Shinka no Mi

Chapter 141: The Academy’s Closure

「———The Academy will be shut down…」

「Eh?」

『Hah?』

Five days after the Academy Festival.

Olga-chan and I were walking back to the classroom carrying teaching materials when I heard Beatrice-san say so before the homeroom even started.

Eh, rather….. shut down?

……

「SHUT DOOOWWWNNN!?!?!?」

『EEEEEEHHHHHH!?!?!?!?』

「Oi Seiichi, why are you surprised as well!?」

I was retorted by Al who, for some reason, was in the classroom. Eh, I was surprised BECAUSE I didn’t know!

Then, Beatrice-san explained, with her face expressed full of guilt.

「I’m sorry…. We were informed about it by the Principal in the staff room while you went to take the study materials, Seiichi-san. And since it shocked me so much, I didn’t notice Seiichi-san wasn’t there….」

「…Aah! Come to think of it, Seiichi wasn’t there. I forgot about that till now….」

「My presence is weak! No, I’m fine with that though!」

Well, you obviously don’t have enough mind to spare for me if you heard that the Academy will be closed.

Could it be that the reason why Al is in the classroom is because there won’t be any class anyway since the academy is being closed?

Rather, isn’t it still out of the blue!? Why and how could such a decision be made!?

It’s true that the distrust over the incident that involved the assailant from the 【Demon God Cult】 has been growing, but didn’t Barna-san throw the Academy Fest to brighten the mood for that particular reason!? It’s all meaningless if the Academy is shut down!

Just what were all those embarrassing hours for…. Ah, recalling them makes me want to die. I shouldn’t dig any deeper than this.

「B-, Beatrice-neesan! Why so suddenly…」

When Agnos seemingly involuntarily asked her that, Beatrice-san flashed her eyes to Blued with a frown.

「…Apparently, the Kaizer Empire will take rein of the Academy.」

「Wha!?」

「!? No way!」

Kaizer Empire? Why?

There was a lot that I wanted to say, but seeing that Blued, a royalty…. and the second prince at that, wasn’t even informed about it surprised us even further.

「Impossible! It doesn’t matter even if the Kaizer Empire…. even if Father wishes to consolidate the whole world under his flag, this Academy is supported by various countries financially and in human resources, both students and teachers alike. Trying to monopolize the region all by himself…. there is no way the other countries will stay quiet.」

「I’m not informed about the details, but… it seems like, the Empire’s influence has spread to most parts of the continent.」

「HAAH!? What the hell’s with that!? How did that happen!? I know it’s a big empire, but it’s still just a single country!」

It was just as Agnos said, Beatrice-san’s words were hard to believe.

After all, if the Kaizer Empire did invade other countries for some kind of cause, the other countries would be wary of it and make an alliance …. Anyway, they would surely make some kind of countermeasure.

How could countermeasures like that be easily put down? And moreover, how could they even unify the whole world all at the same time? That’s downright impossible.

「…Hold on. When you said “influence,” you meant the empire invaded them, right….? And you said most parts of the continent….!? Varshal Empire… what about Varshal Empire….!?」

「Oi, Helen!?」

「C-, c-, c-, calm down! W-, what’s the matter!?」

Helen, who seemed out of herself, went to approach Beatrice-san, but Agnos and the other students desperately tried to soothe her down.

Varshal Empire? I feel like I’ve heard that before, but…. I can’t remember.*

Rather than that, looking how much it affects Helen, is it her homeland?

「Helen-san, please calm down. While indeed most countries are under substantial jurisdiction of the Kaizer Empire, there are 4 countries amongst them that still show resistance to date, which are the Varshal Empire, Wimburg Kingdom, Eastern Country, and the Demons’ country. However, the war is still about to break anytime soon, so it’s still unknown until when the stalemate will last…」

「…I’m relieved to hear that. I’m following Seiichi to get stronger, but if the country I am meant to protect had gone, then I……」

「Yes. I myself came here to study under shisho’s tutelage….. but if the fatherland to which I belong had vanished, then I wouldn’t be laughing even if you say so as a joke.」

「……」

That’s right… Louis and Lutia are not unrelated to this topic. Of course, me too.

Lutia shackled herself free from the Demon Army…. Well, ultimately, they gave her the permission though, but she did so to follow me to get stronger.

Of course, it’s also meant to protect her from the 【Demon God Cult】, but she had made her decision to get stronger back during our time in the serpent dungeon.

Even Louise somehow managed to convince Ranze-san to come along with me.

…But, if what Beatrice-san said is true, then Wimburg Kingdom where my parents are would be fine. Well, I don’t need to worry about them since there are still the soldiers and those perverts from the guild, not to mention Zeanos, the former Heroes, Lucius-san, as well as Saria’s parents…. Eh? Isn’t the battle strength there overwhelming…. Well, whatever!

Helen, who heard that the Varshal Empire was still doing fine for the time being, threw herself to her seat. Hmm… really, what’s wrong with her?

「…Continuing the talk, with the Kaizer Empire controlling various countries, the Academy can no longer maintain the neutrality status. And, apparently about a week ago, someone from the Empire had come to directly meet the Principal, and they promised they wouldn’t disturb the students if we close the academy and send you children to your own home」

「…I see, so the one who brought the message was the commander of the second army, is it.」

「Ah? Do you know him?」

「…More or less. If it was the other units, then they wouldn’t so easily let the students go willy-nilly.… Or rather, those lots would just shamelessly use us as hostages. That’s why, if there was anyone who suggested this, then it would be him.」

「…Heey, it’s not like I want shit on your country, but why is it so bullcrap?」

「………I don’t have the words to deny it. Forgive me.」

Very unusual of him, Blued bowed his head to Agnos.

Well, at any rate, now I understand why the Academy is being closed. No, I mean, I still can’t accept it, you see.

There was another question that popped up along.

「Umm… Can I ask something?」

「Yes, what is it?」

「If what you and Blued said is true, Beatrice-san, then the students will be returned to their home, right?」

「Yes, that’s correct. The principal made this decision as he was worried about the students’ safety.」

「I see… Then, what about a teacher like me?」

「Fired.」

「Dear me, how frank!」

「Can’t you at least put on some airs!?」

Al spunked my head. No, even if you told me to…. being like this is my quality, you see.

Or rather, I’m a student back on Earth before I’m a teacher here, so that means I got fired from my job before I even graduated from school? Whoo! That’s rare!

While I kept losing my tense from all the new information, Beatrice-san looked over all the students of class F.

「…Actually, I want to continue teaching all of you until the end, but… it seems like my wish can’t be fulfilled. Fufu… Everyone seems to have been serious with your studies, so I was looking for the exam week… 」

「Beatrice-san….」

Beatrice-san had always been serious about their education even before they could use magic…. and nobody could’ve imagined that this was how it would end.

「…Now, we don’t have the time to be sad. Apparently, the people from the Empire will come again today for the last check up. The heroes had been brought back when they first came here, but the rest of the students still have to pack things up——」

「W-, wait a minute!」

I reflexively cut Beatrice-san’s words.

But, still….!

「”Brought back” you said…So, the heroes are now not in the Academy!?」

It’s true that I haven’t seen Kannazuki-senpai and them since after we cleaned up the Academy Festival, but I thought it was because the Heroes didn’t run a stall and, moreover, I was under the misconception that they were instructed to not get nearby.

I never get a glimpse of them even after that… or rather, there’s hardly any factor that lets us meet aside from Kannazuki-senpai’s usual raids.

That’s why I didn’t really put it in mind, but….

「Seiichi-san, please look at this.」

「Eh, this is….?」

Beatrice-san handed me a letter.

「I was given this by the Principal. It seems like it’s a letter Kannazuki-san left for you.」

「!」

I hurriedly opened the letter and read through the content.

And then…..

「…Kannazuki-senpai sure never changes.」

There she wrote that she couldn’t abandon the teachers and the other heroes precisely because her bracelets no longer worked the same as theirs. In her own words, she said that she would do what she could, while I should do what I could.

Ever since a long time ago, Kannazuki-senpai had been helping everyone around her, putting them before herself.

That was why everyone admired and respected her.

She remained unchanged even after we were in another world.

…No, in a sense, she has changed in the most “special” way!

「…But, I’m sure that’s not all.」

Kannazuki-senpai always thinks to… never involve me in her troubles.

That is why she didn’t tell me about it. Of course, if she went to tell me about it, she knew I wouldn’t let her go to the Kaizer Empire.

「Phew… I still can’t accept it, but… making a fuss here won’t do anything, after all.」

To be honest, I just couldn’t understand why they wouldn’t just leave us alone.

Even the students, they would leave the school not because they wanted to.

Really… what is good about war….

While the entire class was filled with a gloomy atmosphere, Blued unexpectedly bowed his head to everyone.

「…I am terribly sorry. My country… my father has caused so much…」

I couldn’t see what expression Blued made, but his voice was trembling.

But———.

「Haah…Oi, I’ve said this before, you ain’t related shit to this. The one who does all this crap is your shitty dad. You don’t apologize for him!」

「T-, th-, that’s right! Blued-kun isn’t at fault!」

「…Don’t mind it… well, that’ll be impossible for you, but… You have no reason to attack yourself for it.」

Agnos, Leon-kun, and Bead were correct; the fault wasn’t on him.

Sure, he was the second prince of the Kaizer Empire, but it wasn’t like he could choose his birth circumstances either. It would be strange to blame him for that.

Receiving his classmates’ words, Blued’s body shook, still unable to lift his head up.

「Father…. Just what…………. I’m sorry…. I’m really… sorry…」

「Blued……」

……If I didn’t have any ties with the Kaizer Empire, I would’ve made my action towards them here and now, but… for Blued, the Emperor is his own father.

There’s a lot of complicated feelings involved, but precisely because I treasure my own parents, when I thought myself to be in his shoes…. I can see myself unable to take any action swiftly.

………Yosh, I made up my mind.

「Beatrice-san. You said that the people from Kaizer Empire will come today, right?」

「Eh? Y-, yes.」

「A-, Aniki?」

Exposed to my question, Beatrice-san and the students looked at me dubiously.

「Well, I gave it a lot of thoughts, you see…. I’m not really experienced at this, and moreover, I don’t know what’s the correct option to takein this situation, since I’m hella dumb after all.」

No matter how big a mess the Kaizer Empire is making, there are still people living there, unrelated to all of it

And there’s nothing I can do about it.

That’s why….

「Since I’ll be fired after this anyway, let’s go complain!」

『Eh? C-, complain?』

Receiving my statements, the students expressed their dumbfound.

_______________________________________________________________

*The Varshal Empire is first mentioned during the Eatery Contest back at Terveil. There was a contestant who came from there to challenge the Terveil’s Eating Champ. Of course, the one who won was Rurune.