Damn Academy - Chapter 96
[Episode 96] The Shadow (19)
“To think there are waitlisted interviewees for the art club…”
Georgia muttered incredulously to herself as she flipped through the documents. There were still twenty-one applicants remaining. There had always been very few who wanted to join the art club, and typically they were processed soon after applying. This was the first time they had to schedule a specific time for entrance evaluations.
Knock knock
As the next candidate knocked, Georgia called out,
“Yes, come in.”
A girl with ash-gray hair entered and greeted Georgia with hands clasped together in a polite bow,
“Good morning.”
Georgia clicked her pen as she replied,
“Yes, have a seat.”
She examined the application form of the new candidate. She couldn’t just accept everyone who wished to join – the art club had limited space and a fixed budget, and there was a cap on the number of members Georgia could supervise. Each application necessitated careful consideration.
Thi s w a s co pi e d f r om k i n g m t l . or g
“Lilith Izelyus?”
“…Yes.”
Georgia studied Lilith’s face with an appreciative gaze. Beyond being appealing to the eye, from an aesthetic point of view, the lines of her eyes and nose were quite beautiful. There was even a baby-like fuzz on her face, untouched by hardship.
The Izelyus family, a name among the empire’s wealthiest. Owning the empire’s largest gold mines, they expanded their business reach into various fields.
“Hm… a noblewoman of an imperial distinguished family. You must have been quite the darling, coming from the Izelyus household.”
“…”
The Izelyus family was originally a prestigious line of magicians, with deep ties to Eternia. The first head of the family, Baretta Izelyus, was a top-notch magician who served as dean at Eternia hundreds of years ago. Over generations, the magical lineage grew fainter, leading the family on a different path from Eternia.
Nevertheless, the emergence of another magician from the family was an encouraging event.
“May I ask why you wanted to join the art club?”
“Throughout my life, I’ve only met people and engaged in hobbies that my parents wanted. Now, I want to pursue what interests me.”
Compared to the previous applicants, this was not a bad response. At least she didn’t blatantly say she came only to see a boy.
“Is that your only purpose? For example, are you here to look for someone?”
“…I believe it’s important to find people you mesh well with. This is a community activity, and I can’t learn everything on my own.”
“Hmm… Just so you know, if you’re here to look for a certain first-year combat male student, he’s not here. He transferred somewhere else.”
“…?”
“Anyway. Have you drawn before?”
“My magic instructor once said that someone good at drawing could also draw good magic circles, so I’ve practiced a bit. But that’s it, really.”
“Alright. That’s not bad.”
It’s rare for someone to start drawing purely for the love of art. Even Georgia herself began by drawing herbal illustrations. Better than those who feigned purity.
Lilith seemed to be carrying something on her mind, fidgeting with her hands. Georgia glanced over the application again and remarked,
“Nervous? What’s there to be nervous about? You’re not dying if you get rejected.”
“…”
The application confirmed she wasn’t transferring from another department. She seemed to have chosen the art club after some thought.
“Okay. You seem fine. Go ahead and leave for now. Tell the next person to come in on your way out.”
“…”
***
T h i s w a s c op ie d f r o m k i n g mt l .or g
“Hey!”
As I was heading to the art club greenhouse for drawing practice, a shrill female voice pierced through the morning calm.
I looked around. It was early, and the campus seemed deserted. Just as I was about to move on, the call came again,
“Wait, just a minute! Hey, you!”
This time the voice came from behind the shrubbery, out of sight from the walkways.
Following the voice, I found a schoolgirl sitting behind a tree, wearing a tight training outfit and clutching her ankle, grimacing.
“Oh, thank goodness someone’s passing by at this time. I was in a rush and twisted my ankle – can you help me?”
Running around in such a place at this hour indeed made for an odd situation.
“…How can I assist you?”
She extended her arms, asking for support,
“Just help me up for a moment.”
I grabbed one of her arms and slowly lifted her up. We moved forward arm in arm, slowly and carefully.
She tried to limp along but soon complained,
“This is difficult. Our shoulder heights are too different. Isn’t there another way?”
“Just wait here and I’ll bring you a potion.”
She bit her lip a few times, and then, clearly anxious, said,
“Ouch, I’m kind of in a hurry, don’t have time to wait… Could you just take me to the dance studio? Do you know where it is?”
I couldn’t see any other way around it.
T h i s was c o p i ed f r o m ki ng m t l . o rg
“…I’ll carry you.”
“Ah, can you? I’m quite light, so it shouldn’t be too much for you.”
As I bowed slightly, she quickly leaned on my back, wrapping her arms around my neck.
Once I lifted her, she pointed in a direction, saying,
“Go straight ahead, then turn next to the large auditorium.”
T hi s wa s c o p i e d f r o m k i n g mtl . o r g
“…Understood.”
As we progressed, I sensed something was off.
Her body clung needlessly close, and the arm around my neck kept slipping down, brushing over my chest. Wasn’t it supposed to be the dance studio she needed to get to? Something didn’t feel right.
“Hey, you’re quite sturdy for someone with your appearance. Are you from the combat department?”
Th i s w a s c o p i e d f ro m k ingmtl . or g
“Yes.”
“You must be good at physical activities.”
“…”
“Just making conversation – not much of a talker, are you? Sorry.”
After a short distance, we turned the corner by the auditorium.
And unexpectedly, I ran into someone at the bend in the alley – none other than Jenia, the art club’s vice president. She seemed to be waiting there as if she knew someone would come by, arms crossed in front of her.
As soon as I saw her, I stopped in my tracks.
Jenia greeted us with a faint smile,
“Hello.”
“…?”
Seeing our blank expressions, she greeted again,
“Mila, senior, hello?”
The girl on my back responded uneasy,
“Ah… Jenia, hi.”
“Damian, can you put down Mila, senior?”
Th i s w as co p i ed fr om k i n gm t l. o r g
The girl loosened her hold and slid down from my back. Now standing on her own feet and appearing fully able-bodied, she glanced uneasily at Jenia, looking like a thief caught red-handed.
“Mila, senior. May I take Damian?”
“Oh, oh! Sure. I’ll be off then. Hey… thanks for the help!”
Mila was clearly intimidated by Jenia and quickly made her exit. What was it about Jenia that made a more senior figure like Mila so jittery?
After watching Mila depart, Jenia approached me and grabbed my collar, shaking it vigorously.
“How come boys never learn to say no? How will you survive being so naive? You were about to cross a point of no return with that dance department stunt. You got that? Did you like that swine coming on to you so much? Huh? Did you enjoy that?”
…I knew something felt suspicious but I didn’t expect it to be such trickery.
“Calm down.”
What could have happened in the past to provoke such a hysterical reaction from an art club member?
Jenia released my collar, coughing awkwardly, perhaps embarrassed by her overreaction,
“Ahem, anyway, I had a bad feeling… and here it is.”
“…?”
“I can’t leave you unattended this week. Let’s go to the greenhouse. I’ll show you how to mix paints.”
***
“What, Pavela has been here the whole time?”
Pavela and a few other unidentified girls were already at the greenhouse, waiting for the midday lesson.
Jenia arrived with an easel, palette, and paint jars, then seated me right beside her.
“So, newbie. You don’t know how to use paints, do you?”
I nodded.
“First, what would you like to draw? Decide that.”
What I planned involved a considerable focus on a figure, but technically, it was a landscape.
“A landscape.”
“Good. What you’ll paint is this.”
Jenia placed an apple on a stand for still-life painting and instructed,
“Try drawing this apple. Mix red and yellow carefully to find the right shade. You learn about color harmony this way. Once you’ve mastered the red hues, you can gradually expand to other colors. Got it? You need to develop a sense for color combinations. Landscape comes much later.”
“…”
I received a crash course from Jenia until noon. I was quite confident in tasks that demanded precision and a good sense for detail.
Jenia would leave me to draw, then return repeatedly, each time suspecting someone else had done the drawing for me.
“What’s this? Did you already learn elsewhere?”
“It’s thanks to your excellent instruction.”
“…”
After the art club’s midday session, Jenia tutored me for a couple more hours.
Skeptic to the end, she eyed me piercingly and said,
T h i s w a s c o p ie d f r o m k i ngmt l . o r g
“You’re not some professional pretending you don’t know anything just to deceive us, are you?”
“…No.”
“You’re a first for me… I can’t even tell anymore. I guess at this point you could just sketch your landscape.”
She left for the dormitory as if she hadn’t expected her teaching to be that effective.
I intended to continue practicing, discarding several attempts once I got the feel of it, before I’d create something proper.
I stayed in the greenhouse, immersed in my drawings, recalling the Weisel forest and Silveryn’s mansion, sketching each scene lightly.
One by one, the others drawing in the greenhouse began to leave.
By the time the day began to darken, only Pavela and I remained.
The sunset bathed the greenhouse, and the only sound was the swish of brushes.
I changed the canvas and started sketching earnestly.
Suddenly, I became aware of Pavela’s voice behind me.
Not sure why, but just the sound of Pavela, or perhaps being alone with her in the space didn’t sit well with me. If I pondered it overnight, I might pinpoint the reason. But even the thought of doing so was distasteful.
As I worked, the sounds of her brush stopped abruptly.
She rose and slowly approached me with her footsteps.
Standing behind me, she spoke in a calm, careful voice,
“You’re really focused on what you’re painting…”
“…”
“That’s a lovely sketch of a lake… The landscape itself looks pleasant.”
“…”
“I like such scenery… Would it be alright if I ask what you’re painting?”
“Simply a landscape.”
“The Liara region…? Or maybe Saton?”
T h is wa s c o p i e d f r o m k in g mt l . o r g
“…”
“The person sitting on the spread-out mat is… who?”
Why suddenly act all friendly?
I didn’t respond. There was no reason nor need. I just preferred her not to bother me with my work.
Seeing that I didn’t answer, Pavela seemed a bit flustered and changed the subject,
“Ah, maybe I shouldn’t have asked. Sorry for disturbing your focus… Do you want me to bring you some tea or something?”
“No, I’ll be wrapping up and leaving now.”
T h i s w as c o pi e d f rom k i n g m t l .o r g
I stopped sketching and began to gather my things. Without looking back, I left the greenhouse.
After walking for a while, I realized in my haste I’d left my sketching notebook behind.
Turning around, I saw Pavela still standing at my canvas, her head bowed down.
Since it wasn’t important, I chose not to return.
T h is w a s c o p ie d f ro m kin g m tl . o r g
I headed straight to the labyrinth.
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