I Became the Academy’s War Hero-Chapter 18 : Do You Really Have to See Blood? (3)

Chapter 18: Do You Really Have to See Blood? (3)
March 4th, Friday. Mage Studies Hall, Department of Herbalism, Room 304.
Walter Clark was letting out deep sighs as he reviewed a stack of documents.
Because of the bombshell that Eugene Carter had dropped the previous day, today’s faculty meeting had turned into utter chaos.
Even though Carter himself wasn’t present, watching everyone argue back and forth about him had felt oddly surreal.
“…Just what the hell is he thinking.”
In any case, he himself was a former member of both Karbenna and the Special Task Force.
The Imperial Family, the Special Task Force, and Karbenna.
Caught in between these three factions with differing stances, Walter knew well that Karbenna’s attitude toward those from the Special Task Force wasn’t favorable especially since the current Chairwoman had taken office.
He had suffered plenty of unfairness from being crushed between the whales’ fights, but complaining about it wouldn’t have done him any good.
During his fiery cadet years, he had often rebelled against the system in one way or another—but one couldn’t live like that forever.
After years of adaptation, he had come to think that this life wasn’t all that bad.
With more experience under his belt, he had grown accustomed to Karbenna’s rhythm.
Now, all that remained was to sail with the wind, wasn’t it?
At least, that had been his hopeful outlook—until Carter appeared, a bolt out of the blue.
“…You’ve always been like that, haven’t you.”
He had always opposed anything that didn’t make sense to him—no matter who was on the other side.
People who couldn’t adjust to the system usually met the same end: whether by choice or circumstance, they fell behind.
But that man was different.
Even the strict and rigid Frederick of that time hadn’t been able to win against Carter’s logic and had tried to suppress him with authority instead.
“Because of him, the rest of us had to suffer for nothing.”
Carter, at the height of his days, had been the very embodiment of insufferable misfortune hardly any professor had a good opinion of him.
Because of that, the entire 16th class had ended up being treated as public enemies.
The general consensus was always the same his achievements were praised, but his character was condemned.
As those thoughts began to tangle in his head—
Knock, knock.
A knock came from outside the door.
“Come in.”
The door opened, and a teaching assistant peeked his head in.
“You have a visitor, Professor.”
“Who is it?”
“Um… He said he’s here on behalf of the Chairwoman.”
What’s that supposed to mean?
Still, hearing the word “Chairwoman” naturally made Walter tense up.
“Let him in.”
The man who entered had a rather unfamiliar face.
Walter had worked at Karbenna for a long time, but he rarely went near the Chairwoman’s office, so it was no wonder he didn’t recognize him.
The servant named Oliver bowed deeply the moment he stepped in.
“It’s an honor to meet you, Professor Walter Clark. I am Oliver, servant to Michel Bernhardt.”
At the name Bernhardt, Walter flinched slightly, but quickly regained his composure.
“I see. And what business does Bernhardt’s servant have with me?”
Oliver wasted no time in bringing up the matter.
“I have something to discuss regarding Instructor Eugene Carter, Professor.”
“…….”
Hearing his old classmate’s name come from a servant’s mouth made Walter instinctively freeze.
“Do you have a moment, Professor?”
“…Sit down first.”
Walter gestured toward the chair in front of him.
Once Oliver sat properly, Walter’s eyes sharpened.
“What is it you want to say?”
Unlike Walter, who looked suspicious, Oliver’s expression remained calm.
He turned his gaze to the window before beginning slowly.
“Before I speak, there’s one delicate matter.”
“What is it.”
“I’ve heard that you and he are classmates.”
“So what.”
“I say this purely out of concern for both Karbenna and our Chairwoman, so I hope you won’t misunderstand.”
“……”
“Especially… I hope you won’t think I’m trying to defame the Imperial Family or the Special Task Force.”
Thud.
Walter placed both feet up on the desk and stared down at him with a mocking look.
“Hey, servant.”
“Yes.”
“Quit beating around the bush and get to the damn point. You think I’ve got time to waste?”
Partly because his nerves were frayed, but mostly because it irritated him that a mere servant dared to test him like this.
“…Very well.”
Oliver turned his head slightly to look at Walter.
“I’ll be blunt. I’d like you, Professor, to stop your classmate.”
“…Me? Stop Carter?”
“I’m sure you’re aware that Instructor Carter’s recent actions have been rather… bold.”
“So what.”
“But… perhaps too bold, you might say. He’s said things to the Chairwoman that he absolutely shouldn’t have, repeatedly violated academy regulations, and generally caused much concern.”
As he spoke, Oliver brushed his fingers over his lips thoughtfully.
Walter frowned and glared at him.
“And why are you telling me this?”
“You’re not the only one I’ve spoken to, Professor. I’ve already met a few others, but whenever Carter’s name came up, they all waved their hands, unwilling to get involved.”
“…They didn’t want to get dragged in. Probably figured they’d be the ones bleeding if they did.”
Even if Carter was considered a has-been, his past achievements hadn’t vanished.
Until they fully grasped the situation, the others had chosen not to meddle.
Oliver leaned forward over the desk and said firmly,
“He must be stopped now.”
“…Hmm.”
“Karbenna has its own rules, does it not?”
I see what you’re getting at.
Walter lowered his legs and crossed his arms.
“…Fine. I’ll admit it. I don’t want to see that bastard strutting around either. If you knew what I proposed during the faculty meeting, you’d probably be surprised.”
“……”
“But it didn’t make a damn bit of difference! Even the Dean said to ‘wait and see,’ so what the hell do you expect me to do?”
“That’s why I came prepared with something.”
As if he had been waiting for that cue, Oliver reached into his coat and took out a small glass vial, no larger than a finger.
Inside the vial was a small amount of pitch-black powder.
“As the authority on Herbalism, I’m sure you’ll find good use for this, Professor Walter.”
Walter uncorked the vial Oliver handed him and cautiously took a whiff.
An indescribable stench slammed into his nose.
“Kh—?!”
His head instinctively jerked back.
He hastily plugged the vial again and eyed Oliver suspiciously.
“…Where did you get this?”
“You know perfectly well which household I serve, don’t you?”
Oliver shrugged and spread his hands.
“However you choose to use it is up to you, Professor.”
“What, so I’m supposed to use this to cripple Carter for good?”
“…As I said, it’s entirely up to you.”
Walter snorted in disbelief.
“Your brain must only work halfway. Hey, servant.”
“Yes.”
“If Carter ends up crippled in this situation, who do you think will be the first suspect? Hm?”
“……”
“Obviously me! I’ve been the one badmouthing him the most these past few days.”
“…That would be something you’d have to handle, Professor.”
“What?”
Despite Walter’s anger, Oliver continued unfazed.
“I only meant to offer my assistance. If you don’t need it, then let’s pretend this conversation never happened.”
He abruptly stood and extended his hand.
Faced with Oliver’s assertiveness, Walter fell silent.
“You understand, of course, that this matter remains between us.”
Without another word, Oliver left the room.
Left alone, Walter stared blankly ahead for a while before reluctantly tucking the vial inside his coat.
He needed time to think.
Friday evening, private quarters.
“I guess I’ll have to settle this face to face after all…”
I was carefully reviewing the materials I’d received from the General Affairs Department.
It was a list of the faculty currently serving at Karbenna.
Out of 544 members, only three professors had come from the Special Task Force—and one of those was currently dispatched to a border region.
That left one.
Walter Clark. Age thirty. Professor of Herbalism.
A graduate of Karbenna’s 16th class, and like Belfor, one of my fellow Special Task Force recruits.
He wasn’t a character who appeared often in the game, so my personal memory of him was faint the memories belonging to Eugene Carter carried more weight here.
‘Even taking that into account, it’s still awfully vague.’
Perhaps because fragments of memory were missing here and there, but still, I could piece together a few facts.
He held a lingering grudge against me—and he really liked to drink.
That much, I could say for certain. Beyond that, there was little information.
“From what I can tell, he doesn’t seem like the type who’d help me…”
I tossed the documents onto the table and sighed.
Right now, this world was in “Apocalypse Mode.”
In other modes, the beasts had only been annoying nuisances—but in this one, they had evolved into humanity’s sworn enemies.
My outburst during yesterday’s lecture had been rooted in that same awareness.
Even without any new challenges, Apocalypse Mode was hell.
If humanity couldn’t unite as one, there would be no future.
My top priority, of course, was the five main heroines—but after saving all of them, I had no intention of watching the world burn.
‘Honestly, it’s already too late.’
Up until now, the nations had done nothing but check and restrain each other.
Only after the beasts’ massive outbreak had humanity formed a joint front but that was far from true unity.
We needed to face reality.
It was impossible to eradicate the beasts from this world.
And with the current level of alliance, humanity’s destruction was inevitable.
The Eight Great Houses of the Empire, the Imperial Family, and the Holy Order—
Changing them would come later.
Karbenna had to change first.
And at the center of that stood Michel Bernhardt, of course.
“…I’ll have to arrange an inspection trip for the Special Task Force.”
Just as I was deep in thought—
Knock, knock, knock.
A knock echoed through the room.
I quickly gathered my papers and set them aside.
“Who is it?”
“This is the teaching assistant from the Department of Herbalism! May I come in?”
“…Oh?”
Now, that was a pleasant surprise.
When I opened the door, a nervous female assistant stood there and saluted.
“P-Professor Walter Clark is asking for you!”
“I know.”
“P-Pardon?”
I patted her shoulder lightly and smiled.
“Let’s go.”