Serena Yohayden (2)
The next day.
Though there was still a full month until the entrance ceremony,
Serena headed straight for Lamieli Academy.
The moment she arrived, she marched boldly to the principal's office.
Knock knock—
"Come in."
Inside sat an elderly man with snow-white hair, peering through his glasses over a massive desk.
Serena cut straight to the chase without any pleasantries.
"Do you know the new swordsmanship instructor, Zeke Clayman?"
"Hm? Yes, I do…"
"I'd like to have him under my care for about a month."
The principal furrowed his brow.
The academy's new faculty would be spending the next four years with this incoming class, from enrollment to graduation.
That meant previewing their lectures in advance,
and preparing to receive the noble students right now.
With imperial royals and heirs from the empire's most prominent houses gathering,
thoroughness for the entrance ceremony—the students' first encounter—was never enough.
And yet, this brazen little miss shows up unannounced. Which house is she from…? The world's gone mad.
"…So, who might you be?"
"Ah, I got ahead of myself. I'm Serena Yohayden, enrolling this term."
"What?! Y-Yohayden?!"
The principal's eyes bulged like they might pop out.
One of those fearsome house heirs stood before him!
Declaring her intent to kidnap the sword instructor, no less.
Ugh.
So that's who was behind the secret parachute drop. Yohayden. Damn it. At least if it had been a marquis house…
The principal's mind raced.
He hasn't even received his official appointment yet… Should I just let her take him? No! Even so, losing a professor during entrance prep?!
Haa—
He pinched the bridge of his nose and let out a long sigh.
"Do you really need to take him?"
"Yes. I understand he hasn't gotten his appointment yet. He's not officially faculty, so you can't force him to stay."
"…"
This sharp silver-haired girl had already done her homework.
She knew the academy's situation inside out.
Even if they had planted him,
who could've guessed she'd advertise him as hers from day one?
The principal felt bone-deep fatigue.
Tch. Guess I'll dump the work on Instructor Dios. Sorry, but no choice. Unless you wanna clash with Yohayden yourself, bear with it.
He sent a silent apology to the other sword instructor.
Decision made.
His expression flipped in an instant.
"Zeke, was it?"
"Yes."
"Ha, of course it's possible. Sword instructors don't have much to do at the ceremony anyway."
"Pardon?"
"Just a month? Hell, keep him longer if you want. Up to the demo lesson."
Serena blinked at his picture-perfect pivot, nodding dazedly.
"Th-thank you. I won't forget this favor. I'll still come for the ceremony, though."
"Hearing that makes me grateful, Lady Serena Yohayden."
As Serena turned to leave, she paused and looked back.
"Oh, one more thing."
"Hm?"
"If my father finds out, things get messy—for you too, right? I'd prefer no leaks to other houses."
Serena's cute little threat, leveraging her father.
Though she could've considered the target's position.
"Is that how you ask?"
The principal thumped his chest with stern pride.
"Lamieli Academy boasts ironclad security."
Serena bowed her head.
"I trust you."
"Hm. Safe travels."
Creeeak—thud.
"Damn it. Ha, she doesn't want word spreading that Yohayden's her backer. And if Daddy finds out, it'll get ugly… Shit."
The sword instructor he'd yet to meet was already churning the principal's guts.
Knock knock—
"Principal, a messenger from House Yustia."
"Why?! Why them too?!"
Back at the mansion, after penning a letter to her father,
Serena resolved to tutor Zeke herself.
Truth be told, having the butler arrange a separate instructor would've been easier,
but she insisted "repaying a debt requires sincerity."
The butler and maids eyed her suspiciously,
but Serena stood tall!
Hmph! Me teaching him is only natural! Hiring someone out is just money—whoever's got cash can do it! That's not proper Yohayden conduct! Right, Father?
Her father would've shaken his head at the fantastical rationalization.
"Eily, let's hit the dressing room first. I saw something in last week's Éclat…"
Before lessons,
Serena donned round silver-framed glasses and a luxurious teacher-style suit.
"Eily, you're really skilled."
"Thank you."
And so the Zeke Clayman Common Sense Education Project kicked off in earnest.
Click-clack—
Her high heels echoed down the hall as Serena headed to the study.
Zeke waited at the prepared desk.
Gasp!
Serena decided to gauge his baseline first.
"Instructor, let's start with a basic test."
"Hm."
She handed over the question sheets,
and Zeke tackled them with a quill.
The ink kept skipping mid-word—fucking annoying.
Still, he powered through.
Surprisingly, anything beyond rote knowledge was straightforward.
Oh, this is like a modern isekai possession tale.
Serena watched in surprise as he scribbled answers.
Great comprehension? Though his instincts are sharp too—I saw that yesterday. Even I struggled with that one back then…
He just lacked common knowledge and hated memorizing.
Serena adjusted her mental curriculum.
Okay, just basics feels risky. Gotta raise him enough not to get looked down on anywhere!
Her motivation ignited,
and Zeke's quick grasp poured fuel on the fire.
A bit later.
"Instructor, try this too."
"…Got it."
The desk was buried under a mountain of test papers.
Zeke shot Serena a glare.
Glasses on, she just nodded.
"As expected…"
Serena muttered something about northern nobles,
but Zeke was swamped just solving her problems.
The starters were simple and concise,
but she'd ramped up the difficulty.
No easy ones left.
Isekai… Modern knowledge, fucking useless… Shouldn't they be amazed by basic multiplication or some shit?
Zeke swallowed the opposite of his earlier thought.
After a decade in dark fantasy,
his single year of modern life barely left a dent.
Pre-isekai knowledge? Long rusted away from ten years of rolling in hell.
"Good. That's enough. I've got a rough sense of your level now—time to plan."
She summoned a maid for large paper and fluidly scripted a timetable in elegant script.
Zeke's eyes quaked watching.
13 hours a day…? No red days…?
Serena filled the slots.
Etiquette, socializing, dance, history, logic, theology, math, science, languages, magic theory…
An endless list.
What monster is she trying to make me…?
"Hmm, time's short. Guess we'll cut useless stuff like etiquette. There's a separate class anyway. Okay?"
To her, etiquette was a hassle—overly complex.
Skim it, and no one batted an eye at her.
Follow it to the letter? They'd beg her to drop the formalities.
So she'd never needed it.
But Zeke, from a world where might made right,
needed those petty manners most—something Serena didn't grasp.
Ugh, physical strain's fine… but mental fatigue's no joke…
What followed was a life of wringing his brain like a dry rag.
As if Zeke had flipped some switch in her,
Serena turned into a Gangnam tiger mom,
shoving a murderous schedule down his throat.
13 hours daily:
Up at dawn for 6 hours study, 6 more after lunch,
then 1-hour post-dinner test.
Serena crammed knowledge into him raw.
Day after day, Zeke almost—almost—missed dark fantasy hell.
No! Hell no!
He shook his head fiercely.
"Focus, Instructor. That's the seventeenth time you've stepped on my foot."
"Hm."
"Now, follow me closely. Surrender to the music—one two, one two—ow! Eighteenth!"
"Hm."
Hm. Bullshit. Fuck.
Everything else improved, but not his dancing.
Body issue? Or the soul inside?
Either way, his robot-stiff creaks were painful to watch.
He's physical, brain's sharp—why's social dance so rigid? Is that why northern nobles skip balls?
Now she wielded "northern noble" like a cheat code.
"No more social dance—magic theory today."
"Fine. Got it."
"Hmm, then…"
Serena hauled a tome thick as her forearm from the study shelf.
Zeke's pupils shook.
Teacher! That won't fit! My head can't hold it all! My brain's stuffed with common sense already!
Serena beamed at his enthusiasm.
She'd worried it was overkill,
but Zeke never balked at any book.
Just nodded with iron resolve.
Is this the joy of studying together?
Now she was reviewing too—not just helping.
"Alright, memorization first. Best when your focus peaks, Instructor!"
"Is that so… Right. Yeah."
I can't. Really can't…
Days passed; dark circles deepened under Zeke's eyes.
His once-handsome face hollowed, cheeks sunken.
Even maids in the hall asked if he was okay.
"Eek! Your eyes! Mr. Zeke Clayman, are you alright…?"
"Nothing… happened…"
He wanted to whine,
but this damn body postured regardless.
Maybe I picked the wrong starter pack…
Like a high school senior a month from exams,
Zeke endured daily roasting from Teacher Serena in one-on-one tutoring.
No sweet romance? Bullshit—none.
Just an overzealous teacher and a posturing student.
"Genius?"
"Hm."
Nod.
Day in, day out.
"Correct!"
"This is nothing—ah, no."
"That's it for today!"
"Ha. Right."
His sole solace: post-test wind-down before bed.
Staring blankly, ropan be damned, pure rest.
A month flew by.
Final lesson done, Zeke lounged in his room.
Knock knock—
He counted ceiling patterns, then opened the door.
"Serena."
"Yes, Instructor."
"What's up?"
More to learn?
This should've been enough—how to handle this fired-up teacher?
"Oh, tomorrow's academy day, so I wanted to chat."
"Right."
"Basics are solid now."
She'd taught plenty,
and Zeke had stacked it all in his head.
Serena beamed like at a prized pupil,
then recalled the two holdouts.
"'Social dance' and 'etiquette' aside…"
Weirdly, those two never budged.
He knows some manners—not noble, more military? Odd. Should've taught simpler ones…
Too late to regret; ceremony tomorrow.
Shaking it off, her real goal.
"Anyway, Instructor—wanna keep living here? Study with me more?"
"…"
Zeke clamped down "Hm" with effort.
"Studying together was fun. I reviewed too!"
He averted her sparkling eyes.
"N-need to train with the sword."
At her study-together pitch,
his hasty excuse flew out—belied by his no-sword vow.
"Ah…"
Serena sighed in regret,
but nodded.
She'd come to the academy for sword lessons too.
Zeke's sponge-brain had distracted her into nonstop teaching.
"Um… Instructor."
"What?"
"Could you… look at my swordplay now?"
Zeke nodded.
If it's just watching without holding one… Good academy preview too.
"Change into training clothes and come out."