[Hehehe. My birthday is next month! I should eat something delicious with Kang-hyun(>_<)]
I looked at Cho Seo-hyun's childish diary and communicated internally.
'...She really is a kid.'
[....]
Seeing that even Armonia couldn't respond, it seemed she shared the same thought.
However, Cho Seo-hyun, completely oblivious to my gaze, began muttering to herself.
"Uh, how... Even now... No, then in front of the kids..."
"...Instructor Cho Seo-hyun?"
"But if I leave it like this... Ah, no. I need to hurry... No, then..."
The student who had been called was almost here, and Cho Seo-hyun was still in a state of panic.
I alternated my gaze between her and the student and communicated internally.
'This won't do. Armonia, let's fix this.'
[Are you planning to go back to the faculty office?]
For an ordinary person, that would be the only solution, but I had another option.
'Show me their traits.'
[...All of them?]
'Yeah, how much Enel will it cost?'
[Since their basic abilities are higher than average, it'll cost about 5-10 per person.]
'Okay, that's nothing.'
It was the moment the first student arrived.
Cho Seo-hyun finally snapped out of it and began to stammer.
"Uh, um... You, you..."
Ignoring her panic, I handed the student a case containing a spear.
"Here, take this."
"W-Wait! If you just hand it out like that..."
"Thank you!"
"...?"
You could roughly tell what weapon was inside just by looking at the case.
The student who received the box smiled, bowed, and then left the stage.
Cho Seo-hyun stared at me in a daze, still flustered.
As the next student approached, I handed over a case containing a bow.
Cho Seo-hyun, now in a different mood, cautiously tried to stop me.
"Uh, um... If you just hand them out like that..."
"Here, take it."
I ignored her and handed the bow case to the next student.
"Thank you!"
"Next."
"Ugh..."
Cho Seo-hyun stood there, unable to do anything, like a puppy that needed to go to the bathroom.
It was actually more convenient not having to check the list while talking to her.
If I had to check the list and talk to her, it would have taken several times longer.
As I continued to distribute the weapons, it was finally the turn of Combat Class 5.
Cho Seo-hyun pouted her lips and pretended to look at the documents she was holding.
I ignored her and kept distributing the weapons.
A student walked up confidently with a lively step.
=====
[Name: Song Ara]
[-Traits-]
[Martial Arts], [Vitality], [Leadership], [Cheerfulness], [Positive]….
=====
'...? Girl? Boy?'
[Her appearance is closer to that of a girl.]
With her short hair, it was hard to tell from a distance whether she was a boy or a girl.
She was around 160 cm tall with a slightly awkward short haircut.
As she got closer, her figure and appearance made it clear she was a girl.
Her face was so pretty that it would have been a waste if she were a boy.
-[Archery Lv.26], [Swordsmanship Lv.17]…-
'Wow, what the hell? Is she really a student? Her level is on a completely different scale compared to the others.'
[She's probably one of the top students among the cadets.]
Most cadets' main weapon levels were around 10-15.
But her main weapon level was significantly higher, and her other skills were also high.
I handed the bow case to the short-haired student.
Then I called the next student.
"Next."
"Uh... Sir."
"...?"
The student who received the bow didn't leave and just stood there staring at me.
"What? If you've got it, go back."
"Pfft!"
"...?"
I heard laughter from beside me.
"Oh my, our new instructor made a mistake?"
"..."
'She's such a kid...'
This was beyond childish; it was infantile.
Cho Seo-hyun, realizing her behavior was childish, cleared her throat and spoke in a solemn voice.
Though it still sounded like a kid's voice...
"Ahem... If you keep delivering the wrong weapons to the students, what are we going to do? Quickly change it to a sword."
"...Sword?"
"Yes, sir. My main weapon is a sword."
-[Archery Lv.26], [Swordsmanship Lv.17]…-
...No matter how I looked at it, it didn't make sense.
But it wasn't my place to question it.
I handed the student a case containing a sword.
"Thank you!"
She smiled brightly and quickly turned back to her seat.
Cho Seo-hyun, who had been deflated earlier, now looked at me with a triumphant expression.
...The fact that she regained her confidence from just that showed how much of a kid she really was.
...
...
...
"Oh? You're already done distributing the weapons?"
"Yes."
"Wow, you two seem to work well together."
"Hmph..."
Cho Seo-hyun snorted, clearly not liking that comment.
"Alright, since we're done here, let's head to our assigned class."
"Okay."
"And bring one of those boxes with you."
"Sure..."
Cho Seo-hyun pointed to the boxes piled up in the corner of the faculty office with a jerk of her chin.
I answered nonchalantly, picked up a box, and followed her.
Cho Seo-hyun kept glancing at me as she led the way.
It seemed like she had something to say, but we didn't exchange a single word until we reached the classroom.
As we entered the classroom, the noisy chatter gradually died down.
Cho Seo-hyun stood at the lectern and immediately began the introduction.
"Alright, starting today, I, Cho Seo-hyun, will be in charge of Combat Class 5."
Clap! Clap! Clap! Clap! Clap!
The students immediately applauded to welcome her.
Cho Seo-hyun turned to me to introduce me.
"And next to me is..."
But she didn't say anything and just stared at me intently, then made a thoughtful expression.
'Damn, did she not even know my name...'
[She's been busy since this morning, so she probably didn't have time to introduce you.]
'Still... She must have heard about me beforehand...'
I stood next to the lectern and addressed the students.
"I'm Seong Suho, the assistant instructor for Combat Class 5. Nice to meet you."
Clap! Clap! Clap! Clap!
You guys are good kids... At least you clap.
I thought I might be treated like a temporary teacher and ignored, but surprisingly, I was welcomed.
As the students' applause died down, Cho Seo-hyun crossed her arms and spoke.
"Today is the first day, so we'll just distribute the weapons and smartwatches, then wrap up."
Cho Seo-hyun briefly explained the classes that would start tomorrow.
She also talked about the curriculum and the current issues at the Hero Academy.
"You know about the incident where monsters infiltrated Hero Academy, right? Because of that, the servers are down. For now, just register your biometrics on the smartwatches and make sure not to lose them until the servers are back up!"
"""Yes~"""
"And for the first week, we'll be doing team training to get everyone in sync."
There were 30 students in the class, divided into 6 teams of 5.
Once the teams were formed, they would stay the same for the entire semester unless there were special issues.
There were individual tests, but since there were also team tests, the cadets naturally wanted to be in teams with their friends.
But they couldn't form teams on their own.
That was the instructor's job.
"Team assignments will be announced in the first class tomorrow. You all know this is your last year, right? Work hard. That's all!"
It was the shout of the smallest girl in the class.
'But I don't have anything to say either. I'm probably the shortest guy here, right?'
[Since these are cadets trained in physical combat, their physical development is quite advanced.]
The female students were about average compared to where I came from, but some of the male students were over 190 cm tall.
Still, I occasionally saw cadets with similar builds to mine.
Cho Seo-hyun finished speaking and left the classroom, and I followed her.
When we arrived at the faculty office, unlike in the morning, there was no one there.
Cho Seo-hyun went to her desk, sat down, and said.
"...That's it for today's Combat class. For Magic class, go to the Magic building and head to Class 7. You'll meet them there."
"Okay, then..."
I answered bluntly and was about to leave.
As I grabbed the door handle to leave, a voice called out from behind.
"Hey."
It was Cho Seo-hyun.
"...? Yes?"
"Um..."
Just as she was about to say something, someone entered the faculty office.
"Oh? Instructor Seong Suho?"
"Ah!"
The person who entered wasn't an instructor but a cadet.
Specifically, the short-haired female cadet I had mistakenly given a bow to earlier.
She was definitely a cadet from Combat Class 5, which I was in charge of, and I remembered seeing her in class earlier.
I checked her status window and called her name as I asked.
"Cadet Song Ara? Right? What's up?"
"Whoa! Sir! How do you already know my name? That's amazing..."
"Ah... I saw it in the records. The records..."
While Song Ara was surprised, I turned back to Cho Seo-hyun and asked.
Because of Song Ara's sudden appearance, I didn't catch what she was about to say.
"Could you say that again?"
"...It's nothing. Go ahead."
"Okay."
I grumbled internally.
'Ugh, she called me over just to say nothing...'
[....]
I didn't show it and stepped aside to let Song Ara into the faculty office.
"Go ahead."
"Thank you~"
She bounced in, her demeanor not matching her appearance.
Cho Seo-hyun looked at Song Ara and spoke.
"Song Ara, what's up?"
"Ah... I came to see Instructor Cho Seo-hyun."
"Then come here."
I left the faculty office without listening to their next conversation.
***
Cho Seo-hyun confirmed that Seong Suho had left the faculty office and asked Song Ara.
"What's up?"
"Um... Do you know anything about Ji-eun?"
Seo Ji-eun.
The cadet Song Ara was asking about was the top student in the Magic Department at Hero Academy.
But she was currently unable to attend school due to health issues.
And Seo Ji-eun was an important person to Song Ara.
Cho Seo-hyun, still sitting with her arms crossed, said.
"Probably... She'll be back at school soon."
"Wow! Really? Really?"
"Do you think I'd lie to you...?"
"Mam... You wouldn't lie..."
Cho Seo-hyun had been Song Ara's instructor last year when she was in charge of Combat Class 2.
She usually maintained a stern demeanor to keep the cadets in line, but when talking to someone she knew well, she had a more relaxed style of conversation.
"But given her family situation, she probably won't be staying in the dormitory. She's from a wealthy family, so..."
Hero Academy required even instructors to live in the dormitory.
But Seo Ji-eun was a special case and was allowed to commute from home.
Her family background played a role in that.
"Ah, Ji-eun isn't like that."
"Yeah, right... Anyway, is that all you came to ask?"
"Yes, thank you for telling me. Mam!"
"Stop calling me sir... Just go!"
"Yes!"
Song Ara, despite her appearance, smiled brightly, saluted, and then dashed out of the faculty office.
"...She's such a kid."
If Seong Suho had heard that, he would have burst out laughing, but fortunately, he wasn't there.
Cho Seo-hyun put away the partitions she had secretly set up to nap and recalled what had happened earlier that morning.
"Sigh... Did I get looked down on from the very first day?"
Cho Seo-hyun usually tried to handle everything meticulously without any mistakes.
The reason was that she was bad at dealing with sudden situations.
She hated that about herself, so she always tried to handle things carefully to avoid panicking.
But this morning, because of her outburst, she had mistakenly taken the wrong list with the students' names and specialties.
She particularly hated panicking in front of students, and that made her even more flustered.
But when she was anxious because of her mistake, the new instructor next to her had solved everything.
It might have been nothing.
If she had just kept her cool, she could have handed things over to the new instructor and fetched the correct list in under a minute.
But Cho Seo-hyun was so panicked that she couldn't even think straight.
However, what she was thinking about wasn't gratitude.
"How did he figure it all out so quickly...?"
Cho Seo-hyun could also gauge someone's main weapon to some extent if she observed their physical traits carefully.
But...
"He identified longswords, shortswords, and even dual-wielders... He even distinguished between javelin throwers and spear users... Is that really possible?"
He had roughly glanced at the students and figured out their main weapons.
And he was a new instructor who had just arrived today...
"Now that I think about it, the only one he got wrong was Song Ara... Wait..."
Song Ara was currently the top cadet in Hero Academy's Combat Department.
Among the current instructors, there wasn't a single one who didn't know Song Ara.
Of course, it was normal for a new instructor not to know her.
But it was ironic that he got every other cadet's main weapon right but messed up only hers.
"Ara... She used to use a bow, right? It was written in her past records."
When Cho Seo-hyun taught Song Ara last year, she had access to her past records.
Although Song Ara had switched to swords now, her past records clearly stated that she had used a bow.
Cho Seo-hyun's mind began to piece together a strange thought.
Did the new instructor who just arrived today know about Song Ara's past?
She remembered that the recent monster infiltration had caused issues with Hero Academy's servers, which contained the cadets' information.
"What if the cadets' information fell into the monsters' hands... And what if the new instructor today is..."
A thread of suspicion began to form in her mind.
But Cho Seo-hyun shook her head vigorously and unraveled the thread.
"...No. He probably just has a unique talent for gauging abilities. Ara can handle all kinds of weapons, after all. He must have just gotten confused."
Cho Seo-hyun tidied her desk and dismissed her unnecessary suspicions along with it.
***
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