Proposal (2)

As Professor Elena had instructed, I headed to the office where she worked once all my classes were over. The office was located in a building called the 'History Hall.'

As Professor Birus had mentioned, students at Halo Academy took common classes through their second year, after which they had to find their own career paths. Perhaps for that reason, each major had its own building, giving the Academy a high degree of specialization.

'It's just a university.'

Up through the second year, it was a high school, and after that, it was a university where students had to walk all over the place to attend their lectures. I wandered around looking for the History Hall with the map Professor Elena had given me.

Halo Academy was practically a small city in its own right, so it took a long time just to walk anywhere. If I'd known this, I should have grabbed a quick bite before leaving.

'But it doesn't matter since I got a book.'

Today, I spent the gaps between classes reading a history book about the elves that Professor Elena had given me as a gift.

As befitted elves, who considered themselves descendants chosen by a god, it contained a great many difficult words, but thanks to my habit of reading steadily, I had no trouble with it.

I couldn't help having to flip through a dictionary to look up the meanings, though.

Even so, I gained a great deal from it. I hadn't even read a tenth yet, but I could already get a rough idea of what kind of race the elves were. If the demonkin were mutations created by demons, the elves were closer to descendants of 'angels.'

It was a fact that had never once been mentioned in history books written from the human perspective, but perhaps that was possible because elves were long-lived and had lost few of their records. Or perhaps they simply had a habit of valuing records.

In any case, the fact that elves were descendants of angels was extremely important information for me. It instantly answered the question of why there were demons in this world but no angels.

The fact that elven mana was white, unlike demonkin mana, was proof of that.

'The other races had only seen demons, so they probably didn't know angels existed.'

Since I had memories of my previous life, I naturally assumed that if demons existed, angels must exist too, but other people probably wouldn't have. They would probably think that the only thing completely opposite to demons was God.

'From the middle of Volume 9 through the end of Volume 10, I should make the story about establishing ties with the elves. The demon faction's commanders can start becoming active in earnest too.'

On the way to the History Hall, I jotted down a rough outline of The Chronicle of Xenon in my notebook. I'd already finished the manuscript for Volume 8, so all that remained was to mail it to my parents.

"Is this it?"

After walking for quite a while, I finally reached the building shown on the map. It wasn't particularly grand despite being called the History Hall; its design was plain but highly practical.

It seemed that was because it was a building occupied only by professors and teaching assistants, and unlike Martial Studies, it didn't need training rooms.

'Martial Studies needs training rooms, after all. And it has more students.'

As I said before, this was a fantasy world where monsters and mana existed. Even at Halo Academy, Martial Studies inevitably took priority because it cultivated martial prowess. I'd heard that the Literary Studies side often complained about budget issues because of it.

I looked back and forth between the map and the building once more, then confirmed the name 'History Hall' written beside the entrance and moved toward it. The front door was wooden and looked sleek, as though it was well maintained.

"Oh..."

The moment I passed through the front door and entered the hallway, I couldn't help but gasp in admiration. It had a distinctly old-fashioned atmosphere, and there was even a waterwheel in the center of the hall.

On top of that, portraits of great figures who had made their names in history hung on the walls. There were many figures I'd seen in books but was seeing in pictures for the first time. In particular, brief historical records were written beneath each portrait along with the person's name.

'Every race has its own great figures.'

The great figures were also categorized by race and listed along the walls. Naturally, humans, who had short lifespans but the largest population, had the most portraits. The other races had so few they could be counted on one hand, and there wasn't even a single demonkin portrait.

I looked around the hallway with a fascinated expression, then came to my senses and headed for Professor Elena's office. Her office was Room 104.

Knock— Knock— Knock—

"Professor Elena. This is Isaac. Are you in there?"

I found Professor Elena's office by the plaque hanging between Room 104 and the door. When I knocked and announced my name, I heard rustling from beyond the door.

Judging by the word 'Occupied' written on the plaque, Professor Elena seemed to be the one opening the door herself.

Creeeak—

"...Who is it?"

No. Let me correct that.

When the door opened, a zombie greeted me from behind it. Not a real zombie, of course, but a person so haggard she could rival one.

Her dark circles hung so low they looked ready to jump rope, her black eyes were as lifeless as those of a rotten fish, and her skin was not merely dry but deathly pale.

Her dull blond hair was tied into a messy bun, and the corners of her eyes drooped, giving her an appearance that made her look ready to collapse at any moment.

I instinctively took a small step back the moment I came face-to-face with her. As I retreated, I was able to get a proper look at the person who had opened the door to greet me.

'...An elf?'

The person who had opened the door to greet me was an elf. A female elf, at that—and one who looked to be the same kind as Professor Elena.

Her appearance was enough to make her beauty fade, as though even a zombie might want to be friends with her, but even that couldn't conceal her innate beauty. If anything, she gave off a strange atmosphere, including a kind of decadent beauty.

"...Excuse me?"

As I stared blankly at her, the elf tilted her head and called out to me again. She even blinked slowly.

I hurriedly came to my senses and asked her in an extremely cautious manner.

"Um... Is this Professor Elena's office?"

"It isss..."

I checked the office plaque again at her drawn-out answer. There was no doubt this was Professor Elena's office.

Apparently, the elf in front of me was Professor Elena's teaching assistant.

"Who's there?"

Just then, a familiar voice came from deeper inside the office at exactly the right moment. At the question, the elf who seemed to be the teaching assistant turned around and answered in a voice steeped in fatigue.

"Yees... He says his name is Isaac..."

"Ah! Let him in, quickly."

"Come innn..."

"...Excuse me."

I felt vaguely uneasy, but I stepped inside for the time being. Even as I moved forward, I didn't forget to make eye contact with the elf who had opened the door.

It was a little frightening to be watched with the sort of gaze commonly called 'dead fish eyes,' but I could endure it. When I finally entered the office, I saw piles of various books and papers, along with the musty smell peculiar to old books.

Even a cursory glance showed that most of them were books related to history. It looked exactly like the office of someone who studied history.

"You've come. Sit over here."

Professor Elena, who had been sitting at her desk, welcomed me with a bright smile. Feeling awkward, I planted myself on the guest sofa she indicated.

As soon as I sat on the sofa, Professor Elena sat on the one opposite me. For reference, there was a table between us.

"There are snacks and tea here..."

"Ah, thank you."

Shortly after I sat down, the teaching assistant placed some refreshments on the table. When I thanked her, she turned around as though she intended to return to her desk.

"Where are you going, Cindy? Sit beside me."

"But I want to rest..."

"I know you're tired from writing your thesis, but this is important for you too."

"Yees..."

The elf named Cindy sank into her seat under Professor Elena's instruction. Thus, two elves representing utterly opposite extremes ended up sitting across from me.

"A little overwhelming, isn't it?"

Not a little—very overwhelming. Anyone would be flustered when a half-dead person greeted them the moment they opened the door.

However, I couldn't say that outright, so I only gave an awkward smile. Professor Elena seemed to notice how I felt as well and placed a hand on Cindy's shoulder.

"She's been staying up for days on end lately because of her thesis. She's in a truly terrible state right now."

"If you know that, let me sleep..."

"Once you finish that thesis."

"That's so unfair..."

Seeing the two of them together... reminded me of professors and graduate students from my previous life. I had never personally been a graduate student, but plenty of memes like that had circulated on the internet.

The most striking one of them all might have been the idea that graduate students weren't treated as human beings. Most of them said that students served as their professors' servants to earn their doctoral degrees. I vaguely recall hearing that professors even made them run personal errands.

Maybe because of those memes, I too had come to think of graduate students as slaves who were convenient to exploit.

'Could that happen to me too?'

Just as I was growing a little worried inwardly, Professor Elena, who had been scolding Cindy, looked at me and opened her mouth.

"To start with, this is Cindy. Her full name is Cindy Skywalker. She's been my teaching assistant for twenty-five years."

"Teaching assistant, nothing. I'm a slave..."

"Could you keep your mouth shut? You're giving him the wrong idea."

"It's not the wrong idea. It's the truth..."

"Then leave."

"I'm sorry..."

Rather than a professor and her teaching assistant, they seemed like sisters who got along well. If Elena really treated Cindy like a slave, she wouldn't tease her like that.

I looked at the two of them with a bemused expression, then suddenly thought of something and asked.

"You've been a teaching assistant for twenty-five years?"

"Yes. Humans have to work as teaching assistants for a certain period and earn a doctoral degree before they can become professors, right? Most teaching assistants in Literary Studies are cases like that."

This was the first I'd heard of it. So did they have concepts like master's and doctoral degrees here? Well, given that they had academies and professors, it might have been stranger if they didn't.

While I was making a dubious face, Professor Elena continued her explanation.

"It's the same for us elves. We have to work as teaching assistants under a professor and earn our degrees too. But as you know, elves learn at a markedly slower pace than humans, so it takes a long time."

"On average, how many years does it usually take?"

"What do you mean, how many years? Even if you estimate as conservatively as possible, it's at least thirty years. Converted into human lifespans, that would be about three or four years. Besides, to earn a doctorate—in other words, to become a professor—you have to undergo a rigorous review even within 'Yggdrasil.' You have to submit a doctoral dissertation, and the standards are extremely strict."

Yggdrasil was the capital of Albheim, the country of the elves. As you can see, its name was exactly the same as the one in Norse mythology.

Come to think of it, judging by the fact that one had to undergo a review even within Yggdrasil to become a professor, the standards must have been incredibly demanding.

"I'm jealous... Humans take only five years at most..."

"Even by elven standards, you're a slow learner, so five years wouldn't come close to being enough for you. In any case, there's only one reason I called you here."

"What is it?"

I waited, slightly tense, for Professor Elena to tell me what favor she wanted to ask. If it was some utterly unreasonable request, I would of course refuse. I was already pressed for time just writing the manuscript, so there was no way I could devote time to another task.

In the meantime, Professor Elena placed a hand on the shoulder of Cindy, who was munching on snacks, and opened her mouth.

"Teach her how to write."

"Pardon?"

"Yees...?"

I stared at Professor Elena in surprise, and even Cindy, who had been sitting quietly, looked at her in bewilderment. Professor Elena lightly pinched Cindy's cheek with the hand she'd had on her shoulder.

"She's wonderful in every other way, but she's absolutely terrible at writing. It takes her at least five years just to write a single master's thesis. Even then, it was nowhere near good enough in my opinion."

"It hurts..."

Even when Cindy mumbled, Professor Elena didn't let go of the cheek she was pinching.

"So I do need to teach her composition, but I'm busy with my own work."

"Couldn't you ask another student?"

"I was going to, but you happened to catch my eye at just the right time. To be honest, it hasn't been long since she started writing her thesis in earnest."

Then what had she been doing for twenty years? Elves might learn slowly by human standards, but viewed this way, it seemed a little excessive.

Of course, learning slowly didn't mean having poor memories. Elves lived even longer than demonkin, so they probably remembered even what had happened decades ago.

Simply put, it meant they had good memories but poor ability to apply what they learned. Of course, that might change once they fully understood a concept.

I slowly mulled over what she had said, then began voicing my questions one by one.

"Don't you have any other teaching assistants? Isn't it a little strange for there to be only one teaching assistant in the first place?"

"They all graduated and became professors. She's the first elven teaching assistant. Besides, most of the professors in the History Hall are my students, you know? I couldn't bring myself to take time away from their busy schedules by asking them."

"There must be students whose writing skills are better than mine, even if they only just entered the Academy."

"You were the best in my eyes. After seeing how many students over my hundred years as a professor, do you really think I wouldn't know that?"

Professor Elena answered my questions one by one with kindness. Most of her reasons were rational and convincing, leaving me with nothing to say. In particular, I was dumbfounded to hear that my writing ability was the best among all the students she'd seen over a hundred years.

A moment later, when Professor Elena realized I had no more questions, she pushed up her slipping glasses and spoke in a slightly disappointed tone.

"If you don't want to, you don't have to. I have no authority to force you. Then how about this?"

She trailed off for a moment, then spread both arms wide. It was an exaggerated gesture, as though she were saying, Look at this.

Just as I began to wonder what she was doing, Professor Elena said proudly without lowering her arms,

"Most of the books and papers here are things I collected or wrote during my time as a professor. They include histories written from the perspectives of humans and elves, as well as dwarves, beastfolk, and even demonkin."

"D-demonkin? How did you...?"

"I happened to make a connection with a demonkin once. I wrung as much information out of them as I possibly could. Unfortunately, they've returned to their homeland now."

Then she leaned her upper body forward slightly and urged me again in a soft, coaxing voice. I could see a glint of greed in her eyes behind the round glasses.

"If you help Cindy, I'll lend you every book in here. I'll even let you come and go from this office whenever you please."

"... ..."

"What do you say? For the record, you only have to help when you have free time. Our concept of time is very long compared to what you humans think. Even once a month would be fine, is what I'm saying."

What more was there to say? The answer was obvious.

"I look forward to working with you."

But even then, I had no idea.

What it meant for elves to learn at an extremely slow pace by human standards.

"I look forward to working with youuu..."

How unbelievably dense this elf named Cindy was by my standards.

"Then, shall we go get something to eat together to celebrate? Have you had dinner yet?"

"No. I haven't eaten yet."

I had absolutely no idea.