In front of the academy,
Standing before the massive building made me feel inexplicably small.
But I shouldn’t do that.
I already have a complex about being short and looking way younger than my age; if I looked as clueless as Bell next to me, I’d definitely be ignored.
“…I’m feeling seriously hurt over here.”
I need to have a little confidence.
I took a deep breath with my eyes half-closed.
“Ha….”
After counting to three in my head, I opened my eyes wide and shouted.
Who am I?
“I’m an invited teacher at the academy.”
Saying it made me feel oddly confident and even a bit positive.
After all, it’s true that a position makes the person.
Nodding proudly, I popped a strawberry into my mouth and stepped towards the academy entrance.
*
As we were being guided by Bell, she kept getting lost, taking the long way around or getting sidetracked by pleasant smells.
Though I had little faith in her as we finally arrived at the academy.
“Feels like I’ve become someone else….”
“Really? I’m not sure about that….”
I can’t help but think that Camilla didn’t recommend her for nothing; once we reached the academy, we moved around easily without getting lost.
“Professor Bell! Hello!”
“Y-yes… hello there….”
It seemed she enjoyed a good reputation among the students and staff, as everyone we passed greeted her with smiles.
“Whoa….”
Of course, Bell, the person in question, didn’t seem too thrilled about their approach.
“Goodbye, Professor!”
“Y-yeah, bye…”
With a smile that screamed awkwardness, Bell waved her hand, then let out a big sigh as soon as the student left.
“…This is exactly why I hide in my lab.”
Pouting her lips, Bell grumbled.
The droop in her shoulders made it clear she wasn’t just mumbling empty words; she truly meant it.
I felt oddly inclined to comfort her and patted her shoulder.
“…You can do it.”
Seeing Bell, who looked like she was about to cry, suddenly brighten up was like a switch flipped; her eyes sparkled as she covered her mouth with both hands.
“Harang….”
She whined while leaning her head against my chest, but for some reason, something about it sent shivers down my spine, so I reached out to block her.
“Don’t cling to me.”
“Ah, okay.”
Letting out a deep sigh at Bell’s spaced-out expression, I looked around and opened my mouth.
“How much further do we have to go?”
This academy was so huge that it felt like we’d been walking for an hour and still hadn’t arrived.
Feeling curious, I asked Bell.
“Ah…”
Bell’s eyes widened as if surprised, and then she started her little giggle while scratching her head.
“I think we… passed it….”
“What.”
Grabbing my throbbing head, I glared at her.
Passed it?
What about all that confidence she had while moving forward with no hesitations?
Not answering, Bell seemed to read my expression and began to speak cautiously.
“W-well… I was hurrying because I wanted to avoid the students’ eyes…”
“Yeah, okay.”
That makes sense.
Didn’t it take us longer than it should have to get here?
Letting out a deep breath, I patted Bell’s shoulder.
“Alright, so where do we go now?”
“Uh, um…”
For some reason, Bell hesitated to answer.
Feeling frustrated, I pressed her shoulder harder, urging her.
“Just say it.”
“Okay, okay, I’ll tell you!”
“Ugh….” Bell muttered under her breath, stopping her watery-eyed expression and avoiding my gaze before speaking up.
“We need to go back to the entrance we came in….”
“…?”
Wait, the entrance?
I wasn’t even aware of my expression, but I could tell it was not good.
Seeing my reaction, Bell flinched, and she started sweating profusely while flailing her arms.
“It’s only natural that the main building is near the entrance…!”
“…”
I never imagined that a moment could arise when I’d want to smack Bell as much as I did after Camilla.
Trying hard to calm my trembling fist, I put on a smile.
“…Then, Bell.”
“Uh…?”
“Why didn’t you stop at first?”
“Ugh-”
“…You little?”
Bell’s mouth snapped shut.
I reached out to pry it open, but it looked like she was determined not to speak, shaking her head instead.
“Answer me!”
“Ugh!”
For a while, Bell and I had a tussle, and Nameless watched us with a somewhat bemused expression.
*
In front of a wooden door, the plaque saying “Principal’s Office” hung proudly; it seemed like we might have come to the right place, but….
“Um, we are in the right place, right?”
“Don’t you think so…?”
Given all the nonsense Bell had pulled, I couldn’t shake off this unsettling feeling.
Narrowing my eyes, I looked at her.
“Of course, we are…!”
Bell flinched and nodded so fast I could barely see her face.
“Well, okay then.”
If she was this sure, it should be fine, right?
I might be overdoing the teasing.
Smirking, I opened the principal’s office door.
“Anyone there—”
“Uwahaha! In the darkness of eternity….”
-Tap
For some reason, it felt like I had seen something I shouldn’t have, and I hurriedly shut the door.
…It seems I may have made a wrong turn.
Turning my head creakily, I looked at Bell.
But like me, Bell was equally puzzled by the situation, tilting her head repeatedly.
After a good while facing each other,
-Creeeak
The door slowly opened, and a woman who had been striking a strange pose until just a moment ago peeked out.
“…Who are you?”
“Uh, um.”
Her expression appeared completely unfazed, but the sweat on her forehead and her flushed face confirmed she was indeed the owner of that voice.
I was left momentarily speechless, stumbling over my words before finally managing to say something.
“I’m here on behalf of Camilla.”
“Ah, wait a moment, please?”
“Uh, okay.”
Nodding, the woman quickly shut the door.
Through the thin wooden walls, I could hear sounds of crashing and breaking.
I looked over at Nameless, the only one among us who seemed normal.
“Is that supposed to be okay…?”
“I’m not sure….”
Nameless scrunched his brows, wearing a rather awkward expression.
Hmmm, we seem to be on the same page.
“…This academy is not very normal, huh.”
“Indeed….”
Nameless nodded.
“I’m completely normal, though…?”
Bell said, on the verge of tears from the unfairness bubbling up inside her.
*
The door opened again, and a neatly dressed woman smiled warmly as she greeted us.
“Welcome to Royce Academy.”
“…Nice to meet you.”
I casually returned the greeting as I scrutinized her.
With flaming red hair, and equally fierce red eyes.
She stood about a head taller than me.
The evidence of rigorous training was visible beneath her well-fitted suit.
“I’m Anna, the principal of this academy.”
Anna extended her hand toward me, and I had no reason to decline, so I reached out as well.
“I am Cheon Ha-rang, here in place of Camilla.”
As our hands clasped, I narrowed my eyes as I assessed her energy reserves.
She fell slightly short of Camilla in energy quantity.
But.
‘Her capacity is unusually large, huh?’
Her energy storage may have been somewhat damaged in places, but her capacity surpassed that of Camilla.
This could mean two things:
One, she continued her breathing exercises incorrectly and ruined her talent.
Two, she’s already reached a high level but has faced some incident, like an injury that damaged her energy center.
…Which one are you?
Letting go of our clasped hands, I narrowed my eyes and studied Anna.
As soon as we released our hands, Anna’s eyes widened in surprise and she mumbled softly.
“Truly, the world is vast.”
Nodding, Anna broke into a pleasant smile and began leading us.
“Please have a seat; I’ll bring you some tea.”
“…Thanks.”
Seated and guided by Anna, I couldn’t help but notice how Bell was constantly glancing around, uncomfortable being in the same room as the principal.
Seeing that, Anna smiled lightly and spoke up.
“Professor Bell, you can go; your class is starting soon, right?”
Her words seemed considerate of Bell.
“Uh, no… uh….”
However, it was Bell herself who looked bewildered, rolling her eyes and sweating.
“Is there a problem?”
When Anna noticed her confusion, she tilted her head and asked.
“Ah, no… heh heh, I must have been mistaken…!”
Nervously laughing, Bell scratched her head and quickly stumbled out of the room.
“I’ll go in first…?”
-Tap
Without letting Anna finish her response, the door closed shut behind her.
Anna smiled again in a slightly awkward manner, as if defending Bell.
“I’m sorry; our Professor Bell has severe social anxiety….”
“I know, so don’t worry.”
I waved my hand lightly toward Anna and lifted my teacup.
“Alright, let’s get straight to the point.”
“Yes, then let’s start with the schedule for the class….”
And thus commenced the boring discussions.
*
Once out of the principal’s office, Bell felt lighthearted.
“Whehe.”
Why? Because everyone there was someone she feared.
Every time she spoke with Harang, the disciple guy would look at her intimidatingly, but most of all, being in the presence of her superior Anna made the tension feel like it could break through the roof.
Anyhow, that was all in the past now.
Finally alone, Bell cheerfully began to head to her lab but felt a sudden thought strike her.
“…But wasn’t today Harang’s first class?”
Although she hesitated to speak earlier, she had held her tongue, thinking she probably would say something wrong again.
‘Probably not…’
Bell nodded to herself, trying to maintain a positive outlook as she hurried toward her lab.
“Hmph.”
Bell was in a good mood.
*
Bell wanted to cry.
“Ah, no… today was definitely the day….”
In front of numerous students staring at her,
She swallowed her tears as she recalled the events that transpired only ten minutes prior.
*
After cheerfully entering her lab to prepare for the next class, Bell heard a knock at the door.
“Professor Bell?”
“…Huh?”
Anxiety swirled around her entire body as she opened the door to find a student standing there.
“Professor.”
“Yes, yes….”
The student nervously handed Bell a paper with the class schedule and continued.
“Where’s the professor who was supposed to be here today?”
“…Huh?”
“Pardon?”
Checking the schedule made Bell feel light-headed.
￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣
Class Content: Swordsmanship and Mana Correlation
Invited Teacher: Camilla von Valencia
Assistant Teacher: Bell Crownia
￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣
There, written just five minutes from now, were her name and Camilla’s, who was not present.
“…Ah.”
It’s over.
Fainting, Bell was dragged away by the student to the lecture room.
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