I Became an Unknown Professor at the Academy

[Temple of Mercy]

After finishing her morning prayers and breakfast, Iseul returned to her room to prepare for her lecture.

She checked her bag to make sure she hadn’t missed anything, and then stood in front of the mirror to check her attire for any disheveled areas. After confirming that everything was perfect, Iseul sat on the edge of her bed and let out a small sigh.

-The consultation will have to be postponed to next Tuesday.

Every time she prayed or closed her eyes to sleep, the memories of that day came flooding back.

The heart-fluttering tone of voice and the large, warm hand that caressed her head.

It was the first time she had been caressed on the head since she graduated from elementary school and moved up to middle school. Despite showing her unkempt appearance, leaning against the wall, he didn’t scold her but instead caressed her head.

To be honest, she was flustered. She didn’t know how to react, and her heart was pounding.

But the pounding wasn’t due to nervousness or anxiety.

-Be careful…!!

Why did she stumble over her words and raise her voice so high?

“Hmm…”

Every time she thought about that day, she felt so embarrassed that she wanted to die. In fact, she had tossed and turned in her bed for the past few days.

Knock, knock, knock.

Iseul, who was trying to cool her flushed face, got up from her bed, grabbed her bag, and opened the door.

“Are you sick, unnie?”
“Your face is so red.”

Her four younger siblings, who attended the same lecture, approached her with concerned looks, and Iseul adjusted the mask on her face a little tighter before patting each of her younger siblings’ heads.

“It’s probably because of stretching, so don’t worry.”
“You should be careful when stretching.”
“Yes. If you don’t, you can damage your muscles.”
“Han Ji-soo. Did you tell Han-i to speak to you like that?”

Iseul smiled at the four siblings, who were only a year younger but seemed much more immature in their thoughts and actions.

“Everyone, let’s go.”
“Yes~”
“Unnie, aren’t you having a consultation with Baek Woo-jin today…?”
“Yes. So after the lecture, don’t worry about me and go eat lunch first.”

Iseul left the temple and headed towards the annex.

She had so much to say that she listened to and responded to her younger siblings’ endless chattering without a break. Before she knew it, she found herself sitting in her seat, unpacking her bag.

-What are you doing after class this afternoon?
-I don’t have any plans today.
-Then let’s go see that movie we missed before.
-Haha, great.

Before the lecture began, the youngest first-year students got up from their seats and approached the first-year students of the Temple of Amusement to chat.

-Edyn, let’s have a match in the training session today.
-Huh? What are you talking about?
-I, I mean… let’s have a match.
-Haha, sorry. Our kid is a bit rough.
-What did I do?

Additionally, the second-year duo from the Temple of Amusement, who were famous for various reasons, approached the students and tried to start a conversation, stumbling over their words.

Make friends with the disciples of the Temple of Amusement.

This was the instruction that came down the day after the live broadcast of the Temple of Amusement, which had caused a stir in the world.

‘There’s nothing to do here…’

Since none of her classmates were enrolled in the Gateology lecture, Iseul took the opportunity to rest for a while after her younger siblings left.

-Hmm, it seems like we’ll have a practical session this week.
-You just set a flag, so it’s likely to happen.
-If we have a practical session, Lim Gyeong-su’s head will explode.
-Mine too.

But even as they talked, they didn’t forget to listen to the sounds around them.

Because this was a lecture from which almost 90% of the students had been expelled at the beginning of the semester.

To survive as long as possible in this lecture, it was essential to listen to the words of the remaining students.

-…!!

As soon as the lecture room door opened, the noisy classroom fell silent.

The students who had left their seats ran back and took their places.

Click-clack, click-clack.

The sound of high heels filled the quiet classroom.

“Huh…?”

At the same time, a surprised sound escaped someone’s mouth.

And although no one spoke, most of the students in the classroom stared wide-eyed at the person who had entered.

Because behind the tall man, whose presence was noticeable even from a distance, was a stunning beauty with her hair neatly tied and a cold expression, colder than winter.

‘Is that…’

Almost every cleric’s idol and symbol of fear.

Since she hadn’t appeared in lectures since last year, Iseul hadn’t expected to meet her, but to her surprise, she was here.

‘Is something wrong?’

Someone might ask why she would dare to have such a question, but there’s a special feeling that only women can understand.

‘It’s stuffy…’

“Submit your assignments.”

“…”

Iseul, who had been startled, forgot about the assignment on her desk and rummaged through her bag for a while.

.

.

.

“Today’s lecture ends here.”

Iseul’s body relaxed a little as the lecture ended.

“There’s no separate assignment, so the last person to finish taking notes will clean up and leave. Iseul, follow me.”
“Yes.”

Iseul, who had prepared in advance, didn’t panic and packed her things before heading downstairs. She quietly followed the two adults.

-Huh?! -It’s Professor Baek.
-Oh my, my heart is racing…
-It’s the early symptoms of heart failure. Go to the hospital quickly.

As the lecture ended and the attention of the students and professors naturally focused on them, Iseul felt her heart pounding even more. But only for a moment.

As they walked out of the annex and followed the two adults, they found themselves in a place where all traces of human activity had disappeared.

It was the most famous mysterious place in Arena Academy, surrounded by tall bushes.

‘The Infinite Maze…’

A place where no one had ever reached the end.

But that was all in the past.

Now, the residence of the person walking in front of her was more famous as a hidden place.

‘I’m crazy…!!’

As she walked through the bushes filled with beautiful white flowers, Iseul couldn’t calm her racing heart.

Because the destination she was heading towards was undoubtedly the residence of the person who had caused a stir in the world!

And not long after, she confirmed with her own eyes that her guess was correct.

A Western-style mansion with a simple yet elegant exterior, exuding a sense of history.

She had just stepped inside this mansion.

“Excuse me…”

She didn’t want to stumble over her words, but she was so nervous that she couldn’t help it. She was sweating from her hands, back, and even her feet.

The final destination was a very simple room that looked like a study.

‘I feel like my mind is calming down…’

She didn’t know why, but as soon as she entered the study, she felt a familiar and comforting scent that helped her calm down.

“Please sit down.”
“Yes.”

Iseul sat in the chair in front of the desk.

Click.

She heard the door open, but she didn’t pay any attention and kept her gaze fixed on the person in front of her.

“It’s not a test, so don’t be too nervous.”
“Yes.”

Although she had calmed down a lot since entering the room, she still couldn’t help but feel more tense than usual, so she tried to relax by taking deep breaths.

“I said it was a consultation, but there’s nothing special about it. If you have any questions or anything you want to say, feel free to speak.”

“A, a question…?”
“Yes. I won’t set a time limit, so take your time.”
“I, I understand.”

Iseul’s heart pounded again as she faced an unexpected situation.

She had thought she would be the one being questioned, but now she was the one asking questions.

‘Can I ask personal questions too…?’

But she quickly shook off those thoughts and tried to focus. After much thought, she opened her mouth again.

“I, I don’t have any questions.”

Actually, she did.

The problem was that her questions were all personal and had nothing to do with the lecture.

“I can’t force you to talk, so I understand. If you think of anything later, don’t hesitate to tell me.”
“Yes.”

It would be a lie to say she wasn’t disappointed, but she believed it was the right choice.

“Is the consultation over…?”
“If you have nothing to say to me.”
“…”

Iseul nodded slowly and tried to get up from her seat, but she paused.

“If you don’t have any other plans, let’s have lunch.”
“Huh?”

Lunch.

She wondered if she had heard correctly.

Click.

The same sound as before was heard again.

And the next words made Iseul feel like she was going to faint.

“Claire, please prepare lunch.”

It was a day when it was hard to keep her mind focused.

.

.

.

“She was a good girl.”
“Yes.”

I accepted the cup of coffee that Claire offered.

As I savored the familiar aroma and taste of the coffee, I thought back to what had happened earlier.

-You look so good together…!!

-I’ve admired you since I was young. Can I have your autograph?

-Can I ask when you’ll be getting married?

As soon as she left the study, she started acting strangely, and when she was sitting across from me and Claire, she started rambling incoherently.

She seemed to be in a state of extreme tension, with her head spinning, but I didn’t try to calm her down because Claire, who was sitting next to me, had a warm look in her eyes.

‘She’s probably pulling her hair out right now.’

Both of us didn’t care much, but the person who had been in the mansion until a while ago certainly didn’t think so.

“Are you going to invite the other children to the mansion too?”
“No.”

I invited Iseul to the mansion because Beroth had asked me to. I accepted her request for a proper consultation, and I treated Iseul the same as the other children.

“Don’t worry about the others. I’ll take care of them.”
“Yes.”

I had something to discuss with Yoon Iseul regarding the head of the disciplinary committee, but that was about it.

‘It’s time to start preparing.’

I was planning to summon a new unique entity for the year-end evaluation.

And if the bugs disguised as students show any suspicious behavior during the year-end evaluation, I’ll take this opportunity to rip out their hearts.

“…”

Claire naturally sat next to me.

I turned my head to look at her, and she tilted her head slightly, batting her long eyelashes.

The Priest Council.

I might as well pay a little attention to the branches in Korea, even if I don’t care about the others. It’s better to settle debts properly when I’ve promised to do so.

“Woo-jin, did you want to ask me something?”

As she caressed her cheeks and lips with her delicate hands, I reached out and pulled her close to me.

“I just wanted to see you, so don’t worry about it.”

I savored the coffee while feeling her rising body temperature.