This was about three days earlier.
At morning assembly, the vice principal made this announcement.
"Yes! As you all know, a range magic called Unthirst is cast around this academy, so you can go without drinking water and be fine, zamasu! For maintenance of that magic, outside contractors will come and go for about three days starting today, zamasu! They will work in the residential district, the forest, and so on, so do not get in the way, zamasu!"
I did not know yet.
That this was the first trial at this academy that could be called mine. The Seven Days of Flame.
A sign of it.
The last declaration of war from the principal and the vice principal.
Seven Days of Flame, day one.
I woke much earlier than usual, so I sorted materials and checked my own status again.
I was level 17 now. Looking back over jobs I had gained before, I saw quite a few new skills.
"The new skills look pretty good. I'll try them in class today."
I figured it was about time and went out to go to school.
Walking through the forest, a shrill alarm rang from the castle that was the school building.
"Ahem! I am Nekodoran, principal of the Royal Pioneer Academy! In my name, I issue a state of emergency! For the next seven days, all classes and pioneering are forbidden! Students are forbidden to leave the residential district at all!"
A state of emergency...?
At a pioneer academy, that is something the highest authority can issue when an unavoidable crisis is closing in.
A dangerous monster like a dragon confirmed nearby, a conflict with the native people, a plague spreading. Cases like that.
To find out what had happened, I hurried toward the residential district.
Armed guards were posted around it, and shields like an iron wall blocked me.
Looking closer, those soldiers were classmates.
The moment they saw me through a gap in the shields, they grinned.
"Heh. Surprised, trash? For this state of emergency, we got mobilized as the honor guard. Pull the job off well, and the principal will recommend us as royal guards."
"The honor guard has been given a lot of authority. For the crime of trying to enter the residential district, we could even kill you."
This time I might be in a bad spot.
There were ten of them, and they were fully armed.
Even if I put them down and went in, the real guards would only come running.
I had no choice but to back off quietly...
Then two girls came pushing from the residential district.
The usual pair, as expected.
"Leo-kun!" "Master!"
After the state of emergency, they had worried about me first.
The honor guard blocked them too. Much more polite than they were with me.
"You must not! Lady Monaka, Lady Kotone, please go back! During a state of emergency, we need you to follow our instructions in particular! Breaking them can lead to a rank drop!"
That kind of threat did not work on them.
"Then if we accept a rank drop, may we go to Leo-kun's house!?" "If that is the case, as many as you like..."
The honor guard clicked their tongues.
One of them said this.
"Right... Right now we're above the students, aren't we? And we've been given the power to order students around...?"
"That's it! Then we can do whatever we want with these two! Anything we do, we pin on this trash!"
"Smart! We get to feel good, and we clean the trash up too... Two birds, one stone!"
I was impressed.
Thinking of something that low that fast was a kind of talent.
"Gehehehe! In the name of the honor guard, I order it! A body search on Lady Monaka and Lady Kotone!"
Iron gauntlets reached for their hands.
The two pressed together and cried out.
"No! Stop! What are you doing!?"
"Please stop! The only one allowed to see our bare skin is Master!"
"...I don't really get why I'm allowed to see it, but..."
I muttered that and swung the stone axe I had taken from my coat.
The armored bulk that had been going for Monaka and Kotone flew sideways.
Every gaze on the spot snapped to me.
"Leo-kun!?" "Master!?"
Then the girls' figures were covered at once, like an iron gate closing, by honor guards who jumped in from the side.
"You bastard, you did it! Weak as you are, acting tough!"
"Hey, look at this guy! He's holding a stone axe!"
The honor guard laughed at me standing there with the stone axe in one hand.
"Gyahaha! You're going to face our gear with stone?"
"Ihihihi! That won't even scratch our steel shields!"
"Hyahaha! We'll teach you plenty what happens when you raise a hand against the honor guard!"
I kept my head down and said it quietly.
"I'll teach you instead..."
I lifted my face and locked a hard stare on them.
"What happens when you lay a hand on Monaka and Kotone..."
I felt anger like magma welling up from the pit of my stomach.
I did not care what they did to me. Anyone who put a hand on Monaka and Kotone, I would not forgive.
The honor guard I glared at backed off, cowed.
Then one of them shook his helmeted head.
"Don't flinch at unemployed trash! We're in full gear! We're not getting looked down on by a caveman with a stone axe!"
He threw his shield away, pulled the steel battleaxe off his back, and came at me.
The next instant, his battle cry and his dying scream rang at the same time.
He took a counter blow. The helmet bounced off. His face crumpled.
The honor guard was slammed face-down on the ground, as if a giant's fist had hit him.
The ones around him shuffled back, like people getting out of the way of someone falling from a height.
"N-no way!? He split a helmet with a stone axe!?"
"The only ones who can do that are us Axe Battlers! And only at a pretty high level!"
"No, no matter how high the level, stone doesn't split steel!"
I said it to the ones who were already shaking.
"Funny coincidence. I'm in the mood of an Axe Battler right now too..."
Leopin
Job: Axe Battler
Job Skills
Weapon Break (Active)
Temporarily or permanently disable the target's weapon.
NEW! Helmet Split (Active)
Temporarily or permanently disable the target's head gear.
On a critical, causes a concussion and leaves them unable to act for a while.
"I-in the mood!? You pulled off something this nasty on a mood!?"
"B-bad...! This guy is too bad! He's a monster!"
"R-run!"
The honor guard dropped the job and tried to run, armor clattering.
They were not used to the heavy armor. They tripped at once and flopped like turtles on their backs.
"H-help!"