All in all, Julien’s punishment could be considered to be quite light.
Given the gravity of his mistake and what he had to do, it was essentially nothing.
The days passed in succession and the cadets were forced to take the theoretical examinations. The atmosphere around the Academy was quite gloomy, with many of the cadets walking around the campus like corpses.
“This rope… Why does it look so nice?”
“Wait, what?”
“Ah, it fits so nicely around my neck.”
“Uh?”
“Look at this chair…”
“Ah! Aoife! Help…! Kiera is about to hang herself!”
“What?!”
“Yes, help me!”
“No, I mean, why aren’t you helping Kiera?”
“Uh?”
“Hey, wait up Kiera. Let me tighten the rope for you.”
“Wow, you’re so nice~ I didn’t take you for such a nice person.”
“….I can be nice when our interests align. Now tell me. Is the rope tight enough?”
“Could be tig-uekh!”
“Oh, no! You’re strangling her, Aoife! Get a grip of yourself! You’re a princess. You can’t be killing another cadet in the Academy!”
“Stop, just a little more. She’s still breathing.”
“Akh! Uekkh!”
“Ahhh!”
Exams birthed chaos and depression. By now, there was no single sane cadet. Everyone had practically lost their mind. So much so that when they witnessed the scene that greeted them in the common room, they all turned a blind eye to it.
No, it was more like they were envious.
That rope…
Ding! Din-!
While this was happening, on the sofa of the room, a little figure sat with her legs dangling and a device in her hand. From there, Justice Man’s voice rang in the air.
-When someone is in trouble, you must help them! A true hero never lets someone die before their eyes!
|| ||
Theresa paused the video and looked towards her right where Aoife and the others were.
Currently, Kiera’s face was almost purple and foam was coming out of her mouth. Evelyn’s face was pale while she tried to help her, only for her to be tackled down by Aoife who shouted, ‘Let me have this! This is all for the greater good of humanity!’
Theresa’s large crystal eyes blinked at the sight before she focused on Kiera.
“Arkgh!”
She looked to be struggling a lot.
‘A true hero never lets someone die before their eyes!’
Justice Man’s voice once again rang in the young girl’s mind.
“Ukh! Akh…!”
Looking down at her device, Theresa pressed the projection and continued to watch the episode. At the same time, she sighed in an adult-like manner.
There were times when Justice Man was wrong.
“Uekh!”
Who would’ve thought?
*
The exam period lasted for an entire week. With each day that passed the more troubled the cadets became. Thankfully, before everyone could have a mental breakdown, the exams finally came to an end.
It was now the week after, and all the second years were gathered outside.
“It looks like almost everyone is here. Who exactly is missing?”
At the helm of the second year was none other than Arianna, the Head of the year. Overlooking the entire year, she nodded in satisfaction.
They truly were a talented bunch.
Swoosh!
A hand raised all of a sudden.
“Julien is missing.”
“Julien?”
Arianna’s brow raised for a moment before it settled back down quickly. Actually, she knew where he was.
She had already been told in advance.
“Okay, that’s fine. He will be joining us later. I’m only here to discuss the upcoming trip to the
Kasha.”
Indeed, the time for the cadets to be sent off had finally come. The situation with the Mirror Cracks had become even more troublesome, and all access to the Mirror Crack had been closed
down.
The Academy wasn’t the only one that had done this.
Almost all the other cracks within the Empire were in such a situation, with a lot of the Empire’s forces pushed to confront the incoming wave of monsters that were attacking the
Supply Stations.
…..Sending the cadets to the Kasha was the best option for them.
Not only would they be safer, but they would also learn a lot.
“I’m sure most of you have already been briefed about the situation outside of the Four Empires and the powers that reside there. The House of Myron has decided to welcome all of you during your stay, so make sure to be on your best behavior.”
Pausing, she repeated,
“Promise me you’ll be on your best behavior.”
As the words came out of her mouth, Arianna realized something. Why did she have such a bad
feeling about this?
No, how could this be? The cadets were quite well-behaved.
“The House of Myron may not be the most powerful House within the Kasha, but they’re quite respectable. So long as you don’t step out of line, nothing should go wrong. Just listen to what they have to say in your time there.”
Arianna glanced around and saw the attentive and serious expression on the cadet’s faces. A look of satisfaction crossed her face. As expected, she had nothing to worry about. “I’m glad that you are all taking this seriously. There will be a couple of Professors who will be coming with you. They’ll be there to help you guys in case something goes wrong. Of
course, we still need to decide on a group leader.”
A group leader was necessary to lead the cadets.
The Professors had their own individual task that they had been assigned to accomplish. Their
trip to the ‘Kasha’ was no normal trip.
It was a rather important one.
“Let’s see.”
Pondering for a moment, an image appeared in Arianna’s mind and she nodded.
‘Yeah, he can do.’
“So, for the leader, I’ve decided to elect Ju-”
“Pui!”
11
||
Arianna froze. Did someone just…?
No, maybe she just heard wrong. Yeah, that had to be it.
“So, as I was saying. I’ve decided to elect Jul-”
“Hawk tuah!”
“1???”
Arianna’s face flicked up to see the expression of almost every single cadet present change to
one of disgust. At this point, they weren’t even trying to hide it.
“What’s going on here?”
“Please change the team leader!”
“Have mercy on us!”
“What have we done to deserve this!?”
With a look of utter bewilderment, Arianna looked at the second years. Almost everyone was wearing the same look of disgust while shouting pleas and curses. What’s happening?
“Wait, calm down.”
Pressing her hand forward, she tried to calm the situation down.
“Stop talking all at once. I don’t understand what is going on.”
It took a while for the Year Head to get the cadets to calm down, but with a little bit of effort,
she managed to get them all to quiet down. She took the opportunity to address the nearest
cadet in front of her.
“You, tell me why everyone is reacting this way. Are you guys against the idea of having a leader so much?”
“No, no, it has nothing to do with that.”
“Then…?”
Wearing squared framed glasses and brown hair that were parted in the middle, the cadet’s
face contorted.
“Madam, do you know what our most peaceful times are?”
“Yes?”
“…The time when ‘he’ disappears.”
He?
Who was ‘he’?
“Haa.”
Covering his face, the cadet shuddered.
“Do you know what’s it like waking up out of nowhere and being told that my mind had
almost been consumed by a special-grade monster? Do you know what’s it like to wake up and find yourself inside of a cult? Do you know what’s it like to know that death is sitting at
the corner, waiting for me, with each time ‘he’ comes?”
“Wha… What?”
“Well, I do!”
The cadet pointed at himself.
“No, not just me! Everyone here has!”
“Yes!” “Screw him!”
“He’s a jinx!”
“I want to have an expedition in peace!”
“Someone tie
up and toss him newhere! We can’t afford to hav
he comes, we’ll all most likely die!”
ome ith us! If
“I don’t want to die!”
Once again, chaos ensued.
The Year Head’s mouth opened, but no words came out. She just stared at the scene in front of
her with an open mouth. Then, recalling her previous words-promise me you’ll be on your
best behavior-she suddenly felt her stomach churn.
That…
Could they really behave?
“Burn him!”
Wasn’t that a little too much?
“….Princess, help us!”
“I’ve spent too much money on amulets! They better work!”
Amid the curses and shouts that were directed at Julien, a figure stood in the corner, staring at
the scene with an indifferent look.
His gray eyes overlooked the scene quietly, his thoughts hard to read.
But eventually, Leon closed his eyes and extended his arms in an embracing gesture, as if he
had suddenly reached enlightenment.
“May every bone on his body break!”
“Damn him!”
This… What sweet music to the ear.
“Pui!”
Go! Keep cursing! Let your resentment pour out!
Leon was no Emotive mage, but he almost felt like he was close to breaking through that
barrier and becoming one.
His blood pumped with every curse that came out, and soon, his eyes snapped open. Raising
his fist in the air, he was just about to join them when he heard a cold voice coming from
behind.
“What is going on?”
Leon’s hand froze mid-motion and all noise ceased.
Flick, flick, flick-
All hands flicked and turned in the direction of the voice. Almost simultaneously, the faces of
the cadets changed and Julien paused.
Frowning, he touched his face.
“Why is everyone looking at me like that?”
The way they were looking at him…
It was almost as if they were staring at something disgusting. Then, as if realizing something,
Julien looked at Leon who stood right in front of him and he had a sudden look of realization.
“I see, it all makes sense now.”
He patted Leon on the shoulder.
Unfortunately for him, Leon’s mind was elsewhere. Or more like attention. Looking behind
Julien, Leon’s eyes paused on the black-haired girl who casually followed Julien from behind.
Without a care for the world, she seemed to be writing something in what looked like a diary,
raising her head from time to time to look at Julien. ‘What is she…?’
Leon took a deep breath to calm himself down. Whatever, this was none of his business. “Anyways, what is going on here?”
Overhearing Julien’s voice, Leon calmed down and took his attention away from the black-
haired girl.
“We’re about to leave for the Kasha. We’re sorting out the person who will lead the group.”
“Oh.”
Julien nodded, not looking very interested.
At the same time, the black-haired girl moved next to him. Scribble~ She seemed quite busy
writing something, looking rather unconcerned. Leon scratched the side of his head and was
just about to say something to her when his eyes suddenly paused on her diary.
From his angle, he could see the page.
He felt something wet trickle down the side of his cheeks.
“….”
Extending his hand, a sword appeared in his hand.
“What’s taking so long for them to decide a captain? They should make you or Aoife doi-”
Julien suddenly paused.
Turning to look at Leon, his expression suddenly changed.
“Wait, stop! What are you doing?!”
Holding onto his sword, Leon pointed the sharp tip right at his eyes, slowly inching it to it.
Julien’s face changed and he hastily moved to stop Leon.
“Have you gone nuts?! Eh, wait… Why are your eyes bleeding!?” This trip…
Could they really behave?
“You’re going to lose market value if you lose your sight!”