Ch.6Episode 1. I Became an Academy Instructor. (Complete)

Clunk, clunk.

The door is locked.

This guy, locking the door and staging a sit-in on his own.

Even if no one else uses it, what’s the point of locking it?

Knock, knock, knock.

I knocked on the door rather roughly.

“Bin Yoon. Come out.”

No answer from inside.

Even after continued knocking, there’s not even a hint of movement.

I sighed and placed my hand on the door. Fortunately, the locking mechanism wasn’t analog but ability-based.

“Nullify.”

The lock on the door vanishes. This might mean the door can never be locked again, but that wasn’t my problem.

When I grab the handle and push it sideways, it opens with a sliding sound. Always making things difficult.

As soon as I entered, a sour and sweet smell hit my nostrils.

“Do I really have to force my way in like this?”

I turned on the lights in the lab while giving her a piece of my mind.

Then, a pink-haired female student in a white coat lying on the sofa in the corner covered her eyes and shouted.

“Ughhhh! The light is so intense I might just die…!”

It was a combination of words that I couldn’t even begin to respond to. Is she crazy?

“…Stop saying weird things and get up. Do you know what time it is? Why are you sprawled out sleeping here?”

“Well… this is my research lab, you know!”

Since when…?

This was the first I’d heard of it.

While the Academy does provide research supplies, the students aren’t the owners.

There’s even a clause in the contract stating that if you develop something with the provided research materials, you must give 10% of the profits to the Academy.

“This isn’t your research lab.”

“But no one else uses it, right?”

She fumbles in the air with eyes barely open.

Swallowing a sigh that had risen to my throat, I handed her the round glasses sitting on the research table. They had no lenses, by the way.

“Why wear glasses without lenses?”

“Glasses are essential for research.”

“…Why?”

“Because they make me look sma~rt!”

She says proudly while adjusting her glasses. This is really irritating.

“Why didn’t you come to the entrance ceremony and orientation?”

“When I woke up, they were already over!”

“You didn’t even show up.”

“That means the time was up! Ah~ Instructor, do I have to explain everything to you from A to Z?”

This impudent brat…

“Oh, right. Instructor, did you know?”

“What?”

Her white eyes stare directly at me.

She spread her index finger with a serious face. It was Bin Yoon’s habit when she was about to share something.

“The reason your eyes hurt when you suddenly go from darkness to brightness is because of a substance called rhodopsin.”

“And?”

“The reason my pupils are white is because my rhodopsin gets teased every day.”

“…Ah, I see. That’s quite remarkable.”

I thought she was being serious for once, but it was just nonsense. Should I hit her?

“Wow! What an artificial reaction! So lame!”

“What’s ‘so lame’ to an instructor?”

“It means you’re pretty good for seeing through my lie.”

“That’s not what it means at all.”

Look at her blatantly lying.

She really needs a smack, doesn’t she?

“So the reason you missed the entrance ceremony is because you were too busy sleeping with the door locked?”

“No. I was engaged in intense research.”

She got up from the sofa and stuck both hands in her white coat pockets. She was wearing the Academy uniform underneath.

Standing close to 170cm tall, the white coat suited her well.

“Intense research?”

“Yes! This potion! I was developing this!”

She showed me a triangular flask containing a purple substance. The color wasn’t bad, but it definitely didn’t look like something I’d want to drink if offered.

“What is this?”

“A potion.”

“…Aren’t potions usually red?”

“Come on, what era is that stereotype from? As long as it’s similar, it’s fine.”

How can red and purple be similar?

As I looked at it suspiciously, she casually pushed it toward me. A gesture suggesting I should drink it.

“Will I die if I drink this?”

“You won’t die. The mice are still alive.”

She handed me the triangular flask and brought over a living box from the research table. She proudly showed me the mice inside.

They were all collapsed.

“…They’re dead though?”

“That’s a misconception. They’ll suddenly get up again any moment.”

She answered nonchalantly, shook the container a few times, and carelessly placed it back on the table.

“You know how cold medicine makes you drowsy, right?”

“Well, yes.”

“And you know that’s because of the vitamins in it, right?”

“There are vitamins in cold medicine?”

“No. I’m lying.”

I gently placed my hand on her trapezius muscle and applied pressure.

“Ah, aaack! Ow, that hurts!!”

She grabbed her trapezius muscle that I was pressing down on and flared up.

“Why are you bullying me! Does being an instructor mean you can bully students?!”

“Is it okay to lie to an instructor?”

“I think it’s unfair that the merit and demerit point system doesn’t apply to instructors. You should get 500 demerit points right now!”

“…So why did you bring up cold medicine?”

“Look at you changing the subject cowardly.”

“‘Look at you’ is informal speech.”

I rolled up my sleeve and clenched my fist. She immediately covered both trapezius muscles and hunched her body.

Seeing her grimace, I decided to flick her forehead next time.

I targeted a different area because I didn’t want to hear complaints about killing brain cells or denting her skull if I hit her head.

“…Anyway, the reason cold medicine makes you drowsy is because it contains antihistamines.”

“Anti… well, okay. So?”

“I just put a bit more of that in. So there won’t be any problems. You’ll just feel a tiny~ bit sleepy! …Probably.”

What do you mean, “probably”?

She always chooses the most untrustworthy things to say.

“Ah… So you were late because you were making this experimental drug.”

I checked the contents of the flask once more before putting it down. I made a mental note never to drink any potion made by Bin Yoon, no matter how urgent.

“That’s right. I missed the entrance ceremony and orientation for unavoidable and irresistible reasons!”

“It was neither unavoidable nor irresistible though?”

“Saying that proves you don’t understand even a speck of my research!”

I stared intently at Bin Yoon as she spouted nonsense.

Bin Yoon. A-class Alchemist.

She had the lowest combat ability among the special class, but she was indispensable.

When intelligence-degrading drugs made by Akcheon were sold on the market causing problems, she was the one who created the antidote.

Of course, afterward, Akcheon started eyeing her and she completely fell for them.

“Sigh, I thought you’d be different, Instructor.”

“In what way?”

I answered while scanning through the numerous books and papers on the table. Could she understand all of this? Or am I just too dense to get it?

“I thought you’d be more… understanding.”

“I don’t think there’s any teacher or instructor who understands students who skip class as they please.”

Come to think of it, if I tell her the alchemy ingredients and ratios I know, couldn’t she start making various potions from now on?

Not a bad idea.

It might be good to gradually reveal information to keep her eager, on the condition that she attends classes well and doesn’t cause trouble. She’d dive right in if it’s alchemy research.

“Since it’s your first day, I won’t give you demerit points. But attend classes from now on.”

“Classes boring! Research fun!”

“Shut up.”

“Doesn’t it seem strange that I’m in the special class in the first place? I’m just a freshman.”

“You introduced your drugs instead of yourself at the interview, and you set off an aerosol drug in the interview room. You did all sorts of things, that’s why you’re here.”

I was surprised she was accepted despite such antics. If only her abilities weren’t so good, it would have been satisfying.

“But the interviewer said his back pain was gone!”

“That’s not the important point…!”

“It was my masterpiece.”

“You’re not listening to me again…”

Talking with her made me feel like I was developing a new illness. I pressed my throbbing temples.

“Anyway, come out tomorrow. If you attend classes well, I’ll help you create your best masterpiece potion.”

“…You, Instructor? An instructor who doesn’t even know the basics of alchemy?”

“Are you subtly looking down on me?”

“You don’t even know what antihistamines are.”

I smiled and silently raised my hand. Bin Yoon hurriedly protected her head and spoke.

“You might not know! Of course!”

This is why I need to show her directly.

I looked at a circular graph paper on top of the stacked books. It was labeled ‘Acceleration’ ratio graph.

Acceleration.

This was a potion that momentarily increases the acceleration of movement.

Looking at the circular graph with English labels I couldn’t understand, I pointed to the component with the lowest ratio.

“Here… increase this ratio by 3 percent.”

“What? But that would break the balance.”

She took the paper from me and looked puzzled. She tilted her head as if she couldn’t understand.

“Just try it. You have nothing to lose. It will definitely improve the effect.”

“Really? I don’t think increasing the ratio will make it more efficient than it is now.”

“Want to bet? If this makes it more effective, you’ll attend classes properly from now on?”

“That won’t happen, but if it does, I’ll make a special exception! But if I win, no demerit points for skipping classes!”

What a scoundrel. Does she even realize she’s a student?

I swallowed my words and smiled. Using this as leverage to get her to attend classes was good enough for me.

Besides, finding the perfect ratio for the acceleration potion less than two weeks into the semester wasn’t a bad deal for me either.

* * *

“Breaking the classroom door on the first day. The special class really is special. Amazing in many ways.”

That “amazing” was definitely meant in a negative way.

When I reported the broken door at the main building, they called a repair technician. An ability to repair any object—quite an enviable skill.

“I think so too. They’re quite something, aren’t they? Feel free to criticize them more.”

“Excuse me?”

The repair technician made a confused sound at my words.

“I’m joking.”

“…As their instructor, you must have a lot of emotional labor.”

“Well… it’s fine. I’ll prove that the special class isn’t just a gathering of problem children.”

It doesn’t seem easy, but I decided to believe it would work out somehow.

They say all great things start with small words, after all.