Doggone Academy - Chapter 14

Chapter 14. Beginning (2)

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Dunkel lined up the documents he had received on the office desk one by one.

They were all letters of recommendation written by qualified people. They included the distinctions of the candidates for admission. There was little chance that they had exaggerated due to their high reputation.

Director Dunkel smiled as he read the documents. There were quite a few candidates recommended for this semester, each with different talents.

Azelis, the most prominent. She was described as a woman candidate to become a saint with a millenary talent, who could be the incarnation of a Goddess.

Zion, the disciple of the Sword Master, who pacified a continent.

Cecil, a genius who could turn even ordinary stones into magical stones.

Luna, an elementalist who has received the Spirit King’s blessing.

The son of Marquis Barianne, who was in charge of protecting the northernmost defensive line of the Empire. He made a great impression because he defeated several demonic beasts at a young age.

There were five people.

Most of the people who were recommended excelled from an early age, so there was no need to review the documents in detail.

Knock Knock

Dunkel, who was gleefully sweeping his beard with his hand, squinted at the sudden sound of an unexpected visitor. A Stitch banged against his office window.

He quickly knew it was Sylverine’s Stitch by the way it flew.

The Stitch, which flew in when Dunkel raised the window, caused a mess in the office. Its fluttering not only cluttered the documents, but also crashed into some objects. He only calmed down when it landed on the desk.

Dunkel sighed with his eyes closed.

There was a mailbox dedicated to Stitches, but Sylverine always ignored it. She did it with the intention that he would read her letter first, before the others.

Dunkel shook his head as he remembered that he had brought her to the Academy.

“I was stupid. I shouldn’t have taken that idiot.”

As he took the letter, the Stitch went out the window.

“……”

He hadn’t gotten rid of her, despite her behavior, because of her abilities. She was lazy and disrespectful, but she did her assigned tasks better than anyone else.

He took a deep breath before opening the letter.

It was a letter of recommendation from Sylverine.

“Hmm.”

Dunkel’s expression became complex as he began to read it.

It seemed a bit excessive to him that it was in ancient characters. Besides, it was the first letter of recommendation she had written since she had been authorized to do so.

Letters in ancient characters were used for security reasons when the potential of the recommended child could affect the existence of a nation or group of people, or when it might be a great threat to the child if the world knew of his abilities.

When a student was admitted for the above reasons, his true identity was kept absolutely secret from all but a few masters. And so as not to draw attention to themselves, their public scores were always in the average range, even when they scored the highest.

The student would also receive intensive classes for the development of their special abilities called Master Class. However, the requirements to qualify were quite strict because the Academy had to allocate resources for it.

Azelis, a saint candidate who would be entering next semester, was in discussion about the fact that she could get Master Classes.

He couldn’t just accept it because Sylverine asked. Even if she was an influential magician, a thorough review was needed for this.

Dunkel sent out a summons through a Stitch.

Soon after, someone entered his office.

She was a woman with long, slicked-back hair. Her muscles were toned. She was drenched in sweat, as if she had just finished a workout.

“Director, did you call me?”

She was Sylverine’s rival, a master assigned to the Combat Department. Although Gael realized that she was inferior to Sylverine, she still retained her competitive spirit.

Gael could evaluate the person Sylverine had recommended more objectively.

Dunkel gestured to his office chair with his hand.

“Sit down.”

Gael, who sat in the chair, looked at the mess.

“Sylverine again?”

Dunkel nodded.

“This time it’s a bit special. She requested a Master Class in the letter of recommendation.”

Gael’s eyes grew wide with interest.

“Really?”

Dunkel nodded calmly again.

“I hope you can evaluate Sylverine’s boy as an examiner.”

Gael shook her head.

“He must have a talent for magic if Sylverine has chosen him. I’m not the right person to examine him because I belong to the Combat Department.”

“In the letter of recommendation, Sylverine indicated that the boy handles a sword.”

Gael’s look changed when she heard the word sword.

“…I see.”

“This may take a long time, so be completely unoccupied for the next month. Let me know if you need anything, I’ll take care of everything.”

“I see. And director?”

“Tell me.”

“Can I take my student to the evaluation?”

Dunkel smiled slightly because he knew Gael’s competitive spirit had been activated again.

“Just don’t say it’s an evaluation for the Master Class.”

“…Thank you.”

“Then, I’m going.”