novelraw Chapter 97 : Chapter 97
Chapter 97 : Chapter 97
097
Two months was a very long time for young students.
Some grew more than 10cm in just two months, while others transformed from young girls into ladies in two months.
A boy had become a broad-shouldered, reliable young man, his voice had deepened, and his gaze had deepened.
They were still young children, but because they were young, their daily growth was clearly visible.
They were familiar people, but the feeling of unfamiliarity made them excited.
“How have you been?”
“I trained hard with the knights of my family with the swordsmanship I learned at the academy. I even beat the newly commissioned knights who had received their official appointments!”
“I went monster hunting with my dad.”
“What did you catch?”
“A dire wolf!”
They were so busy talking about what they had done during the vacation that they had no time for anything else.
Breaking through the commotion, the teachers began to enter the front of the auditorium one by one.
The students quickly quieted down and focused on the auditorium.
No, they tried to focus.
"Huh?"
Until Gwen stood in the center of the auditorium stage.
Her expression was extremely withdrawn, and it was obvious to anyone that she had been forced into a position she did not want.
Unlike the other instructors who were wearing the standard coat uniform, she was wearing a gorgeous gown and an academic cap.
Just like the chairman of last year had…
[Ahem, ah. Welcome.]
A magically amplified voice filled the auditorium.
[My name is Gwen, and I have taken the position of chairman due to various circumstances during the vacation.]
As soon as Gwen finished speaking, students from all sides blinked their eyes.
They couldn't quite grasp what they had just heard.
Especially the older students, who couldn't properly accept the current situation.
Because they knew how crazy the chairman was about education, and how sincere he was about Akarind Academy.
'The chairman has left the school?'
'Is he sick somewhere?'
'Did they get him?'
Gwen squeezed her eyes shut.
She could clearly see what the students were thinking as they looked at her.
In fact, it was not in her nature to give speeches in a place like this just because she had become the chairman.
She liked to stand in front of people and be the main character, but that was only when she had earned it with her own abilities.
She didn't like being pushed around against her will like this.
But there was a reason she had come out like this.
[…Just as I have become the chairman, Akarind Academy is going through the most intense moment of change in its history.]
The surrounding situation around the academy was not good.
Countries that had been hiding their claws were beginning to show their teeth.
People like the Saintess and a 6th-circle mage, who she had thought she would never have any connection with in her life, had suddenly come to this place.
The Empire's army was targeting her fellow instructors, and another instructor was rewriting the history of swordsmanship.
This was the center of change.
[And we will face even greater changes in the future.]
Change was needed to avoid being swept away by this current.
A change that would cultivate a strong center, so strong that it wouldn't be swept away no matter how fierce the current came.
[We will grow by receiving the spirit of the guardian Akarind Tree. We will create roots that can withstand a hundred years of time, and thus, we will bloom flowers more beautiful than any other tree…!]
Pan, who was listening to Gwen's speech, looked around the auditorium.
Cassian was not in sight.
“Do you see the teacher?”
“No? Why is only our teacher not here?”
“Strange. Even if the other teachers are not here, the teacher wouldn't have anywhere else to go but the academy.”
The students in the same class who were standing together also looked around to find Cassian, but no one could find him.
Of course.
Because Cassian was not in the auditorium, but on the roof of the academy's new building.
* * *
The walls, stretching long on both sides, were covered in green mold.
Passing through the stairs filled with a musty smell, it was autumn.
'A good space.'
A blue sky without a single cloud unfolded.
As it was the highest place in the academy, no buildings that blocked the sky could be seen.
The Akarind lord's castle and the town's walls could be seen in the distance, but they were only a part of the view.
I walked with a feeling as if I were walking on the sky.
And finally, I faced the person I was looking for in a corner.
“You’ve come all the way to a sunny place, yet you’re hiding in a shade like this?”
“I was in the shade so you wouldn’t find me.”
“If that’s the case, there are many better places than this. Like the basement of the old building.”
“You can’t see the sky from there.”
The man slowly got up from the shade.
His hair was a brilliant blond, shining a brighter yellow than anyone at Akarind Academy.
A yellow beard, resembling his hair color, was growing on his face, which had just turned 20.
Looking at his face alone, anyone would have thought he was a high-ranking noble, but his body below his face was not.
Because his body was like that of a homeless wreck.
“You’ve made it all the way up here.”
“Actually, I feel like I might die if I come up here.”
His wrists were so thin and slender that they could be held in one hand.
Despite wearing small-sized clothes, his collar was so loose that his collarbone was visible.
Perhaps because of the weight, there were no accessories or weapons on his clothes.
This was none other than Prince Dwayne Traivan of the Traivan royal family, the rebellious prince, and the failing prince who had been held back for four years at Akarind Academy.
“Aren’t you going to the opening ceremony?”
At my words, Dwayne turned over and lay down in the shade as if he were not interested.
There was a blanket, a quilt, and even a pillow spread out for ditching class.
“What am I going to do there? With those little brats.”
“But you’re a student.”
“I’m a hindrance to the students if I’m there.”
I sat down next to Dwayne.
Now that I was sitting, this place seemed to be the best spot on the roof of Akarind.
“No one will think of you as a hindrance.”
“For that, my existence is a big hindrance.”
He turned over so that I couldn't see his eyes.
A deep sense of sorrow stretched out like a shadow from his back as he lay there, using one arm as a pillow.
Well, Dwayne himself was the one who knew his situation in this academy best.
"Then how about this instead? If you're going to be a hindrance anyway, why not be a proper hindrance?"
“……?”
His breathing wavered slightly.
It meant he was interested.
“If you’re going to live cautiously because your very existence is a hindrance, wouldn’t it be better to just be an open hindrance?”
“What kind of childish…”
“Isn’t childish better than just existing, neither living nor dead?”
“Are you serious?”
Dwayne turned around irritably and glared at me.
His golden eyes, symbolizing the royal family, blazed and stared at me.
'Even so, with a body like this.'
A body that had been under a lot of stress without being able to eat properly.
A thin body with prominent cheekbones, hollow cheeks, and hands that trembled from just a little movement.
There was no way he could be a threat.
Did my thoughts project into my gaze?
Dwayne looked at the floor with a tired expression.
“It’s just a third-rate academy like this. Besides, there’s no chairman. What are you going to do in a situation like this?”
“Well, we’ll fight back.”
“……What a dream. Do you not know what kind of place the Traivan royal family is? It’s a country with knights strong enough to stand against the Empire, and led by a 4th-circle mage.”
I know.
If the Empire occupied the central, northern, western, and southern parts of the continent, the Traivan kingdom occupied a large part of the eastern continent.
A few countries that defended against the Empire's invasion based on their strong military power and defended their territory.
Logically, if a place like that and Akarind Academy were to fight, it would be a complete mess within a few days.
'That's only a matter of common sense.'
What if the forces currently gathered at Akarind Academy were to fight the Traivan royal family?
Thanks to Avril's renovation of the territory before he left, it wasn't difficult to block the invasion.
The level of the territory's troops was also high.
They could utilize forces such as the Firestorm Mercenary Guild, Rozalin, and Sordian.
The instructors who had awakened their Aura could also be used in battle in various ways.
But the story of being unconventional is not just limited to that.
“We don’t have to fight.”
“Yes?”
“It’s the second strongest place after the Empire. So instead of us fighting, how about the Empire fights?”
“The Empire could fight. But how are you going to bring in the Empire?”
“What if we hand you over to the Empire?”
Dwayne’s eyes widened as if to say, “what are you talking about?”
“To the Empire, the Traivan kingdom is a thorn in their side. It’s annoying to invade directly because of the resistance, but the vast land is tempting to leave alone.”
In that situation, what if the prince who had been hiding for four years by deferring his graduation were to be protected by the Empire?
The Empire would then use the prince as a pretext to create a crack within the Traivan kingdom.
“……Even if that really happens, I’m a prince who failed a coup and fled more than 10 years ago?”
“The important thing is the pretext. A pretext that will allow them to gain a lot when they go through the trouble of invading.”
“You are a cruel person, teacher.”
I shrugged at Dwayne's words.
"If you, the person in question, react to that extent, then the Empire will definitely be fooled."
“Fooled, you mean, teacher, you?”
“A teacher wouldn’t hand over a student, would he?”
I had no intention of actually sending Dwayne to the Empire.
Instead, I was thinking of providing him as a well-made bait.
“Is something like that possible?”
“As it happens, someone from the Empire is coming. I will make you a little more free. And I will allow you to get a little revenge on the Traivan kingdom that has imprisoned you here.”
I extended my hand to him.
“So let’s go down. Let’s go to class.”
Dwayne, who had been staring at the hand for a long time, slowly took my hand.
It was a frail hand, lighter and weaker than any other student's.
* * *
“Teacher, I’m here.”
“Alright? Let’s do as we planned.”
“Alright~ Hehe, this is going to be fun after a long time.”
Rozalin ran towards the main gate with excited steps.
Instructor Freutche sighed as he watched her back.
“To think I would have to do such acting in my life. Really.”
“You said you would help.”
“Don’t forget. I’m the homeroom teacher of the B-class graduation year. I’m Dwayne’s homeroom teacher, not you.”
“Alright.”
I smiled at Instructor Freutche.
During the vacation, Instructor Freutche had awakened his Aura.
It was a rather late awakening compared to his passion for the sword and his emphasis on the need for training.
However, only his awakening was late; his skills were quite superior compared to instructors like Jessie, Gwen, and Isadora.
Because he had quickly surpassed the Walker stage and reached Aura.
He was the only one who had awakened his Aura among the instructors of the advancement class and graduation class.
Because of that, even though he was so busy that he couldn't even catch his breath with the countless students flocking to him, he had made special time for Dwayne.
“Are you really going all out?”
He drew his sword.
“Don’t worry.”
I also drew my sword to face him.
In the distance, I could see the soldiers of the Empire who had come to capture Isadora.
It was time for the play to begin.