The Academy is Doomed

Chapter 72

After the emperor collapsed from his allergic reaction to the Drake family, a lot had happened.

‘Disciple.’

‘Yes, Master Diana.’

‘No, Amon Drake. Return the sword.’

‘Yes, ma’am.’

Diana cleared her throat and took back the sword, speaking in a stern voice.

‘I intended to make you my disciple, but there is a deeply rooted tradition that must be followed to become a member of our Pendorean family. Without undergoing that process, I cannot officially accept you as my disciple.’

‘…What is it?’

‘You must cut down an enemy of the empire.’

Earlier, she had dismissed such traditions as outdated, even scolding Reinbelt for bringing them up, saying there were no enemies of the empire anymore.

But now, it was clear she was using this as an excuse. As a family devoted to the empire, Pendorean could not easily accept him as her disciple, given how the emperor detested him.

‘So, Amon Drake.’

‘What now.’

Amon’s tone was already curt.

But Diana ignored it and extended her finger, pointing somewhere uncertain.

‘Now, go forth! Destroy an enemy of the empire! Only then can you officially become a member of the Pendorean family.’

As stated earlier, there were no enemies of the empire. It was an impossible task.

Currently, Amon was back at the academy, slumped in despair.

“My life is doomed.”

As long as the emperor kept a sharp eye on him, any hope of advancement seemed impossible.

‘I thought my only solution was to nurture talented disciples and benefit from their success, but seeing how things went with the Pid family, even that seems unlikely.’

How had they become so lazy in just a few weeks?

While they weren’t as bad as Brestle, who seemed to regress to the Stone Age after only a short absence, one should always aim higher, not lower.

‘…Those kids are going to face hell when they return to the academy. I’ll give them the full Amon hell experience.’

There was only about a week left until the summer vacation ended. Before that time, Sloth had promised to return the students to the academy. Escape from Amon’s full course of hell was not an option for them.

“Ah, I can’t wait to see them writhe in pain and despair…”

Amon’s eyes gleamed maliciously as he got to his feet.

With a week remaining, it was time to start planning the contents of the hellish training.

‘Well, the academy is gradually normalizing. Vice-Principal Brestle is back, Senior Sloth and the students will return soon, and Kai…’

Now that he thought about it, Kai was the only one who hadn’t responded to his messages.

‘But it’s fine. He’s my junior. Once he’s back, I’ll crush him completely.’

While he showed minimal courtesy to seniors, there was no need to extend the same to juniors!

As Amon contemplated his plans, an inexplicable sense of unease gnawed at him.

‘What is it? This strange anxiety…’

Had he left his wallet at the Pid estate?

‘No, I have it. Then why…?’

Feeling unsettled, Amon glanced at his desk, where a letter he had hastily tossed into a corner seemed to emanate dark energy.

‘…Ah!’

It was a letter from Marion!

[When you return, you’re dead, you son of a b***h.]

The letter was drenched in hatred, resentment, and fury—a veritable curse in written form!

Staring at the ominous aura rising from the letter, Amon muttered to himself.

“I almost forgot. That could’ve been disastrous.”

To quell Marion’s colossal anger, he would need the finest liquor from across the continent.

With that in mind, Amon hurried out to the city of Amur to purchase various bottles of alcohol—preferably ones with fancy names but low price tags.

“Hehe, ten bottles should be enough to appease Marion.”

Pleased with his foresight, Amon returned to the academy, arms laden with bottles.

Clunk—!

Just as he arrived, he noticed a courier placing something in the mailbox and leaving.

Curious, Amon opened the mailbox, suspecting it might be a letter from Kai. But his breath caught.

“Urk…!”

The letter practically radiated palpable malice.

‘Another one from Marion?!’

Hurriedly, he opened it.

[You’ve grown exceedingly disrespectful of your senior’s authority, haven’t you? Since my tasks at the Mage Tower are nearing completion, I’ll make sure to thoroughly discipline you when I return. You’ll understand why I was called the “Crimson Flame Demon” during the Great War.]

The letter was steeped in fury.

‘I’m screwed!’

Amon instinctively knew the situation was dire.

Marion was generally mild-mannered, quick to forgive and let things slide.

‘For Marion to be this angry, there can only be one reason.’

Mages value asceticism as a virtue! And at the Mage Tower, the sacred ground for mages, alcohol was undoubtedly forbidden.

‘Our dear senior Marion must’ve been furious from the lack of alcohol!’

Feeling a pang of sympathy for his senior, Amon muttered.

“There’s a saying about taking the first hit early.”

He looked over the bottles he had brought back from Amur. This should be more than enough to pacify Marion’s fiery wrath.

“…Well then, let’s go!”

Amon decided his next destination would be Ignis Tower, where Marion was stationed.

“Hey, Marion.”

“Grr…What is it, Tower Master?”

“Ahem, calm down. It’s just alcohol. Can’t you live without it?”

“Did you just call it just alcohol!?”

Marion’s outburst made the Tower Master flinch and step back.

Marion then launched into a long speech.

“What is alcohol?! There’s an ancient saying that it’s like drinking the moon steeped in cold flames!”

“Wait! That’s a dangerous—”

“Silence! Furthermore, alcohol fosters positivity and camaraderie, drawing out the spirit of humankind…”

Listening to Marion extol the virtues of alcohol, the Tower Master thought to himself.

‘This man, who embodies all the downsides of alcohol, is lecturing on its virtues…?’

Despite being a war hero from the Great War and a viscount, Marion had squandered his lands and wealth drinking. His arguments carried no weight.

Desperate to stop Marion, the Tower Master waved his hands.

“All right, fine. But more importantly, you have a guest.”

“Alcohol…Huh? A guest?”

“A junior of yours from the academy, I think? His name is Amon…”

Before the sentence finished, Marion bolted from the room, his eyebrows practically flying off his face.

It was hard to believe he’d been so sullen just moments ago due to his lack of alcohol.

Amon sat in the reception room of the Mage Tower.

‘Huh. So this is the Mage Tower. My first time here…’

The Mage Tower, a sanctuary for scholars exploring the depths of magic.

The tower itself was independent of any political power, remaining neutral while focusing solely on unraveling the mysteries of magic.

Among the many Mage Towers, some leaned towards certain affiliations. Ignis Tower, where Amon was, was known for its pro-empire stance.

This explained why Marion, who belonged here, had been a war hero for the empire.

‘Hopefully, this will go smoothly…’

Just as that thought crossed his mind—

BAM!

The door burst open as if to be torn from its hinges. Marion stormed in, eyes scanning the room.

The moment he spotted Amon—

“Ha, hahaha, junior.”

“Senior!”

Amon stood up, as if genuinely pleased to see him. Marion also smiled broadly as though he, too, was overjoyed at the reunion.

But Marion’s smile was laced with murderous intent.

“So, you drank the treasured liquor I’d been saving?”

“Senior, it’s a misunderstanding.”

Amon reached out, trying to explain.

“That letter was just a desperate measure to get a response from you. I didn’t touch the ‘All-Night Party’ you had hidden in your room.”

“How do you know it was called All-Night Party?”

“…Oh no!”

In truth, Amon had indeed drunk it.

Feeling mentally drained after the academy-wide exodus, he’d stolen a sip.

“…I didn’t finish it.”

“But you drank it.”

“I left half.”

“But only half is left.”

As Marion started to let out a creeping killing intent while nitpicking words, Amon hastily pulled something out from his arms.

“Senior! That’s not important right now! Look at this!”

A large wooden club!

Seeing it, Marion grinned widely.

“Are you asking me to hit you with that? Feels hefty, should be satisfying to—”

Marion couldn’t finish his sentence.

Suddenly, Amon pulled the handle of the wooden club.

And with that, a pleasant aroma filled the room.

“T-This is…!”

Amon nodded vigorously.

“Yes! It’s alcohol!”

“What!?”

Marion’s pupils shook.

The Tower of Magic, revered as the sacred place of abstinence! Smuggling alcohol inside was unheard of. To bypass the stringent inspections at the entrance, Amon had hollowed out the wooden club to hide the alcohol within.

“Fufufu, I passed it off as a self-defense club and smuggled in this alcohol.”

“T-That’s…”

“Senior.”

With a sorrowful voice, Amon brought the wooden club exuding the smell of alcohol closer to Marion.

“How much suffering you must have endured. You’ve grown so gaunt since I last saw you.”

“Ugh…”

“Here, take a big, refreshing drink.”

Amon’s soft voice, like spring snow melting away all the resentment.

At that moment, as Marion’s fury seemed to ebb away—

‘But drinking my “All-Night Party” without permission is unforgivable.’

A man’s vengeance doesn’t lose its edge, even after decades!

‘But sweet revenge requires a drink. Let’s take a sip first.’

Marion reignited his waning anger and flashed a fake smile.

“Junior, it seems you’re the only one who truly cares about me…”

Marion smiled warmly and reached out his hand.

“Well then, I’ll gladly accept your sentiment—”

Just as Marion was about to take the drink, Amon suddenly withdrew his hand.

Marion’s eyes narrowed.

“What are you doing?”

“Before you take a drink.”

“Huh?”

“Promise me one thing.”

“What? What promise?”

With a sly grin, Amon spoke.

“You’ll pretend I never drank the All-Night Party, okay?”

“…!”

Marion’s eyes widened in shock.

‘This brat…’

Marion trembled with anger while Amon wore a smug smile.

“Will you accept my apology?”

“Grrr…”

“Should I close the cap?”

“Y-You wouldn’t dare…”

Marion began pulling at his own hair in frustration.

“Fine…Pretend it never happened, please.”

“Hahaha! Excellent! Then I too will apologize for the past!”

“Please, just let me accept your apology…”

Ever the quick learner, Marion understood the situation.

With a wide smile, Amon said,

“Great! We’re adults, aren’t we? Let’s forget the past and focus on the present!”

“Ugh…”

“Here! Take it!”

Marion, scrambling, grabbed the bottle and started chugging it down.

Seeing this, Amon nodded contentedly.

It was at that very moment—

Click!

The door opened, and the Master of the Tower stepped in.

“Marion, is your guest by any chance from the Drake family—”

Mid-sentence, the Tower Master froze upon seeing Marion guzzling down the alcohol.

And Marion, who had been happily sucking on the bottle, stiffened as well.

“…”

“Gulp! T-T-Tower Master…?”

“…”

With a blank expression, the Tower Master stared at Marion for a moment before breaking into a smile.

“Marion Rumdom.”

“…”

“You look…utterly delighted.”

The Tower Master spoke in a tone laced with icy rage, then turned sharply.

“Follow me. You too, guest.”

As the Tower Master walked off, Marion, his face crumpled in despair, muttered,

“Hiccup!”