Academy’s New Guard is Unusual - Chapter 47

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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 47
“Sword Saint, if I may—”
Hans’s eyes gleamed like a boy’s.
He seemed utterly convinced I was the Sword Saint.
When I wondered if he was trusting too easily, Hans mumbled softly to himself.
“W-well, you weren’t just an ordinary guard after all! I had no choice but to lose! Because you’re the Sword Saint!”
Rather than accept that he’d been beaten by a new guard, he preferred to believe the new guard was actually a Sword Saint hiding their true strength.
‘That settles the broken sword problem.’
Of course, breaking the Desant Sword wasn’t something the teaching assistant Hans could cover up, but Hans’s supervising professor was Rocksveil.
There was no way Rocksveil would overlook a teaching assistant’s mistake that occurred while running his errands.
‘He’ll claim responsibility himself.’
If Rocksveil, the Knight of Radiance, spoke up, it would pass without issue.
I was happy to hand over the Desant Sword despite breaking it, Hans was delighted to have met the Sword Saint, and Rocksveil had done a good deed—a win-win-win transaction where no one lost.
Then Hans asked very carefully.
“But tell me, who is the star of the next generation?”
At his question, I paused to consider.
I’d played through the game thousands of times, but only one character ever reached the rank of Sword Saint.
‘The Crown Prince.’
The Crown Prince was the only character whose Aura Stat reached S+. In the game, only the Crown Prince could attain Sword Saint.
If I said the Crown Prince, Hans would understand easily. Besides, even now the Crown Prince was widely considered the greatest prodigy in history.
Still, the Crown Prince was ultimately just a supporting character.
The protagonist was singular.
“Evangeline.”
“……Evangeline? Ah, that student who showed no reaction when she held the Desant Sword earlier? And she kept retrying but—”
“The Desant Sword is a vessel that cannot contain her.”
I cut off Hans’s words curtly.
“Ah, I see.”
Hans nodded with a dissatisfied expression.
It was an understandable reaction. Evangeline’s appearance as she kept retrying was pathetic itself.
But that was only for now.
As the story progressed, Evangeline became increasingly vital. She eclipsed even the Crown Prince after he became a Sword Saint.
Moreover, hadn’t the rift opened earlier than scheduled?
Dangerous as it was, it also meant I’d found a way to cultivate Evangeline—good news overall.
“Then, what should I do?”
Hans asked in a grave voice. His expression looked almost saintly, like a martyr.
The legend of the Sword Saint contained the phrase: “All knights must follow the star.”
The Sword Saint is to knights what the North Star is to sailors.
I put on the weight and gravity befitting a Sword Saint.
I even channeled Divinity and Magic subtly. A faint aura rose, and a cool mist enhanced the effect.
“Does a star shine because it receives another’s help?”
“Ah—”
Hans let out a short sigh. I spoke as poetically as possible.
“A star must shine alone. Its light grows brighter the darker the night. If a star requires another’s aid to shine, then it is no star. We need only watch—watch as the star shines in solitude.”
“I understand. O Star.”
Hans dropped to one knee like a knight in an audience with the emperor, bowing his head deeply.
His eyes held reverence and longing.
He believed me completely.
“The star is heaven’s secret. Speak of it to no one.”
“Yes! Of course not!”
Hans answered promptly, then glanced around cautiously before asking quietly.
“But could I also receive a star?”
He had grand ambitions.
“Try raising your Aura.”
I pointed at the Desant Sword. Hans seized it firmly with newfound determination.
From the broken Desant Sword, an Aura rose—not light as before, but genuine power.
For his age, it was quite a respectable Aura.
Of course, that was all it was.
“Your Aura wavers.”
“Pardon?”
“Your Aura flickers like a candle before the wind. Your spirit lacks firmness.”
“Y-yes, that’s true.”
It was something anyone could say, but Hans, completely convinced I was the Sword Saint, resonated enthusiastically.
Hans stood between intermediate and advanced. What he needed now was Aura stability.
However, Aura stability couldn’t be grasped through mere words.
Besides, Hans was a teaching assistant. Professors had surely already given him all manner of advice. None of it had worked.
“You’ve heard all sorts of talk about Aura stability. But all of it was chasing clouds, wasn’t it?”
“Exactly!”
“Unlike Magic, Aura is the refinement of the soul itself. How do you explain sweat and blood with mere words?”
“Then what must I do?!”
Hans cried out desperately.
I understood. There were plenty who never advanced from intermediate to higher ranks in their entire lives.
Even Rocksveil, called the Knight of Radiance, couldn’t elevate another person’s rank.
Of course, neither could I. But I could at least point the way.
“You’ll grasp it by breaking your Aura.”
“B-breaking your Aura? What do you mean?”
“Exactly what I said—breaking your Aura.”
“If you break your Aura, doesn’t that kill you?”
“A common misconception. Breaking your Aura hurts so badly you’ll wish you were dead, but you won’t actually die.”
“……You won’t *actually* die?”
“Now, young man, raise your Aura high.”
“Wait—”
“Pain is fleeting. The star shines upon you.”
Hans protested, but I ignored him and raised my Aura through the Guard Staff.
I made the Aura as blunt as possible. The Guard Staff’s baton shape made it easy.
“Put your full strength into it. One slip and you might not walk again.”
I swung the Guard Staff swiftly. It struck Hans’s Aura roughly.
Crack! With a sharp sound, the Aura shattered.
“……!!”
Hans’s mouth fell open.
He looked like he’d been kicked in the groin—so much pain he couldn’t even scream.
‘What a dramatis.’
I clicked my tongue briefly and said.
“Now, raise your Aura again.”
As I repositioned the Guard Staff, Hans suddenly threw down his sword. Clang! It rolled across the floor.
Hans immediately dropped to his knees and threw his hands up.
“I’m unworthy of a star! Don’t waste your strength on an untouchable like me!!”
Then he prostrated himself entirely, begging.
“Hmm, doesn’t the star shine upon you?”
“That’s fine! How could I dare—!!”
“This is the fastest path to becoming an advanced knight.”
“Of course! The fast path is appealing but! I’d prefer to ascend slowly, savoring each step! The beauty of slowness, you know! Haha!”
Hans shook his head vigorously while sweat poured down his face.
It was actually a typical reaction.
The Southern Front where I had been stationed was widely considered the worst of the Empire’s many battlefields.
And the 444th Unit was made up of some of the toughest soldiers on that front.
I occasionally trained them, but even those 444th Unit soldiers usually collapsed saying they couldn’t go on.
‘Mailo enduring it is what’s strange.’
Still, this was my first time seeing someone surrender so immediately like Hans.
Knights usually had pride—they’d usually push through—but to give up after just one hit.
He was a different sort of person.
I put the Guard Staff away.
“I am the Sword Saint.”
“I believe you! Absolutely!!”
Hans threw his hands up and repeated it over and over, prostrating repeatedly. He almost looked like a fanatic. He clearly believed with absolute certainty.
I nodded with satisfaction.
Then the classroom’s front door swung open roughly and Evangeline rushed in.
“Found it!”
Evangeline pointed at the Desant Sword Hans had thrown down. Andy, entering behind her, tried to stop her.
“You’ve already retried how many times! It’ll be the same, I’m telling you!”
“This time is really different!”
“Different how—”
Evangeline had apparently been hunting for the Desant Sword to retry.
“Really the last time! Really! Really!”
Hans looked at me urgently.
When I gave a short nod, Hans watched Evangeline with an odd look in his eyes and handed her the sword. His gaze was like watching someone facing execution.
Of course, Evangeline interpreted it differently.
“Do you like me?”
“Huh?”
At Evangeline’s question, Hans was caught off guard.
Not that I could blame him—Evangeline’s face was mostly hidden behind the Dragonfly Goggles.
“Sorry, but you’re not my type. I’ll have to decline.”
“……What?”
Hans blinked stupidly.
Regardless, Evangeline smoothly took the Desant Sword.
“Phew—! This time is different!!”
Evangeline gripped the Desant Sword earnestly.
Of course, there was no response.
The Desant Sword had previously been able to reveal the Aura Stat of whoever held it because a Fragment of External Deity was embedded within it.
But I had already absorbed the Fragment of External Deity that was in the Desant Sword. There was no reason for any response when she grasped it.
Even if the Fragment of External Deity had still been there, it wouldn’t have responded to Evangeline like it had before.
But Evangeline didn’t know that.
“Why, why isn’t it glowing?!”
Evangeline’s face crumpled. Beyond the Dragonfly Goggles, her eyes seemed dimly visible, and desperation radiated from them.
‘She must be desperate.’
Evangeline had circumstances.
Because of that unfortunate beauty, her house fell into ruin, her younger sibling vanished, and her parents were hanged.
Yet Evangeline hadn’t given up. Her goal was to rebuild her house, find her missing sibling, and restore her parents’ honor.
Right now, Evangeline desperately needed talent.
Probably when her Aura Stat rose this time, she caught a glimpse of hope.
That was why Evangeline kept retrying again and again.
Why she clutched the sword so desperately, like a priest clinging to scripture.
‘How foolish.’
I clicked my tongue and stepped forward.
“This is how you hold the sword.”
I shifted Evangeline’s fingers, adjusting her hand position. Evangeline looked up at me.
“Close your mouth and hold your breath.”
“O-okay.”
“Close your mouth.”
Evangeline pressed her lips shut. Her lips trembled slightly.
“Aura breathing depends on controlling the intensity. Breathe in to your limit, then hold it.”
Evangeline’s eyebrows twitched.
She seemed to be asking how long to hold it.
I whispered into Evangeline’s ear.
“Until just before death.”
I covered Evangeline’s mouth with one hand.
Evangeline shuddered slightly.
More.
Veins rose on Evangeline’s neck.
More.
Her hand gripping the sword trembled.
More.
A fine tremor rippled through the hand covering her mouth.
Just as that tremor was fading—
“Exhale with all your might.”
I released my hand and whispered.
Whoooosh—!
Evangeline breathed out roughly.
Her warm breath tickled my hand.
At the same moment, blue light bloomed from the sword.
It was a clear Aura.
“It worked, it actually worked!”
Of course, Evangeline’s Aura was pathetic.
It wavered constantly and was fragile.
It was almost insulting to compare it to Hans’s.
Yet Evangeline smiled brilliantly.
I smiled back at her and said.
“Excellent.”
I meant it.
For Evangeline, this was truly excellent.
“Ah……”
Evangeline looked up at me.
The Dragonfly Goggles had slipped down. Those impossibly large blue eyes gleamed as if they held stars themselves.
An utterly inhuman beauty.
No word could capture it. “Beautiful” didn’t even come close.
I finally understood why people like the Crown Prince or the successor of the Mage Tower—people who wanted for nothing—lost their minds over Evangeline.
Only then did I realize our eyes had met.
The distance was far too close.
A soft breath, like a gasp, escaped.
So I pushed her Dragonfly Goggles up and said.
“Don’t fall for me.”
……Huh?
Evangeline blinked blankly.

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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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