Chapter 141
Chapter 141
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 141
Chapter Title: Ignition (2)
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"Let's head to the curriculum prep room."
"Yes."
Running wasn't my strong suit, but right now I pushed myself until my lungs burned.
In my head, I quickly calculated what to do next.
We dashed out of Thorn Crown House and headed for the professors' annex, the building used by the faculty.
'Damn it!'
Around every corner, someone would call out, "Executor—"
Did I really have this many followers?
Or was it auditory hallucinations conjured by that bastard to stoke my rage?
Either way, he kept claiming victories against me, and my patience was wearing thin.
"Arma senior?"
I was sprinting at full speed when someone pulled up right beside me.
It was Arthur.
Without even glancing at him properly, I shoved Arthur aside as he ran alongside me.
"Make sure Theodore doesn't leave the dorm!"
"What do you—"
"Arthur Usher, now!"
He must have seen the tension on my face, because Arthur nodded and veered off in another direction.
In an instant, his dark silhouette vanished from sight.
Ismel and I leaped over obstacles and barreled straight ahead.
—The door flew open!
We arrived at the curriculum prep room almost simultaneously.
This was the place where teaching assistants or curriculum prep staff gathered during their breaks. Normally, you couldn't enter without prior permission.
Inside the prep room sat a lone assistant with reddish-brown frizzy hair.
Naturally, he was Professor Melberry's assistant.
Professor Melberry wouldn't be able to teach today... or maybe ever again.
"What is this rudeness—"
"You're the one, right? Jonniel Hudson, TA for Aegis Ancient Language."
Jonniel Hudson was a murky-looking man whose frizzy hair half-covered his face, topped off with thick horn-rimmed glasses.
He subtly pushed aside the envelope stuffed with a stack of papers on his desk as he replied.
"Cadet Arma Cruz? The underclassmen gossiped about it, but have you finally lost your mind?"
"Aegis Ancient Language. Is it true you tampered with the open-book test papers?"
Jonniel Hudson looked slightly flustered at my words.
'This bastard collaborated.'
That explained the oddity.
Professor Melberry hadn't shown so much as a single hair in the lecture hall. How could she have distributed open-book test papers and collected them?
Even if it had been planned in advance, it was absurd to think regular cadets pulled it off.
"—It was a scheduled test."
"Scheduled? That's a joke."
"Professor Melberry instructed it beforehand?"
Now that the assistant was dragging Professor Melberry's name into it, the sparks flying before my eyes turned to ice-cold blood chilling in my veins.
Professor Melberry might never fully recover.
Any cadet who heard that explosion yesterday was subconsciously thinking the same.
To exploit her name for this—taking bribes from cadets and playing favorites.
"How much did you get?"
I pressed my temples hard, pouring every ounce of effort into not exploding in rage.
Seeing me interrogate him like a criminal, TA Jonniel seemed to double down on his brazen attitude.
"Are you insulting me right now? Count Cruzbay must have raised Cadet Arma Cruz like a precious gem."
"Yes, that's how I was raised. Mind if I ask one thing?"
He hadn't expected me to play along so meekly, and he missed his chance to press further.
Without giving him a moment's pause, I fired back.
"Professor Melberry isn't even here, but you collected test papers? Who's grading them? Who's making the judgments?"
"The test was announced in advance, and the cadets knew about it."
"No, that's impossible."
"The two who didn't submit are at fault for their own carelessness, not me!"
TA Jonniel snapped back at my firm denial.
Well, in a way, it wasn't unreasonable for him to get angry like that.
Truth be told, I knew nothing concrete.
I was just pushing because Ismel stood there with arms crossed, listening silently.
'I have my suspicions.'
I popped off one button from my jacket and slammed it onto the desk where Jonniel had been burying his head moments ago.
It wasn't as expensive as those from other young masters, but it was a handmade piece with a cameo ornament.
"This about the usual rate?"
"Uh? Th-that..."
At the Aegis Academy, transactions between cadets and adults usually involved these kinds of accessories.
Buttons, brooches, cufflinks, belt ornaments, scabbard rings, and so on...
Exchanging gold coins was easy to trace through bank withdrawal records. Bartering goods was a workaround to dodge 'financial transaction' suspicions.
"Theodore White is a top student."
I'm no saintly executor like they idolize. I've turned a blind eye to these shady dealings rampant here.
Unlike my false halo of fame, Theodore being a top student was undeniable fact.
A top student with a tragic backstory, risking his life in lectures without a smile or a tear.
How could I stand by and watch him fail over this ridiculous scandal, with restrictions binding him no less?
"A top student who didn't know about yesterday's test? If there was prior notice, that in itself is suspicious. The academy doesn't have preemptive lessons just for select students."
"..."
TA Jonniel fell silent.
To be honest, the Aegis Academy had its share of corruption, advance learning, and this kind of TA behavior wasn't unusual.
By now, he was probably cursing inwardly, thinking he'd stepped in shit.
"The test was scheduled..."
Unable to stay silent, TA Jonniel started grinding his teeth and repeating himself.
The moment you show you're cornered is the moment you lose at the negotiation table.
Riding the momentum, I pressed on.
"You're so procedure-oriented. So, is it academy regs for a TA to store open-book answers un sealed and ungraded on personal judgment, with no one to score them?"
"We followed procedure. I'm just holding them temporarily."
"Then I can formally raise this through the Student Council?"
At the mention of the Student Council, TA Jonniel began to sweat bullets.
I didn't know about the past, but with the council's massive influence and Machina Christy at its helm, nothing good would come for a TA.
"Besides, the first lecture was orientation. It's absurd to claim prior discussion for something that's not even regular class."
"Ah, uh, Cadet Arma Cruz has the wrong idea... This is an Aegis Academy... tr-tradition..."
"Yes, I'm not familiar with traditions. As you know, 'Arma Cruz' is the merchant's son from the Cruz family. All I'm wondering is if this qualifies as corruption that needs to go before the tribunal via Machina Christy."
I lifted my hands from the desk and straightened up, as if ready to bolt to the Student Council room. Jonniel, who had been shrinking away from my gaze, suddenly jumped to his feet after me.
"It's not a tradition, of course! We just received the scheduled papers, but if you ask if it's officially binding, no, and since it happened during the course registration correction period..."
"It's invalid, right?"
"Yes, exactly..."
—Whoosh.
The moment I extracted his surrender, Ismel, who had been standing with arms crossed, let out a whistle.
In a way, the academy's rampant corruption made resolving this so cleanly possible.
"So, this? Do you need to keep it?"
"—I'll shred it myself..."
"No need to bother. Let me help."
Ismel flashed a smile laced with menace and snapped her fingers.
The poorly stacked papers on the desk ignited instantly, burning like dry kindling.
"I hear you're prepping to become a full professor. I trust you'll think carefully about this matter."
"...I will."
"We didn't make a deal, so I'll take this back~ Here you go, Executor."
Ismel smoothly retrieved the cameo button from the desk and handed it to me before striding out of the prep room.
"You wrapped it up in no time. As expected of the Executor."
I waved her off, signaling to drop the jokes, then turned back.
Matching my hurried pace, Ismel quickened her steps and asked.
"Didn't we handle it well? Where are you rushing off to now?"
"I need to uproot them."
"Uproot?"
"The fanatics."
No way in hell was I going to become some adult like that.
Saint Felix mercifully sheltered the merchant Timon who sold him to heretics, but I couldn't stomach watching the 'sins committed in faith' these guys pulled for me.
"We can guess who's following you, senior, but figuring out who's behind the whole scheme will be tough."
Ismel muttered that she couldn't even count my known followers on one hand.
"I'll make them step forward first."
"How?"
"Let's go to Theodore's room first. ...Oh. What about lecture attendance?"
"I go when I want."
I'd felt guilty for dragging her into this mess against her will, but Ismel just shrugged it off nonchalantly.
I nodded and headed for Thorn Crown House's dorm wing.
—Knock knock knock.
"Theo, coming in."
I reached Theodore's door in a flash and opened it without waiting for a reply.
Given the situation, manners could wait.
What I saw was Arthur and Theodore in a standoff right at the entrance.
'I told him to keep him from coming out... did he use force?'
Theodore turned toward me, eyes half-lidded in clear annoyance.
I wanted to soothe him with words like usual, but I was short on time too.
"Theodore, I need you to play dead."
"You show up out of nowhere, then drop that? What's with your clothes?"
"Pretend you're under restrictions, Theodore. Time's short."
"...What?"
At my mention of restrictions, Theodore glanced at Arthur.
Arthur shrugged with a 'what about it?' look.
Theodore turned back to me, demanding an explanation.
I grabbed his hesitating shoulder and emphasized again.
"I'm not joking. Pretend you're under restrictions right now."