions.
“I’m not refusing, but I deserve to know the reason. This concerns both the family and my duties as Vice Headmaster.”
–The Mihael Family has arranged an open visitation. That is all. Excuse me, I’ll end the call here.
He abruptly cut the line.
“……”
As Former stood there, baffled at how to make sense of this sudden turn of events, Etar spoke quietly.
“Come to think of it, the heads of the Mihael and Nohill Families were close, weren’t they?”
“Yes. Since both families were friendly toward the Draco Family, I believe they grew acquainted during their visits.”
“So this time it’s an open visitation from the Mihael Family… and they’re targeting all Class 1 students?”
Etar immediately grasped what this implied.
“It seems the Mihael Family also wants to see Student Artel. Either that, or they received a separate order from Tyrant.”
“Does it really mean that?”
“The Mihael Family is the family of Light Element. One of their children currently belongs to Class 1. But since Artel’s elements are Fire and Darkness, they had no excuse to summon him alone. So instead, they invited all of Class 1.”
Normally, open visitations only invited mages of the same elemental type.
Breaking that custom and calling every student reeked of something suspicious.
“It seems we’ll have to delay implementing the revised rules for two more days. Since this order comes from that loathsome Tyrant, we can’t refuse it. We’ll have to play along for now.”
“I’ll announce it that way, then. And as for the escort…?”
“Let’s assign it to Professor Nide this time. It’d be risky if you went again.”
“Understood.”
As Former prepared to issue the notice, another message arrived through his Mob.
–This is the Gatekeeper. I forgot to mention—no escort will be necessary.
“……”
“What’s with that face?”
“A message from the Gatekeeper. He says no escort is needed.”
“What are they planning…?”
“What should we do?”
“Just reply that we understand. I’ll think of a way myself.”
“Yes.”
“Skipping ahead, skipping ahead……”
The last day of vacation hadn’t ended yet.
Late at night, as darkness blanketed the dormitory, I sat buried in my room, chanting the revised rules like a spell.
“This practically means they’re telling us to challenge only Artel, Kiena, and Hei to duels.”
What else could it mean, if not that the three Joint Admission students were being grouped together as one team?
And if even one of the three got expelled, the others would have to leave hand in hand—this rule was practically designed to pit the students against us.
Just then, a new announcement came through the Mob.
[Announcement]
Following the meeting’s conclusion, the revised rules will take effect in two days. Tomorrow, on the first day of the new term, all Class 1 students must gather at the school gate by 11 a.m. for the Mihael Family’s open visitation event.
Posted by: Nide
“What the hell is this?”
I couldn’t shake the feeling that this had been decided in a rush.
Logically, if such an event were planned, wouldn’t they have announced the rule changes first?
It looked like they were scrambling to cover up a misstep in order.
“But the Mihael Family this time?”
Could that bastard Russel be scheming something again?