Ch.42EP.13 – The Fair Instructor (1)

He hates discrimination.

Perhaps it’s because he has a long history of being discriminated against?

Most notably, he was rapidly promoted as the “son of a brigade commander,” a trash of all trash, while conversely, he remained a career sergeant who was inexplicably passed over for promotion despite ten years of service.

Having suffered so deeply, he came to value fairness in dealing with others to an almost absolute degree.

As a result, he wouldn’t give special treatment to the Seedling Team just because they were from lower-class backgrounds, nor would he neglect those who were children of nobles.

Fairness means treating everyone equally.

Therefore.

“Well, let’s get started energetically today.”

“……”

Ihan was at the academy.

All 54 cadets of the Swordsmanship Department who remained at the academy instead of going to Vulcan stared at their instructor with dumbfounded expressions.

…What is this, a dream?

“In-Instructor.”

“Speak, Chick Number 3.”

“Um, I-I heard you were going to Vulcan for training.”

“That’s right.”

“A-And I know the distance between Vulcan and the academy is about 40km.”

“It’s exactly 37.9km.”

“I-I see.”

No, that’s not the important part right now!

“Why are you here? Shouldn’t you be at Vulcan?”

“I came to teach you.”

“…What about Vulcan?”

“I worked them over during the day. Now I’ll teach you and go back to work them—I mean, train them—at night.”

“……”

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“…No, I just think you’re quite an unusual person.”

“Everything seems unusual to you. I’m just being diligent.”

“Haha…”

Well, he’s someone who willingly runs a round trip of 75.8km just to not miss a class, so how could he not be diligent?

Unable to refute this reality, the female cadet who had been called a chick gave a hollow laugh.

* * *

…Only now can I mention that there was a great commotion when news spread that Ihan and Odwal would be having a war game.

Throughout the academy’s history, the Swordsmanship Department and the Magic Department had always maintained hostile relations, but there had never been such a direct confrontation.

However, the war game had already spread too far to be stopped, and even the nobles were looking forward to it, so the academy couldn’t intervene even if they wanted to.

The justification and momentum had already become unstoppable.

And because of this, Ihan had to be summoned to the dean’s office once again.

He got scolded.

How many incidents was he going to cause in just the first semester?

Of course, there were many corrections.

The spellcasters were the ones who started the trouble first, and they were the ones who picked a fight with ridiculous excuses.

So he was confident, and the dean shook his head with a stiff neck.

…Yet seeing how the dean provided activity funds for the cadets, he was certainly a true dean.

‘After meeting so many corrupt teachers, it’s nice to meet such a true educator.’

However, the dean’s face, as he handed over the large sum of money, showed little expectation.

It was clear he thought the Swordsmanship Department would lose the war game.

And this wasn’t just the dean’s opinion—it was the prevailing sentiment throughout the academy.

As if the outcome had already been decided.

“It can’t be helped. In war games, warriors are like pawns in chess. At best, skilled warriors might be treated as bishops, but mages are treated as queens or knights.”

“The treatment of warriors is too harsh. Such narrow-minded people.”

“…What can we do when the record shows that?”

“That’s because the losers were weak.”

“Is there anyone who isn’t weak compared to you, Instructor?”

“I’m relatively weak too.”

“……”

A cadet collapsed with an expression that suggested this was the most absurd thing they’d heard all year.

Or perhaps their expression was contorted more from intense pain than absurdity.

“Urgh…”

“Nngh!”

“Kuhak! Kek…!”

Cadets were sprawled everywhere, either collapsed or dry heaving.

All of them had been slammed to the ground and were in pain after engaging in what was supposed to be “unlimited free sparring” with their instructor instead of rope jumping.

Strangely though, no one was seriously injured.

Although they were slammed down, the instructor had controlled his strength at the last moment.

…Which made it even more humiliating.

“I didn’t go easy on you to humiliate you. The recovery room priest asked me to stop sending so many kids, so I had no choice.”

“…There have been a lot of injuries.”

“In-Instructor. Did you really run from Vulcan?”

“What strength…”

Looking at someone who showed no excitement despite defeating all of them so thoroughly, it was hard to believe he was even slightly fatigued.

“I am less energetic than usual. Even an instructor gets winded after traveling such a distance round trip. But why would I struggle against ‘youngsters’?”

“……”

“Feeling frustrated? Then strive to become stronger. Your instructor will do his best to teach you.”

“……”

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“…I was just curious. I wondered why someone as passionate as you didn’t take us to Vulcan.”

“You mean the special intensive training?”

“……”

“Hmm, as I said yesterday, I told those who wanted to go to gather on the departure day. But you didn’t show up.”

“…That’s.”

The cadet who unconsciously revealed his disappointment gritted his teeth, thinking his reaction was childish even to himself.

But it couldn’t be helped.

It wasn’t that they didn’t want to go.

“Wh-What could we do when our families forbade us from going?”

“You’re adults, are you still tied to your homes?”

“…!”

“Haha, I’m joking. Do you think I don’t understand your situation?”

Perhaps some of them had wanted to attend Ihan’s intensive training.

Especially those who had felt their bodies becoming more solid through his training.

They had begun to recognize Ihan as an excellent instructor, knowingly or unknowingly.

…But they are nobles.

People who live by authority and honor, belonging to a class society where status, regional connections, and blood ties are paramount.

Therefore, they could never go against their family’s orders.

“Hmph, some of you here have probably already been told not to attend my classes. They consider it a stain on the family name to attend classes taught by a commoner-born knight.”

“……”

“I’m not angry. I’m not even upset. How could I not know this, being from the Order of Knights?”

He was the official outcast of the Order of the Silver Lion.

He had experienced the nobles’ sense of entitlement to the point of nausea.

Well, more nobles had been beaten by him for displaying that entitlement.

“I understand you. Nobles don’t allow foreign elements to mix into their history.”

Some cadets probably want to learn [Gyeong].

It’s quite an impressive technique, after all.

However, noble families would never allow it.

Nobles with centuries of pride in their martial arts and techniques.

In that sense, Ihan’s techniques are considered something heretical.

In terms of martial arts sects, noble families would be the orthodox sects, while Ihan’s techniques would be treated like dark arts or evil techniques—perhaps even comparable to demonic cultivation.

Learning them might get one expelled from the family, or worse.

‘Though not all of them are like that.’

Notably Arno and Roen.

Both are heirs of great noble families, but they’re relatively free-spirited.

The Ophen family has the unusual characteristic of not hesitating to absorb techniques from other families, while Roen doesn’t care about his family’s opinions, so he has no qualms about receiving Ihan’s teachings.

Damian?

He’s just being pushed around.

In other words, those who beg Ihan for teachings are either those with nowhere else to turn, or those who don’t care about others’ opinions at all.

These cadets are different.

That’s why they’re frustrated.

They want to learn too, and they have rebellious feelings toward their families. But in the end, they couldn’t refuse their families’ orders.

“Some of you probably wished I would force you to come to Vulcan for training.”

“…Ahem.”

“But I couldn’t do that. The training I’m conducting at Vulcan is for desperate individuals. Even if I had forced you to come, there probably wouldn’t have been much achievement. How can those who need to worry about various things be desperate when they’re busy just looking ahead?”

“……”

“Still, if I made you feel like others were getting special treatment, I apologize for that. It wasn’t my intention.”

“…We should be the ones apologizing.”

Nineteen or twenty on average.

They’re adults by age, but being an adult doesn’t mean they’re mature.

They’re still at an unripe age.

So understanding their youthful, whining aspects is an adult’s duty.

It was Ihan’s sincere apology, and they felt an unexpected surge of emotion.

“Thank you for understanding.”

There’s a somewhat touching and warmly pleasant atmosphere.

Ihan then:

“In that spirit, I’ll specially spar with you again. Come at me.”

“…Pardon?”

“Since I gave special treatment to the others, you should have special training too. Opportunities like this don’t come often. Get up quickly.”

“……”

The touching moment shattered.

For what it’s worth, though not particularly important, Ihan’s MBTI type in his previous life was T.

* * *

…It seems he made the recovery room priest work hard again today.

But Ihan was satisfied!

It felt like he had acted like a proper educator, didn’t it?

‘Those people in my past life who said I couldn’t empathize were all wrong. What could be more empathetic than this?’

They wanted to grow, so he did his best to teach them to fulfill that wish.

That’s the epitome of empathy.

He felt immense satisfaction, and now he felt obligated to push the guerrilla training group twice as hard today.

‘What should I add to tonight’s training?’

Maybe add individual combat and cliff climbing.

His mind was spinning with ideas, and as much as his mind was spinning, the Seedling Team was destined for a nightmare tonight.

It was a case where unnecessary diligence became poison.

Pause.

“…?”

As he was walking, Ihan’s keen senses detected something strange.

“This is…”

What caught his attention was a scarecrow standing alone in the training ground.

It was a scarecrow used for sword training, but it hadn’t been used since Ihan became the Swordsmanship Department instructor.

He preferred actual combat over hitting scarecrows.

Therefore, the scarecrow had become a decorative fixture in the training ground that even the cadets rarely touched.

However, Ihan’s keen senses alerted him that the scarecrow was subtly different from usual.

“Is this a spot-the-difference game?”

A piece of cloth tied around the scarecrow’s neck.

It wasn’t there originally, and Ihan muttered, wondering who had played this prank, as he untied the loosely fastened cloth and held it in his hand.

“…Ho.”

A curious smile formed on his lips.

Whoever it was.

“You’re quite old-fashioned.”

There was a single line of text on the cloth.

Like something straight out of a classic old play.

However, while the method was classic…

“Hmm, ‘Don’t kill the mage,’ huh… This person.”

─How did they know?

It was undeniably intriguing content that pierced through his inner thoughts that he hadn’t shared with anyone.