Ch.29EP.9 – The Knight Finds Fulfillment as an Instructor (3)

# The Disappointing Duel

Contrary to expectations, the duel ended anticlimactically.

While Ihan felt nothing but disappointment, those who witnessed the duel had different impressions.

-…*gulp*.

The most noticeable change was in how people looked at him.

Originally, there had been some hateful glances, but now there was no hatred, and occasionally there were even gazes of admiration and respect.

Most were commoners, while the nobles mostly had calculating looks.

They probably decided it might be worth establishing a connection with him.

Anyway, this is why nobles are such an unlovable breed.

But unlovable or not, Ihan finally began with proper introductions.

“I introduced myself before the duel, but I’ll do it again. I’m Ihan Turtle. Note that it’s ‘Ihan,’ not ‘Rihan.’ Remember it well.”

-……

“At least give some response, you tactless bunch.”

-Yes, yes sir!

“That’s better.”

These fledgling golden children, I wonder when they’ll become proper humans.

“…I’m from the Order of the Silver Lion, and as you know, I’m a commoner. Most of you probably already know that. Oh, if any of you don’t want to be taught by a commoner, you can skip class like the second and third-year students. Whether you stop coming now or later, it makes little difference.”

“But the penalty points…”

“There are no penalty points. I prefer teaching only those who want to learn. Just show up for the exams. You’ll want to earn your credits, right? Well, if you don’t need those either, just take another course. The course adjustment period is over, but I’ll personally go talk to the other instructors and ask them to let you in.”

This was Ihan’s way of showing goodwill.

While it was a shame to lose potential sparring toys, he wasn’t irresponsible enough to ignore those who genuinely wanted to learn.

Rather, he welcomed those willing to put in the effort.

Just as there are running mates, training together shows quite good results.

“Oh, and anyone who wants to challenge me is welcome anytime. I’m always up for a duel.”

“Kunta will step up!”

“You go treat your back injury first. What were you doing while others were dueling?”

“…Hmm.”

Kunta became dejected.

But this comment wasn’t directed only at Kunta.

“The same goes for the rest of you. Those who skipped treatment to watch the duel, go get treated first. We have too many patients as it is.”

“Aren’t you the one who caused all those injuries, instructor?”

“So what?”

“…Just saying.”

Garand’s comment was ignored, and soon after, those who had been rolling on the ground today quickly disappeared.

They were heading to the recovery room where healing priests were waiting.

‘As expected of the Academy. The support is insane.’

Considering that a healing priest’s annual salary was roughly equivalent to a department head at a major corporation, it was impressive that they could afford it.

Not only that, but hiring healing priests also meant making monthly donations to the temple.

With that money, they could build a new building every week and still have money left over.

‘I should take advantage of this often.’

As he was thinking about the healing priests with a strange sense of satisfaction…

“In-Instructor, what will we be learning?”

A question came from those he hadn’t paid much attention to.

“Your name?”

“Le-Levi Polte, sir.”

“Hmm. A noble?”

“Ju-Just from a humble family, sir.”

“Hmm, do you want to learn swordsmanship, cadet?”

“…Well, since I’ve enrolled in the course, if I could learn, I… I would like to!”

“Is that so…?”

She seems quite straightforward.

She was clearly a noble girl who had never learned swordsmanship before.

She looked like a frail girl who should be preparing for her social debut as a debutante rather than focusing on swordsmanship.

A girl who didn’t seem to belong in the swordsmanship department.

But it wasn’t particularly strange.

About half of the students were like her.

Honestly, the reason these girls, who probably had never washed a dish in their lives, came to his class was mostly…

‘They’re probably looking for potential fiancés or debutante partners.’

Just like prom kings and queens in American movies and dramas, having an impressive partner is important for a debutante.

Especially in noble society, it’s common to attend debutante balls with future knights and even arrange marriages.

They probably came with such intentions.

It’s somewhat vexing, but Ihan didn’t particularly care.

After all, the academy is maintained through the generous sponsorship of such nobles.

That’s also why they can afford to hire healing priests.

However, it was unexpected to see them looking at him with sparkling eyes as if seeking his guidance.

Why are they acting like that?

“It’s probably because your fight with Young Master Roen was so impressive. People tend to admire things they can’t do themselves.”

“…Is that so?”

“Especially the noble girls. Having grown up in greenhouses all their lives, this kind of stimulation must seem mysterious to them. But it won’t last long. Given that noble women extremely avoid sweating, they’ll all drop out once they start sweating a bit. That’s why they say all the women stop attending swordsmanship classes after the first semester.”

“You seem to know a lot?”

“Hehe, my brother is an academy graduate, so I’ve heard quite a bit.”

“You’re quite the informant. Useful.”

“Thank you!”

“…But, assistant.”

“Yes?”

“Could you not stick your face so close? Looking at your face makes me want to hit you.”

“…Yes.”

“Good, that’s better. From now on, always stay like that when talking to me.”

“…Damn it.”

“I can hear you, assistant.”

Damian, or rather, the assistant (slave), had tears welling up in his eyes once again.

* * *

Today’s class had ended.

Just as university lectures often end early on the first day, he too had shown some flexibility.

Before he knew it, all the cadets had left, and the training ground was quiet.

Only Ihan remained, and the dimming sky was quite a sight to behold.

“Hmm.”

But rather than enjoying the beautiful sky, Ihan found it more helpful to review today’s duels.

‘Hmm, should I have lunged in faster at that moment?’

Even though he had fought against those much weaker than himself, there was still something to learn.

Why are prestigious families prestigious?

They may lack the basics terribly, but they know plenty of advanced techniques.

It’s like a pearl on a pig’s neck, but if someone who isn’t a pig can take the pearl, that’s a significant achievement.

Four people in particular were noteworthy.

‘Kunta, was it? I should duel that barbarian again tomorrow. This time I’ll take it slower. He seems to be a similar type to me, which could be interesting.’

‘The guy with the dual swords and the one with the halberd were also decent.’

‘…The regressor was more cunning than I expected.’

He found himself more interested in others than the one he had initially expected.

There was much to learn.

Also, unlike him, they had boundless potential.

They were what you’d call geniuses.

If he observed and fought against such people, his body would accumulate new information each time.

Wasn’t that what Baltar had said?

That what he needed wasn’t theoretical learning but the accumulation of information through practical experience.

And having people with much to learn from is certainly welcome.

“…Now that I think about it, this job isn’t bad.”

It was a job he had been forced to take by Isis.

But after trying it out today, it wasn’t bad.

No, it was more than that.

“It’s actually quite fulfilling.”

The title of Academy Instructor.

Now that he thought about it, it was more fulfilling than being in the Order.

Ihan laughed wryly yet genuinely at discovering a job that unexpectedly suited him.

It would be less boring than the Order, where everyone avoided duels and there was no sense of fulfillment.

…Also.

“Hey, you little rat over there.”

There were also quite a few more interesting people.

“Come out now. Both the day before yesterday and today. Why do you keep spying?”

Swish.

The wind swept across the empty field, licking the grass.

It was just an empty field, so what could he possibly mean?

In this strange situation, as Ihan reached into his pocket to pull out a hand axe…

Whoosh.

“…I apologize, Instructor. I didn’t mean to disturb you.”

Suddenly, a man appeared.

He recognized the face.

It was one of the faces he had seen among the cadets.

The inconspicuous guy who had been sticking close to Roen.

His name was…

“Was it Hans?”

“…It’s Jack.”

“Ah, right, that’s it.”

“…Would you mind putting away the hand axe?”

“Let me hear your answer first.”

Tap tap.

Lightly tapping the ground with his hand axe, Ihan demanded an answer.

Given that he had been suspiciously watching him, it wouldn’t be strange if the axe flew at him.

In such a tense situation, Jack maintained a smiling face but was sweating profusely.

‘Did he notice that I was monitoring him yesterday too?’

To be precise, he had been monitoring Irene Windler, not him, but how could he have noticed?

‘As my lord said, he’s not an ordinary human.’

He’s a dangerous person.

Not just strong, but there’s something more special about him.

That’s why his lord…

‘Must be testing the waters.’

Jack finally managed to part his dry lips.

“…My lord has a message for you.”

“You could have just told me earlier, why do it like this? Nobles, really…”

“Do you know about the ‘angel’?”

“…?”

“I see you don’t. That’s enough then.”

“Angel?”

“I’ll just tell you this. Don’t trust the angel or the temple.”

It was a statement without meaning.

Angel?

…Does this guy have some mental illness?

There were many suspicious circumstances, but he’d just hit him on the head later.

Who knows if it would cure him.

With a secret intention to “help” him, Ihan responded smoothly.

“I am an atheist anyway.”

“Haha, how blasphemous. But so am I, so I guess I’m blasphemous too.”

“Hmm, I don’t know what this is about, but it seems you came to the academy with quite an impure purpose?”

“…I won’t deny it.”

Jack thought he might die at this moment.

If the instructor wanted to kill him, he certainly could.

But then…

“By the way, how old are you?”

“Excuse me?”

“How old are you, man?”

“I-I’m twenty.”

“…You look much older. I thought you lied about your age to enroll.”

“That’s harsh, Instructor…”

Ihan made an unexpected criticism that crushed Jack’s spirit, and Jack looked dejected.

Ihan chuckled and shook his head.

He had a rough idea.

He didn’t know what this angel business was about, but in web novels, the recurring villains are usually…

‘Either royalty or the temple.’

They’re the go-to villains, used over and over.

With that in mind, Ihan asked, just in case:

“Are there any other people I should be wary of?”

“…You believe what I’m saying?”

“Just a hunch. It doesn’t seem like something I need to be concerned about anyway.”

“…You really are a peculiar person, Instructor.”

“Skip the flattery, I asked if there’s anything else. Something interesting.”

“In-Interesting…?”

Jack wondered if saying more would be overstepping his bounds.

However, seeing Ihan’s interest—like a minstrel eager to hear a story—rather than feeling threatened, Jack decided to overstep his bounds.

He felt that gaining this man’s favor might be of great help in the future.

“…Do you know anything about the Rogue Second Prince?”

“Second Prince? The kingdom is still raising princes?”

As far as he knew, most princes had disappeared from the kingdom after that sister became the kingdom’s successor.

They were either driven out or silently disappeared, and it was best not to take an interest in it.

But there was a prince left?

“The P-Prince is not a dog, Instructor.”

Such casual rudeness.

This person should learn to watch his words first before calling himself a knight.

“Anyway, Rogue Prince? What kind of common name is that?”

“Um… he should be quite famous, don’t you know? He’s notorious as a cruel prince with severe mental illness.”

“So why bring him up?”

Ihan asked, wondering why the name of a prince he had no interest in was being mentioned, and Jack…

“…There’s talk that this rogue has enrolled in the academy while hiding his identity. I don’t know the reason myself.”

“Enrolled?”

“Yes. Honestly, I’m not sure if he needs to be watched, but since he’s a prince, shouldn’t we be cautious?”

It was a reasonable point, and Ihan nodded slightly and asked again if there were any distinguishing features.

“Hmm, ah! I heard the prince has a mental illness.”

“Mental illness?”

“Yes, they say he often points at empty air and does strange things.”

“……”

“Why do you ask?”

“…Nothing, just thinking he sounds quite insane.”

Ihan blurted out another rude comment, and Jack advised him to be careful in case someone was listening, but Ihan paid no attention.

More than the rude comment he had just made…

‘…What’s this? There’s another one?’

Web novel possession.

Regression.

These were already quite a lot, but…

‘Now it’s a status window?’

Thinking about it again, this academy life…

“Ha.”

There won’t be a dull moment.