The Academy is Doomed

Chapter 13

~Argia, capital of the Amonis Empire~

Mornings there were special.

Amon woke up early, looked out the window, and grinned.

‘Hoo-hoo, little Amon has made it big, and he’s seen the capital city.’

It had taken him a year to get here from the Drake estate, tucked away in the Arma Mountains at the edge of the continent.

‘No one comes to the estate.’

Anyway, I arrived here late last night to enter the contest.

It’s been a long journey.

In truth, the roads of the Empire are well traveled, so getting here was uneventful.

It was the departure that was the problem.

‘Mr. Amon.’

‘Yes, Headmaster?’

‘Mr. Amon, you’re the lead teacher for this contest, right?’

‘Yes, I am, because I’m in charge of the special class.’

‘Right? I’d like to accompany you to the competition.’

In fact, it was best to have the principal accompany me since we received the shutdown recommendation.

If the headmaster showed up to the competition himself, it might be seen as a sign that, alas, the elf still has the will to save the academy.

However,

‘Very well, Headmaster, you may go!’

Suddenly, the Vice Headmaster, Brestle, was urging the Headmaster on!

Seeing the Vice Headmaster’s eyes light up, Amon exclaimed in horror.

‘No, Vice Headmaster, come with me!’

‘……Why?’

‘Because if you stay alone, you’ll waste money on the cafeteria facilities!’

The vice principal’s ears fluttered as I realized what was going on.

In the end, it was decided that the vice principal would accompany the academy as the executive representing it.

And the other teachers, except Amon…

‘I don’t want to go. I don’t want to be bothered.’

‘I had no intention of going with you, Senior Sloth.’

‘Huh!’

In the end, the only teacher left was Marion, so it was decided that he would accompany them.

And now…

Staring out the window, Amon felt restless as he slowly woke up.

‘A dark elf with a food craving and a drunken teacher……will it be okay?’

Amon’s head snapped up.

“Grrrrrr! Pooh-pooh!”

Marion was sleeping, hugging a bottle of alcohol, as if he’d had too much to drink in the night!

I sneak over to the dining room on the first floor of the inn and find Brestle waiting impatiently for her meal to be served, ears flapping.

“Ha…….”

“Huh? Good morning, Mr. Amon.”

“Hmph…….”

Amon grunted as his head ached and Brestle scratched her head.

“What’s wrong with you all of a sudden?”

I had one last ray of hope so I headed to the room where the students were staying.

“Hey, kids, are you up?”

“Yes, sir.”

“May I come in?”

“Yes, sir.”

The kids had their beds and clothes neatly made even though it was early in the morning.

Hugging them tightly, Amon choked back tears and muttered,

“You’re the only ones I can really count on…….”

Now, they weren’t surprised, like, “What’s going on?”

They just patted him on the back, as if to say, “What happened again?”

“Okay, guys, tomorrow is the competition, so get a good night’s rest. It’s important to rest. Do you understand?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Okay, okay. If you want something to eat, just say so, and I’ll buy it for you!”

“Really?”

“Yeah, yeah, speaking of which, let’s go explore the city and buy something delicious, I’ll buy it for you!”

* * *

Amon shook his thin wallet and tilted his head.

‘Are the kids’ appetites this good?’

Well, they were growing up, so it was natural for them to eat a lot.

‘The cost of living is so damn expensive that I ended up spending too much money.’

I wondered if I was being foolish, but if I was being foolish, I was being foolish, and who is Amon to be foolish?

‘Well, the vice-principal has her own traveling expenses, so she won’t be short of money.’

And it’s all an investment.

‘I’m maintaining my future circle of friends.’

Anyway, after a fun day of sightseeing and a full stomach, I sent Boris and Chloe back up to their dorm.

I checked the schedule for tomorrow’s competition.

“Kaaah! Koooow!”

Marion’s snoring from behind me made me giggle.

He was still sleeping drunk.

“I thought people were supposed to be consistent…….”

I muttered, and a chill ran down my spine.

‘……Consistent?’

I scrambled to my feet and headed for the first floor dining room.

And why does this anxiety always hit the mark?

“Yum, yum, yum, yum!”

“…….”

“Woof, woof, woof, huh?”

Brestle is eating her food with her face buried in her bowl.

She suddenly looked over.

“Is teacher Amon here to eat too?”

“…….”

“Huh? Why are you staring at an elf without saying a word?”

I plopped down across from Brestle, who flicked her ears.

I scanned the bowls on the table.

There weren’t many bowls.

“……Luckily, you haven’t eaten too much.”

At that, Brestle grinned from ear to ear with pride.

“I’ve already cleared the dishes five times.”

“……?”

There are like six bowls in front of me, and you’ve cleared them five times?

That’s thirty bowls’ worth of food.

And why is she so proud of herself? Makes me want to slap her.

“Vice Principal?”

“Yes.”

“You do realize that you pay for your own meals, right?”

Brestle pricked up her ears.

“Don’t be so petty over food.”

“Uh, well……that, just out of curiosity. You do realize that the cost of living here is pretty high, right? Considering that, you’re eating like this without any regrets, right?”

Brestle flicked her ears.

“How expensive is it, anyway?”

“…….”

“Gee, you’re already done.”

Brestle waved at the clerk.

“Here, I’ll have another one, anything tasty.”

Instead of the clerk, the boss came running over with a big smile on his face.

“Yes, sir, I’ll be right back!”

The boss smiles like he’s just hit an all-time high in sales.

Amon stared at the smile, then glared at Brestle with a stern face.

“Is this how you order, without even looking at the price or the menu?”

“Well, how expensive is it, really?”

Brestle’s voice was blunt.

Amon pushed himself up and approached the boss, who was busily preparing the food.

After a moment Amon returned with a white-faced receipt.

“Four gold and 89 silver.”

Brestle, in the middle of scooping up her food, stopped dead in her tracks.

“……How much?”

“Four gold and 89 silver.”

“…….”

“The boss says you don’t have to pay for the drink, only 4 gold and 70 silver.”

“……….”

Amon smiled, his cheeks flaring.

“How much money did you bring for traveling expenses?”

“……gold.”

“Ha, ha, ha! Hahahaha!”

“…….”

“Ha! Hmph…….”

Finally, Amon went from laughing to crying.

* * *

I remembered Anar’el’s words.

‘Dark Elves are often obsessed with a single desire, and she went on vacation and starved herself. She’s worse than before.’

I’ve only heard that it’s bad but I didn’t know it would be this bad.

‘Come to think of it, I’ve noticed that the chef in the academy cafeteria has gotten skinny since the vice principal returned…….’

Could it be due to overwork?

Sighing, Amon said.

“Don’t slump, sit up straight and eat properly.”

At those words, the vice principal, who had her head on the ground, raised her ass back up.

“Ah, teacher Amon……!”

“What.”

“This, this, isn’t it insubordination?”

Amon said, looking down at the vice principal with a frosty glare.

“That’s right, but what are you going to do?”

“…….”

“You ate all the travel expenses in one meal, so the students couldn’t eat and had to suck their thumbs during the competition. Do you want there to be no rebellion?”

“…….”

“Remember this: generals who acted like assholes all ended up getting stabbed and killed by their own men when war broke out. It’s a fact proven by history.”

Brestle thought, “Isn’t that a bit harsh?”

But she couldn’t point it out.

Earlier in the restaurant, Amon, who had been laughing and crying, suddenly stopped crying and broke the table in two with his bare hands.

‘They charged me another ten silvers for the table.’

And Brestle didn’t want her head to split like the table.

‘I always said that when a madman says something, you say yes, yes, and listen.’

Besides, the angle at which Amon’s eyes were turned showed that he wasn’t usually crazy.

Amon rubbed his forehead and rolled his eyes.

“Vice Principal, wake up.”

“……Ew!”

Seeing the Vice Principal scramble to her feet, Amon held out something.

“This is…….”

“It’s a stone.”

“Why are you putting this…….?”

“Put it on your forehead and hit your head on the ground.”

The harshness escalated!

This unreasonable treatment brought Brestle to the brink of tears.

“Ugh, what’s all the fuss about?”

Amon said as Marion, still sober, stammered.

“It’s nothing. Keep sleeping.”

“Mmm, I guess it’s nothing…….”

“It’s just that the vice principal blew all the travel money she brought on one meal.”

“……?”

Marion sat up, sobering from his drink.

“Travel expenses? That’s about five gold?”

“Yes. She spent it all on one meal, and she only has ten silver left.”

Marion looked at Brestle in disbelief, then sighed heavily.

“Well, what are you going to do, vice principal?”

Brestle said.

“You’re right, but still…….”

“The vice principal didn’t do a good job either.”

“…….”

Marion walked over and held out his pocket.

“Eh, here, use this for traveling expenses. I’ll try to refrain from drinking during the competition.”

“Come on, senior……!”

“It’s about four gold, so you should calm down.”

Amon accepted the pouch with a thrilled face, then suddenly frowned.

He turned the pouch inside out.

-Boom!

Two silver coins fell out.

“Four gold?”

“……?”

“2 silver?”

“Uh…….”

Marion smirked.

“I must have had too much to drink last night.”

“…….”

* * *

~The day of the big competition~

Boris and Chloe are competing in the ‘Swordsmanship’ category.

Amon squeezes their nervously trembling hands, saying.

“Kids, don’t be nervous.”

“……Teacher.”

“Believe in what you’ve been working on. You can do this.”

“……Teacher!”

“Yes! The teacher believes in you too!”

Amon’s encouragement fired them up, and they clenched their fists tightly.

Amon clenched his fists together, fueling their determination.

‘……Boris, Chloe, we must win.’

Yes, we must. We can’t lose.

Because.

‘If you lose, we won’t be able to eat for the rest of the competition.’

How much money do the three teachers currently have?

12 silver.

‘Because we’ll have to walk back to the Academy on our own two feet, not a carriage.’

I can’t do that.

“Come on in!”

Amon said to the man who greeted him, tears streaming down his face as he reached into his pocket.

“Boris and Chloe, I’ll bet six silvers each that they pass the first round…….”

“Yes, here’s your confirmation!”