The Academy is Doomed

Chapter 49

“Wh-what do you mean? You want us to hit each other once?”

“You heard right.”

“Ha, hahaha……What kind of unfunny joke is that?”

“Does it sound like a joke?”

At Amon’s utterly serious face, Kai narrowed his eyes.

‘……What is he thinking?’

Could it be that he sees him as a ‘common person’ and is trying to suppress him with force?

If that’s really the case, he’d have to change his evaluation of Amon.

From a true educator to a thug trying to break others’ opinions by flaunting power.

However, Amon’s following words.

“Why? Not confident? You seem pretty confident in your skills though?”

“……What did you say?”

“Both your swordsmanship and magic, with skills like yours, you could boast anywhere you go, right?”

“……!”

Kai’s face hardened.

‘My skills were seen through?’

Sword Master highest grade, 8th Circle magician.

It was too specific a mention to think it was just a guess.

‘Could he have noticed my identity? But that’s impossible?’

He hadn’t even met Amon when he was crown prince, let alone known of his existence until recently.

Moreover, isn’t he currently hiding his face with magic?

‘Someone like Elder Reinbelt might be able to see through magic…but this person is clearly just an ordinary person, nothing more, nothing less. Both in swordsmanship and magic.’

When his thoughts reached there, Kai let out a hollow laugh.

‘Rather, I want to ask. If you noticed my skills, what confidence makes you want to challenge me?’

Suddenly such curiosity welled up.

Setting aside his fondness for Amon, it was curiosity as an ‘Empire’s expert’ who had reached Sword Master highest grade and 8th Circle magic.

‘Could he have a hidden card?’

With a faint smile, Kai said.

“Senior Amon, are you serious?”

“After saying all this, does it still seem like a joke?”

“Hahaha……”

Shrugging his shoulders as if giving up, Kai picked up the wooden sword and approached Amon while saying.

“Fine. You said we’ll exchange one hit each, right? Who starts first?”

“Hmm……”

Fiddling with the wooden sword, Amon said.

“You start first.”

“Ha, hahahaha……”

Laughing as if dumbfounded, Kai raised his wooden sword.

“Alright, senior. After saying all this, you won’t dodge, right?”

“Yeah, yeah. Just hurry up and hit.”

“……Understood.”

Wiping off his smile, Kai swung the wooden sword toward Amon’s shoulder.

Of course, it wasn’t serious.

If he, a Sword Master of the highest grade, swung with full force, even a wooden sword could easily cut a person’s body in half.

‘It’s not serious, but enough to make you reflect on your own recklessness.’

Kai swung his sword toward Amon with ‘moderate force’.

And the moment his sword hit Amon’s shoulder.

Amon grabbed his shoulder and collapsed, causing Kai to gape.

“Gasp! Se-senior! Are you alright?”

“Ouch! My shoulder!”

“I-I’m sorry! I must have unconsciously used too much force!”

“Ugh! My shoulder……”

Getting up while groaning, Amon glared at Kai and growled.

“You, you bastard……hitting this hard?”

“I-I’m sorry.”

While bowing his head apologetically, Kai thought.

‘Hmm……He acted like he had a hidden card but there was nothing?’

Well, he wasn’t disappointed though.

After all, in Kai’s eyes, Amon was just an ordinary person with no proficiency in swordsmanship or magic, so this was just the natural result.

Anyway, while rubbing his shoulder and grumbling, Amon glared and said.

“Then it’s my turn now, right?”

“……You want to continue?”

“Of course? I took a hit, so you should fairly take one too, right?”

“Hmm……”

Scratching his head, Kai nodded with a bitter smile.

“You’re right, senior. Alright.”

“Good, then……”

While rubbing his shoulder and grimacing in pain, Amon suddenly wiped his expression and said.

“You take one hit fairly too.”

At that moment, Amon’s right hand holding the wooden sword became blurry.

Simultaneously, a fierce sound of air being torn burst out.

Seeing the wooden sword rushing at him like lightning, Kai belatedly widened his eyes.

Thwack-!

For a moment, Kai thought his shoulder hit by the wooden sword had been crushed.

“Arggghh!”

With a ripping scream, Kai flew through the air, tumbled to the ground, rolled several times before stopping, and grabbed his shoulder while coughing.

“Cough! My, my shoulder……! I, I flew……?”

“No. It’s still attached.”

At the sight of Amon who had somehow appeared before his eyes looking down at him, Kai got up in great shock.

“Hu, huk……!?”

“Are you okay? Does it hurt a lot?”

“……”

While rubbing his shoulder that was throbbing as if it had been shattered, a streak of fighting spirit rose in Kai’s eyes.

But suppressing that emotion, Kai smiled faintly and said.

“Yes, it hurts quite a bit.”

“Really? The spot where you hit me still hurts too.”

“Is that so? Shall we continue then?”

“Huh? You want to do more?”

Kai gripped the wooden sword and grinned.

“Well, we’ve only exchanged one hit each so far, right? It’s more fun than I expected, so let’s continue.”

“Hmm, should we?”

When Amon nodded as if it was no big deal, Kai took his stance.

“Then here I come.”

“Yeah. Go ahead.”

Kai took a small breath and thought.

‘Wasn’t he supposed to have no proficiency in swordsmanship?’

But the impact he just felt was too fierce to believe it came from an ordinary person.

‘……So he did have a hidden card after all. Good, then this time I’ll attack a bit harder?’

Having decided, Kai swung his sword with full force.

And the moment his sword was about to hit Amon’s shoulder.

Whoosh-!

Twisting his body, Amon dodged Kai’s sword!

“……Wh-what!?”

Weren’t you not going to dodge!?

While Kai was just opening and closing his mouth with his eyes wide in shock, Amon scratched his head as if he was surprised too and said.

“Sorry, sorry. I unconsciously dodged.”

“……”

“Yeah, I wasn’t planning to dodge but I think I unconsciously dodged because it hurt so much when I got hit earlier. Really sorry, Kai.”

“……”

Gritting his teeth, Kai gripped his sword again and said.

“……Then I’ll go once more.”

At those words, Amon opened his eyes wide as if saying what are you talking about.

“What? It’s my turn now, right?”

“……Excuse me?”

“You just attacked once, right? So it’s my turn.”

“……Bu-but you dodged! Then I should attack again, right?”

At those words, Amon sighed as if saying don’t talk nonsense and said.

“Hey kid, we need to be fair. If you attacked, then fairly it’s my turn to attack now, right? If I dodged, then you can fairly dodge too, right?”

“……Wh-what did you say?”

“Now, dodge.”

Amon swung his sword.

Whoosh-!

Flying like a kicked ball, Kai rolled on the ground.

“Kuh, cough……”

Though it was a sudden attack, Kai tried his best to dodge Amon’s sword.

But he couldn’t dodge it.

What that fact implied was clear.

‘Th-this guy……is strong!’

Clearly from the aura he gives off, he’s an ordinary person who hasn’t learned swordsmanship or magic.

However, the intense pain in his shoulder testified to Amon’s strength.

In other words, he’s an opponent worth going all out against.

The emotion enveloping Kai, an Empire’s expert, was definitely ‘fighting spirit’.

Sword Master highest grade.

8th Circle magician.

As Kai used his mana at full power, a five-colored brilliant aura blade wrapped around his wooden sword, and the mana in the air violently swirled.

Whoosh-!

Facing Amon who was frowning at the wind hitting him head-on, Kai said.

“……I’ll go all out from now on.”

To those words brimming with fighting spirit, Amon blocked the wind with his hand and said.

“Wait, wait.”

“……What is it?”

“Going all out is fine, but……”

Pointing at Kai’s sword, Amon said.

“Don’t use the aura blade?”

“……Excuse me?”

Casually swinging his wooden sword, Amon said.

“I can’t use aura blade, you know?”

“……”

“But if you use aura blade, that’s not fair, right? Don’t you think so?”

“Well……”

“Don’t use magic either. I can’t use magic. If you use magic, that’s not fair either, right?”

“Wh-what kind of……?”

About to say what kind of sophistry is this, Kai flinched and shut his mouth.

Educate all students ‘fairly’.

Amon was directly mocking such a claim of his.

“That’s nonsense……!”

“Why is it nonsense?”

Amon, who had already lowered his wooden sword, continued in a cold voice.

“How is what I said different from what you said? Boris struggles to keep up with Chloe and Raymond’s sword training. But you forced Boris to follow them, right? Fairly, as you say. So I’m telling you fairly not to use aura blade and magic either, what’s different?”

“Non-nonsense……!”

Nonsense?

Walking toward Kai step by step, Amon thought.

‘I’m exposed!’

As Kai said, his argument is nonsense that only looks good on the surface!

‘……But I can’t say it’s completely wrong. Maybe that’s why that guy is shaking right now.’

Then what should he do now?

Agree with the opponent’s opinion!

“Of course, educating fairly as you say is important too.”

“……What?”

“Educating all students without discrimination? Your words are certainly right.”

At the sudden affirmation, Kai’s eyes wavered.

“However.”

Speaking powerfully, Amon continued.

“Each student is absolutely not the same.”

“……!”

Kai widened his eyes, and Amon continued.

“Chloe is deeply learning the Pid family’s swordsmanship. Raymond is separately learning his own unique swordsmanship deeply. Boris, as you know, is learning magic.”

“……”

“As I said, each student is different. But you’re giving the same education your way?”

Placing his hand on Kai’s shoulder, Amon said.

“Is that really fair?”

“……!”

The mana that had been swirling around Kai had completely disappeared.

The aura blade had also vanished, and his fighting spirit was completely broken to the point where none could be found.

Amon smiled faintly.

‘Hmm, he’s about half cooked now.’

Amon pressed on.

“As I said, being fair is important. But that means you should be ‘fair when treating students.'”

“……Fair when treating students.”

“Yes. So you ‘fairly educate what each one wants and dreams of.’ Not mindlessly giving the same education to all students to make them all the same.”

“……”

“That’s why I said earlier. Education shouldn’t be equal but should be ‘just.'”

“Equal and just……”

Seeing Kai’s eyes slowly closing, Amon thought.

‘……Is this right?’

I don’t know!

I just blabbered whatever came out of my mouth!

Meanwhile, Kai was deep in thought.

‘Equal and just.’

Though they seem similar at first glance, the two are clearly different.

Equal means not being biased to either side.

While just is.

‘Equality involving individual subjective judgment. That is what’s just.’

Kai looked at Boris.

‘A student who dreams of becoming a magician.’

He forced such a boy to receive ‘the same education as other students equally’.

But even if a student dreaming of becoming a magician trains in swordsmanship, could they achieve the same results as the other two students who set their minds on swordsmanship?

That’s impossible.

‘……It’s not just.’

Kai tightly closed his eyes.

‘Is that why Senior Amon said it? To distinguish between equal and just.’

No! I just said whatever came to mind!

But not knowing this fact, Kai was deeply moved.

Drip-!

A streak of tears flowing down his cheek at his own ignorance!

“……Senior Amon.”

“Uh, huh?”

Why is he suddenly crying?

Anyway, having reached enlightenment, Kai fell to his knees.

“To give such teaching to foolish me……As expected of someone worthy of being designated as the head of academic affairs at such a young age……”

Looking at the reaction, it seems to have worked properly.

Plus the words head of academic affairs! Putting on airs, Amon cleared his throat vigorously.

“Ahem! Kai, you’ve finally understood my deep meaning.”

“Sob, yes……As expected of Senior Amon.”

“Hahaha, yes. Yes.”

“Please continue to guide me in the future, Head of Academic Affairs Amon!”

“Hahaha! Yes, just trust and follow Head of Academic Affairs Amon……”

“Head of Academic Affairs?”

Suddenly a voice from behind!

Turning around, Amon’s eyes widened.

There was Sloth, frowning while vigorously drying her wet hair with a towel.

“You’re the Head of Academic Affairs? What does that mean?”