Chapter 108: Extracurricular Activity (7)

The Guard Leader spoke.

“You found the magical beast?”

“You were tailing me?”

“Hand it over.”

“Why were you following me?”

The Guard Leader’s expression hardened.

“You lack manners. Doesn’t the Academy teach etiquette?”

“I learned it. But I wasn’t taught to be polite to creeps who stalk me. So, why were you following me?”

The Guard Leader glanced around.

Three squad leaders and five guards filled the alley.

There were even more outside.

They’d come fully prepared when they followed Gerard.

Perhaps that’s why.

A thick smile spread across his face as he looked back at Gerard.

“Heh heh. Judging by your attitude, you’re not going to hand it over willingly.”

The Guard Leader raised his sword and asked,“Was it you who attacked my men last night?”

Gerard denied it with a brazen expression.

“Me? Nope.”

“Keke. You’re lying. You were the only one who left the house at that time. We followed you to hold you accountable for that.”

“No idea what you’re talking about. I was meeting the Guard Captain at that time.”

The Guard Leader’s face stiffened.

“I-Is that true?”

“Nope.”

“…….”

The Guard Leader stared at him, dumbfounded.

Then his face began to flush with rage.

There was nothing more to see.

Furious to the brim, the Guard Leader drew his sword.

At the same time, all his men assumed combat stances.

Yuria quickly stepped in.

“Wait a minute. Are you turning on allies without even checking, in a city like Roenberg? This child here isn’t a magical beast. He’s human.”

“Kuk kuk. That’s human? That looks human to you?”

“More human than you lot, at least.”

Gerard drew his longsword as well.

“……Senior.”

Yuria looked at him.

Her eyes showed confusion.

Well, I understood.

Yuria didn’t know.

What they’d done to Kimi, why they were after Kimi, and who was behind them.

All Yuria knew was that Kimi had become a werewolf.

That was it.

From her perspective, there wasn’t enough reason to fight.

Shing──

But she drew her sword and stood beside Gerard.

To her, Gerard himself was reason enough.

The alley soon turned into a blood-soaked battlefield.

Pow pow pow!

Starting with the Guard Leader’s scream, the city guards fell like leaves before the two of them.

It wasn’t a fight.

It was a cleanup.

When we emerged from the alley, the entrance was surrounded by a massive crowd, including the other cadets who’d been scattered.

“Senior Gerard? W-What’s…”

“What the hell did you just do?”

Their eyes darted between the two of us and the scene in the alley, finally landing on the werewolf.

A brief silence.

Then.

“Kyaa, kyaaa!”

“It’s a magical beast! A magical beast──!”

The citizens scattered like ants after a nuclear blast.

Yeah.

The festival was ruined.

Completely.

“…….”

Karina and the others stared at Gerard, who stood still.

Their eyes demanded an explanation.

Ivan’s gaze was particularly sharp.

“We’ll talk while we move. Let’s get out of here first. Yuria? Carry Kimi.”

“Yes, senior!”

The explanation was simple.

Gerard mixed truth with the lie he’d prepared.

“Last night, when I went for a walk to clear my head, I overheard something. The werewolf was Kimi, and the city guards were kidnapping Roenberg citizens to send to a lab.”

“Oh. So?”

“Yeah. I couldn’t hold back and took them down.”

“I knew it. Something smelled fishy.”

Karina snapped irritably as soon as she heard.

“Anyway, sorry for acting without discussing it. Even as team leader, I should’ve coordinated with you all.”

“What’s this guy talking about? You’re supposed to punish bad guys like that on the spot.”

“So, this werewolf…”

At Ivan’s question, Gerard nodded.

“Yeah. It’s Kimi.”

Ivan’s eyes darkened.

“What’s the plan now?”

“What plan? We contact Icata and have them all locked up. Right?”

Gerard didn’t answer.

Truthfully, a full-on fight with the city guards was an accident he hadn’t anticipated.

‘I was going to take it step by step.’

But since it had come to this, he decided to push forward quickly.

Having made his decision, Gerard changed direction.

“Senior, this isn’t the way to Bedrock’s place.”

Gerard nodded.

“If we go there, Bedrock will be in danger. I think it’s better to face them head-on.”

“So…”

“Yeah. We’re going to the City Guard Office.”

* * *

“Enemies!”

That’s what a guard leader shouted the moment he saw us at the City Guard Office entrance.

Yelling that, he raised his sword and charged.

‘Enemies, huh.’

I smirked.

I was actually grateful they were so openly hostile.

I told the others,“Let’s head to the Captain’s office on the third floor.”

What followed was a festival of a different kind.

“Argh!”

“Gaaaah!”

Crack──!

“My arm! My arm’s frozen!”

The city guards were no match for us to begin with.

They were just ordinary people with basic military training.

It was almost unfair to compare them to the Capital Defense Force in Icata.

And us?

‘The ultimate dream team.’

Ivan, Yuria, Karina, Rachel.

Even among the stars at the Academy, these were the geniuses who stood out.

Honestly, I thought they were better than my peers, the 888th class.

They’d even overcome real battles not seen in the original story.

Bam!

To the Roenberg city guards, we were a walking disaster.

So, I didn’t kill them.

Some might just be following orders from the Guard Captain, unfairly caught up in this.

‘But still.’

Considering the merciless imperial laws against evildoers, they might be better off dead.

“I can’t believe this.”

We’d just cleared the first floor when it happened.

A man stood at the second-floor railing, looking down at us.

It was the Guard Captain.

“Academy cadets, who should be protecting citizens by defeating magical beasts, are instead shielding one and turning their swords on their own people.”

“…….”

“Is this right?”

His words, invoking the Academy’s ideals, struck deep.

But none of the others wavered.

They trusted my words and judgment more than his sweet talk.

It made sense.

The Guard Captain didn’t know, but how many battles had I fought alongside them?

How much trust had we built?

‘I’ve really lived hard.’

Feeling a sense of pride, I looked up at the Guard Captain.

“It’s not too late. Hand over that filthy magical beast now, and I’ll treat everything so far as a childish mistake and let it slide.”

“And if I refuse?”

“Then I’ll send an official complaint to the Academy. I’ll also tip off Royal Dream to make it public. The consequences for you won’t be light.”

He added, emphasizing,“No, I’ll personally ensure you’re stripped of your cadet status. In my view, you lack the qualities of heroic cadets… Why are you laughing?”

The Guard Captain glared at me.

That’s when I realized I was laughing.

“Oh. I didn’t mean to laugh. Couldn’t control my expression.”

“Why are you laughing?”

“Because it’s funny.”

“What’s funny?”

I answered honestly.

“Well, the part about lodging a formal complaint with the Academy and ensuring we’re stripped of our cadet status. All of that?”

“Kuk kuk. You think I can’t do it? I have more connections in the capital than you know. I know central nobles and have ties to the Academy.”

So, he wanted to play a connections game with me.

My smile grew wider at the pathetic threat.

No, honestly, how could I not laugh?

‘It’s absurd.’

For reference, in the Frey Empire, three figures hold immense power, second only to the Emperor.

One is the current Central Knights Commander, Marquis Yamad Leonhardt.

Another is the master of the Magic Tower, Duke Zain, a Grand Mage.

And the last is the Academy’s Dean, Bell Toro.

And two of them are backing us.

Duke Zain and Dean Bell Toro.

So what?

You know central nobles and have ties to the Academy?

‘Big deal.’

I glanced at Karina, who was scoffing, completely unfazed by the threat.

“Phew. No choice, then. Let the magical beast teach these kids a lesson.”

The Guard Captain, with an uncomfortable expression, gave the order to attack.

The guards charged again.

Hesitantly.

They followed orders, but they all knew the overwhelming skill gap was insurmountable, even with their numbers.

And the Guard Captain must’ve known it too.

‘Is he banking on something?’

Just in case, I warned the others.

“I’ll take responsibility for the thinking, the choices, and the consequences—everything as the team leader (with Bell Toro behind me). So don’t worry and focus on protecting Kimi.”

“Yes!”

I’d already told Kimi.

Yuria was protecting him now, but if a situation arose where we couldn’t, he should use stealth to escape.

Looking up, the Guard Captain was still on the second floor.

He’d had plenty of time to flee, but he was acting relaxed.

‘He’s definitely got something up his sleeve.’

My prediction was spot-on.

Moments later, the back door opened and two men entered.

Feathered hats and billowing cloaks.

Underneath, leather armor and long scabbards were faintly visible.

They resembled Central Knights at a glance, but they were the Roenberg Knights, a private knight order in Roenberg.

The Guard Captain’s face visibly brightened as they entered.

“There they are!”

The knights revealed their hostility the moment they saw us.

As I locked eyes with one of them, I sensed an unsettling aura.

‘What? This guy’s no knight.’

A high cleric of the cult.

If that’s the case, was there any need to hold back?

Crack!

My sword, thrown instantly, pierced straight through the knight’s chest.

It didn’t stop there.

I snatched a guard’s sword swinging from the side and threw it at the other knight.

The knight, muttering something while looking at Kimi, had his throat pierced like a skewer.

Thud!

He collapsed pathetically.

I didn’t catch what he was saying.

Probably trying to use dark magic or something.

What was clear was that the city guards’ hope and faith vanished as quickly as it appeared.

The surroundings fell into a heavy silence, all eyes fixed on the knights who’d turned into cold corpses upon entry.

Then they stared at me, dazed.

“What? That’s demonic aura.”

“A dark mage? Not a Roenberg knight?”

Karina and Yuria, sensing the demonic aura emanating from the knights’ bodies, shouted.

Flinch-

That’s when I saw it.

Most of the city guards trembled at their words.

That meant the majority knew about the cult’s misdeeds, ignored them, and even participated.

“From now on, anyone who stands in our way will be judged as complicit with these dark mages and summarily executed on the spot by the authority of Academy heroic cadets. So.”

Looking straight into the guards’ eyes, I continued.

“Interfere from now on, and you’ll all die by my hand.”

Clang.

The sword of the man who seemed to be the Guard Leader dropped to the ground first.

That was the start.

The other guards dropped their weapons one by one, clearing the way.

“You idiots! Fight! I said fight, you morons! Have you forgotten who’s behind us? Or are you done making money? Huh!?”

Desperate shouts echoed from above.

I looked up.

“Eek!”

The Guard Captain, meeting my eyes, fled inside in terror.

“Wait right there.”

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