Chapter 8

After the students had left for other classrooms, I let out a small sigh.

Perhaps I was more nervous than I thought. Feeling somewhat relieved, I headed towards the staff room.

"Ah... Mr. Rector, right?"

While walking down the hallway, I encountered a woman with long chestnut hair.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Ella. I teach Elemental Studies."

"I'm Rector. I'll be teaching practical skills."

She seems to be one of the instructors working at this training school.

In other words, she will be my colleague.

"Sorry, I should have greeted you earlier."

"Not at all. It's your first day, so I'm sure you're quite busy. ...If you need anything, feel free to ask, okay?"

"Thank you."

I bowed to Ella, who smiled kindly.

She seems reliable. As an explorer, I have some experience, but as an instructor, I have none. Having someone like her here is very reassuring.

"Have you settled into your class well?"

"I haven't talked much yet, so I'm not sure... but I intend to handle it well."

"Hehe. It might be a bit unfamiliar at first, but most of the students are serious, so I'm sure you'll get along with them soon."

Perhaps because I sounded a bit uncertain, Ella encouraged me.

"Mr. Rector, you were a student here before, right? So, you must have been surprised by how much has changed since then?"

"Yes, especially the class system is completely different from before, which was confusing."

"Due to the increase in students, the training school's system has been completely overhauled. Now, classes are elective... students can freely choose the classes they want to take."

When I was here, all students had to take the same classes and pass the same exams.

However, with the recent increase in students, it became impossible to ignore the differences in their individual strengths. Some excel in theoretical studies, while others excel in practical skills. To cater to these differences, they introduced elective classes.

"Well, thanks to that, we instructors have a bit more work to do..."

"Is that so?"

"Yes. After all, if we give a poor class, students will leave. ...If we can't earn their trust, it's possible that no one will attend our classes."

"...Is that really the case?"

It's a completely different situation from when I was here.

If students can choose which classes to take, they can also choose not to take any.

Having no students attend must be quite a challenge.

"Oh, but don't worry too much! Such things rarely happen. ...However, a few instructors have resigned because of this, so you should be careful, Mr. Rector. The students nowadays are excellent and have a keen eye."

Encouraged by Ella, I replied, "I understand."

It's a new job for me. There will be many challenges, but I'll have to improve gradually.

"I don't think you'll make a good instructor."

From the other end of the hallway, a man with his blond hair slicked back approached.

Surprised by the appearance of this unknown man, I was taken aback, but Ella, who was standing next to me, turned red with anger.

"Mr. Dolsen! That's rude!"

"I'm just being honest. Besides... many others probably think the same."

Saying that, the man stood in front of me.

"I'm Dolsen. I mainly teach pharmacology."

"...I'm Rector."

Dolsen looked at me with obvious suspicion.

"How old are you?"

"Twenty."

"Hmph, so you retired as an explorer at such a young age. ...You must not have much to offer."

After saying that, Dolsen turned and left.

What did he mean by that...?

◇

While Rector was being criticized by Dolsen, a group of students were heading to the Geography class and chatting.

"That instructor was pretty young."

The red-haired boy, Ray, muttered.

"He was an active explorer but retired young and is now an instructor..."

Ray's comment was echoed by the gray-haired boy, Smelk.

Seeing the two boys, the duke's daughter, Alice, tilted her head in curiosity.

"What's wrong with that?"

"In short, it means that man failed as an explorer."

Smelk continued with a sigh.

"If he retired after getting older, it would be one thing, but retiring young suggests that he gave up easily. ...As a result, he probably compromised by becoming an instructor."

"My dad said that such people are all talk and lack real skills, so they can't be trusted."

Smelk's comment was met with a nod of agreement from Ray.

"But, isn't Ms. Ella also young?"

"That woman is not only an instructor but also an active elementologist. Ms. Ella didn't compromise. In fact, she has achieved great results in the field of elemental studies and is someone to respect. ...In contrast, our new instructor might be a bit of a dud."

Ray said this with a hint of disappointment.

"A dud, huh..."

Alice lowered her gaze and muttered.

Seeing this, the orange-haired girl with a ponytail, Shaha, gave a mischievous look.

"Oh, oh? Alice seems to have taken a liking to that instructor?"

"Grumble."

Ray and Smelk both let out clearly unhappy grunts.

Unaware of their reactions, Alice answered.

"Well, I don't think it's in the way you're thinking... but Mr. Rector didn't change his attitude when he heard my name."

"Come to think of it, he didn't seem to change much when he found out Alice is from a ducal family."

Alice's words made Shaha nod in understanding.

While classmates might be used to it, most people would stiffen up when meeting the daughter of a duke. However, Mr. Rector didn't change his attitude at all when he heard Alice's name.

"Well, maybe he already knew and was prepared."

Of course, what Smelk said is a possibility.

In any case, the true worth of Rector will be tested from now on.

"Fortunately, we have a practical class today, so let's see how Mr. Rector performs there."

"Yeah. ...Let's see if we can expose him for what he is."

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