Chapter 226: Teacher (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 226: Teacher (2)
With a rigid expression, Ryozo walked down the corridor shrouded in the early evening darkness. The November air was chilly. Even though they were indoors, white puffs of breath rose from her lips.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
Her footsteps struck the flagstones of the hallway with rough impatience. Weapon reached out toward her.
"Wait a second, Saki...! Why are you in such a hurry?"
"I have to tell Geomma."
"N-No, I told you, it's not even certain!"
"If you truly care about Geomma, telling him even when it isn't certain is the right thing to do."
"And Weapon, if what you said is true... do you really think Senior Hana is someone ordinary? You know who she is—All-Power Meain Poison."
Ryozo narrowed her eyes.
‘Now the pieces are finally falling into place.’
When she had previously confronted San Hana using the faculty personnel list, Ryozo had been thoroughly outmaneuvered.
Saki admitted to herself that she had been careless back then.
At the time, she had been too high-strung, and her words and actions had been rash.
Luckily, no one else had been around, but anyone watching would have found the situation utterly absurd.
Since then, she had curbed her hasty judgments.
She refrained from useless suspicion, at least regarding those close to her.
Yet despite that, her doubts did not fade easily.
‘San Hana.’
The senior's first impression was colorless and odorless—utterly bland. Her tone, her grades, and every other action were neither too much nor too little, maintaining a perfect, mediocre balance. And that felt unnerving.
How could a person, especially someone still in their teens, nonchalantly maintain the exact middle ground in everything without a single lapse?
‘That makes no sense.’
Ryozo shifted her perspective.
It wasn't that every gesture was an act.
It was that her mental state was already vegetative.
Among those whose inner selves were severely twisted, some discarded their emotions as if they were worthless dust.
‘There was someone like that very close to me...’
The Archery Saint, Saki Kojima.
Was not his mindscape just as parched, like land stricken by drought?
The unsettling feeling she got from San Hana stemmed from Ryozo's own experience.
Not just anyone could step into that realm.
Being detached from all things was a trait belonging only to a tiny fraction among even high-ranking heroes.
The heroes known as Awakened Ones.
The closer humans drew to the Awakening of a Blessing, the more closely they resembled gods.
And in return for greater power, those gods extracted emotions as toll.
‘Whether Senior Hana's true identity is the former principal or her grandfather doesn't matter.’
The image of someone with a distorted heart overlapped with the senior.
That alone made her high-risk.
She had to be separated from Kang Geomma. Any approach had to be blocked at the root.
‘It isn't just her, either.’
The Heaven Class opening in three days under Kang Geomma's leadership—it was still a project she thoroughly disliked.
Still, not wanting to cause trouble, Ryozo had stopped at merely being annoyed.
But now, circumstantial evidence had half-proven that Senior Hana was different from them.
‘Even if the only evidence is Weapon's word.’
Ryozo, having ruminated on past events countless times, shone with conviction in her eyes.
‘She hid her identity and approached Kang Geomma.’
Ryozo's obsessive paranoia flared up once more.
Her lingering doubts, which had been subdued for a while, were reignited by this turn of events.
‘Since it's come to this, I can't trust Abel or Rachel either.’
Therefore, she had to stay right by Kang Geomma's side.
Her dark red desires ignited, fueled by the deficiencies of her childhood.
‘So that those pathetic bitches don't dare covet him.’
Her light-blue pupils twitched and swirled with a sinister gleam.
Seeing her back, a cold sweat ran straight down Weapon's spine.
Even someone as terribly dense as him could tell that Saki's current stride boded ill.
"Wait, hold on!"
Weapon, who had been trailing behind Ryozo, hurriedly darted in front of her. Short of breath, his words came out fragmented.
"Haa, haa. Let's think logically here. It makes no sense for Senior Hana to be Lady Meain Poison! Their faces don't even look alike, and she's... well, shorter than the Principal, and..."
Weapon hesitated. Sweating profusely, he rolled his eyes around. Ryozo glanced sideways at him and let out a sigh.
"What, because her body shape is different from the Principal's?"
"...Ugh."
As if struck by a dagger, Weapon clutched his chest. His conscience pricked with guilt. Though he looked like a delinquent, Weapon hated evaluating people's appearances.
Ryozo took a deep breath. The early winter air cooled her head. Having regained her composure, she promptly replied.
"Do you not know what kind of family the Poison family is?"
Weapon shook his head. Ryozo offered a brief explanation.
"The Poison family is the sole remaining descendants of the Ancients."
"Ancients... Wait, don't tell me."
"Right. Humans whose lifespans are several times longer than ours. If Senior Hana is the former Principal, she's twins with Lady Medea, so they'd be the same age. That means she's seventy, but her physical appearance converts to late teens in our terms."
Weapon's mouth fell agape. The Principal was one of the Ancient Humans he'd only heard about in class? Ryozo continued.
"By the way, I also found out while researching that Lady Medea isn't in her true form right now either. To be precise, she uses her Blessing to make herself look older."
"Why...?"
"When you pictured Senior Hana just now, what was your first thought?"
At Ryozo's question, Weapon hesitated before answering.
"That she looked frail..."
"How nicely you sugarcoat it. Inside, you were thinking her body looks like a child's."
"Ugh."
"Anyway, it's for the very reason you brought up. Imagine the Principal of Joaquin Academy—who is also a Seven Stars hero—looking like a little kid. How could she command any authority?"
"...That makes sense."
"So Senior Hana looking like a child isn't strange at all. Besides, those glasses of hers—to my eyes, they aren't ordinary glasses. There's definitely a special mechanism hidden in them to conceal her identity. Weapon, do you actually remember Senior Hana's face clearly?"
"Uh, of course... Huh? What the? Why can't I..."
"You know I have perfect recall, right? Yet even I can't remember Senior Hana's face. When looking at her face to face, I think, 'Ah, so that's what she looks like,' but the moment I turn around, I can't recall it."
Weapon, listening intently, nodded. The more he heard, the bigger his doubts grew. Ryozo continued.
"When you lay it all out piece by piece, the hypothesis ultimately converges on one point: at the very least, Senior Hana isn't an ordinary cadet. Whether she's the former Principal is something we'll have to investigate step by step, but—"
Just then, her ear twitched beneath her light-blue sideburns. The sound of a conversation had reached her ears. Because the building itself was quiet, even faint sounds carried clearly.
—...So, what do you think of me, Geomma?
It was San Hana's voice.
—I'd say someone like me would be pretty good... wouldn't you think?
Ryozo kicked off the flagstone floor.
*
Senior Hana was perched on the desk with her legs crossed. She rested her elbows on her thighs, propping her chin on her hands as she looked straight into my eyes from up close.
Her doe-like eyes were fatal to a man. I barely held onto my sanity through 'Mental Rank'.
"So, what do you think of my offer?"
Senior Hana whispered with a smile.
"There isn't a professor appointed in charge of the Heaven Class yet, right? And you've known me for a year. What do you think of me as a professor, Geomma?"
This woman knew everything and was asking anyway.
"Even if academic study isn't the primary goal of the Heaven Class, cadets still ought to study as part of their duty. I'll run the classes. I'm actually pretty good at teaching. I'd say someone like me would be a pretty good educator, wouldn't you think?"
She was the former Principal; it wasn't just a matter of having talent. Her depth of knowledge would easily surpass the current professors.
I closed my eyes and pinched the bridge of my nose. Her sparkling gaze felt like it was going to make me tongue-tied. For now, I asked.
"Even if I ask why you want to be the professor in charge, you won't tell me your real intention anyway."
"Nope!"
...Yeah, I didn't expect you to. I opened my mouth again.
"Even assuming you do take the position of professor in charge, the Principal naturally..."
"Ah, I forgot to mention. Duri knows now too. That I illegally entered the academy under the alias San Hana."
"...What?"
"And that I'm going to apply as the professor in charge of the Heaven Class! I told her over the phone a week ago. Her frightened voice was so adorable. I recorded it separately—want me to play it if you don't believe me?"
I passed. More importantly, who records calls with their family? Just where did their relationship go wrong?
I opened my eyes. Straightening my back, I looked at her. A bright smile bloomed on her lips, as if something were immensely amusing.
‘So this person is All-Power Meain Poison.’
Stripping away all the fluff, I thought about who All-Power actually was. A hero possessing military force equal to or exceeding that of the Sword Emperor, humanity's strongest combatant. The former Academy Principal. The titles attached to her name alone were endlessly glamorous.
All-Power Meain Poison as the professor in charge of the Heaven Class? Unless they raised issues over minor details, no one would object. Even if there were problems, no one would dare voice a dissenting opinion. Nobody wanted to be beaten into a bloody pulp.
‘From what I heard, quite a few heroes got thrashed with a club at All-Power's hands.’
Skill-wise, she was flawless. As for her personality, she was said to have had quite a temper in her youth, but after spending a year close to her, she seemed harmless. At least on the surface.
As my thoughts continued, my mind leaned further toward hiring her.
It wasn't out of mere affection. Don't misunderstand.
My generosity wasn't vast enough to blindly embrace someone who approached me under a fake identity. It was the opposite. I was actually displeased with All-Power. However...
The Heaven Class was created to prepare for the 2nd Human-Demon War. The demons would quickly figure out its purpose. And they would make relentless attempts to invade in order to assassinate the Hero and those around him.
‘If that happens, they'll get caught up in all kinds of threats.’
Even if we completely seal off every entrance, those bastards will find any tiny loophole to break in.
"..."
If there were a breakwater to protect the Heaven Class cadets from such treacherous threats...
I'd take any help I could get right now. For me, it would take a huge load off my chest. In fact, it couldn't be better.
Which was why Senior Hana's proposal was extremely tempting. Ideally, I desperately wanted to hire her.
‘Yet to snap it up immediately, I don't know exactly what kind of person she is.’
I sank into brief deliberation. Even if I probed her, she didn't seem likely to give an answer. My brain worked rapidly. Having finished considering, I lowered my voice.
"Before I hire you, there's one thing I want to ask."
"Oh! Is this a real job interview? Wow, it reminds me of fifty years ago, I'm so excited~!"
Fifty years ago... Her youthful memories truly were an eternity ago.
"Alright. I've evaded plenty of answers, so I'll definitely tell you this time. Ask me anything!"
"Forty years ago."
Senior Hana's expression turned faintly cold.
"When 6th Corps Commander Basmon invaded, why did you turn a blind eye? It was a disaster that killed three of the Seven Stars. Shirking such a major crisis without a legitimate reason isn't something to be taken lightly."
"..."
"I'm not trying to dig up the past now. I'm just curious why you did it. Because I want the professor in charge of our Heaven Class to have a strong sense of responsibility."
Senior Hana didn't answer immediately and stepped down from the desk.
"Duri stopped me from coming."
A faint smile returned to her lips.
"Forty years ago, I reached the brink of 'Blessing Awakening'. If I had continued, I might have ceased to be human."
Her voice sounded choked up.
"You might have heard, but when Duri and I fought decades ago, it was actually her suppressing my rampage."
Her mint-colored eyes glistened.
"Because of that... I... hurt Duri. That's why... that's why... even if it's far too late, I desperately want to make amends. Whatever it takes."
The corners of Senior Hana's eyes brimmed with tears. I stared at her with a slightly dazed expression before finally making up my mind.
"Alright."
I still mistrusted her. I wondered what this sudden confession was all about. But one thing seemed clear: those words she squeezed out were heartfelt and genuine.
"I'll hire you as the professor in charge of the Heaven Class—"
At that moment—
BOOM!
A thunderous noise echoed. The library doors burst wide open like a gape-jawed maw.