Damn Academy - Chapter 199

[Episode 199] Backstage Maneuvers (15)

Eternia was steeped in festival fervor.

Campus students were sporadically sighted wearing masks, despite the ball being a day away.

Along the roadside, Plantaras bustled, carrying materials to decorate the ballroom venue.

Classes had been wrapped up by late morning in preparation for tomorrow’s party.

The drama club had a makeshift play planned for the ball, and the dance club was equally busy with a group performance.

The art club also had a role in the ball’s preparation, albeit less prominent than the earlier two.

“Newbie, take care of that flower painting. I’ll handle the rest.”

Our art club was busy transporting paintings we had made to decorate the ballroom and other event spaces.

In the midst of transferring paintings from the greenhouse with Jenia, Haley rushed over, exclaiming to the art students,

“Guys, it’s not just the paintings—we have to move the greenhouse plants too. Decorating the inside of the ballroom is our job, so don’t do it half-heartedly.”

Several students sighed. Most of the art club members, being less physically robust girls, felt daunted by the task, given the considerable distance to the ballroom.

Jenia, laden with paintings under her arm, nudged my calf and said,

“Newbie, you have to work hard since you’re favored.”

“Understood.”

“Let’s go, newbie.”

I loaded the paintings onto a handcart and followed Jenia’s lead.

As we moved further from the greenhouse, Jenia, walking beside me, asked,

“Newbie, did you secure a partner for the ball?”

“Yes.”

“Who is it?”

“…I’ve agreed to go with Luna.”

“The blonde from the drama club? You bagged a fierce one. But what about our art club?”

“Excuse me?”

“You care for the drama club but not the art club?”

“That’s not…”

“Just kidding. You’re sharper than you look, newbie. You know how to survive.”

“Survive?”

“Surviving in a group of girls as the only guy. Favoring one too much creates an odd tension. Better to pick someone from outside like you did.”

I faintly understood the peculiar tension Jenia described.

T h is w a s c o pied f rom k i n g mt l . o r g
That very reason prevented me from intervening when Trisha was being harassed.

T hi s w a s co p i e d f r o m k i n g mt l .o r g
“Do that from now on. I’m not saying be cold to the art club. Just maintain a friendly demeanor while keeping a reasonable distance.”

T h i s w a s co p i ed fr om k i n gm t l . org
“Got it.”

“Have fun at the ball. I’ll just be watching from the sidelines.”

“Senior, have you given up on the ball?”

“Yeah. With my leg like this, what kind of dancing can I do?”

“There were probably many who wanted to be your partner.”

“Thanks for the thought.”

Jenia was still hobbling on one foot, despite the ball being tomorrow.

Seeing her drag her injured body around for an event she wasn’t concerned about felt somewhat pitiful.

T h is w a s c o p i e d f r om k i ng m t l . o r g
Despite her tough and fussy demeanor, she also showed responsibility and altruism.

Suddenly, students burst out running in the opposite direction.

“What’s going on?”

Jenia voiced her curiosity at the commotion.
T h i s wa s co pie d from k i ngm tl. o r g

Judging by the anticipation on the students’ faces, it didn’t seem like an emergency.

“Erzebet?”

“Hurry, she’s returned to Eternia!”

It seemed that Erzebet, the principal of Eternia and master of the Plantaras, had returned. The students’ reactions were akin to meeting a socialite celebrity.

Some students even enrolled at Eternia to see Sibelyn, the magic department might not be any different.

“Newbie, want to go see with me?”

“Is it really necessary?”

“Just trying to sneak out a bit. I’ll smooth things over with Haley.”

A hint of anticipation swelled within me. With Erzebet’s return, I wondered if Sibelyn had also come back.

***

Erzebet approached, flanked by two attendants. Was it the sunlight or her bright clothing that made her surroundings seem to shine, despite her unostentatious and non-authoritarian appearance?

Other students also flocked around her like clouds but dared not approach, just watched from a distance.

Erzebet, greeted by the dense crowd, smiled awkwardly and moved forward.

She occasionally waved and exchanged a few words with her attendants.

Pointed ears, beauty almost surreal, a woman with a body in her twenties but a soul hundreds of years old.

It was the first time I’d seen her since the Master’s Class review.

Erzebet’s calm and steady nature gave the impression of a grandmother, the opposite of Sibelyn.

Having lived for centuries, had all her sharp edges been worn away? She seemed more compassionate than anyone else in the world.

T h i s w a s co pi e d f r o m k in g m t l. or g
If someone in rags ran up and embraced her, it seemed she would not push them away but silently enfold them.

“Newbie, I can’t see. Lift me up.”

Jenia, bouncing on tiptoes amidst the crowd, suddenly leapt onto my back.

After watching quietly for a moment, she remarked,

“Newbie, do you like girls with pointy ears?”

“I just like kind people.”

The attendants gently cleared a path through the students.

Suddenly, Erzebet glanced our way and seemed to fixate her gaze on us.

Was it my imagination that our eyes briefly met?

She smiled silently at us and moved on.

Alas, Sibelyn was nowhere to be seen.

***

Knock, knock.

Returning from my duties, I knocked on Trisha’s door, but still no answer.

Had she gone out today? There were signs she had touched the food I prepared. She had come out of her room, after all.

How important was the ball to Trisha? To vanish without a word to a roommate suggested she had high hopes.

“Trisha.”

I pressed an ear to the door, but heard nothing.

Trying the doorknob confirmed it was locked.

No amount of coaxing seemed likely to heal a heart so hurt. I turned and headed downstairs.

Halfway down, Trisha’s door abruptly opened.

“Damian…”

Her disheveled white hair and thin silk pajamas were askew as she peeked out.

“Trisha?”

“Why…”

“Do you have something to say?”

“Why her of all people, Cecil!”

T h is w a s c o p ie d f r o m k i ng m t l .o r g
Bang!

She slammed the door after her shout.

Jenia’s words flashed through my mind about the unforgivable act of partnering with a close friend.

I rushed and rattled the doorknob, but it was already locked.

“Trisha.”

Her voice came faintly through the door.

“I won’t play with you.”

“…I’ll come find you after the ball. Get dressed up and wait.”

“I won’t play with you.”

She might be staging a sit-in until I played with her.

After all, the ball couldn’t last all night, and I had to return to the dormitory.

There would be plenty of time to play. I’d have to devote time to soothing her sulking heart.

***

The long-awaited day of the ball dawned.

First, I prepared breakfast for Trisha, then readied myself for the ball with three girls in mind.

Two masks for myself and Luna’s freshly oiled mask were tucked away. I rechecked everything I had to do.

Just in case, I hid my wooden sword in the ballroom. After spending the first part with Cecil, I’d greet Lilith, then discreetly change my outfit to spend the second part with Luna.

T hi s wa s c o p i ed f r om ki n g m t l . o r g
It wasn’t a difficult mission. I had faced far worse in Barvisia, so there was no need to be anxious about this backstage maneuver.

The ball was scheduled for the afternoon, but the morning was filled with performances by the special clubs and speeches by invited guests.

I headed to the art department office to start the morning’s events.

There, as if by agreement, I was caught by Jenia and spent the morning watching the performances, with Haley sneaking in midway to naturally form a trio.

Both were bright in the morning, but as the ball neared, their expressions darkened, and their tone grew edgy.

“Newbie, do you think it’s right for a guy to dance with a girl at the ball?”

“No, it doesn’t make sense.”

“I should have killed the one who injured my ankle.”

“…”

They were upset for being dressed up but unable to do what they wanted, relegated to the sidelines.

Even after lunch, they didn’t let me go.

The ball was almost upon us, and I felt as if I was on a leash.

The two seniors led me to the front of the ballroom.

“Newbie, put on your mask.”

Jenia and Haley donned butterfly-shaped masks.

Originally I was to enter with Cecil, but things twisted, and I found myself entering the ballroom with my art club seniors.

The ballroom brimmed with elegantly dressed students. The band played a bold march at one side, and magically levitated chandeliers cast a soft light from the ceiling.

Entering, other students’ piercing looks fell on us.

That’s because I was the only one with an arm entwined with two girls.

Haley whispered in my ear,

“Don’t get cocky; this is to save your skin.”

“…Aren’t your family members here, senior?”

“They’ll be here for the second part. If they see me arm-in-arm with a guy, they’ll foam at the mouth.”

“…”

We found a discreet spot in the ballroom.

As we waited, the students’ attention once again converged on one point.

Jenia said as if it was obvious what was happening,

“Ah, that guy must have arrived.”

“…Why are they behaving like that?”

“Newbie, who do you think is the most popular in Eternia?”

“…I don’t know.”

“Newbie might be popular too, but compared to that girl, you’re still lacking. You’re still growing, but Elliot is already complete.”
Th is w a s co p i e d f r o m k i n gm t l . o r g

“Elliot…?”

“You’ve heard, haven’t you, newbie? The best swordsman in Eternia.”

My mind went blank for a moment. Had I heard correctly?

That name I had wanted to erase more than Liza Pascal’s.

That name, inevitably to be confronted in Eternia, I finally heard today.

Soon, a tall man with bright blond hair walked confidently in from the entrance.

Like sunlight focused through a magnifying glass, all eyes converged on him.

He was exactly as I had seen from afar long ago: tall and handsome, with an undeniable presence that could freeze the ballroom.

Eternia’s best swordsman. The thought poured lava into my heart.
T h is w a s c op i e d f ro m ki n g mt l . o r g

Perhaps for now, that might be true.

But a year from now, that appraisal would be wrong.

Because I would take that title.

Yet I wasn’t the only one stirred by his entrance.

Haley’s arm, linked with mine, tensed noticeably.