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There was a brief commotion, but we quickly entered the Academy and headed for the Meeting Room.

“Luke, that’s not the way.”

“Oh, really?”

“It’s only been less than a minute since we looked at the map. How can you be this lost…?”

“But this map is really hard to read!”

To be honest, the world map here looks like something an ancient artist just tossed together. Coming from a modern world, I was used to high-tech maps that neatly organized all the information and guided me automatically, so reading a map scribbled on a piece of paper is quite the challenge.

It doesn’t even tell me where I am in the first place.

Even now, I find it amazing how people back then used maps.

“Even so, Luke, you’re taking it too far…”

“Hey, I’m at least not the worst at it.”

I won’t deny being directionally challenged.

What’s the worst that could happen if I can’t find my way? There’s no need to forcefully deny it.

But there are others who are even worse than me, so it’s not just me.

“In my hometown, there were people who often got lost even finding their own house.”

But I still managed to find my home, right?

I spent more time indoors than outdoors anyway.

“And the Academy is just too big! How am I not supposed to get lost here?”

I pleaded indignantly.

I mean, it’s not my fault. The first time I came to such a huge building, of course, I’d get lost.

I still haven’t memorized the layout of Jeminal Academy where I’m working, so how can I not get lost in someone else’s workplace? That’s an unreasonable request.

The Academy’s grounds are so vast that I couldn’t find the Meeting Room. After all, they wouldn’t mark something like a Meeting Room on the map.

Normally, if you don’t know the way, you’d ask someone around you, but for some reason, when I approached the students, they all ran away.

“Wow~ Rumors really spread fast, huh?”

Seeing that, I couldn’t help but admire how impressive it was.

In this age, there aren’t even smartphones or bamboo forests, yet how do rumors spread so quickly?

“If only it were good rumors, that would be nice…”

Luna remarked, sounding exasperated.

I haven’t done anything wrong?

She was the one who started it first!

Honestly, I should be the one thanked for going easy on her after such self-defense.

After wandering around the Academy, I finally spotted a sign that read ‘Meeting Room.’

In front of the Meeting Room, I didn’t bother knocking… After all, I was bound to be last anyway—what’s the point in knocking?

So, I swung the door open and walked in, my eyes catching sight of the professors and the Dean seated around a table.

And naturally, all eyes were on me, the latecomer.

“What are you looking at?”

I can be a little late sometimes.

Besides, the reason I was late was because you all lacked proper etiquette training.

“…Who are you?”

The first to break the silence was a woman who looked quite mature.

Across from her sat Lucia. Typically, in these situations, people of the same rank face each other, so she was probably the Dean of Zuwei Academy.

In response to her question, Lucia, sitting opposite me, answered for me.

“This is the last professor we’ve been waiting for.”

“…But I’ve never seen this person before?”

“The Dean can’t help that. I was invited as a temporary professor not too long ago.”

Of course, they wouldn’t know me.

I’m not particularly well-known, and not to mention, would the Dean have time to tour the rival Academy all day?

“Is this person also participating in today’s competition?”

“Yes, they are our ace.”

“What about the two ladies behind you?”

“No, Luna and Yui won’t be participating.”

Initially, the competition needs a proportional number of participants, and since Lucia is substituting one of the existing professors to include me, it wouldn’t match up if Luna and Yui were added.

“Oh my. It wouldn’t matter to us if you did participate. There seem to be some professors who aren’t fully recovered yet.”

In reality, among our professors, there were several who weren’t back to normal yet.

They had nearly perished during the last event and can’t possibly have fully healed in just a week.

‘Her tone is just dripping with sarcasm.’

But it seems the rival Dean is overflowing with irony.

Interpreting it roughly, they seem to be suggesting that given the circumstances, you should be giving some handicap to your Academy.

If I couldn’t understand that, I’d be completely oblivious.

Looking at the other professors revealed they were just standing around, seemingly sensing the tension without a clue what to do.

The professors seemed unaffected, but the two Deans were clearly clashing, causing everyone else to feel the strain.

When the big shots fight, it’s always the underlings who suffer.

“Phew, what a pathetic guy. If you’re going to burn with inferiority complex, at least don’t drag others down with you.”

“…?”

The rival Dean stared at me with a dumbfounded look, as if he couldn’t believe what he just heard.

“Luke… are you sure that’s something you can say…?”

“What can’t I say?”

Is that rival Dean a god? Trying to take away my right to speak?

And even if a god came, they couldn’t silence me.

In that ninja world anime, they seal the main character’s mouth, but they can’t seal his talking.

That rival Dean isn’t my employer, nor is he some important figure, so if there’s going to be hostility, then just bring it on.

After all, I’m here to stomp them down today, not for any other reason.

“…”

Suddenly, a wave of silence descended upon the Meeting Room at my words, and then a burst of laughter erupted.

“…Hehe.”

In a situation where everyone was sweating bullets, it was surprisingly Lucia who broke the tension with laughter.

Despite everything, given their relationship, these two probably never directly mocked each other like that.

She must have only used indirect expressions until now, but perhaps she had some pent-up frustration, so she couldn’t help but laugh even when it wasn’t appropriate.

“Uhm.”

Bernice coughed, finally snapping back to reality and steering the atmosphere back to normal.

“Anyway, it seems everyone has gathered, so please take your seats. We will discuss the rules for the upcoming competition.”

It’s clear she’s holding back her expression. How are you managing that?

But if you hold it back, it can’t be good for you, right?

I can see her thinking that she’ll have a good payback soon, but she’s going to get stomped on soon, you know?

Well, if that’s what she prefers, I don’t care. Even though I was late, I sat down confidently.

For some reason, my seat happened to be next to Lucia, and once I sat down, she whispered in a voice only I could hear.

“You speak so freely, Luke-kun.”

“Really?”

I’m not sure.

To me, I was just stating the facts, and if the rival Dean were a K-netizen, they’d probably be hanging from a noose by now.

K-netizens have a way of stressing people out with their mindless hate comments and insults, that can drive anyone insane.

In response to my statement, Lucia chuckled and then changed the topic to ask.

“By the way, why were you late? Professor Dmitri mentioned he saw you on the way.”

“Oh, that? I killed a student from the rival Academy who was being annoying.”

Well, to be precise, I nearly killed him, but regardless, I did end his life.

It was just that Angela happened to come by and got lucky.

“Wow, your jokes are quite deadly. If you have a reason you can’t share, I won’t pry further.”

I guess she thinks it’s a joke. Well, it’s pretty believable that I’d just casually off someone, especially since it was a student from the rival Academy.

Rumors outside wouldn’t reach the professors gathered in the Meeting Room.

But soon enough, during the competition, they’ll find out the truth about my words.

After chatting with Lucia for a moment, the topic set by the rival Dean for gathering the professors came to light.

“The reason I’ve gathered you all today is to establish the rules for the upcoming competition.”

Why are we only discussing such an important matter today?

I can’t find a shred of planning in that Academy Dean.

“First of all, I apologize for only addressing such an important point today. We should have held this meeting earlier, but due to the busy schedules of our professors and the recent incidents at Jeminal Academy, we’ve been unable to proceed.”

I nearly chimed in there.

As expected, one must always listen to the end before jumping in, right?

“Before we proceed with the meeting, basic rules will follow from the existing competitions, but any additional rules will be prioritized by Jeminal Academy. This is a rightful privilege, as we asked to hold the competition and you readily accepted.”

After this, the rival Dean gave a brief explanation of how the competition would proceed.

Each Academy would nominate five representatives, and it was to be a team battle, with blah blah blah.

Then the real discussion began. As someone presented an opinion, discussions of support and opposition ensued, and rules were gradually determined.

But did I even need to be here? I had nothing to contribute.

I only came because I was told to, and meetings that are strict and boring don’t match my personality.

‘My mouth is feeling a bit itchy…’

I smacked my lips.

Reaching into my Inventory, I pulled out a snack and popped it into my mouth.

“What do you think about allowing the use of magical tools in the competition? Instead of a straightforward battle of strength, it would allow for a variety of strategies…”

Crunch, crunch.

“I oppose that. It strays from the essence of this competition, which is to hone our skills by competing with our raw strength, and it will depend on the grade of magical tools…”

Crunch, crunch.

“…”

As I munched on my snack with a bored expression, I noticed the sudden silence surrounding me and looked around to see everyone staring at me as if they had something to say.

“Oh, please don’t mind me. Just keep going.”

 

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