Academy’s New Guard is Unusual - Chapter 23

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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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Chapter 23
‘The sun’s still up?’
Andy emerged from the Central Library and blinked at the bright sky.
It felt like days had passed inside, yet the sun still hung overhead.
“Time flows differently inside and outside a Rift.”
As if reading Andy’s mind, Grave spoke matter-of-factly.
“Ah, but talk of Rifts is classified.”
Grave pressed a finger to his lips. Andy heaved a silent sigh.
Classified or not, honestly—
‘Who would believe it anyway?’
Evangeline and Andy bore nothing but sweat, their skin grimy. Not a single wound marred either of them.
Who would believe them if they said they’d been inside a Rift?
‘Just what exactly is this guy?’
He wielded such overwhelming martial prowess that comparison to a professor felt embarrassing—and yet he worked as a member of the Security Force.
“Head back to the Dormitory. If you give a reasonable excuse, there shouldn’t be much trouble.”
“L-let’s go together!!”
Grave turned and left. Milo hurried after him urgently.
“That guy—”
Evangeline pointed at Grave in the distance, her expression grave.
“He seems to like me, doesn’t he? Ugh. What a pain, honestly.”
Watching Evangeline shake her head, Andy felt genuine admiration.
“Evangeline, you’re really something.”
“Ha! Finally! You’re just figuring that out?”
There was no winning with her. Andy ignored the comment and headed toward the Dormitory.
Upon arriving at the Dormitory, the atmosphere felt decidedly off.
Rookies stood in neat lines at the main gate, while Security Force members ran between them.
“Check again!!”
“But it’s past lunch time—”
“Does food matter right now? I said check again!”
“The count is the same! Two are still missing!!”
…Two?
Andy’s face went pale.
“They’re looking for someone.”
Evangeline spoke with a serious expression. Andy bit her lip hard.
“It’s us. Look—”
“Us? Oh! We’re here!!”
Evangeline thrust her hand up.
Every eye—student and Security Force member alike—snapped toward them.
“Those two?”
“Where the hell were you!!”
Andy’s face went ash-white. She could see her Academy life unraveling in real time.
A Security Force member stalked toward them with a hardened expression.
“You two—we turned this place upside down looking for you. Where were you?”
Andy’s mind raced desperately.
The guy had said to make a reasonable excuse, but the atmosphere was far too tense. A flimsy story wouldn’t cut it.
Then someone grabbed Andy’s shoulder. It was Evangeline.
“Trust me.”
Evangeline winked. Confidence radiated from her face, and for some reason, that made Andy uneasy.
Andy tried to stop her urgently, but Evangeline was quicker.
She stepped forward, drawing all eyes to her. Evangeline’s face twitched oddly.
Hack, hack-cough. Evangeline made a strange sound, barely audible. Her body trembled.
‘Don’t fight it! Just back down!’
Despite Andy’s desperate hope, Evangeline didn’t retreat—she held firm with resolve.
Watching Evangeline strain toward something bizarre, Andy choked back a scream.
“Where were you?”
The Security Force member squinted at Evangeline, demanding an answer.
“……”
Evangeline’s lips moved soundlessly. She seemed to be saying something, but her voice was too faint to hear.
“What was that?”
The Security Force member asked irritably. A spasm crossed Evangeline’s face.
‘Wait, I’ve seen this somewhere before—’
Then Evangeline’s lips parted wide.
“Poooooop!!”
The shocking word erupted with tremendous volume.
“What… what did you say?”
“Poop! I had to go pooping!!”
Even when the Principal had appeared, the hundreds of rookies present had chattered away—but now they fell silent as death.
The Security Force member’s face contorted into an indescribable expression as he looked at Andy. Andy shook her head frantically, but the officer simply nodded as if understanding.
Why am I involved in this too—
“Ah, yes. Well. A call of nature can’t be helped. Go on inside.”
The Security Force member’s face flushed crimson as he rushed to end the situation.
Evangeline looked at Andy and made a victory sign with her fingers. Her face brimmed with triumph.
‘I should’ve hit the back of her head harder.’
Andy genuinely regretted it.
* * *
‘I wonder if they made it back safely.’
I murmured to myself, gazing toward the Dormitory.
Evangeline and Andy had vanished right after the Republic terror incident at the entrance ceremony. The circumstances would naturally draw suspicion, but there shouldn’t be any real problem.
‘Elysium Academy doesn’t suspect its students anyway.’
Elysium Academy doesn’t suspect students unless concrete physical evidence emerges. Even when evidence does appear, punishment is often overlooked.
Evangeline and Andy should be fine.
The real problem is me.
“Where were you?”
Bedrick—the goat-bearded one—glared at me with an edge in his voice laden with malice.
Two Security Force members had disappeared during the terror attack at the entrance ceremony. This was perfectly suspicious.
Worse, I’d arrested a Republican before the ceremony, making me more than worthy of suspicion.
However, he couldn’t pin the Republic terror on me.
‘The Head of the Student Affairs Department ordered it covered up.’
Pushing me would mean making an enemy of the Head of the Student Affairs Department.
Could Bedrick do that?
‘Absolutely not.’
The Head of the Student Affairs Department was among the top ten most influential figures in the Academy. Bedrick couldn’t afford to make an enemy of him.
Not right now, especially.
“Evidence?”
A heavy voice cut off Bedrick’s words.
Logan—the tiger-like middle-aged man who was Head of the Student Affairs Department. The female Inspector I’d seen before stood beside him.
Bedrick’s expression turned reptilian with a sly smile.
“There’s testimony that Grave entered the Underground Warehouse where the Magic Stone Bombs were installed.”
Bedrick spoke with bold confidence.
Logan’s tiger-like eyes fixed on me.
“You went in?”
“Yes, sir. I moved materials.”
“Hmm, the circumstances are certainly suspicious.”
Logan nodded.
“Exactly. There’s a possibility he’s a spy. You know Republicans are the most insidious creatures out there.”
“They certainly are.”
Logan regarded me with his tiger-like eyes. Even making eye contact was enough to feel my insides laid bare.
“Are you a Republican?”
“No, sir.”
“As I suspected.”
Logan nodded.
Bedrick’s face flushed with bewilderment belatedly.
“You believe his word, sir?”
“No.”
“Then why—”
Logan chuckled, tapping his nose.
“Republicans reek—but this one doesn’t. So he’s not a Republican.”
“What do you mean by smell—”
“Any objections?”
At Logan’s question, Bedrick’s face went pale.
Bedrick hastily bowed his head.
“N-no, sir. My apologies.”
Logan wore his customary sinister smile.
“Suspicion in moderation is a virtue. But excess becomes death.”
Logan patted Bedrick’s shoulder. With that, Bedrick scrambled away in panic.
Once Bedrick disappeared, Logan fixed his gaze on me again.
“The Principal was taken down by a Republic Magic Stone Bomb installed in the Underground Warehouse beneath the Great Hall. Strange thing, though—I checked the warehouse after that Republican appeared. If there’d been a Republican bomb, I wouldn’t have missed its scent. And yet……”
“Perhaps it was disposed of differently?”
“That’d be the case. You didn’t see anything else, did you?”
Logan’s voice was flat and emotionless, like idle conversation. But underneath lay bone-sharp menace.
Bones that would pierce through your throat if you slipped even slightly—
I answered without hesitation.
“No, sir.”
“I see.”
Logan smiled that familiar sinister smile and gripped my shoulder. His palm was enormous, like a cauldron lid.
“Watch yourself. The Academy crawls with Republicans. Suspect everyone.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. Republicans burrow in like lice in hair—utterly covert. Often it’s someone you’d never suspect who’s a Republican.”
Logan’s voice grew serious with warning.
Then the Inspector, who’d been silent until now, spoke up.
“That’s paranoia.”
“Paranoia, you say.”
“Just days ago, you grabbed Professor Unfenheim by the collar insisting he was a Republican—and got suspended without pay for it.”
“But the scent was real—”
“Suspecting people without evidence is paranoia.”
At the Inspector’s point, Logan sighed. Within the Academy, Logan’s reputation was basically that of a Republic-paranoid lunatic.
“But that one really was a Republican. For example—”
Logan pointed at me with a thick forefinger.
“Like Squad Leader Evelyn of Section 42.”
I raised an eyebrow slightly. I opened my mouth a little, as if deeply surprised.
“Do you have evidence?”
The Inspector asked pointedly.
“Well, not yet, but—he definitely has that Republican scent.”
“That’s paranoia.”
“No, really—”
“Without evidence, it’s paranoia.”
“Tsk.”
Logan clicked his tongue and turned his gaze back to me.
“Wait, let’s talk privately.”
* * *
Logan led me to a shaded spot behind a building—dim and sunless. Dusty tables and chairs lay about as if abandoned.
Logan sat without brushing off the dust and placed a cigar between his teeth.
As I sat across from him, Logan regarded me with his tiger-like eyes. I anticipated his purpose.
‘Probably a Republican-hunting quest.’
In the game, Logan was an NPC who gave the ‘Hunt Republicans’ quest. The Republican Hunt quest involved helping Logan root out Republicans within the Academy. Completion rewarded entry into the Student Affairs Department.
Elysium Academy had three major organizations: the Faculty Affairs Department managing professors, the Student Affairs Department managing students, and the Administrative Department handling patronage and finances.
A quest from the Head of the Student Affairs Department to hunt Republicans—such a quest was automatic acceptance whenever offered.
Though events differed slightly from the game, it was clear he’d called me out specifically to give a quest.
By the time his cigar burned down, Logan’s mouth opened.
But his words came as a surprise.
“You from the National Security Bureau?”
…National Security Bureau?
If the Imperial Guard was the Emperor’s blade, the National Security Bureau was the Emperor’s shadow.
The National Security Bureau moved the Empire from unseen places—the highest-level secret organization, barely even described in the game.
I wouldn’t have known of it at all without hearing from the General. The National Security Bureau was that covert—
So why was it coming from Logan’s mouth?
“You’re new, but you’re obvious. A rookie Security Force member catching six Republicans? That doesn’t add up.”
I’d reported only one Republican to Logan. Yet he knew I’d caught six. He’d simply let it slide.
Why?
“Anyway, you newer ones are sloppy.”
From Logan’s words that followed, I understood the situation.
‘Logan was a National Security Bureau agent.’
Come to think of it, it was strange.
No matter how aged, Logan was a Sword Master. Why would a Sword Master serve as Head of the Student Affairs Department instead of a professor?
In any case, Logan took me for a National Security Bureau recruit. Used correctly, this would prove far more valuable than the ordinary Republican Hunt quest.
The problem was if my cover were blown.
Impersonating the National Security Bureau was a crime graver than rebellion.
If discovered, the National Security Bureau itself would move against me.
Even General Cassandra had warned, in disgust, never to be entangled with them.
Which meant—
‘As long as I don’t get caught, it’s fine.’
A perfect plan.
Suddenly, words Cassandra had spoken returned to me.
— Those National Security Bureau fellows salute strangely. They show the back of their hand when saluting. The opposite of a Republican salute, or so I heard.
I saluted Logan, showing him the back of my hand.
Logan’s mouth twisted viciously.

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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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