Seniors vs Juniors (1)

"How was Star Land? Hmm, it was an experience you won't find anywhere else in life."

"It was an incredibly beautiful place. That landscape filled with gold and jewels."

"The tension of exploring unknown territory with your comrades. The thrill of encountering the mysteries of an ancient civilization! It's still vivid enough to appear in my dreams, you know?"

They hadn't lied. The advance scouting party puffed out their chests and proudly recounted their experiences, and the students who stepped into Star Land believing those words alone felt the vast gap between imagination and reality, forced to run endlessly in every direction without a moment's rest. If they stopped, their skulls would be split in two by hordes of golems with no end in sight—what else could they do?

Naturally, the students were plagued by intense feelings of betrayal, but instead of exposing the scouting party's lies and grabbing them by the collar, they chose a different path.

"Hey, the scouting party's words were true! Who knew the Academy would run a class like this!"

"I can guarantee you'll see far more than anything you could imagine."

"It's a truly meaningful journey that teaches you the value of your friends."

Students who normally snarled at each other over ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠nationality, status, and factions now spoke in perfect unison. After all, they couldn't be the only ones to suffer. If serious injuries or deaths had occurred during this practical training, this atmosphere wouldn't have held, but fortunately, no such incidents happened. Thus, once all the second-year students completed their training, everyone became accomplices. Only the final group of students voiced their grievances—mainly that there was no one left to deceive—but no one seriously listened.

"I heard the second-year classes will focus on practical training here without dividing by subject?"

"What kind of training is this brutal? Even my family's knight order training isn't this bad."

"When has the Academy ever been normal? Just accept it. At least our skills improve quickly this way."

"The golems and worms are tough, but they're not at a level we can't handle, right?"

"I heard the group with Her Imperial Highness basically went on a sightseeing tour?"

Regardless of how it began or proceeded, the result of successfully conquering Star Land was undeniable. Perhaps because of that, even when an official notice arrived stating that this practical training wouldn't end with a single session but would continue repeatedly, there was no major backlash or unrest among the students. The golems, tough enough to shrug off most attacks even when armed, and the worms spewing dissolving fluids while swinging vines were certainly threatening, but the allies had monsters of comparable caliber. This was a mindset of relying on others rather than one's own abilities, but it couldn't be entirely blamed. It had already been two years since they started at the Academy. Students who had entered with ambitious declarations of becoming number one had, inevitably, seen hierarchies form among even the most talented and capable youths gathered together. Whether it was jealousy or admiration, expecting them not to notice their peers racing far ahead was an unreasonable demand.

But even if such feelings were natural for humans, could those who were meant to become swords against the demons rely solely on others' strength? At least the Academy's three professors judged so, and the students soon learned that their exceptionally skilled peers had been exempted from the Star Land expeditions. They also learned that from now on, they would have to conquer that terrifying Star Land on their own.

"Does it make sense to exempt people from class just because their grades are good?"

"If they take all those guys away, what are we supposed to do!"

"Is this also Midas's conspiracy...?"

"We can't just sit back and take this!"

Naturally, the students were furious and tried to protest. The reason it didn't lead to actual action was because they learned what the exempted students were involved in.

"Wait, is this real?"

"Wow, they've really gone and done it now."

"How do they plan to handle the aftermath... Actually, those people never think about the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠aftermath."

"What do we do? Should we go complain?"

"Hey, just maintain your weapons. I'd rather do it ourselves than get tangled up with that."

Around a month had passed ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠since fresh new students entered Barhart Empire Academy. The first-year faculty was in deep trouble.

"The students are starting to get restless."

"Conflicts based on factions and status are too severe. It wasn't absent last year either, but at least they united when necessary."

"They're already clamoring to join the Special Request Squad, saying they've learned enough."

"Hah, how did it come to this?"

The number of first-year students was 402. This was double the previous year's count, and while it was true that controlling them was more difficult, that was only a secondary issue. As the number of students increased, the instructors for martial arts, magic, and support departments had each increased by two, operating multiple classes, and auxiliary subjects like hunting and alchemy had taken similar measures based on application numbers. In fact, if one counted the support staff assigned per instructor, the conditions might even have been better than for the second years. Whether it was because managing people was troublesome or because there weren't many talents who could match their eccentric personalities, the second-year professors hadn't even used all their allocated positions. Yet even so, they couldn't control the first-year students.

Of course, they had their own explanations. First, unlike last year when the Emperor personally attended the entrance ceremony to inspire the students' sense of duty and motivation, strongly emphasizing that the Academy was "an institution receiving attention from the imperial family, so behave accordingly," there was no such event this year. This was unavoidable. Last year, the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠symbolic significance of the Academy just opening its doors justified the Emperor's personal involvement, but entrance ceremonies weren't one-time events—they would happen every year, and it wasn't feasible for the Emperor to drag his aged body to give speeches each time. The Emperor who could replace him had no personality for such bothersome tasks, and other imperial family members or high-ranking officials lacked the capacity to concern themselves with the entrance ceremony amid the imperial civil war occurring around the same time.

Second, unlike their seniors who had entered with only vague information, these new students knew about the existence of the "Special Request Squad" before enrolling. While second-year students viewed the Academy as a "place of learning," many first-year students saw it merely as a stepping stone to the "Special Request Squad"—in other words, the soon-to-be-established "Imperial Ranger Corps." They hadn't come to learn anything in the first place; their goal was to quickly build achievements and seize high positions in the Empire, so they regarded classes outside of Special Request Squad activities as nothing more than troublesome extras. Naturally, such students wouldn't engage enthusiastically in their studies, and this atmosphere negatively affected even those who wanted to attend classes diligently.

Third, there were simply too many prominent members among the new students. The tales of Academy students and the Empire's blatant preferential treatment policy for the Academy had left a deep impression on the royalty and nobility of various countries. Starting with the prince of the Morian Kingdom and the nephew of the Grand Duke of the Grand Duchy, precious bloodlines whose mere names would cause commotion outside were openly present among the students, so the faculty couldn't easily resort to hardline measures. One might wonder what difference it made compared to last year when there were also students of noble blood, but to the first-year professors, it was a serious matter.

'No matter what, we can't touch royalty.'

'Conducting classes is the Academy's overall responsibility, but singling out someone for punishment becomes my responsibility.'

'If they openly rebel, that's one thing, but it's too ambiguous to point out their half-hearted efforts. It might even backfire.'

In a way, this was a natural phenomenon. Even Academy professors were ultimately members of society. They were talented individuals selected by the Empire, but precisely because of that, it was difficult for them to completely ignore the terrifying power behind the students. Of course, as long as the imperial family's authority remained intact, the students' families couldn't openly harass the professors... but indirect torment was certainly possible, wasn't it? Whether the students' parents would actually do such things was secondary—the mere possibility meant the first-year professors couldn't act freely.

So they requested help from their superiors. And shifted the responsibility along with it. This was a perfectly ordinary response, neither particularly good nor bad. However—

"Word came from above. They seem to want to change the content of this group assignment."

"In what way?"

"Uh, well... They plan to select a few second-year students as targets."

"What?"

"It's structured so that depending on the target's skill and importance, stars are assigned, and students who defeat them receive points."

"Uh, hmm."

"They said to distribute this paper to the first-year students."

"......This?"

—(A painting of a beautiful maiden with red hair)

—Name: Lyla Everblaze Barhart

—Characteristics: Possesses extremely high magical abilities

—Score: 10 stars

Along with several other students' portraits and brief information, the bundle of papers—resembling nothing so much as wanted posters—caused cold sweat to pour down the backs of the first-year professors. Even if it was for the sake of class, putting a bounty on their own empire's princess was an act of irreverence so absurd it was laughable. The madness of true lunatics who cared nothing for power or consequences was once again overturning the Academy.