Chapter 231
[Translator – Kie]
[Proofreader – Kawaii]
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Chapter:231 Academy (2)
***
The rehabilitation ended quickly.
“Teacher! This foolish disciple did not know your greatness and was disrespectful! I will apologize for my wrongdoing, so please forgive me!”
Oliver bowed several times to the floor and shouted. Damien looked at such Oliver with a satisfied face.
“Alright. It seems my persuasion worked well.”
“Yes? Sir, persuasion…?”
Oliver looked up at Damien as if to ask, “Didn’t you just beat me up?”
Instead of explaining, Damien stroked the club with his finger. The friction between the skin of his finger and the surface of the club made an eerie sound.
“Yes! Sir, you persuaded me! This Oliver Fortina! I was deeply moved by your eloquence and decided to change my attitude!”
“Good attitude. You’ve rehabilitated admirably.”
Damien nodded with an even more satisfied expression.
“Then let’s go find the other students now.”
“Understood!”
Oliver immediately took the lead. Damien moved with Oliver to find the students.
***
Damien followed Oliver’s guidance and crossed the academy.
“Isn’t that Damien Haksen?”
“Where is he going?”
Damien’s actions caught the attention of all the students.
Damien was the winner of the Helian Tournament and the figure who shattered the pride of the Imperials.
Whether in a good or bad way, the students’ attention was bound to be drawn to him.
“Who’s that behind him?”
“That’s him. Oliver Fortina.”
“Oh, isn’t he the Marquis’s bastard?”
The students’ attention also turned to Oliver.
Oliver’s face turned red whenever he heard the students’ grumbling.
Damien silently observed such Oliver. Suddenly, the words of Blanca came to mind.
-The family wants it too.
Damien was still pondering Blanca’s words when…
“Here we are.”
They arrived at the place where the students were.
The place Oliver brought Damien to was an old schoolhouse on the outskirts of the academy.
The building was covered in vines, suggesting that it hadn’t been used in a long time. All the windows were broken.
“Are the students from Class 13 here?”
“Yes! Ah, but not all of them are here. There are only three.”
“You know too much?”
“They are friends I often hang out with…”
Oliver said with an embarrassed face.
“So, these guys were the ones who skipped classes knowing I’m going to take their classes today?!
They had time to gather here but no time to attend class?
Damien felt anger rising within him.
“Let’s go in.”
Damien suppressed his anger and entered the old schoolhouse.
When they entered the lecture hall inside, they saw three boys huddled together.
“Who is it?”
“Isn’t that Damien Haksen?”
“What? What is Damien Haksen doing here?”
The three boys jumped up from their seats and glared at Damien.
Damien felt his hand itching in response to their defiant attitude.
“Oliver, did you really bring Damien Haksen into this?”
“You fucking little rat. No wonder you’re always getting in trouble.”
“See you in the dorm later. We won’t let this slide.”
The three of them glared at Oliver with menacing eyes. Oliver quickly hid behind Damien.
“Aren’t they your friends?”
“Y-yes, they are! I-I share my allowance with them, buy them snacks, and even carry their heavy stuff!”
Are they really friends?
Damien was deeply contemplating when he was interrupted.
“Hey, Damien Haksen. Why are you here? What’s your purpose?”
“There’s only one reason instructor would come looking for students who haven’t shown up to class, isn’t there?”
At Damien’s words, the three students looked at each other and laughed.
“So it’s true that Damien Haksen became the instructor for Class 13.”
“Hey, don’t waste your time and just leave. Do you think we’ll attend your class?”
“Exactly. We have no intention of learning from a knight of some insignificant little kingdom.”
Damien clicked his tongue. As expected, not a single one of them could be reasoned with.
“Oliver.”
“Yes, sir!”
“Go outside and keep watch.”
“…Excuse me?”
“Even though this is an isolated place, someone might come by.”
“Ah, understood!”
Oliver hurriedly went outside the lecture hall.
Once Oliver was gone, Damien slapped his palm with the club he was holding.
The three students looked amused.
“Are you going to threaten us with that?”
“It’s useless. Do you know who my father is? He’s the Count of…”
“Shh.”
Damien put a finger to his lips.
“I don’t care about your families. It doesn’t change what I have to do anyway.”
Damien said as he caressed the grain of the club.
“First, I’ll ‘rehabilitate’ your rude attitudes.”
***
Oliver closed the auditorium door and stepped outside.
Soon after, the sound of something being beaten with a club echoed.
“Argh! Has this bastard gone mad?!”
“How dare a knight of the Apple Kingdom touch the nobility of the Empire?”
“You’re dead! I’ll tell my father about this…”
Listening to the boys, Oliver admired Damien inwardly. They were repeating the exact same lines he had said.
There was no way Damien would tolerate that. Sure enough, rehabilitation began immediately.
“S-stop! Stop hitting me!”
“I-I was wrong! Aaargh!”
“I-I won’t tell my father! I swear!”
Oliver sighed inwardly. They weren’t using formal speech. They hadn’t fully come to their senses yet.
The sound of the beating resumed, louder and more frequent than before.
“T-teacher! I-I’m sorry! Please forgive me!”
“T-teacher! I’ll follow you for the rest of my life!”
“I’ll serve you like my own father!”
Thud.
The auditorium door opened. Damien walked out with the club slung over his shoulder.
“Come out, all of you.”
At Damien’s command, the three boys lined up and shuffled out.
Their bodies were unscathed, but their faces were etched with the fear of death.
“Oliver.”
“Y-yes?”
“Where to next?”
“I-I’ll guide you.”
Damien followed Oliver as he led the way.
The three students followed behind Damien like war prisoners.
***
Damien and Oliver continued their tour of the academy, subduing one by one the students of Class 13.
“Who are you? How dare you treat me like this!”
“I’m the instructor in charge of Class 13. Behave yourself, or I’ll give you a little beating.”
“Don’t talk nonsense! Do you know who I am? You’ll regret this!”
As expected, all the students of Class 13 rebelled against Damien.
Each time, Damien swung his club without hesitation.
“Teacher… I was truly foolish. Meeting you has given me a new light in life. So please… stop… stop hitting me!”
“Now you’re starting to look like a student. Follow me quietly and I won’t hit you anymore.”
Under Damien’s merciless beating, the students had no choice but to join the line obediently.
“Sir, teacher! This guy isn’t from Class 13! You shouldn’t hit him!”
“Oh, really? My bad.”
“Do you think you can get away with hitting someone on the head with a club and just apologize? This will never be over… Ah, I get it! I’ll just let it go! I’ll let it go, so please don’t hit me!”
“As expected of an academy student, you know how to talk. Class 13, take a good look and learn.”
Despite a few minor mistakes, fortunately, nothing major happened.
After all, Damien had in his hands the perfect tool for communication: his club.
“There’s one more left here.”
And so, Damien arrived at the final location.
Damien couldn’t help but be dumbfounded at the place Oliver had guided him to.
“This is where the last of Class 13 is?”
“Yes!”
The place Oliver had guided him to was, surprisingly, the outdoor training ground.
“Isn’t this a place that doesn’t fit in with the trashes of Class 13 at all…?”
The students of Class 13 all used derelict and grimy places as their hideouts, such as old school buildings, caves in the woods, and off-limits rooftops.
Given that, even Damien couldn’t help but be confused by the sudden appearance of an outdoor training ground.
“Teacher, the other kids are listening too.”
Oliver said as he glanced at the Class 13 students gathered behind him. Of course, Damien pretended not to hear.
“Teacher, you should be careful with the person inside.”
“Careful?”
“She’s the most famous idiot among the Class 13 students.”
At that, Damien’s face lit up with interest.
All the Class 13 students he had seen were beyond redemption. So, what kind of student could be called an idiot even among such a group?
He was so curious that he couldn’t help but be intrigued.
“Let’s go in and see.”
Damien stepped into the training ground. The sound of sword swings echoed through the air.
A girl in sportswear was wielding a wooden sword.
“Hah! Haah!”
She had been at it for so long that the floor was already drenched with sweat.
“Sir, that’s her.”
Oliver pointed at the girl, and Damien tilted his head.
“That girl is the troublemaker?”
No matter how he looked at her, she seemed like an exemplary student, not a troublemaker.
“Who’s there?”
Sensing their presence, the girl turned to Damien and shouted.
“Spying on someone’s training? Who do you think you are?”
It was clear she didn’t know who Damien was.
“Penelope, this is Sir Damien Haksen. You’ve heard of him, right?”
“Damien Haksen…? The knight from the Apple Kingdom who won the Helian Tournament? Why is he here?”
“He’s been hired as the academy’s swordsmanship instructor and will be in charge of our Class 13 for a while.”
Penelope’s face showed a look of surprise at Oliver’s words.
It was surprising enough that the winner of the Helian Tournament had suddenly become an academy instructor, let alone been assigned to Class 13.
“So you’re Sir Damien Haksen. I apologize for not being aware due to my ignorance of external affairs.”
Damien was shocked by the girl’s use of formal speech.
Class 13 using formal speech? Perhaps there had been some paperwork mistake that forced her to be assigned to Class 13.
“Your name is Penelope, right?”
“It’s Penelope Borja.”
The surname “Borja” surprised Damien.
The Borja family was one of only three ducal families in the Empire.
‘Diligent, polite, and from a ducal family… Why is she in Class 13?’
Based on what he had seen so far, Damien held Penelope in high regard.
“Penelope, your passion for the sword is impressive. Come back to Class 13 with me. With my guidance, you’ll be even better…”
“I don’t need it.”
Penelope’s response was immediate and firm, so much so that Damien wondered if he had misheard.
“If you’ve heard my name, you must know my skills too.”
“I don’t intend to accept anyone’s help, especially not from teachers or instructors.”
Her eyes gleamed with intense hostility, as if she despised the very concept of a teacher.
“And the reason I train with the sword is not out of passion. I have someone I must avenge.”
Penelope pointed to the exit of the training ground.
“So leave immediately. I’m busy training.”
Damien turned to look at Oliver. Oliver wore a smug expression as if to say, “See, I told you so.”
Indeed, it seemed there wasn’t a single normal person in Class 13. Damien felt a bit disheartened.
“It seems you have your reasons. Well, it can’t be helped.”
“You understand?”
“Of course. I also have someone I need to avenge, so I somewhat understand your feelings.”
Penelope’s expression shifted slightly at this unexpected statement.
“But you see, I also have my circumstances.”
“…What?”
“My situation is more urgent, so I’ll be taking you with me.”
Before he even finished speaking, Damien struck Penelope on the head with his club.
Bonk!
“Eek!”
With a strange scream, Penelope fainted.
“I don’t have time for this nonsense. Oliver, carry her. We’re taking her to Class 13.”
“…”
Oliver stared at Damien in disbelief. Damien frowned and asked,
“What’s with that look?”
“N-nothing.”
Oliver hastily hoisted Penelope onto his back.
***
[Translator – Kie]
[Proofreader – Kawaii]
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