On My First Day Undercover, the Organization Collapsed - Chapter 347
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————
First Day of Infiltration, The Organization Was Destroyed Chapter 347
Now it really comes down to scholarships alone.
Six of the Great Families are searching for me.
Naturally, the situation felt hopeless.
And on top of that, the Renfield Family from the Northern Region has come looking as well!
“It might become an even larger event than Festa, Teacher Ziel.”
“I see. It should prove to be a valuable learning opportunity for the students.”
As always, Ziel remained unflappable.
‘Well, protocol is something I can manage if need be.’
When had Teacher Ziel ever made a fuss about important people visiting?
The other professors might be losing their minds over six Great Families coming to call, but not Ziel.
‘Of course—he has Imperial protection. That’s the difference.’
A man courted by two princes and whom the Emperor himself takes notice of would hardly be intimidated by a few Great Families!
And precisely because he enjoyed such standing, he could even counter-propose that they not choose between two houses but send all of them instead.
“When they observe the classes, they’ll all try to recruit our students for their own families.”
The knights would travel such distances—they needed something to take back with them.
It would be a golden opportunity to make a mental note of talents already at Walker Rank!
“The students have likely given some thought to their futures already, haven’t they? With their current level of ability…”
Truth be told, the Second Years’ skill level had already surpassed the average of the Fourth Years.
Considering that most students only began thinking about their futures from Fourth Year onward, the Second Years’ minds must be in chaos right now.
“There are still four years ahead. Even with early graduation, that’s three years.”
“True enough.”
“To worry about oneself in the present because of a distant future is inefficient behavior.”
Typical words from Teacher Ziel.
Who knew?
Perhaps a student would reach Expert Mid-tier before graduation.
Such a thing had never happened once in Sword School history.
While Expert Entry Level was unremarkable, Expert Mid-tier at graduation had never been achieved by anyone.
“As expected of you, Teacher Ziel. The Second Years have nothing to worry about.”
What concerned him were the Fourth and Fifth Years under Merhen and Idel, whose approach had suddenly changed.
Not long ago.
When Berhal reviewed the syllabuses for the second semester submitted by the two professors, he was quite surprised.
‘They’re suddenly trying to follow Teacher Ziel’s approach—what are they thinking?’
The curriculum was so punishing it wouldn’t be strange to see one’s legs give out!
Through continued observation of Ziel’s classes, Berhal had come to realize one thing.
A grueling curriculum cannot be imposed merely by issuing orders.
Even if students’ physical stamina levels are similar, the teacher implementing it must possess the ability to back it up.
Ziel could manage it.
But the other two…
‘Well.’
Of course, change was good.
Even lacking the ability to conduct such grueling classes, merely striving to improve was something to be grateful for.
In fact, he’d been planning to let both of them go after this semester and bring in fresh talent…
But perhaps this worked out better after all.
Berhal steered the conversation in a new direction.
“By the way, what’s that device attached to the students’ swords?”
“It’s a magical tool that analyzes swordsmanship data for the advancement of their technique.”
“Ah…”
Another contraption Ziel had coaxed someone like Emeric into creating.
“It’s called the Magical Trajectory Tracking and Sword Theory Analysis Multidimensional Information Aggregator.”
“I see.”
He regretted asking.
To a swordsman’s ear, it sounded downright menacing!
“You’re using some remarkable things again.”
“Yes. I’ve included all details in the syllabus.”
He’d seen it, certainly.
Just couldn’t understand a word of it.
‘Teacher Ziel must be the only instructor at Sword School who blends magic into the curriculum.’
Classes other professors couldn’t teach even if they wanted to!
Not everyone had connections to the Arcane School like Ziel did, nor could they simply produce a mage subordinate the way he had before.
It was an overwhelmingly superior capacity that hardly bore comparison.
“Ah, and there’s one more thing. A directive has come down from the Imperial Palace.”
Berhal continued as though Ziel would naturally already know.
“Apparently, charitable activities have been underway in the district where the poor live, centered around the Berte Trading Company… and it seems the Imperial Palace intends to participate as well.”
Ziel twitched slightly for a moment.
“Everyone knows the Dark Ghost provides protection to that Berte Trading Company.”
“Indeed.”
“Yes. The Berte Trading Company, backed by the Dark Ghost, was already conducting charitable work, and now the Imperial Palace has decided to involve itself.”
Ziel showed a flicker of interest.
“By adding Imperial participation, the scale of this ‘good deed’ grows larger?”
“Pardon? Good deed… Ah, yes. Precisely. The scale of the charitable activities will expand considerably. After all, the Imperial Palace will be deploying its own personnel.”
“A commendable undertaking.”
Now that he enjoyed Imperial protection, he felt obliged to praise Imperial actions as well?
“Well, yes. That’s how it works, isn’t it? The Imperial Palace wouldn’t suddenly start doing good deeds just on a whim… The Palace itself seems to have gotten involved for a reason.”
It was obvious enough to anyone, even if one couldn’t say it outright before the Emperor.
The Dark Ghost was an entity bound to make the Imperial Palace and the nobility uncomfortable.
So how could they not be irritated when such a creature patronized a company engaged in aiding the poor?
Of course, the approach of supporting rather than obstructing the company, thereby joining in publicly, was somewhat unexpected.
“And so, the Imperial Palace has requested the deployment of Academy students to aid in these efforts.”
“Then the students can also perform this good deed.”
“Exactly. The intentions can be interpreted various ways, but in any case, the students can participate. Many of them will eventually lead their own families, so this is an opportunity to build their reputation while doing good. Win-win.”
Ziel, of course, had never intended any of this.
It was merely an unintended consequence of disposing of materials that leaked after the Black Sky’s destruction.
He had swallowed an entire trading company and been called the Sun God by a religious sect aiming for the Empire’s downfall.
And now, with charitable work that Ziel had instructed, the Imperial Palace itself had chosen to participate.
‘Truly the Boss! He intended all of this…! To even draw in Imperial participation!’
There were people like Gilbert, who now lived entirely in a swamp of misunderstanding.
To an outside observer, all these actions would inevitably seem intentional.
And the results were nothing short of extraordinary!
“The only issue is the timing. The Imperial Palace has requested approximately 100 personnel ready for immediate deployment, for roughly a week’s duration.”
“Understood. Please give me a moment.”
He had been about to add “combined from all grades,” but Ziel had already moved ahead.
‘And there’s still the scholarship…’
Before he could follow and add another word, Ziel had already made the announcement.
“Attention for a moment. The Imperial Palace has requested participants for the ongoing charitable activities.”
Students who’d been swinging their swords stopped, wondering what this was about, turning to look at Ziel.
“This is an opportunity for you all to perform ‘good deeds.’ So everyone will participate.”
“Right now?”
“It’s a good deed.”
“But that’s so sudden…”
Ziel tilted his head.
“You’re reluctant to do good?”
“Well… when does it start?”
“Very soon. Within a few days.”
……
The mood became hesitant.
Practical training was just around the corner, and suddenly there was charitable work.
The students had ears; some had heard rumors. Apparently a trading company was conducting charitable work, but the problem was the location—the Slum District.
Though they trained hard and sweat daily, these were fundamentally noble children.
Unless they’d become family heads early or undergone advanced preparation from their houses.
There was no reason they’d want to venture beyond District 40.
But then.
“Ah, I see. You’ll need motivation. This too is part of education.”
Ziel recalled the principles of instruction.
The most important thing in education is motivation.
“For each session of participation, I’ll issue one Praise Coin to each participant.”
The students’ eyes immediately gleamed at those words.
“Me!”
“Me! Definitely me!”
“I want to do it!”
The power of Praise Coins was extraordinary.
Collecting five of them could be exchanged for one Praise Card!
With that card you could either taste celestial cuisine at the , or save up more and exchange it for a ‘Ziel Free Use Ticket’—either way, there was no downside to the choice!
“Yes. Indeed. Motivation is crucial.”
It had struck home perfectly!
At this point, Ziel thought of yet another good idea.
‘Exchanging Praise Coins or Cards for weapons or equipment would be worthwhile.’
Not all students enjoyed equal resources.
While there was a student like Delev who cycled through multiple swords, there was also a student like Karen who reverently kept a single blade.
Swords and equipment are consumables, after all.
Unless one possessed something like the Bloody Moon or an Ether-Reinforced Sword as Ziel did, breakage was inevitable.
“Teacher, how many sessions?”
“A week.”
“That’s seven coins if everyone participates! Oh!”
“Awesome. Then we can exchange that for a Praise Card!”
The students, blissfully unaware that the function of Praise Cards and Coins would soon expand!
“I definitely want to do this!”
“Me too!”
“Me as well! But what exactly is this good deed and how do we do it?”
“We’ll figure it out when we get there. Just commit to doing it!”
Their eyes were beginning to glaze over.
They’d already had to endure two months of vacation without the diverse cuisines of the .
Some students had returned to their families so unable to forget the taste that they’d whined about food, nearly getting their heads knocked in by their family heads and relatives.
Celia had been the worst offender.
The Rihart Family’s cuisine wasn’t unpalatable.
It was just that Head Chef Theo’s hand had worked its magic too well.
“Then I’ll note that all 100 will be participating.”
“Yes!”
“Exciting!”
“Hehehehe, if I work three people’s worth, I could get three coins a day, right?”
“Quantus, the teacher didn’t say anything like that. It’s definitely one coin a day, maximum?”
“What! No way!”
Ziel turned his head toward Berhal.
“100 people, one week. We’ve assembled them all.”
“Ah…”
“It would be difficult to gather 100 from the other grades as well, so we should have sufficient numbers?”
“…It was 100 people total. The other grades don’t need to participate.”
He actually felt relieved.
Better to have well-motivated students like this than to push unmotivated ones and create problems.
“Ah, and Teacher, there’s something I forgot to mention earlier—all participants will also receive a scholarship.”
“I see.”
The moment Ziel immediately announced this fact, the students’ enthusiasm ignited like wildfire.
Especially those like Karen and Yurio whose families weren’t in the best circumstances.
“A scholarship! They’re giving scholarships!”
“Hurrah! How much?”
Strictly speaking, Yurio had been escaping from dire straits, but he hadn’t immediately lost sight of his original purpose.
The Renfield Family’s sponsorship had been confirmed, but that didn’t mean he could spend money freely.
In any case, money was good.
Good for anyone, no matter how obscure.
‘A scholarship? How much?’
That particular student who’d never cared whether scholarships came or went.
It was Delev.
But he couldn’t bring himself to ask directly.
So he quietly probed the one beside him.
“Hey, Kus. How much is the scholarship?”
“No idea. He didn’t say. You curious?”
“Curious? Why would I be. It’s not like it’s much anyway.”
“When did you ever care how much your scholarship was? You’ve never even checked what you’ve received so far.”
He had checked.
He’d seen it all recently.
While scrambling to account for every coin he had, he’d scraped together even the pocket change he’d ignored.
But even with all that combined, it was nowhere near enough to repay the debt he owed Teacher Ziel.
And he absolutely couldn’t go back to gambling.
A student, after all.
His only talent was Swordsmanship.
The allowance from his family couldn’t ethically be used to pay debts.
So one conclusion was clear.
Now it really comes down to scholarships alone.
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————