Chapter 218
Caron arrived at the principal's office, unable to believe what he saw.
Dwener was working, and it was well past midnight.
"Hmm..."
Caron made his presence known, but Dwener only glanced at him briefly, not saying much.
He was completely absorbed in writing some report.
It was a while before Dwener spoke up.
"You're late."
"The work... it took longer than expected. I'm sorry."
"Why do something you'd have to apologize for?"
"..."
Caron clamped his mouth shut.
He knew all too well that any argument now would lead to a pointless, cyclical conversation.
- Why do something you'd have to apologize for?
- Does saying sorry end a teacher's career?
- Back in my day...
- Hey!! - So, why do something you'd have to apologize for?
It was an endless, hellish cycle.
What was worse, the incompetent Dwener didn't even realize he was repeating himself.
To Caron, who was armed with reason and logic, Dwener was the worst enemy!
He would rather face Volkan's undead legion two... no, three times over.
"Are you mad?"
"...No."
"Really? Still struggling with emotional control? You need more training."
With that, Dwener rose from his chair and walked towards the window.
Turning his back on Caron naturally.
"These days, kids are just so undisciplined. Unthinkable in my time."
Caron's body trembled involuntarily, a failure of his anger control.
It was the first time he had ever been called 'undisciplined.'
'To hear such words from someone who doesn't work even an hour a day.'
Unspeakable anger surged within Caron.
He wanted nothing more than to stab a dagger into the old fool's back.
But he had no right to retaliate now.
Dwener was a plant by Duke Aziz to check on the Emperor's faction.
Caron had hidden the fact that this situation was a mission.
From Dwener’s point of view, Caron had not only taken a vacation during the semester but had also missed the deadline.
He had no rebuttal to being called 'undisciplined.'
'Looks like I won't be getting any sleep tonight.'
Considering the demanding nature of the mission, four hours of sleep was the plan.
But it seemed Dwener's lecture would fill that time instead.
Resigning himself, Caron closed his eyes.
"You may be undisciplined, but what can I do? As the principal, I must endure."
"...Excuse me?"
Contrary to his words, Dwener was actually in a rather good mood.
'My conversation partner has returned. Maybe from tomorrow, I can just go to the pond twice.'
Of course, only Dwener considered him a conversation partner.
To Caron, Dwener was nothing more than a walking chimpanzee.
Chimpanzee... no, Dwener looked intently at Caron.
"I don’t think you would have spent that time without a reason. There must have been something."
"..."
Caron said nothing.
Nor did Dwener say anything more as he continued to gaze at him.
'Hehe, a principal who not only covers for an undisciplined teacher but shares his pain. How moving.'
Perhaps he would come to the principal's office daily to chat.
A caring Caron following behind him.
Imagining this, Dwener hummed a tune.
Of course, Caron's feelings watching Dwener were just... exquisite.
'...What's gotten into this guy? Did he eat something wrong?'
Whatever he ate, it seemed to have been seriously wrong.
A sudden change in a person often heralded death... Could death be imminent?
"Ah, right. Could you look at this document for me?"
Dwener handed over a document.
The document contained illustrations of five different poses, each accompanied by detailed descriptions.
"From now on, teach these poses to be performed periodically: before morning classes, after classes end, and before bedtime."
Caron instantly recognized the subtleties hidden within the different movements.
"Each pose stimulates different muscles. You can train core muscles in all positions..."
Even muscles that weren’t used outside of combat could be developed with these excellent stances.
‘These movements came from Dwener’s mind?’
Caron found it hard to believe.
"Where did you get this information?"
"Hmm, it’s something I knew personally. I’d prefer to keep the source a secret for now. The time isn’t right yet."
While hiding information wasn’t particularly unusual, coming from Dwener, it struck Caron as odd.
‘Wasn’t he always eager to flaunt his competence? And now he’s hiding it? What’s really going on?’
Reflecting further, Caron realized things had been off since the start of the semester.
The situation with Luterus and the parrot.
Not only had he shamelessly announced their deaths, but he had also erected statues for the two heroes.
‘Could it be... he’s been concealing his competence all along?’
All of last year, and even before he became the principal of Annwood Academy.
Had he been pretending to be incompetent for decades?
‘That would make sense, but...’
Caron, who had preferred not to engage with Dwener, found himself needing to converse now more than ever.
"You knew something so significant, yet you remained silent last year. Why?"
Dwener smiled slyly, reminded of Zero, who gave him endless courage.
He also recalled something Zero had said.
"A man... is loyal to those who recognize him."
Suddenly, a flash of insight struck Caron.
This was closely related to a conversation he had recently had with Adonis.
‘Dwener is... on the same level as Lord Adonis?’
No, perhaps even greater.
While Adonis had been directly influenced the Emperor, Dwener had taken a year off even after receiving the Emperor’s approval.
He was testing the Emperor's trust in his supposed incompetence.
If true, that spoke volumes about his capacity.
‘The size of that capacity...!’
Though Dwener thought of Zero, Caron couldn’t help but consider the Emperor in his reflections.
At last, Caron understood Dwener’s words.
‘He wants to keep his power hidden. He isn’t ready to reveal his true identity yet.’
Keeping the source of these five movements secret was part of that.
If his competence were exposed, it would attract troublesome attention.
‘That’s the least I can do. If Dwener truly is a capable man, it would benefit the Emperor for him to work directly for him, not for the nobility.’
His competence wasn't confirmed yet. He had only glimpsed a fragment of it.
"...I see. I’ll be watching."
"...?"
Caron left the principal’s office, leaving Dwener to mutter to himself.
"What is he talking about? Eh, these days, they can't even grasp the point..."
Dwener might actually be competent, Caron’s misunderstanding was just beginning.
*
"Did you hear the children from the Holy Kingdom arrived yesterday?"
"I wonder what kind of students they are?"
"I heard they passed most of the special tests."
"They say their number is comparable to our entire advanced class?"
The classroom buzzed with excitement.
The children sent from the Holy Kingdom were reportedly far more skilled than expected.
"Tsk."
"Hmm~."
The academy had declared that the students dispatched from the Holy Kingdom would be granted the same rights and privileges as the existing students.
For Teron and Yuridia, this was an irritating development.
'It means they could even vie for the positions of student council president and vice president.'
A third force had suddenly emerged, more than sufficient to disrupt the well-set game board.
Indeed, today marked the beginning of a fierce battle for dominance.
'Well, it's none of my business.'
Thud, thud.
The sound of numerous footsteps echoed through the hallway.
It was definitely the children from the Holy Kingdom.
The classroom quieted down as a group of people entered through the door.
They wore the distinctive robes of priests, embellished with gold thread against a white background, apparently allowed due to their status as dispatched talents from the Holy Kingdom.
Leading them was Caron.
'Caron is back? Looks like the story won't change.'
It was fortunate that the story remained unchanged, but even more so that Caron had survived.
He was a significant character in the early part of the academy's storyline.
'He’s the one who needs to be busy running around instead of me.'
From the looks of it, Elester seemed to be alive as well.
'I've confirmed Lucia’s survival through the system, and Adonis...'
Was standing right behind Caron.
Elester, Caron, Lucia, Adonis.
All pivotal figures in the story had survived.
Finally, one could breathe a sigh of relief.
'I’ll need to hear the detailed reports tonight.'
Zero flashed a brief smile, though he was consistently ignored by Caron.
Crackle!
A palpable tension hung in the air between Teron's faction, Yuridia's faction, and the children from the Holy Kingdom.
"Hi, hiieek..."
Caught in the middle, Rezé trembled as if she had been electrocuted.
Every time I saw her, I realized how impeccably she chose her positions.
Always at the center of controversy? That itself was a talent.
"Is she the leader?"
"She looks confident."
"She has a dignity that rivals the nobility."
The children from the Holy Kingdom, led by a young girl at the front.
She was someone I knew well.
'Victoria...'
The thirteenth princess of the empire and a main healer in the protagonist’s party.
It was impossible not to know her.
"Everyone, please take your seats."
The children from the Holy Kingdom settled down in one section of the classroom.
The desks and chairs had been prepared in advance.
Though the classroom became somewhat crowded, it was originally a spacious area, so it wasn’t a significant issue.
Zap.
"...?"
There was a minor issue, though.
Adonis, a 9-star knight and the empire's greatest hero, had glared at me as he passed by.
'...What?'
I scratched my head, dismissing his gaze.
Probably due to the characteristics of my slit eyes.
As everyone settled, the moment for Caron's class to begin approached.
"The class..."
"It’s not theology. I thought they were beyond basic stuff."
"Hmph, compared to the Holy Kingdom, this must be an inferior class."
"Do these kids even know what theology is?"
Provocation from the children of the Holy Kingdom.
Just as Teron's and Yuridia's factions were about to retort,
"I don't know your names. Therefore, I will assign each of you a penalty point."
So saying, Caron opened the student register and drew a line with his pen, marking them all with penalty points.
"What, why!"
"To do such an unjust thing only to us who serve the Goddess!"
"This is religious persecution!"
As on Earth, here too, religious folks were quite rebellious.
Ready to wage war over it.
The children started to murmur, realizing the gravity of the situation.
"Even if he’s Teacher Caron... to do something like this."
"They might be dragged to a religious trial..."
While listening to the children, Luna whispered in my ear.
"Isn’t this dangerous? Should we intervene?"
"Keke, don’t you understand yet?"
"What?"
"It’s Teacher Caron. You know well he’s not someone who would be subdued by this."
"...Still, it’s too much."
Luna, who was quietly supportive of Caron, seemed ready to intervene at any moment. I held her hand to stop her.
I knew how this event would end, the 'future' of it.
"Interesting. Accusations of religious persecution..."
Caron's lips curled into a sardonic smile.
"Didn't a fellow, a comrade in faith, commit a wrongdoing? And yet no one stopped him? Is that just? I don't believe your Goddess teaches that."
"How dare you speak of our Goddess!"
"Book of Gaia, Gospel Chapter 3, Verse 1. 'If your neighbor commits a wrongdoing, gather around and chastise them.'"
The children from the Holy Kingdom stirred.
This was a scripture, said to have been written down directly by a saint hearing the Goddess's words long ago.
'To chastise... even upon revisiting, the Goddess seems rather violent.'
Caron continued.
"Yet, instead of chastising, you just watched. Quite amusing."
"..."
"So, I've administered the punishment on behalf of your Goddess. A demerit point for each of them. A fair chastisement, don’t you think?"
The children from the Holy Kingdom quieted down.
It was logical. Knowing the scriptures inside out also played a part in silencing them, as many among them hadn't completely memorized the holy book.
"Keke! How do you like Caron now?"
"Hehe, he's looks exactly the way he acts—a thoroughly ruthless teacher."
"...Both of you, one demerit point each."
"No...!"
Ah, another day of unrest at Annwood Academy.
'Well, this is relatively calm, all things considered.'
Just as I thought this, a system window appeared before my eyes.
[Main Quest #6]
- Prove to Adonis, the Thunder Emperor, that you are not an enemy.
You are under suspicion by Adonis.
Resolve the misunderstanding and prove your allegiance to him.
Meet with Adonis 1-on-1 for a conversation (0/1)
Prove you are not an enemy (0/1)
Survive for 5 minutes (5:00)
Reward: 300exp, 15 gold, one appropriate skill from Adonis's repertoire
Quest rejection penalty: All stats decrease by 5
Special penalty: Death
...What's this now?
--TL Notes--
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