SRS 168

“…So I think I’ll go buy some reference books in the commercial district. I’ll study them and share the content with you, so would you mind agreeing to this?”

Yohan held out a consent form with blank spaces corresponding to the number of students enrolled in first-year Divine Studies, Spirit Studies, and Herbology, and asked for their signatures. The Divine Studies students were so moved that they immediately signed their names.

“You really don’t need to go out of your way for us.”

“That’s right, Yohan. You’re already taking such good care of us.”

“We’re already so grateful for the classes you’re teaching us right now. Please go ahead and do what you need to do.”

Thanks to his fellow priests’ cheerful agreement, Yohan was moved by the kindness of the priests and clerics for the first time in a long while. Thanks to the generous response from his friends, it didn’t take long to get the Divine Studies students’ approval.

To repay them, Yohan conducted the make-up class with even more passion. However, he burned himself out so badly that he caused more than half the students to suffer from divine power depletion, while the remaining half fell into a state of panic due to information overload. It was a rookie teacher’s mistake.

He wanted to repay them, but when he saw the scene, it looked more like he had taken revenge, which left him flustered. Yohan hurriedly helped Mikael carry the unconscious students to the infirmary, and for those who were in a trance and kept reciting what they had memorized due to information overload, he gave them a potion of clarity, then personally escorted them one by one to the next classroom. Through this experience, Yohan fully realized the necessity of pacing the class and adjusting the difficulty of the practical exercises. He resolved not to make the same mistake during the next make-up class.

He arrived at the Spirit Studies classroom 30 minutes before the second period began and prepared the consent form. Then, as students came in, he stopped each one and asked if they would agree to sign a consent form allowing him and Mikael to go to the commercial district with the professors’ permission. His friends looked at Yohan with the same expression they used when looking at professors.

“…Wait a minute, Yohan. Give me a moment to figure out if I’m misunderstanding this. So, since you’re already the top student in the class, you’re a little worried about Spirit Studies and wanted a reference book, and after you get it, you’re going to study it and teach us too?”

Sei, the third ranked first year Spirit Studies student, asked. She was a noble water spirit user, though since arriving in the Nameless Realm, she hadn’t been able to make any new contracts and was struggling to summon and use spirits from her original dimension, even at great cost. When Yohan nodded, Sei immediately ran out of the classroom.

“Mr. Haepal! Go get Mr. Haepal from the infirmary! Yohan has finally lost his mind!”

“Sei…what do you mean ‘finally’….”

Yohan wore a bitter expression as his friend impulsively went to find the school nurse. He could let the “lost his mind” part slide, but the “finally” stung. Didn’t that imply he’d known Yohan would go mad someday?

“Undine.”

Feeling hurt, Yohan gloomily summoned his water spirit. Plop! The mid spirit appeared along with a droplet of water. She immediately knew her contractor’s intention, and flew off like an arrow.

“Mr. Haepal from the infirmary… Hurry…!”

Undine had become even more agile since being chased by the mana gluttons during the battle with the hydra. She caught up to the fleeing Sei in a single bound and forced a large droplet of water into his mouth. Sei, caught off guard, choked on the water and passed out. Undine floated the fallen student on water and brought her back to Yohan. The latter checked on his friend’s condition, gave her a blessing, and then pushed the desks in the classroom together to lay Sei down. She had only fainted briefly from suffocation and shock, so she would likely wake up soon.

After settling the commotion, Yohan waited for the other students to sign the consent form. Ten minutes later, the diligent students began trickling into the classroom one by one.

“I need to enter the commercial district. Could you please read the guidelines and sign the consent form?”

Yohan showed them the consent form. Following Mikael’s advice, he had written everything down rather than explaining it verbally, which prevented his friends from asking him to repeat himself, worried they might have misheard him.

“Yohan, you’re…”

“Undine.”

Also, instead of getting distracted by the explanation, he was able to closely observe his friends, so when a few students who had read the consent [Read on]form tried to run out, claiming he was crazy, he was able to quickly stop them. When Undine immediately gagged one student with water, the others quickly signed the forms. After all, there was nothing to lose for them. The students who knew the gap in skill between themselves and Yohan didn’t complain even when Yohan said he was going into the commercial district to buy reference books.

“Um… you don’t have to tell us.”

“Right. You’ve got plenty on your plate already.”

His friends looked at Yohan as if he were an overworked teaching assistant and declined his offer to teach them. Grateful for their consideration, Yohan resolved to diligently organize and master the reference book’s contents so that even if he only taught once, the lesson would be high-quality and efficient. His friends closed their eyes in lament.

Back in the early days of enrollment, where had their once benevolent priest gone, the one that claimed everything was a matter of divine mercy?

He was still benevolent now, but there before them was a poor priest who sometimes became a bit extreme and at times… no, almost every day, looked pitiful. The sad part was that most of the workload Yohan had taken on was something he’d volunteered for himself.

The security guard duties, helping classmates who were falling behind in class, and this make-up class.

Knowing he wouldn’t listen no matter how much they tried to dissuade him, they quickly gave up on Yohan. At the same time, the Spirit Studies students, without needing to be prompted, all naturally guessed at the cause of Yohan’s death. It was almost certain that their friend had died of overwork and fallen into the Nameless Realm.

“Thank you so much.”

Despite the various incidents, Yohan had successfully obtained signatures from all the Spirit Studies students. Bolstered by this confidence, he approached Professor Shinbi, who was about to finish his lecture and leave.

“Professor.”

Professor Shinbi, who was riding back on the cherry blossom tree created by the Great Spirit of Spring, turned around. Yohan showed her the consent forms from his friends along with the commercial district access permit. As he explained how he had obtained the permit and asked for her approval, Professor Shinbi, forgetting that she was dealing with a student, expressed pure admiration.

It was the first time a first-year student had come to unauthorized copyask for her consent in person with a permit to enter the commercial district, but it was also the first time a student had obtained the consent of every student in the same major.

“Student Yohan.”

“Yes, Professor.”

“Are you interested in the position of teaching assistant for Spirit Studies? It’s still too early in your first year, but starting in your second year, you could join the school as a research student…”

Professor Shinbi, who was already quite talkative when it came to her areas of interest, actively tried to recruit him, so Yohan had to listen to Professor Shinbi’s recruitment pitch for a full ten years.

“…So if you, Student Yohan, were to join the Spirit Faction, it would certainly–”

“Um, Professor.”

As the conversation showed no signs of ending, Yohan finally braved the rudeness and interrupted the professor. The latter blinked in surprise.

“Yes?”

“…Could you approve it?”

“Oh, dear. I completely forgot. The faction’s business is more important.”

“……”

Without batting an eye, Professor Shinbi (who had dismissed Yohan’s opinion as less important) chuckled Read on and picked up her quill. Her laughter always felt harmless, but today it sounded a little grating.

“Now then, here. If you’ve prepared this much, there’s no reason to refuse. So, Student Yohan, about the faction…”

“Yohan. It’s time the griffin starts crying. Let’s go comfort him.”

Just as Professor Shinbi was about to continue, Mikael hurriedly pulled his friend aside. He bowed his head toward the professor.

“I’d like to borrow Yohan for a moment.”

“Wait a moment!”

Professor Shinbi was taken aback as Mikael grabbed Yohan’s hand and started running.

“Student Mikael! Mikael! You can go if you must, but leave Student Yohan here!”

Professor Shinbi’s desperate cry echoed through the hallway of Building B. Even though it was the kind of voice that would make a soft-hearted person look back at least once, Mikael didn’t stop running. Yohan watched his determined back with sparkling eyes. You had to be this strong to endure three years as a first-year at Fantasiademia without dropping out.

Yohan silently acknowledged his close friend once more and gripped Mikael’s hand tightly.

“You have to be careful this time.”

Mikael, who had walked Yohan to the Herbology classroom, frowned. He was concerned because this time, he couldn’t help him. To reassure his friend, Yohan brought up the verbal promise he’d made with the professor.

“Don’t worry too much, Mikael. Professor Will told me he wouldn’t try to take advantage of me.”

“Really?”

“…Probably.”

“……”

After what had just happened with Professor Shinbi, he was honestly feeling a bit unsure of himself. Professor Will had even warned Yohan directly that if he kept making himself look appealing (as a successor candidate), it would put him in a difficult position, so Mikael sighed as he avoided eye contact, touched his forehead, and said he’d let Suhyeok know before disappearing. Yohan waited quietly until Suhyeok arrived, as Mikael had asked, and then went inside with Suhyeok, who had come to the classroom faster than usual after hearing Mikael’s message.

Just as he had done in his previous major classes, he showed the consent forms to his classmates. Amid the surprised students, Melek was the first to sign.

“Yohan. I was the first to sign it, does that mean I get special treatment, like extra lessons just for me?”

Melek moved closer to Yohan, and whispered while glancing around at the other students. Yohan was impressed by his resourcefulness, which set him apart from everyone else. Even though Melek usually looked like nothing but a troublemaker, he was extraordinary in moments like this. It was no wonder that Professors Hegel and Homern regarded him as their favorite student and took him aside for training during every break.

“You really aren’t their favorite disciple for nothing.”

Yohan apologized for having viewed Melek as nothing more than a troublemaker all this time and praised him. Melek looked at Yohan with the face of the saddest mage in the world, the meaning was: “I signed your consent form this time and took your side last time, how can you say that?”

“I’m, I’m sorry.”

Yohan couldn’t help but apologize. He had praised Melek without thinking, but when he put himself in Melek’s shoes, he realized that if he were to hear someone say, “You’re not the Nameless One’s favorite student for nothing,” he would have been so hurt that he wouldn’t have been able to eat or drink.

The two students looked at each other for a moment, sharing that same pain.

“What’s going on?”

Suhyeok, who had been helping collect signatures and was treated like the professor’s direct disciple in Hunter Studies, came over thinking something was wrong when he saw the two of them. After hearing their story, he felt deeply saddened.

The three looked at each other again; they took a moment to comfort one another in their shared sorrow.