Episode 27 Preparation (2)
Siegfried and Medea left the sickroom.
Crack, crack
The sound of two people’s footsteps echoed across the hallway floor.
An orange glow covered the faces of the two. Media, who had been walking ahead, suddenly stopped. The swordsman who had been following behind also stopped in step with her.
Media turned her head towards the window.
Beyond the window, the main building of Joaquin Academy stands firm, piercing the clouds and looking down on the Academy. Media pointed beyond the window with her index finger.
“… Zeke, do you remember? When we entered this academy, you were lying on that wooden bench. When I told you to get out of the way, you just pulled out your sword without thinking. What did you say? You told me not to give orders to you. You were really chuunibyou back then. Honestly, even you, the person involved, didn’t you think it was a bit much?”
“I don’t remember.”
As the swordsman shrugged his shoulders slyly, Media smiled faintly. Her mint-colored eyes sparkled faintly.
“It seems like only yesterday that I entered this academy, but I’ve already been here for 60 years. Up until graduation, I didn’t want to set foot here again. Life really is… . You have to live long to see things, right?”
The inspector nodded, patting his chin for a moment. A sense of longing settled into his golden eyes. Memories are something that are shared like contagion.
The Joaquin Academy of today has degenerated into a place for exchanges between corrupt forces for the children of the nobility, but through the Academy, I have met colleagues who have overcome many adversities.
It was a place with mixed feelings of love and hate, one that you could neither like nor hate.
“But the funny thing is, I’ve been here for over 60 years, and I haven’t even covered a tenth of the history of Joaquin Academy. When we first entered, this place was established a long time ago. What a long history it has. There have been big and small incidents, but the Academy has been nurturing and protecting students for 700 years. But… … .”
Media chewed her lower lip and swallowed the end of her words. Then the haziness on her side of face disappeared and a deep glare grew.
Jin Ja-ha’s green hair, covered in a halo, fluttered in the air. Anger rose to the very top of Mediah’s head.
As the veins on Media’s pale, delicate temples began to form, the window next to her began to crack like chains. The swirling air chilled the atmosphere.
Before the midterm exam, I definitely received a report from the instructors that they had completed a preliminary survey. Although rare, Scopuli Island was a Mine Mermaid haunted area, so several thorough surveys were conducted.
However, the hard work of the field trip was in vain as the Academy’s cadets almost lost their lives.
That too, to Mine. It was something unprecedented since the founding of the Academy.
No, that shouldn’t have happened.
As the head of the academy, Media had no choice but to feel responsible. She gritted her teeth in silence.
“… … .”
The inspector can tell what kind of mood Media is in just by the slightest trembling.
Aside from her position as the head of the academy, she was a woman who was sincere in her thoughts about her students. Although her atmosphere was somewhat girlish, her attitude as an educator was unparalleled.
The years they have spent together have already been more than half a century. Their conversations were sufficiently silent. However, if things continue this way, all the windows in the hospital will be broken.
The inspector lightly patted Mediah’s shoulder.
Then, her hair, which had been fluttering in the air like a floating spirit, gently fell down. The green hair that settled on her shoulders was as fresh as new green.
“Sorry, sorry. I got a little excited.”
Media scratched her cheek, perhaps embarrassed, and a bright smile appeared on her lips. Then, as if trying to lighten the mood, she began to list off praise for Kanggeomma.
“By the way, isn’t our swordsman amazing? He took down the mermaid by himself. What do you think, Zeke?”
The question caused the inspector’s brow to furrow. He sighed softly and muttered to himself.
‘Natural talent.’
There was no other way to explain it.
Many names that were called peerless geniuses and the darlings of their time briefly shone and then lost their light like meteors that had reached the end of their lives.
In a family of heroes thirsty for fame and disgrace, if a child shows even a little bit of talent at a young age, he or she is called a genius. The word genius is used without any standard.
The sword master did not easily utter those words. He even strictly forbade those words to be uttered by his granddaughter, Abel.
A far-off talent. Genius must be the word used to describe that boy. The inspector burst into laughter without a sound.
If he accumulates experience, how far can Kanggeomma grow? Although the sword master himself is an old man in his seventies, Kanggeomma is still a young boy in his youth.
Couldn’t that boy possibly reach ‘that realm’ that he’d been dreaming of his whole life?
Various thoughts floated through Siegfried’s mind. After thinking for a moment, the sword master let out a sigh and then stopped speaking.
“Please take care of the Academy for the time being, Media.”
When he said that, Media looked at the sword master with wide eyes. It was surprising to hear such words coming out of the mouth of an old man who had insisted on living in seclusion in the Nibelung family for most of his life.
But Siegfried’s golden eyes blazed like the noonday sun.
The eyes of the inspector, burning with a fierce spirit, were blazing brightly. At that sight, Mediah’s eyes formed a beautiful crescent moon and nodded.
Media carried her luggage on her back and walked forward with light steps, humming a tune. The cracks in the window disappeared in an instant.
* * *
After I was discharged, the first thing I did was visit the school blacksmith shop. To reforge and strengthen the weapon ‘Murasame’ that I received as a reward for my midterm exams.
The standard is out of the protection of the swordsman, so reforging is inevitable. To be honest, the current Murasame is nothing more or less than a staff made of iron to me. And if the blacksmith oils it once, I can try to enhance its performance.
The blacksmith, reddened by the heat of the forge, readily accepted my bold order. Instead, he offered to accept the remaining iron scraps as compensation.
Since the sword was about 60 centimeters long, splitting it into two was impossible. However, I was lucky that I didn’t have to pay expensive repair fees. The blacksmith added that I should come back in a week to pick it up.
In front of the Wolf Class classroom door.
I stared blankly at the Chinese character-written nameplate for a moment. Then I slowly opened the door and went inside.
The students were chatting away politely. They glanced at me once and continued talking.
The fact that I beheaded Mine on Scopulis Island seems to have been kept a secret, just as the principal said.
I hate to say this myself, but maybe my classmates are laughing so happily because I stopped the mermaid.
I walked past the podium and sat down at the end of the third row, where I always sit. The warm sunlight shining down felt good on my face.
“Sword Demon Army!”
A familiar voice called me from the back of the classroom. I turned my head.
“Chloe, what happened?”
Clank, clank
Chloe approached me with a labored gait, leaning on her crutches. The crutches held under her arm were rather large for her height, causing her small shoulders to stand up.
“Hey, it just so happened that it ended up like this. But my crewmate, Speed Something, gave me emergency treatment, and the doctor said that I’d be able to walk without crutches in about a week!”
Chloe patted her chest with her clenched fist as if it was nothing. She also felt that she had grown a lot, with her shoulders straightened and her chest perked up.
It wasn’t just my hard work. It’s an undeniable fact that I defeated the Mine Mermaid, but it was also because my crew members faithfully performed their respective roles. Chloe’s rescue request, Rachel’s one-man team, and even the Speed Weapon’s healing buff.
… But when I thought about it carefully, the main character, Leon, didn’t do anything.
The protagonist is more incompetent than I thought, which makes me lose faith. Can he really defeat the Demon King?
Judging from his actions so far, it seems like he’ll be cut off by the legion commander’s goons, let alone the Demon King.
‘Is it because you just got hit first?’
As I tilt my head and think, Chloe looks up at me with bright eyes. She wags her invisible tail like a puppy looking for praise.
I found that sight so cute that I couldn’t help but chuckle.
I wanted to pat her head with my hand, but if I did that in the middle of the classroom, the male students would whistle at me. I just let go of the arm I was about to extend and smiled faintly.
“Thank you, Chloe. I survived because you called for help.”
“What’s amazing is the Sword Demon Army. He took down Mine all by himself!”
“Well, I was lucky. In fact, I almost died and came back to life.”
“… Heh, cool.”
A bright red blush spread across Chloe’s cheeks as she scratched her head.
She explained to me various things that happened while I was hospitalized, as if she had just remembered something.
From the private details that the cost of the VIP hospital room was shared by the members, to the wild rumors that the Academy Director Media and the Academy’s senior members were in conflict over the need to improve the Academy’s security posture.
It seemed like quite a lot had happened during the week I was hospitalized. As Chloe was explaining and I was nodding along, the classroom door opened wide.
“Everyone be quiet and sit down!”
Instructor Lee Won-bin shouted loudly and made the cadets quiet. Unlike normal times, he looked very nervous. Sweat dripping from his bare chest soaked his collar.
As the atmosphere in the classroom became quiet, Instructor Lee Won-bin put his fist to his mouth and coughed in vain.
Then, he glanced outside the classroom, took out a handkerchief, and wiped his scalp. The light reflected off his messy, tight hair, and it was blinding.
“Before we begin the training, I have something to say first.”
A faint discomfort appeared in the eyes of the instructor who spoke like that. The cadets also seemed to sense something unusual from the stiff tone of his speech.
“This is sudden news. Let me first introduce the person who will be my co-instructor for our class for the time being.”
After finishing speaking, Instructor Lee Won-bin ran to the classroom door in a hurry and greeted me politely. It was an unfamiliar sight that made me feel out of place.
Soon after, a man entered the classroom. The students’ mouths opened wide as if they had made a promise. Exclamations also erupted here and there.
The man lightly patted Instructor Lee Won-bin on the back and stood at the podium with intelligent steps. Lee Won-bin also tried to stand next to him timidly, but then took a few steps back.
“My name is Siegfried von Nibelung, and I will be serving as the temporary instructor of the Lang class alongside Instructor Lee Won-bin for a while.”
“Hey, your Majesty, just call me Lee Won-bin.”
“It can’t be like that since they are in the same series.”
“Ah… yes, I understand.”
Instructor Lee Won-bin blushed and lowered his head as if he was embarrassed.
The cadets’ murmuring grew louder.
In this heated atmosphere, I was the only one who froze, unable to grasp the situation.
…Why that guy?
* * *
The night was deep at Joaquin Academy.
It was a new moon night, with the moon hidden behind dark clouds. Only the streetlights in the premises were illuminated here and there. Even the night fog added to the suspicious atmosphere.
Behind the dark curtains, a man and a woman were having a secret conversation. However, judging by the raised ear slaps, it was not a scene of secret love.
“sorry.”
match-!
The middle-aged man with gray hair lowered his head without touching his burning right cheek.
The female instructor smiled and tapped his left cheek with her index finger. Then the man pushed his left cheek in without saying a word.
match-!
The man’s head turned sharply as he was hit so hard. He suppressed his rising anger and humiliation. No, he had to suppress it.
‘otherwise…….’
The man raised his gaze slightly and looked at the female instructor. A woman with purple eyes and hair that sparkled ominously in the damp fog. Her limbs were cool and her clothes were very stylish.
The female instructor held a bag of worm-shaped jelly under her arm and took them out one by one, squeezing them.
Then she licked the sugar off her hands and wiped it on the man’s shoulder.
‘Shit!’
The middle-aged man cursed inwardly. He couldn’t raise his head for fear of being noticed, and just looked at the floor.
Considering his status, this was something he had never experienced before, and should never have to experience. The female instructor looked at him blankly and then began to speak languidly.
“You should have done it properly when you did it. Ha, really. You really have a knack for annoying people. Don’t you think so, sir?”
“…sorry.”
“Is that all if you apologize? You should take responsibility, shouldn’t you? Oh, it’s really annoying. Leon, is it that hard to bring that bastard half-dead, huh? Even if he’s a candidate for the hero, you can’t do that when you bring the mermaid too? Because of your mistake, that bastard has made his nest in the academy.”
“I’m sorry, Instructor Kim.”
“Ha, from now on, if you say ‘I’m sorry’ just one more time, okay?”
The female instructor extended her index finger and poked the elder’s forehead.
A man in his forties looked as if he was about to cry. The female instructor mercilessly picked up a piece of earthworm jelly and ate it.
“By the way, did you find out what I ordered you to do?”
“Yes, I found out.”
“Huh, I still can’t believe it even as I say it. Mermaid failed in a midterm exam for a freshman. Well, if the members who entered this year join forces, there’s nothing they can’t do, tsk.”
“Hey, that’s… … .”
As the middle-aged man hesitated to speak, the woman glared at him with dry eyes. The man continued, his face pale and hesitant.
“I got attacked by a cadet.”
“… One person? Leon, him?”
“No.”
“Then who are you? I hate it when people linger around.”
“It’s this year’s top student, Kang Geum-ma, that guy.”
Her purple eyes widened. The man just stared at her with his lips moving.
Then the female instructor’s expression hardened, her eyes narrowed, and she whispered softly in the elder’s ear.
“The 5th Corps Commander is very angry because of this incident. You know there will be no next time, right?”
“… … !”
She winked at the male instructor with one eye. The man bit his lower lip and shivered violently.
“Then I’ll go now. I don’t want to see you.”
“I’m sorry… hmm!”
The man barely managed to swallow the words that were about to spill out by covering his mouth. Then, like a eunuch, he quickly backed away and quickly left the place.
Hurrr!
A fierce flame flickered across the instructor’s palm. A fierce purple flame danced and reflected on her retina.
“Ganggeomma… … .”
She muttered blankly for a moment, then turned off the flames and a bitter line appeared at the corner of her mouth.
“It’s been a while since I’ve had some fun.”
The jelly bag, which had turned into a lump of charcoal, gave off a pungent, sweet smell.
