Demonstration Class (1)
Selena didn’t even acknowledge Zeke and went straight into her room.
Of course, with the box still held tightly in her arms.
Zeke also returned to his room, washed up roughly, and put on his usual military uniform.
‘I doubt I’ll be able to sleep much anyway.’
He wanted to organize his thoughts while taking a leisurely walk, so he immediately went outside and headed to Ramielli Academy.
‘So I ended up teaching swordsmanship.’
Zeke recalled his original purpose.
To teach swordsmanship to the female protagonist, Soi Spoon.
In addition to that, to foster a sense of camaraderie among the students who are being taught together.
To make them into people who will help her in the future.
‘They’ll get close even if they hate it, as long as they train together.’
That’s why Zeke was determined to properly conduct the swordsmanship class he had taken on.
‘I’ve confirmed Soi Spoon. Now, I need to properly face this body.’
After going through various procedures, he was certain that she was the female protagonist.
And Zeke's conclusion was, as expected, that she needed his help.
To pass on swordsmanship, to help her build her own physical strength.
To make her capable of escaping even if something happens.
If that were the case, the actual threats she would face in the future would be greatly reduced.
‘So, for now, I need to lure Soi Spoon into class…’
As he walked, thinking of a way, he arrived at the training ground before he knew it.
The sun had not yet risen in the dawn training ground, and there was a bluish shadow cast.
In the middle of the training ground,
A girl with short brown hair was scraping the ground with her foot, holding a long loaf of bread preciously in her arms.
Her face was tired as if she hadn’t slept at all because of what happened yesterday, but the academy uniform looked very good on her.
A neat white blouse over a navy skirt,
And she was wearing a red ribbon, symbolizing her first year.
Thump.
Thump.
She was startled by the sound of Zeke’s footsteps.
“Oh, uh? Instructor!?”
“You came out early.”
“You told me to bring bread in the morning, but you didn’t tell me what time to come.”
Soi Spoon blinked slightly.
Zeke thought this was a good opportunity to draw her into his class.
“Shall we walk for a bit?”
“Yes! Yes!”
After rescuing her mother yesterday,
Her way of speaking was completely different from the first time.
Just like that, the two of them walked around the training ground for a while without a word.
‘By the way, what is this kid’s major?’
Zeke suddenly wondered.
“Elise.”
“Yes!”
“What is your major?”
“Ah, I applied for accounting.”
Indeed, it was the easiest major for Soi, a commoner, to get a job after graduating from this place.
Suddenly, she bowed her head.
“Um, Instructor…. Thank you so much for yesterday!!!! Something terrible would have happened if it weren’t for you!!!”
Then she pursed her lips as if she still had more to say.
“And, th… then…, can I earn money if I take swordsmanship classes from you?”
Embarrassed to ask this again after being rejected just yesterday,
Soi avoided Zeke’s gaze.
“That’s a strange question.”
“Yes?”
“It’s not about making money with a sword. You should be asking if you can protect the money you earn.”
“Ah….”
Soi nodded her head.
She managed to get through it yesterday, but she doesn’t know when she’ll be pressured like that again.
What she can protect herself with at times like that is her own strength.
She keenly felt Zeke’s speech from the entrance ceremony through this incident.
“Ah, anyway, please take this.”
The baguette she handed him was hard and heavy.
And as if she had carefully made the handle, it was wrapped in cloth.
Zeke examined the bread in his hand with satisfaction.
‘But why does the instructor use bread?’
Such a question came to her mind, but she didn’t ask it separately.
Zeke took out a gold coin from his pocket and handed it to Soi.
“Good. Take it. It’s for the bread. I look forward to working with you in the future.”
“Huh? Oh. This is too much!! No, it’s not even just a lot. Who buys bread with a gold coin?!”
“Take it.”
“No! I can’t take it!”
She was greedy for money, but she wanted to earn money through her own efforts.
She didn’t want to buy pity like this.
“It’s for your family.”
“…Fa, family?”
“Yes. Those loan shark bastards will probably visit you again soon. They must have gone to your store and something happened. They’ll come looking for you.”
“Then right now!”
Zeke was startled by her words and stopped Soi, who was about to turn around.
“They’ll be on their guard for a few days because there was a pretty big fire yesterday, and the guards will be patrolling to assess the situation.”
“Ah…!”
“Use this money to repair the wall. When those guys come looking for their colleagues, tell them you haven't seen them. If they try to raise the interest rate, just tell them you don't like it and resist a little before giving in."
Of course, he was planning to step in soon, but he felt more at ease taking at least these measures for now.
'So don't forget about me when the bus leaves later, okay?'
Soi took the gold coin with trembling hands at the mention of her family.
Then she asked Zeke.
"Why…. Why are you doing this for me…?”
“I want you to choose swordsmanship as your minor.”
“Why, why?”
‘Because you’re the female protagonist.’
Zeke stopped walking and met Soi Spoon's eyes.
The sun was slowly beginning to rise.
And her light silver eyes sparkled.
“Just. I think it would be good.”
At his words, she pressed her lips together and lowered her head.
Then she spoke quickly.
“Ah, w-well, I-I should get going now. I’ll bring bread every morning and I’ll think positively about the minor.”
Soi Spoon dashed out of the training ground.
Her face, slightly visible through her hair, was as red as an apple.
‘Hmm. As expected, luring them in with money is the best. I know that from my experience with Selena.’
Students began to enter the academy one by one, and the sound of them chatting amongst themselves could be heard.
* * *
Zeke put the bread in a locker with his name on it and visited the principal’s office.
The principal sighed deeply as he saw him.
“Are you feeling alright?”
“Yes, I have fully recovered.”
“That’s good to hear. I've roughly passed on the information to Princess Yohaiden, have you heard?”
“Yes, I understand that there will be trial classes for a week starting today.”
The principal brushed his white hair with his hand.
Then he took off his glasses, placed them on the desk, and spoke.
“Do you smoke?”
“I haven’t smoked since I came here.”
“Then come out for a bit.”
Zeke followed the principal to the roof of the main building.
Perhaps because it was a well-maintained place, neat grass was laid out, and flowers were blooming here and there.
A wide-open sky and view from the highest point.
He could see all of Ramielli Academy at a glance.
“I quite like this place.”
“It’s nice.”
“Would you like a cigarette?”
“Roll me one.”
At Zeke’s words, another wrinkle formed on the principal’s forehead.
“You roll it.”
“Yes.”
He handed Zeke a luxurious box containing a set of tobacco leaves and paper.
‘I’m not expecting much in terms of taste, but it’s been a while.’
It was the first cigarette he’d had in a long time, so Zeke crammed the tobacco leaves into the paper until it was about to burst.
He handed one to the principal and put one in his own mouth.
As he stared blankly at the principal in that state,
Another wrinkle formed on the principal’s forehead.
“Give me a light too. Use the matches that came in the box.”
“Yes.”
*Sizzle* *Click*
*Inhale* *Exhale*
The principal, who was inhaling the cigarette out of habit, burst into a coughing fit.
“Cough, cough. Damn it. Boy, you really can’t smoke for shit.”
“It’s not bad. Where can I get some?”
“…Cough! It’s really hard to have a conversation with you. Cough!”
‘What the hell is wrong with this guy!’
He had been wary of Zeke’s self-centeredness from the beginning, but before he knew it, the principal was being dragged along again.
It’s really hard to assert any authority in front of this guy.
*Cough* *Cough*
The principal cleared his throat to catch his breath.
“Phew. Don’t do that. It’s going to cause rumors among the kids.”
After taking a few puffs and a short break, the principal spoke again.
“Why did you apply to the academy?”
“……”
‘Um, well, why? Body. Why did you think of something like that? You little…’
When Zeke didn’t answer, the principal nodded and continued.
“Well, whatever. You must have had your reasons. I don’t think you applied because you wanted to. It’s usually like that, a parachute dropped from above.”
‘Huh? I was a parachute? Then who the hell is backing me?’
“Ramielli doesn’t pay poorly, but you have to be very careful of the high-ranking nobles, so it’s not exactly a good place to work. The faculty are often visited by those waiting for connections. The relationships between the students here are a microcosm of the political relationships of the Empire.”
The principal spoke while observing Zeke’s expression.
But there was no reaction on his face.
“However, you don’t seem to be interested in any of that. And you donated all your funds when you retired from the military and came here?”
Well, that’s true.
If this body only wanted to teach children, there would be no need to come here.
There are plenty of other schools in the empire.
However, the only place where the children of the most powerful people gather is here, Ramielli Academy.
“Whatever orders you received from above, it’s probably no use for me to interfere.”
*Shudder*
Remembering the entrance ceremony, the principal felt his head heating up.
The Second Prince arrived late to the banquet,
How much he sweated trying to make excuses for the absence of the two ducal ladies who entered together.
But he couldn’t figure out what Zeke was thinking, leaving behind the prince and the ducal ladies.
‘At first, I thought it was House Eustia or Yohaiden, but it doesn’t seem like it’s them either…’
*Inhale* *Exhale*
“But, just do me one favor. I want you to see the students as students.”
“…Yes.”
Zeke answered him this time.
At least, his attitude toward the students seemed genuine.
“Well, that’s enough. Let’s just move on from what happened. Oh, and I’m going to assign someone to assist you from now on. You should have received a month of faculty training before the entrance ceremony, but you missed it.”
“Yes, I understand.”
The principal said it casually, but Zeke was certain that this was the main point.
‘Surveillance.’
In fact, Zeke came to the academy as an instructor without knowing anything,
But from the current conversation and the way he was observing his reactions,
He was able to deduce a few things.
First, his arrival here was due to pressure from someone higher up than the principal of Ramielli.
The principal is not sure who it is.
So, he’s trying to put his own person next to him so he can cope with whatever happens.
‘That’s even better.’
Although he had gained general knowledge and information about this world from Selena,
She, who had not even entered the academy, could not provide him with specific knowledge of actual academy life.
So, it was a welcome thing for Zeke.
‘Besides, if I stick with the person watching me, there will be some reaction from the guy who’s behind all of this.’
Zeke was not the kind of person to leave the itch on the back of his head unattended.
‘Could it be, Iriel Eustia?’
Suddenly, he remembered the redhead who, on the day of the entrance ceremony, looked at him with a sense of betrayal
And ran away crying like a tragic female protagonist.
* * *
“Greetings. My name is Eric Esther, and I will be your assistant instructor. I will be assisting Sir Zeke from now on.”
Greenish hair, green eyes, and gold-rimmed glasses.
Eric, the man who introduced himself with a stiff posture, seemed competent at first glance.
However, the way he was limping slightly with one foot suggested he had an injury on his other leg.
“Hmm, nice to meet you.”
Both of them had similar expressions, with few visible emotions.
Zeke and Eric sat facing each other in the main building’s lounge, each with a cup of tea in front of them.
“I heard that you haven’t been informed about the academy system yet. Is that correct?”
“I roughly know from what I’ve heard. But I’d appreciate it if you could explain it to me one more time.”
Eric nodded.
“First of all, today and tomorrow, the swordsmanship majors will be divided in half and will take turns attending Sir Zeke and Sir Dios’s classes. After that, the majors will choose the instructor that suits them best.”
“So, today’s class is for the majors.”
“Yes, Sir Zeke will be teaching for 4 hours from 2 PM to 6 PM.”
As he listened to Eric, Zeke suddenly felt something strange.
‘What kind of bullshit is this? I’m sure Selena said the major classes were 12 hours long.’
“4 hours? I was told it was 12 hours.”
“Yes, 12 hours is correct. You will be teaching three times a week, for 4 hours each session.”
“……”
“However, this week is an exception, and you will have classes every day for the entire week. After the majors have their classes today and tomorrow, the minor students will come to attend your classes for the remaining five days.”
Zeke frowned.
‘No. It wasn’t 12 hours a day, it was 12 hours a week? Does swinging a sword seem like a joke to them?’
From Zeke’s point of view, it was natural to misunderstand Selena’s words.
Even if they trained for 12 hours every day, it would only add up to 4 years.
But 4 hours a day? And only three times a week?
Those guys are going to use swords?
Let alone the minors.
They call themselves swordsmanship majors!
Swordsmanship majors!
‘Then when in the world are they going to hunt dragons and chop off the Demon King’s head!?’
Zeke, who was habitually setting his training standards based on dark fantasy, realized his mistake.
‘Ah shit. That’s right. This is, romance fantasy.’
Of course, if the kids are going to be flirting, playing around, and having relationships,
It would make sense for them to have plenty of free time to relax.
But! Even so!
Zeke said to Eric in a slightly flustered voice,
“Then, what do they do in the morning when there are no major classes?”
“They have general classes then. During that time, students attend various classes such as liberal arts, history, philosophy, and so on.”
Oh, that? Something you can do if you just push yourself for a month?
‘It wasn’t like that in my day!’
In Zeke’s mind, the original schedule was to train the kids for 12 hours every day.
A thrilling training plan was in place, where they would kick up dust with every inhale and groan with every exhale alongside the angel instructor!
As if that wasn’t enough, Eric’s words were like a bolt from the blue.
They weren’t training at all.
He had already made up his mind to do it, and he had even persuaded Soi Spoon in the morning.
If he were to train them,
Naturally, he had lived for 10 years, setting his sights on the fake boss and the real boss as his training goals.
So, the words ‘taking it easy’ and ‘training’ had never coexisted in his mind.
Zeke quickly calmed his complicated thoughts.
‘Um, well… This is a romance fantasy…. Let’s go as easy as possible. Easy…. I guess as long as Soi Spoon can fight back if an assassin comes after her…’
However, putting aside whether assassins appear in romance fantasy, Zeke didn’t even consider that his standard for an assassin was also based on dark fantasy.
Seeing Zeke’s serious expression, Eric asked,
“Is there something wrong?”
“So, the training ground is empty in the morning?”
“Yes.”
“I’ll have to go take a look.”
Zeke rose from his seat.
‘I need to figure out how much I should train the students based on my body’s standards.’
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At least he's considerate. He almost threw the students to a souls-like training regime.
ReplyDeleteZeke really went "You kids had it easy, back in my days..."
ReplyDelete