The Beginning of the Delinquent Remodeling Project
The origin of the Delinquent Remodeling Project was exactly as follows.
“So, there really isn’t any other way? You know how desperate I am!”
I was anxious today. I wasn’t normally the type to spill my guts so honestly or act this impatient, but the pressure in my chest had become unbearable.
Slurp… Whether she was deliberately digging at my nerves or simply pretending not to notice, she elegantly took a sip of green tea with tea leaves floating on the surface.
This was the Secret Garden—a private sanctuary no one could enter freely, complete with its own small garden. The owner of this place lifted her round-framed glasses, set them down again, made a show of trimming her long nails, and only then spoke.
“On the contrary, you already know the answer, Mr. Teo.”
She usually behaved with arrogant disdain toward subordinates, yet the moment things turned serious she switched to the distancing “Mr.” honorific. She neatly crossed her long legs and offered a sweet smile.
“Unlike a simple bachelor’s program, the position of academy teacher cannot be reached through grades alone.”
“But I completed every goal you set for me!”
Leaning my upper body forward in my haste, I pressed on. “I graduated early as valedictorian from the academy. I even finished the advanced magic studies course in just two years afterward. I believe I’ve earned more than enough qualifications to teach—”
“Hmm? Are you seriously bragging about your grades right in front of me?”
“…………No. That’s not what I meant…”
How utterly cowardly. She was so accomplished that placing my own career on the same scale left me completely intimidated. I’d always thought I’d lived with a fair amount of pride in my talents, but in front of this woman I was nothing but a cicada larva trying to show off wrinkles before its perfect elder. Even if she nitpicked like a vicious sister-in-law, her appearance was that of a woman in her late twenties. Long platinum-blonde hair braided and pinned up accentuated her beauty, and the white pointed witch hat with its wide brim perched on her head proudly displayed her position.
But it would be a mistake to be fooled by appearances alone. Piecing together the hints I’d gathered so far, this person had long since passed fifty. She had simply used her innate magical power to erase every trace of aging. In truth,
“Why are you suddenly staring at my face so intently, Mr. Teo?”
“…Yes?”
She suddenly pressed her palm to her cheek in a girlish gesture. “Oh dear, this sort of atmosphere is problematic when it’s just the two of us. Despite how I look, I finished with hot, passionate love with a man quite some time ago.”
Yeah, I know. You old hag.
In reality she was nothing but an old hag. On the outside she looked perfectly fine, but inside she was like an apple rotten to the core—a cunning, sinister old fox. Though she had spoken playfully, I had no desire to let the conversation stray, so I hardened my expression. On top of that, I adopted the slightly servile attitude appropriate for dealing with the Chairwoman who oversaw the entire academy.
“…Then please be so kind as to tell me what parts are lacking. Exactly what more must I do to be employed as a teacher at the academy?”
She let out a soft snort of laughter. I truly didn’t understand why young people were always in such a rush. Even though her demeanor suggested we could chat lightly over a joke or two, my stiffened expression left her no choice but to take another sip of green tea.
In a dry voice she pronounced, “Very well. Since you are so terribly desperate, I shall tell you.”
“Please speak directly.”
“Hmm… At the academy—no, in this world—‘results’ take precedence over ‘grades’ more than you might think.”
“……”
“No matter how much you boast about being valedictorian or the youngest graduate, the world still demands proper procedures and tangible achievements.”
“What… sort of results are you saying I need?”
“The legitimate teaching practicum. Or, to put it simply, the student-teacher course.”
She stretched out three long fingers—each as slender as her legs—and declared, “Three years.”
It was a despair-inducing statement. It was easy to imagine my twisted expression without needing to hear the rest.
“If you complete three years as a student teacher, I will consider employment based on your teacher evaluation scores.”
“Wait a moment… After pouring that much time into it, you’re not promising employment but only that you’ll ‘consider’ it?”
“Correct.”
She cut me off with a smile. “No matter how quickly you graduated as valedictorian, I cannot view you as possessing any particular talent for educating others. Cold evaluation is something you like, isn’t it?”
Her mocking tone was irritating. Irritating—but it might have been a fair point. In terms of track record, I had indeed shown zero performance in the field of teaching others.
“Even so…”
“Yes?”
“I’m different. You know perfectly well that my situation is… special compared to others.”
“Everyone has their own circumstances. For the sake of fair equity, we cannot ignore the established procedures.”
“……What is your true intention, Chairwoman?”
“Ufufufu♡”
She grinned ♥ “It’s simply that your situation is so hilarious, Mr. Teo—trembling in fear about when you might be expelled because you have no nationality. It’s like watching a house-trained puppy that’s been trained not to pee indoors but is about to lose control.”
“……”
She laughed to her heart’s content. Having no intention of hiding anything from the start, she openly spilled her inner thoughts, then added in a fake tone, “Oh my, my mistake.”
That was right. Ever since I had transmigrated to this world, I possessed no nationality. I had been lucky enough to fall into this academy, and the representative of the organization that took me in happened to be a neutral party who didn’t particularly care about such things.
Sorn Academy
The ruler of this place—the Chairwoman—loved nothing more than seizing others’ weaknesses and shaking them. She knew that if I were expelled from the academy through my own fault, I would become a clearly stateless resident, and so she held my leash and toyed with it at her leisure.
“Really now, why do you look so serious?”
After lightly cracking the whip, it was time for the carrot. She reached across the table and firmly took my hand. The soft, squishy texture enveloped my left hand as she soothed me in a gentle voice.
“Haven’t you and I known each other since you were a fledgling student who entered midway? After going through the trouble of taking you in, do you truly think I would cast aside a talent like you now?”
“…Honestly, I can’t help but feel anxious. I’m no longer a minor who can be protected by the law—I’m an adult now.”
When I had been a minor I had also received the protection of the law. But no matter how I looked at it, it was difficult to feel at ease with stateless status. Six years had passed since I arrived, yet my appearance still didn’t perfectly blend with the culture. I was clearly nothing more than an ‘outsider’ different from them.
“Sigh… To be so driven by anxiety that you immediately try to become an academy teacher—how very like you, Mr. Teo.”
Having heard the circumstances that forced me to be especially serious today, the Chairwoman let out a sigh as if greatly pitying me, then grinned. The corners of her mouth curled upward elegantly like a stock price rebounding.
“Still, there is one way to promote you to teacher—no, to be precise, one way to grant you equivalent rights.”
“Yes?!”
Honestly, I had thought it would be impossible even if I bared my heart completely. My hot breath came out faster than my mind could follow. The Chairwoman gripped my hand tighter to calm my excitement, then continued.
“Now, now. I’ll tell you right away, so please calm yourself. Ahem! I mentioned earlier that results are important, correct?”
“Yes!”
“Then it’s quite simple. Instead of the usual step-by-step accumulation of achievements, you simply need to show a strong performance that anyone and everyone can fully acknowledge.”
She released the hand that had been covering mine. Then, reducing the three fingers she had raised earlier to just one, she said,
“A student-teacher course completed in only one year. In short, it means there exists a shortcut to finish it quickly.”
A shortcut. What a sweetly tempting word. I had even found academy student life so tedious that I finished it as fast as possible. Because being treated as an outsider was so ridiculous, I had gritted my teeth, seized the valedictorian spot, and crushed any complaints.
“I’ll do it!”
So I could do it. If it meant obtaining teacher status, I could even strike a cool-headed deal with a demon whose manners were set to absolute zero.
“You’ve already decided?”
“There’s no need to drag this out. I’ll do it. No matter what it is, I’ll shoulder it all—so please just give me the order, Chairwoman!”
In response, the Chairwoman crossed her legs the opposite way as if troubled. Just like at the beginning, I thought she was pulling back again to enjoy my reaction, but she grinned ♥
“Then it’s decided.”
This matter was approved with surprising speed. Without even explaining what I would have to do, the Chairwoman granted high-pass permission with a swift decision completely unlike her.
“I look forward to seeing great achievements in your teaching duties as well.”
“Yes… Ah, yessir!”
At first glance, that was all. But her expression was that of someone who had successfully dumped a troublesome burden onto another.
And so, the present. When I wondered what exactly the Chairwoman wanted from me, this was the answer.
“So, where do you want to go after today’s classes end?”
“I was thinking of just browsing the general store today.”
“My very own prince… Ehehe……♡”
Fuck…
Class Z. A place where the academy’s worst delinquents and academic failures—who had long since passed their expected graduation age—were gathered. In truth, I only learned today that such a place even existed inside the academy. It was only after receiving the attendance sheet and stepping inside that I had my first encounter with this trash. I had never even heard of this hellhole before.
“Um, stop chattering. Since this is the first class, let’s begin with self-introductions—”
“Hmm, my manicure turned out nice today.”
“Hey, Rei, your pinky nail fell off, didn’t it?”
“For real?! Ah… I barely glued it back on, too.”
“Alright, then I’ll start with my introduction. My name is Teo and—”
“Ah, shut up!”
“Eek, that surprised me.”
“Fuck, don’t suddenly raise your voice. …More importantly, who’s the guy standing in front?”
Whether I spoke or not, these brats simply continued their own chatter. On the contrary, they raised their voices as if scolding the unsophisticated fool who was talking in a public space—me, the one assigned as their teacher. I swallowed a long sigh from behind the lectern. Frustrated, I ground my teeth, then swallowed a massive iceberg of emotion and forced myself to stay calm.
Fine… So you don’t want to hand me the pushover-teacher title, huh?
I bit my lip. I narrowed my eyes into thin, snakelike slits. After engraving each of these blockheads into my memory with sharp, needle-like glares, I thought,
I’ll brainwash every last one of these fucking idiots with magic.
I couldn’t let my career rot away while watching helplessly. There was no other option but to remodel this trash into tools that suited my tastes by any means necessary.