Academy’s New Guard is Unusual - Chapter 92

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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 92
In the game, Volcan was a barbarian among barbarians.
His illustration—covered in blood, student entrails draped around his neck—was shockingly savage.
But the real Volcan was more gentlemanly than anyone I’d seen at the academy.
Still, no matter what—
‘Enjoying afternoon tea, of all things.’
I clicked my tongue watching Volcan and Darkin so enthusiastically partake in refreshments.
Volcan and Darkin devoured cookies with the frenzy of starving men.
The funny part was how they lifted their pinkies when raising their teacups.
More refined than most noble ladies.
“Is it good?”
“Very delicious. Truly the finest of brothers.”
“I agree.”
Volcan and Darkin both gave thumbs up.
Their affection was visibly rising.
I didn’t feel particularly pleased about it.
I couldn’t guarantee that just because I’d prevented Darkin’s disappearance, Volcan wouldn’t turn into a barbarian villain.
That was why I’d insisted on this shared tea time.
I took a cookie and spoke.
“Let’s gather here often from now on.”
“Wonderful! Next time we’ll pay for it! W-well, perhaps not quite this much—”
“Forget it. I have plenty of money.”
“Y-yes, brother!!”
His “brother” grew noticeably louder.
The atmosphere had grown sufficiently warm.
I turned to Volcan naturally.
“How are things these days?”
“Very satisfactory.”
Volcan answered with a genuinely satisfied smile.
“Any complaints about the Guard Corps?”
“None! Quite satisfied!”
“Not even small ones? A workplace can never be perfect, can it?”
Volcan pondered my question before answering.
“Ah, there is one thing.”
“What’s that?”
“There’s no tea time!”
“……No tea time?”
“Work requires balance between rest and labor, does it not? And tea time in particular is a precious moment for the soul to recover. Yet the Guard Corps has no tea time.”
He was talking about poor work-life balance.
A barbarian concerned about work-life balance—it was absurd.
By my standards, the Guard Corps had excellent work-life balance.
There were designated meal times, night sleep after morning shifts—
Compared to the battlefield, these men practically lounged about.
Yet he was asking for tea time—
But I swallowed my curses and nodded.
“I’ll make a suggestion about it.”
“As expected of you, brother!”
“Anything else?”
This time Volcan paused deliberately before nodding.
“……Nothing!”
“Really?”
“I stake my parents’ honor on it!”
Volcan suddenly invoked his parents.
I was slightly taken aback, but it was a barbarian’s peculiar oath.
‘So he truly has no complaints.’
Further questions seemed pointless.
But I had no intention of missing this opportunity.
I smoothly changed the subject.
“Speaking of parents—you said your parents were barbarians, right?”
Milo stared at me in alarm.
Volcan, meanwhile, nodded without concern.
“Yes, they were a barbarian chieftain.”
The word “chieftain” surprised me this time.
To barbarians, a chieftain was much like a nobleman in the Empire.
Having a chieftain for parents meant the tribe was doing quite well.
“You came from high standing, then.”
“I did.”
Volcan answered in past tense.
The barbarians of the continent split into two kinds.
Those who had mixed with the Empire, and those who had not.
Those who hadn’t mixed with the Empire retreated deeper into wilderness to escape it.
“Captured by the Empire’s forces, I take it.”
“The Empire’s eye shines like the sun across the continent. No matter how deep one hides, the sun will find you.”
He meant his tribe had been subjugated by imperial forces.
“A shame.”
“It was deserved.”
Volcan shook his head and spoke calmly.
If captured by imperial forces, his tribe would have met a terrible end.
Yet he said it was deserved—
“My parents were true barbarians.”
Volcan added matter-of-factly.
The continent’s hatred of barbarians wasn’t born from nothing. Barbarians were, in the truest sense, barbaric.
They moved purely by the logic of strength—more savage than wild beasts themselves.
Barbarians showed not a shred of guilt when exploiting and plundering anyone weaker than themselves. They spared neither sex nor age. They even consumed their own kind.
That’s why the saying went that not a single blade of grass remained where barbarians passed.
‘His parents were chieftains. Are they scheming something from afar?’
I decided to keep all possibilities open for now.
“Do you stay in contact with your parents?”
This time, Volcan visibly shook. He met my eyes, then spoke in a trembling voice.
“I am an orphan.”
At Volcan’s sudden declaration, the atmosphere grew heavy.
Volcan himself calmly reached for a cookie.
‘But didn’t he just swear by his parents’ honor?’
Yet suddenly he was an orphan. It seemed Volcan was hiding something deeper.
‘Do I need to grow closer to him?’
Even after this tea party, it wasn’t enough, apparently.
Just then, Milo held out a cookie toward Volcan. His expression grew solemn.
“I’m an orphan too.”
Milo spoke in an grave voice.
Volcan’s eyes widened.
Volcan and Milo exchanged an intense gaze.
And then—
“I’m an orphan as well!”
This time it was Darkin who offered a cookie.
Three cookies gathered in the center.
At the bizarre sight of three men holding cookies and declaring themselves orphans, I squinted.
‘What is this, an Oath of the Peach Garden for orphans?’
Yet their expressions remained utterly solemn.
It felt like a genuine oath ceremony.
Then all three turned to look at me.
Their eyes shimmered with moisture as they looked at me.
“Brother.”
Milo called to me in a sticky voice.
‘This is ridiculous—’
Curses sprang unbidden at the hopeful gleam in their eyes.
I wanted to tell them to get lost immediately, but I needed to grow closer to Volcan.
That’s right—I’d danced with naked men on the battlefield. Surely I could manage an Oath of the Peach Garden for orphans.
I picked up the largest cookie and held it out.
“I’m an orphan too.”
I declared it as solemnly as I could muster.
At that, all three were deeply moved.
“As expected! I had a feeling about it!”
“I sensed it right away!”
All three grinned widely.
Though it was ridiculous, I hastily clinked cookies to move things along.
Just then, Milo raised his hand.
“A toast from you, brother, if you would.”
They even wanted a toast, it seemed.
The absurdity made me laugh.
At that, all three laughed along—soft, breathy chuckles.
The atmosphere became warm and cheerful.
“When I say ‘we are,’ you shout ‘orphans.'”
“Understood!”
After I tossed out a half-hearted toast, all three answered loudly.
Biting back the curses rising in my throat, I called out.
“We are—”
“Orphans!!”
Four cookies struck together at once.
By chance, the tops of the cookies crumbled and scattered.
“Wahhhhh!”
They all shoved the cookies into their mouths at once and chewed loudly.
Their expressions grew very resolute. It truly felt like a solemn oath.
Volcan was so moved he wept. Watching him was unbearable.
Then Milo grabbed Volcan’s shoulder.
“Don’t cry! We orphans must push and pull each other along! Don’t we?! That’s what brothers do! We have no parents, but do we lack brothers?”
“That’s right! Brother! We are brothers!”
“Call me big brother! Without formality!”
Milo thumped his own chest. Darkin and Volcan were deeply moved.
“We are orphans—. Without parents—. But with brothers—.”
The three linked arms and even began to sing.
I checked whether the liquid in the teapot might actually be alcohol rather than tea.
It was tea.
Very fragrant tea.
Just as my irritation was beginning to mount, Milo grabbed Volcan’s shoulder and shook him boastfully.
“If you have troubles, tell me everything! Your big brother will solve them all!”
“……There is one thing.”
“What is it?”
“It’s that……”
Volcan paused.
Did this Oath of the Peach Garden for orphans actually work?
“I’ve been having nightmares every night.”
Volcan spoke carefully.
Ding!
[Sudden Quest] Volcan’s Nightmare
Objective: Overcome Volcan’s nightmare
A translucent quest window appeared the moment Volcan spoke.
I glanced at the quest window and opened my mouth.
“Nightmares?”
“Yes, very frightening dreams.”
“What kind specifically?”
“A dream of standing in a blue meadow, caressed by free winds.”
By the sound of it, a quite wonderful dream.
“……Why would that be a nightmare?”
“Because that meadow is the Warrior’s Garden.”
“The Warrior’s Garden?”
“Where one goes after dying honorably as a barbarian.”
A dream of dying honorably as a barbarian—
Given that the subject was Volcan, it wasn’t the sort of nightmare I could simply dismiss. It felt distinctly unsettling.
There are curses that can actually affect dreams, after all.
“Ha, I was just mentioning it. How could you possibly fix a nightmare—”
“Let me try.”
“Can you… fix it?”
Volcan stared at me with wide eyes.
“Perhaps.”
“What should I do?!”
“Go to sleep.”
“I beg your pardon?”
“To examine a nightmare, you have to dream it. Now sleep.”
“Here?”
“What’s the problem?”
“There are no beds or blankets—”
An elite barbarian complaining about beds and blankets. Absurd.
“Lie down.”
“Ah, understood.”
I pointed at the ground and spoke firmly. Volcan hesitated, then lay down.
Stretched flat on the garden floor, Volcan spoke awkwardly.
“This is rather embarrassing—”
“Close your eyes and sleep.”
“Understood.”
Volcan closed his eyes.
But Volcan could not fall asleep.
“It’s not yet my sleeping hour. I keep a very regular schedule.”
“Fastidious for someone so rough-looking.”
I clicked my tongue and flexed my fingers.
Black curse pooled in my palms.
“What is that?”
“A curse called Eternal Sleep. It will sink you into slumber.”
“The name sounds terrifying—are you sure it’s safe?”
“It’s fine. I’ll wake you with holy power once this is done.”
“C-Common Speech is difficult—”
Volcan pretended not to understand.
Of course, it made no difference.
“Seize him.”
At my command, Darkin and Milo rushed to Volcan’s side.
“What is this! You said we were brothers!”
“I’m sorry, little brother. But it’s the big brother’s orders.”
“F-forgive me.”
“Wait! I think I’m falling asleep! I’m very drowsy! Drowsy!”
Volcan shouted urgently, but the curse had already engulfed him.
“Sleep as if dead. Eternal Sleep.”
The black curse covered Volcan.
Thump. Volcan collapsed flat.
“Success.”
I brushed off my hands in satisfaction.
“Is this really safe? His whites are showing and drool is running—”
Milo asked uneasily, pointing at Volcan.
Volcan looked a mess. Of course he did. Eternal Sleep kills the mind.
“It just means he’s sleeping deeply.”
I sat down above Volcan’s head.
Then I sipped tea and nibbled cookies, waiting leisurely.
How much time passed—
“Ungh……”
A rough groan spilled from Volcan’s lips.
‘The nightmare has begun.’
I grabbed Volcan’s head with my hand.
I wanted to check first whether a curse was present.
I felt something from Volcan’s head, but it wasn’t a curse.
It was far stickier than a curse, and dripping with malice.
It was a sensation I knew well.
‘A Fragment of an External God.’
I felt a Fragment of an External God emanating from Volcan’s head.
Far more potent than a rift.
‘Found it.’
I pulled my lips up into the widest grin.

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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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