Academy’s New Guard is Unusual - Chapter 82

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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 82
‘The carrot and the stick?’
Leon turned the phrase over in his mind, bewildered.
Grave’s lecture had been outstanding—no explanation needed. Yes, it was harsh at times, but that was only because his students fell so far short of the mark.
Broad knowledge untethered to any single attribute, explanations tailored to each student, and above all, an unshakeable composure that never wavered no matter how thick-headed the learner proved to be. It was teaching at the highest level.
The problem was that the midterm lecture evaluation would be conducted by students operating well below that standard.
There was no way the satisfaction scores would come out well.
The rating would hit rock bottom, almost certainly.
Leon knew, too, that Grave had made himself unpopular with the administration.
If the satisfaction rating bottomed out, his contract would be terminated for real.
‘I suppose there’s no choice—I’ll have to return to the battlefield. Well then.’
Leon tried to muster a dejected expression. Keeping the corners of his mouth from turning upward was harder than it should have been.
Then they arrived at the Lecture Hall.
Normally, students ought to arrive before the professor.
But the lecture hall was nearly empty.
‘Truly a failing class.’
Leon stepped back and composed himself.
Soon the students filtered in. They made no effort to hide their displeasure at seeing Grave.
Vivien wouldn’t even meet his eyes.
‘Of course she wouldn’t.’
After all, he’d grilled them thoroughly last class—and even assigned them homework.
A professor who gave assignments on the first day of class? Even a demon wouldn’t be that demonic.
Then the front door swung open hard enough to shake, and Rosa entered. Her already rough features were twisted in fury.
“Who the hell cursed me like that?! Do you have any idea how much I suffered?!”
The moment she saw Grave, Rosa spat out crude profanities. She looked ready to overturn the desk itself.
With the delinquent Rosa raging, the atmosphere of the lecture hall grew even more menacing.
Grave spoke calmly.
“The curse I placed on you was Delusion. It’s a low-rank curse, but because it acts on the mind, dispelling it is tricky. In fact, nine out of ten new students who can use Holy Power won’t be able to dispel it.”
“You put something that ridiculous on me? You’re completely insane, you—”
“Yet you managed to dispel it.”
“So what—”
“For your level, that’s excellent.”
Grave spoke in a flat, toneless voice.
It was praise so dry it didn’t even sound like praise.
The content itself was odd, too.
‘For your level’ excellent—it sounded more like mockery than praise.
The only thing was, the speaker was Grave.
A man who’d just been hurling curses and making sharp remarks without hesitation suddenly offering praise created a jarring dissonance.
Rosa, who’d been furious moments before, was so startled that her mouth fell open.
Grave continued without pause.
“Delusion is a troublesome curse. Even experienced priests often struggle to dispel it. And you, Rosa—you managed to do so while already under its effects. For your level, that’s genuinely impressive.”
“…It wasn’t really that difficult.”
“No? For your level, that’s remarkable.”
“Ha! Would anyone actually like hearing it put that way?”
Despite her sharp retort, Rosa walked to her seat and sat down.
This time, she didn’t even rest her feet on the desk.
‘Something’s… off.’
Leon felt an uneasy premonition creeping over him.
Grave took his place at the podium.
“Did everyone finish the assignment?”
“Yes! I, your class representative, have confirmed it!!”
Evangeline’s hand shot up as she shouted. Grave glanced at her and gave a small nod.
“I’ll check for myself. Luna first.”
“Cackle, it was a trivial task for me.”
“Would you demonstrate?”
“All things return to darkness, and void becomes the gateway—Sleep!”
Luna spun both hands in a circle while chanting grandiose words.
The curse she unleashed was Sleep, among the lowest of low-rank spells. Being hit with it amounted to nothing more than feeling drowsy.
“For your level, that was an excellent curse. Truly befitting a Black Mage who dwells in the deep abyss and the embrace of twilight.”
“Cackle, you recognize my true worth.”
Grave took a moment to breathe deeply before responding.
“C… cackle. Impressive indeed.”
Luna’s eyes widened. The Rabbit Doll she’d been holding tumbled from her grip.
“But can you manage this next task?”
“Cackle, what is it?”
“To cast Chill until you can’t cast it anymore.”
“A task perfectly suited to me. Cackle. Watch closely. Darkness born from the deep abyss—”
“Do it facing that wall. I can’t conduct the lecture with your power in the way.”
“Cackle, understood.”
Luna skipped eagerly toward the wall, practically bouncing with excitement.
Soon she began casting curses at the wall.
Grave took another deep breath and moved on.
“Vivien, raise your Aura.”
“…Understood.”
Vivien reluctantly stood and drew Aura into her blade.
To Leon’s eye, it was still pathetic. He felt it was a waste of Grave’s time to even look at it.
But Grave examined Vivien’s Aura carefully.
Then he spoke in an indifferent tone.
“The part that was lacking last time has become noticeably clearer. You’ve improved.”
“R-really?”
“Yes. Definitely better than before.”
It was oddly stilted praise, but Vivien, who’d been starved for compliments, nodded eagerly at once.
“Now try again.”
“Understood.”
Grave raised Aura in his own hand and pressed it directly against Vivien’s Aura.
It was awe-inspiring to witness, as always. This time, he deliberately concentrated on the weaker points.
“See? This part is insufficient.”
“I don’t see it.”
“I’m showing you directly, how could you not— well, you could. Let me show you again.”
Grave demonstrated the same points repeatedly.
Vivien’s expression was brighter than before. The improvement was visible.
Truthfully, of course she’d improved. With him carving out corrections in her Aura like that, failing to improve would have been strange.
Still, Grave didn’t point that out. Instead—
“You’ve gotten better.”
He praised Vivien.
Vivien’s shoulders, usually slumped, lifted just slightly.
“Andy, review the Hell Tongue on your own.”
“Yes, boss!”
With Andy dispatched in an instant, the atmosphere in the lecture hall shifted.
The students no longer glared at Grave. If anything, they were gazing at him with a hint of goodwill—small, but unmistakable.
It was strange.
Grave had been harsh with them before, yet just a handful of compliments—and odd ones at that, laden with qualifications—had transformed the mood like this?
It didn’t make sense.
Leon looked at Grave urgently.
Grave stood with the same blank expression.
As if he’d known all along it would turn out this way.
‘Could he actually top the lecture evaluations?’
Leon felt genuine anxiety settle over him.
* * *
‘I’m going to be sick.’
I held back a curse as I surveyed the lecture hall.
The standard of this failed class I’d selected with such care was worse than I’d anticipated. It was almost a mystery how they’d gotten into Elysium Academy at all.
‘Well, they’re all special admissions, come to think of it.’
Regardless, teaching them was taxing—tremendously, intensely, quite considerably taxing—but they had certain futures, at least.
Luna would contract with a major demon someday. Until then, she just needed to build her fundamentals.
Rosa was a saint specialized in judgment; give her curses to throw and she’d figure it out naturally. And Andy needed no explanation.
Vivien would do fine if she kept growing steadily.
She was lacking in some respects, but properly nurtured, she could stand alongside the male lead candidates.
The trouble is, she’s bloody difficult to train—
“What about me?!!”
Well, it amounts to one person, really: Evangeline.
Evangeline is the most important.
Training the other failures ultimately serves her graduation.
The problem is that teaching Evangeline directly right now is inefficient.
Evangeline’s attribute stats rise each time she ventures into a Rift.
A single rank difference in stats amounts to an astronomical gap.
For Evangeline, whose stats are currently bottoming out, that gap would be even more dramatic.
Teaching her after her stats improve would be far more efficient.
“You didn’t teach me last time either!”
But Evangeline clearly had no intention of backing down.
She’d come out of a Holy Power Rift recently, so teaching her some Holy Power ought to satisfy her.
“I’ll teach you Holy Power.”
“Holy Power? But I want to learn magic too! M-agic!”
“You’re too stupid for that.”
“That’s rude! I’m not as dumb as you think!”
“Magic doesn’t suit your aptitude. Start with Holy Power.”
“Fine! Holy Poweeeeer!”
“…Why are you adding a kiai?”
“Just because!”
Evangeline answered with perfect confidence.
I pressed my temples hard.
“Evangeline, do you know what Holy Power is?”
“Holy Power is Holy Power, isn’t it!”
“Holy Power is the strength of faith. Power bestowed from the divine.”
“I don’t believe in any god!”
Evangeline shrugged. For a moment, I felt like a cult evangelist on a street corner.
But I wasn’t ignorant of the fact either.
Evangeline cannot believe in god. Her environment until now has been hell itself.
She’d sought god desperately more than once, yet he’d never answered her. How could she be expected to believe now?
Besides, I don’t believe in god either.
“You don’t have to believe. Think of it as using god instead.”
“Eh? That sounds sacrilegious!”
“Is it? Then memorize the entire scripture instead.”
“I’ll use him! How do I use him, though?”
Evangeline spouted sacrilege without hesitation. Even the delinquent Rosa flinched.
“…Holy Power depends on establishing a connection with the divine. To use a knight as analogy, it’s like raising an Aura.”
“How do I establish the connection?”
“Trace a Holy Sign.”
“A Holy Sign? Like this?”
“No. Like this.”
“I’m left-handed, though.”
“What does that matter?”
“It doesn’t matter?”
“…It doesn’t. Just do it.”
Evangeline traced a Holy Sign. It was rather clumsy.
“I don’t feel anything.”
“You trace the sign and then speak what you want.”
Evangeline traced the sign and called out solemnly.
“Chocolate bread!”
“Try something like Healing.”
“Why! Can’t chocolate bread work?”
“The divine doesn’t have that power.”
“What?! That’s totally useless!”
Rosa laughed out loud at that. I sighed and spoke.
“For now, let’s focus on Healing.”
“Healing? Who am I healing?”
“Me.”
“Huh? Are you injured?”
Instead of answering, I dragged my fingernail across my forearm. A long red line appeared, and blood welled up sufficiently to leave a decent wound.
“Whoa! What are you doing?!”
“Heal this.”
“No, who scratches themselves like—”
“Is it not enough?”
“No!! I’ll do it!”
Evangeline hastily traced a Holy Sign.
Concentrating with all her might, she pointed at my wound and shouted.
“Healiiiiing!”
Nothing happened.
Rosa smirked openly.
“Did you think Holy Power could be used that easily?”
“It looked easy though?”
“…What?”
“No, it just looked easy to me.”
Rosa glared, and Evangeline puffed out her lips and hid behind me.
Rosa scoffed and needled her openly.
“You’ll never manage it.”
Rosa is a saint but has no talent for healing or blessings. That’s probably why she reacted so sharply.
It was a good opportunity.
“Want to make a wager?”
“A wager?”
Rosa narrowed her eyes and asked.
I pulled Evangeline forward from behind me.
“If Evangeline can use Healing before the next lecture, you call her sister. If she can’t, Evangeline calls you sister.”
“I don’t like that.”
Rosa shot back curtly.
She didn’t seem about to take the bait.
Then Evangeline curled up one corner of her mouth.
“Scared?”
Evangeline’s provocation was remarkably effective.
“Done. Right now.”
Rosa’s eyes blazed as she fixed Evangeline with a glare.
‘Call Evangeline sister, she says.’
I silently offered Rosa my condolences in advance.

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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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