Chapter 66: Class 3 (1)
Etar covered his entire face with both hands, as if to hide it.
Outside the headmaster’s office, the scenery was engulfed in deep darkness.
It was an expression of indescribable despair.
Even though Forr was standing right beside him, the pressure in the air was so heavy that he couldn’t bring himself to say a single word of comfort.
Still, wanting to break the uneasy silence, he gathered his courage and spoke.
“Headmaster, isn’t this all for the greater cause? Please don’t lose heart.”
“I know. But… what if, really, just what if—it wasn’t for the greater cause? Wouldn’t that an I sent good mages to their deaths?”
“……”
There was nothing to say to that.
Three Flewd Elentalists had suddenly appeared in the Underworld.
All of them were mbers of the Sculptor.
Their true identities were survivors of the Emt Family, which had fallen 250 years ago.
The three were 5th Circle Flewd Elentalists—mages whose full strength rivaled that of the Academy’s professors.
But now, they would no longer belong to this world.
Because Captain Daemon and Ignito had been dispatched to the Underworld.
Those two were 8th Circle Mages—an exceptionally high rank.
And the sudden appearance of the three Emt Family mbers had been a sche planned by Etar himself to send Daemon and Ignito out of the Academy.
It pained him deeply that such a bloody plan had been necessary.
Forr quietly took out a Mob.
He placed it on Etar’s desk and played it without a word.
—“Scared? No. On the contrary, we’re grateful to you, Lord Etar. And stepping forward like this… we see it as our way of expressing that gratitude. Isn’t that right?”
—“Right. We were already dead that day, after all. If not for you, Lord Etar, we wouldn’t be alive now.”
—“There’s no resentnt in our hearts. In fact, the chance to do sothing for the Magical Society before dying brings us joy.”
It was a Mob with a recording function.
From it flowed the distinct voices of three different mages.
Had they planned it together?
Their voices sounded bright and pure.
They were the last words of the Emt Family’s survivors—ssages left behind as they went to embrace their deaths.
“Haa…”
Yet Etar’s heart grew even heavier.
“Headmaster, they did what they had to do, and they took pride in being able to do it themselves. I’m saddened too, but I believe it’s only right to honor their will—to rember them not with grief, but with longing.”
“……”
Forr’s words implied that to keep mourning endlessly might be a way of denying their choice.
Still, Etar couldn’t bring himself to let go so easily.
Was it truly right to sacrifice three mbers of the Sculptor just to protect a single Artel?
He knew the answer.
If it was for the greater cause, then it was right.
If it was for righteousness, then it was not.
So which one had he truly longed for all this ti?
If he were to weigh the two—putting the greater cause and righteousness on opposite scales—the Sculptor, Etar included, had always placed their faith in the greater cause.
Naturally, that side of the scale would have sunk deep into the ground.
“For now, we can breathe a little easier. The Guard has departed.”
Forr shifted the topic.
“Tyrant still fears the Flewd Elentalists that much. He believes they’re the only mages who can truly stand against him.”
Thanks to Forr’s words, Etar managed to regain so composure.
“To rember their nas… That’s the least I can do.”
He seed to have shaken off a bit of his sorrow.
“The 1st Class students will be returning soon, won’t they?”
“Yes, but since it’s already late, we’ll likely have to proceed straight to the graduation ceremony.”
“What about that student, Hei?”
“……”
One problem was solved, only for another to erge.
Artel and Kiena ranked first and second.
They would both receive special advancent.
But Hei, ranked sixth, wouldn’t.
With the Joint Admission System entangled in this, there seed to be no easy solution.
“For now, the more urgent issue seems to be filling the position of the Dark Elent teacher.”
All elental instructors were required to attend the graduation ceremony.
In Class 0, there had been no Elental subjects, so professors personally pinned on the insignia. But from Class 1 onward, that duty fell to each subject’s teacher.
With one position vacant, even Forr found the situation troubleso.
“You take the position.”
Etar spoke as if it were nothing to worry about.
“Pardon?”
“The Draco Family is responsible for the Dark Elent class anyway. And you’re a mage of the Draco Family yourself. There’s no issue—consider it a temporary assignnt.”
He wasn’t wrong.
With no new teacher available, there was no real problem in Forr serving as both Vice Headmaster and teacher.
“Understood. I’ll do that.”
“Now, only Hei’s matter remains. He avoided expulsion, but where should we send him?”
The two fell silent, each lost in thought.
“May I handle it myself?”
Forr asked carefully.
“Have you thought of sothing?”
“Yes.”
“Then prepare and head straight to the 1st Class.”
“Understood. Please, get so rest.”
Through the Waypoint, we returned to the Academy. As soon as we arrived, we received a notice to gather in the auditorium, so we did.
All the teachers were present, along with Professor Nide.
Nide stood on the platform, while the teachers took their assigned places.
“A graduation ceremony, huh?”
Banshi, who had spent five years in the 1st Class, instantly recognized the setup.
‘A graduation ceremony…’
But Hei’s issue still hadn’t been resolved—were they really proceeding anyway?
For now, I didn’t stand with the Dark Elent group but instead joined the Fire Elent lineup.
Scanning the faculty, I didn’t see Walfis anywhere.
That ant the Dark Elent students were standing alone, without a teacher.
Creak—
The main doors of the auditorium opened belatedly, and a man stepped inside.
It was Vice Headmaster Forr.
Forr walked leisurely to stand in the position of the Dark Elent instructor.
‘Why is the Vice Headmaster standing there?’
Every student, myself included, had the sa reaction.
“That’s strange… The Vice Headmaster has never attended before.”
That was Banshi’s mutter.
So, it seed he was just filling in for the missing Walfis.
“Ah, ah. We’ll now begin the 1st Class graduation ceremony.”
From the podium, Professor Nide officially began the proceedings.
However, one important matter still remained unresolved, so I raised my hand high.
“What is it, Student Artel?”
As always, he showed none of his usual kindness when speaking to .
His tone remained sharp and curt.
“Since the graduation ceremony is proceeding as is, doesn’t that an everything’s already been decided?”
“What do you an?”
Pretending not to understand, huh.
I was talking about Hei.
I glanced subtly behind .
That was where Hei stood.
“……”
Nide threw a quick, uncertain look toward Forr, who stood in the designated position for the Dark Elent teacher.
A silent request for guidance—what should he do?
“Vice Headmaster.”
Now, I looked directly at Forr.
“Why?”
“You clearly said five days ago, when the break started, that it would end within five days. But you broke that promise, didn’t you?”
“There are circumstances within the Academy. That’s why it was delayed.”
His reply was sincere, but his tone was just as curt as Nide’s.
It didn’t sound like a lie…
I could only assu it had sothing to do with the separation of the Underworld.
But that wasn’t my concern.
My focus was solely on Hei’s future.
“What’s going to happen to Hei? Is he moving to Class 3 or Class 2? And if he goes to Class 2, what happens to us?”
Forr had once tried to expel Kiena, Hei, and together.
I took that to an the three of us were inseparable—that we had to stay in the sa class.
If we were split up, he might find another excuse to threaten us with expulsion.
“Hmm… Of course, Student Hei belongs in Class 2.”
At his words, Hei’s face went blank with despair.
Kiena’s expression was the sa.
“By school regulations, that’s the proper outco. But I didn’t expect things to turn out like this—one of the Joint Admission Students unable to receive the special advancent.”
But that wasn’t the end of his words.
It seed he had another plan in mind.
At the sa ti, faint hope flickered on both Kiena’s and Hei’s faces.
“Professor Nide, what’s the ranking list?”
“Ah, yes.”
Professor Nide imdiately conjured the ranking list with magic.
[Ranking List]
Artel - 281
Kiena - 233
Mihael Russel - 221
Banshi - 220
Lamic Vir - 218
Hei - 202
“So the third place is Student Russel.”
His gaze fixed solely on Russel’s na.
Don’t tell …
“Student Russel.”
“Yes, Vice Headmaster.”
“I have a proposal I’d like you to hear. Will you at least listen first?”
“…Yes.”
So my guess had been correct.
“The top three students receive special advancent. But since Joint Admission Students must stay in the sa class…”
“Since when was that a rule? I’ve never heard of it.”
Russel sensed sothing strange and his deanor changed completely.
Forr simply insisted, “That’s how Joint Admission works,” forcing the logic, but no one here dared to challenge him.
“So?”
“Student Hei, who ranked sixth, and Student Russel, who ranked third, will duel. The outco will decide it.”
“Why should I? I earned my third place fairly. And if I lose, I’d have to go to Class 2, wouldn’t I?”
As expected, Russel, feeling the unfairness, retorted firmly.
It was the opposite of how timidly he used to act in Class 0—for once, a logical argunt ca out of his mouth.
“No, you won’t drop to Class 2 even if you lose. Instead, if you win, I’ll promote you to Class 4. How about that?”
“…What?”
Forr’s next offer was shocking.
“Because of certain school circumstances, a proper duel couldn’t be held before. So we’re giving Student Hei a chance for compensation. Of course, we can’t take away the result Student Russel earned through his own effort. I think this is a fair arrangent, don’t you?”
“In that case, I’ll do it.”
Russel accepted without hesitation.
Satisfied, Forr smiled benevolently and nodded.
“Then if Hei wins, he moves up to Class 3 with us? And if he loses, Russel stays with us as well?”
I asked to be certain.
“That’s right.”
“That would make four students receiving special advancent.”
“It’s a special circumstance. As I said, the Academy has its own reasons. I believe granting this much privilege is more than fair.”
“The problem is, we don’t even know what those ‘reasons’ are.”
“As students, isn’t it your duty to follow the Academy’s rules without unnecessary complaints? There’s no need to explain everything. Stop being so stubborn, Student Artel.”
Good grief.
He really left speechless.
This wasn’t a matter of explanation—it was sheer coercion to shut up.
When I said nothing, Forr turned to Nide.
“Professor Nide, pause the graduation ceremony. We’ll begin the duel between Students Russel and Hei. Once the result is decided, we’ll resu.”
Ignoring completely, Forr gave his order from the floor to Nide, who stood on the podium.
“Understood. Then all students, move to the dueling arena.”
“Is that really necessary? Why not just hold it here?”
At that mont, several hands shot up in the air.
In fact, quite a lot of them.
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