Chapter 139
Chapter 139
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 139
Chapter Title: Monster Hunter (6)
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Kyle getting pummeled like a neighborhood brawl.
The stunned students could only watch the scene in a daze.
The dean, who had been peeking using invisibility magic, was no different.
Even if Kyle fell short of average, he was still a member of the empire's top knight order.
For such a figure to be unilaterally beaten by what looked like a mafia boss...
The 58-year-old dean pressed firmly on his trembling eyes to acupressure them.
"This academy has a real problem."
I nudged the trampled Kyle away with my foot.
He writhed like an earthworm, letting out groans of pain.
"They half-ass the basics just to look perfect on the surface, so they can't perform in real combat tournaments."
I stomped hard on the model wooden sword of the model instructor, snapping it in two.
My image was already shattered anyway.
I intended to give this damned Imperial Academy a proper wake-up call.
So they could learn properly and defend the empire well.
That way, I could relax in my cozy den without a care.
"Who goes to war relying on such mechanical movements?"
I looked down pitifully at Kyle, who had defended and moved strictly by the textbook.
With my signature weary, sinister expression.
"Your enemies will use every vile, horrific method to kill you. To win, that so-called honor? Don't give it a second thought."
The classroom fell silent.
Even in the corridor, people swallowed hard, listening intently to my words.
Only...
Clea, Myoran, and Jinjo—who had tasted life-and-death moments multiple times—kept their calm expressions.
"........."
In the solemn atmosphere, I casually clasped my hands behind my back.
Under my pomaded silver hair, my eyes grew even fiercer.
"Want to graduate looking cool? Head held high with elegant pride?"
I gripped the snake-head cane in one hand.
I lightly tapped the podium with it, drawing everyone's focus.
"Coolness and elegance don't come from faking it. They emerge naturally when you've lived desperately and protected yourself and your family from enemies."
Noon was approaching.
Brilliant sunlight poured into the classroom, bathing the podium.
The golden light was so vivid I could see dust motes floating in the air, drenching my body.
Thanks to it, the dark circles under my eyes faded subtly.
"For the diligent, wealth and honor follow without needing to boast."
I tossed my wooden sword onto the fallen Kyle.
Worthy of my infamous title, Money Derek.
"Ugh......"
A wriggling sound came from the floor.
Glancing down, the handsome professor covered in bruises was struggling to rise.
'Pretending to be unconscious would suit a showoff like you perfectly.'
While I tilted my head, he barely managed to stand.
This was a bit unexpected.
"Warden Derek, I was careless just now."
He was panting, but his eyes were different from before.
"Though I got badly beaten because my rhythm broke, it'll be different this time. Could we cross swords once more?"
Obsession with honor, after all.
If the class ended like this, he'd lose everything.
"Confident? You'll end up in an even uglier state."
"Yes. At least let me properly prove I was once a knight."
The female students who admired Kyle clasped their hands, watching eagerly.
Even with a wound on his face, his handsome looks still charmed them.
He must have sensed those gazes and challenged me again.
'That's why pretty boys are such a pain...'
"Fine. This time, prepare yourself—I'll attack with intent to break limbs."
"Good."
Kyle grabbed a new wooden sword and charged again.
But this time, his movements were noticeably different.
Faster than before, with varied attack trajectories.
Earlier, textbook habits limited him to shoulders and sides...
Now, he used his tall frame and long arms to check my legs.
His solid fundamentals showed—after a surprise strike, his balance didn't crumble.
Thud!!
"Realized something in the meantime? You've improved a bit."
"I've done my own research. Shame I couldn't show it all."
Because he hadn't mastered all Imperial swordsmanship?
He demonstrated ten variations of the techniques he'd learned, in his own style.
Feinting a thrust then closing for a grapple.
Pretending a big swing, then shoving with full power on clash.
Tough style, perfect for the chaos of war.
"As expected of Professor Kyle...!!"
"Right, there's no way it'd end like that. You were just careless before!"
Some students cheered in the shifting atmosphere.
True to a popular lecturer's influence.
However, that was it.
Reality isn't as dramatic as a novel.
If a sudden epiphany could overcome everything...
I wouldn't have regressed three times.
Thud!!
A heavy clash of wood echoed.
As our swords met, I suddenly gripped his blade barehanded.
"Grabbing the sword barehanded...?"
I gave the flustered novice an indifferent smile.
Paired with the hollow expression from my days as Imperial Knight Commander.
"When your life's on the line, a cut palm is a small price."
I pushed hard on the wooden sword with both hands.
Kyle's wrists trembled, and he stumbled back before tumbling over.
"Keuk...!!"
Second knockdown.
Only then did he let out a deep sigh.
He'd realized once more: overwhelmed in power, technique, mentality—every way.
"...I lost."
"Better this time. Finally reaching Imperial knight level."
The same result repeated.
But the students' reactions were completely different now.
Whispers and cheers filled the air.
Kyle's unyielding determination, challenging again despite the humiliation—it became a profound lesson for the kids.
I extended a hand to him.
He grabbed it unsteadily and slowly rose.
And so, my first event at the Imperial Academy concluded dramatically.
The exchange students in the back row even gave light applause.
Only...
The dean's covert presence had completely vanished.
"........."
As I silently returned to the observer's seat.
Professor Kyle tidied the podium in his battered state.
The ensuing silence in the classroom choked him.
Defeated twice by a mere frontier warden.
How could he show his face now? He squeezed his eyes shut.
Then he fled the classroom with quick steps.
Back in his office, he sank into profound defeat.
He might even get a resignation recommendation from the dean.
Better to leave the academy on his own terms than face that.
"Damn... Who knew that warden was so skilled."
Kyle cradled his forehead, sighing briefly.
No real resentment toward Derek Minster in his voice.
Purely outmatched in skill—no dirty tricks from the opponent.
He'd simply exposed Kyle as a frog in a well.
"......"
But that was the past.
Now, he had to worry about his future.
'Kicked from the academy, where to go...? No one in the capital will hire me with this dishonor.'
Old mother at home, and a younger sister too.
With despair, he began packing.
"Come in."
The door opened, and the man who ruined his life stepped inside.
"Here to mock me?"
"No. Not really the type to enjoy that."
I entered his office slowly, hands behind my back.
It was filled with trophies he'd won over the years.
"How much politicking did it take to rack up that many awards with your skills?"
"Knew it—mocking after all."
"I'm telling you it's not. This is a compliment."
"Flapping your mouth because my skills suck. You pretending not to know?!"
The self-aware guy snapped.
Even after that beating, he still had energy to get angry.
"Packing up? Planning to leave the academy?"
"Dean saw everything ugly—why would he keep me? Better to bow out myself than face worse."
"Then you can kiss your educator days goodbye. Off to some rural backwater kissing ignorant nobles' asses?"
"........."
He flinched, spot on.
Obvious, you punk.
I slapped a document down on his desk as he quieted.
"Before you go, look at this and think again."
"What's this...?"
「Minster Guard Employment Application.」
"Minster Guard...?"
"My company. Neck-and-neck with the top in the bodyguard biz lately. We're hiring newbies."
The blond hunk stared at me, dumbfounded.
"After beating me like a stray dog, you're scouting me now?"
"You're hopeless at mind games and improv, but your stamina's solid. I hit you like I meant to kill, and you kept getting up—impressive."
I grabbed a handful of candies from his desk.
Pocketed them casually and added,
"At that level, you could at least play sandbag—take hits in place of the protectee."
"Even your compliments are so you."
"Read it over. Better than dragging your old mom and sister to the sticks."
I waved leisurely and left his office.
Left alone, Kyle clutched the application, standing blankly for a long while.
"Wait. How did that guy know I have a sister?"
A chill ran down the spine of the Imperial Academy professor.
His hand trembled on the paper.
Walking the corridor alone, I recalled the cocky young professor I'd thrashed.
Kyle Lockhart.
'Now that I think about it, a pretty familiar name.'
Even without my involvement, he was fated to self-destruct anyway.
How could someone with such lacking skills hold onto a professor position?
His students kept losing tournaments, so he got booted naturally.
The real problem started then.
The Holy See approached him, with his family to protect.
They covered his living expenses in his poverty, nudging him to funnel female students he'd groomed at the academy into their ranks.
They relentlessly used him to turn noblewomen into their pawns.
Boosting the Holy See's influence and further corrupting high society.
But not this time.
I chewed on a coffee candy swiped from his basket.
With a listening magic stone to my ear, I waited silently.
For the conversation sounds from Kyle's side.
After submitting his resignation to the dean's office, Kyle Lockhart left the academy on his own.
Carrying a box of his belongings, he exited through the back gate quietly.
Front gate? Female students would chase and beg him to stay.
So he descended the back stairs alone and forlorn.
"........."
That path was usually unused by anyone.
But today, strangely, presences lingered.
White-hooded men.
"White hoods—Holy See...? What's their business here?"
Even in his expulsion, Kyle's affection for the academy remained.
He eyed the men blocking his path warily.
"Professor Kyle Lockhart, I presume."
"Saw it in the papers. Got thoroughly thrashed by that lunatic Derek Minster, huh."
Kyle said nothing.
"Looks like they kicked you out of the academy. Such a shame."
"After all those years of dedication, must feel unfair."
The white-hooded men extended hands.
As if offering a handshake.
"Got a place to go next?"
"Empire's worst professor now—no prospects, right?"
Lips under the hoods curled in sinister smirks.
Like villains dangling sweet bait.
"How about working with our Holy See?"
"What kind of work?"
"Nothing much. Missionary work leveraging your good looks and career, maybe."
"You want to use me as a poster boy."
As Kyle's displeasure showed, the hooded men chuckled.
Voices dripping with certainty he'd accept.
"Pay's generous. Two carriages' worth annually?"
Quite the offer.
But.
"Not interested. I decline."
Already touched by a hand viler than villains, he showed no reaction.
"...Huh? N-not interested?"
"Got a better offer already?"
The Holy See remnants' smirks vanished completely.
"Yes. Rather than missionary for some obscure religion, I'll protect imperial citizens."
In the candy basket inside Kyle's box.
The listening magic stone I'd slipped in resonated faintly.
Hearing their talk crystal clear, I bit down on my candy with satisfaction.
"That level of slyness won't cut it."
I snickered, munching away.
A few female students I passed in the corridor shuddered at my creepy grin and fled.
"Tch. Gotta admit, that tall handsome look is a bit enviable."
Clea had dolled me up decently, but my image wouldn't budge.
Well, after that classroom rampage, who would see me favorably?
I strolled the corridor with a bitter heart.
Next up: literature class.
Probably another guest lecturer like me.
As the warden walked on alone.
Someone hiding behind an academy pillar watched his back.
"Derek... you've gotten so cool."
Petite build, ominous aura.
A mage murmuring familiarly, as if she'd known him since school days.
She concealed her presence, exuding her signature damp eeriness.