Damn Academy - Chapter 207

Chapter 207

Host (4)

It’s an uncomfortable reunion. Luna, who is usually hard to read, makes her feelings clear this time. She harbors a visible hostility towards Pavela.
T hi s wa s c op ie d f r o m k in g m t l . o r g

Pavela speaks calmly first.

“We meet again after the sparring evaluation. Nice to see you.”

The duel between Luna and Pavela was never properly concluded. An unknown force overwhelmed the arena, causing Luna to be overpowered, and the match ended unfinished.

“…Hello.”

“Somehow, I ended up on a mission with Damian.”

Ironically, the situation had reversed. Luna became the enemy, while Pavela and I were on the same side.

Luna stands silent for a long time.

Then she sets her hostility aside for a moment and speaks.

“I’ll help you investigate the Shin Tagma request forms.”

“Is that alright? Strictly speaking, we are competitors.”

“Damian is my friend before being a competitor. That matters more.”

Pavela accepts this without any fuss.

“You have a good friend.”

“And I don’t want to see my friend get hurt.”

“….”

Her last statement seemed to pertain to Pavela’s attack that had pierced my side.

Luna strides over to me, grabbing my index and middle finger with her fist, and pulls me away.

She clearly doesn’t want me near someone she considers dangerous to her friend.

Pavela quietly watches us before following.

“Luna, are you sure about this?”

“We won’t get in trouble just for holding hands…”

“Uh, what if the other members see?”

“…It’s a secret from the Drama Club members.”

“Got it.”

Luna retrieves the documents she had found and hands them to me.

“Here. This is a map of the Shin Tagma region. It’s more detailed than one made by an external surveyor because it was drawn by a local resident.”

She then hands me another set of documents.

“These are all the request forms regarding the residents’ disappearances.”

“Thanks, Luna.”

“We can’t take them outside, so you’ll need to memorize or record them.”

The map was complex, but it seemed possible to simplify and copy it quickly.

“It’s good to be in the Art Department. Learning to draw comes in handy…”

Pavela interjects.

“There’s another way. I’ll bring the Magic Replicator.”

“What’s that?”

“It’s an artifact that copies documents exactly. Just wait a bit.”

Pavela quickly leaves the archive.

Luna watches her leave with a strangely dissatisfied look.

“Luna, have you recorded all this data?”

T hi s w a s c op i e d f r om k i n gm t l . o r g
“Yes.”
T h i s w as c o p i e d f r om k i n gm t l.o rg

She proudly pulls out the copied documents from her chest and shows them to me.

The written records were perfectly transcribed without a single error, but the map was a disaster.

The shapes were a mess, the lines were crooked, and the geographic features looked like they were drawn by a five-year-old. The information was so distorted it was unusable as a map.

Th i s w a s cop i e d f r o m k ing mtl . o rg
“…Didn’t I do well?”

“Luna, you should’ve joined the Art Department.”

Luna takes this as a compliment and shyly smiles.

“No… Damian suits the Drama Club better.”

“Hmm… now that we’re enemies, I hope we won’t meet during the mission.”

Luna closes her mouth, her expression becoming serious.

“…Actually, the Drama Club has decided to eliminate the Art Department first… They’ll probably come for you as soon as they arrive.”

“…”

“And… when that happens, I’ll do my best to eliminate the Art Department.”

I nodded. Luna had joined the mission to fulfill her duty, and she was obligated to perform at her best.

“Understood. That’s your mission.”

“Damian, you must do your best too.”

“…Are you serious?”

“Yes, promise me. If you don’t take it seriously, I won’t be able to do my best either.”

Luna extends her pinky finger. I still don’t fully understand her thoughts, but I must also give my best if a confrontation occurs.

I hook my pinky with hers and say.

“The Drama Club is finished.”

Luna laughs silently, covering her mouth.

Soon, the sound of Pavela’s footsteps reaches us.

When she comes to the door, we quickly let go of our hands.

Pavela appears with a weary look, holding a bluish piece of paper.

“…We don’t have much time, so let’s replicate quickly.”

We immediately start the work. Passing documents back and forth, we compile the materials.

During the task, Luna occasionally casts suspicious glances at Pavela but never speaks out.

The work finishes quickly.

With some extra replicator sheets left, I ask Pavela for permission.

“Can I give one of these to Luna?”

I was worried about her taking that illegible map back.

“Sure. But return it to me once you’re done.”

Without asking Luna, I copy the map and hand it to her.

Luna looks at the paper blankly and asks.

“How did you get this?”

“I have someone in the Magic Society helping me. They arranged it.”

“This isn’t just a small favor…”

Luna’s tone is meaningful. She looks at the sheet as if it’s a precious item rarely given out by the Magic Society.

“Just think of it as a secret kindness. Now that we’re done, why don’t you leave first? If we leave together, the members might get suspicious. After all, you were my partner at the ball…”

“Uh, yeah. Luna, you’ve done enough, so go ahead. Thanks.”
T h i s w a s c o pi e d f r o m k i n g m t l . o r g

“Take care, Damian.”

Luna waves to me with a hint of regret. She nods coldly to Pavela and leaves.

Once alone with Pavela, I ask.

“How did you know Luna was my partner?”

She gathers the replicated materials and replies.

“I saw you at the ball. Finish organizing the papers and come down. I’ll wait at the entrance.”

Then she walks out alone.

“You weren’t at the ball, though.”

“…”

Pavela suddenly stops and freezes like a statue.

I don’t know why I said that. I wasn’t sure she wasn’t at the ball; I had just spoken on instinct.

I felt that if it were Pavela, she would have done that.

She doesn’t answer and continues walking alone.

***

After finishing organizing the materials, I find Pavela watching something at the entrance.

“Shall we go?”

“Wait, look at this.”

T h is w a s co p i e d f r o m k in g mtl . o r g
“…?”

I stand beside her and look at what she’s observing.

There’s a black stone plaque decorating one side of the lobby wall.

Pavela explains.

“It lists the families that contributed to the founding of the Magic Society.”

Among the unfamiliar names like Tiers, Tebris, and Vector, I see Luna’s family name, Railis. I also spot a familiar name, Pascal.

Pavela points to a name and chuckles.

“See that? The Izelyus family is listed too.”

“…?”

I know Lilith’s last name is Izelyus. Could it be?

“Lilith doesn’t even know she’s a premium member of the society.”

“……”

Maybe Lilith is the disowned child of her family.

***

“Our family is a premium member…?”

Lilith looked bewildered as if hearing this for the first time.

Pavela laughed.

“Yes. It was listed alongside other prestigious magical families.”

“I had no idea. No one in my family ever told me.”

Second-year member Tami looked at the materials and asked.

“It’s impressive you got into the Magic Society and extracted the information, but how did you get a precious artifact like the Magic Replicator?”

“I received a small favor.”

“Ah… I’m starting to feel proud of being in the Art Department.”

Sierra interjected during the conversation.

“Guys, this isn’t the time for this.”

She pointed to the back window of the carriage.

“The Dance Club seems to have recognized our carriage and is following us.”

A familiar carriage was trailing us at a reasonable distance.

There was no reason to delay any longer.

T h is was co p i e d f rom k ingm tl. o r g
I handed the coachman a note with our destination.

***

About an hour after leaving Rigved, the pursuing carriage disappeared from sight.

Inside the swaying carriage, Tami read through the replicated mission records.

“We’re heading to the first incident site, Poron Village.”

Sierra immediately raised an objection.

“What, the first? Are there multiple unsolved cases in this mission?”

“Yes. So, can you listen for a moment?”
T hi s w a s c op i e d f ro m k i ng m tl.o r g

Sierra rubbed the back of her neck, sensing trouble.

“Ha…”

“It’s a disappearance case. A family of three, with one daughter, vanished without a trace one day.”

“What about the next case?”

“It’s the same. Disappearances. In another village, kids our age disappeared in a similar manner. All the cases are like that.”

Lilith asked.

“What are the chances it’s the work of monsters?”

“The first incident record mentions thick fences and patrols by vigilantes every morning, but no monster traces were found.”

“Could it be kidnappings?”

“Seems likely. Apart from the family that disappeared, most of the missing are boys and girls our age.”

“That’s… strange.”

Lilith looked tense as if experiencing this type of situation for the first time.

Then the carriage suddenly stopped.

“Ah!”

Lilith, sitting across from me, fell into my arms due to inertia. The other members experienced similar situations.

I quickly helped Lilith back into her seat and looked outside. The coachman obscured the view, but it seemed like they were confronting something.

Could it be an unexpected situation? We were still within the Eternia territory, where monsters shouldn’t appear.

I helped Lilith back into her seat and stepped out of the carriage.

A handsome young man blocked our carriage. He greeted me warmly.

T hi s w a s c o p i e d f ro m k ingm t l . o r g
“Oh. Nice to see you here, my pure friend.”

It was Hubert, the mutant dwarf.

“What are you doing?”

Hubert looked like he had rolled in the mud.

“We’re the Instrumental Department. We need… help.”

He gestured with his chin.

Around the corner, a carriage with all its wheels shattered lay in ruins. Nearby, students were bandaging their injuries. They looked as if they’d fled from a war zone.

What had happened before they even reached the Shin Tagma region?

“Did you encounter bandits?”

Hubert replied with a dramatic tone.

“A north wind passed through.”

“Considering you can still joke, it seems you’re holding up.”

“It wasn’t bandits. We were attacked by fellow students. Specifically, our own classmates.”

I was confused. Attacking another department right from the start? The school rules state that students should incapacitate rather than cause serious harm. Yet their condition looked dangerously close to a violation.

“This doesn’t seem sane.”

“Exactly. Those guys were determined. They’ve lost it.”
T h is w as c o p ie d f rom kingm t l . o r g

“What’s their motive?”

A woman answered from the side.

“They’re not interested in the reward for winning the competition, a trip to the Magic City.”

A girl with a bandaged thigh emerged from the nearby woods, explaining.

“They’re after something else related to the mission.”

It was Cecil. I hadn’t expected to see her again here.

“Who did this?”

“Gale Varianne.”

The second-ranked student in the Combat Department, known to be associated with the Dance Club.

“Is the Dance Club involved too?”

“He’s only nominally part of the Dance Club. He has no relation to the competition. He’s gathered a gang and is acting on his own.”

“Is that even possible?”

“He’s prepared to face severe punishment. Whatever they’re seeking is that important.”

I realized this mission wouldn’t be a smooth ride.

End of Chapter