Episode 18 – Back in My Day (8)
“H-Headmaster, what brings you here so suddenly?!”
“It’s urgent, which is why I’ve burst in like this. I apologize.”
“No, not at all. Please, come in.”
The administrative officer, who seemed to have been relaxing at home, having even removed his wig to reveal a sparse crown, couldn’t hide his surprise upon seeing me arrive late in the evening.
He forced a smile and ushered me inside… but naturally, he must have been cursing me internally.
Of course, I wouldn’t care in the slightest.
“This concerns a new school operation initiative, which is closely related to city management, so I’ve come to see you about it.”
“You work tirelessly, day and night. However, that is my seat.”
“Ah, is that so? Well, does it really matter?”
I entered the reception room he had personally guided me to and, out of habit, plopped down in the seat of honor.
He grumbled, but I naturally ignored him.
It was too troublesome to get up again.
“Yes, well. Please, just sit. But what exactly is this new initiative that you’ve come so urgently about?”
“It’s nothing major.”
He nodded with a sigh that was almost a groan and sat in another seat.
I naturally accepted the tea poured by the summoned maid with trembling hands, then chuckled and revealed the full reason for my visit today.
At first, he listened with an indifferent expression, but gradually, his face turned pale.
“It’s not that difficult, is it? It’s about our academy independently resolving incidents and accidents that have always been problematic, without relying on the city’s administrative power or public security.”
“Absolutely not! That’s not a trivial matter at all!?”
However, unlike my casual remark as I leaned back crookedly in my chair with crossed legs, he shouted as if he couldn’t comprehend.
The Disciplinary Committee, which would move to uphold school rules, regulate, and control students.
The administrative officer seemed to have misunderstood them as a sort of private organization that would follow my orders, essentially acting as police.
“To organize such a coercive group by mobilizing students. It’s hard to predict what will happen if this gets out!”
“They follow the school rules, not me. It’s literally just child’s play; why are you overreacting so much?”
It’s true that there’s no concept of a Disciplinary Committee or Student Council in the academies of this world.
But it shouldn’t be such a strange idea.
“They aren’t just ordinary students. These are the integrated higher academies, only five of which exist in the Empire.
Unlike general academies that only teach common skills and academics, these are places that train mana-wielding magic knights…!”
“Students need to get used to the power they wield and take responsibility for it. As you said, those students are the hope of this nation, of humanity in this world.”
I clicked my tongue and shook my head.
I knew what the administrative officer was saying.
He was an ordinary person who hadn’t obtained mana, so he feared the students even more.
He refused to accept that superhumans, who freely wielded the blessed power of mana, would follow something other than his orders within his jurisdiction.
“No, absolutely not. This matter seems to be beyond my authority in the first place. Please reconsider, Headmaster, no, Your Excellency the Marquis!”
“I’m sorry, but my decision is firm. I believe this is necessary, so I cannot back down.”
I felt a bit sorry for him, as he was a sort of middle manager, but I had already made up my mind.
In truth, forming the Disciplinary Committee was partly for my convenience, but I also believed it could provide some students with essential experience for their future.
“In that case! You will have no choice but to speak directly with my liege. As I merely govern this place by proxy.”
“That’s fine too.”
As expected, he ultimately summoned his superior.
It was something I had anticipated anyway.
I accepted the offer without hesitation.
“At this hour, a direct communication came through, and I thought Gerolt had lost his mind, but this, indeed, warranted a direct call.”
“I didn’t think it was a big deal, but he was unusually fussed about it.”
“Perhaps, perhaps not.”
Within the crystal ball, the face of Count Levique, who was at his castle, appeared.
As the head of a great noble family, just turned forty with no visible wrinkles yet, he showed no particular wavering when he saw my face and heard my proposal.
“I’ll make sure they don’t cause trouble. It’s really just a small event among the students.”
“Actually, I don’t think it’s a big problem either. Gerolt’s point about others misunderstanding isn’t wrong, but if I, the lord of the territory where this ‘private organization’ would operate, say there’s no issue, then there won’t be much justification for attack.”
“I’d like you to do that.”
“I can. But Your Excellency the Marquis, as you know, the head of a faction never acts purely out of goodwill.”
When I, with my arms crossed, essentially pleaded “just do it” like this, he chuckled and shook his head.
As expected, he was one of the few great lords in the Empire, someone I couldn’t simply push around.
Naturally, all negotiations behind the scenes operate on a give-and-take basis, a transaction of equal terms.
Just as I receive from him, I also have something to give him.
“Let’s hear it and then I’ll decide.”
“I don’t ask for much. Just that you attend the ball and social gathering at our castle this holiday as my acquaintance and enjoy yourself until the end?”
“…What?”
However, Count Levique’s proposal deviated from common expectations, such as demanding school-related interests or asking for special favors for certain students.
“Your Excellency, who is solely focused on martial arts, may seem completely uninterested, but it’s quite important for the nobility, who hold tight to the interests of major businesses within the Empire, to have time to explore each other.”
“What exactly do you want me to do there? As you said, I have no interest in socializing or dancing.”
“You can just stand there quietly. It doesn’t seem like a great loss for you.”
“…”
He tried to persuade me by saying it wouldn’t be difficult.
However, I grasped the political intention hidden within his words.
‘Which faction, and what kind of person, was Count Levique? In the original story, he only appeared for a few lines.’
“Alright. I’ll give it a try.”
And soon, remembering that Count Levique was one of the current Emperor Lich’s close associates, I ultimately accepted the proposal.
It seemed he wanted to firmly establish me not just as the Emperor’s sword, but as part of the Emperor’s faction, like the other Seven Swords.
As he said, I couldn’t keep getting things for free forever.
“I’m an educator. I don’t like being involved in politics.”
“…Pardon?”
After the communication ended, I grumbled, and the administrative officer, Gerolt, who had been watching, scratched his head as if bewildered.
I wished for nothing else.
I was working so hard for the students, so I simply hoped they would grow well.
****
“So, it’s really happening. The Disciplinary Committee,”
“For now, it’s being managed internally by the student council, but it could be expanded later.”
As soon as Eve received cooperation from Count Levique, the lord, she officially announced the formation of the Disciplinary Committee.
Students who saw the notices posted on bulletin boards throughout the school were, naturally, horrified, impressed, and confused by the unprecedented birth of a student-led power structure.
Until now, corporal punishment and penalties were solely the authority of the responsible professors.
Although not perfectly adhered to, it was undeniably a fundamental principle of the integrated academies that all students, regardless of origin or social standing, were equal.
However, now that principle was being shattered, and a hierarchical division beyond simple senior-junior relationships had emerged among the students.
“It’s clear the Headmaster is trying to create a student group loyal to herself.”
“If the committee starts cracking down on students, who will the students resent? The committee, of course.”
Lizel and Karya, who had very naturally begun approaching Lassian after their secret sparring session last night, also looked displeased.
Lassian, facing them, scratched his head, unsure how to react to the yellow armbands on their arms.
“Th-This is, in any case, to learn more about it internally, since we were selected…!”
“Exactly! It’s absolutely not because we like wearing the armband!”
Perhaps feeling guilty under his strange gaze, both of them flared up and poured out explanations that hadn’t even been asked for.
“Please calm down. And I don’t think badly of it. After all, it’s true that students know student matters best. In my opinion, it doesn’t seem to have much significance.”
Lassian calmly considered who would benefit most from the formation of the Disciplinary Committee.
The committee members themselves would receive many benefits and rewards, but their responsibilities would also be great.
Conversely, if the committee’s appearance led to a significant reduction in student incidents and accidents as intended, the greatest beneficiaries would be the school and the Headmaster, who would otherwise have to deal with them.
Based on this, Lassian thought that Eve’s intentions might be simpler than he imagined.
“So the Headmaster is doing this just for her own convenience…”
“It might not be purely for that reason, but the Headmaster is someone who will do anything for efficient work processing.”
Lassian looked at the two female students bickering, saying things like “You’re more hypocritical” and “You don’t suit the Disciplinary Committee,” and responded to Karl, who had been watching cautiously.
‘It will be implemented starting this week. I guess we’ll just have to see what happens when it actually starts.’
Watching the endless power struggle between the girls, he cleared his mind and simply sipped the drink he’d been enjoying.
He would also be going out this weekend, so he would naturally see the committee, which would have begun its activities.