The Academy is Doomed

Chapter 29

‘Excuse me, Mr. Sloth?’

‘What is it?’

‘How about staying? Since the misunderstanding has been resolved, there’s no reason for you to stay at the academy, right?’

Sloth shook her head.

‘My father and brothers don’t want me to follow the path of the sword.’

‘What? And why is that…….?’

‘They say it’s bloody hard. They don’t want me to walk such a hard path, so they sent me out to live free.’

I didn’t realize there was a reason for that.

Sloth stretches, as if she’s relieved, and smirks.

‘Still, I’ll try to make my own way.’

‘…….’

‘So I’m going to stay at the Academy for a while. When I said I was going back to the Academy, my youngest brother gave me a note. It said to come home from time to time.’

‘…….’

‘Hee hee. But why are you looking so rotten, don’t you like it?’

Amon said bluntly.

‘You can’t be in a good mood when your career has been destroyed.’

‘It’s not my fault.’

‘Even if it’s not your fault, senior, just looking at you makes me feel like my chances of success have flown away, so it’s a bit unsettling.’

Sloth slapped him hard on the back of the head.

‘Well, anyway, it’s already been a week since I visited the Fid Marquisate.’

When I returned to the Academy and told him the news of the breakup, Marion laughed hard, saying he had known it was coming, though he quickly stopped laughing when Amon clutched his bottle upside down.

Vice Headmaster Brestle was like, ‘What the hell,’ and Reinbelt looked like he had a chance to have a pupil again.

A little troubling, though, was that Headmaster Anar’el seemed to have something on her mind, and she was sweating profusely and looking very pale.

‘What’s wrong with her? Well, what can I do about it?’

She’s got to take care of herself!

‘Anyway, I’m not doing so bad lately. Though I’m not sure I’d be able to make a go of it without the Marquis of Pid on my back.’

Amon smirked and picked up his class materials.

‘My history lesson is going pretty well, too.’

I was worried when I first started planning the curriculum, but once I got into the class, it wasn’t too bad.

‘Boris and Chloe are motivated and fun to teach. The only problem is that Raymond is joining the class today…….’

When Amon went to the Marquis, Reinbelt and Raymond had gone back to their old place for a while.

They said they had something to bring back.

That’s why Raymond didn’t get to take Amon’s first class until today.

‘Well, he grew up with a strict grandfather, so he should have a good attitude.’

With that thought, Amon pushed open the classroom door.

“Hey, everyone, did you have a good lunch?” Amon exclaimed, entering the classroom with a flourish.

Boris, Chloe, and Raymond.

It was nice to have three students sitting next to each other.

The problem is, there’s another one sitting next to Raymond.

‘’Why are there four…..students?’

Maybe he’s a freshman, but I didn’t hear that?

“Uh, um……?”

Amon rubbed his eyes and counted the students again.

Boris, Chloe, and Raymond.

And another one…….

‘……What, that one.’

It was a doll.

A doll that looked exactly like Raymond.

“Raymond?”

“What?”

“What’s that…… doll next to you?”

Raymond frowned at the question and hugged the doll tightly.

“It’s not a doll.”

“What……?”

“This is me.”

“What…….”

The words, “What the fuck are you talking about, you crazy bastard,” rose to the top of my throat, but I couldn’t get them out.

The look in Raymond’s eyes as he gazed at the doll was adorable.

It was like looking at a sweetheart!

Boris and Chloe, too, were staring in horror at Raymond’s crazy behavior.

“Alright, let’s start the class!”

Amon decided to snap back to reality.

* * *

“Old man, your grandson seems to have lost his mind.”

Reinbelt, sweeping the courtyard with his broom, frowned at Amon’s rambling.

“What do you mean by that all of a sudden?”

“Your grandson is hugging some doll and saying it’s not a doll, it’s me.”

“……aah.”

Reinbelt looked as if he knew this all too well.

That meant Raymond didn’t just go crazy overnight.

“So you’ve seen that?”

“Yes, because I’ve barely left my room since I went to the Marquis of Pid to organize the curriculum for my classes.”

“Hmm……I see.”

Clicking his tongue and scratching his head, Reinbelt sighed.

“There’s a story there. So I guess we’ll just have to let it go for now.”

The words made Amon’s jaw drop.

‘No way…….’

Normally, being obsessed with a doll is a sign of lack of affection.

But when you’re obsessed with a doll that looks exactly like you, you can’t imagine the depth of the problem.

‘Parental abuse? Twin brother’s death?’

There are many other reasons.

Of course, I imagined it, but I didn’t say it out loud.

Reinbelt, who had been silent, spoke up.

“I assume you want to know the story.”

“……I’d be lying if I said I didn’t.”

“Right.”

“If it’s something you can’t talk about, you don’t have to.”

At that, Reinbelt said with a heavy sigh.

“No, come to think of it, you’re his teacher, so you might as well know.”

Reinbelt looked up at the sky with a bitter face.

“Ray, that guy……”

Reinbelt said in a solemn voice.

“Has a terrible prince syndrome.”

“Alas, a prince…….What?”

“Also known as narcissism.”

“You mean narcissistic?”

“Yes. He loves himself to death.”

I suddenly remembered Raymond’s moist eyes staring at the doll earlier.

So that can’t be…….

“I’d rather carry a mirror, not a doll…….”

Amon lamented, and Reinbelt echoed.

“It was a mirror at first.”

“……?”

“But he wasn’t satisfied with a mirror, so he made a doll that looked exactly like him and carried it around with him.”

A chill ran down my spine.

“Did he make that himself?”

“Yes. He’s very handy.”

“…….”

“Plus, whenever he grows taller, he somehow always makes a new one to carry around like a ghost.”

“…….”

“I tried to steal it, which was nice at first, but then he went crazy.”

My eyes glazed over.

“At least he didn’t do it in front of everyone.”

“From what I hear, he didn’t bring his doll to the contest.”

“Oh, right. The contest.”

“Yes.

“Part of the reason I told Ray to win the contest was to kill that tendency.”

“…….”

“Otherwise it would definitely be too flashy.”

“…….”

Amon covered his face with his hands.

‘How come there are no sane people in the Academy?’

The student body, the only hope, the light and salt, has been tainted by a madman!

The precious, flawless student body tainted like this.

‘Why did I suddenly think of Chloe?’

Amon scratched his head.

‘…… But we’ll see. At least it’s not like carrying around a doll in his likeness is doing anyone any harm, and from the looks of them, they don’t understand, so I doubt they’ll get it.’

Besides, Raymond may be ugly, but he’s a Sword Master!

He’ll give Chloe and Boris some motivation. As unsightly as he is.

‘Besides, he might be able to give Chloe and Boris some advice on swordsmanship. Even if he’s not pretty.’

Amon patted his chest with a satisfied smile.

The mind control had worked.

“I see, I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Good. Maybe a good teacher like you can set him straight.”

“…… I’ll try.”

Reinbelt, who was sweeping the yard with a broom while smiling gratefully, said with an expression of regret.

“Come to think of it, I almost forgot.”

“What else?”

“Headmistress Anar’el told me earlier that she wants to see you in her office.”

“Really? Didn’t she say what it was about?”

“I didn’t hear much. But it sounds like you’re in a lot of trouble.”

Amon’s face darkened at the mention of trouble.

‘Come to think of it, the headmaster’s complexion was pretty bad when I told her about my visit to the Marquis the other day…….’

Could that be the ‘great trouble’ Reinbelt was talking about?

Amon hurriedly headed towards the headmaster’s office.

* * *

“Ugh, ugh, ugh…….”

Anar’el, who had been sitting up and dozing, opened her eyes with a startled gasp.

“Ahhh! Gasp, ugh, it was a dream……”

Muttering to herself, she wiped the sweat from her brow and looked up from her desk.

At the same time, her normally white face turned bloodlessly pale.

“No, it wasn’t a dream……!”

Anar’el’s ears fluttered in panic.

There was a knock on the door and a voice!

“Headmaster, it’s Amon Drake. You called for me?”

“Aaaaah!”

“What, what!”

Amon rushed in at the sound of Anar’el’s screams.

He looked around for any intruders and sighed heavily when he realized that no one was there.

“You startled me, what were you screaming about?”

“Hic, hic…….”

“No, what’s wrong with you all of a sudden?”

Amon shook his head at Anar’el’s behavior, not answering the question.

But after a moment, he realized that she was afraid of ‘something’ on the desk.

‘What is it, a letter?’

Amon reached over, picked it up, and read it.

[King of Mango Farms bankruptcy notice]

[Due to the unprecedented and historic rainy season and flooding disaster, your investment, King of Mango Farms, has gone bankrupt, and we ask for your generous understanding…….]

Amon blinked.

No, he just stood there for a long moment, staring blankly.

“Oh, Mr. Amon……?”

“……….”

“Teacher Amon!?”

Anar’el called out, but Amon just stared at the letter.

Amon shook his head, dazed and disoriented.

“What? What letter?”

Amon read the letter again, and then froze again.

“Ah, teacher Amon!”

“………? What kind of letter is this?”

Amon’s brain is in a state of extreme shock and is shutting down one after another!

Amon suffered one short-term memory loss after another, but he could still vaguely recognize them.

Finally, finally, finally.

‘The Academy is doomed.’