How to Teach a Hero at the Academy

Chapter 11 Stick a Knife in the Professor's Back (1)

Tuduk──,

As the raindrops began to fall,

“What's with the chair.”

Abel asked with his back to Monika.

Rainwater was settling on the window, wet with the night air. Abel's expression, reflected in the glass. He was always stoic and hard to read, but Monika thought he seemed even more rigid today.

“Mr. Fabien told me. That you only ordered one chair, Teacher. So I brought one. By the way……”

Why is Mr. Fabien passed out?

Monika asked, looking at the sprawled-out Fabien.

“Golems do not pass out. It has merely stopped operating.”

Abel placed his hand on Fabien's mana reactor. The mana reactor, shining blue in response to Abel's fingerprints. Fabien blinked his eyes three or four times, then stood up in a stiff posture.

[Loading information.]

Fabien said, tilting his head to one side.

[Damage to the memory device due to impact has been detected. Would you like to attempt a recovery? The probability of success does not exist.]

“I refuse.”

[Confirmed. Commencing operation.]

Iris was a thorough woman.

Abel knew that fact well. Not only had they worked together once in another world, but the suppression of the Mirror War had also been centered around Abel and Iris. Iris preferred flawless clandestine operations, and would have destroyed all information that should not be preserved in Fabien.

[The chair…….]

Life returned to Fabien's eyes.

[You've brought a chair, Lady Monika.]

Monika nodded and unfolded the folding chair. It was something she had received from Konstanze after the dormitory assignment was over.

A white round table, large enough for five people to sit around with room to spare. Monika placed the folding chair at a corner of the round table. For some reason, the height was low, and the color didn't seem to match.

“I ran into a certain lady…… she knew you, Teacher. Is she a friend of yours?”

Monika asked, sitting on the folding chair.

“A comrade.”

Comrade?

Monika tilted her head.

She hadn't expected Abel to have comrades.

Then again. I don't know much about that person. Thinking so, Monika continued.

“I became a student of Orléans.”

Abel nodded his head nonchalantly.

“Why didn't you tell me? The fact that you are sponsored by the Duke of Orléans, Teacher.”

“Because it wasn't important.”

Listening to Abel's answer, Monika mumbled her lips.

“What on earth is your identity, Teacher?”

“I am someone from another world.”

“Don't beat around the bush.”

Monika let out a sigh.

“The moment Duke Orléans uttered your name, Teacher, the heads of the families sponsoring the other dormitories fell silent all at once. It was as if they were overwhelmed. Can't you tell me your identity?”

“I told the truth.”

“It seems you can't tell me.”

Monika turned her upper body to the side and pouted.

Why is it? Abel tilted his head. Why doesn't she believe me? Sincerity should get through. Was it because I abbreviated too much? Even so, it wasn't a good time to tell her the whole story. It was late, and this child must be tired as well.

“I am a Sword Saint.”

Perhaps I should just say this much.

Thinking so, Abel opened his mouth.

He spoke calmly. About the Pope's shadow that does not show itself to the public. About the three greatest Holy Knights in Epezeria.

Monika listened intently to Abel's words. While she suspected he might be talking nonsense again, she soon came to the conclusion that it was a sufficiently persuasive resume. Because she had witnessed Abel's combat for a brief moment.

It felt not like magic, but like a miracle.

He had slaughtered Tarkan's men without a single glance,

and had only cut smoothly as if stroking the air, yet the pile of building debris had scattered like sleet.

‘The part about being from another world must be a lie, but…….’

It was true that he was as strong as if he lived in another world.

“So that's why you didn't tell me.”

Monika said in a careful voice.

“Because you were in a position that required you to act in secret……”

“I could have told you that much at any time.”

It just wasn't important.

Muttering so, Abel brushed back his hair.

“What's important to me is always you.”

You will become the Hero of Epezeria……,

No. Let's stop for today.

Abel shook his head.

Abel sat down across from Monika. The teacup that Iris had touched was placed beside him. Fabien stood silently by Abel's side. He washed the teacup with the magic circle engraved on his left hand, and heated the teapot with the magic circle engraved on his right hand. Soon, fragrant steam began to escape from the spout of the teapot.

Very quietly,

While the empty teacup was being filled,

“Did you cry.”

Abel asked Monika.

“You could say that.”

I didn't cry much.

Just a few teardrops?

What about it.

Monika answered calmly.

“My father used to say. There's no such thing as a free lunch in this world.”

Because there are many instances of extortion disguised as grace,

and because there are also many good people who try to repay grace.

Precisely because of that, and, Monika continued.

“Teacher and Duke Orléans did not seem like bad people. The problem is whether I can be a good person or not.”

One who cannot repay a debt does not know grace.

Therefore, I was scared.

I became sad because I thought I couldn't repay the grace.

Monika muttered, and Abel picked up the teacup and placed it beside Monika.

“Drink.”

Isn't it time to drink black tea.

Unfortunately, there is no black tea.

Drink the flower tea.

Listening to Abel's voice, Monika bowed her head.

“……Thank you.”

She had forgotten.

Monika recalled the daily schedule she had posted on the wall of her residence. As everything had flowed unexpectedly, she had drifted away from the way of life she had created for herself. It was just past 8 o'clock now. She should have been drinking black tea.

“Serving tea to a guest is a matter of etiquette.”

[You knew, Professor.]

“Be quiet for a moment, Fabien.”

[Commencing silent mode.]

Fabien's head bowed.

Abel let out a small sigh, then looked at Monika.

“Monika, everything I bestow upon you is utterly trivial. It's like serving tea. It's just simple etiquette.”

“Etiquette? Who offers a prosthetic arm that cost ten thousand gold coins as etiquette? It's on a different level from flower tea.”

“It's not different. The flower tea you're drinking also costs thirty gold coins per slice.”

“Wha, what kind of flower tea costs that much.”

Monika covered her mouth with her palm.

The flower tea was about to come out. It was on a different level from the ginger ale she had received at the auction house. No matter how shocked she was, she shouldn't spit it out. She had to swallow it all.

“I didn't know such an item existed either. Fabien said it was an item delivered to the ducal family.”

That's what they serve, in the ducal family.

To show etiquette.

Abel said with his chin propped on his hand.

“Thirty gold coins must be a small amount for the dukes. It's the same for me. It's not grace but etiquette, so you don't need to repay it.”

Because it's not grace but etiquette,

being trusted is enough.

Abel said, blinking his lifeless eyes. Abel's words were sincere. To Abel, everything he bestowed upon Monika was merely a courtesy to the Hero who had fought hard to protect a world. Whatever he offered was trivial.

“……I had expected it.”

Monika muttered with her head bowed low.

“Teacher would surely say it's no big deal. I came here thinking that. Because you are a very strange person, Teacher.”

Monika lifted her head.

Then she looked at the prosthetic arm placed in the center of the round table.

“……I will accept it, everything.”

Because I came here with that intention.

At the same time as Monika spoke,

Swish, and. The sound of rustling clothes.

Monika's right sleeve, which had been hanging limply, was rolled up.

“Instead, I will show you.”

Monika's severed right arm.

For a moment, Abel's gaze wavered. The end of the white skin was messily healed. Looking at the cross-section, it seemed to have melted due to a forbidden spell. Abel stood up from his chair and approached Monika. Holding the prosthetic arm made with the Porginay as a material.

“It's a sign of trust.”

Monika said, looking up at Abel.

“Because it's the first time I've decided to show my wound to someone else.”

“Did you hide it because you were ashamed.”

Abel asked, kneeling down.

“I hid it because I thought the people who saw it would be in pain.”

“Do you remember the sensation of your arm being cut off.”

“I don't know. It was cut off in an instant. I didn't feel even a slight pain.”

“Then you will know from now on.”

Abel explained stoically.

That the moment the prosthetic arm touched her arm, the roots of the Porginay would connect with her nervous system. That the roots would immediately contract and fuse with Monika, and would be completed so she could move it as she wished. However, because the process of connecting the nerves was involved, it would be as painful as her arm being cut off.

“There's no need to be afraid. It's a pain you've already overcome. You just didn't feel it.”

Abel carefully picked up Monika's right arm.

“Tell me when you're mentally prepared.”

“I'm ready.”

Monika declared without hesitation.

Before her words could even end, an unfamiliar sensation touched her arm. At the same time as the severed cross-section of her right arm and the prosthetic arm made contact, the thread-like roots of the Porginay penetrated Monika's body.

“──Kkeueuk!”

Monika clenched her teeth.

She desperately swallowed the scream that was about to erupt.

“You can cry out.”

Abel's whisper reached Monika's ear.

Monika shook her head vigorously.

“No! I already cried once today!”

“Whether you cry once or twice, a crybaby is still a crybaby.”

“Crybabyy──?”

Monika's eyes widened.

Abel, nodding with a dazed expression.

Monika scrunched up her face with all her might.

──I'm not a crybaby!

Monika's shout leaked out through the crack in the door.

* * *

A week later, on a Monday,

The fall semester at CIAR began.

A banquet to celebrate the start of the semester was in full swing. While magic fireworks flew in the shape of a phoenix outside the window, Abel was heading to Konstanze's office, accompanied by Fabien.

The students who occasionally ran into him scanned Abel. First they looked at his face, then they stared at the beloved sword hanging at Abel's waist. Then they would nudge the chest of the fellow student standing next to them. Finally, they would lean in and whisper,

- They say he's the one? Professor Tremblay's successor.

- I wonder how long the new professor of the Department of Theology will last.

Then, if they made eye contact with Abel, they would be startled and turn their backs.

“Be careful, Fabien. The surrounding gazes are unusual.”

An assassin might have followed us.

Disguised as a student of CIAR…….

Listening to Abel's muttering, Fabien suggested in a polite tone.

[Professor, would you please take a look at this for a moment?]

Fabien stood facing Abel in an upright posture. Then he held out his right hand. The magic circle engraved on Fabien's palm shone, and a small piece of paper was delivered through a teleportation spell.

‘Yesterday Clairvoyance’.

While such a phrase was prominently written at the top of the note, below it, small phrases continued like a table of contents.

[This is the student newspaper published at CIAR. There was an article related to you, Professor.]

Fabien recited the keywords enclosed in the table of contents.

[First article dispatch in the Department of Theology section.]

At the same time as Fabien finished speaking, a light flashed. Soon, Abel's form began to be dispatched onto the paper note. Abel, reduced to a small form, was waving his hand to the surroundings. With a shiny smile on his lips.

“……I have never done that.”

[Reporters always mix in a bit of exaggeration.]

Along with the video containing Abel's form, sentences appeared.

Abel scanned them with his eyes as he walked.

「The New Professor of the Department of Theology, Will He Be Free from the Jinx of 3」

- A new professor has been assigned to the Department of Theology at Cia-Harphe Academy. It has been 3 months since the arrest of the Apostate, Professor Tremblay, who organized a cult on campus.

As readers of ‘Yesterday Clairvoyance’ would know. The number 3 is unusual. This is due to the jinx where the professor of the Department of Theology is fired without lasting even 3 years.

Abel Argento (28, Male), who has been appointed as Professor Tremblay's successor, is from the Papacy……,

‘Useless.’

Abel scattered the ‘Yesterday Clairvoyance’.

Swish, and.

The fluttering paper note.

It turned to dust and scattered before reaching the floor.

[We have arrived, Professor.]

At the same time, Fabien said with his back to the Vice President's office door.

Abel stepped into the Vice President's office without delay.

“Welcome, Professor Argento.”

While fountain pens under a remote control spell were flying around, Konstanze's voice was heard from within a pile of documents. Abel gave a brief nod and looked around the Vice President's office. At the same time as the approved documents fluttered, the sound of stamping seals erupted from one side.

“You seem busy, Vice President.”

“Of course, of course. It's a situation where even a hundred bodies wouldn't be enough.”

Konstanze said with a sigh-laden voice.

Abel looked at the dolls displayed throughout the Vice President's office. The ball-jointed dolls were all staring at Abel. They were expensive items even at a glance. Moreover, it seemed that magic was contained in each of the dolls.

“Professor Argento, your lectures will start from tomorrow. How are you feeling?”

“The same as usual.”

“I'm sure you are. I've organized the documents you'll need, Professor. I called you to deliver them.”

Here, look at this.

Konstanze waved her magic staff.

Then hwiik, and.

The sound of cutting through the wind.

A bundle of documents flew towards Abel.

“First, please take the professor certificate. You'll need it to receive the welfare benefits exclusive to professors.”

Abel began to review the bundle of documents. A professor certificate with a perfunctory phrase written on it. He put it into the inner pocket of his formal coat.

“Next, please familiarize yourself with the lecture plan. We've accepted most of the plans you proposed, Professor. At the same time, you'll also be taking over a few of the previous professor's lectures.”

Abel read through the list of lectures and educational curriculum that Konstanze had handed him. The major lectures that Abel would be in charge of were a total of five subjects.

「Theory and Practice for Holy Knights」, 「Preparation Course for Professional Holy Knights」, 「Purification of Monsters Learned Through Practice」, 「Application of Divine Magic」, 「Regular Prayer Meeting」…….

They were all subjects assigned to allow him to utilize his experience as a Sword Saint.

“As you know……, your resume that is open to the students has been censored. I received the necessary documents for your cover identity from the Papacy the day before yesterday. Commander of the Papacy's 13th Round Table Defense Army, General Abel Argento. The students will know you as such.”

“Monika knows that I am a Sword Saint.”

“That is none of my concern. Your words mean that you will take Miss Lohengrin as your personal disciple.”

Konstanze's face was revealed from within the pile of documents.

Konstanze wore a smile drenched in fatigue.

“Cia-Harphe Academy educates boys and girls from the age of 15 to 20. Miss Lohengrin will be admitted as a 4th-year student. She'll need special education to keep up with the progress……”

Since you brought her, Professor, you should take charge of her, right?

So, I've assigned her to your Class.

Konstanze whispered with a bright expression.

“But there's one thing I want to ask you, Professor Argento.”

“What is it.”

That……, and.

Konstanze narrowed her eyes.

“You knew of Miss Lohengrin's existence even before you were appointed. Though you were mistaken about her being a student at CIAR. All of that……”

Is it perhaps because Miss Lohengrin has the makings of a Hero?

To Konstanze's question, which was clearly intended to probe his inner thoughts, Abel answered steadfastly.

“That is correct.”

“I look forward to it.”

How long will such a lie work, and.

Omitting the provocation she had intended to deliver, Konstanze made a sarcastic remark with different words.

“How Miss Lohengrin will grow up to be.”

“The same goes for me.”

Abel shuffled through the bundle of documents.

He looked over Monika's class schedule. The lectures that Monika would take were decided through Abel's selection. He had assigned them so she could learn basic weapon skills and divine magic evenly. In addition, the training to temper her Aura could not be overlooked.

‘And this is…….’

Next, the list of students belonging to Abel's class was revealed.

The professors at CIAR not only lectured in front of many students, but also were assigned a small number of students with guaranteed talent to guide. The latter group was considered a single class.

The number of students in each class was around ten. Among them, only five students were assigned to Abel's class. It was a class composed of students whose talent had been identified regardless of their year, and Monika's name was also mixed in.

‘The students' statuses are high.’

Most of the students in the class, except for Monika, were nobles. Even if they weren't nobles, they were children of families that could be classified as upper class. Among them, the names of the students with particularly high family influence were emphasized. It must be a warning to be careful not to get caught up in trivial squabbles.

‘This is also useless.’

Status doesn't matter when it comes to holding a sword.

Abel scattered the bundle of documents with the students' resumes.

Swish, and.

The fluttering names.

They turned to dust and scattered before reaching the floor.

‘You will all receive an equal education.’

Abel declared to the disciples he would soon meet.

Then he recalled the 96 Heroes he had taught as a teacher.

Among them, the first, the very first Hero he had taught, he recalled his face.

‘Shall I try applying the method I used to teach that child.’

The Hero who had pierced Abel's body with a sword.

Recalling his hate-drenched eyes, Abel left the Vice President's office behind.