The Academy's True Purpose

Wilhelm was fidgeting restlessly in his office. Most people still thought of him as the trash prince. He wasn't anymore, but that temper of his still flared up from time to time. And right now, that same Wilhelm was shaking his leg like he was in the middle of an earthquake.

The conversation they'd had earlier kept floating through his head.

Wilhelm knew Cain far too well. But even he froze up this time, his mind buffering. How much can I wreck? Was that even a real question? It wasn't about how much. You just weren't supposed to wreck it at all!

He wanted to scream that, but Cain was still Cain.

The moment he heard those words, Wilhelm's vision went white. This bastard was serious. He really was planning to smash the place to pieces.

At Cain's repeated confirmation, Wilhelm grew even more desperate. The insane amount of money that had gone into ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the Academy. The massive headache that would follow if even one person died. Couldn't they at least try to avoid destroying anything?

In response to Wilhelm's earnest plea, Cain had simply said:

You crazy bastard! Why not?! And why the hell do you want to destroy it in the first place?!

What kind of nonsense is that?! Why would the Academy exist for that?! He had to stop him. It probably wouldn't work, but he still had to try…

'Forget it.'

Wilhelm simply gave up on trying to understand that man. What more could he do when that was the kind of answer he got? So instead of trying to persuade him, he settled for a desperate plea.

If you're going to break things, please just limit it to the outer walls. That much should be manageable. He begged with utmost sincerity. He even knelt, holding the artifact right in front of him.

Lord Cain. Please. Just cause trouble within the limits of what we can handle.

Cain had replied that he should trust him, then turned off the artifact. And after that… nothing. Radio silence. The anxiety only grew worse by the minute.

"Your Highness!!"

The servant who had been delivering news from the Academy came running. He practically tumbled to a stop in front of Wilhelm and blurted out the report.

"We have successfully exterminated all the demons that attacked the Academy! The Knight Division and Magic Division received assistance from the Grand General and Archmage Kassen, while the Administrative Division—where the most demons appeared—saw the combined efforts of the Holy Knight Commander and the Hero—"

"Enough. Skip to the important part. Cain. Where is that bastard? He was definitely on site, wasn't he?"

"Well…"

The servant hesitated for a moment before revealing the truth.

"Cain eliminated a High Demon that was attempting to establish a nest in the Academy. In the process, the outer wall was destroyed."

"The outer wall? Well, that's… that's fine. Whew. If it's just that much—"

"And…"

The servant squeezed his eyes shut tightly before delivering the most critical part.

"The Administrative Division building and its grounds have been completely obliterated."

"…"

"B-But! There were no casualties from it!"

Wilhelm collapsed back into his chair and clutched his face. Barely holding onto his fading consciousness, he opened his mouth.

"You crazy son of a bitch…"

You told me to trust you. You tricked me again, Cain. You rotten bastard.

It was obvious even without seeing it. He must have gotten excited while killing demons. Clearly he'd just swung his weapon around however he felt like because he was in a good mood. As expected of the Empire's Mad Dog—he was proving it with flying colors.

"Um, and one more thing."

"What now?"

"Cain left a separate message for Your Highness."

Wilhelm wanted to tell him to take it and get lost, but he couldn't. In the end, he accepted the note. Its contents were roughly as follows.

At that last part, Wilhelm actually laughed.

"That's… really thoughtful of you. Thanks for at least taking care of this much."

The news that the Continental Academy had been attacked by demons spread like wildfire on the wind.

At first, everyone poured curses on the demons. Those who would receive divine punishment. Filth that deserved judgment! They prayed for the souls of those who had tragically lost their lives. We will not forget you. So rest in peace.

They swore to carry their vengeance to the end and fight the demons until their last breath. They would hold this enmity in their hearts until the day they died!

Well. That was the obligatory response. They'd done enough of the formalities, so it was time to move on.

Beneath the surface, all sorts of talk was already flying back and forth.

"Our race expresses its deepest condolences to the human side regarding this incident."

The other races clicked their tongues, as expected. They'd been planning to sit back and watch how things unfolded before jumping in later.

Instead, they'd become the only faction that sensed the crisis early and avoided it. The other races used this situation to their advantage both domestically and internationally.

"I believe Kassen must exterminate the demons without fail."

Kassen, who had nearly been swept up in the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠danger himself, expressed his discomfort. The court mage had left his post, but there had been a reason. The Empire's Chief Imperial Mage had invited him. Thanks to that, Kassen was able to subtly shift the blame onto the Empire.

"God will never forgive them."

The Holy Kingdom decided to just be shameless about it. The priests and holy knights had claimed they could detect demons, but this incident was largely due to the Academy itself being breached.

Demons had entered through some passage in the Academy without any battle. We admit we share some fault, but the Empire seems to bear far more responsibility.

"Our kingdoms share the same view."

The other kingdoms simply watched the situation carefully. They knew they were what people called 'background extras.' So the only thing left was the Empire's reaction. What answer would they give to the alliance?

"These sons of bitches?! What the hell kind of nonsense are they spouting!!"

Wilhelm jumped up and immediately dispatched diplomatic envoys everywhere. He even took the extreme step of sending the Grand General to the Holy Kingdom.

The Empire had been lukewarm about the Academy project from the start. Don't you remember? My younger brother Arhen approved it, but I didn't. Half the Empire had effectively opposed it. Yet you all insisted it was fine. You begged us to trust you.

The Empire bore the largest share of the land and the funding, and now you dare pin all the blame on us? Especially you Holy Kingdom bastards—you were so confident, and this is what happens? What was the Saint doing? What was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the Holy Knight Commander doing?! Does that god of yours only accept idiots as his followers?

"…Brother. No matter how angry you are, you know that if you really do this, it'll cause another diplomatic disaster, right?"

Until recently, they had been at each other's throats. But now they were brothers sharing the pain of mutual suffering. Arhen glanced nervously at ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Wilhelm before continuing.

"Them blaming our Empire is just them trying to soothe their people's anxiety about the safety of their citizens sent to the Academy. Behind the scenes, they're already offering to cover all the restoration costs."

"I know. That's why I'm not saying this to their faces and only ranting to you."

We gave the Empire a stern warning. So don't worry! Please don't pull your children out of the Continental Academy, okay? We don't want to hear people say you ran away because you got scared.

And Empire, you know we didn't really mean what we said earlier, right? The Academy's pretty badly damaged. We'll pay for everything, so don't worry about it.

These invisible conversations were still flying back and forth.

Indeed. Even though demons had invaded the Academy, none of the nations had any intention of giving up on it. Even the Empire's own nobles were reacting with, 'Closing it would be a bit much.'

"Why the hell is everyone so obsessed with this Academy thing? I'll give Arhen a pass since it's because of a girl! But why the rest of you!!"

"E-Even if it's about Estelle, could you not be so harsh, brother?"

It felt like his broken limbs that Cain had snapped were aching again.

"I just don't get why the other countries are acting like this! Did they all get hypnotized together? Or is this so-called god threatening the fate of the world with a sword or something?!"

If Cain had been there, he would have said this:

Correct. Your Highness. You've taken the most beatings, so you understand perfectly!

In his heart, Wilhelm wanted to just roar at them all. He wanted to gather everyone and tell them to get the hell out. But that wouldn't benefit the Empire at all. At best, it would only let everyone know that the Empire was upset.

This won't do. We need to show our Empire's displeasure.

Without causing diplomatic issues. Without shaking the alliance. Just how could he express this burning discontent?

How? There's only one way.

Release the mad dog.

That was the conclusion Wilhelm reached.

It was the personal service ticket Cain had specially offered him a few days ago. Since he would gain something from it too, he was happy to do a little sword dance. In that case, Wilhelm would swing him as much as he wanted. When else would he get a chance like this?

"Call Cain."

The servant's face said it had finally come to this. Arhen's face turned deathly pale. Even Wilhelm, having made the decision, wondered if this was really okay. The man he was about to summon had no concept of moderation. He was an apostle of madness.

But when a fire had already broken out, setting a counter-fire was better. Comforting himself with that thought, Wilhelm did not take back his choice.

"You called for me, Your Highness?"

And soon the mad dog arrived before Wilhelm.

"You know why I called you, right?"

"Do you require my services?"

Cain's specialty and favorite activity was killing demons. He was indifferent to anything else. It didn't matter if he did it or not. That was why the arrogant nobles had managed to stay alive this long.

He didn't want to get held up killing them when he should be killing demons. The nobles, unaware of this, kept acting out without a care. But there were times when even Cain took great care in killing people.

"First, give me a rough summary of what you've figured out so far."

"It seems there were traitors among those involved in the Academy's construction. They appear to have leaked information that only they knew to the demons, allowing them to enter."

"Contract holders?"

"Possibly. Or they could be traitors from another faction."

If contract holders were traitors bound by compulsion, there were also those who betrayed of their own free will, with clear minds.

"They worship demons as if praising God."

"Is that even possible?"

"Nothing is impossible in this world."

There was even a guy who got possessed by his little sister's novel and had been rolling around for over ten years. So of course there could be people going 'like like demons like!'

"How many are we talking?"

"We'll have to beat it out of them, but there should be more than just one or two."

"Even after we purged so many contract holders, this still happened? Does that make any sense?"

"Demons are demons for a reason, prince."

They used temptations sweeter than anything in the world as bait, dragging people in to toy with them. And when they grew bored, they devoured them alive. Horrifying monsters.

"—To think there are people who follow such demons. I cannot tolerate it."

They would root out the traitors. They would leave a warning for the nobles who kept crossing the line. And through a proper sword dance, they would let the neighboring countries know that the Empire was displeased. No one else could do it. But the Empire's Mad Dog, Cain, could.

"What do you need?"

While the justification and reason were clear, it was still a matter of purging nobles. An ordinary person would ask for powerful authority to ensure there were no repercussions. They might even beg for the Prince's Sword.

"Just prepare some pits."

We'll need to bury quite a few.

Cain chuckled darkly.

And a few days later.

BANG BANG BANG!

"Special Task Force! Open the door!"

BOOM!!

It was a very familiar sound effect. Cain had always wanted to try this. He wore a satisfied expression. The Special Task Force members looked at him in bewilderment. They'd told them to open the door, so why was he smashing it down?