The Return of the Iron-blood Sword Hound
chapter-204

Chapter 204 Mixed Bath (2)

“What on earth are you all doing right now?”

Dolores, the student council president. Simultaneously the youngest early entrant to the academy and the current top student in the third year. Also known as the saintess of Quovadis, one of the seven great clans of the empire, Dolores holds considerable influence among the young nobles of the empire.

The second-year delinquents, facing her, froze in place. Seniors in both grade and ability, they were overshadowed even by the status. Unless they were complete fools, they should be able to gauge the atmosphere.

Dolores had clearly prepared food and water bowls for the abandoned cats and dogs outside. They were kicking, spitting, stabbing with a broken bottle, and extinguishing a cigarette on an abandoned puppy.

“…Um, W-When did you come, President?”

The guy at the front asked with a trembling voice.

“Since the start. I have never seen the six of you in the academy before.”

Dolores replied with a chilling expression and voice, something they had never seen or heard during the past two years.

The second-year students, at the mention of the fact that Dolores had never seen them from the beginning, seemed somewhat relieved. However,

“Now, I have seen enough to despise you.”

Dolores continued, and their faces started turning pale again at her following words.

There couldn’t be a more fitting term than ‘saintess’ for Dolores; she always showed angelic kindness. Her warm and gentle smile, kind attitude, and soft voice were liked and followed by everyone in the school.

…But what about now?

Dolores’ expression was as icy as the wind that blew through the Arctic. Someone who rarely expresses anger becomes much more terrifying when they do.

Dolores finally interrupted the group and walked over to embrace Vikir on the ground.

Vikir, a small black puppy, was found dazed in Dolores’ arms.

Dolores reached out carefully, as if afraid Vikir would feel pain, and hugged him close to her chest.

“Did it hurt a lot?”

Her warm voice carried a faint sense of sanctity, making the physical wounds on the body feel a bit less painful just by listening.

Meanwhile, the six second-year students were discreetly stepping back, glancing at each other.

“Oh, damn, we messed with one little puppy, and she turned into a demon.”

“President Dolores really hates this kind of thing.”

“Instead of tormenting them miserably, why didn’t we just kill it?”

At that moment, Dolores scanned the second-year students in front of her and spoke.

“…Did you know that most serial killers start their crimes with animal abuse? Aren’t you all similar?”

Under the piercing gaze, everyone involuntarily shrank between their shoulders.

But they had arguments to present.

“That’s too much of an exaggeration. Aren’t we the elites leading this country?”

“Yes, we apologize for momentarily mistreating an ownerless dog due to academic stress.”

“While we apologize for momentarily making a mistake under the influence of alcohol, it’s just a filthy dog that carries diseases anyway, isn’t it?”

The words of those who attempted to defend themselves only made Dolores’s expression even colder.

“Leading the country? You guys?”

Only then did the signs of alcohol completely disappear from the faces of the second-year students.

Dolores continued.

“The academy is a place that prepares people to lead the country. To face the nation, you must have a spirit that is strong and humble at the same time.”

Her words exuded a belief even tougher than steel, tempered and sharpened by fervent passion.

“But you guys oppose that. Should such humans entrusted with the nation’s responsibilities?”

Disqualified nobles. Yellow sprouts. Those without the qualifications to be called elites. The higher they rise in the ranks, the more they become pests causing harm to more people.

Dolores showed no mercy to such individuals.

“I will give each of you penalty points with the authority of the president. I will impose all the penalty points I can give over the year on all six of you.”

The authority of the student council president is powerful. Professors have granted some autonomy to the student council. In other words, if the student council president sets her mind to it, she can expel several students from school within a year.

Of course, if she had imposed penalty points on the prestigious offspring of prominent families, there might have been some backlash. However, in the case of these six troublemakers, there was no powerful backing for them.

It would be pointless for a small noble family in the countryside to protest to Quovadis, one of the seven great clans.

The six in front of her finally grasped the situation.

“P-President! Th-this, this can’t be, right? How can you expel underclassmen over… a mere dog?”

“Expelling us just for bothering a stupid dog! We’re nobles too!”

“I-I belong to a noble family as well. Please have mercy!”

The effects of alcohol seemed to have completely disappeared as the second-year students knelt on the ground, begging desperately.

It was understandable given the high cost of enrolling a child in the academy. It was a significant burden even for a moderately well-off noble family. However, graduating from this academy brought with it enough wealth and power to offset those costs.

…But what if they enrolled and then were kicked out?

The honor of being admitted to this prestigious institution would be overshadowed by the shame of expulsion. Furthermore, the Quovadis clan representing the Empire’s state religion (Rune), wielded enormous power. If they incurred the wrath of Dolores, the saintess of Quovadis, their path to success in the Empire would be obstructed.

Life as a noble within the Empire practically ended for those who earned the disfavor of Dolores. Achieving fame and standing would be impossible for the rest of their lives.

Furthermore, the fact that a young scion of their family was in such a predicament indicated that the entire family was in decline. Their stock prices would fall, and their market capitalization would vanish. All trade and opportunities, both within and outside the family, were highly likely to be cut off.

“We’re sorry, President!”

“Please, at least consider the penalty points! Please, we beg you!”

“Save us! I’ll be beaten to death by my father! Have mercy!”

Finally understanding the current situation, the second-year students all kneeled and pleaded, but Dolores remained resolute.

“You, Did you all shown mercy to this poor puppy?”

Dolores remained unyielding, as firm as a needle with no room for compromise.

* * *

The bathroom.

Splash-

Vikir immersed himself in the warm water.

Swish, swish-

Who dislikes warm water? Regardless of his will, his tail moved involuntarily.

Night Hound, wounded and weary. But still acting like a small black puppy.

With closed eyes, Vikir recalled the events from earlier.

“Did you all shown mercy to this poor puppy?”

Dolores surprisingly took a very stern attitude. It was reminiscent, if only slightly, of her appearance as the “Iron Maiden” on the battlefield from his past life.

‘Surprisingly. In my past, Until just before the impending war with demons, she received a lot of criticism for being indecisive.’

It seemed that the fight with Dantalian had significantly changed her. Vikir relaxed in the bathtub, thinking deeply.

Bubbling-

Vikir, with his nose submerged in the bathtub, felt his body gradually recovering. The bathwater, blessed by Dolores, had a faint sacred aura, enough to be called holy water.

Lost in thought, Vikir pondered about Sere, Queen of Corpses. He fell short of killing her.

“If only my mastery was higher.”

Even with the power of a Peak Graduator, capable of representing a country, facing Sere was a formidable challenge. Especially when encountering her suddenly, he could only utilize about half of his strength against the weakened Queen of Corpses.

“Back then, during the battle with Andromalius, I borrowed the knights of the Baskerville family, and during Dantalian, Dolores was with me.”

In the end, power was necessary to hunt demons 1:1. While imperfectly mastering the Baskerville 7th style, Vikir began exploring the path to Swordmaster.

Upper jaw: Incisors, canines, premolars, molars. Lower jaw: Wisdom teeth, small molars, large molars. To master the 7th style, a harmonious combination of the 6th and 7th styles was necessary. However, the seventh tooth that Vikir could create was still small and unstable.

“The Book calls the sixth and seventh fang as the ‘Twin Ambush Fangs.’ This is the ultimate assassination technique that can be used by understanding the subtle essence between the 6th and 7th Style of Baskerville…”

The 6th Style textbook clearly stated:

“To overcome the 6th Style’s barrier, one must discard all human emotions, ‘Joy, Anger, Sorrow, Pleasure.'”

And to form the 7th Fang and master Baskerville’s seventh sword style, the textbook, which formed a subtle combination with the sixth style textbook, said:

“To master the 7th style, one must regain all the human emotions which were lost while forming the sixth fang, ‘Joy, Anger, Sorrow, Pleasure.'”

To surpass the Peak Graduator barrier, one had to discard the emotions of ‘Joy, Anger, Sorrow, Pleasure.’ Yet, to become a Swordmaster, one had to regain those same emotions.

“What kind of nonsense is this? Does it mean reviving the emotions I’ve killed?”

Hugo had taught Vikir how to eliminate emotions. The method was to raise hunting dogs without nurturing them, instead using them as tools and discarding them.

“In retrospect, it was a quick way to cultivate a certain level of mastery.” It didn’t suit me as I am now because it was a training method to create a general Gladiator Legion.”

It appeared that a change in the training method, which had previously been based on practical experience, was required.

How could he rekindle emotions that had long since died and worn out?

“…?”

As Vikir pondered this seriously,

Clang-

A small noise made Vikir perk up his ears. And soon after,

“Choco~ Big sister is here too. Let’s take a bath together~!”

Saint Dolores entered the bathroom.