Academy’s New Guard is Unusual - Chapter 28

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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 28
Snap.
A Commission is the purest expression of desire.
Because desire inevitably seeps into every Commission.
That’s why Man-wol never bothered asking the requester’s identity.
You didn’t need to ask—you could infer it all from the Commission itself.
There was even a Guidebook for reading people through their Commissions.
It contained hundreds of examples, so you could prepare for anything.
Except bathroom cleaning. The Guidebook had no examples of that.
‘Did he twist the order deliberately, knowing about the Guidebook?’
That man knew Raven’s number from the start. He’d certainly know the Guidebook exists.
There was a good chance he’d warped the order precisely because he knew about it.
He wouldn’t approach one of Man-wol’s own just to assign bathroom cleaning.
‘Well, he read me like a book.’
Raven set her jaw and adjusted her grip on the mop.
* * *
Caw.
A crow’s call echoed from somewhere.
Raven’s signal that the Commission was complete.
‘Fast work.’
I headed toward Seban, Team 9’s leader.
“The bathroom’s already clean?”
Seban looked Mailo up and down, his gaze openly skeptical.
Mailo’s anxious face turned toward me. I gave a small nod.
“It’s-it’s really done, I’m telling you!”
“……Mailo. If you’ve shirked your duties again, I’m telling Hanswell directly.”
Seban’s warning to Mailo was firm.
So he’d slacked off before too. I marveled at Mailo—the kind of person who hears the same complaint no matter where he goes.
“I’ll verify immediately.”
Seban took the stairs in quick strides. Anxious-faced Mailo pressed close beside me.
“Are you sure this is okay?”
“Don’t worry. I left it to a professional.”
“Pardon? When did you arrange that?”
That’s when Seban arrived at the third-floor bathroom.
With practiced ease, he pulled a stack of papers from a bag at his side—a sheet listing the bathroom cleaning checklist items.
Seban stepped into the bathroom wearing an expression exactly like a Michelin inspector.
“……Huh?”
Seban’s sharp, narrow eyes twitched roughly. His mouth fell open, as foolish-looking as Mailo’s.
The papers dropped to the floor with a soft thud.
‘What is this?’
I followed him in, and pristine white greeted me.
The toilet, the sink, the mirror—every surface sparkled without flaw. Not a speck of dust, as if freshly purchased. The bathroom looked newly built.
“This, this is…… a bathroom cleaning professional?”
Mailo muttered dumbly. Seban snapped back to his senses belatedly.
“I, I should double-check.”
Seban gathered his papers and examined every inch of the bathroom. He even knelt to inspect behind the toilet, but not the smallest speck of dust emerged.
Seban’s sharp eyes softened by half.
“Perfect. I’ve never seen such immaculate bathroom cleaning in my entire time in Security. It’s moving—this bathroom cleaning is truly moving.”
Seban’s voice trembled with genuine admiration.
On the Bathroom Checklist in his hand, the marks weren’t circles but hearts. He was deeply moved.
That’s when Seban suddenly grabbed my hand.
“You don’t belong in Team 42. Will you join us? I can appoint you vice-leader.”
Seban made the offer with an earnest expression. Mailo desperately knocked Seban’s hand away.
“Seban, what are you doing!”
“Get out of the way, Mailo. This talent doesn’t belong in a dumpster like Team 42.”
“W-well, sure, Team 42 is garbage, but! This isn’t honorable conduct!”
“Honor doesn’t apply here. Newcomer, join us and I’ll give you the best treatment. I’ll appoint you vice-leader right now.”
Seban gripped my hand firmly. Mailo stared at me with glistening eyes.
I clicked my tongue and declined.
“The offer is appreciated, but I must refuse.”
“Unfortunate. Talent like yours shouldn’t rot in Team 42. If you change your mind, contact me anytime.”
Seban gave a composed nod and withdrew.
Recruited over bathroom cleaning. And they were offering vice-leader on top of it.
This was absurd beyond absurdity.
Still, gaining Seban’s goodwill—he oversees the Male Dormitory—was fortunate.
I’d carved out a smooth route of access.
“You can clock out. We’re strict about the Merit System here—once your work is done, you’re free to go. Whenever you change your mind, just say the word. Whenever.”
Seban made the offer one more time before backing away. Mailo, who’d been wary enough to show his concern, spoke up urgently.
“Team 42 isn’t inferior either. So the advantages of Team 42 are-. Ah, what do we have?”
“Never mind. I have no intention of transferring.”
“Phew—.”
Mailo pressed a hand to his chest in relief. Then he tilted his head and asked.
“But why aren’t you going?”
“Why aren’t you going?”
“I mean—it’s embarrassing to say, but our team is garbage, isn’t it? The reputation’s terrible, the work’s brutal, and the members treat people like outcasts. Seban, we’re even worse than we look?”
He had a point. Life would be far easier in another team.
But I had no intention of transferring.
‘The villains are all in Team 42.’
Evelyn, the Republic’s elite; Scarlet, the Foreign Maiden; Rudrick, the Ghost Blade; Volcan, the Barbarian—all the heavyweights were in Team 42.
Keeping them close made it easier to deal with them when the time came.
“I’ll……do my best to win the team members over.”
Mailo said this with the expression of a desperate puppy.
“Win them over?”
“You know, with the whole ostracism thing. I’ll do my best to talk to them.”
“Am I being ostracized?”
“……Yes?”
“Joking.”
“Haha! Really! You’re funny! Haha!”
Mailo laughed so hard his belly shook.
I paid little attention to my team members’ attitudes. No matter how much they shunned me, it barely registered.
Of course, I had no intention of simply letting it slide.
‘I should start their Reformation soon.’
That’s when I felt a piercing gaze from somewhere.
It was Raven. With the Ambush Coupon in hand, she seemed to be watching for her moment.
The Killing Intent was so faint that most wouldn’t notice it, but I’m not most people.
Where I come from, you lose your head over a Killing Intent that subtle. To me, this level of intent was practically a broadcast announcement: ‘I’m about to kill you.’
‘Excellent.’
I smiled with satisfaction at the Killing Intent stabbing at the back of my head.
A proper bit of Killing Intent was good for the blood circulation.
“Second order. Watch Evangeline and signal me if there’s any problem.”
Caw!
A short crow’s call rang out.
Raven’s signal that she’d received the order.
“Huh?”
Mailo asked dumbly.
“Not you.”
“Who else is here besides me?”
“Classified.”
“Ugh.”
Mailo didn’t even get frustrated anymore. I chuckled.
“Go on and clock out.”
“Already?”
“Already? The sun’s setting.”
Mailo pointed at the sky. The sun hung at the edge of the horizon.
It seemed I’d spent too much time with Raven.
“Will there be night shift today?”
“Probably. Scarlet’s going to rotate night shifts until she’s satisfied. ……I’ll try to stop it.”
Mailo spoke with determination. At that, I narrowed my eyes.
“Why would you stop that?”
“Pardon?”
“Why stop the night shift when she’s offering it?”
“Well, wouldn’t working morning shift and then straight into night shift be too exhausting?”
“You’re exhausted by that?”
I was genuinely puzzled.
Even with morning shift running straight into night shift, there’s time between them.
Plenty of time to rest, and yet this was exhausting?
The men on the front lines would spit blood hearing that.
“Don’t stop it. Under any circumstances.”
I meant it. Today was the next event after the entrance ceremony.
“……Why are you working so hard?”
Mailo asked with a serious expression.
Many answers came to mind, but there was only one response.
“Classified.”
“Damn it!”
Mailo stamped his feet.
“I’m going to rest today. I’m seriously dying of exhaustion.”
“Did I ask you to join me? People might misunderstand.”
“Th-this is cruel!”
Mailo foamed at the mouth.
It was disgusting.
* * *
“You’ve worked hard, rookie.”
When I returned to the Security Team office, Scarlet greeted me.
Scarlet held out her usual cup. A strong alcohol stench wafted from it. Mixed faintly underneath was the scent of genuine poison.
‘It’s real Poisoned Alcohol.’
I took the cup and downed it in one go.
Scarlet’s precarious eyes examined me as if expecting something. I gave her a thumbs up.
“A sharp, tangy flavor. Excellent. Thank you.”
“……I’m glad it suits your palate.”
“I’ll trouble you for some tomorrow as well.”
“O-okay.”
Scarlet’s eye corners fluttered. As she tried to withdraw, I quickly grabbed her.
“Will there be a night shift?”
“N-night shift? Yes, you’ll come.”
“What kind of shift will it be?”
“Night shift is Back Gate security and patrol-. Wait, why are you curious? You just come when I tell you to.”
Scarlet narrowed her eyes.
“So which location should I report to?”
“……Volcan and Back Gate security.”
Volcan, the Barbarian, is Team 42’s earliest villain to rampage.
Volcan and Back Gate security, no less—.
“Excellent.”
“Wh-excellent? Ha, playing tough—. Tsk, report right after meal time ends.”
She was even giving me meal time.
What kind of security detail has work-life balance this good? No wonder the game got routed.
“Is meal time really necessary?”
“What?”
“Couldn’t I just eat while on patrol?”
At my question, Scarlet’s face went slack with surprise.
But she quickly recovered her usual smile.
“Take that up with Mailo. You two will be going together.”
“Understood.”
I nodded briskly.
“……Eh?”
Mailo blinked stupidly.
* * *
Volcan the Barbarian is a villain who appears early in the game.
Volcan smashed the Academy’s Back Gate, and the Wanderers poured through.
The ‘Wanderers’ are one of the Ten Enemies of the Empire—minorities oppressed by the Empire.
The Wanderers’ only goal is freedom.
The problem is that their freedom differs vastly from what ordinary people understand as freedom.
What the Wanderers seek is ‘Wilderness.’
A pure state where strength alone is law.
To the Wanderers, everything except themselves is prey for plunder. They even plunder each other.
It’s why even the other Ten Enemies of the Empire avoid entanglement with the Wanderers.
Volcan himself was formidably strong.
Volcan had the Berserker trait—he grew explosively stronger as his stamina drained—and his base physical stats were top-tier.
The combination of the two made him difficult to stop in the early game.
Of course, it didn’t apply to me now.
In the game, Volcan appeared drenched in blood, intestines coiled like a necklace around his neck, wordlessly swinging his fists with savage fury.
Once we were on shift together, Volcan would make a move, and I’d use that pretext to Reform him like I did Mailo.
Clean and perfect planning.
The problem was—.
“I heard you were deployed straight from morning shift to night shift. It must be tough for a newcomer, and I’m sure you’re exhausted. I’ll handle the patrol, so rest a bit if you can.”
Volcan was extraordinarily courteous.
I was deeply flustered.
“Seban! Volcan! Why do I have to work the night shift—!”
Mailo seemed equally bewildered.

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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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