Ch.120120. Preparing for the Lecture

“Huh?”

Aria, who was sighing next to Elenoa who was busy drawing, felt puzzled when she saw the professor enter through the door.

A beautiful woman with long blonde hair neatly tied and casually draped over her shoulder.

It was the professor’s fiancée, Erika Bright, whose mere presence was enough to make Aria’s irritation surge.

“Wow, it’s Professor Erika.”

“I was disappointed I couldn’t take Professor Erika’s class in the first semester. I’m glad I can take it from the second semester.”

“I heard rumors that she’s engaged to Professor Deus. Is that true?”

“If so, that would be amazing. She’d have the only Black Mage recognized by the royal family as her husband.”

The more Aria heard talk about Deus around her, the more it bothered her. Even though they weren’t saying anything bad, and were expressing admiration for his greatness rather than gossiping.

Aria simply didn’t want to hear others discussing Deus like that.

“Sigh.”

Aria closed her eyes momentarily as her head throbbed with pain. Recently, she’d been experiencing strange headaches.

Just then, a male student’s concerned voice came from beside her.

“Are you feeling unwell?”

Surprisingly, a familiar voice.

– Don’t worry, I’ll try to handle this.

– Actually, I’ve liked you since we first met.

– Aria, run away!

His voice spread through her ears like tinnitus. Aria suddenly opened her eyes to break free from the memories of the past.

Next to her sat a handsome boy with striking blue hair. Leorus, a master of water magic and spearmanship.

In the first cycle.

He was one of her companions.

And a boy who had confessed his love to Aria.

‘Ah, so it was Leorus.’

Aria, who hadn’t even realized he was sitting beside her, nodded while steadying her breath.

“Yes, I’m fine.”

In the previous cycle, she had received quite a lot of help from Leorus. Not only from him, but she had also overcome numerous hardships with other talented students.

For example, the princess sitting right next to her, sticking out her tongue while doodling.

The memory of forming a special unit with Leorus and several other students currently in the classroom to prevent Princess Elenoa Luden Griffin’s act of treason was still vivid.

But.

‘I don’t need them now.’

Aria wasn’t weak enough to need their help anymore. Back then, fighting alongside companions had felt natural and enjoyable.

Perhaps it was because the process was enjoyable that the result felt even more devastating.

She didn’t particularly want to have the same experience again, and her old companions wouldn’t be able to keep up with her pace of growth anyway.

“I heard that from the second semester, we’ll be divided into teams and sent outside frequently.”

“Ah, that’s right.”

She remembered being involved in various incidents outside the academy. But what did it matter now? She could just go there, swing her sword a few times, and be done with it.

“So I was wondering…”

“Excuse me.”

Just as Leorus was about to speak shyly, Aria pressed her hand against her forehead and said,

“Stop talking to me.”

“…”

“My head hurts.”

Aria deliberately ignored Leorus and turned her gaze toward the blackboard.

But she didn’t want to look at Erika who had started the lecture either.

So she lowered her head again.

After briefly making eye contact with Elenoa, who was looking at her with a subtle expression, she closed her eyes.

Recently, her headaches had been unusually severe.

‘How was it last time?’

Did she have these kinds of headaches around this time before?

* * *

A week after the semester began.

Rumors that I, a Spiritmaster, had returned to the academy spread like wildfire.

The dean expressed gratitude that I had come back, albeit late, and other students were curious about how the week of missed lectures would be made up.

And I.

“Huff.”

Today, as usual, I was turning pages of books late into the night.

[Can you feel it now? That I was a more capable teacher than you thought?]

I kept my mouth shut for a moment at the Dark Spiritmaster’s chattering beside me. I thought about saying something but decided to ignore it.

While I didn’t mind learning, teaching was an entirely different concept.

I felt I was receiving more attention than my abilities deserved, but I was just trying to live up to it.

‘This is difficult.’

The part about not actually teaching Black Magic was challenging.

What I needed to teach was theory, methods to counter Black Magic, and the ability to detect invisible spirits.

If I taught Black Magic right now, bishops waiting to tear me apart or dissatisfied parents would pounce at the slightest mistake.

Though I had no intention of teaching Black Magic in the first place.

“Hmm.”

Just as I thought it would be good to teach someone first to get a feel for it before going into lectures.

“I see.”

I summoned people I could call upon immediately.

“Ah, what is it?”

Findenai, still bandaged from injuries that hadn’t fully healed.

“Can I be of any help!”

Owen, who had been playing the melodica until late evening.

I didn’t bring Illuania since she was pregnant and her belly was growing.

She needed absolute rest.

For the time being, I gave her a separate room and told her not to work as a maid and to rest.

“…”

And for some reason, Erika Bright in her pajamas.

“Why are you here?”

When I looked down at her and asked, Findenai, who was standing nearby, answered instead.

“I met her on the way here.”

“I-I thought I might be able to help with something.”

Erika glanced up at me nervously. After a moment’s consideration, I nodded, indicating it wasn’t a problem.

“This actually works out well. Everyone, sit on the bed over there.”

I hadn’t expected three people to come, but I could at least practice lecturing.

Besides, since Erika was already a professor, she could confirm whether students would understand what I was saying. I could also get advice from her as a professor.

“From now on, I’ll practice the lecture I’m giving tomorrow. Listen and tell me your thoughts afterward.”

Owen immediately raised his hand with sparkling eyes at my words.

“Understood!”

But the other two had puzzled expressions.

“A lecture? Ah, damn. I came for nothing.”

“Are you practicing?”

Findenai sat with one leg crossed over the other, resting her chin on her hand with a bored expression, while Erika asked with genuine curiosity.

“Yes, knowing something and teaching it are two different things.”

Hearing that, Erika smiled and assumed a polite posture for listening to the class.

“Alright, I’m a professor too, so I’ll observe with you. It’s an honor to be the first to hear the most anticipated lecture at Robern Academy.”

Once everyone seemed ready, I slowly drew lines in the air with mana.

Normally I would use a blackboard and chalk, but since there weren’t any in the room, I was improvising.

“Well, let’s start with…”

Since I would be teaching students with absolutely no knowledge of Black Mages and souls, I planned to start with the basics.

I wasn’t going to cover topics like the peace of souls since that was related to religion.

But before I could even say a word.

“Professor, this is boring as hell. Tell us about your first love instead.”

Findenai interrupted with a disinterested tone.

[Oh, that would be fun!]

The Dark Spiritmaster, who had quietly sat down next to Findenai, clapped his hands in excitement.

Owen also seemed quite interested, while Erika flinched and waited in silence.

Where had the woman who just said it was an honor to hear my lecture gone?

“When we talk about souls, people simply think of ghosts, but that’s not the case. Surprisingly, this is…”

“Hey, master. Is it okay to completely ignore a student like this?”

“…”

Suddenly, Findenai stood up and started explaining something while shrugging her shoulders.

“Shouldn’t a professor be able to respond when a student asks an embarrassing question or, huh? Makes a sudden disruptive action?”

“…I never asked for that.”

“This is basic! Right, fiancée?”

“Huh? Well, that’s true. When lecturing, you sometimes encounter students who ask strange questions, focus on things other than the lecture, or try to disrupt it.”

Though caught off guard by the sudden shift, Erika calmly added reasons as she spoke.

“In such cases, how a professor responds is also a matter of discretion. You need to maintain the concentration of other students despite disruptions that might ruin the lecture.”

“Sigh.”

With a deep sigh, I gestured with my chin for Findenai to sit down.

At my signal to start again, she sat on the bed with a grin, ready to raise her hand.

I wondered if I should even pretend to lecture when she was just going to interrupt.

Actually, was this time really meaningful at all?

Amid these doubts, Findenai suddenly raised her hand and asked,

“Professor, when was your first sexual intercourse!”

“Puwah!”

Owen was startled, his face turning bright red as he covered his ears. Erika also looked at me blankly, while the Dark Spiritmaster waved his hands saying this was exciting and he wanted something to eat.

“I heard the professor likes having his asshole licked.”

I wondered if such situations really occurred during lectures. I briefly imagined how I would handle such a question if it actually came up during a class.

I looked at the brightly smiling Findenai and asked slowly,

“What’s your name?”

“Huh? Oh, Findenai.”

“Right, Findenai.”

I tensed my entire body and glared at her.

Since coming to this world, I still hadn’t clearly defined within myself what killing intent was.

But I would certainly direct hostility toward a student who disrupted my lecture in such a manner.

“Just shut up and listen.”

“…”

The room suddenly turned cold.

After making eye contact with each of the three people who were looking at me with surprised eyes, I continued the lecture in my usual tone.

“Now, let’s really…”

“Excuse me, Professor.”

Findenai raised her hand again.

Starting to feel annoyed, I exhaled and looked at her, and she said with a bewildered expression,

“I think I just wet myself because of you, Professor. Can I use the bathroom?”

“…Go ahead.”

“Wow, damn. That was intense.”

Though she probably didn’t actually have an accident or cause trouble, Findenai stuck out her tongue and left the room.

And naturally,

She didn’t come back.