Chapter 214 : Chapter 214
Chapter 214
"Selli?"
At Gwen's call, the instructor named Selli snapped back to her senses, murmured an apology, and covered her face with both hands.
She seemed to have belatedly realized what she'd done.
"Go ahead and share your thoughts. Why can't we?"
When Gwen finished, Selli, who had been fidgeting, squeezed her eyes shut and cried out.
"I—I don't have the confidence to teach that many students......!"
Her voice cracked and squeaked completely.
But the substance of what she said struck a chord.
"I—I've been working really hard since I came here, okay? Every single day I develop lesson plans, write textbooks, create exam questions, and analyze swordsmanship, but then—huh?!"
Selli's eyes darted accusingly toward Cassian.
It was a look of resentment.
"E-every time the students come back from your class, they're completely different!"
Hmm, the teachers let out a collective murmur.
In truth, they'd all felt the same problem.
They were doing their absolute best.
And yet their efforts didn't amount to one hour of one man's time.
They spent an entire week pouring everything into guiding, analyzing, and teaching their students.
Then the students would attend Cassian's class and come back transformed.
It would've been easier if they'd picked up bad habits and regressed.
Instead, by anyone's measure, the students had grown in a clearly positive direction—remarkable growth.
The problem was that the teachers couldn't begin to understand how that growth had happened, or what approach Cassian had used to evaluate their swords.
"It's...... it's so humiliating......"
The teachers had dreams too, just as their students did.
Akarind Academy, hailed as the world's greatest academy.
A dream of demonstrating their abilities here, teaching outstanding students, and living their lives as instructors.
They'd come all the way down to this backwater of a ruined kingdom—not even the Empire—clinging to that dream alone.
No matter how outstanding Akarind Academy's capabilities were, the geographic limitations of the Belmein Kingdom and the Akarind territory were inescapable.
The Belmein Kingdom was being reorganized around Akarind Academy, true, but it was still unstable.
Queen Charlotte had gained Akarind's formidable backing, but she hadn't earned the trust of the nobility.
The nobles stayed quiet only because they feared the Academy's power, not out of loyalty.
Given the chance, the majority of Belmein's aristocracy would abandon Akarind Academy.
The area around Akarind Academy was swarming with monsters, and deploying Academy personnel alone couldn't resolve that.
Every one of them had come here fully aware of all those conditions.
And yet, for an entire year, they'd been denied even the chance to properly teach their students, living from one day of frustration to the next.
And now, that was about to double in scale.
"......I'm sorry......"
Selli sniffled, tears and snot and all, and the mood in the conference room sank.
Among the younger instructors, more than a few were blinking back tears in sympathy.
Even the older ones cleared their throats and nodded along.
The Head of Department in particular.
"A-ahem. Hrm-hmm."
"Are you crying, sir?"
"C-crying?! My eyes just, uh, get weak when you get older!"
Not a single instructor around him believed that.
And for good reason: the Head of Department was one of the most awkward teachers at Akarind Academy.
A loyalist of the former Chairman.
He'd had political savvy and a talent for flattery, which was how someone of average ability had survived at the Academy for so long.
But times had changed.
Every professor now had to prove themselves through merit.
In a ruthlessly competitive environment, the obsolete professors were being left behind.
For now, he was getting by, still teaching the current Graduation Class students he'd worked with all along.
But two or three years from now—when the current Advancement Class became the Graduation Class—would his position still exist?
Whenever that thought crossed his mind, a cold sweat would break out all over his body, jolting him awake even in the middle of the night.
"That's actually what I wanted to discuss."
This was precisely why Gwen had proposed the curriculum reform.
The students were keeping up with their coursework better than expected.
But the teachers were falling behind.
Only Freutche, Isadora, and Sordian were conducting their classes effectively.
Including Cassian, that was barely a tenth of the total faculty.
This lopsided structure had to be corrected.
"We can't reduce Cassian's classes."
Gwen's tone was firm.
And not solely for the students' sake.
"The core purpose of Cassian's classes is to prepare for the demons."
The veteran faculty members had, through one channel or another, learned the truth about the regression and the demons.
The demonic invasions weren't over.
In fact, the demons that lay ahead would be even worse than the World Eater.
Reducing Cassian's classes and slowing the students' progress?
That could lead the entire world down the same path as the Kingdom of Namress or the Empire.
The fact that humanity could hold its own against the demons at all was almost entirely Cassian's doing.
The Magic Tower and the Lionheart Knights had both been passive.
No—they'd locked their doors entirely and done nothing.
Someone had to step up and train the students, the Auditors, and the soldiers. That someone was Cassian.
"But I fully empathize with your difficulties. That's why we're going to establish a Teaching and Learning Support Center for the faculty."
Coordinating the complex schedules of thousands of students was difficult.
But coordinating the free hours of the instructors was not.
"Cassian will serve as the Center's director. To fill that administrative role, Cassian will be promoted to professor once final exams conclude."
The instructors who'd been slumped in dejection lifted their heads.
He was going to do what now?
"We're increasing Cassian's teaching load to four sessions. One will continue as the current schoolwide swordsmanship class. The other three will be classes for training the faculty."
Cassian was going to teach them?
"Since it's called the Teaching and Learning Support Center, it won't be a place to teach swordsmanship. Rather, the classes will focus on pedagogy."
On teaching methods, no less?
It was an attractive proposal.
From Sordian to Isadora, from Jacy to Freutche.
A wide range of people had learned swordsmanship from Cassian.
Every instructor here had read Cassian's textbooks.
But learning swordwork from a fellow instructor was a different matter entirely.
No matter how exceptional Cassian was as an instructor, there was pride at stake.
But learning pedagogy—having a master lecturer share his expertise—was a different thing altogether.
It was easy enough to quietly swallow one's pride for that.
"Cassian can observe students for just a moment and store all the data in his head. He'll discuss and share information about your students. And to facilitate that sharing, we're going to build a learning portal system."
"A portal......?"
It was an unfamiliar concept for the people of this world.
"I'll take it from here."
But for Sihan—who'd earned his doctorate and lectured professionally—it was a painfully familiar, revolting concept.
"Now then—. This is what we call a Magitech Pad."
What Sihan presented was an extremely thin, lightweight metal plate.
Inside the plate was a mana circuit hand-crafted by a 6th-circle mage.
When people picked up the plates, the glass surface at the center glowed and displayed data.
"Ooh?"
People stared at the pads in surprise.
The screen featured several terms arranged in an intuitive design.
Class Management, Student Management, Counseling Records, Academic Notices, and more.
"I used a technology called networking."
Sihan launched into his explanation with confidence.
What he'd focused on was the Ocean Hall Fantasy inside Cassian's body.
Ocean Hall controlled currents—that is, waves.
If those currents were harnessed properly to synchronize the wavelengths between mana crystals and then exchange subtle vibrations, simple information sharing became possible.
"Heh heh heh. Even in this savage, uncivilized land, the pioneering of networks is possible!"
Of course, drawbacks existed.
Ocean Hall's currents did circulate, but only in one direction.
Sending a message on the upwelling meant it took roughly ten minutes to receive a reply on the downwelling.
As a result, implementing two-way communication like a Goldline Scroll or a real-world messenger was difficult.
There was also another critical flaw.
The network was centered on Cassian.
Now that Cassian had absorbed every last bit of the Ocean Hall Fantasy, communications went dead without him.
'But if Cassian's there, that's all you need, isn't it?'
Until a proper network could be built, they'd just work Cassian to the bone.
"With this......"
"Incredible. This technology exists?"
"Akarind Academy really is something else."
The instructors began murmuring among themselves.
Their voices now carried something different from before—hope.
"Well then, it seems the main issues are more or less resolved. Now let's discuss who we'll be sending invitations to for the Academic Exchange Conference, and how we'll frame our proposals."
The meeting continued.
Unlike before, it was a warm, hopeful affair.
The faculty meeting lasted into the night.
***
"Then it looks like everything's settled."
Gwen rubbed her eyelids and reviewed the list.
Three academies would be invited to this Academic Exchange Conference.
The first was the Imperial Royal Academy.
A distinguished institution boasting a storied tradition—the undisputed greatest academy in the world.
The second was Antarea Academy.
Located in the southwestern part of the Empire, it was known as the cradle of mages.
While the Imperial Royal Academy leaned slightly toward swordsmanship due to its ties with the Lionheart Knights, Antarea Academy's magical standards were a cut above, even if its overall enrollment standards and student quality were somewhat lower.
And the third was Rolleang Academy.
Situated at the Empire's far southwestern tip, it sat on the border—a stronghold designed to identify talented children from occupied territories early, then indoctrinate and assimilate them.
Because of that, Rolleang Academy had more students from the Empire's vassal states and kingdoms than from the Empire itself.
"The Empire's in shambles, so all three of these places should be ripe for poaching."
"Four thousand might not be enough."
"If you count the people here plus all the support staff, it could exceed five thousand. Well, let's invite as many as we can manage."
With Gwen's declaration, the meeting adjourned.
One week later.
Invitations were dispatched to the three academies.
[Akarind Academy will be hosting an Academic Exchange Conference on the theme of 'Possibilities for Human Survival in the Wake of Demon Outbreaks.' We warmly invite members of your esteemed academy to attend.]
They called them invitations, but they were essentially a declaration of challenge.
Which Empire-affiliated academy had ever received such an invitation for an academic exchange?
The academies immediately convened their own meetings.
At almost the same time the invitations were sent, a visitor arrived at Akarind Academy.
To be precise, a visitor who'd come to meet Cassian.
"You're overstepping your bounds."
Among the Empire's military, there was only one kind of soldier who wore a blue coat.
Blue Moon, the Imperial intelligence unit under the direct command of the throne.
"And you are?"
"The name's Blue Light. I'm in charge of Blue Moon."
They had come for Cassian.