# Ep 12. Common Sense at the Academy Festival
*Bang—!!*
"Gunshots!?"
Isabelle jumped up from her seat in shock.
That direction is where the old man went...? As soon as the thought crossed her mind, she groaned, covering her face with her hands.
What are you doing now....
Sadly, it was a reasonable question.
"Ah, has it begun already?"
Unlike the confused Isabelle, Asidis, and Elfihera, the three transmigrators at this booth exchanged subtle smiles as they packed up their things.
There wouldn't be any customers anyway. No materials worth stealing either. Abandoning the booth wouldn't cause any losses in this situation.
Even as screams erupted around them and panicked crowds rushed about in confusion, they remained completely calm.
"W-what, what's happening here! Can someone explain? Is this normal for human festivals? Oh, is it ceremonial gunfire or something?"
"No, I haven't heard of any such event scheduled."
Isabelle replied while tracking suspicious masked figures running through the terrified crowd.
"If this were actually part of the festival schedule, I don't think people would be running away."
"My my, don't you know? This is why... 'otherworlders' are so..."
Yu-jin approached, shaking his head. He had already changed into light athletic wear with a mace hanging at his side.
"Ah, this is what we call a 'raid.' It's a common occurrence at academies... or universities."
"Your personality seems different... and what kind of university regularly gets raided...?"
Isabelle stopped mid-sentence and closed her mouth.
Wait, why does it feel so common?
Come to think of it, there was a raid on the entrance train, another raid during field training, a random earthquake, and now this festival.
Isn't this too much to happen within just 3 months of enrollment...?
Too frequent to be considered mere incidents...?
"Uh... huh?"
"Finally realized it? This is 'common sense'..."
Yu-jin chuckled and turned to Oswald, who was smiling beside him.
"Now, Oswald. I need you to cast the 'victory spell' on me."
"As you wish."
Oswald approached with a smile and raised his hand.
In his hand was an antique helmet. It resembled an old tin can-shaped helmet that only wandering knights in penance would wear.
With a peculiar red cross pattern drawn on it.
Oswald placed the helmet on Yu-jin's head and lowered the visor. With a clank, the heavy metal visor covered Yu-jin's face.
Above it, purple magical energy swirled and coiled.
Oswald, weaving magic from his fingertips, concentrated the spell near Yu-jin's head and whispered softly:
"The Lord wills it."
*Keeng—*
As the spell completed, it seeped under Yu-jin's helmet. [Courage Bestow]. A common awakening spell from Mind Sorcery.
But the result was far from common.
"Kill the heretics."
Golden light flared beneath the helmet visor.
"In the name of the Lord!! God is great and there is only one!!"
"That's Islam...."
"Shh, don't break his concentration. Let him enjoy it."
"Ah... okay."
Yuri and Oswald watched with satisfied smiles as Yu-jin charged away.
After quickly checking his own equipment, Oswald turned to the other students who were standing frozen in confusion.
"Well, this is the situation. Let's see...."
He knew these were children of the Hero Party. And according to Ivan, they were the "protagonists" of this "scenario."
In academy stories, a festival raid is essentially an XP event for the main characters to level up. That's common sense.
Oswald tried to find the right words to explain this in otherworld terms. Well, basically.
"Civilians are under attack, and many students are from non-combat departments. Most students have zero combat experience. Stay alert. We're in the most rational position right now."
"Uh, umm...."
"Ah, Ms. Asidis, you were a music student, right? Can't be helped. Please stay back...."
What could a bard do anyway? Just sing from the back.
When Oswald said this, Asidis hesitated before squeezing her eyes shut and asking:
"W-what about Uncle? Uncle Ivan?"
"Given the direction of the gunshots and that man's personality... it's obvious. He's probably rushed into the most dangerous area."
"Then I want to go too."
"Do you have a weapon?"
"Yes."
With a grim expression, Asidis unbuckled something. The instrument case she had been carrying on her back slid smoothly into her hands.
"Hey, you're not going to use your violin as a—!"
"I don't do that anymore. A violin isn't a weapon."
When she unzipped the instrument case, what emerged was a metal baton.
Similar in length to a police expandable baton—too long and thick to be used as an actual conductor's baton.
And visibly heavy, made of steel.
"I've decided to double major in orchestra conducting next semester. Batons are inexpensive and can be made of any material...."
While there is a condition that it should be light enough to hold and wave with two fingers, there's no specific restriction on what material a baton can be made of.
And Asidis already possessed the grip strength and arm power to hold and wave a steel rod with just two fingers.
The strongest music student ever, daughter of the berserker Einarr. Befitting the strongest female student of Droan.
"The time of long humiliation is over! From today, I am a conductor!!"
O God, sing of sorrow!!
Asidis shrieked and charged toward the battlefield. Isabelle stared blankly at her before shaking her head.
Conducting isn't something you do to people's heads. But whatever makes her happy.
She rolled her shoulders and drew her sword. It was worth bringing it even during the festival.
"It would be embarrassing for the Knight Department to stand by while the Music and Theology departments take action. Shall we go together, Ms. Yuri?"
"Yes, Ms. Isabelle. I'll cover your back!"
The two knight students gripped their swords and ran into the crowd.
Now only Oswald and Elfihera remained at the booth. Oswald watched them leave with a faint smile.
"Do they not understand party play?"
A priest charging in alone.
Followed by a bard rushing in with melee weapons.
Only then do the two knights deploy.
What kind of mess is this? Weren't we supposed to be a club that... had practiced forming parties and working together for a long time?
How could they just leave the rear mage all alone...?
Sigh. Oswald shrugged and was about to follow when Elfihera blocked his path.
"Where are you going?"
"Ah, I thought I'd lend a hand."
"That won't do. I'd be left alone."
"What?"
"I told you I don't have a single drop of magical energy left."
Elfihera stepped back with a shrug.
Oswald was taken aback. Elfihera was famous in the department as a genius with monstrous magical reserves. Had she used up all her magic without anyone noticing?
Why? And what spell...?
As Oswald hesitated, Elfihera smiled and said:
"Still, I have my duty as an elf to save you poor short-lived species. By the way, Mr. Eastvelpen, do you know how to shoot a pistol?"
"I know the basics."
"Perfect. What Mind Sorcery spells can you use?"
"Um... [Courage Bestow], [Form of Fear], and [Orog's Blindfold]?"
"What about [Aim Correction]?"
"Ah, I know that one too."
"Excellent. How many spell charges do you have left?"
"About ten more."
Elfihera nodded with a bright smile.
"Now, follow me!"
"What? You said you've depleted all your magic—where are you planning to go? Ms. Grikenkos, you're an honored guest of Kalion. You should be resting somewhere safe!"
"Oh my, but then I'd miss the opportunity to score points."
This incident won't escalate beyond a certain scale. Given that it's happening in the heart of Pritzenkaya, suppression will happen almost instantly.
Right now there's some confusion because of the festival crowds, but it was obvious the disturbance would soon be contained.
And Ivan is a high-ranking official who receives orders directly from the princess. Reports on the terrorist suppression would be easily accessible.
The way to score points in this situation is simple: act first and stand out.
And to add one more thing: resolving the situation using a "pistol," one of Ivan's main weapons.
And then naturally...
*"Oh my, Sir Petrovich. I tried using a pistol for the first time during the recent terrorist attack."*
*"That was your first time? I can't believe it!!"*
*"Oh, it's nothing special. As an elf, I'm naturally proficient with any weapon. But you're skilled with this pistol, aren't you, Sir Petrovich?"*
*"How skilled can a mere human be? Though I have handled them for a few years!"*
*"Ah, my father always said: If there's someone who learned even a day before you, seek their teaching, even if they're human. Could you teach me pistol marksmanship?"*
*"KEEEEEK!! It would be the honor of my life! I was planning to write about today in my diary to pass down as an heirloom—might I ask for your autograph?!"*
*"Ohohohoho!! Of course! Certainly! Bring it right away!!"*
"Hehe..."
"Ms. Grikenkos?"
"Hehehe... Let's go! Quickly! To save all those poor humans!!"
Elfihera dashed off with a flushed face.
"B-but where will you get a pistol?!"
"I saw plenty with ammunition earlier!"
Dmitri would later find himself robbed of weapons by Kalion elf nobles who stormed in during his field command.
After the situation was resolved, Ivan sighed deeply as he stood before Dmitri, who was kneeling.
"So it's come to this."
After flipping through the report pages, he hesitated with a displeased expression. He had decided not to hold any official position anymore.
But it seems unavoidable.
With a firm press, he stamped the red seal on the last page of the report. Ivan sighed once more and passed the report to the side.
Pavel received the report and pressed his own seal next to Ivan's.
*Chief: Colonel Ivan Petrovich.*
*Deputy: Lieutenant Colonel Pavel Sergeyevich Orlov.*
"So... you'll now receive your overdue military pension..."
"..."
"The salary won't come from the military but from the Eastern Palace... since this belongs to the court department. Hehe."
"..."
Dmitri, avoiding the gaze of the two ghosts from the past staring at him, looked down at the floor and muttered:
"I look forward to working with you, seniors."
"We'll have to redesign the training program from scratch."
"Mm."
"Come to think of it, this is essentially a continuation of the Royal Guard, isn't it?"
The sole survivor of the wartime Royal Guard (Ivan) had reorganized into the Annihilation Squad, so it wouldn't be wrong to say the Annihilation Squad was the successor to the Royal Guard.
And gathering the survivors from that Annihilation Squad formed the current Counterintelligence Command.
In a way, isn't this a reorganization of the Royal Guard?
Pavel nodded with satisfaction. A meaningful position to start anew, he thought.