Chapter 10
“Ahem! Everyone, focus on the teacher for a moment—or rather, the instructor….”
“What I’m saying is that I don’t like your attitude! I already don’t like that a problem child who turned the academy upside down nonstop for two years has been promoted to the practical class, and now you’re being disrespectful to the instructor too…!”
“I don’t understand how a weakling like you made it into the practical class either, you blockhead?! And didn’t you hear that Instructor Haru doesn’t like that sort of thing?!”
“No matter what, there is such a thing as basic etiquette between students and instructors! Why don’t you know when to hold back?”
“K-kids… don’t fight….”
“Fuck, you’re seriously loud. Either fight it out properly or shut up. This is why capital-city softies are….”
“Hey, you! What did you just say?!”
“Who the fuck are you, asshole?! If you don’t like it, why don’t you take me on?!”
“Sounds good. Come outside, capital-city snob. I’ll split your skull in half.”
“E-everyone!!”
…Not even ‘five minutes before opening’—just a dog’s mess.
In the middle of a chaotic scene that was impossible to explain as something that had happened in a classroom with only five people, I alone cried out miserably and thought,
‘How did it come to this.’
With a deep sigh, I slowly retraced the day’s events.
=
A month passed in the blink of an eye, absurdly fast.
Every day, I spent the daytime practicing ‘pulling my punches’ with Miriam, and the late afternoons after sunset wandering around the academy to learn my way around.
When two weeks remained until the entrance ceremony, the principal summoned me to receive my formal investiture.
Though it was called a formal investiture, in truth it was little different from the abbreviated investiture I had received from Sir Logis.
The only difference was that the Magic King himself had stamped the royal seal on the certificate, but even that certificate was delivered by proxy through Principal Ludwig.
That was apparently possible only because Sir Ludwig was the First Seat of the Rounds, but I had at least hoped I might get to see the Magic King in person, so I was a little disappointed.
And one week before the entrance ceremony, the details of my first assignment as an instructor were finally decided.
‘Instructor Haru, we would like you to serve as the dedicated instructor for Practical Class E.’
‘D-dedicated instructor?’
‘And, in addition, we’d like you to serve as an assistant instructor for Mana Attunement.’
From my very first posting, I was being assigned as the dedicated instructor for a practical class, while also taking on the assistant instructor position for the core subject of ‘Mana Attunement.’
I did wonder whether that was a bit much to put on a rookie instructor just starting out….
When I heard the circumstances, it seemed that many instructors had voluntarily stepped down from their positions and gone to the front lines during the Seven Years’ War, and more than half of them had either retired with severe injuries or died in service.
As a result, they were so desperately short of instructors that they were no longer in a position to make allowances just because someone was a newcomer.
‘Can’t be helped. I never intended to slack off in the first place… and if I’m the only instructor who can look after Miriam, so be it.’
I let the matter pass with that thought.
Another week passed, and at last the day of the entrance ceremony arrived.
My first and greatest concern was meeting the instructors already on staff.
I had gotten acquainted with a few instructors after staying in the instructors’ quarters for a month, but apparently most of them had left the academy during the break.
Even Rex, who had taken up his post as an instructor exactly one day before me, had apparently left the academy again right after meeting the principal, because I had never run into him.
As a result, I had never met most of the instructors face-to-face, and this entrance ceremony was to be my official first meeting with them.
Since we would be working together for a long time to come, I wanted to make the best first impression possible.
Next, the thing I was looking forward to most was, naturally, meeting for the first time the students I would be teaching for the next two years.
Practical Class E.
Of the twenty students belonging to the practical division newly established for third-years, Class E was made up of the four ranked lowest among them; even so, across the entire cohort, it was an elite class composed of students firmly in the top tier.
I couldn’t help worrying whether I should be entrusted with such an important responsibility as my very first assignment….
‘I’ll have to do my best, if only for Miriam’s sake.’
Now that I knew one of the four students in Class E was Miss Miriam, I had no intention of taking the assignment lightly.
With that resolve in my heart, I slowly read through the roster containing the profiles of the four students assigned to Class E.
‘Charlotte Valliere, Roxanna Gatling, ‘Black Claw’ Kariya, and Miriam.’
I already knew the last student, Miriam, of course.
The student whose name caught my eye first after that was Kariya, listed just before hers. Kariya occupied a striking position: the only male student in Class E and, at the same time, its only transfer student.
Judging by the name’s form and sound, Kariya seemed to be from the East—somewhere fairly traditional, at that.
‘That’s right. Come to think of it….’
I remembered what she had said when I first met Miriam.
She’d said she had heard a rumor that a transfer student from the East was coming in. She had mistaken me for that transfer student.
‘Could this be that transfer student?’
Well, I’d find out in time. Thanks to having lived in the East for nearly twelve years, I was fairly familiar with Eastern culture, and in that respect, there might be areas where I could be of more help than the other instructors.
Still, to be a transfer student and win a spot in the practical division… impressive. I was looking forward to it.
‘Next, Charlotte Valliere.’
This student’s name was familiar too. More precisely, her surname was.
She was probably the granddaughter—or perhaps some other relative—of the veteran Ricardo Valliere, who had been honored as the hero of the Southern Front.
Sir Ricardo was over seventy, so it was unlikely she was his child; she was more likely his grandchild or the daughter of a much younger relative.
‘The Valliere family was said to be masters of lightning-attribute standard magic passed down through the generations.’
Lightning magic. I was already worried.
As luck would have it, not a single magic knight in Sir Logis’s order used lightning-attribute standard magic.
Since I had never even seen a magic knight who wielded lightning-attribute standard magic in my life, I couldn’t help worrying despite knowing so little.
‘If it came to it, I’d ask the other instructors for advice….’
After thinking it over for a moment, I soon shook my head.
“…There’s no point worrying about it now. Next!”
With a flourish, I turned the page and checked the next student’s name.
‘Roxanna Gatling.’
Gatling?
The Gatling I know? The machine gun?
‘Was it based on that?’
Muttering inwardly that this felt like it might turn into a meta-comment, I skimmed through the personal information sheet of the final student.
‘She has a relative in Class A, huh.’
It appeared that Roxanna belonged to a collateral branch of the Gatling family.
Fortunately, she seemed to belong to the paternal collateral branch, judging by the fact that she had inherited the family name; but in this world, it was common knowledge that a collateral branch was bound to fall behind the direct line in status, ability, and just about everything else—the difference was only a matter of degree….
‘And her direct-line relative in Class A is… Karen Gatling.’
Not merely a member of the direct line, she was a prodigy hailed as the family’s pride and even named a candidate to become its next head.
It was only natural, considering she had secured a place in Class A of the practical division, which ranked students strictly by ability.
Although she was ranked fourth, there was undoubtedly a considerable gap between Karen, ranked fourth, and Roxanna, ranked eighteenth.
‘A timid and fainthearted personality. Her speech and conduct frequently indicate that she shrinks back in front of others….’
She was probably suffering a great deal from comparing herself to Karen.
I would have to learn more to determine whether her self-esteem was simply low, or whether… she was being openly compared to Karen within the family.
Sipping coffee heavily sweetened with sugar, I read through the bundle of student profiles in my hand again.
Of course, taking a close look at them right now wouldn’t reveal any clear picture. I wouldn’t know until I met them face-to-face….
‘There was no harm in learning their faces and names in advance.’
=
“Aaaah…!”
I nearly ended up late for the important entrance ceremony while familiarizing myself with the students’ faces.
Since there was no separate rehearsal, I hurriedly finished getting ready and headed for the Central Building, where the entrance ceremony was being held.
“Uh, so… the Central Building is… i-is that it?”
When I reached the vicinity of the Central Building, I saw students in academy uniforms gathering in small groups.
Just as on the day of a college entrance exam or another important test, even if you don’t know the exact route, following the other students will get you to the testing site without trouble. Keeping an eye on the crowd and following the uniformed students, I soon reached the Central Building.
The uniforms all looked exactly alike, except for one thing: the color of the ties and the color of the name tags. If my guess was right, the name-tag color indicated the school year, while the tie color distinguished the lower, intermediate, upper, and practical classes.
Since Miriam never wore a tie, I couldn’t tell which color corresponded to which class.
“….”
Perhaps because I was wearing an Eastern-style outfit rarely seen here, I could feel the students sneaking glances in my direction.
A woman wearing a huge haori more like a cloak than a uniform, and appearing a head shorter than them. I understood that it was hard not to look, but still… well, how should I put it?
Even so, having dozens of gazes fixed on me all at once, and continuously at that, was quite embarrassing… no, rather burdensome, so I quickly entered the building through the rear door.
The venue for the entrance ceremony was the auditorium on the first floor of the Central Building.
An auditorium. It felt oddly down-to-earth for the kingdom’s finest academy, and I nearly laughed.
It was realistic, in its own way. But with magic knights and magic constantly popping up, then suddenly an auditorium appears—it was really difficult not to smile.
“Let’s see. Since this is the rear entrance on the first floor….”
Standing before the building map posted beside the rear entrance, I traced it with my finger as I slowly deciphered it.
“The faculty waiting room… is that it?”
After going back and forth between looking at the map and the corridors for quite some time, I realized a little too late that each room had a small sign posted beside its door.
Feeling a little more humiliated, I opened the door marked Faculty Waiting Room and went inside.
“E-excuse me.”
The soft murmur of voices coming from beyond the door cut off abruptly as soon as it opened.
The instructors inside all turned to look at me.
One of them came over and asked me,
“What brings you here?”
“Y-yes?”
“This is the faculty waiting room….”
He let the end of his sentence trail off as he looked me up and down. Slightly embarrassed and flustered, I hurriedly pulled my instructor badge from inside my clothes and exclaimed,
“I-I’m Haru, a new instructor! I’ll be joining the staff this year—p-please be kind to me!”
A shrill voice squeaked out like a recorder’s squawk, accompanied by a sharp, throbbing pain at the tip of my tongue.
‘I bit my tongue….’
“…Oh, you’re the new instructor. I’m sorry.”
After checking my instructor badge, the man who had spoken to me bowed his head and said,
“It’s just that you look so young. I mistook you for a student who had taken a wrong turn.”
“Oh, no… thank you.”
I gave him a small bow in return. Just as I was trying to figure out where I was supposed to wait, I sensed someone behind me.
“Oh, I’m sorry….”
I quickly apologized and moved aside by the door.
A moment later, a familiar voice came from above me.
“…Haru?”
My heart lurched and sank. My mouth went dry. I slowly raised my head and looked up at his face.
Familiar, dull-blond hair. Familiar features. But his height was no longer familiar, and his jawline had grown more defined.
“…Rex.”
After seventeen years, I came face-to-face with the childhood friend I had parted from in the worst possible way.