I Got a Fake Job at the Academy

Chapter 661: The Demon Army's Preparation (1)

Despite Caroline's choice, her subordinates around her showed no particular agitation.

It meant that if their leader Caroline made such a choice, they would gladly follow.

You could tell just by looking at their eyes that they were not bound by mere monetary interests but were gathered with something stronger—a tight bond of comradeship.

"You bastards! What are you doing! We're in front of the client, you should at least show some spirit!"

"Uoooooohh!!"

When Caroline shouted, her subordinates let out a roar as if they had been waiting.

The sound was so loud that it made the surroundings reverberate.

Caroline revealed her fangs and smiled.

Rudger nodded at her look that asked if this was proof enough.

"Reassuring."

"So, we're going to face an unbelievably large number of enemies in the future, but surely this isn't all of your forces?"

Caroline glanced at the black mud-like shadow spread on the floor.

Her gaze turned towards Hans, who kept creating the shadow, with interest.

"Having just that one would be nice, but it would still be insufficient. You know that, right?"

"I know. Don't worry about that part. More will come."

"Oh? I'm kind of curious who's coming. If they're going to be fighting shoulder to shoulder with me, I hope they at least won't be holding me back."

"I don't think you need to worry about that either. They just arrived."

An airship could be seen approaching from a different direction than the one Caroline had come from.

Caroline raised an eyebrow at the sight of the airship.

"Oh. Must be someone quite wealthy."

The airship, which had been slowly approaching, tried to land on the ground but realized there was no space and stopped in mid-air.

It was obvious since all the places that could be called airship landing pads were covered with black mud.

As they watched, wondering what they were going to do about it, something unusual happened on the ground.

The bottom of the mud pile suddenly surged up, and then something massive emerged with a cracking sound.

"What's that? A tree?"

What had sprouted from the ground was a huge tree.

The tree was so large that it seemed impossible to have grown from bare ground without any seedlings. It quickly spread its branches wide like an umbrella and bloomed with leaves.

The airship naturally landed on top of the tree.

It looked as if the tree had gently embraced the airship itself.

The Monarch mercenaries couldn't take their eyes off the incredible sight.

Among them, Caroline's reaction was the most intense.

"That just now..."

Caroline is a 6th circle magician.

Even though her magic manifested in a form far from theory, closer to practical application and instinct, her knowledge of magic was not inferior to that of other magicians.

From Caroline's perspective, the tree that had just sprouted was magic, but it was too peculiar to be called ordinary magic.

Something completely different, unaffected by things like magical power.

"...Colour magician?"

As the door of the airship opened, the people inside came out.

"You've come."

Rudger muttered quietly, seeing the familiar face.

"I've come to help. Teacher."

Sedina looked at Rudger with a bold gaze and spoke.

Next to Sedina were Ambella Burke and Vierano Dentis.

And also elven elite soldiers like archers and druids.

"Elves? And what are those armaments..."

It was surprising enough that elves had appeared, but the items they were wearing were also eye-widening.

All of them were artifacts with high-grade magic stones embedded.

Moreover, there were elves behind them bringing out more artifacts in real-time.

The Monarch mercenaries murmured among themselves.

"How many are there?"

"Are they planning to go to war?"

"Idiot. It is a war."

"Ah, that's right."

Rudger asked Sedina.

"Will you be alright? It will be dangerous if the Elven Kingdom gets involved in this fight."

"I didn't come as Sedina Plante."

Sedina said with a slight smile.

"I came as Sedina Roschen."

"...Ha."

Rudger let out a small laugh as if he couldn't handle it.

"Right. After coming all this way, it would be impolite to refuse. But what about the people behind you? Will they be okay?"

Rudger asked, looking at Vierano and Ambella.

If nothing else, the two elves had no justification for getting involved in this battle.

Ambella smiled fiercely and said.

"Haha! What, are you worried about us? I appreciate the concern, but there's no need. We don't intend to reveal our identities anyway."

There's no way they wouldn't be discovered just by hiding their identities.

Even if Ambella could manage it, Vierano and the other elves would certainly be discovered but Rudger couldn't point that out.

Coming this far already meant they had made sufficient resolve.

That resolve.

That will.

There was no way a few words could forcibly suppress it.

"I don't know why you've come this far for me."

"Aren't you the benefactor who saved the kingdom from crisis?"

Vierano said, as if questioning why he was being so modest.

"I sometimes feel that Rudger is too humble. Ah, should I call you Heathcliff now?"

"Will it be okay? Fighting alongside someone like me."

"The world calls you evil. But despite appearances, I've lived quite a long time, and I pride myself on having an excellent eye for people."

The wind blew.

It was a phenomenon caused by wind spirits revealing themselves around Vierano.

"I don't think you are evil. A person who doesn't hesitate to fight against a kingdom to save a student can't be a bad person."

"What if all of that was me deceiving you?"

"Then I'll continue to be deceived."

Rudger chuckled and shook his head.

"I still can't handle this."

"Experience cannot be ignored, after all."

It was comforting to hear such words.

Having fought together in the Elven Kingdom, there was no need to confirm their abilities.

They were the most reliable ally to stand back to back with.

Moreover, the greatest force here was Sedina herself.

"Sedina. Are you really okay with this?"

"Yes. It doesn't matter. And I've made my own preparations too. Roschen has also agreed to give full support."

"I'll have to thank him later."

"Indeed."

Sedina smiled brightly.

At that moment, Caroline asked with a dull face beside them.

"Hey. The Monarch Mercenary Corps has come all this way, but aren't we being treated too much like background characters? I don't know about the rest, but at least introduce us to each other?"

"Ah. Nice to meet you. I'm Sedina Roschen. You must be Caroline Monarch, right?"

"You know me well. Yes, that's right. You're an elf, and a single attribute elemental magic user, correct? The teacher has brought in quite a formidable force."

Caroline said, staring over Sedina's shoulder.

"But are those people also reinforcements called by the teacher?"

"What?"

Sedina turned around, wondering what she meant.

Far away, a flock of birds made of green light could be seen flying.

They weren't ordinary birds.

Their wingspan when fully spread looked to be almost 5m, and they glowed with a soft fluorescent color as they moved.

There were people riding on the backs of the flying birds.

"Sedina!"

A girl riding the leading bird shouted.

Sedina's eyes widened.

"Julia?"

The birds, which had now reached the vicinity of the tree, landed on top.

Julia immediately strode up to Sedina.

"H-how did you get here..."

"What do you mean how? It was obvious you were going to fight somewhere dangerous, so I came. Why?"

Sedina stuttered at the response that was more brave and honest than before.

Julia, finding this frustrating, ran her hand through her hair and then glared at Rudger.

"I'm absolutely not here to help you, teacher! I'm here because my friend Sedina is in danger!"

Behind Julia, Dream School magicians giggled.

"Oh my. Our youngest is being like that again."

"Leave her be. Hasn't she been acting prim like that for ages?"

"Such a passionate friendship, indeed."

Julia glared at the Dream School magicians with her eyes wide open.

"What kind of language is that to use with the next Master!"

"Didn't we do the same with the previous Master?"

"We're old and don't care what we see anymore."

The laughing magicians said to Rudger.

"So we'll be counting on you again this time, teacher."

"Let's have an exciting fight!"

Even though his identity must have been revealed to the world by now, they still called Rudger "teacher" until the end.

Rudger felt very grateful for that.

"Oh yes, teacher. We brought other people with us on the way here, is that okay?"

"Other people?"

"My friend! What are you doing over there!"

The person who came with the Fantasy School revealed himself somewhat awkwardly.

"...Lord Rotheron?"

Iron Mask Rotheron.

The man who had removed his trademark mask, revealing his bare face, opened his mouth.

"I am no longer Rotheron. Please call me Tenaron."

Tenaron O'Valley, a man who was the son of the beastkin tribal chief but left that position.

"I owe you many favors. I've come to help not as a magician of the New Tower, but as a beastkin. And..."

Tenaron's gaze shifted to behind Rudger.

Just then, as if sensing the presence here, a large figure revealed himself on top of the wall.

Codename [Melville] Pantos.

Tenaron's expression became complicated upon seeing him.

"I owe you for that time."

"Hmm."

The debt Tenaron spoke of probably referred to what happened in the beastkin tribe's land during the vacation.

Pantos glanced at Tenaron's expression.

"Well, you won't be a hindrance."

At those words, Tenaron gave a bitter smile.

It wasn't because he felt bad, but rather like a smile that showed relief.

Only the two of them would know what those words meant.

"Hey. No matter what, it's not right to ignore even me."

The one who spoke gruffly was a small-framed dark magician wearing an upside-down goat bone mask.

"I thought you'd be the least likely to come, but here you are."

"Not just me, but members of our school too. Honestly, I don't care what happens to you, but I don't like being in debt."

It was actually Cravat who saved Rene from near death but Rudger realized this was Cravat's way of showing kindness.

Unable to speak honestly out of embarrassment, he expressed it this roundabout way.

"Besides, quite a crowd has gathered."

Cravat forcibly changed the subject.

"6th circle mercenary magicians, demons, elves, beastkin, dark magicians, and even the Dream School."

This was also quite an understatement.

Besides Rudger of the Owens, there was the demon Helia in addition to Surna, and there were still more forces remaining.

"What is this? In this atmosphere, it seems I need to reveal all my hidden cards too?"

Surna chuckled and flicked his finger.

Then, a door appeared in mid-air.

It was an ordinary black door, which opened wide and a knight in black armor appeared from inside with a click.

First Order Verom of the Black Dawn Society.

He, now completely transformed wearing the living armor, had also decided to participate in the war.

Verom glanced at Hans below the castle wall and joked.

"Isn't that character too similar to mine?"

"The roles are different, so you don't need to worry."

The one who answered was Cravat.

Cravat had instantly figured out what Hans was the moment he saw him.

More amazing was the ability Surna had just demonstrated.

He created a door in mid-air and called Verom through it.

"So it's spatial magic."

"That's right."

Surna readily agreed.

"I saw it. It's not difficult to learn something after seeing it."

Even if you see something, replicating it is a separate matter.

But for Surna, it was certainly possible.

It was because his power as a demon was the power to learn and master anything.

Given enough time, Surna's true value was in his ability to demonstrate nearly omnipotent effects.

"But it's crude. Creating the shape of a door is a workaround because you can't freely use it right away."

"Sharp observation. That's right. But I've found the key. That 'cutting' you showed was impressive too."

"Even you could die if you use that."

Surna shrugged in response.

"I don't see Franz."

"That child has something else to do. Don't worry. He's also agreed to fight with us."

"Even so, it seems one more is still missing."

Someone who hasn't yet revealed themselves here and one of the survivors from the First Order, like Verom.

"Where is Victor Dreadful?"

"Ah. About Victor."

Just as Surna hesitated to answer, Verom responded instead.

"That bastard betrayed us and sided with Lumensis."