I, As A Student, Make A Request To You, A Teacher

“…The other members were in more urgent condition, so I had no choice.”

“Your self-sacrificing attitude is admirable. Let me see your wounds first.”

“…”

The head of the Disciplinary Committee quietly presented his hand.

Although he had managed to stop the bleeding for now, when I uncovered the area, I could see that the skin was severely torn.

It seems the finger bones are cracked too… This won’t be easy to treat with just what we have here.

“The child you confronted… Latello, was it?”

Before wrapping the bandage, I overlapped both my hands on Waden’s and applied force.

Light gathered between my hands.

As it was exposed, the blood flowing on the surface gradually subsided, and the skin could be seen healing at a noticeable speed.

Of course, as the Disciplinary Committee that gets into trouble almost daily, they must have used the church a lot.

This much shouldn’t be surprising. Thinking this, Waden nodded in response without much concern.

“You might find it hard to believe, but that child is among the most docile of the barbarians from beyond Legobrick.”

“What do you mean…”

But it seems he didn’t know this after all.

I looked at him while continuing the treatment.

“Being in the second year of middle school means he’s been at this school for a year… This was actually the first time that child rampaged, right?”

“…”

“…I see, so he had been enduring quietly all this time.”

The magical realm that exists beyond Legobrick.

The barbarians surviving there are bound by the name ‘Dendlai’, and have continued to survive amidst the distorted environment of the magical realm and its terrifying creatures.

A magical realm is a place where one cannot survive alone no matter how strong they are.

That’s why they absolutely trust those they can rely on and show an infinitely generous attitude.

Their inherent trait of anger management disorder is an instinct that manifests only towards those who are hostile or threaten their group.

“The fact that he didn’t rip out the diplomats’ throats as soon as he crossed the wall already shows that child is good.”

Beyond knowing how important his role is, he’s a child who, unlike a barbarian, knows how to be considerate even to people outside his group.

At least that’s what I thought.

That he’s a much better child compared to the blood-crazed maniacs I met on the front lines.

“If such a child got excited, there must be a reason… and the teacher can guess that reason in many ways.”

Well, this academy has many who exude groundless confidence based on their status.

Even if no one directly picked a fight after hearing rumors about his size and the Emperor’s influence, they must have done various annoying things in other ways.

In fact, like Dale, this child is also in a state of not adapting to the environment of this academy.

If we send him back to the classroom like this, the same thing might happen again, so that child will probably continue to be managed in the punishment room from now on.

In a facility directly managed by the Disciplinary Committee that has already failed to handle him.

“Having said this much, you should understand what I want to say.”

“…Are you angry?”

“Yes, the teacher is angry. At none other than our head of the Disciplinary Committee.”

I rarely get angry at kids, but this time I couldn’t help but be genuinely angry.

“Student Waden.”

I spoke my mind straightforwardly.

“Why aren’t you using weapons?”

As far as I know, the Disciplinary Committee should be authorized to use weapons.

Moreover, isn’t this academy now accepting students unprecedented until now?

Though it’s just exaggerated rumors, even Dale is perceived as a dangerous student, and that barbarian boy, although news hasn’t spread to the main campus, could have potentially wiped out the Disciplinary Committee if things had gone wrong.

“…Because the opponent is a student.”

The answer came when the emergency treatment by Holy Power was completed.

As I applied ointment and wrapped the wound with the bandage I had, he, who had been facing me until now, quietly began to lower his head.

As if he was ashamed, he even pulled his hat down.

“We shouldn’t use weapons against students… It’s an understandable reason.”

I can understand that opinion too.

During wartime, even though it was a place that promised absolute peace, people from enemy countries faced each other, so powerful force was needed to control them.

But now there’s no need to hate each other anymore.

In such a situation, if those in charge of security openly display weapons like a military dictatorship, it would inevitably sow anxiety in the hearts of the members.

So they don’t carry weapons…

Yes, I can understand the intention to some extent.

“But that’s only within manageable limits.”

A policy that’s only good in intention if it can’t be handled.

“From the moment you realized there were children you couldn’t handle with bare hands, you should have been prepared to make exceptions to that rule.”

Even if the intention is good, if it reaches its limits in terms of participating personnel, resources, location… whatever it may be, it shouldn’t be forcibly pushed.

The fact that it’s been safe until now is only because that boy was relatively calm. If he had been determined to rampage from the start, not just the Disciplinary Committee but the entire academy would have been devastated.

If something had really happened, even the policy appropriate for the era of peace – that students’ problems should be solved by students – could have fallen apart.

“…Even so, he’s still a student.”

“Before being the same student, his origin is different. From the start, to coexist in the same space, such preparations are necessary.”

“The degree of danger is something we must endure. He entered this academy as a student, and this academy established the principle of not using weapons against students after the war.”

“Couldn’t you just add a clause that makes exceptions to that?”

“Making exceptions to rules itself breeds distrust. Teacher, can you trust a government that doesn’t follow its own stated laws?”

“As you say, concealing lies to manage chaos is one of the main means of politics. But is it only politicians who bear responsibility when that goes wrong?”

“……”

“…Right. In the end, the responsibility for situations that arise from concealment is borne by the entire community.”

When problems have already emerged, if you push forward with things because you can’t accept relatively small losses, you end up ruining everything you’re trying to protect.

Will chaos arise if the truth is revealed?

Isn’t repentance and atonement supposed to be done while accepting such losses?

“Your subordinates who follow you, the teachers who trust and assign you tasks, and the students in this academy will all bear the responsibility for what you couldn’t handle. Can you say what you just said to all those people?”

“…”

The head of the Disciplinary Committee lowered his head, biting his lip.

His hands hanging down were clenched, but no particular rebuttal came.

Even if he understands with his head, his heart…

He just can’t admit that his conviction is wrong.

“…What makes you insist so stubbornly?”

I know why he’s doing this.

Trying to take care of everything and losing everything in the process is a mistake often made by those pursuing grand causes.

The insistence on wanting to save everyone even though it’s impossible to save everyone…

I could understand, given that he’s a child burdened with excessive responsibility at a young age.

“Because there are things that must be protected, even if it’s forceful.”

But that’s only as far as understanding goes.

Now that the war is over, he could afford to relax a bit instead of trying to handle everything himself.

Why is this child insisting on saying things a student shouldn’t, being so stubborn?

“If it’s something that needs to be protected at the cost of sacrificing someone, I’m against it.”

It seems the lecture will get longer. As I clicked my tongue thinking this,

“Yes, I know. That you are sincerely worried about us…”

As I was about to say something, he began to kneel down in his place.

The words I was about to utter went back into my mouth at that moment.

His current action was so unexpected.

“And, I’ve acutely realized my own weakness through today’s incident.”

“Captain!?”

It wasn’t just me, but the other Disciplinary Committee members too.

Their leader, the head of the Disciplinary Committee whose authority was higher than most teachers.

At this moment, he was kneeling before me, who was merely a health teacher.

“I know it’s unreasonable and sudden. But you understand too, don’t you, teacher? That for the world that’s about to change, such a policy is absolutely necessary.”

“…Head of the Disciplinary Committee.”

“If we can’t achieve systemic change along with the changes!!!”

The head of the Disciplinary Committee shouted while sitting formally on the dirt ground.

“No one will believe. Once trust is broken, it takes far too long to restore it. Having already started, if we change our policy now, no one will trust us anymore. They’ll distrust this academy that made us representatives!”

“…”

“So please, as a student, I make a request to you, a teacher.”

Finally, the head of the Disciplinary Committee slowly raised his head in front of me, who had tightly closed my mouth.

“Please, even if it’s just for a moment… Could you guide us?”

His two eyes, as he raised his head, were directed precisely at me.

“I want to be like you… Like you who achieved what you wanted even in the harshest place on this continent.”

A gaze that couldn’t be thought of as just a student’s.

Such an upright, determined look in his eyes.

---

Waden Smith.

To put it nicely, he’s a child with a strong sense of justice, and to put it harshly, he’s an idealist.

Of course, if that ideal is premised on self-sacrifice, it’s not just words, but if left alone like this, it’s obvious he’ll meet a miserable end with only good intentions.

The reason I accepted his request was to prevent such a boy from getting into big trouble by doing unreasonable things.

More important than treatment is prevention, preventing such things from happening in the first place.

‘Four days from now, the Disciplinary Committee will have a three-day training camp at a facility on the outskirts of the school town. Please, even if it’s just for a moment, would you attend our camp and assist with the training?’

“…Accompanying a training camp, huh.”

Well, it wasn’t a bad thing from my perspective either.

To properly teach the head of the Disciplinary Committee, I’d need to take time to educate him, and even if not, I’d have to see the Disciplinary Committee often in the future anyway.

Moreover, they don’t have a very good view of Dale, who’s under protection in the infirmary, do they?

As someone worried that such issues might blow up big in the future, I thought it necessary to leave a good impression on the Disciplinary Committee for the safety of the infirmary attendance system.

Of course, it’s not easy for me to leave my post usually, but if I’m assisting with the Disciplinary Committee’s difficult tasks, they should show some leniency in terms of justification.

Moreover, now I’ve found someone who can substitute for my absence.

Although I don’t know the details, let’s have a consultation with her when I return to the infirmary, I thought as I was walking down the corridor.

“Kyaaaaaaah!!”

A familiar scream that I seemed to have heard before rang out.

-Crash!!

Following that, the sound of breaking glass echoed, and the corridor window shattered violently, scattering fragments in all directions.

What now?

What’s happening this time?

“Teacher! Teacheeeeer!!”

A cry rang out in this inexplicable situation.

Dale, who had rushed out of the window in a panic, buried his face in my chest, wailing as soon as he recognized my presence.

I thought he’d been getting more physical lately… but seeing his face covered in tears, it seems like something really serious has happened.

“What’s wrong this time?”

“Sc-Scary person… There’s a dangerous person in the infirmary!!!”

A dangerous person?

Isn’t there only one person besides him in the infirmary right now?

“Ah, Teacher Seine.”

Yes, she’s appeared.

Following Dale, who had fled by breaking the window, came a female student.

Her dignified short black hair and black eyes were among the rarest appearances on this continent.

Of course, a face you couldn’t forget once you’ve seen it.

“…Ms. Sefin?”

Josephine, the Black Saint of Haide.

A girl who still exuded the dignity of a saint even though her attire had changed.

“Eeeek!!!”

But Dale was hiding behind me, trying to avoid her.

It clearly meant that the source of the fear he was feeling now was the Saint.

For me, who knew what kind of person she was, it was even bewildering.