Damn Academy

30 – cult

The next morning, Silverin and I stood at the door of the mansion to say goodbye to Elizabeth and the judges.

We stood in front of it until their wagon disappeared as a small dot.

said Silverin.

“I heard you gave a present to Elizabeth?”

“Yes. I gave you candy as the teacher advised, and you seem to be quite satisfied.”

“great job.”

Silverin hesitated for a moment before speaking.

“… I heard you gave that alchemy kid a present too.”

“Yes, thanks to that, I got a strange candy recipe. Fortunately, things worked out somehow.”

A snowball rolls from the candy recipe, leading to an artifact.

Actually, I don’t know what the curse the artifact blocks or what effect it has, but just the fact that it was given by a great magician made me feel reassured.

But after my answer, Silverin didn’t say anything. What’s wrong?

Looking at her face, there is nothing much different from usual, but the atmosphere is subtly different.

It’s hard to put into words, I feel such a strange aura.

Come to think of it, today I can’t find any accessories from her. Has there been any change of heart?

“Sir, what’s going on?”

“Why?”

“I don’t have the accessories I used to see.”

She crossed her arms and said without looking me in the eye.

“do not know.”

Only in that answer, for some reason, the reaction feels cold.

Do you have no desire to talk?

Or do you have a relationship with me?

“… … ?”

There is something. Yesterday he seemed to be in a good mood, but something seemed to upset Sylverine overnight.

While I was racking my brains for a while, she gave me some news.

“Right, an invitation came from old Popper of the Order. Please attend the social church tomorrow.”

There was a social church. For a while, I thought about the academy, so I completely forgot about it.

“I can’t go, can I?”

“yes. Then it’s a bit difficult. You’re a person who has a lot to do with us. And since you said you would go, there’s nothing special.”

hit. When I was offered to attend the social church after the ghoul subjugation, I said I would go without hesitation.

“uh… Shouldn’t we go dance or something?”

If that were to be the case, I was thinking of severing the Achilles tendon today.

“If you don’t like it, I won’t force you there. But it’s better to learn in advance. Even in Eternia, proms are held every semester.”

Eternia… ball?

Is that also open every semester?

It’s news like a thunderbolt.

“It would be very miserable if I couldn’t find a prom partner there. The stigma of ‘an asshole who couldn’t even find a partner’ follows me throughout the semester. And to tell you something important, partners who can’t dance aren’t popular.”

It was the most horrific story I had ever heard from Sylveryn.

Eternia suddenly started to get scared.

“Why are you so serious?”

“Well, going down the abyss once at a ball would be a good experience.”

“… … .”

Saying that, Silverin turned around and went inside the mansion.

Today, Silverin’s attitude is a little strange.

Lyria, who was standing next to the maids and watching them, sneaked up to me.

She took the ring off her finger.

“I… I’ll hide this ring for a while. It’s not that I don’t like this. I just thought it would be better… .”

After saying that, Lyria also put the ring in her pocket and turned around and went inside.

The maids look at me and shake their heads.

“… … .”

So is it because of me?

***

Everyone in the mansion was busy for one reason or another.

The maids had to prepare supplies for the long journey to Eternia, and since I couldn’t use the manufacturing room for a while, I had to make lots of extra potions.

And while I was busy, I asked the butler for a favor.

The butler was taking my measurements for a tailcoat.

he said with a questioning look.

“You don’t have to. If you need anything, I can just bring it to you.”

“No. It’s really important. Please make sure to sell this meteoric ring and bring me the one that fits the price you earned, no more, no less.”

It’s a quick sale, so I won’t get my price.

It’s a pity, but it’s ridiculous to prepare a gift for Silverine with Silverine’s money. It was meaningful only if I put in my hard work.

“And keep it a secret from the teacher. At least until tomorrow night.”

“All right.”

I let the butler go, and I sighed.

I thought that Silverin would not need my handicrafts because he had so many flashy accessories, but it seems that wasn’t the case.

In the future, gifts should be distributed carefully.

I went down to the lab again. There, Lilia was busy making Gryphon potions.

I also joined the potion work along with her. I couldn’t carry all the griffon’s blood for 6 oak barrels, so I had to compress as much as possible into potions.

The day flew by as I prepared for Eternia.

***

The soothing sounds of violin and cello resonate.

As the carriage progressed, the noise in the banquet hall became clearer and clearer.

Seeing our wagon, the whispers about Eternia and whatnot become more frequent.

It was not an ordinary carriage, but a carriage with the seal of Eternia engraved on it, so it was bound to attract attention.

Unlike me, Silverine has a relaxed expression, as if she had just come out to drink in front of her house. hahahaha, if it were her, she would have been to a place like this countless times.

The carriage stops at some point and the door opens with a click.

Silverin got off first, and I followed. Dozens of antique wagons lined up around us.

The social gathering was being held at the Knights’ gymnasium.

On the wide grass, people are huddled together with their glasses.

The attendant who opened the carriage door guided us.

“The captain is waiting for you.”

***

This social church was not simply for gathering people to enjoy a banquet.

Strictly speaking, this was more like a ceremony to pray for passing, and the main characters of the event were Joyce, Felix, and several other knights leaving to take the entrance exam to Eternia.

They were always surrounded by many young ladies.

The label of being a prospective Eternia student stimulated the greed and vanity of the nobles.

If they become real students of Eternia, it would be a great connection.

And there was someone all the nobles were waiting for.

The greatest language of this social church.

The reason why so many nobles gathered in this small village.

It was Professor Silverin of Eternia and his student.

Then, on one side of the noisy gymnasium, people stepped aside and opened the way.

Two men and women passed through the center.

I was able to figure it out without even thinking about it. It was thanks to her beautiful appearance that the rumors floating around were not exaggerated at all.

Nancy, the only daughter of Count Sinatra and the niece of Popper, the leader of the Knights Templar, was aghast at the news of Damian’s arrival.

Popper offered to arrange a meeting with Damian, but he turned it down at once. Then he asked to introduce someone else.

She thought she had already met Damian.

Contrary to rumors, the swordsman who cut down ghouls with a mysterious rune-engraved sword he had met before had a somewhat savage appearance.

Because of the shattered illusions, she had earlier turned down the position and was hanging out with others.

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Joyce already had a marriage partner, and in the end, she chose Felix.

Even if Damian is a student of the academy professor, it is the same that he is still an Eternia aspirant.

Among the knights, he saw greater potential in his size and confident personality.

Felix preached a lot about why Damian wasn’t a big deal, and his theory came to Nancy quite convincingly.

While hanging out with Felix, Nancy wondered when she saw a crowd gathered in one of the banquet halls.

In the center of it, two handsome men and women were walking. And what caught her attention was a handsome man with brown hair.

Nancy asked her cousin, who was watching as she pushed Felix through the crowds.

“Who the hell are you?”

“This cult has the best connections…”

“So who are you?”

“Who are the Archmage Silverin and his disciple Damian?”

Damian?

It was different from what she had seen before.

Only then did Nancy realize that there had been a misunderstanding.

“… … Me, me, wait!”

Nancy threw the glass in her hand and ran straight to the VIP room where Popper was.

Felix just stared at Nancy without knowing why.

***

Popper welcomed me with open arms as I entered the VIP room.

He kissed the back of Silverin’s hand to show his respect, and gave Damian a powerful handshake.

“Thank you for coming across such a long way to shine.”

Silverin said nonchalantly.

“It was nothing.”

Popper ushered them to the hospitality couch. He sat down facing Damian with a hearty smile.

After miscellaneous greetings came and went, Popper cleared his throat for a moment and called the attendant.

“Come in now.”

Soon after, the door of the VIP room was opened and two young ladies entered.

“I have someone to introduce.”

As they stood next to Popper, the introduction continued.

“This is my youngest daughter, Bologna, and my niece, Nancy.”

Popper’s two daughters raised their skirts in greeting.

“It is a sincere honor to meet two famous people from Wiesel.”

Silverin ignored it as it was, and Damian accepted the greeting with a shy face.

Popper said to Damian.

“I heard that there is a ball going on in Eternia as well. I look forward to your dancing skills as well as your swordsmanship skills.”

Damian said with a puzzled face.

“The only dance for me is the sword dance.”

Popper thumped his thigh and laughed out loud.

“ha ha ha! You are no different from any other prosecutor. I was like that when I was young too. Even though I fought bravely in front of the Witchbeast, my legs trembled at the ball.”

Popper continued.

“It is worthwhile to have a seat. Nancy, Bologna, can you teach Damian how to dance? My Archmage and I have something to talk about, but it’s not polite to leave one guest alone.”

Bologna and Nancy nodded their heads.

Damian’s face turned pale.

When the two of them took Damian out, Silverine opened her mouth.

“You’re too explicit, Popper.”

said Popper, looking intently at where they had left.

“There’s nothing wrong with each other since they’ll be getting married in a few years.”

“well. I think it’s a bit early.”

“Heh heh, are you planning on getting involved in your disciple’s marriage?”

“There are many ties to meet in Eternia, and as you can see, Damian is not a child to worry about missing out on. Rather, it is a problem to catch it too early.”

“I also know that Damian has no last name. If he has the backing of a prestigious family, wouldn’t he be able to spread his shoulders even in the rough Eternia?”

“Are you worried about Damian’s back when I’m with you?”

When Popper realized his mistake, he cleared his throat.

“Keuheum, as long as you are a professor, you won’t be able to take care of everything about that child.”

It wasn’t that Popper was overly forceful.

Now that Eternia has a relationship between a professor and a student, it was not possible to take care of everything openly like now.

However, there are many things that Damian lacks to do everything on his own.

His greatest weakness is his status.

Because of his status, he was easily caught up in political problems, and when he was caught up in it, he could not resist and was at high risk of being crushed.

There would be nothing to worry about when Silverine was around, but it was a problem when she was away.

If Damian had an aristocratic protection force, he could protect him from political threats.

We need to create as many forces as possible that are friendly to Damian.

A character like Popper isn’t bad to begin with.

Although he is clever, he is not evil.

Silverin said straight-forward.

“So what do you want?”

Popper replied, brushing his beard.

“hehehe, the story is fast. I won’t tell you back I would like to take this opportunity to support your disciple.”