Chapter 7 - 7. The Entrance Ceremony, the Attack, and the Ancient Dragon (1)
I feel like I'm on the verge of losing my mind with frustration.
It's not like I just blurted things out without thinking.
I'd checked that the academy had an Illusion Magic Department. I even confirmed that illusion beasts, a convenient plot device, hadn't been used in the entrance exams.
And yet, all that planning turned out to be utterly pointless?
"An illusion beast for a mock assault—only you would come up with such an intriguing idea."
Oblivious to my burning frustration, Headmaster Sion simply beamed at me, clearly growing fonder by the minute.
"…It was a slip of the tongue. If such a disturbance breaks out during the ceremony, students might get hurt. Let's just forget about it."
I quickly tried to cover up my mistake, but her response was a brutal counter.
"That won't be an issue. I'll personally supervise the mock assault, so there's no chance anyone will get injured."
This is the ancient dragon herself speaking.
The mighty dragon who witnessed the empire's founding and lived through its history.
With a being like that taking personal responsibility, there was no room to raise concerns about safety. Using injury risks as an excuse was now entirely out of the question.
"It'll be a good opportunity to test the students' emergency response abilities. And after that recent demonic attack, a little reminder of danger could be useful."
The headmaster paused as if struck by a thought, then let out a quiet "ah," as though she'd had a sudden realization.
"I see! You must've been worrying about the students' safety since that attack happened!"
An assault on the academy.
We'd gotten lucky and avoided casualties last time, but there was no guarantee it wouldn't happen again.
So, according to the ancient dragon's narrative, I, Lian, the devoted, caring professor, came up with this plan to train the students in emergency response to protect them….
That's how she was framing it. Though she was talking about me, I couldn't have felt more disconnected from this portrayal.
"This is all a misunderstanding. I'm hardly that devoted to my students."
Doesn't she have dragon eyes that see through lies? She should be able to tell I'm being sincere.
"Ahaha, our new professor has quite a sense of humor. If you don't care about the students, then who would?"
She laughed heartily, giving my shoulder a few taps.
I should've guessed this from the moment she promoted me after I insulted her tea to her face. But the ancient dragon seemed utterly oblivious, like she'd lost all sense.
"We're on a tight schedule, but… I suppose the student council president can handle the ceremony itself. It's just a bunch of formal speeches anyway."
With the Saintess and the empire's Second Princess attending, shouldn't we at least stick to the basic protocol? That thought never left my lips.
The unpredictable headmaster disappeared as soon as she made her decision, likely heading toward the Illusion Magic Department.
'I think things are starting to go horribly wrong.'
If this training exercise I suggested goes smoothly and proves effective, it'll undoubtedly be credited as my achievement.
Merit covers mistakes. The ancient dragon would probably use that excuse to shield me from the backlash from Class A. All the reputation points I'd worked to lose would be meaningless.
'…I can't let that happen.'
Sweat trickled down my face.
This was only the worst-case scenario, but given my recent streak of extraordinary misfortune, I had to tread carefully.
I couldn't rely on luck to ruin the illusion beast mock assault. I had to sabotage it myself.
With that, I made my decision.
I would personally make sure this training exercise, my "brilliant idea," was a total disaster.
The Imperial Academy's entrance ceremony.
A sense of nervous anticipation filled the students' faces.
Of course, it was natural for students to feel anxious before such an important event, but this time the professors seemed even more on edge than the students.
"How are we supposed to run the entrance ceremony without the headmaster…?"
"Do you have any illusion mages you can pull in? Bring over anyone who knows illusion magic, even from the security team!"
"Are you joking? We're conducting a mock assault, and you want to pull guards off duty?"
The professors were half out of their minds, scrambling to prepare for the event Headmaster Sion had decided on barely ten minutes earlier.
Chaotic didn't even begin to describe the situation.
The schedule was impossibly tight.
But the work proceeded smoothly despite the circumstances. This was the Imperial Academy, after all—an institution that turned the impossible into reality with its elite personnel.
The commotion soon quieted. The student council president, evidently used to the headmaster's whims, ran the ceremony with practiced ease.
And though the professors had been in an uproar moments before, they wore stern expressions, unshaken in front of the students.
Some students were curious about the headmaster's absence, but most were too caught up in their own excitement to notice, taking their seats with eager anticipation.
And then, the moment arrived.
Boom!
A thunderous explosion echoed.
At the same time, a wall of the auditorium burst apart, revealing a massive figure—a colossal beast.
It was the Minotaur, a monster from ancient mythology.
"–!"
The earth-shaking roar struck terror into the students' hearts, draining their faces of color. Instinctively, every fiber of their being screamed at them to flee.
Now began the true test.
The role of the professors was to observe how the students responded and acted in this emergency.
My goal, however, was to get branded as a terrible teacher.
While the other professors quietly observed, I alone panicked, shouting in a loud voice.
"Run for your lives! This isn't a drill!!"
My voice reverberated through the auditorium.
The professors' faces filled with confusion. Everyone knew from the headmaster that I'd proposed this mock assault.
It was just a test to evaluate student responses.
Having a professor interfere would defeat the purpose entirely.
Of course, that was obvious to everyone, but I ignored it and charged toward the monster.
I scooped up a student frozen in place, pulling her to safety just before the beast's massive axe could strike her.
The young girl trembled, clutching me in tears. Knowing that the ancient dragon would have protected her anyway, I felt a bit awkward. But for survival's sake, I steeled myself to play the part.
Standing between the students and the beast, I declared confidently.
"Everyone, stay back. I'll handle this thing."
While the students looked on in awe, the professors regarded me as if I were deranged.
Everything was going perfectly according to plan.
After I ruined the exercise, I could simply claim, "I was so worried about the students that my mind went blank, and I forgot it was a drill."
A guaranteed label as an incompetent professor, maybe even a shot at getting fired.
There was some risk of suspicion, but if I kept up the "passionate professor" act, it might work.
"…Come at me."
I took a dramatic stance in front of the monster.
Once they found out it was just an illusion beast and that I'd made a fool of myself, my reputation would plummet.
The thought of how far I'd fall once the truth came out brought a smile to my face.
"P-Professor Lian…."
The slight grin, the fearless stance against a colossal foe—it all made for an impressive scene, by sheer accident.
As murmurs of admiration and countless gazes gathered on me, I realized this was actually even better.
The higher they raise you, the harder you fall.
The more my reputation rose, the greater the backlash would be once my antics were revealed.
With that certainty, I faced down the Minotaur.
But then, from nearby, a strange noise interrupted my thoughts.
Chirp! Chirp!
A familiar, almost endearing sound.
I glanced over and spotted an orc. A classic fantasy monster.
But something was off about the orc. Its body kept flickering and distorting, as if unstable.
It looked almost like… a fake monster created with illusion magic.
The thought turned my face pale. If that orc was indeed one of the illusion beasts Headmaster Sion had prepared for this exercise…
Then what on earth was the beast I was facing?