Unseasoned Instructor
The sprawling two-story residence with its attached garden greeted Rai Redford's gaze, and he let out a low whistle of genuine admiration. "Ooh, this place is nicer than I expected."
Guided by Leila Cloud, he had arrived at a home far superior to what he had anticipated. He had expected even the corners of the building to be cramped, yet here he was being offered a proper residence—luxurious treatment for a slave, indeed.
"Now that the contract's over, shall we live together in this cozy setup?"
"What nonsense is that? As an instructor, I don't live on academy grounds. I have my own residence in the city."
"Since I'm under surveillance, I must be thorough. Already slacking off? Who knows what weird things you might get up to in the bathroom or bedroom—wouldn't that be voyeurism?"
Leila Cloud shot the smiling Rai a look of pure disgust, but the power to bind him no longer existed anywhere in the world now that he had escaped the master-slave bond.
"You can monitor my real-time location with Headmistress Selenas at any moment, so no strange antics. Enter."
Rai flashed a casual wave as Leila turned and strode off with cold finality.
"Take care! Instructor colleague! Let's take good care of each other!! Love for fellow instructors! Love for the country!"
Leila didn't even slow her steps, raising her thumb in silent approval despite his jeering shout.
Rai watched her retreating back for a moment, shrugged his shoulders, and stepped inside the house.
The interior was already spotlessly clean. No decorative items marred the space, but every piece of furniture and tool needed for daily life was provided, and the cleaning had been flawless.
He wondered whether he himself was expected to clean or if another academy staff member handled it. His curiosity led him to the tea table positioned before the fireplace, where he spotted a neat stack of documents and a small box.
Opening the box revealed a collection of his favorite brand of cigarettes—products from a legendary name that had remained untouched by his lips for the last seven years.
Among existing tobacco brands, this one was notoriously the weakest, sneered at even by smoking enthusiasts as something mere hobbyists would puff on. Somehow, it had survived the scorn.
His eyes drifted from the box to the documents. The first page bore the simple instruction "burn after reading," followed by a detailed chronicle of how the Kingdom of Keilen had been absorbed by the Empire and the precise steps taken during that process.
It recounted the transformation of Keilen's citizens into Empire subjects, the shifts in political climate, and the fates of his former subordinates and the kingdom's key figures.
Some citizens had struggled to adapt to the rigid Empire laws, yet the bulk of the account described a peaceful assimilation into a system that treated them as equals to its own people. The corners of Rai's mouth lifted slightly.
Whether it was out of consideration or a warning not to dwell on a lost kingdom, he thanked Selenas for the thoughtfulness and lit up the cigarette before stepping outside.
He brought the burning document close to the flame of his cigarette, inhaled deeply, and exhaled a long plume of smoke.
"I'm hungry."
After a quick scan of the kitchen, he found cooking utensils but no actual food supplies. Since he couldn't leave the academy, dining at a city restaurant was impossible.
Feeling awkward about returning to the headmistress's office just because he was hungry again after barely arriving, Rai exhaled more smoke and turned his gaze to the lizard perched on a nearby tree, staring back at him.
Having survived countless battlefield campaigns without rations, he had no tolerance for hunger. Starving was a luxury he couldn't afford.
In the blink of an eye, the lizard came into his hand. Cooking it in the kitchen would have been simple, but remembering old campfire memories from his days on the run, Rai gathered branches in front of the house and lit a small fire.
He impaled the lizard on a skewer and propped it near the flames, watching it sizzle and waiting for it to finish cooking.
"What are you doing?"
Rai turned to see Leila Cloud carrying a basket overflowing with groceries.
Her expression was warm, as if she had gone out to fetch provisions, but it was so comically exaggerated that she looked utterly flustered.
"Ooh, that's kind. Did you get this because you wanted me to eat?"
"Since the house had nothing... No, what are you doing?"
"I was just going to roast this lizard because there's nothing here."
Leila clutched her forehead and squeezed her eyes shut at his casual reply.
"Camping inside the academy... Are you insane? Completely out of your mind? Who... who told you to roast lizards in the academy?"
"Lizards are pretty delicious. You never went hungry in the battlefield. This is quite the special meal."
"This isn't a battlefield—it's a place of study and learning! Just throw it away right now. I brought food."
"But it's already almost done..."
Rai stared at the lizard with a regretful expression, yet Leila ignored him completely.
"It's too late to regret it. In the short time I was gone, where did you even catch it?"
"Eh? You didn't catch it?"
"What nonsense is that?"
Leila quickly wiped away any traces as if someone might be watching, but Rai fixed his gaze on her. He then turned his attention to the building that housed the headmistress's office.
There were exactly four lizards skewered on the stick. Given that these particular lizards never traveled in packs, gathering them naturally in a non-forest, non-swamp area was unlikely.
He had hoped to peek at the surveillance using his familiar, but Leila acted as if she knew nothing. She wasn't particularly skilled at concealing lies.
Were Selenas and Leila allies? Or was there a third faction he didn't know about?
*Too much interest in some lame commander who lost the kingdom.*
"Are you going to wipe it clean already?"
"Yes! Yes, ma'am!"
Rai dropped the pretense and rushed over to the fire at Leila's furious tone.
* * *
Two weeks had passed since Rai began his duties at the academy, and the new student enrollment ceremony had begun.
It was nothing grand. Headmistress Selenas simply stood on stage to deliver a motivational speech and then sat down.
But her words dragged on, and Rai, who had little interest in the ceremony, found himself growing increasingly bored.
Upon reflection, listening to someone deliver a speech on stage had been a long time coming. Most of his time had been spent in Selenas's position, and even then, the only reason he hadn't quit was because he was too lazy to bother.
He would give a single sentence and then lead the troops.
The man standing near him watched Rai's small yawn with open disapproval.
Vice Principal Bright Gadifroy of Legandia Academy glared at him with eyes that were entirely out of character for the otherwise stern veteran—sharp, merciless, and predatory.
"Headmistress, why on earth was such a man hired as an instructor at Legandia Academy?"
His perfectly white hair was a little thinning, but his neatly trimmed beard still trembled slightly. The usually polite and refined Bright's voice carried unmistakable anger as he spoke, and Selenas sighed inwardly.
"What exactly is bothering you about this?"
" 'Exactly' isn't the point—it's everything! Legandia Academy is the Empire's most important institution for shaping the future! I, and every instructor and staff member here, take immense pride in that fact. All instructors at this academy must possess outstanding experience, exceptional ability, and genuine teaching talent! But what kind of 'experience' is this?!"
The single line on Rai's resume read simply:
Rai Redford. Age 32. Retired knight.
Rennen Battle survivor. Command experience in military units.
Even outside the academy, such a record would have made employment nearly impossible anywhere. Yet Selenas had hired him. Bright, who took pride in the academy's stellar faculty, could not accept it.
*There was only one place where an untraceable record could belong.*
The Rennen Battle was shrouded in secrecy for the Empire's prestige. Very few survivors remained, and those who had participated were bound by oaths not to reveal details. Without high-level Imperial access, tracing anyone was impossible, making Rai's fabricated background a perfect fit.
The only real problem was that his experience was untraceable—except for the Rennen Battle.
"Please explain."
"Um... what exactly?"
Bright met Selenas's gaze with eyes far sharper than his age allowed.
"What kind of coercion was used? The headmistress wouldn't accept a simple bribe, and you certainly wouldn't have hired him on impulse. Someone powerful must have pressured you. Who exactly is behind this? Even someone who's retired from active duty like myself, Bright Gadifroy, is still capable. I'll handle it quietly."
"No... it's fine."
Bright's misunderstanding needed to be corrected before he took unnecessary action. Selenas, who rarely saw the dignified man lose his composure and curse, continued.
"At this point, I have no choice but to ask for your trust."
After speaking with Selenas, Bright decided to observe Rai until the new semester began. He came to his conclusion.
The man was a lost cause.
He had watched Rai training in the morning and expected great things, but the man was weaker than an ordinary knight—out of breath after every movement, and if tired, he would simply lie down and refuse to get up.
He had even seen the fool napping sprawled across an entire alley. A knight who smoked cigarettes? The first in Bright's long lifetime.
Most of his days seemed to consist of sunbathing or lying in the sun, and once he even saw the man roasting a lizard. Bright had also witnessed the two of them—Rai and Leila—interacting. Leila had accumulated numerous battlefield honors and possessed a rigid personality, earning praise from many. Despite her youth, she was a woman of outstanding character and talent, so Bright had no complaint about hiring her as an instructor. In fact, he was almost sorry that someone with such talent had entered the education field so young.
He wondered what circumstances had driven her to become an instructor at such a tender age, while Rai's arrival seemed driven by something far less noble.
The two had appeared together often, as if they knew each other. Every time Leila met Rai, her face twisted in displeasure, yet he seemed to enjoy it and only clung to her more tightly.
Such a man lacked both dignity and sense. He had no place in the academy.
Bright, who had sensed Rai's hidden secrets, disliked him from the start. He would make sure this intruder understood just how unforgiving this place could be.
Instructors standing near Rai sweated profusely under the man's murderous glare, but Rai himself showed no reaction.
The enrollment speech concluded, the newly assigned classes dispersed, and instructors gathered in the teachers' lounge for morning assembly.
"Everyone knows, of course, that we have welcomed new instructors to teach our excellent students at Legandia Academy."
The other instructors clapped enthusiastically at the sight of the two newcomers.
Leila kept her gaze fixed on Bright, while Rai smiled broadly and greeted the clapping staff one by one.
"Adding new instructors to the faculty is wonderful for high-quality education. However! Just because we have a title called 'instructor' doesn't mean everyone is an instructor. Furthermore, do you truly believe that unqualified individuals have a place in Legandia Academy?!"
The warm atmosphere shattered instantly at Bright's booming voice. Some instructors who already knew Rai's record nodded in agreement, while others glanced at their surroundings and quickly looked away.
Throughout it all, Rai watched Leila with a look of pity.
"What are you looking at? It's my problem."
Leila whispered without moving her lips. He could have used his mimicry to make it seem like a conversation, but her tone sounded as though she were gritting her teeth.
"Me? I haven't done anything yet—why is the old man so angry?"
Rai answered with a tiny mimicry as well, and Leila responded.
"Not 'old man'—Vice Principal. Did you really think you'd be welcomed with that record?"
"Evaluating people solely by their experience is wrong."
"Absolutely, but your experience is worse than you think."
Rennen was nothing but a single battle and a single defeat—no matter the command experience, it was not good credentials. The tangled scandals and rumors were so filthy that even survivors hid their involvement.
In truth, Rai Redford's record consisted of one battle and one loss— a 0% win rate, the worst possible history.
Other instructors were already sending him contemptuous looks, yet he continued smiling.
"Sorry, but I can't help you."
"It's fine. Compared to my own activities, you're being surprisingly kind."
"... ..."
Watching the man appear utterly unconcerned, Leila wondered what kind of treatment he had received in his own country.
Bright's voice grew longer with irritation as he saw Rai ignore his words entirely, but the instructors' reminder that students were waiting finally allowed the assembly to end.
As instructors dispersed toward their assigned classes, Rai left the teachers' lounge. He scanned the attendance list with a hidden smile.
He had been on the battlefield since the age of thirteen. While other noble children spent their youth learning etiquette and manners, he had committed his first murder. He had fled enemies and stood at the edge of life and death.
Later he wandered the battlefield alone, experiencing countless lands and people.
If forced to choose the one place most unconnected to him, he would pick the academy without hesitation. He had swung a sword in war while others his age were still in school, and he had ended up straight in prison. He had never set foot inside an academy.
Yet here he was, standing in one. Life was truly unpredictable. Even though his position was that of instructor rather than student, the experience was fresh and invigorating.
He had lived a harsh life and expected nothing exciting would ever happen again, yet something stirred inside him. Rai laughed at his own childish excitement and headed toward the class he had been assigned.
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**End of Chapter**