Chapter 7
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 7
Chapter Title: Opening Day
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The influx of fresh young blood into the Adventurer's Guild typically happens during prolonged poor harvests or brutal winters when food runs scarce.
They're starving, but there's no work to be had right away.
It's also the season when kids who still have enough stamina to move come flooding in by the masses.
I was one of them back in the day, but even looking at it now, that scene is nothing short of a mad vortex where would-be suicides gather.
By comparison, the freshly minted adults you run into at the academy brim with sun-like vibrancy and healthy glows on their faces.
Their average height is tall and lanky, their skin smooth and flawless.
You can tell they've eaten well and slept soundly.
This wealth gap isn't a bad thing.
It's just the natural law of the world.
...
Since I'd decided to commute from home from the start, I blended into the throng of cadets heading to the academy.
My attire was neither instructor nor cadet garb, drawing awkward stares, but I ignored them and kept my eyes forward.
As a non-permanent instructor, formal instructor robes felt iffy anyway.
Doran had announced he wouldn't meddle with my outfit, respecting my "adventurer" freedom since I wasn't even officially an assistant instructor.
Even as the poster boy for the dregs of society, I figured I should show some basic decorum, so I dusted off my dress shoes.
I donned neat clothes reminiscent of my past life's suits.
After wandering around in comfy rags every day, dressing up like this made my collar feel stuffy.
'Gotta report in, then swap into my comfy clothes from the inventory.'
Since I'd be handling physical classes, I might not stick to this getup beyond today.
Maybe not even past today?
"Instructors for the departments' electives generally spend the first day outlining the course and explaining the benefits of taking it."
"Then I'll just explain it to the Knight Department and Swordsmanship Department together."
I'd visited the dean's office and gotten a quick rundown from Doran.
From today until tomorrow, cadets listen to course descriptions and build their own schedules.
They hear out the required and elective curricula from each instructor, then fill their timetables as they please.
Even in the Knight Department, taking electives in administration or alchemy instead is no big issue if that's what they want.
Lunch was right before my slot, so until then, I killed time with Doran and the academy administrator, listening to how things ran.
The two had plenty pent up inside and spilled every nitpicky flaw in the academy.
I didn't so much as twitch my lips, just listened, and already a good chunk of time had flown by.
"Then I'll head out."
"Thanks for the help."
Forty minutes before lunch.
Not a long stretch, but I didn't need much time anyway.
I climbed the stairs to the lecture hall I'd scouted earlier.
With every step closer, the buzz of voices grew louder.
[Lecture Room 7]
Creak—
Liliane's little sister, the protagonist Rike, and a bunch of other heroines.
All familiar faces turning my way—alone among them.
The room held more people than expected.
But it was so spacious that not every desk was filled.
Amusingly, the middle tables were left deliberately empty, like an invisible line drawn clean through.
Knight Department on one side, Swordsmanship Department on the other, already sizing each other up.
"Pleased to meet you. I'm Roman, handling 'Practical Combat 1'—required for the Knight Department, elective for Swordsmanship."
Compared to flowery titles like 'History of Formal Swordsmanship' or 'Atmospheric Mana Theory,' it's a plain name.
But the cadets who know why this class exists can't help but pay attention.
-Roman?
-First time hearing it.
-No family name?
-Doesn't look much older than us.
Just a greeting, and the murmurs swelled bigger than expected.
"Think of me less as a formal instructor and more as an adventurer invited to teach."
A guy from the Knight Department shot his hand up.
I nodded, and the cadet spoke.
"Uh... so you're an adventurer, not a knight, but teaching a required Knight Department course... is that it?"
He trailed off awkwardly polite, gauging me.
I didn't seem noble-born, yet held an instructor post—he couldn't pin it down.
"Exactly. You've got it."
This time, someone from Swordsmanship raised a hand.
Liliane's youngest.
"Instructor! If you're an adventurer, could you tell us your rank~?"
Per the dean, Swordsmanship had fewer biases against adventurers than Knights.
Most weren't highborn enough for knighthood anyway.
Mainly lower barons or baronets, and a surprising number turned adventurer post-graduation.
Maybe thanks to Liliane, but her eyes showed no adventurer aversion.
"Platinum."
"P-Platinum?!"
-How high is Platinum?
-Idiot! Same as Urus!
-That rumored...
-Real Platinum?! Why's a Platinum here?
-So he's actually super old or...
"Quiet."
Mana-laced voice shut their mouths.
"New to this, so no discipline at all. Chatter after I'm done."
I pulled out and unfolded a paper from my pocket.
Doran had handed it over with a disgusted sigh: 'Incompetents playing pretend.'
"This is a memo carried by a second-year Knight Department cadet. Listen up."
One. Love the empire of your birth.
One. Never retreat before an enemy.
One. Show no mercy in war against heretics.
One. Never lie; be faithful to your oaths.
One. Be generous to all.
One. Stand against injustice and evil; prove right from wrong.
One. Become one who honors and defends all weaknesses.
The knightly code spread by Asen Premiller, pinnacle of knighthood and the Empire's First Knight.
Knight cadets nodded solemnly, faces lit with zeal: 'That's the way.'
Swordsmanship side just stared blankly, impassive.
I burst the paper with mana.
Pop—!
"Wh-what the hell!!"
"To you lot, this is trash. Clear it from your heads."
Shreds fluttered across the room; Knight eyes bulged in fury.
A few bolted up in shock.
"If you're gonna preach knightly codes, do it after becoming real knights. Clinging to a strong man's creed with skills too weak to protect yourselves? It'll just be the noose that snaps your neck."
"Guhk...!"
Extended mana crushed the standees back into seats.
"Now that you're calm, let's talk my class. Hmm~ An example might help."
Feeling the stuffiness with every word, I undid one shirt button.
"Few years back... about three. Took an imperial commission tracking a black mage. The empire was desperate to nab him. Famous knights by the dozens and adventurer parties chased one guy."
At "black mage," blank-staring Rike fixed on me. A faint spark lit her rotten-fish eyes.
"Plan was simple but tough. He'd wear women's flayed skins for disguise, curse himself into a toad—whatever spells to slip our encirclement."
I grabbed water from the table to wet my dry throat.
"Using various tricks, I tracked faster than the knights and cornered the bastard alone. Tough nut—human sacrifices and rituals galore."
"He had over fifty kidnapped folks in sacrifice cages. As we closed in, he razed the nearest village."
Black mages—a touchy topic rarely broached.
I paused, scanning the room: all hung on my next words.
"Now—let's hear from you cadets. In that spot, what would you do? Any bright ideas?"
A burly Swordsmanship guy raised his hand.
"Subdue the black mage before he casts."
"Not bad. Root-cause answer on point. Ideal if doable."
I thumbs-upped him and continued.
"Forgot the key bit. Black mages overwhelm denser-mana, better-control foes with sacrifices. He's my skill level, but with extras. Now what?"
Silence blanketed the room, then a Knight piped up defiantly.
"Rescue the captives first."
"Classic knight-aspirant response. Ten points."
Knight faces bloomed with grins, sneering at Swordsmanship like victors.
"Out of a hundred."
"..."
Smug smiles died. No one raised a hand after that roast.
"That's the stuff I'll teach in 'Practical Combat 1.' Real-world lessons from my know-how, to keep you from dying to some roadside blade. Hope it piques Swordsmanship interest too."
"That's it for now? Lunch soon."
As I straightened my clothes, Seria—Liliane's sister—raised her hand.
"Instructor... could you share the answer for that black mage bit?"
"Ah! Forgot that. Not the only right way, but it worked—I killed him and survived. Worth noting. The method..."
Seria's green eyes gleamed in anticipation. Rike watched intently too—a satisfying class.
"Kill the hostages first. Keeps him from using the sacrifice."