The Academy is Doomed

Chapter 79

This is Amur, the commercial city.

Sir Tomart, the commander of the Goliath Knights stationed here, pressed his temples with fatigue and sighed.

“Ha, damn it. What kind of catastrophe is this all of a sudden?”

A report about a spy infiltrating Amonis Academy.

The report came with substantial evidence, leaving the knights with no choice but to act.

And the person they apprehended, named Phais, turned out to indeed be a spy after investigation.

Thanks to this, the previously peaceful Amur was in utter chaos as imperial investigators came and went.

‘The only advantage of this place was its quietness. Damn it, what rotten luck.’

A knight’s duty is combat.

But perhaps because he’d stayed too long in peaceful Amur, Sir Tomart, who had once burned with passion when he was first knighted, now hated anything noisy or troublesome.

Moreover, after the Great War ended, he had been rotting in this place for quite some time, making any chance of career advancement slim.

And what does that mean?

“Loyalty! Commander, we have the results of the investigation.”

A rookie approached nervously, holding a document, but Sir Tomart replied dismissively without even looking.

“Hand it over to the vice-commander.”

By now, he had sunk into laziness, and in the worst way possible.

“But sir, the investigator insisted that you personally confirm it…”

“Oh, for fu—”

Sir Tomart suppressed a curse, grabbed a booklet from his desk, and flung it.

Thunk!

The rookie staggered back after being struck by the booklet, and Tomart spoke coldly.

“Hey.”

“…Yes!”

“Hey.”

“Yes!”

“I told you to give it to the vice-commander.”

“…”

“Does the commander’s word mean nothing to you?”

“…I’ll deliver it to the vice-commander.”

“Before you leave, pick that up and hand it back.”

The rookie, who now had a cut near his eye, sluggishly picked up the booklet and placed it back on the desk.

“Now get lost.”

“Yes, sir. Loyalty.”

As the door closed, Sir Tomart grumbled irritably.

“Damn it, as if I wasn’t annoyed enough already. Who’s this lousy punk?”

He picked up the booklet he had thrown.

It was a business prospectus distributed by the Gold Road Trading Company.

After skimming through it for a while, he frowned and muttered.

“Ha, there’s blood on it now. Does nothing go right today?”

Tomart tossed the booklet into the trash can and stood up.

‘Damn it, I feel awful. I need a drink.’

A knight commander going out for a drink in broad daylight was the epitome of a fallen knight.

Soon, he left the knights’ building and ambled toward the bustling streets.

“Hmm?”

He narrowed his eyes as he spotted a somewhat familiar face.

‘That woman is…?’

At first, he almost didn’t recognize her, but it was definitely the daughter of the Marquis Pid, who worked at Amonis Academy.

‘Whenever she’s here, she always looks disheveled… but today, she’s surprisingly well-dressed.’

At the academy, Sloth often looked messy, living as if permanently inside a sleeping bag.

However, at her family’s estate, the maids kept such a close watch on her that not a single hair was out of place.

In any case, as the start of the academy term was approaching, Sloth had just returned to Amur with her students.

“Teacher, I want that one.”

“Oh? Should I call Amon?”

“I’m sorry!”

Sloth, cutting off Boris’s gluttony with just the mention of “Amon,” glanced around.

“Come to think of it, the sword I was planning to buy last time…Hm?”

As she scanned her surroundings, she saw a familiar face approaching her.

It was Sir Tomart, the commander of the Goliath Knights stationed in this area.

As she saw him approach with a sly smile, Sloth let out a small sigh.

When he finally came close, Tomart raised his hand and spoke.

“Who do we have here? Isn’t this Lady Pid?”

“Oh, yes. It’s been a while, Sir Tomart.”

“Hahaha! Indeed. But are you returning from somewhere? You seem all dressed up today.”

Tomart’s gaze slid up and down her figure, making Sloth’s brow shoot up.

But whether he noticed or not, Tomart was busy ogling her attire.

‘As expected of someone who trains in swordsmanship, her outfit is sharp.’

When his gaze reached her face, however, he saw her openly displeased expression.

Even so, Tomart just smirked, and Sloth, her face hardened, asked coldly, “What’s so funny?”

“Hahaha! It’s just that I’m delighted to run into the lovely Lady Pid by chance.”

“…”

“By the way, how is the marquis doing?”

“…”

Sloth pressed her lips together tightly.

When she didn’t reply, Tomart chuckled smugly.

‘Heh, as if someone practically disowned by the Pid family would know how the marquis is doing.’

This was why Tomart dared to act rudely toward Sloth, the discarded child of the Pid family.

As long as he didn’t cross the line too much, the Pid family wouldn’t hold him accountable for his behavior.

Trusting in this, Tomart had always mocked, ridiculed, and subtly harassed Sloth whenever they crossed paths.

Back when Amon had pitted his students against the knights, Tomart’s sensitivity to the “Pid family crest” had stemmed from this context.

‘Heh, this is perfect timing. I was already in a foul mood.’

Tomart, notorious for his bad temper, always found amusement in teasing Sloth.

At his worst, he had reduced her to tears, forcing her to flee.

Since he was already in a sour mood, he decided to thoroughly enjoy himself today.

“Hehe, fine, fine. Let’s drop the family talk.”

“…”

“Have you been keeping up with your swordsmanship training? Last I checked, you were at an intermediate level of Sword Expert.”

“…”

“Hm, I’ve always been curious—doesn’t the Pid family only send out members who’ve reached the level of Sword Master? Oh, perhaps you’re receiving special treatment because of your work at the academy.”

Tomart, grinning, rattled off comments that were sure to prick Sloth’s pride.

Meanwhile, Sloth tilted her head back slightly and gazed absently at the sky.

Noticing this, Boris nervously tugged at her sleeve.

“Teacher, let’s just go somewhere else.”

The perceptive student urged her to move, but Tomart interjected with a laugh.

“Haha! Is this one of your students, Lady Pid?”

“Yes? Yes.”

“Well, he looks bright. Haha, learning under such an excellent teacher, he’s bound to…”

At that moment, Boris went pale and frantically shook Sloth’s sleeve.

“T-Teacher! Let’s go somewhere else now!”

Tomart laughed at Boris.

“You little brat, don’t interrupt when adults are—”

Then Raymond, who had been quietly observing from behind Sloth, exclaimed.

“Wow!”

Startled, Tomart instinctively looked toward Raymond.

However, since Raymond was standing behind Sloth, what Tomart first saw was…

Swoosh—!

Sloth swinging her fist at his jaw.

“Gah…!?”

Raymond cheered again as spit and blood mixed with a flying tooth.

“You’re amazing, Teacher!”

Tomart collapsed, clutching his mouth, but blood poured between his fingers no matter how hard he pressed.

As he sat trembling on the ground, Sloth looked down at him and spoke.

“You’ve crossed the line one too many times, Sir Tomart.”

“Huff, huff…! D-Do you have any idea what will happen if the Pid family finds out about this!?”

“…?”

Sloth tilted her head, puzzled.

The misunderstanding about her estrangement had already been cleared up ages ago.

‘Does he still think I’ve been disowned by my family?’

With that thought, Sloth kicked Tomart squarely in the face.

“Gahhh!”

As he let out a high-pitched scream and rolled to the ground, Sloth coolly said,

“Chloe.”

“Yes, Teacher.”

“Head back to the academy with the others.”

“Understood.”

The students scurried toward the direction of the academy, and Sloth, glancing back at Tomart with an expression of disbelief, turned away.

“And you said, ‘If the family finds out,’ right?”

“Ugh…”

“They already know.”

“What…?”

At those words, Sloth walked off, leaving Tomart glaring daggers at her with clenched teeth.

‘That wretched woman…!’

However, he couldn’t follow her.
The sudden strike had left him utterly defeated and drained of resolve.

‘How dare she use such cowardly tactics!’
A desperate attempt at rationalizing his humiliation.

Eventually, Tomart steadied himself and staggered to his feet. His bloodshot eyes gleamed with fury.
‘Fine, I’ll throw that insolent woman in jail. Attacking the commander of the knights with such underhanded means? Unforgivable!’

Shaking with anger, he began stumbling back toward the knights’ headquarters.

Thud!

Suddenly, a man charged at him like a tiger, planting a kick squarely into his chest and landing a solid slap across his face.

“Gah! W-who!?”

Looking up at the man gripping his collar and slapping him senseless, Tomart shuddered.
The man’s bloodshot eyes and contorted, demonic face sent chills down his spine.

“W-who are…?”

“Who am I? Whooooo?”

“W-what are you doing!?”

The man slapped Tomart again and shouted,
“I’m Sloth’s older brother, you filthy wretch!”

“What!? Wait, what!?”

Lanslow, one of the Thirteen Swords of the Pid Marquisate and Sloth’s youngest older brother, had coincidentally accompanied her to Amur for personal business.

The problem? Lanslow was so petrified at the sight of his sister that he’d trailed behind at a considerable distance, effectively looking like he was stalking her.
The greater problem? He’d witnessed Sloth being insulted and had been so furious that he froze on the spot, unable to act.

But once Sloth had moved far enough away, his rage finally propelled him into action.

“Sniff, sniff! I’m so sorry, Sloth! Your pathetic brother should have stepped in earlier!”

Just as he was ranting, Lanslow suddenly burst into tears.

Tomart, seeing the bizarre scene, instinctively realized,
‘He’s insane.’

The madman’s eyes suddenly flashed, and he grinned eerily.

“Well then, let’s die together.”

“Wait a—”

Tomart didn’t get to finish.
Crash!
He was slammed to the ground, crumpling like an overripe tomato.

Twitch, twitch—
Shivering and convulsing, Tomart lay sprawled as Lanslow looked down at him, clicking his tongue.

“Hmph, and he calls himself a knight. Barely clinging to life, huh?”

Scoffing, Lanslow grabbed the back of Tomart’s collar, dragging his limp body behind him.

“By the way, wasn’t this the headquarters of the knights’ order I was supposed to command?”

Following numerous complaints from the knights, Tomart was dismissed as commander.
Effective today, Lanslow had been appointed as the new commander of the Goliath Knights.

Dragging the “former” Tomart along, Lanslow walked on with purpose.

Meanwhile, Sloth strolled down the academy’s corridors.

‘Hmm, it’s been quite a while.’

Having returned refreshed from a long break at her family estate, her usual sense of fatigue was entirely absent.

With a cheerful heart, Sloth held something tightly in her arms.
She had brought chocolates, as promised to Amon.

‘But first, I should report my return to the principal.’

Soon, she arrived at the principal’s office and knocked on the door.

“It’s Sloth. May I come in?”

“…”

“Huh?”

Puzzled by the prolonged silence, Sloth tilted her head in confusion.

Carefully opening the door, she peeked inside—and gasped in shock.

Both Anar’el and Amon were staring blankly at a mountain of discarded flyers, their expressions akin to corpses.