Elite Instructor at a Third-Rate Academy

19 – A Strange Ceiling☆

Nothing happened.

Velasquez thought to himself and smirked. He had acted like something was going to happen, even spreading out a map, but it all turned out to be empty. What could he do with this theme? It was a failure from the beginning. Now, he only had to cross two territories to reach where his father was. Strangely, he started to think a lot as he got closer to his hometown.

“Not possible.”

It was the response sent by his cousin. Velasquez was disappointed when he arrived in Tennar and barely received the reply. It was pathetic that he couldn’t fulfill his cousin’s request while running a private association that would do anything for money.

“I dislike this person and that person.”

He spat out curses, kicked the small table in th

“Damn it, the taste of this alcohol is already pissing me off!”

“I’ll find a decent place for drinks instead.”

“Sure, it’d be even better if there are a lot of women. You can handle that, right?”

He hesitated again, then threw a pillow.

“This is a foreign territory, so problems could arise.”

“So, we need to find a place where we can spend money and enjoy ourselves properly!”

The man raised his arm to his chest without saying a word, bowing his head.

“What kind of idiots take money under the pretext of protection?”

Bellasquez suppressed the boiling anger inside and fell back asleep. When he opened his eyes, the dawn had already broken. After a quick wash and dressing, his complexion seemed a bit grim, but there were no issues. Perhaps some toxins had built up during his travels. He called for his attendants, feeling the need for a good purge.

“Guide me.”

A local employee assigned to guide the three guards followed him. They visited what was said to be the most discreet and luxurious tavern within the territory, but it turned out to be nothing special. They were directed to an upstairs area for a more private space. The interior decorations were indeed more upscale. The waitstaff were not as attractive as Amy, so it seemed that they might prefer a drink before finding them appealing.

“Bring the most expensive drinks and snacks.”

After ordering for the guards as well, a woman who looked like the owner laughed playfully. She was around forty. Even if she were beautiful, he had no intention of sharing a bed with a woman this old. First, he pushed the alcohol into his stomach, thinking that once he was intoxicated, his thoughts might change.

“Oh my, you’re enjoying it very well.”

With a hoarse voice, an old fox whispered. Suddenly, Bellasquez thought of Ochia. If only it wasn’t that cursed academy, he would have found a way. However, he had no helpers there. He had to handle everything alone, and being a man, he couldn’t approach people openly. Amy was a result of his own carelessness. He had no interest in her from the beginning, but suggesting they share a bed became a tangled mess. Well, if she laid an egg while he was asleep, he could treat it as his own little chick.

– What’s going on? Am I getting drunk already?

Suddenly feeling a slowing down of thought processes, he called the madam. Asking about the type of alcohol, she said it was a local traditional liquor with a high alcohol content. Without realizing it, he grabbed her cheek and asked her husband what he was doing.

“Well, should I consider today as dead?”

Lightly raising her cheek, somewhat similar to Ochia, she said nothing. Still, as long as he paid, she was a woman who would do her job properly. Wanting to continue the drinking, he kept on drinking until he lost consciousness. When he opened his eyes, a strange ceiling greeted him.

[#19 – Saint]

Freed followed her to the office and continued to offer unwanted advice.

Kenneth, finding her constant presence annoying, responded with soulless answers. As she prepared for the upcoming class, the girl brought her chair over, sat next to her, and started lecturing again.

“That was just a mistake.”

“I understood.”

“Do you really not know?”

“Just because we’ve used all the allotted time for rules doesn’t mean anything.”

“You can see the kids don’t like it. Tell me why.”

– This woman is incredibly annoying.

“They all paid to enroll, didn’t they?”

“Yes.”

“That’s why I thought I should teach as much as possible.”

“It’s a mistake that beginner teachers often make. Thinking that filling everything tightly is the best, but then the kids can’t concentrate. In discipline, you have to hear words of encouragement and thoughts from the kids. Honestly, if the instructor speaks alone, how can the kids follow? The same goes for a class a little later. You have to give them time to speak and act. Understand?”

With that, Kenneth forcefully closed the teaching materials he had spread out and said, “It’s not the time to see this.”

“What do you mean?”

“It’s better to think about what to talk about with the kids while taking a walk.”

“Commander Bendelin.”

Kenneth was about to tell Walquon to stop, but he hesitated, wondering if that would be helpful.

“Why?”

“I’ll correct it gradually as I try it.”

“Stubborn like a child.”

“As you say, I’ll walk and come back, so please don’t interfere with my teaching method from now on.”

Kenneth, who was about to say that opening and entering someone else’s classroom without permission was against the rules, stopped. He didn’t know much about the reputation of Commander Friede Bendelin, but he could roughly understand what kind of person she was by looking at the scenery of this office.

He had openly instructed to keep a distance, essentially treating her like an officer or a soldier of interest. In the military, such individuals were usually referred to as inspectors. He had seen many inexperienced officers in organizational life. They were often isolated, either because they were too ambitious or because they spoke without thinking.

“It’s lonely, that’s why she’s like this.”

Kenneth turned his attention to the letters from students and a vase of flowers on her desk. As if asking him to go quickly, he lowered his hand and requested.

“Commander Bendelin, would you like to take a walk together?”

“Why?”

After replying, her eyes narrowed.

“I want to hear more of your opinions.”

Friede’s expression became strange. Changing colors like a chameleon in the southern desert, she finally coughed.

“Well, then, shall I tell you more?”

“I’ll wait outside first.”

Kenneth seemed to understand why Friede Bendelin was acting like this and why she was giving unsolicited advice with a certain intention. She seemed to be tired of isolation. Even a new instructor would find the office hellish if they weren’t on her side. Since the relationship with the teachers was not important to him anyway, he was willing to be isolated together.

“But why aren’t you asking anything?”

After walking together for about ten minutes, Friede asked. Judging from the fact that she now realized she had been talking the whole time, this woman, despite being talkative, was quite lonely.

“I don’t have a way with words.”

“Did you see me teaching at the ceremony earlier?”

“I can explain well, but I find it difficult to have conversations with others.”

“I feel the same way.”

─You don’t seem good at explaining either.

“Are you saying that during grammar and pronunciation correction lessons, I should give the students an opportunity to become friendly with each other?”

“Yes, otherwise the kids won’t listen. They’re all just little kids who haven’t even turned twenty. This place is like an academy, a gathering place for teenagers who are more interested in dating than studying. So, forming good relationships comes first. Anyway, it’s not like they listen just because they’re good at class. Everyone has different reasons for taking the course.”

Pridae listed reasons such as liking the instructors, finding the classmates attractive, simply enjoying the classes, and the courses sounding prestigious. Kennyth quietly walked beside her, and they found a tea house selling milk tea. It was a drink they usually had in the northern regions, so they went there out of curiosity.

“Where are we going?”

“To have breakfast.”

When they ordered two cups of milk tea, a large ladle was vigorously stirred in a long wooden barrel, mixing the butter and the milk tea. After adding some spices to remove the odor and a bit of sugar, the tea was mildly drinkable. When Pridae handed it to Kennyth, he frowned after taking a few sips.

“It doesn’t taste good.”

“But it’s comforting to the stomach.”

After drinking something, finally, not a word was spoken and they just made a slurping sound. Kennyth also regained an inner peace. Give the students a chance to step forward. To him, who had been a soldier to his very bones, it was a strange proposition.

─Had I been living only with elites?

Every academy Kennyth had passed through was prestigious. Since he simply followed the attributes, he didn’t have a chance to make friends and only chose classes taught by famous soldiers and professors. This was how he remembered his mercenary days.

“If you have any questions or doubts about what the instructor explained, raise them now. If not, try applying today’s lessons to your assignments, and if you come across a problem or doubt, come to the research lab. I will check it immediately and give advice. If you didn’t even understand it, then it means you lack knowledge, so read reference books and solidify your understanding. Trying to escape ignorance through questioning is an act of shirking your own responsibility. Do you all understand?”

─Yes, Professor.

The instructions were concise and clear, and there were no doubts. The meaning was clear, and the guidelines for action were detailed, making it vivid what to do and say. Kennyth wondered why this method of communication posed a problem for the students of Lyrandia.

─You pointed out that it was unfair during the ceremony time as well, didn’t you?

The puzzle of connecting lines was the same. By expanding it as a means to apply what they had learned to this assignment, the students had grumbled that they used an approach only known by the instructors.

“Ah, I understand now.”

Kennyth finished his milk tea in one go and spoke.

“Isn’t it too hot?”

He let out a sigh at the realization that just brushed his mind.

“The problem was not lack of imagination, but laziness.”

“What are you talking about?”

“The students here are desperately being lazy.”

From the start, the students didn’t even have the will to solve their own assignments. That’s why Jeffrey boldly shouted, ‘It’s impossible.’ Instead of feeling ashamed of their own incompetence, they were attacking the instructors’ competence to balance the situation.

Kennyth finally admitted that his students were third-rate.