“Don’t get involved for no reason. That guy’s father is Marquis Heinz.”
So that’s what he was relying on to act like that. Marquis Heinz.
If it’s Marquis Heinz, it makes sense why those two can’t step in.
William Heinz, the Minister of Finance who oversees the empire’s entire budget, and his sister is none other than the second empress.
A true power figure in the empire, widely considered the most likely civil official to be granted the rank of duke.
In the past, I would’ve looked away like Misha and Reining.
A Black Agent must never get involved in anything that could reveal their identity.
But now, I’m no longer a Black Agent. I’m an instructor at this academy.
Now I can get involved as much as I want.
In fact, as an instructor, I shouldn’t be standing by in a situation like this.
“I… I see.”
As I gave an awkward reply, I pulled a small needle from my pocket and glanced around.
If I made a move, students wouldn’t be able to notice. But there was still a chance that some instructors might.
For a moment, I even considered that stepping in here and drawing attention might help me achieve my goal of getting fired right away…but it could also lead to unnecessary grudges, not just dismissal.
Fortunately, one of the troublemakers had just shouted at everyone to eat, so most people had turned their attention away.
Clink—
I dropped my fork and, pretending to pick it up, gathered mana in my hand and swiftly flicked the needle.
Whoosh—
Without looking toward where I threw it, I simply picked up my fork. But I could tell from the sound alone.
Thud—thud—thud—
The needles I released had struck the ones causing the disturbance.
“Hmm? Reining, look over there.”
“Why… huh? What is that?”
“What’s going on?”
Pretending not to know anything, I asked, and Reining told me to look behind.
Just as I expected, all the troublemakers were sprawled on the ground like corpses, while the commoner students who had been targeted looked completely confused.
“What are they doing? Did the ones getting bullied use magic?”
“If they’re commoners, they’d be in the ranger class…what magic? Besides, the mana in the air was completely still just a moment ago.”
Reining’s words caught me slightly off guard.
For someone in the Knight Department, being able to sense even the mana in the air…that’s quite an impressive talent.
If I hadn’t used the Intelligence Bureau’s technique to conceal the flow of mana out of consideration for the instructors, I might’ve been caught.
Well, in the end, I didn’t get caught.
Since the kids showed no signs of getting back up, a man and a woman who appeared to be instructors approached the collapsed group.
“S-Student Damian?”
“His heart is still beating. Looks like he’s just unconscious.”
They carefully shook Damian, seemingly checking his condition.
Of course, it was pointless.
The needle I just threw was a specially crafted item. It was solidified from the sleep powder of a monster called Rafflesia using a unique refinement method.
It’s not even one of the hidden weapons provided by the Intelligence Bureau, but something I developed and used on my own.
The moment it pierces the skin and touches blood, it dissolves, gets absorbed, and disappears. So once it hits, there’s absolutely no trace left behind.
After examining the fallen students and failing to find any signs of an attack, the instructors turned toward the commoners.
“Hey, you two…what exactly did you do?!”
“N-No, we didn’t do anything. They just suddenly collapsed….”
“That’s ridiculous! If you did nothing, why would perfectly fine students all drop at once?!”
“We don’t know either. We really didn’t do anything.”
“Are you talking back to me right now?”
“That’s not what I—”
“From the looks of it, you’re both freshmen…and commoners at that. Do you even know what kind of family Student Damian comes from?”
“Both of you, come with me. If you can’t properly explain yourselves, you’re both getting expelled.”
Unbelievable. Just when you think you’ve cleared out the trash, more shows up.
Even after dealing with one mess, another appears.
And they call themselves instructors?
Honestly, I could understand pretending not to see earlier, given Damian’s background.
But blaming the victims in a situation like this. It’s enough to make me sick.
The classic type: weak against the strong, strong against the weak.
The kind I hate the most.
“We really didn’t do anything.”
“Stop lying! What kind of magic did you use?!”
“W-We’re freshmen in the Ranger class. We don’t know any magic.”
“Then was it a hidden weapon instead of magic? If we search your bodies, everything will come out. So come along while we’re asking nicely!”
“If you refuse, we’ll search you right here!”
I sighed. I wanted to keep things quiet since the semester hasn’t even started yet, but at this point, it can’t be helped.
Besides, if they’re in the Ranger class, I can’t just ignore this.
My goal is to get fired by doing a half-hearted job, but they’re still students I’ll be teaching.
I pushed my chair back and stood up.
“The barking is so loud I can’t even enjoy my meal.”
“V-Vio?”
Reining and Misha were shocked, but it didn’t matter.
I’d already made up my mind.
“Barking? Who do you think you are?”
“Are you insane? How dare you speak to an instructor like—”
“Instructor? Not a dog?”
“Vio, you…! I’m so sorry. He’s a freshman. Vio, apologize right now.”
“Why should I? When the students were being yelled at, you couldn’t even make a sound and just lowered your eyes.”
“Stop it.”
“Stop what? When they dropped, you came running over, barking like dogs whose master had collapsed. Seeing that, how could anyone not mistake you for dogs instead of instructors?”
Maybe my provocation worked a little too well…because instead of a reply, a fist came flying at me.
So he’s the type who acts before he speaks.
Unfortunately, he picked the wrong opponent.
I caught the incoming punch and twisted his joint.
Crack—
“Aaaargh!”
“Ryan! How dare a mere student lay hands on an instructor?!”
Unbelievable.
“Weren’t you the ones who used force first without even going through the proper duel request procedure?”
If you were really such lofty instructors, you should’ve stopped the chaos when it started.
Clicking my tongue, I ignored the many eyes now on me.
It didn’t matter. I knew I’d draw attention the moment I stepped in.
“You were the ones who threw away basic decency first. And who exactly are you calling a student?”
“Well obviously, you—”
“My name is Vio Rain. Starting this semester, I’ll be in charge of instructing the Ranger class.”
Revealing my identity seemed to catch them off guard. They couldn’t say a word.
“Vio?”
“You mean… you’re not a student, but an instructor…?”
Instead, it was Misha and Reining behind me who spoke up first.
“You really are… an instructor?”
“My apologies. I wasn’t trying to deceive you. It’s just that you didn’t give me a chance to speak.”
“Hmph. Do you think all instructors are the same? You’re just some nobody rookie whose name I’ve never even heard of, and you dare lay a hand on Instructor Ryan?”
“Is the one who just collapsed the head instructor? As far as I know, aside from the headmaster and the head instructor, all instructors are equal.”
“……”
“Even if he were the head instructor, if he throws a punch without a word, I’m not just going to stand there and take it. Besides, all I did was defend myself.”
I gave a casual shrug, and his face turned bright red as he glared at me.
“For today, I’ll let it slide since students suddenly collapsed…but this isn’t over.”
In my experience, people who say “this isn’t over” are rarely the ones to worry about.
After delivering that completely unthreatening warning, he gathered the others and helped both the fallen instructor and the troublemakers leave.
It wouldn’t be difficult to deal with him too, but there’s no need to make things bigger than they already are.
In fact, him taking those idiots with him saved me the trouble.
Otherwise, I would’ve been stuck cleaning up the rest.
And right now, I don’t even know any students well enough to delegate… well, I guess I do know two.
Misha and Reining.
But if I had asked them to take care of that group, there’s a good chance they would’ve refused.
The way they’re looking at me isn’t as openly hostile as that instructor, but it’s far from friendly either.
Seems like I’ve firmly landed on their bad side.
Well, I did deceive them, even if I apologized.
Then again, even if I hadn’t, they already seemed to dislike that guy Damian anyway.
“Instructor, thank you.”
The two students who had been bullied earlier approached and bowed their heads.
“No need to thank me. Are you hurt anywhere?”
“Oh no, we’re fine. Thanks to you.”
“Thank you so much.”
“I said no need to thank me. It just got too noisy while I was eating. You’re a mess….go wash up first.”
“Yes.”
If they’re the ones you’ll be teaching, that makes you their instructor. You could’ve stepped in sooner.
Ark, who had been quiet, finally spoke up.
I stepped in, didn’t I?
Aren’t you going to apologize?
I do feel a bit sorry, but apologizing would be overdoing it.
No noble apologizes to commoners.
Even if I had apologized, the ones on the receiving end wouldn’t have accepted it sincerely.
They’d probably just think I was a hypocrite.
If I had stepped in openly from the moment the bullying started, things might have been different, but that would have carried far greater risk than stepping in now.
That said, the current situation isn’t good at all either.
I twisted a fellow instructor’s arm, so there’s a chance I’ll be ostracized among the instructors, and I might even face disciplinary action.
Of course, since no one will know it was me who acted in self-defense and laid hands on the son of Marquis Heinz, it probably won’t become a major issue.
My goal from the start was to get fired.
If anything, getting dismissed through disciplinary action because of this incident would be ideal.
***
(POV change)
Since experience as a headmaster is required for promotion to Chief Mage, I had no choice but to come to Veliyard Academy, but it’s better than I expected.
The workload has increased a bit, but nothing too difficult, and with school breaks, I actually have more time for research.
When I was working as the Deputy Chief Mage at the Imperial Palace, I was called in whenever something came up, day or night, weekdays or weekends.
In fact, since simply filling the academy experience requirement doesn’t guarantee a promotion to Chief Mage, I’ve even considered just settling down here for good.
Ding—
The door opened, and a lanky man barged into the office with a hurried expression. It was Berman Datrich.
He is in charge of the third-year swordsmanship class at the academy and also serves as the head instructor, but he is seriously lacking in manners and refinement.
His family is a fairly prestigious count’s house, but I suppose there’s no helping it with uncultured swordsmen.
“Berman, I told you to always knock before entering my office.”
“Headmaster, that’s not important right now. Something serious has happened.”
“What is it?”
“I’ve heard there was a disturbance in the academy dining hall during dinner yesterday.”
“A disturbance? Explain in detail.”
“It was between a group of third-year students from the magic department and first-year students from the ranger department….”
“Wait, third-year magic department? Is it Damian again?”
A sigh escaped me, and my head began to throb.
The time before last, he beat up three students from baron families, and at the last closing ceremony, he assaulted a student from a viscount family, causing me considerable trouble dealing with the aftermath.
I even went so far as to ask Marquis Heinz to please keep him out of trouble and have him lie low, and things had seemed quiet lately.
“What family are the victims from?”
“Well, about that….”
Oh? Seeing that blunt head instructor hesitate to speak, it seems the student they messed with this time isn’t from some powerless family like before.
I knew a day like this would come eventually.
Just because the Marquis’s sister is the Second Empress doesn’t mean his children are royalty.
It’s not just the Marquis; even that brat Damian has been acting as if he were royalty himself.
This time, I should back the victim’s side and properly straighten him out.
Maybe even force a transfer to another academy… no, wait a second, don’t tell me…
“Berman, did that delinquent Damian and his group lay a hand on a member of the imperial family?”
“That can’t be. No matter how much of a delinquent he is, he wouldn’t go that far.”
“Then why aren’t you saying anything? Is the damage severe?”
Surely it’s not a fatal incident?
I have a bad feeling about this.
“The victim’s condition isn’t a problem. The ones with issues are Damian and his group. They suddenly collapsed in the dining hall and haven’t regained consciousness since.”
“Instructor Berman? What are you talking about? That delinquent Damian was the one who got hurt?”
Even if Damian behaves like a thug, among the students, there are barely any who can compare to him in terms of skill.
Of course, there are a few students stronger than him, but not many.
Ah! Did an instructor who happened to be there intervene?
But Damian’s notoriety is well known throughout the academy. There isn’t a single instructor who wouldn’t know his background….
I was about to tell him to explain in more detail when the door opened and a heavily built man walked in.
“Marquis Banks! Just how are you managing this academy?”
I had expected it from the moment I heard Damian was injured, but this is much faster than I thought.
“Marquis Heinz, please calm down and have a seat first.”
“Calm down? Do I look like I can calm down? My youngest son is unconscious!”
…He’s shouting at the top of his lungs, enough to shake the entire office, making me frown involuntarily.
I knew he carried himself arrogantly because his sister is the Second Empress, but I’m a marquis as well, and Damian has caused more than enough trouble as it is.
“If I have to say it a third time, I won’t be so polite. Calm yourself and take a seat. I was just in the middle of receiving a report as well.”
Marquis Heinz looked at me with displeasure, but perhaps because I spoke firmly, he shut his mouth and sat down.
“Instructor Berman, is there anything more to explain? If not….”
“Headmaster, it’s said that not only Instructor Teres but also Instructor Ryan were present at the scene. They were going to investigate, thinking the student who was being bullied had done something, but another issue arose there….”
“What issue?”
“It seems there was a clash with another instructor. In the process, Instructor Ryan’s arm was broken and is currently being treated.”
“They’re not children, and yet instructors are brawling and breaking arms? This academy is really something.”
Marquis Heinz who was standing beside me sneered, and it made me want to sew that mouth of his shut.
“Who did it?”
“It was baronet Vio Rain who was recently appointed as a ranger instructor through an imperial recommendation.”
I recall seeing the name in the documents.
Though recommended by the imperial family, he’s merely a baronet, a minor noble without even a territory.
His personnel evaluation had been quite good, yet to suddenly break a fellow instructor’s arm…perhaps his temperament is lacking.
In any case, he wouldn’t have done it without reason; there must be some circumstances behind it.
“Berman, bring both instructors Teres and Vio here at once.”
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