Academy’s New Guard is Unusual - Chapter 73

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Chapter 73
I led the group toward the entrance of the Forest of Disappearance.
People were already gathered there in dense clusters.
“I said we’re going in!!!”
Volkan was bellowing at the top of his lungs, veins bulging from his neck.
The student council president and the Student Affairs Department were blocking his path.
“This is a Student Affairs Department operation. The Security Corps should stand down.”
“The missing student is my brother! I’ll find him myself!!”
“I understand. We’re conducting the search methodically. Outside personnel will only interfere with our work.”
The student council president flatly refused, making no effort to hide his displeasure.
Yet contrary to his words, most of the Student Affairs Department personnel were standing outside. They’d openly abandoned the search.
The reason became clear from what the student council president said next.
“Professor Elaina is forming a team to search the Forest of Disappearance. Don’t interfere needlessly and step back.”
The student council president pointed toward the entrance as he spoke.
A student in a pristine white robe was visible there. The vice-principal’s faction seemed to be moving.
At first glance, it looked like an impressive lineup, but the real problem was their objective.
‘They’re after the Crack.’
Their goal wasn’t finding the missing Darkin—it was the Crack. They were clearly blocking access to keep anyone from interfering.
They had no intention of finding Darkin at all.
“Ah, understood! I beg you! He’s such a good brother!”
Volkan bowed and scraped obsequiously, pleading. The student council president brushed his hands dismissively as if wiping away something distasteful.
In the original timeline, Darkin would have been found dead, his skin completely flayed. And the search wouldn’t have been thorough at all.
‘Volkan really could have turned into a barbarian.’
Of course, that wouldn’t happen this time.
I pulled Darkin forward and spoke.
“Darkin is here.”
All eyes naturally shifted toward us. The student council president’s brow furrowed slightly.
“Brother!!”
“Volkan!”
Volkan rushed toward him urgently, tears glistening in his eyes. Darkin ran to meet him halfway.
The sight of two bulky men embracing and crying wasn’t particularly pleasant to behold.
“What… what happened?”
“I was hit by a Phantom Attack. This person saved me!”
Darkin pointed at me. Volkan stared at me with tear-filled eyes.
This was bad. Volkan’s legs began to bend. I tried to slip away—
But Volkan was already reaching toward me with both hands. His speed was so fast that even though I reacted in advance, I nearly got caught.
Volkan dove forward with such force that he rolled across the ground. It must have hurt, but he quickly got up and bowed to me.
“Thank you so much! Thank you so much!”
Volkan pressed his forehead to the earth and expressed his gratitude with his entire being. The sincerity of his thanks was palpable.
This was a good opportunity.
“So, are you only grateful in words?”
“…Didn’t quite catch that?”
“I nearly died saving him. Look—see this wound?”
I pointed at Milo. Though he’d already recovered, he was caked with blood.
Volkan’s face went pale at the sight.
“No! How could I only thank you in words?! If there’s anything you want, just name it!”
Finally, he’d said what I wanted to hear.
In the game, Volkan is a major early villain who single-handedly brings down the rear gate.
By saving Darkin, I’d blocked the most likely trigger for Volkan becoming a villain.
But I couldn’t let my guard down.
Darkin might not be the only reason Volkan turns, and other problems could arise. I needed to keep him close.
And that was when Volkan himself offered a reward.
The Volkan I’d seen so far was a man overflowing with loyalty and integrity. He was especially sensitive about matters of brotherhood.
Which meant—
“Become my brother.”
I proposed Sworn Brotherhood with Volkan.
“A… brother?”
Volkan looked openly flustered. I nodded promptly.
“Yes, become my brother.”
“But that’s a bit awkward, isn’t it? I’m older in age and senior in rank. If I serve the youngest as my superior, the Security Corps’ hierarchy could collapse.”
Volkan suddenly switched to fluent Imperial speech.
I suspected he’d been deliberately pretending not to understand it until now—his fluency was remarkable.
“So you refuse?”
“It’s not that I refuse, it’s just that the Security Corps’ hierarchy—”
“Then consider it settled. Call me brother.”
I spoke firmly.
Since I’d already spoken, Volkan had no choice but to accept.
“Understood, brother.”
Volkan’s voice was shy as he said it.
Given how fierce Volkan’s face was, hearing him call me brother wasn’t particularly pleasant.
“Good, brother.”
Without showing my true feelings, I patted Volkan’s shoulder and turned my gaze toward Darkin. Darkin visibly flinched.
“Is he your younger brother?”
“Yes, he is.”
“Since you’re my brother, Darkin is my brother too.”
In technical terms, it’s one plus one.
“Does… does it work that way?”
Volkan looked bewildered and turned to Darkin.
But Darkin nodded readily.
“Your brother’s brother is also my brother, so I’ll serve you as such.”
He seemed delighted by it.
In any case, I’d acquired Volkan and Darkin. A satisfying harvest.
Just then, Milo suddenly interjected.
His expression was the most serious I’d seen from him yet.
“Then who’s the eldest?”
“What?”
“Wasn’t I the first to join you? Shouldn’t I be the oldest? This needs to be settled clearly.”
Milo glanced toward Volkan as he spoke. Volkan quickly opened his mouth.
“Ahem! First, I’m the senior one here.”
“But I joined under Grave earlier! I didn’t even get senior orientation!”
“S-senior orientation? What kind of weird—”
Volkan and Milo both looked at me.
Milo’s eyes were so earnest that I gave a slight nod.
“Milo is second.”
“Hehehe!”
“How could you—”
The two showed drastically different reactions.
“What’s going on here?”
Just then, a sharp voice cut through.
Defern, the student council president, was glaring at Darkin.
“Why did you disobey orders?”
“Disobey orders—”
“If you’d obeyed, you wouldn’t have gone missing in the forest. This whole commotion happened because of you. How do you plan to take responsibility?”
Defern spoke coldly.
‘He’s trying to pin everything on Darkin.’
A disappearance had occurred during the Freshman Welcome Ceremony. And the vice-principal’s faction was also involved.
He seemed intent on blaming Darkin for the entire incident.
“I didn’t disobey orders!”
“If you’d followed them, you wouldn’t have gone missing. Though I suppose it’s my fault too for explaining in Imperial speech to a barbarian. I should have accounted for your inability to understand.”
Defern spoke with transparent mockery.
Volkan grabbed Darkin’s shoulder.
The other party was the student council president. Darkin was just a student treated as a barbarian.
If Darkin pushed back now, things would only get worse.
But I was different.
“Darkin followed your orders precisely.”
I stepped forward and spoke.
When Defern saw me, his eyes gleamed. The look of having found new prey.
“Come to think of it, the Security Corps was here too. Doesn’t the Forest of Disappearance fall under Security Corps jurisdiction?”
Now he seemed intent on dragging me into it.
“Didn’t you say earlier that since the Freshman Welcome Ceremony is a Student Affairs Department event, the Security Corps shouldn’t be involved?”
“That’s—”
“Well, I’m magnanimous, so I brought back the missing student. Don’t mention thanks. It’s the Security Corps’ job to clean up the Student Affairs Department’s mess anyway.”
Defern’s face crumpled.
“Well, it wasn’t really a big problem anyway. Students sometimes arrive late during the Freshman Welcome Ceremony, don’t they?”
I threw out bait.
I was suggesting we move past this quietly.
But Defern wasn’t willing to accept it so easily.
“I told the Security Corps not to interfere, but you ignored that and went in anyway. Did you perhaps try to forcibly kidnap that student and only release him when you thought you might get caught?”
Defern suddenly accused me of being the culprit.
It was an unreasonable accusation, but he’d hit the mark exactly.
Hiccup! Milo hiccupped.
“Isn’t that right, Darkin?”
Fortunately, Defern was looking at Darkin. His voice toward Darkin was unusually gentle.
Darkin was already isolated among the freshmen for being treated as a barbarian. And this disappearance would clearly make his situation worse.
In that situation, Defern, the student council president, was extending his hand first.
Most anyone would have no choice but to take it, but—
“No! My brother saved me when I was caught by the phantom!”
“…You should think carefully about what you’re saying. Otherwise, it becomes your fault for ignoring orders and acting on your own, which caused this whole incident.”
Defern threatened openly, but Darkin didn’t even blink.
Of course, he didn’t let it slide either.
“Can’t understand!”
“…What?”
“Hard! Imperial speech! Hard, is what!”
Darkin tilted his head blankly. Defern’s face crumpled again.
“You were just having a normal conversation a moment ago. Now suddenly you can’t understand?”
“Imperial speech very hard! Still not good at it! Sorry!”
As Darkin deliberately spoke Imperial speech haltingly, suppressed laughter broke out in various spots.
“This is—”
Defern’s eyes narrowed.
“Then we’ll continue this discussion at the Student Affairs Department—”
“That’s enough.”
Just then, a thick voice came from behind. Only one person could produce such a menacing growl like a tiger.
Logan, the head of the Student Affairs Department.
Logan approached while brushing ash from his cigar.
The Student Affairs Department members hurried to salute. Defern’s face went pale.
Logan’s gaze turned toward me.
I lowered my head slightly, and the corner of Logan’s mouth rose ever so slightly.
Defern tried to say something to Logan, but Logan cut him off by brushing ash from his cigar.
“Just wrap it up roughly.”
Logan issued a short command.
That was all.
Defern didn’t raise any further objections. The Student Affairs Department members quickly tidied up the situation.
The freshmen were sent to the Dormitory, and the Student Affairs Department members cleared the scene.
Everything proceeded without a single hitch.
Just then, the Forest of Disappearance grew noisy.
Soon, figures in pristine white robes emerged. The vice-principal’s faction.
At their head was a slick-looking man.
It was Karel, one of the male lead candidates.
Karel’s face looked grim, and beside him stood Professor Elaina with an awkward expression. The atmosphere between them was poor.
Logan’s eyes narrowed as he saw them.
“Looks like the Crack opened.”
Elaina answered Logan’s question expressionlessly.
“We went in to find the missing freshman.”
“From the atmosphere, you failed again.”
“That’s rude.”
“It’s the truth.”
Elaina frowned. In contrast, Logan’s mouth curved up with satisfaction.
This time, Elaina asked Logan a question.
“Did the Student Affairs Department head close it?”
“I don’t enter such filthy places.”
Logan answered firmly. As if she’d anticipated it, Elaina nodded.
Elaina slowly looked around. Her eyes brightened when she saw a Student Affairs Department member organizing the situation.
“So the missing student has returned. Where is he?”
“Over there.”
Logan readily pointed toward us.
Elaina turned toward Darkin.
“Did you see the Crack while you were inside?”
“I didn’t see it.”
“Can you swear to that by the gods?”
“I swear it.”
Darkin answered readily.
It was the truth. Darkin had never entered the Crack.
But Elaina didn’t give up.
“Was there anything else unusual?”
“Unusual? Don’t understand! Sorry! Imperial speech! Hard!”
Darkin’s Imperial speech turned halting again.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————