CHAPTER 120
CHAPTER 120
A Decision of the Board?
Someone had appeared at Dunaice Academy through a transfer gate, triggering the academy’s alarm system.
By chance, the gatekeeper Gibles, who had been near the plaza, came to meet the intruders holding the gatekeeper’s lantern, but he felt taken aback.
At a glance, an imposing group had appeared, consisting of a massive elderly man and a young man and woman.
The giant elder carried a staff radiating an unusual amount of mana, and on his head protruded bull-like horns—not mere decoration, but real horns grown from his body.
“Demonkin?!”
Gatekeeper Gibles was startled at the sight.
A demonkin appearing through the academy’s transfer gate…
If they were illegal intruders, he should resist them, but Gibles, who had never encountered such intruders before, did not know what to do.
At most, he had only ever discovered wild beasts that had wandered in by chance, or bandits who approached by sea.
Such bandits or beasts could be handled sufficiently by the animated armors controlled by the gatekeeper’s lantern, a relic passed down through generations to the academy’s gatekeepers.
But demonkin were a different matter entirely.
“Ah, rest assured. We are not illegal intruders.”
The elder spoke and lightly touched the tip of his staff with a finger.
Light burst forth from the staff, and all the animated armors were rendered powerless.
The armors, which had been in a defensive stance, all turned at once and returned to their normal positions.
“N-no…”
Gibles panicked and tried to activate the gatekeeper’s lantern, but the lantern itself had gone out.
“This must be the famed Dunaice Academy. Once the ancient capital of the people of Garumhau. Our homeland. The place we must restore.”
The young man, who did not hide the horns on his head, looked around Dunaice Academy and expressed his sentiments.
“If you put it that way, it may sound threatening to the faculty here, Your Highness.”
These were Gimmel the Great Mage of the demonkin nation Garumhau, and his disciples. The First Prince Kaises and his attendants.
They had suddenly appeared through the transfer gate of Dunaice Academy.
“Gibles. Please step back.”
Upon hearing the alarm, Vice Principal Dneuve flew over.
She arrived on the ground riding a flying broomstick with both feet planted, and upon seeing this, Gimmel’s female disciple Linsel expressed admiration.
“To ride a flying staff at your age, your vigor is remarkable.”
“I am not so old as to be called aged vigor.”
“So, are you intruders? Or…”
“We are friends of Dunaice Academy.”
Gimmel said this and showed a small plaque.
A relic of an ancient civilization, made of a piece of plastic.
Gibles did not even attempt to understand what it was and shouted to Vice Principal Dneuve.
“V-Vice Principal! I will immediately go fetch the Headmaster and the other professors!”
“Wait a moment, Gibles…”
Vice Principal Dneuve recognized what the plaque was and clicked her tongue.
“These individuals are indeed guests. And very distinguished ones at that.”
“What? What do you mean…?”
Baroness Vrem appeared late.
Unlike Vice Principal Dneuve, she had difficulty balancing on a simple flying broom and had equipped hers with a handle and a seat pole. It was almost like an electric kick scooter.
“Vice Principal?! Those demonkin…!”
“Calm yourself, Baroness Vrem. They have entered the academy by legitimate right.”
“What are you saying? Demonkin! The enemies of the Empire!”
“…This is a plaque proving membership in the Academy’s Board of Directors.”
Gimmel said this to reassure Baroness Vrem.
“Hmph! Where did you come up with such nonsense…”
Baroness Vrem said this and drew her wand to cast a spell.
But at that moment, a mass of blood rotated in the air, blocking the front of her wand.
“What?!”
The stone pavement of the plaza began to glow, and blades and wings unfolded.
Between wings pierced by blades, an angel with closed eyes appeared.
One of the five prisoners of the academy, Professor Rakius, revealed himself.
“Please stop, Baroness Vrem. That man is correct. That is proof of membership in the Dunaice Academy Board of Directors. They are legitimate guests.”
“Ah… Rakius… it’s been a while.”
“Gimmel… my friend.”
Rakius responded with a slight bow as he looked at Gimmel, who had lowered his head respectfully toward him.
“You still look young. Is the Headmaster present?”
“Of course. And you did not come merely to exchange greetings, I presume?”
“Is there any need to question sincerity when asking after someone’s well-being? Though it is true I did not come only for that.”
“What is your purpose?”
“I would like to register the students of the academy I run as auditors to broaden their perspective. Additionally, I would like to propose an ‘Arcane Olympiad’ to assess the current level of education at the academy.”
At those words, Vice Principal Dneuve and Baroness Vrem were visibly startled.
“‘Arcane Olympiad’? That was abolished long ago…”
“Demonkin requesting such a thing? When even elves or adventurer guilds or the Azure Tower might do so, but demonkin…!”
Professor Rakius also looked troubled.
“Auditors can be registered, but holding an Arcane Olympiad test would be difficult with just a single Board card.”
“Are you implying that the prestigious hub of magic, Dunaice Academy, is afraid of challenges from other magic schools and intends to refuse the Arcane Olympiad?”
“Regardless of fear or not, we are already busy enough with our academic schedule. Other magic schools honestly do not even register on our radar.”
“Is that truly the case? How about convening the Board and deciding whether to hold the Arcane Olympiad?”
“……”
“At least the elves and the Azure Tower will agree. And…”
At that moment, another transfer gate appeared.
From it emerged yet another demonkin soldier.
A massive man comparable to a tyrant, with towering horns, a two-pronged tail like a barbed whip, and armor that made his entire body resemble a walking iron fortress.
With a large scar across the left side of his face, wearing an eyepatch and a beard like a lion’s mane, the man’s every step seemed to shake the ground.
“The Arcane Olympiad, is it? You are speaking of what I desire, Gimmel the Chancellor.”
“…Grand General Bernhardt.”
Even Chancellor Gimmel, massive as he was, looked small in comparison to Grand General Bernhardt.
Yet Gimmel faced Bernhardt without fear, only with open hostility.
“You are already aware that we have approached the academy. You installed beacons in the academy dungeon, did you not?”
“Ha. So that’s already been discovered? It seems there are quite a few moles in our ranks. Well, the same applies to you—we knew you would be visiting the academy today.”
The demonkin were currently in a dispute over succession to the throne.
Opposing the First Prince Kaises was the faction of the Second Prince, effectively led by the demonkin Grand General Bernhardt.
The leader of that faction had now appeared in person.
“Grand General Bernhardt.”
“Ah, Prince Kaises. My apologies. Were you concealing your identity? You must need this, yes?”
Grand General Bernhardt held out an Academy Board card.
“If you are offering it, I would gladly accept.”
“Hahaha. A humorous remark, truly excellent. However, regrettably, while I can assist with casting one vote, I cannot hand this over. Restoring Dunaice Academy is a dream of all the people of Garumhau. If you wish to obtain this card, Your Highness must take it from my corpse. If you can do that, then you should rightfully become the king of Garumhau, no, of the world.”
“……”
“…Hmm.”
Vice Principal Dneuve and Baroness Vrem felt uneasy at the sight of these individuals who had suddenly intruded into their grounds while holding Academy Board cards.
Moreover, they appeared to be formidable figures without question.
The pressure they exuded while standing there with Board cards in hand, facing each other with hostility, was overwhelming.
However, when Rakius raised his hand and waved it once, a gentle light spread through the space.
“Silence.”
Even Grand General Bernhardt and Chancellor Gimmel could not act recklessly in front of Rakius, and each took a step back.
“For now… I will treat you as guests.
However, remaining here any longer would draw the attention of the students. Let us move to my laboratory. Will you come?”
As Professor Rakius extended his hand, light and feathers began to swirl from it.
Arms adorned with wings and feathers sprouted from his fingertips, branching out into numerous extensions.
Elegant, smooth hands were extended toward Bernhardt, Gimmel, and Prince Kaises.
“Haha. Much appreciated.”
When Bernhardt grasped Rakius’s hand, wings unfolded from the ground, enveloping him, and with a flash of light he vanished.
“…Your sense of presentation remains as grotesque as ever, Professor Rakius.”
Gimmel said this and signaled his disciples.
The prince and his attendants also grasped the hand and vanished within wings. Gimmel himself followed suit, and at last, silence fell over the plaza in front of the dormitory.
“……”
Yet many students had been watching from the dormitory cafeteria.
Arcane Olympiad matches.
Originally, this was a remnant of efforts by magic guilds and academies across the world to establish a unified certification exam for mages.
Magic guilds had gathered to standardize the differing criteria for magical ability and to evaluate mages through a certified examination.
Naturally, competition arose among institutions over results.
The competition grew so intense that fatalities began occurring during the exams, and it evolved from a simple test into a contest of pride, or rather, a proof of legitimacy.
Moreover, due to competitive spirit, wagers were placed against one another.
With stakes tied to pride, all manner of schemes were employed to win.
Limiting it to first-year students led to people deliberately failing everyone so they would remain first-years… or instructors resigning and re-enrolling as students.
Such practices became widespread.
Eventually, the competition grew so excessive that its harm became too great. Dunaice Academy, after dominating the competition, placed bets against all parties and won, effectively halting the Arcane Olympiad.
Some described it as taking the prize and running.
In the end, it only proved that Dunaice Academy was the greatest magic institution, and the competition faded into history.
It should have ended there.
However, with Academy Board cards falling into the hands of the demonkin, the Arcane Olympiad began to be seen as a tool capable of shaking the governance of Dunaice Academy.
An Academy Board card is one of the ancient relics obtainable from dimensional dungeons. Whoever possesses one may cast a single vote in the Academy’s Board of Directors and, as long as they abide by academy rules, receive protection from its magical artifacts.
However, decisions are made by majority vote in the Board, so possessing just one card alone is not enough to sway the academy.
This was because Headmaster Ludwig alone held four cards, enabling him to preserve the academy’s independence by blocking undesirable decisions.
But what if there were several others who shared the same intention?