Academy’s New Guard is Unusual - Chapter 37

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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 37
‘Luna, Rosa, Vivien, Andy, Evangeline. Thank goodness they’re all here.’
I nodded with satisfaction as I surveyed the cluster of Failing Class students.
However, we were still in the Course Registration Adjustment Period. I had to ensure these failures continued attending Leon’s lectures.
The problem was that failures were even more finicky. Honestly, figures like the Crown Prince were easier to manipulate than Failing Class students. A mere glimpse of my abilities would be enough to make them register. But not these ones gathered here. They required a customized strategy tailored to each.
They needed individualized tactics.
Having Leon call on them one by one in front of the other students was itself part of my strategy.
You could tell just by looking at Luna.
“Kekeke, so there’s someone who recognizes my true nature.”
After being called on just once, she was already grinning with delight, her shoulders trembling.
‘Luna. Advanced Chuunibyou.’
Luna was a small girl with black hair. Objectively, her appearance was passable, but the problem was her atmosphere.
Her posture was somehow slanted, her smile gloomy, and her laughter bizarre.
She was unmistakably in advanced Chuunibyou territory. The real problem was that this wasn’t an act—it was genuine.
I had one reason for choosing Luna despite her obvious Failing Class status.
‘Luna later contracts with a Greater Demon.’
A Black Mage’s power is divided according to the rank of the demon they contract with. A Black Mage who contracts with a Greater Demon ranks as a Sword Master among knights.
Luna wasn’t great because she could contract with a Greater Demon. It was only possible because she caught the Greater Demon’s eye.
Catching a Greater Demon’s eye was the greatest talent a Black Mage could have, but the problem was that Luna’s fundamentals were severely lacking.
As it stood, Luna would be consumed by the Greater Demon, transforming into one of the catastrophes.
But what if I could solidify Luna’s fundamentals beforehand?
‘I could prevent one catastrophe while simultaneously creating a Lord of Death—far more precious than a Sword Master.’
That was why I chose Luna.
As I approached, Luna flinched visibly. She looked frightened.
But soon she forced an indifferent expression, flashing a gloomy smile.
“Kekeke, I am no one’s subordinate.”
In the game, Luna never registered for any classes for this very reason, and ended up receiving the second-most demerits among first-year students.
Of course, Evangeline was first.
I straightened my posture and whispered mysteriously to Luna.
“What an honor to behold you, Luna, Lord of Darkness, Ruler of the Night.”
My insides twisted, but I endured it, thinking of the one Lord of Death I’d gain.
“Kekeke, you saw through it? I had veiled it with a barrier.”
Luna answered while covering one eye. She deliberately dragged her voice, but unfortunately it came out as a child’s voice.
“How could one veil the sun?”
“Kekeke, true. No barrier could hide my very existence.”
“Indeed, it is an honor. Lord of Darkness.”
“Lord of Darkness—”
Luna’s expression went dreamy. Spittle trickled slightly from the corner of her mouth. It was disgusting.
I swallowed my irritation and added:
“With so many eyes upon us, I cannot speak at length, but grant me the honor of serving the Lord of Darkness.”
“Kekeke, you must serve me properly.”
“Indeed, have faith in me.”
I meant it sincerely. I fully intended to work her thoroughly.
I bowed and quietly withdrew.
Next was—
‘Rosa. Gang thug turned nun.’
Her school uniform was cut as short as the rules would allow, tattoos visible here and there, piercings in her ears.
Her appearance was that of a thug through and through, but Rosa was nonetheless a legitimate candidate for sainthood.
The Church Nation had countless saint candidates. There was even another saint candidate among Elysium Academy’s first-year class.
For Rosa, ranked last, to become a saint would require all the candidates ahead of her to die.
In the game, there was indeed a route where Rosa became a saint.
The last Rosa to achieve sainthood received the grand title of “Final Saint,” but in reality, she was just dead last.
The reason Rosa ranked lowest among saint candidates was simple.
‘Rosa doesn’t believe in God.’
I have no idea why an unbeliever like Rosa became a saint candidate.
I remembered Rosa because of her specialty.
Holy Power comes in three main types.
Healing for recovery, Blessing for buffs, and Judgment which deals damage to evil.
Rosa had no talent in Healing or Blessing. Even after becoming the Final Saint, her Healing and Blessing remained weaker than most priests.
Instead, Rosa’s Holy Power was entirely concentrated in Judgment.
The Church Nation prioritized Blessing above all. Next came Healing, and Judgment was almost entirely neglected. Judgment worked only against Black Magic.
That was why Rosa, a saint candidate, was essentially abandoned by the Church Nation.
But my thinking differed.
As the game story progressed, matchups became increasingly important.
Knights had to counter mages, mages had to counter Black Mages, and priests had to—
‘Counter Black Mages.’
What was needed for that wasn’t Healing or Blessing, but Judgment.
That was why I chose Rosa.
Because Rosa had natural talent for Judgment.
Just then, our eyes met. Her heavily made-up eyes sharpened.
“What’re you staring at?”
Her voice was sharp, but to someone who’d crawled through fields where curses were a morning greeting, it was almost endearing.
I recalled Rosa’s information.
Elysium Academy was student-friendly. They rarely punished students for minor infractions.
Yet Rosa had been disciplined multiple times at Elysium Academy.
The reasons varied.
Smoking on campus, indecent exposure, and—
‘Unauthorized departure.’
Elysium Academy fundamentally prohibited leaving campus. Unless circumstances were exceptional, students couldn’t go outside.
To leave, one had to either accompany a professor or obtain permission from the student office.
But Rosa constantly left without authorization. Even after receiving suspension, she didn’t stop.
‘There must be a reason she needs to leave.’
I couldn’t determine what that reason was at present. It wasn’t particularly important anyway.
What mattered was that Rosa wanted to go outside.
“Professor Leon mentioned that if you register for his lectures, he’d go out with you once a week.”
Rosa’s eyes widened.
A stark contrast to her earlier demeanor.
“…Really?”
Rosa asked, fixing Leon with her sharpened gaze.
I looked at Leon and nodded. Leon followed suit and nodded.
Rosa’s lips trembled slightly. But unlike Luna, she didn’t immediately cave.
Rosa held up two fingers toward Leon.
“Twice.”
“If you participate earnestly in class.”
“Deal.”
“Good.”
Rosa flashed a radiant smile. It was exactly like a cat who’d stolen fish.
Whether it was once or twice didn’t matter to me—Leon was the one going out anyway.
‘Rosa’s settled. Next—’
Just then, Andy raised his hand. His face showed urgency.
“Boss, am I really in here?”
Andy gestured subtly at the others beside him while asking.
He seemed to be questioning whether he truly belonged in this Failing Class section.
In fact, Andy wasn’t technically a Failing Class student. His only problem was being a pauper with a backbone smaller than a grain of rice.
‘Hmm, though he basically seems like a failure too.’
I nodded lightly.
“But I—”
“Five Gold Coins.”
“No, Boss. It’s not a matter of money—”
“Ten Gold Coins.”
“Seriously, it’s not about the money.”
“Fifty Gold Coins.”
Andy’s mouth fell open. His face looked as if he’d been slapped.
As I was about to say something more, Andy frantically nodded.
“Y-Yes! I’ll do it! Please!”
Andy yelped in terror, preemptively giving in.
‘Andy’s done with—’
As I turned my gaze, I saw Evangeline. She held her chin up as if saying, ‘Go ahead and try.’
Of course, Evangeline was the center of the Failing Class. If this section had a class representative, it should naturally be Evangeline.
But Evangeline didn’t need persuasion. Once Andy registered, Evangeline would follow suit anyway.
I ignored Evangeline and turned my gaze elsewhere.
One person remained.
‘Vivien. The disgrace of the royal family.’
Vivien was short and plump. Instead of a sword, she held jerky in her hand.
No matter how charitably I looked at her, she didn’t suit being a knight.
Vivien was the polar opposite of the Crown Prince.
Where the Crown Prince was flawless and perfect, Vivien lacked excellence in every way.
She was short, plump, had meager talent, lacked perseverance, and had an extremely timid personality.
In fact, Vivien’s entrance exam score was second from last. With Evangeline dead last, Vivien was essentially the bottom of the class.
Considering most of the royal family, including the Crown Prince, ranked at the very top of entrance exam scores, Vivien was like a mutation. It was no wonder she was called the disgrace of the royal family.
But even a snail has its trick, and Vivien had one talent.
‘The Late Bloomer characteristic.’
Normally, people learn quickly at first, but as their rank increases, their learning slows.
Vivien, conversely, learned slowly at first and remained equally slow throughout.
This might sound worthless, but the key was that her late-stage growth speed was ‘identical’ to her early-stage growth speed.
Normally, the more one grows, the slower growth becomes. Especially upon reaching a certain level, growth nearly stops.
Even I, with S-rank stats, had no choice but to consume Fragments of External Deity for continued growth.
But Vivien’s late-stage growth remained ‘identical’ to her early stage.
If the Crown Prince grows at 100 speed early and 0.01 speed late, Vivien grows at 1 speed both early and late.
Though she’s 100 times slower early on, by late game she’s 100 times faster than the Crown Prince.
That was why Vivien earned the title “Slow Genius.”
And why I chose her.
I can’t influence the epiphanies of late-game growth, but early-game epiphanies are well within my reach.
“I-I shall take my leave.”
Just then, Vivien backed away with a panicked expression.
Mylo, posted at the back door, looked at me and jerked his chin—asking if I wanted him to grab her. I lightly shook my head.
This was still the orientation. Forcing her to register would cause problems.
Vivien was particularly sensitive to such things. I needed to persuade her carefully.
The method for persuading Vivien was simple.
“Well, all the other classes have members of the royal family in them.”
At the word ‘royal family,’ Vivien’s face went pale.
Vivien’s weakness was the royal family.
She feared them. Especially the Crown Prince.
“If you’re unlucky, you might even have lectures with the Crown Prince.”
Just the thought made Vivien tremble.
“But this class will only have these people. No royal family. No Crown Prince.”
I whispered gently to Vivien.
Vivien’s eyes widened.
“Is… is that true?”
“It is.”
“I shall register!”
“Good thinking.”
I patted Vivien’s shoulder.
* * *
‘Something’s wrong.’
Andy gazed around at the students seated nearby, swallowing hard.
The gang girl kicking her bare legs on the desk, the pig constantly eating something, the small kid with a creepy grin—they were all problems.
But the biggest problem was—
“…This might be doable?”
Evangeline, looking at this lineup, brimming with confidence.

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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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