Chapter 18: Day 1 as a Temporary Professor

First time walking down this grand corridor.

The warm sunlight streaming through the windows mingled with the cool breeze, creating the perfect atmosphere.

With every step forward, the scent of flowers drifting from the garden tickled my nose.

It was the ideal day to return after a disciplinary break.

But for me, this wasn’t a return—it was a new challenge.

“Are you nervous?”

“More worried than nervous. I’m not sure if someone like me deserves to be teaching before Assistant Professor Louis does.”

“Are you being modest?”

Right now, I was on my way to the lecture hall with Assistant Professor Louis guiding me.

The atmosphere of our conversation as we walked through the corridor swung from warm to chilly in an instant.

“No, no! If it came across that way, I sincerely apologize.”

“Pfft! I’m joking. If it’s not you, Mr. Tao—no, Saint—then who else could take up teaching?”

“I’m not a saint. And it’s just a temporary position. I’m on my way to expose just how unqualified I am.”

I humbly accepted the chairman’s request to take on a temporary teaching role.

Given the circumstances, refusing wasn’t an option, so I decided to make the most of the situation.

A hero who can’t stand injustice, the teacher that heroes and saints long for, the savior saint who performs miracles…

Those titles had nothing to do with me, yet my reputation had risen to the point that they were being thrown around.

Now, I planned to bring that reputation crashing down with a single disastrous lecture.

“You say you’re unqualified! But would someone with no merit be allowed to lecture in the Royal Hall, the largest hall in Wellton?”

“That’s what I’m wondering, too. I still don’t know why the chairman gave me the Royal Hall…”

“The chairman must have recognized your talent, Saint.”

“I said I’m not a saint.”

A worn-out lecture room in the annex would’ve been more appropriate.

Smaller, outdated classrooms limited what kind of education could take place and usually meant fewer students.

That would’ve been ideal.

But with the Royal Hall, countless students would gather—and that meant my reputation would plummet even faster.

“Well then, Tao! Good luck with your first lecture!”

“Thank you. You too, Assistant Professor Louis—have a good day.”

***

Once we arrived at the Royal Hall, I naturally exchanged farewells with Assistant Professor Louis.

After we parted, I was the only one left in the vast academy corridor.

It made sense—class had started ten minutes ago.

Which meant, on my very first day, I was already a professor with no sense of time, ten minutes late.

But it didn’t stop there!

I kicked the lecture hall door open with a loud bang and walked in with a cocky, careless attitude.

Tilting my head to the left, I lazily scanned the students.

In their eyes, I probably didn’t look like a professor—I must’ve looked like some thug barging in.

But it didn’t stop there!

Of course, I hadn’t prepared any lessons.

I showed up empty-handed to make it clear I had no intention of teaching.

A completely unmotivated, textbook salary thief of a professor.

But it didn’t stop there!

After stepping into the lecture hall, I walked straight to the chalkboard and wrote just one word: “Self-study.”

No introductions, no explanations.

Just slapped “Self-study” on the board and plopped down in the chair with both feet propped up on the desk.

Basically, I was saying, “I’m gonna rest. You do whatever you want.”

To the students who had come to hear my lecture, I handed over a massive middle finger.

‘That’s it!’

The stunned expressions on the students’ faces.

At first, they probably couldn’t even process what was happening.

But in time, that confusion would turn to anger.

Because they’d realize I had wasted their precious time and effort.

At this rate, it might go down as one of the worst lectures in academy history.

‘Time to tank my reputation!’

***

Erin, who had also just been released from her disciplinary action along with Tao, was in turmoil.

‘I can’t believe it.’

When she first heard that Tao was going to be a temporary professor, right after her disciplinary term ended, she had been overwhelmed with emotion.

She was disappointed she couldn’t monopolize his teachings anymore, but it made her proud to see the world recognizing her teacher’s worth.

And above all, she was glad she’d be able to meet him even during official classes.

If only she hadn’t received that shocking news the very next day.

‘He accepted another student besides me…?’

Erin learned of the surprising development through a newspaper someone handed her as breaking news.

It reported that Tao had taken on the saintess of the Holy Nation as a student—after her.

At first, she dismissed it as a false rumor.

But she couldn’t deny it once she saw the familiar name of the journalist who had covered her own student announcement.

It was the same person who had made her own status as his student widely known.

Erin wanted to confront Tao right away and ask for an explanation.

But she couldn’t bring herself to act so rudely, so she just bit her fingernails in frustration.

***

After hours of calming herself down, she decided to ask about it later.

But the moment she arrived at the Royal Hall to attend her teacher’s first lecture, her newly settled emotions were shaken once again.

The saintess had already taken the front row seat in the center.

The fact that someone else had arrived before her made Erin grit her teeth.

As the first student, she should have been quicker than anyone else when it came to matters concerning her teacher.

Blaming herself for her carelessness, Erin refocused her wavering heart.

‘I can yield on everything else—but not on being the top disciple!’

Sitting next to the saintess, the hero quietly burned with determination.

***

Meanwhile, Lucia, who sat beside Erin, was also deeply conflicted.

‘I messed up my first impression!’

After hearing what had happened at Wellton, Lucia had begun to revere Tao.

He was someone who had achieved the very dream she’d always longed for.

She had hoped to form a connection, build a relationship, and grow close to him.

Lucia had originally wanted to show her gratitude to her idol first and foremost.

‘I thought he’d be happy if I gave him the opportunity to become a professor…!’

She had pleaded earnestly with Wellton Academy’s director, with whom she had a close relationship, and managed to make it happen—but ironically, the result was a disaster.

Tao had shown clear displeasure at the offer of a professorship.

He had been perfectly content working as a gravekeeper, and Lucia had needlessly disrupted his peace.

Though she didn’t show it outwardly, she was internally wracked with guilt.

‘I may have shared my reputation with him, but that’s hardly enough to make up for it.’

She had framed the temporary professor role as a stepping stone to becoming her disciple, but in truth, it had been her own mistake.

Tao agreeing to become her disciple had been a spur-of-the-moment solution to lessen the blow of her misjudgment.

Even now, she was tormented by guilt.

‘No matter what it takes… I have to make up for my blunder!’

She had to do something helpful for Tao, anything to win back his favor.

Lucia, just like Erin, was preparing for Tao’s first class with a solemn determination.

‘He’s here!’

Erin and Lucia, sensing Tao’s presence, both turned their heads toward the classroom door.

Soon, the man they had been waiting for entered, but the atmosphere felt different than usual.

His nonchalant attitude and lack of any semblance of dignity made it hard to believe he was a professor.

‘Was he here to teach, or was he acting like a local man out for a walk?’

Erin and Lucia were both appalled.

‘Is the professor being weighed down by pressure?!’

‘I must have messed up somehow and pushed him to this point!’

Ironically, both of them mistakenly believed that Tao couldn’t handle the responsibility of being a professor.

They assumed he was acting like a reckless fool out of frustration.

Seeing their teacher like that made both Erin and Lucia feel sorry for him.

With their resolve strengthened, both of them began to burn with determination.

‘Let’s help the professor. We’ll do our best as his apprentices!’

‘Since I caused this, I’ll make sure to clean up my own mess!’

While they steeled their resolve, complaints began to rise from around the classroom.

“What’s with that arrogant attitude after being 10 minutes late, without even apologizing?”

“Just because he’s praised as a saint, does he think he can do whatever he wants?”

“This is ridiculous!”

One by one, students stood up, raising their voices.

They were showering Tao with insults, but he seemed to be enjoying the attention.

‘Hmm~! I can literally hear my reputation dropping in real time. This is great!’

Just then, Erin slammed her fist onto the desk, instantly silencing the uproar.

In the silence that followed, she spoke in a solemn voice.

“Lifting one’s legs high and showing the soles of your feet to someone is considered the same as bowing your head in our family. In other words, the professor is apologizing for his tardiness.”

“Huh? Isn’t that a bit of a stretch?”

“Yeah! But the professor isn’t even from the Muthertz family!”

“He’s the teacher of the Muthertz young lady, not even a noble himself, but he’s following the etiquette of the student’s family… Is he… trying to do something right?”

“Maybe that makes sense…”

As Erin spoke, the mood in the classroom shifted.

Tao, realizing he had been caught, quickly placed his foot back on the floor and sat up straight.

But Erin’s defense wasn’t over yet.

“Also, the professor has been working as a gravekeeper for a long time. Do you think someone like that could easily find the Royal Hall in this vast academy building? Even in Wellton, a place where thieves are known to get lost, 10 minutes is fast enough to arrive!”

“You think his scruffy appearance is from running around the halls in this outfit?”

“But when he came in, he wasn’t sweating, was he?”

“You idiot! Have you ever seen a professor sweating in front of us? He must have stopped outside and wiped off!”

Tao sensed that something was wrong with the situation.

He hastily stood up, trying to explain himself in a way that would still damage his image.

However, the students were already starting to criticize him even more.

“Then how are you going to explain the self-study? You haven’t taught us anything, and now you’re telling us to study on our own?”

“Yeah, that’s right! We came here expecting high-level education, not self-study!”

“I get that you came in a rush, but it’s too much to show up unprepared.”

Tao nodded as if he understood their valid criticisms.

While he could justify his tardiness, he had no excuse for assigning self-study without any preparation.

As he thought this, he silently celebrated his victory.

But this time, Lucia, with a mocking smile, opened her mouth.

“Seems like Wellton is full of blind people.”

“What did you say?”

“You guys didn’t see the hidden intention behind the professor’s class, did you? If you’re not blind, what else could you be?”

“Hidden intention? What kind of hidden meaning is there in self-study?”

“Each student here has different directions and talents they’re pursuing. This class isn’t just for any specific student; it’s open to anyone at Wellton. No matter what we teach in this class, for some students, it’ll be of no interest.”

“Yeah, that’s true.”

“If we teach swordsmanship, the swordsmanship department will complain, and if we teach magic, the magic department will complain. But if we tell life stories, magic users will…”

The students who had been complaining could no longer refute Lucia’s words.

Since there were no restrictions on enrollment, the Royal Hall had been assigned to accommodate the expected influx of students.

The saying goes, “Interpreting dreams is more important than the dream itself.”

Lucia fabricated and inflated the narrative.

“The professor asking us to self-study means he wants us to show our best performances in our respective fields, right? He performed a miracle cleansing the corruption of magic long ago. If we show him the best we can do, surely he’ll give us advice, right?”

“Ah…!!”

“I had no idea there was such a deep meaning behind it!”

“I can’t believe I criticized him just by hearing the word ‘self-study’… If I could, I’d hide in a mouse hole!”

As expected from the saint who leads the country—capturing the hearts of the people was an easy task.

Thanks to Lucia’s rallying, the students started to realize the professor’s intentions and began to scold themselves.

Tao, who had been speechless for a while, was about to confess that he hadn’t had any such intention, but…

“Now that we understand the professor’s deep intention, we can’t just sit here! I’ll show you the best magic I can!”

“I’ll bring the magical tools I invented! Please evaluate them, Professor!”

“I saw you using herbs during your purification work! I was impressed by that. Can you take a look at the herbs I’ve grown?”

“Who wants to duel in front of the professor?!”

The students’ burning enthusiasm easily drowned out Tao’s words.

In the end, the public sentiment that had been plummeting due to the saint and hero soared, and it seemed ready to pierce the sky.

“Are they all crazy?”

Tao’s blunt observation couldn’t compete with the power of manipulation and fabrication.