Academy’s New Guard is Unusual - Chapter 52

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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 52
Logan, the Student Affairs Director, despised the Republic.
There were several reasons for this.
The first was that the Republic had destroyed his family.
The second was that his wife had actually been a Republican spy.
The third was that the wife he’d forgiven for claiming she’d start a new life remained a Republican to the end.
The fourth was that his wife ultimately killed their son and then took her own life.
For these four reasons, Logan despised the Republic.
After that, Logan suspected everything of being the work of Republicans. Every morning he woke breathing in the stench of Republicans, and at night he fell asleep imagining wringing their necks.
People around him had begun calling him paranoid about the Republic.
He sometimes wished it were only paranoia.
But the scent of the Republic wafted from his one and only disciple, whom he’d raised like a daughter.
“Have you eaten?”
“Yes.”
Evelyn, answering curtly, turned her gaze toward the Security Chief. As if there was nothing more to discuss.
Logan smiled bitterly while stroking his beard.
“Chief.”
“Oh, yes. Evelyn.”
“Don’t touch our Newcomer.”
“……Our Newcomer?”
The Security Chief asked in bewilderment. Evelyn nodded lightly.
“Yeah, he’s my boyfriend.”
“Your boyfriend?!”
For a moment, Logan raised his voice without thinking. But Evelyn didn’t even glance at him, answering while looking at the Security Chief.
“Still preliminary, though.”
At Evelyn’s indifferent response, Logan unconsciously pressed his middle finger hard against his temple.
He’d ordered Grave to approach Evelyn, but truthfully, he’d held little hope.
He knew Evelyn’s extreme wariness. Except when drinking, she never let anyone close to her.
Yet the word “boyfriend” had come from Evelyn’s lips—his junior’s ability seemed quite remarkable.
Since Evelyn clearly wouldn’t answer even if asked, Logan rose from his seat.
The Security Chief rose as well, but Evelyn didn’t spare him a glance.
Before leaving the room, Logan spoke while looking at Evelyn.
“Be careful with men.”
Evelyn never looked back at Logan.
Logan thought it was fortunate.
Once outside, Logan placed a cigar between his lips.
Logan and the Intelligence Agency had parted on poor terms. It was what they called a dishonorable discharge.
It didn’t matter much. Logan held no attachment to the Intelligence Agency either.
Only now, one attachment had taken root.
‘What was his name again? Grave?’
Logan seriously pondered whether to ask the Intelligence Agency about Grave’s background. Of course, there was a high likelihood they wouldn’t answer even if he asked.
The Intelligence Agency was extremely sensitive about security.
Still, there was a way.
‘If I ask the Director, he might tell me.’
In exchange, Logan would become extraordinarily annoyed. Yet he seriously considered whether to reach out.
‘……Since she said it’s still preliminary. Later.’
Logan tapped the ash from his cigar and walked on.
* * *
The person in the Security Corps one must be most careful with is neither the Security Chief nor Evelyn, the Republican executive.
It is Hanswell, the vice-captain of Team 42.
Hanswell is the Headmaster’s trigger button. Touch him wrong and the Headmaster appears instantly.
The Headmaster is the Empire’s Sword Sage, the second-strongest knight on the continent. And right now, the Headmaster had even absorbed a Fragment of the Outer God.
There’s no winning against him now.
Not unless I absorb more Fragments of the Outer God.
Anyway, it was best not to provoke Hanswell right now. It was the reason I moved carefully in the Security Corps.
“You unified seven squads by force? Are you out of your mind?!”
Hanswell’s brows furrowed harshly. A warning sign.
“I told Milo to teach the Newcomer the job, but what exactly did he teach him!”
“No, I didn’t teach him anything…….”
“Milo’s picked up some bad habits. I should’ve paired him with Ludrick or Volkan instead.”
Milo stared at me with an aggrieved expression. I raised one hand lightly.
“It was a necessary action.”
“……Necessary? What could possibly necessitate knocking down seven squad leaders? And settling things with fists, then absorbing other squads beneath you—do you think the Security Corps is a neighborhood gang?”
I glanced sidelong at Milo as if to say, well, what about this? Hanswell cleared his throat, apparently embarrassed.
“Of course, it’s true the Security Corps’ quality has declined somewhat, but even so, there’s no precedent for using fists to absorb other squads.”
Hanswell spoke firmly with a stern face.
I posed a counter-question calmly.
“Do you know what I thought when I went out on support duty?”
“What was it?”
“Frustration.”
“……Frustration?”
“Yes, tremendous frustration. When we go out on support duty, we’re only given menial tasks. That’s because we don’t understand those operations. So we should be taught, but how could the squad requesting support have the capacity to teach us when they’re short-staffed?”
“They couldn’t.”
“Exactly. It’s a vicious cycle. Milo probably wasn’t always like that.”
“Actually, Milo was always like that, but—”
I looked at Milo again. He scratched the back of his head sheepishly.
Tsk. I clicked my tongue and continued.
“Anyway, the important thing is that the current system is inefficient. The support squad is too small compared to the total number of squads. Isn’t ours the only one?”
“Well, that’s true, but……”
“Moreover, to properly support others, we’d need to be fluent in every other squad’s operations. And it’s quite likely those skilled Security Corps members exist in other squads, not Team 42. Yet all support requests come to us.”
“That’s because we’re the support squad……”
“This is all because there’s no head directing things properly.”
“……No, no head?”
“Yes. The Security Chief hasn’t distributed personnel organically, so manpower gets tangled.”
“Mm, that’s not wrong. I’ve mentioned that point several times myself, but the Security Chief doesn’t listen.”
So he’s given the Security Chief a piece of his mind too. I marveled at Hanswell anew.
“Yes, the Security Chief won’t change. So what should we do?”
“We’ll have to file protests until he does!”
“That will take too long, so a temporary solution is needed.”
“A temporary solution would be?”
“Change the head.”
“Change the head?”
Hanswell blinked. I nodded lightly.
“Then unifying seven squads was——”
“Yes, it was for normalizing the Security Corps.”
“Ah……”
Hanswell exhaled what sounded like a deep sigh of appreciation. Milo stared at me in disbelief, but I ignored him lightly.
“Of course, using force isn’t right, but this is a matter involving the safety of our students. We can’t afford to be picky about means and methods.”
I held out my fist firmly. The lines around Hanswell’s eyes deepened.
“I understand what you mean. However, the importance of the goal doesn’t justify the morality of the means. I’ll handle the mess you’ve caused, so let’s call it here.”
He was truly consistent, like a pillar of integrity. I nodded lightly.
“Then you’ll redistribute duties right away?”
“……Redistribute duties?”
“Yes, come in.”
With a curt command, the door opened and the squad leaders shuffled in. They looked like students called to the Academic Affairs office.
“I don’t know much about operations. It would be better if you distributed the duties, sir.”
Normally the squad leader handles duty distribution. But I’d already dumped Evelyn’s work on Hanswell, and now I was piling the duties of seven squad leaders onto him as well.
Most people would throw a fit and fly into a rage, but Hanswell——
“W-wait, you’re really letting me distribute the duties?”
His expression was as delighted as a child who’d just received a gift from Santa.
At any rate, he was not normal.
“Yes, feel free to do as you please.”
“Then I’ll start the redistribution right away. Squad 18’s jurisdiction is the Combat Training Ground, right? I heard there’s no Training Ground use scheduled today. So we’ll have you support Squad 22, which handles the Clock Tower. And Squad 24……”
Hanswell poured out words as if he’d been waiting for this.
‘How does he know the jurisdictions and duties of the other squads?’
It was enough to feel like madness. I unconsciously stepped back half a pace.
“……That’s all. Any questions? Feel free to ask.”
No one objected or asked anything. The squad leaders stared at Hanswell as if bewitched.
‘Normalization might happen sooner than I thought.’
I muttered inwardly while watching Hanswell smile contentedly.
Then the door burst open and someone rushed in.
“I heard the Newcomer unified seven squads! Hey, let’s fight! I’m Mongmarda, captain of Squad 21!”
He’d apparently heard the rumors.
I would normally have accepted immediately, but Hanswell was here. I couldn’t accept——
“Ahem, I suppose I should finish wrapping up the duty redistribution.”
Hanswell murmured awkwardly and vanished.
As if he’d seen nothing.
I chuckled and loosened my hands.
“Alright, I’ll count to three. Then we start.”
“You’re on!”
“Three.”
“Eh?!!”
Seven squads became eight.
* * *
The Academic Affairs Department manages faculty, the Student Affairs Department manages students, and the Administrative Department handles patronage and finances. These were the major organizations at Elysium Academy.
Logan was the head of the Student Affairs Department. He was a Sword Master and a former member of the Intelligence Agency. He was among the five most important figures in the academy.
Considering that those above him were difficult to approach, Logan could reasonably be seen as the most crucial person to me right now.
One misstep and Logan would cling to me persistently. I knew well how relentless Logan could be, having experienced it even in the game.
I had to maintain a good relationship with Logan at all costs. It was why I’d even lied about being from the Intelligence Agency.
Thanks to that, I’d grown quite close to Logan.
Or so I thought——
‘Why did it turn hostile.’
I swallowed inwardly while looking at Logan.
Logan had called me here and was staring at me silently. His gaze was filled with sinister intent.
‘Did the Security Corps unification draw his attention?’
Or perhaps the assistant instructor work had been the problem——
Then Logan’s firmly closed lips opened.
“I hear you’re Evelyn’s prospective boyfriend.”
Only then did I grasp the situation.
The misunderstanding about Evelyn had reached Logan’s ears. For a paranoid Republican-hater like Logan, it was enough to make his eyes flip.
I shook my head.
“Absolutely not.”
“Absolutely not?”
“Yes. I wouldn’t be dating a suspected Republican, would I?”
At that, the light in Logan’s eyes eased somewhat.
“Right. Dating a suspected Republican means summary execution.”
It was rather grim, but for someone from the Intelligence Agency, it was understandable, so I quickly nodded again.
“Yes, it’s not my type either.”
“Hmm? What’s wrong with Evelyn?”
Logan’s voice rose slightly. When I stared at him, Logan coughed quietly.
“Well, objectively she’s a beauty, isn’t she?”
“Ah, yes. But I dislike red hair.”
“You dislike red hair?”
“Yes, very much so.”
Logan studied me intently.
Since I meant it sincerely, I didn’t avoid his gaze.
Soon Logan nodded with satisfaction.
“That’s an excellent attitude. Doesn’t sound like a typical newcomer. Very excellent. You must never entangle yourself romantically with Republicans. If you do even slightly, it will haunt your career forever.”
Logan tapped the ash from his cigar. The acrid smoke stung my nose.
“You’re doing a lot of different things.”
“Yes, I figured it would draw less attention to do various tasks during the noisy start of the semester.”
“You’re full of enthusiasm. It’s the right time for it.”
When I offered a prepared answer, Logan chuckled. He seemed to be in a good mood.
“Work hard. I’ve already told the Security Chief.”
Logan patted my shoulder as he spoke.
It was quite reassuring.
“Yes, sir!!”
I snapped to attention.

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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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