CH 27

“Professor Yannis. Thank you very much for coming, and I’m very sorry to say this, but Cain is currently confined to his room, and so I have been asked to request that his lessons be put on hold for today,” said the butler. He had come to greet Professor Yannis as he arrived at the Elgrandark manor. 

Professor Yannis thought to himself, curiously, Wait, what? If that were so, wouldn’t I have gotten notice in advance?

He must have shown confusion on his face, as the butler began to explain further. 

“It is true that we would have taken the proper measures to notify you of this in advance, but the Duke has something he would like to discuss with you. I have been ordered to see you to the Duke’s office.”

“Understood,” said Professor Yannis.

What’s this about? Did I mess something up? Professor Yannis grew nervous for a moment, but then he thought about how Cain’s lessons were progressing unusually smoothly, and there was nothing he could think of that would warrant displeasure from the Duke.

Yannis actually had something he wanted to discuss with the Duke as well, so he decided to consider this a good opportunity. He had originally planned to make his request through a chamberlain or handmaiden, but if he had a chance to explain the situation to the Duke directly, that would be even better. 

“Sorry for taking up so much of your time,” said the Duke. “Professor Yannis. Please, sit down.”

“It has been a while since our last meeting, Duke Elgrandark. Thank you for having me,” said Yannis. Although the Duke held such a high position, he didn’t act conceited and was very polite. Yannis considered him very likable. 

Yannis was the second son of a viscount, but he had left his house through marriage, and at the moment, he was considered a commoner. He had established himself as a successful researcher in magical energy and the production of artificial magical stones, and though there were rumors of him being considered for noble status, these rumors did not exist yet when he took on the position of Cain’s tutor.

Despite his noble background, Yannis was a commoner, and he was grateful that the Duke had helped him establish his social status and his legitimacy as a scholar. 

After all, to continue his research, he needed a stable income.

“Lord Elgrandark, I have something I would like to discuss with you, afterward. I was hoping I could have some of your time after we finish the conversation you called me in for,” said Yannis. 

“Oh? Well, at any rate, let’s talk about your teaching, first. I wanted to ask about Cain’s progress in his studies,” said the Duke. 

“In that case, what I wanted to talk to you about is concerning the same thing. I was hoping to make a request pertaining to Cain’s continued education,” said Yannis.

Duke Dismaya nodded and adjusted his sitting position, leaning back in his chair. He gestured with his eyes to Yannis to go on. 

“Currently, Cain’s studies have already progressed to a level in line with the end of a third-grade student at the Unlimited Magic Academy,” said Yannis. 

“…Excuse me?” 

“Therefore, depending on the subject, there are certain topics that have become difficult for me to teach him. I was wondering if you could hire some specialists to teach him on those particular subjects.”

“What?”

“I would like to continue teaching him in Natural Science, Magical Theory, National History, and Arithmetic, but as for Foreign Language, Poetry, Law, and Economics, I think other teachers would… Lord Elgrandark?”

Students entered the Unlimited Magic Academy at the age of twelve. A third-grader would be fourteen. Cain was currently seven years old. 

Dismaya had thought, He sure is working hard. I can definitely commend him for his good grades, but he didn’t know that Cain had advanced this quickly. 

His outward expression was that of a calm and composed nobleman, but on the inside, Dismaya felt a storm of thoughts and emotions. Therefore, he appeared to be fine, but he was unable to answer or even gesture a response to Yannis, who was beginning to sense the turmoil within him. 

“Ah, I’m sorry,” said Dismaya. “I did not know that he was that far along… Thank you for your report. You said Foreign Languages, Poetry, Law, and Economics, correct? All right, I will look for new tutors in those subjects.”

“Thank you, my lord. Master Cain is a very well-behaved, good boy. I wanted to continue being his teacher until the end, but I thought that that might be wasting his potential.”

“Don’t worry about it. I’d like you to continue teaching him in Natural Science, Arithmetic, and the other subjects you mentioned, and I thank you.”

“Yes, my lord. I am glad to continue working for you.”

Once this conversation was settled, Dismaya leaned forward and held himself up with his arms on his knees. He appeared to let his guard down, and Yannis sensed that there was still something he wanted to talk about. 

“Professor Yannis. Since you will be giving up half of your teaching duties with Cain, you will have some time open in your schedule, will you not? Are you busy with your research?”

“I’m as busy as I always am with my research. This is a bit embarrassing to admit, but I am a little worried right now about losing half of my income. I would be grateful if you could introduce me to any other households that need a Natural Science or Arithmetic tutor, but… It was me who came to you with the suggestion that I teach fewer classes, so I cannot make such an audacious request.”

Yannis had requested that half of the classes he was teaching be transferred to other teachers, not because it was convenient to himself, but for Cain’s sake. If he had stayed silent, he could have continued tutoring Cain in all subjects, but he was simply too good of a person for that. 

Dismaya grinned and said, “Well, about that,” and proposed an idea. 

To Yannis, this proposal was something he was very grateful to hear. 

Ilvalino led Yannis down the hallway. Eventually, they came to a door. Ilvalino knocked on it, and they entered. 

“Hello, Mistress Diana. How are you, today?”

“Pwofessor Yannis? Hi!”

This was Diana’s room. 

Since she still slept with her parents, she spent very little time in this room throughout the day, but it was still furnished, naturally, with shelves lined with picture books and low tables and chairs. 

Yannis went over to Diana, took a knee to get on the same eye-level as her, and smiled. 

“From today on, I, Yannis, am going to be teaching you Natural Science, History, and Arithmetic. Let’s have fun studying together, okay?” said Yannis, putting out his right hand. Diana lit up with a shining smile and grabbed Yannis’s hand with both of hers. 

“Pwofessor Yannis – you’re going to teach me, too! Does that mean I’ll get to study with Brother?”

“You’re going to be learning different things, so you won’t be studying together. But, let’s all go out to do field observations together, okay?”

“Yes!” said Diana, excitedly raising her right hand in the air. 

Yannis smiled at her reaction, and said to Ilvalino, who was standing behind him, “I heard that Cain will be confined to his room for a while. During that time, I don’t mind if you ask me questions on anything you’re having trouble keeping up with or don’t quite understand. It’s hard keeping up with Master Cain, isn’t it?”

“…I can? Really?” asked Ilvalino.

“Of course. You must be really lost in Arithmetic since you just joined us midway through his studies,” said Yannis.

When it came to teaching four-year-old Diana, it would take much less time to prepare for lessons, compared to teaching Cain. 

It was unreasonable in the first place to ask Ilvalino, who had been brought out from an orphanage to become a chamberlain, to keep up with Cain, who had been studying since the age of three. Ilvalino had been keeping up in the individual subjects that were new to Cain as well, but he was having a hard time with subjects in which Cain already had a foundation to build upon. 

“Let’s work hard at our studies, all right?” Yannis said, with a cheerful smile. 

Diana and Ilvalino returned the smile and nodded.