Broken Past (5)
The void left in her wake was far larger than anyone had anticipated.
Aris had been teaching the vast majority of the Shirakh students, single-handedly reining in their reckless impulses. Her sudden absence turned the lecture hall into a hollow vigil, where students did nothing but wait for her return. Displaying a stubborn refusal to transfer to another instructor, they remained planted firmly in their seats day after day.
There were only three days left until the second-week evaluation.
"..."
'Even if I drag them all into my class, it won't accomplish anything. It's obvious they'll just keep waiting for Aris.'
That was what Junon had told her that night.
He insisted this was a problem Aris had to resolve on her own, adding that if he went to see her himself, it would likely only make matters worse.
Michel could have sworn that this assignment was the very first time Junon and Aris had ever met. So why? She still couldn't wrap her head around why Aris went to such lengths to avoid him.
'They've barely even spoken, so Aris reacting like this makes no sense at all. I know it doesn't make sense, but...'
Putting that much distance between themselves meant they knew each other far too well. And that was precisely what gnawed at her.
'Why does it feel like... I'm the only one left in the dark?'
It felt as though a secret known only to the two of them stood like an impenetrable wall, shutting her out.
The response to her letter was no different. Just to be sure, Michel had sent an identical missive to Senia, slipping in a subtle inquiry about Aris's condition. But the reply that came back told her only to wait. Senia had drawn a firm line, refusing to elaborate on Aris's circumstances.
That settled it. It wasn't just the two of them.
'Just what... are you all hiding?'
Could there be something even deeper lying beneath the surface? Michel's doubts only continued to swell.
"Man, what a disaster. Shirakh was already weak, and now one of our main pillars is out of commission?"
"Wait, what? Wasn't that just a rumor?"
"It's been three days! That's way too long for a rumor. That's more than enough time to get discharged from the infirmary."
Two full days had passed since the incident. What everyone had dismissed as idle gossip had practically become an established fact, and whispers of anxiety regarding the upcoming Faction War began to ripple through the halls.
"...Then what happens to our grades?"
"We're totally screwed, what else?"
"Ugh... Nothing we can do about it. Honestly, individual duels come down to each Lord School student's personal skill, so whatever... but team battles are a whole different story."
"I was really counting on Lady Aris to step up... Who are we supposed to send in her place now?"
Naturally, public opinion plummeted into bleak despair. In the individual matches aimed purely at honing personal combat ability, the classroom boasting the highest concentration of students sat completely abandoned. And without the drills necessary to coordinate tactics and strategy, no one could hold out any hope for the team battles either.
Shirakh, having pinned all its hopes on Aris for this Faction War, practically had a fire lit under its feet.
'What a mess. All this chaos over one missing person.'
Yet to me, the scene felt oddly familiar. It was no different from when the Arcab Party had been taken out of action, which had only thrust Team Tembris further into the limelight.
'...Still, placing that kind of blind faith in someone is never healthy. When those expectations snap, everything falls apart.'
I brushed past the muttering crowd and stepped straight into the classroom.
"..."
A brief burst of cheers erupted within the room, only to plunge into dead silence a second later.
Understandable. Coincidentally enough, this was the exact room where the students Aris had been teaching gathered. It was glaringly obvious. From the very second the door swung open, their eyes were brimming with desperate hope—the wishful expectation that Aris might finally walk back through that door.
"Sorry to disappoint. You're getting me instead of Aris."
There was no need to sugarcoat it. The person they wanted to see wasn't me—the guy who picked apart their flaws and barked orders—but Aris. Which was all the more reason I couldn't afford to let these brats rot.
"Everyone, move to the mock combat room."
"...Why should we?"
"If it isn't Instructor Aris, we're not taking the class."
Their defiance was unyielding. To them, taking lessons from anyone other than their chosen mentor simply wasn't on the table.
"Keep sulking like this, and Aris will never be able to come back. You fine with that?"
Predictably, they fired back with sneers.
"Ha! Who'd fall for a cheap lie like that?"
"Do you think we're that gullible?"
"Believe what you want, but it's the truth."
"Yeah, right! Cut the crap and get lost!"
Just as expected. I never thought they'd make this easy.
"Is that so? Then what you're saying is, everything you learned from Aris amounts to so little that you don't give a damn if her evaluation hits rock bottom?"
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?!"
"When the Faction War was announced, instructors were sent from Lebrant to teach you instead of holding a standard regional exchange, right? Then why didn't we participate in the midterm evaluation?"
"Isn't that obvious?! There's no way in hell we could ever compete with Lebrant Academy!"
"How is a Lord School student supposed to beat someone from the Academy? You're talking nonsense."
"There's a massive gap in skill to begin with! Most of the people here are either prepping for admission or dropouts—hardly anyone here has learned proper magic."
Sound logic. Lebrant Academy was, without question, the pinnacle institution representing the Grand Duchy of Ardelion. But these kids were missing the bigger picture.
"Then how do you think our scores for this Faction War are going to be calculated?"
"...What?"
"Our class assignments for the Start-of-Semester Evaluation depend on this Faction War. Don't you think the Academy needs statistics and metrics to grade us?"
If we had come here purely to teach, it would have been meaningless. It would amount to nothing more than charity work, just like before the quest board introduced rankings to evaluate performance. If that were the case, not a single instructor would have bothered participating in this Faction War.
"Then... they're judging us...?"
"Exactly. Your improvement will be evaluated across multiple categories and converted directly into your instructor's score. The participants in this Faction War aren't graded on simple wins and losses, but on how much they managed to develop their students."
That was the exact reason inspectors had been dispatched alongside us. So if this class remained frozen in place like this...
These kids would end up dead last, having done nothing but wait around for Aris.
'Figure it out yourselves.'
I gave them their chance. No matter how much they clamored inside that room, from that moment on, they would be the ones barring Aris from ever returning.
Slam!
I pulled the door shut and took a few strides down the hallway. Right on cue, the door was thrown wide open behind me, and footsteps came charging out.
"What do we need to do?"
It was the class president.
"We're not going to drag Instructor Aris's name through the mud."
And the vice president right beside him.
"Follow me."
I kept walking without glancing back. The thundering footsteps behind me were loud enough that I didn't even need to look to know how many had joined the march.
The mock combat room was visibly dilapidated, clearly having gone unused for ages. Clearing out the accumulated grime took time. Factoring in a break and snack time for the exhausted kids, a solid two hours slipped away.
By normal schedule, the class period should have ended long ago, yet not a single student showed any intention of quitting.
'Looks like the Talbrut Ark is functioning properly. That's all that matters.'
Now, as for the students themselves... Opinions were still fiercely divided. One camp argued that I had spun a web of lies to coax them into compliance, while the other insisted they should at least give it an honest try. It was identical to the atmosphere right after the midterm evaluation.
With a faint sigh, I slowly spread my hands and clapped them together.
Clap!
At the exact same instant, the Talbrut Ark hummed to life. The mock combat room was swallowed whole by pitch-black darkness.
"Wh-what the?!"
"What happened...? Did the lights go out?"
"...No. I don't think that's it."
"Wait a second! What is this out of nowhere—"
Skritch, skritch.
A sickening, grating screech echoed through the dark—a sound etched into their minds as pure trauma. Faced with a scene that mirrored that terrifying day with agonizing precision, every single one of them froze dead in their tracks.
"You said you had no intention of learning from me, right?"
I recreated the conditions of that day down to the finest detail.
"Then at least show me what Aris taught you."
That was the best guidance I could offer them.
A full three days had passed, but half of that time had been squandered in misery.
'I suppose I should just be glad she's finally out of bed.'
Whether Aris, who had spent days curled up beneath her blankets, had truly regained her composure was something even Senia couldn't say. Neither of them had breathed a single word about what happened.
Aris had insisted she was truly alright this time and merely asked for a little space. Fearing she might spiral backward, Senia had contemplated stopping her, but Aris ate her meals on schedule and even stepped outside for brief walks. The fact that she was constantly clutching paper and a pen was somewhat puzzling, though.
"...I'll head back to Shirakh tomorrow."
It seemed Aris had completed her own preparations.
"It's still daylight. Wouldn't it be better to leave right now? If you want to get in even one more day of teaching before the Faction War, you ought to go."
"I don't think I can just yet. Not until that gets delivered."
Aris carried out the wastebasket herself, overflowing with crumpled sheets of paper. As for why it was so full... it was undoubtedly the product of endless revisions. Unable to express her feelings in spoken words, she had likely poured her heart out onto parchment instead.
At least, that was how Senia reasoned it.
"Hey, Senia."
"Yeah? Go ahead."
"After I take out the trash... could you help me study a bit?"
Study. To think the word 'study' would ever pass the lips of Aris, of all people.
"Cramming on short notice isn't going to be easy, you know."
"It's not for me. I have to teach the kids... but I'm just not very good at it."
The kids. So that's it.
Michel had mentioned how attached the students were to her. It turned out those children were another anchor keeping her tethered. Senia let out a dry chuckle.
"I don't think I can help you with that."
"Huh? Why not?!"
"In a way, this is an exam. If I give you all the answers, it defeats the whole purpose, doesn't it?"
"I-I just need feedback! I'm not asking you to do everything for me!"
"I don't know about that. I went through quite a bit of misery myself, you know."
"...Wait, what?"
"Who could have predicted that someone would barge in out of nowhere and disrupt my duel? Ah, my body's aching all over."
"Oh, is that so? Is that how it is?! Fine, I'll give you a massage in a bit, so just wait right there!"
Thoroughly provoked, Aris snatched up the wastebasket and dashed out the door.
"Still fragile, but... at least she won't shatter."
The past was broken. All that remained was the unfolding present and an unwritten future.
Senia quietly prayed that once that letter was delivered, Michel would send word that the rift between those two had finally begun to heal.