episode_0053

“On behalf of the Academy, I would like to express my gratitude to all the guests from home and abroad who attended the 64th annual social festival-”

Friday, June 21st. The main playground south of the academy.

One thousand students and staff, and two thousand parents and onlookers.

In front of that huge crowd, the chairman gave a welcome speech without any hesitation.

Sometimes formal, sometimes tactful.

I looked at the president from behind the podium with admiration.

No matter what anyone says, the busiest thing over the past fortnight has been the chairman.

All I had to do was come up with the concepts for the new factions, provide art direction to Hwayoung, and plan the event format with Cleo.

However, since the president had to prepare for a Romantic Era event in addition to preparing for a normal social event, he would not have been left with even two bodies.

Not to mention that I had to worry about an infiltrator sent by the Intelligence Bureau.

But we have come this far. There is really only one step left.

“As you all expect and fear, the main event of this social festival is a festival of romance.

This is an event being held for the first time this year. Many people, both domestic and foreign, will have questions about the idea of a romantic festival replacing the duel tournaments that usually take place at social events.”

The audience was agitated by those words.

“As the student council president, I look very positively at the changes that the Romantic Era brought to this academy.

The reason why the Festival of Romance was held during the social festival was because we wanted to show the Academy’s changed appearance to our guests. Please, please look at it with open eyes!”

Applause.

“Hey, Coleman.”

The vice president poked me in the side.

“Nobility, who is here?”

I peeked my head out to check the faces of the guests, but how much would a country baron’s son know if he recognized the faces?

All I had to do was recognize my parents, who were sitting about 100th in the protocol hierarchy.

“A lot came.”

“I asked who was here and how much… done. I was a fool for asking you.”

When Tangaroa tried to stick his head out, I quickly stomped on his tail, immobilized him, then grabbed him by his furry back and pulled him back.

The vice president is stomping around like a cat caught in the back.

“Ugh! What are you doing… ”

“Vice President. When the vice president sticks his head out, his beak sticks out?

It’s so noticeable, so just stay still and let me know what I should look for.”

If it weren’t for the fur, Tangaroa’s face would have been flushed.

Unable to make a loud noise, he simply stamped his webbed feet on the ground a few times, then gnashed his beak and spoke.

“Late 50s, brown hair, large build, scabbard on face, two fingers missing due to frostbite.”

“I can tell who it is just by hearing the description. Duke Karsic, right?”

Is there “?”

“Yes. I’m third from the right in the front row.”

“Then who is on the right and left?”

I peeked my head out to check on the attendees and reported.

“On the left is a thin, beardless middle-aged man with red hair, purple-black robes, and a monocle.

On the right, there is a young orc sitting quite well dressed.”

“I see… I understand.”

“Oh, the seat next to the oak is empty.”

“What?”

The vice president looked embarrassed for a moment, then stroked his beak and pondered.

“Your Majesty didn’t come? Why?”

“He decided to come tomorrow.”

After finishing his speech, the chairman approached us.

“I guess the Navy had some urgent work to do.”

“… Still, this one-sided… ”

“Well, is the country’s affairs going as smoothly as expected…? ”

The chairman, who casually dismissed the emperor’s absence, smiled brightly and patted my shoulder.

“Now, it’s your turn, Coleman.”

“After.”

“I’m nervous?”

“Then I feel nervous.”

“Relax. Because if you make a mistake here, no one will catch you.”

“If you say that, I’ll get even more nervous, so I’ll just go up and clean it up… ”

I swallow my saliva and go up to the stage.

Somehow, even in this urgent situation, my brain was still trying to figure out what had just happened.

Is it a defense mechanism to relieve tension?

According to what I learned from my father, the imperial hierarchy goes from right to left. Within the same rank, seniority takes precedence.

Duke Karsic is probably the best of all dukes.

Sitting next to him is probably the Duke of Knizia. Because those two are the only ones with self-control in the academy.

Then, that orc sitting to the right of the Supreme Duke and to the left of the Emperor…

I thought about whether it was the minister or the commander-in-chief, but quickly erased that reasoning from my mind.

Even a minister cannot have a higher level of protocol than a duke.

If you are higher than a duke and lower than an emperor, then you are a king.

Or the head of state of a vassal country equivalent to the king… is it.

When I thought about it, I was already standing in front of the podium.

Let’s stop thinking about it here. Concentrate, focus!

I take a deep breath and look around, and I see my mother and father waving from a distance.

I smiled brightly and shouted in a trembling voice.

“Hello!”

“Wow!”

The inside and outside seats greeted me with polite applause, and on the contrary, the student seats exploded.

“Are you living in an age of romance?”

“Of course!”

“Coleman! Coleman Cantor!”

“Wowhuhuhu! Huhuhu! Hee hee hee! Yayyy!”

hmm. That last one seems a little crazy.

The Baekyang student section was already out of control with students tearing their clothes and shouting.

sorry… Professor Ariadne…

“In order to repay your enthusiastic support, the Student Council has established an independent corporation dedicated to the Romantic Era. The name is-”

When I make a gesture, the moon’s magical power is radiated to the back and letters appear.

“Funforge… ”

“Greetings. This is Coleman Cantor, the first game director of Funforge.”

Applause and cheers once again.

“Funforge will strive to spread the era of romance not only at the Academy, but also throughout the Aeorid continent. And there is one person who is essential to this effort: Mr. Cobb Priestley, President of Priestley Wonders!”

Priestley stands up in the guest room and is greeted.

The students’ enthusiasm did not change, but the nobles’ reaction was subtle.

Some attendees openly rolled their eyes and whispered.

Well, I was prepared for this much when the intelligence agency gave me the warning.

“Based on our collaboration with Priestley Wonders, we have also sought qualitative expansion!

After the next summer vacation, new factions we have never seen before will be added to the Age of Romance!”

The elasticity of the left and right.

Professor Ariadne was barely able to stop the hooligans who were trying to jump over the seats and jump out.

I took out the amulets that Hwayoung had prepared from my pocket.

“First new faction!

Delinquent school students wandering the woods near Quain Island!

The world’s worst circle!”

When I tore the first amulet, the ink scattered and began to draw a shape.

A naked female student drunk on marijuana with only her local area barely covered with leaves.

An army of skinheads wearing modified school uniforms studded with spikes and chains.

A red horse expulsion student riding on an angry wild boar.

“Second new faction!

Ordinary men and women who lack learning but are full of courage!

Romelo Village Militia!”

The second amulet appears is a bell ringer who rings the bell with all his might.

An angry crowd with pitchforks in one hand and torches in the other.

A wandering gunman wearing a tattered coat, a hat pulled down, and a muffler covering his mouth.

“Third new faction!

Mysterious machines that protect the ruins of the Circle!

Quain Underwater Guardian!”

An icosahedron-shaped reconnaissance plane that moves around with a round crystal in the center of its body.

A massive golem holding a shield in one hand and a laser cannon in the other.

A mysterious woman wearing an ocher-colored hood and holding a strange hourglass in her hand.

“Fourth new faction!

Horrible creatures crawled out of the lake after 25 years!

Great Lake Monster!”

A huge blue crab with blade-like pincers and steel-like shells.

A three-headed snake that spews strong acid from its mouth.

And the cute little Silade, who shows off her unexpected cuteness.

“That’s it!”

The students seemed almost fainting with excitement, and the parents could not help but be amazed by the majesty of the new models sculpted in ink.

Even Dean Russell Corvus stroked his beard and looked at the Quain Underground Guardian models as if they were fascinated.

“Then, we will reveal the actual model from now on.”

“Wow!”

After the applause, I gestured to the back of the stage.

But there is no response.

“Uh. hey. Physical model… ”

Cleo rushes over.

I put my ear to her.

As my face grew darker, the audience began to whisper in low voices.

“Uh. everyone… ”

silence. Everyone swallowed their saliva and just looked at my mouth.

“Sorry. How could this happen…

The models… They say it was stolen… ”

Astonishment. Some students were seen falling down from shock.

“Who on earth could do such a heinous thing…? ”

I flicked my left hand.

At the same time, a modulated voice echoes throughout the playground.

“Are you looking for me, Director Coleman Cantor?”

A huge figure created when 10 ink amulets were torn apart.

It puffed up and took shape behind the stage.

A mysterious being whose face is covered with an opera mask and his body covered with a cape.

“I can’t believe this, you are the phantom thief Ombre!”

“How dare you leave out our youth phantom thieves when introducing a new faction!”

I took a deep breath, stumbled exaggeratedly, and collapsed.

Now the audience seemed to have realized that this was staged, and they were laughing and clapping their hands again.

“Go back! There is no place for you guys to come out!

President Priestley said that the five new camps would be difficult!”

“It is the youth phantom thieves who resist such trivial excuses from adults!”

Ombre’s ink shape dispersed with a single swing of the cloak.

A voice of unknown origin echoed throughout the playground.

“Students. Models for five new factions, including our Phantom Thieves, are hidden throughout the Academy!

Find it somewhere, umhahahaha!”

“Yes. So, the first step in the Romance Festival is to find traces of the Phantom Thieves!

New faction models hidden in the academy can be owned by whoever finds them. Only!”

I held out a finger and warned him.

“Unpainted model safely! Limited to cases brought to the painting experience center in front of the student center!”

“Safely?”

The audience is noisy.

I smiled softly.

Today this academy turns into a battlefield.