Chapter 172: Clown Union Club 19
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 172: Clown Union Club 19
“Uuugh...”
Only after Elicia finally let go did Loki cry out, rubbing his throbbing head with both hands.
“I protest this violence! This is a total miscarriage of justice! How could you possibly think I was the one who broke the door?”
The door to the Special Class had been broken more times than anyone could count. And without fail, the culprit was always Loki.
“I am the very definition of kind, soft-hearted, and considerate! And honestly, Professor Elicia, is there anyone in the Special Class who listens to you as well as I do? There isn’t!”
Whenever Elicia had a headache because of a student, the source was invariably Loki. Instead of pointing out every single one of his past offenses, Elicia simply repeated something Idra had told her in the meeting room yesterday.
“So, this ‘kind, considerate, and obedient’ student said that if I’m just going to hit you all throughout class anyway, there’s no difference between me and a magic beast?”
Loki, who had been speaking so boldly just a moment ago, flinched.
“Th-that’s a misunderstanding! It’s a frame-up! That’s a wicked scheme by Professor Idra, who’s clearly jealous of our close relationship. Surely you don’t trust the words of the mischievous Professor Idra over someone as kind, diligent, and handsome as me?”
“...I never said it was Idra who told me.”
“...........................”
Loki immediately slammed his head firmly against the classroom floor in a deep prostrate bow, folding his hands politely behind his back.
“...........Hehe. Professor? If you’re going to hit me, could you please do it gently?”
Elicia was smiling, but her fist was clenched so tight that a terrifying sound reached Loki’s ears even from his position on the floor.
Crackle.
“Hieeeek!”
How could a human clenching their fist make the air sound like it was tearing?
‘Ah, right. She’s not human to begin with; she’s a dragon.’
“Sigh... This won’t do. Follow me right now, Loki. It seems you’re in dire need of some counseling. I’ll make sure to turn you into a decent human being this time.”
“Are you planning to drag me to a cave, lock me up, and feed me nothing but mugwort and garlic for a hundred days?”
Ignoring his nonsense, Elicia grabbed Loki by the back of his collar and began dragging him out of the Special Class.
“H-help me!”
Loki tried to resist with all his might, but Elicia was someone who could easily overpower Kuran even when he was using mana. Loki trying to win a contest of strength against Elicia was like a kindergartner trying to beat a professional bodybuilder at arm wrestling.
‘If strength is impossible, I’ll have to use my mouth!’
Loki shouted toward the Special Class students, who were watching his struggle with amused eyes.
“Everyone, are you just going to stand there and watch? If I get dragged away by Professor Elicia now, class will definitely start late! That means the tuition you paid will melt away like ice cream in midsummer! What you should be doing right now isn’t laughing at me, but protesting this injustice with me!”
Even while being held by the scruff of his neck, Loki shouted with everything he had. To the other students, he looked like a rabbit chirping defiantly while held in a lion’s jaws.
“Boo! Professor Elicia must guarantee the students’ right to an education! Guarantee it! Guarantee it!”
“Quiet.”
“Urgh!”
Loki, who had even managed to pull a magical megaphone out of his Pocket Dimension to stage a protest, was silenced instantly by a single finger flick from Elicia.
“..................”
Elicia paused, considering Loki’s words. It was true that if she took Loki away for counseling now, the start of class would be delayed.
“Professor, we’re fine,” Lucas spoke up quickly, noticing her hesitation. “Please, feel free to take him for counseling. We will wait here quietly until you’re finished.”
If class started late, it meant they would spend less time being beaten by Elicia. Furthermore, since Loki would be the one getting scolded, the students were practically praying for Elicia to take him away and stay gone as long as possible.
“I’ll finish up quickly. Don’t slack off; stay here and study on your own until I get back.”
“That’s right,” Loki groaned. “I’m being forcibly dragged to a dark, gloomy place from which I may never return, to be fed nothing but mugwort and garlic for a hundred days... but you all should just step over my sacrifice and rest comf—urgh!”
“Stop acting up.”
Watching Loki get hit again for his unnecessary commentary, the Special Class students seriously wondered if he didn’t just have a talent for getting beaten, but actually enjoyed it.
Even as he was being dragged out of the room, Loki’s voice echoed down the hall.
“You! Traitors! Just you wait and see what happens to you for abandoning me!”
* * *
Loki and Elicia returned to the Special Class thirty minutes later, following a session of "counseling"—otherwise known as mental reconstruction—in the Room of Truth.
This meant the students’ heavenly break was over. Their hellish lesson had begun.
“Haaah.........”
The Special Class students were so drenched in sweat that an outsider might have thought they’d been caught in a downpour. Elicia, however, who had faced them all alone, hadn’t broken a single drop of sweat.
Her expression was uncharacteristically grim, and her voice was cold.
“What exactly do you think you’re doing? Are you playing games with me? I know a person’s condition varies from day to day, but even taking that into account, I cannot understand what just happened. Far from showing growth, you would have held out better a month ago than you did today.”
Elicia wasn’t the type to lie to provoke a student’s pride or give false praise to create a sense of achievement.
“Have you already become complacent just because your skills have improved a little lately? If you intend to be satisfied with this level and stop here, tell me. I will personally transfer you to another class. I’ll say it again: do not stop. Do not be arrogant. No matter how strong you think you are, you are still within the Academy. The world exists outside these walls. You have no idea how many unnamed powerhouses there are across the continent.”
She simply spoke the cold, hard truth. And the students knew it.
“.....................”
Just as Elicia said, their performance today couldn’t be called good even as a joke. Because of that, not a single student could open their mouth.
“Exactly! Wow, the Professor said everything I wanted to say! Even I thought today was a total disaster. It seems everyone’s mental state crumbled because Frederick was eliminated earlier than usual, causing the Professor’s pressure to hit us much faster, but that’s no excuse.”
Except for one person.
“..............”
“But does that mean the problem lies with Frederick, who was taken out first? Not necessarily. In the first place, the moment the Professor reached the backline before the frontline even collapsed, our defeat was already decided.”
The Special Class students were all born with overwhelming talent. Consequently, they had grown up surrounded by nothing but praise.
“The biggest problem is that the strategy we use against Professor Elicia is always the same. Just as we’ve learned more about the Professor’s strength and techniques, the Professor also knows us much better than before. If we keep going like this, far from winning, the speed at which we lose will only increase.”
Hearing Elicia’s words, frustration dominated their minds. However, Loki was calmly identifying the reason they had been so pathetically crushed.
‘He’s supposed to look cool right now, but...’
The students looked at Loki with lukewarm gazes.
‘Could you maybe come out of the wall before saying stuff like that?’
Loki had been sent flying by Elicia’s fist earlier and was currently stuck upside down in the wall. He continued speaking from that position.
“Well? Do I look a little different to you now?”
‘You’re stuck in a wall, so yeah, you definitely look different than usual.’
“Heave-ho!”
With a vigorous grunt, Loki pulled himself out of the wall. He picked up the cane he had dropped on the floor while flying backward.
Crack.
Loki cracked his neck from side to side and began walking slowly toward Elicia.
“There’s still time left, right?”
Hearing Loki’s words, the corners of Elicia’s mouth curled upward.
“Ho? You intend to keep going? Everyone except you is barely able to move.”
It was as Elicia said. Except for Loki, the other students were incapacitated. It wasn’t a matter of will; their will to fight was overflowing, but their bodies simply wouldn’t follow.
“And you’re reaching your limit as well.”
Loki’s body was a mess, just as she said, but he could manage at least one more charge.
“Class started a bit late because I was dragged to the Room of Truth for counseling,” Loki grinned. “If it ends early too, it’ll feel like you’re just coasting on your salary, Professor.”
Of course, he didn’t think he could actually achieve anything by charging in alone.
“And I’ve been hit by you so much lately that I feel like I need to land at least one hit on you just to settle the score.”
But that wasn’t a reason not to try.