The Academy is Doomed

Chapter 34

“Amon! Uh, wake up!”

“Hmph, potato bowl!”

Amon jerked awake as Reinbelt shook him.

Rubbing his eyes, he mumbled,

“What happened this early in the morning? It’s not even time to get up yet.”

In response to the groggy question, Reinbelt wordlessly drew the curtains and pointed out the window.

This caused Amon to yawn and sit up, and he looked out the window.

He froze in place.

“……What is that?”

“Those are the guests who came to see the exhibition.”

“Hahaha, what kind of joke is this!”

I laughed and opened the window, and I could hear their voices clearly.

“Open the door at once!”

“When the hell are you going to open the exhibition hall?”

I slammed the window back shut.

“Don’t be ridiculous…….”

“What are you going to do now? From the looks of it, it doesn’t look like there’s much point in me helping you. No, it looks like you’ve got enough on your plate with visitor control alone.”

“Ugh.”

Yesterday, I thought I could get through the day and not have any more customers.

But now I’m faced with more unwanted visitors than I had yesterday!

‘Oh, right, this is a dream.’

In the early morning hours, Amon denied reality.

But as sleep slowly slipped away, the weight of reality was pressing down on his shoulders.

It was only then that he was able to make a sober judgment and decide what he should do.

“Very well, Mr. Reinbelt. Here’s what I’ll do.”

“Oh, you have a good idea?”

“Kill them all.”

Amon’s honeycomb of favor quickly changed his mind.

‘This is not the time.’

Amon hurried to the principal’s office and knocked on the door.

Of course, given the angle of her ears, he was correct in his prediction that she would be out for another two days.

However, given the urgency of the situation, she agreed to talk to me after I forcefully pulled her ears down.

“My ear…….”

“I’m sorry, sir. But it’s urgent, so please understand.”

Amon pointed to the mob at the front door, clearly visible from the principal’s office.

“At any rate, they’re several times the number of visitors we had yesterday. Please give me your wisdom on how to defeat them.”

“…….”

“I’ve heard that our academy has hosted a few exhibitions before, and given the state of the academy then, I’m sure there were far more visitors than there are now. What did you do then?”

Anar’el said with a serious face.

“There were a lot more people in the Academy then than there are now.”

“What? You mean.”

“Yes.”

Anar’el looked up at the ceiling.

“I don’t know, the other teachers were in charge back then.”

“Ah…….”

Amon covered his face with his hands.

‘What is she, some kind of gargoyle guarding the principal’s office, sitting around doing nothing?’

Anar’el frowned, as if reading his rude thoughts.

“I think you have a very rude idea.”

“Exactly. You know it well.”

“I don’t know how, of course, but I do have an idea.”

Amon’s ears perked up at that.

“What is it?”

“Hoohoo…….”

“Don’t be silly, just tell me, those rioters are grabbing the front door and shaking it right now!”

Amon pleaded, and Anar’el said with a smug look on her face.

“We’ll charge them for admission!”

“……!!”

“Yesterday it was free, but today we’re charging admission? Surely the people who came for free will leave disappointed, and we’ll get half as many visitors!”

Amon gaped.

“So this is the wisdom of the Forest Clan……!”

“Ahhhhh, now you’re getting it!”

Anar’el spread her hands wide.

“Now, Mr. Amon, hurry up and tell our visitors about this!”

“Yes, Headmaster!”

As Amon rushed outside, Anar’el looked out the window to see what was happening.

She saw a flurry of stones hitting Amon as he eagerly announced the news to the mob outside the front gate, and then realized that when you suddenly announce that you’re going to charge for something that was free, the mob gets extremely excited and angry!

* * *

“I can’t help it.”

Amon said with a serious face.

“I’ll kill them all.”

“Put up with it.”

“Put up with what, I’ve memorized the face of the guy who threw a rock at my temple.”

Scratching his head in annoyance, Amon sighed.

“There’s nothing we can do. We have no choice but to do it the right way.”

“The right way?”

Amon nodded.

“You need to get up.”

“What?”

“Let’s go out.”

“What?”

Suddenly, Amon tugged on her wrist, and Anar’el followed.

A moment later, arriving at the vice principal’s office, Amon shook Brestle, who was sleeping soundly, awake.

“Yes, what, what is it?”

“Come on, get up. We’re going out.”

“What? Where are we going…….?”

Amon smirked.

“You need to help with the exhibit.”

Brestle frowned, having been jolted out of sleep by the words.

“Why would I help with that?”

“Are you sure you don’t want to help?”

“There’s no reason to help…….”

Amon pointed at Anar’el, who stood there in a daze.

“The Headmaster has come out and offered to help, and the Vice Headmaster won’t!”

Anar’el was taken aback by the uncoordinated remark.

“Well, you’re out of your depth! When did I say I’d help?”

“…….”

“Professor Amon said that he would use the empty building on his own and handle the exhibition on his own! What are you talking about now?”

Anar’el’s shout made Brestle widen her eyes.

“You lied to me right out in the open!”

“That’s right, Mr. Amon, you’re on your own in this one!”

The two elves shouted back at each other.

Amon finally decided to use the trick he had been hiding.

‘I have no choice.’

It wasn’t a skill he should use in a place like this.

But what the hell, a skill is worthless if it’s not used.

Glancing at the two elves who were shouting at him, Amon leapt up like lightning.

Amon stood upside down as if doing a handstand!

Anar’el gasped at the sight.

“That’s……!”

It was the Grand Bow, an advanced version of the Eastern Continent’s most polite form of bowing, the Prostrate Bow!

In fact, this technique was prepared to melt the heart of a dark emperor, but to use it in a place like this!

“Headmaster, Vice Headmaster.”

“Yes, eh?”

Amon stood upside down, tears streaming down his face.

“Please help me.”

“…….”

* * *

Once the headmaster and vice headmaster were moved by Amon’s sincerity, it wasn’t hard to convince the other faculty members.

Well, actually, Marion was the only other faculty member.

‘I guess Sloth is not back yet.’

There’s no such thing as too much laziness.

‘Anyway, there’s a saying that even a hundred-piece suit is better when held together.’

Of course, now it wasn’t a daunting task, but more like a giant boulder, but with the extra help, things would be easier than yesterday!

A few hours later Amon, Anar’el, Brestle, and Marion were crouched in a corner of the pavilion.

Like Amon yesterday, they had finally given up control of the group.

“Aaaaah! I want out of here!”

“Those eyes!”

“Almighty Blaton, protect me with your eternal light. Almighty Blaton, protect me with your eternal light…….”

What a maddened, rampaging crowd!

There were several times as many people as there had been yesterday, and the mere increase of three people was not enough to keep them in check.

“What shall we do, teacher Amon?”

“I don’t know. I just hope those lunatics fall off on their own.”

“I’m so afraid.”

“It’s okay, they won’t attack us if we sit still like this.”

Marion, the one of them who had been breathlessly surveying the situation as if he had fallen into an animal cage, said.

“Uh, people are starting to fall out.”

“Oh, really?”

It was almost time for lunch, and the madmen were retreating.

I guess people have to eat, too.

“This is our chance, let’s take advantage of it and retrieve the banner and end the exhibition.”

“Yeah, but it was only supposed to be open this weekend anyway, right?”

Thanks to the support, we decided to make amends by closing the show early.

I was in the middle of taking down the banners and cleaning up.

“Huh?”

An elderly gentleman with a dignified appearance had stayed until the end and was surveying the exhibition with a serious face.

Amon approached him and said.

“Sir, it’s almost closing time.”

“Hm? Is it that time already?”

The old gentleman scratched his head and said with a pitying look on his face.

“I’m really sorry, but can you give me a little more time?”

“Um.”

Well, honestly, I don’t really care.

“Okay, but not for long.”

“Thank you.”

With that, the old gentleman left the exhibit, and the faculty went into a meeting.

“What about the profits from this exhibition?”

Amon curled his fingers into a ball at Anar’el’s question.

“Zero. None.”

“…….”

“We’d have to charge admission or sell dolls to make money, and since there’s no admission and no dolls sold, we didn’t make any money.”

Anar’el sighed and closed her eyes.

“I don’t know what to make of this…….”

“Well.”

“Raymond must be very discouraged that the exhibition was a flop.”

“I told him earlier, but he didn’t seem to mind.”

“What?”

“He said he didn’t think the dull masses would recognize his high quality work.”

“…….”

A heavy silence settled around the four people in the meeting.

And in that silence, Amon was lost in thought.

‘This exhibition was supposed to be a way to fund the Academy.’

We’ve tried many things to do that.

We’ve tried to find new sources of funding, we’ve tried to change the Emperor’s mind about shutting it down, we’ve tried to get Sloth to help us.

“Did I even try, though? But judging by how they didn’t say much after hearing the situation, it seems like they’re not too keen on helping.”

Sloth doesn’t seem to have much affection for the academy.

‘Besides, there’s no reason for her to be here now that the misunderstanding with her family has been resolved.’

In fact, I wonder if her hasty return home was part of her abandonment of the Academy.

‘Hmm. Anyway, the exhibition was a flop.’

In the end, all our efforts were for naught.

Amon’s hopes were completely dashed, especially since he had been so badly beaten at the exhibition.

In the end, there was only one answer left.

‘Let’s rip the Academy out by the roots.’

Let’s ruin the Academy. It’s a long-standing plan that has finally returned to square one.

“Headmaster.”

“Yes?”

Amon said, his face deadly serious.

“Let’s take what’s left of our operating funds and throw a big banquet.”

“What?”

It was Brestle who reacted immediately.

“That’s a great idea!”

That’s when Marion interrupted.

“Amon, are you out of your mind?”

“We’ll eat and drink, and we’ll have plenty of Amur specialty liquor.”

“That’s a great idea!”

Anar’el said with a serious face, leaving a giggling Marion behind.

“Teacher Amon, what are you thinking, a banquet all of a sudden?”

“Let’s see, Headmaster.”

Amon pointed to Brestle and Marion.

“They’ve been in a heavy mood, but at the mere mention of a banquet, they’ve regained their strength and are enjoying themselves.”

“What?”

“No matter what you do, it won’t go well with a sinking mood, so I think it’s time for a little cheer.”

“…….”

“A banquet, or a meal, is a big deal. Just eating a meal can energize you, it can change the way you think, so this is not just a banquet, it’s a banquet to build up the strength to start anew.”

“…….”

“That’s what we need right now, I think.”

At the seriousness in Amon’s voice, Anar’el narrowed her eyes.

“You are certainly right, and since there is nothing we can do about it now, we might as well eat and drink and drown our sorrows.”

“Exactly.”

Pushing herself to her feet, Anar’el held out her pouch of operating funds.

“It’s all the operating funds the Academy has left.”

“…….”

“Then I’ll ask you to prepare the banquet with it.”

With that, Anar’el smiled sheepishly and turned away.

Seeing her like that, Amon had a hunch.

‘The headmaster has a premonition.’

That this would be the last banquet.

That maybe it would be right to leave on a high note one last time, rather than trying to keep the Academy alive in a shoddy, crappy way.

‘But she’s not wrong.’

Amon, clutching the operating funds tightly, pushed himself to his feet.

One last banquet.

He planned to set the table as richly and lavishly as possible, to make it a fond memory.

‘They say that ghosts that eat and die are handsome, so we might as well leave the Academy with at least one good memory!’

Amon smiled brightly and ran off.

* * *

After buying as many good ingredients as he could find at the market, Amon returned to the academy with his luggage.

‘“Huh? Who are these people?’

Were they people who came to see the exhibition late?

Amon frowned as he approached them, and just as he did, Anar’el came running up to him, panting.

“Ah, Teacher Amon!”

“Who are those people?”

“You don’t have to worry about them now!”

“What? Why?”

Just then, Sloth poked his head out of the crowd and said.

“Amon, are you here?”

“Senior?”

For a moment, Amon’s head spun.

All the worst possible scenarios that I can think of flash through my mind.

“Wait, senior.”

“Huh?”

“The things they have.”

Sloth nodded.

“Academy sponsorships and donations from my family.”

Amon fell to his knees in a heap at that, but Anar’el grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him.

“That’s not all, when teacher Amon was away, a messenger from the imperial family went by, and they’re going to lift the suspension on a trial basis, and they’re also going to give us a monthly subsidy!”

“Ah, ahhh…….”

Amon fell to his knees and began to pick at his head.

At that moment, Raymond walked over, smiling.

“Sir, an old gentleman was so impressed with my work earlier, he’s donated money to the academy so I can continue my artistic endeavors!”

“Uh, uhhhhh……….”

The old man who was the last one left in the exhibition hall earlier!

Amon was clutching his head and twitching.

Seeing him, the entire academy shouted.

“Then, teacher Amon, let the celebration begin!”

Amon howled in response to their hopeful shouts, clutching his head.

Anar’el smiled broadly through her tears.

“Yes, teacher Amon, let out all of your pent-up frustrations, you’ve been in so much trouble!”

“Aaaaaaah!”

“I didn’t know you’ve been holding your tears in like that……!”