Academy
Daena's letter had been roughly along these lines.
Come to the academy, and as my assistant for this semester, please help me teach right here beside me.
I already knew that among the Here-knights, Daena—the top Here-knight of the tribe—would be busier than a one-eyed man at a bean-counting contest every semester, since she had to train successors as a professor. Yet here this iron man of a woman was asking me for help.
I turned to the elf seated across from me and asked, “But what exactly am I supposed to do when I get there?”
“W-why are you going there?!”
“What do you mean, what did I do?”
She shrieked like she was having a seizure, twisting her body violently the instant I spoke. Even though I had been programmed with amnesia from the hypnosis, I could have calmly asked what was wrong. But she suddenly covered her own butt with her hand, as if she hadn’t been affected by the hypnosis at all, and kept screaming at me without letting up.
“Why have you been acting like this for the past few days? I really don’t know where else to guess you went wrong.”
“Don’t go there!”
“Why, why only now do you start worrying about your master like a loyal slave…!!”
“I was going crazy from curiosity. I was worried because you were all by yourself moaning without saying a word in front of the Celestin I respect more than anything in the world…”
“Your words flow so smoothly. You must have wiped my memories clean, but how could you possibly erase the memories that were carved into my body?”
“?”
I tilted my head at the elf, as if asking what she meant. The very next moment, with those massive World’s Best Breasts of hers bouncing, she crossed her arms and declared, “Nothing at all! If you’re worried, just treat me respectfully like always! Why only after I’ve suffered such a thing do you suddenly start playing the slave!”
“Actually, I wasn’t that worried in the first place. I was just asking out of politeness.”
“What?!”
Together with this puffed-up elf, we boarded the wagon and rode for quite some time.
Since it was the center of the Union, the buildings lining the path were packed tightly, and various races kept rushing past the windows in a blur. Soon, however, the scenery changed to lush green hills and plains.
We had arrived at the academy grounds.
While I prepared to disembark, the Here-knight guarding the gate grabbed the reins of the wagon and spoke to us.
Stop. This area is strictly off-limits to anyone except academy students and related personnel. If you are a student, show your student ID. If you are a related party or professor who has made a separate appointment, present the entrance permit issued by the academy.
Even a single wagon had to be carefully permitted because this place was both a hall of knowledge where races came to learn and a sanctuary for young dreamers who would guide the future of their species.
“Here.”
“…” “So many years have passed and you’ve already forgotten my face? What a rude Here-knight you are.”
With that, I handed over the entrance permit that had come with Daena’s letter, while the elf reached down into her cleavage and pulled out her own slightly different entrance permit.
The Here-knight scanned the permits with the strange barcode reader strapped to her waist, returned them to us, and asked, “Confirmation complete. If it is not an inconvenience, may I inquire about the purpose of your visit?”
“I’m here to assist as Daena Hercules’s lecture assistant.”
“I’m here to meet the chairman as a professor here…”
Da, Daena-nim’s assistant?! No way, it’s you—the human they only heard rumors about! I apologize for my oversight!
“?”
The Here-knight’s rigid posture vanished instantly. Her visor shifted from strict to excited, and she looked me up and down while speaking in a trembling voice.
“Is there… is there really something wrong?”
No! Daena-nim has announced that this semester’s lecture will be extremely special, so all Here-knights have been looking forward to it since last semester. But humans… to bring a living human as an assistant! Grrr, if I had known this, I would have graduated a year late!
I had no idea what kind of lecture could cause such excitement, but I couldn’t stay trapped here forever, so I led the pouting elf inside the academy while muttering to myself.
“Even I’m a professor, yet you didn’t recognize me at all…”
“Heard you graduated last year, so maybe that’s why. Celestin has been on hiatus for a few years, after all.”
I had just realized that the elf in front of me—someone who used to stand on the podium teaching someone—was the very one I had been watching moments ago, and I had to swallow my surprise several times. But I decided not to say anything out loud or show it on my face.
“By the way, until what time were you supposed to come?”
“Hmm, eleven o’clock? She said around then, so we should get going soon… where are we heading?”
“You don’t seriously think I followed you on a tour, do you? I’m a professor too. I have an appointment with the chairman, that’s all!”
The elf finished speaking and vanished somewhere, still shaking her massive breasts as usual.
Left alone, I quickly followed the path Daena had given me while being stared at like a rare animal by the academy students all around.
What is this?
This is Daena Hercules’s research lab—the pride of our Here-knight tribe.
“If you’re just some trader… entrance permit?”
Despite being a Here-knight, students who had come for tutoring even though class hadn’t started were guarding the closed door of Daena’s lab.
I could feel the hot academic fever seeping out through the visor gaps.
“Thinking about it, I haven’t done anything wrong. Why am I standing here like this?”
I couldn’t stand there all day, so I ignored the Here-knights’ stares, walked up to the door, and knocked.
“Who is it?”
“It’s me.”
“Oh, it’s you! I’ve been waiting! Come in quickly!”
What? Daena-nim is this welcoming…? Could this person be the human I only heard rumors about?!
The Here-knights were startled, but I immediately stepped inside Daena’s research lab.
Compared to the research lab I had attended at university, it was almost exactly the same except for whether or not there was a computer. And inside, the red-haired woman wearing a proper suit instead of thick armor was a sight that made my eyes widen.
I walked straight over to her and showed my greeting.
“I came because of the letter. I don’t know what you needed help with as my assistant, but I’m not sure I’ll be any use.”
“What?! It’s enough! Just your coming here is enough! You even came willingly! It’s overflowing! I feel like I can teach without any hesitation!”
“?”
Daena grabbed my shoulder with a somewhat uneasy look, as if she was about to ask something, but I simply nodded and followed her to the lecture hall.
Of course, as her assistant, I carried all the class materials that had been scattered across her desk.
“Here-knight Introductory Lecture… Correct Here-knight Sexual Life… Author: Eleanor… what is this?”
Just like when she had spoken earlier, an uneasy feeling rose from the titles of the textbooks. I was about to call her over to ask about them, but it was already too late.
“Whoa, who is that man?!”
“Hurry and put on your helmets! We almost saw his face!”
“Why is Daena-nim wearing armor? Aren’t you supposed to take it off?”
“And your face is completely exposed… no way?”
“Who is that man behind her? Wait, she brought a man out without taking off her helmet…”
“Daena-nim, you can’t possibly be…!”
Chaotic.
When I had decided to call Daena over, she was already standing on the podium.
With me entering the lecture hall and Daena wearing her armor, the Here-knights were in an uproar. But Daena looked at them calmly with her eyes while the rest of us were shocked.
“Quiet.”
Thud.
A single word.
Yet it carried the dignity and prestige of a veteran Here-knight and instantly silenced the noisy lecture hall. Daena looked around once, then spoke again in her dignified voice.
“I know what you are all curious about. But I will give you a separate time to ask later. For now, think about it but do not speak your questions out loud.”
I was unintentionally overwhelmed along with the others and secretly placed the textbooks on the podium before trying to back away. But Daena suddenly reached out and grabbed my collar to stop me from leaving.
At the same time, she picked up a piece of chalk and wrote on the blackboard.
“…”
“I heard that among the Here-knights, shameless acts that cannot be spoken of in public have been happening lately.”
The first thing I thought was that I had misseen, but Daena gave me a cold stare as if checking whether I had really seen correctly. I rubbed my eyes and read the characters on the blackboard.
Here-knight Comradely Love.
“Exactly this—Here-knights rubbing their butts while using the term ‘Comradely Love’.”
My vision started to blur.