19. Tabloid
19. Tabloid
The explosive report on Atlas's cheating allegations spread rapidly through the academy, where the heat of the duel had not yet cooled.
"Cheating? That makes sense. There's no way he dodged that Flame Sword so well."
"Yeah, Lemnos's condition was a bit off too."
"He's got some nerve, going up against a Five Pillars like that."
Those who couldn't believe that Lemnos had been miserably defeated were all busy badmouthing Atlas, who was under suspicion of cheating. But the real problem lay elsewhere.
"If the duel is invalid, give me my money back!!!"
"Get the boss out here!!!"
"Give me back my tuition!!!!"
It was those who had gambled on the outcome of the duel.
All the people who had lost money on Lemnos's defeat flocked to the betting house, and since the duel had been invalidated, they began raising a ruckus demanding their money back.
The front of the lottery vendor, which had locked its doors tight and told people not to come around over mere suspicions, instantly became a scene of chaos.
And I, the person at the center of the incident...
"Get the president out here!!! Did you think you'd be fine after writing this kind of shit article!!!!"
I was currently wrecking the Newspaper Club that had spread this garbage tabloid.
————————————————
Let me step back a little into the past,
The front page of the special-edition newspaper distributed across the entire academy that morning was all about yesterday's duel.
The Duel is Invalid?! The Ugly Truth of the Halfling!!
In the duel, the Halfling Atlas Nemea emerged victorious against Edgar Lemnos.
Atlas Nemea faced the duel without using an Aura Blade, and analyses are emerging that this might invalidate the duel's result.
The duel between the Halfling Atlas Nemea and Edgar Lemnos took place at 2 PM yesterday.
While Edgar Lemnos showcased a spectacular Flame Sword using his Flamberge, Atlas was observed not even using an Aura Blade.
Atlas, who cannot even use an Aura Blade, continuously dodged Edgar Lemnos's attacks.
A mere Halfling toyed with the Flame Sword, the secret swordsmanship of the Empire's Five Pillars, using nothing but his bare body.
Is it truly possible to contend with the secret swordsmanship of the Five Pillars without even using an Aura Blade?
Third-year Hera-ssi, the head of the Swordsmanship Research Club, opined that "there may have been cheating."
What happens to a duel in which cheating has occurred?
In a duel that took place last year, second-year Mr. A, who had placed a curse on his opponent's sword the night before the duel, was expelled, and the duel was invalidated.
Academy Headmaster Gordon Freeman-ssi stated regarding this, "If there was cheating, the duel will be invalidated."
Buckingham Houston-ssi, the professor of Introduction to Combat Magic Theory, stated, "Committing such a foul in a sacred duel warrants referral to the disciplinary committee this time for sure."
'They wrote that well.'
The quality of their tabloid writing was quite high-level.
The article, sensationalized under the title "The Duel is Invalid?! The Ugly Truth of the Halfling!!", did nothing but prominently place provocative keywords, stoke suspicion, and present absolutely no facts.
The duel 'could possibly be' invalidated.
Atlas Nemea 'may have committed' cheating.
'If there was cheating, this duel is invalid.'
If someone 'dared to commit cheating' in a sacred duel held at the academy, 'they should be referred to the disciplinary committee.'
All the phrases denying the duel itself were absurd, but what made me angriest was a different part.
'A... Halfling, they said...'
They had called me a Halfling again in the article's title and body.
I was already furious about what they scribbled about the duel, yet they spouted this kind of nonsense again.
-Ppajik
Veins bulged on my forehead.
I crumpled up the newspaper.
I felt like the me from those days was slowly returning.
The Atlas Titan of those days...
The me from when I had just run away from Titan and joined the Imperial Knights as an apprentice, the me from that period who would explode at the slightest touch from the stress endured for nearly seven years at Titan, was slowly coming back.
My personality had improved a lot while living with the easygoing knights and my Snow Country Expedition teammates.
Might it actually be mentally healthier for me to just hurry up and get expelled and form a Snow Country Expedition team again?
"Atlas!! Look at this... those bastards!!"
"I'm already looking at it...!"
As I was holding the newspaper, Riber and Amy came running over, holding the same newspaper.
The moment I saw the reason I had to somehow stay at the academy, my mind snapped back to its right state.
Right, I have to stop those demon bastards first.
"Relax your face, your face! You're scaring Amy!"
Riber grabbed my face with his hands and began smoothing it out wildly, like giving a wrinkle lift.
Apparently I'd been wearing a scary expression again.
Since I was on the verge of exploding, I probably had a terrifying look on my face.
Amy looked anxious as she watched Riber rub my face all over, but it was quite effective.
The subtle citrus scent coming from Riber's small hands cleared my mind right up.
"Alright, I've decided."
Riber was startled as I shot up from my seat.
"Atlas, where are you going?"
"To the bastards who wrote this."
I tore the crumpled newspaper haphazardly and scattered it into the air.
The saying that the sword is mightier than the pen is true.
What these bastards scribbled with their pens was more threatening and painful than any sword in the academy.
"I'm going to trash the Newspaper Club's rating."
They swung around something that dangerous carelessly, so they should expect a counterattack.
——————————————-
The Newspaper Club was one of the academy's prides, boasting a long history and tradition.
Like the Swordsmanship Research Club, Practical Magic Research Club, Gardening Club, and Mountaineering Club, it was one of the clubs founded at the very beginning of the academy. It was a group tasked with the weighty mission of gathering, synthesizing, and disseminating all sorts of information among the students.
Because it collected all kinds of good and bad news about students from everywhere, it was also the most influential club among them.
Barring special exceptions like the Five Pillars, who reigned by relying on power outside the academy, it was no exaggeration to say that the Student Council President and the Newspaper Club President were the pinnacle of power within the academy.
Information breeds more information... and the Newspaper Club President who managed it was in a weighty position that guaranteed a good spot in the Imperial administration even after graduation.
Naturally, such a weighty position couldn't be held by just anyone.
The Newspaper Club President had been directly appointed by the Headmaster for generations.
"How is the reaction to today's article?"
"Very good."
Inside a splendid room resembling an actual noble's office, a man with black slicked-back hair sipped black tea as he spoke to a navy-haired man who looked like a butler.
This neat man with the black slicked-back hair was Malcolm Dunmore, the current president of the academy's Newspaper Club... Unusually, he was the actual Earl Dunmore, currently managing his territory.
The information gathered by the Newspaper Club was effective not only within the academy but also exerted influence out in society.
The position of Newspaper Club President, who came to know all such information, was so powerful that only a special person carefully chosen by the Headmaster could be appointed...
The conditions were... First, they had to be reasonably capable since they needed to filter information well.
Yet simultaneously, they had to know their place so as not to get dangerous ideas from seeing dangerous information.
They had to be tight-lipped so as not to blabber carelessly to others.
And they had to hold a status that wouldn't easily be swayed by a third party.
Malcolm, who had inherited the earldom young and managed the territory quite well after his father's early death, sufficiently met these conditions.
It seemed tough, but if you endured well, you'd shoulder all sorts of explosive information as the Newspaper Club President and still live large after graduation, so it was an absolute win.
You could also live it up as a person of power within the academy.
But today was a displeasing day.
Malcolm clicked his tongue as he looked at the newspaper printed today, placed before him.
"I don't know who he is, but to be marked this badly... He might be better off just getting expelled at this rate."
"If he's been marked by the Five Pillars and even Professor Buckingham, it's over."
He had done as he was told, but he had many complaints.
Such speculative articles were not the kind the Newspaper Club originally wrote.
If the Newspaper Club started siding with a specific family in personal matters like duels, there would be no end to it.
Other similar families would pester him day and night, asking why he was only taking that side.
So he had been refraining as much as possible from articles about personal matters, but this time was special.
What could he do when they ordered him from above?
If they tell you to do it, you do it.
No matter how much Malcolm was a recognized Newspaper Club President within the academy, there were plenty of people in the Empire stronger than 'Earl Dunmore.'
He didn't know who Atlas Nemea was, but the new semester had barely started, and he had been stirring up trouble spectacularly.
"His track record is impressive, though. How many has he put out of commission already?"
"Six forced to drop out through duels... over twenty injured, and all of them in Professor Buckingham's own class... It's no wonder that nasty old geezer has fire in his eyes. He knocked out half his class, after all."
His history before the academy was unknown, but the more one investigated Atlas Nemea, the more unbelievable facts emerged.
It was already surprising that the Five Pillars enrolled all at once, but what kind of evil spirit had possessed this year to make all the new students act like this?
"The more I look, the more fascinating he is... I'd like to see him in person..."
"Wouldn't he start by cursing us out if he saw us, after an article like this came out?"
"Well, that's just how it is when you're caught in the middle. What can you do?"
That was when it happened.
-Tukwang!!!
"A-... An attack!!!!"
"Who the hell is it!!!"
Beyond the firmly shut door of the president's office, a commotion broke out.
Malcolm was in the president's office; beyond that door was the office where other club members worked.
The sounds of crashing and clattering, furniture toppling over, people falling, as well as screams and shouts, were all mixed together.
"An attack?"
"...Shall I go out and check?"
The man standing before Malcolm... Sword Expert Patrick, his direct subordinate, wore a serious expression and picked up his sword from where it leaned beside him.
Who on earth was the bold bastard who dared to directly assault this Newspaper Club... This wasn't some small club; getting away unscathed would be difficult...
"No. I had a few men from the Swordsmanship Research Club posted for this very reason, so it'll be resolved soon."
He held Patrick back.
If Patrick, an intermediate Sword Expert, went out there, the matter would escalate.
Anticipating this, he had asked the Swordsmanship Research Club to station a few guards in the office, so the situation would be over shortly.
But the noise did not die down easily.
"Get the president out here!!! Did you think you'd be fine after writing this kind of shit article!!!!"
Right after that,
-Kudangtangtang!!
The door to the president's office flew open, and a person was thrown inside like a piece of luggage.
No, it would be more accurate to say it the other way around.
A person was thrown against the door like luggage, and the impact opened it.
The unconscious man thrown into the president's office like a piece of luggage was the guard Malcolm had brought from the Swordsmanship Research Club.
While the door was open, Malcolm looked out into the office and saw it was a complete mess.
Both the Swordsmanship Research Club members and the Newspaper Club members were collapsed together with the broken furniture, united in their defeat.
"So you wield your pen like that and only set up rookies as guards? You've got some guts, you really do!"
"You bastard... How dare you in a place like this!!!"
Patrick ended up drawing his sword.
But the student who had caused all this ruckus walked inside as if it were nothing.
Who on earth had done this... Curious, Malcolm looked at the student walking boldly into the president's office.
Malcolm's gaze shifted slightly downward.
"Ho... Well, there's no need to go looking for him myself, is there?"
He was none other than the Halfling everyone was talking about.