Chapter 83: The Knight Gives a Counseling (2)

It had been more than two weeks since the terror called [Demon Subjugation] ended, and yet, there were still many problems to be taken care of in the kingdom. For example, the tug-of-war between the dean and the royal auditor that was still ongoing. Although, at this point, those problems were nothing more than an extension of politics.

In other words, it wasn’t something that lower-ranking officials should involve themselves in. Thanks to that, the atmosphere in all of the Academy’s departments had returned to normal, while the after effects of the terror were slowly fading away.

This phenomenon proved that the saying that said humans were forgetful creatures was true.

Although, the real reason why people of the Academy could enjoy the peace was because of the thing that came right after the midterm exam was done. ‘Summer break’. A two-month break that was given to the exhausted cadets and faculty staff.

Break.

That word sounded sweet and pleasant to anyone’s ears.

No matter how big and lofty someone’s goal was, they wouldn’t just refuse to take a break. Among the cadets, there were already quite a few people who were looking forward to the break, and even made systematic plans for how to spend the break.

A relaxed atmosphere spread through all the departments, and the Swordsmanship Department wasn’t any different.

“Today, we’re going to hold a counseling session after class.”

-??

But suddenly their instructor made a declaration that instantly tensed everyone up.

C-Could it be…?

“No, it won’t be a spar but actual counseling. A counseling session before the break is mandatory, you know? I need to do this with you guys since I’m your instructor. Ugh, so annoying…”

-…Phew.

The cadets were extremely relieved when they heard that. Once again, they remembered that the instructor wasn’t someone who couldn’t be flexible.

For a moment there, they thought that they’d have to spend the whole break being hospitalized in the temple.

“You punk, what kind of person do you think I am?! If someone were to see you guys, they’ll think that I’m the kind of person who’d send someone to the temple every time they spar with me!”

-…

…Does he not have any conscience at all?

“What’s with that look, huh?”

-Ahem.

The cadets obediently lowered their eyes.

What the hell? Did they plan out their answers together before coming to me or what?

The counseling was conducted one-on-one, so Lee Han genuinely thought they had planned their answers.

Because…

“I’m planning to go back to the territory and train with our Knight Order. But, I want you to personally instruct me, Instructor, so, um… If I were to invite you, would you come to our territory…?”

That was the answer he got from the young masters.

“I’m planning to go to the guild and look for some work. Anything from light exploration to odd jobs would be okay. I’d get some money and some practical training from those. Oh, also, if it’s okay for you, Instructor, can I visit you occasionally? I want to train with you…”

That was the answer he got from the bears.

“The fall semester is the debutante season. I’ll be staying in the salon my family is affiliated with to prepare for the fall— U-Um, I-Instructor! H-Have anyone ask you to become their part— N-No, wait, ignore that! T-That was a slip of tongue!”

That was the answer he got from the chicks.

He deliberately divided the cadets into three groups to make it easier for him to distinguish them. Yet, most of the things they said were similar.

The young masters would return to their territory to train.

The bears would look for a job from the guild to make a living.

And the chicks would do things that noble ladies do.

He knew for sure that they weren’t planning their answers or anything like that, it was just, their answers were too similar to each other. Also, to him, they showed too much diligence, which made him feel awkward.

However, to his reaction…

“It’s a break, but there’s no way that most of them would truly rest. They didn’t get expelled from the Academy this year, but who knows if they could survive next year too, so it isn’t a strange thing if they’d use the break to hone themselves as much as possible. If anything, I want to see the faces of those who wanted to play around during the break. They sure have balls to think of playing around so much.”

Slave, or rather, Assistant Number 1, gave Lee Han such a well-organized explanation. A cadet’s hardships were indeed best known by their fellow cadets.

Hearing that, Lee Han once again realized that his assistant was truly perfect in every aspect, save for his personality.

“What about you? Won’t you go back to your territory?”

“…Instructor, are you mocking me? I’m currently excommunicated by my family…”

“…Ah, right, I forgot about that…”

“…”

Though, he ended up mocking him out of habit anyway. He knew it was a bad habit, but a habit wasn’t so easy to break.

Also, it feels good doing this.

Besides, he also genuinely felt that doing this was a better way to relieve his stress compared to hitting a sandbag. Meanwhile, Damien Paulet just made a sad expression.

Anyway, except for some special cases, most of the cadets were going to work hard to improve themselves. Depending on their status and gender, each of them had different things to do.

“So, what are you guys going to do?”

By now, most of the cadets had finished their counseling, leaving only a few of them left. So, Lee Han called the trio together for their counseling.

He was curious about what they would do during the break.

“Why calling Kunta together with the other?”

“I thought this is a private counseling…”

“Instructor, we have our own privacy too…”

And the trio instantly expressed their dissatisfaction.

Which made sense since they were the only ones who were called in a group like this.

However, Lee Han didn’t even bother to listen to them. With how close they were with each other, he had long considered them as a set.

After realizing that the instructor ignored their complaints, the trio gave up and just gave out their answer.

“Arno invited Kunta.”

“I’ve heard that Kunta’s home is far from the capital, so I figured that I should invite him to study together with my family. He’s a good sparring partner, so I believe that he’ll be a great stimulus to our family’s disciples.”

“He also invited me, but I can’t go. I need to see the old man for a bit. Haa… Just thinking about meeting him already made me feel down…”

Those were typical answers from them, so Lee Han just nodded without saying anything.

However…

“Hmm… Before you go on your breaks, what about having a serious spar with me? Let’s do it 3-on-1.”

To supplement the training they would have during their break, Lee Han made a special offer to them, showing his consideration. At the same time, he was looking at them with eyes that said he was confident he could bring them to their best form.

But the trio…

“K-Kunta don’t want to go back to Mother Nature yet. T-The current Instructor is scary…”

“The spirit coming out of your body is much more violent than before, Instructor. You’ve grown more powerful. If we were to fight, one of us would turn disabled for sure…”

“What did you do to make your body better, Instructor? Please tell me the secret.”

Showed their strong rejection while wearing pale faces.

Unlike the other cadets, the trio had a special talent that allowed them to realize that Lee Han had grown exponentially. So, they quickly turned around, determined to quickly escape before Lee Han could seal their escape route.

Bang-!

And they immediately disappeared at a speed comparable to a cheetah’s zero-to-hundred.

On the other hand, Lee Han…

“Tsk, you quick-witted rascals.”

Found it a shame.

Because they would be the perfect opponent to help him adjust to the changes that his body had.

While he was wallowing in his regret…

“Ah, there you are, Assistant Number 3.”

“I’d rather you call me Blackie.”

Lee Han tilted his head as he saw the guy, Surveillance Target Number 1, the regressor, who had a rotten expression on his face. It made him wonder why everyone looked so repulsed whenever he offered the position of his assistant to them.

“What’s so bad about becoming an assistant? Why does everyone seem to hate it?”

“After seeing how you treated Damien Paulet, do you think there would be anyone sane who’d willingly become your assistant, Instructor?”

“…Did I do something wrong to that guy?”

“…The fact that you are asking me that question is terrifying enough.”

“??”

Lee Han couldn’t understand what the guy was trying to say.

Because, in his eyes…

I still treated that guy like a real human being. He didn’t even go through half the shit I suffered through back when I was still a non-commissioned officer.

Compared to what he had suffered through, Assistant Number 1’s suffering was nothing. He felt genuinely disappointed that no one could recognize that.

“Many people are currently trying to look for those who summoned the Ghost King. From what I’ve heard, ‘His Excellency the Archduke’ has already caught their traces.”

“Huh, I see… Also, I know it isn’t my place to say something like this, but… Are you on bad terms with your father?”

Somehow, their conversation felt like it was going towards a noir theme. Lee Han didn’t particularly want to know about the darkness of someone else’s family, so…

He tried to change the mood with that playful question. Too bad that the guy instantly betrayed all his efforts.

“How can I be on good terms with someone who called me ‘illegitimate child’?”

“…Yeah, I can tell that you two’s relationship is bad.”

Lee Han’s expression turned solemn.

He looked like a normal guy when I saw him… Is he maybe the type who treats his people well, but is a piece of shit of a father?

People like that indeed existed in this world. A head of a household who looked like a good person on the outside, but he secretly neglected his family.

Judging from Blackie’s reaction… Even though he didn’t show any resentment towards his father, Lee Han could tell that he probably hit the nail on the head.

“…I heard you met His Excellency the Archduke.”

“Well, it kinda happened.”

“Be careful. His Excellency the Archduke is a willful person. There’s no ‘cause’ behind his movements, so, it’s better not to get involved with his willfulness.”

“…Could you stop bringing up the darkness of your family in front of me?”

Lee Han had never had children, but he felt that he would be hurt a lot if his child showed this much contempt towards him when talking to others. Although, in that stone-like man’s case, it seemed unlikely that he’d get emotionally hurt by something like this.

That still didn’t stop Lee Han to sympathize with the hardships of a father for a moment there, though. Although, it wasn’t for long, as his eyes quickly turned cold.

“So, he found their ‘traces’ huh…”

The traces of those lowly guys who summoned the monsters.

His blood became cold as he muttered such words while recalling the incident.

“I believe that the information was reliable.”

Roen put aside his personal feelings and expressed his confidence in the archduke’s information. The man might be a heartless father, but he was never an incompetent person.

There was a good chance that he managed to dig up some important information.

“If you want to hear the information in detail, you should meet him yourself, Instructor. Although, I can share some of it with you if you want.”

“…There have been a lot of rats around me recently, so it’ll be hard to give such a thing to me secretly.”

“Fortunately, I have someone who will be able to do it with ease.”

“…”

Only then did Lee Han realize the source of his confidence in revealing such important information within the Academy.

Jack. The guy who always followed him around like his right-hand man. A guy with natural talent who was better suited to be an assassin than a knight.

That man was probably catching the suspicious guy around them right now.

“I’m guessing that plain-looking guy is good at dealing with rats.”

“Those rats will stay put for the time being.”

“Thank you. I’ll make sure to repay him later.”

“He’ll be happy to accept your gratitude.”

Lee Han and Roen both nodded, wearing similar smiles on their faces. The two men had different appearances, backgrounds, and lived in completely different environments, but both of them lived a life that was filled with desperation. That was why they gave off similar vibes, and their conversation with each other never felt awkward.

Thus, they grew a rather strange trust towards each other, and their relationship was based on that trust.

“I’m going to leave now. I think I have told you everything I wanted to tell you.”

“Seriously, I called you here for counseling, but somehow it ended up becoming a session of information exchange.”

“Instructor, both you and I aren’t people who could live quietly, are we?”

“…I really want to disagree with you. I just want to retire already, please…”

“It won’t be easy. The world isn’t so soft that it’d let someone so capable to rest.”

“…Fuck my life.”

“Haha.”

Roen smiled lightly and turned around. He had done everything he wanted to do here.

However, he stopped walking. Even he himself couldn’t figure out what was going on in his mind, but for some reason…

I thought being nosy doesn’t suit me, yet here I am…

Perhaps the first person he recognized as a teacher had influenced him more than he thought.

If it was the old him, he wouldn’t even think about doing this because it was a meaningless gesture, and it had nothing to do with him whatsoever, but…

…I don’t want to become like that again…

Because if I live the same way as ‘before’, wouldn’t the ‘ending’ be the same as before too…?

Roen, the man who went against the flow of time, opened his mouth, deciding to take a slightly different path than before.

“Levy Fault… That girl is probably still in the royal capital.”

“…”

“I know maybe I’m just being nosy. I’m telling you just in case, Instructor.”

“Being nosy suits you, you know that?”

Roen bowed slightly and then turned around. No more words were needed. By looking at his instructor’s eyes, he could tell that the man wouldn’t stay still after hearing that.

…I probably didn’t even need to give him that slight push.

Roen let out a bitter smile, thinking that people really shouldn’t start doing things they had never done before.

“…”

Lee Han watched the door Roen left through for a moment, then opened his desk drawer.

“…I’ll definitely get in trouble with the dean…”

According to the school rules, he had to submit this thing today, but…

“Well, if she wants to submit this kind of thing, she should’ve handed it over to the dean in person.”

Tore-!

Lee Han tore the envelope labeled [Resignation Letter] in half and stood up to catch the ‘Delinquent Female Bear’ who had been absent for five days without notice and didn’t even come for the counseling.

Even the earnest kids get into trouble once in a while, huh?

Once again, Lee Han felt the hardships and sorrows of a teacher.