Conquering the Academy with Just a Sashimi Knife (Novel) - Chapter 101 - Resolution (4)

Chapter 101 – Resolution (4)

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Translated by Jinmu

Read only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

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About thirty minutes passed….

“…And with that, my explanation ends here.”

At last, Speed Weapon’s mouth stopped moving. Deep exhaustion spread across the faces of those who had been listening.

At first Weapon had stumbled over his words out of tension, but once his gift of gab kicked in, he talked without pause.

There could hardly be anyone other than Weapon who could exhaust these three through nothing but his tongue.

‘I knew he talked a lot, but not to this extent……’

But because the content itself was heavy, a cold and solemn wind settled over the room.

There were two main points in Weapon’s explanation.

The first was what had happened during the finals.

Weapon described the situation back then with vivid immediacy. As though he himself had been there.

No matter how much I had tipped him off beforehand, Weapon was a born genius when it came to speaking.

And the second was the uncomfortable truth that villains were hidden within the academy.

The incident during the finals, along with the list of suspected individuals, was the evidence.

Resting her chin on one hand, Media scanned over the printout Weapon had handed over. Before long, her beautiful eyes twisted.

Without being able to take her eyes off the paper, she pressed at her temple.

“…So there’s a high chance these are those half-human, half-demon trash bastards, right?”

“Yes. Even after repeated review, only those people had murky circumstances regarding how they got jobs at the academy, their movements afterward, and even their identities. It’s too early to conclude, but in effect, they’re the most suspicious figures.”

“……”

When Weapon’s additional answer ended, Media pressed hard at the bridge of her nose with one hand.

Since we were in front of cadets, she maintained as composed an expression as possible, but there was no way she could hide all of the tangled thoughts within her.

Soon, she parted the lips she had been holding tightly shut.

“I just checked these five with my unique blessing, and the result is that with an extremely high probability, they are not people on the academy’s side.”

Even as she said that, Media suddenly crushed the paper in her hand.

In that instant, the last trace of doubt disappeared from Media’s face, leaving only naked anger.

If she had even manifested her unique blessing, then there was no longer any reason to hesitate.

‘Blessing of Discernment.’

It was the blessing that allowed her to vaguely observe and judge the cause and result of any event, and the power that had earned Media the title of `Sage.`

Just from hearing about it, it sounded like a broken blessing capable of preventing every incident in advance.

However, it came with the restriction that there had to be physical evidence.

To put it simply, she could search anything within her mind, but only if she had a solid keyword to begin with.

Then again, if there had been no restriction at all, the narrative of this game-based world would have ended before it even began.

‘…Well, even so, it still is a broken ability.’

One of the reasons I had deliberately put that paper in front of Media was precisely to cross-check it through her unique blessing.

There’s that old saying about tapping on a stone bridge before crossing it, after all. There’s no harm in being cautious.

Once Media had organized her thoughts to some degree, she let out a sigh thick with complicated emotion.

“…But putting that aside……”

Suddenly, Media stared at us with half-lidded eyes.

“How exactly did you cadets manage to print out a list of staff members? Care to explain?”

“……”

At the unexpected question, Weapon’s pupils shook violently.

He spoke incredibly well, yet he was terrible at acting. Ignoring his anxious gaze as best I could, I began weighing things in my head.

Should I make an excuse, or tell the truth?

I had intended to gloss over the source of the information. Because Ryozo had broken into the academy network and extracted it.

At a minimum, there would be no avoiding severe disciplinary action. But if I tried to give Media a half-true excuse in front of her, she would notice at once.

More than anything, Ryozo, who was still hospitalized, weighed on my mind. Her body and mind were both in poor shape at the moment.

If grave punishment like major discipline were added on top of that, it would cause Ryozo serious harm. The process had not been legal, but I couldn’t very well pin everything on an injured girl.

I quickly worked my brain. Even in my previous life I hadn’t been very educated, but I had always been good at cunning.

‘……’

Having reached a conclusion in an instant, I flicked Weapon a look. When our eyes met, his eyes seemed to say, `I’m trusting you, President.`

As if answering that, I nodded and said to Media:

“Weapon and I hacked the academy network together.”

“…P-President?”

The moment the words left my mouth, Weapon’s jaw fell wide open. Media too asked with obvious shock:

“The two of you broke through security that’s considered among the best in the world……?”

“Yes. I, as the president, gave the order, and Weapon carried out the hack. For all that he seems like this, he’s second in the year. He’s clever, and as good with computers as he is with his brain.”

“W-wait, President!”

Weapon’s urgent gaze struck the side of my face. Keeping my expression as blank as possible, I continued:

“I fully understood that it was wrong.”

“……”

“I intended to tell you first, but time was too tight before vacation. And I also trusted that if it was you, Headmaster, you would understand.”

Act first, report later.

If you bind yourself only to regulations and frameworks, you miss the timing.

The saying’s usage was a little different here, but I judged that it was right to blur the point at issue.

Hide `who` attempted the hack, and shift the topic to `why.`

A faint sense of guilt stirred in me toward Weapon. But what else could I ? If I, the president, told him to take the fall, then he took the fall.

I met Media’s gaze, full of disbelief. All the while maintaining the most expressionless face I could.

“…Ha.”

Before long, she pressed at her temple and shook her head, letting out a sigh heavy with complicated feelings.

“The intent was good, so I’ll let it go this time… but never do that again, you two.”

“Thank you for understanding, Headmaster.”

“I’m only trusting you because of everything you’ve done so far, Geom-ma. If it had been some other kid, it would’ve been discipline or expulsion with no discussion.”

I gave her a faint smile and expressed my gratitude for her generosity.

“…S-survived.”

Only then did all strength seem to leave Weapon, and he made the sound of air rushing out of a balloon.

‘…Still, he never said Ryozo’s name to the end.’

In truth, if Weapon had protested right away, it would have all been over.

He had only gone along reluctantly because I had asked him, so in reality he was probably deeply aggrieved.

And yet Weapon, though dazed, never dragged Ryozo’s name into it.

He had probably been thinking something similar to what I was.

I gave Weapon, who was wiping cold sweat away with his sleeve, a faint smile.

Perhaps realizing what I meant, he gave me an awkward smile in return.

It struck me again just how considerate he was.

Standing among women with stricter moral lines made that trait stand out even more, but there was no doubting that this was simply the kind of person he was by nature.

Once the brief commotion subsided, the Sword Emperor, who had been quietly listening, opened his mouth.

“…Still, this has become a bit troublesome. If we were to strike the elders today-”

In the middle of speaking, the Sword Emperor seemed to belatedly register our presence and cut himself off.

As a complicated expression rose on his face, Altair spoke with a quiet smile.

“Sword Emperor, should not they too know, since they are involved parties?”

“…Ha, you are right. It seems I have indeed grown old. I failed to trust them merely because of their age.”

“Zig, you’ve always been an old fogey. What’s there to say `now` for?”

At Media’s joke, the Sword Emperor glared at her briefly with narrowed eyes.

Soon afterward, he let out a small sigh and deliberately hardened his expression. Whether I knew for sure or not, the mood was clearly that of someone about to say something weighty.

The Sword Emperor turned his head and asked Media’s opinion with his eyes. She rolled her eyes in thought for a moment, then nodded.

Having confirmed her would, the Sword Emperor paused briefly before speaking.

“Originally, we intended to go to Cladi’s private annex tonight.”

“…You mean Elder Cladi?”

Thinking perhaps I had misheard, I asked back, and the Sword Emperor nodded and continued:

“Kang Geom-ma, the force that sought to slander you and your companions was the Elder Council. And among them, the ringleader was a man called `Cladi.`”

“……”

“And through House Auditore, we had just secured the evidence and were about to question them. Of course, if it were up to me……”

The Sword Emperor replaced the rest of his sentence by resting his hand on the hilt at his waist.

The fact that the force slandering us was the Elder Council wasn’t especially surprising, since I had already heard that much from Nox before.

But unlike before, when the ringleader had remained unclear, now even a name had been pinned down.

That strange surge of excitement lasted only a moment before I understood the meaning of the shadow that had fallen across the Sword Emperor’s face.

‘…Even if he knows who the ringleader is, it would still be hard for him to strike right away.’

No matter how solid the evidence was, if he summarily punished the Elder Council, which had deep roots within the academy, a huge storm would erupt.

It would be difficult even with full legitimacy on his side.

The backlash from the noble faction centered around the Elder Council would be fierce. More importantly, the Sword Emperor had already stepped down from his position among the Seven Stars.

No matter how powerful the Sword Emperor was, there was no denying that his authority was shallower than before.

Even if Sage Media, one of the Seven Stars, and Altair of House Auditore cooperated, there would be endless talk afterward.

‘Well, it’s not like the Sword Emperor was the sort of person to care about gossip.’

Still, even someone like him would want to refrain from actions that might burden the people around him.

Above all, because it could indirectly affect his granddaughter Abel.

The Sword Emperor cleared the complicated feelings from his face and spoke again.

“That aside, if we strike the elders too directly, these villain bastards will disappear from the academy at once. Since it would amount to their existence being exposed.”

“…Right. If that happens, there’s a high chance we’ll never find them again. But we also can’t just leave those old-fogey bastard elders alone. I don’t care about the others, but if I don’t crush that bastard Cladi with my own hands, I won’t be satisfied.”

Killing intent spilled from Media’s eyes.

‘…No wonder she’s frustrated.’

Unless we burst into the scene where the villains and the elders were gathered together all at once, there was no choice but to let one side get away.

And so, the most important thing was gathering all that trash in one place, but there was no suitable method for doing so.

They weren’t stupid enough to fall for a message like `[Please gather here by x o’clock^^].`

‘It would be perfect if there were someone who could summon the villains too, and who also had a link to the elders.’

At that moment, a streak of electricity pierced straight through my temple.

‘Why didn’t I think of her sooner?’

That was it, the key that could untangle this situation wound up like a ball of thread.

I swiftly pulled out my phone and made a call somewhere.

It was rude to act like this in front of adults, but this wasn’t the time to worry about small matters, so I decided to ignore it.

Ddu- ddu- click!

The other party picked up.

-Yes, Geom-ma nim! What was itty-bitty thing did you need?

A woman’s voice, twisting her pronunciation as much as possible as if trying to act cute. Ignoring the annoying aegyo, I spoke in a low voice.

“Hey, Choi Seol-ah.”

-…Y-yes?

“You said the villains don’t know each other’s faces or names, right?”

-Yes, that was riiight.

As I had heard from Choi Seol-ah before, they had no private meetings or exchanges at all, only a villain referred to as `the professor` acting as a point of contact.

Well, even if they were under false identities, criminals wouldn’t exactly be happy to show each other their faces.

I organized my thoughts, then gave the next instruction.

“From now on, the names I’m about to read out are all villains, so gather every one of them. There has to be some kind of regular meetup spot where you villain types gather.”

-Th-that was true, but… what did you just say……?

I replied briefly:

“A chain letter.”

Use the barbarians to lure in the barbarians.

That too was one of the old and time-honored proverbs.

* * *

After ending the short phone call, I immediately gave the Sword Emperor a condensed explanation of what had been said.

To summarize, it was this.

Altair, who had the authority to punish nobles, would raid Cladi’s annex, while the Sword Emperor and Media would strike the place where the villains would be.

The Sword Emperor looked both puzzled and dumbfounded. It made sense. I had talked on the phone for a few minutes and then suddenly recited the gathering place of the villains….

‘What would he think of me if I told him I was using a former villain like a dog on a leash?’

Not only the Sword Emperor, but Media and Altair too stared at me with blank expressions.

But I didn’t say anything one way or the other.

To explain how I was using former-villain Choi Seol-ah as a line into all this would take too long. And by comparison, we had very little time.

“For now, let’s move, all of us. I’ll explain later.”

At my words, everyone looked stunned. A brief silence fell while they organized their thoughts, then they nodded and sprang up from their seats.

The Sword Emperor rubbed the hilt at his waist and then asked Altair:

“How many people came from Sicilia?”

“Just in case, I brought eight of the elite from our house.”

“…Eight, hmm……”

The Sword Emperor muttered quietly.

No matter how skilled Auditore’s assassins were, there was still enormous risk in attacking an elder’s annex.

Because the knight order entrusted with guarding the Elder Council was always protecting the annex.

Yet if they borrowed help from elsewhere, the point of the surprise attack would be lost.

“……”

Complicated emotion could be felt in the Sword Emperor’s eyes, shining gold under the moonlight.

I watched him in silence for a moment, then finally opened my mouth.

“I’ll go with Auditore to Cladi’s annex.”

At my words, every gaze turned toward me.

Before anyone’s lips could move, I hammered the point in:

“I want to accompany them as one of the victims. All of you know my skill, so there’s no need to worry. And-”

Just before speaking the last line, I suddenly looked up at the night sky beyond the window.

I repeated in my mind the resolve I had engraved there while looking at the moon from the hospital corridor last night.

‘Great power needs a corresponding position and responsibility.’

I drew in a deep breath and said in a low voice:

“-I’m the next Seven Star who will succeed the Sword Emperor, am I not?”

The eyes fixed on me widened to the point of tearing apart.

Only the Sword Emperor looked straight into my eyes. Then he raised the corners of his deeply lined mouth and smiled.

“It seems you’ve finally steeled your resolve.”