The Academy Interview
After leaving Rosenburg, I stepped into Solentia. Was it the distance? The grueling road? As if. A former member of the hero’s party who had inherited my master’s power had no business being worn down by something so trivial. No—the problem was the way people looked at me.
No matter how faint my aura was compared to my master’s, it was still far from negligible. Some knights even drew their blades on me without warning. Each time, I handed over the letter Uncle Guillermo had written, and the knights would turn deathly pale, apologize, and back away. I’ve already lost count of how many times this has happened.
I understood why, but it was starting to get annoying. Should I just wear this thing around my neck? Maybe find some string and hang the paper there like a pendant? That sounds exactly like a pedigree certificate, though. I wasn’t a dog, for crying out loud. No way.
So I resigned myself to the discomfort and irritation. Can’t be helped, I guess.
After pushing forward through all that silent hostility, the academy’s main gate finally came into view. The moment the guards realized I was heading straight for it, their faces drained of color.
“W-what is your business here!”
“I’m here to teach the kids.”
“P… professor?”
The guard stared at me like he couldn’t believe his eyes. I smiled softly, trying to look harmless. “It’s not official yet. But if things go well, that might be the case.”
It had the opposite effect.
“Hiiik!”
Wow. Actual “hiiik.” First time I’ve ever heard someone make that sound out loud. Is this seriously going to be my life now?
I pictured Guillermo’s face and felt a sinking certainty that the road ahead would be anything but smooth.
“So where’s the swordsmanship department? I need to see the dean.”
“Uh… that way…”
The guards hesitated, clearly thinking the same thing I already knew they were: She looks like she’ll cause an incident. Should we really guide her? Obvious.
But then a man approached from the direction they’d indicated.
“What business do you have with our dean?”
“Professor Marius!”
The guards looked at him like he was their savior. Mid-thirties, long wavy hair, a face that screamed sleazy. Leather vest, sword at his hip. From the way the guards greeted him and the “our dean” comment, he was clearly a swordsmanship professor.
He glared at me, brow furrowed so deeply his eyes were practically slits. I miss Rosenburg. The people there had feared me because of my aura, but they never looked at me with this kind of open disgust.
Yeah. It’s the curse. How could this be your fault?
Even in Rosenburg, they only accepted me after I proved whose side I was on by butchering monsters. So maybe this sleazy bastard’s reaction was only natural.
“I have something to say.”
“You have something to say?”
He looked me up and down with open contempt. Because he’s a professor? He was handling the aura better than most, though I could see his body trembling slightly.
“Hmph. Just from the ominous energy you’re giving off, I cannot possibly allow you anywhere near the dean.”
I really should start wearing that letter around my neck. Any spare string around here? This was getting exhausting. I’m so sick of this shit.
I pulled the paper out of my pocket again and shoved it toward his face.
“Here. Read it.”
He glanced at it, then—
Riiip.
He tore it in half without hesitation.
Ah, fuck.
“There’s no need to read garbage like this. It’s obviously a crude forgery. Do you think this academy is so easily fooled?”
He puffed out his chest like he’d just made some grand declaration. I debated whether I should be stunned or furious. The stunned part came from realizing how much extra annoyance I’d have to deal with now that the letter was gone.
“For a woman like you to claim Sir Guillermo’s endorsement? At least make your scams believable.”
“Bring it, you fucker.”
Stunned had never suited me anyway. Besides, after everything I’d done for that old man—after all the monsters I’d slaughtered in Rosenburg—his tone made my blood boil.
“So you finally show your true evil nature!”
He drew his sword. The tip trembled faintly.
“Professor Marius! Be careful! Just looking at that aura—”
“Hmph! It’s no different from a weak, frightened animal puffing up its fur to look threatening!”
I’d heard that line before. Yeah, that bastard Jin had said something similar. And wasn’t the one who was actually scared him? The fact that he could act so arrogant while shaking like that meant he was the type who lived and died by his pride.
You’re dead.
I strode toward him. A pathetic opponent like this didn’t even deserve me drawing a blade. He tensed and tried to raise his guard, but—
Thud!
My fist slammed into his skull faster than he could react. The unlucky bastard crumpled to the ground. I’d never formally learned anything like the Yacheon-gwon, but making stars spin around an idiot’s head was easy enough.
“Keep getting hit and you’ll see the entire night sky.”
No reaction. He didn’t actually pass out from one punch, did he?
I shook him roughly. Still nothing.
“Hey. Hey. Stop pretending. Don’t be such a baby.”
No response. He really had gone down in one hit.
“You son of a bitch!”
Passing out after a single punch? Was he kidding me? My anger hadn’t even properly started yet! Did he have any idea how much more annoying my life would become now that he’d torn up that letter?
Still furious, I punched his unconscious face a few more times.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
But the resentment wouldn’t fade. Why? Because he was already out cold. He wouldn’t feel any of it.
“Why the hell did you pass out on your own!”
Thudthudthudthudthudthud!
I held back just enough that I wouldn’t actually kill him, which meant my anger had nowhere to go.
“Goddammit!”
I stomped the ground hard. Cracks spiderwebbed across the stone.
“Hiiiiik!”
I turned to the guard who had let out that bizarre scream again.
“So how do I meet the swordsmanship dean?”
“Th-that is…”
“I don’t have all day.”
“P-please follow me!”
The now extremely cooperative guard led the way.
*
The swordsmanship department dean’s name was apparently Jean-Louis Lopez. How did I know? It wasn’t from an introduction—it was written on a plaque outside his office.
“So you’re the one who… did that to Marius…”
I nodded.
“Ask Marius. That bastard was the one who—”
Hmm. Probably shouldn’t swear in front of someone so much older.
“—who tore up my very important document first.”
The dean stared at me for a long moment.
“I can more or less guess what happened. Most of the trouble Marius causes tends to be his own fault.”
He picked up some kind of document and began reading it. As expected. You don’t become a professor at a place like this without being made of stern stuff. To face my aura and act completely unfazed… impressive.
“What is that energy?”
“A curse.”
“How did you acquire it?”
He adjusted his glasses.
I recited the short, prepared story I’d come up with.
“I happened to face a particularly nasty demon. The bastard didn’t want to die quietly, it seems. Right before he died, he left this little parting gift in my body.”
“A demon…”
I’d decided to keep anything about my master secret for the time being. He thought for a moment, then nodded.
“A shame.”
Having only met me a few minutes ago, that seemed to be all he had to say on the matter.
“The president already told me about you. He said you were undoubtedly the right person for the job.”
“Did he?”
“However, I’m afraid there is one issue. That aura… for our students, it presents a problem.”
“I understand. So you’re telling me to go home?”
He tapped his lips with his index finger, then continued.
“That wasn’t what I had in mind. You came all this way after being promised a professorship, correct?”
“Yes.”
“A full professorship may be difficult, but how would you feel about a lecturer position? This is not a demand—it is a suggestion. If you dislike the idea, I won’t force you. However—”
“However?”
“I hope you can understand my position. The president may have handled things that way, but the one who will have to deal with the complaints from students and parents is me—the swordsmanship dean.”
He let out a small sigh.
“To be frank, how many students do you think could endure an aura like yours long enough to actually learn anything?”
He wasn’t wrong.
“Lecturer or whatever, it doesn’t matter to me. Let’s go with that.”
My instant reply seemed to surprise him. Guillermo said the curse wouldn’t be an issue at all. Reality was never that convenient. Teaching others meant this curse would be a massive demerit.
A lecturer position is fine. It was something I’d already prepared myself for. Besides, becoming a professor purely on someone’s recommendation had felt a little dirty anyway. If I taught the kids well, maybe they’d promote me later.
“So I passed?”
“You did.”
“No exam or anything? Not even an interview?”
The dean laughed out loud.
“Consider the conversation we just had your interview.”
“Works for me.”
I nodded.
“Then we’ll need to fill out the paperwork… Your name?”
“The name carries meaning… Altair.”
I’d always wanted to say that once, but this wasn’t the place.
“We need your full name for the documents.”
Hmm. I hadn’t thought of a surname. After a brief pause, I answered.
“Altair Au… No. Altair Auvergne.”
This felt right. The forest where I had met my master. The forest that had become a wasteland after she stayed there. No one visited it anymore, and its name had been forgotten by the world, but my master still remembered it.
This is the least I can do to repay her.
Sorry, forest. No matter what anyone says, it was my master’s fault that you lost your name.
“Altair Auvergne. Very well. Welcome aboard.”
He offered his hand. I almost took it, then stopped.
“First, let’s discuss the contract period and salary.”
There was an order to these things.
“Oh, and could I get a generous supply of business cards? Preferably the kind that don’t tear easily.”