Chapter 4: -the new principal (4)

4-New Headmaster (4)

“Will you dine immediately after the general assembly?”

“Won’t the timing be awkward if it ends too early? I doubt there’s even anything substantial to discuss in the meeting.”

“I suppose so, too?”

It was 9 AM, the scheduled time for the general assembly.

The faculty, administration, and even their assistants from the Imperial Academy Lagpedia were gathering in groups of two and three, heading towards the school headquarters’ grand conference room, which seated hundreds.

As they waited, the professors chatting amongst themselves wore bright expressions.

Their faces showed not a trace of worry.

Logically, this grand conference, where everything for the new semester was to be reported and approved by the new school head, should have been a tense occasion.

Even after Illia had separately notified them right before that it would be good to reinforce the content, they remained like this.

“What would the school head know? As you know… *cough*, considering their background.”

But the professors didn’t care.

It was practically a long-standing custom for the school head not to interfere with the processes proposed by the professors.

It was an unwritten rule, upheld for decades, that the school head simply filled the position, handled administrative duties, and collected a hefty salary and prestige.

“Have you finished checking the data?”

“Yes, Professor. But why did you say we needed to make such urgent revisions?”

“…It’s just a hunch. You’ll understand when you reach my age. You can roughly tell a person’s character just by looking at their eyes. Don’t be fooled by their youthful appearance.”

However, Griezmann, seated among the elder professors, was different.

He had barely slept last night, having revised and re-checked parts of the curriculum he had intended to submit as it was from last year, with the assistant sitting beside him.

‘Those eyes, those purple eyes. They were literally the epitome of cold-bloodedness. People like that will stop at nothing to achieve their goals.’

The reason he made this choice, despite the commotion last night, was because of the school head he encountered during that incident: Eve.

The look in her eyes as she glared at him was still vivid in his mind.

“Didn’t she even give us a direct hint? I guarantee it might get quite noisy in a little while.”

“The school head has arrived!”

While he was brooding, watching his other colleagues laugh and chat, a voice from the door announced the school head’s arrival.

Since courtesy had to be observed, everyone instantly fell silent, rose from their seats, and began applauding towards the door.

‘Just as I thought.’

Soon, Eve, dressed in a splendid uniform, strode directly through them towards the head seat.

With her characteristic half-lidded eyes, which didn’t spare a glance at her surroundings, Griezmann unconsciously swallowed dryly.

“First, the oath to the Imperial Flag and Royal Flag, and the pledge of the citizens…”

“No, we’ll omit all of that. We might be short on time.”

Eve, seated at the highest elevated seat in the center of the conference room, sharply cut off the moderator who was about to proceed with the meeting according to the event sequence.

A few flinched at her attitude, but most actually thought little of it at the time.

“I’ve already received and read a brief summary, but if there’s any department with changes, I’ll receive reports now.”

Eve continued speaking, looking down at them.

At her words asking if there were any changes, the professors, flustered, exchanged glances amongst themselves.

They were more bewildered by Eve’s unreserved tone and attitude towards them than by the content they were supposed to report.

“None?”

“Th-there is, Headmaster! It’s the Magic Circuit Department!”

At that moment, Griezmann’s assistant raised a hand and stood up.

As all eyes instantly turned to him, even for a veteran assistant, his complexion quickly paled.

“Illia. Bring it here.”

Eve, who had been quietly watching him, told Illia, who was standing by, to bring the stack of documents the assistant was holding.

In that brief moment, only silence filled the large conference room, so quiet that only the clicking sound of Illia’s heels echoed.

And after that, only the rustling sound of Eve flipping through the papers she had received could be heard.

‘S-speed reading?’

However, the speed at which the pages turned was unusual.

It didn’t even take three minutes to examine all hundreds of pages as they rapidly fluttered by.

“I’ve confirmed everything with this and reached a conclusion. No department can pass this general assembly today.”

Only then did Eve speak again.

And with words that were highly shocking.

“Wh-wh-what on earth do you mean, Headmaster!?”

“What I scrutinized most carefully was whether there were any changes from last year to this year. Surprisingly, apart from the Magic Circuit Department, which just gave me the revised version, not a single word… has changed in the other departments.”

Naturally, the greatly flustered professors protested so loudly that even the administrative staff were startled, but Eve didn’t bat an eye.

“Of course! Following last year’s curriculum, our Lagpedia has produced 5 Imperial Knights, 11 Imperial Magic Tower Researchers, 24 High Knights, and 18 High Mages, truly maintaining its position as the Empire’s number one academy!”

“If this were the early days of the academy, it would certainly be an excellent achievement. But do you think I wouldn’t know? Out of the dozens of students you just mentioned, how many truly reached that level by ‘their own skill’? You’ve been openly abusing the donation-based admission system, created for the academy’s early operation, to grant special favors to specific students.”

“Th-that’s…”

Eve spoke directly, but the protesters were momentarily speechless.

They knew that what had become a culture, now to be called a long-standing custom, was fundamentally wrong.

A solid custom built upon fundamental wrongs began to waver under the external pressure trying to undermine it.

“An academy established to teach talented individuals regardless of their social standing, to benefit the Empire and humanity, is now being used as a stepping stone for the strong ties between the powerful and the wealthy. Aren’t you professors ashamed? I heard that many of the professors here are from the academy’s early days, who succeeded on their own without any power… So now that you’re comfortable, are you going to kick the ladder away so that the younger generation can’t climb up?”

“You’re going too far!”

The atmosphere grew increasingly hostile.

Despite this, Eve merely scoffed and continued with her near-venomous remarks, and some professors, greatly enraged, protested vehemently.

“If that’s not the case, then just prove it. Return to your original intentions and cultivate true talents, not just those who are superficially brilliant.”

“This cannot be! Th-the newly appointed Headmaster cannot disregard us professors who have served Lagpedia for so long like this! Is this, perhaps, the will of the entire administration?”

“Huh?! Why are we suddenly involved in that…”

One of the enraged professors, provoked by Eve’s calm reaction, suddenly brought up the school administration.

The power struggle between the faculty and the administration for control over the academy’s operation had been a long-standing tradition, so he was questioning whether the school head, being part of the administration, had intervened.

Of course, the administrative staff, who had been observing, frantically shook their heads.

“You’re making foolish assumptions. What I’m doing now is not about that petty, insignificant power struggle, nor is it to screw over the faculty, nor to ruin the school’s operation. The HR department, which routinely conducted corrupt appointments, and the Admissions Office, which turned a blind eye to illegal admissions, will also have to report back to me and undergo internal audits.”

Eve openly scoffed at their misstep.

At her words, which mercilessly struck at the shameful practices that had been overlooked as custom, even the administrative staff looked up at her in horror.

“Then what is the reason? Headmaster, everyone here knows who you are. What exactly do you desire, having just awakened from a long slumber?”

“Dean of Knight Studies, Roman Grave.”

At that moment, a middle-aged professor with an exceptionally large and muscular build, whose uniform clung tightly, glared at her with fiery eyes.

Eve recognized his name from his rough, manly face.

It would have been stranger not to recognize him, as he was one of the two representatives dividing the academy.

“I desire only one thing: for this academy to become an institution so excellent that it will someday be called the hope of humanity. And for the students who graduate from here to survive and achieve what they desire.”

“What on earth does that mean…”

“It merely means returning to the basics. Isn’t that well within the Headmaster’s authority? What could possibly be achieved if the fundamentals aren’t in place, no matter what one aims for?”

Eve, with her eyes unchanged but her lips twisted into a smirk, answered his question as if asking, ‘What do you even know?’

To Eve, who knew the secrets of the world, all of this seemed pathetic; however, to those unaware, Eve appeared as a tyrant and dictator personified.

“You still seem to have many complaints. Do I look like an impurity disrupting the traditions and order you’ve created? So, do you wish to vent that anger, Professor Grave? Through the tradition of knights.”

Eve saw right through it and provoked her opponent first.

“If that can convince you, I don’t mind.”

“It seems that the Headmaster, who hasn’t experienced a modern academy, finds this old-fashioned way more comfortable than a wise discussion befitting this repository of intellect where excellent scholars gather.”

Ultimately, Roman Grave, the Dean of Knight Studies, succumbed to the provocation, pushed aside the other professors who were trying to restrain him in confusion, and stepped forward to the center, removing his outer coat.