Ch.111111. I Became a Professor at the Academy (1)

“…It seems our time is already up. With that, we’ll conclude today’s class.”

As soon as the professor finished speaking, students hurriedly rose from their seats. Eugene remained seated in a daze, letting the impatient students pass by before gathering his belongings and standing up. The freshmen each gave fleeting glances toward the second-ranked student.

A monster who had already reached the 4th Circle. A talent that might even reach for the fifth Circle before graduating from the academy. While most freshmen would be lucky to reach the 4th Circle by graduation, Eugene Grayson was already aiming for something far beyond.

“Should I try talking to him? That guy doesn’t have many friends yet, right?”

“Give it up. He’s already so focused on his studies—would he even bother talking to us? He’s already running miles ahead. He normally hangs out with people ranked 3rd, 1st, and 4th in the placement exam. Would we even register to him?”

“True, and he’s so pretty-looking too. He probably just wants to surround himself with girls.”

Idiots. I can hear everything.

Eugene heard them talking about him as if he weren’t there. Usually, he couldn’t even muster a sarcastic laugh. After all the snickering freshmen had left, Eugene finally sighed, slowly slung his bag over his shoulder, and made his way out of the forest of desks.

“They were talking about you quite freely.”

At the very back of the lecture hall, Cora was leaning against the wall, waiting for Eugene. She seemed somewhat annoyed by the unsolicited comments and not-quite-insults directed at her friend. Eugene laughed cheerfully at Cora, who was glaring sharply at the backs of the freshmen’s heads.

“That’s just the extent of their capacity. Isn’t it good that we’ve eliminated some people not worth worrying about?”

Responding would only be tiresome. Left alone, they’d naturally fall behind. People who’ve never put in life-or-death effort. Just common talents, one in a hundred.

“I knew it already, but academy classes really are different. It would be disrespectful to even compare them to the education in most noble households.”

Eugene subtly changed the subject. He didn’t want to waste time or thought on those dregs. Cora, seemingly not entirely pleased with Eugene’s handling of the situation, sighed.

“True. What’s your next class? Do you have another one right after this?”

“I’m heading to that famous class now. You signed up for it too, right?”

Cora’s expression brightened at Eugene’s words. The class scheduled for Mondays and Wednesdays at three o’clock. A class that attracted attention not just from freshmen but from all students at the academy.

“‘Basic Understanding and Exploration of Monster Combat'”

Professor. Hero Ilroy. Excitement filled Cora’s eyes as she spoke. Eugene tried to appear nonchalant, but he was genuinely looking forward to it. How could he not be curious? What kind of class would the hero, who seemed far from scholarly, have prepared? Even if the class turned out to be garbage, just hearing about the hero’s experiences and journey would be tremendously helpful.

“Honestly, the class name isn’t that important, right?”

Cora nodded reluctantly, as if she didn’t want to admit it. Even Cora, a fan of the hero, acknowledged it. The class itself wasn’t that important.

“Well, I’m still curious. What kind of class has the hero prepared? Even if it’s about monsters, I’m not sure how helpful it will be for us.”

After all, when it comes to monsters, isn’t it just about getting stronger? They weren’t opponents to be faced, but prey to be hunted. There probably weren’t any special tactics. It’s not like the hero had some special method for slaughtering all those monsters and calamities.

“We’ll find out soon enough.”

Eugene muttered as he pulled open the half-open door to the lecture hall.

“…Wow.”

He then exclaimed in disgust at the sight of the densely packed crowd. Not only freshmen would be attending the lecture, but the hall was already filled with so many people it resembled the entrance ceremony. It seemed like all the first-years in the academy had been gathered in one place. No, looking closer, it wasn’t just freshmen. Here and there sat people who didn’t look like freshmen—either students from other years attending or those who had purchased audit passes with money.

“I guess dignity goes out the window in the face of fame.”

As Eugene muttered this, Cora shook her head.

“It’s strange that you see this as merely a matter of fame. How long are you going to pretend to be so nonchalant?”

“No, more importantly, let’s find that person first. You remember Natalie, right? From that time?”

Cora nodded cautiously. She remembered the girl who had reacted particularly sensitively to the mention of the hero. She recalled the hostility that had prickled her nape like goosebumps. Could she have some kind of relationship with the hero? Cora called out to Eugene, who was looking around with a seemingly indifferent expression.

“Will Natalie be alright?”

“There’s bound to be some issue. To react so sharply to such a mention. What I’m worried about is whether Natalie might try to skip this class.”

As Eugene continued scanning the room, his eyes caught sight of glossy black hair. A look of delight crossed his face, and Cora found herself being dragged along by her wrist as Eugene approached the empty seat beside Natalie. Eugene gestured for Cora to sit on the right, while he stealthily approached Natalie’s left side.

“You don’t need to surround me like this. I’m not going to run away.”

As Eugene sat down on Natalie’s left, she turned her head to look at him with an expression of disbelief. Eugene brushed off her comment with an awkward smile.

“Well, I thought you might be avoiding us.”

“Don’t casually lump me in with ‘us.’ If anything, I’m also a victim of your whims.”

Cora grimaced and complained, but Eugene completely ignored her and focused on Natalie. Natalie shook her head and looked forward. She didn’t seem particularly interested in conversation. To open up the closed Natalie, Eugene carefully broached a topic.

“I thought you disliked the hero.”

Unlike before, Natalie didn’t show any particular reaction. It seemed she considered her previous emotional display a mistake. Natalie didn’t respond and instead took out a notebook and pen from her bag. Was she completely ignoring him? Eugene awkwardly scratched the back of his head.

“Why do you dislike the hero?”

A sudden question. Natalie looked at Eugene with an expression of complete innocence. Eugene fumbled with his words, taken aback by her sudden change in attitude.

“I mean… it’s okay to dislike him. Even gods have people who dislike them, right? Not everyone loves the hero just because he’s the hero. Some might even hate him.”

Eugene tried to cover up. Natalie lowered her eyes as if uninterested, then spoke again.

“I don’t dislike the hero. I have no reason to dislike him.”

Eugene watched Natalie’s moving lips. Her expression seemed genuinely indifferent, causing Eugene to frown slightly. He couldn’t decide whether to continue talking about the hero or if doing so would only irritate her and make him disliked.

“Then why did you react that way back then?”

Cora came to Eugene’s rescue. Eugene turned to Cora with sparkling eyes as if he’d found a savior, but Cora ignored him as if seeking revenge. Natalie turned to look at Cora.

“The reaction I showed then?”

“The hostility you displayed when the hero was mentioned. Who was that hostility directed at?”

“Rather than hostility…”

Natalie’s voice became light as smoke. Eugene and Cora focused on Natalie’s contemplative face. She seemed genuinely lost in thought.

“Jealousy.”

Natalie defined that emotion as jealousy. After saying this, she nodded repeatedly as if trying to justify the emotion she felt. Natalie turned her head toward the podium with a dreamy expression.

“Yes, that’s right. It feels more like jealousy.”

Jealousy. Eugene frowned even more. Normally, he would have dismissed the idea of feeling jealous toward the hero as nonsense. It would be like saying one was jealous of a queen or jealous of ancient heroes. But with her talent…

“Jealousy, huh. I suppose that’s understandable.”

Natalie’s overwhelming talent. Her practical skills that made one wonder if she even needed to go through the growth period at the academy. Even Eugene, at the 4th Circle, saw the world differently from the mediocre masses, so he couldn’t even begin to imagine what Natalie, who surpassed him, was looking at.

“What kind of jealousy? That you should have been in his place?”

Natalie gave Eugene a cold look, as if she wouldn’t answer any further. Eugene inwardly flinched but backed off, not wanting to upset her further. He had already gathered enough information to understand her better. When trying to win someone over, one needed to know when to retreat.

“Alright, alright. Thanks for telling me.”

“Why are you asking me such things?”

At Natalie’s question, Eugene smiled awkwardly and extended his hand. Natalie frowned as she looked at Eugene’s outstretched hand.

“Because I want to be friends with you. It’s only natural that I want to know more about you.”

Natalie snorted and turned her head away. Of course, Eugene wasn’t bothered at all by the rejection. What mattered was that she wasn’t pushing him away. It might just be due to her indifferent personality, but Eugene decided to persist until the end. This person was worth the effort. With that conviction, he took out his notebook from his bag.

“Don’t you find him annoying?”

Cora asked quietly from the side. Eugene tried to send a silent signal to Cora for making unnecessary comments, but Cora, seemingly quite upset, ignored his signal.

“Not particularly.”

However, Natalie’s answer was unexpected. And Eugene didn’t consider that answer positive. Even he thought he was being annoyingly persistent. If someone had approached him in this manner, he would have ignored them or even driven them away.

“That’s strange. He’s being so pushy, and you’re not annoyed?”

Natalie answered by slowly blinking her eyes. It meant she wasn’t even concerned enough to be annoyed. It might also mean that he wasn’t significant enough to be bothersome. Thinking she might be indirectly telling him this, Eugene inwardly clicked his tongue. He could feel Cora’s gaze on him, looking at him as if he were pathetic.

“…! He’s coming.”

Around the time Eugene quieted down after making the atmosphere bustling, the mood in the lecture hall changed. Cora quickly opened her notebook, her eyes sparkling, while Eugene rested his chin on his hand with a disappointed expression. And Natalie, now free from their attention, listened to the approaching footsteps with a cold gaze.

“Greetings.”

The voice was calm and deep. The hero’s eyes, as he approached under the spotlight of the podium, shone a deep teal, greener than jade. At the sight, several female students let out small cheers. The hero didn’t smile. Somehow, the expected warmth and gentleness were absent. Eyes sharper and colder than imagined scanned the freshmen.

“This semester, I’ll be teaching ‘Basic Understanding and Exploration of Monster Combat.’ My name is Ilroy.”

The hero didn’t refer to himself as “hero.” Eugene’s eyes trembled. The immense aura emanating from the hero up close—Eugene wasn’t even allowed to glimpse it.

“More people than expected have signed up for my lecture. Well, the academy has allowed me to proceed without limiting the number of attendees, so we’ll continue as is.”

The hero’s words were no different from those of any other professor. But all the students were holding their breath, listening intently to the hero’s words.

“Before we start the lecture, let’s discuss one thing.”

The hero approached the blackboard and picked up a piece of chalk. As he turned back, his gaze was directed precisely at where Eugene, Cora, and Natalie were sitting.

“Currently, you have no idea how to fight monsters. As you might have felt during the placement exam. If I were to send you back to the battlefield now, I wonder if even ten of you would come back alive.”

At this assertion, the freshmen held their breath. Some contorted their faces at the hero’s words.

“But we won’t have to fight monsters that often, will we? We might not even have to fight at all. Is there really a need to prepare so rigorously?”

A question thrown out. The hero shrugged. Cora glared at the source of the question with fiery eyes. Who do you think is the reason we don’t have to fight monsters?! Eugene had to extend his hand and exert all his strength to calm down Cora, who was grinding her teeth.

“Yes, there is a need to prepare.”

However, the hero calmly answered the rude question.

“It will happen at least once before the year ends.”

The hero’s eyes solemnly pressed down on the audience. The weight behind those words was enough to silence all the freshmen.

“And the primary goal of this lecture is to ensure that when that time comes, you don’t lose your lives in vain.”