Inside the hall, Lyr sat in a corner, bewildered.
His seat was neither toward the front nor the back. The hall was not completely full, with seats occupied only here and there.
Among the crowd, Lyr recognized a few faces — teachers he had seen while at the academy, though he could not recall their names now.
On the stage, Lulong took a seat in the center, facing everyone in the hall alongside the row of people seated above.
‘Why does this feel like a pre-war council?’
This scene and atmosphere were not unfamiliar to Lyr. Back when he was in the knights’ order, they often met like this to discuss important matters. In those days, the person standing at the front was the Knight Commander. The topics usually involved outlining general missions or giving morale-boosting speeches. It was quite a novelty to experience this in a place like the academy.
Lulong coughed, and the magic stone on the table in front of him amplified his voice several times, making it clearly audible throughout the hall. Immediately, the whispering in the hall ceased, and everyone looked toward the stage.
“Hello, everyone. It has been a long time. Today, we are holding our first teachers’ meeting, and as usual, we will be assigning tasks for the new semester.”
Lyr felt increasingly perplexed as he listened. It felt as though he had been dragged into a gathering of believers whose faith was the polar opposite of his own. Nothing being discussed had anything to do with him. By the time Lulong was halfway through his speech, Lyr was already drowsy, having lost track of the beginning and seeing no meaning in any of it.
However, that state was quickly shattered. Just as Lyr was about to close his eyes for a short nap, Lulong looked at the list on his desk and continued in the same tone as before.
“For this semester, the Magic Theory class for Middle Grade Class 3 will be taught by Lyle Gnoh…”
Among the long list of names being called out, Lyr’s name was passed over quickly, appearing insignificant and without any special meaning to the others. In contrast, Lyr jolted in his seat, suddenly snapping awake.
He stared wide-eyed at the blackboard behind Lulong, where his name had been written neatly and deliberately among the list of teachers. If he could have dismissed what he heard as a hallucination, what he saw was certainly no illusion — unless he was dreaming.
But Lulong’s voice continued steadily, clearly informing Lyr that this was reality, and a predetermined one at that. Lyr, the person concerned, remained utterly lost.
‘Huh? How did I become a teacher at the academy?’
There had been no prior notice, and he had no idea what was happening. Sitting there, Lyr was suddenly saddled with a title that seemed to have come from nowhere. His mouth hung open slightly, his brows furrowed in surprise, and his face was a mask of sheer astonishment.
“Wait… I…”
Lyr almost wanted to raise his hand and voice an objection, just as he would have done in the knights’ order. Hearing his restless movements, the teachers on either side of him glanced his way.
“Sir, please be quiet,” one whispered.
“Uh…”
Lyr paused and ultimately pulled his hand back dejectedly. If he really stood up in this setting, raised his hand, and shouted his objection, it would be a ridiculous scene. Setting aside the fact that House Geno would become famous in the capital for the wrong reasons, Lyr felt certain the academy and all the nobles would know about his foolish behavior in no time.
Even with his hand retracted, Lyr could not help but click his tongue. His legs shook slightly from side to side uncontrollably. The chair that had felt fine moments ago now seemed to be covered in tiny needles, making him restless.
‘What exactly is going on? How did I become an academy teacher? No one told me about this. I thought this was about Tif.’
Lyr was dying to go up and demand an explanation from Lulong, but he could only sit there pretending to be calm, his legs rattling as if shaking invisible chains.
‘Could it be that letter?’
That was the only possibility Lyr could think of. Although he had delivered the letter to Lulong, he had remained ignorant of its contents from start to finish. Now, he finally understood. When he had asked about the letter previously, his family had simply replied that arrangements would be made when the time came.
‘This isn’t how you make arrangements; they didn’t even ask for my opinion.’
Lyr had always loathed having things arranged for him without his consent, as if he were a puppet on a string. It seemed many noble parents enjoyed acting this way.
In this manner, Lyr spent an extremely uncomfortable 1 hour in the hall.
“For the upcoming academic year, please work hard, fulfill your duties well, and cultivate more outstanding talents for the kingdom.”
The final words brought the meeting to a close, and the crowd in the hall burst into applause. As Lulong stood up, everyone began to leave through the back door in an orderly fashion, but Lyr pushed against the flow.
“Headmaster!” Lyr waved his hand repeatedly. The tide of people forced him to dodge left and right as he moved forward.
Hearing Lyr’s voice, Lulong, who was about to leave with several other school council members, paused. Drenched in sweat from the squeeze of the crowd, Lyr stepped forward, drawing the inquisitive gazes of the council members.
The teaching staff was already shorthanded. They had discussed the matter for a long time yesterday before barely deciding on a few candidates, yet vacancies still remained. The council members did not know where Lulong had found this young man. Most of the faculty consisted of middle-aged and elderly teachers, so they desperately needed young blood like him.
Lyr opened his mouth but hesitated, not knowing where to begin. This was far too abrupt, and he was completely unprepared. No one had even consulted him.
Lulong stroked his white beard, his gaze kind. “Lyr, although you are a new teacher, you can ask the others if there is anything you do not understand. There is no need to be too formal.”
“But how did I become a teacher? I didn’t even know this was happening.”
It felt as if he had been summoned to attend a wedding, only to be told at the venue that he was the groom.
“You didn’t know?” Lulong paused, his smile carrying a deep meaning. “This was mentioned in the letter from your parents. Logically speaking, they should have told you.”
Lyr looked completely bewildered. From the moment he received that letter until now, he had been kept in the dark, and there had been no discussion whatsoever.
Lulong’s smile did not fade. “It is fine. It is only natural to be nervous the first time. As long as you treat every student with care, I believe you will do a great job.”
He patted Lyr on the shoulder and walked past him with the council members. To an outsider, it looked as though he had high hopes for the new teacher. Lyr, however, was speechless with frustration, unable to find the words to express himself.