A Hundred Laps of Hell and No Time for Sleep
"Huff... Huff..."
The afternoon sun beat down mercilessly, scorching the tops of our heads. The training field echoed with nothing but ragged breathing and the heavy scrape of feet dragging across the ground. One hundred laps. For these noble young lords and ladies who usually circulated their mana in comfortable indoor training halls and cooled their sweat with elegant grace, this punishment of running with nothing but raw physical stamina was nothing short of pure hell.
Even Denin, stubbornly pushing forward at the head of the line with sheer grit and willpower, eventually failed to make it past ninety laps before dropping to his knees. The moment he collapsed, the students behind him followed like dominoes, tumbling onto the dirt and gasping for air.
I sat cross-legged in the shade of a tree, leisurely taking in the pathetic spectacle.
"Who told you to rest? You've still got ten laps left."
The words left my mouth indifferently, and groans immediately rose from the heap of bodies sprawled across the ground. Surprisingly, though, not a single one of them dared to rebel or complain to my face.
The overwhelming slaughter I'd displayed in the Forest of Darkness yesterday, combined with the flawless defeat where I'd beaten all twenty of them into the dust in just two minutes this morning, had been more than enough to completely shatter the pride of Eterna Royal Academy's arrogant S-Class.
In their eyes now, I was nothing more than an incomprehensible monster—a teacher they couldn't possibly defy.
"Ugh..."
At that moment, a small shadow staggered toward me. It was Ien. The bold dignity she'd shown on the first day of class, eyes gleaming as she declared she'd test me, had completely vanished. Her silver-tinged hair was plastered to her cheeks with sweat, and her once-neat uniform was caked in dirt. Her legs trembled like they might give out any second, yet she kept forcing one foot in front of the other, glaring at me with venomous determination.
She finally reached my feet and collapsed in a heap.
"Tough kid. For a magic specialist, you held out longer than I expected."
I tossed her the wooden canteen I'd been carrying at my waist. Ien flinched, catching it, then immediately threw open the lid and started gulping down the water without a shred of dignity left. She didn't even notice the streams running down her chin and along her pale neck. Once her thirst was quenched, she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and looked up at me.
"Just... huff... how did you do it?"
"Do what?"
"That movement earlier. You barely wrapped yourself in any fighting spirit, let alone mana, yet none of our coordinated attacks from twenty people could even touch you. It wasn't just about strength or speed. It was like you knew exactly where we'd move before we did..."
Ien's red eyes blazed. The look in them wasn't resentment so much as pure academic curiosity mixed with the desperate hunger of someone staring at an insurmountable wall.
"When mages prepare their chants, you can read the flow of their mana from their eyes and breathing alone. And with swordsmen, the slightest twitch of their shoulder muscles gives away their entire trajectory. You all lack real combat experience, so your movements are too big and too honest. That's why you basically threw yourselves onto my path like it was a leisurely walk."
My indifferent answer made Ien bite her lip hard. Her face showed she was painfully realizing just how useless all her boasted magic and knowledge had been in actual combat.
I stood up and casually placed a hand on top of her head.
"Still, a top student is a top student. You're the only one who kept your eyes on the tip of my sword even while getting hit. Build your stamina from the basics, and maybe someday you'll manage to graze the hem of my clothes."
It was just an offhand bit of encouragement. But the moment my hand touched her head, Ien's shoulders trembled. She stared up at me with a dazed expression, then her pale cheeks flushed bright red as she whipped her gaze away.
"W-who asked for compliments! And not the hem of your clothes... One day, I'll definitely start by ripping that mask off your face, Professor!"
Ien turned her head sharply and staggered back toward the group. Her ears had gone crimson, which told me she still had plenty of energy to spare.
"Anyone who's caught their breath, get up. No lunch until you finish those last ten laps."
At my warning, the students whined but rose like zombies and started dragging themselves around the field again.
Leaving them behind, I turned away with a relaxed stride. The morning schedule was pretty much done, so I figured I'd find a quiet spot and enjoy a proper nap before afternoon self-study.
—-
Behind the academy's main building lay an old, rarely visited garden. I stretched out on a bench nestled beneath overgrown bushes that provided cool shade and closed my eyes. The gentle breeze rustling the leaves tickled my ears. The exhaustion from two straight days of physical labor melted away like snow.
I don't know how much time passed. Just as I was drifting into a light sleep, the faint, fragrant scent of tea leaves brushed my nose and my eyes flew open.
"So this is where you were, Professor Kyle."
Elena Kastina stood in front of the bench. She wore her usual neat uniform and glasses, looking every bit the intellectual scholar, but both her hands held an unexpectedly elegant wooden tray. Two steaming teacups sat on it.
"What brings the co-homeroom teacher all the way out here?"
I sat up on the bench to ask, and Elena naturally took a seat beside me. As she drew closer, her unique cool, clear scent drifted past the aroma of the tea.
"It was lunchtime and you weren't in the staff room, so I thought I'd check. I heard you spent the entire morning running the students ragged under the blazing sun. You must be exhausted."
Elena offered me one of the teacups. I took it without thinking, and she gave me a gentle smile. It was surprisingly soft for someone usually as cold and strict as ice.
"I don't think I properly thanked you for rescuing our students from the forest yesterday. It's not much, but I brewed this tea myself. I mixed in some herbs that are good for relieving fatigue, so I hope it suits your taste."
A 1st-class mage personally brewing and serving tea? This had to be a poisoned chalice. She was clearly offering kindness to subtly probe me.
I watched her warily from behind my mask and took a sip.
"The tea is excellent. But I haven't done anything that deserves thanks. I just swung a club around to save my own skin."
"How modest. I heard about what happened on the training field this morning as well. You subdued twenty students in an instant and completely broke their spirits. Even Denin and Ien, who are usually so arrogant, get stars in their eyes at the mere mention of your name."
Elena fiddled with her teacup while gazing at me steadily. After a moment, her fingers lightly brushed some dust off my shoulder. A strange silence stretched between us, feeling like an eternity until her hand finally withdrew.
Eventually Elena leaned back and let out a small sigh.
"In any case, thanks to you, Professor Kyle, the S-Class has been brought to heel. It looks like our future as co-homeroom teachers will be much smoother. I look forward to working with you."
Elena stood and gathered the empty tray. As she left the garden, she glanced back at me one last time. Her gaze was strangely warm—not completely free of suspicion, but lacking the outright hostility from before.
Women really were impossible to understand.
I downed the rest of the black tea in one gulp and rubbed the back of my neck.
—-
After finishing all my duties, I dragged my completely drained body back to the temporary faculty dormitory. The morning had sucked the life out of me dealing with Ien and the students' excessive enthusiasm, while the afternoon had left my mind frayed from Elena's sharp interrogation.
All I needed right now was a soft bed and sweet, uninterrupted sleep.
Creak.
The moment I opened the old dormitory door and stepped inside, I froze.
In the dark room with the lights off, a woman sat cross-legged on the narrow, shabby bed that was supposed to be mine. She wore a dazzling silk dress that looked completely out of place in the humble space.
Jet-black hair and crimson eyes that glowed vividly even in the darkness. It was the principal of Eterna Royal Academy, Lucy di Archen.
"Seriously... why the hell is the principal in my room?"
I asked, pressing a hand to my forehead in disbelief. Lucy rose with a languid smile.
"I heard our excellent specially appointed instructor made it through another day safely, so I came to offer some personal encouragement. But really, how can the room of a specially recruited teacher be this shabby? You should move to the room next to my residence starting tomorrow."
"I'll pass. This place is the most comfortable, so leave me alone."
I took off my mask and tossed it onto the desk, staring at her bluntly. Lucy approached with graceful steps and stopped right in front of me. Her fingers gently stroked my chin before sliding up to my cheek.
"You seemed to have quite an intimate moment with Elena in the garden earlier. She gave you tea and brushed your shoulder."
Lucy's red eyes traced down to my lips.
"It's not like that."
Lucy wrapped her arms around my neck, bringing her face close enough that I could feel her breath.
"Then that's fine. Get some proper rest. You'll have to work hard again tomorrow."
Lucy left, and the door clicked shut. Heavy silence filled the room once more. Only the scent she'd left behind lingered in the air, tightening around my chest.
I collapsed onto the bed like a puppet with its strings cut.
"Someone save me... I'm seriously too tired."
Another day faded away just like that.