Chapter 38: Grit Theory, Sweet Cookies, and Horrific Crime (6)

Reporters surrounded me, spouting all sorts of nonsense.

Despite causing every kind of chaos imaginable, getting fired seems to keep getting further away. The situation was making me dizzy, but I still had one final card to play to normalize all this.

'So to sum up, those kids weren't playing hooky - they were actually wandering around having adventures? And they achieved something incredible along the way, which made my stocks rise too.'

Producing an adventuring party that conquered an impregnable labyrinth.

Even making a Swordmaster in just an hour.

My evaluation had become inflated due to complicated circumstances.

While that was certainly a dangerous development, if my reputation had risen, I just needed to make it fall again.

The time had come to show my true self.

One swing of my sword to demonstrate my real abilities would quickly normalize all these evaluations.

Without hesitation, I grabbed my sword and...

"Wait just a moment, Professor Ryan!"

"What are you doing! Hurry and get these reporters out of here first!"

The students quickly gathered to drive out the reporters.

Muscular knights covered in blood grabbed and threw people out. While I was bewildered by the bizarre scene, a delicate-looking boy approached me.

Moving with extreme caution, Ciel delivered some strange words to me.

After hesitating, Ciel delivered some strange words to me.

"I'm sorry, Professor. We found a way to stop the progression of your condition, but restoring your body to how it was before is impossible..."

Apparently I won't be able to swing a sword like I used to.

If enemies learned of this, they'd surely attack during this moment of weakness, so we have to keep it secret at all costs.

The main character earnestly implored me of this.

But from my perspective, I was just confused.

I couldn't make heads or tails of what nonsense he was rambling about on his own.

"Thanks to those herbs you gave me, far from being sick, I'm overflowing with energy. I can swing a sword just like before."

I had no memory of being terminally ill.

I've never been so sickly that I couldn't even lift a wooden sword.

Yet the students are treating me like a dying patient.

I grabbed my sword to clear up this strange misunderstanding.

I swung my sword with all my might to emphasize that I was healthy. At the same time, I made sure to display the ugliest form possible to lower their opinion of me.

An upgraded version of the demonstration from a few days ago.

Not just throwing away the sword, but a slapstick comedy of stepping on my own foot and wailing.

I didn't even need to act.

My strength seemed two or three times greater than before. When I stomped hard on my foot with that power, tears came naturally.

I showcase my regrettable sword skills and shed ugly tears in front of everyone. Naturally, laughter should have filled the training hall before long.

That should have been the outcome...

But instead, sobbing sounds echo through the hall.

After sacrificing my foot for this slapstick comedy, the response is like they're watching a tearjerker film.

The training hall quickly transforms into a sea of tears.

Grimy muscle-heads embrace me tightly.

The children wailed miserably, all blaming themselves. Dozens of boys and girls sobbed that their inadequacy had made their professor sad.

Despite being the ones crying, the students all told me not to cry. Through their tears, they made a unanimous declaration.

"We'll... we'll definitely restore you to being a Swordmaster, Professor... so please don't cry..."

My face became a mess of tears and snot.

The children made their resolution among themselves.

They come and go like the wind.

Left alone, someone kept poking me.

The man I once drove away with salt.

The madman who still wrote a glowing article despite that.

The Monthly Empire journalist Cromwell Edelvelt, who avoided trouble by wearing an invisibility cloak, stared at me.

His eyes sparkled more intensely than ever before.

The middle-aged reporter begged me to allow an interview, swearing he'd never reveal any secrets.

...I felt my vision going dark.

*****

[I had been suffering from writer's block lately.

A troubling situation where no person I met or story I heard could interest me. Though I knew well who was to blame, I couldn't resent that person.

How could one call such noble character that would never fade from memory a sin?

How could one resent someone for such a reason?

And so I had eagerly awaited this reunion.

Living each difficult day anticipating the moment I could speak with that professor again.

Of course, the professor who cares nothing for public opinion tried to drive me away this time too, but it was useless against my thorough preparations.

If you refuse the interview, I'll request one from your students instead to publish.

As soon as the issue of wasting his precious students' time came up, that passionate teacher immediately changed his stance and agreed to the interview.

"Let me say this upfront - I haven't done anything. This is all just the result of my talented students running wild on their own."

Professor Ryan said this before the interview began.

Training two Swordmasters in such a short time. Creating an adventuring party that conquered a labyrinth unconquered for thousands of years.

To say he did nothing when he had not only mastered magic but reached the pinnacle of swordsmanship, becoming the first to achieve the Heart-Sword realm - there had to be limits even to absurdity.

This writer gave an awkward smile, naturally assuming it was a joke, but the professor was deadly serious.

A magical lie detector borrowed from the Primordial Dragon.

Professor Ryan's determination to prove his words true using a device normally reserved for interrogations.

The professor continued making strange claims.

That he only gave the students shoddy education.

That those two becoming Swordmasters was pure coincidence.

That he contributed nothing to conquering the labyrinth.

Such things couldn't possibly be true, yet the crystal ball kept emitting a crystal clear green light.

Proof that everything the professor said was true.

"Now do you understand? I'm not the person everyone thinks I am."

Professor Ryan said this to me.

I had to sincerely agree with those words.

Because I realized that the person everyone called a genius professor was actually more foolish than anyone.

It was obvious if you thought about it even a little.

If all his students became renowned adventurers and two even reached the realm of Swordmaster, that was clearly the achievement of an excellent teacher no matter how you looked at it.

Yet the crystal ball proved there was no deception in the man's words as he denied this obvious fact.

There was only one possible explanation.

That professor truly believed it from the bottom of his heart.

That his students were capable of such feats.

Conquering a labyrinth unconquered for thousands of years, directly fighting and defeating demons, reaching the realm of Swordmaster and even stepping into the realm beyond.

Though these were achievements impossible for humans, if they were his disciples they could do it. Even without his help, those children would surely have accomplished it.

His own contributions didn't exist.

There were only his proud students.

Ryan was saying this with complete sincerity.

That day, this writer realized there exists foolishness worthy of respect in this world. That professor was simultaneously the most foolish and most noble of all people.

That man was someone all educators should aspire to...]

I just closed the feature article.

There was no point in reading any further.

My head was spinning. Cold sweat was breaking out as the nightmare from before kept becoming reality.

I kept thinking of the plan I made before.

A plan I had scrapped because it seemed to cross a line, even though there would be no victims and I could easily take responsibility for any problems.

...In the end, my feet moved before my thoughts finished.

The dark and empty nighttime streets.

I walked toward the Academy's main building.

Numerous security spells tried to stop me, but this was one of the few things I was good at. I broke through all the Academy's security alone and reached my destination.

Guilt welled up as I prepared to execute the plan.

But since this was clearly the fault of a world that had driven me this far, my hesitation was brief.

'Desperate times call for desperate measures.'

I too would no longer be picky about my methods.

I was prepared to venture into illegal territory if that's what it takes to survive. In other words...

Today, I would embezzle funds from the Imperial Academy.