I Became an Academy Counselor

Chapter 82

“Guaaaahhh!”

A knight screamed in agony as his arm was severed, and Aileen responded nonchalantly.

“Don’t worry. I cut it clean. In a bit, the Observer will fix it up. After some rehab, it’ll reattach nicely.”

“Aileen, are you angry?”

“Yes. I’m mad. Seeing the teacher get attacked ticked me off a bit.”

“...”

It was a little embarrassing.

I appreciate the concern, but saying something like that in front of everyone... it’s a bit... embarrassing.

“You knew there wouldn’t be a problem...”

“That’s one thing, and this is another.”

“Ah, right.”

Thanks to castling, Aileen and I switched positions and launched a surprise attack, but castling isn’t all-powerful.

You can’t use castling in truly dangerous situations.

I remembered that in games, you couldn’t use castling when the king’s health was below a certain threshold. Probably because of the chess rule that you can’t castle while in check.

Anyway, since there’s no health bar in real life, the conditions for using castling have changed significantly.

The new condition is that the user must not feel threatened.

That’s why, even with a blade at my throat, I was able to use castling without a problem.

Well, it’s because I could make them stab their own throat with just a word from me.

However, Aileen didn’t know that, so she must’ve been worried that I might fall into fear.

That must be why she’s reacting so fiercely.

“...Damn it, change of plan! Target the isolated one first!”

“What? But...”

“Shut up and do it! We don’t know how many more times they can use that technique!”

...Huh, they seem to be under some serious misconception.

They must’ve been thrown into confusion after seeing Aileen and me teleport in an instant.

Did they think we could keep doing this indefinitely? What a happy misunderstanding. I can only use it once.

Leaving us gathered together, they rushed toward Leo.

“Ha, what fools. They don’t even realize they’re falling into a trap.”

“Well, you can’t really blame them. Stella’s magic is pretty unusual. It’s not strange they wouldn’t know.”

The reason I, assigned the role of the king, remained here with Aileen.@@@@

It was to lure in enemies with me as bait, someone who would seem enticing in the prince’s eyes, and then eliminate them.

So here’s the question:

Why is Leo here, even though it would’ve been fine with just Aileen and me?

Maybe they thought Aileen alone wouldn’t be enough?

Well, let’s ask again. Why Leo, of all people?

Anastasia could’ve returned after the initial ambush, after all.

...That’s because of this moment, right now.

“Hup!”

“Ha, an attack like that won’t—Guaaah?! My... my leg...!”

“I... I clearly dodged it! What the hell...?!”

Leo charged at full speed and swung his sword with all his might.

Obviously, the royal elite knights wouldn’t be unable to dodge an attack focused purely on power.

The targeted knight snorted and dodged lightly, then swung his sword at Leo’s neck... only for his stance to crumble, and his strike to veer wildly off course.

“Damn it, chase after him! Head toward the prince! We have to stop him!”

“No, sorry, but that won’t be happening.”

“Grr... Don’t get in my way! If you do, I’ll cut you down first!”

A pawn, powerless, with no special abilities.

Yet, because of that lack of power, pawns possess two unique abilities unlike any other pieces.

The current attack was one of them—en passant.

Stella looked around her.

In the distance, Anya was subdued after trying to gather holy power and getting caught.

Orca, who hadn’t stopped running, had been knocked out with a hit to the stomach after letting her guard down.

Neither of them could help anymore.

Sure, the other side had taken hits too, and only two of them were left, including her brother, but in the end, she was the first one to fall.

"Yes, that’s right. I could never beat you."

That had always been the case.

At first, it would seem like she had the upper hand, but before she knew it, she would always lose to her brother in the end.

Today didn’t seem any different.

At first, she thought she had read his moves well, but ultimately, she lost due to being outnumbered.

She struggled to win. She even had two trustworthy people helping her.

But in the end, she lost.

"Kuh... hahahaha... Ahahahaha..."

"...Have you finally lost your mind, sister?"

"No, that’s not it. It’s just a little funny."

"Funny? What is?"

The current situation was so absurd that Stella couldn’t help but laugh loudly.

Her brother seemed confused, wondering what could be so funny in this moment.

It looked like he wanted to ask before killing her.

Well, if he’s asking, I suppose I can answer.

"It’s funny because this is the first time I’ve planned for my own defeat."

"...What?"

"It’s humiliating, so disgraceful. But everything is going exactly as planned, even my defeat. That makes me quite happy."

Up until now, she had always lost to her brother.

She didn’t want to admit it, so she fought with all her might, but still lost.

It was humiliating, but it made her happy, because everything was going exactly as she had anticipated.

"What the hell are you talking about...?"

"Aaaaah! Princess Stella!"

"They’ve finally arrived."

Upon hearing the desperate scream calling her name, Stella smiled.

Seeing that there were only six people here, Stella realized immediately.

Leo would come here.

The number of enemies might have been large enough to discourage him from coming, but Stella never considered that possibility.

Leo would come. She had faith in that.

And, true to her belief, Leo arrived.

...Though his appearance was slightly different.

"What the hell is this?!"

"What do you think? It’s a promotion. You’ve played chess before, haven’t you? When a pawn reaches the other side, it transforms."

"I know that! But why did I turn into a woman?!"

"Isn’t it obvious?"

Stella looked at Leo as if he had asked a ridiculous question.

Despite his tattered appearance, it was such an amusing sight that she found it hard to hold back her laughter, though for a different reason than before.

"A man can’t become a queen."

"Knight! Knight!"

"Queens are stronger than knights."

"Aaaaaagh!"

The pawn’s second special ability: promotion.

Leo had become a second queen.

Given his already short stature, it made for a rather cute queen.

Though, judging by his reaction, he wasn’t too happy about it.