An Angel Lives in the Academy
Chapter 104: The Angel Goes to Sea (3)

Episode 104

Jeb, grinning at Leffrey, looked at the students being tormented by the enraged spirits and smiled even wider.

He was a true scoundrel. Leffrey, watching Jeb, thought,

‘The captain of Mariana Camp, Jeb Arcada.’

One of humanity’s strongest, someone worthy of being called professor-level, a genius among geniuses who had proven his talent while still only in his thirties.

He was from the favelas (slums of Brazil), he was also an iconic figure who had reached the peak of the superhuman world with no support.

But even so...

‘Jeb Arcada, with no backing, was eventually forced out of the Brazilian government and sent here.’

At that time, Mariana Camp was small, and the advancing hordes of monsters were vast. The UN believed that Mariana Camp would not last long.

He turned the collapsing Mariana Camp into a powerful force... and turned the weakness of the massive monster appearances into an advantage, creating a system where they could acquire vast amounts of items and loot...

Thus, Mariana Camp flourished.

Mariana Camp became a haven for those cast out by their factions, and Jeb Arcada became their king.

‘...There’s no way someone like him would like the Central Superhuman Academy students.’

So Leffrey could predict what would happen next.

Just like in the now-gone future, setting a trap, giving a small amount of spirit essence to the Central Academy students, they would enrage the surrounding spirits

“Listen up, you little brats!”

Jeb shouted.

“What? ‘Little brats’?”

But most of the Central Academy students could not even muster the energy to get angry, overwhelmed by the spirits.

"What's wrong with being cowardly to survive? If you have a way to survive cowardly, would you rather fight ‘honorably’ and let humanity be destroyed? And why is the champagne poisoned?"

Jeb mocked the students and continued,

“Hey, brats. This is what real combat is. This is the front line. This is Mariana.”

Jeb’s deep voice

...echoed throughout the airport.

“This boy excluded, not a single one of you knows how to survive in a real fight! To think that such pathetic bastards are considered humanity's best talents...”

Grit- The students were trembling with rage. If he was trying to get the students fired up to liven up the Monster Carnival, then he was doing a great job.

“Well, we should understand. They’re just pampered little princes and princesses raised with kid gloves after all. Isn't that right?” (TL Note: Kid gloves mean they’re pampered essentially.)

“Yes, you’re absolutely right!”

Ahahaha—Ahahaha—A light laughter filled the airport. The academy students, hearing that laughter, blushed, their teeth gritting.

“And you, kid. What’s your name?”

Jeb beckoned to Leffrey.

Leffrey answered in a calm voice,

“My name is Leffrey.”

“Leffrey...”

Jeb, looking at Leffrey, said,

“You were quite something today. I'll be watching you.”

When Jeb, the captain of Mariana Camp, said, “I’ll be watching you,” the Mariana Camp troops began looking at Leffrey a bit differently.

Gazes of jealousy, envy, and curiosity. And lastly, the still-lingering gaze of distrust.

“What could he even know about real combat? He’s just a pampered Central brat.”

“Right? He just got lucky.”

Leffrey, faced with those various gazes,

responded with a kind smile.

“Yes, so please teach me.”

Leffrey, with an angelic smile,

declared confidently,

“I’ll do my best to learn!”

[Responding with kindness to those who hate you is an angelic act!]

[You have gained Angelic Power.]

Why was Leffrey acting like this?

It wasn’t because he liked the people at Mariana Camp. He was simply acting this way because he had learned through experience that it was how you gained Angelic Power...

‘Yes, let’s go with that.’

Well, let's just go with that. After all, who can truly grasp the heart of another?

“Ahem.”

“O-Oh.”

They say you can’t spit on a smiling face.

Even the Mariana troops who had approached to pick a fight with him could not say anything to Leffrey, who was so positive, and ended up just turning away.

Some even muttered, “He’s cute...” blushing.

Then what kind of expression was Jeb making?

[Gaining the favor of those who hate you is an angelic act!]

[You have gained Angelic Power.]

Angelic Power flooding in once again.

Leffrey felt the Angelic Power and thought to himself,

‘Mariana Camp and the Central Academy fighting... definitely would not be good for this world.’

And he made a sharp calculation.

‘Then I can surely gain a lot of Angelic Power by mediating between Mariana Camp and the Central Academy students, right?’

With that thought in mind, Leffrey ran toward the students who had been crushed by spirits.

“Th-They’re so heavy.”

Each of them, those low-ranking spirits, was incredibly weak. But with thousands, tens of thousands, gathered together, the students were crushed before they could even resist.

Of course, there were some strong students who could casually brush them off, unfazed by the swarm, simply watching the situation...

Or those who were familiar with such an environment, the students who, like Leffrey, did not drink from the champagne glasses.

Leffrey, sighing at those kids, looked at the stormy sea and sent a request to Naiad.

“Naiad-nim, please quell the spirits’ wrath.”

The Spirit King of Water responded to Leffrey's prayer.

[Saving countless children is a truly angelic act!]

[You have gained a large amount of Angelic Power.]

Thus, the horde of spirits gradually disappeared. And the Central Academy students got up, shouting,

“Aaaaaaaaargh!”

“Why are they picking on us like this?!”

“Right!”

“Those bastards, they’re just wallowing in their own inferiority complex...”

But they no longer complained about dirty tricks. After all, the students of the Central Academy were ultimately warriors, children who had been taught that in battle, victory was much more important than playing fair.

“Let’s win this Monster Hunting Festival.”

“Yeah, let’s show them what we’re made of.”

“I came here half-intending to goof off, but… That’s not gonna happen anymore.”

Leffrey, seeing the burning eyes of the students, sighed deeply.

‘Somehow… it feels like a dangerous atmosphere...’

* * *

The students were assigned their rooms.

Even after receiving their rooms, the students did not let down their guard and searched for the various traps that had been set up.

“Hmph, this is nothing.”

“That's righ— W-what the hell!”

Boom—

Of course, they failed to find about half of them.

Not particularly dangerous, but humiliating traps. What's more, the internal broadcast of Mariana Camp even broadcasted live footage of the students’ humiliation in real-time.

‘Well, their ability to adapt to this kind of environment is truly impressive…’

But the problem was that the students’ anger was going beyond just fuming, approaching rage.

Leffrey, munching on a piece of bread, observed the scene.

“Hey, Leffrey, what kind of bread is that?”

Soya kept glancing at the bread. Leffrey silently tore the bread in half and gave her a piece. Then he said,

“Hmm, other students gave it to me as a thank you for saving them from the spirits.”

“I see. Then, let me just taste a little.”

[Sharing your food with a hungry future hero is an angelic act!]

[You have gained Angelic Power.]

Soya, who was just going to “taste it,” had already devoured half of it, and then started eyeing the remaining piece Leffrey had.

‘Don't tell me... Soya’s scared of the traps installed at the cafeteria and couldn't eat?’

He heard that the traps set up at the cafeteria were more scary than humiliating…

Leffrey naturally handed Soya the remaining piece and muttered,

“Then let’s go grab something to eat.”

Murmur murmur—As Leffrey had predicted, countless students had gathered in front of the cafeteria.

Some were shaking their heads, seemingly traumatized. Others, seeing those traumatized students, were too scared to even enter the cafeteria.

And those who were enjoying this sight,

…Were the Mariana Camp troops sneering.

“What? You scaredy-cats, still can’t bring yourselves to enter?”

“You guys, after what you did…”

“What we did? This is just training, you know?”

The soldiers of Mariana Camp, feigning innocence, entered the cafeteria. The Central Academy students, seeing that, could only…

“Well, fine… not like we’re going to die or anything.”

…swallow their frustration and enter the cafeteria.

And another scream came.

“You, you crazy bastards!”

Of course, a few students with strong mental fortitude could casually ignore those traps and head straight to the food, but... they were just a minority.

“Ah, they used that flower, huh?”

Leffrey, watching silently, finally realized how the camp soldiers avoided the traps.

‘I learned about it during the War of Annihilation. A plant that shows you what you fear most. They call it a Phobia Flower.’

The Phobia Flower was a plant that occasionally grew in the other world. He had seen both the demon army and humans use it as a trap.

He had even been caught in it himself.

‘Back then… it was really…’

Shake shake—Leffrey did not even want to remember.

Then Leffrey casually walked past the students and stood a little distance away from the hallway.

‘The Phobia Flower’s weakness is that its effective range is too short.’

And then, without a word, he smashed the wall.

Kaboom—Although Leffrey looked just like a delicate-looking boy, he was now a powerful superhuman, strong enough to even tear a car apart with his bare hands.

Crushing a concrete wall was nothing. As the wall crumbled, a new path to the cafeteria was created.

The camp soldiers and the students eating inside,

…looked at Leffrey in shock.

“Ah, this… is a bit embarrassing. Enjoy your meal.”

Truly a true gentleman, no, a true gentleangel.

Leffrey, after creating the path, turned to the students and said,

“Guys, do you really need to endure those traps? You have to create your own path.”

“Leffrey!”

“Wow, he really doesn't hesitate.”

Thus, Leffrey created another solution.

‘The Mariana Camp soldiers probably used another secret passage nearby. Or ate at a different cafeteria.’

Only those with strong willpower would use that passage. They probably passed through that passage to trick the students.

‘And to go this far to bully our students…’

He thought it was too much.

Leffrey, being lifted into the air by the cheering students, couldn’t help but be lost in thought.

No matter how much the people of the Mariana camp dislike us, they wouldn’t want to completely antagonize the students who would one day lead this world, would they…?

‘There’s something more to this. There has to be…’

[The Silver Shoes have detected something.]

[The Silver Shoes are tracking the flow of karma.]

[The Silver Shoes have detected a wave of karma.]

And whenever he pondered this, his Silver Shoes would ring a little every time. He was sure there was something more to this.

But Leffrey…

…could not figure out what it was.