Damn Academy - Chapter 235

Chapter 235

Claridyum (2)

The night before departure, I swung Priscilla in the air in front of the Thorn Garden dormitory.

Having successfully communed with it once, I intended to improve my proficiency with the magic sword.

However, it wasn’t easy. The sensation was different from wielding the sapling sword or the firefly sword, and releasing power as I desired wasn’t smooth. Perhaps it was because it contained the soul of an entity, making the control method different.

Every time I swung the sword, frost irregularly flickered out, but that was all. The murderous cold storm I showcased during my first battle with Calios was impossible for me to reproduce with my own power.

The only benefit was that it wasn’t hot during training.

After finishing a light training session, I returned to the dormitory.

Trisha was quiet, probably having fallen asleep early.

I checked my belongings one last time alone in the room. Everything was in order except for one thing.

Money.

The only item with potential value was the ‘Elixir of Love.’ I had received two large sums from Sion’s teacher and had quite a bit left, but I had given most of it to Liria a few days ago.
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I wasn’t particularly extravagant in my spending, and with all my basic needs met, I didn’t think I needed money.

Faced with the situation of having to buy souvenirs for Cecil and some other friends, my financial situation suddenly seemed tenuous.

Dipping into Silveryn’s vault would solve everything instantly, but I had no desire to do that. I’d rather beg.

The only immediate way for me to earn money was to win a bet against Hubert.

A letter from Misha was still in my drawer. It was a request for help in finding ‘Candy,’ but I hadn’t responded yet.

If I could win the favor of the young lady Misha, even slightly, it could put some coins in my pocket.

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I unfolded the letter and pondered for a moment, but not for long. Stirring up the Empire’s young lady was too risky.

With Trisha involved, I needed to be extra cautious.

Instead, I’ll abandon the bet and hope that the Elixir of Love fetches a high price.

I picked up the pen.

Since I had pretended to be Hubert during the artist gathering, I wrote while maintaining that identity.

[The one with a mask and scars on his body, right? I know of him, but I can’t introduce him to Miss Misha. He’s involved in several unsavory incidents. For instance…]

I mixed various rumors surrounding Candy and wrote a defamatory letter. Stories suggesting he was a womanizer or had inappropriate physical contact with women.

Since I had rescued her from drowning in the river while wearing the mask, she had experienced great confusion due to our physical contact, so tales of the ‘perverted mask’ would likely be unpleasant for her.

Naturally, her interest in Candy would wane.

***

“I want to go too…”

I comforted Trisha, whose lips were pouty from wanting to go to Claridyum early in the morning.

“I’ll bring a cool toy back. Make sure to eat well even without me.”

“Can’t I sneak into your bag and stow away?”

“Don’t cause trouble.”

I packed the magic swords and my belongings tightly and left the dormitory.

I headed straight to the Rigved pier by carriage while the sun was still just peeking out.

I thought I had left early, but I was relatively late.

The pier was full of members.

Despite the early hour, the area was crowded with onlookers eager to see the ship. Other students had gathered to send off the art club members as if they were emigrating to some distant land.

After a quick headcount, we boarded the ship one by one.

Professor Georgia hugged each departing student.

While quietly waiting for my turn, I heard a familiar voice call out to me.

“Damian!”

Cecil was waving at me from the crowd gathered to see the ship.

“Cecil?”

She spotted me and immediately weaved her way through the crowd to reach me.

“Why are you so late!”

“What are you doing here?”

“I was waiting for you, of course.”

“I’m not going off to do anything extraordinary.”

Cecil chuckled and said, “They say a woman should see off a man on the day he sets sail. That’s how you make him want to come back.”

“I’m not a sailor, so don’t worry. I’ve never even seen the sea.”

Cecil rearranged my bangs with her hand and brushed off the dust on my clothes. Her gesture was quite affectionate.

“That worries me even more. You’re going to a place you’ve never been. The sea is so dangerous.”

“…”

Cecil lightly tapped my cheek.

“The sea is very deep, and currents are strong, so don’t swim recklessly. Stay in the cabin on stormy days. Got it? And don’t just grab any fish. You might get pricked by poisonous spines.”

“Why are you acting like my mom all of a sudden?”

“At least there’s no chance of a siren taking you since you’re so ugly. That’s a relief.”

Cecil pulled something out of her pocket and pinned it onto my chest. It was a small badge with a gray gemstone.

“What’s this?”

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“A gift. I’m putting it on so you won’t forget to buy my souvenir looking at it.”

“It’s not something weird, right?”

“Why are you so suspicious? Afraid I’ll eat you?”

“…”

Cecil had previously handed me a magical device that could secretly track someone’s location through stitches.

“Don’t worry. They say ugly ones don’t taste good.”

“Anything else to say?”

She hesitated for a moment.

“Oh, and…”

Cecil moistened her dry lips slightly with her tongue.

At that moment, Professor Georgia called out to me.

“Damian! What are you doing over there!”

Our conversation ended abruptly. Cecil pushed me away.

“Go on.”

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“Thanks for coming.”

Cecil put her hands behind her back and smiled softly, as if proud.
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I headed towards Professor Georgia. After sending up all the members, she hugged me like she did with the others. Then she whispered softly in my ear.

“Among the first years, you’re the most reliable. Having you, Damian, makes me feel at ease.”

“I’ll be back.”

After the hug, she patted my back and sent me up onto the ship.

Once the sailors completed their final checks, they untied the ropes and retracted the plank connecting the ship.

The bell announcing our departure rang loudly from the harbor, and the ship began to move away.

I leaned against the railing, watching the receding view of Rigved. Cecil stood at the edge of the pier, waving as we slowly drifted away. Her nostalgic figure seemed like a noblewoman sending her husband off on an expedition.

Then, another familiar face suddenly appeared next to Cecil. The girl with twin tails and the one with pink hair. The Empire Academy’s group of five had shown up unexpectedly.

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“Wow, it really is the Golden Swallow!”
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“We didn’t have anything like this for us, did we?”

“Did Eternia have ties with the royal family?”

As her friends chatted away, Misha stared at me with wide eyes.
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“Hubert?”

Upon hearing the name Hubert, Cecil seemed to turn her head in Misha’s direction.

“Hu…bert?”

Her gaze fixed on Misha and didn’t move.

Finally, Cecil pulled out a cigarette and put it in her mouth.

My heart sank.

I felt like I had to offer some kind of explanation, so I instinctively leaned forward.

Haley rushed over and grabbed me.

“What are you doing?”

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The water shimmered just below my outstretched foot. I regained my senses.

“…It’s nothing.”

The ship continued to drift away. Even as we became mere dots on the horizon, Cecil never took her eyes off Misha.

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***

Our ship, the Golden Swallow, glided swiftly down the Eternia River, propelled by its magical engines. The navigator explained that after traveling straight for half a day, we would enter the sea.

As the river widened and the current slowed, I hung over the railing, taking in the tranquil scenery to calm my disturbed thoughts.

Seeing Cecil like that still leaves a chill in my chest. I tried to brush away the chain of thoughts that followed. I haven’t done anything wrong.

I should put a lot of thought into choosing a souvenir for Cecil, just in case.

To steady my mind, I took a nap in the cabin.

When I awoke a few hours later, it was sunset outside.

Coming up on deck, Haley waved me over from where she was standing in the breeze.

“Oh, newbie.”

I approached her and leaned against the railing.

“Where’s Senior Jenia?”

“She’s feeling queasy, so she’s resting.”

Now that I looked, Haley’s eyes seemed slightly unfocused, and there was a reddish tint around her mouth. It seemed she had indulged in the wine she smuggled aboard.

“Are you alright, Senior?”

“I’m here to see the sea.”

“The sea?”

“Look, we’ve just left the estuary.”

Haley extended her arm dramatically over the railing. On one side, land was visible, and on the other, the sea stretched out against the horizon, glowing with the sunset. We were just at the boundary between the river and the sea.

“The sea… it really is the sea.”

“What? You look like someone who’s seen the sea a thousand times.”

“No, this is my first time seeing the sea.”

“Really? Don’t you feel your heart pounding when you see something as grand as this?”

Maybe in the past, when I still had some sensitivity for romance, it might have felt different, but sadly, I felt nothing now.

Most first experiences tend not to be as dramatic as one expects.

I briefly reminisced about my promise with Liza to see the sea. The romantic and dream-filled expectations of my childhood came to an unexpectedly mundane first experience. Heading towards a doomed city, with an intoxicated blonde woman from the Empire whom I’d never imagined would be part of this journey.

“Are you excited to be at sea, Senior?”

“Well, my heart is racing, but I can’t tell if it’s because I’ve been drinking, or because I’m seasick, or because I’m seeing the sea, or because I’m seeing you.”

“Don’t worry. I won’t tattle.”

“It’s probably because of that. My childhood dream was to be a navigator. I feel like I’m on an adventure, and that’s why my heart is racing.”

“I imagine you were a tomboy as a child.”

“That’s right. I was quite the tomboy, unlike my twin brother.”

“I didn’t know you had a twin brother.”

“Really? He caused me a lot of heartache. People say he’s calculating, smart, strong, and incredibly handsome, but I don’t know because he’s family. He’s so perfect that I was always compared to him, wondering why I wasn’t like that, born on the same day, with the same blood, and from the same womb. My dream of being a navigator was crushed because of that.”

“I think you’re incredible too, Senior.”

“Thanks, but it’s true that my sibling is superior enough to be compared to me. There’s a phrase that always follows him like praise: the Royal Road. Because he followed the path of the greatest knights in Imperial history without ever slipping. Almost unrealistically.”

“…”

“I’m different. I secretly rebelled and caused trouble behind the scenes, while his only act of rebellion was…”

Haley trailed off and hesitated for a moment before continuing, perhaps relying on the alcohol.

“…his only act of rebellion was enrolling in Eternia instead of the Imperial Academy.”

“Eternia?”

“Yeah.”

“Is it someone I know?”

Haley rested her chin on her hand, looking dazedly out over the railing.

“There’s probably no one who hasn’t heard the name Elliot Felton.”

“….”

“Of course, this is a secret. I’d rather die than be associated with Elliot as family.”

Haley couldn’t imagine how much I had lived with Elliot’s name in my mind even before I enrolled.

Swallowing once, my mouth felt dry. My chest ached as if hit by a club, but that pain gradually subsided after a few breaths. While the name wasn’t particularly welcome, it wasn’t painfully unbearable either.

Why am I adapting so quickly?

Perhaps it’s because the sea doesn’t thrill me, so the name Elliot doesn’t sting me either.

I’m changing. Everything gets diluted in the waves, including my sorrow, anger, and memories.

“Do you envy your twin sibling?”

“I used to, but not anymore. My sibling is an exceptional person, but I don’t think he’ll leave a big mark on the world.”

“He’s already following the path to becoming the best… why?”

Haley’s answer was simple.

“Because he doesn’t take adventures.”

End of Chapter