Extra Of The Magus Academy-Chapter 49: The Academy Board

[A Few Days Later]

In a well-lit room, saturated to the very extreme with luxurious design and a lot of unnecessary space, twelve people sat at a round table.

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They were majorly old men, with a sprinkle of a few old women amidst the group.

Still, everyone seated was old.

Their chairs screamed luxury, and the quality of furniture that they enjoyed was pristine, to say the least. They all sat before a table, their wrinkled faces grim from the numerous things that had to be addressed in their midst.

This was the Academy’s Board—a council filled with old fogeys who had a vested interest in the Academy due to the contributions they had made to the school over the years.

And by contribution, it was mostly financial.

Most of the Board Members inherited their positions from their parents, who previously held the position. Their families had contributed, and were still contributing a great deal of resources to the Academy, so they enjoyed the privileges that came with it.

Of course, there were other ways to become a Board Member.

The most efficient way was by sucking up to the elders and acting in accordance to the wish of the most influential faction. If two-third of the Board Members agreed, they could appoint a new Board Member.

This was the route Gerald Lockwood was going to take before his life was cut short.

"So… before we go ahead with the main cause for today’s meeting, shall we discuss the murder of the Beta Student and the actions being taken by our Academy regarding the punishment of the prime suspect?"

The man who seemed like the oldest spoke first, his eyes on the thirteenth person in the room.

Unlike the seated elders, this one was standing with both hands behind her.

She had long black hair, with dark emerald eyes and a strict expression on her beautiful face.

While she was clearly in her late thirties, compared to the old men and women in the room, she seemed like a mere child.

This was the Head of Student Affairs—Beatrice Lampshade.

"Regarding the unfortunate incident of Liam’s death, we plan to hold a small ceremony here in the Academy to honor him. That would—"

"Honor him?" A member of the Board interrupted with a raised brow. "Why would we go that far for a commoner?"

"Well… it was only for a brief moment, but he was a member of Alpha Class, which means he—"

"Didn’t he become a member by default, though?" Another Board Member asked.

"Exactly! It’s not like he earned the position…"

"Indeed… so why would we go so far as to host a ceremony to honor him? He isn’t even a Noble or anything like that…"

"It’s just a small ceremony that…" Beatrice paused, sighing as soon as she saw the expression of disapproval on the faces of the Board Members. "I suppose this means the plans for the ceremony should be canceled."

"We are glad you understand." The oldest said to her.

Beatrice, of course, did not understand. When she took this position, she told herself that she would do her best to remain fair and uninfluenced by politics. However, such things were unavoidable in the Academy.

The Board Members held the highest authority in the Academy, second only to the Academy Head and Vice Head.

They could strip her of her position if she resisted their agenda too much, putting another puppet like Gerald Lockwood who had no concern for the actual wellbeing of the students.

’I just have to endure this for now…’ Beatrice clenched her fists. ’For now…’

"And what of the murder suspect? Dexter Morgause."

"He has a solid alibi, so it’s very likely that he isn’t the one who committed the murder." Beatrice responded. "However, due to the nature of his violent actions, which indirectly led to Liam being killed in the Sick Bay, we are considering expulsion."

"What?! Expulsion??!" The Board Members flared up. "Why?"

"Because he intentionally broke the rules, just as he had been intentionally breaking rules before the incident. He is well regarded as a problem child by his Instructors and has displayed sociopathic tendencies based on reports from his classmates. We believe that it will be in the best interests of the students in this Academy, as well as his own best interest, if he leaves the Academy and gets the kind of help he needs."

"You mean… you’re willing to throw away such a valuable student with such high potential away because of such a paltry reason?"

"Paltry?" Beatrice gasped. "It’s not—!"

"Mages are the weapons of the Empire! They are meant to be violent! You just have to steer the especially troublesome ones in the right direction."

"It’s not as simple as—"

"Stop making excuses! Besides, if you expel him, he’ll just be transferred to another Academy, one that will undoubtedly use his talents the right way."

"But—"

"Wouldn’t that be a loss for the Academy? Sure his actions were reckless and someone died, but if we expel him, isn’t that just… double jeopardy? The Academy would be losing two students that way."

Beatrice sighed.

Once again, it seemed like the Academy Board Members were not willing to budge on the topic.

’The Morgause Family probably reached out to the Board and made some pleas…’ She reasoned, though not knowing the exact details.

Still, it must have been some Tribute Money or a service that was rendered to them.

That explained why they were protecting him so much.

"Fine." Beatrice sighed. "But he will still be demoted to Beta Class per the rules of the Promotional Exams."

"Why, though?" The oldest in the room asked. "The Beta Student who won by default is dead, which should make the results null and void, right?"

"That’s not how it works, Sir Graham… it’s actually—"

"It’s exactly as I said." Old Man Graham insisted. "Give him some community service or detention or whatever, but he remains in Alpha Class."

"You can’t be serious."

"Oh? But I am!" He spoke, his expression giving a tone of finality.

The other Board Members nodded in agreement, all seemingly arriving at the same unanimous decision.

’These old bastards!’ Beatrice could smell foul play, and it caused the rage in her heart to blossom.

She felt tempted to blow them all away with a single Spell.

’They’re nothing but useless piles of dry flesh and bones! I could just kill all of them right now and make the Academy better for it.’

As a Rank 9 Mage, none of these people were her match in the slightest.

But—

’Calm down, Beatrice… calm down.’

—Despite her overwhelming superiority in power, they still had a hold on her due to their superior political positions and status.

That wasn’t something she could deny or ignore.

’I promised myself to obtain enough political power to change this Academy… no, the entire Empire.’ She reminded herself. ’Now is not the time to act rashly.’

And so, despite her grievances, Beatrice bowed her head in subservience and agreement.

"Understood. I’ll do just that."

"Perfect! Old man Graham laughed, rendering applause to her, which was then followed by a round of applause by everyone else in the room.

It was patronizing and completely vexing, but she held it in.

"With that out of the way, it’s time for the main topic of the day…" Once this was said, the whole room fell quiet.

Everyone regained their serious expressions and looked at Graham.

"... The Academy Exchange is nearly upon us."