Chapter 30: Unease

Lyr had thought he would have to go to the afternoon Swordsmanship class himself, but then it suddenly started raining, sparing him a trip to the Sword Training Ground.

He actually quite wanted to go. At the very least, he could see for himself what Beiyao’s swordsmanship was like—the same swordsmanship that had beaten Yilu so thoroughly that day.

In his memory, Berspin was quite skilled in swordsmanship. After all, a key part of the Knights’ assessment involved a swordsmanship evaluation.

By that logic, his younger sister Yilu shouldn’t be too far behind.

For example, he himself had taught Tif some swordsmanship in the past, which basically laid a foundation for her.

“But it’s hard to say.” Lyr reined in his natural train of thought.

If Yilu had always been like this, maybe Berspin never even had a chance to instruct her.

Just like how he himself now had no opportunity to say anything to Tif.

And it felt like she had been angry with him lately.

“Ah.” Sitting at his desk, Lyr sighed and shook his head helplessly.

An older Teacher sitting next to Lyr heard the sound and turned to him. “Young man, don’t sigh so much.”

“Ahaha.” Lyr laughed awkwardly. “Yeah, my family used to tell me that all the time too.”

He often heard similar words from his elders.

“I heard your first day of teaching went quite well today. The Academy Director praised you.”

The old Teacher adjusted his glasses, looking at the books on his own desk, but his words were directed at Lyr.

“The Director was there?”

“Mhm. He said you were one of the better ones among the new young Teachers.”

This inexplicable praise left Lyr at a loss for how to accept it, only making him feel increasingly awkward.

Because this kind of praise was meaningless to him. On the contrary, he would have preferred some negative feedback.

The other person was still looking at his book, not at Lyr, leaving Lyr unsure how to continue or engage in conversation.

The entire room was filled with this atmosphere, making Lyr feel like he was sitting on pins and needles.

Like a small animal in a new environment, unsure what to do, anxious and uneasy.

“You’re Lyr, right? Hello.” From the desk opposite, a person suddenly popped up, reaching a hand across two pushed-together tables toward Lyr. “I’m also a new Teacher, Aoyuewa.”

In this stifling atmosphere, this sudden burst of energy felt out of place.

Out of politeness, Lyr also stood up and extended his hand to respond.

It was a young face, just like his own.

Within the Academy, this was the first fellow young Teacher Lyr had truly met.

Compared to his own hesitancy and timidity so far, the other person seemed naturally sociable.

Lyr found this normal. Perhaps the other person had specialized in this before, unlike himself, who felt like a square peg in a round hole.

Of course, he wasn’t the square peg, and the Academy’s work wasn’t the round hole.

After the simple greeting, Aoyuewa continued, “We new Teachers are having a Social Mixer tonight. Do you want to come along?”

“Me?” Lyr didn’t know how to respond for a moment.

During his time at the Academy, he had never attended such things.

There were plenty in the Knights, mostly celebratory banquets after missions.

In his memory: boisterous shouting, the clinking of glasses, and everyone ending up dead drunk.

Lyr could drink a little, but he didn’t like drinking.

To this day, he still didn’t understand why that stuff was so popular.

“Young people getting to know each other more is never a bad thing. You’ll be working together later, so it’s a good chance to understand each other.” The old Teacher beside him chimed in unexpectedly.

“So, what do you say?” Aoyuewa added.

“Alright… then.” Lyr finally squeezed out the words.

“Great, I’ll come get you then.” Aoyuewa was as natural as a skilled diplomat.

In contrast, Lyr was oozing caution from every pore; being poised and confident had nothing to do with him.

Sitting back down, watching Aoyuewa continue to chat up other new Teachers, Lyr felt a sudden sense of melancholy.

It was fine in the Knights. And in the Frontier, although he interacted with soldiers daily, now that he was back in the Royal Capital, Lyr still felt like a hermit who had been isolated from the world, suddenly dropped in the middle of a civilized society’s road.

Even though no one said anything, he still felt out of place.

Perhaps this was also one of the reasons he disliked this Academy job.

Compared to these people, he seemed utterly incapable of simple, appropriate interaction with others.

Going along with things didn’t work; not going along didn’t work either. He felt a bit stuck in the middle.

It was fine when he had made a bit of a name for himself in the Frontier, but now he hadn’t accomplished anything, and his Magic Power was in that state.

That strange, inexplicable voice from before resurfaced in Lyr’s mind.

Even though it was filled with thick malice, what it said wasn’t wrong.

—

“Found you.”

Suddenly, for an instant, a clear, melodious voice rang out in Lyr’s mind, causing his entire body to freeze.

Coming back to his senses, he looked around left and right, only to find everyone busy with their own tasks. No one was paying him any attention.

“You seem a bit off?” The old Teacher next to him noticed Lyr’s state.

Rather, from the moment he sat down until now, Lyr had seemed very uneasy here.

Lyr shook his head, instinctively rubbing his temples. “A little. Lately, I keep feeling like I hear strange sounds.”

“Could it be you’re too tired?” The old Teacher leaned over, pulling a small tea bag from the drawer beside him. “Take this and brew it. It should help.”

“No, no, that’s not necessary.”

Ignoring Lyr’s refusal, the old Teacher still placed the tea bag in front of him. “I have plenty here. If you need more, you can come directly to me.”

“Well… alright then. Thank you.”

“It’s normal to have your mind wandering on the first day. Go mingle with them, and you’ll adapt. There’s really not that much to worry about.”

The old Teacher was subtly guiding Lyr. The unease Lyr felt seemed familiar to him, something he had seen many times before.

Looking at the tea bag on the desk, Lyr twitched the corner of his mouth, a smile that wasn’t quite a smile.

It seemed something similar happened when he first joined the Knights. The Knight Commander, afraid the new recruits couldn’t handle the environment, would occasionally come up with little things for them, like a form of comfort.

That quickly helped them get along with the Commander.

A tiny thought popped into Lyr’s mind. Was it possible that he didn’t truly dislike this job, but was simply uncomfortable because he had left his previous comfort zone?

Should he also try to start accepting the reality before him, even if it wasn’t what he truly liked? Otherwise, in his current state, it seemed he couldn’t do anything else anyway.