Academy’s New Guard is Unusual - Chapter 72

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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 72
Because time moved differently in the Rift, Evangeline and Andy were nowhere to be seen.
There was no need to go looking for them.
The Forest of Disappearance was, in a manner of speaking, a Rift itself.
Evangeline would find her way back.
“Found them! They’re here! My instincts were right!”
Sure enough, Evangeline and Andy appeared shortly after.
The problem was—
‘Why are they tangled together like that?’
Evangeline and Andy were locked in an embrace.
More precisely, Evangeline was sitting on top of Andy.
“Evangeline! Get off!”
“No way! The ground’s probably all wet down there!”
“What—?”
“There’s mud everywhere!”
“What about me, then!!”
“You’re already covered in it anyway!”
“Ugh!”
Finally losing patience, Andy hurled Evangeline off.
“Ahhhhhhh!”
Evangeline tumbled across the swamp, rolling and rolling like a perfect slapstick act from a comedy sketch.
After rolling for what seemed like forever, she skidded to a stop right in front of me.
“Huh? What is this adorable thing!”
Evangeline’s eyes fixed on Kuga.
Kuga! The creature dipped its head respectfully.
“Wow! So cute! What is this! I’m losing my mind!”
“Kuga!”
Evangeline reached out her hand toward Kuga.
A ripple.
“Kuga.”
Kuga nimbly dodged her hand and shook its head.
“What? You said I’m too slow? Come on, just let me pet you once!”
“Kuga!”
Evangeline charged forward in frustration, but Kuga sidestepped with ease.
A ripple.
“Kuga?”
“What? That’s all you’ve got?! This is maddening!!”
“Kuga!”
“I’ll show you! My true feelings!”
The two of them played and chased each other for quite some time.
I ignored them and turned my attention to Milo.
“Where’s Darkin?”
“Oh! Darkin!”
Milo jolted up in alarm. Darkin was stuck upside-down a short distance away.
“Hmm, why is he like this? I could’ve sworn I planted him right-side up. Hey, student! Wake up! You can’t sleep in a place like this!”
Smack! Smack! Milo roughly wiped the mud off Darkin’s face.
It was practically a slap.
“Ugh!!”
Darkin’s eyes snapped open with a loud cry. Mud crumbled from his mouth.
“Student, are you with us?”
“……Traitor! You’re a traitor!”
The moment Darkin saw Milo, he began thrashing about and shouting, then immediately tried to throw a punch.
It was quite a sharp attack, but Milo dodged it without effort.
I clicked my tongue and stepped forward.
“Darkin.”
“……Your Highness Knight!”
The instant Darkin saw me, he started and straightened his posture.
The effect of displaying the Sword Technique Display seemed to have worked.
I adopted a stern expression and spoke.
“You fell under the illusion of a phantom.”
“A, a phantom’s illusion?”
“Yes. We saved you just before the phantom could take you over.”
“……Didn’t we deal with all the phantoms?”
“There was one hiding.”
Confusion crossed Darkin’s face.
“The back of my head hurts terribly?”
“The phantom hit you.”
“……You mean the phantom struck the back of my head?”
“Yes. Or did you think we were trying to kidnap you?”
“That’s true, but—”
“Then there you have it.”
I spoke flatly. At my words, Darkin’s bewildered expression eased considerably.
“Thank you for saving me.”
Darkin bowed deeply. Guilt flickered across Milo’s face.
“Don’t thank us. It’s the Security Corps’ duty anyway.”
“But what about that Sword Technique Display from earlier—”
“Classified.”
“……Classified?”
A question mark appeared on Darkin’s face. Milo grabbed his shoulder.
“Classified, kid. Classified. You’re not supposed to know.”
“Ah, understood.”
Darkin nodded hurriedly.
Milo looked oddly pleased with himself.
“Let’s head out.”
The operation had taken longer than expected.
It was best to leave as quickly as possible.
The problem was—
“Meow.”
A black cat had appeared.
Its fur gleamed as if freshly oiled.
This was the Forest of Disappearance.
There was no way a cat should be here. Especially not one wearing a Pointed Hat.
In the first place, there was only one cat in the world that wore a Pointed Hat.
‘Why is the Director here?’
Then someone burst forward.
It was Evangeline. She moved so fast there was no time to stop her.
Evangeline immediately rushed toward the cat.
And—
“Blackie! So adorable!”
Pat pat!
Evangeline tapped the Director’s backside.
My mind went blank.
* * *
Elysium Academy’s upper leadership consisted of the Principal, the Vice Principal, and the Director.
Apart from the final boss—the Outer Deity—these three were the most dangerous villains.
The strongest of the three was the Principal.
The Principal had been the second-strongest knight in the Empire to begin with. On top of that, he had consumed a Fragment of Outer Deity, making him the most powerful in terms of combat ability alone.
The most troublesome of the three was the Vice Principal.
The Vice Principal’s personal combat strength was the weakest of the three, but he possessed considerable political power. He also commanded the most personnel.
In particular, the army of Holy Knights created by implanting Fragments of Outer Deity was a major threat.
But the most dangerous of the three was the Director.
The Director, mother of the witch, was meticulous in preparation.
The Director had installed Magic Formations throughout Elysium Academy. The one I used during my inspection at the Back Gate was among them.
Such sinister Magic Formations existed in various places throughout the school.
In other words, Elysium Academy itself was the Director’s domain. Even the Principal couldn’t be certain of victory against the Director within school grounds.
However, the Director rarely moved without good reason.
So why would the Director emerge from the Forest of Disappearance now?
Worse still was the fact that I had just sealed the Rift.
I was trying to think of how to explain this when—
“Blackie, you precious thing.”
Evangeline immediately patted the Director’s backside again.
The Director stared at Evangeline with bewildered eyes.
It was well known that the Director traveled in cat form when outside.
The Director had even walked onto the stage as a cat during the Entrance Ceremony.
Most students knew the Director was a cat.
But Evangeline was far from ordinary.
“Blackie! Bottom-bottom!”
Receiving such treatment for the first time, the Director seemed quite taken aback. The cat’s whiskers trembled wildly up and down.
Watching Evangeline pat the Director’s backside, Andy squeezed his eyes shut, while Darkin buried his head back in the mud.
“Evan—”
“Wait.”
I quickly cut Andy off. He looked at me with confusion.
Evangeline patting the Director’s backside was certainly a terrible situation, but—
‘It’s not bad. Actually, it’s rather good.’
Right now, a student was patting what she thought was a cat, unaware it was the Director.
If the Director dropped the transformation right now, word would spread that the Director had been given a bottom-patting by a freshman.
No matter how little the Director cared about public image, that would be quite damaging.
Which meant the Director would—
‘Stay in cat form.’
I watched the Director with tense eyes.
The Director was a Grand Mage. Furthermore, one who had already implanted a Fragment of Outer Deity.
This version of me could not win against them.
If the Director attacked Evangeline, combat would be unavoidable.
“Meow, meow-ow.”
The Director made an awkward meowing sound.
As expected, they had chosen to remain in cat form.
Cold sweat dripped down the bridge of my nose.
“Blackie’s voice is so cute too!”
“Meow!”
The Director refused further contact with Evangeline and turned away.
Putting distance between them, the Director looked back at us and meowed. It was a clear signal to follow.
“Come on! Blackie!”
Evangeline immediately bounded after the Director. I kept my guard up as I moved forward.
“What cat lives in a forest like this anyway? Ahh!”
“Watch it! Your foot—”
Andy quickly kicked Milo’s shin. Darkin followed along without even wiping the mud from his face.
‘Why did the Director move?’
I watched the Director guide us, tapping my staff thoughtfully.
The Director rarely left the school. They only moved when there was something significant enough to warrant it.
‘Ah, it must be because of Andy.’
Andy had used Hell’s Coin. If the Director sensed it, that alone would be reason enough to move.
However, Andy had used Hell’s Coin ‘inside the Rift’.
The Rift’s interior and exterior were completely separated.
The only one who could access the Rift’s interior from outside was Evangeline.
So how could the Director possibly—
‘……The Outer Deity must have informed them.’
If the holy-attribute Outer Deity possessed Oracle, then the magical-attribute Outer Deity possessed Tarot.
The Outer Deity had clearly used Tarot to move the Director.
Tarot carried a far heavier price than Oracle.
The fact that they used such a costly divination meant—
‘Andy is coveted that much.’
Andy had climbed to Grand Mage through sheer personal strength.
In terms of pure talent alone, Andy surpassed Killian, the heir apparent of the Magic Tower Coalition.
It made sense that the Outer Deity would covet such a genius.
‘A genius even the Outer Deity desires.’
Needless to say, I had no intention of handing Andy over to the Outer Deity.
I had absorbed the Fragment of Outer Deity because of my Stat limitations.
There was no reason for Andy, who was certain to grow to S+ Rank, to absorb a Fragment of Outer Deity.
I tapped my Guard Staff thoughtfully and murmured to myself.
‘I must stop this at all costs.’
Just then, fresh air reached my nostrils. We had left the Forest of Disappearance.
There was no one around. The Director had guided us along a different route.
“Meow.”
The Director gazed toward Andy.
I quickly shifted my position to stand in front of Andy. Even if it meant fighting the Director, I planned to redirect their attention.
But there was no need.
“Blackie! There there! Let me pat your bottom!!”
The moment Evangeline lunged, the Director let out a cry of alarm and fled.
“Wait! Blackie! I’ll pat your bottom!!”
The Director disappeared without so much as a backward glance.
Only then could I finally breathe.
‘It seems I’ve been blessed by Evangeline’s absurdity.’
Evangeline gazed in the direction the Director had vanished, looking genuinely disappointed as she licked her lips.
Andy grabbed Evangeline in a panic.
“Evangeline!!”
“Jeez! Why are you shouting!”
“Are you seriously insane?!”
“Not at all! I’m perfectly fine!”
“That cat is the Director!!”
Andy shrieked sharply. Milo jumped in shock.
Evangeline, for her part, remained calm.
“I know!”
“……You knew?”
“Yeah! I saw during the Entrance Ceremony!”
Evangeline replied as if he were stating the obvious. Andy’s face went blank.
“B-but then why did you touch their butt?”
“Because it’s a cat! Cats love getting their bottom patted! You didn’t know?”
“Because it’s the Director!!”
“Yeah! The cat Director!”
Their conversation went in circles. Only then did I understand the situation.
‘Evangeline thinks a cat is acting as the Director.’
Normally, when a Grand Mage appears in cat form, one would naturally assume they’ve magically changed their appearance. But Evangeline had simply concluded: ‘Oh, so a cat is the Grand Mage.’
In a way, her thinking was remarkably free of prejudice.
“Anyway! Never do that again next time!”
“Pat the bottom?”
“Yeah, that! Don’t!”
“Why! They really seemed to enjoy it!”
“The Director… enjoyed it?”
“Yeah! They lifted their butt up like this!”
“It’s the Director!!”
“Right, the cat Director!”
Andy looked at me urgently. His eyes pleaded for help.
The Director might target Andy again.
If Evangeline continued to think of the Director as a cat, I could use her to protect Andy.
So—
“Evangeline, cats like it when you scratch them below the neck.”
“Below the neck?”
“Yes, below the neck.”
Andy’s mouth dropped open as he stared at me.
It was as if he were asking if I was serious.
I slipped my gaze away.

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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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