Chapter 8: The Emperor
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 8: The Emperor
Unlike the current Emperor, the former sovereign was a man of profound incompetence. While no one dared to utter the words aloud, it was a truth that none could deny.
If he had merely been incompetent, it might have been a blessing. Not every Emperor throughout history had been brilliant or wise. However, those who recognized their own failings usually listened to the counsel of loyal subjects and looked after the people.
The former Emperor was not such a man. He was incapable of admitting his own shortcomings.
Driven by insatiable greed and vanity, he squandered the Empire's resources on his own whims, ignored the warnings of his loyalists, and surrounded himself with sycophants. With an incompetent ruler and a court full of flatterers, corruption became the inevitable rot at the heart of the state.
High-ranking officials lined their pockets with bribes, and newcomers simply bought their way into office. Gradually, the bureaucracy was hollowed out until no one remained who truly cared for the Empire.
The common people were the ones who paid the price. Caught between the Emperor’s avarice and the officials' corruption, taxes soared and the populace starved. Yet, they were powerless to resist.
To make matters worse, the Crown Prince was a mirror image of his father—ignorant, incompetent, and just as greedy.
"Why should I have to attend the same place as those low-borns?" he had sneered, refusing to even set foot in the Academy.
Just as the Empire’s future was flickering out and the people’s suffering reached its zenith, he appeared.
The Phantom Thief, Cardinal.
Shrouded in pitch-black shadows, he began to plunder the fortunes of the corrupt.
"There are too many thieves in this Empire. I shall show you who the real thief is."
At first, the officials paid him little mind, assuming he would be caught in short order. But Cardinal defied every expectation. He appeared and disappeared like a ghost, stripping the wealthy of their riches before vanishing into the night. He grew bolder with every heist. Once the corrupt officials had been bled dry, the Emperor himself tried to intervene—only to end up being robbed as well.
What Cardinal stole from the Emperor was the ultimate national treasure: the sword of the first Emperor of the Croa Empire. Enraged by the loss, the Emperor mobilized every force at his disposal to recover it, but they found nothing.
Then, someone entirely unexpected recovered the treasure.
It was a Prince who was nothing more than the son of a concubine. Though he failed to capture the Phantom Thief, the Prince returned with the sword in hand. And the first thing he did with that national treasure was stage a coup d'état.
He had two justifications: the Emperor’s incompetence and the loss of the national treasure.
Everyone claimed a coup led by a mere illegitimate prince was an impossibility, but he had the backing of powerful allies: the Freya family, legendary for their swordsmanship, and the Adelian family, renowned for their mastery of magic.
With the support of these two Great Houses, the Prince marched toward the throne. The Imperial Knights were forced to block his path.
The Prince agonized over how to break through the knights to reach the Emperor. But he wasn't the only one in turmoil. Gedra, the Knight Commander at the time, looked at the Prince and hesitated.
He questioned if his duty was righteous. He could no longer remember if the thing he had sworn to protect as a young man was the Emperor or the Empire itself.
After much deliberation, Gedra made his choice.
"All knights, clear the path!"
Following the coup, Gedra resigned as Commander and became an Academy professor. He wanted to ensure there would be no more children like him—children who didn't know what they were doing or what they truly wanted to achieve.
The Prince, having broken through the blockade, executed the Emperor and the Crown Prince before ascending the throne. His first act as the new Emperor was a bloody purge of every corrupt official and sycophant in the court.
For a long time, the scent of blood refused to fade from the capital.
However, the new Emperor elevated the Adelian and Freya families to Ducal status and distributed free grain to the starving masses. Slowly but surely, the Empire regained its stability.
And from that day forward, the Phantom Thief Cardinal was never seen again.
* * *
[Since Your Majesty is busy, I shall get straight to the point. This boy named Loki... is he perhaps Your Majesty’s disciple?]
"Loki... that’s a name I’m hearing for the first time," the Emperor replied. "Is there a reason you suspect the boy is my student?"
[The boy's movements were remarkably similar to those of the Phantom Thief Cardinal.]
The Phantom Thief Cardinal.
Sitting in the heart of the imperial palace and listening to the Principal through the communication device, the Emperor allowed himself to drift into old memories. He didn't ask why the Principal would link a student's movements to a legendary thief.
After all, he was the Phantom Thief Cardinal. And the Principal was one of the very few people who knew the truth.
"Could you send me the exam footage? I’d like to see for myself."
[Of course.]
Even after the device went dark, the Emperor remained lost in thought for a long time.
* * *
Once the Golem vanished without even leaving a core behind, I flopped onto the ground. Finally, I could breathe.
A few students who had just regained consciousness after being knocked out by the magic beasts scrambled over to Lucas and Clara, showering them with flattery. Watching people who were unconscious ten seconds ago act like that was honestly pathetic.
"Your Highness! That was incredible! To take down that Golem with a single blow!"
"That spear throw was like a bolt of divine lightning!"
"It’s amazing that the two of you, Your Highness and Lady Clara, managed to fell such a powerful beast!"
"Lady Clara, your magic was truly magnificent. It’s an honor to attend the Academy alongside you."
Attend the Academy together? Idiots. Do they really think they’re getting in?
Clara completely ignored the sycophants. Lucas gave brief, polite replies to the fawning nobles before walking toward me.
But someone else reached me first.
She leaned over, her pink hair falling forward under the pull of gravity. It was a color that seemed impossible for anyone to pull off, yet it suited her perfectly.
It was Sepia Rivayden.
"Ignore those morons," she said. "Pay no mind to their talk about those two taking down the Golem."
Even as an adopted daughter, her tone was rough—hardly what you’d expect from a Marquis’s household. However, beneath the grit, I could hear a hint of worry that I might have been hurt by the lack of recognition.
"Haha, as long as a woman as beautiful and strong as Lady Sepia recognizes the truth, that’s enough for me. Besides, saying only those two caught the Golem is definitely incorrect."
"Right," she nodded. "The Golem was caught by the three of you—"
"Because we all caught it!" I interrupted. "If there weren't people like Lady Sepia handling the magic beasts, we never would have had the opening to take it down."
Sepia stared at me blankly for a moment, seemingly dumbfounded.
"......You idiot. If you’re that nice, you’re going to have a miserable time surviving at this Academy."
A whoosh of wind echoed nearby. A wind spirit fluttered over and perched on Sepia’s hand.
"Here. I picked up your thread."
In Sepia’s hand was the wire I had used to bind the Golem. I thought it would have been vaporized by Lucas and Clara’s attacks, but I guess some of it survived.
"I’ll give it to you as a gift," I said. "To commemorate our friendship."
"When did I ever become friends with you?"
"Hehe, if talking like this isn't being friends, then what is?"
"I see now. You’re not just an idiot, you’re a pushover. You must know how valuable this material is."
I had plenty of thread in my Pocket Dimension anyway. And if it was Sepia, she’d be able to make great use of it through her spirits.
"If it means becoming friends with someone as cool as Lady Sepia, wouldn't I be the one coming out ahead?"
After hearing that, Sepia muttered something under her breath and turned away.
"Thanks," she whispered.
As she left, Lucas finally arrived.
"Seeing you lying there, you must be exhausted," he noted.
"Haha, it’s not that I’m tired. I just have a hobby of occasionally lying down like this to look up at the sky."
"There’s a ceiling, so you can’t even see the sky. What are you talking about?"
Creeeeak—
Just as Lucas burst into laughter, the heavy auditorium doors swung open. A procession of professors entered, and the chattering students immediately fell silent.
"We will now announce the class assignments. Additionally, for this academic year, a Special Class has been established."
At those words, a woman with ash-gray hair stepped into the auditorium.
"This is the instructor we have specially invited to lead the Special Class."
I knew her. In the world of Croaka, she was infamous for working students to the bone. But because she raised stats more significantly than anyone else, she was known as the "Devil Instructor."
She walked in while dragging Professor Idra—the "Crazy Professor"—by the scruff of her neck.
"I will call the Special Class students first! Lucas Leonhart, Clara Adelian, Sepia Rivayden, Kuran Isar... and Loki. You five belong to the Special Class from this moment forward."
The names she called were the "main characters" of Croaka. The reason I had worked so hard during the entrance ceremony was precisely to secure a spot in this class.
"Next are the students assigned to Class 1..."
The professor continued through the lists for Class 1 and Class 2.
"Those whose names have not been called, raise your hands."
A significant number of students raised their hands.
"You are all expelled. Leave the Academy immediately."
"What? What do you mean!"
"Do you know how hard we worked to pass the entrance exam?!"
The declaration sent shockwaves through the room. No one expected mass expulsions on the very first day.
"Hey! Even a guy like that got into the Special Class!" one student shouted, pointing directly at me. "Why did I fail?"
Wow. You’re really trying to drag me down right now? Did you not see me fighting?
"Sigh... Afro Ganish," the professor said, sounding exhausted. "When the magic beasts appeared, you panicked, took a hit, and fainted. Is that correct?"
The professor sighed as if this were a daily occurrence. I suppose after a few years of teaching, you get used to guys like this.
"T-That’s because they appeared so suddenly! I was flustered!"
"I’ll give you a more detailed explanation."
The one who spoke was the ash-haired Devil Instructor. She dropped Professor Idra onto the floor and stood before Afro Ganish. The boy began to tremble under her gaze.
"My name is Elicia. From now on, I will show you exactly why you are being expelled."
The moment the words left her lips, she vanished.
Sensing a sudden, sharp spike of danger, I instinctively threw my body backward.
The edge of the Devil Instructor’s hand sliced through the exact space where my face had been a millisecond ago.
"Did you see?" she asked.
"Huh? See what?" Afro stammered.
This time, the Devil Instructor lunged at Afro Ganish. Compared to the strike she aimed at me, her speed was incredibly slow. Yet, Afro Ganish couldn't even react before he was sent flying across the room.
"This is the reason you are being expelled," Elicia stated coldly. "This student avoided a surprise attack. You couldn't even avoid one you knew was coming."
In the midst of this absurd tension, Professor Idra suddenly crawled over and hugged me. What was wrong with this crazy woman?
"Commander, what do you think you’re doing?! I suspected something was up the moment you said you’d take the Special Class! Student Loki, you must have been so startled!"
"Yes! I was terrified! My fragile heart almost went pop and exploded!" I played along.
"There, there. Was our poor student Loki very surprised?"
Come to think of it, back when Idra was an adventurer, the commander of her party had been the Devil Instructor.
"Hmm..."
Scratching her head, the Devil Instructor tossed a pouch toward me. What’s this?
"I’m not used to this 'teaching' thing yet, so I apologize," Elicia said. "Consider this a small token of compensation."
I opened the pouch. It was overflowing with gold coins.
Gasp! How much is this?
I immediately disentangled myself from Professor Idra’s hug.
"Please step back, Professor Idra," I said firmly. "Professor Elicia was perfectly justified in her actions!"
"Student Loki?" Idra blinked, confused.
Ignoring her, I turned to the Devil Instructor and gave a deep, 90-degree bow.
"It was an absolute honor to be of assistance to Professor Elicia!"
Hehe. Gold coins! Pure gold!
From this moment on, she wasn't the Devil Instructor. She was the Goddess Instructor.