Chapter 70
Chapter 70
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 70
Chapter Title: Call Me Professor Baby
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"Luke."
"Mmm... five more minutes..."
"Luke, you need to wake up now if you don't want to be late."
Late? Late for what?
We're adventurers. Aren't we freelancers?
Freelancers can't be late.
"Luke. In case you've forgotten, you did accept the temporary professor position at the academy yesterday, didn't you?"
"Ah...?"
Right.
I went from a freelancer to a contract worker yesterday, didn't I?
"What is this shitty Monday morning feeling..."
"You need to get up and get ready now, or you'll be late. Yui is already prepared and waiting downstairs."
"Yeah, yeah..."
*Roll, roll.*
I rolled off the bed.
"Oof!"
The sharp pain in my back jolted me wide awake.
I changed my clothes and went down to the first floor, joining Yui who was waiting by the entrance.
Then, on our way out of the inn to get something to eat.
Luna asked casually, as if she found it strange.
"Still, it's surprising. That you accepted."
"Is there any reason I couldn't?"
"You made the academy sound like a warzone to me."
"Ah... but at this point, I don't care what kind of events happen."
I don't know if my status window's performance is better than that Arthur guy's, but I've gotten stronger much faster than I expected.
Thanks to that, even if the academy turns into a warzone right now, I can survive just fine.
If it becomes a warzone, I can level up faster, so that's even better.
"Besides, it's not like we have anything else to do."
Even though we were forced on vacation, it's not like there's anything to do for fun in a world with no entertainment.
And hunting monsters for fun is a complete loss, since it's just passion-work with no pay.
They said being a professor pays well, so why not?
"It's not about the money...?"
"How'd you know?"
Yep, when it comes down to it, money is the best!
"And besides, we don't have anything to do, right?"
This is my chance to live out my past life's dream of being a salary thief.
I heard I'll only have to teach a few times a week at most.
They can't just scrap the existing curriculum, so my classes will be squeezed in.
The content of the classes is entirely up to us.
I could have Yui teach magic, or Luna teach close-quarters combat.
Or I could even kidnap a few real monsters and make it a practical, hands-on experience.
They said they'd accommodate our conditions as much as possible, but it was already so convenient that there was nothing to demand.
"Your real reason?"
"I'll just dump it all on Yui and Luna and be a salary thief~"
""...""
"Just kidding~"
***
After finishing breakfast and before heading to the academy.
We went to the clothing store Lucia had recommended.
The reason was.
-Still, you'll have to change your attire. Luna and Yui can go as they are... but Luke, do you happen to have any other clothes? A professor can't wear the same thing as the students.
As if I'd have any other clothes.
I'm like a cartoon character, always wearing the same thing.
-Then how about you go to a clothing store and get a new outfit? Oh, and you don't have to worry about the price. We'll be paying for it.
So she said.
And so, we entered a clothing store that, at a glance, looked like a place only nobles would frequent.
The inside of the store was a true festival of extravagance.
A dress with something sparkly dangling from it.
A uniform clearly made of high-quality materials.
This feeling, like commoners wouldn't even dare to set foot inside.
In Earth terms... right, it felt like being in a Gucci store.
'This is why I despise clothes shopping.'
Why the fuck are these scraps of cloth so expensive?
If they weren't buying it for me this time, I'd rather go naked. I'd never spend my own money on this, not even if I died.
"Welcome."
As I was looking around the store, a clerk approached and bowed politely.
"I'm here to look at some clothes."
"Do you need any assistance?"
Assistance? Hell yeah, I do.
Even in my past life, I only ever wore clothes my mom bought for me.
"Yep."
I followed the clerk and was shown a few outfits.
But it seems the people of this era have a hobby of showing off their wealth, as all the clothes were frilly and fluttery and sparkly.
It was disgusting.
I'm not some flashy performer. You think I'm crazy enough to wear something like that?
As I was passing them all by.
"How about this one? Like the student uniform you're wearing now, it has a self-repair function."
An outfit that looked like a uniform, mostly black.
The design wasn't needlessly shiny either, and its simplicity was right up my alley.
I didn't care if it was expensive or not, since it wasn't my money.
So, I stripped down to change.
"Eek! Sir! The changing room is over there!"
A changing room? That's for lesser men who aren't confident in their bodies!
Behold these abs!
It's not a body I built myself, but Luke's body, devoid of mana, is more incredible than a trained knight's.
This body could turn even a paranoid, nerdy, shut-in loser into a super-confident popular guy just by possessing it.
Therefore, I am overflowing with confidence in my body!
Normally, I could change in ten seconds, but I changed slowly, showing off my body as if I were in a bodybuilding competition.
And for the finishing touch.
"Put it on Jeomineol Academy's tab."
***
"Welcome. That new outfit looks wonderful on you."
That was the first thing Lucia said when she saw me.
We went to the headmaster's office as soon as we arrived at the academy.
She had told us the day before to come see her first thing.
"You told me to come, so I'm here. What should I do now?"
Asking me to be a temporary professor, telling me to come find her.
I did as she asked.
So? What now?
Lucia stood up from her chair and said.
"First, I'll show you to your accommodations. Would you please follow me?"
Accommodations.
Very important.
The quality of one's accommodations determines the quality of one's sleep.
And the reasons why sleep and its quality are important are too obvious to state.
We followed Lucia to the lodgings where we would be staying for the time being.
It was a separate building on the opposite side of the student dormitories.
The building itself was large, as there were many professors at the academy.
'Isn't this a bit too big?'
The building was so large that I could guess what the facilities inside were like without even entering.
Looking at it raised a question.
'Why do they even have shitty dorms like that?'
If they can build something this nice, why did they make that other dump?
The shitty dorm from when I first arrived at the academy, where they gathered all the renowned weaklings.
It boasted a level of shittiness that made my cramped studio apartment from my past life seem like heaven.
It seems like it was built with the intention of motivating students, to make them work harder to get to a better place.
But it was clearly made just to screw people over.
Of course, being in such a suffocating place wouldn't foster a desire for improvement; it would just encourage depression, claustrophobia, and suicide.
Following Lucia, we entered the building. A staircase leading to the upper floor was immediately visible, with long hallways stretching out on either side.
In a normal dormitory with this kind of layout, the hallways would be narrow.
But this place wasn't a hotel, yet the hallway was incredibly wide.
Wide enough for two broad-shouldered guys to walk side-by-side with room to spare.
As expected of an academy story, it seems everyone associated with the academy, not just the students, receives all sorts of benefits.
'And for the time being, those benefits are mine.'
Just thinking about being a salary thief makes me want to grin from ear to ear.
"This is the space where you and your party will be staying for the time being."
"Ooh..."
"...I haven't even opened the door yet...?"
"Consider it a preemptive reaction."
Finally, Lucia turned the doorknob, and as the door opened, the interior of the room came into view.
"Wow..."
Amazing.
"This is incredible..."
The bed was ridiculously big, and there was a sofa, a desk, a vase with flowers, and more.
The interior was quite lavish.
Do all the professors live in a space like this?
I had a rough idea from the building's exterior, but the inside was even better than I thought.
It was incomparable to the inns we always stayed at.
"I'm glad you like it. Some of the other professors were not pleased with their accommodations."
What, they didn't like a nice place like this?
This is why I hate nobles.
"As for your luggage... it doesn't seem you've brought any."
Lucia said, glancing over us.
She probably brought us here to introduce the place and let us unpack.
But I have the King-God-General-Emperor-Admiral-Majesty Skill: Inventory.
"That's because I keep everything in here."
I took a snack out of my Inventory and showed it to Lucia.
Then I tossed the snack to Yui.
Yui deftly caught the snack and popped it into her mouth.
"Storage magic... is it?"
Seeing my Inventory, Lucia's eyes went wide.
"Huhu... That's right. This is the world's most 'subarashii' skill. The strongest and most convenient!"
"I understand the convenience part, but I wouldn't call it strong... would you?"
"Silence!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
How dare you question my Inventory!?
Even if you're an S-rank mage, you're still just a mere magic-slinger!
The notion that Inventory is bad for hunting is an ancient, fossilized way of thinking.
Think about it. Back on Earth, were there any games without an inventory system?
Almost none.
What does this mean?
Horror games, RPGs, survival games, MOBAs.
It means it's an all-powerful, broken skill that fits into any genre!
If you disagree, you're wrong.
"I can tolerate insults to myself, but I cannot tolerate insults to my Inventory!!"
"Uh, uh... I... I'm sorry...?"
"Be careful."
Even if she's my client, the moment she disrespects my Inventory, there's no mercy.
"Um... shall we move on to the next location, then?"
"Yep."
We followed Lucia out of the accommodations, to the main building, and then to our next destination, the conference room.
"Even though it's temporary, I need to introduce you to the other professors."
So that was the reason.
Is this that thing where they haze the new employee?
Anyway, the moment Lucia opened the conference room door.
"That must absolutely not be allowed to happen!"
What's going on now?