Chapter 37 : Finding Traces (1)
by AfuhfuihgsTristan Hero Academy.
At this academy, the ‘teaching assistants’ in each department are divided into three main categories.
“Selena, I’ll allocate about 30 minutes for your lecture next time, so make sure you’re well-prepared.”
“M-me? Are you sure?”
The first category of assistants includes those managed by Level 5 discipline instructors or Level 4 research instructors. Rather than just assisting, these individuals work under senior instructors, learning on the job to gain teaching skills more efficiently. Occasionally, they lead classes in the absence of a senior instructor or during special lectures.
For someone like Selena, who earned her Level 4 status immediately after being selected as a new instructor, this period of preparation comes sooner.
“Yes. It’s time you start preparing for lectures. Next year, you’ll need to follow Instructor Edgar to earn your teaching certification, right?”
“Understood! I’ll do my best, Senior!”
These assistants have the strongest tendency toward being ‘assistant instructors.’ If capable, they are ready at any time to move on from their senior instructor and prepare their own lectures and research labs. In reality, they hold a much higher status than what is typically expected of an assistant.
“Cadet Karl, you are not allowed to wear the Max Air magical device while on duty.”
The second category is ‘student assistants.’
As the name suggests, these assistants are hero cadets currently enrolled at the academy who work in a form of work-study role as assistants.
“Instructor, the Max Air magical device is for efficiency. When I wear it, I can focus much better than usual.”
However, since they are not paid assistants, there were many inexperienced cadets who tended to cause trouble. Due to the scholarship and welfare aspects of the cadet program, there was often a lack of professional responsibility among student assistants. As a result, instructors rarely had high expectations of them or assigned them important tasks. Their presence simply filled a spot, as required by the administration, and that was the extent of the role of student assistants.
Lastly, there were the ‘professional assistants.’
“Yes, this is Instructor Edgar’s research office.”
These assistants primarily handled tasks within instructor research offices and associated lectures. They were typically either hired from outside or selected through the academy’s assistant recruitment process. Since they were salaried and personally chosen by instructors, they generally handled a larger workload and managed tasks more efficiently than other assistants.
Room 217 in the Swordsmanship Department.
Ray, a professional assistant in <Instructor Edgar’s research office>, was no exception. She handled Edgar’s administrative tasks and all affairs related to the <Valut Swordsmanship>. On weekdays, she was constantly busy without rest.
Recently, this had intensified even more due to the rapid increase in interest surrounding Edgar Mulick and <Valut Swordsmanship>.
- “Assistant Ray, nice to talk to you. This is Billy Densk, the head of administration.”
“Ah, yes. Hello.”
Receiving calls from the head of administration in the Swordsmanship Department had become routine for her. Ray picked up a pen and paper with practiced ease. Densk, known for his talkativeness within the department, required her to jot down notes preemptively, or she risked missing important details.
- “Haha! It’s not much, but Instructor Edgar’s external accomplishments are really something, aren’t they? He’s been taking down monsters by rank, and recently even caught lahara from the Tier-2 Magical Beast Swamp!”
“…Yes.”
- “It really makes me proud as the head of administration for the Swordsmanship Department. The noble bloodline of the Mulick Marquisate certainly shows, don’t you think? He was just recently appointed as a new instructor, and he’s already enhancing the department’s reputation. As his assistant, you must feel a great sense of pride too, Ray. Hahaha.”
Please, just get to the point.
Although Administrator Densk could be bothersome, he was still a high-ranking superior within the academy. There was no benefit in getting on his bad side.
“It’s nothing much. I’m contacting you because the academy’s central administration has submitted a request for a special lecture in our department.”
“A special lecture…?”
“Yes. The topic is on handling monsters and magical beasts, and Instructor Edgar is known to be an expert in that field. The central administration specifically requested him.”
Edgar’s steadily rising reputation had recently skyrocketed after he successfully hunted Rahara, a magical beast from the Tier-2 swamps. A noble instructor who could hunt not only high-level monsters but even magical beasts—and a newly appointed one at that. His popularity among the academy’s cadets was bound to grow.
“This special lecture is a large-scale event coordinated with the royal family, so I really hope Instructor Edgar accepts this request. The department will actively work to adjust the schedule.”
“Understood. I’ll let him know when he returns to the office.”
“Haha, wonderful. Great talent is always surrounded by more great talent. Every time I see you, Assistant Ray, I’m impressed by how efficiently you handle tasks. Be sure to contact the administration later.”
Densk continued chatting without pause until the very end. Ray, looking slightly drained, slowly lowered the communication crystal.
“…There really are some unique people.”
Having worked for a long time as a steward in the Mulick family, she encountered all kinds of new personalities in this new environment at the academy. From cadets who seemed to lack common sense to instructors and assistants from other departments who picked fights over trivial matters, and administrative staff who made even simple requests difficult.
These people were hard for Ray to understand based on her own sense of normalcy.
“And then there’s…”
But among them, the most unique was still Edgar Mulick.
It was Edgar himself, the man she had consistently supported, who was changing.
—”Having you around puts me at ease.”
From the very beginning, when he started teaching <Valut Swordsmanship>, he didn’t merely use her as an administrative assistant. He included her in the lecture itself, positioning her as an assistant instructor. He didn’t mind her background as an assassin hero in the slightest. He simply explained, “It’s just more convenient for me.”
And it didn’t end there.
—”You’re free to betray me whenever you wish. Until then, our relationship will continue. I will trust you, and you will trust me until that moment comes.”
—”I simply say what I need to say to the people I can say it to.”
Even when he trusted only Cadet reese’s words and ventured into the “Blue Swamp,” where he hunted lahara, the Tier-2 magical beast, and obtained the title of <Tracker>, the first of its kind on the continent, he stayed by her side and confided everything in her.
Ray couldn’t understand that blind trust.
“…Do you not find me suspicious?”
Unlike Edgar, she had kept many things hidden from him: her past before she became a steward, her duties as a steward, and even her abilities as an <Assassin> hero. She had never fully revealed any of it to him.
Of course, part of the reason was that, surprisingly, he was far stronger than she had anticipated. But even so, it was hard for her to comprehend the level of trust he had placed in her.
Edgar Mulick.
To Ray, he was the closest and yet most difficult person to understand.
Buuuuzzz!!
As if to shake her out of her musings, the communication orb in the lab rang again.
At the sound, ray shook his head and picked up the orb.
There were many tangled issues, but one fact remained unchanged.
That was the fact that ray was currently Edgar Mulick’s butler and assistant.
“Yes, this is Instructor Edgar’s laboratory.”
Faculty of Swordsmanship, Hall 3.
Lecture Room 311.
I was starting my Monday morning with a refreshing lecture.
“… Therefore, the connecting motion between Technique 3 and Technique 4 is crucial. Since these techniques are particularly aggressive moves within the Balut Swordsmanship, a smooth evasion technique is necessary to compensate for the lack of defensive options.”
At the beginning of the semester.
My lecture, which was once filled with complaints and issues, was now starting to settle down.
Cadets who initially skipped the lecture were now gradually returning to their seats, and even the noble cadets who once threatened to cancel the course were now quietly attending.
There are various reasons for this.
First, the administrative office did not approve their cancellation requests.
Second, the power and effectiveness of the Balut Swordsmanship gained positive reviews among the cadets, spreading by word of mouth.
But the most decisive event was…
“It must be the monster hunt.”
The monster hunt that took place last week in the “Blue Marshlands.”
News of my capture of the Rank 2 monster, the “lahara of the Marshlands,” spread quickly throughout the royal academy, making me, already a well-known figure, famous once again.
No matter how high a rank, capturing a creature and capturing a monster are vastly different.
As word spread among the cadets that I was an instructor skilled enough to hunt monsters alone, even those students who had clashed with me began to return to my lectures.
In the end, they had no reason to miss out on quality instruction from a capable instructor.
“Instructor, does that mean the Balut Swordsmanship never uses a shield in any situation?”
And so, there were now even eager cadets who asked questions during class.
This level of engagement was something I had never seen before, except from Kaela or Miren.
At the remarkable change, I couldn’t help but smile bitterly.
“How simple-minded they are.”
Is it because they’re still young?
These cadets who aspired to be heroes had such a straightforward side.
Of course, I wasn’t petty enough to hold on to minor issues from the first lecture, so I readily accepted their gestures of reconciliation.
Thanks to that, the Balut Swordsmanship class had a uniquely lively and refreshing atmosphere compared to other classes in the swordsmanship faculty.
“Alright, that will be all for today’s lecture. Our next class will be held in the training arena, so make sure to remember that.”
“Um, Instructor? Are there any additional slots for special training?”
As the class ended, several cadets asked me the same question.
It seemed they wanted the chance to visit the Blue Marshlands themselves, the place where the lahara of the Marshlands had appeared.
But I shook my head.
“Not yet. Wait until I announce additional slots.”
Kaela, Miren Tiloppe, leese, Lucas Chadwell.
Even with just these four cadets, the number was sufficient for now.
Their comprehension of the lesson was the best, and in any case, entry to the Blue Marshlands was currently restricted due to a request from the kingdom’s investigation team.
After wrapping up the class, I approached ray, who was organizing the lecture materials alone.
“ray, have you found any locations nearby for monster hunting?”
At the sound of my voice, she looked up, momentarily dazed, then quickly regained her usual focus and answered.
“It seems challenging. Monsters usually reside in lairs or appear under specific magical conditions. Such creatures are either already hunted or out of our jurisdiction.”
“Is it because of rewards like mana stones or magical tools?”
“In cases where explorers possess them, that’s usually the reason.”
The path of the Tracker and the path of the Monster Tracker.
Even though I had gained the extraordinary skill of Mana Stone Absorption, making full use of it was no simple matter.
Monsters were dangerous and difficult to hunt, but they were profitable.
After a hunt, they always drop mana stones and byproducts according to their rank, and if the monster resides in a lair, it may even yield special rewards like magical tools.
That’s why heroic explorers tirelessly pursue them, and often the access rights are held by the state or individuals.
“If we go north, there should be plenty…”
It wasn’t as if there were no options.
The northern region of the continent and the kingdom.
In the area known as the “Land of Ruins,” monsters could be found.
It was an infamous wasteland, overrun with creatures and monsters.
There had once been a “Northern Recapture Operation” that regained parts of the area, but many sections still swarmed with seeds of darkness.
But ray shook her head.
“That would be difficult with the current schedule.”
“Of course.”
It wasn’t as if I was going to war, and I couldn’t just leave my instructor duties to travel that far.
At the very least, I’d have to wait until the semester break.
Realizing this, I clicked my tongue in disappointment.
“It can’t be helped.”
I had been ambitious about finding a way to enhance my physical abilities and magical power, but it seemed I would have to postpone it for now.
Thinking it best to focus on my lectures for the time being, I began organizing the materials with ray.
Then…
“Instructor Edgar, there you are.”
A familiar face entered the classroom, someone I hadn’t seen in a while.
“Senior?”
It was my senior instructor, Akina Crowflin.
With a slight smile, she spoke to me.
“Could you come to the faculty reception room? Someone you’d be glad to meet is here to see you.”
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