Academy’s New Guard is Unusual - Chapter 30

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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 30
The negative image of Barbarians resulted from a combination of the Empire’s oppressive policies toward ethnic minorities and the conduct of certain wanderers.
In reality, most of them lived quietly mixed among the Empire’s people.
The method for identifying a Barbarian is simple.
You ask them if they are a Barbarian.
‘Barbarians cannot lie.’
Because of the legend that lies blacken the soul, Barbarians cannot tell falsehoods.
That was why I had asked Volcan if he was a Barbarian.
But Volcan answered casually that he wasn’t.
In that case, there was a good chance he actually wasn’t.
However, in the game, Volcan had been a Barbarian.
Which meant his parents were likely Barbarians.
A sound deduction.
The reaction was heated.
“Now, now—that’s going too far! Even if we are a different team, you’re a fresh recruit, and you’re asking a senior about—what?—whether his parents are Barbarians?!”
A Team 13 Guard Unit member who had been standing at a distance flew into a rage as if his own parents had been insulted.
“The Guard Unit’s standards these days are truly remarkable!”
Even other team members conducting inspections nearby joined in to censure me.
The atmosphere turned hostile in an instant.
I ignored their reaction and kept my eyes on Volcan.
Volcan’s face had twisted into something grotesque. Anger that his clenched teeth couldn’t contain spilled from between them, and his fists made a creaking sound.
Was this a reaction because his parents were Barbarians, or because he was angry at being asked if his parents were Barbarians?
“I’ll step away for a moment. I’m truly sorry.”
‘It was the former.’
Watching Volcan flee, I nodded with satisfaction.
“Damn it! We’re already busy enough, and now this?!”
With Volcan gone, the remaining Guard Unit members began cursing openly. Even those waiting for inspection hurled abuse at me.
“Damn it. You’ll cover Volcan’s post.”
A Guard Unit member grabbed me by the collar and shoved me. I nodded promptly.
“Fine.”
“What?”
“I said fine.”
“Ha, quite the remarkable newcomer we’ve got here. All right, you’d better do a proper job of it.”
The man let out a snort and released me.
I headed toward the carriage Volcan had been inspecting. Mailo hurried after me.
“Sir, what are you trying to do?!”
Mailo asked in an anxious voice. I replied casually.
“Conduct an inspection.”
“How can the two of us manage all this?”
“Two? I’ll do it alone.”
“No, sir, inspections require real care. If you mistakenly let someone through, you’re the one who takes the fall.”
“I know.”
I was serious about that. No one here would know the importance of inspections better than I did.
“Sigh, you’ve completely woken me up now.”
Had he been dozing? Quite the fellow.
I chuckled and stood in front of the carriage. The carriage owner looked at me with irritation.
“Hurry up and finish. We’re already late.”
“Sure.”
I tapped the carriage lightly with my Guard Staff.
Tap, tap—a fairly heavy sound echoed.
“It’s not like I’m checking fruit. What can you learn by tapping a carriage—”
I ignored him and moved my Mana. When bright light erupted from the Guard Staff, the carriage owner’s mouth fell open.
“M-Magic?”
These people always call anything flashy magic. Of course, this time it actually is magic.
The light that poured from my Guard Staff swept across the carriage.
“Proceed.”
“……What?”
“Proceed, I said. Move along quickly.”
“Oh, yes, understood.”
“Next.”
I gestured toward the man behind. A Guard Unit member hurried forward.
The name “Bex” was written on the nameplate of his uniform.
“What are you doing?”
“Can’t you tell? I’m conducting an inspection.”
“No, you need to follow proper procedure and verify everything—”
“That’s only necessary for ignorant fools who don’t understand magic.”
Bex bit his lip at the sight of the glowing Guard Staff.
“……Are you a Mage?”
“Can’t you tell? We’re busy, so step aside.”
I waved the Guard Staff dismissively, like shooing insects. At the mention of magic, Bex retreated.
The atmosphere around us shifted noticeably. Those who had bared their teeth moments before now looked at me with eyes full of admiration.
There was a strong perception that Mages were elite.
“Next.”
The next carriage approached.
This carriage was three times larger than the previous one. Judging by how packed it was, the carriage wheels made a loud noise. I could sense the Guard Unit members focusing their attention.
I tapped the carriage with my Guard Staff in the same manner.
Light poured from the Guard Staff, sweeping around the carriage. And I nodded lightly.
“Proceed.”
“Wait, are you really doing this properly?”
Bex, who had raised objections earlier, blocked the carriage.
“If you don’t trust me, do it yourself.”
“Come out, and I won’t let you off easy.”
“What if I don’t come out?”
“……Everyone, come look!”
I provoked him lightly, but Bex ignored me and called for other Guard Unit members. They swarmed over the carriage like ants to inspect it.
Soon the search ended, and they dropped away from the carriage.
Bex’s expression was quite subtle. It was a natural reaction—nothing had been found.
“Tsk, how ignorant. Creating extra work for yourself.”
“……Continue.”
Bex cleared his throat awkwardly and averted his gaze.
I nodded lightly.
“Next.”
“Next! Come quickly!”
Bex called out orders in a loud voice.
Soon the next carriage was positioned ahead, and I gestured lightly with my Guard Staff.
Blue light scanned across the carriage. There was no unusual reaction.
“Proceed.”
“Proceed! Move it, move it!”
Bex shouted from beside me as if he’d never raised objections at all.
The line of carriages moved steadily forward. Three times faster than when Volcan had been doing it.
It was natural.
I was just casting a basic Light Magic.
“Magic really is incredible.”
“Magic is the best!”
As the line moved quickly, the Guard Unit members’ attitudes changed dramatically.
Especially Bex, who had raised objections earlier, now stuck to my side like a subordinate, shouting enthusiastically.
The atmosphere was quite pleasant.
No one even mentioned Volcan anymore.
* * *
— Oh, so your parents are Barbarians.
Volcan retched repeatedly. Only when no more saliva came did he stop.
Volcan wiped his face, streaked with saliva and tears, vigorously.
Volcan’s parents were Barbarians.
Not just Barbarians—they were a Tribal Chief.
— You are our vanguard. You must be stronger. It is not about eating. It is about becoming one.
He felt anger toward Grave for forcibly dredging up memories he’d buried so carefully. But Volcan deliberately shook his head.
‘He was probably just curious and asking.’
Most people who saw Volcan’s dark skin immediately thought of Barbarians. The newcomer had simply been one of them.
The reason he couldn’t deny it was that Volcan’s parents really were Barbarians. The newcomer had done nothing wrong.
If anything, the fault was Volcan’s.
Abandoning his post during duty—he was the worst kind of senior.
‘First, I need to get back quickly.’
With inspections piling up like a mountain, chaos must have erupted the moment Volcan left his post.
Volcan wiped his face once more before heading back to the inspection gate.
When he arrived, he found the newcomer conducting the inspections alone.
It was clear the Guard Unit members had made him do it.
How panicked must the newcomer be?
Volcan suppressed a smug feeling and made his way toward Bex, the team leader.
“I apologize. Something urgent came up suddenly—”
“Oh, Volcan, you’re back. It’s fine.”
Bex waved his hand dismissively.
It was an unexpected response. With so much work still piled up, yet he said it was fine—
“We have Grave handling it.”
Why was the newcomer’s name being mentioned here—? As Volcan turned in confusion, he was startled.
Beyond the Rear Gate, there had been a long line of carriages, but now only a handful remained.
“Next.”
At that moment, the newcomer spoke, waving his Guard Staff. His manner was quite arrogant for a newcomer.
The problem was—
“Next! Move, move!”
“Grave! Grave!”
The instant the newcomer finished speaking, chants of acknowledgment came from every direction. They were even chanting his name. It was a bewildering scene.
Then another carriage pulled up in front of the newcomer. The newcomer tilted his Guard Staff and approached the carriage.
‘How well does he work?’
If the newcomer truly worked that well, Volcan needed to watch and learn. He focused intently on the newcomer.
The newcomer extended his Guard Staff toward the carriage. A burst of light poured from it.
‘……Magic?’
Light enveloped the carriage once.
Ohs of admiration erupted from all around.
The light that enveloped the carriage was indeed quite spectacular.
“Proceed.”
“He said proceed!”
“Move, move!”
At the newcomer’s word, the Guard Unit members moved in perfect unison. The carriage passed through.
“Wait!”
Volcan hurriedly blocked the carriage.
“What’s the matter?”
Bex asked, looking at Volcan. His eyes were openly filled with disdain.
“Did you really conduct a thorough search?”
“Ignorant fellow. Don’t you know—ma-gic. Ma-gic.”
Bex boasted as he repeated “ma-gic.”
“I understand magic exists, but magic isn’t omnipotent. If such a simple Detection Magic worked, wouldn’t Elisium Academy have installed it long ago?”
Volcan raised a rational objection, but the response remained the same.
“Ignorant fellow. There’s ma-gic, I’m telling you. Ma-gic.”
“Not even knowing about ma-gic. Tsk tsk.”
Everyone was droning on about “ma-gic.” There was no way to reason with this atmosphere.
Though bewildered, Volcan couldn’t simply let it slide. Inspections were directly tied to the Academy’s security.
There was only one thing Volcan could do.
“Just to be safe, I’ll conduct a secondary verification.”
Volcan seized the carriage that had been cleared and spoke.
The Guard Unit members openly clicked their tongues at the sight of Volcan.
“Creating work for himself.”
Volcan silently searched the carriage. His movements were faster and more meticulous than before.
Yet nothing turned up.
Nothing at all.
The Guard Unit members’ reproach and ridicule grew louder. They even shoved Volcan, telling him to hurry up.
At that point, Volcan couldn’t help but waver.
Volcan turned his gaze toward the newcomer.
‘Can it really be done with magic?’
The newcomer waved his Guard Staff and spoke.
“Proceed.”
Volcan’s heart grew confused.
* * *
“Is it really possible to conduct an inspection with magic?”
Mailo grinned and asked. He was quite cocky about it.
I smiled back and answered.
“No.”
“As I thought—. What?”
“It doesn’t work. If inspections could be done with a snap of the fingers, I’d be a Great Mage.”
“Then what is this?”
“Light Magic. A basic spell.”
“……So the inspection doesn’t work then?”
Mailo asked in a startled voice.
“Light Magic has no inspection function.”
“Then how are you inspecting—”
“But I can leave a mark for the Headmaster to inspect instead.”
“……What? Who are you leaving the mark for?”
“The Headmaster.”
The doubt in Mailo’s eyes deepened.
I waved the Guard Staff lightly.
The Headmaster, a witch’s mother and a Great Mage, was extremely cautious. She’d even installed Magic Circles at the Guard Unit entrance examination.
Whenever she saw a need, the Headmaster installed a Magic Circle first. Of course, that included both the Main Gate and the Rear Gate.
The high-rank Magic Circle installed at both gates—that was the Headmaster’s handiwork.
Of course, the Headmaster’s Magic Circle didn’t activate at just any time. High-rank Magic Circles consumed Mana Stones heavily.
How many people passed through the Academy daily? No matter how wealthy the Headmaster was, using high-rank Magic Circles for all of them was inefficient.
That’s why the Headmaster’s Magic Circle only activated at certain levels and above.
In other words, leaving any traces above a certain threshold meant the Headmaster’s inspection was automatic.
That was why I was embedding Mana into the carriages.
No matter how thoroughly Volcan inspected, he couldn’t be more thorough than the Headmaster’s Magic Circle.
Of course, there was a definite downside.
A high-rank Magic Circle consumed enormous amounts of Mana Stones.
Using such high-rank Magic Circles for inspections was like deploying a tank to swat a fly.
It was a serious waste, but I didn’t particularly care.
‘It’s not my money anyway.’
It was the Headmaster’s money.

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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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