episode_0029

I was just picking out one of the desserts Professor Lina brought and putting it in my mouth when I noticed Kirrin muttering something to herself.

The expression on his face, as if he had made a firm decision, is quite unsettling.

It felt like watching a nerd sitting in the back of the classroom suddenly raise his hand with serious eyes.

“Principal. Come and eat together… Where are you going?”

Kirin seems not to have heard me calling, but turns around and runs towards the main office. Is that really up to something?

Oh, that can’t be true. I am a person who even got rid of training because I was afraid of getting kicked out.

I stopped paying attention to Kirin and hurriedly reached for the dessert before the other professors finished eating.

“Hey, Orendi. Give me that. I saved it earlier.”

“Ah… This is the most delicious one… .”

While eating the piece of whipped cream cake that I stole from Orendi, I turned my attention to the stable.

A beautiful white head horse inside the stable was staring at me with big eyes.

The rivers and mountains change in 10 years. He was only a foal at the time, but he has grown so much that he is now leading the herd.

I met that guy when Linus and I were on a special mission operation in the Brun Plateau.

It may seem a bit wrong to say that I have a connection with horses, but anyway.

At that time, our special unit had just received intelligence that the Demon King’s army was moving to capture the wild horses of the Brun Plateau and was just moving in that direction.

However, the Demon King’s army was faster, and when we arrived, the wild horses had already been captured and dragged away.

They attacked it, annihilated all of them, and let the wild horses escape, but it was inevitable that several of them would die during the battle.

That one was also one of the foals that lost its mother at that time.

We did not leave the plateau right away, but waited for the Demon King’s army to arrive later, and for the next few days, we took care of the injured wild horses and foals.

It was because Celine, who was a hunter, had knowledge in that area, and thanks to that, the guy who was dying in pain was able to regain his strength and run again.

After wiping out even the last generation of the Demon King’s army, he left the plateau and 10 years later, he came back again for this incident.

Originally, Knightley was going to teach taming a small wild horse, but he changed his plan when he saw that it was the leader.

In fact, if he had just picked Knightley, he probably wouldn’t have lasted long and would have been eliminated, but it was a calculated gamble.

Horses are much smarter animals than you might think, and the wild horses of the Brunn Plateau are especially unique.

So, I expected that he would recognize me and stop his rampage soon.

What if they don’t recognize me and continue to cause trouble?

At that time, I just have to step in and subdue them. All you have to do is evacuate the falling Knightley with an instant jump from Orendi.

With all the worst-case scenario measures prepared, Knightley was brought in, and the result was as I expected.

A normal wild horse would have made a fuss without end, but as I ran alongside him and kept talking to him, he remembered me and complied within less than ten minutes.

In this way, a whole herd of wild horses could be brought to the academy and used for practice.

The wild horses of the Brun Plateau are very intelligent and their leaders are especially cooperative, so training and practice in various situations will be possible.

For example, this means that a once tamed horse can ‘act’ by running wild during a new rider’s class as if it were the first time.

There’s nothing difficult since Professor Anna is a genius in combat riding (although it doesn’t seem obvious from the outside).

“By the way, hmmmnya, I’m thinking of skipping it this year as well.”

Orendi, who took the cake from me, picked up another piece of bread and ate it, bringing up a new topic.

“What do you mean skip?”

“Selection of special students. The original operating regulations call for selection at the beginning of the year.”

“What is a special student?”

As I asked questions in succession, Orendi looked at me with very suspicious eyes.

“Senior Professor. Just in case, I’m asking, haven’t you read the operating regulations?”

“I didn’t read it.”

“Yes? Wouldn’t it be more convenient for you to read it at work? Wouldn’t it be difficult if you got caught up in the rules while pushing ahead and got caught in the middle?”

“That’s all you need to do if you understand the rules and point it out in the middle. Anyway, what is a special student?”

Orendi, who was looking at me with a puzzled expression, chuckled and explained.

“Originally, our academy starts from the first year by taking an entrance exam, right? However, special students do not take an exam and start immediately from the highest grade, that is, from the senior year, if we count this year.”

“Really? Does that special student literally mean a person with superior skills? So much so that you don’t have to take the regular courses in order?”

“That’s right. This is a system that is already being implemented in some academies. Producing excellent graduates is the academy’s top priority. Even if you didn’t teach from the bottom up, you are from the academy anyway.”

“I understand. But our academy has never done that before?”

“Yes.”

This is all Kirrin’s doing because she was afraid that something unpleasant would happen and she would be dismissed as principal.

“So how many special students are being selected?”

“Up to five people, depending on the quality level of applicants. If they don’t meet the academy’s standards, they may all be eliminated.”

Isn’t this a bad system?

“When are you doing that?”

“A selection notice should be issued around now. Only then will we make the final selection within this month and participate in the formal curriculum for the graduating class.”

Orendi glanced toward the main office where Kirrin had disappeared.

“But seeing as there is no news, I think they will probably just skip this year as well.”

“Okay. That’s right.”

This is the right thing to do. Operating regulations are operating regulations, but they are also an opportunity to receive good external resources, so of course we should do them.

As Orendi said, in any case, all you need is a diploma to graduate from the academy.

If we can recruit a great person from anywhere and have him graduate, we will ultimately build the prestige of our academy.

If we raise the prestige of the academy by raising the quality of its graduates, the Second Princess will be very pleased and will think, ‘It will run well on its own without having to promote Dian to the position of principal.’

Let’s wrap things up here and finish the rest of today’s work, then make a formal suggestion to Kirrin tomorrow.

# # # # #

The next morning.

“Professor!”

I was just leaving the faculty area and heading to the main office when someone stopped me in an angry voice.

When I turned around, I saw Knightley staring at me with a very dissatisfied expression.

“What are you doing at this hour? Aren’t you going to class?”

“It’s still before first period.”

“Ah, yes. Then go quickly and prepare for class. I’m busy so I’ll stop.”

“Wait a minute!”

As I was about to start walking, Knightley screamed and tried to run towards me.

But instead, Knightley approached him with his legs shoulder-width apart and swaying from side to side.

I tried to burst out laughing at that, but I bit my lip and waited for Knightley to approach.

But Knightley’s pace was so slow that I had no choice but to ask her for permission.

“I’m sorry, but I have to go see the principal right now. If we don’t talk about it right away, we’ll die, or we’ll talk about it later!”

I’m sorry Knightley, but I have a lot of work to do today, so I need to talk to Kirrin about the ‘special student selection’ before class.

“Professor! Ouch! Really!”

I hurried to the main office, leaving Knightley’s cries behind, and heard unexpected news from the head of the administrative office.

“Yes? You went to the Hwangseong?”

“Yes, Senior Professor. This is a report on pending work.”

“Hmm, that’s right… ,”

What’s going on with this dark elf all of a sudden? It’s a topic that makes me tremble even when the story of the second princess is mentioned.

Suddenly, I remembered the face of Kirrin I met at the stable yesterday.

He was muttering to himself and had an incredibly determined expression on his face.

Usually, when a person makes a big decision, he or she makes a hasty decision.

Don’t you just go and do something ridiculous and get scolded and kicked out?

# # # # #

“Phew… Going crazy… .”

Kirrin let out a dry sigh as she saw the walls of the imperial castle outside the rickety carriage window.

An ornate gold plate was placed gently on her lap. This is a report on current affairs to be reported to the 2nd princess.

The reason why Kirin suddenly decided to go to Hwangseong was all because of the decision she made while seeing Dian yesterday.

It was because of the very plan that he had to build up his achievements step by step from now on in order to smoothly hand over the position of principal to Dian and move down to professor.

So Kirin made a report and sent a message to the imperial castle saying she would visit today, and fortunately the second princess accepted.

“So… With this special student selection… Oh, again… Graduation class contest schedule… Hmm, what was it again… . Pre-interview with recruitment agency… .”

While I was repeating what I wanted to report to the second princess, the carriage stopped in front of the main castle.

“Welcome, Principal Kirlin.”

The servant who came to meet Kirin guided Kirin into the castle.

As she walked down the hallway, Kirrin took a deep breath and tugged at the collar of her shirt, but it was no use.

The fear that is squeezing your heart won’t go away with just a few deep breaths.

Sigh, if I had known this would happen, I would have at least asked Dian to come with me.

I think it would have been a little better with Dian… .

But Dian is busy leading the combat department. Bringing her here is a nuisance to Dian.

And I’m the principal. I have to act according to my position.

If you appear to be hiding behind Dian, the second princess will accuse you of not being qualified to be a principal.

Kirin took another deep breath, walked down a hallway that seemed to lead to an execution site, and stood in front of the second princess’s office.

“First, please return everything you have on you.”

“Okay… .”

Only after Kirin had poured out daggers, poisonous needles, and snares of all sizes that she had hidden all over her body did she hesitantly knock on the door and open her mouth.

“Ki, Kikiki, Kirrin Nemara… .De, de, de, do I know if I can come in or if I can ask a question… .”

“Come in.”

When Kirin heard the second princess’ answer from inside, she felt her blood run cold and opened the door.