The Academy is Doomed

Chapter 11

I rushed to her aid.

“Chloe! Are you okay?”

“Yes, yes! I’m fine.”

Chloe’s shaking didn’t look good at all.

And her sudden collapse drew even more attention.

“What’s wrong with her?”

“Is she not feeling well?”

Chloe’s trembling intensified at the sound of the soldiers’ voices, and Amon, seeing the look on her face, quickly spoke up.

“Let’s call it a day.”

“Ha, but…….”

“Today’s not our only chance, we just have to take it slow.”

Amon looked down with a gentle gaze.

He glanced over to see Marion, who was trying to defuse the situation, saying that the student didn’t seem to be feeling well and that they should call it a day.

Boris was also looking over at Amon with concern.

All of them were cautious, as if they were dealing with a child.

Chloe gripped Amon’s cuffs tightly.

“Sir.”

“……?”

“I, I want to get over it.”

“……!”

“I want to get away from this me, the one who can’t make eye contact with people and just shivers.”

It was a trembling but powerful voice.

Amon wants to help Chloe, his first student, too.

But how?

‘What can I do? The psychological part is not something that can be fixed in a short time.’

Amon struggles with his thoughts, but finally speaks up.

“Relax. Don’t worry about what people think. They don’t even know you.”

“…….”

“So don’t worry about it. Today is just……a test of everything you’ve learned.”

Chloe bit her lip tightly.

“Ha, I’ll try one more time.”

“Are you sure……you’re okay?”

Chloe nodded and stepped forward.

At the same time, the soldiers’ gazes focused on her again, and her legs trembled.

‘I guess……this won’t work either.’

Amon walked over to her.

And just as I was about to say let’s try again next time, Chloe suddenly grabbed my sleeve and said in a trembling voice.

“I want to try. Sir, do you think there’s a good way?”

“…….”

“I want to overcome this thing about me…….”

Her desperate voice wanted to somehow overcome her weakness.

Searching his memory, Amon spoke up.

“Chloe.”

“Yes …….”

“Well, it’s a secret……my father, Baron Drake, told me that when he was younger, he was very afraid of being looked at, but he said he overcame it this way.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yes.”

A timid father’s advice.

“Amon, I know it’s not for you, but if you’re afraid of people’s stares, try this…….

“Think of other people as potatoes.”

“Oh……potatoes?”

“……Yes.”

“Why potatoes……?”

Amon’s mouth dropped open.

‘That’s because we grow a lot of potatoes on our estate.’

Amon coughed and spoke again.

“I stand corrected. In your mind, think of other people as things that are familiar and acceptable to you.”

“……Familiar and acceptable to me?”

“Yes. Animals, plants, anything.”

“…….”

“Imagine that all the things you know are familiar to you are staring at you. Would that be scary?”

Closing her eyes tightly, Chloe muttered.

“@#$ staring at me?”

What? Staring at what?

I’d never heard Chloe mutter that before.

Anyway, after muttering a few times that something was staring at her, Chloe groggily opened her eyes.

A faint smile tugged at the corners of her mouth.

“Mr……..”

“Yes.”

“I think I can do it.”

“……You sure?”

“Yes.”

Chloe took a cautious step forward.

At the same time, the soldiers’ eyes focused on her again, and she shivered, but this time she didn’t flinch.

‘……No?’

Is she okay?

Amon spoke cautiously.

“Chloe, are you sure you’re okay?”

“……yes, sir.”

“If it’s hard, you have to tell me. Do you understand?”

Chloe nodded, and I called out, “Start.”

And the duel began.

‘Oh, oh, oh……!’

Chloe, who was extremely afraid of strangers, was having a proper duel with a soldier, albeit with more trepidation than usual!

Even Boris and Marion, who knew Chloe for longer than Amon, were stunned by the sight!

“Wow, Chloe is dueling…….”

“That’s amazing, Amon, what kind of advice did you give Chloe!”

The corners of Amon’s mouth rose to his temples.

‘I’m a teacher after all!’

I never thought I’d be able to repay a ten million gold debt with a single word, much less compensate for a student’s weaknesses with a single word!

And Chloe’s movements, which had been quite withdrawn, began to improve, little by little.

And then.

Tsk-!

The duel ended with the soldier’s wrist being struck by Chloe’s wooden sword, causing him to lose his grip on his sword.

“Ouch!”

Amon jumped to his feet and clapped.

“Excellent! Chloe!”

Amon rushed over and hugged Chloe, ruffling her hair and patting her back.

“That’s great! You did great, Chloe!”

“S, ah……I, I really did it…”

“Yes! Congratulations!”

Chloe clenched her fists tightly, tears in her eyes, as if she had done it.

I couldn’t believe how happy I was to see her.

‘This makes my path to the top even clearer!’

If I can do this, it won’t be impossible to do well in the competition!

‘And if I do well, I might even win!’

Who knows, maybe the Emperor will even be happy to rescind his recommendation to shut down the academy!

I jumped up and down in joy, hugging Chloe, but quickly put her down when the captain of the guard approached, smiling broadly.

“Hmph, I apologize. I was so happy to see my student’s growth that I overreacted…….”

“Hehehe, it’s okay, sir.”

But why is he smiling like that?

Captain Hagan continued.

“Hmph, they’re students of Amonis Academy after all. As expected from a noble scion, they’re really skilled.”

‘Don’t be too pleased, they didn’t win because of their bloodline.’

Understanding, Amon smiled broadly.

“No, it’s all a testament to the quality of my training!”

The captain of the guard looked at him with a self-satisfaction, “You say that?” look.

But what can I do!

It’s true!

I said to the frowning captain.

“The first student who dueled in the first place was a commoner, not a noble.”

“……Is that true?”

“Yes.”

“Heh, a commoner, and he’s so young, with such skill…….”

The captain of the guard looked at Boris with a glare.

“When you’re older, I’ll try to sneak you into the army. With that kind of skill, I’m sure you’ll find a place in the army in no time.”

Boris, who had heard the words bravely, came running up to him.

“Oh, Captain, is that true?”

“Uh, huh? Ah, right! With your skills, you’ll soon reach the rank of centurion. And if you distinguish yourself in service, you might even rise to the rank of captain someday.”

“If centurion is the highest rank a commoner can reach, then from captain onward, the ranks belong to the nobility!”

That means the path to nobility is open!

Amon whispered to the captain of the guard as Boris’ eyes lit up.

“Don’t you think you’re making too much of this?”

“…You can’t exactly say that he’ll just end up as a centurion like that, can you?”

The captain smirked.

“But he’s that good at such a young age, isn’t he? It’s not like I’m just making a fuss.”

“……I see.”

Of course, who knows if Boris will actually enlist.

It’s better to just think, “Oh, I’ve got options.”

A moment later, the captain of the guard approached Marion and handed him a pouch.

“……?”

The captain grins and leads his soldiers back to the barracks while Marion approaches with a rotten face!

I turned to her and said.

“Senior?”

“……Huh? What?”

“You’re betting money on the outcome of the duel?”

Marion, who stopped dead in his tracks, averted his gaze and said.

“……Hmm, it’s just a game. A little fun, like, betting on the outcome of a duel.”

“I see. Yeah, well. I get it, I get it.”

“Heh, heh, heh, you’re right, Amon…….”

“Which side were you on?”

Marion blurted out.

“I bet on the students to win, of course!”

“……Really?”

“Of course! Tsk, what do you think of people…….”

At that moment, Amon launched himself at the captain of the guard.

Marion, who witnessed the scene, ran away in a panic, and Amon, who heard the truth from the captain of the guard, chased after Marion and kicked his butt.

Marion bet on the students’ defeat.

* * *

Sloth said as he took back the Marquis’ seal.

“Everything okay?”

“There were a lot of things happening.”

“……What happened?”

I explained.

From the story of Boris and Chloe’s duel, to the fact that Marion had bet money on the students’ defeat!

Sloth listened in silence, then nodded with a smirk.

“I see, I see.”

“What is this lukewarm response?”

“I just wanted to make sure you didn’t get into any trouble with the signet ring.”

“There was no accident. Anyway, well done. I can tell you’re getting sleepy by the way you’re squeezing your eyes shut, so I’ll leave you to it.”

Amon scratched his chin as the door closed behind him.

‘……Well, what happened. There was.’

Just before leaving the guardhouse, Marion excused himself to use the restroom.

So, while I was waiting for him, a man who introduced himself as the leader of the ‘Knights of Goliath’ stationed here spoke to me.

‘I hear you’re bearing the mark of the Marquis of Pid, is that true?’

‘Ah, yes.’

‘Hmph……Speaking of which, I’ve never met you before, who are you?’

‘I’m Amon Drake, a teacher at Amonis Academy.’

‘……Hmm? Amonis Academy?’

An unintelligible smile flashed across the man’s face and just as he was about to say something.

‘Amon, have you been waiting long?’

‘Ah, senior.’

‘Huh? Who is this? Isn’t it Sir Tomart?’

‘……Your Excellency, Viscount Rumdom!’

Amon was shocked.

‘Marion’s a viscount?’

A drunkard like that?

Anyway, the man who greeted Marion soon left

‘Amon, what were you talking about?’

“He didn’t say much. He just asked why I have the Marquis of Pid’s seal.”

“……Hmm, yeah?

Marion said, tapping me on the shoulder.

‘I see. Would you like a drink later tonight?’

‘Sure, you’ll buy me one, won’t you?’

‘I’ve lost money today, why don’t you buy it for me?’

‘I’m not going.’

Anyway, that’s what happened.

I had discovered a shocking truth: Marion is a viscount!

‘Well, we don’t tell each other much about ourselves, so I wouldn’t know.’

Clicking his tongue, Amon sneaks off to the student dormitory.

He thought about telling them that they worked hard today but he quickly reversed course.

‘No, let’s leave it alone. In times like this, it’s better to let the students think about it amongst themselves.’

Meanwhile, inside the students’ dormitory, sitting on her bed, Chloe is mumbling to herself in a daze.

“The @#$ is staring at me.”

Boris stared at her in horror.

“Chloe, what are you talking about?”

“When you think of people as @#$, you stop being afraid of their stares.”

Chloe grinned and her smile sent a shiver down Boris’s spine.

‘@#$?’

Boris had known Chloe long enough to know what it meant.

That was the dialect of the Aran Kingdom and the Imperial equivalent of that word was.

‘A lowly pig.’

The Kingdom of Aran, with its well-developed livestock industry, was all about pigs!

’Oh, Mr. Amon, what on earth did you say to Chloe?’