Damn Academy chapter 236

236 – Claridium (3)

I was wandering in my dream.

My body was frozen as if pressed by scissors, unable to move.

“One summer day, the man-”

A woman’s singing voice is heard in the fog.

The voice is clear and beautiful, but the pitch and rhythm are not very good.

Is it a nightmare? A cool breeze blows around my ear.

My mind gradually becomes clear. Soon after, I woke up from sleep.

Zenia was sitting at my bedside, singing in my ear.

“Met a country girl-”

“Senior?”

“You’re awake now. Do you know we’re almost there?”

I moved my body, but it didn’t budge. Only then did I realize that I was tied up with a rope.

“We had a storm last night, so I tied you up as well as the others.”

“….”

“How about it, you must be out of your mind because this sexy siren woke you up.”

“Senior… are you tone-deaf?”

“What?”

“….”

Zenia’s face suddenly fills with displeasure. She slaps my bicep with all her might and says.

“What do you mean tone-deaf!”

Then she runs out of the cabin in a huff.

It’s good to tie me up, but shouldn’t she untie me too? My body, tied tightly to the bed, looks like a prisoner being transported to a remote island.

Soon after, Lilith opens the door and comes in. As soon as she enters, she covers her nose with the back of her hand, as if she is embarrassed by the smell in the cabin.

“Whew….”

“……”

I can totally understand that reaction. This cabin where the boys stay doesn’t even have proper ventilation. It’s filled with the salty and humid smell of the sea and the stench of teenage boys who haven’t showered in three days. It must be unbearable for women with sensitive noses.

Lilith stretched her neck at the door, looking at the faces of the sleeping boys, and then she came closer after finding me.

“I’ll untie you.”

“Are we there?”

“Almost.”

Lilith stopped untying the rope, opened the door wide, and came back.

“…It smells.”

“It’s not my smell.”

Lilith said it subtly.

“Hmm… Demian’s manly scent is the strongest.”

“……”

Then she stopped untying the rope and brought her nose close to my chest, sniffing me.

“…That’s right. It seems to be the strongest.”

Then she went back to untying the knot.

I wanted to make an excuse that I couldn’t help it since I hadn’t showered in three days, but looking at Lilith, that thought just slipped away.

Her skin was as white as snow, without a single speck of dirt. Her hair and face were fluffy without any sign of sweat, and she had a faint floral scent. Although we both hadn’t showered, she looked like a noble lady who hadn’t changed since the first day, as if she had used some kind of magic.

Lilith sniffed me again, as if to confirm something.

“…?”

The corners of her mouth quivered slightly, as if she was holding back a smile. Why is she doing that?

“The others… Do you want Demian to… untie you?”

Lilith released the restraints and ran out as if she was escaping.

When I got up and straightened the bedding, I couldn’t find the clothes I had taken off and left at the head of the bed. It seemed like they had slipped somewhere during the night as the ship rocked.

When I went up to the deck, a blue sky as if painted with watercolors greeted me.

The club members were admiring the view of the land that had appeared after three days.

“Wow.”

I couldn’t take my eyes off the panoramic view of Claridium, the city of magic either.

It was just as I had seen in the books. It was a cone-shaped city, densely packed as if the mountain had been cut away. The buildings stretched out like stairs, climbing up the hills. The pure white stone and bronze roofs that shone in the sunlight rose irregularly yet harmoniously.

And on the roofs of all the buildings, unique magical devices that resembled anemometers spun around and around. The colorful smoke billowing from the chimneys was a sight that could only be seen in a city where magic was commonplace.

The white building in the central highlands of the city, which stretched up into the sky like an upturned stake, was the City Council in charge of administration.

And on the harbor side, there was a huge brass water gate. It was magnificent enough for ten sailing ships to enter and leave at the same time.

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While everyone was admiring the view, Hayley was standing alone, leaning over the railing with her body bent.

Wondering what was going on, I approached her. When I got closer, I saw that she was just laughing so hard she couldn’t control herself.

“Oh… Haha, Kekekeke.”

“Senior?”

“Oh, newbie, oh, I’m dying. Did you tell Zhenia that she can’t sing?”

“…Yes.”

Hayley was laughing so hard she could barely breathe.

“Zhenia got mad! Oh… I’m going crazy. Hehehe, hahaha.”

“Was it a mistake?”

She said, catching her breath.

“Hey, I sang you a song to wake you up, my cute junior, but you’re tone-deaf? Who’d feel good about that? Heh heh heh. I guess you are tone-deaf.”

I don’t know if that was such a funny thing. I guess it fits the girls’ sense of humor. I had a nightmare because of that song.

Zenia was sitting on the stairs leading up to the players’ lounge by herself, looking sullen and propping her chin up.

Hailey barely managed to regain her composure and shouted loudly.

“Girls, we’re going to have a passport inspection soon, so make yourselves look presentable. Don’t act suspiciously for no reason! We are the face of Eternia. Got it?”

Our ship slowly approached the grand gate. The gate was so huge that it cast a shadow over our entire sailboat.

Soon, a rowboat carrying three men rowed toward us from the gate’s control room.

As the sailors lowered the ladder, the men who had rowed the boat climbed it and came up to the deck.

They were in their twenties, wearing crisp white uniforms that smelled like new clothes and had short swords hanging from their waists.

The first man to come up had a stern, expressionless face, but the two who came up after him had their jaws drop when they saw the pretty girls filling the ship. Then they whispered to each other, but their voices were so loud that we could hear them.

“Wasn’t this supposed to be an imperial ship?”

“Is Eternia a girls’ school?”

The stern-looking man cleared his throat, and the whispering stopped abruptly.

Hailey stepped forward and spoke in a composed voice, completely unlike her usual self.

“It’s an honor to meet the Guardians, the protectors of the greatest city, Claridium. I am Hailey, the student representative of the Eternia delegation.”

Then she lifted her skirt slightly and made a graceful curtsy.

The men straightened their backs and saluted with measured movements.

“It is a great honor to meet the talents of Eternia.”

“I heard that the manifest and other materials of our Eternia delegation were officially submitted to the city council in the name of Erzsebet Tears and that prior approval was granted.”

“Yes. This is just a formality, so we will leave right away. It will take some time for the gate to open, so please wait a moment.”

Claridium’s guards were called Guardians. I heard that they were not a direct agency of the city council that governed the city’s administration, but a private organization operated with donations from the council, the Chamber of Commerce, and several large families.

Despite being an organization in charge of security, they seemed to distance themselves from the use of force, and their uniforms emphasized dignity rather than practicality.

After the Guardians left, the huge gears connected to the gate started to move with a deadly sound.

The gate slowly opened, and the shadow cast over the ship gradually receded.

Before our eyes, a panorama of seagulls, colorful ships representing various countries, and a lively port unfolded.

I was so absorbed in the magnificent view that I momentarily forgot that this was a city on the brink of ruin.

While the ship was docking, we hurriedly packed our things. I finished my preparations by putting Priscilla on my waist.

The gangplank connected the deck to the land, and the members disembarked, struggling with their bags.

When Zenia came out with a bag as big as her, I rushed to her.

“Senior, let me.”

“Are you done?”

I ignored the clicking Zenia and snatched the bag from her, carrying it to the land for her. Rather than saying sorry a hundred times for teasing a touchy person, taking care of them like this is much more effective. That was my experience over the years.

Zenia put her hands on her waist and snorted.

“Whatever. Annoying.”

On land, a stranger was waiting for us.

She was a Guardian with long, black hair, a tall stature for a woman, though a little shorter than Silverin, and a white uniform.

“Senior Rosaline!”

As soon as Hailey saw her, she hugged her as if they were family.

“Hailey, is it really Hailey? How long has it been? That little sunbeam Hailey has grown up so much?”

From the conversation, I guess… she must be a senior who graduated from Eternia a long time ago. Come to think of it, they said a senior who graduated from here would guide us.

“I’m the head of the Art Club now.”

Jenia gently nudges Lilyt and me forward.

“Why would the Art Club come here as a group? Did the Dance Club and Drama Club make such a big mistake that they fell apart?”

Jenia interjects slyly.

“The two freshmen here contributed a lot!”

Lilyt and I stepped forward in surprise and were greeted by Rosalind.

Her eyes widened as she looked at me.

“So you’re that great freshman. Damian? I heard about you from Hailey. Professor Silverein’s protégé. The public enemy envied by wizards. Right?”

“…That’s right.”

“I also attended Professor Silverein’s class when he was teaching.”

“What was he like?”

She smiled meaningfully.

“He was legendary. All the men were crazy about the professor, not the women their own age. It was chaos.”

“I can see why.”

Silverein was popular enough to attract that level of attention.

“I really wonder why someone like that chose you. I mean, not in a bad way, but out of pure curiosity.”

“Actually, rather than a disciple, it’s more like he just took me in for a while.”

She winks at me.

“That’s what I’m curious about. Let’s talk about it later, just the two of us.”

“…Okay.”

“And our mayor almost worships the Archmage, so he’ll be very interested in you.”

***

We had servants move our luggage to our lodging and followed Rosalind somewhere.

Rosalind gave us some precautions as she led us.

“The first-class stagecoach looks good, but it’s terrible, so never take it. Don’t go near the undeveloped area outside the city either. There are many vagabonds, homeless people, and pickpockets there.”

While she was talking, a carriage passed us on the narrow road.

“Whoa!”

Some of the schoolgirls were startled and exclaimed.

The carriage was pulled by a tin doll that looked like a Planterra.

Rosalind explained.

“That’s a Vintera. It’s a copy of a Planterra. It’s not very strong and not very smart either. Unfortunately, there’s no magic power in the Claridium territory, so we have to find another power source, but the magic stones that serve as fuel are rare and expensive, so the efficiency isn’t that great. Unless a trade agreement with the dwarves is reached, it will be difficult to commercialize.”

Hailey asks.

“So the person in there must be rich?”

“Yeah. He’s probably one of the four great families of Claridium. And never go near a Vintera when it’s raining. The power source attracts lightning, so it’s dangerous.”

Jenia asked.

“But where are we going?”

“We’re going to ‘Avenue of Light’. You’re really lucky. There’s a big send-off party there.”

“But the harbor is already quite far away?”

Rosaline smiles meaningfully.

“This is not an ordinary departure ceremony.”

***

The Street of Enlightenment was a boulevard that ran through the shopping district, forming a crossroad. The shops were decorated with stained glass windows in full color. There were unknown banners and huge metal gears hanging on the walls. And the streets were filled with citizens who had come to see the departure ceremony, and guardians who were controlling them.

I can see young children riding on hobbyhorses, and nobles muttering words I don’t understand. Their eyes are all fixed on the blue sky. What are they waiting for, when it is a departure ceremony?

In the middle of the street, there is a banner with a phrase praising the magic of the academy.

The city was so full of life that Amarilis wondered if she had gotten it wrong this time.

I feel like I’m going to be crushed by the energy. My hair was frizzy, and my stomach was churning with a strange discomfort.

Then someone in the crowd shouted.

“Oh, here it comes, here it comes!”

A finger points to the sky.

Soon, something huge appeared behind the distant spire.

“It’s a Sky Galleon!”

“What is that?”

I shouted without realizing it.

It was a galleon floating in the sky.

With its sails spread and swan-like wings, it was slowly flying through the sky.

A thunderous cheer and applause erupted from the crowd.

Wait, that’s a Sky Galleon. Is that what Luna asked me to buy as a souvenir? No, it can’t be.

“…….”

Someone tugged at my clothes from behind.

I turned around and saw Zenia standing behind me.

“What do you see?”

“Yes.”

“I can’t see anything. I’m too short.”

I turned my back on her and sat down.

“Get on.”

“What are you doing?”

“Get on the hobbyhorse.”

“Am I a child?”

“It’s better than missing it.”

Zenia hesitated for a moment before finally getting on my hobbyhorse.

I grabbed her legs and stood up. Zenia sighed.

“Ugh, my thighs….”

“Senior….”

Suddenly, I had the urge to get off the road.

Zenia stroked the top of my head and said,

“There was a line like this in the novel Haley brought me, so I wanted to try it.”

“Can you see it now?”

Priscilla, who was at my waist, suddenly shivered. As if it wanted to say something, it flickered a blue light inside the scabbard.

“Look good. But hey, newbie. Isn’t that weird?”

Zenia points her hand.

The heavenly galleon that was flying well was tilted to one side.

The crowd watching also sensed something wrong and made a fuss.

It didn’t stop at tilting but was gradually losing altitude. As if a sled going down a steep slope, it was uncontrollably and diagonally sliding quickly in the air.

At that speed, it could crash into the city. No, looking at the fierce momentum, it seems certain that it will crash. If a large ship like that crashes, several buildings will collapse in a chain.

I hurriedly put Zenia down.

Soon, sighs and screams rang out. As we got a little closer, the trajectory of the fall became clearer. What’s more serious is that the heavenly galleon was flying towards the street of light where we were.

This place became a pandemonium in an instant. The crowd pushed, fell, and got trampled in a panic. The Guardians were helpless because it happened so suddenly.

“Run away!”

Rosaline shouts loudly. Hayley quickly pushed her subordinates into a nearby store.

I stood there and looked blankly at the falling galleon. My head heats up. I think maybe this accident is one of the harbingers of destruction.

Hayley shouts.

“Damian! What are you doing!”

My heart feels like bursting. Looking at the trajectory, it will pass over our heads. The exact point of impact was not where we were.

I started running ahead to the expected point of impact.

“Hey! Damian!”

Soon, the street goes dark for a moment. Right overhead, a huge galleon flies through the sky.

Boom-

The squall that the galleon brought swept through the street, knocking over the fleeing crowd and breaking windows.

In the path of the galleon, a huge building like a temple and a tall bell tower were blocking it.

And beneath it were people who hadn’t evacuated in time. If left alone, they would surely be crushed by the wreckage of the building.

Instinctively knowing that it would be impossible to catch up by running, I quickly pulled out Priscilla.