I Got a Fake Job at the Academy-Chapter 778

Chapter 778 - Side Story 51: Returning to the Original Place (1)

The eve festival concluded successfully, and the next day, as soon as the sun rose, a grand wedding ceremony—the main event—was held.

When Leo and Iona appeared wearing traditional beastfolk attire, garments elaborately embroidered with various splendid golden patterns, thunderous applause poured forth from the venue.

The people gathered here were sincerely celebrating the marriage of the two. Of course, there were quite a few beastfolk who hadn't welcomed the marriage, but at least for this occasion, even they had apparently decided to quietly enjoy the wedding ceremony itself and showed no particular complaints.

From his special guest seat, Rudger carefully observed the scene of his former students holding their ceremony.

The traditional beastfolk wedding was far from anything humans couldn't culturally accept. Rather, it was considered so reverent and sacred that it felt burdensome to those watching.

According to what he heard, beastfolk tribal weddings were very sacred processes because they were ceremonies celebrating the birth of new warriors.

At least for them, there was no doubt that the child to be born was more precious than anything else.

He quite liked that fact. Yes. Children to be born should rightfully receive blessings. No one could know now what they would become in the future. Should one arbitrarily decide this and distinguish who should receive blessings and who shouldn't be born?

Not at all. All children need to receive blessings when they're born. Because they're setting foot in this world for the first time.

'Of course, they've only just held the ceremony, and having children is something for later, so thinking that far ahead might be too hasty a conclusion.'

Looking to the side, he saw Aidan and Selina clapping with moved expressions. Even Tracey, who normally didn't get along well with Leo, was sending applause with a proud smile, at least for this moment.

"Everyone! Thank you for coming today!"

Grand Chief Telaron himself stepped forward and raised a cup filled with alcohol.

"To celebrate my daughter's marriage, let everyone eat and drink merrily today!"

Waaahhhhh!!

As if this had been the main event they were waiting for rather than the wedding celebration itself, the beastfolk gathered in groups of twos and threes, tearing into meat and drinking alcohol.

Aidan was also called here and there, and Tracey followed after him to look after him.

In the end, the remaining Rudger and Selina exchanged glances, then lightly clinked their glasses with troubled expressions.

"Teacher Rudger, where will you go after this?"

At Selina's question, Rudger, who had been sipping his drink, pondered for a moment. Where would he go? First, he had met most of the people worth meeting. But there were still many more people he hadn't seen.

He had considered traveling the continent more to find them, but Rudger realized he no longer needed to do that because he had now gained enough courage and motivation to move forward.

"I plan to stop wandering around now."

At those words, Selina's expression became filled with questions, then soon understanding the meaning, she was colored with delight.

"Do you mean...?" 

"I should find some work to do soon. I can't keep wandering around here and there living in idleness forever." 

"A-are you returning to Theon?!" 

"That seems to be the most likely possibility."

In fact, he had never seriously considered any path other than returning to Theon.

At those words, Selina jumped up and down in her seat with joy.

"Wow! Then when will you come? Oh, but the entrance ceremony has already started now, so there probably won't be any vacant teaching positions..." 

"You don't need to worry about that."

Rudger wasn't particularly concerned about that aspect either. If it was Elisha, who was still maintaining the position of chancellor at Theon, she would have anticipated his return and already made preparations.

Just then, Leo and Iona approached in this direction. The couple, who had been giving thanks here and there, now wanted to greet the teacher who had taught them.

"Teacher Rudger. So you were here." 

"Leo. Congratulations on your marriage. You too, Iona. You make a well-matched pair." 

"Thank you so much for visiting today." 

"I should be the one thanking you for welcoming an uninvited guest like this. Here, have a drink."

When Rudger offered alcohol, Leo naturally accepted it with the empty glass he was holding.

There was a tradition where the newlyweds received drinks offered by guests and relatives as congratulations. Perhaps because of this, Leo was already tipsy, his face flushed red. Knowing this, Rudger only poured a little alcohol.

"Much time has passed since that day." 

"...Yes."

Leo knew which day Rudger was referring to. The time when he was entangled with the Liberation Army and forced to carry out tasks they ordered. It was his friend Aidan and his teacher Rudger who had saved Leo.

"How are your mother and younger sister doing?" 

"Yes. They're both so healthy it's a problem." 

"Good. That's enough. Don't forget the importance of family, and continue to live maintaining that heart from now on. That's all the advice I can give you."

Leo looked at Rudger with a slightly dazed expression and asked.

"Teacher, what do you plan to do now?" 

"Me, you mean?"

Rudger smiled faintly and said.

"I've had enough vacation to get sick of it, so I'm thinking of going back to my main job now."

Within the Theon grounds, students dressed in uniforms gathered in groups of threes and fives, engaging in lively conversations among themselves.

All were people enjoying their youth, learning magic, making friends, and harboring grand dreams for the future.

"How ridiculous."

A girl watching that scene with displeasure, Hermoa Entiro, twisted her lips upward.

Youth? Future? Friendship? None of that existed. All that existed at this Theon was fierce, limitless competition to secure a position.

Not knowing that, they chatted away about being friends and whatnot, happy among themselves. Did they think they could last more than four years at Theon with such soft-hearted attitudes?

Hermoa shook her head. She was different from those complacent fools. She would thoroughly acquire magical knowledge and then raise her own value. After becoming an excellent mage and entering society like that, she would live a comfortable and pleasant life while receiving a massive salary.

That was one of the grand life plans that Hermoa Entiro, a freshman who enrolled this year, had.

'However, I'm not sure if Theon is really all that amazing, unlike its reputation.'

Theon's reputation in society was very high. It wouldn't be wrong to call it number one in the industry. Hermoa had come to Theon knowing this, but now that she was actually here, there wasn't a single aspect that satisfied her.

'At least the chancellor I saw during the speech was someone who satisfied me a little.'

The other teachers she saw during orientation didn't appeal to her at all.

Would the level of teachers who taught change as the grade level increased?

At the very least, Hermoa felt irritated by the fact that right now, there was no teacher who could teach classes that would satisfy her.

'I don't really like these kids either. To think there's no one capable of teaching a genius girl like me. Is Theon ultimately just all hype with no substance?'

Walking across the campus with such thoughts, Hermoa stopped without realizing it because of a man walking toward her from the opposite direction.

His stride was confident, and his walking posture was flawless without a single disturbance. Most of all, what caught her attention was his appearance.

With a face as beautiful as a sculpture, and even hair grown long in a way unmanly for a man. Yet that appearance didn't feel out of place at all; rather, it suited him far too well.

'Who is that?'

What startled Hermoa wasn't the man's outer appearance. The unique sensation of magical power flowing from him was prickling her skin.

'It's higher than even the chancellor's?'

As soon as Hermoa thought that, the man walking from the opposite direction stopped and looked at her.

"Hm?"

Soon, the man who had been glancing at Hermoa gathered all the mana that had been flowing from his body. Hermoa swallowed her breath in surprise as the magical power that had been prickling her entire body instantly disappeared.

'Wh-who is this person!'

Until just before, he had possessed suffocating amounts of mana, but now it was difficult to find any trace of mana. Was that even possible?

Carelessly displaying enormous mana was something any high-ranking mage could do. But concealing it in one's body to the point where mana couldn't be felt was impossible without considerable ability.

And Hermoa, in particular, had a constitution that reacted sensitively to mana through her skin.

Her sensitivity to mana was something that even Theon teachers couldn't dare to fathom.

"What's your name?"

At that moment, the man, Rudger Chelici, asked for her name.

"H-Hermoa Entiro." 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

Hermoa found herself shrinking back and stating her name without realizing it. Belatedly, she felt considerably hurt in her pride at the fact that she had tucked her tail first.

'Wait a minute. You don't know who I am? I'm actually quite famous, you know?'

It might sound arrogant, but Hermoa was actually famous among this year's freshmen.

At first in a good sense, and later in a bad sense because of her poor social skills.

Whatever the case, the fact that teachers were keeping close watch on her remained unchanged. That's why Hermoa was astounded by Rudger's appearance of not recognizing her.

"You have quite a unique constitution." 

"...!"

Hermoa, who had been about to press that point, couldn't help but flinch at Rudger's words that seemed to see right through her.

'This person, don't tell me he knows about my constitution right now?!'

This was her secret that she hadn't told anyone. She had a unique sense of feeling mana through her skin, and because of this, Hermoa had been able to achieve considerable magical accomplishments compared to her peers.

Yet that—a person she was seeing for the first time in her life had noticed it right away while passing by.

'No. He might have just been probing. How could he notice that just by looking? Even the chancellor didn't know about it.'

Just as Hermoa was thinking that and looking up at Rudger. Rudger, seeing the image of someone he missed overlapping in Hermoa's challenging gaze, smiled faintly.

"Now is the time to go to class. You're late, so move along." 

"..."

Instead of answering, Hermoa bowed her head slightly. Soon, holding books to her chest, she passed by Rudger and left with quick steps.

Rudger glanced at Hermoa's retreating figure, then soon moved his feet again.

Shortly after, the place he arrived at was the chancellor's office adorned with splendid doors.

"Chancellor. It's me." 

"If you say 'it's me,' how am I supposed to know who?"

While saying that, Elisha lightly opened the door. Rudger naturally entered and sat in the chair prepared across from Elisha.

"It's been a long time. Both you, Chancellor, and this place." 

"Nothing has changed from back then, has it?" 

"Yes. Surprisingly so. You're exactly the same as back then too, Chancellor."

At the comment that she hadn't aged at all, Elisa smiled while covering her cheek with one hand.

"I'm grateful even if it's just lip service."

She said that, but Elisa really hadn't changed at all in outward appearance compared to three years ago. Like Selina, it seemed as if she didn't age at all.

A phenomenon frequently seen in high-ranking mages born with tremendous mana. It was well known that those born with tremendous mana basically had fewer illnesses and also experienced slowed aging.

"More than that, I was really surprised when I received the report that you were returning, Mr. Rudger." 

"Wasn't that what you were hoping for?" 

"I was. However, unlike back then, you've grown too big for me to handle now, haven't you?"

Elisha had also seen Rudger use 8th-circle magic. Yes. He had become the first human to achieve the 8th circle.

Such a Rudger was coming as a teacher at Theon? It seemed like she should hand over the position of chancellor to him right away instead.

"I've had enough of burdensome positions. I just want to live like before." 

"Will you also be the planning director?" 

"That position is gradually becoming burdensome for me too, so I'll just accept the sentiment."

Elisha smiled gently at that, then spoke with a slightly troubled expression.

"As you know, admissions have already finished and everyone's classes and positions have all been decided. Even if Teacher Rudger returns, there's no class for you to teach right away."

They couldn't keep a teaching position vacant for just one class in a state where they didn't know when Rudger would return.

If only he had returned even just a month earlier, they wouldn't have faced such an awkward situation.

"But it's not that there's no solution. There happens to be a position remaining that would suit Teacher Rudger perfectly." 

"A position?"

Looking at Elisa's expression, there was a hint of mischief in it. As if she had anticipated this situation in advance.

Rudger also felt somewhat intrigued. Indeed, what kind of position had the chancellor left for him?

"Have you heard of the Special Class?"