Damn Academy chapter 221

221 – Four Swords (2)

The memory of my Enchanted Sword breaking into pieces flashed through my mind.

I kicked off my covers and bolted upright, my heart pounding in my chest.

The moment I grabbed the sapling, it reverted to its wooden sword form as if nothing had happened.

I inspected the Demonic Sword’s condition. Fortunately, there were no cracks or other abnormalities visible.

Trisha quietly came up beside me and peered at it with me.

“What’s the new guy?”

“A Demonic Sword I acquired.”

“Why are they fighting?”

“I’d like to know that myself.”

As if in pain, the Demonic Sword flickered faintly with a pale light. Its ferocious appearance from yesterday was gone, replaced by a pitiful sight.

“Can I touch it too?”

“It’s dangerous, so no. Here.”

It was only because the wooden sword was sturdy that I hadn’t already met the same fate as my Enchanted Sword, which I’d never even gotten to try out.

Why on earth was this wooden sword behaving like this? Was it just absorbing everything with mana? This Demonic Sword seemed to have a bit of a temper, so it was strange that it was taking this so meekly.

I took only the wooden sword and went outside the dormitory. Then I walked down to the misty front yard and stuck the wooden sword into the ground.

Trisha peeked her head out from the front door to watch.

“What are you doing?”

“Stay there.”

Swish, swish, swish-

The fog began to descend lower and lower around me. Then, with a blinding flash of light in my right hand, the Demonic Sword appeared.

I placed the Demonic Sword right next to the wooden sword and then went back up the dormitory steps.

Trisha called out, her voice filled with curiosity.

“I want to touch that!”

“Absolutely not. You’ll turn into an idiot if you touch it wrong.”

I had witnessed Trisha’s fearsome magical powers before, so there was a good chance it would be fine, but I wanted to be careful anyway.

“What’s an idiot?”

“…”

I pushed Trisha inside and closed the door. Trisha banged on the door and shouted.

“No! I know! I was just kidding!”

I ignored her for a moment and kept watching the wooden sword and the Demonic Sword. And then, not long after, something strange happened.

The wooden sword transformed into its sapling form, then used its roots to push itself along the ground. It was moving as if it were avoiding the Demonic Sword next to it.

After putting some distance between itself and the Demonic Sword, it changed back into its wooden sword form.

“Huh.”

What had I just seen?

Trisha opened the door again and stuck her head out.

“What’s going on? What are you trying to do?”

“Look over there.”

“Huh? Did you move the Sprout Sword?”

“No, it moved on its own.”

If the wooden sword were merely a plant that indiscriminately sucked up magical power, it would have tried to absorb that dark sword’s magical power as well.

It was a rather shocking sight to see it distinguish between what would harm it and move of its own volition… It meant that it wasn’t a one-dimensional tool that merely reacted to the stimulus of magical power, but that it moved with a will.

“You only bully the weak. I knew it. I like the firefly sword the best. I hate the wooden sword, and I hate the new sword you brought.”

“A sword is just a sword.”

Moreover, neither this dark sword nor that dark sword are easy opponents.

“I really hate that wooden sword.”

“How do you know?”

“A woman’s intuition!”

“…”

“Where did that wooden sword come from?”

“I don’t know.”

“You’re an idiot. You don’t know anything.”

Now I’m a little curious myself. What on earth is its true identity? Who should I ask to find out?

I now know for sure why its previous owner got rid of the wooden sword without receiving any compensation. It may be a sword that I’m attached to and useful in many ways, but to someone else, it would be nothing but a troublesome thing that only devours magical power.

***

In the end, the wooden sword and the newly acquired sword were kept in complete isolation.

After that, I prepared breakfast for Trisha and headed out for my first class.

“See you later!”

Trisha, who didn’t have any morning classes, waved her hand and saw me off from the doorway.

“Oh, Damian!”

Trisha called out to me as I was leaving. Then, she came down the front steps in her bare feet and pajamas and handed me a note.

“I almost forgot. The librarian you helped yesterday asked me to give you this.”

“Thank you.”

“Let’s eat lunch together later!”

And with that, Trisha ran back to the dormitory.

The note’s contents were brief.

[After finishing your duties, bring your sword and come to the mausoleum in the Forbidden Forest.]

It didn’t say who had written it, but I had a good idea who it was from. Other than the old professor I met yesterday, there wasn’t anyone else who would have called me.

Judging from the fact that it said to bring my sword, it must be a lesson. I’m actually a little excited because it seems like I’ll be able to learn something worthwhile.

As I exited the labyrinth, another friend greeted me.

Luna, who had been standing in front of the guardian tree, waved at me.

“Luna?”

“He…llo.”

She joined me naturally and walked alongside me.

“Were you waiting for me?”

“Yes.”

“Do you have something to say?”

“No… I just wanted to walk to school with you.”

In truth, it doesn’t take that long to get from the guardian tree to the campus. Unless you have something to do, there’s no reason to come all the way here to walk with someone.

Well, girls have a different way of hanging out with their friends, so I didn’t pry any further.

Suddenly, yesterday’s events came to mind, and I asked her,

“Yesterday, did you know everything? About Cecil and…the Demon Hunters.”

She shook her head.

“Not to that extent… I just saw a future where Damian was safe…and Cecil was safe.”

“…Even so, your advice helped. I’ll ask for your help again often.”

Luna hung her head.

“But the frequency has decreased…and the accuracy has dropped.”

“I’m curious. What does it look like, a vision?”

“Yes. It’s very blurry. I can only see things related to me, so it won’t be much help.”

“…I see. Ah, Luna, what class do you have? I’ll take you there.”

Luna looked at me and shook her head, smiling shyly.

“No…your body is still unwell, so I’ll take you to the art room.”

“…Hmm?”

“Our Damian…you shouldn’t skip class and go somewhere else.”

Luna grabbed my sleeve and led the way.

“…”

Luna’s attitude is strangely like a teacher taking care of a child. I wonder if her feelings have changed. Why is she acting like this?

Luna really took me to the art room greenhouse and waved goodbye.

As I entered the greenhouse and sat down in front of my easel, I finally felt like I was back to my daily routine.

In a corner of the empty greenhouse, Lilith was watering the plants. When she saw me, she greeted me with a slight wave of her hand in an awkward pose.

“…”

I’ve made more friends. As I take care of others, the number of people who take care of me also increases.

Lilith seemed to have something to say to me and began to approach me slowly.

But suddenly, someone kicked open the greenhouse door violently. Lilith turned around in surprise.

“Hey, newbie!”

“Newbie, come here!”

The art club executives, Hayley and Zhenya, barged in like thugs from a slum.

Zhenya came towards me, and Hayley went towards Lilith.

Zhenya suddenly hugged me around the waist with both arms.

“…?”

“Oh my, my baby!”

Then she started to lift me up like a child. But she couldn’t lift me because she was short and lacked strength.

Hayley, who was relatively tall and a member of the combat unit, easily picked up Lilith and spun her around.

“Wow!”

“Where did these lucky charms come from!”

Zhenya struggled alone and finally gave up.

“Ah, why are you so heavy? Just look at you.”

“…”

While Zhenya was messing with me, Hayley was already kissing Lilith on the cheek.

“Oh, so cute, so cute!”

“eee… kiss”

Ririth covered her face as if she was ashamed and let out a half-sob.

“Senior, is there any good news?”

“No, kiss, kiss… please.”

Then Hailey hugged Ririth and approached me as she said.

From Noble mtl dot com

“We are going to Clarium!”

I was curious about the final result, but in the end, it seemed like the Arts Department was going.

“The freshmen crushed all the drama club seniors?”

“Yes, somehow the drama club won. What happened to you seniors?”

The 1st and 2nd years and the 3rd and 4th years had carried out separate missions. As I recall, I think the club with the highest score after combining the two scores would win.

“Us? We were all wiped out too. The 4th years were all busy, so they missed the mission. Thanks to that, it was our world. I’m glad we won, but I like seeing the faces of those pigs even more! Yay!”

Hailey grabbed Ririth’s arm and jumped around as if she was dancing. At times like these, she didn’t seem like a senior, but just a country girl.

Zenia was still tugging at my clothes and mumbling to herself.

“Kiss… kiss….”

Hailey handed me the official document from Ethenia.

“The newbie really did something big.”

When I checked the document, it had a different story written in it compared to what I had experienced firsthand.

It said that even though I had violated the return order, I would be given a stern warning, but there would be no separate disciplinary action. It was written that the Arts Department had uncovered the truth behind the disappearance that had occurred in the Shintaigmur area and submitted a notebook containing the criminal’s evil plan, so they would receive the highest score.

I wondered what Gail and Victor would think after seeing this. They must have sent out this document after they had finished coming to an internal agreement. Considering their personalities, it didn’t seem like they would raise any objections.

However, it bothered me that I alone would be receiving the reward. I thought that both Victor and Gail were guys who deserved to be rewarded.

And I didn’t really feel like going to this thing called Clarium or whatever.

I just wanted to learn something from the new visiting professor quickly. If I went far away, wouldn’t I miss that much time to learn?

After I returned the document, Hailey said.

“Alright, you did a good job, so give me a kiss!”

Hailey grabbed me and surprise-kissed me on the cheek. I was helpless against it.

“…!”

Zenia suddenly shouted.

“If you were going to do that, then why did we play rock, paper, scissors?”

***

Cecil had been waiting in front of the fountain in the living quarters since early morning.

Carrying his luggage and holding an invitation to the Artists’ Banquet in his hand, he kept pacing around the same spot.

Then, every time someone came out of the Upper Drop Hall, he turned his head to check.

If it was someone other than the person he was waiting for, Cecil let out a deep sigh.

“When are you going to come out….”

The number of students leaving the dorms for their morning classes gradually increased, but the person Cecil was waiting for never came out.

“Demian… Are you still not feeling well?”

Then, he bit his lip and mumbled to himself.

“He always used to pass by here, so maybe he’s avoiding me… No, no, the atmosphere was good at the time… There’s no way….”

Exhausted from thinking about all sorts of things by himself, he eventually sat down on the fountain and sighed.

“Haa.”

Then, he bowed his head deeply and muttered to himself.

“I miss you….”