Chapter 13: To make a name for oneself Part 1

The world is full of selfish people.

Karen had never once doubted that fact.

Growing up as the daughter of a wealthy, prestigious family, she had been burned by people so many times that she was sick of it.

A friend she thought was her closest sold her out to a crime organization for just a few silver coins, or her illegitimate sister tried to poison her in an attempt to kill her.

It was human nature to betray and cut ties with others easily for one’s own benefit, no matter how close they were.

If friends and family were like this, how could she expect anything better from strangers?

‘That’s why it’s easier not to trust anyone from the beginning.’

Her friend only approached her with the intention of extorting money from her, and the kind older sister who always smiled brightly and gave her piggyback rides actually hated her more than anyone else.

Rather than realizing this fact later, suffering in pain, and shedding tears, it was much better not to trust anyone.

‘Otherwise, I’d just end up even more hurt.’

Despite being betrayed by that friend from the East, she still couldn’t stand hearing racist remarks.

Whenever someone made one, she would get furious, thinking her friend was being insulted.

Her affectionate nature couldn’t be changed no matter how hard she tried, so the only option left was to let no one into her heart.

After all, wasn’t the world driven by calculations of profit and loss?

Everyone acted solely in their own self-interest.

Sweet words always had a hidden agenda.

If you were deceived by them, you’d inevitably be betrayed.

Because people are selfish.

There’s no such thing as kindness without a reason in this world.

There’s no such thing as kindness without a reason, but…

“It’s because you are my students.”

The man standing before her spoke.

He said that the reason he revealed this place to them was simply because they were his students.

She couldn’t believe it.

It made no sense to show such kindness to people he had just met today for such a trivial reason.

However, the man looked at Karen with a calm expression, as if he couldn’t understand her reaction.

“I brought you here because you are my students. Do I need any reason beyond that?”

…He’s serious.

There’s no way he could make a face like that unless he meant it.

This man was speaking with complete sincerity.

That it was only natural for a teacher to care for their students.

That he was just doing what he was supposed to do.

Her vision blurred.

Her legs gave out, and tears began to fall.

She couldn’t bear how guilty she felt for even briefly doubting someone like him.

“I… I hated you, Professor. I misunderstood you and hated you on my own, but you…”

Her guilt made it hard to speak.

This time, she wasn’t the one being betrayed.

She had betrayed the heart of someone who trusted her.

She looked at Riyan, thinking, ‘He must be angry. He must be thinking, “How could you do this to me when I’ve devoted myself to you?”’

But… the professor’s face was calm.

Even though he knew his student hated him, he seemed unbothered, smiling as if he had been waiting patiently all along.

“Even if you don’t like me, I’m still your teacher. That will never change.”

Riyan reached out and helped Karen to her feet.

The new professor looked into her eyes and made a declaration.

“I will never abandon my students.”

‘Even if you hate me, you’re still my student. As long as that fact doesn’t change, I’ll never cast you aside. So, I will forgive you.’

Riyan placed his hand on her shoulder.

For the first time, the professor smiled brightly and said, “Let’s do our best together for the next year.”

It was a gentle encouragement.

The warmth from the professor, who had always seemed so cold, melted her heart.

Tears, this time of a different kind, began to flow down her cheeks again.

However, she quickly wiped them away.

There was something she had to say.

A feeling she had to convey.

So she couldn’t stop here.

After thanking Professor Riyan, she immediately left the room.

***

When she returned to the temple, Karen relayed the professor’s sincerity and the conversation that had just taken place to the other students.

Most of the children gathered here were from prestigious families.

Like Karen, they only knew a cold world driven by calculations of profit and loss.

And so, the sincerity reached them.

The teacher’s unconditional devotion to the students.

Everyone couldn’t help but shed tears in response to such boundless grace.

Without a word, they all looked at one another.

No conversation passed between them, but they knew what each other was thinking and what decisions had been made.

How could they not repay such kindness? After all, there couldn’t be people in the world so shameless as to not repay such a favor.

A power so weak and insignificant.

Compared to Professor Riyan’s abilities, it was truly nothing.

But if even this insignificant power could be of use to him, they would gladly dedicate their lives.

They would use every ounce of power and influence they had to protect him.

They all nodded in agreement.

It was the moment when a personal guard was formed, though the professor himself had no idea.

What are the odds of selecting twenty random students, and all of them being hiking enthusiasts?

Though I’ve never majored in statistics, I know that probability is close to zero. Unless the world’s gone mad, such a thing could never happen.

But the world had gone mad.

“Professor Riyan’s lecture? …I can’t tell you much since it’s classified, but it was the best class of my life.”

How low has my reputation fallen, I wonder.

Yet, as I smiled brightly and checked my standing, for some reason, my popularity was skyrocketing.

No matter how much I thought about it, it didn’t make sense.

A hike with a superior with a terrible personality? No sane person would enjoy that.

I wondered how this situation had spiraled out of control, and then… I hit the jackpot.

The greatest leyline in history had appeared.

‘Why on earth is something like this suddenly here?’

It was as if I dug up my front yard to plant flowers and struck oil.

This absurd situation left me utterly speechless.

The abandoned temple called Ryudo on Mount Fuyuki.

How could anyone have predicted that a leyline of such magnitude was flowing beneath it? It was an outrageous stroke of bad luck.

But once water is spilled, you can’t scoop it back up.

Even if I claimed it was pure coincidence that I discovered the leyline, no one would believe me now.

Instead, they’d probably praise me for my humility, and my evaluation would only rise.

Full marks on my lecture evaluation.

Praised as the greatest class in imperial history, acknowledged for my contribution, and promoted.

That was the only conclusion allowed for me.

Fate was squeezing my neck, telling me not to leave this place.

To stay trapped here and die.

‘I should never have set foot here from the start.’

In both my previous life and this one, I had prided myself on my luck.

An 80% win rate in rock-paper-scissors.

I’d even won second place in the lottery several times.

But ever since I entered the academy, nothing had gone my way.

It’s gotten to the point where I wonder if I’m being haunted.

I don’t mean that as a joke—I genuinely feel like someone’s watching me from outside my window every night.

To top it all off, the last time I left the academy, I stumbled across five mutilated corpses.

They all had the emblem of the Thieves’ Guild on them, so they must have been trying to assassinate some big shot and gotten themselves killed instead.

But that doesn’t make it any less disturbing.

…Maybe I really do have no choice but to accept my fate.

Not to mention, Principal Sion said, “Just wait, I’ll bestow upon you a reward that can’t even compare to the chairman’s inauguration.”

The odds of me being fired from this academy were shrinking by the day.

I should start preparing for the possibility that I won’t be able to leave.

As I thought back on everything that had happened so far:

Demons at the entrance exam.

If they had hit my vital points, I would’ve been dead.

A mythical beast at the opening ceremony.

If the old man had been even slightly late, I would’ve been dead.

A fellow professor who turned out to be a spy.

If I hadn’t figured out his true identity, I would’ve been dead.

It’s only been two weeks since I started working here.

Just two weeks, and I’ve already nearly died three times.

…No.

The very premise is wrong.

Staying in this hellhole is no different than committing some sort of novel suicide.

Tears blurred my vision at the hopelessness of it all.

Unconsciously, I clasped my hands together.

A desperate prayer to anyone who would listen, begging to be saved from this place.

Of course, I didn’t really think that praying would make it happen.

It was just an act to soothe my mind.

An act to soothe my mind, and yet…

I heard a cooing sound.

A pigeon flew through the open window and dropped a letter in front of me.

Mesmerized, I broke the seal and opened it.

[Have you considered transferring to Lyon Academy?]

As soon as I read that sentence, my mind went blank.

So, in the end…

It seemed that the gods had thrown me a golden lifeline.