Subscriber of the Gods Chapter 387 - The First Day of the Exchange Festival

“Is that the reason?”

Scottman was taken aback. Of course, Ethan Whiskers was one of the teachers he had checked before the exchange festival.

Given the numerous stories circulating about him, all of which had been confirmed to be true without any exaggeration by countless people, Scottman was quite excited to see what kind of performance Ethan would show at this exchange festival.

As with other events, the exchange festival needed a star.

That would increase its buzz and lead to the prestige of the exchange festival.

Moreover, Scottman hoped for excellent teachers to follow in their footsteps, so he had high expectations for Ethan.

But to think that the princess had come because Ethan was participating in this exchange festival.

“Well… as you already know, Director, Teacher Ethan cured the princess’s illness, didn’t he? Since then, it seems the princess has been viewing Teacher Ethan very favorably. She’s been supporting the workshop that Teacher Ethan runs and strengthening their relationship in various ways.”

“Hmm… So you’re saying she came to save face?”

“It seems so. It looks like she volunteered to give the congratulatory speech to both save face and show her support.”

Hearing that she had taken on the congratulatory speech to support Ethan, Scottman felt a great sense of emptiness.

“Should I have maintained a good relationship with the princess too?”

“Given the age difference between you and the princess, Director… it probably wouldn’t have worked out.”

“Deputy Director!”

“Would you like me to say something nice?”

“…No, never mind. Anyway! This is a good thing for us. Thanks to Teacher Ethan.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

As Scottman stepped back.

The head of the management bureau’s overall team, who was in charge of the exchange festival, came forward to explain the schedule.

“The guidebook contains the exchange schedule up to the 4th day when the closing ceremony will be held. The methods of exchange are quite diverse. From simple duels to evaluations based on displaying what they’ve learned with their weapons, to clearing mock dungeons we’ve created, various forms of exchange will take place. You will be evaluated through these exchanges.”

The most important aspect of the inter-academy exchange was this evaluation.

Through evaluation, they learn their weaknesses, experience other students’ methods, and learn new things by seeing with their own eyes.

That was the reason for this inter-academy exchange.

“Don’t worry, you’ll be able to showcase what you’ve learned not just through the simplest method of dueling, but in various ways. The purpose of this inter-academy exchange is to display everything each academy teaches and interact with each other to advance to higher levels.”

The overall team leader said with a smile.

“Of course, as you all know, points are attached to this exchange. The winner of each exchange will receive the highest score, and up to 6th place will be awarded points. It used to be up to 4th place, but since the number of participating academies has increased…”

The overall team leader then loudly announced that 1st place would receive 5 points.

“6th place gets 0.5 points, and 5th place gets 1 point. The academy with the highest total score at the end will win this exchange festival.”

The schedule in the guidebook was packed with information.

There were exchanges for swordsmanship, spearmanship, archery, and so on, covering most weapons used by students. There were also various types of magic exchanges scheduled, including potion making and magic circle composition.

It looks complicated, but it’s actually simple. It’s just an expansion of the scope and scale of the existing departmental exchange competitions at each academy.

“And as some of you already know, the exchange festival is not just a place for students to interact. It will also be a place for teachers to interact and confirm their skills.”

This event is literally an inter-academy exchange.

In other words, it’s a place for not only students but also teachers to interact with each other.

The academy’s teachers also had to actively participate in the exchange festival events, and the points they earned were also one of the most important factors in winning the exchange festival.

Therefore, the most important was the representative teacher.

“Regular teachers have restrictions on participating in some exchange festival events. However, representative teachers can participate in all exchange festival events.”

Unlike regular teachers, representative teachers could participate in all exchanges.

“They can participate in as many exchange programs as they want.”

At that moment, all the teachers who had participated in the new teacher training seminar looked at Ethan.

Ethan had done something unbelievable during the training seminar.

He had attended all the classes of the seminar and achieved high scores.

They felt a slight unease, wondering if he might participate in all possible exchange programs this time as well.

Of course, it would be physically impossible due to many exchanges overlapping in time, but somehow they felt that if it was Ethan, he might even create clones to participate in everything.

“Next, there’s one more thing as important as the schedule. The evaluation criteria.”

As with the departmental exchange competition, the results could change depending on who was doing the evaluation.

Without someone with a proper eye, a proper evaluation couldn’t be made, so there needed to be trust in the evaluation as each academy gathered to compete fiercely.

If there was even a slight problem with the evaluation, the inter-academy exchange would turn into a battlefield.

“Fair and impartial. We’ve invited people who anyone would say can make a correct evaluation, so don’t worry.”

As the overall team leader gestured behind him, people started to come out one by one.

“The Crimson Wizard, Unt!”

The Crimson Wizard, Unt. He was once such a capable wizard that he managed several magic towers simultaneously.

He was also an expert who had been educating mages in magic towers, providing appropriate education from apprentice to advanced levels.

That’s why many magic towers tried to invite Unt unconditionally when it came time for evaluation. There was no mage with a better eye than Unt.

“The Iron Mercenary Group Captain, Kremton!”

Next was Kremton. Like Unt, he was also famous on the continent.

However, he was known for never appearing at such public events.

He only did what he really wanted to do because he had already earned a lot of money.

“The Master, Fritz Hansen!”

“The Green-Eyed Alchemist, Bucchiarati!”

“Next is…”

A large number of powerful individuals with renowned titles on the continent were called out.

They didn’t just bring in people with name value.

Among the famous and prestigious individuals, only those with a definite eye for evaluating others were brought in, so the academy students and teachers seemed quite satisfied.

“They’re all known for having good eyes.”

“I didn’t expect Mr. Bucchiarati to come! It’s hard to even meet him, and now he’s an evaluator for this inter-academy exchange! I used to drink the vitality potion he made often!”

Among the evaluators, there were quite a few who were difficult to meet.

These weren’t people who could be moved by money. It was quite puzzling how they were brought here.

Scottman, watching from behind, smiled contentedly. These were all people he had brought through his connections.

As he got to directly control this exchange festival, Scottman used his connections to the fullest and brought in all the personnel he could.

The princess was giving strength to the congratulatory speech, and above all, he couldn’t let the prestige of this exchange festival fall in front of the person giving the second congratulatory speech.

“We can’t be embarrassed by wrong evaluations.”

The person giving the second congratulatory speech was also not an ordinary person, just like Princess Evangeline who gave the first congratulatory speech.

“Then we’ll proceed with the last order of business.”

The last order was the congratulatory speech.

Normally, one person takes charge of the congratulatory speech, but this time, two people were in charge.

It couldn’t be helped. They couldn’t possibly exclude one of the two.

“Her Highness Princess Evangeline of the Holy Empire will give a congratulatory speech for the 17th Inter-Academy Exchange held in the neutral territory of Kabak!”

The first congratulatory speech was by Princess Evangeline Sacred.

Clack-.

White garments with gold embroidery. Long straight hair and a beautiful tiara.

When Princess Evangeline appeared, everyone looked surprised.

Not many of those gathered here had seen the princess in person, so many people didn’t know she was the princess.

However, the natural dignity that showed even when she was still, and her luxurious attire were enough to prove her status.

Moreover, there were quite a few people here from high noble families, so there were many who knew Evangeline directly or indirectly, and the news that the princess had come to give a congratulatory speech spread quickly with a murmur.

“Students of the shining academies of the continent. It’s an honor to be able to give the congratulatory speech at this joyous occasion.”

As Evangeline spoke, the murmuring quickly subsided.

She looked around at the academy students with a relaxed tone and gesture, then paused for a moment when she saw Ethan standing at the front as a representative teacher.

Then, as if acknowledging him, she smiled gently and opened her mouth again.

‘I knew beforehand that Princess Evangeline would give a congratulatory speech. But who’s giving the second speech?’

Usually, there’s only one congratulatory speech. But since the Empire’s princess came forward to give a speech, the person who was supposed to give the speech originally would normally step down.

Nevertheless, there were two congratulatory speeches for this exchange festival.

‘The fact that Director Scottman came in person means that the person giving the second speech has weight. Enough to give a speech at the same time as Princess Evangeline.’

In short, it means they couldn’t be pushed out even by Princess Evangeline’s prestige. That’s why they unavoidably ended up having two people give congratulatory speeches.

‘I wonder who’s giving the second congratulatory speech.’

Ethan first listened to Evangeline’s speech.

“My name is Evangeline Sacred. I am the first daughter and third child of Emperor Cairodias, who is diligently leading the Empire for all of you.”

A fact that those who know already know.

She was no longer simply a princess, but the heir to the emperor, the next generation’s emperor.

That’s why no one called her the 3rd princess anymore.

Because the number no longer had any meaning.

The fact that Evangeline was formally greeting added great authority to the exchange festival.

Those who came to the exchange festival with a relaxed mind could no longer stay relaxed.

Draxler, the representative teacher of Freya Academy, couldn’t hide his surprise.

As far as he knew, the imperial family had never given a congratulatory speech or provided official support for the inter-academy exchange.

“This exchange festival… it’s quite large in scale.”

It was too big. If it becomes like this, all the attention in the world will be focused here.

All the events that will take place over the four days will be talked about on the continent for a long time, so now it can’t be done carelessly.

“It can’t be helped.”

Princess Evangeline’s long congratulatory speech continued.

Contrary to expectations that it would be a boring speech, Evangeline, despite being royalty, had none of the typical looking-down attitude.

Rather, she gave good words for the academy students and said she would watch and expect their performance in this exchange festival.

“I can’t be here for all four days, but I’ve made time for about three days. I’ll watch your activities here. If there are good talents, I want to be the first to take them.”

Clench-!

All the students clenched their fists. This could be seen as an incredible opportunity that might never come again in their lives.

Evangeline gave the students strong motivation and ended her speech.

“We thank Princess Evangeline for attending despite her busy schedule. Then, the person who will give the second congratulatory speech will come up immediately.”

Since Princess Evangeline came out first, no matter who came out next, the impact would be less.

But as if to shatter such thoughts, an enormous aura burst out from beneath the platform.

Whoosh-!

It was an overwhelming aura that strongly pressed down on the surroundings.

The moment the person giving the speech came up on the platform, everyone held their breath. It felt like their necks would be squeezed right there if they made even a slight breathing sound.

The aura was so strong that the students couldn’t even dare to look at the platform.

Because of this, they couldn’t even tell who was giving the second congratulatory speech.

Surprised by this, the total team leader quickly shouted.

“The person who will give the second congratulatory speech is Lord Empyr, the Sword Tower Master and also known as the Demon God Spear!”

There are strong individuals on the continent called the Three Gods.

The Holy Emperor, the emperor of the Holy Empire.

The Demon Emperor, the emperor of the Demon Empire.

And the Sword Tower Master, the owner of the Sword Tower, were these Three Gods.

‘Empyr?’

Wondering who was giving the speech.

‘So that’s why there are two speeches.’

Empyr, one of the Three Gods, came up on the platform.

With each step he took, the surrounding air shook.

What is a strong person?

The reason why he was called one of the Three Gods was being proved to the whole world with just his gait.

His aura was so powerful that no one could properly raise their face. It was because an invisible pressure was pressing down on everyone here.

Not a single student under the platform could properly raise their head.

This was the same for the teachers.

But exactly two people.

“Oh ho.”

There were exactly two people who raised their heads and looked straight at Empyr.

“There are two of them?”

One was Draxler and the other was Ethan. Empyr grinned at the sight of the two.

Although two people had raised their heads, one had a distorted expression.

On the other hand, one looked very comfortable.

“That comfortable-looking fellow must be that young man I’ve heard about.”

Empyr slowly stood on the platform.

Still making eye contact with Ethan.