Chapter 22 : I hate mondays

After a rather spectacular Saturday, Sunday started late. We had a late breakfast out and spent the rest of the day exploring the market with Lilia. We visited some popular restaurants and even looked for shops Lilia remembered from her school days. I wasn’t sure if this was the kind of date she wanted, but she seemed to be enjoying herself, so that was all that mattered.

After a fulfilling weekend, the dreaded day arrived.

“…Damn Monday.”
“Do you dislike going to work that much?”
“Who likes going to work? It’s something we do to survive, even if we don’t want to.”
“Ah, you. Come here for a moment. Your tie is crooked.”

I was changing into my suit after having the breakfast Lilia prepared. Lilia, having finished the dishes in the kitchen, came over and straightened my tie.

“Goodness. What will you do if you don’t even notice your tie is crooked?”
“I always check the mirror before entering the faculty office anyway. And I can fix this myself, you know?”

I grumbled, feeling a bit sheepish. Lilia smiled and replied, “It’s a romantic gesture. That’s why.”

After fixing my tie and checking my overall appearance, Lilia nodded.

“You look good. I liked your casual clothes over the weekend, but a suit suits you best.”

Lilia looked pleased. Feeling inexplicably embarrassed yet good, I said goodbye and headed to the faculty office.

After checking my schedule in the faculty office, I immediately changed into my training clothes and headed to the training grounds. Around 8 a.m., all the students from my department had gathered. They must have rested well over the weekend; their skin looked smooth.

In contrast to their radiant skin, the students wore grim expressions at the thought of running laps on a Monday morning. Was it because their stamina was still lacking?

‘It’s perfect to push them from the morning.’

Until the day students could run around the training grounds with smiles on their faces, I was determined to push them hard.

“Alright, our goal is 100 laps around the training ground! Follow me! Go!”

Hup, hup.

We ran non-stop from 8 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.

“Phew… Everyone ran hard, so take a 30-minute break.”

When I announced a break 30 minutes before lunchtime, the students cheered and rushed towards the shade. They moved faster than when they were running with me. I wished they would run like that all the time.

“Rest, rest!”
“Hey! Move over! I’m lying in the shade first!”
“Does anyone have extra water?! I’m all out!”

The students sat or lay in the shade, enjoying their break. I watched them, lost in thought.

‘Their stamina has definitely improved compared to last week.’

It had been less than a week, but perhaps because mages had more mana than others, their bodies recovered quickly, and their muscles developed rapidly. Of course, not as much as the Knight Department students, but they were certainly healthier than other mages who spent all day sitting at desks reading.

Still, it wasn’t at a level I was satisfied with. I had long surpassed 100 laps, but as a substitute professor, I ran at the front without stopping to set an example for the students. However, most students barely managed 40 laps. Some, blessed with a naturally strong physique despite being mages, ran 80 laps within the time limit, but even they often failed to pace themselves.

“The academy’s training ground is quite large.”

Perhaps because of the large number of students and the vastness of the grounds, the academy had two training grounds: one for the Magic Department and one for the Knight Department. The Knight Department’s training ground was said to be occupied all day, but the Magic Department rarely used theirs, which was why we could monopolize it now.

‘Right now, only our department uses the training ground, but that might change later.’

The Magic Department didn’t entirely avoid outdoor activities. And if a dispute arose between our Mana Studies Department and another department over who got to use the training ground first, could Mana Studies win? Considering we were last in academic performance and I was the professor in charge, we’d probably lose…

As I pondered various things during the break, someone approached me. I looked up and saw a familiar face.

“Student Selene, what is it? Do you have any questions?”

If she was here to ask if she could change classes, I was going to tell her to go back.

“It’s not that… Actually, I saw you on Saturday, Professor…”
“…Ah. That.”

A memory surfaced at Selene’s words. She had definitely been tailing me with Luna.

I said with a look of disbelief, “I know. Weren’t you stalking me with Assistant Professor Luna?”
“St-Stalking! I didn’t have such criminal intentions!”

Selene shrieked, stung by the word “stalking.” Then, worried that someone might overhear, she quickly lowered her voice.

“It really wasn’t stalking! I was just suspicious about whether the woman with you was really your lover. It’s strange for such a beautiful woman to be with you, Professor!”
“That’s more offensive than being called a stalker, you know?”
“Ah.”

Come to think of it, that’s true, isn’t it?
Selene made that expression.

‘Hah… Why is a princess so clueless?’

I couldn’t help but sigh.

“Haaah…”

Selene flinched at my sigh. She seemed to realize she had done something wrong.

“Um… The woman who was with you, Professor…?”

Despite everything, she couldn’t seem to suppress her curiosity. I thought for a moment before answering Selene’s question.

“She’s… my lover.”
“R-Really?”
“Do you think I would lie to a student about something like this?”

I said firmly, stopping Selene, who was getting excited at the mention of romance.

“I know you’re at an age where you’re very interested in romance. However, even if you are a princess, do not cross the line.”

The status of a princess was so noble that it was awkward to treat her carelessly, but if Selene caused Lilia any trouble, I wouldn’t care if she was a princess.

“She is a civilian. If something like what happened on the weekend, secretly following or tracking her, happens again, it won’t end with a conversation like this. I will show you thoroughly that in this academy, school rules are scarier than the law.”

Selene was surprised by my cold tone. She quickly waved her hands, denying it.

“Ah, even I wouldn’t investigate a commoner recklessly!”

As she said, Selene was trying to increase her followers. She wasn’t interested in prying into someone’s love life or stalking them. Knowing Selene’s background, I nodded in understanding.

“Alright, as long as you don’t do it again.”

As I finished talking with Selene, the academy bells began to ring throughout the grounds. It signaled the end of morning classes and the beginning of lunchtime.

Selene left with her companions, and I also headed off to eat lunch.

After lunch, it was elective class time. Since I had no students to teach, I spent the afternoon in my personal office studying Mana Studies research papers. Perhaps because I had read them diligently, even during the weekend, I felt like I was finally getting a grasp on the subject.

Now I needed to combine what I understood with the textbook content and present it in a way that students could understand. How should I go about it?

Just as I was pondering…

Knock, knock!

Someone knocked on the door. The only person who would come at this time was Lisil.

“Come in.”

Click!

As soon as I finished speaking, Lisil opened the door and came in. Her hands were full of documents. They seemed quite heavy; she didn’t even greet me before placing the pile of documents on my desk.

Thump!!

There were a lot of documents. Why did she need to bring so many?

Curious, I was glancing at the document on top when…

“Professor Ziek… The board has sent an official notice.”
“From the board? Where is it?”
“It’s the document on top.”

I picked up the document on top of the pile. An official notice from the board, filled with all sorts of unnecessary sentences.

To summarize its content in one line:

‘The content of the lecture is at the professor’s discretion, so we will not interfere, but since student complaints are pouring in, please conduct classes in the classroom at least once a week.’

That’s what it said.

Good grief, they stretched what could have been said in one page into sixteen. The members of the board were mostly elders from high noble families, so they loved to use unnecessary embellishments.

‘Anyway, I have to lecture once a week.’

A sudden problem had arisen. Students needed to have the stamina to apply what they learned. Honestly, I wasn’t happy about it. But I couldn’t ignore a directive from the board.

“…Since it’s from the board, I have no choice.”
“Phew…”

As I muttered to myself, accepting the inevitable, Lisil, who had heard me, let out a sigh of relief. She seemed worried that I wouldn’t follow the board’s directive.

I spoke to Lisil, who looked relieved.

“Lisil.”
“Yes, yes! Professor!”
“I will conduct the lecture tomorrow.”
“Huh? Huhhhh?!”

Lisil was startled. Uncharacteristically, she let out a shriek-like question and said hurriedly, “B-But we haven’t even prepared a script yet?!”

Before a lecture, it was the assistant’s job to prepare a script for that day’s lecture. Professors had nearly ten assistants each, and there was a reason for that. It wasn’t easy to write a script in one day while handling other tasks.

Lisil had planned to work with the other assistants to prepare scripts for this week’s lectures, but…

“I don’t need a script. Just tell the students to come to the classroom tomorrow.”

I didn’t need a script. It didn’t suit my style, and even if the assistants prepared one, it would likely be tailored for Professor Olivier, making it difficult for me to read during the lecture. Professor Olivier’s scripts were full of jargon that even I couldn’t understand, so I preferred to lecture impromptu.

Lisil tried to persuade me, but she couldn’t change my mind. Eventually, Lisil gave up trying to persuade me and listlessly mumbled a reply to what I had said earlier.

“Um… Anyway, Professor. About telling the students to come to the classroom tomorrow. Isn’t that impossible? It’s elective class time now, so all the students will be in different classrooms, won’t they?”

After elective classes, it was time to go home. When on earth was she supposed to tell them?

I spoke to Lisil, who looked unsure, in a firm tone.
“It doesn’t matter if you call them using a communication crystal ball or have the assistants go find them one by one. Make sure all the students come to the classroom.”
“Ah, understood!”

At my command to ensure all students came to the classroom, Lisil moved urgently. She seemed to realize she had to start contacting the students through the assistants immediately.

After Lisil left, in the quiet of my personal office, I touched the textbook on my desk.

‘A lecture…’

I had perfectly memorized the textbook. And I had almost completely understood the research paper.

Of course, I was still far behind Professor Olivier, but…

‘A lecture. It’s a piece of cake.’

I had been observing Professor Olivier for a year. They say even a dog at a village school can recite a poem after three years. If I, as a mage, couldn’t even imitate a lecture I had seen for a year, I should just quit magic.