Chapter 10
CHAPTER_TITLE: The Academy's Admission Ceremony
「Sister... as in, blood sisters?」
「Yes. We are sisters.」
I couldn't wrap my head around what she was saying.
「Then Aria is the eldest...?」
「I'm the eldest. Yujia is the second, Kama the third, then Meiel, and Yeonha is the youngest.」
I didn't even know what I was saying myself.
「But you five have one thing in common.」
「We're all half-sisters. Father is the same for all of us, and we've been together ever since we could walk.」
But since I had already blurted it out, there was no going back. I threw every ounce of power into filtering and making excuses.
And it worked. The headmistress, who had been skeptical at first, slowly began to believe me.
That five avatars of mine were sisters. Honestly, if you thought about it, it wasn't entirely wrong.
Since those were the characters I had created, if I considered myself their father, calling them sisters was no problem at all. If the headmistress asked any of the others whether we were sisters, it would be me saying so.
So I had nothing to fear!
I straightened my posture and spoke to the still-suspicious headmistress with a steady voice.
「My siblings are all in the temple right now on important business, so today I am the only one here for the admission ceremony. If you ask the Pope, he will confirm it, so you don't have to worry about doubting us.」
「Eh?! D-doubting? What a ridiculous thing to say.」
But the temple was on my side. If I couldn't be with the rest of the siblings, I'd just say they were in the temple.
Even if the headmistress really asked, the Pope would handle it smoothly. The Pope was very quick on the uptake. If she questioned where Aria's siblings were, he'd sense the situation and give an appropriate answer.
And with me speaking so boldly, the headmistress finally relaxed and nodded.
「Hmph! I understand your relationship with Aria and the others well. Then, since you will be serving as a professor at our academy, I will explain a few things you should know. As for your siblings, Aria will teach them.」
「Yes, I will pass that on to my siblings.」
With that said, the headmistress pulled another sheet from a stack of documents and slid it toward me.
I glanced at it and saw the title 「Basic Theory of Teaching.」 It looked as boring as it sounded.
Right now, I desperately needed the ability to summon avatars as clones.
* * *
The admission ceremony at Lua Academy is far simpler and more concise than its reputation suggests.
The reason is that the headmistress herself experienced the ceremony as a young, old-fashioned student and preferred it that way.
Following the headmistress's preference, the ceremony was kept short. There was nothing else to do at the event but sit in chairs, listen to the headmistress's brief words, and leave immediately.
The entire ceremony took less than ten minutes.
And I was sitting proudly in the professor's seat on the second floor of the auditorium where the ceremony was held.
「Hmm...」
I looked around and recognized some familiar professors, but also saw others I had never met.
Since I had taken the seats for swordsmanship, martial arts, archery, and magic, the professors I had seen in the game were nowhere to be found. But the Pope had said they were receiving plenty of money and continued to support them, so there was no issue.
「They even said they liked it more.」
Surprisingly, those who had offered me the professor positions were receiving far more than when they worked and were happy about it.
Well, this is for the future. What can you do?
「Probably... that empty seat there.」
Out of the many filled professor seats, three were empty. Those should have been occupied by Yujia, Kama, and Meiel.
Right now, in my Aria form, those seats were vacant, so the surrounding professors kept glancing at them curiously. But... sorry, I'll greet you all properly later.
I forced myself to look away from the empty seats and stared at the first floor, where the new students filled the hall.
One by one, I scanned them. I saw Liana, whom I had seen three days ago, Arin, whom I had seen two days ago, Shaty, Park, and Kana, among others. These familiar faces were sitting in their new uniforms.
It felt strange that the characters I had seen during festivals were now sitting right in front of me in this place, but their presence made my heart flutter slightly.
It was like real proof that I was truly here. But for a moment, I let myself feel that way.
Then the headmistress's voice came from the stage, and everyone—me, the professors, and the students—turned their attention to her.
「Ah. It is a pleasure to meet all of you, the new students who have joined Lua Academy. I am Mira Cheparsa, the headmistress of this academy.」
The headmistress began her self-introduction with a light bow.
Her opening speech was much like the ones I remembered from my past life, but the rest of Mira's words were more than enough to clear the confusion in the students' minds.
「Since I have finished my introduction, I will conclude the ceremony here. The new students have been enjoying the festival until yesterday, so you must be tired, right? You may all go home now.」
「What?!」
「Is that her saying it for real? Just now?」
「This is clearly Lua Academy, right? How can they just end it like this?」
The words from the students were a mix of doubt, but the professors, including me, had the same knowing expressions as before.
I had experienced this admission ceremony many times in the game, and the other professors had lived through it every time. There was nothing confusing about it.
So we sent understanding looks to the students. They would probably get used to it soon anyway.
Anyway, the ceremony had really ended.
I sat on the chair for about five minutes, then stood up to leave the auditorium.
But as I moved, a voice came from behind me, and I had no choice but to stop.
「Ah, by the way. This time, new professors have joined Lua Academy. Since you haven't had a chance to talk to the other professors, I will introduce them now that the opportunity has presented itself. Only one of the new professors has arrived, though.」
......Here? She's selling me out just like that?
I looked at Mira with genuine doubt, but she was smiling brightly as she handed me the microphone.
Some of the professors looked at me with knowing expressions, knowing I was the new one.
The students, however, were looking around, wondering who the new professor Mira was talking about was.
「Haa... I guess I have no choice.」
My heart was racing wildly, and my mind was spinning, but thanks to the compensation, I led my unremarkable body toward the railing on the second floor and jumped.
After all, since Mira had already spoken about it, it was better for me to step forward directly than to let her make me look bad in front of everyone.
Whoosh──
I leaped over a distance of about thirty meters in one jump and landed on the stage.
Students in front of me whispered in surprise at my sudden appearance, but I accepted the microphone from Mira without hesitation and began to speak.
There was a saying that if you couldn't avoid something, you should enjoy it. If this was Mira's carefully prepared scheme to embarrass me, I would just go with the flow.
「I am Aria, who has recently been appointed as a professor at Lua Academy. I am responsible for swordsmanship. Many of you will likely see me soon and face me.」
I paused for a moment and looked at the students. I noticed Arin and Liana looking at me in shock.
Since those two had already met me in this form, it was only natural that they would be surprised to learn I was a professor now.
But right now, the most important thing was to quickly put down the microphone I was holding. So I looked away from them and continued from where I had left off.
「I will not be able to follow your swordsmanship lessons, but my classes will be even harder. The same goes for my siblings' classes. I hope none of you will drop out of the academy.」
After all, the number of slaves who can defeat the demon king in the future will decrease if you all drop out. Please train as hard as possible without falling behind.
What I would push forward as a professor was real-world, Spartan-style training. It would be a harsh course for noble or royal students, but since they had entered the academy as students, they couldn't complain.
I gave a light, mocking smile and lowered the microphone with a loud clang as my final words.
「I hope you will train hard and make me happy.」
This is too much.