The Academy Slave Instructor - Chapter 1
The guards had come looking for him.
The guards had come looking for him.
"If you're a knight, act like one—show some spine! No coward's tricks!"
"You sure don't act the part of a knight."
Seiban's words made Asran's eyes burn with fury.
"Aren't you angry at all? You've been treating Zeroa like a stray dog!"
"Even if I am, shouting won't make the culprit show himself. They'll probably enjoy seeing your reaction all the more. And..."
Seiban gave his cold, unflinching opinion, and Asran fell silent, while Seiban trailed off, glancing at Zeroa.
The problem wasn't simple bullying—it was that Zeroa was the target of it.
Even if the Empire praised strength and demanded respect from the strong, it never truly ignored the weak.
Yet the students gathered here were all proud of their own skill and pride in themselves.
People might pity them and offer a hand, but that offered sympathy only crushed their pride even more.
Even Zeroa, who looked humble and underestimated his own abilities, wouldn't enjoy such gazes.
Seiban glanced at Zeroa, trying to calm Asran's rage, and told him to sit back down.
"What's going on?"
Diana approached from nearby and asked, and Seiban quietly filled her in on the situation.
He'd been trying to keep the attention off himself, but Asran had caused too much of a scene to ignore it now.
The surrounding academy students pretended to eat quietly while listening to Seiban's story.
After Diana heard everything, she opened Zeroa's lunchbox lid, made a face, and closed it again.
"Zeroa, share mine."
She squeezed into the seat meant for one person, pressed close to Zeroa, and set her tray down.
"Here, ah~."
"It's fine, I can eat alone."
Zeroa tried to refuse, but Diana forced a bite into his mouth. The fork slid in and out effortlessly as she casually ate a piece of meat.
"I heard first-years are full of those kinds lately, but I didn't think second-years would have any either."
Leaning on her arm on the table as if chatting, Diana's voice was light.
The first-years who'd once troubled Zeroa all exchanged nervous glances.
"What—First-years have their own opinions, so we let them be for now. But once this is over, we should really give them a thorough going-over."
Instructors never forced discipline or etiquette on the students.
Their role was strictly limited to teaching; they gave students complete autonomy.
Even with that freedom, though, undisciplined behavior couldn't be tolerated.
So students maintained order by managing one another, with the year just above them keeping watch.
Because the academy had such a relaxed atmosphere, when problems arose the upperclassmen would step in if needed or when something socially unacceptable happened.
"No guarantee we're in the same year."
Seiban's words made Diana nod.
"True, but same-year students are the easiest to approach. Zeroa isn't the nosiest or the one who causes trouble for others, right? We just picked the most likely target."
"If that's the case, second-years who know Zeroa's personality wouldn't harbor malicious thoughts."
"I agree. But malice doesn't care about someone's character, does it? Humans aren't that good a species."
"Unarguable logic."
Diana and Seiban both smirked, fully agreeing with each other.
Zeroa gave a bitter smile at their cynical exchange, while Asran's face twisted in displeasure.
"Is that really what matters right now? We should catch that bastard immediately."
"Hng~ The ones caught will have their legs snapped or necks broken—that's all up to you, torture instructor Asran. But let's guess who the culprit is. Zeroa, have you wronged anyone lately?"
At Diana's question, Zeroa pondered seriously.
"Um... Mizir and I collided and fell together... and I accidentally led Julius astray so he was late to class... and..."
"Yeah, that's fine. You haven't wronged anyone, have you?"
Diana cut off Zeroa's recounting of small daily incidents by picking up a piece of meat and feeding it to him.
"If Zeroa had wronged someone over something like this, Asran would've already been fed forty loaves of bread in the gut."
"Why me? I treat everyone around me kindly."
"Already been fed, haven't you? Look, look."
Asran grumbled, but Seiban nodded at Diana's words too.
With a playful grin, Diana lifted her shirt to rub her stomach, and Asran swatted her hand away, clicking his tongue while scanning the room.
"What the hell—If it's not revenge, then it's just a prank? You damn dog, you'll be dead the second you're caught."
"It wasn't a prank."
While everyone had been silently eating, Delen spoke up.
Asran turned to him.
"There's still one left."
Delen chewed the food in his mouth and grinned.
"Jealousy."
"Jealousy?"
Seiban gave the answer, and Asran asked in return.
"More impulsive and petty than revenge. Sometimes it flares up over the tiniest things, and I can't understand why people feel that way or even find them."
"Because Zeroa has popularity?"
"No, no... I'm not popular."
Zeroa shoulder-checked her as Diana leaned in close to his face, and he turned away, flustered.
Diana giggled cutely at his reaction, then propped her chin again and looked around.
"Assuming it's jealousy, who could it be?"
At Diana's words, everyone fell silent and thought for a moment.
"... ... Cuthbert?"
"Yeah, Cuthbert."
"Of course it's Cuthbert."
"Eh...?"
Zeroa, Asran, and Seiban's common accusation made Cuthbert, who had been eating in the distance, look up in confusion.
Diana flashed him a bright smile and banged the table.
"Guilty! Cuthbert is guilty!"
"Eeeeeh?"
Completely baffled, Cuthbert let out an "Eh—".
Diana pointed at him.
"Because you thought Zeroa was like you and started to feel jealous when he became popular. You wicked person—you couldn't even congratulate your friend on their happiness; you poured out malice! Death sentence!"
"Objection!"
Vollin shot to his feet beside Cuthbert and shouted.
"Cuthbert isn't popular! He's the loser type! Zeroa might make him jealous, but Cuthbert wouldn't do something so petty! This guy values his own safety! He doesn't have the courage for that kind of thing! He's a cowardly dog!"
"Cripes... perfect rebuttal..."
"You two... shut your mouths."
Diana, having lost the argument, turned her head, and Cuthbert realized it was all a prank and glared at them.
Diana leaned on Zeroa's shoulder and looked up at him, smiling.
"Better now? Feel a little lighter?"
"Huh? Ahaha... Thank you for worrying. But I'm really fine. I've had weird things happen to me at work before. This is nothing."
"What kind of life have you lived?"
Zeroa, who spoke so cheerfully that it sounded like the bullying was cute, made Asran's face twist in disgust.
"Well, anyway, we'll catch him, right?"
Diana asked Zeroa for his opinion.
She was furious about this too, but the victim's wishes mattered most. If he wanted help, she'd help; if not, she'd stop right here.
"Yes, we should catch him."
Zeroa nodded.
If this had happened before academy, he'd have thought silence and endurance were the only ways. But now he knew better.
It wasn't just because he had grown confident in his skills. He had experienced the mental fortitude of Rai, Philia, Asran, and others, and learned that simply enduring without burdening others wasn't enough.
"Yeah, yeah. Answering with a face like you want to kiss me means I can't just stand by."
"Huh? No, that's..."
"Hehehe, now I understand why people like you. Then I'll make you feel even better."
Diana whispered something sultry in his ear, then spoke loudly so everyone could hear.
"You hearing me? You pathetic worm! A worthless, miserable creature who commits filthy acts! I'll catch you soon~! Wonder what your ugly face looks like~."
"The kind of boring life you live has the same face—same air to breathe, which is disgusting. Hope you get kicked out. Parents—why didn't you teach your kid right? Ah, parents are probably just as vile."
"Eh~? If parents are vile goblins, it'd smell, wouldn't it? Talentless but envious of others, secretly doing filthy things for the thrill? How much hasn't your life achieved for you to feel like that?"
Seiban jumped in, and the two happily tore apart the culprit.
Anyone listening would suspect their character, but they didn't care and kept talking loudly, as if the culprit somewhere could hear.
The psychology of anyone who commits such acts is the same: they derive pleasure from watching a victim of malice suffer and tremble in fear.
By turning the volume up, Diana and Seiban blocked that pleasure.
Even with malice, they could laugh and chatter among themselves while mocking, so of course they felt nothing good.
They scanned the surroundings quickly.
Anyone with an odd expression—specifically anyone writhing in humiliation—as their target.
"Sorry to interrupt, but can I join for a moment?"
A calm, well-dressed man with a refreshing, gentle aura asked politely from behind.
"Orlet-senpai, long time no see. I thought you weren't interested in us second-years."
"You guys are so outstanding you can call the academy's future. So we third-years never got the chance to interfere."
Diana recognized him and greeted him, and Orlet smiled shyly in return.
From their first year onward, the Martial Arts Tournament champion, the one who reached the round of 32, and praised for strategy and tactics as the Golden Knight. His direct upperclassmen had been relatively powerless.
Themselves not great fighters and getting along too well, they had never tried to manage the lower years—Dian a included.
"But I think this is quite a big incident."
"Really? I thought we could handle it ourselves."
"The more people, the better. We can investigate our year. As a worthless senior, I can help too."
Even as Diana spoke, Orlet's smile stayed gentle.
His cautious attitude toward the friendly Diana was fascinating, and while Zeroa watched, Orlet spoke to him.
"Hello, Zeroa-kun. It's the first time we've greeted like this."
"Hello, senpai. I didn't know you knew my name."
"We third-years all know Zeroa-kun's name. You shone in the equestrian event too."
Zeroa had thought he was just one of the grantees—fighting alongside Aria and Violet—but not especially noticeable. Still, he accepted the praise.
"Thank you, senpai."
"You can call me Orlet. More casually."
Orlet kept the conversation flowing gently, and Diana and Seiban watched him with suspicion.
Yet Zeroa seemed completely drawn in by Orlet's warm demeanor.
The right words, the proper compliments—both men were captivated, and they exchanged quite a bit.
"Well, after training ends, let's talk again. My kids wanted to chat with you too. Of course, not just a casual chat—mostly about this incident."
"Yes, thank you for helping."
Zeroa's back as Orlet left, bowing in thanks, made Diana lean on Seiban's shoulder and whisper softly.
"They stole Zeroa-kun from us."
"I don't have the taste for being stolen."
"Same here."
Both men ground their teeth, glaring at Orlet, but Zeroa had completely fallen for him.
Except for Mia, Zeroa had no contact with anyone in his own year.
Seeing Seiban or Diana, or academy students who had already formed relationships with their peers from noble families before academy—Zeroa felt envy every time.
Orlet was neither coercive nor cold; he was the ideal senior Zeroa had dreamed of.
After Rai's training ended, Zeroa had gone to him, chatted for hours, and returned home satisfied.
At first it had been similar to interviewing for the culprit, but as time passed it turned into casual upper-lower talk, and Zeroa found the conversations with those who treated him warmly enjoyable.
Even though someone had tried to bully him, he thought, bad things bring good things too, and he felt positive.
When Zeroa reached his room, he tossed his bag onto the bed to change clothes.
—Tock.
"Huh? What?"
A strange object fell from the bag, and Zeroa blinked and reached for it.
The white oval object looked like an egg, but it was covered in golden patterns.
Small, yet no ordinary object. It carried power far beyond an ordinary item.
'... ... Holy power?'
Through Abigail, he now knew what holy power was.
But this was vastly stronger than hers.
A relic.
The moment he thought the word, Zeroa felt chills on his back.
A thing the church would protect at all costs. Not to be taken outside under normal circumstances, and certainly not for a private person to possess.
He had no idea why it was in his bag, and he froze when a knock sounded and Kara entered.
"Eh? Kara? Why, why?"
"... ... Oppa... what did you do?"
"No, no. I didn't do anything."
"Then why are the guards looking for you?"
Kara's expression was grave.
And at the mention of guards, Zeroa's face turned ashen.