Chapter 68 - The Third Lesson

Author: Dawn

The result was shocking.

“W-What? No one left at all? None?”

Even Magic Department Dean stumbled over his words. He had thought that having a third of the class remain would be fortunate.

Ethan was saying there were zero dropouts.

“All 50 students are staying for the class? Seriously? You’re not kidding, are you? Wait, are you kidding? Hahaha, but to use the class for a joke…”

Dean’s words prompted Ethan to shake his head.

“It’s not a joke, Dean. The students are pretty nice. After I explained how I would conduct the class and showed them my skills, they focused on the class really well.”

* * *

“Is that true?”

“But the kid who took the class said that Teacher Ethan is teaching Magic Department classes.”

“He’s from the Swordsmanship Department! What kind of Magic Department class is it?”

“What’s going on?”

Rumors about Ethan teaching the Magic Department’s Potion Manufacturing class spread among the students.

Until just recently, Ethan had been popular for his “Understanding the Sword Path” class.

But now, he was teaching Potion Manufacturing?

“That’s just a baseless rumor, right? A Swordsmanship Department teacher taking up some kind of Magic Department class?”

“Teacher Ethan is known for his swordsmanship skills, right?”

“Could it be that Teacher Ethan is spreading rumors in the Magic Department because he’s jealous?”

It was an unbelievable story.

Because of that, nobody believed it. However, a Magic Department student who attended the “Understanding the Sword Path” class discovered the truth.

“Is it true!?”

“What? It’s true!?”

The story was indeed that Ethan Whiskers had taken on the Potion Manufacturing class.

“Oh, no, wait, why? Why would he suddenly do that?”

“Could he be quitting ‘Understanding the Sword Path’?”

“He’s not quitting that, right!?”

“It’s not that, is it?”

Students taking the “Understanding the Sword Path” class began to worry that Ethan might be quitting for some undisclosed reason.

At the same time, the Magic Department students who had experienced Ethan’s class started spreading stories about him.

“Why did he apply to the Swordsmanship Department? With his skills, he could have passed the exams for Magic or Alchemy Department without a hitch.”

“Then we would have the top teacher in our department!”

Unusually, the opinions of the Knight Department and Magic Department aligned.

There was something different about Ethan Whiskers’ class compared to others.

“Grandel, what’s going on?”

“Did you attend his recent class?”

Although the Knight Department was essentially led by Mason from the Swordsmanship Department, the strongest sword master student, the Magic Department held power across multiple disciplines.

Grandel, a magic major, was asked by students from the Alchemy and Summoning departments about Ethan’s recent actions.

“Yeah, I attended.”

Grandel’s expression still seemed elusive. It looked like an excited expression, but in a different light, it also appeared somewhat blank.

Whatever it was, this wasn’t the usual Grandel.

Who was Grandel Torf?

He was a student in the Magic Department, who excelled in Combat Magic and had shown outstanding achievements, standing as a rival to Mason from the Swordsmanship Department, and had garnered attention in the Magic Department.

And now he was displaying this strange expression. If things were off before, they were now very off.

“What on earth happened? It’s mind-boggling enough for a Knight Department instructor to be teaching our department’s class.”

“Why did you all obediently stay for the class? You were there too, Grandel!”

“This is a matter of pride.”

“….”

Even in response to their words, Grandel only folded his arms, not offering any further explanation.

“Grandel!”

“I’m not deaf. I was trying to figure out how to explain this situation.”

“Explain?”

“Even I’m still confused after witnessing it firsthand. If I just explain, will you all believe it so easily?”

Grandel clicked his tongue.

Then, as if organizing his thoughts, he opened his mouth again.

“I’ll just tell you one thing. Why I stayed for the whole class. That’s the part you’re least likely to believe.”

Grandel recalled the class.

“The students who attended this class will never lose with their potion-making skills elsewhere.”

* * *

Thus, the secret night at the academy was filled with stories about Ethan.

“Great Thief’s Mastery.”

Ethan completely concealed his body and confirmed the instructions from the higher-ups of the followers of the Moon, coming from the outside.

‘It’s begun.’

The directive from the higher-ups of the followers of the Moon was to cause an incident during the parent observation class of this department.

The target had already been determined.

‘Assassinate one of the department’s parents through an incident? Hm.’

Ethan pondered why this order had been given. There had to be some reason for an assassination order without any apparent cause.

‘It must be related to their ultimate plan.’

Ethan was aware of the origin of Ivecar Academy’s downfall.

Students on a field trip were killed by followers of the Moon. 

The academy took all the blame. With students and instructors gone, only the shell of Ivecar remained.

‘But really. This on-site class doesn’t usually go well. The risk burden is too great.’

The nobles gathered at Ivecar were garnering attention in various ways.

‘Higher nobles usually attract more enemies. On-site classes give those enemies an opportunity. No matter how skilled the instructors are, controlling the situation from outside the academy isn’t easy. No, it’s not just not easy, it’s nearly impossible.’

Even if the instructors worked diligently, controlling such a large number of students thoroughly was impossible.

Hence, on-site classes were effectively classes filled with risks.

And the risks were high, while the potential gains were few.

‘It’s not like there’s absolutely nothing to gain. There’s a unique charm to on-site classes. But if you attend an on-site class to experience that charm and something happens, the instructor can’t handle it.’

And the principal couldn’t be unaware of this.

‘The principal can’t be unaware of this. And yet, they pushed forward.’

Until now, Ethan didn’t know the reason. In fact, he hadn’t really tried to find out. What mattered was that Ivecar Academy had fallen.

However, he felt like he now understood why they had attended that on-site class.

‘Does it all start from here?’

If a parent were to die during this parent observation class, the evaluation of Ivecar Academy would plummet.

Safety concerns would arise, and the nobles who had trusted the principal and Ivecar with their children would lose faith.

Of course, a single incident wouldn’t shatter all the trust.

But the followers of the Moon would likely continue with these kinds of incidents during events, and they would succeed.

‘The principal will grow anxious, and the academy will be shaken.’

To alleviate this anxiety and demonstrate that Ivecar Academy was still solid, a significant achievement was necessary.

‘Someone recommended on-site classes to the principal.’

Likely, some instructors proposed this sweet suggestion to the principal, who needed achievements, and the principal accepted it.

‘It’s mere speculation… but this seems to be the most likely.’

“Phew.”

Yet, Ethan couldn’t just prevent what the followers of the Moon were planning.

If he did that, events might take a different direction from what he knew.

‘And then all my merits would be diminished.’

So, he needed to subtly intervene, and prevent the incident, while letting the followers of the Moon’s plan proceed.

‘Intervene in such a way that different outcomes could be derived. And those outcomes could benefit me.’

Ethan was lost in thought.

“Yeah, that should work.”

A perfect plan formed in his mind.

* * *

“We’re planning to conduct the parent observation class soon.”

A teacher meeting.

The declarations of the principal left the Knight Department Dean and the Magic Department Dean taken aback.

“Isn’t this a bit early, Principal?”

At the assistant principal’s words, the principal nodded.

“We plan to do it a bit earlier this year. You all probably know the reason. We have a newly recruited teacher who is showing some promise. Just as the water is getting turbulent, the school is buzzing.”

This wasn’t an exaggeration.

Just the Understanding the Sword Path class alone had caused a commotion. Now, the news about Ethan taking on the new Potion Manufacturing class was spreading and it was of no joke quality either.

“Dean Dade, why did you snatch our teacher away?”

The Knight Department Dean, Ricardo, looked really angry.