The Academy is Doomed

Chapter 41

Sword Master.

Those who reach that level, whether swordsmen or knights, are commonly lumped together under that term, but strictly speaking, there are levels within it.

Absolute amount of mana, duration and sturdiness of aura blade, and so on.

According to numerous criteria, Sword Masters’ levels are commonly categorized like this.

‘Lower Sword Master, Mid Sword Master, Intermediate, Advanced, Supreme.’

Of course, this is just a classification for convenience.

Depending on talent differences, there were plenty of cases where lower ranks defeated mid ranks, and intermediates defeated advanced ranks.

In the end, ‘experience’ is not something that can be easily ignored.

‘Of course, experience is just experience, it can never overcome talent. There are plenty who remain at the Lower Sword Master level their whole lives due to their talent.’

Alfred, Vestric’s sword instructor, was one such person.

Despite dedicating his entire life to swordsmanship, he never reached the level of ‘Mid Sword Master’ beyond ‘Lower.’

He felt the limit as a swordsman. That’s why he gave up being a ‘swordsman’ who focused solely on swordsmanship and became an ‘instructor.’

After all, he could still pass on his years of experience to those who came after.

‘And Oliver is also a Lower Sword Master. But he’s a rookie who just reached the level of Sword Master. Comparing him to me, who has lived as a Sword Master through thick and thin, is disrespectful to me.’

Therefore, Alfred assumed that Oliver’s subjugation by Amon was due to Oliver’s carelessness.

That’s why Alfred swung his wooden sword toward Amon without any trace of carelessness.

In fact, whether Oliver had been careless or not, Alfred gave it his all because Amon’s movement from earlier was unsettling.

‘I’ll break something and make you seriously regret it!’

Just as Alfred’s wooden sword was about to touch Amon’s chin.

‘…Huh?’

Suddenly, Amon’s right hand holding the wooden sword became blurry, and somehow Amon’s wooden sword was right in front of Alfred’s eyes.

‘When did…?’

Before that question could even be completed, Alfred internally bristled at seeing Amon’s wooden sword slowly approaching him.

‘This bastard! How dare he hold back…?’

Alfred, unable to complete his thought, blinked his eyes.

No, he couldn’t blink.

His body, which had been swinging the wooden sword at Amon, was already frozen.

The movements of the gallery watching their match, the dust raised by his charge, everything in the world was frozen.

A frozen world.

In that world, only Amon’s wooden sword showed slow movement as it approached him.

‘This is perhaps…’

The near-death experience on the battlefield that made him give up the path of a ‘swordsman.’

The phenomenon he experienced in that extreme situation.

‘Life flashing before eyes.’

Just before Amon’s wooden sword touched his head, his life flashed before his eyes like a panorama in an instant!

Birth! Growth! Happiness! Hardships and adversity!

And the present.

‘Death.’

As he realized this fact, Alfred’s vision turned pitch black.

* * *

Amon tilted his head while holding out his wooden sword.

‘Why is he doing this?’

Even though the wooden sword was right in front of him, Alfred just had his eyes tightly shut without any thought of counterattacking.

Since he couldn’t just strike someone like that, he stopped, but he couldn’t understand what Alfred was thinking as he trembled with his eyes closed.

“Hmm…”

Amon withdrew his wooden sword and patted Alfred’s arm.

“Are you alright?”

“…hu, huck!”

Only then did Alfred open his eyes wide, look around frantically, and feel his body.

“Am, am I alive…?”

Then looking at Amon in front of him, Alfred collapsed and shouted while backing away.

“Mo, monster!”

“…?”

“Aaaaaah! Help!”

“…?”

Amon frowned as he blankly watched him flee completely out of the academy.

‘What’s this? Is he crazy?’

He had merely swung his wooden sword lightly in response to the other’s charge, but the man just kept his eyes shut tight and suddenly called him a monster before running away, which didn’t make him feel very good.

‘Hmm, looking at that guy’s behavior, Vestric Academy isn’t normal either.’

A strange sense of kinship!

Amon, who was looking at Vestric Academy with what seemed like pity, glanced at Supervisor Volbert and asked.

“Supervisor, how does this result get decided?”

To that question, Supervisor Volbert reached out his hand as if it was an unnecessary question.

“Friendly exchange match 1, Amonis Academy’s victory!”

“Wow! Wowowowow!”

To Anar’el’s enthusiastic cheer, Amon headed back to his original spot with a face like someone who found half a cockroach while eating a sandwich.

Then he whispered into Anar’el’s long ear.

“Let’s talk after the exchange match, Principal.”

A tone full of thorns!

However, Anareel assumed that Amon had stepped up for her honor as the principal, so she nodded with complete innocence.

“Yes! Teacher Amon!”

“…sigh.”

Meanwhile, the atmosphere on Vestric Academy’s side was miserable.

“Ah, why did Alfred…”

“It seemed like he ran away in fear…”

While fellow teachers worried about Alfred, Principal Benjamin was grinding his teeth.

‘Alfred, you’re getting a pay cut.’

Alfred, who fled in terror, would soon taste an even greater terror!

Benjamin clicked his tongue and approached, and Anar’el shouted with an overbearing face.

“How about it, Benjamin? The level of our academy?”

“…”

“Plus, as you just saw, each teacher serves me, their principal, with utmost devotion! Unlike certain academy’s teachers who ran away with their tails between their legs!”

Amon was looking at Anar’el again.

Though the content was somewhat displeasing, he planned to consider it as poetic license for provoking the opponent.

‘If I were Principal Benjamin, I would have ripped off Anar’el’s ears right away!’

That’s how excellent the provocation was.

Considering that Benjamin’s face, which had been somewhat pale, was now as red as a ripe apple, it seemed the provocation had worked properly.

Benjamin, who had been breathing heavily with his reddened face, forced a relaxed smile.

“That’s really something extraordinary. Why has such a great academy shrunk so much? Must be thanks to its great principal?”

“Well…”

As Anar’el shut her mouth after being hit right where it hurt, Benjamin decided to change his target of attack.

“You there, young teacher.”

“Yes?”

Amon blinked as he was singled out.

“Are you talking to me?”

“That’s right. Your match with Alfred, I watched it very impressively. You possess quite remarkable talent.”

“Ah…yes, thank you.”

“So I was thinking…”

Benjamin’s eyes flashed.

“Would you perhaps consider transferring to Vestric Academy?”

“…!”

Amon’s eyes widened.

‘Tr, transfer to Vestric Academy?’

Undoubtedly, Amonis Academy is a sinking ship.

‘And it’s already half-submerged at that.’

If a transfer offer came from a fairly decent academy, he would be ready to stamp his seal right away, but for an offer to come from Vestric Academy, which was not just any decent place?

And not just from anyone, but from the principal directly?

Of course, he knew that this was merely a means to provoke and taunt Anar’el.

‘But do I care?’

As long as you reach the capital, it doesn’t matter which road you take – what mattered was that he could work as a teacher at Vestric Academy.

Therefore, Amon opened his mouth wide.

“I…”

Before he could even finish saying “will transfer.”

Anar’el, who grabbed Amon’s arm forcefully, shouted.

“Hmph! Not a chance! Teacher Amon still has more than 2 years left on his contract!”

“…!”

Yes. That damned contract.

If the contract could be ended amicably by mutual agreement, that would be different, but in this situation, there was no way that devil wearing an elf’s mask would allow that.

Just as Amon was despairing at that fact, Benjamin said in a powerful voice.

“That measly penalty fee, I’ll pay it!”

At this point, Amon pledged his loyalty to Principal Benjamin.

However, the devil-like Anar’el shouted with veins popping on her neck.

“Hmph! How foolish! Even if there was no contract to begin with, Teacher Amon would never leave our academy! How much has Teacher Amon devoted himself to our academy until now! Isn’t that right, Teacher Amon!”

“No, it’s not.”

“What?”

Amon, who coldly shook off Anar’el’s arm, straightened his collar and approached Benjamin.

“I look forward to working with you, Principal Benjamin.”

“Uh…?”

Benjamin was rather taken aback when Amon suddenly changed his attitude.

But isn’t that how the transfer market works?

Benjamin quickly accepted the situation.

“Uhohoho! Yes, yes. Work hard from now on!”

“I will dedicate my body and soul to Vestric Academy.”

“Hahaha! I like how straightforward you are!”

Amon quickly whispered.

“More importantly, Principal, I think it would be good to quickly recruit the students from Amonis Academy as well. As you saw during the exchange match earlier, they are students with remarkable talent and potential.”

“Hooh, I was thinking the same thing. I’ll seriously consider it.”

“Truly a wise decision, sir.”

“Then how about the teachers?”

“They’re trash, sir.”

“I see.”

Anar’el could only blink blankly at Amon’s appearance, who had instantly become Vestric’s loyal dog.

“T-Teacher Amon?”

“Principal Benjamin, we should leave this shabby place soon. It’s too crude for someone as noble as you.”

“Kekeke! I really like this fellow!”

“To be liked by you is an honor that will last three generations.”

Anar’el’s ears were trembling as violently as possible at Amon’s cloying flattery toward Benjamin.

Anar’el, with tears welling up in her eyes from anger, screamed at the top of her lungs.

“Benjamin!”

Benjamin smirked at Anar’el’s shout.

“Hooh, Principal Anar’el. Do you have something to say?”

“Ee, eeek…!”

The extreme of anger!

Anar’el, trembling with his ears almost at right angles, shouted.

“Benjamin, because you acted so cowardly like this!”

“Hmm?”

“That’s why I…!”

Anar’el pointed at Benjamin and shouted.

“Rejected your confession!”

“…What!?”

Benjamin stepped back with a start at the sudden shocking statement.

Amon, who had been bending his waist as if ready to polish Benjamin’s shoes at any moment, widened his eyes.

‘What…did she say?’

Benjamin showed strange hostility and anxiety towards Anar’el.

Anar’el appears strangely relaxed against Benjamin.

‘Principal Benjamin saw Anar’el as a romantic interest and confessed, and Anar’el rejected him?’

Finally, the subtle attitudes of the two principals made sense.

Anar’el was relaxed because she was the one who rejected the confession, and Benjamin had animosity because he was the one whose feelings were rejected!

At that moment, Amon felt the air change dramatically.

‘W-wait…!’

Anar’el, seemingly feeling there was nothing left to hold back, was going berserk.

“You understand? That nasty personality! That’s why I hate you, because of that kind of character that resorts to cowardly tricks at the slightest thing!”

“Uu, uuuu…”

“And what? You brought poetry? That poetry, I knew you paid someone else to write it!? Do you know how pathetic your face looked when you read that poetry without any sincerity!?”

“Uu, aaaah…!”

Principal Benjamin writhing in agony while pulling his hair at the memories of the past!

Amon quickly supported him.

“P-Principal! Please calm down! You must not fall for that vicious elf’s schemes!”

Anar’el snorted.

“Schemes? Wasn’t it scheming to pressure me with a confession in front of a crowd of people?”

“Uh…”

“Coming to find me dead drunk, rolling around and crying like a child, wasn’t that scheming!? And you weren’t even really drunk! It was just a ploy to make me uncomfortable!”

“…”

Anar’el’s threw revelations as if possessed while Benjamin was already on his knees, completely pale.

And Anar’el drove the final nail toward such a Benjamin.

“To begin with! You were never my type!”

At that cry, Benjamin finally planted his face on the ground.