ăââBarnabas. Today is the promised day. I hope youâve done your preparations.ă(Zakir)
ăâŠâŠă
IââZakir Gilford had come to the Barbadora Magic Academy for the second time.
Barbadora Magic Academy had been running on neutral ground as it was supported both in financial matters and human resources by every country in the world.
Of course, even so, it was hard to be perfectly neutral, as status-based human relationships were still happening behind closed doors.
Nevertheless, the neutrality stayed true.
This academy that could maintain its neutral position was truly a rarity amongst rarity
âŠâŠHowever, that ended today.
Schelder Wohl Kaizer-sama, the King of the Kaizer Empire, my fatherland, had moved to put the world under his rules.
At first, I was against it.
Not only it greatly deviated from what my benefactor, the previous King had wished, it was also simply unrealistic, both in military strength and resources.
That was why, when His Majesty enforced his plan to validate the world, I⊠thought to strike him myself.
HoweverââI failed.
I never thought that His Majesty had⊠No, the Royal Family had such a trump card up their sleevesââ
ăâŠIf I close this Academy, then will the students really be allowed to go home safely?ă (Barnabas)
While I was sinking into a sea of thoughts, Barnabas, the schoolâs principal, asked me with a grim look.
ăYes. You have my words. We wonât touch any of the students until they safely reach home. In fact, thereâs only a few of them left in the campus ground, isnât there?ă(Zakir)
ăâŠHmph. If it wasnât you⊠I wouldnât trust this negotiationâŠă(Barnabas)
âŠBy no means this implied that Barnabas trusted me.
What he believed was that any other commanders would have nasty plans in their mind.
And he was correct.
If the one who stood here wasnât me, then the Academy wouldâve been invaded and taken under control without any negotiation, and the students would be taken hostage as negotiation pawns for the Empireâs sake.
It only spoke of how much⊠war potential the current Kaizer Empire possessed.
ăVery well. ââWith this, the Magic Academy Barbadora will be under the jurisdiction of the Kaizeră(Zakir)
ăâââHOLD THE PHONE THERE MISTER!!!!ă
ă!?ă(Zakir)
ăWha!? Se-, Seiichi-kun!?ă(Barnabas)
Out of nowhere, the principalâs office received an intruder.
The manâs figure was suspicious with his face hidden behind a hood. âŠWho is this manâŠ?
Coming after him was a few bunch of other people, their breathing disarrayed.
ăO-, oi⊠Se-, Seiichi⊠Bastard⊠You⊠ran too fastâŠă(Altria)
ăâŠâŠRather than that, this guy really did let himself inâŠă(Blued)
When I looked closely, there was the sight of His Majestyâs second son, Blued-sama amongst them.
One of my subordinates then called the intruder.
ăBastard⊠who are you!? Our commander is having a serious talk with the head of this academy! Do you even know what the consequence of intruding is!?ă
ăI donât! But Iâll get fired today anyway, so Iâve come to say my complaints!ă(Seiichi)
ăC-, complaints!?ă
ăYou sure announce that clearly, oi!ă(Altria)
My platoon and I were taken aback with how refreshing he said so.
Then, the hooded man suddenly turned his head and pointed at me.
ăI donât care if it was conquering the world or whatever, but canât you do it somewhere else? I really wish you didnât bring us into this! Try thinking about the small citizens who get swayed by your top brasses! Weâre powerless here!ă(Seiichi)
ăCalling yourself powerless would be a fraud!ă(Altria)
ăIsnât that a bit too harsh!?ă(Seiichi)
The mysterious man and the brown-skinned woman who followed him were exchanging a comedic skit, leaving us who still couldnât catch up with the situation aside. No, what are they showing to us?
We, who shouldâve completely dominated the situation just a while agoââfound ourselves swept up by a single man.
âââ
IââHiiragi Seiichi, who stormed into the Headmasterâs office just to complain without any plan whatsoever, intruded the talk between Barna-san and some macho men in armor right in the middle. Oh man, I did charge in without thinking, but sure is lucky that the object of my complaint is there! Now I have more gusto than usual!
And now, I was in the middle of venting out my mind to the most self-important looking person.
ăIn the first place! This Blued here! The Heroes and the other kids from the Kaizer Empire had been brought home already, but why did you guys leave him behind!?ă(Seiichi)
ăC-, come to think of itâŠâŠ!ă(Blued)
Blued nodded to my statement then turned his head to the man in front of me, who I assumed to be some kind of top brass, as the latter awkwardly diverted his eyes away.
ăW-, we forgotâŠâŠă(Zakir)
ăI was forgotten!?ă(Blued)
What a surprising truth! Isnât he a Prince!? Iâm just amazed now at every little thing the Kaizer Empire does!
After the man, whom I pointed my finger to, cleared his throat, he gave me a sharp glare.
ăI have been listening to you in silence, but⊠who even are you? Sorry for this, but outsiders should leave.ă(Zakir)
Aah⊠right, I havenât named myself. And heâs someone in a higher social position than mine, too.
I know Iâm here to complain, but manners and such have to be kept, right! âŠWell, Iâve been using casual languages with Gassur and his peers, though, since Iâve known a LOT about them. Sorry!
ăAhem! Erm, I am someone hired by the headmaster Barnabas to teach here, Hiiragi Seiichi, an adventureră (Seiichi)
ăAn adventurerâŠ?ă
ăOi oi, adventurer, you say⊠Arenât adventurers just some vagrant who donât belong in any country?ă
ăAnd by your name, youâre someone from the Country of the East?ă
The moment after I named myself, the soldiers buzzed out. Is my introduction that weird?
ăIs that so. I am the commander of the Second Army of the Kaizer Empire, Zakir Wilford. I am here today to affirm the closure as well as the transfer of ownership of the Barbadora Magic Academy.ă (Zakir)
As I tilted my head, the most self-important guy-Zakir-san named himself as well.
ăAnd so, Seiichi. You proclaimed you came to say your complaints⊠After youâre done, what will you do?ă(Zakir)
ăNothing. Iâm just here to say my complaints, why?ă(Seiichi)
ăHah?ă(Zakir)
ăEh?ă(Seiichi)
ăâŠâŠă
For some reason, silence fell upon the Headmasterâs office.
Eh? Did I say something weird? Even Al and the girls look surprised, but didnât I already tell them Iâm going to say my complaintsâŠ?
ăNo, why are you making a face that says youâre the only one sane here!? The very act of going to complain itself is ridiculous, so of course anyone would think you have a plan after that!ă(Altria)
Al slapped me with her truth-to-the-face retort.
After which, Zakir-san let out a sigh.
ăHaa⊠what a waste of time.ă(Zakir)
ăEh?ă(Seiichi)
ăI donât know who you are and how youâve come here, but⊠just complaining wonât do anything. This matter is already decided by the Kaizer Empire, and nobody can reverse it.ă(Zakir)
ăNo no no, isnât that weird! I mean, itâs true that Iâm complaining here for my own self-satisfaction!ă(Seiichi)
ăSo itâs for that after allâŠâŠă(Blued)
Blued sighed out of exasperation. Forgive me! Iâm basically living-in-the-moment, you see!
ăIt is for my own self-satisfaction, but isnât it weird that we have to accept what the Kaizer Empire has decided as absolute? And why does that lead to this Academy being shut down, in the first place?ă(Seiichi)
ăItâs simple. Itâs because the emperor of the Kaizer Empire, Schelder Wohl Kaizer-sama, has moved to unify the world, and the war has broken.ă(Zakir)
ăNo, who is that?ă(Seiichi)
ăW-, âwhoâ!?ă(Zakir)
I know about some guy being the emperor of the Kaizer Empire, but I donât know who that guy is personally.
ăWell, I know that the Emperor-sama is moving to unify the world and all that. But, is that necessary? Is it so essential that you need to wage war for it? You say itâs for world unification, so itâs not something done for the sake of your people, right?ă(Seiichi)
ăâŠâŠIndeed, this war is not for the sake of the people. It is nothing but a war driven by the desires of his Majesty.ă(Zakir)
ăNo wayâŠFatherâŠâŠă(Blued)
Hearing Zakir-sanâs words, Bluedâs expression grew darker and darker.
Agnos was about to say something when he saw Bluedâs current state, but he was stopped by Beatrice-san. Well, Agnos and the other students will only make the water get muddier here.
Eh, what, if I wasnât here, things wouldnât be so muddy, you said? âŠâŠâŠThatâs about right!
ăHaah⊠Um, then, how can such a thing get approved? Waging a war just for one manâs desire, and the people let that be? At least, personally, I wonât give an okay to thatâŠă(Seiichi)
ăHis Majesty has decided it. And, in the first place, you are not a citizen of the Empire, and so you have no right of veto.ă(Zakir)
ăEven strangers deny my human rights now!?ă
Arenât my human rights getting denied a lot!? Hey, species ăHumană in the Status, are you alive?
ăReally, do you think you can win in terms of military strength? Isnât it basically the Kaizer Empire vs the World?* And you guys approved that? To go to a war for someoneâs selfish reasons.ă(Seiichi)
ăâŠâŠâŠâŠă
ăEh, you didnât approve it!? So youâre just going along with it even though you donât approve it!?ă(Seiichi)
Thatâs just weird no matter how you look at it!
If they donât approve of it, shouldnât they do that coup-what-its-name? Or the Demo thing?
It canât be helped if all the people in their country vouched in for the war, but who will be happy for this war in its entirety?
Which is why, while I think it will raise a civil war or something, the coup will work out since there should be more naysayers than the supporters.
I didnât know if I had my point across, but Zakir-san just shook his head at me.
ăItâs impossible. There is nobody who can stop His Majesty, not anymore⊠His Majesty is now no longer a human, but the most powerful being in existence.ă(Zakir)
ăThe most powerful being in existence?ă(Seiichi)
What is that? Who is he talking about? If by the time I meet him heâs actually some kind of monstrosity, then Iâll get mad, you know?
I mean, from how Zakir-san said it, itâs like heâs become a monster or something like that.
As I tilted my neck involuntarily, Zakir-sann showed no more interest in talking more of it. How unfortunate.
ăâŠâŠIn addition, it seems like you think that the Kaizer Empire canât win against the world, but youâre wrong.ă(Zakir)
ăHeh?ă(Seiichi)
Right at that instant, Zakir-san for some reason drew the sword he had on his waist.
Taking that as a cue, the other soldiers also pulled out their swords.
ăââWe have tens of thousands of soldiers as strong as I am or nearing my level.ă(Zakir)
ăWha!?ă
ăGuh!? Wh-, what pressureâŠ!ă(Barnabas)
The moment their swords were drawn, Blued and the other students nearby, as well as Barna-san, had their faces turn blue.
ăIf you fold in just from this, then donât even think about doing anything. âŠâŠI wonât blame you. Thinking that there are so many people standing in the same ground as this «Kingâs Sword»-ă(Zakir)
ăNo, I mean⊠so what?ă(Seiichi)
ăHah?ă(Zakir)
ăEh?ă(Seiichi)
Exposed to my question, not only Zakir-san, but Barna-san, the students, and the soldiers of the second army, they all pulled out a moronic expression.
ăDid you not hear what I said? There are tens of thousands of people as strong as me, the «Kingâs Sword», you know?ă(Zakir)
ăK-, kings sword? Iâm not familiar with the term, so forgive me for that, but⊠are you someone famous? And then, there are a lot of famous people like you, Zakir-san? Nn?ă(Seiichi)
ăâŠâŠOi, Seiichi. Are you serious when saying that? âŠWell, I wanted to say that too, thoughâŠă(Altoria)
In response to my confusion, Al put her hand on her forehead and muttered like such while looking up.
When I looked closely, Beatrice-san and the students seemed to be in pain when Zakir-san and his platoon pulled their sword, but the people who went to Zolaâs dungeon such as I, Saria, Al, and Rurune seemed to be fine whatsoever. âŠEh? Did Zakir-san do something?
ăI-, impossible!? How could all of you be so calm!? Every single member of the Second Army here has stepped into the territory of the ăTranscendentsă, you know!? ă(Zakir)
ăAh, so itâs the same as us.ă (Seiichi)**
ăBuhuk!?ă
Receiving my comment, not only Zakir-san, but Barna-san and the member of my class exclaimed. âŠâŠCome to think of it, is being a ăTranscendentă considered great? Everyone around me is a ăTranscendentă, so Iâm kinda numb by that status. No, wait, Iâm the one whoâs enclosed with so many strong people. Like those people in the Guild Headquarter and Zeanos and his group.
ăEtto, so youâre saying that youâll win because you have so many ăTranscendentsăâŠă(Seiichi)
ăT-, that is soă(Zakir)
EehâŠ? For real? âŠâŠin my head, I can only see the future where theyâre one-sidedly getting beaten down in the most weird and embarrassing way thoughâŠ
And if the Kaizer Empire did wage war against the Wimburg Kingdom, there are Lucius-san and Zeanos there⊠are they really going to win? Youâre a ăTranscendentă when you pass the level 500 mark, right? Zeanos is originally level 1500, you know?
I stimulated the fight again in my head.
âŠâŠâŠ
ăMy condolencesâŠâŠă(Seiichi)
ăWhat the hell is your problem!?ă(Zakir)
Oops, it slipped out of my mouth. Iâm sorry.
The Kaizer Empireâs world unification thing that I had initially thought to be impossible now seemed more grim than ever⊠or rather, my prediction was the outcome.
ăâŠâŠFrom your words and their conduct, I can see that those women are ăTranscendentsă.ă(Zakir)
ăHaa.ă(Seiichi)
ăBut, what about you? I donât see the atmosphere nor the manner of strength from you. Itâs hard to think that the likes of you can win against me.ă(Zakir)
ăEh?ă(Seiichi)
The atmosphere of the strength? âŠWell, Iâm just your everyday man after all, so I canât produce the aura thatâll make people say ăThis guy⊠heâs strongâŠ!ă like a certain someone. Well, I did learn how to feel Life Force, or rather, the ability to sense presence in the Netherworld to say ăYouâre over there, arenât you?ă like a certain someone.
Thatâs why, Al, please donât give Zakir-san the ăIs this guy serious?ă look! Saria and the others too, donât exchange faces like that!
ăIâm not very sure how someone who canât even win against me could best His Majesty. If you canât even win against His Majesty, then you wonât be able to say your complains to him. Let me be the one who teach you how powerlessness feel like.ă(Zakir)
ăHeh? Umm⊠what do you mean?ă(Seiichi)
As the affairs took a dubious turn, I asked Zakir-san fearfully, which he then replied matter-of-factly.
ăItâs simple. You will fight me and learn that you have no power whatsoever.ă(Zakir)
ăWhat kind of logic working there!?ă(Seiichi)
Be it the Demon Army and this person, is this world full of muscle-for-brains!?
Even though I was supposed to come here to say my complaints, I for some reason ended up having to have yet another mock battle.
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