Chapter 12: -in i mean (2)

This world is no longer a work of fiction.

Moreover, even events that had been reduced to mere possibilities were likely significantly affected, with only a few exceptions.

My very existence, and all the actions I’ve taken, are those influences.

“It’s never a pleasant sight, no matter when one visits, is it?”

Lich chuckled, shielding his face from the hot, harsh wind with his hand.

Though it was the Demon Realm, it was a desolate wasteland of red, parched earth.

No signs of life could be felt anywhere.

Looking at the history of this world, it is said that in the mythical era of long ago, the Demon Realm, defeated in a war for the fate of the world, had its connection severed and subsequently perished.

And indeed, it had perished.

Now, all that remained in this forsaken land were a few terrible beasts that had survived even this harsh environment.

“Let’s go. To the ruins we discovered last time.”

We retrieved the Iron Steed, a magical artifact hidden in a large rock crevice nearby.

This essence of magical puppetry, made of a mana-infused core and iron plates, was secretly brought here by Lich and was the only vehicle that could help us traverse this vast world.

The problem was that there were only two of them.

Lich grinned and patted the seat in front of him, inviting me.

“Come to think of it, I never asked. I was quite busy when I sent the letter.”

“What?”

“Why, exactly, did you choose to completely overhaul the school’s customs and policies? There were quite a few sincere petitions from relevant parties, including officials from other regional academies, aside from the obvious nobles who were instigated by the professors.”

As we traversed the land on the Iron Steed, Lich brought up a sudden topic to me, who was seated in front of him.

“Why? Did you request to be sent as the headmaster of Ragpedia with that goal in mind from the start?”

“That’s right. But if you ask the reason, I cannot answer.”

“Is that so?”

I didn’t deny his words, but I couldn’t answer beyond that.

However, it seemed that was enough for him.

“The you I know doesn’t do anything pointless. Although it’s just a mere academy, going there to overhaul the school rules and policies must mean you want to change something through it, right?”

‘…’

He began to deduce.

True to his brilliant mind, he continued his plausible reasoning, considering the cause and effect and logic of the situation.

“Do you want to change the students? Well, I don’t know the reason, but in any case, you also wish to change something, just like me.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“You know it too. The Emperor of the Empire suffering like this and roaming such dangerous places isn’t just out of simple curiosity.”

Lich grinned slyly, mentioning the similarity between us.

I instinctively furrowed my brow, but I couldn’t refute his claim.

Through my memories so far and this encounter, I had confirmed that his desire for change was genuine.

In that case, could the hope that failed in the original story truly succeed at this moment?

“Your Majesty! I feel vibrations from the ground! It seems we’ve been spotted by some kind of ground worm!”

“Then we can’t outrun it with the Iron Steed’s speed. I’ll leave it to you!”

Just then, Guilford, who was riding beside us, shouted.

I too clicked my tongue, realizing the faint vibrations that had been bothering me for a while.

“Fortunately, it seems to be a juvenile.”

“I’ve seen it before, but it’s still disgusting to look at.”

What emerged from the ground, accompanied by enormous vibrations and a thunderous roar, was a monster resembling a giant larva.

A subspecies of demon beast recorded as a Deathworm in ancient texts.

Fortunately, its size was only a few tens of meters, and the large mouth on its front was only a few meters in diameter, leading to the assumption that it was not an adult.

However, it was undoubtedly an annoying monster.

Moreover, its speed in breaking through the ground and swimming was faster than the Iron Steed, so if left alone, we would be caught.

“I! I will deal with it!”

Guilford pulled out his weapon, which was attached to the Iron Steed.

It was a large greatsword with a blade as wide as a human face.

“No. Just keep running.”

But I decided to step forward myself.

That giant ground worm had terrible compatibility with knights due to its unique defense.

I didn’t think Guilford would lose, but I didn’t want to waste time.

“Ah! What are you doing, Ice Witch!”

I kicked off the back of the Iron Steed, leaped into the air, and did a backflip, glancing at Guilford’s furious expression.

The other members of the Seven Swords were similar, but that bald octopus-like man, Guilford, was particularly wary of me.

“It just means we don’t have time, so let’s go quickly.”

Grinning at him, I released and manipulated mana, quickly readjusting my position in the air.

[Ice Wheel Technique: Ice Platform Step]

Thanks to this, I righted myself and kicked off the air once more, consequently moving tens of meters without touching the ground.

Ice Platform Step was a technique that created a thin sheet of ice beneath my feet, allowing me to step on it and leap through the air.

Using it, I instantly arrived in front of the ground worm and extended my hand, firing a type of concentrated mana bullet.

[Ice Wheel Technique: Ice Shattering Strike]

The bullet that left my hand tore through the air, becoming a streak of light that flew and struck the ground worm’s tooth-filled mouth.

All demon beasts in the Demon Realm contained a large amount of magic power, or mana, within their bodies.

While one of their fraudulent characteristics was naturally possessing anti-magic power, my ability to forcibly neutralize the opponent’s mana power didn’t care about such things.

“That’s incredible. In a single blow.”

“Its mouth is also a weak point.”

As I landed softly on the ground, the ground worm, with large holes torn through its mouth and head, collapsed with a terrible scream.

Lich, who had returned, reached out his hand to me in admiration.

I took his hand and got back onto the Iron Steed.

“Doing this already isn’t very good. There will likely be a few more confrontations, and if those complaining professors or students knew that the headmaster was struggling like this for them, their reaction might be a bit different.”

“I don’t wish for such a thing.”

I scoffed at his words.

There was no need to even go as far as the students.

Not just the professors, but no one in this land could even imagine fighting ancient demon beasts in the Demon Realm.

Their worlds were literally different.

‘It is a bit unfair though.’

Of course, it was also true that I felt a little angry thinking about the professors and student council members who had misunderstood me as idly doing as I pleased without knowing anything, and then rebelliously stood against me.

****

“What’s wrong, Dean?”

“No, nothing at all. Perhaps someone’s talking ill of me, haha.”

At a time when someone, somewhere, had just one-shotted a large ancient demon beast and was riding the Iron Steed at full speed.

The academy, which had just begun its semester and was utterly peaceful, was spending a languid afternoon after lunch.

The same was true for the professors of swordsmanship, who were still holding meetings and unable to resume classes because their revised curriculum had not yet been approved.

Roman, the dean, even made a joke, which was unlike him.

“Everyone is tired and bored, so let’s finish quickly. In any case, we need to start proper classes three days from now, so it would be best to finalize this, the final, final, final version of the revised curriculum, as is.”

“I agree that we need to resolve this quickly, Dean. However, aren’t we planning too excessively?”

At Roman’s words, as he shook his head and regained his focus, one of the professors spoke with a worried expression.

Their revised plan, he suggested, might be too ‘intense’ compared to what was initially expected.

“We had no choice if we were to comply with all the demands the headmaster arbitrarily enforced. Furthermore, since the Magic Department has already had all their plans approved under Professor Griezmann’s leadership, how can we knights fall behind them?!”

“That’s true.”

“You speak correctly.”

Most of the professors nodded at Roman’s words, as he pressed his forehead as if he had a headache.

The demands Eve had made of the knight studies professors were not just one or two.

They included basic physical training, fitness tests, practical exercises, practical duels, tactical training, formation drills, and so on.

These measures completely reset the existing knight studies education, which had gradually shifted from training knights for practical combat to a commander-style education focused on leading troops, with an increasing emphasis on theory.

Moreover, Eve’s ‘divide and conquer’ strategy was not limited to just the two student councils.

As intended by Eve, who skillfully drove a wedge between the Magic Department and the Knight Studies Department—which already had a rivalry—by promising performance-based bonuses for superior scholarship and differential treatment, they had no choice but to be conscious of and keep each other in check.

“Honestly, for us, it just means more things to worry about and a bit of annoyance. But the students’ complaints will grow.”

“The headmaster will handle it herself, just like last time. Now that it’s impossible to just sit back and collect subsidies, we won’t have to see those defiant brats like before.”

Bitter laughter erupted here and there at someone’s mention of the students.

As they said, it was the students who were most affected by the drastically changed educational policies.

After the student council’s rebellion, which was the only group that could voice their opinions, was suppressed without a peep, the students, having no other recourse, simply had to accept it.

And finally, three days later, Ragpedia ended its adaptation period and began a proper semester with a completely revamped educational system.