The Academy is Doomed

Chapter 70

The Four Great Knights of the Empire!

They are pillars symbolizing the immense power of the Empire, each one said to surpass the military strength of an entire legion.

It’s no wonder, considering that there are only ten Grand Sword Masters across the entire vast continent.

And among them, four bear the title of “The Empire’s Four Great Knights.”

But does it end at four?

No! Including the Emperor and the Empress, who are also Grand Sword Masters, the Empire boasts six such figures in total!

This was the very reason the Empire could reign supreme over this vast continent.

‘And you dare refuse a summons from such pillars of the Empire?’

On that note, Amon’s head would surely bid farewell to his body.

And what about Reinbelt, who was determined to take him on as a disciple?

A mad old man of unprecedented caliber, living as a beggar despite his extraordinary skills and status!

A complete opposite to Amon, who sought wealth and glory!

“Ohhhh!”

Amon’s tears!

So transparent and sincere were these tears of deep resentment that even Marquis Pid, who was accompanying him in the carriage, was taken aback.

‘That trash is crying so bitterly?’

Moved by Amon’s evident sorrow, Marquis Pid hesitantly offered him a chocolate.

“Would you like one?”

At the sight of the chocolate, Amon wept even harder.

‘If I become a disciple of that crazy old man Reinbelt, I’ll never get to taste something like this again! I’ll be stuck eating wild greens for the rest of my life!’

Thinking this might be his last chocolate ever, Amon quickly grabbed and ate it.

“Th-thank you.”

“Alright. We’ll be arriving soon, so get ready.”

“Yes, sir.”

Swallowing his chocolate, now soaked with tears, Amon looked out the carriage window.

The streets of the capital were dazzling beyond words.

Seeing this, Amon burst into tears once more.

‘I’ll probably never live in a place like this for the rest of my life!’

Before long, the carriage stopped in front of an imperial annex.

A special annex had been provided for the gathering of the Empire’s pillars.

“Well, let’s head in.”

Marquis Pid straightened his attire and took the lead.

The moment they stepped into the annex, a welcoming face greeted them.

“Ha ha ha! You’ve arrived, my disciple!”

Reinbelt’s declaration, as though Amon had already become his disciple!

Amon hastily spoke with a pale face.

“Master Reinbelt! It’s been a while!”

“Haha! Come on, call me Master already!”

“Master Reinbelt! It seems like you’ve lost some weight since I last saw you!”

“Disciple!”

“Master Reinbelt!”

The two ground their teeth, endlessly exchanging “Disciple” and “Master Reinbelt” in retort!

At this rate, they might not even make it inside the private room. Marquis Pid cleared his throat and interrupted.

“Ahem, Master Reinbelt. It’s been a while.”

“Disciple…! Oh, Batista, long time no see.”

“It has been indeed. Though I must say, it feels quite odd to hear someone call me by name.”

Having grown accustomed to being addressed as “Marquis Pid,” his full name, “Batista Ringsley Pid,” sounded somewhat unfamiliar.

At this, Reinbelt chuckled.

“Well, how many people would dare call you by name?”

“Indeed. Aside from esteemed elders or His Majesty the Emperor.”

Reinbelt laughed aloud.

“Haha, how about it, Disciple? That’s the fearsome power of a title! A title ends up replacing your name!”

Amon quickly chimed in.

“Wow! That’s quite something!”

“Disciple!”

“Master Reinbelt!”

As Marquis Pid sighed at the foolish banter between the two, he finally said, “Let’s get moving. The others must be waiting.”

“Oh, right. Let’s head in.”

Eventually, Reinbelt and Marquis Pid led the way, while Amon followed, feeling as though he was being dragged to the slaughterhouse.

‘…The other Four Great Knights, huh.’

Just how incredible could these figures be?

As they entered the private room, Amon’s eyes widened.

The scene before him looked oddly familiar.

“Hohoho, Batista, is that our youngest?”

“Yes, Lady Diana. My apologies for not visiting sooner.”

“Hohohoho, it’s a pleasure to see our youngest’s face.”

“Demonic Heart, sir, your dentures are on your lap.”

“Ah! No wonder I couldn’t find them…”

It was like a gathering of seniors at a community hall!

The grandmother, referred to as Lady Diana, had a cat on her lap and was knitting. The grandfather, called Demonic Heart, was busy adjusting his dentures back into place!

When Reinbelt took a seat in an empty chair, he perfectly fit the image of a robust elderly chairman of the group!

Then the chairman—no, Reinbelt—pointed to Amon and introduced him.

“Haha! Folks, let me introduce you to my new disciple, Amon Drake!”

All eyes turned to Amon, whose face turned ghostly pale.

‘That crazy old man really did it!’

Amon quickly bowed his head and shouted.

“I am Amon Drake, a history instructor at Amonis Academy! My dream is to one day earn a title and revive my family. I love money, gold, and power! Please take care of me, honored elders!”

Amon directly opposed Reinbelt’s philosophy with his introduction!

While Reinbelt’s face twisted with displeasure, the other elders burst into laughter.

“Hohoho, that lad has quite the voice.”

“Hoho, his spirit reminds me of my youth.”

“Demonic Heart, sir, your dentures have fallen again.”

“Ah! They keep falling out!”

Sweating profusely, Amon forced a smile.

By then, Reinbelt’s gaze had become unnervingly sharp.

“…Disciple.”

“Yes, Master Reinbelt!”

“You wrote in your letter that you had an interest in the sword. Was that a lie?”

That cursed letter!

Amon desperately racked his brain.

‘What exactly did I write in that letter?’

Then his eyes lit up as he recalled the contents.

[To Master Reinbelt,
Master, I feel as though I’ve hit a wall. With my stamina seemingly declining by the day, I’ve come to realize that even as a mere scholar, physical strength is crucial for wrestling with books. Therefore, I’d like to learn swordsmanship as a means of physical training. Do you have any advice?]

Remembering every word, Amon exclaimed.

“Master, I only said I wanted to learn swordsmanship for physical training!”

“Wha…!”

“I never said I was going to become someone’s disciple!”

Reinbelt hastily pulled out the letter and read it.

It was true, just as Amon had said.

But his eagerness to make Amon his disciple had blinded him to the details.

“Y-you conniving brat! You left yourself a way out!”

“Haha!”

Grinding his teeth, Reinbelt glared.

“But your intent to learn swordsmanship remains unchanged, correct?”

“Well, that’s…”

Amon hesitated.

‘I have no intention of learning it, though.’

The letter was merely bait to elicit a reply from Reinbelt!

Thus, Amon shook his head.

“No, I’m not particularly interested in learning swordsmanship…”

Before he could finish, an overwhelming killing intent, sharp as a blade, engulfed him.

‘Ack—!’

The knitting grandmother, Lady Diana, and the denture-adjusting grandfather, Demonic Heart, were now staring at him expressionlessly.

Despite their elderly appearances, these two were none other than members of the Empire’s Four Great Knights!

And both were directing their murderous aura squarely at Amon.

“Did you just refer to swordsmanship as ‘something like that’?”

“Are you belittling what we’ve devoted our entire lives to mastering?”

“Hohoho! Dear, forgive me. I promised never to unleash my killing intent again…”

“Haha! My demon sword-hand is itching to strike…”

The oppressive aura exuded by the elders prompted Amon to cry out.

“I! I want to learn swordsmanship!”

“……!”

“What could be as excellent and noble a discipline as swordsmanship? Don’t you agree, elders? Ah, I absolutely love swordsmanship!”

Amon’s abrupt change in attitude!

Grandma Diana resumed her knitting with a bright smile, and Grandpa Demonic Heart began fiddling with his dentures again.

“Hohoho, isn’t that so?”

“Haha, it reminds me of my younger days.”

“Elder, your dentures are…”

Amon, meanwhile, was silently shedding tears.

‘Where did my life go so horribly wrong?’

The answer: From the moment he got hired at Amonis Academy!

Seeing Amon’s dramatic shift, Reinbelt grinned broadly, baring his gums.

“So, swordsmanship…you’ll learn it? From me?”

“Sniff!”

Just as Amon was about to nod weakly, Diana spoke up.

“Reinbelt, old man.”

“Hm? What is it, Diana?”

“Does that young man even have the skill to learn your swordsmanship?”

At this, Reinbelt chuckled slyly.

“Haha, skill, you ask?”

Already imagining the glory of showing off his disciple, Reinbelt decided to make a demonstration.

“Well, this will do nicely.”

He picked up a teacup and held out a sword along with it.

“Now, my disciple, take this sword.”

“Sniffle, sniffle.”

“And slice this teacup.”

“Sniff?”

When Amon tilted his head, clearly thinking What nonsense is this?, Reinbelt frowned.

“Hey, just do as you’re told!”

“Sniffle!”

The prospect of the suffering he’d endure if he became this man’s disciple flashed vividly in Amon’s mind, and he began crying again. Reluctantly, he raised the sword above his head in what resembled a crude axe-swinging stance.

“Give it your all. Use every ounce of strength.”

“Pardon?”

“Pour in every last bit of effort, like your life depends on it.”

Though the instruction made no sense, a despairing Amon swung the sword with all his might, just as Reinbelt instructed.

And then—

Swoosh!

Amon’s right hand blurred.

Everyone present, the Empire’s Four Pillars, widened their eyes.

For several seconds, the room fell silent.

The stillness was broken by the sound of—

Crash!

The teacup split cleanly in half and clattered onto the table.

Everyone, mesmerized by the scene, had a single unanimous thought in their minds:

‘We couldn’t see the movement.’

The implication was unmistakable.

Considering Amon’s awkward, axe-like stance, he was clearly untrained in swordsmanship.

And yet, the strike they had just witnessed…

The potential of someone like him mastering their swordsmanship?

Suddenly, Diana threw her knitting aside and stood up.

Her startled cat tumbled off her lap and rolled across the floor, but Diana paid no mind as she shouted.

“Reinbelt! That young man, hand him over to me!”

Reinbelt flinched in shock.

“W-What!?”

“He hasn’t committed to anyone yet, has he?”

A look of panic crossed Reinbelt’s face.

‘Damn it! I shouldn’t have bragged about my disciple!’

At that moment, Demonic Heart rose to his feet as well.

“No way! I’ll teach him swor—”

“Elder, your dentures.”

“Ah! He must learn from me! With my Demonic Sword Style, I could shape him into a knight worthy of continental history!”

Reinbelt gritted his teeth.

“You crazy old coots, what’s gotten into you….”

Even Marquis Pid, who had been silent, cleared his throat and finally spoke.

Although he bore considerable resentment toward Amon, the marquis was a sword fanatic.

Having seen such a towering ‘sapling,’ he couldn’t resist.

“Well, we aren’t strangers, are we? Come to the House of Pid. I’ll cultivate you into something great.”

The elders reacted sharply to his words.

“Brat! You stay out of this!”

“How dare a snot-nosed kid!”

“Elders! Shouldn’t you be tending to your grandchildren in the back room instead of taking disciples in your twilight years?”

“Brat! I remember changing your diapers not long ago!”

As the insults flew, Amon coughed deliberately.

“Ahem!”

Instant silence.

All eyes turned to him and Amon finally realized his current position.

With a leisurely air, he made his way to the head seat—the throne of this chamber—and smiled.

“Now then, elders.”

“……”

In the stillness, Amon extended a hand toward them and spoke.

“First, shall we hear your terms?”

At that moment, Amon became the master among them.