Chapter 44

Ah, now I realize, Berald.

In my past life, how much you must have struggled to teach me.

‘How did you manage to teach me without a single curse word?’

I don’t know if it’s because this is the first time I’ve taught someone instead of just learning, or if it’s because my nature is just rotten.

But within five minutes of starting to teach martial arts, the plan I had set—’teach diligently without a single harsh word’—was immediately scrapped.

No.

It would be more accurate to say it had to be scrapped.

“Microcosm! Huh? You think that’s micro, you crazy bastard?!”

“Ah! So, does that mean you’re into little girls?!”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“Touching an underage girl is a serious crime!”

“No.”

How could I let this nonsense slide without beating him up?

“Sigh… Life’s a bitch.”

And so, after a ‘joyful’ martial arts lesson filled with curses and beatings,

I made a promise to meet Berald twice a week,

Every Tuesday and Thursday, to teach him martial arts for two hours each time.

‘If it were up to me, I’d grind him all week long.’

But with my own mountain of tasks, I didn’t have the luxury to focus solely on Berald.

‘Well, with just this much, Berald should be able to grow on his own.’

At least in martial arts, Berald was a genius on par with Yuren.

When you teach him one thing, he figures out ten or a hundred on his own. There’s no need to stick around all week to teach him.

‘In fact, that might even hinder his growth.’

Anyway.

Berald is taken care of.

“Now, there’s Yuren and Senior Sophia…”

I plan to get in touch with them soon, but…

‘It’s hard right now.’

First, Senior Sophia is in a different grade, so it’s hard to contact her, and even if I did, it would be difficult for me to teach her magic.

‘I’m only well-versed in magic theory; I haven’t actually used it much.’

With swordsmanship or martial arts, I can at least mimic the basics without magic power, but magic is impossible to use without it.

‘It’s better to meet Senior Sophia after I’ve become more familiar with magic.’

Next is Yuren.

“With Yuren… the gap in our ranks is just too big.”

Imagine this.

The last-ranked student in the grade going up to the top-ranked student and saying, ‘Want to learn swordsmanship from me?’

‘I’d be lucky if I only got cursed at.’

Even though rumors about me have been spreading around the school recently,

To Yuren, who has never lost the top spot in the grade since enrollment, those rumors are probably just laughable.

“If I wait until after the comprehensive ranking evaluation to meet him, another semester will have passed…”

While I was pondering what to do,

Ding!

A clear alarm sounded from the Hero Watch I had placed by my bedside.

[Mr. Dale. You haven’t forgotten that classes start again today, right?]

A message from Iris appeared on the Hero Watch screen.

“She’s been sending a lot of messages lately.”

We didn’t completely avoid messaging each other before, but

After the recent monster incident, the number of messages from Iris has increased significantly.

‘Messages.’

In my past life, if we needed to contact each other, we could only do so through calls.

“……”

Thinking about that time, the fact that I can now exchange messages with Iris fills me with overwhelming emotion.

‘I protected her.’

Even though things didn’t go as smoothly as I had hoped,

In the end, I managed to defeat Ashtaroth and protect her ‘Seven Eyes.’

Yes.

I, Dale Han.

A mere bottom-ranked hero, succeeded in changing fate.

‘And I’ll keep changing it.’

As I was steeling my resolve with such thoughts,

Ding.

[Reply.]

Another message arrived from Iris.

I quickly picked up the Hero Watch and replied to her.

[Ah, sorry. I was just getting ready to leave.]

[Then let’s meet before class and go together.]

[Sure. Where should we meet?]

[Let’s meet at the Main Building Restaurant.]

[Got it.]

Meeting before class to go together…

‘It feels kind of fresh.’

Even though this is a hero school where candidates with holy marks are gathered to train to become heroes,

It’s still a place where grown men and women are gathered together.

So, it’s not uncommon for candidates who catch each other’s eyes to develop romantic feelings.

‘In my past life, whenever I saw those kinds of people, I fervently prayed they’d get stabbed by a monster’s claw.’

Who would have thought I’d end up in such a situation (though Iris and I aren’t lovers yet)?

“Hehe.”

As I was thinking that, I couldn’t help but let out a laugh.

Ding.

Another alarm sounded from the Hero Watch.

[By the way, have you had breakfast yet?]

[No, I haven’t.]

[Then I’ll make a simple sandwich for you to eat on the way.]

[Ah, it’s fine, I don’t need to eat.]

[What do you mean it’s fine? Eating a hearty breakfast is so important. I’ll also bring some vegetable juice, so don’t be late and come to the restaurant.]

Hmm.

Looking at it again, it feels more like a parent taking care of a clueless child than a romantic relationship.

“Ugh.”

Anyway.

Following Iris’s stern command, I left the dorm earlier than usual and headed to the Main Building Restaurant.

* * *

“Alright, starting today, the ‘Combat Training’ class you’ve all been eagerly waiting for is back.”

As soon as Professor Lucas entered the lecture hall, he naturally started spouting nonsense.

“……”

“……”

As expected, the candidates sitting in the lecture hall looked at Professor Lucas with expressions as if a cockroach had crawled out of their bread.

Professor Lucas, like a bloodhound catching a scent, flashed his eyes and smirked.

“Hoh, everyone’s expressions aren’t great… Could it be that there are candidates who didn’t want to take classes with me?”

“No!”

“No? It’s written all over your faces.”

Professor Lucas stepped down from the podium and walked briskly toward the seated candidates.

Then, he placed a hand on the shoulder of a candidate sitting in the corner, who was avoiding eye contact by turning his head.

“Candidate Albert.”

“……”

Despite being called, Albert stubbornly kept his head turned.

Looking down at Albert, Professor Lucas asked with a concerned expression.

“Huh. Your eyes look tired. Did you not sleep well? If so, I have a special health juice that directly combats fatigue…”

“During the two weeks I didn’t see you, Professor.”

Albert, who had been turning his head, looked back at Professor Lucas with teary eyes.

“Do you know how sad I was not to be able to attend your lectures?!”

Albert shouted as if wailing.

“Ooh.”

“Wow, Albert, that guy finally…”

“I always knew this would happen.”

“I’m rooting for you, Albert!”

The lecture hall buzzed.

“Hoh.”

Professor Lucas, who had been watching Albert with interest, chuckled.

“Good attempt, Candidate Albert.”

“Th-then…!”

“In that spirit, how about a glass of juice?”

“No! Why do you always do this to me?!”

“Because your reactions are amusing.”

“Uwaaaah!”

Albert, boiling with anger, grabbed his head and screamed.

Professor Lucas, cackling with laughter, returned to the podium.

“Alright. Hearing Candidate Albert’s booming voice makes me feel like we’re back to normal.”

Professor Lucas looked around the lecture hall and spoke.

“As you all know, our school was attacked by a Mine two weeks ago.”

“……”

“The mastermind of the attack infiltrated the school disguised as a professor and fled immediately after the incident.”

His voice was low.

“Fortunately, there were no casualties. But as a fellow professor, I sincerely apologize for not detecting the Mine’s identity earlier and failing to prevent the incident.”

Professor Lucas bowed his head respectfully to the candidates.

“…Oh.”

“Ahem.”

The candidates, who had never expected the notoriously fierce Professor Lucas to take such a humble stance, exchanged bewildered glances.

Professor Lucas raised his head again.

“To prevent such incidents in the future, the school has decided to invite a special professor to stay on campus.”

“A special professor?”

“The special professor will observe the lectures of current professors to ensure that the candidates’ education is proceeding well and that proper security measures are in place for emergencies.”

Professor Lucas’s gaze turned toward the lecture hall door.

Click.

The door opened, and a woman in a black suit entered with the sound of her heels clicking.

A scar running across her left eye.

Short black hair reaching her nape and a height taller than most adult men.

“This is Professor Elisha Baldwin, who has been appointed as the special professor. You may have heard of her more by her alias, ‘The Spider of the Scarred Eye.'”

As Professor Lucas introduced her, Professor Elisha stepped onto the podium and coldly scanned the candidates in the lecture hall.

“Tsk.”

A low click of her tongue escaped her lips.

“Starting today, I, Elisha Baldwin, will be taking on the role of special professor.”

“……”

Though it was just a simple self-introduction,

An eerie tension, as if they had been thrown into the middle of a battlefield, settled over the lecture hall.

After all,

No matter how big the recent monster incident was, no one could have expected that ‘The Spider of the Scarred Eye,’ Elisha Baldwin, ranked 9th in the Three Kingdoms Hero Rankings, would come as a special professor.

Of course, that ‘no one’ naturally included me.

‘Who would have thought Elisha Baldwin would come to the school as a professor?’

Of course,

This was something I had never experienced in my past life.

‘Is the future starting to change?’

I had expected that such a day would come after killing Ashtaroth, but I never thought it would start changing this quickly.

‘The butterfly effect.’

The theory that a butterfly’s small flap of wings could create a massive storm on the other side of the continent.

‘In that sense, what I did was more than just a flap of wings.’

I killed Ashtaroth, the Grand Archbishop of Dreaming, not just any Mine.

The extent to which the future would change because of that was something even I couldn’t predict.

‘Anyway, there’s one important fact right now.’

A top-tier figure, ranked 9th in the Three Kingdoms Hero Rankings, has come to the school as a special professor.

“Hmm.”

Professor Elisha, who had been calmly observing each candidate’s face, turned to Professor Lucas and spoke.

“Professor Lucas.”

“Yes, Senior.”

The unfamiliar title of ‘Senior’ from Professor Lucas’s mouth made the candidates’ eyes widen.

‘Come to think of it, they were senior and junior during their candidate days.’

Judging by appearances alone, Professor Lucas looks like he could be an uncle, but I heard that Elisha Baldwin is actually older.

“May I evaluate the level of your candidates?”

“…Their level?”

“Yes.”

“Ah, of course. But how will you evaluate them…?”

“I plan to have them spar with my assistant.”

Professor Elisha said this and shifted her gaze to the lecture hall door.

“Assistant Vincent. Come in.”

At her words, the door slid open, and a handsome young man with silver hair tied in a ponytail entered the lecture hall.

“Let’s see… This candidate seems appropriate.”

Professor Elisha, who had been checking the candidates’ list on her Hero Watch, turned her gaze to a candidate sitting in the corner of the lecture hall.

“Candidate Albert. Step forward.”

At Professor Elisha’s call, the candidates’ attention focused on Albert.