Subscriber of the Gods Chapter 386 - Kabak Inter-Academy Exchange (2)

“Well then, Teacher Ethan, I’ll leave it to you.”

The opening ceremony began with a display of magnificent fireworks.

Ghost Sword entrusted the rear to Ethan and headed towards the upper platform.

The upper platform was reserved for the principals of each academy.

“It’s been a while.”

Ghost Sword first greeted the principal of Vogue Academy. This young principal had made quite an impression at the meeting attended by the principals.

He was the main reason Vogue Academy was participating in this exchange program for the first time.

“Thank you for your efforts in allowing our Vogue Academy to participate in this exchange program. My teachers, students, and I will work hard not to disappoint any of the academies participating this time.”

The Vogue Academy principal said with a smile.

After greeting each principal in turn, Ghost Sword greeted the last principal.

“It’s been a while, hasn’t it? Damn, what an enviable bastard you’ve become.”

“Even as a principal, that foul mouth of yours hasn’t changed. Try to carry yourself with some gravitas. I knew it from the moment you called yourself Sword Saint despite Ramsdale’s Sword Saint being around, you Mad Sword.”

The principal of Freya Academy, Sword Saint, welcomed Ghost Sword.

Snow-white hair and an elegant gray mustache.

Intense muscles felt through his light attire.

And the most striking feature was his eyes, tinged with a subtle madness.

As Ghost Sword said, although he shared the same title as Jed Ramsdale, the Sword Saint of the Twelve Families Ramsdale, no one called the Freya principal Sword Saint.

The title people used for him was Mad Sword.

He wasn’t Mad Sword because he was crazy about swords, but because he was a madman wielding a sword.

“Are you suggesting we have a go at it?”

“That’s why they call you Mad Sword. You should learn to be more dignified with age.”

Ramsdale’s Sword Saint, Ghost Sword, and Mad Sword.

They were all of similar age.

Being more than 10 years older than the other academy principals, the other principals could only smile awkwardly at the commotion between the two.

“Where on earth did you find such talent?”

“Find? Teacher Ethan chose our Ivecar.”

“So you got lucky? He chose you, you say. Isn’t that a blow to your pride!”

Ghost Sword merely smirked at Mad Sword’s provocation.

“That’s right. We were lucky. I did the recruiting, but it would have been strange not to. Does it hurt your pride? Can you still say that after seeing Teacher Ethan?”

Ghost Sword recalled when he hired Ethan.

From start to finish. Ethan was unlike any other teacher he had ever seen.

“Starting with the donation, he knew how to make himself stand out appropriately.”

His already perfect talent as an educator.

Ethan might have already been complete at that point.

Thinking about it, it was Ethan who chose Ivecar, not Ivecar choosing Ethan.

“We were truly lucky. And you were unlucky.”

“It would have been great if he had come to our Freya.”

Mad Sword clicked his tongue.

Saying it would have been great had a different meaning.

“You would have lost, Mad Sword.”

“I would lose?”

Mad Sword looked at Ghost Sword. Ghost Sword wasn’t one to joke around.

“Are you serious?”

“Look at our Teacher Ethan. Then you’ll understand.”

Mad Sword narrowed his eyes and looked at Ethan, who was holding the Ivecar Academy flag.

“He looks quite ordinary, unlike the rumors. I had high expectations. Is he perhaps in poor health? I’ve heard a few things. They say Teacher Ethan Whiskers is very ill.”

Mad Sword’s ears were everywhere.

That’s why he had already heard about Ethan’s illness.

“They call it Extinction, don’t they? That rare disease.”

“That’s right, Teacher Ethan is suffering from Extinction. Because of that, his talents aren’t being fully utilized in many ways. There are quite a lot of restrictions.”

“Is that why?”

Ghost Sword shook his head at Mad Sword’s words.

“Your instincts must have dulled.”

Saying that, Ghost Sword wondered what it would have been like if he were in Mad Sword’s position.

A new teacher surrounded by rumors.

Meeting him in person, he appears quite ordinary.

Then one would surely think the rumors must have been exaggerated.

As he said himself, saying the instincts have dulled is inappropriate. From a third person’s perspective, it’s a perfectly normal judgment.

“Isn’t it strange that he looks so ordinary?”

“It is strange. But he’s a new teacher, isn’t he?”

“Drop the notion of him being a new teacher and look closely.”

At Ghost Sword’s words, the principals of other academies also closely examined Ethan.

The principal of Vogue Academy, in particular, looked at Ethan most seriously.

This was Vogue Academy’s first participation in the inter-academy exchange. Because of this, they had put an especially large effort into preparing for this inter-academy exchange.

They needed to show their best in the first exchange to secure a firm position in future exchanges.

They intended to make a strong impression not only in the Demon Empire but also in the Holy Empire.

So there was a need to closely examine the skills of the teacher that the Holy Empire’s academy was boasting about.

“…Huh.”

Once they dropped their preconceptions, they started to see what they had missed before.

“……”

Mad Sword’s eyes gleamed.

“Forget about sparring. At least in this exchange, Teacher Ethan won’t be fighting you. Don’t try to sneak in a match either.”

“Ha, ha-! Unbelievable. At that age, and even with Extinction, he’s at that level?”

Only then did Mad Sword’s eyes fully open.

The other principals were also exhaling deeply, marveling at Ethan’s true face.

“Damn it! How am I supposed to resist?”

Mad Sword was a person who had transcended the realm of winning and losing. If he won, that was good, and even if he lost, as long as he could fight to his satisfaction, there was no problem.

That was the very reason he had taken on the role of academy principal.

“Teacher Kai Felix is quite capable too. But he hasn’t fully grown yet. That’s why I’ve been holding back.”

Grin-.

Ghost Sword was in quite a good mood. This was it. This was the reaction he had been waiting and waiting for to see at this inter-academy exchange.

Everyone here had seen Ethan with their own eyes and realized his true worth.

“I, you know, came to this exchange with a very relaxed mindset.”

Ghost Sword, sitting comfortably in his seat, raised his chin and looked down at the other principals.

“After all, our Ivecar will win this exchange anyway. The rest of you can compete for second place.”

***

“I am Scottman, the Director of the Total Academy Management Bureau, in charge of managing the 17th inter-academy exchange held here in the neutral territory of Kabak.”

It was a dignified voice.

Scottman, the Director of the Total Academy Management Bureau, was already a continental elder well over 100 years old.

“This exchange will involve six academies, and it’s particularly significant as it’s the first exchange to nominally bring together the two empires, breaking the unwritten rule that has separated the academies of the Holy Empire and the Demon Empire until now.”

Of course, Vogue Academy was slightly closer to the Holy Empire than the Demon Empire, which allowed them to participate in this exchange, but that wasn’t so important.

“This is the first token of unity. You have been entrusted with this crucial role.”

His words instilled a sense of pride in the hearts of all the academy students.

Even if it was nominal unity, they couldn’t help but feel good about being tasked with being the first stepping stone.

Of course, there were far more people who were secretly sizing each other up.

While unity was important, competition was what really mattered.

While everyone was sizing each other up, the Ivecar students somehow found this situation quite enjoyable.

They could clearly feel the wariness from the students of other academies.

“This exchange will last for a total of 4 days. Academy students, you can choose and participate in the exchanges that will take place over these 4 days. In addition to the exchanges you’ve pre-registered for, you can also apply for and participate in exchanges on-site, so I hope you’ll gain a lot over these 4 days.”

Snap!

As Scottman snapped his fingers, something began to rise up behind him.

It looked like dozens, no, hundreds of parchments. The parchments, folded like butterflies, flew from behind Scottman and embraced the students.

“This is a guide to the schedule for this exchange program. Make sure not to lose it.”

The students here didn’t know who Scottman was.

But among the teachers, there were those who knew.

Scottman, the flawless Archmage.

Usually, the director of the management bureau rarely comes to the inter-academy exchange.

Typically, the deputy director or a team leader from the management bureau would come.

Of course, this exchange had various symbolic meanings.

“Is it because of Vogue Academy……”

“There was also the recent incident at Ivecar Academy. Safety issues must be ensured. I think that’s probably why Director Scottman came.”

Safety issues. And the issue of the newly participating Vogue Academy.

Of course, these two reasons were there, but there was an even bigger reason.

A problem that necessitated the participation of not only Scottman but also the deputy director.

That reason was the congratulatory speech.

“Deputy Director, is everything prepared for certain?”

“Yes.”

“It’s a nominally very good opportunity, but I never expected both of them to come.”

“I feel the same, Director. One of them, I can understand, but the other one has no reason to be here……”

“There’s never been. They’ve never cared about the exchange before.”

Scottman wondered what wind had blown from the imperial family.

“It’s perfect for adding prestige to this exchange. Princess Evangeline requested to give a congratulatory speech, which is great for us.”

“She came, abandoning her research. I hope this exchange is worth that much. But you know.”

There was something he couldn’t understand at all.

The inter-academy exchange was always an event that required great effort.

It was a very important event that added experience to the young sprouts growing on the continent, and at the same time, it needed to be an event where accurate evaluations were made.

That’s why it was always difficult to find evaluators.

“Didn’t you struggle quite a bit to invite evaluators who could achieve both fair judging and evaluation? That’s why this exchange needed prestige.”

Because of that, Scottman had sent letters to the imperial family in his name and even visited them in person.

It was a request to add the imperial family’s name to the exchange.

But he was rejected every time.

After that, Scottman gave up trying to add the imperial family’s prestige to the exchange.

“That was the case, so what wind has blown now?”

“Well… I was so curious that I asked. It was such a sudden request. Princess Evangeline’s guard explained the reason directly.”

“What is it, that reason?”

He was very curious about why the imperial family suddenly changed their attitude. Since even Scottman’s reputation couldn’t get cooperation from the imperial family, he was curious about what reason made Princess Evangeline take on the congratulatory speech and add her name to it.

“They say it’s because Teacher Ethan Whiskers is participating in the exchange.”