Chapter 12

It took me two and a half days to decide on my second assistant.

Name: Evan Krauss.

“Please take care of me, Professor.”

“Yes, I also ask for your guidance.”

Tall stature with a sturdy build.

He had a good reputation among the students; not just me, but several professors tried to hire him as an assistant.

However, until last year, he served as the teaching assistant for the Mana Design course.

This year too, despite offers from other professors, he applied again for the same position.

Of course, from my perspective, he wasn’t a bad student at all—especially since he was the one who briefly held off Atar from the original story, which made me value Evan highly.

‘Honestly, I was skeptical at first, but now it’s clear. He looks exactly like how he was described in the novel.’

Though the Atar from the original story and the one I taught were slightly different characters…

Even so, Evan was undoubtedly an exceptional student. Not everyone can manage to momentarily stop someone who would later be known as a battle maniac.

That said, all I could currently ask Evan to do was distribute study materials—a simple task.

Somehow, I ended up having the luxury of assigning errands to both the academy’s popular student and a princess.

‘Isn’t this a bit arrogant for a new professor?’

I suddenly wondered if hiring both a princess and the top student as assistants might come across as a little cocky.

In any case, Primus Academy was the setting for the opening of the original story.

In other words, it was a chaotic place where various incidents occurred.

“Professor Letter. Since you’re new, you probably don’t know yet, but this is customary practice.”

“Ah, custom…”

This meant that factional disputes and power struggles among professors weren’t uncommon here.

It was perhaps natural that the eyes of the professors were focused on me, a newly appointed professor who had already claimed two promising talents.

Sitting around the table at the faculty meeting, I was seen as the “newcomer” or “fallen dragon,” having reportedly been rude to the six dukes in the past.

“Hmm, I didn’t hear much about this from the Dean.”

“The Dean doesn’t have time to worry about campus patrol duties.”

Despite wanting to retort internally—”Do you think I have free time?”—I decided against it, forcing a friendly smile instead.

In reality, compared to the catastrophic events coming in a few years, patrolling the campus was child’s play.

I knew their minor requests were attempts to test my discipline, but…

“If it’s a Primus tradition, then I’ll follow it.”

“We sincerely request your cooperation.”

Since things had come to this, I decided to review the weaknesses of Primus revealed in the original story one by one.

Time to block any opportunities for troublemakers to infiltrate the academy.

Moreover, I still wasn’t familiar with the vast grounds of Primus, so on the evening of my patrol duty, I called my assistants to guide me.

“Anyway, nothing serious will likely happen. Just think of it as walking with me.”

“Yes.” / “Understood.”

In return for sparing their time late at night, I treated them to dinner.

Considering this as extra work, it wouldn’t be fair not to buy them a meal—it’d be like treating them like slaves.

By chance, Isabelle also joined our dinner with the assistants.

Technically, it was more accurate to say Isabelle and I joined the assistants’ dinner, but either way…

‘…Hm?’

Isabelle’s gaze toward Evan sitting opposite her seemed slightly off.

Not just her eyes, but her hands were acting strangely too. Why was she fidgeting?

This was the same Isabelle who couldn’t even make eye contact when she first met Princess Irina, yet now she kept sneaking glances at Evan.

Worse yet…

“Um, Evan-senpai, I heard you were the teaching assistant for the Mana Design course last year…is that right?”

“Oh, yeah. Last year, I assisted Professor Jennifer during class.”

“That makes sense. Yesterday during the lecture, you seemed very skilled.”

She even initiated the conversation herself.

Closer inspection revealed a slight blush on her cheeks.

…Suspicious indeed.

After noticing Isabelle’s odd behavior, I pulled her aside after dinner at the café, curious to inquire further.

“Isabelle, what do you think of Evan?”

I bluntly asked about her inner thoughts.

Simultaneously startled, Isabelle began stuttering nervously.

But soon, lowering her head slightly, she replied in a timid voice:

“Falling in love at first sight is destiny, they say.”

A line straight out of a romance novel.

While pure-hearted, it was…

“Evan won’t work, Isabelle.”

“Wh-why?!”

“Well, Evan sees you as just a kid. He doesn’t view you as a woman…”

I remembered Evan already had someone else, though I couldn’t recall her name clearly. She specialized in healing magic and was his childhood friend.

In short, there was no hope for the young girl standing before me now.

How could Isabelle possibly compete with a childhood romance that carried through school?

“L-Love is about winning it! Age doesn’t matter in love!”

“What dangerous nonsense.”

Anyway, I had to focus on the campus patrol with my assistants, armed with warm coffee and sweet smoothies.

So, I gently reminded Isabelle, who needed to go back to her dorm, to focus on the upcoming assignment for the next Mana Design class rather than a hopeless romance.

“No special treatment because we’re siblings. You need to do your homework thoroughly.”

“…Okay…”

Finally, the campus patrol began shortly afterward.

However, Evan, walking beside me, looked like he’d endure Isabelle’s pursuit for quite some time.

-Tuck tuck-

Unconsciously, I patted Evan’s back a few times.

Confused by my action, Evan glanced down at me, to which I simply thanked him for his efforts.

‘Ugh, I feel guilty somehow…’

Though I hadn’t technically done anything wrong, I still felt a twinge of guilt.

Still, together with my two assistants, I began checking the main building and other areas for anything unusual or wandering students.

Primus’ grounds were enormous.

I already knew Primus was the top academy on the continent, but experiencing its scale firsthand exceeded my expectations.

The main building, grand library, and the sacred hall of learning—all were impressive. Even the park and walking paths were magnificent.

It might rival an average village or town.

As I marveled at Primus’ vastness, I noticed a distant massive structure and turned to Evan and Princess Irina for clarification.

“What is that place? It’s not on the patrol list.”

“Ah, that’s the exclusive facility for the Trial of Ascension. It’s currently under construction, as far as I know.”

“You’ll likely inspect it soon, Professor. The assignments for the Mana Design course involve the Trial of Ascension.”

Evan and Princess Irina recounted their memories of last year’s Trial of Ascension, sharing brief stories such as the incident where the student council president fainted inside a maze created by a professor.

“There’s also a rumor that one student disappeared during the Trial and hasn’t been found.”

“…Sounds dangerous. More than I thought.”

“Well, rumors are just rumors. No need to take them too seriously.”

Sharing spooky tales like these, we continued our patrol into the night.

Approaching the edge of the great forest bordering Primus, I recalled the future monster invasion originating from this area and inspected the guard magic array.

‘What kind of outdated magic is this?’

Indeed, it was extremely archaic.

Perhaps sufficient to deter unintelligent monsters, but anyone plotting mischief could bypass it effortlessly.

Thus, I decided to upgrade the magic array, gathering mana accordingly.

However, Irina and Evan weren’t looking at me but further ahead.

“What’s wrong? Is something over there?”

“No, it’s just…I thought I saw something small move.”

“Let me check quickly.”

Before Evan could take more steps, I urgently grabbed and pulled him back.

-Swish!

“…Tch.”

A sharp sword slash slashed through the air where Evan stood moments ago.

Then came a sound like a tongue clicking.

Without hesitation, I erected a barrier as the mysterious presence attempted to vanish again.

‘This is exactly why they say bad things happen in pairs.’

Muttering complaints, I summoned the shadow trying to disappear underground.

To my surprise, I recognized the dangling figure ensnared by the thin threads of mana.

It was…Aritha, wasn’t it?

The trusted subordinate of Carian mentioned earlier now lay captive in my grasp.

A growing ominous premonition welled within me.

My headache began to throb slightly.

I had no idea where to start fixing this mess.