Buzdra Academy (2)
"Did you hear? About Naru. He got hired as an assistant professor at Buzdra Academy."
"Yeah, I heard. At first I thought it was full professor and got a shock, but when I heard assistant professor, I just burst out laughing."
Ashley nibbled on a cookie before taking a sip of tea. Right now, she was enjoying tea time on the terrace in the backyard garden with her friend Roberini and her younger sister Serena.
"Mmm... Serena? Where'd you get this tea you recommended? It goes down so smooth."
"It's called sham tea. Naru imported it from some far-off eastern region before."
Ashley's motion to take another sip froze. Her expression darkened as she set down her teacup. Roberini, sitting beside her, shot Serena a look.
"Tea that Naru brought? Do we have to drink crap like this on a nice day?"
"What's wrong with it? It smells great and tastes good."
"Makes me wanna puke. I wish that trash would just drop dead already. Right, Ashley? He's a pain in your ass too."
Ashley let out a deep sigh and crossed her arms.
"He's kinda annoying. Our lives overlap, so I keep hearing about him."
Serena smirked mischievously.
"Sis, you should've framed him for something and shipped him off to some remote area."
Roberini's eyes sparkled.
"We should've said he got violent with you during a couple's spat in front of the judge! We were too naive."
"Maybe we should've."
"You totally should've! Idiot!"
The three clapped their hands and burst into laughter. Naru's recent new job as an assistant professor was a subtle sore spot for them. They'd hoped he'd fall apart after the divorce and vanish somewhere. Not only had he found new work, but landing a spot at the famous academy made it sting even more. Naturally, spiteful words spilled out.
"He's hopeless anyway, so he won't last at the academy. He'll get kicked out soon enough."
"He's probably dying for you to reach out, sis. Don't do it, whatever you do."
"Am I crazy? Just watch. I'll find a guy way hotter than Naru and get married."
"Did you get the virginity restoration spell?"
"Right on the day of the divorce."
"Hahaha! Way too quick!"
Just then, a servant came running.
"Miss! Miss! Madam is calling for you!"
"Mother? What for?"
"She's furious about why the wine from our family tastes like this!"
The Laphone family owned a small vineyard and produced a limited quantity of Laphone wine named after the family. At one gold per bottle, the expensive wine was used for entertaining or gifting nobles.
"What in the world is going on with this?!"
Down on the first floor, Michelle—adorned in all sorts of flashy precious metals—held up a wine bottle and shouted.
"This isn't the taste I'm used to! How the hell have you been managing the wine cellar? Did you even set the temperature right?!"
"W-well..."
Ashley opened her mouth with a baffled expression.
"That was Naru's job."
"It's been two weeks since Naru left! You should've taken it over! Laphone wine has to be made by our hands, not the servants'! That's what makes it premium!"
"I... I didn't know. Naru always handled it himself..."
"Your negligence means we're dumping the whole batch!"
Soon, the butler came rushing in with a stack of documents.
"M-Madam! The territory taxes came in a whopping 40% less than expected!"
"Forty percent? Why?!"
"Well... Naru handled tax collection directly until now, but since he's been gone this month, the villagers are taking advantage—hiding deep in the mountains, pretending not to be home, underreporting amounts, not cooperating with the collectors..."
"Grab a whip and go beat it out of them right now!"
The wine and taxes were headaches enough, and now another issue exploded. Someone else came rushing in.
"Madam! The fabric for the dress you're wearing to next month's ball is gone!"
"The fabric disappeared?"
"It was the top-grade stuff Naru personally ordered from the artisan, but in the two weeks since contact broke off between us and them, it seems it went to another family!"
"Just confront the artisan about it!"
"They flat-out deny knowing anything... And if we keep pushing, they say bring Naru, who knows the exact order details..."
"They're spewing nonsense to dodge responsibility even though they know we're divorced."
"If we don't secure fabric now, a new dress won't be ready by next month."
"Madaaaam!"
Suddenly, yet another person stumbled in breathless.
"Baron Carol, who borrowed money from our family, bolted! Can you believe it? Naru and I had been pressing him and collecting steadily, but the moment he heard Naru was gone two weeks ago, the bastard vanished!"
"Haa."
Michelle slumped into a chair, clutching her throbbing head.
"One useless son-in-law disappears, and everything goes to hell."
Ashley watched the scene blankly from nearby.
My husband was handling so much for us...
No, Naru. Naru had been doing so much for our family. She hadn't known. She'd always been on the receiving end, oblivious to how much he'd been managing the household. Only now, with all these bombs exploding at once, did she realize. How meticulously he'd cared for the family. How many responsibilities he'd shouldered.
"Hey, I'm heading out now."
Sensing the dire mood, Roberini whispered in Serena's ear.
"Tell your sis I'll come by later."
"Sis, I'm going too."
"Where do you think you're off to?"
"Let me crash at your place for the night."
"Heh, suit yourself."
While everyone stared at Michelle, Roberini and Serena slipped out of the living room toward the entrance.
Once outside, Roberini patted her chest in relief.
"Phew, thought I was gonna suffocate."
"Me too. Naru should've done a proper handover. What a screw-up."
"Oh!"
Roberini turned and startled. Hireger, dressed in a suit from an outing, stood by the flowerbed next to the entrance. He'd been outside, quietly listening to the chaos inside.
"......"
Hireger gave Roberini and Serena a stern look before trudging inside. Passing Michelle slumped in her chair in the living room, he tossed out a single line.
"You should've treated Naru better."
"Don't poke the wound—shut up and go inside!"
At Michelle's irritated snap, Hireger silently headed to his room.
"Can't exactly drag back the son-in-law who knows everything...!"
Michelle sighed deeply. Ashley watched uneasily for a moment before retreating to her room.
That night, bogged down by all of Mother's tasks, she barely slept. As the eldest daughter, there was so much to handle. Replacing everything Naru had done left her mind in a frenzy. She pulled an all-nighter, then headed to town the next day for errands.
The kingdom's top hero rankings were posted on the plaza bulletin board. Naru at #5. It noted the queen had mentioned Naru's name a whopping five times last week. It was the talk of the town. Ashley's heart felt inexplicably unsettled.
After meeting Principal Robert, I shared tea and chatted with him.
"Our Buzdra Academy means 'dragon's wisdom.' We combined 'dragon' and 'wisdom' to name it Wisdra. It's a school with deep history and tradition."
I listened briefly to the kindly faced, bushy white-bearded principal's lecture on the mindset and demeanor of a teacher before standing.
"I have high expectations for you, Professor Naru. I hope you'll generously share the valuable life experiences you've gained as a hero with our students."
"Yes, I will."
Leaving the principal's office, a woman with a bored expression waited.
"I'm Anne. Melissa told you I was coming, right?"
"Yes. I'm Na—"
"No need for intros. No time—let's go."
She seemed utterly uninterested in me. Her face screamed annoyance at playing guide.
"Don't expect hero treatment here. This is a ranked academy. I'm an assistant professor, and so are you. Wait, why our house anyway?"
She trailed off, muttering complaints.
"Famous people are the worst. I just wanna keep a low profile at school."
She grumbled the whole way with that everything's-a-hassle look.
"Am I walking too fast?"
"It's fine. Keep going."
"Say if you can't keep up. Tough break for you, though. Of all things, failing girls. You know EL, EK, RS?"
"EL's all-girls, EK boys, RS the failures?"
"Yep. Our group has the weakest 12th-year girls."
She stopped. We'd arrived at a classroom.
"Teaching them's a waste of time anyway, so no need to try hard. Just say 'you can do it' and you're good."
"This the place?"
"Yeah. Your desk's inside too. Go on in."
"Thanks for the guide."
"If the kids wear you out, don't bother showing up tomorrow."
She spoke as if hoping I wouldn't come back and left. Anne, was it? She seemed incredibly listless, with odd speech to match.
"Whew..."
First impressions with the students—better look sharp. I straightened my clothes at the door and opened it.
Click.
As if expecting me, three girls sat primly, then shot up skirts swirling as they saw me.
"Hello, Assistant Professor Naru!"
Full of energy.
"Yeah. Hi."
The one with clear skin and sharp eyes strode forward, offering a flower like she'd picked it from the garden.
"Welcome to RS group! I'm Angelina!"
"Thanks. Nice to meet you all too."
I took the flower and looked over the girls. The slim, smart-looking one who'd given it. One with big breasts and a shy vibe. And what seemed like a mummy wrapped head to toe in white bandages. These were the students I'd be mentoring. First impressions? Not bad.
"Alright, everyone sit. I'll start with a quick intro."