Top Instructor of a Third-Rate Academy

012

The child who called herself the Saint had a strange feeling of good and evil coexisting within her.

She was a child of about 12, who anyone would find cute, but her expression was completely dead, as if she had no joy, anger, sorrow, or pleasure.

Her stiff expression was different from Avril's.

Avril's expressionless face felt like he was putting a price on everything in this world and looking at it as a product.

But the Saint's expressionless face just felt like she had no interest in anything in this world.

A precarious feeling, as if she would disappear the moment you looked away.

So I asked.

"How did you get into my room? Was the door open?"

"I picked it."

"...?"

The Saint did what now?

"Is there a problem?"

"No, wait a minute, didn't you say you were, well, the Saint?"

"I am the Saint (candidate), so I am not yet the Saint."

"According to what you said, you'll soon be the Saint, so I was asking if it's okay to commit such a crime so casually."

"The world will be destroyed anyway. God has abandoned us. So even if I don't commit a petty crime, I will not be saved."

Uh, surely, that is logically correct, right...?

"I came to meet the Great Master. The Great Master, as his name suggests, may help me realize the truth. If so, the action of meeting him becomes ultimately the right thing to do."

I looked at the Saint, no, the Saint (candidate), with a dumbfounded expression.

It's not that I don't understand the child's logic.

But just because the logic is perfect doesn't mean I can agree with all of the content.

'She healed a quite severe pain in an instant.'

The priest I had met at the academy before couldn't show this much healing power.

Between 1 and 10 minutes.

Only after a continuous prayer of that length could he barely heal the pain.

That means she's a person with truly outstanding divine power and high faith.

'And such a person doesn't believe in God?'

Honestly, I can't believe it.

No, I didn't want to believe it.

If that's really true, then divine power isn't about faith, but about using the mana inside you like magic.

'I don't want to realize a truth like that.'

Above all, that title of 'Great Master' was too embarrassing.

"I'm not a Great Master."

"No, you are the Great Master."

"No, I'm just a swordsmanship instructor at this academy..."

"You, you created Pan. The most monstrous being among humanity. A miracle that transcended the boundary between sword and magic. The great father of the sword."

Just how strong was Pan?

"Therefore, you are the Great Master."

"So that's only when it comes to swordsmanship..."

"You are the Great Master."

I can't get through to her.

She was an even more unreasonable character than Avril and Rozalin.

My vision went dark.

"An unbelievable guest has arrived."

The one who saved me was Avril.

He stood outside the door as silently as a ghost and looked at the Saint.

"Yuria. Why is someone who should be at the Grand Temple here?"

"Because the temple will be destroyed anyway, and the people will die anyway."

"And you will awaken as the Saint. You haven't forgotten the role of the Saint in the war of humanity, have you?"

"My role was to extend the lives of humanity as long and thin as possible."

Slowly, Yuria's body turned towards Avril.

"Was that a meaningful action?"

"Hah..."

Even Avril could only cross his arms without any particular response to Yuria's words.

'I see.'

Rozalin and Avril.

Their personalities are a bit different, but they pursue the same thing.

To somehow lead humanity to victory in this life.

But the Saint, that is, the girl named Yuria, was different.

She thought all of this activity was meaningless.

What she probably needed was.

'The truth.'

So I spoke honestly.

"I don't know either."

"You are the Great Master..."

"Not yet. Just as you are not yet the Saint."

The most important thing in teaching others.

It was to accurately distinguish between what I knew and what I didn't.

"The only thing I taught Pan was swordsmanship. I don't know about the existence of God. I don't know how an apostate Saint should live."

At my words, Yuria slowly turned her head towards me again.

Her pupils were trembling faintly.

It was as if her previously stiff expression was slowly cracking.

The precariousness I had felt earlier spread like ink in water.

So before that ink completely contaminated the water bowl, I spoke.

"But I can teach you how to study."

"...Study."

"More accurately, how to ask questions."

I recalled the contents of a philosophy class I had taken at the academy.

Philosophy is not a primary discipline that provides answers.

It is a secondary discipline that only asks questions.

You find answers by asking questions, but philosophy was about not staying at those answers.

"What is the meaning of a question that cannot be answered?"

"That's usually how people live outside of God."

We don't know the future, of course, nor do we know what is right or wrong.

That's why humans always live by asking questions to themselves and to the world.

"So the act of asking questions itself will be the answer."

"I see. I understand. I look forward to working with you."

Yuria slowly bowed her upper body.

The silver priest's robe, which faintly reflected the moonlight seeping in from the window, settled down.

For the first time, I felt that this child might really be a Saint.

And Avril, who saw this with me, let out a faint sigh.

"It's going to be tiring from tomorrow."

Avril walked up to me and handed me a golden scroll.

No way, that's?

"A Goldline Scroll?"

"You recognize it immediately."

"There were people who used it at the Imperial Academy."

The symbol of the Goldline Merchant Guild is a golden scroll.

Commonly known as the Goldline Scroll.

The effect of this scroll is.

"It's connected to Rozalin."

The ability to communicate with a distant opponent at any time through long-distance communication magic.

Even someone without mana can freely use the communication by using the mana inside the scroll.

"That's why you called me."

I think I know why Rozalin left Avril by my side when she left.

As I accepted the scroll, Avril turned and left.

It seemed he had come to deliver this.

I looked back and forth between Avril's back and Yuria's figure.

The density of each day had been high since Rozalin returned.

For some reason, I wanted to talk to her.

'Shall I try using it right away?'

I went into my room and activated the scroll.

Not long after, Rozalin immediately answered the call.

[Inst'ctor-nim!]

"Inst'ctor-nim is..."

The quality of the voice coming through the scroll was poor, but it was so good to be able to communicate like this.

We briefly caught up.

[Wow, that kid who never answered my calls is there now? If I knew this would happen, I wouldn't have called Avril!]

"So Yuria is that trustworthy."

[She's a bit strange. We called her a zealot. She was a crazy bitch for God. She'd walk into a crowd of demons as if she were ready to die, all in the name of God.]

Isn't that abnormal?

[You said you've experienced her healing magic too, instructor. It's amazing. They say the wound heals before it even hurts, you know?]

"Right. By the way, where are you? You're on your way to the Marquis's estate, right?"

It was a simple question to ask how she was doing, but the voice on the other side of the scroll was cut off.

What, did the mana run out?

[Te-hee.]

"Huh?"

[Hahahaha, I think I need to meet up with some comrades and prepare.]

"Prepare for what?"

[War preparations? And preparations to harvest a thousand-year-old Mandragora for our teacher...?]

Wait a minute, you're going to what now?

I stared at the golden scroll in disbelief.

"Are you really moving according to plan?"

[I told you not to worry. Who am I! The hope of this empire! The beautiful fighting girl who fights on the front lines! The great general! It's Rozalin Vürhelm, Your Excellency!]

"Not right now."

[It's Your Excellency (candidate)! Anyway, instructor. I'm really moving according to plan, safely and well. And even if Avril says something, don't hate him too much.]

Don't hate him, that kid…

I sighed, "Hoo."

It would be ridiculous for a teacher to pour out trivial stories to Rozalin and consult with her.

It was right for me to handle what I had to handle.

[That guy, he moves for money. So instructor, try to make good use of the logic of money. He may seem complicated, but he's a simple kid.]

"Simple, you say."

[He's really simple, so when something unexpected happens, he breaks down. It's fun to watch. Oh, a troll. Instructor, I'm busy, so I'll contact you again later!]

The light of the scroll went out with a click.

Really, what did this kid go and do?

By the way, he breaks down when his calculations are wrong?

I couldn't really picture that.

So behind that perfect appearance, there's such a foolish side hidden.

Could I use that? I thought as I lay in bed.

The next day.

I was able to see Avril break down sooner than I expected.

* * *

"I will go to Class C."

"If her will is that strong, we must send her to Class C. Ho ho ho ho!"

Yuria was Yuria.

And a psycho was a psycho.

In front of them, Avril's expression twisted slightly with annoyance.

"Yuria is currently the adopted daughter of the archbishop and a promising talent for the next grand priestess. Do you think it makes sense for such a person to go to Class C?"

"What's not to make sense?"

I appealed to the chairman.

"What student Yuria wants to learn is not combat manuals. We cannot teach her the sword, and we cannot teach her magic. We also cannot teach the next grand priestess about divine power."

And then I looked at Avril again and said.

This is your logic.

"Isn't that what Class C is for? A class where we can teach history, philosophy, administration, and other subjects outside of the existing evaluation criteria."

Avril looked at me with his characteristic expressionless face, now mixed with annoyance.

Since he had already said it, he couldn't change the rules for just one Yuria.

Above all, in a situation like this, there was a powerful ally.

"Student Yuria. Congratulations on your admission to our Akarind Academy! Ho ho ho ho! An 11-year-old's admission is unprecedented in the history of our school!"

It was the chairman.

A madman who would do anything with a smile for the sake of education and Akarind Academy.

Above all, that madman.

"If this happens, the system will collapse. What if I say I can no longer invest in an academy that only takes money and abuses its administrative power?"

"Ho ho ho, well, what can we do? Students and education come first, right? It's not like we couldn't operate when we didn't have money."

Among the many conditions, he especially prioritized education.

The chairman's thick jowls seemed particularly shiny today.

Nice, Mr. Chairman.

Thanks to him, I gained a card.

'A regressor. And a regressor with powerful divine power.'

A Class C student can't beat a Class A student, but if Yuria is included, the story changes.

I don't know what her combat ability will be, but she should be able to easily handle most students.

"...Request what you need for the class."

Avril said that and slowly walked out of the chairman's office.

Unlike usual, the sound of his footsteps was clear, which gave a hint of his feelings.

"Ho ho ho ho, Instructor Cassian."

"Yes."

"I highly value your educational philosophy. Absolutely. It won't be easy to confront that Goldline sponsor."

The chairman's political skills were starting to shine again.

Just a moment ago, he had joined forces with me to pressure Avril and call his bluff, but as soon as Avril left, he started to back out as if he had nothing to do with it.

"I believe in you, so please sacrifice yourself for the sake of the students and the academy!"

"Yes."

"If you really think you're going to die, try talking to student Yuria. Who knows, she might save you with her outstanding divine power. Hah! Hah! Hah!"

…

Yuria looked at the chairman with an expressionless gaze.

It was as if she was trying to figure out who that person was and what kind of person he was.

"Let's go, it's almost class time."

You shouldn't get close to strange people.

I took Yuria and left the chairman's office.