I Became the Academy Chapter 127

Chapter 127

After that short but very important eting with Laki,

I wandered here and there again, enjoying the welco party.

At least on the surface, I was definitely enjoying myself.

Though inwardly, my mind was filled with other thoughts.

‘Ancient beings. If it’s about the settings related to ancient beings from the ga…’

I chatted with many different races while enjoying the delicious food, yet my thoughts were elsewhere.

‘Literally, beings who lived in ancient tis. But not just ordinary creatures of that era—so of them possessed transcendent power… like gods.’

Of course, they weren’t actual gods, but among the ancient beings, there were so who had beco deities.

As ti passed, so declined and disappeared, while others gained greater faith and truly beca gods.

‘The fallen gods. Among them were those called evil gods, there were evil dragons, and even strange monsters… there were all sorts of beings.’

Before the vacation began, when I spoke with Roy,

I had heard roughly about the ancient beings from him.

But it was only a rough explanation, so I didn’t know much in detail.

‘Since Nia invited

during the break, I should et Roy again then.’

As far as I could tell, Roy was sothing of an expert in that field.

It would be best to et him and ask about various things...

‘…But what exactly should I ask?’

That fundantal question suddenly crossed my mind.

I had just learned from my conversation with Laki that the ancient beings were sohow connected to all this.

But from here—where to go and how to proceed—I had no clue.

‘There isn’t just one or two ancient beings. There were supposedly countless of them. So which direction am I even supposed to look?’

No clear answer ca to mind.

At least I had found the direction called “ancient beings.”

But the mont I found that direction, countless new paths appeared before .

I had to choose one among those many paths, yet I had no idea which one to take.

“Ugh, seriously… what should I even do…”

“Woof! Woof woof woof!”

“Hm? Oh, Siri. What is it?”

“Woof!”

Siri tapped my leg with her front paw, looking up at .

It was as if she were asking, ‘Why the long face?’

“It’s fine, buddy. Nothing to worry about.”

“Woof? Woof!”

“Hm, co to think of it, you’re also related to ancient beings, aren’t you?”

“…Woof?”

“Hellhounds are descendants of Cerberus. And Cerberus was one of the ancient beings.”

“Woof? Wooroof?”

Siri looked up at

with eyes that clearly said, ‘What are you talking about?’

I couldn’t help but chuckle at that blank stare.

“Yeah, it’s normal that you don’t know. Anyway, here—have this.”

I tossed a big piece of at to Siri.

She caught it in her mouth and began gnawing on it happily.

Watching her, I couldn’t help but smile.

“…I’m really glad you’re here.”

I stroked Siri’s head as she tore into the at.

Thanks to this cheerful companion, my head, which had been tangled with complex thoughts, felt refreshed.

‘Yeah. There’s no point in just sitting around thinking. I need to move and find more clues myself.’

If there had once been conflicts between ancient beings and other races long ago… there had to be traces of it sowhere in this Protected Zone for Other Races.

Part of

wanted to go look right away, but the sky was already darkening.

It was far too dangerous to wander through this dense forest alone at night.

‘Besides, it’d be rude to leave in the middle of a welco party held for .’

I glanced around the communal living area once more.

The other races were still in a festive mood, and everyone seed friendly toward .

‘For now, I’ll enjoy it. Enjoy it, and get as close to them as possible. I’ll need their help if I want to find even a small clue in this Protected Zone.’

After organizing my thoughts like that, I returned to enjoy the welco party prepared for .

“Aha! So, you’ve promised your future with a woman from House Balmuth?”

“Well… sort of?”

“Wow, Balmuth, huh? Haven’t heard that na in a long ti.”

“You know House Balmuth?”

“Of course. That vampire family. I’ve crossed paths with them a few tis ages ago. Their strength was… truly sothing.”

Night deepened in the Protected Zone for Other Races, and the welco party gradually ca to an end.

‘At least it feels like I’ve gotten closer to the other races. That’ll help when I start exploring the zone later.’

Originally, I had planned to investigate the zone and return ho soon, but there was no longer any need for that.

So, I decided to stay here for about half a month.

During that ti, I’d gather as much information as possible.

Well, that aside…

‘Siri’s having fun over there with the beastn, and Kara should be…’

I turned my head to look for Kara.

And I found her faster than I expected.

“So this dish is a traditional food of the Birdn and Harpies?”

“That’s right. Since the tis when we fought against humans, even within this Protected Zone—we’ve preserved the recipe for ages.”

“Ohh, it’s made using centipedes, right?”

“We season dried centipedes. Ah, their venom is neutralized with Harpy blood, but during that process, the venom changes and…”

Kara was mingling with the Birdn and Harpies.

Even though quite so ti had passed since we arrived here, her eyes still sparkled with enthusiasm.

“May I try so of this?”

“…Huh? You’re going to eat that?”

“Oh, is it not fully prepared yet?”

“N-no, that’s not it. It’s just… we’ve never seen anyone other than us eat it. The other races all dislike it, and humans have found it disgusting for centuries.”

“Well, you never know until you taste it yourself.”

Without hesitation, Kara put the centipede dish into her mouth.

She frowned slightly at first but soon chewed and swallowed it.

“Hmm… oh! The taste is quite unique, but it’s not bad at all! So this is the cuisine of the Birdn and Harpies!”

“…Oooooh!”

“A human ate our food!”

“Ooooh!”

“Wh-what’s going on? Did I do sothing wrong?”

Startled by the Birdn and Harpies’ overly dramatic reaction, Kara looked confused.

But regardless, they all crowded around her in excitent.

“Anyone who eats our food is one of our kin!”

“Kara, Kara, Kara. Don’t you want to visit our land soti?”

“Co, and we’ll serve you even more dishes!”

Kara replied with a slightly surprised expression.

“Y-you’re inviting ? Then… if I go there, may I study your lifestyle and culture as well…?”

“Of course! Spread our culture and cuisine to the humans as much as you can!”

“Oh, absolutely!”

Kara seed to be having an incredibly good ti.

Seeing her so happy, I felt glad I had brought her here after all.

‘…Still, I guess I’ll have to follow Kara’s lead and explore this entire Protected Zone.’

As ntioned before—about half a month.

During that ti, I needed to find as many clues as I could within this zone.

While I was lost in such thoughts—

“Were you enjoying yourself?”

“Hm? Oh, Sakiel. Are you feeling better now?”

“After resting, I’m much better.”

The frail, sickly-looking Elf approached .

“It’s been a long ti since I last saw a welco party. Seeing my friends, happy and out in the open again… it brings

joy.”

“Now that you ntion it, I heard you’ve spent a long ti inside the World Tree.”

“That’s right. I sealed myself within it for many years.”

Sakiel sighed, his expression complicated.

“Regret for failing to protect a friend, self-loathing, guilt… I needed so ti to reflect on myself.”

Then, after a brief pause, Sakiel continued.

“I also needed ti to recover my eyes.”

“Your eyes?”

“At that ti, I overused the power of my eyes. To see the faintly visible future clearly… to make a prophecy, I pushed myself too far.”

The prophecy the other races had spoken about—the one concerning .

I had heard it was Sakiel who had given that prophecy.

“After making that prophecy, an enormous curse fell upon . It was so strong it nearly destroyed my body, and even within the World Tree, recovery took a long ti. Even now, after all these years, I’m still not completely healed.”

Sakiel showed

his trembling, withered arm.

“I forced this body out here just to et you.”

“…You were cursed twice in that state?”

“Indeed. I allowed myself to be cursed twice for giving out rather useless information. I couldn’t even provide you with anything truly important.”

“…Speaking of that.”

I hesitated for a mont before opening my mouth.

Sakiel didn’t look well, but I had to confirm it.

“I spoke with Laki earlier.”

“Laki? Ah, the new leader of the beastn. The previous one must have stepped down due to age. Why do you ask?”

“Laki ntioned… the Ancient Beings.”

“He told you that? And Laki’s fine?”

“Yes, nothing happened to him.”

At my words, Sakiel fell silent for a mont, then nodded slowly.

“If he only ntioned them vaguely, as in sothing that once existed, and not directly… then perhaps he avoided the curse. Still, that was quite a dangerous gamble. Even that level of information could bring an unbearably painful curse.”

“What do you an?”

“The pain the curse inflicts depends on how important the information is.”

After saying that, Sakiel sank into deep thought again.

For several minutes, he remained silent, seemingly lost in contemplation.

‘Wait, he’s not thinking… could he be seeing the future right now?’

Now that I looked closely, Sakiel’s eyes were glowing.

I had already heard about his special eyes—and earlier, I had seen them glow as well.

He said he could now only see the future faintly, but if he was using them now…

“Laki, that young one, risked his life to pass you an important piece of information. Since a youngster showed that much resolve, an adult like

can’t just stand by.”

“…You’re going to risk your life?”

“The prophecy I spoke of. Everyone in this land has held on, believing in that one prophecy. So I must do whatever it takes to make it co true.”

A sense of dread crept over .

“Sakiel. I don’t know what you’re planning, but if it’s sothing dangerous—”

“Don’t worry, Gideon. I won’t die. I just glimpsed a faint future where I’m still alive, so I’m certain. However… it’ll probably be a long ti before we et again. I’ll likely need to recuperate inside the World Tree for quite so ti.”

Finding clues was important—

But not like this.

I didn’t want to see anyone suffer because of .

So I was about to cover Sakiel’s mouth—

“Listen carefully, Gideon. There are many types of Ancient Beings. But among them, the Evil Gods and Evil Dragons are all—kuaaagh!”

Sakiel scread in agony and collapsed.

He vomited a large amount of blood, and suddenly his joints twisted in unnatural directions.

“Sakiel! Soone, over here! Sakiel is—”

“Ugh! Ah… kh… Gideon. The Evil Dragon cos first. We made a contract with the Evil Dragon… Kuaaagh!!”

Sakiel tried desperately to continue, but another scream tore through the air.

His skin split open, and blood began pouring from every wound.

“Sakiel!”

Akkion and the other races rushed toward us.

But Sakiel’s body was already in ruins.

“Sakiel…”

I caught the frail Elf as he collapsed.

His body was drenched in blood and trembling with pain—

Yet sohow, there was a faint smile on his face.

A smile that seed deeply… satisfied.