I’ve always had a good sense for things.
Especially when it came to bad premonitions. They never missed.
“Alright then, since today is your first class, I hope you all do your best.”
Up until the point where I smoothed things over with the headmaster, saying I had spoken privately because the medicinal ingredients used to treat Marquis Heinz’s son might not suit his constitution, I thought I’d be able to get myself fired without any trouble.
I should’ve known the moment Ark started spouting that unlucky nonsense.
Instead of firing me, Marquis Heinz transferred his son Damian to another academy in the capital.
Even though I clearly said I had no attachment to Veliyard Academy.
Haah.
The ground’s about to collapse. I told you so.
Shut it.
I warned Ark and gathered my lesson materials, about to leave the faculty office, when the headmaster gestured for me to follow him.
After grabbing my things, I stepped out, and the headmaster was waiting in front.
“What is it?”
“I don’t think I’ve properly thanked you. Thank you.”
“Huh? For what…?”
“Thanks to you, the biggest headache of Veliyard Academy is gone, isn’t it? Not just Damian. His whole group left as well. It feels like a rotten tooth has finally been pulled.”
Damian transferred, but the ones who used to hang around him all dropped out.
The marquis must’ve pressured them.
After all, he believes those boys were the ones who led his son into using Maricho.
“It’s not like I did it on purpose. I was just doing my job.”
“And humble, too. To be honest, I liked you from the very beginning.”
“Huh?”
“Everyone else kept quiet out of fear of Damian’s background, but you called it outrageous behavior even in front of the marquis.”
“Well, that’s…”
That’s because I didn’t need to care. I was trying to get fired anyway.
“And yet you still treated him instead of refusing. You’re a true educator. I hope you keep that mindset going forward.”
…Yeah, I’m screwed.
The headmaster’s eyes were full of trust as he looked at me.
My goal was to get fired, and now I’ve earned the trust of the one person who controls all instructor appointments…
“Haha… yes, I’ll do my best.”
“Right. If anything difficult comes up, come to me anytime.”
I told him I understood, and the headmaster gestured for me to leave, so I stepped away.
At this rate, he might even make you a lifetime instructor. Lucky you, Vio.
I ignored Ark’s sarcasm and left the main building.
The ranger class classroom was in the old building to the left of the main hall.
Because the headmaster held me up, I didn’t have much time left, so I quickened my pace.
There were a total of 80 students in the ranger program at Veliyard Academy, divided randomly into Class A and Class B with 40 students each.
When Class A had theory lessons, Class B would have practical training, and vice versa.
Back in Saintie, I taught both theory and practical lessons, but here at Veliyard Academy, they were separated.
I was assigned to theory.
It was probably because I only had one arm, but honestly, that worked out better for me.
[Ranger Class B]
This month, Class A had practical training in the morning, so I was teaching Class B.
As soon as the bell rang, I pushed open the classroom door.
It had been a bit noisy outside, but the room became quite quiet as I entered.
I took a breath and walked to the front.
Judging by the fact that the students I saw in the dining hall weren’t here, they must be in Class A.
“Nice to meet you all. I’m Instructor Vio, and I’ll be in charge of your ranger theory classes.”
“Nice to meet you!”
I hadn’t even asked for a response, but they answered loudly anyway.
Maybe it was because it was the first day, but they were full of enthusiasm which honestly just made me feel a bit sorry for them.
I had no intention of living up to that enthusiasm.
“Since it’s the first day, we’ll start with brief self-introductions one by one, and then I’ll explain the curriculum and schedule going forward. We’ll begin from the left side of the first row.”
Self-introductions? Isn’t that taking it a bit too easy?
That’s how the first day usually goes.
As each student stood up to introduce themselves, I compared them with the attendance sheet and memorized their names.
A few days ago, I received a roster containing basic information about the ranger students. As expected of the ranger program, even combining both Class A and B, there were only about ten students from noble families.
Being able to sense and use mana but lacking the talent and aptitude to become a mage or a knight. The somewhat better option such a person can choose is becoming a ranger.
That’s why no one aims to be a ranger from the start.
If there’s at least one person worth paying attention to, it would be that red-haired one I’m about to introduce.
“My name is Mei Levi. I’m twenty years old.”
She has a neat short haircut and a simple style, but it is her small face, well-defined features and tall, slender figure that make her so pretty.
Of course, it’s not her looks that draw attention. This student Mei ranked first overall in the written portion of the entrance exam.
Apparently, the top scorer in the written test has always come from the mage class.
She’s smart, but unfortunately lacks talent for mana.
Before I knew it, the introductions had ended and no one else stood up.
“Are we done with introductions?”
“Yes. I was the last.”
“Good. Then I’ll explain the training schedule going forward, so listen carefully.”
“Um, aren’t you going to introduce yourself, Instructor?”
“I already told you my name earlier, didn’t I?”
“You only told us your name… nothing else….”
“Vio Rain. A baronet with no land. Twenty-nine years old. Before coming here, I spent two years at Sainty Academy in the southern part of the Empire. Ten years of experience.”
Not as a ranger, but as a black agent….though aside from a few missions, it’s similar enough.
“If there are no more questions, I’ll go over the curriculum. In addition to the midterm and final exams, there will be a test every Friday.”
“E-Every week…?”
“That’s way too often….”
The atmosphere flipped instantly.
Just like at Sainty Academy, it seems students at Veliyard Academy also hate tests.
“Quiet. It’s only natural to check what you’ve learned each week. All of it will be reflected in your evaluations, so don’t even think about slacking off.”
You said you’d teach half-heartedly. Aren’t you being a bit too serious with weekly tests?
Is that really so?
“Alright, let’s begin class right away. Everyone, take out your books.”
At my command, the students placed their books on their desks one by one.
The basic fundamentals of a ranger.
It’s a textbook created by Veliyard Academy, and it’s quite thick since it contains everything in a single volume. Herbology, dagger techniques, archery, tracking, and even the geography of the Empire.
“This week’s test will cover Chapters 1 and 2 of herbology. From now on, you will study on your own.”
Self-study from the very first class?
Not just Ark….every student looked flustered at the mention of self-study.
I had expected this kind of reaction.
“I will be observing you from the back, so don’t fool around. If you have any questions, you may come up individually and ask.”
After finishing my words, I moved to the back of the classroom, opened my subspace, and took out a folding chair.
No one’s going to ask questions on the first day anyway, so I might as well get some sleep.
***
(POV change)
“Time’s up. That’s all for today. Good work, everyone.”
“Thank you for your hard work.”
The moment the instructor left, most of the students collapsed onto their desks.
“Isn’t this a bit too much?”
With someone’s outburst as the start, complaints began to spill out one after another.
“What even is this?!”
Honestly, it’s not like I don’t understand.
When he said on the first day that there would be weekly tests in addition to midterms and finals, I thought he was a very dedicated instructor…but that was a complete misunderstanding.
It’s already been a week since the new semester started.
From the first day until now, every theory class has been self-study.
There was a test last Friday, but it only lasted about an hour, and the questions came straight from the materials without any changes. Most people got perfect scores, and not a single student missed more than one question.
“Mei, what do you think?”
“Me? I don’t really have any thoughts about it.”
“Seriously, how is someone like that even an instructor? Just looking at him, he doesn’t seem skilled at all. Isn’t he just here because of connections?”
Many students, including Luna sitting next to me, voiced their dissatisfaction, but honestly, I don’t really have any complaints about this teaching style.
It’s all self-study, sure. But the classes are theoretical to begin with, and they’re based entirely on the provided materials anyway.
The materials are very well made, and he did say we could ask questions if we didn’t understand something.
It hasn’t been that long since classes started, but among some instructors for general subjects, there are cases where it feels like they favor certain students.
If it were just giving extra points over trivial things, I could overlook it, but there were clearly blank answers on some test papers, yet those students still received perfect scores just like me.
Compared to those instructors, Instructor Vio doesn’t show favoritism toward anyone, even though all he does is make us study on our own every day.
He’s equally unfriendly to everyone.
But in reality, he’s not actually that unfriendly.
I’ve asked him a few questions before, and although he made it obvious he was annoyed from being woken up, he still answered everything thoroughly.
“We’re paying a lot of money to be here. What kind of class is this?”
Oh, and one more thing. I’m exempt from tuition because of my high grades.
“Isn’t he just here because of his looks?”
“No way. Let’s just go eat.”
“Yeah. At least the practical training instructor teaches well.”
“Exactly. Instructor Amelia is different.”
Unlike Instructor Vio who only makes us do self-study every day, Instructor Amelia who is in charge of practical training for the ranger class, truly does her best to teach us.
Despite her glamorous appearance, she’s very passionate and strict, always demonstrating things herself and carefully correcting each student’s posture one by one.
“Instructor Amelia is really amazing. Especially the guys….they all fall head over heels for everything she says.”
“Hmph, do you think someone like her would even notice those boys? She probably has a cool boyfriend.”
As we chatted, we arrived in front of the dining hall before we knew it.
Even after getting our food and sitting down, the conversation still revolved around the instructors.
“Seriously, Instructor Vio should at least try to be a bit more like Instructor Amelia.”
Even if we don’t like him, isn’t it a bit much to talk about an instructor like that?
“Hey, have you heard that story? Apparently, Instructor Vio caused a big incident before the semester started.”
“An incident?”
“They say he got into a fight with another instructor in the dining hall.”
“I knew it. He barely even teaches properly and just causes trouble. At this point, shouldn’t we at least file a request to have the instructor changed?”
It was getting worse, so I was about to tell them to stop and just eat when a male and female student sitting to our left approached us.
“You guys are in the ranger class, right?”
“So what?”
“If you don’t even know the full story, don’t speak carelessly about Instructor Vio.”
“What? That’s ridiculous. Who do you think you are? Aren’t you a freshman too?”
“You don’t even know why Instructor Vio did that. You weren’t even there, so watch what you say.”
“That’s hilarious. Hey, how old are you? Judging by how you look, you seem like a commoner, but we’re nobles, you know?”
“Even if students aren’t supposed to distinguish social status within the academy, don’t you know it’s a different story once you step outside?”
Haah, my face is burning just listening to this.
I was the one who approached them first and ended up hanging out together, but I had no idea they were like this. I should keep some distance from them from now on.
“You there, students… what is this? You’re all familiar faces. Don’t you even know the basic manners of not making a scene in the dining hall?”
“Instructor Amelia?”
I don’t know when she arrived, but Instructor Amelia, who oversees practical training, was standing there.
“We weren’t the ones being loud. They came over first and started picking a fight.”
“A fight? You were the ones talking badly about an instructor first.”
“Exactly. Talking like that without even knowing the full story.”
“Talking badly about an instructor? Surely not me?”
“There’s no way. We weren’t talking about you, Instructor Amelia, but about Vio, who handles theory…”
“We weren’t even badmouthing him. We just said it’s disappointing that he only makes us do self-study every class and doesn’t really teach.”
“Don’t change your story. You were insulting him, saying how could someone who causes incidents even be an instructor.”
“When did we ever—”
“Enough.”
It was on the verge of turning into complete chaos, but at Instructor Amelia’s sharp command, everyone fell silent as if on cue.
“I’ve heard about Instructor Vio as well.”
“See? I told you.”
“Instructor Vio doesn’t seem interested in teaching. From the very first class until now, he’s only been making us do self-study.”
“And we heard he even caused an incident before the semester started by getting into a fight with another instructor in the dining hall. We weren’t making anything up.”
“No. As for why Instructor Vio did that…”
“That’s enough. Even if that’s true, it’s not right for students to pass judgment on an instructor responsible for their education. I’ll speak with Instructor Vio myself, so stop this and eat your meal.”
After giving her warning, Instructor Amelia left right away.
Perhaps because of the warning, the students who had approached us shot us one last glare before leaving as well.
Thanks to Instructor Amelia, the situation was resolved, but I don’t feel at ease.
Since she said she would talk to him, there’s bound to be some kind of change.
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