I Realized It Was an Academy Game After 10 Years – Chapter 86

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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“Th-the Academy? Did I hear that right?”

Sif asked, perking up her ears while chewing and savoring the steak I had bought her.

I swallowed a bite of my own steak before answering.

“You heard correctly.”

“C-can someone like me really enter?”

“It’s fine. I’ve been given full authority for this project.”

“I-I see…”

Sif looked down at her plate with an expression of deep emotion.

It was an odd look.

I couldn’t remember if there had been any backstory about Sif wanting to attend the Academy.

My memory was hazy.

To begin with, Sif was closer to an Easter egg NPC, so I hadn’t paid much attention to her.

She wasn’t a heroine, and she was an enemy monster if you didn’t progress her quest, so even more so.

“Did you want to attend Kalon Academy?”

At my question, Sif glared at me as if I had asked something obvious and opened her cat-like mouth to answer.

“Everyone wants to attend Kalon Academy! Just graduating guarantees you a path to success – at the very least you could become a tutor for some noble family!”

That was just like Sif.

I stared at the money-obsessed cat beastkin for a moment, then turned my gaze to the scene outside the window.

Students in uniforms and people in armor with ordinary people mixed in between them.

It was truly a peaceful scene.

How nice it would have been to be able to blend into such a peaceful landscape and live.

Finding a decent place to live, working, eating delicious meals with hard earned money, finding a lover…

That would have been the future that awaited me if I hadn’t entered the game.

But now, that was impossible for me.

Because I knew that this peace would gradually crumble.

People would die without even being able to resist.

Monsters would trample cities.

People would gather in the Academy, the last stronghold, to prepare for a final resistance.

That was the bad ending.

I knew the end of this world.

Therefore, I didn’t have the option of abandoning everything and hiding.

In the end, I would be swept up in the apocalypse too.

To survive, I had to struggle with all the knowledge I possessed.

Main quests.

Side quests.

Information about dungeons.

And…

“Johann? Johann! Are you listening to me?”

I turned my gaze to Sif, whose voice was ringing in my ears.

Sif, who had somehow already cleaned her plate, was looking at me worriedly and asked,

“Are you feeling sick?”

“I just had something to think about.”

“Oh, is that so? Then, um… can I order one more serving?”

Sif looked up at me with her eyes wide, as if trying to act cute.

Did she think I would fall for such blatant aegyo?

“…Fine, order one more.”

“Yes!”

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“M-me? Really?”

A few hours after hiring Sif, I arrived at the laboratory.

I had already talked to Professor Lennon, so I just needed to persuade Elisa.

I knocked on the laboratory door and called out.

“Professor! It’s Johann!”

“Come in!”

As soon as I received permission, I grabbed the doorknob and turned it.

I entered the laboratory and looked at Elisa, who was helping Professor Lennon.

Elisa flinched and averted her gaze when our eyes met.

This was great progress in many ways.

At first, she had even fainted.

“It’s been a while. Have you been well?”

I shook hands with the professor who approached me and offered a handshake.

“I’ve been managing.”

“That’s good to hear.”

“Then, as we discussed before…”

“Elisa. Come over here.”

“Y-yes?”

“Yeomyeong-gwan wants to hire you.”

“M-me?”

“I heard you’re a good student.”

“B-but there are many others who are better… than me…”

“We need you.”

According to Professor Lennon’s somewhat biased praise, her grades were good enough to be second in the class, and her knowledge of curses was quite thorough, befitting the professor’s top student.

So I judged that she could be entrusted with administrative work.

Of course, there was also the fact that I wanted to build a friendship with her for my quest.

It was relatively easier to build rapport with someone who was close by.

“Um, but… someone like me…”

Elisa mumbled, looking back and forth between me and Professor Lennon.

Was she hoping for Professor Lennon to say something?

Even if he did, it wouldn’t make much difference.

“Elisa. This is a good opportunity. Working at Yeomyeong-gwan is a rare chance. Why don’t you try it, and use this opportunity to improve your social skills as well?”

“B-but… I…”

“I know that you’re a descendant of witches.”

“What?!”

I waited for Elisa, who had gone into vibration mode like a phone, to calm down.

Judging by how she was even breaking out in a cold sweat, the fact that I knew her identity seemed to be quite shocking to her.

“What do I do what do I do what do I do what do I do what do I do…”

A secret that no one except Professor Lennon knew about.

Oh, and Karina too, I suppose.

Anyway, I put my hand on her shoulder and tried to persuade her in the gentlest voice I could manage.

“Don’t worry. Didn’t Lady Karina say it? That what you’re born as doesn’t define who you are. Remember those words. We don’t care about your background.”

…I wasn’t sure about Renny, but she would probably go along with whatever Karina said anyway.

Her devotion to Karina was quite useful in this way.

In any case, the pale-faced descendant of witches looked up at me with trembling eyes.

Curled up like a frightened rabbit, she met my gaze.

My enhanced Insight gauged her state.

Fear, confusion, despair.

Excessively negative emotions were evident on her face.

“Lisa. Don’t worry too much. These people are good people. You’ve met them before, haven’t you?”

Fortunately, Professor Lennon, who had been watching the situation, stepped in to break this stagnant situation.

It was natural, of course, since the two of us had already discussed this beforehand.

Professor Lennon was like a father to Elisa, and he couldn’t let his daughter-like pupil live alone forever.

He couldn’t look after her forever, so the plan was to entrust her to us, whom he could trust.

Our need for someone to assist Renny with her work aligned with their interests.

“B-but…”

“You can’t live alone forever, child.”

“H-how can someone like me…”

“Lisa. You’re a good child. Don’t be so discouraged because of your background.”

Elisa nodded at the professor’s persuasion.

Although she seemed reluctant, it was enough that we had received permission.

I stood up and prepared to leave.

“Th-then I’ll go pack my things…”

“Alright. Do you need any help?”

“I-I’m fine!”

Then I’ll wait patiently.

I watched her disappear hurriedly out of the laboratory, then turned to look at Professor Lennon, who was sighing while stroking his beard, and asked,

“Is this really okay?”

“It’s fine. More than fine. That child can’t live under my protection forever, you know.”

I see.

I looked at the wrinkles etched on Professor Lennon’s face.

He was at an age where it wouldn’t be strange to retire.

Given the state of the world, he couldn’t keep looking after her at an age where he might die at any time, even if she was like a daughter to him.

So he was entrusting her to us, who could be trusted and who wouldn’t care about her background even if we knew about it.

This was probably the best option he could choose among the available choices.

“I-I’m ready…”

That was faster than I expected.

I looked at Professor Lennon upon hearing the voice from beyond the door.

As I was about to leave, he grasped my hand and spoke to me in a low voice.

“Please take good care of her.”

“I understand.”

I left Professor Lennon behind and exited the laboratory.

As I opened the laboratory door and went out, I saw Elisa startled next to the door.

“…Um…”

“I’ll pull the suitcase.”

“B-but…”

“It’s fine.”

I took the suitcase from Elisa, whose contents I couldn’t even guess, and hurried my steps.

Hiring Sif and getting Elisa a job at Yeomyeong-gwan wasn’t the end of my tasks.

“It feels like I’m just accumulating women…”

“W-what?”

“It’s nothing.”

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“Sif.”

“One!”

“Millia.”

“Two!”

I looked down at my subordinates wearing the safety helmets I had personally crafted.

Sif was in charge of transportation.

She would pull a cart carrying materials needed for tunnel construction.

Millia was in charge of meals.

She would deliver breakfast, lunch, and dinner riding her kick scooter.

I was in charge of shoveling.

I would dig the tunnels.

It was a neat combination.

“Johann, Johann! Is there nothing else I can do besides delivering meals?”

“If you’re bored, help Sif.”

“Johann! Can I touch her tail too?”

“No!”

“Yes, you can.”

Millia’s face went through a range of emotions from sadness to joy.

Meanwhile, Sif panicked and tried to hide her tail, but unfortunately, she had no right of refusal.

“It’s my tail!”

“Who’s your employer?”

“…Do whatever you want.”

“Hehe. Then I’ll touch it!”

“D-don’t grab it too hard, okay?”

“Nyaa!”

Leaving the two to play on their own, I decided to start working.

I took out the map provided by the Academy from my chest and unfolded it.

Before starting the full-scale construction, I needed to design the layout.

It wasn’t just about making small tunnels, creating passages that could accommodate dozens of people required precise work.

I drew approximate lines on the map with the pen I had brought.

Of course, these were markings for where to create the tunnels.

Some departments had basement levels, so I had to consider that when deciding the locations of the emergency passages.

Considering the dungeon beneath the Academy was also quite a troublesome factor.

As I drew one line after another, the map quickly became cluttered with black lines.

It might be hard for others to understand, but as long as I could read it, that was all that mattered.

After all, I was the only one doing the construction work.

Let’s organize the plan.

First, create tunnels leading to each department, and make shelters at regular intervals.

The shelters would contain first aid supplies and preserved food.

The Academy would take care of that, so I moved on…

The important thing was to create a structure that could withstand even if the Academy above was destroyed.

I estimated the approximate specifications while recalling the shelters and tunnels I had built so far.

As I was working on this concept, I heard a familiar scream from behind.

“It tickles! Stop touching it! Johann! Please make her stop!”

Did Millia like Sif more than I thought?

I spoke to the panicking Sif.

“I’ll give you one gold coin as a bonus.”

“Hehe, Johann is the best!”

“Just don’t grab too hard! Nyaa!”

As expected, the money-loving creature was easy to handle.

Smiling at the cheerful atmosphere created by just one gold coin, I gripped my shovel more firmly.

Well then, shall we begin?

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[lmao that ending, ngl i kinda wanna see johann at the end of this novel finally be able to chill as like a farmer or somethin is it just me?]