Academy’s New Guard is Unusual - Chapter 101

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 101
“That bastard.”
The Crown Prince gritted his teeth and seized his sword, his face twisted with fury.
It was because I had used the Crown Prince’s Swordsmanship.
To be precise, it was his uncle’s Swordsmanship, but the Crown Prince, ignorant of that fact, had no choice but to assume I’d copied his own technique.
‘Isn’t that what he was doing?’
He’d borrowed my sword and used it immediately, yet he grew angry when I did the same thing. It was absurd.
At that moment, a brilliant blue Aura blazed forth from the Crown Prince’s blade.
‘High-Rank Knight.’
The new professor was a High-Rank Knight.
But the Crown Prince, who had only just enrolled, was already a High-Rank Knight. He truly was a genius.
The color of his Aura caught the eye.
The process of cultivating an Aura was often compared to the tempering of steel. It was the principle of raising purity by removing impurities.
The higher the purity of an Aura, the closer it approaches pure white.
The Crown Prince’s Aura was brilliant, appearing almost as pure white as snow.
At such an age, at the level of a High-Rank Knight with such purity in his Aura—
It was talent that the word “genius” barely captured.
Yet—
‘Pathetic.’
To my eye, it fell short.
At that moment, the Crown Prince charged toward me, Aura ablaze.
The most effective way to accelerate the Crown Prince’s growth was to stimulate his competitive spirit.
But if I won too narrowly, he would only become troublesome.
Until he rose to a certain level, I had to overwhelm him so decisively he wouldn’t dare challenge me again.
‘Overwhelmingly.’
Fortunately, I had just the thing.
Black Aura rippled across my Security Staff.
It was a Black Aura.
I swung the Security Staff toward the Crown Prince’s Aura.
The Black Aura sliced cleanly through the Crown Prince’s Aura.
That wasn’t enough—it cleaved his sword as well.
Snap.
The Crown Prince’s blade, split in half, soared into the air before crashing to the ground.
“What—”
The Crown Prince, who had carried himself with such gravity until now, stood gaping like a fool.
An Aura is a Knight’s pride and everything. Not to mention the sword itself.
Having both Aura and sword severed simultaneously was, for a Knight, no different from castration—a humiliation without equal.
The arrogance in the Crown Prince’s eyes as he looked at me had vanished entirely.
‘Neutralization successful.’
The Crown Prince hastily retreated and disappeared.
I smiled with satisfaction.
“Is this really acceptable? He’s the Crown Prince, after all—”
Milo approached belatedly, asking in a tone of discomfort.
“It’s fine.”
The Crown Prince was brimming with competitive spirit, but he was equally serious about competition itself.
He wouldn’t move the imperial court’s machinery just because I’d humiliated him.
Nor would he even breathe a word that he’d been defeated by a member of the Security Corps.
Of course, if things escalated too far, his eyes would flip and he’d resort to any means—but that was a matter for later.
For now, the Crown Prince would burn with competitive fire toward me.
I’d successfully prevented the Crown Prince from becoming entangled with Evangeline.
Though there was still something slightly lacking—
At that moment, Andy suddenly thrust his head forward.
“Boss, hehehe—the Crown Prince and you have a rather unusual feel to things, don’t you? Getting tangled up in some secret place—. Ahem!”
Andy wiggled his eyebrows.
A red book in Andy’s hand caught my attention. It was brazenly obscene literature titled “The Emperor’s Men.”
It seemed to be another one of his “same-sex romance” rambles.
The thought that he was truly a dog arose in my mind—
‘…Not a bad idea, actually.’
The Crown Prince was the most dangerous of the Male Lead candidates.
I needed to lower the possibility of him becoming entangled with Evangeline even further.
Having finished my calculation, I let slip a low hum.
Andy responded immediately, fidgeting.
“Boss?! That reaction! Could it be—!”
“Andy, what is it?”
“This! This!”
“Could it be?! The forbidden—from the book—!”
Andy and Evangeline began whispering and elaborating on the story of their own accord.
“Ah, I prefer women.”
At the opportune moment, I slipped in the remark—
“Pursuing a love he can never achieve—!”
“Oho! Oho!”
Before long, the Crown Prince had become the tragic protagonist of an unrequited love story.
“Is this really acceptable?”
Milo asked the same question as before.
This time, I couldn’t bring myself to say it would be fine.
* * *
Having wrapped things up haphazardly, Milo and I returned to the Security Corps.
Nothing particularly noteworthy happened.
I lay down on the bed—
When I opened my eyes again, I was in the ruined Continent.
It was a familiar nightmare.
‘I lowered my Corruption Level.’
I clicked my tongue as I surveyed the desolate Continent.
It seemed the nightmare stemmed not from Corruption Level, but from the Black Aura itself.
Soon familiar faces surged toward me, cursing.
This time, Volcan led the charge.
I simply focused on the Black Aura.
This was only a nightmare, after all.
“Really?”
A saccharine voice tickled my ears.
Ding!
The cheerful sound woke me.
The first thing I saw was a shabby ceiling. The sticky sensation gradually faded.
Soon a translucent window came into view.
[Sudden Quest] Give Morning Chocolate Bread to Evangeline!!
Objective: Present Morning Chocolate Bread to Evangeline!
‘Morning Chocolate Bread, of all things.’
The Central Library had forced me to create a quest with great difficulty, yet here a quest was being granted for such a trivial reason—
‘The training is bearing fruit.’
I chose to think positively about it.
The Emperor had spent untold fortunes to lower Corruption Level, and the Pope had even offered a mountain of sacrifices.
If I could lower it with just chocolate bread, there was no reason to refuse.
Besides, I didn’t even need to go myself.
“Hey, Raven. Go buy some chocolate bread for Evangeline.”
……Caw.
For some reason, the crow’s cry seemed slightly delayed.
This morning’s roll call was held outdoors.
Once roll call ended, Nora approached.
“The midterm Lecture Satisfaction Rating evaluation is complete. The Academic Affairs Department has called a faculty meeting. The Academic Affairs Department says they will publicly announce the satisfaction scores.”
Nora spoke in a tense voice.
Leon had received a perfect score on the satisfaction evaluation.
He was certainly in first place, yet they insisted on making a public announcement—
‘It seems they haven’t checked the scores yet.’
This was good news for me.
‘They said they’d allocate a Special Budget.’
Unlike the regular budget, the Special Budget could be spent at a professor’s discretion. The professors weren’t cheering for nothing.
Nora and I headed to the Grand Hall.
I left Milo behind since he wouldn’t be allowed inside the Grand Hall anyway.
Upon arriving at the Grand Hall, the professors were chattering loudly.
“The Special Budget will surely go to Rocksvale, the Knight of Radiance. The rumors about his lectures being so excellent are well-known.”
“I hear the Twin Witch’s lectures also have reasonably high satisfaction ratings.”
Various professors’ names were mentioned, but Leon’s was not among them.
Then Leon appeared.
Leon’s face was haggard, as though he’d had a nightmare.
“Tsk tsk, what a backward time this is, still inflating credentials with bluster—”
The moment Leon appeared, the professors began openly sneering at him.
Leon himself didn’t even look at them.
Leon stood slowly before me.
I spoke to Leon, observing his haggard face.
“You look unwell. Did you have a nightmare?”
“I dreamed of receiving the highest teaching award.”
“An auspicious dream, then.”
Leon shut his eyes tight.
I chuckled softly.
Soon I entered the Grand Hall.
“Prepare your remarks in advance.”
“Remarks about what—”
“Figure it out.”
Leon nodded with an odd expression and made his way to his seat.
Watching Leon walk like a calf being led to slaughter, I chuckled to myself.
Leon’s seat was in the middle again.
Soon Rocksvale appeared.
The professors welcomed him enthusiastically.
“Surely Professor Rocksvale is in first place, isn’t he?”
“Ha ha, that’s not the case.”
“Come now, Professor Rocksvale’s lectures are renowned for their quality. In fact, your classes had the highest enrollment rate—”
“Ah, the highest enrollment rate was actually Professor Leon’s.”
Rocksvale corrected the record. Uncomfortable gazes turned toward Leon.
Though Rocksvale had meant well, Leon’s expression soured.
Soon the Academic Affairs Director took the podium. The atmosphere in the Grand Hall turned chilly.
“Good morning. I am Bernadette, Academic Affairs Director. The midterm Lecture Satisfaction Rating survey has been completed. To prevent any unfortunate incidents, we carefully sealed and preserved the satisfaction questionnaires.”
Everyone could tell without being told whose fault required such thorough precautions. The professors let out quiet laughter.
“Any professor with a seriously low satisfaction score in the midterm survey would have no choice but to consider contract termination.”
Bernadette spoke, her gaze fixed pointedly on Leon.
The other professors’ eyes also turned toward Leon.
Leon remained expressionless.
“Now then, I’ll announce the scores one by one. First, Professor Piren. 4.2 points.”
“At least I haven’t lied about my credentials like some people.”
A professor named Piren glanced sideways at Leon as he spoke.
Leon simply sat expressionless.
As though it were someone else’s affair.
Bernadette continued announcing scores.
Most fell between 5 and 6 points.
It was a satisfaction survey, after all.
Even if a lecture’s quality was exceptional, it was difficult to satisfy every student, each with their own preferences.
“Professor Drakof, 7 points.”
For the first time, a 7 appeared. The professors were mildly surprised that it was Drakof.
“I dedicate this honor to my master!!!”
Drakof sprang to his feet and threw both arms up.
It was quite an intense reaction, but since Drakof was eccentric to begin with, no one paid it particular mind.
Professor names continued to be called in succession.
But Leon’s name was never called.
“Professor Rocksvale.”
Bernadette called Rocksvale’s name.
“9 points.”
The professors cheered at the highest score.
“As expected of Professor Rocksvale!”
“That’s the highest score I’ve ever heard!”
“Can a score that high even exist?”
The professors erupted in loud applause.
Now only Leon remained.
The intention behind placing Leon after Rocksvale, clearly destined for a high score, was transparent.
They meant to make Leon’s score stand out even more by contrast.
Thanks to that, Leon had become last—
‘The protagonist has arrived.’
At that moment, Bernadette opened the final envelope.
“Finally, Professor Leon—”
Bernadette’s words stopped. Her eyebrows, which had been level, rose sharply.
“My apologies. Allow me to verify something.”
Bernadette gestured to the back. Kalix came forward and whispered something to her.
“The worst score, then?”
“Ha ha, surely that must be it.”
The professors chattered and laughed.
Bernadette returned to the front. Her face was pale as if she’d seen a ghost.
Bernadette slowly opened her mouth.
“Verification is complete. Professor Leon’s score is—”
Bernadette, having paused for effect, forced the words out with difficulty.
“10 points.”
The professors looked at each other’s faces.
As though confirming they hadn’t misheard.
At that moment, Bernadette gestured for Leon to come forward.
“You have achieved the highest Lecture Satisfaction Rating in Elysium Academy history. Congratulations.”
Bernadette clapped with all the warmth of a stone.
But no other professor joined in.
This time, even Rocksvale remained silent.
Leon moved forward without expression.
His face was truly impassive. As though it were someone else’s matter.
“I did nothing. Everything was done by my assistant.”
Leon spoke with sincere conviction in his voice.
I’d told him to prepare remarks, and he’d managed to think of something.
But it backfired spectacularly.
“Crediting his assistant with the work? He’s a better professor than rumor suggested.”
“Our professor is too busy erasing his own name—”
Moved by his words, the assistants rose from their seats and began clapping with fervor.
In an instant, the atmosphere heated up.
“I’m serious—”
Leon spoke urgently, but the applause only grew more intense.
At that moment, Bernadette pointed behind her and spoke.
“The Special Budget presentation will be made directly by the Vice Principal.”
……The Vice Principal?
I hastily turned my head.
A benevolent elderly man, cloaked entirely in pure white, slowly ascended the podium.
‘The Pope of Apocalypse.’
I gazed at the Vice Principal with eyes sunk deep in thought.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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