Chapter 8
Chapter 8
‘He’s the kind of person who usually ignores even entrance and graduation ceremonies… so why all of a sudden….’
Vice Principal Deneuve’s curiosity was answered by Byuremhyde.
“I heard that the Crown Prince is enrolling this year. Even I couldn’t help but be intrigued. So, I’d like to lightly test the students to commemorate the entrance ceremony… ah, but before that, I should introduce myself, shouldn’t I?”
The elf boy, transformed from a dragon, smiled brightly.
“Hello, students. I am Byuremhyde, a lifelong professor bound to this academy. I understand that you have just entered the academy and are likely filled with joy, dreaming of a bright future….”
“….”
“I dislike you all. I am bound by a contract to forcibly teach you and pass on all my knowledge. The only small pleasure I have is when students die in accidents or from overwork. Especially this year, I hear the Crown Prince is among you? If the Crown Prince were to meet an untimely death, that would certainly be quite a sight.”
“…….”
At Byuremhyde’s openly abusive words, all the students were stunned into silence.
Is this lunatic even sane?
However, Idnia remained calm, as she already knew of Byuremhyde’s existence.
“So, a question. Have the dormitory heads been chosen?”
“Ah, yes. Professor Byuremhyde, here….”
The gatekeeper Gibles, trembling, brought over the list, but Byuremhyde didn’t even glance at it and instead looked at the merit board in the dormitory plaza.
Since it was still the day of the entrance ceremony, he could roughly tell the situation and identify the dormitory heads just by looking at merit and demerit points.
“Then, dormitory heads. From now on, ask the students and pick out those who have done advance studying.
It is my policy to weed out fools who dared to learn improper, unofficial magic before entering Dunais Academy and thus developed preconceived notions about magic, and apply that to the curriculum later.”
At that, the rigid-looking male student from Euros raised his hand.
“Ah, but I learned from a graduate of Dunais Academy.”
“Hm. The student who just talked back?”
“I am Christian Dupont, fourth son of Count Dupont.”
Surprisingly, he was from quite a promising noble family.
Though being the fourth son made it difficult for him to inherit the family, a count’s household was still a prestigious lineage.
If this were a proper teacher, they would not dare treat such a noble’s child carelessly.
But standing before him was an evil dragon, one of the Empire’s Five Great Prisoners.
“Ah, the vulgar notion that being a count’s son entitles you to gentler treatment. Excellent. To think I must teach magic to a brain foolish enough to believe the authority of the outside world would work on a dragon. Did that foolish private tutor not tell you? That doing advance studying would cause serious problems?”
“What?”
“Well, of course not. He probably took the tutoring job to exploit fools like you, so why would he warn you that hiring someone like him would lead to trouble? To think a Dunais Academy graduate is going around scamming people… it pains me to see so many innocent victims. Just because you were foolish, you were toyed with by such a scam. How pitiful.”
“…….”
Christian Dupont’s face twisted in humiliation.
Finding a tutor from Dunais Academy was never easy.
It wasn’t something money alone could buy.
For the sake of their fourth son, who was unlikely to inherit the family, his family had gone to great lengths. Yet this dragon dismissed them as gullible idiots.
He could endure being insulted himself, but insulting his family!
Even so, he didn’t have the courage to stand up to a dragon.
The elf boy before him was a monstrous evil straight out of legend.
“Listen carefully, you disgusting lot. I worship talent. Your advance studying… is, in other words, cheating talent. Do you know how difficult it is, from a teacher’s perspective, to distinguish between someone who grasps something the moment they hear it for the first time and someone who understands it because they studied it in advance and reviewed it thoroughly?”
“Th-that….”
Wouldn’t the one who studies diligently be better?
Everyone thought so.
“If you polish a dull stone-brained idiot and throw him in, how are we supposed to distinguish jade from pebbles?!
I’m trying to select raw gems, and you throw in well-polished stones that only look like jade!
Just because you have some money and flaunt your status, you invest in your children’s education and push out those who were originally more talented!
Do you really want to grant academic prestige to your inherently inferior offspring that badly?!
It makes me sick.
People like you should all be turned into ghouls and made to devour each other, parent and child alike. Maybe then you’d restrain that disgusting desire to spread your wretched genes!
Should I just turn you all into ghouls right now?!
You filthy slaves of your own genetics!”
As the dragon Byuremhyde raged, a chilling aura poured from his body.
At the same time, the entire Dunais Academy shook.
The wind danced, and madness surged from him.
Seeing this, Vice Principal Deneuve let out a sigh.
“Professor Byuremhyde. If you continue, I will assign you demerit—”
“Ah, yes, yes, let’s proceed with academic matters quickly.
So, those who have done advance studying, please confess. Come now….”
Astonishingly, the Byuremhyde who had seemed on the verge of losing his sanity just moments ago instantly changed his attitude when threatened with demerit points, clapping his hands cheerfully as if nothing had happened.
Such was the power of the contract binding one of the Empire’s Five Prisoners.
“H-hey, you guys. Those who studied in advance should just be honest. This is bad. Professor Byuremhyde… lives for the fun of tormenting students.”
Surprisingly, even the unpopular gatekeeper Gibles and Baroness Willem tried to get the students to tell the truth.
And just like that, this became the dormitory heads’ first task.
“Alright then, those who have done advance studying, please step forward voluntarily.”
Christian Dupont raised his hand.
Given that he carried both a sword and a staff and had already spoken to Byuremhyde, it was obvious he had studied beforehand.
Other students hesitated but slowly raised their hands as well.
Idnia wrote down their names and submitted them to the moving armor controlled by Gibles.
The armors gathered the lists and brought them to Byuremhyde.
“Hm.”
Byuremhyde looked over the list and smirked.
“As expected. There are always students who do advance studying and then pretend they didn’t. Truly, humans are creatures who even deceive themselves.”
“What?”
“Let the punishment begin.”
Byuremhyde, the evil dragon in the form of an elf boy, raised his staff.
At once, violent gusts of wind began to swirl around its branches.
“Ah, Professor Byuremhyde! Wait!”
Vice Principal Deneuve tried to stop him, but it was already too late.
Byuremhyde pointed his staff at the students, and in that instant, the raging winds formed a tunnel like a tornado, swallowing them whole.
When Idnia opened her eyes after being caught in the fierce wind, she and the students were standing on a cliff in a forest they had never seen before.
“Huh?!”
The air still carried the scent of the sea.
Of course it did. A vast ocean stretched below the cliff, shrouded in fog.
And beyond the dark forest covered in that mist, the roofs of distant buildings could be seen.
All the students had been teleported outside the academy grounds, into the surrounding forest.
“M-mass teleportation?”
“Even normal teleportation is grand magic….”
Those knowledgeable about magic trembled at how absurd the spell Byuremhyde had used was.
To wield such powerful magic so casually.
Truly worthy of being called one of the Empire’s Five Great Prisoners, a calamity capable of destroying the empire alone.
[Now then, students. I already know which of you lied about doing advance studying. But to accuse you of lying, I need proof, don’t I? From now until sunset, return to your dormitories from where you are.
However, along the way, you will have to deal with the undead monsters I have released into the forest… and those who lied will have to resolve the situation without using magic.]
“U-undead?”
The students were horrified.
Did he just say he released monsters where the freshmen were?
[If someone who claimed they didn’t study in advance is caught using magic… yes, I’ll assign 5 demerit points.
Also, form groups of three from the same dormitory.
If any group exceeds three members, I will send more and stronger monsters their way.
Now then! Dormitory entry begins!]
Byuremhyde’s voice trembled with vulgar delight.
“That professor… he’s enjoying tormenting students?! Why?!”
Christian Dupont clenched his fists in anger.
But the other students didn’t look at him kindly.
In the end, wasn’t it the wealthy students who had done advance studying that provoked Byuremhyde?
Of course, his reasoning was hard to agree with.
Was studying beforehand really something to be condemned?
Still, most students hadn’t studied in advance, so the minority who had done so ended up causing suffering for the majority.
It was a perfect situation for resentment to spread.
‘That’s exactly what he intended. Byuremhyde. Just like in the game, his personality is rotten.’
Idnia watched as cracks formed among the students from the very beginning.
“Alright, House Euros, listen up! Before we divide into groups of three, those who can use magic, raise your hands. And those who lied, confess now. We’ll form groups of three so that, as much as possible, each group has at least one person who can use magic.”
Though many students felt resentment toward Christian Dupont, now that they had to form teams, they all gravitated toward him.
At a glance, he was someone skilled in both swordsmanship and magic.
At this moment, when they had to cross a forest teeming with monsters, someone like him was bound to be popular.
Such was the power of forming groups.
Even someone you disliked moments ago became valuable when survival was at stake.
Those who quickly understood the situation hurried to form teams, while others lagged behind, still complaining.
“This is insane!”
“We paid expensive tuition to get in—this has to be a joke, right? Some kind of entrance ceremony prank?”
Some students outright denied reality.
“Sendia!”
“L-let’s form a group together….”
The girls who used to follow Sendia Aspinal gathered around her again.
They knew she had already learned magic.
Having always boosted their confidence by sticking with her and looking down on those weaker in social standing, they now instinctively turned to their leader when their lives were at risk.
But Sendia herself was afraid.
‘U-undead? I’ve only ever broken clay targets for practice with magic, I’ve never fought anything!’
So if possible, she wanted to team up with Christian Dupont, who clearly had both combat and magical training.
“Um, Christian Dupont, if it’s alright….”
Ignoring her followers, Sendia approached him.
But Idnia stopped her.
“Wait. Miss Aspinal. You’ve studied magic in advance, haven’t you?”
“…So what?”
“Those who have learned magic need to support two others who haven’t and work together to cross the forest. Miss Sendia, form a team with those who haven’t learned magic yet.”
Idnia intended to distribute capable members to protect as many students as possible.
But Sendia resisted.
“W-wait a second. I already admitted to the professor that I studied magic. This situation isn’t my fault, it’s the fault of those who haven’t confessed yet. And now you’re pairing me with incompetent students? You’re basically telling me to use magic to protect them?”
“Yes.”
“Hold on. There are 32 people in our dorm, right? If we form groups of three, two people will be left over. What about them?”