Chapter 121
Chapter 121
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 121
Chapter Title: Black Blade
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Anyone who's ever been seriously ill will understand.
When you're drugged up and drifting through hazy days, the dates change before you know it.
That was mostly how my time passed after the Full Moon Festival.
And so, after wasting my youth in a painkiller-induced stupor, graduation day arrived.
"Executor, um—"
"...Outside the hospital ward, please call me Arma."
"Yes, Arma sir."
I considered asking her to call me Cadet Arma or Cadet Cruise instead, but shook my head.
It wasn't just that I didn't want to burden the person pushing my wheelchair. It also felt like I'd get dragged into something.
'A wheelchair, of all things.'
I looked down at the wheelchair Collette had brought, my mind uneasy.
It was an iron frame with soft velvet padding on the backrest—a barely borrowed item that prioritized simplicity over comfort.
"It's a shame. The hand with the worst burns healed first, but your foot still hasn't. It would've been nice if it were the other way around."
"This is plenty good enough."
Severe burns had made it impossible to wear proper shoes, so below my legs, I'd wrapped bandages and covered my instep with leather spats and black socks to fake the look of shoes.
With a blanket borrowed from the hospital draped over top, I could at least pass for a respectable gentleman on the outside.
"Anyway, Executor. You look stunning in your dress uniform after so long."
"Thank you."
My dress uniform was like the one Judith's attendant knights wore on academy event days—far more ornate with gold thread embroidery than my usual black uniform.
On days like today, knight aspirants wore attendant knight uniforms, while mage and priest aspirants donned knee-length jackets with patterned cuffs.
The rest—Silver Chalice Class humanities majors and Wooden Cross Class cadets who weren't knight aspirants—wore uniforms like mine, similar to a military band's.
I responded to Collette's praise with a smile and straightened my clothes.
Even though I was in a wheelchair, at least I didn't look pallid. That was a relief.
"Judith Taylor Cadet said she'd come escort you shortly."
Collette was still speaking in her usual lilting, song-like tone.
With her help, I slowly descended the spiral ramp that wound down without stairs.
This design was possible because it was the hospital building, supposedly with input from a famous architect. The academy banned magic by default, so such conveniences were highly developed.
"...So... Are you listening, Arma sir?"
"Ah, sorry. What did you say?"
While circling the ramp once, Collette had said something to me, but I hadn't heard properly, tense from the unfamiliar wheelchair.
"The speech will be given by Makina Christie Cadet President as planned. The graduates don't want to take her place."
"I'd turn down a spot like that too."
"Ex... No, Arma sir, you're more than qualified. Things will probably be very different by this time next year."
"Haha, Makina Christie will still be here next year."
Collette couldn't see my face, so she didn't notice my wry smile.
By all rights, Makina Christie—the graduating senior—should have graduated today.
I'd secretly hoped for a miracle that would let her graduate, but it hadn't happened.
Even after all that chaos, fate remained unchanged.
-Clunk.
We finally reached the end of the long, long corridor.
Collette pushed the wheelchair with gentle skill toward the entrance hall.
"Judith."
Waiting for me, as Collette said, was Judith.
The blue uniform, inspired by the legend of the "Blue Knight of the Aegis Goddess," suited her beautifully, as if designed just for her.
She stood out even more today, wearing a white belt with golden tassels to carry the ceremonial sword for the event.
"...A wheelchair?"
It had been a while, so I was glad to see her. But Judith's expression crumpled.
That was only natural, seeing me like this.
I'd never imagined I'd be bedridden until the fifth day of my hospitalization, even now.
"Taylor Cadet, hello. I—"
"..."
"I've brought Arma sir here."
She'd clearly been about to say "Executor" just now.
She'd pivoted smoothly, though.
But right now, whether Executor or Arma sir, I just wanted to leave without any hassle.
"Sorry for making you push a wheelchair when you're dressed so sharply."
"Cut it out. Well then, thank you for seeing us this far. We'll be off."
"Yesss. Arma sir, Taylor Cadet—have a wonderful day."
Collette had reverted to her usual dry medical staff demeanor.
But I knew better.
Beneath it lurked a twisted, blind devotion toward me.
I swallowed dryly without showing it and turned my head with a silent bow.
"Let's go."
"-Got it."
Judith's lips twitched as if she had something to say, then she slowly pushed my wheelchair.
"I heard you'd be fully recovered, but you don't look it at all."
"It doesn't heal that easily, huh? I don't know why either."
"You'll be able to walk fine going forward, right?"
"That's what I heard."
"Sigh..."
I couldn't turn to check, but I was sure Judith wore an expression that didn't suit her fine knight uniform.
Today's Judith had her favorite turquoise ribbon loosely draped, looking dignified in every way—but it was regrettable for various reasons.
"I can finally relax a bit now."
"Relax?"
"Well, Judith. There's actually something I wanted to tell you—"
As Judith pushed me toward the grand auditorium for the graduation ceremony, I planned to briefly explain what had happened.
Namely, that my attending nurse Collette seemed to be part of the group blindly following me.
But things didn't go as planned.
The moment we left the garden by the hospital building, a familiar yet somehow alien group came into view.
"...Huh? What's that?"
Judith looked up at my voice, and the wheelchair's angle shifted slightly.
Soon, she let out a short "Huh."
"The graduation ceremony will begin soon—please hurry."
The men in black suits, with sword scabbards slanted at their waists, were none other than the hired staff.
The cadets' reactions to the sight were unprecedented. Their armed status had never been permitted inside the academy even once.
Officially, the hired staff were dispatched as civilians without combat capabilities.
"What is going on here?"
"You don't know either?"
"I've never seen anything like this in my life."
Unlike me, confined to the hospital, Judith had roamed the academy freely.
Hired staff were everywhere inside the academy.
Masked in black cloth, whether in the gardens or dining halls.
Even Judith had never seen this, meaning today was the first time they'd been allowed to carry weapons.
"It's not just one or two going rogue."
Graduation started at 10 sharp and ended at 12 sharp.
It was 9:45 now, and at this pace, Judith and I would barely make it.
Judith sped up the wheelchair, and the hired staff who spotted us bowed their heads.
"Good day. The graduation ceremony begins shortly. Please hurry."
"......"
The staff were polite as always, but each had a familiar weapon slung on their back or belt.
Longswords, bows, gauntlets, axes...
'What the hell is happening?'
It had chilled me when the cadets started arming themselves, but seeing the black-clad, black-masked staff do it made my blood run colder.
"Let's get to the auditorium first. Someone there has to know what's going on."
Judith quickly passed the staff and pushed open the massive wooden doors of the grand auditorium, adorned with wrought iron flowers and garlands.
-Thud.
The auditorium inside was truly magnificent, resounding with a heavy noise as the doors opened.
Built in an era of grandeur and exaggeration, it boasted about 10 meters in ceiling height.
The vast space, designed solely to overwhelm cadets, had a semicircular layout facing the central stage.
"A wheelchair?"
"Executor—"
"No, more importantly, what's going on? Hired staff carrying swords?"
"No freshmen showing up, and graduates arriving first."
But contrary to our expectation that someone would know the situation, we were greeted by current students and graduates unable to hide their confusion.
The questions piled up endlessly, none resolved.
I'd worried my wheelchair would draw eyes, but fortunately—or unfortunately—I wasn't the sole center of attention.
"No freshmen arrived?"
"The seats to the right of the stage are all empty."
Looking around as Judith said, it was true.
Barring a few exceptions, freshmen were all young children yet to lose their baby teeth, easy to spot at a glance.
Yet inside the auditorium, there wasn't a single child to be found, even if you scoured every corner.
"Looks like no cadet has a proper grasp of the situation..."
I was at a loss for words.
Sure, we were allowed weapons now too, like the staff.
But there was a difference between us future soldiers and civilian staff carrying arms.
This was a school, after all.
Even if a military academy raising the kingdom's elite—and precisely because it was—civilian armament required stringent procedures.
"Is this authorized?"
Someone in the auditorium raised a hand, questioning in protest.
The nearest staff member didn't answer, just stood with hands behind back, gazing at the stage.
"Didn't you hear me?"
Infuriated by the staff's attitude, a cadet shot to his feet.
By his uniform, he was an aspiring mage from Thorn Crown House.
Visibly agitated, he seemed ready to grab the staffer by the collar.
Tension hung like a blade.
And I saw the staffer's hand slowly drifting toward his waist.