Chapter 28: Easy To Talk

Lyr’s teaching style was entirely new to these noble students.

They were familiar with many ways to use magic, but this was different—this was about the practical application of it.

Seeing these youngsters show a flicker of interest, Lyr followed up with a smile.

“I come from a noble background just like you, and I am not much older than you, so I have no intention of teaching you from the perspective of a senior.”

This was exactly the kind of person Lyr loathed, and he was working hard not to become that way.

“However, there are some things I must tell you, regardless of whether you ever have the chance to go to the battlefield or when you might find yourself in a tight spot.”

“You must understand one thing: when facing a situation where you are outnumbered, or even when at a disadvantage, never pin all your hopes solely on your magic.”

“Swords can break, and armor can shatter. Once you exhaust your magic, your own mana will weaken. If you cannot break out of the predicament, you will only put yourself in greater danger and bring more trouble upon yourself.”

Lyr spoke slowly; these were words born entirely from his own experience.

It was out of necessity that he left the Border Regions due to his waning mana, because he knew that if he could not be useful there, he would only become a burden to others.

Recalling the first time he met Yilu, Lyr cast a glance in her direction.

That look carried a warning; in a way, these words were spoken specifically for Yilu to hear.

There is nothing wrong with craving great power, but it is all for nothing if you cannot use it reasonably.

“Therefore, in most cases, try to accomplish the most with the least amount of mana. For instance, the way I used Wind Magic just now is often used for reconnaissance on the battlefield.”

As for that brief, fleeting gaze from Lyr, Yilu noticed it with ease.

From beginning to end, her eyes had not left Lyr.

‘Is he talking about me?’ Yilu wondered, catching on.

She pouted; was she being criticized to her face?

It was strange. Before, if someone had criticized her directly, she would have lashed out, no matter where she was.

Of course, this was also why she was called one of the difficult ones by instructor Luoduan.

Outside, Lulong and the Academy Councilors were patrolling the various classrooms when they arrived at the side of the room, just in time to see Lyr demonstrating several simple applications of magic.

Lulong knew of these magical techniques, but this was the first time he had encountered someone actually teaching them in a classroom.

“He’s adapting quite well,” Lulong commented.

He had already written to the elders of the Geno Family to discuss Lyr teaching at the Academy.

He had worried whether Lyr would struggle to adjust, but seeing this, he was doing even better than expected.

At least he seemed well-suited to mixing with these students; perhaps on a fundamental level, some of Lyr’s behaviors were childish, making it easier for him to explain dull concepts to students in a child-like way.

“Let’s go,” Lulong urged the councilors to leave through the other side, avoiding passing by the door.

Even though it was simple magic with minimal mana consumption, after casting it several times, Lyr began to cough incessantly, and his face turned somewhat pale.

Finally, unable to hold it in, he had to pretend to have a dry throat and deliberately cleared it.

The fact that his mana was weak had become increasingly obvious lately, even though he had not used any high-level magic recently.

“Then, teacher, what is the magic you are best at?” one student suddenly asked.

“It seems to be Thunder,” Yilu muttered to herself from the side.

She vaguely remembered that the magic Lyr used that night was Thunder Magic, the most violent of the elemental spells.

Who could associate a frivolous person like Lyr with that?

Before Lyr could answer, the school bell rang.

Hearing that sound, Lyr felt a great sense of relief.

It was finally over.

Whether one can teach is one thing, but whether one enjoys it is another.

“We shall leave that question for the next lesson. I need to save something to talk about next time, after all.”

It might have seemed like he was being mysterious, but it was truly the limit of what Lyr could handle.

He suspected that if he had to cast those simple spells again, he might collapse from exhaustion, and he certainly did not want to be a laughingstock.

He had thought that once class ended, he could finally rest.

But soon, a crowd surrounded Lyr, chattering away and making his head ache.

“Teacher, I heard you were in the Border Regions for a long time. What is it really like there?”

“This…”

“Teacher, do you have a fiancée? Who is she?”

“…”

The crowd swarmed him, leaving Lyr not knowing who to answer first.

Lyr did not yet know that leaving an impression of being easy to talk to on his students was not entirely a good thing.

In a trance, Lyr felt those negative thoughts beginning to rise in his mind again.

‘You’ve only been to a few more places than the rest of us, stop putting on airs here.’

‘The House Geno seems to be a decent, influential family. If you don’t have a fiancée, I might just settle for reeling you in.’

These sudden, intrusive voices merged with the chatter of the noble students, making it impossible for Lyr to distinguish who was who.

A suffocating sense of distress emerged again, causing Lyr to knit his brows and force himself to grip the corner of the table to suppress a certain agitation.

“Your brother seems to be surrounded; are you not going to help?” Teanya reminded Tif.

During Lyr’s lecture, the expression on Tif’s face had softened somewhat.

Teanya had assumed she was no longer angry with Lyr, but it returned after the class ended.

“Is it not going too far to keep asking if your brother has a fiancée?”

As a bystander, even Teanya could not stand to listen anymore.

Regardless of the truth, it was none of these people’s business.

Chasing Lyr and asking such things was really quite excessive.

Struck by Teanya’s point, Tif rose, ready to step forward.

Her idiot brother had always been too easygoing; if he had been like instructor Luoduan, this situation would never have happened.

However, before she could get close, the sound of a palm slamming onto a desk made everyone go quiet instantly.

Tif, who had just taken a step, froze.

Like everyone else, she followed the sound, only to see that Yilu had stood up, hands pressed firmly on the table, looking incredibly impatient. “Hey, aren’t you guys being too noisy?”

Her annoyed expression caused everyone to dampen their earlier enthusiasm and commotion.

With few exceptions, there really weren’t many people who wanted to provoke her.