Chapter 42: The Teaching Assistants Come Volunteering
In the game, teaching assistants had always been an ambiguous role.
They appeared fairly often as the professors' aides, but their screen time was even smaller than that of the supporting students. That was because an assistant's work — preparing lectures, grading exams, reviewing assignments — all happened behind the scenes.
Even so, they could never be dismissed outright.
Depending on the situation, a TA could influence a student's grades even more deeply than a professor. Written exams, in particular, were scored by the assistants.
For someone who needed to get Evangeline graduated, the TAs were a critically important bunch.
And yet here they were, rolling in of their own accord—
Things are working out beautifully.
Watching the assistants kneel in a circle before me, I let the corners of my mouth curl upward.
"Now, then. Introductory Swordsmanship TA?"
"Arf!"
"Introductory Magic Theory?"
"Grrrowl! Ruff!"
"Introductory Divine Studies?"
"Meow!"
"Introductory Black Magic?"
No answer. There didn't seem to be a Black Magic TA.
Well, fair enough — no gloomy black mage would ever travel in a pack like this. It was a small disappointment that Black Magic was missing, but I was relieved the other three subjects were covered.
"Here's what I want from you. Among the students is one named Evangeline. Your job is to accommodate her needs."
The assistants' faces twitched. A moment later, they all turned in unison to stare at Hans. He appeared to be playing the role of leader.
Under the weight of those stares, Hans squirmed like a dog that badly needed to pee and raised his paw.
"WOOF!!"
"Yes, Hans. Go ahead."
"C-cheating is absolutely forbidden. If it's discovered, not only will we be finished, but the student who cheated will be too. They'll be expelled on the spot."
Hans spoke with a voice trembling like a leaf, and the other assistants hastily nodded along.
I had no intention of cheating either.
Not for any particularly moral reason, mind you.
With the continent's destruction hanging in the balance, did a little academic dishonesty really matter?
It was simply that cheating wasn't something I could do, even if I wanted to.
Because cheating is a Taboo of the Rift.
At the Academy, academic dishonesty was a taboo. Not a moral one, but a Taboo of the Rift — and one ranked even higher than the Central Library's.
If Evangeline cheated and got caught, she could very well vanish from the Academy entirely.
And even setting the taboo aside, there was another problem.
Evangeline, for all her lack of ability, was stubbornly straight-laced in all the worst ways. If I told her to cheat, she'd scurry straight to a professor and turn herself in.
For those reasons, cheating was absolutely off the table.
Which meant what I was saying was—
"No, I'm not talking about cheating. I mean accommodations. Exactly what the word says."
"Accommodating a student's needs is cheating, though—"
"If a one-armed student enrolls in introductory swordsmanship, is giving them a one-handed sword cheating?"
"……Is this Evangeline student missing an arm?"
Hans asked with a stiff face.
"Honestly, a missing arm would be an upgrade. She's worse than that."
"Good heavens……"
The assistants murmured among themselves, and a faint look of pity crept across every face.
"I have exactly three orders for you. First — never, under any circumstances, call on Evangeline to present. Second — if there are group assignments, never make her the group leader. Third — never praise Evangeline."
I folded down my fingers one by one as I spoke, firm and unambiguous.
Questions bloomed across the faces of the assistants, who had been listening with bated breath.
"……Is that really all?"
"That's all. And if you fail to follow orders, we'll simply have another training session. This time, properly."
I gripped my guard baton as I put heavy emphasis on the word properly.
"Woof! Woof woof!"
"Arf arf!"
"Meow meow meow!"
"Grrr! Ruff ruff!"
The assistants barked in frantic agreement. One of them even rolled over and showed his belly.
This is absolute lunacy.
I clicked my tongue and pressed a knuckle hard into my temple.
It looked like some bizarre ritual, but this was genuinely important work. In the game, it had happened time and again: Evangeline would be made group leader, buckle under the pressure, vanish — and end up expelled.
"Ah, and go help Nora. Properly, mind you."
At a casual wave of my hand, the assistants scattered, barking as they bolted for the exit. They fought so hard to be first out the door that one of them went tumbling across the floor.
"Impressive enthusiasm."
I nodded in satisfaction — and Milo, wearing a deeply put-upon expression, spoke up.
"Hey, uh… is this really okay?"
"Is what okay?"
"Well, I mean, they're still TAs. Is it really fine to grab them like this, squeezing them in your fist and all……"
"There is no high or low among honest trades."
"……I don't think that's the proverb for this situation."
Milo tilted his head with a baffled look.
There'd be no problem, I was sure. For a TA to report that a guard had beaten him up would wound his pride far too much.
And even if he did report it, it wouldn't matter.
Head of Student Affairs, Logan. He'll cover for me.
Logan had promised, hadn't he? That he'd handle most things for me.
The TAs are handled, too.
Demon knight blocked, TAs trained, lectures established. The rest, Nora and Leon would sort out on their own.
That completes the basic foundation.
Nothing else was scheduled to happen until the course-registration correction period ended.
"For now, let's head back to the guard post."
"Heheh, tonight's dinner is tonkatsu, you know. I can't speak for anything else, but the guard post tonkatsu is to die for."
Milo's nostrils flared at the thought.
Alas, that mouthwatering tonkatsu was not to be.
The moment I returned to the guard post, I was summoned straight to the Chief Guard's office.
All of the squad leaders had gathered in the Chief Guard's office. There was the goateed one, and Bedrick too — Bedrick wore the look of a man about to die of a stomachache. Nora was there as well; when our eyes met, she gave a small, respectful bow. And at the far end of the line of squad leaders stood Hanswel, his face frozen stiff.
The atmosphere was distinctly off.
Just then, the Chief Guard — radiating the air of a grizzled army command sergeant major — asked me flatly:
"Grave. I hear you've been picked up as a teaching assistant. Is that right?"
"Yes, that's how it went."
I gave a light nod, and the squad leaders began muttering among themselves. The mood was one of profound shock. Bedrick was grinding his teeth openly.
"Remarkable. I've never once seen a rookie guard tapped for TA duty. Were you acquainted with Professor Leon already?"
"I've never met the man."
"Then why did he pick you?"
"I have no idea."
"I see. Grave."
"Yes, sir."
"You're being transferred to Squad 10."
The Chief Guard issued the order curtly. Faced with an entirely unexpected command, I narrowed my eyes and pushed back.
"I'm sorry, I must have misheard."
"You heard me. Transfer to Squad 10. Squad 10 handles the Office of Academic Affairs, so it'll be far more convenient for your TA work. We'll replenish Squad 42's numbers separately."
What the Chief Guard said was true enough. Moving to Squad 10, which managed Academic Affairs, would make the TA duties considerably easier.
But my goal was never the TA work. The TA role was merely one piece of my many, many plans. Squad 42, as a support unit, was where I could move most freely.
Above all, Squad 42 was packed to the brim with villains.
I had no intention of transferring. Therefore—
"I refuse."
I declined, flat and firm.
"……You refuse?"
The Chief Guard asked again, as if he couldn't possibly have heard correctly. I gave a light nod.
"Yes, sir. I like Squad 42."
"You like Squad 42?"
"Yes, sir. Very much."
The Chief Guard stared at me as if I'd gone insane. The other squad leaders looked positively aghast.
I met the Chief Guard's gaze and said it again.
"I have no intention of changing squads."
"Hm. Do I look like I'm begging you?"
The Chief Guard asked it carelessly, but there was a chill in those wrinkled eyes.
Sure, the Chief Guard had the power to transfer me whether I agreed or not.
But this time it wouldn't be so simple.
"Then I'll resign."
I was already officially a TA. If I quit now, the Chief Guard might find himself in an ugly spat with the professor who'd hired me.
At Elysium Academy, professors held a rather lofty position. The elite guard captain's rank was by no means low either, but professors occupied a special category.
He wouldn't want to sour relations with a professor over the fate of one lowly rookie.
And yet—
"Fine, then. Resign."
Contrary to my expectations, the Chief Guard held firm. He plainly couldn't care less about clashing with a professor.
Just then, an unexpected reinforcement arrived.
It was Bedrick, oddly enough, looking frantic.
"Is a transfer really necessary? If TA work needs covering, just send a support request to Squad 42. If you move a man from 42 to Squad 10, you have to shift one of Squad 10's people to another squad — that's just going to stir up friction."
Bedrick had been a constant thorn in my side, but as an ally he proved surprisingly coherent. Genuinely useful.
At that point, Hanswel stepped forward, his face still rigid.
"I'll take responsibility and cover the gap."
He hadn't expected Hanswel to stick his neck out — the Chief Guard's brow creased deeply.
"Cover it? Squad 42 can barely manage its actual duties as it stands."
"That's true, but things will be different going forward. In fact, support deployments have already increased since Grave joined. And Grave is the only rookie who's lasted this long. Even if we recruit replacements, they'll quit again in no time. Like Bedrick said — on days with TA duty, we simply fill the slot with a support request."
"TA work isn't something you can just wave through, you know."
Then Nora, who had been glancing sidelong at me, stepped forward.
"I'll cover that part myself. It was always my plan to handle the primary duties anyway. Would you really assign that to a rookie?"
I hadn't said a word to her, yet Nora had delivered precisely the argument I'd hoped for.
Sharp instincts, excellent judgment. Thoroughly satisfying.
With Bedrick, Hanswel, and now Nora all stepping up, the room's momentum had swung entirely to my side.
But the Chief Guard was no easy opponent.
"Is all that really necessary? There's a simpler way. Complicated arrangements always breed problems. Choose one of the two — transfer to Squad 10, or quit."
The Chief Guard's voice was iron. When Hanswel tried to interject, a raised hand stopped him cold.
"There are no other options."
The Chief Guard was immovable. Turns out he was stubbornly tough.
Of course, it wasn't really much of a problem for me.
I'll just call for my senior, that's all.
Logan, the Head of Student Affairs, could resolve this in a heartbeat.
But just then, the office door slammed open with a bang.
"There you all are?"
With that languid voice, a thick reek of liquor flooded the room.
As heads turned, there stood a tall woman with a sharp crimson bob cut.
Squad 42's leader — Evelyn.
The moment Evelyn appeared, the squad leaders snapped to attention in a panic. A few of them squeezed their eyes shut. Bedrick looked one second away from bolting outright.
This was never the reaction owed to the lowest-ranking squad leader in the building.
"Evelyn. Where on earth have you been?"
The Chief Guard's face collapsed into exhaustion as he pressed his thumb into his temple.
"I drank myself unconscious and woke up. Here I am."
"Do you have any awareness that it's work hours?"
"I need liquor to function at full efficiency."
"Efficiency, my—"
The Chief Guard clicked his tongue loudly enough for everyone to hear.
Evelyn brushed right past the Chief Guard and approached me. He gave way with the weary air of a man long used to this.
"So. You're sending the rookie to Squad 10?"
"Ahem, well, as it happens—"
Evelyn talked straight over the Chief Guard and looked me in the eye.
"You."
Her crimson eyes fixed on me, unblinking.
"Can you hold your liquor?"
Evelyn whispered the question. A vicious boozy scent, laced with a note of grapes, stung my nose.
Her words detonated chaos around us. The squad leaders trembled in open terror, and the Chief Guard suddenly began regarding me with eyes full of pity.
"Squad Leader! Not another rookie, please—!"
Hanswel cried out desperately. Even Bedrick was shaking his head at me out of the corner of his eye.
I had no idea what was going on, but the mood had turned remarkably deadly.
And so, meeting those piercing scarlet eyes—
"Quite well, actually."
I answered with complete confidence.
"Good."
The corners of Evelyn's red lips curled into a twist.