10
Chapter 10
"Today is the 17th, right? Number 17?"
When I called her name, a neat-looking female student sitting in the front row stood up.
Was her name May?
I didn't intentionally try to memorize them, but at some point, looking at their faces naturally brought their names to mind.
Even if I only made them self-study, it's been almost a month since classes started, so it's only natural.
Besides, that kid ranked first in written exams from the start, so I did pay a little attention to her.
"Instructor?"
"Ah, read five pages starting from where we left off yesterday."
I was the type to only make them self-study during class, but I made a slight change after the last dinner party.
It wasn't because Amelia told me to.
Maybe because the other instructors all knew she became the Senior Instructor because I stepped down, there was no one giving me orders or anything.
On the contrary, they hated me so much that they wouldn't even talk to me.
Despite that, the reason I made a change was because I even had a duel last time over only making them self-study, so if nothing changed, it would be too obvious.
Still, it wasn't a huge change; I just called on trainees for about 30 minutes during class to read the textbook and slightly raised the difficulty of the weekly Friday exams.
My goal of getting fired hasn't changed, after all.
"Maricho, a plant that grows mainly in the southern part of the Eastern Continent, causes hallucinations and exhibits withdrawal symptoms when ingested or when its smoke is inhaled. Its cultivation and distribution are prohibited by Beluga Empire law. Commoners face the death penalty just for possessing it, and Nobles are stripped of their titles and have their assets confiscated...."
A change of this degree was probably no different from self-study for the trainees, so their complaints likely haven't disappeared.
I wish they'd hurry up and petition to fire me already.
"Instructor, I've finished reading."
"Alright, for the remaining time, self-study up to the part number 17 just read. Tomorrow's exam range will cover what we learned today."
After speaking, I moved to the back of the classroom and took a seat.
I looked around to see if any kids were goofing off or chatting, but they were all staring holes into their class materials.
They're such diligent kids, but of all people, their instructor had to be me.
It's a bit unfortunate, but it must have become a habit by now; I felt sleep creeping in and closed my eyes.
I dozed off like that, then opened my eyes when the bell signaling the end of class rang.
Sometimes there were kids who asked questions, waking me up in the middle, but luckily today there were none, so
I slept like a log.
"Everyone, listen up. Good work today."
Another day of getting paid to do absolutely nothing.
There's no special paperwork to do either, so I'll just drop by the Faculty Office and clock out.
I entered the Faculty Office, but the atmosphere felt strange for some reason.
Everyone is pretending not to be, but I can feel their glances darting over to me.
They're even whispering among themselves.
I wondered if I had something on my face and checked a mirror, but it was fine. What's going on?
Just as I was feeling puzzled, the Faculty Office door opened, and Chief Instructor Berman and Instructor Amelia walked in.
The two of them approached me together; Berman's face looked dead serious, while Instructor Amelia—who usually looked like she'd bitten into shit whenever she saw me—was smiling.
"Instructor Bio, let's step out for a moment and talk."
"About what?"
"It's a bit much to discuss here..."
"Chief Instructor? It's not like the fact that Instructor Bio's career history is fake is something we can't say here, is it?"
Fake career history?
Amelia's confident expression seemed to be saying I was totally screwed now.
Come to think of it, I had a rough idea of what was going on.
No, actually, I didn't even need to think about it.
There was only one reason why that woman, who held a grudge against me, would react like this.
It seemed she had looked into my past.
However, my current personnel records were entirely fabricated by the Imperial Intelligence Agency when I retired.
I heard that the Director of the Intelligence Agency, Old Man Daph, paid special attention to it, and from what I checked, it was made so flawlessly that it would be hard to notice under normal circumstances.
In fact, not only my career history but even the pension I receive monthly was set up to be paid by the Southern Legion, not the Intelligence Agency.
Do I know anyone in the upper echelons of the Southern Legion?
"I'm not sure what you mean by fake career history."
"How shameless. I already investigated everything. I found the unit you claimed to have served in, and not a single person—not the Commanders, not the Soldiers who served at the time—knew who you were!"
She was riding high, clearly thinking she had caught me dead to rights.
"Instructor Amelia, that's enough. Instructor Bio, I verified your skills last time, so I know what you're capable of, but regardless of your abilities, a fake career history is a major issue."
"I am aware."
"Can you explain yourself?"
If I couldn't explain myself, I'd achieve my goal of getting fired, but that wouldn't be the end of it; I'd rot in prison for at least three years.
Since the Intelligence Agency fabricated my information in the first place, if I met with Old Man Daph, he would somehow take care of it, but given the current situation, it didn't seem like they would let me just step out for a bit.
As I pondered what to do, an idea came to mind.
"It's not something I can explain here, so shall we change locations?"
"Is that so? Understood. Let's go outside."
"Absolutely not!"
Amelia interrupted again.
"Instructor Amelia?"
"That man has a silver tongue; he might deceive the Chief Instructor with his sweet talk."
She always disliked me, but she was making it incredibly obvious right now.
"I'm not so easily swayed by a silver tongue, Instructor Amelia..."
Chief Instructor Berman frowned, showing his displeasure.
At this rate, I felt like I was going to lose my chance to explain.
"In that case, why don't we bring Instructor Amelia along? Since she's so skeptical of me, she can make sure I don't try to deceive you."
Eventually, the three of us left the Faculty Office and arrived at the Chief Instructor's office.
It was my first time in his office; like the Dean's office, it had a desk for work and a sofa for visitors, but the vibe was completely different.
There were grip strengtheners, barbells, and dumbbells scattered all over the sofa and desk—if it weren't for the furniture, I wouldn't have even guessed this was an office.
"Now, hurry up and explain..."
"Hmm, let's all take a seat first."
"I'm not sure which unit you looked into, but the place you investigated probably isn't the one I actually served in."
I had no intention of revealing that I was a Black Agent.
While most of my missions were overseas, I had plenty of domestic ones as well.
Some of those domestic missions involved influential nobles, so it would be troublesome if my identity were exposed.
"Then are you saying you're not from the Southern Legion?"
"Hold on a moment."
As I spoke, I opened my subspace and pulled out a single document.
It was rolled up and sealed with a red silk cord, clearly high-quality parchment.
"What is that?"
"See for yourself."
Berman's expression shifted the moment I handed it to him.
"What's the big deal? It doesn't look like a retirement certificate."
Of course it wasn't a retirement certificate.
As far as I knew, Ranger retirement certificates weren't written on such luxurious parchment.
"Here... see for yourself." Berman handed the document to Instructor Amelia, whose expression also changed instantly.
The document contained only a single line of text and a seal, but it was incredibly famous.
The owner of this seal, featuring two Sea Serpents coiled around a central sword, was the Commander-in-Chief of the Southern Legion and the symbol of the empire's military might, the Second Seat of the Eight Swords of the Empire—a man rumored to be potentially stronger than the First Sword and the Commander of the Royal Guards, the unofficial strongest swordsman of the Beluga Empire.
Duke Heinrich Carlos.
For reference, the text on the document read:
[The Duke hereby guarantees Bio's abilities.]
Was it about four years ago?
There was an incident where Duke Carlos's six-year-old granddaughter went missing.
All training in the Southern Legion was immediately canceled, and the entire legion, excluding the guard forces, was mobilized for a massive search operation, but to no avail.
'The Quasar Empire is behind this.'
Others suggested that a clumsy human trafficking ring had kidnapped her by mistake.
Driven to desperation by various rumors, Duke Carlos eventually asked for help from the Old Man, with whom he was on friendly terms.
Of course, the Imperial Intelligence Agency is a direct organ of the Emperor and follows only his orders.
That may be the rule, but life rarely follows the rules; back then, as I was returning from a mission in the Krinis Desert, the Old Man asked for a favor, and I found the granddaughter in just three hours.
In the first place, she wasn't actually missing.
The Duke's granddaughter had vanished in an instant, and even after calling in tracking experts and high-level wizards, they found nothing, which is when I had a hunch.
Sure enough, I obtained a Spirit Stone and shattered it at the site of the disappearance; before long, the Duke's granddaughter appeared.
It was an invitation from the mischievous spirits.
Playful spirits sometimes summon children born with the talent of an Elementalist to the Spirit Realm.
Since Elementalists are so rare and little is known about them, Duke Carlos was unaware, but his granddaughter also possessed the talent and had been invited.
'How did he know how to force open the gates to the Spirit Realm? Very few people knew that even during the time I was created.'
It was because I had experienced everything during a previous mission.
Coincidentally, the mission I had taken right before helping Duke Carlos was an assassination mission targeting High Elves in the West Great Forest.
At the time, a nearly dead High Elf had escaped into the Spirit Realm.
Though surprised, I had interrogated the Elf elders nearby to wrap things up.
Anyway, after rescuing the granddaughter and preparing to return, the Duke stopped me.
He insisted on repaying the favor.
Based on the atmosphere at the time, it felt like he would have given me a title if I'd asked for one, but I made no such request.
If it became known that the Imperial Intelligence Agency helped with the Duke's private affairs, it would likely lead to more annoying requests from all over.
Besides, even if I hadn't stepped in, she probably would have returned on her own within a week after finishing her "contract," so I felt a slight prick of conscience.
So I repeatedly refused any reward, but Duke Carlos was incredibly persistent.
He insisted he needed to at least know his benefactor's name, looking as if he'd punch me if I didn't tell him.
Eventually, unable to win, I gave him my name, and that's when he wrote that Certificate of Competence.
It was a document given only to a tiny handful of people who performed great deeds within the Duke's direct Royal Guards, and he said showing it anywhere in the Southern Legion's territory would ensure the best possible treatment.
Furthermore, he mentioned that if I ever got caught up in an unpleasant situation elsewhere in the empire, submitting this document would bring help from the House of Carlos.
I had forgotten about it since I had no use for it during my time as an agent, but luckily it came back to me.
"The certificate you see is given only to those who have performed great deeds while serving in Duke Carlos's direct unit."
"Is that so?"
"Wait a moment. I've never heard anything about that."
"That's because it's a unit that isn't disclosed to the public."
"Hmph, the document could be a forgery." While Berman seemed convinced, Amelia continued to nitpick.
"Then feel free to verify it."
I didn't actually serve there, but I trust the Duke will speak well of me.
Being a Duke, he'd be well aware that Black Agents must keep their identities secret, and above all, I'm the benefactor who saved his granddaughter.
Surely he wouldn't pretend not to know me just because some time has passed, right?