Chapter 145: Clever Teaching Assistant Life (4)
The next day arrived. I headed to the professor's office early in the morning to grab the lecture materials. Since I'd prepared most of it the day before, there wasn't much left to pick up.
That's when the quiet office came into view. I scanned the room, then turned toward the desk.
“……”
Sunlight streamed through the window by the desk where sunlight always shone in the mornings. Senior was always there, organizing lecture notes and waiting for me. But just one day without her, and it felt this empty. I couldn't get used to it. It felt just like when Rana wasn't around.
Still, I couldn't just stand there spacing out. I shook off the feeling and left the office.
The classroom was rowdy enough that noise from outside filtered in. Being first-years, they were full of energy. That would fade by second year. Just look at Evan—his face always looked like he was on the verge of collapse from exhaustion. I'd seen Veil recently too, and he wasn't much different.
“Senior! Good morning!”
“Hello!”
“Yeah.”
I entered amid the first-years' greetings and set down the materials for the lecture.
“You all saw the notice, right? Senior Ruina's away on a trip, so I'm handling the lecture today.”
“So what are we doing? Maybe a break...?”
“Cut the bullshit. As announced last time, quiz first, then lecture on the rest.”
“Aw...”
Sighs erupted here and there. Freshmen had a thirst for knowledge, but they still wanted to slack off. I had no intention of letting up until we'd covered the material.
“Put your books away and get out your pens.”
Of course, being too strict wasn't ideal. A little leniency was key to handling students.
“Finish everything quick, and I might let you rest...”
They moved like lightning. Books vanished, and they were ready for the quiz in seconds, eyes sparkling. I used mana to distribute the papers.
“Twenty minutes. Not too hard, so you can finish in time. Begin.”
The quiz started. Short time, easy questions—it wrapped up fast. Now for the lecture. No major issues there either. The content was within my knowledge, and Senior had covered most of it last time, so little was left. I collected the papers and began.
But not even thirty minutes in, heads started nodding off.
“Why's everyone dozing?”
A third of them were out. All-nighter cramming for the quiz plus a 9 a.m. start—it was inevitable.
One student, unable to hold back sleep, raised a hand.
“Senior Kyle... could we take a short break?”
“That sleepy?”
“You know how tough morning lectures are.”
“Try telling that to a knight department student. And I told you to hit the training grounds.”
The crafting department's habit of pulling all-nighters was routine, building up insane fatigue. I'd advised them to train their stamina, but few listened.
“Heh, come on, Senior. Just a little break...”
I glanced at the textbook. Today's lecture was done. I closed it.
“Alright, that's it for today.”
“Yesss! Thank you!”
“Thanks, Senior Kyle!”
Their cheers made me smirk.
“But no leaving the classroom. Stay till time's up.”
Other rooms were still in session. Letting them loose would cause chaos. Luckily, they got it—probably thrilled just to end early. Still, I cast a soundproofing spell and let them chat while I graded quizzes.
“This one's right, this one...”
Using their chatter as background noise, I sorted correct from wrong. Then a student called out.
“Senior! Tell us about yourself?”
Eyes gleaming with curiosity. Two weeks in, it was natural they'd have questions.
“What do you wanna know.”
“Oh, me...!”
“Me...!”
Questions exploded, overlapping into noise. I pointed to one.
“One at a time. You first.”
A girl fidgeted before speaking.
“Um, what's Senior Evan like...?”
“First question's about him?”
The protagonist, drawing newbie attention. Others looked interested too—they'd seen me with him around Tianis Academy, so everyone knew we were close. I gave a balanced rundown of his pros and cons. She beamed, satisfied.
“Next.”
“Have you met the Saintess? Is she as pretty as they say?”
“You'd know—she visited a few months back. And yeah, she's pretty.”
“So her boobs are really that big...?”
“Wanna die?”
“Hic!”
I glared with killing intent. She startled into hiccups.
“Keep it polite.”
“Y-yes!”
“Next.”
I fielded more. The next student hesitated.
“Um, Senior Kyle.”
“Spit it out.”
“You know... are you really dating Senior Rana...?”
I'd wondered when that'd come. Rana's popularity never faded, and rumors of us had spread everywhere.
“Short answer: no.”
“But the rumors say you're lovers...”
“Rumors are just that.”
She pressed.
“So you wouldn't mind if she dated someone else?”
“What, you gonna try and snag her?”
“N-no, not me...”
I eyed her stutter lightly.
“Go for it. If you can.”
“Huh?”
“I said try.”
“For real?”
I sneered.
“But here's a tip: even if Rana died and came back, it won't happen.”
“You don't know that...”
“True, you don't. So... if you can, do it.”
People thought Rana's bright, kind nature made her easy to win over. Wrong. It was just courtesy for good relations—nothing deeper.
“……”
She went silent at my confidence. You can't say that without belief. I added,
“One more thing: I can't accept her for reasons. Remove those, and it could change anytime.”
The class erupted in oohs. Tch, right age for romance hype, but overkill. Another asked,
“How far have you gone with Senior Rana?”
“None of your business. Privacy.”
I shut that down.
“What's your relation to Professor Ruina?”
“Professor and TA, senior and junior, master and disciple. That about covers it.”
“Doesn't seem that way. Other profs say she treats you special, only lets you call her Senior Ruina.”
“Got a problem?”
“No, it's just... she's friendly only to you, not others...”
“Shut it.”
I cut off senior talk. My watch beeped—class over. I gathered papers and stood.
“Questions done. Senior Ruina's back next week. Dismissed.”
I sent them off and headed to her office, placing graded quizzes on the desk. No more schedule, so I packed lunch and dinner from the cafeteria and returned to the dorm.
Lunch down, lying on bed—boredom hit. I stepped out and sat on a bench.
“Weather's gloomy as hell.”
Clouds thick, rain brewing. My shitty mood worsened. I vented aloud.
“This world... is so fucking unfair.”
Tragic truth: not everyone can be the protagonist, or happy. Knowing that, I couldn't fix Senior Ruina's suffering even aware of it. Cruel, but necessary. Heroes thrive, villains die—that's the divide, the world's rule. Unchangeable promise.
“Fuck...”
Acknowledging it didn't ease the frustration. Stomach churning, I puked up lunch. Leaning on the bench, arm over eyes, I zoned out.
Plip, plip.
Raindrops hit my face. Clouds had darkened; time to pour. No urge to move. Rain intensified. In under ten minutes, I was soaked. I sat there, unbothered.
Hours passed. Rain from lunch till night. I didn't budge, drenched.
Then, a presence beside me—someone tugged my sleeve. I lowered my arm, lifted my head.
Senior Ruina stood there.
“Have a good trip, Senior?”
“Yeah... I'm back.”
Reeking of thick blood.