The Academy is Doomed

Chapter 7

Amon was slumped over on his bed, muttering, in his quarters.

“This academy is doomed.”

A decrepit headmaster.

A slacker swordsmanship teacher.

Drunks trying to stab him in the back.

“Where the hell did my promising future go?”

He pushed himself up from his sulk.

“Well, it could be worse. I’ll take it one day at a time.”

At least the academy would have a source of funding, so he wouldn’t have to worry about not getting paid.

‘Sloth and Marion are not bad at teaching, either.’

They’re not bad teachers, though they have their flaws: lazy and drunk.

‘……It’s all part of the job, after all. It’s lunchtime, let’s go eat.’

~The cafeteria at the academy~

The cafeteria is minimally staffed, so the menu is limited but it’s cheap and delicious!

When I was on the estate, potatoes were the staple food, so the menu was a luxury.

‘Oatmeal, baked ham, and salad, this is the kind of meal I would only get on my birthday.’

My mouth watered, and I looked around the restaurant.

There were plenty of seats, but it would be nice to see some familiar faces.

‘I don’t recognize many of the faces.’

The next thing he knew, Sloth and Marion were seated at a table, both nervously avoiding his gaze.

‘Oh no, workplace bullying!’

But Amon, who never bats an eye at such things, snorted.

‘I won’t play with you guys, even if you ask me to.’

Amon stalked off, leaving Sloth and Marion to chatter.

“You agree with me anyway, don’t you?”

“Yep. I mean, he can’t even learn swordsmanship or use mana, and he’s been killing high-risk monsters, but if he learns how to use swordsmanship and mana, he’ll be able to…….”

“Me too. He’s been tearing apart magic circles with some theories he learned from his father, but if he learns magic properly, he’ll be able to…….”

The two exchanged a covert glance as they agreed.

The Amon Non-Education League was born, forbidding the transfer of any skills to Amon.

Meanwhile,

“Ah, there you are.”

Amon turned to the faces he’d been looking for.

“Hello, children. May I have a seat?”

“Ah, sir. Of course.”

He sat down across from Boris and Chloe.

“You both had a rough morning in class.”

“You had a hard time, too.”

Catching Sloth, taking Marion’s drunkenness, and so on.

Only you guys recognize that I had a hard time.

I pick up my fork and knife.

“So, there’s something I wanted to ask you guys.”

“What? What is it?”

“Did you know there’s a contest in a few months?”

“Yeah, I know.”

I looked at them both and continued.

“Do you two want to enter it?”

“It’s ……that us?”

“Yeah. It’ll be a great experience that will last a lifetime.”

If they didn’t want to go, I would try to talk them into it.

I’ll show the Emperor that I was willing to improve the Academy for the better.

‘Of course, that’s not enough to get the shutdown rescinded, but it might give me a little more chance.’

And then Boris, the one of the two who had been silent at the question, spoke up.

“I’m out.”

I wasn’t expecting such a blunt rejection, but that’s okay.

‘I’ll try to convince him…….’

Before I could finish my thought, Boris spoke up.

“I’m a commoner, I’m sure I’d be embarrassed to go out in a place like that.”

“Ugh, huh?”

“There’s no way I, a commoner, could compete in a contest with the nobles, given how great they are…….”

I quickly interrupted Boris, who was spewing self-deprecation.

“Boris, there are plenty of opportunities for commoners, and there are plenty of nobles in the Empire who came from commoner backgrounds!”

And indeed there were.

Upbringing aside, the Empire was a place where any commoner could become a noble if they worked hard enough.

But Boris was determined.

“That’s a credit to them.”

“…….”

“What can I do?”

The self-deprecation was so vicious it seemed to dig into the ground!

Boris was downright sulking.

‘I’m screwed.’

I can’t believe one of the students, the only conscience of this damn academy, the oasis, is this self-deprecating!

‘Just when I thought things couldn’t get any worse with the faculty, I screwed up and I’m about to fall into something even worse.’

I couldn’t let him get away with that, so I opened my mouth to speak.

“Boris.”

“Phew, yes, sir.”

“Look at this teacher.”

“Yes……?”

“I was a big wimp when I was younger.”

It’s a lie.

I’ve been running around the rugged Arma Mountains since I was a kid, and was revered by my peers in the manor as Spicy Fist Amon.

“But look, you became a teacher at the Academy, didn’t you?”

“Aren’t you from a noble family?”

“……That’s true, but isn’t the fact that you’re a teacher important now? Do you think anyone can be a teacher? Not everyone can!”

In the current state of the academy, even a dog or a cow could become a teacher.

‘After all, I got in through my father’s shallow connections.’

But to a child, the word “teacher” is heavy.

I continued to Boris, who was looking at me like, ‘Are you sure?’

“Besides, if you enter the contest and work hard, you might be able to become a nobleman?”

“Ear, nobility? Me?”

“Yes, do you know how good it would be to be a nobleman?”

Boris said, glancing at his bowl of barley oatmeal.

“And you get to eat meat every day?”

Amon said, unwrapping a baked ham.

“Of course, you could eat meat every day!”

It’s a lie.

Potatoes were a staple.

“Besides, it’s not often there are contests, this is your chance!”

“Gulp! Noble…… meat…….”

Boris said, his eyes suddenly twinkling.

“But that asshole…….”

“Boris, don’t say that! We still have a few months to go, we’ll just have to work hard!”

“Ha, but…….”

I said, giving a hesitant Boris a little more of the baked ham.

“You want to be a nobleman, don’t you?”

“Yeah…….”

Fortunately, Boris is ambitious, which means he’s true to his purpose for coming to the Academy!

“Okay. Since you don’t have classes in the afternoon, I’ll give you a special lesson, and I’ll also teach you history and general studies in between!”

The reality is that you have to be very talented to get ahead.

Boris swallowed hard when he heard that the teacher would give him extra lessons.

“Really?”

“Sure. You’ll have to work hard for it.”

“Yes, I’ll do my best!”

Amon smiled warmly at Boris’s enthusiastic response.

‘That’s great, Boris.’

If you’re this motivated, you’ll do well enough in the competition!

‘I hope you’ll be the foundation of my rise!’

Amon turned to his next target.

He turned to Chloe, who was still quietly holding her breath.

“Chloe, would you like to enter the contest?”

“I, I’m…….”

As I stared at her for an answer, Chloe’s shoulders slumped, and her head dropped.

“……?”

Boris explained.

“Sir, Chloe is very scared.”

“……Scared?”

“Yes. She’s especially afraid of people looking at her, and she’s afraid of crowds.”

Amon rolled his eyes.

There would be hundreds, maybe thousands of people watching the contest!

Even if it was for a good cause, there was no way he could force a scared little Chloe to enter the contest.

‘Besides, being scared isn’t something I can persuade.’

Giving up quickly is good for your mental health.

“I didn’t mean to force you. Don’t worry about it, Chloe.”

Chloe, who had been dropping her head, said.

“It’s …….”

“Huh?”

“I want…….”

While I was still dazed because her voice was too low to hear, Chloe spoke with more authority.

“I want to participate.”

“……!”

“I want to get over this.”

Such a thin but determined voice!

Boris’s eyes widened at Chloe’s aggressiveness, and Amon smiled broadly.

“Excellent, eat your ham!”

He said as he unwrapped the baked ham.

“If you have the will to get through it, you’ll get through it!”

“Really?”

“Yeah, I used to be so scared of adults other than my parents when I was a kid!”

It’s a lie.

I used to bury my face in the ground whenever I saw an adult just to get an allowance.

“I did that too, so why can’t you? You can overcome it too.”

“……Okay, I’ll do my best.”

“Yes, yes, yes, eat more ham!”

Before I knew it, I was halfway through a hunk of ham that could only be eaten on a birthday, but I was feeling good.

‘You little buggers!’

I grinned.

“Well, I’ll see you on the training grounds after lunch.”

The two kids who would save his future smiled back.

“Yes, Mr. Amon!”

* * *

Amon is no expert in swordsmanship.

That’s why he decided to prioritize Boris and Chloe’s physical strength.

‘With that increased physical strength, they can learn from Sloth!’

And if I teach them the basic theories of magic that I learned from my father, it will be easier for them to understand Marion’s lessons!

‘And then I’ll teach them general academics in my spare time!’

A perfect plan!

No, it was the perfect plan.

“I can’t do it!”

“Ugh! This is too hard!”

A healthy body makes for a healthy mind!

So, I had the two students go for a quick run around the practice field to get fit.

However, they didn’t run for long before they started to get tired!

‘It wasn’t a rope, it was a rotten rope.’

I rolled my eyes and said.

“……Huh, are you both tired?”

They both nodded heavily, and Amon scratched his head.

‘……Yes, let’s take it slow with the physical training.’

He opened his mouth with a generous heart.

“Then we’ll rest for a bit, and then we’ll get back to our magic theory lesson.”

“Phew, yes, sir.”

A moment later.

“I have……which proves that magic is real!”

“……?”

“Now, do you understand so far?”

Boris and Chloe shook their heads.

“I don’t know what you mean…….”

“What?”

“It’s hard…….”

Amon narrowed his eyes.

“Why is this hard?”

“…….”

“I thought it was the basic theory of magic?”

“I’m sorry.”

“No, there’s nothing to be sorry about……Why is this hard?”

Amon scratched his head in confusion, then sighed heavily.

“Phew, then, kids.”

“Yes, sir.”

“You’re well rested, right?”

“Yeah…..?”

“Here we go, healthy bodies, healthy minds!”

Boris and Chloe started to shiver at the unexpected words.

It was the chant that Amon had shouted after them as they ran across the field.

* * *

“I see your feet! Run faster!”

“Hic, hic, hic!”

“Follow, follow, healthy body, healthy spirit!”

“There, health, there, gweeeeek!”

Eventually, Boris gagged and fell back, and Chloe fell back and began to cry.

“No, kids, how long have you been running, and you’re already suffering?”

“Hmph, hmph, hmph, hmph!”

“I don’t understand…….”

Well, come to think of it, there’s no way Sloth would have pushed the kids to work out so hard!

‘You guys, you’re in luck, I’m going to take this opportunity to make you big!’

I thought to myself.

“……Teacher Amon.”

“Eh?”

Before I knew it, Sloth and Marion were approaching me with sycophantic faces.

‘Hmph, you off-duty teachers.’

Judging from Chloe’s ignorance of basic magic theory, it seemed that Marion wasn’t doing a particularly good job of teaching either.

So Amon said bluntly.

“What’s going on?”

Sloth said with a stern face.

“……What are you doing?”

“As you can see, I’m working on the students’ physical fitness.”

“……What did you order them to do?”

Amon said with a fresh face.

“A light 100 laps around the training ground.”

“……100 laps?”

“Yes.”

“Not 10 laps? No, 10 laps is a bit too much……”

“Eh, what kind of fitness training is 10 laps around this narrow haze? Honestly, I’m worried that even 100 laps is too little.”

On our estate, children join their parents for morning walks up and down the Arma Mountains.

“Oh, and I taught them a little bit of magical theory so that it wouldn’t interfere with Mr. Marion’s class. I learned a little from my father.”

Marion said with a stern face.

“What the hell did you teach them?”

“It’s about clarifying the relationship between ether and mana, and proving that the definition of magic is to break down the barrier between etherius and the material world. But they don’t quite understand it. It’s not that difficult.”

“…….”

Etherology, it’s a study you’d have to be a Sixth Circle wizard to lick the pages of.

It’s a glimpse into the very principles of the world itself, a study that inexperienced wizards should never master.

Marion thought.

‘You taught these children etherology?’

Sloth thought.

‘You made them run a hundred laps?’

Amon looked at the stunned pair and shook his head, wondering what was wrong.

“Is there a problem…….?”

Amon didn’t finish his sentence.

In defense of their students, Sloth and Marion lunged at him and kicked him.