Academy’s New Guard is Unusual - Chapter 8

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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 8
“The Elite Guard losing to an applicant? This incompetent fool!”
Bedrick kicked one of his men roughly to the ground.
Many other members stood nearby, but no one moved to stop him.
For the Elite Guard to lose to a Regular Guard applicant in front of hundreds of witnesses was an unprecedented disgrace.
Even for a newly appointed junior officer, it was an unforgivable mistake.
‘Damn it.’
Bedrick swept back his disheveled hair roughly.
In a test that scored based purely on endurance, the applicant had beaten the Elite Guard.
This couldn’t be overlooked. He had to be admitted to the Elite Guard.
The problem was that this year’s intake was already full.
The Entrance Ceremony was the day after tomorrow. Taking on another recruit at this point made no sense.
One worthless bastard had tangled everything up.
Then someone grabbed Bedrick’s fist.
It was Sellin, Bedrick’s favored subordinate. She spoke with an expressionless face.
“You’ll need to manage the situation first, sir.”
“How am I supposed to manage this? The Elite Guard’s quota is already full.”
“There is one team that has an opening in its quota.”
“A team with an opening?”
Bedrick looked at Sellin with narrowed eyes and asked. Sellin nodded impassively.
“Yes, sir. Team 42.”
“Team 42? That garbage dump?”
Bedrick’s brow furrowed sharply.
Team 42 was, in common parlance, a garbage dump—composed of the very men Bedrick despised most.
Dislike of Team 42 wasn’t unique to Bedrick. Every member of the guard force except Team 42 avoided them. They were all problem cases.
“Yes, sir. Team 42 is short one member.”
Originally, a team in the Elite Guard was composed of seven members, but Team 42 currently had only six.
One of Team 42’s members had disappeared during a mission, but the team leader insisted the man was merely missing, not dead, and refused to fill the vacancy.
“That crazy drunk wouldn’t accept him—ah, right. He won’t take him.”
“No, sir. Team 42’s leader won’t accept him.”
“I’ve filled the position legally.”
“Yes, sir.”
The reason Team 42’s leader could act so recklessly was that the Elite Guard’s commander was unusually lenient with him. But the commander’s own position had grown precarious after recent events.
On top of that, the Entrance Ceremony was the day after tomorrow. School officials were all on edge.
If Team 42 caused problems in this situation—
“Good thinking. You’re always reliable, Sellin.”
Bedrick broke into a broad smile as if he’d never been angry at all.
“And what about that one?”
Sellin gestured toward the beaten junior officer on the ground. Bedrick’s eyes went cold.
“Clean him up. Get him out of my sight.”
Before Bedrick’s order even finished, men rushed in and dragged the blood-soaked junior officer away like a sack of potatoes.
Sellin watched the scene with detached eyes and found herself curious.
Between the junior officer marked by Bedrick’s displeasure and the one being thrown to Team 42, whose future had become more twisted?
‘The latter, no question.’
Sellin nodded without hesitation.
* * *
“You’re incredible! You really are!”
Kellin had tears glistening in his eyes as if he’d been the one to win. It was rather burdensome.
“Did you see Bedrick’s shocked face? Watching his face twist in frustration! He mumbled something about an internal review, but he has no choice but to recruit you to the Elite Guard. Not even Bedrick can overturn a test that’s already been held!”
Realizing the noise would continue, I deftly changed the subject.
“So, are you giving up again this year?”
Kellin’s loud mouth stopped abruptly. He gave a bitter smile.
“Watching you made me realize something. That my abilities just aren’t enough. I’m going to join the Regular Guard instead.”
“You’re giving up?”
“No, it’s just that people do get promoted from the Regular Guard from time to time. I may not know much, but I’m genuinely diligent. I think this path actually has better odds for me.”
Kellin grinned. His bruised face somehow looked clearer now.
“I see.”
“Isn’t that when people usually say something like ‘things will work out’?”
“I can’t say things I don’t mean.”
“You’re an interesting one.”
Kellin laughed heartily.
Then the Elite Guard members who’d vanished earlier returned. The goateed officer whose face had been twisted like a demon now wore an oddly sinister smile.
“He’s definitely plotting something. Don’t you think so?”
Kellin said with concern, but I didn’t pay it much mind.
Whatever schemes a guard officer cooked up couldn’t be too dangerous.
“Grave, congratulations on passing into the Elite Guard.”
The goateed officer unexpectedly accepted my admission. Yet that sinister smile only deepened.
“As it happens, there’s a team with an opening right now. I’ll assign you immediately. You’re going to Team 42.”
Team 42.
The officer dismissed the matter with a wave of his hand, and the other members began clearing the testing ground.
Kellin burst with indignation.
“Damn it! Team 42?! That despicable bastard! Playing petty to the end!”
“Is Team 42 a bad place?”
“Bad doesn’t even begin to cover it! There’s a saying in the Elite Guard that if you’re assigned to Team 42, you should quit on the spot!”
“Quit? Why?”
At my question, Kellin exhaled a long sigh.
“Normally, the Elite Guard is organized into seven-member teams, but Team 42 has been six members for a long time. The team leader insists the missing member will come back.”
“Can you manage something like that through sheer stubbornness?”
“Of course not. There have been several attempts to fill the spot since then. Every new recruit assigned to Team 42 quit within a week. Be careful yourself.”
Kellin warned me seriously.
Yet I wasn’t particularly worried.
I survived the Front Lines. Whatever these men do, it can’t be worse than what I faced there.
Just then, a harsh curse erupted from one corner.
“You’re kidding? Filling the quota? What the hell?”
I turned to see a blonde man with a shaved head and a vicious expression glaring at Bedrick. His face was better suited to a hooligan or thug than a guard.
“Mailo, watch your manners.”
“Manners? Spare me. Ptui. Can you even handle it? My team leader isn’t going to sit still for this.”
At the mockery of the man called Mailo, Bedrick’s lips twitched.
“I filled the position according to regulations.”
“Our team leader won’t like regulations much.”
“Team 42’s leader is still a leader. He cannot break the rules of the Elite Guard.”
“Is that your last words? You should write them down.”
Mailo grinned, baring his teeth.
Bedrick’s face went slightly pale, and he stopped engaging with Mailo, ignoring him entirely.
“Damn! Mad Dog Mailo! Hell! You should quit right now! There are guys who ended up crippled just from dealing with him!”
Kellin shouted in a panicked voice.
‘Mad Dog.’
The man Mailo seemed to embrace the title “Mad Dog,” even wearing a metal dog collar around his neck.
Mad Dog was a nickname used quite frequently on the Front Lines. I’ve actually encountered more than a dozen men who went by it. They all strutted around calling themselves Mad Dogs.
But among them, there was never a truly mad dog. They were all just posturing.
‘I wonder about this one.’
I found myself curious.
“Who’s this Grave character?”
Mailo asked roughly, his eyes scanning the area.
Kellin looked urgently at me. I ignored his signal and raised my hand.
Seeing me, Mailo twisted his face in distortion. His anger was vivid. His expression was so hostile it seemed we had some deep grievance.
“Follow me.”
Mailo spoke curtly and turned immediately. Kellin grabbed me and whispered urgently.
“Mad Dog Mailo is really dangerous! Get out of here now!”
Kellin warned me seriously again. Even though we’d just met, I could hear genuine concern in his voice.
A rare decent person. So I, too rarely, let sincerity touch my lips.
“Wait for me at the Elite Guard Headquarters.”
Kellin’s eyes grew dewy at that. As I walked, he hastily saluted me. It was funny.
“Cut the crap. Get a move on.”
Mailo spat out a rough curse. I followed after him.
Mailo had quick movements, his stride short, and he muttered something to himself continuously. He looked almost genuinely mad.
Following Mailo, I arrived at what was clearly an abandoned warehouse. Even at a glance, the atmosphere was ominous.
‘An Initiation.’
Initiations were common wherever you went.
I’d experienced them a few times, but this was the first time I’d seen one start without explanation.
“Get inside.”
Mailo went straight into the warehouse. It was dark inside with no light. It was quite eerie, but I followed without hesitation.
The inside of the Warehouse was surprisingly clean. There were beer bottles scattered about, and there was even a bed. It seemed to serve as their hideout.
Thud! The door closed with a heavy sound. Mailo locked the Warehouse door.
Mailo rolled his shoulders while looking at me. A sinister cracking sound echoed.
“This is a Warehouse no longer used because materials rot from the moisture. Nobody comes here, and if someone dies, no one would even notice.”
If someone dies and no one would notice—.
“A nice place.”
“Yeah, it’s nice.”
Mailo produced a Wooden Club from somewhere. It was stained with dark reddish marks in several places—a thoroughly unclean weapon.
“Team 42 has an old tradition.”
Mailo twirled the club lightly through the air as he spoke.
“What tradition?”
“The tradition of beating people until they quit.”
Since I’d expected this much, I nodded lightly.
“An Initiation, then.”
Then Mailo’s sharp eyes twitched.
I was familiar with initiations, but there was one thing that puzzled me.
“Why are you angry?”
“Why angry? Heh—”
Mailo bared his teeth like a dog with rabies.
“You’re not a beautiful blonde.”
Not a beautiful blonde? The strange reason made my brow furrow naturally.
Mailo spat into his palm.
“The only one who can be my successor is a beautiful blonde with a puppy-dog face, cold on the outside but warm on the inside!!”
Mailo shouted with fury thick in his voice.
A pointlessly specific requirement.
But he was sincere. Mailo was genuinely furious that I wasn’t a beautiful blonde.
‘Trash Tier.’
I was actually relieved. I preferred dealing with things this straightforward anyway.
“Good thing then. I had some instruction to give anyway.”
“What? Instruction? What kind of instruction?”
“Senior Mentoring.”
“Senior Mentoring? What the hell kind of bullshit is that?”
“I’m counting to three. If you lie flat before then, I’ll go easy on you. One.”
“Wha—”
“Three.”
My foot drove into Mailo’s abdomen. Mailo didn’t even scream, tumbling across the floor.
A normal person would have passed out immediately, but Mailo writhed as he struggled to get up.
He seemed to have good durability.
This one would be worth beating.
“Now then, Mailo. Let’s begin your Senior Mentoring.”
I whispered as I grabbed Mailo by the hair.
* * *
There’s a famous saying: if you want to know someone’s true nature, give them power.
When people gain power, their true nature emerges.
That’s why there are so many bad seniors in the world.
However, it’s rare that a bad senior was originally a bad person.
They simply never received proper instruction.
Even the worst seniors become good people if they’re properly educated.
Senior Mentoring ensures that even a Trash Tier bastard who wants a beautiful blonde successor can become an excellent senior.
“Isn’t that right, Mailo?”
“Woof! Woof woof! Woof!”
Mailo had become a good dog.

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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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