Chapter 59
Translator: Kell Editor: Weasalopes
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Interview with the Principal
「E-Eek!」
「Someone call the medic!」
Everyone started moving the moment the staff member collapsed .
「Yo, is this real? The demon just lost!」
「Did you see what happened? I couldn’t quite catch it . 」
「He disappeared, I tell you . That guy actually disappeared!」
「So anyway, is the exam over?」
「Eek…」
Hikaru approached other staff members, but they were terrified of him .
「Whoa . You’re the ones who made me take this ridiculous exam . Why are you backing away?」
「I-I-I’m sorry! We don’t have the authority to approve your enrollment!」
「What? She said I could enroll if I passed the exam and you all agreed to that implicitly . 」
「Please don’t be mad! I beg you!」
「Or do I really have to kill Mikhail after all?」
「Please don’t!」
The medic attending to Mikhail shrieked as they rose to their feet, dropping Mikhail’s head on the ground with a thud . Poor guy – getting dragged in all this .
「Can I enroll or not?」
「O-Of course you can!」the staff member said, teary-eyed . Hikaru wasn’t completely satisfied, but his enrollment was accepted .
「Hikaru, what about me?」Lavia asked .
「Oh, right . About Lavia’s exam…」
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「There’s no need for that! She’s in as well!」
「There you have it . 」
「Oh, thank goodness . Unlike you, I don’t think I can hold back and not kill my opponent . 」
Lavia’s words instilled fear in the staff members even more .
「…So, how did it end up like this?」
After the exam, Hikaru and Lavia were summoned by the principal directly . Upon entering the room, a woman past her prime greeted them with a smile, though her eyes were dead serious . Beside her were four armed professors .
「I’ve heard about what happened . What do you want?」she asked .
「Enrollment . 」
「You can drop the act . Please give it to me straight . You brought up Ponsonia’s name, a country at war, injured one of our professors, and caused turmoil among the admin staff . Are you trying to sully the reputation of this academy from the inside? Your methods are rough, I must say . 」
「………」
Hikaru was starting to have a headache . Why can’t they just let me enroll? I have the money . Tuition for two years was 500,000 gilans for each student .
「So this is because of my guild card saying I’m from Ponsonia?」
「We should be wary of suspicious people . Don’t you agree? And you’re plenty suspicious . 」
「Let me ask you, then . How do I get you to trust me?」
「Who knows? That’s for you to think about . 」
Oh, I know this one . The devil’s proof . She really has no intention of trusting me ever again, Hikaru thought . Good grief . What now?
He glanced to the side to see Lavia staring at the principal scornfully . Hikaru drew a deep breath .
「Hey, Lavia! Calm down! I can feel the disgust oozing from your eyes!」he whispered .
「I can’t help it, okay? This distrustful brain-dead hag actually has the guts to call herself the principal . 」she muttered back .
「I know, Ma’am . How about this?」
All of a sudden one of the armed professors spoke . He looked creepy with his excessively long forelocks reaching his eyes . He was carrying a short spear, but his stats were nothing special, with only two points on Short Spear . He didn’t even have the Strength that Mikhail had .
What really irked Hikaru the most though was the guy had been staring at Lavia ever since they stepped into the office .
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「We ask him to fetch leaves of the drakon kidney flower . 」the guy said .
「That’s…」
「You need it, plus he’ll be saving a life . It’s just the right assignment for a student of the academy . 」
「…No . It’s too dangerous . 」
「Please think about this carefully . A Ponsonian is wreaking havoc . We have to at least make him do this . 」
「These are two completely different matters . 」
「Excuse me . 」Hikaru interjected . If he just let them be, who knew what they would make him do? 「Sorry to interrupt, but the admin staff in charge with enrollment asked me to take an exam which I passed . Yet my enrollment is still not accepted . And now you want me to do something for you?」
Hikaru was starting to get annoyed . So I’ll be paying high fees for these lots’ salaries? I might as well pay for an adventurer who’s an expert in Stealth for private lessons .
「The examination is within the academy’s regulations . If an enrollee’s aptitude is unknown, a professor will judge him . 」
「So about my aptitude…」
「Hikaru . 」Lavia, who was quiet the whole time, finally spoke, drawing the principal’s eyes towards her . 「Let’s just go . Even if all these people gang up on you, they’ll never win . What can you possibly learn in this place?」
「Wha—」
Everyone present, even the principal, was speechless . All of a sudden, the door burst open .
「Principal! Oh, you’re here!」
Mikhail . He was very much fine . Probably the work of healing magic .
「We have to let this boy in . He made me realize something . It doesn’t matter if it’s a student or someone younger – you just can’t underestimate anyone . That should be obvious, but I’d completely forgotten about it . If we let someone like him into the academy, it should provide motivation for everyone . 」
「What are you saying, Mikhail? You just got hit by a surprise attack . That’s all . 」one professor said .
「Shut your mouth!!」Mikhail shouted .
「You lot can’t even defeat me in a fight! It doesn’t matter if it was a surprise attack . This boy managed to—」
「This boy . That boy . I have a name and it’s Hikaru . 」
「O-Oh…Hikaru here knocked me out cold in a split second . There wasn’t even any time to think about dying . His strength is unknown . I’d even like to learn from him . 」
Every professor present held their breath .
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「He’s that good?」the principal said .
「That’s right . And he didn’t kill me, despite me saying I was prepared to die . If he really was an assassin from Ponsonia, he would’ve ended me right then and there . 」
「You have a point . 」the principal said, deep in thought . 「Very well . I will approve his enrollment . 」
「What?!」the professors shrieked .
「Great news, huh, Hikaru?」Mikhail said, patting Hikaru’s back .
「…Ouch . Actually, the patronizing attitude is kinda pissing me off . “I will approve his enrollment” . I feel like changing my mind . 」
「Come on, don’t say that! Ma’am, please accept Hikaru as a scholarship student . It should be possible with a professor’s recommendation . 」
「Hey, Mikhail!」the professors interjected .
「…Okay . 」The principal accepted Mikhail’s proposal .
For a moment, Hikaru found it strange how she changed her mind so fast, but he disregarded the thought, knowing it wasn’t any of his business .
「Hmm… In that case, I’ll enroll . I can just leave if I end up not liking the place anyway . How does that sound, Lavia?」
「…If that’s what you want, I’m fine with it . 」
Lavia was not completely satisfied, but she reluctantly agreed .
Mikhail followed them out of the principal’s office .
「I’m really sorry about that . Looked like they gave you quite a hard time . 」
「I didn’t know people here were so allergic to Ponsonia . 」
「Your country’s to blame . They shouldn’t wage wars in the first place . 」
「I agree . Anyway, I’m surprised you pushed for my enrollment when I knocked you out cold . Don’t tell me you like being beaten up?」
「Hell no!」
「You want to fight me again but with your sword ready this time? You think you can win then?」
「Haha . I’d very much love to try that, but that’s not why I pushed for your enrollment . It’s exactly like I said . The academy’s research has been stagnating lately . I wanted motivation . The principal is… actually a person of character . If you weren’t from Ponsonia, she would have treated you well . 」
「Does she have a grudge against Ponsonia or something?」
「Her nephew got caught in the skirmish between Quinbland and Ponsonia . And then…」
「He got killed?」
「Don’t write him off like that . He’s still alive . He got hit by a stray arrow laced with a special kind of poison . 」
According to him, the poison caused high fever and slowed the healing of wounds . Removing it required a special kind of medicine . Magic hardly worked .
「And for that the leaves of a drakon kidney flower is needed?」
「How’d you know?」
「That creepy professor with the short spear suggested I go and pick some . 」
「Professor Kilnenko… To put it mildly, he’s a piece of shit . 」Mikhail declared bluntly .
Hikaru burst out laughing .
「I think so too . 」
He really didn’t like how the guy was staring at Lavia .
「We have so much in common!」Mikhail said .
「Just that part, actually . 」
「So when will you come to Great Sword lectures? There’s one tomorrow!」
「What? Great Sword?」
「Of course . We’re going to deepen our friendship…」
「No can do . 」Lavia stepped in between the two . 「You’re acting too friendly with Hikaru . He doesn’t even use a great sword . Why would he attend lectures about it?」
「Whaaat?! You’re not going to study the great sword style that’s been lost long ago with me?」
「No . You’re actually quite the egghead, huh?」
「I’m an expert in fighting! Which lessons are you going to attend, then?」
「Short sword for now, I guess . So anyway, see you around . 」
Hikaru ended their conversation . He had an inkling that Lavia felt jealous – even though he was talking to a man, and a muscular one at that .
「What?! Short sword?! That means your instructor will be…」Mikhail muttered, dumbfounded .