Top Instructor of a Third-Rate Academy

060

Zelta left Cassian's dormitory at a time that was almost dawn.

As if she knew he would be returning, Rozalin was waiting for him in front of Cassian's dormitory.

“It’s dark, so this chief of security will personally escort you!”

Zelta refrained from saying, ‘Aren’t we only two years apart?’

He was aware that one shouldn’t provoke a person with a sword in a deserted place in the dead of night.

But.

“Isn’t our sir amazing? Your head is brilliant, but you’re still a little lacking compared to him. To be honest, I didn’t think so, but when I came back and saw him, I realized he’s the real deal, you know?”

“How do I know you? I know you well, I know you’re a punk, I know your way of planning strategies is a mess, and I know you live like trash and die. That’s what I’m saying.”

“Of course, it’s not that I hate you, but if you spend time with sir, won’t you become a little more human? Or not? Since our sir is also a person who uses his body recklessly, will you get worse? You should only learn sir’s good points, that is, his smart and handsome points. Got it?”

“Is it impossible for you to have a conversation without mentioning sir?”

He couldn’t stand the endless praise of Cassian that flowed without a break as they walked.

But Rozalin’s eyes widened as if he had asked an obvious question.

“Do you and I have any other topic to talk about besides Teacher Cassian right now?”

There wasn’t.

The other person was none other than the young lady of the Vürhelm family, a prestigious family of the Empire.

Even though she had dropped out of school, she was a genius swordswoman who was famous even in the Imperial Capital.

Her skills far surpassed those of adult knights.

In contrast, he was merely the son of a small merchant guild from the Belmain Kingdom.

His father, hoping that his only son would become a greater person rather than inheriting the merchant guild, had generously provided him with books.

He had even painstakingly saved up several months’ worth of business funds to enroll him in Akarind Academy.

They were people of different classes.

“Your expression is getting gloomy again. Honestly.”

Above all, there was something strange about Rozalin.

Not that she was special, but that she was strange was more accurate.

‘She said, ‘again’.’

She often looked at him and acted as if she knew something.

The time she had abruptly dragged him, who was in the middle of a class, to Teacher Cassian and urged him to reveal his inner thoughts was the same.

She had interrogated him, somehow knowing his perspective of viewing people not as people but as troops or tools.

‘She acts as if she knows my inner thoughts or another side of me.’

His intuition was close enough to be considered the correct answer.

As the conversation lengthened, the two of them soon arrived at the student dormitory.

“It’s the dormitory. Go on in.”

“……Yes.”

“Learn a lot from Teacher Cassian!”

Rozalin smiled and brought up Teacher Cassian again.

Zelta made a fed-up expression at her words of encouragement as she patted his shoulder.

No matter how brilliant Zelta’s intuition was, he would never reach the answer.

The reason Rozalin endlessly paired him with Cassian was because she truly wanted Zelta to be influenced by and learn from Cassian.

For his way of thinking, of using people as tools and therefore using even himself as a tool, to change.

For him to come to cherish others, and therefore, to be able to cherish himself as well.

‘So I hope he doesn’t leave in that kind of way in this life.’

The plan of a returner, trying to correct future regrets.

He would never know.

But just because one was a returner didn’t mean they knew everything.

‘……She doesn’t need to go that far.’

Zelta was already deeply influenced by Cassian.

At a glance, one could say her intention had hit the mark, but.

‘Teacher Cassian is really, really…… something…… something.’

Contrary to her intentions, Zelta was learning Cassian’s bad aspects.

‘I also need to devise demonic strategies more systematically and effectively, like Teacher Cassian. Right. There’s no need for things like human rights or ethics for monsters. For beastly bastards, you just need to devise strategies that are fitting for beasts.’

If Rozalin had read his inner thoughts, it was a course of action that would have made her beat the ground in regret.

Whether he knew of Rozalin’s anxious heart or not, Zelta opened his dormitory room door.

“Oh, you’re finally here!”

“How was it? Was the teacher amazing again this time?”

“Was the Great-Super-Power-Hermit magnificent again today?”

And as if waiting, the three students who shared the room with him flocked to Zelta.

As luck would have it, Zelta’s dormitory roommates were all from the same Class F.

In other words, they had all shared the experience of the narrative of the frail, secluded sage, Cassian.

A sage who was too frail to attend the entrance ceremony, but to whom countless strong individuals knelt of their own accord to show respect, and who was devotedly served by the legendary purple-eyed priestess of the academy.

His voice resonated with people’s hearts as if it contained mana (surprisingly true), his eyes saw through everything with just a single glance (surprisingly true), and even his every gesture was on a different dimension, as if it contained the profound principles of wondrous swordsmanship (this, at least, was Zelta’s delusion).

And Zelta, looking at them.

“……I have witnessed another amazing sight today. Have you ever seen the most perfect map a single person can draw? No, can that even be considered the skill of a person?”

As teenagers of that age often do, he deliciously spun the tale of the marvelous experience only he had witnessed.

“Damn it, you bastard…… just what are you hiding to be able to receive that much trust from the Great-Super-Power-Hermit……”

“Did you know? The bird’s-eye view for looking at a map is not only the perspective of a bird but also the perspective of a god…… maybe Teacher Cassian is actually a god who descended to save Akarind Academy?”

The dormitory colleagues, once again excited by Zelta’s story, raised their voices.

2 AM.

They were youths who were still chattering away, unable to sleep even though they had class tomorrow.

And one more thing.

There was another variable that the returner, Rozalin, had not predicted.

Knock, knock.

“I believe you are not asleep at this hour.”

— Oh my~.

In the dead of night, Cassian stood in front of Berlis's research building.

It was a personal research lab and residence that Akarind Academy had prepared for a 4th-Circle mage.

When the door opened, Berlis, wearing round glasses as if she had been in the middle of research, came out.

“What brings you here at this hour~? I don't think you've come to ask for a date in the dead of night.”

“I’m going to lure five Beholders.”

At the sudden mention of the fiend's name, Berlis’s eyes widened slightly.

“I won’t leave it to the students; I will move myself. Is there any way to lure a magic-using fiend?”

Rozalin thought that if Zelta became like Cassian, he wouldn’t sacrifice himself easily.

But Cassian was a man who would readily throw away his own life or body for the sake of his students.

Whether her wish would be properly fulfilled was something that remained to be seen.

“Alright~ Would you like to come in?”

Berlis smiled and stepped aside from the door.

Cassian stepped inside.

Creeeeak—.

Thud.

* * *

On one side of the research building was a sofa, and on it were a pillow and a blanket, as if it were usually used as a bed.

When Berlis gestured with a ‘yap,’ the pillow and blanket stood up as if they were living creatures and walked away into the inner part of the lab.

‘Isn’t that not magic, but actually infused with a soul?’

A terrible thought almost came to mind, but I shook my head and chased it away.

When Berlis gestured a few more times, a teacup and a teapot cut through the air and flew towards me.

As I received the teacup, it filled with warm red tea that was steaming, as if it had just been brewed.

“It’s vin chaud. It’s made by reducing red wine and simmering various things that ward off evil, like cinnamon, pepper, rosemary, and pear. Oohuhu~. You have to be careful of evil spirits in a place like this~.”

Hearing the explanation, it was full of ingredients that seemed like they would purify the undead just by drinking it.

But the vin chaud I took a sip of was a masterpiece of sweet and bitter flavors.

“It’s a good tea.”

It seemed all the alcohol had evaporated in the brewing process.

The base was the unique astringent and dry taste of red wine, but it was easy and comfortable to drink.

“Five Beholders, you mean those ones in the canyon, right~?”

“You know of them.”

“I may look like I’m just playing around, squandering magic like this, but for half the year, I’m a wandering mage who travels the world~.”

The story, unlike the taste of the vin chaud, was bitter and astringent.

Her eyes narrowed again, and I couldn't read her inner thoughts.

“Teacher Cassian, you’re so reckless~. It’ll be quite difficult to lure the Beholders and escape with that body of yours.”

I know.

I know that if I move my body incorrectly and misstep, it could lead to a big disaster.

“If it’s just a bait role, sending that brat priest would be enough, you know? If the child of a detestable god stands before the magical creatures, you’ll be able to watch the Beholders’ capillaries pop, pop, pop?”

I know that too.

With Yuria’s ability, she would be able to lure the Beholders without much damage.

“Or can’t you just slyly ask the chief of security? That she-cat seems like she’d give you her liver and gallbladder and everything~.”

“I know all of that.”

“But what is the reason for you to step up yourself, sir?”

“Because I don’t want to just remain in a position of simply evaluating the students.”

To be precise, the desire to one-up the chairman and Avril was strong.

The system of grading students was created by Avril.

The chairman, finding it amusing, had given them unreasonable missions in the final evaluation and this grade evaluation.

At first, I wanted our students to get good scores.

So, for the grade evaluation, I sat Zelta down and was devising various strategies when a sense of disillusionment suddenly welled up.

‘Do I really need to be bound by this system when there isn’t even enough time to teach the students?’

Since when was I bound by things like grades?

The reason I had accepted Quantai and Gwen’s bet in the final evaluation was to take the initiative in this year’s education.

But this evaluation is different.

What am I working so hard for?

Am I trying to send all the Class F kids up to Class A and then teach those Class A kids diligently?

But how is that different from what Avril said?

Saving this world by economically and efficiently teaching only the most outstanding students.

That didn’t align with my educational values.

“I’m just going to show them.”

How much a grade evaluation or a practical learning session can be ruined by the opposition of a single instructor.

So, I wanted to express my will not to be swayed by such tricks in the future.

Berlis, who had been listening to my story calmly, smiled sweetly.

“You’re such a romantic, sir~.”

As she clapped her hands, a puppet from far away began to walk over with creaking movements.

As if an invisible hand were holding the puppet’s strings, threads shot up from above the puppet, but their ends were hazy and faint, as if looking at a scene underwater, and were not clearly visible.

“Look at its hands.”

As Berlis said, when I looked at the puppet’s hands, there was a small pouch in them.

“Did you know that Beholders are born from magical creatures~?”

I knew about their lore and individual characteristics.

“This is an item to lure magical creatures~. So the Beholders will have no choice but to follow this object according to their instincts~. When the test of the previous group is over, you can sprinkle it on the ground, and then go near the Beholders again and sprinkle the powder~.”

Why was a powder that could lure Beholders placed there as if it had been prepared in advance?

I stared at Berlis.

Then, as if she had guessed my question, she let out a ‘fufu’ sound and brought her index finger to her lips.

“It’s a secret~.”

“First of all, thank you.”

“Beholders use magic from a distance, so you have to be careful~? You know that much, right?”

That too was a fact I already knew.

“It’s fine.”

Although the Beholders could use long-range magic, their speed of movement while levitating was very slow.

I planned to lure them from as far a distance as possible using the powder.

And a spell or two from that distance.

‘I can cut them.’

I would be able to test my aura for the first time.

Thus, after completing all preparations, we repeated only the training.

While the other teams focused on swordsmanship practice, we concentrated more on basic physical training and archery training.

“We must break through the rough forests and mountain ranges and then shoot arrows to face the harpies!”

The basic swordsmanship textbook, which focused on basic physical and strength training, was good for training the students.

Time passed like that.

“Alright. Shall we go for the evaluation then?”

The first day of the grade evaluation dawned.