Being Strong Doesn't Mean You Teach Well (2)
Being Strong Doesn't Mean You Teach Well (2)
Silence settled over the meeting room.
"Um..."
Cheon Ji-ho pointed at his right sleeve, which hung long and empty, and spoke up cautiously.
"Did you just... call my name?"
The look on his face said it all: disbelief, suspicion that this was a prank on the new guy.
"You heard me."
"But, I...?"
I nodded to confirm, but he kept blinking at me, gesturing at that empty sleeve.
"...Professor Baek."
I turned to look at Lee Hyeok.
He was staring at me with wide eyes, though for a different reason than Cheon Ji-ho.
I jerked my chin at him: speak if you have something to say. His mouth opened.
"Not that I'm disparaging Professor Cheon Ji-ho... but objectively speaking, wouldn't I be the better choice to lead the education effort?"
"Your reasoning."
"Well..."
Lee Hyeok glanced at Cheon Ji-ho's empty right sleeve.
"Experience, skill... those two alone should be enough, shouldn't they?"
"They would."
"...?"
I agreed so readily that Lee Hyeok blinked at me, a little thrown.
"You're right. In experience, skill, and nearly every other category, you surpass Cheon Ji-ho."
"Then why...?"
"Simple. No matter how strong or exceptional you are, teaching is a completely different domain."
I turned my head. Cheon Ji-ho flinched, his grip tightening on the empty sleeve.
"Lee Hyeok. You're strong, no question. And you have plenty of experience. But you're too exceptional. You're one of those people they call a genius."
"Ahem, hrm... genius is a bit..."
He'd been dumbfounded a moment ago, but the word 'genius' got a reaction. He coughed, looking sheepish.
"I spoke with a few graduates who participated in the Festival. Every single one said the same thing: you have no talent for teaching."
"Hmm... may I ask what exactly they found lacking?"
Likely because I'd called him a genius, his mood had improved.
"Your advice on swordsmanship was universally praised."
"Ahem."
"But when it came to ability manifestation and mana control, they said you were no help whatsoever."
"That's..."
"'Why can't you do something so simple? Just go by feel. Trust your instincts.' ...That's what you told them, apparently."
"Cough..."
Lee Hyeok coughed differently this time and quietly averted his gaze.
"After getting nowhere with other professors' advice, they came to you as the head of the department. How do you think those students felt when that was your answer?"
"...I have nothing to say."
He still wasn't meeting my eyes.
"May I... speak?"
Cheon Ji-ho, who'd been silently listening, asked for permission.
I nodded. He placed his hand on the table—the one that had been clutching his sleeve—and spoke.
"As you can see, I'm missing the arm I primarily used, so I'm limited in correcting students' stances and such. And unlike Professor Lee Hyeok, my knowledge outside the sword is shallow."
"That's precisely why we're selecting education staff. To compensate."
My answer made him look even more bewildered.
"Then couldn't I just take one of those staff positions...?"
"Cheon Ji-ho."
"...Yes, Professor."
His tension was written all over his face.
I swept my gaze over each person at the table, starting with Jaden and Lee Hyeok on either side and moving through the other professors.
"I expect one thing from you."
"...What would that be?"
Flutter.
"Ah...?"
His empty sleeve moved on its own. Cheon Ji-ho quickly grabbed it with his remaining arm.
"Share your experience with the students. An experience only you possess."
"Experience..."
He looked at the empty sleeve.
His right arm, severed cleanly off.
When everyone else had given up, facing a monster beyond his level, Cheon Ji-ho hadn't. He'd thrown himself at it. And by surrendering his right arm, he'd survived.
"Everyone at this table has faced hardship and mortal danger inside Rifts. But none of you have been to death's door and lived to tell about it the way he has."
"...I've never been pushed that far."
"I've endured hardship, but nothing that truly threatened my life."
Lee Hyeok and Jaden murmured as if talking to themselves.
"Tell the students what you felt and thought at that moment. And what you thought after surviving. Even if the advice itself is the same, it'll carry far more weight coming from someone who lived it."
Obviously, I'm not putting him in charge just to share war stories. If that were the case, I'd just gather the selected students and have him talk to them and be done with it.
The reason I'm appointing Cheon Ji-ho as coordinator is that he actually has a genuine knack for teaching.
He admits his limits when it comes to sparring or correcting stances. But in the areas where Lee Hyeok falls short, Cheon Ji-ho is perfectly equipped to fill the gap.
To start with, the magic circuit structures of Enhancement-types and Ability-types are fundamentally different.
If Awakened of both types handled mana the same way, the coordinator position wouldn't need to be split, and I'd have given the combined role to Jaden.
The Swordsmanship Department itself wouldn't have grown much either.
Before you even divide things into swordsmanship and martial arts, an Awakened's strength is determined first by total mana capacity and second by mana sensitivity.
Given the same amount of mana, the one who can distribute it even slightly more efficiently will obviously be stronger.
And to be precise, Lee Hyeok is genuinely superior even in terms of sensitivity.
The real question is whether you can go beyond merely explaining mana control—whether you can break it down so students actually understand it.
Lee Hyeok belongs firmly in the latter category. Cheon Ji-ho, the former.
That's why he's the one I want as coordinator.
"I'll say this now: if you want to refuse, bring me someone who meets my standards. If you can't, then you have no veto."
"Urgh..."
Cheon Ji-ho shot Lee Hyeok a look, hoping for help.
"I'm in favor."
"...?!"
But Lee Hyeok gave up the position far too easily. Cheon Ji-ho's eyes went wide, then he let out a heavy sigh.
"...I don't know if I can do it well, but I'll give it my best."
"Good. Now then."
I turned toward the meeting room door.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
The moment my eyes landed on it, three crisp knocks rang out.
"Come in."
The doorknob turned silently, and Claire entered—she'd returned after taking Crystal and my luggage to the mansion.
'She changed.'
When watching the students earlier, she'd been in the light-colored casual clothes she wore at home. But now she was in a black suit, the same as mine.
"Now that I've gathered you all, this is all I have to say. Consider it my repayment for forcing me into this role."
I looked at Kang Han-na, who was sitting at the far end with her eyes practically sparkling, and continued.
"Everyone except Lee Hyeok and Kang Han-na may leave."
"...M-me as well?"
"If you'd rather, I can throw you out."
Fwoooosh—!!
I opened the window with mana. A warm breeze swept in, brushing past everyone's cheeks.
"I'll get started on the recommendation list right away. Ha, haha..."
Jaden rose quickly, gave a short nod, and left. The other professors took that as their cue, getting up one by one and following him out.
"Kang Han-na."
"Y-yes?!"
All I'd done was say her name, but she shot to her feet and stood at attention.
"Come sit over here."
"Ah... yes, yes ma'am—yes, sir!!"
While Kang Han-na moved to Jaden's seat, Claire quietly stepped up behind me.
"I kept you two because there's a separate task I need handled."
"What sort of task?"
Slide.
Claire, standing behind me, laid several photos from her coat pocket onto the table.
"Two for personnel, one for administration, three for planning, one for academic affairs."
"...Staff members?"
Lee Hyeok looked to me for confirmation.
"For now, just skim them. I'll send you the detailed files later."
"Hmm."
He studied the seven faces with considerable focus.
"Lee Hyeok."
"Mm? Go on."
"Once we leave, break off from the group and return to the Academy discreetly."
"..."
A small furrow appeared on his forehead as he studied the photos.
"Because of these people?"
"Something like that."
"...I imagine the reason will be clear once I go through the files you send."
"Will you do it?"
"If you answer one question."
Lee Hyeok's expression was more serious than it had been during the entire meeting.
"Does Jaden know about this?"
"You saw me kick him out earlier."
"Could've been an act."
I could easily tell what answer he was looking for.
"He doesn't know. And I don't plan on telling him."
"May I ask why? From what I've seen, Jaden seems to be quite devoted to you, Professor Baek."
Fwoosh—!!
The photos on the table ignited, crumbling to ash in an instant.
I swept the remnants off the table and out the open window as I answered.
"Right now, he's very loose-lipped."
"...Loose?"
"Give me your answer. Are you in or not?"
"...And if I refuse?"
"The Chairman will handle it."
"...!!"
His eyes shot wide open.
Then the corners of his lips curled upward slightly.
"I'll do it."
I hadn't even told him what the task was yet.
He still said yes.
'Enhancement-type.'
They really are easy to handle.