The Academy is Doomed

Chapter 85

Zorga Territory!

Although the population and size aren’t particularly large, its economy is on par with that of any medium-sized city, thanks to its specialty in silk, a luxury product.

However, because of the mulberry leaves, which are the primary food of silkworms, it is a quiet region surrounded by mountains and fields.

In other words, it is an independent region that does not belong to any city.

‘That’s why it is primarily self-sufficient. The lord of Zorga Territory, Count Eshid Zorga, even moved to the capital to live, only thinking of this territory as a source of income.’

Amon, overlooking Zorga Territory from a hill, turned his gaze.

The mountain visible behind Zorga Territory caught his eye.

‘And that’s where the Undead Cave is.’

Amon clenched his fists.

‘Although the issue with the Bog Mountains is unavoidable, this mission is one I cannot fail. My purse, just wait a little longer, soon it will be filled up.’

Amon shouted, looking at Ami and Rustianel, who were collapsed behind him.

“Let’s go! Ami! Lord Rustianel!”

“……”

“Come on, how much have we been running that both of you collapsed and are being lazy now?”

Ami weakly lifted her head and muttered.

“Don’t you think my brother is strange…?”

Rustianel, too exhausted to lift his head, muttered as he wriggled.

“Even after using Haste magic, he’s still faster than me… Humans are scary…”

“No, Rustianel. It’s that human that’s strange…”

“Ami, you’re not normal either.”

“Why me?”

Amon, who had turned his gaze away from the two of them, nodded as he surveyed the mountains behind Zorga Territory.

“This one should be easy. Just break the skeletons and collect the money! So everyone, let’s put in a little more effort!”

“……”

“Answer me.”

“Waaaah…”

Ami and Rustianel, staggering as they got up, followed Amon, who walked forward with confidence.

First, they needed to inform the people of Zorga Territory that they were here to defeat the undead in the back mountain and that they should look forward to the coming peace and safety.

‘Hmm, there’s a local here.’

The local seemed troubled, looking worn out from the stress caused by the undead.

“Hello!”

“Huh? Who are you?”

The local, who was moving mulberry leaves to feed the silkworms, looked at Amon with a wary expression. Amon, in an effort to reassure him, reached out his hand.

“Please don’t worry! We’ve come to help you!”

“……Hmm? You’ve come to help?”

The local eyed Amon suspiciously.

‘What’s going on? Why does he look like that?’

Considering the torment the locals must have gone through with the undead occupying the back mountain, they should be welcoming them with open arms, but the local’s expression seemed to suggest, “Did you come here because there’s something to be gained?”

‘But that can’t be the case. They’ve probably suffered so much that their mistrust of humans has seeped deep into their bones.’

Amon, raising his hands as if to claim he meant no harm, said.

“Don’t worry. We are not here to cause harm. I am Amon Drake, a teacher at Amonis Academy, and the second son of Baron Drake. You don’t need to worry about my status.”

“……Hmm. So you’re a nobleman.”

The local’s eyes lit up, and he spoke.

“Ah, did you come because of the undead in the back mountain?”

“That’s right!”

“I thought so.”

The local nodded as if he understood and began walking.

“Follow me. I’ll take you to the village chief.”

Hastily, Amon followed behind the local.

A short while later, Amon, having arrived at the “village chief’s mansion,” which was more lavish than even “Baron Kaim’s mansion” from Drake Territory, looked around in amazement.

‘They say they make money from sericulture, but this place is much more impressive than my own home.’

Sipping the tea that was offered, Amon looked up as the village chief appeared.

He was a plump, elderly man.

“Hahaha, I heard you came to get rid of the undead in the back mountain.”

“Yes, that’s correct. You can rest easy now.”

“Hahahaha! That’s very reassuring.”

“You’re too kind! But more importantly, I’d like to set off as soon as possible for the safety of the villagers. Could you please tell me the exact location and situation?”

Hearing Amon’s urgency, the village chief hesitated for a moment, then chuckled before replying.

“Hahaha! It’s already late, so how about you rest for today and leave tomorrow, refreshed?”

As he said, the sun was already setting after traveling from Amur, through the Bog Mountains, and all the way here.

It was likely a suggestion from the village chief, but Amon shook his head.

“I can’t. The undead are occupying the back mountain, and as a noble of the Empire, I cannot sit idly by.”

“Hmm…”

The village chief, who had been murmuring to himself, furrowed his brows. However, Amon, busy drinking the tea in one go, didn’t notice!

When he put down the cup, the village chief once again smiled kindly.

“Hahaha, well, then rest a little before you depart.”

“No, I want to solve this quickly.”

As mentioned before, Amon was eager to fill his purse immediately.

After several refusals, the village chief smiled coldly.

“Hmm, if that’s what you insist, then I understand.”

“Thank you for understanding.”

“The Undead Cave is at the entrance to the back mountain. You can find it if you follow the trail there.”

“Thank you. Well then.”

Amon stood up and headed outside. Once left alone, the village chief turned his head.

“Hehehe, Kadan!”

“Yes, Chief!”

“You’ve prepared everything, right?”

“Of course! Don’t worry, Chief.”

The village chief and Kadan, looking at each other, burst into sinister laughter.

“Hahaha! That foolish nobleman!”

“Kekekekeke! I can’t wait to see him!”

Climbing up the mountain path, Amon scratched his head.

“Ugh, my stomach’s been growling since earlier.”

“You’re feeling it too? I am, too.”

Earlier, Ami had excitedly sipped the rare tea.

“Really? Could the tea have gone bad?”

“Hmm, it’s possible. The villagers probably don’t drink tea every day, so they must have brought it out for us as special guests. Maybe it went bad during storage.”

Rustianel, who had been silently listening to the conversation, thought to herself.

‘It seems like there’s poison in it.’

But for a dragon, poison and water are indistinguishable.

Even if it were poison, it wouldn’t be noticeable.

‘Well, since those two are fine, it doesn’t seem to be poison.’

Rustianel comfortably concluded.

After climbing for a while, Amon looked around.

“But something seems off.”

“What’s wrong?”

“This is the path leading to the Undead Cave, right? But why is it so well-maintained?”

“Now that you mention it, that’s true.”

There were even traces of wagon or cart wheels on the path.

Amon, quietly examining the wheel marks, gasped.

“I see! It’s the Undead Cave, right? That means there must be someone leading them.”

“A necromancer or something like that?”

“That seems likely. Some evil person might be draining the villagers dry. Maybe that’s why they used carts to transport alcohol and food?”

“Oh, that makes sense.”

Ami was impressed by her brother’s wisdom, and Amon congratulated himself on his cleverness.

‘Phew, I can’t just leave them alone. If I had delayed any longer, the reward the villagers give me would have decreased!’

Thankful for his diligence, Amon hastened his steps.

“Alright, let’s get this over with.”

Amon hurriedly led the way.

Soon, they found the dark cave and, cautiously peeking inside, Amon nodded.

The extremely foul stench confirmed it.

“Alright, I’m going in. I’ll lead the way.”

“Okay, hurry up.”

“…Alright.”

Amon, giving a glance at his sister, who was encouraging him to lead, entered the cave.

And as he slowly made his way inside…

Clank-!

Clatter-clatter-clack-

The faint sound of bones clashing echoed from within the cave.

Upon hearing that, Amon smiled triumphantly.

‘Skeletons. They’ve definitely come.’

Amon, who was about to draw the adamantium sword at his waist, shook his head.

It was too heavy a sword to use on something like a skeleton.

Literally, it was heavy.

‘There’s no need to use a butcher’s knife to catch a chicken.’

It would be easy to crush a skeleton’s skull with just a punch!

Amon swung his clenched fist and hurled his body forward.

‘Now, let’s make some money…!’

However, Amon, who was speeding like lightning, was forced to stop in his tracks.

It was because of the rare sight filling his eyes.

‘…What is this?’

Amon looked around.

Dozens of skeletons were sitting in front of a loom, frantically moving their hands, or rather their hand bones, in the wide cavern.

Clatter, clack, clatter—!

The sound of skeletons clattering, the noisy clacking of the loom, left Amon frozen as he scanned the interior.

“…Who, who are you?”

A voice suddenly called out, and Amon quickly turned his head.

A young man with a disheveled appearance was curled up in the corner, trembling.

“Wh-what about you? Who are you?”

“W-was it the village chief, or…the chief who sent you?”

“…Yes? Well, yes, that is the case.”

At those words, the young man was shocked and hunched down even more.

“Aaah! I’m sorry! I’ll try harder!”

“…?”

“I-I’m inadequate! I’ll move the skeletons more diligently, so please… no more whipping…”

Amon tilted his head slightly.

‘What? What is going on here?’

Staring blankly at the trembling young man, Amon opened his mouth.

“Are you a necromancer?”

“Yes? Th-that’s right! I’ll weave the silk more diligently, so please, no more whipping…”

Amon, who had been watching the young man having a fit, looked up at the ceiling as he organized his thoughts.

‘The mountain path leading here is well-maintained, there are traces of cart wheels, the skeletons are weaving silk in a frenzy, and the necromancer controlling the skeletons is trembling in fear.’

It was a dizzying situation.

Lost in thought, Amon was able to draw one conclusion.

“Hey.”

“Y-yes!”

“Are you being overworked by the villagers…?”

At that, the young man jumped up and shook his head violently.

“No! I owe the village chief so much, and he cares for me greatly! I am loyal to the village chief!”

“….”

“How many times do I have to tell you that I’m loyal to the village chief!”

The brainwashed necromancer, De-ski!

Amon closed his eyes slowly.

‘It’s crazy. The world really is going mad.’

A village peacefully coexisting with ogres!

A lord exploiting a necromancer to have skeletons weave silk!

Shaking his head, Amon suddenly looked outside.

“Ami.”

“Yes?”

“Why is it so noisy outside?”

“Yeah? I’ll check it out.”

Ami quickly ran outside and returned shortly after.

“There’s chaos outside.”

“What, what kind of chaos?”

“Some knights and soldiers have come and are taking the villagers away.”

“…”

“I heard some nobles who came here spent the night and then did stuff like poison them and so on? There were even a few people with knives at the cave entrance. I knocked them out.”

“What…?”

Amon, his legs going weak, slumped down to the ground.

“What the hell is going on…?”

Seeing how the villagers were, Amon thought he understood why the lord wasn’t coming down from the capital.

He had probably waited for an opportunity like today to take action all at once.

And then, the necromancer De-ski, overhearing Ami’s words, jumped up and shouted in joy.

“F-finally, freedom!”

“…”

“I’ll stop practicing dark magic and return to my hometown to farm! Thank you, oh divine one!”

De-ski jumped in joy, while Amon, filled with despair, quietly watched the scene. Meanwhile, Rustianel, who had been watching, trembled and muttered.

“The human world, it’s scary…”

“…”

Amon also nodded slightly.

He, too, was beginning to become afraid of the human world.