Ch.156156. The Beginning

Fuck!

…

The curse word reached her ears. The Saintess, who was about to cast a holy spell, flinched in surprise and stepped back.

The surprise was momentary.

As time passed, she found herself laughing without realizing it. Not because it was funny, but because it was absurd.

She had been dispatched to the Academy just hours ago.

She’d heard that madness was rampant at the Academy, but seeing it firsthand exceeded her imagination.

It wasn’t just the exchange of curses that was shocking, but the violence that had resulted in bloodshed. And it hadn’t happened in the training grounds but in the dormitory, not through formal dueling but through ambush.

“That bastard…”

“A little first-year punk who doesn’t know his place is cursing at me. Want another stab wound? Don’t dodge and just come at me! …I said come!”

“You think I can’t?!”

About seven students growling at each other despite being restrained.

A chubby freshman kept squirming and spewing anger, while the senior student receiving it was openly sneering. Beside them, an injured student was writhing in pain, crying out “Augh… uwaah!”

The professors watching these students already looked like they had given up.

“These crazy bastards. Still at it even here.”

“Should we separate them?”

“No, let them keep growling at each other. They’re finished anyway, so let them vent their frustrations. …By the way, I wonder if they’ll go to the mines or the logging camp. …Oh, didn’t the Ministry of Mining recently ask to look for some bat cave?”

“Professor, they’re still our students.”

Professors mocking their own disciples. They seemed agitated from the process of subduing the students who had engaged in knife fights.

Gang Hannah was watching the scene with a dejected expression.

Her lips were slightly parted without her realizing it, and her face and clothes were spattered with blood from the injured students.

Just hours ago, she had been reading mathematics and agricultural texts at the church.

Of course, it was at The Hero’s request. He had asked her to spread knowledge about mathematics and chemistry to the Empire’s young officials and professors.

It was a strange world where mythril could be refined without coke, and where “real” elixirs could be made using unicorn blood and Ancient Trent sap, but that didn’t mean Hannah’s high school-level knowledge was useless.

However, feeling uncertain about how to convey this knowledge, she had been reading books when she was summoned to the Academy.

Now she thought she should have refused, but it was too late to turn back.

‘This is like the Demonic Land.’

She didn’t want to compare the Academy, where the Empire’s sprouts (poisonous weeds) studied, to the Demonic Land.

But even to her, who had actually been to the real Demonic Land, the situation at the Academy seemed horrific.

It wasn’t just because there were injuries; the whole incident was a disaster from start to finish.

– Saintess. Thanks to the lottery, about 50 students have come into large sums of money. Some of them were sent to labor camps, while others returned after just receiving disciplinary action, but it seems those fellows used their winnings as stakes for gambling.

– They apparently held dice games, odd-even betting, and card gambling several times a week in the dormitory. They bribed the dormitory supervisor, so they weren’t caught.

– The stakes were substantial, and over 120 students participated directly. Some students ended up in debt relationships because of the gambling… and as emotions ran high, this terrible incident eventually occurred.

This was the account given by Professor Weaver, who was also part of The Hero’s party.

What was more surprising was that the gambling didn’t stop even after The Hero held the bloody banquet. They just did it in secret.

Although those who directly participated in gambling were only a portion, if you included the spectators, it couldn’t be dismissed as the deviation of a small minority. The Academy had already fallen to a place where “such things” were accepted as routine.

The problem was that these were the Empire’s elites.

The Saintess had found it strange when Professor Weaver complained about the Academy during the Demonic Land expedition, but now she saw that was just the tip of the iceberg. It was as if all the madness and darkness of the Empire had converged at the Academy.

‘In a few years, problems will arise everywhere.’

Just because the Demon Lord was dead didn’t mean threats to humanity had disappeared. The reality was that even a dozen goblins, if not stopped in time, could ruin a village’s harvest.

The Empire was a brutal country where even daily life was difficult to maintain without military force.

And yet, this was the state of things.

At this rate, even The Hero’s efforts might become meaningless in the medium to long term. Or he would have to fly around on a wyvern every day protecting the Empire. No matter how superhuman The Hero was, it was questionable how long he could endure that way.

“Give me my money!! My moneyyy-!!!”

One blood-covered student screamed while struggling.

Gang Hannah, with a half-enlightened expression, weakly muttered, “This won’t be easy.”

However, she wasn’t as troubled as when she submitted her university withdrawal form because of her father. Perhaps that meant she had become that much more desensitized.

“Saintess?”

“…Ah, yes, Professor Weaver. Is there someone else who needs healing?”

The Saintess responded reflexively to Professor Weaver’s call.

Though her mood was low, she could still cast holy spells. She wanted to heal these unpleasant kids as quickly as possible and return to the church.

However, Professor Weaver’s business had nothing to do with holy spells.

“His Highness the Prince has arrived. He is looking for you, Saintess.”

At this quiet announcement, not only the professors but even the rampaging students suddenly fell silent.

One student even muttered “Damn…” with a dismayed expression before turning pale, as if anticipating that his head would soon be cracked open.

The Saintess stared at them for a moment before moving. She was going to meet The Hero.

***

I intended to comfort the Saintess.

At least, that was the original plan.

I was going to soothe the Saintess, who was disgusted by the vicious students, and then carefully bring up my business. Along with the message that we needed to cooperate to change this broken world.

But for some reason, the Saintess was calmer than I expected.

“When the school closure was first ordered, they say the dormitory was dead quiet. Many students were related to the nobles who were punished at the banquet hall. …But by the third day, perhaps out of boredom, they started coming out and gambling again. That’s when the incident happened.”

“I heard you witnessed something terrible today.”

“It’s fine. …But honestly, it reminded me of my father. My father was busy gambling even on the day my grandmother had spinal surgery. My aunt was crying with worry, and he was checking the live scores every minute right next to her. Oh, that’s…”

“I know what it is. I also know that before scam coins, he was obsessed with illegal sports betting.”

“You really have a good memory,” the Saintess said with a smile, but there was blood on her cheek.

She, who had completed the expedition to the Demon Lord’s castle, didn’t seem shaken by seeing a little blood. After all, she was the one who picked up Katie’s severed arm during the expedition and reattached it.

If I had to guess… she seemed to have lowered her expectations of humanity.

‘The situation at the Academy must have been worse than expected.’

While her calmness was good, I was becoming more concerned about the Saintess. I wondered if someday she might end up like me.

However, I had no intention of being artificially kind.

The Saintess and I had only begun to reduce the distance between us a few days ago. It was right to approach her differently than Ember, with whom I had built up emotions through all sorts of experiences.

For now, it was right to proceed calmly.

“Saintess, I plan to dismantle the Academy.”

“Surely not because of this incident…?”

“I was going to announce it soon anyway. I’m not dismantling it thoughtlessly. I plan to select and nurture a small number of promising individuals. Talented students from the Knight Department will be sent to the two knight orders as ‘apprentices’ to be trained, and talented students from the Magic Department will be sent to the Court Magician Order.”

I was already having officials prepare the necessary conditions.

It was possible because swordsmanship and magic could distinguish the talented from the untalented early on. Even someone like me, who grew up unable to eat proper meat let alone elixirs, stood out from my freshman year.

However, this couldn’t be a long-term solution. The Saintess seemed to understand this as well.

“You can’t continue like this forever.”

“I plan to establish specialized schools for different fields after years of preparation. I want to open doors not just to nobles but also to poor commoners with talent. That’s the only way we can fill the void created this time. That’s also why we’re establishing affiliated schools for each church.”

“……”

I wasn’t doing this just to train knights and magicians.

While the first children to benefit from free education were growing up, I planned to train professors who could teach future technicians and scholars. Those professors would probably be the ones who received ‘high school’ level knowledge of mathematics and chemistry from the Saintess.

I wasn’t expecting an enormous role from the Saintess, but I knew that at the very least, she could provide a catalyst for development.

“You said the population would explode because of phosphate rock fertilizer and green manure. It will be even more so when we can mass-produce what you call chemical fertilizers. I also know that this will rapidly change the social structure of the Empire.”

“So you need help to respond to that. I may not have much ability, but I’ll do everything I can, so you don’t need to worry…”

The Saintess smiled as if she understood roughly what I wanted to say, but this wasn’t all I had in mind.

“And I desperately need you, Saintess.”

“…?”

“The Papal State will soon receive funds from me and move according to my instructions. Because of this, there’s a high possibility that you will also be viewed with suspicion. It’s inevitable since the perception that you are my advisor has already spread.”

“That’s already… no, never mind.”

Seeing her hesitate, it seemed like she was about to say “I’m already prepared for that” but stopped. It’s impossible to be prepared when you don’t know what will happen.

The Saintess fidgeted with her blood-stained habit, lost in thought for a moment. I watched her and finally spoke.

“Of course, I don’t intend to just receive help and turn my back. I have a proposal that will allow me to protect you perfectly.”

“What…?”

The Saintess looked at me directly with wide eyes.

Seeing her pupils tremble, she seemed to have a vague idea.

I would like her to understand that I’m not doing this simply for political reasons, but even if she doesn’t, it doesn’t matter. Once we’re bound together, I intended to cherish her and make her grow fond of me.

‘Even if that doesn’t work, I should at least ensure she lives a prosperous life. She deserves that much.’

…A moment later.

The Saintess asked to hear in detail what I was thinking.

I agreed and ordered low-alcohol drinks for the Saintess and me to share. The conversation was likely to be lengthy. When the Saintess cautiously mentioned she’d like some snacks too, I gladly obliged.

“I understand, Hannah.”

Yes. A transaction was enough to start with.