"I see, taking on the S-Class lessons... wasn't that quite demanding? The S-Class certainly has the skill, but they also have the pride to match. Even I get a little nervous during class. If I could, I'd rather just focus on my magical research."
Murmuring that, unfortunately, things didn't work that way, Samarun brought the bread in his hand to his mouth.
It was the night of Rei's first day as an instructor.
That evening, Rei was eating dinner in the dormitory cafeteria while chatting with Samarun.
Actually, Samarun wasn't the only one sharing the table with him.
"Hmm, is that so? The S-Class students listen to what we say reasonably well, you know?"
A gentle female teacher in her twenties offered this as she dipped her spoon into a thick, hearty stew.
At first, the instructors and staff living in the dormitory hadn't been sure how to act around Rei. But when several colleagues had stepped in to help during an awkward exchange with Samarun, the rest had gradually grown comfortable enough to strike up conversation.
Though "comfortable" was relative. Rei had never been particularly good at socializing, so the topics stayed mostly on classes, and he hardly touched on anything personal.
Still, the instructors and staff probably understood that Rei, while not exactly a child anymore, was by no means old enough to be called an adult. They were careful to choose topics that wouldn't leave him feeling too pressured.
As a result, the majority of the conversation revolving around classes was perhaps unavoidable, given that this was the Officer Academy.
"That's because those guys have their eyes set on you. ...Anyway, teaching the students—not just the S-Class—teaches the instructor a fair bit too. We'd appreciate it if you took that to heart, Rei."
One of the instructors eating nearby murmured this thoughtfully.
(A former B-Rank Adventurer... was it?)
Rei knew about the man, since he had come up several times in conversation with Samarun. Though he had already retired from adventuring, he was originally a B-Rank Adventurer just like Rei. Samarun had mentioned that since he himself wasn't well versed in adventurer practices, Rei might want to consult the man if anything came up on that front.
"Besides... from now on, a fair number of adventurers will be showing up at the Officer Academy too. When you think about it that way, Rei being here won't stand out all that much going forward. I don't think you need to worry about it too much."
Before Rei realized it, the conversation had shifted to his appearance. The former B-Rank Adventurer was explaining how much Rei stood out—an instructor younger than his own students.
"Adventurers?"
Not understanding why so many adventurers would come, Rei asked as he reached for a skewer.
Incidentally, although only a single day had passed since Rei moved into the dormitory, the cafeteria had already changed significantly in that time. Specifically, both the quantity and quality of the food had gone up.
The reason was apparently that an Alias Holder adventurer had gotten caught up in the King's Faction's disputes and come to the City of Gracial. Failing to satisfy him with meals would be a disgrace to Duke Quento's House.
When Rei had mentioned the cafeteria food to Samarun, the matter had been passed on to the Academy Headmaster, and the meals had improved dramatically as a result.
So long as you were alive, naturally, the better the food tasted, the better. There was no doubt that this improvement was one of the reasons the dormitory's residents had warmed up to Rei.
There were some who didn't care what they ate as long as it was edible, but they were decidedly in the minority.
The greatest concern among those currently living in the staff dormitory was that the food quality might drop again once Rei left the Officer Academy in the spring.
"Yeah. It's probably the same in Gilm where Rei is based, but adventurers generally don't take requests in winter. That said, that only applies to those who managed to save up enough money to get through the season. Those who failed to save up for whatever reason naturally have to keep earning money through winter."
At the man's words, what came to mind for Rei were two female adventurers who had wasted their money doting on Set. One had genuinely run out of her savings and ended up taking requests. The other had tried to dip into the funds she'd brought from the Bestia Empire, only to be stopped by her companions and likewise forced to take work.
There were plenty of others who took requests during winter, of course, but those two had left the strongest impression on Rei.
"I suppose so. I've got acquaintances like that too."
"...Even among the acquaintances of an Alias Holder, there are people like that? Be that as it may, among the requests such people take, the ones posted by the Officer Academy are fairly lucrative. No need to step outside the City of Gracial, and they get to move their bodies enough to keep their skills from rusting."
"That's a pretty sweet deal."
"Yeah. Though that's only possible because the Officer Academy is here in the City of Gracial, governed by Duke Quento. In other cities, let alone villages, something like this would be next to impossible."
The man was right. The prosperity here existed precisely because this was Duke Quento's home territory—proof of just how much funding was being poured into the Officer Academy.
Hearing this, Rei, who had been thinking it would be nice if something similar could be done in Gilm, realized it was a lost cause.
With those thoughts, he finished the last of his skewer. Just as he was about to set the stick back on his plate, Samarun, sitting across from him, suddenly raised his voice.
"Oh! That conversation just reminded me! I'm sorry, Rei. I completely forgot—I was supposed to pass on a message from that muscle-brain."
At the word "muscle-brain," a few people in the cafeteria faintly furrowed their brows.
Anyone who had spent a decent amount of time at the Officer Academy knew that Samarun and Isukerudo were friends—though neither would ever admit it. And almost everyone knew that when Samarun said "muscle-brain," he meant Isukerudo.
No matter how good their relationship was, Isukerudo was still regarded as a hero by the people of the City of Gracial. Hearing him called a muscle-brain didn't sit well with more than a few.
Such people shot Samarun reproachful looks, but he didn't seem to notice—or care—as he continued speaking to Rei.
"The message from that muscle-brain is about your meeting with Duke Quento. You were originally supposed to meet tonight, but something urgent came up, so he asked to postpone it for a while."
"Is that so? ...Well, I'm not fond of stiff, formal occasions, so I'm happy to have it pushed back. Honestly, I'd be fine if the meeting never happened at all."
"That might be difficult. They're inconveniencing you through no fault of your own, so I imagine Duke Quento would want to meet you at least once."
"...Is that right?"
"Yes, absolutely."
Rei glanced around at the others as Samarun nodded with complete confidence. Most of the people who had been following the conversation nodded in agreement.
(Honestly, I'm really not good with stiff and formal things.)
Normally, an audience with a duke was something most people could only dream of. For anyone looking to build a connection with Duke Quento, this would be a golden opportunity. If such a person had heard Rei just now, they would undoubtedly fly into a rage—or perhaps offer to take his place and go meet the Duke themselves.
"Well, if my evening is free now, that's fine by me. I'll just need to find some way to pass the time."
"Pass the time? In that case, how about discussing magic with me?"
"Ah... sorry, but I'll pass. I'm pretty sure I've said this before, but I use magic intuitively. So if you start getting into detailed magical theory, I won't be able to keep up."
"But you had a magic master, didn't you, Rei? Surely they taught you magical theory?"
"I wonder. It's more like I did and didn't... Either way, that sort of thing really isn't my forte. Sorry, but I'll have to decline."
"...I see. It's a shame, but it can't be helped."
Samarun must have decided that pushing any further would only be a nuisance. He quietly backed down.
The other instructors and staff who had been watching wore expressions that said, Here we go again.
Just seeing those faces made it painfully obvious how devoted Samarun was to magic—and how desperately he wanted to have that conversation.
(I'd really rather he had those conversations with someone other than me.)
Rei finished his meal with that thought in mind. When the last bite of stewed meat was gone, he pushed back from the table and stood.
One of the men sitting nearby looked up.
"Hm? You done already?"
"Yeah. I'm fairly satisfied. I'll head back to my room soon. Should act like a proper instructor and think about how I want to handle the mock battles."
Temporary or not, he had been entrusted with the role of an instructor—the duty of teaching others.
Rei had done similar things before, but the approach would have to differ from what he'd done with Basrero, and the kind of training he'd drilled into the Former Mobile Unit members would be hard to apply here.
If he used skills like the Overlord's Armor or the Flame Emperor's Crimson Armor in training the way he had with the Former Mobile Unit, it wouldn't build them up—it would shatter their will to fight entirely.
And not just temporarily. A complete collapse of confidence. At worst, it could inflict trauma so severe that every last S-Class student might withdraw from the Officer Academy of their own accord.
(Well, in terms of weakening the King's Faction's influence, maybe that would do the trick... but I'm cooperating with Lord Daskar, not part of the Neutral Faction. Besides, Duke Quento's faction is the one carrying out disciplinary purges—meaning they're nobles who haven't yet gone rotten... or so they should be.)
He couldn't say for certain, not having met Duke Quento in person yet. But he also figured that if the Duke were a typical corrupt noble, a child like Maruka wouldn't have grown up so freely.
(Then again, in today's mock battle, the entire class came at me all at once and couldn't land a single scratch. Considering that, I may have already given them more than enough trauma.)
What came to mind wasn't the fourth-year S-Class—the highest grade—but the third-year S-Class, with whom he had run the same drills afterward.
As always, they hadn't been able to tell Rei was an instructor just by looking at him—which, in a way, was understandable. Several had challenged him while still underestimating him, only to be driven into the ground without landing a single blow.
After that, they had realized Rei was no ordinary person and had come at him seriously. They still ended up face-down in the dirt.
Eventually, the entire class had challenged him together. Same result.
The fourth-years, as the top class, had managed to recover their composure. But to Rei's eyes, there were some among the third-years whose resolve looked ready to shatter.
"That'll depend on how tomorrow goes."
"Hm? What was that?"
The man nearby looked over at the words that had slipped out.
Rei shook his head to indicate it was nothing and left the cafeteria.
He climbed the stairs to the second floor, returned to the room that had been prepared for him, and lay down on the bed.
"Still... how should I go about training them? Is pointing out their weaknesses one by one like I did with Basrero the best approach? But doing that for every single one of them every time would be way too much work."
The one-on-one method had only been possible with Basrero because he was alone. This time, both the fourth-year and third-year S-Classes had a full roster of forty students each. Identifying weaknesses for all eighty of them would be exhausting.
"And unlike Basrero, they've got a superficial confidence in their own abilities. I managed to make them acknowledge me in today's mock battle, but whether they'll actually listen to what I say after that... I'm not so sure."
Feeling that tomorrow's lessons were going to be quite demanding, Rei settled in for the night.
"This man... is a great enemy."
In the darkness, a man let out a startled voice as he read the letter in his hands. Then he closed his eyes and murmured with quiet sincerity.
"All in the name of the Holy Goddess of Light."