Chapter 288
Chapter 288
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 288
>Chapter Title: Enough to Make One Dream
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A summer morning that had arrived in earnest.
Under the scorching sun, students from the academy had gathered in the vast open square of the Sage's Tower.
With the basic, intermediate, and advanced classes all assembled, even that expansive square felt cramped.
The students, sweating profusely in the stifling heat, had no choice but to huddle close together under the prodding of the guides leading the event. In contrast, those seated at the front podium wore relaxed expressions.
Comfortable chairs, artifacts to ward off the heat.
There were academy staff members among them, but most were affiliates of the Second Prince's faction.
These individuals, promised key roles in the academy's future, were already acting as if the place belonged to them, chatting merrily. At that moment, Assistant Professor Yorbi ascended the podium.
[Ahem, ahem. Thank you, distinguished guests, for taking your seats. We will now commence the inauguration ceremony for the 103rd president of Jenion Academy.]
A sleazy face.
It was hard to believe this was the same man who had suffered under investigation just days ago; his visage gleamed with oily satisfaction, and for good reason.
- You're the most senior among the assistant professors, aren't you? That's more than enough to warrant a full professorship...
The inspector had extended an irresistible temptation to Yorbi, who had seized it without a second thought.
Yorbi's task was simple.
Rally the other assistant professors and expose President Schwart's corruption.
It wasn't difficult.
His cunning rhetoric, adept at manipulating others' psyches and circumstances, was more than enough to sway the weary assistants, and the inspectors cooperated fully.
And the result?
- Congratulations. Starting next semester, think about which research office you'd like. I'll accommodate you as best I can.
Having finally secured the full professorship he'd coveted, Yorbi couldn't suppress the grin spreading across his face.
But that was that.
[Ahem, before we proceed, let us take a moment to express gratitude for His wise and benevolent Majesty the Emperor's grace, and sing the national anthem.]
Yorbi composed himself and continued with the ceremony.
Those seated rose, and soon the empire's anthem echoed across the Sage's Tower square.
The event proceeded according to the program thereafter.
Jenion Academy had fallen into the clutches of power countless times throughout its history, but this was the most sordid occasion of them all.
The unqualified dreamed of positions beyond their station, their greedy smiles unmasked, casting a shadow over the ivory tower of knowledge that had shone undimmed for ages.
Light shines more brilliantly in darkness, but before those vulgar smirks, even light seemed futile.
For whom was this seat?
It was their festival alone.
The true masters of the ivory tower, who would lead the future, were mere extras.
Knowledge devolved into a luxury for the powerful, adorning the gluttony of fat pigs, while intellect was trampled mercilessly.
Such was the outrage committed by the Second Prince.
A stain that would mar history if recorded, yet too trivial to even merit a place in it.
Regrettably, this was the empire's current state.
The Emperor neither shunned nor respected Jenion Academy; to the First Prince, it was just one of many political arenas.
Perhaps this was an opportunity to fully subjugate Jenion Academy to the imperial family.
Though Jenion was nominally an imperial educational institution, it did not offer blind loyalty.
The true motives were known only to the parties involved.
But whatever the reason.
[...Now, please welcome Viscount Rigen von Wiberter, our 103rd president.]
In this moment.
The mighty tree, sown long ago by the Sage, nurtured by time and knowledge to enrich the empire with its fruits, was about to be felled.
“......”
The 103rd president, Viscount Rigen von Wiberter, ascended the podium and surveyed the crowd below. His pale, chilling face glistened with a sticky sheen, like a butcher severing the throat of livestock he'd long awaited.
In truth, his inner thoughts were no different.
‘...The repulsive legacy of the Sage finally falls into Salvatium's hands.’
For one pursuing traces of the half-baked Frizen, it was a significant achievement.
Since Jenion Academy's founding, how many Salvatium operations had been thwarted by its graduates?
But.
‘The natural order belongs to the mortal realm, after all.’
Only reversal endures eternally.
No matter how brilliant the Sage's will, it was merely a faint dream fading in the flow of time.
This was all his doing.
While tracking Frizen's artifact, he had leaked information about Obern to the Second Prince's side and assumed the identity of their chosen next president.
‘And if he plays his cards right...’
He could even shake the empire through the Second Prince.
Of course, that was a tale for the somewhat distant future.
The Golden Demon Master, wearing Viscount Rigen's skin, swept his gaze over the assembly.
Fat pigs and succulent sprouts filled his view. Soon, all of it would be in his... Salvatium's grasp.
Feeling a profound fullness rising from his gut, the Golden Demon Master immersed himself in his role as Viscount Rigen.
It was then.
“Pleased to...”
A sudden presence at his back.
The voice followed immediately.
“Sure, I'm pleased too.”
“......!”
The Golden Demon Master reflexively distanced himself from the voice and turned. There stood a masked figure shrouded in a dark robe.
And as he processed that much.
“Block it well. Or you'll die.”
Light flashed from the masked figure's grasp, followed by a terrifying heat surging toward the Golden Demon Master's face!
In that split second, the Golden Demon Master thought.
‘I'm... dead.’
His body's reaction outpaced his thoughts.
His core pulsed explosively. Thick black mana erupted like lava, forming a barrier. The heat scattered harmlessly against the eerie black field.
He had barely saved his life.
But.
The commotion erupted right then.
“That was...”
“......Black mana?”
Shocked voices from behind. The Golden Demon Master hastily dispelled the barrier, but it was too late.
As if waiting, cries exploded from the crowd.
“Rigen! The viscount! Is one of the Second Prince's! men! Rigen von Wiberter! A black mage?!”
“The Second Prince! Colluding! With a black mage!”
“A Second Prince! In league! With black mages!”
The shouts were awkwardly textbook-like, but sufficient to plunge the assembly into chaos.
The Golden Demon Master scowled at the uproar.
Colluding with the Second Prince? No, that wasn't the point now.
His identity exposed meant all plans had gone up in smoke.
“Damn... it.”
As the Golden Demon Master muttered a low curse in dismay, Aster grumbled softly at the painfully awkward incitement.
“Riley, you bastard... I told you to make it natural.”
Good thing there was chaos; anyone could tell those textbook readings were forced. And where did he scrape together these criminals for agitators... Tsk.
Anyway, that was beside the point.
“Hey, buddy.”
Aster faced the Golden Demon Master and unleashed the rage he'd bottled up.
“Why'd you do that to me?”
“What...”
“No matter how I think about it, I don't get it. From the Great Forest to the academy, does it bug you that much that I'm just living peacefully?”
This was a genuine question born of incomprehension.
......Of course, not expecting an answer.
“Whatever. Let's throw down first.”
“......!”
The Golden Demon Master hastily prepared defenses, but Aster's fist was faster.
Crack!
A muffled explosion echoed across the podium.
Before the Golden Demon Master could react, the fist slammed down once, twice, three times... relentlessly.
Again and again, without end.
* * *
While Aster worked over the Golden Demon Master, chaos roiled fiercely below the podium from the sudden turn of events.
“The Second Prince... colluding with black mages?”
“......For real?”
Several nobles below swiftly rose and climbed the podium.
“C-Capture him...!”
It sounded like an order to seize the Golden Demon Master, but the intent was the opposite.
No matter the Second Prince's designs, they couldn't let a black mage fall into the hands of that masked unknown.
If he escaped, fabricating evidence would be easy.
......The reverse held true if they secured the black mage.
And so.
Zzzz...
As some nobles drew swords and ascended, magic took shape below.
Inadequate for full professorships, perhaps, but these were lifelong mages honed in the art.
Soon, iridescent lights shimmered in the air.
But it lasted only a fleeting instant.
“Fucking... hell.”
The masked figure beating the black mage looked up.
Screech, screeeeech—
The mana in the air froze solid in an instant.
With mana frozen, the frantically arranging flows of mana halted abruptly.
Just one moment.
“......Kuhak!”
“Gahak!”
Nobles below spewed blood.
Those ascending with drawn swords fared no better.
Crunch, crack!
“Guh, guh...”
Indescribable pressure crushed their bodies. One by one, they dropped swords and knelt. Their heads bowed naturally.
In that single moment.
The subdued nobles couldn't process the unacceptable reality.
‘What the...’
‘......hell.’
Fragmented questions swirled in their minds as a chilling voice rang in their ears.
“Stay put, unless you want to die.”
The pressure lifted immediately after.
“Gahak! Heok! Hah...!”
“Guh!”
Freed from the crush, they clutched their hearts and gasped; mages closed eyes to mend internal injuries.
Meanwhile.
Crack, pow! Crunch!
Eerie explosions filled their ears.
The nobles felt utter defeat.
Moments ago, their actions could be spun as charging to save the black mage.
......Silence blanketed the vast square.
The only sounds: the Golden Demon Master's pained groans and the impacts.
How much time passed?
‘...This should do it.’
The Golden Demon Master's face was unrecognizable mush—a satisfactory outcome.
Even if the disguise failed now, no one could identify him as Viscount Rigen.
Having beaten him near death before the entire crowd, Aster straightened and brushed back his hair.
His gaze pierced the throng, locking onto one girl.
‘Your turn now.’
As if reading his mind, the girl nodded faintly.
“......Sir Altex.”
The girl, Bellrose, quietly summoned her loyal knight.
“Yes, Your Highness. This way.”
Altex, who had approached silently, stood by Bellrose. Infusing ether, he bellowed for all to hear.
“Clear a path, everyone—! Her Highness the Third Princess approaches!”
The crowd parted amid murmurs.
Through the gap, Bellrose stepped forward.
Altex followed silently.
One step, another.
When the Third Princess reached the podium, Altex gazed up at her and thought.
A sight like this...
Someday, in another place. Not the Sage's Tower, but the continent's most noble seat.
The Third Princess bathed in sunlight was that radiant.
......Enough to make a knight dream.