Academy Slave Instructor

7 – Arya Shane Brickville

Arya Shane Brickville

“…So it’s enough for you guys to build up your control skills slowly from now on. There’s no need to be impatient.”

As Zeroa advised, Rai gave a proper explanation to the academy students who were listening to her lecture. Students attending lectures are interested and actively participate.

An academy student raises her hand and asks.

“I have a question. So, do pure mages get stronger much faster? Because they need the mana control ability quickly.”

“No, it’s different from simple strength.”

At Lai’s words, the academy students concentrate to listen to the next words. It’s a completely different attitude from the first lecture. Although they are still huddled together freely, their eyes are fixed on Rai’s face and they are absorbed in listening to even one more.

“There aren’t any pure magic users in this class, right? Who among you can use magic to turn this floor into muddy water?”

“……”

No one raises a hand and it gets quiet. Pure wizards are rare in the world these days. Most of them mix magic and melee combat, but only those who learn magic are researchers or those who specialize in magic.

“You guys can’t use magic that pure magic users of your age can use. So are you guys weaker?”

“I will never lose if it’s 1v1.”

As an academy student speaks confidently, Rai nods her head.

“Pure magic users who are weak in close combat play the role of increasing the range of powerful firepower or tactics while being protected. The magic that creates mud is weaker than the sword you wield with mana, but it requires a much more complicated spell. Of course, more You’ll need mana control, right?”

As the academy students’ attitudes changed, Rai was a little taken aback, as it was completely different from when he was nurturing his lieutenants. Once you pay attention to it, you will never stop asking questions about what you are curious about.

Lai, who seems to spend all the lecture time with questions that follow one after another, asks another student to ask a question.

Still, since he explained things properly, the evaluation of the lectures by the academy students also went up, and even the deputy director, who would get angry just by looking at him, calmed down, and Lai thought it was fortunate.

“Cheer up.”

“I will support you.”

“I bet on you too.”

As her evaluation of her Rai changed, Philia, who naturally won her eyes of sympathy, shuddered at her. The hagwon students who are close to her come and each puts her consolation and sweet treats on her seat and leaves.

“Whoa, whoa. You’ve become very popular. Miss Philia.”

“Don’t tease me, Sesset.”

Cesset approached with a smirk and took out one of her snacks from her Philia seat and ate it. As she rolls her tongue, satisfied with her sweetness, she looks up in surprise as Philia knocks on her desk.

“Obviously he pretended not to be on purpose. It’s a shame.”

“Why would Instructor Lai do such a thing?”

Sesset remembers what Rai added when she re-explained it in her lecture. She said she was inexperienced because it was her first time teaching hagwon students, she apologized and said she would explain again from the beginning.

I don’t know what happened, but unlike her first lecture, Rai’s explanation caught my ear and most of them came to affirm the Salterian training method.

“……They targeted me…”

“Don’t tell me if it’ll embarrass you.”

She sees Philia, who lowers her head, her face reddened as if she is ashamed of what she has said, and Sesset calmly eats her snacks again.

“So you give up and go apologize?”

“No, now that it’s like this, I will definitely win. I have to apologize after winning.”

Unlike her blushing face, Philia’s eyes were firm. Seset sees her proud friend and smiles at her.

“Then I’ll have to call Philia.”

“Bet everything, I’ll make sure to pick it up.”

“No, that’s a bit… But it’s a risk…”

Philia rushed and tickled the three-set who averted her eyes, and the three-set squealed and struggled to get away.

And going back to the story of Lai and Zeroa, this was a serious atmosphere.

“Sorry…”

Looking at Zero Ah, who is not improving her skills more than she thought, Lai pondered for a while before opening her mouth.

“Originally, mana control is difficult at first. So I have to give you two prescriptions.”

“Which is it?”

“The first is to fail on purpose when you come into my lectures.”

“Yes? Why?”

When she is told to fail on purpose, Zeroa tilts her head. Rai said with a sinister smile.

“Strategy for distraction…Isn’t it cheesy?”

“Yes…”

Zeroa’s cold gaze while talking hurts, so Rai set aside her strategic carelessness and explained something else.

“The reason why mana control is based on failure is that each person’s mana is different. You can think of it as a personality. Everyone may have similar personalities, but it can be said that there are very few completely identical personalities, right? So the training method itself “It’s like giving a task without providing a clear solution. You have to learn the method that suits you as you solve it.”

“Ah- that’s what it means.”

After listening to her advice, most of it makes sense when Rai explains it. Zeroa nods her head at the fact she didn’t know, and Rai continues to explain.

“So intentional mistakes allow me to try different ways. For example, the way I deal with mana feels like assembling a puzzle. Some say it feels like spilling sand in my hand. They’re all different. .”

“I didn’t think… I didn’t know.”

“Try the image over and over again. It doesn’t matter if it doesn’t make sense conceptually. Burn, get wet, rub, hard. Weave, wield, shed, people, dogs, the sun, etc. Anything is good, so I try variously and fail. Try it. There must be a feeling that something works well among them. Usually, it is said that familiar things work best.”

Zeroa is troubled by Rai’s words.

Until now, Zeroa, who had simply channeled mana from her body to the target, learned that she had to hold her image more firmly and deal with mana.

No one knows what suits them. You have to pioneer with your own image.

The girl who knows zero thinks about what she is most familiar with.

He was born into a poor commoner’s family and has been doing small jobs since he was a child. He started with small errands, cut down trees, and worked at a slaughterhouse. He once worked as a porter for adventurers, and he has done a lot of different jobs.

However, whenever the time is right, he has been doing other things, so the only thing he is most familiar with is his family.

When I go home after work, there is her mother weaving baskets or making dinner, and the face of her grumbling sister comes to mind. The time to have dinner with his father, who belatedly returned from work, was always precious.

I don’t know how to use her family to control mana, but when I think of mana as her family, the flame seems to take shape a little. It was instantaneous enough to be called an illusion, so Zeroa, confused as to whether it was successful, looked back at Lai in surprise, but he was muttering while looking elsewhere.

“Is there a way to raise the dividend more… Huh? Why?”

Embarrassed by Zeroa staring at her with cold eyes, Rai shuts her mouth and looks away. Even Zeroah knows that she is placing a bet among her students over a confrontation with Philia.

Lai, unable to overcome Zeroa’s staring gaze, speaks as if making excuses.

“I don’t have enough money to bet. And even if I did, I’d bet on you because I believe in you, or would I bet on you if I didn’t?”

Seeing Rai’s confident attitude, Zeroa sighed inwardly and asked for her second prescription.

“Motivation.”

“Motivation?”

“Yes, they usually show excellent efficiency when they are motivated. There are many common stories such as protecting someone or taking revenge, and there is also a simple desire to become stronger. Motivation is the driving force to move forward.”

As she nods her head and listens, she realizes something strange.

“But motivation is not something you can do on your own.”

“No, I can.”

Rai said with a bright smile. It’s a strange smile, but when she says that she has a solution, Zeroa is relieved and looks forward to it.

“This is a method I often use with my men. Listen.”

Rai approached Zeroa without continuing her words and put her face close to his curious ear and whispered.

“If I lose the bet, will I be humiliated? Then to whom will my wrath be poured out?”

“……”

“No. 1. Me, who did not teach properly. No. 2, You who did not learn properly.”

Zero wanted to say No. 1, But when he felt the strength in Rai’s hand holding her shoulder, he couldn’t speak.

“Human beings are selfish and put the blame on others. I will never forgive those who disgrace me. I will pay for my disgrace over and over again. . Never repay me. I will repay you even if I die.”

Stepping back from her, Lai smiles as she raises her thumb.

“The desire to live is a great motivator.”

“It’s also a unique motivation…”

“The effect is excellent.”

Zeroa cautiously asks Rai, who threatens her under the name of motivation.

“You’re trying to motivate me? So… You’re not serious…”

“Curious?”

“No.”

Seeing Rai’s face still asking back with a bright smile, Zeroa quietly focused on the flame.

* * *

As the time spent training with Rai passed, Zeroa gradually got a better sense of it. The flames, which had not moved at all, were now fully human, and could be manipulated as if they were dancing, albeit clumsily, though not yet naturally.

In addition, she can actually see in her eyes that her abilities are improving, so she goes into training with more enthusiasm.

Rai allowed Philia to miss her class at the discretion of her instructor. She said that she didn’t need to learn as well as herself, and some of her students, including Violet and Sozeta, were removed from her class, telling her to continue the training she had learned originally.

It is normal for a private academy student to get anxious when he misses class, but some instructors gossiped about Rai’s behavior when he voluntarily dropped out of class, but there were also instructors who were rather pragmatic.

When Philia didn’t come to class, Zeroa couldn’t know her skills.

Let’s grow visibly. Maybe he will win? Although he gained a bit of confidence, he told himself that arrogance was not allowed and he had to focus on training.

I don’t know what Rai will do if I fail. She replied with a smile without saying that the instructor could not have done that. It is scary to remember him.

Still, Zeroa feels grateful to Rai for spending her personal time to watch her train. Although she was swept up in a bet between the two of them and somehow ended up taking private lessons, she had to show even a little sincerity to Lai, who was training her diligently.

She gave Rai the food she bought outside her academy as a gift, as she learned that it is natural to repay a favor. Rai loved the food so much that it was laughable that she was worried that she would not be disappointed because it was cheap food she bought on the street.

Seeing the rai that the gift giver was happy to eat, Zeroa often brought food back to the academy, and today she said to look forward to it because she will buy grilled skewers, which are popular with the residents of the city.

The shop is small, but it’s delicious, so people often stop by after work, so we had to wait in line after the academy routine. It took her quite a long time, but she headed for her rai’s house with light steps, knowing that she had safely purchased it.

It is already dark as the sun has set, but the magical lanterns along the road light up the road with a warm atmosphere. As she walks humming a song, she sees Aria sitting on her bench a little away from Zeroa who shuts her mouth in embarrassment that no one will hear.

Aria Shane Brackville. A distant relative of the emperor. She and she are the girl called Goddess at the academy.

Zeroa sees her reading her book as she completely freezes. The yellow light of her lamp makes her dark blue hair shine so much that I wonder if there is something special about the lamp that illuminates her aria.

Every time her white and delicate fingers turn over her bookshelf, Zeroa gasps and becomes nervous as if she is touching herself.

‘How do I do it? Shall we talk?’

As soon as she entered the school, she became the academy’s most beautiful woman and countless people approached her.

But she often didn’t answer properly or avoided her seat, probably because it was annoying to have people approaching her. She may be considered rude, but even that attitude was praised and followed, and Arya was rarely alone.

‘This is an opportunity… No, if I’m ignored after talking to you… No, I’m still alone… No, what if I hate me?’

When Zeroa, her lack of courage, her feelings change by the second, Aria raises her head and points the inside of her red jewel to him.

Meeting her eyes, Zeroa nervously stutters.

“Ah, that, hi, ha… Hello… Yo… Ms. Arya…”

Aria stares at Zeroa, who is screaming inwardly that she ruined everything, blaming her tongue for not listening to her, then bows her head slightly and greets her.

“Hello, Mr. Zeroa.”

A clear voice penetrates her eardrum and shakes Zeroa’s spirit. She seemed about to pass out, but it was her own name, Zero A, that held his spirit.

Shocked that he remembers her name, Zeroa tries to say more, but she can’t think of anything to say.

“Oh, that…”

Aria’s eyes staring at her stare at Zero, and when she can’t say anything, she tilts her head slightly, hesitates for a moment, then turns her gaze to her book.

‘aaa-‘

Innumerable words sprang out of Zeroa’s stomach, but none expressed his feelings better than the scream. What a strange person she seemed. Just as she was about to become sad, Arya raises her head and sees him.

Noticing that her gaze went down a bit, Zero Ah also lowered her head and looked down at her. There, wrapped skewers were spreading the delicious smell.

“Oh, hey. I bought it from a popular place. If you don’t mind, would you like to eat it together…? Rani, ahahahahaha! Grilled skewers for someone like Miss Aria! Am I being too presumptuous?! Ahahahahaha!”

Aria said to Zeroa, who was embarrassed by the words she had unknowingly said and laughed awkwardly before running away.

“Are you really okay?”

“Yes…?”

Zeroa, who did not understand her meaning for a while, replied belatedly.

“Yes! It’s okay. I’ll give you everything!”

“No… I can’t eat that much.”

Arya refuses in embarrassment when she holds out her yakitori with both hands as if to offer up all of her yakitori.

Rumors circulated that she was cold because her expression didn’t change, but Zeroa stared blankly at the subtle expression on her face. As Arya moved her seat a little and stretched out her hand to sit down, Zeroa invisibly took a deep breath and sat down on her bench.

‘Am I really sitting next to the goddess? I’m glad I was born…’

Expressing gratitude to her parents, Zeroa handed Aria her grilled skewers. She stares at the yakitori she holds in her hands, but doesn’t do anything.

Sitting on her bench and eating each other’s skewers, Zeroa, who was soaked in her dream of being like her lover, asked quietly when she saw her still.

“Is something wrong?”

Aria shook her head slightly, saying no, and looked at her grilled skewers again. Zeroa thought her appearance was cute too.

‘No no no, it’s weird right now. Do I not like it?’

As Zeroa continues to watch, she hesitantly Aria speaks quietly.

“How should I eat this? Is there a tool like a fork?”

Due to the nature of the empire, where there is not much difference in status, most of the things in the streets are enjoyed by both nobles and commoners. Nobles didn’t despise food from street vendors, and even if it was a high-class restaurant, commoners didn’t go in and out.

However, she thought that the daughters of dukes were different, so she demonstrated herself.

“Bite it with your mouth like this and pull it out to eat.”

“I see.”

She was worried that she might think it was nasty, but Arya immediately follows Zeroa and bites off the meat in front of her.

Her red, white teeth that slightly shined through her lips were somehow alluring, and the meat was hot, and Aria, who exhaled a little while saying “How-how”, Was so cute that Zeroa’s heart stopped for a moment.

Arya, who tasted her mouth several times, looked at her yakitori with surprised eyes.

“It’s quite a stimulating taste.”

“Didn’t it taste good?”

“No. I was a little surprised that it was different from the food I usually eat. Oh, did you ask about the taste? I thought it would be useful because it had a blackened part, but the strong seasoning erases the bitter taste. Thanks to that, the outside becomes crispy. The more I chew, the more The gravy oozes out and the unseasoned flesh is revealed, and the initially stimulating seasonings are mixed together, so the balance is right.”

The high-ranking aristocrat felt that her expression of taste was also amazing, and Zeroa was taken aback for a moment.

But her long words, which she always spoke short, made her zero-ah’s heart flutter. Maybe she was the only person in her academy who listened to her the longest.

“You mean delicious?”

“Yes, it’s delicious.”

And Zeroa was the first person to see her smile. Zeroa, who manages to catch her spirit as if she is about to fall behind her, sees Aria, who is at a loss as to what to eat as her skewer sticks out.

“I bite off the side or cut the skewer and eat it.”

“I see.”

Arya immediately raises her finger and swings it around her skewer, which cuts straight as if cut by her knife and lands on her floor. Although she looks completely unrelated to combat, she is also an academy student at the academy.

She takes a step forward and sees Aria, who picks up her skewer that has fallen on her floor and puts it to one side of her, and thinks Zeroa is kind. Normally, no one cares about a fallen skewer, but each and every action is amazing.

Holding her skewer with both her hands and being able to intuit the squirming Aria right next to her, Zeroa was so happy with her that she wished that this moment would last forever.

But eventually the last piece of her meat ended up in her mouth and Zeroa had to prepare to leave with tears inside her.

“Thank you. Zeroa-kun.”

“No, no. I’m rather grateful that you enjoyed the meal.”

When Zeroa rather sincerely thanked her, Aria smiled and looked at her empty skewer as if regretting it.

“Can I get some more?”

“Thank you, but I’m really full. And thank you very much today. Actually… That… I wanted to eat that food I didn’t even know the name of.”

Aria, who described grilled skewers as that, hesitated for a moment before speaking again.

“When I entered the academy, I looked out of the carriage. I saw a boy eating it with a happy smile, and I wondered what kind of taste it was to be able to smile like that. “

“……Grilled skewers. This.”

“Skewered? It doesn’t mean a dish in the form of a skewer. Is the name skewered?”

“Yes, it’s called yakitori, although it’s usually prefixed with a name like chicken or pig, depending on the type of meat.”

“It’s interesting. I think there are many interesting foods in the city.”

Contrary to the word “Fun”, Aria’s eyes looked lonely as she looked at the empty skewer in her hand.

“If you go to the street stalls, there are various foods. I’ll buy them next time. Do you want to try them?”

“No, no more trouble.”

“It’s delicious. It’s not even lungs.”

Arya meets the boy’s eyes that do not contain her dark heart. She lives in a special environment and is not used to facing people.

“Are you really okay?”

“Yes. Eating together is more delicious.”

The two promise to see each other again next week. After breaking up with Aria, Zeroa collapses helplessly on her way to Rai’s house.

‘My God, is this a dream?’

I don’t know how that word came out. It wasn’t that I had the courage to say it, nor did I say it out of fear. I just said it naturally and Arya agreed. She still can’t believe it.

Although he fell helplessly, her face was full of smiles. She would have thought he was crazy if she saw him lying down and waving her hands and feet in the air, but Zeroa was the happiest person in the academy right now.