Academy’s New Guard is Unusual - Chapter 39

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Episode 39
‘All gathered.’
I nodded with satisfaction, looking over the stack of Course Registration Forms.
That’s when I noticed Mailo, shifty and ill at ease.
He couldn’t stand still, fidgeting like—
“Need to take a crap?”
“……Pardon?”
“You’re squirming around like you need to go.”
“I went this morning. I always go first thing after waking up.”
At his unnecessarily specific answer, I narrowed my eyes.
That’s when Mailo carefully opened his mouth.
“……Were you a professor?”
“Out of nowhere?”
“It’s just—you teach so well.
Mailo looked at me with an anxious expression.
“I do teach well, but I wasn’t a professor.”
“What? No, you’re really good at it—I’ve even snuck into a professor’s class before, and you teach way better than them.”
“Snuck in?”
“……Anyway! You really weren’t a professor?”
“I did similar work.”
“See! What was it?”
“Classified.”
“Again!! Damn it!!”
Mailo yanked at his hair in anguish. He looked like a hamster robbed of its sunflower seeds.
Still, my past was genuinely classified.
“Crap—but I really was shocked you taught. I thought you’d beat us while spouting something like ‘family secret techniques.'”
“Can’t beat you yet.”
“……Yet?”
I nodded lightly.
“It’s the first class. If I beat you and have to cancel the lecture, it becomes a hassle. I’ll hold back.”
Actually, it had been quite difficult. Since these were exclusively problem students, just watching them made my fists itch.
“So the lecture you just gave was—”
“A loss leader.”
“……Isn’t that fraud?”
“Fraud? It’s a sales tactic.”
Mailo made a clumsy sign of the cross, his expression troubled.
“First, let’s have them submit the Course Syllabus and registration form so they can’t run away. Where’s the Administrative Office?”
“S-so they can’t run away—well, the Administrative Office is on the first floor. But the Administrative Office is guarded by the 10th Squad, so you need to be careful. Especially watch out for Nora.”
“Nora?”
I’d heard that name before.
Where was it…?
“Yes, Nora is the 10th Squad leader and gets along really well with professors and Teaching Assistants. They even call her the ‘prospective Teaching Assistant’ because there’s a good chance she’ll be hired as one if the opportunity comes up.”
At Mailo’s explanation, I remembered where I’d heard of Nora.
‘Ah, the security guard who became a Teaching Assistant in the game.’
In the game, there was a suspicious professor who refused to hire a Teaching Assistant, claiming someone would steal his research. Instead, Elysium Academy assigned him a security guard.
That was Nora.
That’s when Mailo spoke in a serious tone with a warning.
“Since you’ll be teaching from now on, you should know—Teaching Assistants are notorious for their turf wars. The security guards will oppose them fiercely if one of them becomes a Teaching Assistant, and if Nora gets involved on top of that—”
“Sounds interesting.”
“……Really? You seriously need to be careful. Especially with Nora—really, really be careful.”
Mailo emphasized Nora again.
‘Nora…’
In the actual game, Nora is dismissed from the Teaching Assistant position the very next semester. However, during the semester she serves, there are no problems.
The fact that she managed an entire semester without incident despite being suddenly hired as a Teaching Assistant for a paranoid professor who didn’t even trust his own assistants—that spoke volumes about her competence.
“Good.”
“……Good?”
“Yeah. Very good. Is Nora at the Administrative Office?”
“She should be. She’s stationed there.”
“Good, let’s head over now.”
Mailo and I headed for the Administrative Office.
Sharp-looking security guards stood at the entrance.
These must be the 10th Squad members Mailo mentioned.
‘Decent.’
Being the 10th Squad, they were clearly higher-level than the other security forces.
Of course, they were still just security.
Then a sharp-featured man noticed Mailo and narrowed his eyes.
“Mailo. What brings you here? We didn’t request any reinforcements.”
There were so many Elite Security Guards that they didn’t always recognize each other.
But everyone seemed to know Mailo wherever he went. Their reaction was always the same.
I was curious what he’d been up to.
“Well, I have some business at the Administrative Office.”
“What business could the 42nd Squad have at the Administrative Office?”
“Uh, course… registration? Something like that. Anyway, I’m here to submit some form.”
“Course Registration Form?”
“Yeah! That one! That’s what I’m here to submit! Move aside!”
Mailo shouted confidently. The man’s expression turned bewildered.
“Why are you, from the 42nd Squad, submitting that?”
“That’s what I’m wondering.”
Mailo glanced sideways at me.
Then the Administrative Office door opened smoothly, and a woman with long, black hair emerged.
She had a perfectly straight fringe cut sharp as a blade and sharp, beautiful eyes.
When she appeared, the nearby guards bowed their heads, and Mailo’s expression darkened.
This must be Nora, whom Mailo had warned me about.
“What’s going on?”
“Ah, Nora. It’s 42nd Squad’s Mailo making a fuss.”
“When did I make a fuss!”
“Mailo, you again?”
Nora looked at Mailo and sighed openly. His face crumpled.
“Again?!”
“So what’s your business? I didn’t request any support from Hanswell.”
Nora emphasized Hanswell’s name. At the mention of his name, Mailo’s face went pale.
He looked at me urgently, as if asking what to do.
Nora’s gaze turned toward me.
“So you’re the 42nd Squad rookie Bedrick mentioned.”
Bedrick had apparently been talking about me.
I’d have to have a word with him. I clicked my tongue and nodded.
“Yes, that’s right.”
“What brings you here?”
“I’ve come to submit a Course Registration Form.”
I held out the Course Registration Form. Nora quickly scanned it.
“Professor Leon.”
At the mention of Leon’s name, the guards visibly stirred. Nora’s lips curled up and she extended her hand.
“Since the professor is new, you probably didn’t know. The Main Building is under 10th Squad jurisdiction. Let me take it and submit it for you.”
Nora spoke in a flat voice, certain I would comply.
I shook my head.
“That’s not necessary. I’ll submit it myself.”
“……Did that sound like a request?”
“Wasn’t it?”
“The Main Building is 10th Squad territory. Even other squads fall under 10th Squad command in the Main Building. That’s an order.”
“I see.”
“Then you’ll hand it over?”
“I’ll submit it myself. The professor hired me as his Teaching Assistant.”
Teaching Assistant? Nora’s eyes hardened.
The other guards openly laughed.
“The professor hired a security guard as a Teaching Assistant? A 42nd Squad guard, not from 10th Squad?”
“You’re welcome to verify.”
Perhaps because the matter involved a professor, the guards fell silent.
“If I ask the professor directly, this won’t just slide by as a simple mistake. You sure about that?”
Nora asked in a toneless voice.
“Yes, I’m fine with it. But—”
I smiled back and added,
“Are you?”
Nora’s smile froze. Her eyes swept over me quickly, as if taking stock of my worth.
The guards erupted. They muttered loudly about my insolence, insisting we ask the professor right now.
Then Nora raised her hand slightly. The area fell silent in an instant.
“Why stain our own reputation squabbling among ourselves? Go in. Oh, the documents submission area is at the very back. Actually, I’ll guide you there myself.”
Nora opened the door herself. Despite her courteous tone, it was clear she intended to keep a close watch on me.
“Much appreciated. I was actually confused about the layout.”
Nora led the way inside.
Being early in the semester, the Administrative Office was crowded. There were many people with dark circles under their eyes and gaunt faces—clearly Teaching Assistants.
Nora was already far ahead. Even being generous, this hardly looked like guidance.
“Wait, why is she acting like this—she’s definitely going to sabotage the lecture.”
Mailo muttered, watching Nora from the corner of his eye.
“It’s fine. I don’t need to prepare anything.”
“What? Then who prepares for the lecture? I can’t. I’m too ignorant.”
“I already knew that.”
“Anyway, I definitely can’t do it! Absolutely not!”
“I wasn’t planning to ask you. I’d sooner have Evangeline do it.”
“……That seems a bit harsh.”
Mailo looked genuinely stung. I admitted I’d gone too far.
That’s when Nora gestured.
“This way.”
A very meticulous-looking man was sitting in front of us. He looked like the most difficult to deal with. Nora had clearly chosen him on purpose.
It worked in my favor, actually. I could check everything at once.
I handed the Course Registration Form to the meticulous man. He examined the registration form first.
“Vivian, Rosa, Andy, Evangeline, Luna? You picked from the lowest entrance scores?”
The man asked with an incredulous tone.
“That’s a remedial class. The other professors will be relieved.”
Nora openly scoffed.
The man found no issues with the Course Registration Form and moved on to the Course Syllabus.
“Grave from the 42nd Squad as a Teaching Assistant? You’re using a security guard, not an actual Teaching Assistant, as your support?”
The man asked, squinting at me. I nodded lightly.
“Yes. Is there a problem?”
“In principle, it’s certainly possible. We respect the professors’ choices. However, since it directly affects educational quality, we need quite a few documents. First, you’ll need the Permission Form for Security Guard Teaching Assistant, here’s the template. And then the Educational Safety Responsibility Confirmation Form, Psychological Fitness Review Request Form, and—”
Complex document names rolled out of the man’s mouth in rapid succession. The longer he talked, the paler Mailo’s face became, as if he might vomit any moment.
“We’d have to pull all-nighters for a week to get these submitted. Can you make the deadline?”
Nora gloated maliciously.
Indeed, there was a mountain of documents to prepare immediately. On top of that, the students I’d be teaching were openly problem cases, which would require significant extra work. It was a thoroughly complicated situation.
But it wasn’t really a major problem.
Because it wasn’t my work to do.
“By the way, can I request one additional Teaching Assistant?”
“In principle, yes. However, all Teaching Assistants are already assigned—”
I needed someone capable of handling all those documents alone.
“Oh, I forgot the professor said to add one. Can you lend me a pen?”
The man handed me a pen with a bewildered expression. I moved it lightly across the form.
“……Are you serious?”
The man asked in confusion, looking at the name I’d written.
“What’s wrong—”
Nora narrowed her eyes and checked the document.
After seeing the document, Nora looked at me in shock.
“Why… why is my name—?”
Nora’s name had been boldly added to the Teaching Assistant field. The usually composed Nora even started stammering.
I asked her,
“Do you hate it?”
Nora’s face flooded with various emotions, as if they were competing.
Shock, bewilderment, irritation, anger—and the last one to surface was—
“No, I love it.”
Naked desire.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————