How to Survive as the Academy’s Villain

Chapter 116

Eventually, the honor duel ended in a situation where it was unclear who had won, and everyone was heading back to their dormitories.

“So who won the duel?”

“Come on, it’s obviously Kyle. It’s pretty clear if you think about it.”

The students who watched Kamon and Kyle’s duel were voicing their opinions.

“But Kyle’s sword…”

“Idiot. Just because the sword broke doesn’t mean the fight’s over. But if someone loses consciousness or faints, they can’t fight anymore.”

“True, if you faint, it’s over.”

“Yeah, so Kyle won.”

“But if the representative of the swordsmanship department loses his sword…”

“Hey, are you from the magic department?”

“No, what are you talking about? I’ve never even taken a magic class!”

The students continued to argue over who had won, but the majority seemed to believe that Kyle was the victor.

However,

“Isn’t it a loss if the swordsmanship department’s representative loses his sword?”

“Yeah, and the sword broke first. Kamon might have collapsed from extreme mana exhaustion.”

“Magic users do get exhausted from using spells.”

“Right. We can’t know who won without the judge’s declaration since it ended ambiguously.”

Some from the magic department defended Kamon Vade, suggesting that the outcome was still uncertain.

Naturally, these opinions provoked a backlash.

“They’d beg for mercy if they exhausted their mana in real combat?”

“Ugh, just accept the result. This is pathetic.”

“It’s not about being pathetic; we’re just stating facts. It’s up to the referee to decide.”

Some tried to reason calmly, while others vented their frustration at Kamon.

“Kamon Vade shouldn’t have been the magic department representative in the first place.”

“Looks like he can’t even use magic properly. We should kick him out of here.”

The argument between the swordsmanship and magic departments continued, but the neutral third parties had a unified opinion.

“Honestly, how can an honor duel end like this?”

“Why hasn’t the referee declared the result? We need to know who won.”

“Apparently, the Red Mage, who’s also the interim dean, showed up suddenly…”

“What? Interim dean?!”

With a new topic drawing more interest than the fight, discussions about the honor duel’s outcome began to die down.

A little while later.

“Hey, did you hear?”

“Hear what?”

“Kyle admitted it himself, he said he lost.”

“What? Kyle won, why would he suddenly say he lost?”

“I don’t know. He just admitted he lost the duel, and now they’re asking for disciplinary action.”

“Crazy, what the hell is going on?”

The academy was thrown into chaos again with the sudden news of Kyle’s admission of defeat. The students, unable to understand the situation, soon…

“Did Kamon Vade do something weird again?”

“Blackmail? Bribery? Did he kidnap the referees’ kids?”

“That guy always does things like that. Always acting cowardly.”

They began to criticize and curse Kamon Vade.

“A loser using dirty tricks to claim victory? We can’t accept that.”

“This isn’t an honor duel; it’s a cheat duel!”

“The real winner is Kyle.”

“Dirty bastard, scum!”

The atmosphere turned increasingly hostile towards Kamon, and people began to shun him.

“I told you, that guy shouldn’t be the magic department representative.”

“Exactly, how could someone like him represent us?”

The academy as a whole started condemning Kamon Vade.

And,

“The atmosphere is really tense.”

“Tell me about it. Kamon still hasn’t regained consciousness?”

“I heard he needs complete rest and isn’t allowed any visitors.”

“Hmm. What’s the disciplinary committee saying? Are they accepting Kyle’s declaration of defeat?”

“They haven’t said anything yet. They’ll probably decide once Kamon wakes up.”

“Damn, what are we going to do?”

Bren, Lois, and Elliot talked with worried expressions.

“Hey, Lois. Has the president said anything?”

“No, my sister seems to be doing something, but I don’t know what.”

“What if they declare Kamon lost?”

“Lost? Kyle admitted defeat! Kamon won the duel.”

Elliot shouted firmly, making Lois chuckle.

“Then go and tell everyone that.”

“What? Me? How can I do that? I’d get beaten to death…”

Elliot’s reaction made Bren and Lois shake their heads.

* * *

With the outcome of the honor duel still undecided, Flance Imperial Academy faced sudden changes.

“Due to the emergency decision of the board, we welcome the Red Mage, Beatrice de Atlante, as the interim dean.”

Clap clap clap!

In a gathering of professors and staff, Beatrice stepped onto the podium, acknowledging the applause with a subtle smile and a nod.

“Nice to meet you all. As you’ve heard, I am Beatrice de Atlante, appointed as the interim dean of Flance Imperial Academy.”

Opening with a light greeting, she quickly shifted her gaze to several influential figures who had been vying for the dean’s position: Phelan Xavier, Everit Litterich, and Otniel Powell.

“There have been many internal conflicts and rumors regarding the dean’s position, causing significant turmoil,” she said, directly addressing their sore points.

The crowd’s expressions hardened, particularly Phelan’s, whose bald head turned red with anger. Despite this, Beatrice maintained her composed demeanor.

“You don’t need to worry anymore. From now on, I will handle everything,” she declared with a bright smile, bowing slightly.

“Thank you for your support.”

A round of perfunctory applause followed her introduction, though the expressions of the influential figures were colder than ever. Their efforts to secure the dean’s position had been in vain, leaving them with nothing but frustration.

“Today’s full staff meeting is concluded. Tomorrow morning, I plan to introduce myself to the entire student body during assembly. Please prepare accordingly,” she instructed.

“Yes, understood,” responded one of the staff members, who seemed to act as her assistant, bowing respectfully.

With a slight smile, Beatrice nodded to the other professors, “See you later.”

With that, she vanished from the podium without a trace.

“……”

“……”

The professors and staff began to rise from their seats.

“Damn it, what is this? All our efforts were for nothing!” shouted Phelan, his frustration evident.

“What’s with the sudden appointment of an interim dean?” muttered Otniel.

“Life sure throws strange things our way,” added Everit.

“What can we do? It’s the board’s decision,” Phelan grumbled, his anger now directed at the board.

“Calm down, Professor Phelan. She’s just an interim dean,” Everit said, trying to soothe him.

“She’s the Red Mage as the interim dean. How can I calm down?”

“So what should we do? Ignore her as much as possible since she’s just temporary?”

Everit’s mocking tone silenced Phelan for a moment.

Otniel nodded and said lightly, “He’s not entirely wrong. She’s not a permanent dean yet, so if we ignore her, she might give up. She’s quite young, right?”

Phelan and Everit shook their heads in disagreement.

“Even if she’s young, she’s one of the three primary color mages. We can’t take her lightly,” Phelan argued.

“Right. And given her reputation, she won’t just sit back and take it,” Everit added.

“It’s troublesome,” they sighed, continuing their discussion.

Meanwhile, from the swordsmanship department, specifically Kyle’s mentor, Abellan, spoke up, “But in the honor duel, our Kyle won. Shouldn’t we resolve that matter first?”

Beroen Clarence laughed scornfully, “What nonsense is that? Who do you think won the duel?”

He continued in a cold tone, mocking the swordsmanship professors, “Isn’t it obvious that the student whose sword broke lost? Even if you’re from the swordsmanship department, you must know that a broken sword means defeat, right?”

“Beroen Clarence, this isn’t a place for your nonsense,” Abellan retorted.

“Is that so? I just thought I heard something ridiculous and had to comment. If you’re offended, I apologize,” Beroen said, bowing sarcastically.

Everit frowned at Beroen’s attitude.

One of the swordsmanship professors quickly countered, “So you’re saying a student who fainted after casting one spell won?”

Naturally, the magic department professors bristled at this.

“What did you say?”

“Isn’t it laughable? How can someone who faints after casting a spell be considered a winner?”

“You want to die?”

“What did you call me? Ridiculous.”

As the atmosphere grew tense, Otniel Powell, representing a neutral faction, spoke up, “Let’s withdraw.”

Following his lead, Delon and other neutral faction members left quickly. The tension between the swordsmanship and magic department professors continued to escalate.

“Do you want to fight for real?”

“We won the duel, so why bother? Ignore them. Don’t feed the idiot.”

“What did you call me, idiot?!”

As a physical confrontation seemed imminent, further away in the dean’s office, a conversation was taking place.

“In this situation, is it really okay to just leave things as they are?” asked Isabel, who had recently been promoted to head secretary.

Beatrice laughed softly, “Just leave them for now. Let them fight; it will all be over by tomorrow anyway.”

“Yes, understood.”

—————–

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