Became a Swordsmanship Instructor at the Academy
Chapter 7
Is he trying to comfort me or something?
“Ah, yes.”
As soon as Teacher Kim left, the vice principal spoke.
“Ahem, while today’s incident was entirely Teacher Kim Han-ju’s fault, Teacher Kang’s handling of it wasn’t very mature either. Since the general social perception of hunters who didn’t graduate from hunter schools is quite negative, even if Teacher Kim explains the situation, many people will likely view Teacher Kang unfavorably.”
“That’s fine.”
What else can I say?
Ever since it became known that I’m not a hunter school graduate, my reputation has long been in the gutter.
The hunter teachers don’t even speak to me and completely ignore me, and well… I might be disliked by the regular subject teachers too, but it doesn’t matter.
“You seem to be taking this too lightly…”
“It’s really fine. No matter what others say, as long as I’m honest and confident, that’s what matters. Misunderstandings will clear up with time.”
“I like your confidence. Alright, Teacher Kang, you may go now.”
I gave a slight bow and left the vice principal’s office.
Looking at my phone, there was less than 30 minutes left of lunch time.
It’s a bit awkward, but I think I can still eat if I hurry, so I headed to the cafeteria.
Arriving at the cafeteria, the sample displays at the entrance showed that the Western main dishes were hamburger steak and cream pasta, while the Korean options were wild vegetable bibimbap, spicy beef soup, and spicy stir-fried octopus and pork.
Since it’s a hunter school, students are more active than at regular schools, so the caloric content of the meals is higher than at regular schools. Part of the budget received from the government and some sponsorship money from various guilds is used for student meals, making the food comparable to decent restaurants.
The Western options aren’t bad combinations, but today I’m more in the mood for Korean food.
Despite 30 minutes having passed, the line was still quite long, but I used my teacher’s privilege for the express lane.
After getting my food, I found a spot in a corner.
“Oh? It’s Teacher Kang. Can I sit here?”
It’s Eunseo, the vice representative of Class B.
“No, you can’t.”
“Pardon?”
It was a joke, but she seemed surprised by my immediate rejection.
“You idiot, it’s obviously a joke. There aren’t assigned seats in the cafeteria. Just sit down.”
A girl who looks similar to Eunseo glares at me as she speaks.
This one is Eunsu, Eunseo’s twin sister and the representative of Class B.
“Right. It was a joke, so sit down and eat quickly.”
“I was shocked because I thought you hated me.”
“Why would I hate Eunseo?”
Unlike her outgoing and extroverted sister Eunsu, Eunseo is somewhat introverted.
Well, she’s not completely timid, but being naturally compared to her super extroverted “in-crowd” sister makes the difference seem greater.
Anyway, she’s unusually pure-hearted for kids these days, which makes her fun to tease, and she’s one of the students I look upon favorably.
Both of them appear in the original work—Eunsu becomes the student council president and Eunseo becomes the vice president.
The delinquent protagonist Lee Ji-sung falls for Eunseo at first sight during the entrance ceremony and confesses, but despite that, Eunseo doesn’t play a major role.
She rejects him immediately because of the protagonist’s terrible reputation.
Of course, there are scenes where she reconsiders after seeing how the protagonist acts differently from his known reputation.
I think she eventually joined the protagonist’s guild, but maybe because there were already so many girls around the protagonist, nothing developed between them.
As we talked while eating, I found out that like Jinsu and Minhee earlier, these kids also knew about the incident with the history teacher.
“You don’t need to worry about it. It’s just a false rumor anyway.”
“That’s right. We know there’s no quota system for hiring at hunter schools. And it’s not like only hunter school graduates can work at hunter schools.”
“How did you know that when I didn’t explain? According to Jinsu and Minhee, who told me about this, there aren’t many students who think like you two.”
“Those guys are idiots.”
HAHA…
Since Classes A and B are competitive with each other, these two don’t get along well with Jinsu and Minhee.
Well, they’re all part of the student council and were friends in the original work, so they’ll probably gradually become close.
“Our father was also a hunter school teacher. Though he’s back to guild work now. And Eunseo’s dream is to become a hunter school teacher.”
“I see.”
“Honestly, I don’t understand the history teacher either, and I don’t get why the other students are overreacting.”
“It’s probably because I’m not a hunter school graduate.”
“What does that matter? Whether you’re a hunter school graduate or not, you’re still a teacher.”
“Exactly. Only foolish kids would be swayed by such talk.”
I wasn’t expecting it, but I’m touched that both of them are taking my side.
I was going to avoid bringing it up since Kim Han-ju said she would explain separately, but worried they might be concerned, I told the two a somewhat sanitized version of what happened earlier.
“Really? That’s a relief.”
“Isn’t there any punishment? If she spread such ridiculous false accusations, shouldn’t she face some disciplinary action?”
“Well, I’ve already received an apology, and there’s no benefit in escalating the situation.”
The vice principal did take my side, but considering what he said at the end, he didn’t seem eager to make a big deal out of it.
It’s probably because I’m not a hunter school graduate.
I don’t feel great about it, but I can’t be completely honest about these adult circumstances with students.
“If I were her, I’d be too ashamed to continue working.”
“If it were Eunsu, I don’t think she would have created such a situation in the first place.”
“Of course not. If I did that, Eunseo would…”
“Hm? Eunseo would what?”
“Sister.”
“It… It’s nothing.”
I think I just saw Eunsu glaring at Eunseo.
Watching them bicker among themselves, the corners of my mouth unconsciously turn upward.
No matter how much the hunter teachers ignore and ostracize me, having these cute students who take my side gives me strength.
***
Afternoon classes ended.
Thanks to Eunseo and Eunsu’s help, the cleanup finished quickly, and since I don’t have any paperwork to do today, I just need to go to the faculty office to punch out.
It would be nice to go straight to the cafeteria for dinner and then head back since the staff dormitory, cafeteria, and sword training hall are close by, but according to the system, I must go to the faculty office to punch in and out.
There will probably be many teachers there now.
I considered doing some training first but headed to the faculty office instead.
There’s no reason to avoid it.
Well, it’s not like I’ve done anything wrong.
Don’t be intimidated.
I arrived at the faculty office, took a deep breath, and opened the door.
Since regular classes had all ended, unlike lunchtime, teachers were sitting at each desk.
It’s probably just my imagination, but somehow it feels like everyone is looking at me… Well, it’s probably just my self-consciousness.
I was about to punch out and leave right away, but a familiar face stopped me.
“Teacher Kang is here. Heading home right away?”
It’s Teacher Park, who sits next to me.
“Ah, yes. I don’t have any paperwork today, and I’m a bit tired.”
“Teacher Jung has been waiting at your desk. I heard you had an issue with Teacher Kim earlier?”
“Teacher Jung?”
“Teacher Jung Hyun-sik who teaches second-year spear arts. Didn’t you know? Teacher Jung is Teacher Kim’s boyfriend.”
Looking at the desk, the male teacher who intervened between me and Kim Han-ju earlier was standing at my desk.
So that’s why he intervened earlier.
Everything was already resolved at the vice principal level, so I don’t know what he’s trying to do now.
I didn’t particularly want to deal with him, but if I ignored him and left, there would likely be gossip, so I headed to my desk.
“I heard you’ve been waiting at my desk. What’s the matter?”
Without answering, he looked at me and then threw a white glove at me.
I could have caught it if I had tried, but I didn’t, so the glove hit my arm and fell to the floor.
“What are you trying to do?”
“Can’t you tell by looking? I’m challenging you to an honor duel. Even if you’re not a hunter school graduate, you must know about honor duels.”
Of course, I know.
An honor duel is a system where disputes between hunters are settled by the outcome of a duel.
Usually, the party that doesn’t accept faces considerable dishonor, but of course, to prevent misuse, if the challenge is clearly unreasonable or if one party is clearly at fault, there’s no problem with declining.
“If this is about Teacher Kim from earlier, the matter was already settled in the vice principal’s presence.”
Without such exceptions, high-ranking hunters could bully lower-ranking hunters whenever they wanted.
Of course, that doesn’t mean this system is perfect.
“Regardless of that incident, didn’t you insult me and act disrespectfully?”
“When did I do that?”
“Did you forget calling me deaf when I was trying to mediate in good faith? You also insulted my girlfriend. I am clearly your senior both in age and as a hunter and teacher, yet you acted without respect.”
As they say, if you want to hang something on your ear, it’s an earring; if you want to hang it on your nose, it’s a nose ring—excuses can be made for anything.
“What, are you scared? If so, apologize to me right now and say you’ll apologize to Han-ju as well, and I’ll let it go.”
The logic is so disgusting it makes me want to vomit.
I don’t know if Teacher Kim asked him to do this or if Teacher Jung is acting on his own initiative, but it’s truly pathetic.
“Teacher Kim was the first to insult me, and she admitted her mistake and promised to make amends in front of the vice principal. This is perplexing.”
“Ah… Anyway. Why so many words? So are you refusing?”
The fact that he continues like this even after I mentioned the vice principal suggests he just wants to humiliate me somehow.
Perhaps the vice principal was also aware that something like this would happen…
It’s completely unreasonable logic, but if I avoid it, they’ll just gossip behind my back.
It’s a one-sided situation, but perhaps it’s for the best.
While it might be a bit early, I had been expecting to clash with the practical skills teachers sooner or later.
“I accept.”
“Good. Now apolo… Wait, you accept? Hahaha! Are you serious?”
“Yes. I think it’s forced logic and completely incomprehensible… But if you want a duel so badly, I’ll accept.”
To begin with, I wasn’t entirely satisfied with the vice principal’s mediation earlier.
***
Honor duels have various rules, and the dueling parties can add some conditions, but there are five basic rules.
First, killing is not allowed.
Second, since the duel is conducted by mutual agreement, neither party can hold the other responsible for damages incurred during the duel.
Third, the winner can make demands of the loser within legal and socially acceptable limits, and the loser must comply.
Fourth, to ensure fair judgment, the duel must be conducted in the presence of at least three observers who have no relationship with the dueling parties.
Fifth, the loser can request a rematch after one year has passed, but the winner cannot request a rematch.
“Teacher Kang, wouldn’t it be better to cancel now? I heard Teacher Jung has applied for an A-rank promotion review next quarter.”
“It’s fine.”
Even if he applied for an A-rank review, he could still fail, and for now, we’re both B-rank.
Besides, I know very well how quickly the protagonist, who was once a perpetual underachiever, grew stronger after learning martial arts.
Of course, the protagonist is also a rich kid who consumed elixirs like water, but he was already quite strong before the vacation when he started taking elixirs.
Cho Yu-ryang always tells me I’m doing well and improving a lot when I train, but honestly, I don’t feel much difference.
When I finally persuaded Cho Yu-ryang, who always complains it’s troublesome, to spar with me, I couldn’t even swing my sword once before being subdued.
When I ask him to match my level, he just ignores me, saying there would be no point in sparring then.
So using this opportunity to check my skill level might not be a bad idea.
“Are you really okay with this? Are you confident?”
“I’m not confident, of course.”
“Then why…”
“Confident that I’ll lose.”
Honestly, even if he’s not just applying for an A-rank review but actually is an A-rank, I don’t think I’ll lose.
Above all, the name Jung Hyun-sik isn’t even mentioned in the original work—he’s just an extra.
