The Academy Slave Instructor
Rye Redford's living room.
Joshua sat with a deeply furrowed brow, glaring at the two men and woman in front of him.
On the sofa across from them, Rai kept his gaze fixed elsewhere, feigning disinterest as if he had nothing to say.
Melanie, perched demurely beside him like a contented cat enjoying a sun-warmed spot, simply watched the scene with a satisfied smile.
"Do you have any thoughts at all? Calling it 'sex' in an academy that's supposed to be a place of learning—your brain must be overflowing with lust."
"I was only the one who was taken."
Joshua's savage expression twisted into a scowl as he snapped at the accusation, while Rai shrugged off the blame with a casual "I'm innocent."
No matter what she said, Melanie simply ignored Joshua, still beaming with satisfaction. His face turned purple with rage.
"You said you'd do it, and you actually did it. Outdoor sex no less? You're incredibly open-minded. Even giving direct sex education to the academy students. What would Zeroa and Asran think if they saw that?"
"... ... Wouldn't they be jealous?"
"... ..."
Rai pondered for a moment, then offered his reply. Joshua was left speechless.
Combining academy life, outdoor encounters, and beautiful women—it was the perfect fuel for the male students' sex fantasies.
Hearing that plausible explanation, Joshua considered it seriously for a second before shaking his head, realizing this wasn't the real issue.
"Yeah, but there's the education part. As an instructor, I was supposed to set an example."
"I was the one who was taken."
"Congratulations, you madwoman—you've achieved the feat of raping the Devil of All Nations. Look at how radiant you are. How much essence did you drain?"
Joshua spat out another curse, but Melanie simply ignored him, unfazed by his anger.
Though Joshua appeared furious, in truth he was only joking. He didn't care who Rai was with or where they did it.
As if to prove it, Cale in an apron entered from the kitchen carrying food, and Joshua immediately snatched up a fork and dove in.
"Sorry you had to cook too."
"It's fine. It's Mr. Rai who should apologize. I have nothing to be sorry for."
Cale shot a glance at Joshua, who was inhaling the food, and spoke.
As soon as he entered, he had declared himself starving and ordered Cale to prepare a meal. But this wasn't his direct subordinate assigned for such tasks—yet Cale, familiar with the routine, agreed to let him use the kitchen and fetched the ingredients.
Most of the time Rai ate at the academy cafeteria or outside, so seeing Cale carry food from an empty kitchen seemed novel to him.
"Where did you get the ingredients? There wasn't anything here."
"Your subordinates ran all over the back alleys for this insubordinate boss of yours late at night."
"It's satisfying to have such devoted subordinates who turn their lives into weapons for their superior's happiness."
Joshua said it with pride.
Information Bureau agents who had undergone grueling training for assassination, protection, and intelligence missions were out there at night, scavenging ingredients.
Cale, with a disdainful look at his superior, went to check the oven and returned to the kitchen.
"Bring some alcohol too. And something spicy. Mild stuff isn't my taste."
"Yes, as you wish."
Joshua's perfect subordinate vanished into the kitchen. Rai tasted the food Cale had brought—simple ingredients that somehow preserved the true flavor.
Surprised by how much better it tasted than expected, Joshua laughed and praised Cale.
"Tasty, right? Cale is an excellent subordinate. He can cook, do laundry, clean, give massages, wash dishes—there's nothing he can't do."
"Is he a maid now? Manage him properly."
Smelled by the food's aroma, Melanie joined in, eating heartily. Cale busily shuttled between the kitchen and the table.
At first the dishes were simple, but as the Bureau agents sweated to obtain rare ingredients, more luxurious ones appeared.
Despite cooking alone, the table was filled to overflowing. A surprisingly spacious table was covered with food.
"Why don't you eat with us?"
"No. I have to wash the dishes and clean the kitchen. I can't make a mess in the borrowed space."
Rejecting Rai's suggestion, Cale returned to the kitchen.
Impressed by Cale's dedication, Rai watched Joshua pour alcohol.
"I was supposed to run hard after you for a long time."
"But I don't want to drink with you guys."
"What a cold remark. You said that earlier too. Melanie's crying now? Cry for me, Melanie. Cry."
Melanie, cheeks stuffed from Cale's careful cooking, flipped him off instead of answering. She still extended her empty glass, clearly wanting to drink.
Surrounded by the two strongest drinkers from his old unit, Rai braced himself for a hangover and accepted the glass.
"Let's toast to the old comrades we haven't seen in ages—sex~!"
"... ... Rai, can I kill that guy?"
Melanie's killing intent made Joshua realize he couldn't keep provoking and shrank back.
While drinking with the two of them, Rai remembered the past.
They had marched together through dust and blood while cursing the kingdom, laughing noisily even after barely surviving. Joshua and Melanie had always fought, but Juan Uncle would join them as a third, laughing and drinking. Selma had never joined the noisy group but was always there beside them.
Recalling the subordinates from back then—Garwin, Jona, Del—Rai let out a faint laugh.
The past was past, and he had no lingering attachments. So before getting drunk, he had something to do.
"Joshua. What do you want from Melanie?"
"Huh? Anything you want. It's just a favor from an old comrade who misses you too much."
Rai didn't believe him. Joshua met his serious gaze with a mocking grin and downed the glass in one go.
"Listen, you cold man. You never bothered to find your subordinates. As soon as you got out of prison, you should have searched for them first—whether they're alive or dead. But why did you do nothing?"
Even as a slave, Rai had enormous freedom. With his will alone, he could have found his old subordinates.
Joshua, belonging to the Information Bureau, could have done anything he wanted if he had the resolve.
But he hadn't.
Joshua's voice, usually light and teasing, turned harsh.
"I'm no longer Eliot anymore. I'm Rye Redford now. You two are nothing to me."
"Bullshit. So you fucked Melanie on sight and didn't even spare the Information Bureau Vice-Minister who's tougher than a bird's beak?"
Melanie simply watched Joshua without a word.
He had been a spy who had infiltrated the unit to steal information—someone it wouldn't even be satisfying to kill on sight.
Yet Joshua was angry for the sake of his comrades.
"Do you not care about the people left behind? With the Caelen Kingdom gone, are we now useless? Since you won't look for them, I'm bringing them to you. Everyone's trying to kill me, and now I have to do this?"
Cale, who had been clearing empty plates, crouched beside the table to check on them before quietly picking up a plate and slipping away.
Rai stared at him for a moment, then spoke without changing his expression.
"Joshua, stop beating around the bush. Tell me what you really want."
"... ... Eh—tired?"
Joshua's furious tone vanished instantly as his expression relaxed. He leaned back on the sofa, smiling brightly at both Rai and Melanie.
"You haven't been killed yet. Half of it was sincere, though. Hey, were you moved?"
Seeing Joshua's exaggerated and delighted reaction, Melanie frowned and drained her glass in one go.
Joshua shifted his gaze to Rai, pretending the earlier emotional moment had never happened.
"Actually, I never planned to bring her here. But as I said earlier, you've made enemies of all your old subordinates."
"That's understandable."
Right before surrender, Joshua's subordinates had been furious at him for being a spy.
Rai, locked in prison, knew nothing, but when the Empire announced the Devil of All Nations was to be executed, all their rage poured onto Joshua.
"So I'm marked as the enemy of all your old subordinates. The academy is probably watching me too. Before I discovered you, I could have taken you, but I didn't."
"That's your excuse?"
Joshua slapped the sofa in delight at Rai's answer.
"Yes! Bringing back someone I thought was dead—it's an enormous debt. From enemy to savior! Isn't that wonderful?"
"So how do you plan to repay that favor to Melanie?"
Joshua ignored the question and stared at his empty glass.
Then he called to Cale in the kitchen to bring stronger alcohol and changed his posture to speak seriously.
"I want you to deal with the traces Melanie left behind."
The traces left by the Devil of All Nations.
The resistance forces Joshua had briefly mentioned when they first met Rai.
People from the fallen kingdom who refused to accept its loss—royalist holdouts who still resisted even after Rai had surrendered and ordered absolute non-resistance.
Melanie, who would have to fight them since they had been in the same unit, kept a calm expression.
She didn't care whether the kingdom or the Empire was involved.
She didn't care what cause the resistance claimed. To her, the most important thing was Rai. If he had told her not to resist, she would have obeyed without question.
"Using a lieutenant to handle lieutenant-level troublemakers. Ingenious."
Joshua, through and through an Empire citizen, smiled slyly.
He had joined the unit, bonded with Rai, and spent a long time with the comrades—but the Empire had always been his priority.
If that happened, the Empire could eliminate troublesome elements without spilling their own citizens' blood.
Even if Melanie's unit was wiped out or the resistance forces were destroyed, the power that could rebel against the Empire would be reduced either way.
It was a perfect opportunity for the Empire—taking care of enemies without lifting a finger.
"Impressive."
"Right? But the Information Bureau idiots say the risk is too high and won't follow."
Cale, bringing the strong alcohol, glanced at Joshua calling the Bureau Minister and other Vice-Ministers idiots, then gave a small sigh.
They had warned him to be careful with his words, yet here he was.
"The chance that Melanie will join the resistance forces?"
"Oh, correct. There's a hostage—why would Melanie join? These idiots can't understand."
"The hostage is me?"
"Of course. Who else would it be?"
Joshua pointed at himself. Rai, a once-capable commander who had become a hostage, pouted and slouched in his seat.
"If I join the resistance forces too, what then? I'll bring a storm to the Empire?"
"Edelian would love it. He still wants to fight you."
Even with such a dangerous remark, Joshua shrugged as if it was nothing.
"And I won't do that annoying thing. I've finally gained the freedom I wanted."
"Yeah."
Acknowledging his words, Rai leaned back on the sofa and relaxed completely.
Melanie fed him food from her own hand.
She looked far too gentle to be called the Iron-Blooded Empress who had slain dangerous monsters while wandering the frontier.
Joshua let out a chuckle and drank.
After the serious conversation ended, the three returned to their old comrades' days and drank heavily.
Drunk Joshua tormented Cale while Melanie clung to Rai, and the lively drinking party continued until late into the night.