Top Instructor of a Third-Rate Academy

055

There were quite a few monsters near the Akarind territory.

To explain why, one must talk about the unique characteristics of the Belmain Kingdom and the Akarind territory.

Most of the countries that currently maintain the form of a kingdom are located far from the Empire, the center of the world.

This is because all the countries near the Empire were destroyed by the Empire's invasion.

The remaining countries were either far from the Empire or had some flaws.

For example, the Northwestern Great Forest or the Northern region.

Filled with monsters and with a harsh natural environment, the Empire had no reason to annex those places as its territory.

The Belmain Kingdom was a small country located in the southeast of the continent, quite a distance from the Imperial Capital.

In addition to this, the Belmain Kingdom had another disadvantage unlike other kingdoms: various dungeons and ravines overflowed within the small kingdom.

“The Akarind Canyon is a canyon located to the east of the Akarind territory, and it is inhabited by various monsters.”

At the gentle entrance of the canyon, small to medium-sized monsters like harpies and stone scorpions appear.

But the deeper you go into the mountain range, the higher the level of the monsters becomes, and it is said that in the deep parts, there are even large monsters like sand worms and basilisks.

“It must really be the countryside, to have all those monsters.”

“I heard there are wyverns too. Awesome. I wonder if we can tame one and ride it?”

The students, who had heard about the monsters' habits, buzzed with anticipation.

The students from the Empire were particularly noisy, as there were few opportunities to directly experience or feel stories of such monsters in the developed capital.

“The Belmain Royal Castle periodically dispatches its knightly order to deal with the dangerous monsters in the country. Therefore, most of the remaining monsters are resident-type monsters that do not leave their territories.”

As the explanation continued, the students' expressions brightened even more.

“Sir, does that mean the monsters we'll be facing are relatively easy ones?”

A boy from the Empire raised his hand with an expectant expression.

“That's not wrong. But it's not entirely right either. The problem is due to the characteristics of resident-type monsters. Pan?”

“They live in groups.”

Although it was a short time, thanks to his two months of mercenary life, his basic knowledge of monsters was excellent.

The students, at the words of their senior who was taking the class with them, let out gasps of ‘Ooooh.’

Among them, some were seen intentionally making loud exclamations to get Pan's attention.

Most of them were Pan's mentees.

“Right. The royal knightly order must effectively deal with the monsters in the country. And they must protect their subjects. Therefore, they prioritize dealing with non-standard monsters, aggressive-type monsters, and medium-sized or larger monsters. Which means.”

I looked around at the students once.

“It's dangerous. So much so that a single mistake could lead to serious injury.”

I warned them with a serious tone, but even I, the one speaking, had no expectation that the students would be tense and follow the class well.

At this age, young students, especially those from the Empire, often couldn't tell their left from their right.

They had never properly seen a monster, and even if they had, it would have been a monster captured by humans and turned into a plaything.

So, if I give another strong warning here…….

“If the teacher is saying that much, it must be really scary.”

“I know, right……”

……?

Why do the students seem more docile than I expected?

I had prepared Plans B and C to deal with, appease, and lead the rebellious students, like that cruel money-grubber Avril.

Well, it's not a bad thing that the reaction is good, so it's fine, but, hmm.

I cleared my throat with a ‘ahem’ and looked at the students again.

“In particular, the harpies we will be facing are one of the more dangerous resident-type monsters. Why do you think that is?”

“Because they are flying monsters.”

Bridget answered my question calmly.

Perhaps because of his training with Avril, when he was still, my gaze would slide past him despite his red hair.

It was surprising to the extent that his presence was fainter than even the timid Elibes.

“Dealing with monsters falling from the sky is different from regular monsters. It's not only hard to track their movements, but their attack patterns are also unpredictable.”

That's why a strategy was needed to deal with monsters in the air.

Perhaps, when evaluating the grades of the six classes, how this strategy was set up and executed would be an important factor.

Well, the topic of the class has been raised, so now I should proceed with the class in earnest.

“Today, we will learn the basic swordsmanship theory for dealing with flying monsters.”

Unlike swordsmanship classes where you actually move your body, theory classes like this were unpopular.

The students didn't really empathize with the necessity of theory classes, and being young, they preferred active classes where they could move their bodies.

This time too, in preparation for the complaints and grumbling that would come out, I was about to preach how interesting theory is…….

“……?”

I was about to preach……

Why are they looking at me with sparkling eyes?

“Are you not going to start the class?”

As I stood there silently with my mouth shut, a student sitting in the front asked in a small voice.

Uh-huh, I should. I should.

What is this.

* * *

“These new students, their attitude in class is better than I worried, don't you think?”

At my words, the expressions of Quantai and Teacher Gwen soured.

“What are you talking about?! Are you trying to mock us now?”

“Sir, I think there's some misunderstanding! This year's students are the most egg-like of all the fledglings I have ever experienced!”

Is it that bad?

The two of them grimaced as if it were terrible and clicked their tongues.

“The kids from the Empire are especially bad! I don't know if they're ignoring me because I'm from Belmain, but they don't even make eye contact during class!”

“Who cares if those brats are the sons and daughters of Imperial nobles! This is the backwater Akarind territory, which has nothing to do with the Empire!”

“Huh? Was that a statement disparaging Akarind Academy just now?”

“No, why are you being like that again!”

There are far more students from the Empire on our side.

It seems that trusting Bridget and Pan and putting many of them here and there was helpful.

“How about trying to establish a pecking order once?”

“What kind of neighborhood thug talk is that?”

“In my class, Pan and Bridget started by beating up the students first, and they listened well after that.”

“Oh. Teaching them the hierarchy. It's the initiation ceremony that new soldiers experience when they enlist! A good idea!”

Quantai, hearing my opinion, perked up his ears and twitched his mustache.

As he seemed to like it, Gwen also seemed to be swayed and stealthily nodded her head.

Good, now that I've passed on the know-how to handle the students, what's important now is the strategy.

As we got to the main point, the two's expressions became serious.

“Father, no, the Chairman is crazy.”

Gwen opened her mouth as if confiding a secret.

It was a story we all knew.

“Teacher Quantai might not know, but the harpies in the fold belt have been in that area for decades. Even the royal knightly order doesn't touch them when they deal with monsters in the area. To think of touching them.”

“Harpies are tricky monsters. They're flying monsters, but they move like an army. And at the center of it is the queen. Is there a harpy queen living here too, by any chance?”

“It hasn't been confirmed.”

“So there could be, or there couldn't be.”

“Hati and Rozalin said they would go on a survey themselves this weekend. Since it's a bit of a distance, I think we can just wait.”

This time, it was more like going to see the situation rather than going to deal with them directly like with the orc survey last time.

They would survey the terrain to draw a map and find the extent of the harpies' habitat.

They had to find out if there was a queen, and also how far the border with other monsters was.

So now we have to start planning the strategy in earnest.

There are three main strategies for dealing with harpies.

One is the shield.

“The harpies' attacks are mainly two things: snatching people with their sharp claws after a dive, and shooting feathers that are close to arrows.”

“If you get caught and lifted into the air, you have to assume you're dead.”

“We can't let the students die.”

“Hati or the instructors must constantly monitor, and if it looks like a student is about to be dragged into the air, they must stop it immediately.”

“He's really a madman! What are we going to do if one of those precious children of the Empire gets hurt!”

And another is the bow.

“It's difficult for students who focus on swords to deal with flying monsters. There must be a means of long-range attack.”

“There are about two students in each class who have awakened their magical talent.”

“We can have some of the students learn the bow, but I don't know how many can use it as their main weapon.”

“A knight of the military must learn the bow as much as the sword! I welcome the full-scale inclusion of archery in the curriculum on this occasion!”

And the last one was the formation.

“It's a chaotic battle of many against many. The bow and shield must work organically through class-unit formations.”

“The harpies' attacks are irregular and continuous, so the students from last year with a high understanding of their positions will have to take the lead.”

Based on the three points, the strategy is slowly being organized.

“Still…… ah, this is annoying.”

Our gazes turned to Gwen.

“The Chairman. This situation is annoying, but it's even more annoying that it seems to be effective now that I'm getting used to it.”

I smiled because I thought I knew what she meant.

As we shared information about the harpies and the students, a thought naturally came to mind.

‘This is more manageable than I thought.’

The situation was better than when we had to hastily form small-unit formations to prepare for the orcs at the end of last year.

Having done it once, it seemed like it would be no big deal to spend about a week forming the formations and then training for the remaining period.

Besides, we had the well-honed second-year students.

“And this formation is surprisingly effective for education, too.”

Once this tactic was fully in place, it seemed that parts that were not well-digested in the existing curriculum, such as how to accompany a mage or how to use a bow, would be expanded.

I think there were some teachers with these specialties among the newly appointed D and E class teachers.

“Come to think of it, I haven't seen the other two much.”

“They probably haven't adapted to the atmosphere of Akarind Academy yet. Let's plan a strategy among ourselves and then talk to the teachers over there as well.”

“Let's do that.”

Thus, we drafted our strategies and headed to our dormitories with a refreshed feeling.

It was a satisfying meeting.

No, I thought so.

There were three mistakes in this meeting.

First.

“Sir! You said establishing a pecking order would work!”

“……? Why isn't the atmosphere settled?”

“The kids complained that we were abusing them instead of training them!”

The atmosphere of the other classes' students was not as settled as we had thought.

Second.

“Ah, you're the ones……”

“Yes. Since we have to prepare for the harpies now, we thought we could interact a little……”

“No, that's okay.”

“What?”

“The rumors about you are already widespread. They say you're an instructor who's all talk and theory, with no real ability, right? If you were pushed all the way here even after graduating from the Royal Academy, your abilities must be obvious…… haha, don't try to leech off us for our class information, just do your own thing.”

That we had misunderstood the reason why the newly appointed teachers of Class D and E had not contacted us.

And the third and final one.

“What did you just say?”

“Do you think you can get through this harsh Akarind Academy with that arrogant attitude of yours!”

Gwen and Quantai, who were stressed out from work without being able to properly guide their students.

These two had their fire lit in a strange place.

“If that's the case, why don't we compete to see who can put more students in Class A!”

No, please.

I don't want to do that.