Chapter 342

“You want me to teach you how to deal with Sivar?”

Rod, casually sipping his tea, raised his eyebrows in surprise. His face was a canvas of confusion.

Right now, he was lounging in the Chancellor’s office, not at his residence. This was no joke, he really was.

As I’ve explained before, being the Chancellor didn’t actually come with any real power. The authority, however, was absurdly high.

So unless it was for show, discussions with professors were rare. There might be some events around, but that was about it.

“Yes, just as you said.”

“I don’t quite understand why you’re asking me that, though?”

Rod put down his tea cup and asked. The one who had come for this not-really-consultation was none other than Dis.

Dis had eyes and ears, so he was aware of the rumors floating around the academy.

Especially if the center of those rumors was the notorious troublemaker, he’d definitely pay even more attention.

“Choosing Sivar was your decision. I heard you and the professors chose him as an assistant?”

“That’s right.”

“I thought you’d have some solid reasoning, but it seems that’s not the case?”

“…”

The pointed remark made Dis smirk wryly. It was a response that seemed to say he had no words.

As Rod mentioned, they had believed they could manage Sivar. They’d even had discussions with other professors.

However, after observing Sivar for several days, numerous worries arose. First and foremost, he was unpredictable.

It felt like he was about to do something crazy, but expecting what that would be was almost impossible.

If only there was a way to anticipate it, they could have taken measures ahead of time, but that realization came from the last observation.

No matter what conditions were laid before Sivar, he engaged in behaviors that were out of the norm. Even his close buddy Malboro had already achieved enlightenment.

“If things go wrong, it seems Sivar and the new students might suffer some serious consequences, so I took the liberty of coming to you.”

“Hmm. How long have you been working at the academy? I understood it was around the time I got the Chancellor’s position.”

“About ten years.”

“Ten years, huh. That’s quite a long time.”

Being a professor at the academy was distant from what they referred to as a ‘golden rice bowl.’ Various complicated reasons were mixed together.

Personal circumstances alongside political issues from the associated country often got tangled up.

So, staying for ten years meant you were close to being a veteran professor.

“Chancellor, I’ve watched countless students during my time as a professor. I’ve guided visually impaired students, and I’ve taught students with mental issues.”

“Hmm.”

“But Sivar is different. He definitely follows the rules, but he uses fields outside those rules very adeptly.”

If we regard following the rules as legal, then consider actions that go against the rules as illegal.

Sivar was freely navigating between legal and illegal, using ‘loopholes’ like a pro.

When combat was restricted, he utilized water torture and a bomb vest, and this time he even ambushed in the lake.

Using water torture and a bomb vest was clearly morally wrong, enough that new regulations were designated because of it.

“So what you’re worried about is that Sivar might cause incidents when carrying out the assistant role?”

“That’s one concern, but I’m also worried Sivar might cleverly evade the professors’ control.”

“I understand what you mean.”

Rod nodded after listening to Dis’s explanation. He seemed to grasp what Dis was worried about.

Despite his naive impression, Sivar was remarkably sharp. His brain was quick, exhibiting a talent for making others look foolish.

Maybe it was because he lived in the wilderness, far removed from civilization, or maybe it was just his nature, but he was a master of exploiting loopholes.

What Dis was worried about was that Sivar might use that talent to break free from the professors’ control and do as he pleases with the new students.

If that happened, the professors’ prestige would surely take a hit, and in the worst-case scenario, their unity might crumble like a poorly made cake.

‘I really don’t think Sivar would go that far.’

However, Sivar wouldn’t do that. I could be sure of it.

Dis just didn’t know yet, but Sivar was, contrary to rumors, a person with a very kind heart.

He worked hard to repay any kindness and returned grudges twofold. He understood relationships clearly.

Above all, he had a personality that didn’t make enemies. Unless someone openly showed hostility first, he’d prefer to maintain harmonious relationships.

Professors like Malboro were well aware of this, so they got along quite well despite all the antics he pulled during practices.

“By the way, why are you asking me? There should be people closer to Sivar.”

“Actually…”

Dis was cautiously eyeing the situation, trailing off. A silent question of whether it was okay to speak.

Rod gestured that it was alright with his hand. Dis then spoke, looking a bit tense.

“…I think you have a tendency to protect Sivar, intentionally or not.”

“What’s your reason?”

“I looked up the records of disciplinary actions and penalty points. There were quite a few questionable parts.”

Rod nodded. He could understand that.

In fact, Rod had been almost blatantly protecting Sivar.

When Sivar first arrived at the academy, Rod was the one who took him under his wing. He helped with genuine admissions and various minor matters.

He practically played the role of a parent. Though he didn’t say it out loud, everyone who knew understood.

“I did help him. But sadly, even I don’t know Sivar well enough.”

“Hmm…”

“If it gets tough, feel free to use my name. Just say if he doesn’t listen, I’ll personally give him a spanking.”

“…Is that really enough?”

Dis looked at him in disbelief. The tone clearly asking how that could be sufficient.

Seems like Rod anticipated that reaction; he chuckled softly and lifted his cup. He was so at ease about it.

After sipping the remaining tea, he spoke in a voice filled with peculiar emotions.

“No, it wouldn’t work. He doesn’t listen at all.”

“… …”

“It’d be easier to give up. You can adjust the direction, but you can’t control the speed.”

Finally, Rod shared a piece of crucial advice.

“Try to steer clear of hitting someone while at maximum speed. That should do it.”

******

Time passed, and I officially became an assistant. However, I hadn’t introduced myself to the new students yet.

Even when I was a first-year, I didn’t introduce the assistants. I just blended in naturally.

Moreover, just because I became an assistant didn’t mean I started helping the newcomers immediately. That wasn’t the case at all.

There was far more to do as an assistant than I had anticipated. One of the main tasks was cleaning the practice room.

“From this academic year, access to the forest will be opened. Thus, we need to investigate the forest where our practical sessions will take place.”

The Eastern Empire’s medic and professor explained. His white beard projected an image of a sage.

If Yeonhwa was in charge of second-year medical and first aid training, this person was responsible for the first years.

“However, as we’ve kept away from the forest for a long time, we don’t know what animals live there or what dangerous insects might infest it.”

“So we need to eliminate those?”

“Exactly.”

Kara, who had become an assistant alongside me, spoke, and the professor nodded. I understood the gist of what he was saying.

Currently, not only Kara but other potential assistants from different classes were gathered around me.

The forest where the practicals would occur had to accommodate all classes, thus required the gathering of all class assistants.

‘Seems the professors of each class are leading the assistants in this manner.’

The assistants from my class included Kara and Karas. Luna was off on her own.

Luna seemed quite disappointed that we were in different classes, but I didn’t understand why she felt that way.

At least I recognized a familiar face among the assistants: the priest with pink hair, Erica.

‘I expected Erica to come this way; what a surprise.’

Being part of the Gaia church, she should be easy to control, though it could also be due to Karas being around.

Anyway, I just needed to focus on my work for now. I followed the professor who was leading us.

“Is there anyone here who can’t handle insects?”

The kind-looking professor turned to us and asked. Surely, this was directed at someone else rather than me.

Having grown up in harsh environments, Kara was likely resilient to insects, but Karas was another story.

Everyone turned their gaze towards Karas. Under the spotlight, Karas answered with his characteristic bright eyes.

“Don’t worry. During my confinement, I extended my life with rats and cockroaches.”

“Um… understood…”

The professor was taken aback by the unexpected answer. His eyes were wide with surprise.

It probably wasn’t a good start if he reacted like that. There would be plenty more to shock him like a mountain of surprises.

“Sivar.”

“Yeah?”

“Have you ever eaten a cockroach?”

“I once ate one as big as my palm. It was nutty.”

“Hmm. I didn’t find it tasty at all. Is a cockroach from the wild different?”

“Do we really have to talk about that?”

Kara interrupted our conversation, looking a bit nauseated.

She probably ate her fair share of insects growing up in the desert too. Even so, her expression was quite the sight.

Admittedly, we had strayed into odd topics. It was pretty funny that we could converse so casually.

What about the leading professor? Sadly, he was in front, and I couldn’t discern his expression.

“Oh, what good timing. There’s a perfect example! Everyone, do you see that insect hanging from the tree?”

After a short while, the professor beamed and spoke to us. I looked where he was pointing.

A pink shape in the middle of the tree caught my eye, and I inadvertently flinched.

Pink wasn’t a color that brought good memories to mind. It was fine when just thinking about it, but seeing it was a different story.

“I see it. What is it?”

“An especially bad insect. It’s a red cicada, which possesses toxicity and causes significant damage to trees. It can harm students as well, so it must be dealt with.”

Maybe he really loved explaining things; the professor began to detail all sorts of information about the insect.

Kara and Karas nodded indifferently, while I was not so passive.

While the professor was explaining, I quietly stepped forward.

“Huh? Where are you going…?”

“Nom.”

Then I popped the cicada-like creature stuck to the tree into my mouth. It was a bad insect, so I figured I should deal with it quickly.

Plus, I was curious about the taste since I had never seen anything like it in the Chaos Forest.

“Munch munch.”

“… …”

“Munch. Ptooey!”

Writing about it was one thing, but it actually tasted terrible. I spat it out right onto the ground.

At least grub was somewhat nutty, but this tasted just like a lump of boogers.

“Um… student?”

“Yeah?”

“That’s poisonous, you know…”

The professor pointed at me, clearly shocked. His trembling eyes betrayed his emotions.

Thinking about it, this was probably their first time seeing something like this. No wonder they were surprised.

“You’re going to see plenty more like that.”

Kara offered some half-hearted comfort to the professor.

“What does it taste like?”

In typical fashion, Karas asked a bizarre question.

“Like boogers.”

The fact I answered that made me just as strange as him.

“How do you know that? Wait, could it be…”

“Shut it.”

---