Chapter 23: The Academy's Service is Over (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 23: The Academy's Service is Over (1)
The incident during the midterm exams was, according to Violet, a very significant event.
First, there was the awakening of the RoFan female lead.
The scene where she becomes a Saintess and begins to showcase her true abilities as a heroine was one thing. But it was also the turning point where the story shifted from a flowery academy arc to something darker, just like the title suggested.
Then there was the appearance of the villain, Silence—someone who would continue to create crises by easily neutralizing even the RoFan male leads and their overwhelming talent.
As Violet put it:
"I didn't plan on getting a hole in my gut for nothing!"
She emphasized it so much that it was clear just how vital the event was.
Because of that, I could be generous and understand how the Empire’s security had been breached. It was the first time the Academy had been attacked, after all.
They might have been hit by a counter-ambush, but even the former Tower Lord of the White Tower had been knocked out, hadn't he?
I heard an absurd follow-up later that a condition had been set where those who fell couldn't be touched, meaning you could have survived just by fainting. Regardless, Uncle Aeryun had been screwed over by all sorts of unfair developments during the midterm episode.
But.
"They let this get breached too?"
According to the possessor, these dark mages were literally just a passing episode.
In terms of chapters, it was maybe two chapters' worth of content. It wasn't even for some strategic reason; it was just a coincidence where the dungeon the students went to for field training happened to be the dark mages' secret laboratory.
That’s why I trusted them.
There was no out-of-spec villain like Silence here. It wasn't tied to the main story, nor was it filled with forced, unfair plot devices. It was an episode that could have been included or skipped without much consequence.
That’s why I told them in advance to use it as practice and rack up some achievements.
And yet, they couldn't even stop this.
Damn Imperials. They’re terrible at their jobs!
"I don't think that's quite right."
I was busy cursing the Empire when Violet jumped in to defend them, as if she hadn't quite washed off her Imperial roots yet.
Was the salary too low? Our Boradori keeps turning back into Violet.
"Why?"
A good senior must listen to his junior’s words. If it’s nonsense, I’ll scold her; if it’s a reasonable opinion, I’ll report it to the higher-ups as if it were my own idea.
When I asked for her reasoning, she replied:
"There are no traces of dark mages."
She was right. Since entering the dungeon, we hadn't seen a single sign of dark magic. I had started to think the Empire was finally doing its job.
"Then what the hell is that?"
I pointed at the Minor Sword Emperor, whose eyes were bloodshot as he swung his sword wildly at Prince Ellen. To anyone watching, he looked like he was under mind control.
"He's always like that."
"Does the kid have intermittent explosive disorder?"
He looked so unstable that even the Military Manpower Administration—who would draft you even if you had a mental illness—would probably say, "Whoa, this is a bit much..." and give him a Level 4 service rating.
A RoFan male lead candidate with a mental illness?
"...Wait."
Is that it?
Considering the mental state of these kids, it wouldn't be strange if they all had a screw or two loose.
"It's not that. The dark mages here were the ones researching magic swords."
"Don't tell me that sword the Minor Sword Emperor is holding is a magic sword?"
"It is."
The short answer left me speechless for a moment.
"...You didn't mention that, Boradori-san."
"...It was originally something that just gets passed over, so it didn't seem to matter, Senior."
I specifically told her to tell me everything, yet there was information I didn't have. As I narrowed my eyes and glared at her, Boradori avoided my gaze and answered.
"Explain."
"Originally, after the battle with the dark mages, Asran gets his hands on the magic sword. That's when the typical 'Do you desire power!' line is triggered, but the development was supposed to be him overcoming it in the end."
"And?"
"The kid's lost his mind, hasn't he?"
Pondering why that might be, Boradori immediately shifted the blame.
"The culprit is you!"
And she said it right to her superior's face.
"Watch your tone."
"The... The culprit is you, Senior!"
It sounded the same, but I decided to let it slide for now.
"Fine. Why?"
"Originally, Asran was only supposed to lose to Ellen. The plot was for him to grow alongside Daisy to overcome that defeat!"
"But he lost to me, and he couldn't grow with Daisy?"
"It's not that he couldn't, but because Prince Ellen started sprinting ahead unlike in the original, the number of events with Daisy has definitely decreased."
Originally, this was an event meant to show the Minor Sword Emperor's growth potential by having him easily overcome the sword's influence. However, his self-esteem was lower than in the original, and with fewer events with the RoFan heroine, his growth seemed to have plateaued.
"You said his actual power growth was similar to the original last time."
"In terms of ability, he's actually grown more thanks to you and Prince Ellen being more active than in the original. But it seems his mental state has actually regressed."
"......Do I have to cover his mental health too?"
"If left alone, Daisy would usually fix it. But Daisy's been busy lately..."
It did seem like several events were in progress right after her Saintess awakening. People had been dispatched from the Church, and she was frequently missing club activities and even classes.
"Was that Church-related event you mentioned scheduled for summer break?"
During summer break, as is typical for a fantasy world, a conflict between the corrupt Church clergy and the RoFan protagonist's party was scheduled. The normalization of the Church was, of course, the job of the RoFan heroine.
Until then, Daisy and her group were destined to suffer through incidents related to the Church of Light.
"It would end much faster if you participated, Senior."
"Not a chance."
Staying at the academy during break is common sense in academy stories, but reality is different. When it's break, you go home. It’s a horror story for a host country if royalty from another nation stays over during the holidays.
"You should at least leave Prince Ellen behind."
"You said he wasn't there originally anyway."
I planned to take him with me regardless, but apparently, he wasn't part of that arc in the original either. As expected of the Academy arc extra, Prince Ellen.
"Weren't you the one saying the original work must be preserved?"
"I told you, it's already all ruined..."
"Work hard. Report to me immediately if anything happens."
Unlike Prince Ellen and me, Violet—who was confirmed to be a forced participant in every event as the heroine's childhood friend—let out a deep sigh.
"I picked the wrong workplace..."
It was too late for regrets. She had already taken the advance payment; if she went back to the Empire now, she’d just be a traitor.
"It's over."
While we watched from behind, Prince Ellen, after contemplating for a while, finally subdued the Minor Sword Emperor.
"You called it a magic sword, but why is it so weak?"
"In terms of grade, it's roughly a high-tier magic sword, so it can only pull one's status up by about one level."
Pulling one's status up by a level. In short, it was an incredibly broken item.
"Just how big is the gap between them?"
I could only sigh at the sight of Prince Ellen, who had casually crushed someone using such a weapon.
Inside the dark mages' secret laboratory.
"Listen, you really can only look. The investigation isn't officially over yet."
I narrowed my eyes and glared at Uncle Aeryun as he repeated the same thing for the umpteenth time.
"I don't want to be like this either. But you need to do your job properly, Uncle."
Perhaps feeling a prick of conscience, he just looked away with an awkward expression. Honestly, I didn't want to act like this toward an adult ten years older than me, but the Empire had already lost too much of my trust.
"By the way, the Empire is truly terrifying. Dark mages living in a dungeon on the mountain right behind the capital."
"Ahem."
I suppose this is why the Empire became the main stage for the RoFan.
"Let's try to manage things better."
I said, handing over the former magic sword—now a normal blade after being purified—to him. Of course, I was just taking credit.
The one possessed by the magic sword was the Minor Sword Emperor. The one who beat him was Prince Ellen, and the one who purified the sword was Daisy. I had just watched from the back, picked up the sword, and handed it to the person in charge.
"Thank you."
Regardless, I was the one who informed them that dark mages were here. And since the party that resolved it was our royalty, it was only natural for the Empire to lower its head for now.
"I heard they were the ones researching this magic sword."
At my words, Uncle Aeryun’s expression stiffened for a moment. It was only a split second, but even a trained agent seemed caught off guard.
"...From what the experts have confirmed, it seems they were trying to create an Ego Sword."
"What were they going to do with that?"
"It seems they intended to create mass-produced magic swords and sell them to the Academy students."
That was a chilling thought. Everyone and their mother falling for a sword whispering "Do you desire power?" and running around like lunatics. Even if they were mass-produced, they were copies of a magic sword that had plunged even the mentally weakened Minor Sword Emperor into a state of madness. Ordinary people would be easily controlled by the mass-produced versions alone.
"I assume they failed."
If they had succeeded, this would have been a main episode, not a passing event. So, it was only natural that they failed due to the incompetence of the dark mages here.
"...Actually, they succeeded?"
Uncle Aeryun’s expression relaxed slightly. He seemed quite pleased that my prediction was wrong.
"...Really?"
I understood why. Up until now, the Empire had been getting utterly crushed by the Kingdom in the information war—and regarding incidents happening right in the heart of the Empire, no less.
Of course, the source of that information was a possessor who knew the future of the world, but since he didn't know that, Uncle Aeryun must have been quite distressed.
"I guess they were more competent than I thought."
It seemed the dark mages here weren't incompetent; they were competent but just unlucky. They were simply unfortunate enough to be wiped out by the RoFan party on a field trip, turning their life's work into a passing episode. If the field trip had been canceled due to the Academy terror, they might have become the main villains of the next arc.
"This is the mass-produced version."
"Can I hold it?"
"If it's someone of your skill level."
Just how highly does this guy evaluate me? ...Well, I did help capture the Minor Sword Emperor and Silence. The more I think about it, the more I wonder what the hell our Prince is.
"Hmm."
Feeling quite confident, I drew the sword. Immediately, a voice echoed in my head.
—Do you desire power?
"Oh."
—I can draw out all of your strength.
It was a deep, dignified voice, full of confidence.
"What is it saying?"
"It's basically saying it'll draw out my power. I think it uses mind control to push the user's potential to the limit?"
I didn't know about the original, but I understood the mass-produced version's ability. It was based on the common saying that humans can't use their full potential; the sword forced that potential out through mind control.
For example, it would remove emotions like fear to achieve optimal movement and release physical limits, drawing out the maximum strength the user could produce even if it damaged the body. In a way, it felt similar to the doping potion I took when fighting Silence.
—It is no lie. Imagine what you desire.
Rather than an Ego Sword, it felt like an AI from my past life. It felt like it was syncing with me, trying to pull out my desires.
"Well, then."
For a proper evaluation, I tried to let the mind control take hold as much as possible without actually losing my mind. If it worked correctly, it might be useful in some way.
—...
Thinking of my role, I conveyed what I wanted to the mass-produced magic sword as clearly as possible.
—......
Maybe because it was a mass-produced version, it seemed to be working, but the response was slow, like a lagging computer.
—.........Equipment shutting down due to overload.
"What?"
The mana flowing through the sword cut off abruptly, like a computer suddenly shutting down.
"What on earth did you ask for?"
"I asked it to tell me how to beat our Prince."
"...Even you can't beat him?"
"I get totally crushed."
"I'm jealous that the Kingdom's future is so bright..."
His voice was genuinely envious, but I wasn't worried. His own Prince would soon be active as a RoFan male lead.
Of course... Uncle Aeryun would probably suffer immensely during that process.
"By the way, when is your birthday?"
"So suddenly?"
I should buy him some anti-wrinkle cream in advance as a birthday present this year.