I Became the Academy’s War Hero Chapter 80
Murmur, murmur.
From the very start, my bombshell declaration sent ripples of unrest through the audience.
‘They couldn’t have expected me to dive straight into the main topic like this.’
As proof, Jeff Halenber couldn’t give any response—he merely brushed his lips with his hand.
“Do you have nothing to say?”
Pressed once more, Jeff squeezed out a reply as if being wrung dry.
“…No, I do not.”
Just as I thought.
He must still be debating which side to take to ensure his own survival.
“Then, allow me to speak in your stead.”
I boldly pointed toward Bernhardt’s faction as I continued.
“Let’s go back in time—to when Halenber first obtained the Albe Sea trading rights from Bernhardt.”
“……”
“Receiving one of Bernhardt’s most lucrative enterprises—there’s no doubt about your capability. The number of smuggling cases has decreased, and you even reformed Raus’ long-neglected trading site. Wouldn’t you say so?”
As Edel had done before, I too wielded both carrot and stick.
Perhaps thinking I was siding with him, Jeff finally opened his heavy mouth.
“…That’s right. I’m willing to make all past transactions public. Our Halenber family has nothing to hide.”
How kind of him—to dig his own grave.
“But there’s one thing that puzzles me.”
Jeff, who had been holding his head high, flinched at my words.
“How did a family that never once operated outside of Levinel manage to secure trading rights in a distant port region?”
“That’s…”
“Bernhardt, who owns territories across the Empire, would face no such difficulties. But Halenber… isn’t in the same position, is it?”
“…What exactly are you implying?”
“I’m wondering if there might have been some sort of secret deal between Bernhardt and Halenber.”
At that, hostility began to rise in Jeff’s eyes.
“A deal? What deal are you talking about?”
Did he really need me to spell it out?
Still, I feigned ignorance.
“I wouldn’t know.”
“…What?”
“I merely suggested a possibility, Marquis. A reasonable suspicion based on logical inference.”
“You should stop trying to stir public opinion with baseless rumors, Colonel Carter. I’ve already told you—we have nothing to hide. Our transaction records can be disclosed anytime.”
“Records that may or may not reflect what actually transpired.”
“…Your suspicion goes too far. If you question everything like that, what could anyone possibly trust?”
Just as our argument was heating up—
“That’s enough.”
Edel Ribenia finally spoke.
“You should take responsibility for your words, shouldn’t you?”
She smiled, glancing between Jeff and me.
“If it turns out that one of the Eight Great Houses has committed illegal acts… the Imperial Court will hold both of you accountable for your claims. Understood?”
“…Yes.”
“Of course.”
Well, that could wait.
“A week ago, I received an anonymous letter,” she said, pulling a small note from her breast pocket.
“The message was simple: ‘No one in the Empire is free from Hokhma’s grasp anymore—not even the ladies of the Eight Great Houses or the cadets of the Royal Academy.’”
So she had been preparing this for a while.
Barely thirty minutes had passed, and she was already bringing out her second bombshell.
As proof, the faces of all those involved with Hokhma under Karbenna—including Jeff—began to stiffen.
“The Academy is the Empire’s future and hope. If even that place has been tainted by Hokhma, then it’s a crisis for the entire Empire. We cannot overlook it. If necessary, we will conduct an investigation and seizure.”
“……”
She extended her hand toward me and the Karbenna members behind me.
“Anyone wish to make a statement regarding this matter?”
In the silence, one person firmly raised his hand.
It was Eric Halenber.
I stepped out of the orb and approached him.
“Show them what you’ve got, sword dancer.”
He nodded resolutely and rose from his seat with a thud.
Passing the baton to him, I returned to my seat.
Lea, sitting behind me, poked my back and whispered,
“Not a bad start.”
“Yeah.”
Eric, standing at the podium after me, awkwardly tapped the orb a few times before speaking.
“Eric Halenber. Fourth son of the Halenber family and a second-year cadet candidate of Karbenna.”
Edel maintained her benevolent smile, signaling for him to continue.
“In Karbenna, I was carrying out a certain task.”
“What kind of task?”
“A task to bring a particular item into Karbenna.”
“And what was that item?”
Just when the decisive blow was about to land—
“……”
Eric suddenly fell silent, like a mouse that had seen a cat.
“Cadet Eric Halenber?”
“Kh… Ugh…!”
Then, clutching his chest, he collapsed on the spot.
As Eric Halenber writhed in pain on the floor, the standby medical team immediately rushed in.
All of Karbenna’s faculty members hurried toward him as well, but his condition showed no sign of improvement.
At the prestigious Imperial Summit—while the Princess herself stood on stage—such a sudden seizure?
Anyone could see that foul play was involved.
“Who the hell would do something like this…!”
Lea, helpless to act, could only vent her anger.
While everyone, including Eugene, was struggling to find a way out of the situation—
‘…What is that?’
Only Francia Brida could clearly see it.
That indescribable, alien flow of mana.
“…A thread?”
It took the shape of a line.
It was faint enough to disappear if I lost focus for even a moment, but it was definitely a line.
That thin, crimson line stretched from Eric to the opposite side.
And at the other end stood Jeff Halenber.
“……”
Because of the gathered crowd, Jeff could only watch his son’s life and death from several paces away.
His eyes were bloodshot red.
Some might think that it was because he was overcome with fear that his son might die.
But the opponent here was Jeff Halenber—the cold-blooded man himself.
If it were his real son, maybe—but there was no way he’d feel that kind of emotion for his adopted one, Eric.
Then, a dreadful possibility began to surface in Francia’s mind.
A possibility she never wanted to believe.
‘Don’t tell me… you’re planning to kill Eric?’
She didn’t know the method, but once someone like him decided to kill, that was all that mattered.
What mattered was that Jeff had more than enough power to do it.
“I have to tell them.”
If it was Instructor Carter, he would surely know what to do—!
But just as she was about to rush toward Eugene, she stopped dead in her tracks at the sight of his bewildered eyes.
There was no way he would be bluffing in a situation like this.
That look—was genuine.
Even Instructor Carter hadn’t anticipated this.
“…What the hell.”
Was there really no one?
All these powerful figures gathered from across the Empire—and yet, they couldn’t even save one boy?
“Ggh… Gghrk…!”
Eric’s lips, already foaming, began to tremble.
His face had gone ghostly pale, and blood streamed down from his eyes.
The clear sign of approaching death.
“…No.”
And Francia Brida drew her sword.
Even to herself, it was an inexplicable action.
Why draw her sword?
A sword could only cut.
If she wanted to save him—with medicine, with magic—surely there were better options.
What could she possibly do with just that blade?
To that self-question, Francia clenched her hands tight around the hilt and raised the sword high.
“…I’ll cut it.”
She would slice apart that crimson thread of mana binding Eric Halenber.
Once she’d made up her mind, she charged straight into the crowded scene.
A lone girl suddenly unsheathing a sword and rushing forward—everyone instinctively backed away.
“…Francia?”
The only one who didn’t panic was Eugene, who was closely watching Eric’s condition.
Without the slightest hesitation, she thrust her raised sword down toward Eric’s chest.
Crack! Crack!
The blade, glowing a dull reddish hue, bore hastily carved, indecipherable letters.
I had expected the enemy to render Eric Halenber incapacitated in some way.
It would’ve been best to prevent it, but even failure wasn’t a major issue.
As I had discussed with him, even if Eric were to die from an “unfortunate accident,” we had already secured plenty of witnesses to take his place.
So when he suddenly foamed at the mouth and collapsed, I didn’t lose my composure despite having no immediate solution.
If anything, I might have felt a bit relieved.
To attempt to silence a witness in such a public setting—how desperate could they be?
“……”
Yet what truly caught me off guard was Francia Brida.
Without hesitation, she had aimed her sword at Eric’s chest and struck down.
In that instant—
Crackle!
With a ripping sound, a surge of powerful mana burst from the boy’s torso.
“Wh-What is that?!”
At the same time, the crimson haze that had risen vanished like dust in the air.
Only the faint, lingering trace of mana remained as evidence of her act.
“……”
But that wasn’t all—I witnessed another change.
※ [Francia Brida] has acquired a new title: [One Who Cuts Through Corruption].
※ A new ability has been added to [Copy Slot].
It was one of Francia Brida’s defining traits—
The awakening of a demon-slaying swordmaster who could cut through all things impure.
― Never thought I’d face a demon-slaying swordsman twice in one lifetime.
‘…Agreed.’
It was Clina, who appeared the moment I opened my message window.
Letting out a faint sigh, I asked inwardly,
‘That boy Eric—he almost died because of a curse, right?’
― Not certain, but I’d say over ninety percent, yes.
‘Then why didn’t you act sooner? You’re the expert here.’
― You didn’t seem to want my help.
‘……’
― Besides, even if I’d identified the cause, there was no cure. I didn’t want to burden you with a problem that couldn’t be solved.
‘…You did well.’
Every life was precious, yes—but frankly speaking, within MAGA, the boy’s role wasn’t all that crucial.
If sacrificing one life could bring about Francia’s second awakening, it was a risk worth taking.
And in the end, we’d even saved him—there couldn’t have been a better outcome.
Watching Eric’s complexion return to normal, I smiled in satisfaction.
“…It’s fine now, Francia.”
“Wh-What just happened…?”
So it had been instinct, after all.
Or perhaps a desperate urge to save him had forcibly awakened her latent potential.
I picked up the fallen sword and slid it back into the sheath at her waist.
“You just saved someone who was about to die. Well done.”
That said—
As I comforted her, I turned my gaze to the side.
There stood Jeff Halenber, stepping back, unable to hide his shock.
“Th-That’s impossible…”
“What’s impossible is your humanity.”
I gathered strength into my legs and closed the distance in an instant.
Grabbing him by the collar, I glared into his eyes with killing intent.
“Listen carefully. From this moment on, you’ve got two choices.”
I raised one finger at a time.
“One—you get charged for attempted murder and rot in prison alone.”
“……”
“Two—you dance with a sword and walk out alive.”
“……”
“Now, what’ll it be?”