Chapter 71
Chapter 71
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 71
Chapter Title: The Bullshit Filter
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Tap, tap.
The sound of boots echoed through the hallway.
As a man in a neat suit pulled open the double doors and entered, he saw several professors seated around a long conference table.
"Oh, Professor Dmitry, welcome."
"Hello, Professor Liana."
Liana Lindsey.
The supervising professor for Class C, she greeted Dmitry Belikov as he entered.
Dmitry returned her greeting and took an empty seat at a corner of the table.
"For you to be the last to arrive, Professor Dmitry, you must have been quite busy."
"Haha. My students are so passionate about learning that my class ran a little late."
Efert Liar.
The professor in charge of Class A.
Although he meant it as a simple greeting, Dmitry took it as a sarcastic jab.
While Efert had been granted the surname Liar by the Emperor in recognition of his exceptional skills, he was, at his core, a commoner.
Dmitry Belikov was a man who believed in noble supremacy—the idea that all nobles were superior to commoners.
That was why he overanalyzed a simple greeting and took offense.
‘…Tch.’
But there was nothing he could do about it.
He had already challenged him several times in the past, only to be defeated each time.
All he could do was click his tongue inwardly, just like now.
"By the way, does any professor here know why the Headmaster has summoned us today?"
Dmitry looked around at the other professors at the table and asked, but no one answered.
And for good reason—everything that was about to happen was Lucia’s unilateral decision.
"Hmm…"
Just then, a woman on one side of the table hummed thoughtfully.
"Miss Yulia. Do you happen to know something?"
Yulia Rodenburg.
She was a third-year student at the academy and served as the Student Council President.
Her presence at a faculty meeting was a testament to the considerable power the Student Council wielded within the academy.
Indeed, the Student Council was an important organization active in various facets of academy life.
None of the other professors questioned her being there.
"Well… I wonder if she's planning to fire a few people over the last incident?"
Fire.
In a word, dismissal.
At her words, the throats of a few professors with guilty consciences bobbed nervously.
"Hehe. It's just a joke, so you don't need to be so tense."
She grinned, a mischievous smile playing on her lips.
A couple more jokes like that and someone’s heart might stop.
"Right… If I had to guess, I'd say it's related to adventurers, wouldn't you? I've received intelligence that the Headmaster has been frequenting the Adventurer's Guild lately."
Of all things, adventurers.
The position of Headmaster of the academy was not to be taken lightly.
What reason could she have for personally visiting such a humble place?
"Perhaps she found an adventurer she fancies and intends to hire them as a professor."
"Haha. An adventurer as a professor? Miss Yulia, your jokes are quite extreme."
A commoner teaching a noble was an act that should never happen in this academy.
Not in the past, not now, and not in the future.
At least, not while he was alive and well to see it.
"Oh? And why shouldn't it? The Headmaster herself was an adventurer in her younger days."
Even among adventurers, there was a world of difference between an S-rank and the common riff-raff.
"Ah! Could it be that person?"
"That person… That would make sense."
Professors Efert and Liana spoke as if they knew something.
"Professor Liana, do you have someone in mind?"
"You know, the person who helped us during the Demonic Human incident!"
He didn't know who that was.
It had happened while he was on sick leave due to mana exhaustion.
But one thing was certain.
"If it's him, I suppose it might be acceptable. He must be skilled if he could defeat a Demonic Human."
"Right? Rumor has it his promotion speed is nothing short of miraculous."
He was an adventurer.
And an adventurer was a commoner.
Someone like that becoming a professor?
"That must never be allowed to happen!"
***
"That must never be allowed to happen!"
The scene that greeted Lucia as she opened the door was of a neatly dressed professor, hands slammed on the table, who had shot up from his seat in a sudden outburst.
"Professor Dmitry. Is something the matter?"
"Ah! Headmaster! You've… arrived."
The professor greeted Lucia, but his voice trailed off as he noticed us.
"Um… Headmaster. Excuse me, but isn't the person behind you… a former student of ours?"
"Ah. As expected, Professor Dmitry. It seems you remember him."
"Haha… I've always been confident in my memory…."
Was that really a positive memory?
I had a feeling it wasn't.
He probably remembered me as a commoner, the last-place student, or something along those lines.
"Headmaster? Is the person behind you the new professor?"
A woman with light-blue braided bun hair, sitting on the left side of the table, spoke up.
‘Is that Yulia?’
If my memory served me right, it probably was.
She was the only one with that hairstyle.
The third-year Student Council President, Yulia Rodenburg.
She was in too ambiguous a position to be a main heroine, so I guess you could call her a sub-heroine.
Yulia was set to graduate at the end of the year, but since the entire novel takes place in less than a year of in-story time, it didn't matter.
She was a character who suffered from cleaning up the messes from all sorts of incidents that happened at the academy.
She would often call in Arthur, who was strangely entangled with Demonic Humans and demonkin, for questioning and counseling, and she would eventually develop feelings for him as he got involved with the Student Council and other affairs.
"Hah… I tried my best to be discreet, but I don't know how you found out. You truly are amazing."
"You underestimate the Student Council's intelligence network. Hehe."
As Lucia let out a weary sigh, Yulia chuckled softly.
As if it didn't matter now that she'd been found out, Lucia took a few steps forward to the head of the table.
"Since everyone is gathered, I'll make the announcement. I have hired Luke and his party here as temporary instructors."
Not "I intend to hire," but "I have hired."
It was already a done deal.
At that, the professor who had just had the outburst spoke cautiously.
"…Headmaster. While I respect your decision, I must object to the idea of bringing an adventurer in as a professor."
Yeah, well, it’s already decided, so you can’t change it. Go home.
"And why is that?"
"He was a student until just recently. How can someone who is still at an age where he should be broadening his own horizons alongside other students possibly teach others? I believe that is preposterous."
"You don't need qualifications to teach others. And being young doesn't mean you have nothing to teach."
"He is a commoner. A commoner teaching nobles will surely incite backlash from the students."
"Such empty formalities as commoner and noble are unnecessary at the academy."
Although class was supposed to be meaningless at the academy, the reality was different.
What if a commoner got on a noble’s bad side at the academy and faced retaliation after graduation?
It was only natural for commoners to be wary of nobles, and some nobles took that deference for granted.
"Hah… This is why I went alone."
Lucia had mentioned yesterday that she came without saying anything.
This must have been why.
"In that case, isn't there a good solution?"
A young, silver-haired professor spoke up.
"Why don't we have him prove that he has something to teach, be it martial arts or academia?"
"That's an excellent idea, Professor Efert."
The old-fashioned professor approached me.
"Do you truly believe you are prepared to teach others?"
“……”
"Excuse me?"
Luna nudged me in the ribs.
"Luke?"
"What?"
"Why aren't you answering…?"
"Huh? Did someone say something to me?"
Luna pointed her finger at the professor in front of me.
"Ah. Luna, did that man just say something stupid? My ears have a filter that automatically blocks out bullshit, so I can't hear it when someone spouts it."
If you're a human, you should make human sounds. Why make dog sounds?
That's why I couldn't hear him.
"Pfft…"
"Pffft…"
Laughter mixed with scorn and ridicule could be heard from the surroundings.
"…What did you say?"
The professor's hands clenched into fists, his body trembling.
"Hoo… Your provocation skills are top-notch. Very well. Let's test you right now."
***
And so, we moved to the training grounds.
The training grounds were already packed with students.
Some were watching the training from outside, while others were taking a break, having just finished their sessions.
"Huh…? Professor Dmitry…?"
"Professor Liana and Professor Efert are here too…?"
"Hey, isn't that the Headmaster behind them…?"
With a whole group of professors walking together, with the Headmaster no less, it was inevitable that they would draw attention.
Some students even trembled in fear, wondering if something had happened.
We couldn't exactly wreck the conference room, so we came to the training grounds. But since the grounds weren't originally made for professors to use, drawing a crowd was a given.
The professor who was supposed to fight me approached a section where training had just ended and spoke politely to the students.
"Cedric. May I borrow this space for a moment?"
"Ah…? Yes! Of course!"
"Thank you."
If he could be this polite, why was he spouting bullshit earlier?
I stepped into the training area, which was enclosed by a white barrier, and faced the professor. He, ever the talker, opened his mouth again.
"If you surrender now, I will forgive you."
"For a professor, you sure have a loose mouth. Are you perhaps better at sucking up with that mouth than you are at anything else?"
Whose ass did he kiss to become a professor with just his mouth?
Or was he a master of Wind Style?
His way of running his mouth reminded me of that guy from the Cowardly Leaf Village.
"You vulgar…!"
He gritted his teeth, his fists trembling.
He looked like he was about to undergo a dark evolution.
‘No, but now that I think about it, this is ridiculous.’
I might be temporary, but wasn't I invited here as a visiting professor?
What kind of attitude was this, demanding proof from someone they sought out for their needs?
Suddenly, I was incredibly pissed off.
"You're fucking dead."
"…?"