Fundamentally, the faculty working at the academy were busy.
Not just preparing for classes, but the documents they had to submit were considerable as well.
From the syllabus to budget estimation and work-related reports.
Even letters of understanding to instructors of other subjects for smooth classes in the future.
Someone might call it useless, but observing such trivial etiquette was the law of forming smooth relationships.
In reality, it was everyday life for academy instructors to sit at their desks all day long handling work.
However.
"Damn it! Shit! Fuck!"
A man who was not a faculty member sat at a desk, diligently processing documents.
Damian Pollet.
That was the name of Lee Han's 3-year limited assistant, and the man currently working hard on documents in Lee Han's place.
'That bastard instructor!'
Damian had lived a life far from profanity as a young noble master, but after doing nothing but paperwork for over a week, he had come to wear curses on his lips.
One could tell how much stress and fatigue he was under just by looking at the deep shadows under his eyes.
...In fact, he was truly exhausted.
He had no memory of using the dormitory for over a week now.
'The dormitory? What's that? Did the academy have such a thing?'
—Such nonsense came out of his mouth involuntarily.
Although Damian was originally a dormitory student, he currently used the faculty lounge more often.
One might question whether there wasn't even time to go to the dormitory no matter how much paperwork there was, but this was unavoidable.
Not only did he have to attend liberal arts and required lectures outside of the Swordsmanship Department during the day, but after attending those lectures, he had to attend to the instructor—and it wasn't just menial attendance.
—You need to train too. Why are you pretending this is someone else's business?
The instructor, who already crushed him like a ball repeatedly under his command, tormented him under the pretext of training.
Because of that, Damian found himself in a position where he had to both attend to duties and train together, and even when lectures were over—
—Am I supposed to do this? You're the assistant, you should do it.
A stack of documents was pushed in front of him.
Damian thought about rebelling but cowered when he met the instructor's eyes.
Because it felt like he would die physically if he didn't comply.
And so, handling the instructor's documents in his stead had become his daily routine, and during the process of solving assignments for other lectures, returning to the dormitory felt like a waste of time.
At some point, Damian came to live in the faculty lounge as if it were his home, becoming something akin to a haunting spirit.
Some were flustered when he first settled in the faculty lounge, but by now, none of the faculty paid him any mind.
"Oh my, the Swordsmanship Department instructor is quite remarkable too, already getting an 'assistant.'"
"Hehe, I see it every year but it's still an amazing sight. When will that assistant drop out, I wonder?"
"Hmm, won't he disappear within this semester?"
It was already a familiar sight to all the faculty.
The sight of an assistant setting up house and working in the lounge.
Damian felt a chill.
He heard that many seniors had succeeded in escaping (dropping out), but for him, it was impossible.
3 years.
He was a lifelong slave—no, assistant—who had to do this for 3 years.
"Fuck..."
Spitting out another curse, Damian's eyes grew moist.
"—Why did Damian Pollet end up like that?"
A cadet with dull gray hair blinked as he casually observed the faculty office.
This was not an 'expected chapter.'
Damian Pollet shouldn't have been like that originally.
"Why is he doing assistant work instead of being a follower of Irene Windler?"
The gray-haired cadet thought.
Something had gone wrong.
This wasn't the planned story.
Something got twisted.
"Why? Where did it get twisted...?"
The gray-haired cadet continued to ponder, and he...
"Cadet, what are you doing there?"
"Y-yes?!"
"...You've been muttering to yourself. Is there some kind of problem?"
"N-no."
"Is that so? Oh! Did you come here because you're interested in assistant work? If that's the case, I recommend the History Department assistant! It's a rewarding department where new study materials emerge every year!"
"Ah, no, well..."
"Come, let's go! Let's have a conversation about the wonderful aspects of the History Department!"
"Uh, uhh..."
The gray-haired cadet seemed to have some kind of communication disability, and he had unfortunately gotten caught by a History Department professor whose enthusiasm bordered on madness.
That day, the gray-haired cadet was unintentionally held captive for a full 5 hours and had to listen to 'reasons why he must become the History Department assistant.'
* * *
One week after the semester started in earnest.
A short period, but it could be an intensely rich time for someone.
In that sense, Lee Han was confident that the week spent in the Swordsmanship Department was richer than any other department.
'I didn't know teaching kids would be this hard.'
A moment when he felt respect for the school teachers who taught him in his previous life.
Ah, a few teachers were exceptions.
Bastards unworthy of the name teacher.
"...If I met them now, I'd kill them all."
"T-Turtle sir."
"Yes?"
"...I think you're muttering a bit too loudly."
"......Ah."
Only then did Lee Han recall that he had come to the faculty meeting.
Some people had heard his murmuring and were looking at him with trembling pupils.
'...Ostracized for sure.'
Humbly acknowledging his mistake, Lee Han let out a dry cough.
It wasn't intentional.
Lee Han decided to try making an excuse.
"...I didn't mean killing in that sense. Just, some things that aren't quite human came to mind."
"I-I see."
"I'm serious."
"Yeees..."
"......"
They didn't believe him at all.
It was a fairly large conference room, packed with lecturers, professors, and instructors.
A total of 112 people.
113 if you included the Dean, who was currently spewing an passionate long speech up there.
"—Respected faculty members. I am thankful because you exist. It is because of such excellent resources as you that excellent cadets are produced, and excellent cadets must become great treasures that benefit the country. Ah, speaking of treasures reminds me, back when I was at the Chancellor's Office..."
That man seemed to be in another world.
He said he would only give opening remarks, but he had been going on like that for an hour already.
'That line, didn't he say it just a moment ago too?'
Feeling the subtle sensation of listening to something on repeat, Lee Han let the words go in one ear while turning his gaze to the faculty member who had spoken to him.
"Excuse me, are meetings always like this?"
"...Well, practically listening to the Dean's speech is all there is. It's better to bring suggestions or such to the Vice Dean."
The unknown faculty member still showed clear signs of fear, but fortunately, he was a good-natured person who answered Lee Han earnestly.
"Then can I just leave?"
"Hmm, if you're at the professor level or above, you don't have to come. Since they have so much research to do, the Dean understands. However, if you're not such a person, you should probably come."
"Why?"
"The Dean is a former Chancellor, isn't he? He's also still an active Marquis."
"...Ah."
He understood.
Who in their right mind would cross a person who, even if formerly holding office, was one of the five most powerful figures in the kingdom?
...But there was someone who offended him at the entrance ceremony.
'Oh wait, that was me?'
Hmm...
"Haha, don't worry too much. The Dean doesn't care about trivial matters."
"I threw the lectern though."
"...It's a bit embarrassing to say this, but accidents happen about once every three years. In other words, minor incidents occur occasionally."
"......"
...So there were seniors before me.
An involuntary warm smile formed along with an inexplicable sense of kinship.
As expected, the urge to throw something when you're fed up is the same no matter where you go.
I wasn't the only one.
"...Still, please be careful next time. I'm the one who made that lectern again."
"Ah, did you? Thank you. Um, ...may I ask your name?"
"Hans Schmidt. I'm the Metallurgy Department instructor and also the head of the Metallurgy Guild."
"You're quite an impressive person."
"Haha, it's nothing really."
It certainly wasn't nothing.
One should never dismiss him just because Hans was a common name.
Being the head of the Metallurgy Guild meant he was at minimum a top-tier artisan.
For those who use blades, he was a human treasure whose connections they absolutely had to open up.
This academy is really interesting.
'The person next to me is a top-tier blacksmith, that's amazing.'
It was on the level of having Jang Yeong-sil as a coworker.
Lee Han smiled faintly at this situation.
"Do you happen to know any glass artisans among your acquaintances? Recently, my dishware at home keeps breaking, so I need something sturdy."
"...You're quite an unusual person. Knights usually ask me to make swords first when they meet me."
"A sword is a sword. As long as it cuts well and is sturdy, that's enough. Why use something expensive and then feel terrible when you lose it or break it?"
"......You really are an unusual person, hehe."
He was different from the usual crowd who noisily demanded swords as if they had always ordered them.
And this left a good impression on Hans, who thought that Lee Han wasn't as violent a person as he had assumed.
"So, are you going to introduce me to a glass artisan or not?"
"...Buy me a meal sometime later. Then I'll introduce you."
"Anytime."
Lee Han and Hans lightly bumped fists.
Lee Han had succeeded in making a connection, however small.
And then.
"But you know, Instructor Hans. There's something I've been curious about right now, can I ask you one thing?"
"Ask as much as you'd like."
"There's someone glaring at me since earlier, who is that?"
Lee Han asked politely, still maintaining his smile.
At this, Hans smiled bitterly.
He must have confirmed the face Lee Han was pointing at.
"...Hmm. Did you perhaps make some kind of mistake with that person?"
"Not at all, I'm meeting them for the first time in my life today."
"......Then it would be best to avoid them."
"Why is that?"
"That person is..."
After Hans's explanation that followed.
"...I see."
A cold sneer formed at the corners of Lee Han's mouth, and he made a gesture of covering his nose with one hand.
'I thought so, I kept smelling a nauseating stench nearby...'
—Ah.
There was a spellcaster.