“Survival Guide Against the Barbarian Hordes”
The class with Allen, who was both a soldier and a special professor, had ended.
After hearing his brief speech in the auditorium, the students who had become curious about Allen experienced a collapse of everything they thought they knew.
Among them, Amy was undoubtedly the most shocked.
“……”
“Will you stop moping and eat already?”
As Amy silently fiddled with her fish dish, Ariana gave her an exasperated look.
Well, it was understandable that she’d be shocked—her specialty, magic, had been outright nullified. But still…
‘Is she this broken?’
Maybe it was because Amy had always been praised as the greatest talent of her family that the shock hit so hard. Ariana gave up trying to reason with her and started slicing her veal steak. One of the perks of the Royal Ban was being able to order whatever you wanted whenever you wanted.
At that moment, Senna’s blue eyes, which had been quietly munching on salad, suddenly sparkled.
“Huh? It’s Professor Allen!”
“What?”
When Ariana turned her head, sure enough, Allen was walking into the cafeteria just as Senna said.
“But why would he come here when there’s a staff dining room…”
“Professor! Over here!”
“You crazy girl!”
“Mmph…!”
She tried to restrain Senna from waving enthusiastically, but it was too late. Allen was already looking this way with a smile.
“Damn!”
Ariana felt uneasy about that cheerful smile. It was like looking at some kind of monster pretending to be human. Maybe it was because he’d nullified Amy’s magic with one hand during the lecture.
“Why are you yelling…!”
Through clenched teeth, she asked, and Senna replied with a bright smile.
“Well, since today’s his first day, he probably doesn’t have many friends yet, right? Might as well eat together! There’s no harm in getting along. Plus, I’m curious how he blocked Amy’s magic earlier.”
While Ariana thought Senna’s brain might be full of flowers, she didn’t expect her to want to get close to such a ‘monster’ so casually. Still, even Ariana couldn’t deny she was curious about how Allen had blocked Amy’s magic.
“That’s going too far…!”
“Hello everyone, didn’t expect to see you here.”
“Hiiik!”
Before they knew it, Allen was nearby, causing Ariana to involuntarily hiccup. His pitch-black hair and abyss-like eyes made her uneasy. People with both black hair and eyes were extremely rare unless they were dark sorcerers…
‘Could he be using dark magic?!’
If blocking Amy’s magic involved dark magic, then it made sense Ariana wouldn’t know about it. The charming smile on Allen’s face became even more unsettling.
“You three seem to get along well. I envy you. As for me, I’ve got no friends and have to eat alone.”
Allen’s lament drew an immediate response from Senna.
“Eat with us!”
‘This girl is insane…!’
Ariana pinched Senna’s side in panic at her reckless behavior.
“Ow! Why’d you pinch me?”
“Shut up, will you…!”
Wasn’t she completely oblivious? Not only Ariana herself but also Amy’s icy expression should’ve been obvious!
But somehow, Allen seemed to notice the tension.
“No, I can’t interrupt your bonding time. I’ll leave you all now. See you in the next class.”
“Aww…!”
Before Senna could finish lamenting, a loud voice stopped Allen.
“Why aren’t you speaking informally now?”
It was Amy, staring directly at Allen as she questioned him.
After a silent exchange, Allen scratched the back of his head awkwardly and smiled.
“I made a mistake earlier. Even if I am a professor, I shouldn’t talk down to my students.”
“A mistake… huh.”
Amy furrowed her delicate eyebrows and stared at Allen with deep green eyes. Under that silent pressure, Allen cautiously spoke again.
“If there’s anything bothering you, I apologize…”
“I was wrong.”
“Eh?”
Allen looked confused as Amy stood up.
Growing up with her since childhood, Ariana couldn’t believe what she was seeing. Princess Amy Helios apologizing?
‘What did she eat?!’
This felt surreal. Was Miss Perfect finally losing it after mimicking top students at Minerva?
The little brat who never apologized after breaking Ariana’s toys years ago…
‘You crazy woman! If you hadn’t taken it, it wouldn’t have broken!’
That memory of Amy getting her bottom smacked by their father would never fade. And now, this same Amy was bowing politely to apologize?
Ariana couldn’t close her mouth in disbelief.
“Oh, um… it’s fine. Those weren’t people worth worrying about.”
“Still, it wasn’t something I, who knows nothing of war, should have said. Despite understanding the pain, I let my pride get in the way and made a mistake.”
Only then did Ariana remember Amy’s brother had fought in the war. Though unspoken, Amy worried constantly about her brother, who had been injured and hospitalized for a long time.
With a bittersweet smile, Allen patted Amy’s bowed head.
“If it makes you feel better… visit the memorial hall when you have time. Earl would probably appreciate it too.”
“… You understand.”
“Yes. We’ve been through thick and thin for ten years. Anyway, don’t worry about it.”
Silently gazing at Allen, Amy carefully spoke.
“… Please treat me like you do Earl. If you’re a benefactor to my brother, you’re practically a benefactor to the Helios family.”
“Won’t the other students find it strange?”
“I’m fine with it! In fact, I prefer informal speech!”
Senna shouted excitedly before Allen could respond, making him glance around uncomfortably. Meeting his gaze, Ariana sighed softly.
“Alright… I don’t mind either, Professor.”
“In that case, shall we go with that?”
Nodding, Allen smiled brightly.
“We’ve taken up too much time. Enjoy your meal, and let’s meet again smiling in the next class.”
“Yes.”
“Roger that~”
“Okay…”
With that, Allen walked away towards the menu board.
The three quickly finished their remaining lunch.
***
Later that evening at the Royal Ban dormitory, Amy was talking with Earl via a crystal orb.
– Wow~? You really told that to the Commander? That’s impressive!
Blushing embarrassingly at Earl’s comment, Amy admitted,
“I know. It was stupid of me.”
– How could someone smart like you do that? Well, I did the same at first. Thinking magic was the ultimate power. A typical Helios flaw. Still, it’s good you realized early. I only understood after nearly dying.
Earl’s sincere tone left Amy speechless.
But soon, he returned to his usual cheerful self.
– Commander’s lessons~ I wish I could attend. Is there any way I can enroll in the Academy now?
“Like that would happen? What would someone like you even do here?”
– Just means how much I want to hear the Commander’s lessons~ You’re lucky. Following the Commander’s teachings will surely build your skills as a battle mage.
“Though he was strong…”
Amy recalled the day’s lesson with Allen. The incredible technique where he condensed and nullified her magic with his bare hands. Something odd struck her now – his fingertips had glowed green.
Upon mentioning this, Earl hesitated.
– You should probably ask the Commander directly about that.
“You know what it is, don’t you, big brother?”
– Of course. Followed him around for years. Still, I can’t tell you. Ask him yourself if you’re curious.
“Alright. See you during the break.”
Checking the clock, it was nearing midnight. Just as she was about to end the call,
– If it’s a class called ‘Survival Guide Against the Barbarian Hordes,’ you’ll learn about the Commander’s power whether you want to or not.
“What? What did you just say…”
Before Amy could ask further, the connection cut off. Staring at the now-transparent crystal orb, she lay awake for a while.
***
For my next lesson, I prepared a classic training method taught to new recruits.
“Already our second class. Has everyone been doing well?”
In the outdoor forest area, I cheerfully began despite the less-than-enthusiastic expressions.
At least everyone showed up, which I appreciated.
“Professor, may I inquire about how today’s lecture will proceed?”
The question came from Reinhardt, the handsome blond boy and sole commoner of the Royal Ban.
“Today, I’ll teach you how to deal with shadow snake tribes.”
“Do they have any relation to wood golems?”
Reinhardt’s gaze shifted to the lineup of wood golems behind me. These were freshly acquired trophies from a recent dungeon expedition, specially brought for this single-use lesson.
“No, they’re unrelated. However, shadow snakes rarely act alone except during night raids. They specialize in assassination.”
I snapped my fingers, activating the golems linked to my mana.
“They only appear in chaotic battlefields, like during melee combat.”
“As in…”
The students, including Reinhardt, paled as they caught on to the golems’ purpose.
Smiling sweetly at my adorable students, I continued.
“You’ll form teams to handle the wood golems. With five units, two students per golem should work. Meanwhile…”
[Divine Power: Forced Synthesis]
Shadow Snake Transformation
Synthesizing the shadow snake’s power with my aura caused my body to ripple faintly.
“Your goal is to defend against my surprise attacks throughout the exercise.”
As my figure suddenly vanished, the students panicked, looking around nervously.
“Begin!”
On my cue, the wood golems charged toward the students. Watching them quickly organize despite their confusion filled me with quiet satisfaction.
‘Who will react first?’
Imagining them successfully blocking my attacks made me giggle uncontrollably. This must be what it feels like to be a teacher.
Finding my calling as an educator feels oddly satisfying.
Oh, watching the recruits cry out during drills gives a similar feeling too…
