Suspension
"Dean. I've brought him."
"Ah! Perfect timing—just in time. Good, good!"
Wiping the sweat that kept beading on his brow, the Student Dean—who had looked thoroughly cornered—nodded over and over as if a savior had just walked through the door.
"This way, Zeke. Come over here first."
Urgency bled through every word. Hardly surprising; the man must have felt as if lightning had struck him out of a clear blue sky.
Kaiden had caused the occasional duel accident, but nothing truly catastrophic—until now. Whether it was the filthy personality that matched his talent, or simply the high blood of a collateral branch, the boy had always stood a cut above the rest. And that same boy had just been beaten into a pulp by a commoner—literally smashed to pieces.
If it had only been some ordinary commoner, this would have been easier.
He could simply have expelled the boy and washed his hands of it. Fair? Legal? No. But that was how the world worked. Not dying already counted as mercy; expulsion was cheaper than a life.
Of all people, it had to be that brat.
Not just any commoner—one who happened to be close to the daughter of House Justain. As Dean of Students he was trapped, unable to move either way. Force the boy out and Lorraine Justain would never stay quiet. Leave him be and the Borzi family would never forgive it.
Shit. Shit, shit, shit!
And so the full pressure of one of the Five Ducal Families—the Borzi Ducal Family—now rested on the shoulders of a mere academy dean.
"…"
Following the Dean's beckoning hand a few steps closer, Zeke felt the gaze of the man seated on the sofa turn slowly toward him. It was the look one gave a worm crushed on the roadside—contempt laid bare.
"This is the one?"
Kilian's voice dropped low.
"Collateral branch or not—how dare a low-born mongrel trample the blood of House Borzi."
"…"
The man lounging arrogantly with one leg crossed over the other was Kilian Borzi. True to his rank as Commander of the Knight Order, an unmistakably dangerous aura rolled off him in waves.
"Y-yes! He's Zeke, second-year of the Knight Division… b-but it was a fully official duel conducted under instructor supervision."
Crushed by the sheer pressure, the Student Dean sat behind his desk mopping cold sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief already soaked past any usefulness.
"Ha."
Kilian's mouth twisted at the Dean's desperate attempt to keep the ducal house placated.
"Listen here, Dean."
"Y-yes! Please speak!"
"Is knocking out every last tooth and shattering a man's arm bones the kind of duel technique this Academy teaches?"
"Th-that is…"
The question sealed the Dean's lips. Of course it wasn't. That had been no duel—it had been a fight for survival.
"Commander Kilian. A word, if I may."
"Speak."
Sir Herman, standing ramrod-straight behind them, cut into the conversation with a heavy voice.
"Cadet Kaiden provoked the duel first and then violated regulations by deploying combat-level mana mid-match. Cadet Zeke was merely responding in kind when—"
Bang!
"Spare me that nonsense!"
Kilian sliced the words off with open disgust and fixed Herman with a frigid stare.
"Duel regulations? You dare claim those petty rules weigh heavier than the honor of House Borzi?!"
A deep, resonant thrum rolled out from his body; dense mana slammed through the room like a physical weight. The air itself thickened until breathing became labor. The killing intent seeping from the Knight Commander flooded every corner, proving the title had not been handed out lightly.
"H-hiiik…!"
The Student Dean sank deeper into his chair, trembling like a leaf. Even Sir Herman's forehead veins stood out under the strain. For a Skilled Knight, enduring a sitting Knight Commander's full presence was no small mental burden.
Yet in that crushing silence and pressure, one person alone remained unmoved—Zeke stood perfectly still, not a single hair out of place.
"…You."
Even an academy instructor could barely stay on his feet, yet this mere student—this green boy—stood there as if nothing were wrong. Kilian's brow furrowed. A commoner who ought to be on his knees begging for his life was meeting the killing aura head-on without so much as a blink.
"…"
The calm in those eyes—eyes that should have belonged to something less than vermin—was deeply unpleasant. For a moment it almost felt as though the boy saw straight through him.
Kilian forced the rising irritation down and turned back to the Dean.
"…Dean. House Borzi's demand is simple. Expel this insolent low-born from the Academy at once and hand him over to us. We will see that he answers properly for the crime of harming our blood."
"Th-that is…!"
The Dean's face went the color of dirt. Even under ducal pressure, surrendering a currently enrolled student—especially one who might be connected to House Justain—was a clear overreach of authority.
"I trust you do not intend to refuse."
"E-even so, that would…"
Kilian's expression was growing steadily darker when Zeke, who had kept silent until now, took a single step forward.
Step.
"Commander Kilian."
"A commoner dares speak my name? I'll teach that loose mouth of yours—"
Before the open disgust could finish the sentence, Zeke cut him off as if the man's words were not worth hearing.
"It is written in Academy Code Article 3, Clause 1: 'Regarding the results of official duels and matches conducted within the Academy, external powers may not pursue private vengeance or legal retribution.'"
"…What?"
Kilian stared as though the boy had begun speaking pure nonsense.
"Furthermore, the one who first used life-threatening mana during the duel was Senior Kaiden. I merely preserved my own body within the bounds of legitimate self-defense. What grounds for expulsion exist here?"
"Ha! This mad dog still—"
Kilian ground his teeth.
"You think Academy regulations stand above a ducal house's law? Learn a few letters and suddenly a low-born thinks he can look anyone in the eye!"
"The Academy is an institution under direct imperial authority, co-founded by His Majesty the First Emperor and Archmage Luminus. Commander Kilian—are you claiming that the house law of the Borzi Ducal Family stands above Academy regulations, and therefore above the authority of the Imperial House itself?"
"…That—!"
For an instant Kilian's face darkened violently. Even a ducal house that wielded near-absolute power within the Empire could not afford the brand of challenging imperial authority. With the Emperor currently hunting for any pretext against the noble houses in order to strengthen the throne, a single careless word leaking outside could place not only himself but the entire family in peril.
Grind.
"You… watch that tongue of yours, whelp."
"I have only stated the correct principle."
Zeke refused to yield a single inch; savage killing intent flickered in Kilian's eyes.
"There's a limit to how little fear a man should have. You think name-dropping the Imperial House will keep you alive in this room?"
"I am not trying to stay alive. I am simply asking that we follow the rules."
Even under killing intent that would have driven an ordinary man to his knees, Zeke stood his ground and met it head-on, voice still level.
"If you truly feel wronged, take Senior Kaiden to the Imperial Tribunal. There were countless witnesses at the duel. It will become perfectly clear who first violated regulations and attempted a lethal strike."
"You… you—!"
Crash!
Kilian surged to his feet. His hand flew to the sword at his hip. The urge to cut down the insolent commoner standing before him must have been nearly overwhelming.
"Hold!"
Before the blade could clear its scabbard, Herman was already there, hand locked around his own hilt, body interposed.
"Commander Kilian. Do not cross the line. This is the Academy."
"…"
Taut tension crushed the Dean's office. Kilian glared back and forth between Herman and Zeke.
"…Tch."
In the end Kilian slowly took his hand from the sword. Not because he feared the man staring him down—far from it. Drawing a blade here in private would bring a storm the entire family would have to weather, and reason had finally smothered instinct.
"…The commoner has a rather clever tongue."
"Living teaches you a few things whether you want the lessons or not."
"Hah. Still climbing higher. Don't imagine you can hide inside these walls forever."
"…"
It was an open threat, but Zeke only lowered his eyes a fraction.
I never planned to hide forever.
Only the night before he had monopolized the Archmage's Mana Well and expanded his vessel once. At his current level, a threat like Kilian was already something he could laugh at.
"I'll be looking forward to seeing how long you stay in one piece."
With that, Kilian spun on his heel and strode for the door. Just before he wrenched it open and stepped out, he barked over his shoulder at the frozen Dean without bothering to look back.
"Dean."
"Y-yes!"
"See that this commoner is properly disciplined. If you try to brush it off with word games about self-defense, House Borzi will not let the matter rest. Keep that firmly in mind."
"H-hiii…!"
Bang!
With that final crushing warning Kilian slammed the door as if trying to break it and left the office. Only after the heavy tramp of his boots had faded completely down the corridor did the oppressive silence inside the room begin to ease.
"Hoooo…"
In the wreckage left by the storm, the Student Dean finally released the breath he had been holding and collapsed into his chair. Too drained even to wipe the sweat still pouring down his face, he simply stared blankly at the door through which Kilian had vanished.
People said becoming Dean of Students shortened your lifespan. He had laughed it off as nonsense once. Now he understood exactly what they meant.
After Kilian had driven the stake in that deep, some gesture—any gesture—would be required to soothe the family's fury even a little.
"Zeke."
"Yes, Dean."
"What you said just now was not wrong. Under the regulations there is no grounds for expulsion or any equally heavy penalty."
"…"
"But… given the situation, we cannot simply let it pass with no action at all. You understand that, I hope?"
The Dean's compromise sounded almost craven, yet Zeke only shrugged lightly. The man was sitting in an impossible chair; what real fault could be laid at his feet?
"What measures will be taken against Senior Kaiden, who attempted the lethal strike first?"
"Th-that… his family has requested medical leave for treatment. He will be away from the Academy for the time being. In effect, a confinement order."
So the ducal background had merely kept an official disciplinary mark off the record; in the end the boy was being packed off to recover as if driven out. Not a bad result.
"Understood. And the disposition for me?"
"…A one-month suspension."
"…"
"O-of course it's unfair from your perspective, but… th-this level of compromise…"
"Understood."
"If you would just… wait, what?"
The Dean's eyes went round. He had fully expected protests of injustice or demands for a lighter sentence; instead the boy had simply nodded.
A one-month suspension.
Neither too short nor too long. If anything, it was perfect. He could not have asked for a better pretext.
House Borzi. I never liked them to begin with.
A deep curve touched Zeke's lips. The mana surging through his body—so abundant it felt ready to burst—thrummed pleasantly in time with his heartbeat.