chapter 28
* * *
If there is a plan that is bound to succeed no matter how it is ruined, how would the executor of the plan feel?
Even though it was a one-time cheat, Philip was comfortable.
‘Could it be that there is a dragon and it will fail?’
This situation is quite special.
If the demons weren’t involved, Philip could never get her help.
If you want to know why, you have to know the original setting first.
The dragons of this world were the guardians of the continent.
They only protect the continent called ‘Itunda’, and humans, who are only members of it, were not particularly protected by them.
In the original work, there was nothing to appear until the end of mankind.
Philip knew about the ‘contract’ between dragons and demons.
A promise made between the Dragon Lord and the Pandemonium Duke in exchange for an all-out war.
‘Even though you may exterminate humans, you must never corrupt them. Then I will turn a blind eye to you attacking humans.’
‘I will.’
It was very practical and effective.
From the dragon’s point of view, humans are just a part of the continent. There was no need to go out to the extent of making a sacrifice.
However, if humans fall and side with the demons, the balance of power will collapse.
Humans were able to increase the power of demons through human sacrifices or sacrifices made through black magic.
In conclusion, Nepen, the head of Crescent, was an Incubus, and Incubus was one of the most suitable demons to corrupt humans.
In Privia’s eyes, it was no different from a cockroach that appeared in the house she moved into.
For her, it was the kind of problem that must be rooted out the moment it is discovered.
Philip carried out his academic schedule while waiting for a call from Stella, the chief of the Black Myo tribe.
As a new instructor, he was actually a worker for the entire academy rather than a lower grade instructor, but since it was still the beginning of the semester, he didn’t have a big schedule.
There were just a lot of annoying chores.
‘Since he does as he is told, he’s trying to take on this and that.’
He had been called in as a security guard at the request of Dunmouth Haslan, the current third rank professor in the Faculty of Swordsmanship.
“I have heard many stories. Is this the first time you’ve actually seen it?”
Professor Dunmouth Haslan was in his late thirties, a descendant of a fallen nobleman.
He started as a low-level mercenary and worked as a swordsman instructor for a royal family without succession, eventually regaining his family in his late 20s and taking up a professorship at a prestigious academy.
He was truly a person who could be called a model of a self-made man.
‘… But why are you looking at me like that?’
Philip felt deep contempt and ridicule from Professor Haslan’s stare at him.
“Ah, yes. This is the first time I see you.”
However, Philip did not show any discomfort because it was impossible to crash from the start.
“Honestly, I didn’t expect to see you this long. Well, there are some rumors… … Don’t you know too?”
Laughter erupted from the 5th grade students gathered at the swordsmanship principal at Professor Haslan’s non-joke.
The age of 5th grade students is nineteen if they entered normally.
Since Philip, who was twenty-two, was not that big in age, it was only natural to ignore him to some extent.
“hahahaha, I feel fortunate too. I’m going to try to endure this for a while longer. do you know Will I stick around longer than the professor?”
Philip replied with a smile. Professor Haslan’s eyebrows twitched.
“… What does that mean?”
“What do you mean? Won’t the professor go up to a higher place? It doesn’t look like you’ll be a professor for the rest of your life. Did I ever make a mistake?”
Professor Haslan forcibly raised the corners of his mouth.
‘You arrogant bastard.’
Philip’s speech was not normal.
Professor Haslan knew that the cause was his own anyway. But to openly attack Philip would be disrespectful.
‘That guy doesn’t deserve to be here. No matter where you go to the salon, you want to dirty the sacred academy.’
“You look at me like that. Should I say thank you? Anyway, good luck for today. They’re full of blood, so they can get a little overheated, so take care of them.”
“yes. I will.”
Philip nodded.
Today’s schedule for the 5th year of swordsmanship was sparring.
By the age of nineteen, gifted students usually know how to strengthen their bodies with auras, and students with exceptional talents know how to cast auras on wooden swords, albeit weakly.
At Privia Academy, since the 4th year, Jingeom has been used in class.
Therefore, at least three instructors had to observe to prevent safety accidents.
A student could be seriously injured if he did not act in time when the match was decided.
“Then let’s begin now. Veron, Lelves. Prepare yourself.”
“Yes, Professor.”
Except for the students whose names were called, the rest of the children backed away.
Philip noticed that there was a flurry of glances between Veron and the students named Lelves.
They raised their swords and faced each other, then bowed their heads according to the etiquette.
“Then let’s begin.”
At Professor Haslan’s signal, Veron and Lelves started spinning around with their swords.
―Wow, that’s really boring. master.
About thirty seconds passed, Neria whispered. Philip agreed with a slight nod. In his eyes, he could clearly see the numbers the students were aiming for and their characteristics.
Just looking at his footwork gave me some sense.
And thirty seconds passed. Philip let out a small sigh as he realized that the students were holding their breath watching them fight.
―I guess he intends to stay like that until he sees a gap. Swordsmanship isn’t like that! Neria is dying of frustration!
It sounded like Neria was beating his chest. Philip held back a laugh and waited in silence for something to happen.
And the student, probably named Veron, aimed at the opponent’s thigh first and thrust his sword into it.
Relbeth threw the sword away and took three steps back.
‘… Why are you coming to me?’
It was in the direction of Philip.
And Veron rushed in the direction he retreated.
‘No, why are you coming to me?’
It was, of course, the direction Philip was standing.
Philip, who hadn’t even pulled out his sword, was suddenly exposed to Veron’s attack as Lelves rolled on the ground to avoid the charge.
Veron’s sword was fired at Philip’s upper body.
“Eh?”
Phillip was flustered but acted reflexively. I deflected Veron’s sword to the side with my aura-covered hand, and walked on his leg to avoid colliding with Veron.
“Aww!”
Poor Veron lost his sword and had to fly through the air for a moment and collide with a poor student watching the sparring.
“… ?”
Philip looked at Veron with a questioning gaze.
It was hard to understand with his common sense that a student who had gone through five years of advanced education at the academy would make such a rudimentary mistake.
However, he soon grasped the situation through the expressions of Veron and Lelves.
It was because not only Veron, but Lelves also had a frustrated expression.
‘You were trying to f*ck me.’
Philip smiled and approached Veron and held out his hand.
“Are you okay?”
Veron stood up on his own without holding Philip’s hand. His face was burning bright red.
“You need to train your lower body more. How can you beat the enemy when you can’t even control your own body properly? Didn’t the professors and instructors point it out?”
Philip pointed out in an uncharacteristically slightly sarcastic tone. And I looked at the reaction of Professor Haslan and the 5th grade instructors.
‘Doesn’t he say anything?’
At least they would have noticed at once that Veron and Lelves were not properly involved in the sparring. Still, seeing that he didn’t say anything, it was worth knowing the atmosphere going back.
Perhaps Veron wasn’t that bad of a skill either. It was just that he and Lelves had conspired in advance to make Philip difficult.
Philip felt his mood go down.
There was a certain degree of ridiculing people. He looked straight at Professor Haslan and opened his mouth.
“Yeah, it’s a presumptuous word. It seems that Veron students should precede basic training rather than sparring. professor.”
“… You seem a bit nervous today. I’m not really that kind of student.”
“Then you should teach me how to meditate. If you make a mistake like that because of tension, what would it be like in a real battle where lives come and go?”
When Phillip seemed unwilling to back down, Professor Haslan narrowed his eyes.
“Are you saying that my current education policy is wrong?”
“It’s a mistake and you sleep, and the result is like this. Attacking an observing instructor is something that even my first year students don’t do. Does my opinion matter in this situation?”
It was quite possible for the students to make fun of themselves with a momentary stroke, but Haslan, the professor, couldn’t do that.
It was unacceptable in Philip’s education center to try to get over something like that.
Gradually, I became genuinely annoyed. The spirit of the madman, who had been thought to have disappeared the moment he possessed it, was wriggling deep in his heart.
Whether the students were watching or not, Philip intended to end it here.
“I understand what you mean. But it is my role to judge my students. So, once you’ve done your job… … .”
-master. hey! excuse me! In the bush on the left!
In an instant, Professor Haslan and Neria’s calls overlapped. Of course, Neria’s voice was more important to Philip.
Phillip’s gaze went in the direction Neria said.
‘Eh?’
A wounded black cat was limping through the bushes, watching Philip.
‘no way. Probably not.’
Philip remembered Stella’s message.
‘Give me one day. I’ll gather all the Black Myo tribe that can fight and make a valid plan.’
At the sight of the voice and the injured cat, Phillip sensed that something was seriously wrong and called out hastily.
“wait a minute! I have some urgent business!”
“… So you’re off topic… … what?”
Professor Haslan shouted in bewilderment as Philip briskly moved on.
“What are you doing?”
The bewildered Phillip hurriedly spat out something.
“Please DM for further inquiries!”
He picked up an injured cat from the bush and quickly escaped the swordsmanship principal.
‘I’ll leave the work behind, older sister.’
* * *
“Philip… sir… Are you right?”
The injured cat was obviously an unknown cat, but it was clear that it was a black cat. Otherwise, there would not have been a young woman’s voice instead of a meowing cry.
“yes. you’re right. What the hell is going on?”
Fortunately, it wasn’t life-threatening, but Philip first gave first aid to her blood-stained front legs and half-cut tail.
“My name is Lana, the cousin of Chief Stella. I’m really embarrassed to tell you this news… .”
“It’s okay, so tell me. I am ready to accept.”
I felt urgent at the moment, but since the dragon was my ally anyway, the situation did not change. The damage was only slightly greater than expected.
However, at the words of Lana of the Black Cat tribe, Philip had no choice but to touch his forehead.
“To the Black Myo tribe… There was an attack. The chief was seriously injured and had to hide in a hurry, and our tribe had to abandon the village and run away by the intruders.”
‘I’m going crazy.’
Annoyed, Phillip was about to snap something, but met Lana’s wet eyes. Philip had nothing to say at the tears in his eyes, as if he would burst into tears at any moment.
“You are the only one who can help our people. Please. Please help me… .”