EP.121 As the End Approaches, Be Careful (3)
The Dean of Apuria, Aaron.
Aaron had lived as an educator for a long time.
Now he sits in the heavy seat of Dean of Apuria, but sometimes he feels that this position doesn’t suit him as much as being an educator does.
It’s certainly not an easy job.
When planning the Apuria Academy, he never imagined it would grow this big.
‘I was just trying to keep a promise.’
Aaron smiled bitterly. Apuria was originally just an academy established to keep a promise he made with his mentor when he was very young.
‘It surely was.’
Where did it all go wrong?
It was fine to reach out to the educators he knew, but… getting the famed Rosel involved made things too big.
The best academy in the Royal Capital.
The flower of magic.
The cradle of talented mages.
All heavy names indeed.
However, if it was the price for recruiting good professors… it’s something he must gladly endure.
‘Good professors, talented professors…’
There is one person that comes to mind.
“……”
Aaron opened his eyes.
As he opened his eyes and looked around his office, he saw a visitor who had arrived. The guest, standing vacantly, was the very person Aaron had just pictured in his mind.
A unique person.
A type of educator he had never seen before.
As he looked at her, Aaron opened his mouth.
“So.”
With a voice laced with fatigue, Aaron spoke with a sigh.
“What on earth is this? Professor Rania?”
Rania van Trias.
The young professor who boldly presented her plan in the office blinked. Then, tilting her head slowly, she replied.
“I wanted to create a memorable incident before the semester ends, so I planned it out.”
She appeared very innocent.
Purity radiated from her every gesture. It was as if what she said was something born not out of malice, but from a place of pure goodwill.
‘Huh? Did I misjudge her…?’
That thought crossed Aaron’s mind unintentionally.
Blinking, he checked the plan laid out before him again. The black letters dancing on the paper resembled a nightmare.
‘…No matter how I look at it, I don’t think I misread it.’
For a moment, he almost got hooked.
Aaron shook his head to clear his mind.
“No, this… this plan.”
Beneath that girl’s innocent exterior lies a nightmare.
As someone well-acquainted with the rumors circulating around the academy, Aaron knew precisely what students lured in by her seemingly harmless appearance would experience…
– An assignment that goes beyond reason.
– Not suitable for students.
– It’s as if they’re piling up a tower for an assignment.
– Please save me.
A letter filled with pupils’ tears pressing down on a notice board.
Aaron steeled himself.
‘I will put a stop to this.’
The nightmares of Apuria.
‘I will protect.’
The students’ sleeping hours, their youthful pleasures, and their minimal leisure time…!
“Huh.”
Taking a breath, Aaron slowly opened his mouth.
“Um, don’t you think this is a bit much…?”
Indeed, it’s quite a lot.
This feels somewhat wrong.
Though Aaron typically accommodates his professors’ requests, this one was a bit excessive.
“Although the end of the semester is approaching, isn’t it still exam periods? It’s unrealistic to implement this before the exams, and if we do it afterward, wouldn’t that add psychological pressure on the students…?”
It was his attempt at a polite refusal.
After speaking, Aaron cast a sideways glance at Rania. She tilted her head, seemingly puzzled.
“Is that so? I thought of it as a little event.”
…An event? This?
Aaron looked at the items listed on the paper.
“Have a time to get accustomed to the dense mana concentration with students near Harmain Forest. Depending on the time endured, rewards will…”
“Understanding the disassembly, analysis, and reassembly process of circuits in extreme situations, granting rewards based on rapid succession…”
“Understanding the strength of basic spells embedded in protection spells through the mana circulation of the body. Three points for enduring one hit, and if two hits…”
This… an event?
This is more like ‘training’ than an event.
‘Training that could befit front-line knights.’
Basically, it means to roll through the mud.
Crying, snotting, or perhaps even spewing blood.
“Professor Rania? You just called this an event?”
“Yes? Yes. Isn’t it nice? It’ll spark a sense of competition and help with learning.”
The girl nods her head.
She spoke as if nothing was strange about it, her voice no different from usual. She talks about something that is decidedly unreasonable as if it were the most natural thing.
‘…Though it’s all too clear.’
It’s really too clear; her way of thinking is just different.
“Huh…”
Aaron slapped his forehead.
The sigh he let out was deep. As Aaron sighed, Rania cautiously opened her mouth.
“…Is it a bit much?”
It is a bit much.
No, it’s quite a lot.
Reflexively about to answer that way, Aaron stopped himself because Rania’s face came into view.
Her eyes drooped.
Her gaze directed downward.
She looked rather dejected.
It seemed she didn’t show her disappointment, but if she were told she couldn’t do something, she might resign herself and back down.
“…”
Gazing at her drooping shoulders, an inexplicable guilt washed over him. A part of his heart tightened. A very delicate atmosphere hung in the air, making it hard to speak bluntly.
“Um, uh…”
Aaron groaned and lowered his gaze.
After seeing that girl’s reaction, the plan that seemed grotesque began to look a bit different.
‘…It’s a neat plan.’
Though her thinking is unusual… the plan itself is well-prepared. The format is properly followed, and the rules are meticulously set.
‘It’s a plan crafted with care.’
The direction may be somewhat wrong, but it’s not bad. It shows clear thought. At least it doesn’t seem like a plan made hastily in a day or two.
A heartfelt plan.
An event she’s genuinely trying to plan.
‘Should I really turn it down flat?’
Aaron hummed thoughtfully.
“…Still, this actually seems okay.”
Though he hesitated, Aaron picked out the most moderate plan from all the chaotic ones presented.
“I think I can allow this.”
“Really?”
At his answer, the girl smiled.
It was a smile like a blooming flower. Looking at the brightly smiling girl, Aaron let out a laugh that resembled a grandfather watching his grandchild.
“Well, do your best.”
“Yes, thank you.”
She bowed her head in gratitude and exited the office. Aaron looked at the girl’s back until the door closed… and only after the door shut did he let out the breath he had been holding.
“……”
Silence enveloped the office he was left alone in.
…Was it the right choice?
Aaron felt a cold sweat trickle down.
It was only after the girl left that he had the thought that something seemed wrong. The firm resolve he had steeled shattered completely. Aaron muttered while pressing his forehead.
“I can’t disregard her sincerity…”
It was a carefully crafted plan.
How could he simply dismiss it?
‘I still have a long way to go.’
This soft nature was the main reason Aaron found the position of Dean burdensome.
Anyway, it was no easy matter.
2.
Exiting the Dean’s office for a moment.
I walked down the corridor, muttering absentmindedly.
“As expected, a plan made in one day doesn’t work.”
Well, that’s not surprising.
It was just a plan scribbled down on whatever came to mind… arranged to fit the format. There’s no way it could be called the best effort. It was a hastily made plan in a day.
‘She probably caught onto that.’
After all, becoming a Dean is no simple task.
Admiring Dean Aaron’s insight inwardly, I flipped through the plan here and there. Out of many items, only one had received a signature.
‘The most bland out of the planned events.’
That’s a bit disappointing.
But having one approved is something, right? Given the dedication put into it, this was quite satisfactory.
‘If I finesse it a bit, it might actually turn out okay.’
Approaching the end of the semester.
It’s going to be a pretty decent event, the closing celebration of a semester. I smiled with satisfaction.
‘I’m excited.’
I wanted to show it to the students as soon as possible.
Just as I thought this and moved my steps, I caught sight of someone.
“Hmm…”
Sitting alone on a bench in the park, a male student frowned while looking at his study material. At his waist, there was a symbol of the battle magic department–an axe.
It was Lac from the Battle Magic Department.
‘One tough student.’
I absentmindedly raised the plan.
I alternated between the planned event and Lac.
‘…Clinical experiment.’
It was a good opportunity.
I turned my steps toward Lac.
3.
It’s difficult. I have no idea what the answer is.
Lac frowned hard as he struggled with his study materials. He had a rough sense of the solving method, but the answers kept coming out wrong. He thought there might be an error in his calculation process… but it was proving hard to find easily.
“Huh…”
With a short breath, Lac threw his head back.
His neck hit the back of the bench.
‘My head is spinning.’
He was studying multiple subjects at once.
Because of that, all his calculations got jumbled up in his mind. It was a mess. Since his head was confused, there was no way he could study properly.
It was time for some ventilation.
‘Should I go up the back mountain?’
As he seriously contemplated this, he suddenly heard footsteps. Lac lifted his head again.
Thud.
The approaching footsteps were light.
Lac looked toward the source of the sound. There stood a familiar figure.
‘…Professor Rania?’
Her flowing ashen hair. The blue eyes revealed amidst the locks were looking straight at him. That gaze made Lac feel an inexplicable chill.
He flinched.
Instinctively trying to evade her gaze, Lac attempted to get up.
“Lac.”
The predator spoke the name of its prey. The body of Lac, now designated as the game, froze rigidly.
Thud.
The predator drew closer.
Lac looked at Professor Rania before him with trembling eyes. Her blue eyes were looking down at him.
“W-What can I do for you? Professor Rania?”
“I need you to do me a favor.”
“Y-Yes? A favor?”
She flicked her finger.
“Wanna stand up?”
“Y-Yes, yes…”
Lac stumbled slightly as he rose from his seat. Rania lightly patted his shoulder.
“You know the mana shield spell?”
“…Yes?”
Lac let out a dazed sound.
Of course, he knew the mana shield spell. But the dazed sound escaped him because it was such an unexpected request.
“Could you harden it as much as possible?”
“U-Um…”
Hesitantly, Lac did as instructed.
Soon, a solidified shield appeared in front of Lac. After Rania gave it a light tap with her knuckles, she nodded in approval.
“That’s enough.”
Then, she spread her three fingers.
“Alright, here we go.”
“Huh? W-What do you mean?”
“Now, just follow me.”
Then she started folding her fingers one by one, speaking.
“One, two, three. Ah.”
“One, two, three…?”
The moment Lac pronounced the word three.
She balled her fist. Leaning back slightly, she swiftly extended her arm forward.
Whoosh.
The tip of her fist made contact with the shield.
Crash, something shattered. Lac’s eyes went wide. Lac’s mana couldn’t hold Rania’s fist back for even one second.
‘Ah.’
The fist came closer.
In the slow-motion sensation, Lac felt an alarming intuition.
‘This is dangerous…’
He envisioned the future of his head snapping back after being punched or possibly getting a massive nosebleed. Just as Lac was about to turn away in panic.
Thud.
The fist stopped right before him.
With a delayed whoosh, the gust of wind tossed Lac’s bangs.
“Huh…”
Finally breathing again, Lac pulled back. Rania lowered her arm, tilting her head.
“Hmm.”
After repetitively clenching and unclenching her fist, she exhaled sharply.
“It seems this isn’t working. I’ll have to think of something else.”
…So what, exactly?
“Thanks for helping me, Lac.”
She lightly patted his shoulder.
Then gracefully turned around and headed off somewhere. Lac stood there, blinking in confusion.
“…Um, huh.”
His head felt clear.
He had successfully ventilated his brain in a way he had never anticipated. Lac stared blankly at his study material.
“Ah, I got it.”
The answer soon popped into his mind.
As Lac jotted it down, he tilted his head. It felt as if a storm had swept through.
