The Academy is Doomed

Chapter 81

Amon lay on his dormitory bed, lost in thought.

‘Great Dragon, I beg you, please.’

‘……’

‘The gold nugget that Caselag gave me was intended to cover my younger sibling’s tuition. So, please, grant me your mercy as vast as the sea….’

Amon’s pitiful plea made Rustianel tilt her head.

‘But originally, that gold was for my tuition, wasn’t it? So technically, it’s mine, right?’

‘Th-That’s true, but….’

‘Give it to me.’

Trembling, Amon made up his mind.

‘Fine. At this point, let’s become a Dragon Slayer.’

His long-held childhood dream!

However, the adamantium sword that Caselag had gifted him was left in his dormitory, so there was no way to elevate his honor right now.

Besides, Amon lacked the courage to endure the wrath of Caselag and the other dragons, so he quickly abandoned his childhood dream.

‘……Here it is.’

‘Thank you.’

Rustianel accepted the gold nugget, gripped it with both hands, and pulled it apart.

After scrutinizing the two split pieces, she extended a much smaller fragment and said,

‘I’ll give you this. Use it for your sibling’s tuition.’

‘……Huh?!’

Rustianel’s kindness was reminiscent of sharing a loaf of bread!

Amon, who quickly accepted the gold piece, bowed his head.

‘Thank you, Lady Rustianel!’

‘You’re welcome. Take care of me in the future.’

Thus, Rustianel’s enrollment was finalized.

‘A student who’s a dragon… She’s kind. Polite, too, which is unusual for a dragon.’

But she eats gold!

Watching Rustianel chomp down on her portion of the gold nugget was heart-wrenching!

‘At least she won’t whine for more gold now, right? Not like I was storing it for her….’

Then a thought struck him.

‘…How many gold nuggets did Lord Caselag give me again?’

One was left at the estate.

Two were with him.

A hint of unease flickered across Amon’s face.

‘…She won’t ask for the other one, will she? No, no way.’

Suppressing his anxiety, Amon fiddled with the gold nugget the size of his fist and muttered,

“That aside, why isn’t Ami here yet?”

He had explicitly told her to arrive by the start of the semester.

‘Could I deduct her tuition for the days she misses class…?’

As he entertained such petty thoughts, Reinbelt burst into his room.

“Amon, you’ve got a visitor.”

“Oh, elder, could you please knock first?”

“Hmph! Why should I bother showing courtesy to someone who isn’t even my disciple?”

Given how Reinbelt had yelled at him before, Amon figured becoming his disciple would only make things worse, but he swallowed his thoughts and got up.

“Who could it be? I wasn’t expecting anyone.”

“Your younger sister, apparently.”

Amon jumped off the bed.

“Seriously? I told her to come by the start of the semester, and she shows up at the last possible moment? Where is she now?”

“I guided her to the principal’s office for now.”

Rushing to the principal’s office, Amon immediately recognized a familiar back sitting on the guest sofa.

Without hesitation, he gave her a light flick on the forehead.

Thwack!

“You little brat! Why are you so—”

But Amon couldn’t finish his sentence.

Ami collapsed sideways as if crumbling under the flick.

“…Huh?”

Amon knew how resilient his sister was.

Even though he had controlled his strength, was it possible she passed out from just that?

Before he could process his shock, Anar’el entered the room.

“Here, I brought some food and water—”

She trailed off upon seeing Ami collapsed and Amon frozen mid-motion with his fist raised.

Anar’el dropped the tray of food and water with a shriek.

“Ahhh! You devil! How could you hit a child who’s already exhausted and frail?!”

“What… what are you talking about?”

Finally noticing Ami’s disheveled appearance, Amon opened his eyes wide.

Covered in dirt and with shoes falling apart, she must have run all the way from the faraway Drake Estate!

“Ami!”

Amon cried out his sister’s name and embraced her unconscious form.

But Ami, unconscious, couldn’t hear his call.

After listening to Anar’el’s story, Amon realized Ami hadn’t intentionally arrived late.

He massaged her legs earnestly.

“Poor girl. She must’ve been so exhausted from running all the way here that she passed out!”

Ami, however, looked puzzled.

“Really? I don’t think so… I was tired, but I stayed awake because the principal said she’d bring me food….”

“No, no. You used to faint a lot when you were little.”

“Did I? Really?”

“Yes, absolutely. You were so frail… I think?”

Still doubtful, Ami rubbed her head.

“Maybe. But why does my head hurt so much?”

“When you’re really tired, headaches can feel that bad.”

“But it feels like I got hit.”

“Extreme fatigue can cause headaches that sharp.”

“Really?”

As Amon desperately spouted excuses, Anar’el returned with food.

“Here, you must be hungry. Eat up.”

“Wow! Thank you!”

Watching Ami wolf down her food, Anar’el glared at Amon and whispered,

“Amon, you really need to stop letting your fists fly first.”

“Sorry. I take after my mother.”

“…I see.”

Without a hint of guilt, Amon shifted the blame to his mother.

‘Not inaccurate, though.’

His mother, after all, had once kicked Brestle unconscious just for digging up potatoes back at the estate!

Growing up under such a mother, Amon had turned out quite… competent.

“Anyway, Ami.”

“Nom nom! This bread is so good. Hm? What?”

“Why were you late? I told you to come by the start of the semester, but you showed up just before it ended!”

Ami tossed a piece of bread into her mouth and replied,

“I miscalculated the time. I thought ten days of running would be plenty, but it was tight. So yesterday, I panicked and ran nonstop till my lungs gave out.”

“Huh… But at least you made it on time.”

“Yeah. A little late, though.”

“It took me fifteen days of running, but you managed in ten?”

Listening to their conversation, Anar’el interjected.

“Running for ten or fifteen days? What are you talking about?”

“Huh? From our estate to here, running takes ten or fifteen days.”

At her words, Ami chuckled.

She wanted to tease, “Principal, you’re not very good at Imperial Standard, huh?” but held back since Anar’el was Amon’s superior.

“Principal, you’re not very good at Imperial Standard!”

And so, Ami said it!

As a younger sister, her goal was always to make her older brother’s life more difficult!

Realizing this, Amon scowled, but Anar’el didn’t seem bothered as she nodded.

“I did learn the Imperial Standard late, after all.”

“…Oh, right. You’re an elf.”

“Still, I thought I was pretty fluent. I guess not? Anyway, running for ten or fifteen days? Is that some kind of idiom or figure of speech?”

“Huh?”

Amon tilted his head in confusion.

“No, I mean literally running for ten or fifteen days.”

“From Drake Estate?”

“Yes.”

“All the way here, running, for ten, fifteen days?”

Seeing Anar’el’s ears twitch, Amon quickly reached out.

“Principal! Please don’t say, ‘You ran all that way?!’ That would be so predictable and boring.”

“……Gasp!”

“Just say, ‘Oh, right, Amon’s family is a bit unusual,’ and move on.”

“…Alright.”

After neatly wrapping up the situation, Amon reached into his pocket and, with trembling hands, pulled out a portion of his carefully saved salary.

“Regarding this, here is Ami’s tuition fee.”

“Yes! I’ve received it for sure.”

“Then, I’ll take Ami to her dormitory.”

“Yes, yes. Ami, work hard from now on!”

“Yes! Headmaster!”

After showing Ami around the school facilities, Amon headed toward the dormitory with her.

“Study hard from now on, got it?”

“Yup, I’ll do my best. Just give me good grades, okay?”

“Sure… Oh, right. You brat, didn’t you say you’d pretend not to know me once you entered the academy?”

Ami clasped her hands behind her head and laughed slyly.

“So what? The teachers will know anyway, won’t they? As long as the students don’t suspect favoritism, isn’t that fine?”

“Well, I suppose… Still, try not to let the students know we’re siblings.”

Ami nodded reassuringly and replied, “Got it, got it. By the way, how many students are there per grade?”

“Hmm? Let’s see… Including you, five.”

“…What?”

“And there are four teachers.”

“…You’re joking, right?”

“Does it sound like a joke?”

Amon knocked on the dormitory door.

“Hey, it’s Teacher Amon. Can I come in for a bit?”

Hearing Amman’s gentle voice, Ami shuddered in disbelief.

When a response came, and the door opened, Ami realized something.

Amon wasn’t joking when he said there were only five students.

‘This academy… isn’t it failing…?’

Seeing Ami deep in thought with a grave expression, Amon spoke.

“Ami, you should introduce yourself to the other students.”

“Huh? Oh, yes. Amon, sir.”

Clearing his throat, Amon continued, “Anyway, Chloe, Boris, Raymond, you guys know more about the academy. Show her the ropes, okay?”

The three long-standing dormitory residents nodded vigorously.

“Yes, sir!”

After Amon left, Ami glanced at the other students.

‘Hmm… They all look younger than me.’

Granted, she was aware she was entering a bit late.

But Ami, sharp as ever, quickly assessed the situation.

Swish!

In an instant, she clasped her hands together and bowed humbly.

“Hehe, seniors! Please take good care of me! My name’s Ami!”

Taken aback by Ami’s sudden humility, Boris stammered, “Uh, y-yeah! I’m Boris.”

“Hehe, yes, Senior Boris. Feel free to speak comfortably.”

Just then, Raymond chimed in.

“We may have enrolled a semester earlier, but we’re all first-years.”

“Huh?”

Straightening up from her deep bow, Ami asked, “Really? Why didn’t you say so sooner?”

“…Ah, yeah.”

“Hmm, I see…”

Ami subtly observed the other students.

‘Two boys.’

That would be Boris and Raymond.

‘And that one… what are they?’

Sitting in a chair with eyes closed was Rustianel, whose appearance was ambiguously androgynous.

It was because Rustianel, not yet an adult dragon, hadn’t decided on a gender.

TLN: I used ‘she’ earlier because Amon referred to Rustianel as a girl, so I’ll do that for now.

‘Anyway, let’s put that aside. So, there’s only one definite girl.’

Looking at Chloe, Ami smiled broadly.

“Hehe, let’s get along well as fellow girls! What’s your name?”

Chloe, sitting quietly with a book, glanced at Ami.

“I’m Chloe Aran.”

Ami bowed like lightning.

Judging by her surname, she was likely nobility. No matter the noble family, it was bound to be more prestigious than the rural Drake family!

“Hehehe. I look forward to your guidance, Lady Chloe Aran.”

“…Huh? Oh, um, sure.”

“Hehehe, I’ve heard so much about the Aran family.”

This time, Raymond interjected again.

“Chloe’s from the Aran Kingdom.”

“What?”

Even if “Aran” wasn’t familiar to Ami, she certainly knew of the “Aran Kingdom.”

‘Wasn’t that the country that recently fell due to losing a national competition?’

Ami’s bow snapped back upright.

“Oh, I see.”

“…”

While everyone was left speechless by Ami’s swift change in demeanor, Chloe, who had been quietly observing, spoke.

“Um, big sister.”

“Mm-hmm, yes? Chloe?”

Chloe closed her book with a snap and smiled warmly.

“You’re Teacher Amon’s younger sister, aren’t you?”

“…!”

Ami’s mouth fell open.

She was found out on her very first day!