First Impressions Are Everything
"Pardon? You are asking what a professor's duties are?"
It was one day before the first class of the newly appointed professor, Selene.
Mona, an academy maid and staff member, suddenly found herself in a position where she had to answer a cliché yet crucial question.
"Um... why ask me that all of a sudden...?"
"Mona seems to know."
Mona had already heard from the Head Dean that Selene was an eccentric person. However, when she heard that Selene's assigned room was on the third floor and saw her start scaling the outer wall to get there, Mona realized something.
An incredibly difficult trial had arrived in her eighth year as an academy maid.
Because of this, she had been on edge from their very first meeting. She wasn't even particularly surprised when Selene bypassed the bed entirely to curl up on the floor.
Nor was she surprised by Selene's reaction when she handed her elegant, high-class clothes to replace her half-tattered rags. After all, it was quite common for nobles to be unable to dress themselves.
But.
"Um... a professor's duties..."
To suddenly ask about a professor's job? She was flustered by such a mundane question coming out of nowhere.
At first, she had simply shown Selene the document detailing her teaching schedule, thinking that was what she meant.
"..."
But after briefly scanning the document, Selene stared intently at her.
She had a rather cute face, but that unreadable expression of hers clearly implied that the answer she had received was incorrect.
"Th-then... the qualities of a professor? Is... is that what you are asking?"
"..."
"Professor?"
"Yes."
"Pardon?"
"Yeah."
"...Ah, so I was right?"
(Nod)
This innocent-looking eccentric was asking an incredibly fundamental question.
What is a professor? What does it mean to be an educator? What are the virtues of someone who teaches and cares for students?
She was posing such a weighty question not to anyone else, but to a mere maid who handled chores.
"B-but why ask me such a thing?"
"...Just, Mona seems to know."
Gasp!
At the response, Mona felt her breath catch in her throat.
"To... to ask me such a profound question..."
In truth, Selene had asked simply because she genuinely had no idea what a professor actually did. She knew the word 'teach,' but she didn't know the specifics of how to go about it. You seem to know, so tell me. It was a question of that level.
"W-well..."
However, crushed by the social weight of the title 'Recommended Professor,' Mona fell into her own misunderstanding.
"Y-you must... teach... teach well, of course?"
"Teach well?"
"Yes."
"How?"
Gasp!
To Mona, the way Selene looked at her seemed to say:
You are an eighth-year maid. You have been at this academy longer than most newly appointed professors. You have seen and heard much, so speak. Tell me of your educational methodology. If there is something I do not know, I am not ashamed to ask even a child.
"I mean... ugh..."
"...Mona? Are you sick? Pale face."
"Oh, no... I'm fine, haha."
"????"
"It's just... the question... is so deep and difficult. Haha."
"Really?"
"But... it must mean you trust me that much, right?"
"Trust? Yes. Mona does maid work well. I trust."
Gasp! "I understand. Teaching... teaching..."
"????"
Meanwhile, Selene was thinking:
Why is this woman taking so long to answer such a simple question? She must be a bit slow on the uptake.
Selene felt a pang of pity for her. Humans really did seem to have poor intellects. She decided she needed to speak from the perspective of these slightly lacking humans, rather than her own highly intelligent standpoint.
"Then. Easier question."
"Pardon?"
Selene decided to break down the question into smaller, more detailed parts.
"Tomorrow. Class starts."
"Yes?"
"Class starts. Enter classroom. Correct?"
"Yes."
"Then what?"
"Eh?"
"What do?"
Gasp!
"Mona pale again."
"Uuuugh."
"Teach immediately? Book... read this textbook?"
"Ah, straight to the point? So making them understand the contents of the book is what's important?"
"????"
"????"
"Do not understand."
"Ah! I-I am so sorry. I failed to grasp the deeper meaning behind your words."
"????"
"Yes, exactly. You can't just start reading the textbook the moment class begins. That is the evil of rote learning! Indeed, you are saying such wicked rote learning must be abolished, right? I completely misunderstood!"
"Then what do?"
"Yes, precisely, Professor. Naturally, you must introduce the person who is teaching."
"Introduce?"
"Exactly! In the end, no matter how standardized a curriculum is, every class is bound to be shaped by the instructor's perspective! That is why it is crucial to first introduce whose perspective will guide the class. No matter how standardized this textbook is, this class will inevitably be influenced by the viewpoint of the teacher—you, Professor Selene!"
"..."
"..."
"Difficult, Mona."
"Ah! Forgive me. They say those who speak in complex terms actually know nothing and just babble on!"
"Then..."
"Yes! A self-introduction, Professor Selene!"
"Self-introduction?"
"Yes! In a word, a first impression! You must prepare a powerful first impression!"
And so, amidst their bizarre mutual misunderstanding, Selene steadily extracted the necessary answers from Mona.
"Nothing is more important than a first impression! After all, it determines how they will perceive you forever!"
And then.
"A pleasure..."
CRACK!
"...meeting you."
Selene's ninety-degree bow literally split the classroom in half. The floorboards fractured right down the middle.
"Whoa?!"
"What the hell was that?"
She had to make a powerful first impression on the students. That was the teaching of the eighth-year maid, Mona.
"Huh? What?"
"Did that lady just smash the floor?"
"Why out of nowhere?"
"What is she trying to do?"
And indeed, the students were faced with an introductory lecture they would never forget for the rest of their lives.
"Wasn't this... a theory class?"
The most boring class, as every upperclassman unanimously agreed.
"It's a theory class, so why did she suddenly use magic to smash the floor..."
Right there, at the very scene where the legend of Basic Magic Theory was about to begin, stood the newly appointed instructor, Professor Selene.
"..."
The students held their breath, staring at the professor. Then, they stared at the split floor.
It was an incredibly clean, precise crack. To an untrained eye, it might have looked like an intentional pattern carved into the floor.
Rustle.
The professor, who looked younger than most of them who had just reached adulthood, trotted over to the podium.
The students watched in silence as she pulled a book from her bag and opened it.
Normally, these noble students would have looked down on her due to her youthful appearance. However, they interpreted her clean, bold display of floor-splitting as a warning.
Act up, and I'll split your skulls just like this.
A refreshing warning, or so they thought.
"Class begins."
But.
"Hmm?"
The moment they saw Selene open the textbook with her delicate hands, the tension that had gripped the classroom cracked.
"Pfft!"
"Te-teacher... I mean, Professor."
"Yes."
"The textbook..."
"Yes."
"You're holding it upside down. Pfft!"
Faint snickers began to ripple through the students. Most of them were still wary of the professor who had just split the floor with a single greeting, but a few fearless students had a different thought.
Just putting on a show...
There were always people like this. Even before coming to the academy, they had seen adults like her.
The type who felt intimidated by noble students and tried to act tough.
The type who put on a strong front to hide their own fragility or low social standing.
But deep down, they were terrified of the students.
To them, Selene was clearly one of those types. She had probably become a professor at a young age due to her talent, but now that she actually had to teach, she was terrified.
In the Imperial Academy, where students of similar age, older students, and even mature students were common, it was normal for new professors to be nervous.
Surely, this woman was in the same boat.
However.
"..."
Contrary to their assumptions, Selene was looking at the open textbook with an entirely different thought in mind.
What is this?
Parchment.
For the first time in her life, Selene had encountered parchment.
In the Empire, parchment, which had been used historically, and paper, which had been introduced as a new technology a century ago, were used side-by-side. Rare and important books were made of parchment, while common documents used paper.
And all the textbooks at the academy were made of parchment.
It is not paper.
Selene already knew of paper's existence. She had even seen papyrus, which people of this era knew nothing about. Thousands of years ago, she had seen plenty of clay tablets.
But through a series of sheer coincidences, today was her very first time seeing parchment.
Only now did Selene notice the faint, subtle scent of animal hide wafting from the pages.
And then.
RIIIP!
Selene's subsequent action left everyone utterly dumbfounded.
"Huh?"
"What? Why is she doing that?"
Selene, who had been holding the textbook upside down, suddenly began tearing it apart.
The students stared at her in shock. At the very least, they were now certain she wasn't of commoner origin. No commoner would dare tear up such expensive parchment so carelessly.
"What is she doing? What's the point of this?"
"What is her deal?"
Just as the whispering began to grow louder, the students were forced to witness an entirely new level of horror.
Chomp.
They watched.
They watched Selene, the woman who had just split the classroom in half, stuff a piece of the parchment into her mouth...
Chew, chew, chew.
And swallow it right before their eyes.
Gulp.
"Hmm... taste is stable."