Academy’s New Guard is Unusual - Chapter 24

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

Episode 24
“So, the Headmaster’s still around?”
Logan asked with a noticeably more relaxed expression.
I answered like a bewildered new recruit.
“That’s classified, I’m afraid.”
“I’m your distant senior. These bastards send in a recruit without even telling you my name? And me, even after I quit. Tsk.”
Logan clicked his tongue and lit a fresh cigar.
From the atmosphere, it seemed Logan had left the Security Bureau quite some time ago. That was fortunate.
“How did you know, sir?”
“How did I know? You’re trailing the stench of the Republic like you’re bleeding it, so of course it’s the Security Bureau.”
The Imperial Frontline is colloquially called a melting pot. Demons, dark mages, heretics, fanatics—all manner of things mixed together.
Of course, the Republic was one of them. That scent seemed to have soaked into one’s very skin.
“Even catching a Republic agent I couldn’t find—that too. Look, even with all your zeal, walking around with such swagger right from the start? Catching a Republic operative the moment you arrive?”
Logan gestured at me with his cigar as he lectured. I deliberately hardened my expression.
“When I see a Republic bastard, how could I not catch them?”
Logan’s eyes crinkled sharply.
A smile. A smile that looked even more menacing than a scowl.
“You’ve got your head on straight, unlike the young ones these days. Yes, well done. Every time you spot a Republic bastard, you crush them. Leave them alone and they’ll lay eggs before you know it.”
Logan nodded with satisfaction. I seemed to have earned decent marks.
“Have you heard about Team 42?”
“……What story are you referring to?”
“These bastards didn’t explain this either? Well, if they had, you wouldn’t have passed the Headmaster’s screening. That old witch is really troublesome, I tell you.”
From Logan’s grumbling, I could infer something about the Security Bureau’s situation.
‘To avoid the Headmaster’s scrutiny, they’re sending me in with minimal information.’
The Headmaster was an arch-mage and a witch. And she was meticulous enough to hide magical circles in the entrance exam for the Security Squad.
To avoid her watchful eye, they seemed to be giving out only the bare minimum of information.
“But you must have heard about the Breach.”
“Yes, I’ve briefed myself on the general details.”
“The Breach is a dangerous place. Even professors go missing there. But here’s the thing—Team 42, just one squad, entered the Breach, and only one member went missing. The rest all came back.”
“Team 42, then.”
“That’s right, Team 42. The whole team got caught up in the Breach, but only one went missing. They came back unharmed.”
Logan’s mouth twisted into a smirk. It was contempt.
‘Came back unharmed from a Breach?’
There are two ways to escape a Breach.
The first is to capture the Anomaly and close the Breach.
In practice, this was the only method. The Anomaly was the heart of the Breach, the key, the door itself. Without capturing it, you couldn’t escape.
But very rarely, there was a way to exit a Breach without capturing the Anomaly.
‘By making a deal with the Anomaly.’
If you negotiated with the Anomaly that controlled the Breach, you could escape without having to capture it.
However, this method was so improbable that it happened maybe once in a thousand tries.
But I was certain it had to be the latter.
‘That’s the only way to explain why villains are swarming Team 42.’
It had always seemed odd that villains were concentrated in Team 42 like clockwork. But if one of the members had made a deal with the Anomaly in the Breach, it made sense.
“It’s definitely the Republic’s doing.”
My thoughts were interrupted by Logan’s words.
Logan’s eyes were wide. Anyone could see they belonged to a paranoid patient.
A Breach was a kind of natural disaster. It was impossible to create one artificially. Even the Republic couldn’t interfere with a Breach.
Still, I didn’t bother correcting him. Instead, I gave him what he wanted to hear.
“Damn those Republic bastards.”
“Finally, someone who speaks my language.”
I could practically see Logan’s favor rising before my eyes.
“First, integrate yourself into Team 42. The Republic scum are suspicious—approach them carelessly and they’ll burrow even deeper.”
“Understood.”
“Especially—”
Logan pointed at me with a thick index finger. His eyes gleamed like a predator’s.
“Keep watch on Evelyn.”
The way Logan singled out Evelyn made me swallow involuntarily. Fortunately, it seemed natural enough—Logan smirked.
“If you need support, light this. I’ll arrive before the cigar burns out.”
Logan rummaged through his coat and pulled something out. A cigar painted blue.
A cigar that would summon a Sword Master for backup when lit. I took it without hesitation.
“Ah, I have one more question.”
“What?”
“When Team 42 entered the Breach, was Milo with them?”
“He was, but apparently he lost his memory from Breach side effects. I’m not sure if that’s true though.”
“It’s probably true.”
“How are you so sure?”
Milo doesn’t have the intelligence to act—
I swallowed the words and refined my answer.
“Intuition.”
“Intuition matters. It’s a signal from your subconscious. Dig deep into Evelyn.”
Logan stood up from his seat. Then he saluted me.
“Destroy Republic.”
“Destroy Republic.”
As I returned the salute, Logan smiled with satisfaction.
“I’ll handle the small stuff, so do your best.”
Logan’s definition of “small stuff” probably differed greatly from mine, but I didn’t bother saying so.
“Yes! I’ll trust only in you, senior.”
A reassuring senior indeed.
Once Logan was gone, Milo approached me, tense with anxiety.
“What, what did he say? Did we get caught? Jeez.”
Milo was fretting, apparently thinking Logan came to me because of the entrance ceremony explosion.
“No, we didn’t get caught.”
“Phew, phew, phewww. Shit, I’m dying from this anxiety.”
Milo wiped the sweat from his forehead in relief.
“You should’ve lived a clean life then.”
“You bas—”
“Bas?”
“Bas-tard, bass-oon, basso?”
Milo muttered while avoiding my eyes.
Milo and I returned to the Security Squad.
We were greeted by an thoroughly annoyed Hanswell.
“Milo, I made it clear—several times—that you absolutely cannot slack off. And now you abandon your post entirely?”
Hanswell adjusted his glasses and rattled off like machine-gun fire.
“No, I wasn’t slacking off—”
“No? Then what were you doing while away?”
“That was—”
Milo looked at me. When I shook my head, Milo closed his mouth grimly.
Hanswell’s eyes grew even sharper.
“Do you realize the personnel shortage you create when you abandon your position? Not only do you fail to set an example for the newest member, but you drag him along to slack off?!”
“……I apologize.”
“You apologize every day. This won’t do. Milo, we’re having an intensive one-on-one meeting.”
Milo only returned late that evening.
When he came back, he looked like he’d been tortured in a dungeon. He even had a dry cough.
“I didn’t break under interrogation.”
Milo declared solemnly.
“Well done.”
“Ha-ha, they could tear my lips off, but they couldn’t make me talk.”
Milo pounded his own chest proudly.
To hear him tell it, you’d think he’d survived torture from an enemy nation. In reality, he’d just endured a scolding.
As I suppressed a smile, Milo suddenly asked in a low voice:
“So what’s your real purpose?”
A sharp, wary light appeared in his eyes—something I hadn’t seen before.
“Purpose?”
“Why someone with your skill would bother joining the Security Squad.”
Milo shifted his stance, ready to rush me at a moment’s notice.
I flexed my fists slightly as I answered.
“Classified.”
“Classified again! This bullshit!”
Milo erupted with frustration.
For a moment, I thought he was about to come at me again.
But Milo didn’t charge.
“You don’t seem like a bad person, so I’ll let it slide.”
“Thanks.”
“There, you’re being sarcastic again—”
I was sincere.
Dealing with Milo was going to be quite troublesome.
“So what’s next?”
Milo asked in a grave tone. He seemed excited.
‘Next, he says—’
The entrance ceremony was over. In game terms, the tutorial had ended.
Just a tutorial, of all things. It was absurd, but the real problem lay elsewhere.
‘The Breach opened, but there was no Erosion.’
A Breach was a passage connecting to another dimension. When a Breach opens, it affects the continent—that phenomenon is called Erosion.
But this Breach had no Erosion. Evidence that it wasn’t a complete Breach. Even on hard mode, Erosion shouldn’t occur this soon.
Then why did an incomplete Breach open—
‘Evangeline opened it.’
An incomplete Breach required a medium. This time, it was the Central Library and Evangeline.
Evangeline was the important one. She was the protagonist, after all.
I’d assigned Andy to watch her, but it felt somewhat insufficient. Andy wasn’t really a specialist in surveillance anyway.
I needed a professional observer attached to Evangeline.
Just then, someone knocked on the door.
A sharp-featured handsome man—Ludrik of Team 42. To me, he was more familiar as the Ghost-killer.
“A complaint’s been filed. When escorting new students, did you refuse a student’s request for transport?”
Ludrik asked in a flat voice.
‘It’s Raven.’
When I was escorting new students by carriage, I’d blocked Raven when he tried to approach Evangeline. Apparently, he’d tattled.
“That irritating bastard! Actually tattling! And he calls himself a man—”
“Write an apology letter and get the student to sign it.”
Ludrik simply delivered the message and vanished immediately. A perfect specimen of “business only, briefly.”
‘This works out perfectly.’
Raven was an assassin raised by Fullmoon. A man who could become the Assassin King later on.
He was the perfect choice to assign as Evangeline’s observer.
To persuade Raven, I’d need time alone with him. The problem was that Raven was always surrounded by people. The only time Raven was alone was in his dormitory room.
The issue was the dormitory’s security.
The dormitory, being where students resided, had severe security. It was packed with high-grade magical artifacts, and there were many guards. Even I would have difficulty sneaking in.
But now, there was no need to sneak in.
I was the Security Squad member responsible for that security.
“Milo, tomorrow your assignment is Male Dormitory security.”
“Yes. But, wait! Like I said before—task distribution shouldn’t be done like that.”
“I see. I’d prefer tomorrow’s assignment to be Male Dormitory security.”
“No, I’m seriously gonna die doing this, sir.”
“You won’t die.”
“I seriously will!”
Hanswell’s intensive one-on-one meeting had been devastating—Milo’s resistance was fierce.
I needed to dangle a carrot.
“In return, I’ll teach you the Aura.”
“……Really?”
Milo’s eyes began to gleam like a boy’s. I studied him carefully.
‘He must have gotten Aura as a reward from the Breach.’
Breach rewards aren’t only given to players. NPCs also receive rewards when they clear a Breach. It’s a kind of party system.
However, NPCs without quest windows can’t choose their rewards directly. That said, rewards don’t disappear—they’re automatically selected and accumulate inside.
As you train, they’re naturally absorbed.
Because of this, most NPCs don’t even realize they’ve been rewarded, and simply think ‘I grew faster after going to the Breach.’
But that takes too long. Natural loss occurs.
There was another method—faster, with no loss.
‘Forced absorption.’
Quite tedious work, but Milo was someone I’d be carrying along anyway.
And I needed to calibrate myself before teaching the students.
“There’s a boring, pedantic, slow method. And there’s a fast, effective one.”
“Of course the fast, effective one—”
“Exactly what I thought too.”
“Wait, why are you suddenly clenching your fist? I mean, why are you clenching it?!”
Sensing something was off, Milo cried out urgently.
I didn’t bother explaining in detail.
It would be too tedious and pedantic.
Instead, I chose the cleaner, more straightforward approach.
“Just take the beating.”
Milo was absolutely delighted.

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