The New Professor Is a Lunatic (1)

"Whoa! Dian! Look at that!"

Olicia leaned out over the deck railing, shouting with excitement.

Dead ahead, where the ship was driving hard through the waves, a vast city came into view.

High, unyielding walls ran the length of the coastal cliffs, and above them fortresses stood grim and immovable, a forest of banners snapping in the wind. In the harbor district, buildings of every color and kind of roof packed tight against one another, while ships large and small came and went without pause. Along the docks stretching away to either side, vessels of every nation lay moored, each flaunting its own grandeur on the swell, and sailors and merchants swarmed the quays in a frenzy of unloading. Coastal patrol ships rode the near waters, turning back anything that looked suspicious — and in the middle of it all a brawl had broken out, sending several men tumbling off a deck into the sea.

It was as if the city itself were one enormous living thing, moving and breathing of its own accord. Of the scars the Demon King's army had left behind, there was no longer any trace.

Calbassar, capital of the great Empire. The wellspring of every culture, every technology, every fashion on the continent. The place I had abandoned everything to leave, ten years ago.

"I've never seen a city this big in my entire life! Oh my gosh! There are so many people!"

"It's the imperial capital. Of course there are. And that's only part of it — the landward side is even bigger."

"Eek?!"

The ship we were on did not put in among the merchantmen. It slipped further inward, toward a separate pier — the Empire's Third Fleet Command, where warships of a size that made our own vessel look like a toy stood moored in dense ranks.

They say even mountains and rivers change in ten years. Still, I hadn't expected them to rebuild, in that span, an entire fleet the Demon King's forces had sent to the bottom of the sea.

"Those ships' masts… they're taller than a temple bell tower…"

Olicia stared up, mouth hanging open, at the masts of the battleships sliding past to either side of us.

"Let's get off, Dian. You too, Miss Olicia."

No sooner had we disembarked with Linus than a fine carriage drawn by four horses came rattling up from the far side and drew to a halt before us. A reception carriage from the Imperial Palace, by the look of it.

"Wow… to think I'd get to ride in a carriage like this…"

Olicia couldn't stop marveling, patting the plush cushions again and again. Brunswell, where we'd been living, was a small enough city that there had never been any occasion to ride a carriage at all.

"By the way, Linus. I've been wondering. Is there some kind of problem with the current Academy Principal?"

"It's a bit complicated. In terms of personal ability, the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠person is outstanding. But when it comes to management and oversight, the evaluation is that they're somewhat lacking."

"So their personality's garbage, then?"

"Well…"

"Ah! The Imperial Palace!"

Linus had been about to answer when Olicia let out something close to a scream.

I looked out the window. We were already at the drawbridge of the Imperial Palace — the place where Linus and I had parted ways ten years ago. Had they not changed so much as a single brick?

Someone had clearly sent word ahead. We passed the drawbridge without inspection, and the carriage ran on until it stopped before the inner citadel.

"Miss Olicia, you'll wait in a separate room. Follow the coachman. Dian, you come with me."

"See you later, Dian."

Parting from Olicia, I followed Linus through the inner citadel's towering main gate.

"Welcome, Sir Linus. We have been expecting you, Dian."

The moment we were through the door, a neatly dressed servant approached and greeted us.

"Her Highness the Second Princess is in her office. I will escort you there."

The Second Princess? I'd figured we'd be meeting some minister connected to this business. The Emperor, maybe — but the Second Princess, out of nowhere?

"Linus. Why do we have to see the Second Princess?"

"Her Highness currently also serves as Director of the National Security Office. Both the Intelligence Department and the Inspection Department are under her command."

"Ah, so that's it. She's hogging all the choice cuts for herself."

"The Intelligence Department and the Inspection Department are where demand for graduates of the Special Task Academy is highest. That is why Her Highness is personally involved."

Hold on. Let me think. What kind of person was the Second Princess, again…

During the war she had been a commander on a different front, so I had never once seen her face. From what I'd heard, she was extremely capable — the kind of officer who had reversed losing battles more than once. Most of the generals of royal and noble birth had stumbled from one defeat to the next without a single result worth mentioning, so it made sense that she had locked down the key posts after the war ended.

"Your Highness. Sir Linus and his friend Dian."

The doors of a palatial office swung open, and a young woman rose from her chair to receive us.

"Welcome. You've come a long way."

The moment I first saw the Second Princess's face, I was a little taken aback.

The silver hair, nearly gray — that was typical of the imperial bloodline, nothing to be surprised about. The considerable height, well, that varied from person to person.

What caught me off guard was the eye.

The Second Princess's left eyelid was crushed shut. A long scar ran through it, from forehead to jaw.

Even so, it was not enough to conceal the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠dignity and beauty that seemed to pour off her. Perhaps because of the easy smile at the corner of her mouth, it almost looked as though the Princess were winking, playfully.

I'd heard she was a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠commander. Was that not the case? How did she end up with a wound like that?

"Why so surprised? Is it the eye?"

The Princess gave a low laugh and pointed to the scar that had claimed half her face.

"I was told you served in the special task force alongside Sir Linus. Surely you've seen limbs severed and crushed as routinely as breathing?"

"That's correct, Your Highness. It's just that this is the first time I've seen someone of your station carrying a wound that large. Most of them were too busy throwing their men into the grinder and running for it themselves."

At an answer that observed none of the usual formalities, the servant standing beside us looked as though his eyes were about to leave his skull, and Linus pinched the bridge of his nose and let out a faint sigh.

"Hahahahaha!"

The Princess, on the other hand, threw her head back and laughed, loud enough to show her throat.

"I like that. Refreshingly blunt. Sit."

We sat on the sofa, and the Princess settled across from us, leaning comfortably into the backrest before she spoke.

"So, Dian. Sir Linus recommended you, so I looked into you a little. Quite the glittering record."

"I didn't want to die, so I ran around with Linus, and luck happened to follow."

"Is that so. You're not the incarnation of Hala, God of War, I trust?"

"If that's a joke, then sure. If you're serious — no."

The answer seemed to please her. She laughed again.

"I like you a great deal. Sir Linus, your judgment was excellent. Between the record and the nerve, he looks more than capable of taking charge of the Academy."

"You honor me, Your Highness. However… I have something to say."

Linus spoke with care, and the Princess waited with a questioning look.

"The truth is, Dian hopes to become a professor — not the principal."

The Princess said nothing, waiting for the rest, and Linus laid out, point by point, everything we had discussed before coming here.

Dian, by temperament, had abandoned everything and left the Empire without a word, living quietly for ten years in a sleepy port city. For that reason, the sudden weight of the principal's office at the Imperial Special Task Academy was a burden he felt keenly. He had not, however, been able to bring himself to refuse a request from Linus, a comrade of so many years — and so he had offered a compromise: not principal, but professor.

Linus's own view was this. Dian possessed a gift for combat unmatched by anyone on the continent, but he had never once held an administrative post, and from the Empire's standpoint this arrangement would be the more advantageous in any number of ways. Better to leave the current principal in place, and have Dian carry out a professor's duties while offering support and counsel as needed.

The Princess listened to the end, sipping the drink the servant had brought, and only then did she speak.

"Not a bad approach at all. Though I find I'd like to add one thing."

"And what would that be?"

"In that case, make Dian a professor and seat you as principal, Sir Linus. Would that not make an even prettier picture?"

"Your Highness. As I have said before…"

"Then I'll be going."

I was on my feet before Linus had finished.

"I came here because I heard Linus was in no position to take the principal's job, and I wanted to help. Listening to Your Highness, I don't see any reason for me to stay."

The Princess regarded me at her leisure.

A silence settled over the office as if a bucket of cold water had been dashed across the floor.

"My apologies, Your Highness."

Linus, who had been still until then, spoke up.

"I will see Dian out myself."

He rose, caught my arm, and pulled.

"Let's go, Dian. I'm sorry. I'll find you a ship back home."

"Don't worry about it. We're in the capital anyway — I'll stay a few days and see the sights. Just cover the inn."

"Wait."

We were just stepping through the door when the Princess called us back. I turned. She was still seated on the sofa.

"I will accept that proposal."

"You'll have to tell us exactly which proposal you mean."

"The current principal stays. Dian, you will become a professor. Sir Linus will return home as he requested. It is not, however, a retirement."

I started to object, and the Princess raised a finger.

"Parental leave, until the child is somewhat grown. The term is ten years. Salary unchanged."

"Wow."

The word slipped out of me before I could stop it. Ten years of paid leave. Was this woman actually insane?

The Princess — contrary to the impression she'd given a moment ago — turned out to be a surprisingly cool-headed, decent human being.

"Well, Sir Linus? My terms?"

"It is a generosity far beyond what I deserve, Your Highness. Thank you."

Linus bowed deeply in gratitude.

"Good. Then Dian — you will go to the Academy at once. Adapt to your duties as professor as quickly as possible."

"Right now? Yes, understood."

"Sir Linus, we will speak separately later."

"Understood, Your Highness."

Linus shoved the back of my head down to make me bow, and then we headed out to the main gate, where the carriage was waiting.

"Hey, Linus. What's the deal with that woman?"

"She may talk like that, but she's actually a very warm-hearted person. Do me a favor and let it go."

"That so. Not sure I buy it. Wait a second, though. So that means she's my boss's boss's boss now?"

"That's about the size of it."

Hah. Well, well. I couldn't tell whether that was a good thing or a bad one. Still, Linus said she was a good person. I'd take his word for it, for now.

"Dian. Go on to the Academy by yourself. I have a great deal of work to finish before the leave begins, so I won't be able to come with you."

Linus said it with an apologetic look as Olicia and I climbed into the carriage.

"It's fine. I'm not a child. Give Celine my regards. I'll have you over soon."

"I will. Thank you, Dian. Truly. You saved me again."

Parting from Linus, we headed straight for this so-called Special Task Academy.

The Second Princess stood at the window of her office, watching the carriage pass over the drawbridge.

Dian, was it. She had expected a certain caliber from anyone Sir Linus would call a friend — but not this.

The way he hadn't flinched in the slightest before an Imperial Princess. And that look in his eyes when he'd asked whether she thought he couldn't leave the palace — it had sent a chill crawling over her skin, every hair on end.

On the front, she had heard only secondhand of men posting records that defied all reason. She had known nothing of the character or the temperament behind them.

When Linus had declared his intent to resign in order to care for his child, and had recommended Dian in his place, the Princess had already decided — the moment she saw that service record — to grant Linus ten years of paid leave.

And when she had heard that Dian wished to go as a professor rather than as principal, she had already thought it an excellent solution.

Dian's desire to see Linus tend to his family ran deeper than his reluctance to go to the Academy. That was a point she could use.

As for why she had provoked him — she had simply been curious how much steel there was in a man who called himself the Hero's friend. She had given an inch and gotten a mile in return.

Perhaps that had only been inevitable.

The Princess lowered her gaze to the papers in her hand. Dian's military service record. Stamped clearly at the top and bottom in vivid ink: TOP SECRET.

A new hire with a résumé like this… the principal was going ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to have a rather uncomfortable time of it. Could they even hold onto that seat after this?

The Second Princess let out a low laugh and returned to her desk.