Sword, Magic and Academic Society

"...There was a gap from the time when Sir said he announced his surrender to the time of Class A's arrival at the villa. It stuck out like a sore thumb in the report."

Godorfun affirmed Tim's doubt, who spoke with an expressionless face.

"I thought that what happened afterward may bring to question many things, hence I kept quiet about it. I discussed it with the chairwoman earlier, and decided to talk about this humiliation with all of you to uphold the legacy and pride of the Royal Academy."

Everyone's gaze shifted toward Chairwoman Miharu Shutrenu.

"I’ve already discussed this with His Majesty. He has entrusted everything to me, so at my discretion, I'll allow the content of what happened to be shared here. However, whatever you hear from now on is level 4 classified information, so not a single word of this will leak out of this room, alright?"

Miharu said with a stiff— or not, graceful expression while grinning.

Everyone gasped in unison. The matter of the outdoor classes was discussed with His Majesty......?

No one uttered a single word, but their inner voices were obvious.

"S-So, Class A pushed to continue the scenario by their own will? Why... would they do something like that when the arrival order mattered to such an extent......"

Godorfun's tone was calm as he replied to Mujikka's doubt.

"Valid question. ‘Score? I don't even care about such flimsy numbers. I— no, we still aren’t done playing around yet! So you're going to relieve our boredom until then’. These were the words of Allen Rovenne when I gave my surrender. And from there until the time limit, everyone hunted me down under the leadership of Bester Von Stocklaud.

Yes, they were coming at me with all seriousness to take me down. I managed to drag the situation out until the time limit, but one slip-up on my part would have easily reversed the result."

Recalling the details, Godorfun squinted his eyes and stroked his white beard.

"Y-Yes? No, please wait a minute... The fact that they're in the Academy means that they have the talent to stand above everyone in the future. It's also a fact that the situation was to their advantage for being the ones who were defending.

But it still sounds silly. It's hard to imagine Sir being cornered so far by students… Anyway, when would they have arrived had it not been for Allen Rovenne's insistence?"

"Their expected arrival order, huh? I think it should be the first. In this scenario, their score would have been four times of their base score of 5250, which would be 21000."

Everyone was rendered speechless at the evaluation.

They found that they were unable to understand such an unconventional score as well as the meaning of Allen's words.

But, as the teachers who represented the kingdom, and upheld the honor and worth of the Royal Academy, the implication behind it wasn't lost to them.

"That just sounds like Allen. The more I hear, the more it shows just how little we know about him. Nevertheless, I also believe that it should have been impossible for mere 20 first-year students to corner Sir… Not with upright methods, at least.

Is it that drug in the report that took down Tim-san's army? But they would have needed a large quantity of such a drug for it to be so effective even in an open area. Maybe a magic tool?"

So questioned Emy, a researcher affiliated to the Academy much like Sora and also the advisor of the magic tool club.

Godorfun quietly placed the red-capped phial that he had gotten from Allen on the table.

Emy stared at the phial quite intently, and then she suddenly opened its cap.

“It's not a magic tool,” she concluded.

Sora, sitting next to her, took the phial and smelled its contents. Then she scooped a small amount of the drug on the tip of her pinky finger and licked it.

"Hahaha. Oh dear, this is quite a potent drug, eh? It's a paralysis drug mainly used against monsters, and made from… local materials that can be found in the Darre Mountain Range this season."

Godorfun confirmed Emy and Sora's statements.

"Then it can only be wind magic. Since everyone has read Tim's report, I don't think I need to explain its potential usage in reconnaissance and monster hunting. But...... it seems like there's more to this wind magic than meets the eye.

I tried to corner those kids so many times, always choosing an open area as the battlefield, but I still needed to make a run for it after being made to inhale that paralyzing drug each time.

It's obvious that this was the fruit of long-term training rather than an impromptu performance. We can only imagine how far that brat had foreseen this situation. While the whole kingdom, including us, was making fun of it as some mischievous skirt-flipping magic, he remained undaunted in his path with a firm belief. It's as if he was fully convinced of wind magic's potential the whole time."

Yet again — though this was like the nth time since the meeting started — teachers present were left speechless. Even the facilitator, Mujikka, couldn't find any words in response.

"But more importantly, how much do you know about Leo Zatsinger's 'Magic Sword’, Mujikka? I've never received any report about that."

Mujikka thought on how to answer here. Because she believed there was nothing special to report about.

"............From what I know, it was something Allen-kun had pushed Leo-kun to practice, saying that a burning sword looked cooler or something. I-I hadn't thought that there was any practical value in it, but it was certainly a good training method on handling attribute conversion and mana operation, so I didn't mention anything about it."

Godorfun then expressed his dismay and mentioned his personal experience with Leo's magic sword in battle along with the possibilities it held.

"......That was a pretty dangerous skill. A single mistake could have left me gravely injured, as a matter of fact. First, they should be forbidden from using it in sparring matches. If they really do need to use it, then make them use it on an iron weapon or something that has low mana conductivity. Mujikka, make sure you're with them when they're using it and note down their progress, and also make sure it doesn't result in an accident. I’ll personally discuss the matter with the Zatsinger family. Got it?"

The teachers were all dumbfounded at Godorfun's serious expression.

"There's a continuation to that."

For the nth time, the teachers were left speechless again when they heard there was still more.

"Jeuri Leverance has successfully utilized the group healing magic that Saintess Sari had once used. Tim, report."

Tim proceeded with another round of reporting that left the teachers...... dumbfounded, yet again.

◆◆◆

Eventually, the overall score of the Class A, which included Allen's request to amp up the enemy forces for the difficulty level and achievement rate, was calculated to be 6560.

Nevertheless, it was lacking. These were the feelings still lingering inside all the teachers regarding the current score. But it was understandable. They had, after all, easily crushed what was supposed to be an immortalized score left behind by the people — including the Sword Fiend Sermon, the Fire God Fisty, and the Saintess Sari — from the revolutionary era 120 years ago.

At the same time, the meeting triggered an impending sense of crisis among the teachers of the Royal Academy despite being recognized as the elite of the elites. They would be left behind in dust by the upcoming generation should they take no action.

Watching them from a distance, the caretaker of the Academy, Miharu Shutrenu, chuckled to herself.

"Fufu. It's quite impossible to calculate their score with our standards so far, right? The overall score shall remain 6560 as a front, meanwhile I’ll inform His Majesty that the result is ‘incalculable’. Any objections to that?"

Confirming that there was no objection, Miharu continued.

"After listening to the myriads of reports so far, it seems like Allen Rovenne has somehow transcended 'common sense’. Everything he's involved in — whether it's wind magic, magic sword, or even the group healing magic via holy magic — is something that should be common in his point of view.

'It's just common sense’, he says? Fufu! It may sound paradoxical, but he's implying that we need to break the current norm. That is how I interpret his words."

Miharu stood up from her seat and pulled back the curtain behind her, opening the window.

The clear autumn weather, along with striking mackerel cloud formation, illuminated the room. A faint chilly breeze, reminding of the approaching winter, ruffled her hair.

Miharu spun on her heels, made eye contact with everyone present, and said in a quiet tone.

"This academy has no teacher that would take a student's mockery lying down. So, we're going to take back the Academy's pride, no matter what."

Miharu's words jolted everyone's hearts. Confirming that, she chuckled to herself.

After all, this was the pride that made the Royal Academy what it was.

E/N - So many misunderstandings these past two chapters. Also, the teachers were speechless so many times I was worried their brains short-circuited. A good end to wrap up the arc. Excited to see where it goes next!