第２７７堀：手段 (Part1)
**Chapter 277: Means**
**Side: Yuki**
"Thank you all for your hard work the day before yesterday."
With those words, Vice Principal Lara served tea. We were currently gathered in the academy’s conference room, with the dungeon members assembled to discuss our future course of action.
"Not at all. The ones who worked the hardest were Eoid and Amanda," Eris said, taking a sip of her tea.
Looking back at that duel festival, there was no doubt that Eoid and Amanda were the stars. The opponents who faced Taiki and me had put up a good fight, but they were merely the opening act. The main stage had been set for those two all along.
Well, at least we managed to push things through to a conclusion. It was better than ending on a "to be continued" cliffhanger like some romance manga. With this…
"With this, we can officially welcome Dragon Knight Amanda and Eoid as the academy’s own assets. They performed on such a grand stage with records to prove it; no one will have any complaints. And since they’ve made their marriage declaration, we don’t have to worry about anyone else trying to swoop in. The only issue until now was that Amanda was still a student."
The goal of that duel festival was to secure Dragon Knight Amanda as an asset of the academy, allowing us to utilize her freely for our movements. To do that, we needed to transition her from the status of a student to an official employee of the academy.
Students of the academy are often scouted by other nations for officer positions, and if we didn't make a move now, there was a risk we wouldn't be able to use Dragon Knight Amanda freely.
One might ask, "Why not just hire her immediately?" But that brings up the problem of her being a woman. If she were to marry someone, she would inevitably become tied to her partner’s nation. There are countless nobles who want to attach the prestige of a "Dragon Knight" to their house. While higher-ups—unlike the Duke of Roday—wouldn't be foolish enough to try and hoard a Dragon Knight who might be uncontrollable, minor nobles might go rogue and plot to get their hands on her.
The result could be her relationship with Eoid being torn apart, or her family being taken hostage. By having them commit to each other quickly, we established a system where we could protect Eoid and Amanda’s families as members of the academy. Since Eoid proved his strength at the festival, few would dare complain that he isn't worthy of her. Well, you can never reduce that number to zero, but at least there won't be any open criticism.
"Well, I’ve known about their relationship for a long time, so I’m happy that we can finally celebrate it openly."
"Indeed. We’ve watched their little game of cat and mouse for years."
"…Principal, Vice Principal, you two knew about their relationship?"
"Of course. It’s been noisy since they first enrolled. Besides, the only one suffering was Amanda. For those of us watching, it was quite entertaining."
"Yes. I’d watch them and think, 'Amanda, you really can’t be honest with yourself, can you?' It never interfered with classes. Occasionally Samantha would get caught in the crossfire, but she never complained, so for us, it was a form of entertainment."
Ah, I see. As long as the victim didn't complain to the academy, they turned a blind eye. It’s true—without a formal complaint, they couldn't just intervene. So that’s how "lucky lecherous" situations avoid becoming criminal cases.
All eyes turned to the victim in question.
"As the Principal and Vice Principal said. I wasn't sure why I kept getting dragged into it, but their behavior was just a cute way of hiding their embarrassment. It wasn't something I needed to make a fuss about."
"Well, Samantha is very broad-minded like that. If a Duke’s daughter had complained, I would have put a stop to it, but since she didn't, I wanted to watch over them," Popuri said, eating the cake I’d brought with a bright smile.
"So, Eoid and Amanda are together now, but what kind of position are you going to give them at the academy?"
When I asked that, Popuri and Lara stopped stuffing their faces with cake and set down their forks.
"That’s the thing. It’s unprecedented, so the meetings have been in total disarray over how to handle it."
"We can't just create a department on our own authority, after all."
"So, there are internal politics regarding that even in the academy?"
"Naturally. Even though it's an academy, we sometimes join in other nations' conflicts if requested, so we do function as a military. Though, we rarely have people stationed permanently."
"The ones eligible for combat are us teachers and the top 50 students. Aside from them, there are the 'shut-ins'—former single-digit rankers who were discarded by their home countries and dumped on the academy. They’re people who, due to their circumstances, can’t return to their nations."
"I’m surprised the students are involved, but you’re being surprisingly honest. 'Discarded former single-digit rankers,' huh?"
There must be political reasons behind it, but for the individuals themselves, it must be a very delicate issue.
"We don't force the former single-digit rankers to fight. Some are the third sons or second daughters of former dukes, and even achieving military success can be a problem for them. Most of them have settled into teaching or research roles. Many are just relieved to be free from troublesome family ties. The students' participation is mostly a formality; the fighting is handled by the teachers."
"We cover their living expenses by squeezing the parties who dumped them here, so that’s not an issue."
"Well, this place was originally an orphanage she built. In a sense, it’s being used for its original purpose, so I didn't have any objections."
"I see. What are the actual numbers?"
"Let’s see. If you exclude the top 50 students, it’s just the combat-capable teachers, so..."
"About 50 people, give or take."
"I can't tell if that's a small number or a large one."
"Most of them aren't quite on my or Lara's level, but they’re at least as strong as Soel. One of them could hold off about 1,000 soldiers alone."
*Whoa, whoa.* That’s 50,000 soldiers' worth of power just in the academy? No wonder other countries try to meddle or poach them. But then again, they have the fatal flaw of being difficult to handle. So, the academy remains a neutral ground that no one dares to touch.
"Hmm, but if the number is that small, wouldn't it be fine to just create a department?"
Only 50 people. They called it a military function, but with that many, it’s barely a company-sized unit. And the commander of this army is Popuri.
"Ah, Lara phrased that poorly. It’s just that, currently, there are only positions for teachers or researchers."
"I see. But in that case, since she’s a Dragon Knight, couldn't you just make it something like 'Monster Research'?"