Ch. 18 - Senior Teacher

The academy had senior teachers who excelled in fire, water, wind, and earth magic, as well as one who specialized in healing magic.Basically, magicians who became senior teachers dedicated themselves to their research, and sharing the results and by-products of their work benefitted both them and the academy.

Therefore, unlike general teachers, senior teachers only conducted classes one day a week, at most two days.

In particular, Fore Pern Roses, a senior teacher of water magic, was deeply devoted to his research and only held classes once a week for two hours unless there was a significant reason.

Given that one of these rare classes was scheduled, I found myself in the schoolyard with the students despite it being only my third day as a teacher.

As expected of students learning advanced magic, most were around seventeen or eighteen years old. There were twenty of them, all standing with serious expressions.

However, among them, there were two people, Rox Kilbegan and Felter Cairn, who occasionally glanced at me.

Did these two have excellent grades? sᴇaʀᴄh thᴇ NʘvᴇlFire.nᴇt website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.

As I wondered about this, a man in a black robe appeared in the arena-like schoolyard.

He was a man in his fifties with long, smoldering gray hair, a beard, a sharp gaze, and a thin build. Combined with his black attire, he looked exactly like a wizard.

As everyone straightened their backs in tension, Fore Pern Roses, the senior teacher, stopped before us and looked around. "I will take attendance."

Without any greeting, Fore began calling names one by one. Finally, he glanced at me. "Lastly, Aoi Konominato-sensei."

"Hello, pleased to meet you," I replied with a bow.

Fore scrutinized me from top to bottom with an unreserved gaze, making me feel somewhat uncomfortable.

Rox said from the side, "I heard Aoi-sensei was hired as a senior teacher even though she just came to the academy. She must be a remarkable magician."

Fore narrowed his eyes at Rox's unnecessary remark. He glared at Rox, who fell silent under the weight of the gaze, and turned to me. "In this academy, those with ability become teachers. However, senior teachers require a minimum level of refinement. In this regard, nobles, who are taught various etiquettes and studies from childhood, are more suitable for the position of senior teacher… Konominato-sensei, I heard you are from a commoner background."

He expressed his opinion and asked me to confirm it.

Looking straight at him, I nodded. "Yes, I am a commoner, and I don't know what country I'm from. Do you find me unsuitable?"

Fore remained silent for a few seconds, contemplating.

Then he exhaled briefly and said sternly, "I will observe your conduct going forward. If I find you unsuitable as a senior teacher, I will report directly to the principal. Keep that in mind."

Fore finally started the class.

He demonstrated advanced water magic. Surprisingly, Fore could use advanced fire and wind magic and even special-grade water magic. Being such an accomplished magician, he only had to chant two verses to cast advanced water magic.

The chanting time was between two to three seconds, which was as close as possible to chantless.

Moreover, the power of the magic was tremendous.

"[Maelstrom Torrent, Tidal Wave]."

The moment Fore cast the spell, a giant sphere of water appeared in front of him and released a massive amount of water forward. It was like a tsunami.

Neither soldiers nor carriages would be able to withstand such a force.

The students' eyes lit up with childlike wonder as they exclaimed in amazement at this magic.

Then, in groups of five, they took turns casting advanced water magic. Interestingly, even though they could use advanced magic, the activation speed and power varied.

Even if the activation was slow and the power was low, combining the mana of five students could match Fore's tsunami. Conversely, if each individual was powerful but the timing was off, the result was mediocre.

Moreover, the techniques to shorten chanting differed among students. Some could activate spells in three verses, while others who required four verses observed and learned from them.

Understanding the characteristics of spells and learning from others’ techniques seemed to be the well-thought-out approach of this class.

As I watched and pondered, Rox, who was seriously studying during the advanced class, looked at me. "Fore-sensei, for future reference, I would like to see Aoi-sensei's magic once."

Fore showed a thoughtful gesture for a moment and nodded. "Hmm, I am also interested. It took me fifteen years to become a senior teacher. Even among senior teachers, that is relatively fast. It would be a lie to say I am not curious about Konominato-sensei's abilities."

Fore glanced at me and exhaled shallowly. "But now is not the time. Regardless of Konominato-sensei's abilities, it will not serve as a reference for you all at this point. First, train until you can cast advanced magic in three verses."

Unexpectedly, Fore dismissed Rox's suggestion.

I was surprised, and so was Rox. He glared at me with frustration but said nothing and backed down.

In the end, Fore, having deemed me an observer, didn’t ask me to do anything until the end of the class.

Because of that, I wanted to talk with Eliza during lunch.

"I didn't expect Fore-sensei to have such a high regard for noble status." I tilted my head.

Eliza also tilted her head as she bit into a piece of bread as big as her face. "Hmm… Is that so? Most of us rarely have the chance to speak with Fore-sensei. Maybe it’s just rumors?"

As she said this, something seemed to come to her mind, and she raised her head. "Oh! By the way, there's a rumor among the students!"

"Is it about me?" I asked.

Eliza nodded repeatedly. "Yes! Only a few students know, but clearly, someone with ill intentions is spreading it."

"Is it a bad rumor? What kind of rumor?"

Eliza hesitated for a moment, then said with a sorrowful expression. "They’re saying that because you’re a commoner, you hold a grudge against nobles and abuse your position as a teacher to unjustly oppress them…"

Eliza hastily waved her hands in denial. "Strass-sensei and I know! You are trying to teach students fairly, regardless of status! But the academy is deeply influenced by noble society… If someone with high family power spreads a rumor, it will spread like the truth…"

Eliza looked down in frustration.

I smiled and nodded. "It's okay. I am unaffected by the constraints of noble society. I'll face it head-on."