I Became an Unknown Professor at the Academy

A small, barely audible breath could be heard in the classroom.

The magical voice must have reached every corner of the room, yet no one dared to move. This was so expected that it was almost laughable.

“Everyone here has responded normally to my call, which means that you all heard what I just said…”

Starting from the front row, I slowly took in the sight of the frozen students.

“I don’t understand why no one is moving.”

Still, no one uttered a word, choosing to remain silent like statues. I raised my right hand towards them.

“Don’t waste everyone else’s time. Please leave now.”

Snap!

I lightly snapped my fingers. It was a meaningless and petty action, merely for show.

The magic that had filled the room began to move according to my will.

It swiftly covered the notebooks of all 66 students and took away the pens from their hands, placing them into their bags.

The students flinched, their bodies trembling with surprise.

“If you wish, I can even carry your luggage out for you.”

As I was about to snap my fingers again, the female student who had asked me a question earlier raised her hand. Her eyes, which had been bruised blue, now looked much better thanks to Jang Nara’s care.

I lowered my hand and gestured to Jang Nara with my chin, giving her permission to speak.

Taking a short breath, she finally opened her mouth, which had been closed until now.

“First of all, I sincerely apologize for the disappointing behavior I displayed during the last lecture.”

She bowed politely towards me, her hands neatly placed on her abdomen. The angle of her bow was exactly ninety degrees.

“Also, as the professor mentioned, I initially enrolled in this lecture because of the adjunct professor. But…”

Jang Nara slowly raised her bowed head, her eyes now firmly fixed on me as she spoke.

“That is no longer the case. Although I fell asleep during the first class and missed the lecture, through the joint practice on Thursday and the content of the handouts you assigned, I realized that I must listen to your lectures and learn from you.”

Some of the students who had been silently bowing their heads nodded in agreement.

“I am aware that my behavior was inexcusable and rude. I am truly sorry, and even now, as I speak, I feel ashamed and want to hide. But I beg you, please give us one more chance.”

Jang Nara bowed again, and some of the students who had been quiet until now stood up and followed her lead, bowing to me and pleading:

We are sorry!!

-Please give us one more chance.

-We can do better.

All but 14 students stood up and apologized for their actions.

I took a moment to glance around the room before speaking.

“Your willingness to acknowledge your mistakes is commendable. Such an attitude is necessary for growth. Jang Nara.”
“Yes…”

Hearing her name, she raised her head. I addressed the student who had spoken her mind without any pretense or lies.

“Well said.”
“Then…”
“We need to continue the lecture, so please leave now.”
“What…?”

Confusion filled Jang Nara’s eyes, which had been filled with tension and anticipation.

“I told you to leave once you were done speaking.”
“Professor…!! I understand that our behavior, my behavior, must have greatly upset you. No, I know that as the person directly involved, you must feel deeply insulted and humiliated… Even so, I think this is wrong!”

Her calm tone began to escalate with emotion.

“What do you mean by that?”
“Even if you are upset, using that as a reason to expel us is unacceptable. Just because we didn’t do the assignment once, you’re trying to kick us out. There has never been such a case in any academy.”
“Then I’ll be the first.”
“It will have a terrible impact on you as a professor! It could even become a laughingstock! People will say you’re narrow-minded, and rumors will spread—”

Jang Nara, who had been speaking passionately, suddenly froze with her mouth agape. I glanced at Baek Hana through my glasses.

A subtle light shone in her sky-blue eyes.

‘Was it five years ago?’

I had sent her to a regular school at her insistence, and on the third day, an incident occurred. Surrounded by the parents of bullies in the teacher’s office, she had silently endured their insults. But when they started badmouthing me, her eyes had held a similar light.

I raised my hand to cover my mouth.

The mere fact that Baek Hana was considering me made my body unable to contain its joy, and my lips kept wanting to curl up in a smile.

Suppressing the desire to savor this feeling a little longer, I used a small amount of magic to lightly tap her forehead.

“Umm…”

Baek Hana, who had been exuding an age-inappropriate killing intent, widened her eyes and rubbed her forehead.

“Haa!”

At the same time, Jang Nara, who had been frozen, exhaled a breath she had been holding. I said to her as she leaned on the desk to catch her breath:

“I understand what you’re trying to say, but there are a few things that need clarification.”
“Things that need clarification…?”

I nodded, addressing not only Jang Nara but all the students in the room.

“First, I have never been disappointed in you. How can I be disappointed when I never had any expectations in the first place?”

I was a little surprised, though, by the number of students who had submitted the assignment.

“Second, I did not feel any ill will towards you during the last lecture. As long as you don’t disturb the class, I don’t care what you do during my lectures. This will continue to be the case.”
“Then why are you trying to expel us?!”

I turned towards Jang Nara, who was shouting.

“You keep asking the same question even though the answer has been given. I’m not expelling you because I dislike you, but simply because you didn’t submit the assignment.”
“Doesn’t that mean you’re expelling us because you don’t like our behavior?”
“No.”
“What―”

I raised my hand to stop Jang Nara from continuing.

“If anyone remembers what I said on the podium during the entrance ceremony, raise your hand.”

Baek Hana and Nam Seo-hee raised their hands simultaneously.

“Nam Seo-hee.”
“Yes. You said, Professor.”

[The Basic Rift Studies lecture is an elective, and it will mostly consist of theory. There will be weekly assignments, and those who fail to complete them will be dismissed. So, don’t waste your time and make sure to attend the lectures you need.]

“That’s right.”

I spoke to Jang Nara, who was standing with her mouth slightly open.

“Now you understand. I’m not expelling you because I dislike you.”

It was simply a matter of following the rules that had been established from the beginning. There was not a speck of emotion involved.

“Just one more―”
“If you’re going to ask for another chance, stop right there.”

In a regular college, perhaps it would have been different. But these students were awakened and about to enter the rift.

“This is neither a sudden whim nor a decision made in private. I announced it publicly during the entrance ceremony. Furthermore, you have already taken someone else’s opportunity to be here, so I don’t understand why you’re asking for another chance. It’s a request that I find difficult to comprehend.”

Jang Nara lowered her head.

As if that were a signal, the students who had been sitting like statues began to get up one by one and quietly left the classroom.

Since they had been dismissed from my lecture, they would need to make up for the missing credits in other classes, but that was their responsibility to figure out.

“Jang Nara.”
“……”

Out of the 66 students, 65 had left. The only one remaining was Jang Nara, whose name I had just called.

Jang Nara, who had been looking down at the empty desks, raised her head. Her face was flushed red, a mixture of anger and shame.

“There are some…”
“What do you mean?”

Jang Nara, her face reddening, pointed to some of the remaining students and shouted.

“There are those who submitted blank papers!”

The three students she had pointed out frowned.

Jang Nara opened her bag, took out the handouts I had given them, and said, “On the other hand, I may be lacking, but mine is not completely blank. I just didn’t submit it because it wasn’t finished.”

She was desperate. It was clear that she wanted to stay in the class at all costs.

But.

“So?”
“What do you mean by that?”

I was getting annoyed.

“What does that have to do with anything? Whether you fill in the blanks or not is up to me to evaluate after submission. It’s not something for you to bring up when you didn’t even submit your work in the first place, Jang Nara.”

All the necessary information had been provided, yet she failed to utilize it. Instead of blaming her own stupidity, she was trying to sacrifice someone else who was less capable than her to gain an opportunity.

‘I’m getting tired of this.’

I used my magic to lift the handouts from Jang Nara’s hand.

“When I gave you these, do you remember what I said?”
“That, um…”
“You probably don’t remember. Because you were asleep.”
“……”

Jang Nara’s face turned even redder.

But that was not my concern.

“I said exactly this.”

[This is your assignment for the week. Submit it by the next class.]

Whoosh!

The assignment in Jang Nara’s hand burned and disappeared. I brushed off the ashes that remained on my hand and said,

“I only asked for one thing: to submit the assignment by today’s class. I didn’t add a single word to that.”

The more I spoke, the more unpleasant I felt.

“Whether you fill in the blanks or not is not my concern. It’s my job to evaluate it after submission. Jang Nara.”

All the necessary information had been provided, yet she failed to utilize it. Instead of recognizing her own shortcomings, she was trying to take advantage of someone else’s weakness to gain an opportunity.

‘I’m too tired to keep talking.’

I used my magic to lift Jang Nara, who was still in a daze, along with her bag, and sent her out of the classroom.

Click.

I closed the door, which had been open for almost 20 minutes, and unlocked the briefcase I had brought with me. I took out a stack of papers and sent them flying towards the remaining students.

“This is your assignment.”

I lowered the chalkboard that had been raised and picked up the chalk with my magic.

“Fill in the blanks up to paragraph D2 and submit it by the next class.”

No matter how many times I thought about it, having a double-digit number of students was too much.