After-School Lessons (2)
At the same time.
Dean Hein, who oversaw the Imperial Academy, stood by the window and gazed outside, lost in thought.
'He really has changed.'
According to the rumors, Elric had suddenly become a completely different person. As someone who had briefly taught him, Hein hadn't believed it at first. From a young age, Elric had been no different from those rotten nobles. His talent was nothing special for someone from the Vandesar family, either. That's why Hein had refused to believe the stories of his transformation.
'Looks like I was wrong.'
At first, he'd assumed Elric was revealing the Hero's identity to strike some kind of deal. Instead, the man had declared he would train the boy. Hein had been suspicious. After all, people didn't change that easily. So he'd given him a one-month grace period. Elric had shown a different side today, but it could still be an act. If he truly committed without any tricks, Sai—the Hero—would change completely, even if the results didn't fully satisfy Hein.
'I'm actually looking forward to seeing what happens in a month.'
With that thought, Hein watched Elric walking away from the window.
Meanwhile, at that same moment.
The Hero, Sai, had arrived at school as usual. His bright, sparkling eyes waited eagerly for the professor. The Imperial Academy was known as a place of learning. For commoners to gain entry, they needed overwhelming talent. Naturally, most commoners couldn't even get close. Yet here he was, given the chance to attend lectures at the Imperial Academy.
'At first I was a bit disappointed because it wasn't as great as I expected.'
But lately, Professor Elric's classes had changed completely. He personally reviewed each student's magic, answered every question, and even gave detailed feedback. There were strange rumors about the Saintess candidate Sena, but they were just rumors. Rumors always got exaggerated, after all.
Just then—
-Screeech!
The door at the front of the classroom slid open. When Sai turned his head, sure enough, the person who entered was none other than Elric.
“······.”
“······.”
For a brief moment, silence fell over the lecture hall. As everyone remained quiet, Elric spoke up.
“Before we begin class, I have an announcement.”
““?””
At those words, every student—including Sai—tilted their heads in confusion. Then, an unexpected statement slipped from Elric's mouth.
“Starting today, Class A will dismiss at 10 p.m. and begin at 8 a.m.”
““?!””
The students of Class A widened their eyes in shock. Among them, Sai was the only one wearing a satisfied smile. As a commoner, opportunities like this didn't come often. At that moment, he had no idea just how kindly the professor had been teaching them until now.
At the same time.
The students stared at me with bulging eyes after hearing my declaration. A few looked like their eyes might pop out from sheer surprise.
'What are they so shocked about? Seriously.'
-Isn't that usually the normal reaction, Master?
'Back in my hometown, this was the abnormal one.'
Hell Joseon, where they built prisons called schools under the name of education. And the moment you graduated high school, Phase Two—the military—appeared. Compared to that, my suggestion was practically paradise. They should be thanking me for only going this far.
'At least there's no corruption in it!'
-Just what kind of life have you lived, Master?
'I could talk about it all day, but I don't really want to. It makes me sad.'
As memories of my school days and military service surfaced, one of the female students raised her hand high and asked a question.
“Professor. I understand the 8 a.m. start time is whatever, but 10 p.m. dismissal is way too late, isn't it·····.”
“That's right! And Professor, you might not know this, but we girls have to wake up early to do our makeup!”
Several girls nodded in agreement, looking sympathetic. I let out a dry laugh at their words.
“You there. Your name was Karen, right?”
“Yes, Professor.”
“You said you wake up even earlier because of makeup?”
“Yes, that's correct.”
“Hmm. I don't understand. Why would you think about putting on makeup at the Academy, a place of learning? This is where you come to study, not to flirt with boys.”
“That's·····.”
She trailed off, apparently at a loss for words. Then the student next to her shot her hand up.
“Professor! What about dinner? If we finish at 10, there won't be time to eat!”
“You don't need to worry about that. You'll be given time for dinner and some rest.”
“Ugh·····.”
The students pressed their lips shut at my unflinching response. I decided to deliver even more despair.
“Just so you know in advance, don't even think about running away. The Dean is already aware of this class. Of course, if you still try to skip or show up late, you'll receive demerits.”
““······.””
The next moment, they all looked gloomy and kept their mouths firmly shut. Seriously, getting all depressed over something like this. For these kids, I decided it was time to offer the carrot.
“Of course, there is a way to get out early. I'll tell you about it during after-school lessons.”
It didn't really matter if I told them now, but saying it this way would give them hope. And with hope, they'd work even harder, wouldn't they?
-But Master, what exactly is that method?
'Oh, it's nothing special. Just land one solid hit on me.'
-·····You're definitely a demon, Master. No doubt about it.
I ignored Jukchang-i's horrified voice and resumed the lecture.
Several hours passed.
After-school lessons had finally arrived. I scanned the students gathered at the training ground and stopped my gaze on one particular spot.
“Hmm. Sena, why are you here? I clearly said you didn't have to attend after-school lessons.”
“Ah, I'm here of my own free will. I also want to receive your teachings, Professor.”
She spoke with a bright smile, but the prominent vein on her forehead suggested she was quite pissed off.
-Master, even I would feel hurt in her position.
'Shouldn't she be happy? I offered to let her skip night study.'
Who would hate getting out of hellish night study? Having experienced it every single day myself, I couldn't understand her reaction at all. I deliberately ignored her sharp glare and began explaining the after-school lessons.
“Alright. Then I'll explain what we'll be doing in after-school lessons starting today. It's simple. You'll just spar with me every day.”
““?””
The students tilted their heads in confusion. Then Karen, the pink-haired girl who had asked me a question earlier, spoke up.
“Is that all, Professor?”
“Yes. That's it. And if anyone manages to land a proper hit on me, they can go home early that day.”
““?!””
For a moment, the students' eyes widened in shock. I continued without paying much attention to their reactions.
“We'll go in attendance order. Of course, that might seem to give the last person an advantage, so after one full round, the first person becomes last. So don't worry about it.”
With those words, the after-school lessons officially began.
At first, after hearing Elric's explanation, Sai thought it sounded doable. After all, he didn't have to win—just land one hit and he could leave. But it seemed that had been nothing but arrogance on his part.
Because—
“Ugh·····.”
“M-Mom·····.”
“Just kill me·····.”
The students were collapsed on the ground with faces full of utter despair! All they'd been hit with was the magic staff he carried. And they hadn't even been struck directly. Elric had simply deflected their spells, yet most of them had ended up like this.
'What the hell? This isn't the kind of class I thought it would be.'
He'd assumed after-school lessons would involve the usual theory instruction or feedback like normal. But no. It turned out Elric was just beating the students senseless with his staff while calling it physical magic. At this point, it was perfectly reasonable to suspect this wasn't a class at all—he just wanted an excuse to vent his anger.
'But... does it really hurt that much?'
Setting aside the venting, students were collapsing from a single hit or even just having their magic broken. Since Sai hadn't been hit yet, he couldn't understand it.
“Haa····· haa·····.”
At that moment, excited, ragged breathing reached his ears. When he turned his head, he saw Sena watching the students get hit by the staff. Her cheeks were flushed and her eyes shone with envy.
'What? Why is the Saintess candidate acting like that?'
He was still trying to process Sena's excited expression when—
“Last up is you, Sai.”
His turn had finally come. He glanced around. The other students were looking at him with pity in their eyes.
'No, what the hell did they go through to look at me like that?!'
While he was still internally confused, Elric was thinking—
'Finally, it's the Hero's turn.'
—as he looked Sai over. His features were so pure and innocent they reminded one of a puppy. At the same time, his body was perfectly average. Just looking at him made it obvious how little proper training he'd received.
'That kid really needs to thank me. Sincerely. Where else would he find a professor like me?'
-He definitely won't think that after getting hit, Master.
'No way! That can't be true!'
A professor who stayed late without going home just to guide students? There couldn't be anyone else like that at the Imperial Academy. Therefore, no one cared about the students as much as he did!
'Right. For the sake of those students, Jukchang-i, heal everyone once the Hero's turn is over.'
-Whoa, you're a total demon! No, even demons would be shocked if they saw you, Master!
'Hey now, calling me a demon? I'm just healing them because they look like they're struggling!'
It wasn't to torment them. It was solely so they could defeat the Demon King's army... ahem. So they could walk their own paths. Yes, that's right! No helping it!
“Professor. When is my turn?”
Even though there was an opening, the Hero didn't attack. It looked like he needed to educate this pure-hearted Hero—who was supposed to lead the class—first.