Dormitory Scramble (6)
Before the lecture hall of Thief Academy.
Lena Croix was rolling across the ground with heavy steps of her boots.
“Professor Lena.”
“Mmm.”
At the summons of the masked man, Lena Croix turned around.
“It’s time to end the Dormitory Scramble.”
“But Group A hasn’t arrived yet.”
“Haven’t I already given you enough leeway?”
Lena had been waiting to see Group A—or rather Ethan Cass—return to the lecture hall with the dormitory flag proudly raised.
She had witnessed his absurdly brilliant performance in real time, so she was now completely certain of his abilities.
‘Ethan Cass has more than enough potential to become the next Thief Master.’
Already proven talents had filled her heart with pride.
Meanwhile, the cadets trapped in the prison displayed a variety of expressions.
Other dormitory cadets seemed pleased or indifferent.
Only the first dormitory cadets looked unhappy.
That was because Ethan had taken care of them in so many ways during their time together.
“Ethan taught us how to pick locks.”
“Sob… I don’t want to see us expelled like this.”
“Don’t worry, kids. Ethan doesn’t break easily. He was with that half-angel girl, after all.”
Caion’s gang mocked them from the side.
“He doesn’t break? Bullshit. There are only three of them—how are they supposed to pass?”
“Watch your mouth!”
“A commoner blacksmith who can’t even sign his name is raising his voice at the son of a marquis now?”
Instantly, the atmosphere tensed.
Crash!
Lena Croix’s dagger shot through the air and embedded itself in the prison bars.
“Hiiik!”
Her stern voice echoed through the lecture hall.
“Quiet down! We can’t even cheer you on!”
Lena had been trained at a knight academy to value comradeship above her own life.
Her philosophy clashed sharply with that of the Thief Academy principal, who preached survival of the fittest and endless competition.
‘Ethan Cass… I had high expectations for him to stand out this time.’
It was truly a pity.
“Within the next three counts, if Group A of the first dormitory doesn’t appear, they will be declared expelled.”
Lena’s dagger hovered in the air.
“3!”
The cadets swallowed hard.
“2!”
The daggers were about to detonate the bags hovering above them.
“1!”
“Group A has failed to return, so they will be expelled…!”
At that moment.
From far away, clouds of mist began to swirl and gather.
“Kheuk… heh…”
Five cadets rolled out from within the swirling mist.
Among them, the most handsome and dashing cadet.
A boy with jet-black hair swept back, glowing ruby-red eyes, strode forward.
“Professor.”
In his hand he held a flag painted with a ruby.
“We have completed Group A’s mission and returned.”
A satisfied smile curved Lena Croix’s lips.
Her dagger tore open the bag hovering in the air.
Colorful pieces of cloth burst forth and fluttered like petals.
“This year’s glory victors of the Dormitory Scramble!”
Lena raised Ethan’s flag high.
“First Dormitory Group A!!”
The cadets trapped inside erupted in cheers.
“It’s really Ethan Cass!”
“First Dormitory won! They actually won!”
“No, it’s because of Ethan! Anyway, he was awesome!”
All the professors on the podium clapped.
“Excellent.”
“What a remarkable achievement.”
“The freshmen this year are truly outstanding.”
They had been watching Ethan’s performance through shared vision spirits.
“Ethan! Ethan!”
Some of the cadets who had been locked up chanted his name.
*
Awards time began.
“The first dormitory’s Group A, which Ethan Cass belongs to, will monopolize entrance rights to all dormitories!”
That was an enormous privilege.
Ethan thought to himself.
‘Sell them? Or not?’
Honestly, he only owned one building with a club room.
Entrance rights to the dormitories didn’t matter to him anyway.
‘If I auction them off to the same cadets, I’d probably make tens of gold bars.’
It was true.
Thief Academy had royalty from distant branches all the way down to dukes, marquises, and count’s sons.
He could extract money from the cadets whenever he wanted.
However, Ethan had decided to use this moment strategically.
Since ancient times, what was hardest to obtain wasn’t money or goods.
‘It’s honor and public respect.’
It was the conclusion he had drawn after receiving dozens of “heart letters” from his teammates.
“Um… Professor Lena?”
Ethan spoke quietly in front of the cadets.
“First dormitory comrades crossed death and life together.”
That was true.
The first dormitory comrades had personally cleaned up the trash bins that almost collapsed.
The first dormitory comrades had asked if he wanted to eat the insect rations they kept aside.
(Of course, Ethan had been forced to eat them because of the entrance exam… he had outright rejected any unnecessary insects with a single stroke.)
The first dormitory comrades had received mental education from him and thanked him, showing their willingness to cooperate.
“Comrade love is the love of the country.”
He didn’t add the rest: ‘Though Thief Academy is a national hate.’
Ethan had unconsciously activated the spirit of the South Korean Army from his past life.
“I am accepting all dormitory entrance rights to shirk my noble obligation.”
“…”
“The one we could conquer this time was simply good fortune.”
Lena Croix’s eyes grew wider and wider.
Ethan smiled warmly and placed a hand over his chest.
“I want to share this good fortune with my comrades.”
The crowd fell silent at his weighty declaration.
Sniffling sounds and murmurs spread everywhere.
“Ethan…”
“Sob… how far do you plan to go, Ethan?!”
“You’re so cool!”
Ethan thought.
‘I thought I’d never have to give my Thief Academy peers anything, even if I died and came back to life.’
But the situation was different now.
As always in military tactics.
‘Keep friends close, but keep enemies closer.’
Lena Croix was a rare figure directly connected to the imperial family, though she was a graduate of Thief Academy.
‘Later, to steal the imperial seal, I’ll need to make a good impression on Lena Croix.’
Lena Croix.
I will extract every imperial structure and weakness from you.
Even if it means getting the highest grades in this damned Thief Academy.
Lena Croix didn’t know Ethan’s wicked plan.
“In the world…”
Lena Croix’s eyes widened in surprise.
‘How did a boy with such unwavering belief end up in Thief Academy?’
She couldn’t hide her astonishment.
That was because Thief Academy, which boasted of being a thieves’ and rogues’ school, attracted far too many cadets with twisted minds and attitudes.
Malicious groups who thought anyone who was a thief could beat and steal from anyone.
Seeing those low-level cadets…
Ethan’s noble heart had warmed her heart for the first time in a long while.
‘What is this feeling?’
It was a flutter she had never felt toward her students.
Lena had never found anyone with such pure sensibilities at the knight academy.
Ethan was simply irresistible.
Lena smiled faintly.
“Good. If that’s your will, Ethan.”
Lena Croix fluttered her imperial cloak and extended her hand to the side.
“I grant rewards to the entire first dormitory!”
Instantly, a thunderous cheer erupted.
“Waaaah!”
As Lena gestured, spirits from the air hurled colorful cloth scraps.
“Thanks to Ethan, you can live in the dormitories starting from the second semester!”
The cadets rushed toward Ethan.
“Ethan! Thank you! I never imagined such benefits because you shone!”
“I’ll contact my family right now to have a top-tier carriage sent! Thank you, Ethan!”
“I’ll offer a thousand gold coins for Ethan! Our family only has money!”
That last line dragged on a bit, but Ethan began sorting through the donations that had come to him.
“Everyone, line up. Sign a contract here next to Sera Barakin’s booth by dipping your thumb in the spider-silk essence.”
Sera, startled, perked up her long elf ears.
“Huh!? Ethan? Me? Why me?!”
“I’ll take ten percent.”
“Line up, line up!”
The cadets who had been locked in cages the whole time came down and cheered with them.
“Ethan! This ring is one I cherish—take it!”
“Hey, Pierre! That’s an heirloom, you crazy bastard!”
“Oh, right. Hehe. I’ll give you something else instead of the ring!”
They would have to eat and sleep in a rundown house for the first semester.
But what of it?
From the second semester, they could go to the dormitory with hot water flowing!
To them, Ethan was already the god they worshipped beneath their feet!
“Ethan! Ethan! Ethan!”
The first dormitory cadets drenched him in cheers.
Ethan’s group watched with warm smiles from behind.
Princess Iria also smiled faintly.
“Prince Caion. Can I expect your support?”
“…”
“Fufu.”
She walked toward Ethan and joined in the cheers.
Caion clenched his fist tightly.
“Damn it…”
Meanwhile, the other dormitories were in mourning.
“Ah… why was it the second dormitory…”
“This is killing me… I wish I could learn the high-grade potion recipe from Ethan someday…”
“What kind of nonsense is that? They’re giving artifacts, yet they’re still not satisfied…”
“Those in the same dormitory as Ethan are so enviable…”
In particular, the fourth dormitory’s capture team, which Caion belonged to, wore funeral expressions.
“This bastard!!”
Crunch!
The sound of grinding teeth echoed menacingly.
Veins bulged on Caion’s forehead and neck.
“Caion…?”
Ethan gave Caion a wink.
Ethan himself was startled by his own action.
‘Oops, that wasn’t intentional.’
The effect was clear.
“Wha—?!”
Caion collapsed.
“This!! Ack!”
“C-Caion-nim!”
“Hey, take him to the infirmary quickly!”
Suppressing the rising anger, he toppled backward.
Ethan didn’t notice that Caion’s blood pressure had spiked because of him.
‘Sweat got into his eyes.’
He was only rubbing his eyes and nose.
But Ethan’s little suffering had just begun.
“Stop…”
“Waaaaah Ethan!”
Ethan crossed his arms and made a dignified face, then flew high into the air only to fall back down repeatedly.
Ethan said, sweating profusely.
“S-Stop.”
“Waaaaah Ethan Cass! The only achievement possible was ‘stop’!”
“Stop… stop it already.”
“Right, Cass! The actions you stopped were truly heroic! Waaaaah!”
Ethan clutched his stomach, feeling nauseous.
‘How much longer are you going to dunk me, you Thief Academy bastards.’
Let me go already.
Ethan spun in mid-air until his gaze locked onto one spot.
Sera, Iska, Dormuut, and Chris were smiling gently, watching him.
“C-Comrades, please save me.”
And the four began to clap slowly.
“We dunked you so much, Ethan, you have to get dunked once too.”
“Even now, when escaping, I still feel the angel wings Ethan hit me with.”
“It was the first time I saw an orc treated like a pack mule. Fly for thirty minutes like that!”
“For our junior, when the senior is spinning you around, it’s never been like this. Just pathetic.”
You bastards!
Ethan was devastated.
The habit of treating his teammates like balls hadn’t left him.
The posture of receiving dozens of “heart letters” from his teacher hadn’t faded even in the empire.
‘Thanks to that, I escaped unscathed…! You Thief Academy bastards!’
Since Ethan had forced his teammates to do all kinds of life-threatening things during the escape, this reaction was inevitable.
‘I shouldn’t have trusted those damned Thief Academy guys.’
Ethan’s Thief Academy hatred kept growing.
“Ethan! Ethan!”
“S-Stop it!”
Ethan flew higher into the sky than ever before.
Meanwhile, the fresh cadet who had exhausted himself during the entrance exam was approaching the time of Thief Academy’s first class.