Demon's Virtue

"And here we are, the last stop. The grand lecture hall for the Physical Combat division. Right behind here is the arena that we use for actual combat practice. It should be the same one that you were in during the festival last week." Kristoph explained to Eiro, as he stood in the front of the hall.

There were already a few students here, seated on one of the many chairs in this room. This in itself was almost like an arena, since the seats were ascending like steps higher up so that everyone could see the center of the room more easily.

"And now we just wait for the other students to arrive?" Eiro inquired, and the teacher next to him quickly nodded his head, "Yes, that's exactly it. The lesson is set to start in about ten minutes, so the rest of our students should be here soon."

"What will we be speaking about today?" The Demon asked. There probably wouldn't be too much that all these students could learn together, considering that the different stages in education were mixed here.

"Mostly we will be going over organizatory issues. Introducing the new students to the way things work around here, showing off our student representatives, explaining the lesson layout. Such things. I'm sure it will be quite important for you as well." Kristoph explained, and it seemed rather straightforward for now.

"And then we head outside and spar so that the students can see what they should strive for?" 

"Exactly. And after you and I spar, we're going to give the students themselves a bit of a chance to speak to each other, and maybe spar as well if they so wish." 

Eiro turned his head toward the few students already seated here, and those currently coming inside. The newer students were the only ones not carrying things like weapons with them at the moment, "Will they actually fight with real weapons this time?"

"The advanced students, yes. They have proven that they know how to handle a weapon, and the responsibilities and dangers that come with that. The intermediate students will get the chance to prove this as well throughout the year through personal tests set up by us teachers. The beginner students are not allowed to use real weapons yet, however. Just for their own safety." Kristoph explained.

Eiro understood what he meant. For the longest time, Eiro also had his children practice using training weapons that wouldn't be able to actually injure anyone for the most part.

"Is it possible for beginner students to go through that test as well?" Eiro inquired. Kristoph thought for a moment as he crossed his arms, "Technically yes, but you need to have a certain level of practical skill, and I don't mean the skill level showing up in one's status, to be able to take the test."

"And I guess the ones that certify that level of skill are the teachers as well?" 

"Basically." Kristoph replied, "You need multiple teachers to verify how skilled you are to be even considered for the test. And usually, beginner students are never that skilled. And there's nothing wrong with that, of course! This place is supposed to teach them, after all. If they already knew everything, there would be no need for them to come here."

"Then what if there's a student already capable enough to take that test amongst the beginner students?"

"If there is, I would welcome it. It would cause a bit of jealousy in the upper grades, sure, but jealousy can often lead to greater progress! And that's exactly what we want here, isn't it?" Kristoph pointed out with a broad grin on his face. This man was a teacher through-and-through.

Eiro was happy leaving Arc to this man half a year from now, when he himself wasn't going to teach here anymore.

Slowly but surely, every student finally entered the room, including Arc, who just casually waved at Eiro while entering. There were some other boys around him that looked at him a bit confused, but Arc just laughed it off. He already made some friends, it seemed.

"Now then, it seems like everyone is here." Kristoph exclaimed in a loud voice that reached the far corners of this room without an issue. He started to explain everything that he just told Eiro about earlier.

Most of it was pretty boring... Eiro spent that time just reading through some new books in his mind that he prepared for moments like these. The most interesting bit was when the student representatives were called forward.

It was one young man with two swords at his side, and a young woman with a rapier at her own. Judging from their builds, they were quite well-practiced. Their muscles were developed perfectly for their weapons of choice, but nothing beyond that. They had the same issues as Jess, James and Krog, relying on their stats too much rather than trying to develop their own bodies.

However, the moment these two opened their mouths, Eiro was no longer impressed with either of them.

"Welcome to this school, to all the new students! My name is Richard Argius Melachine. Now, I know that this name must have quite some impact on you, especially those amongst you without even a last name..." The male representative exclaimed in a loud voice. His tone and choice of words immediately made Eiro aware that he was nothing but a spoiled brat.

Many students here were, really. That's how noble children were a lot of the time. It was sad, but that's what high status did to many people. Even Charles was a brat like that before he lost his limbs. Apparently, his behavior was known to be absolute garbage throughout even the nearby countries. But now, he was a well-mannered young man who was grateful for what he had.

Eiro expected this to an extent. What angered him was that this young man, Richard, was looking at Arc and the boys around him as spoke of the impact of his name. And so were many of the other students.

From then on, the short speech Richard prepared was just filled with narcissism and loathing for commoners. Of course he didn't say anything specific, but Eiro could easily analyze the subtle shifts of tone in his voice.

The girl next to him wasn't much better either. Her name was Avelina Herma Melachine, Richard's twin sister.

These two were the children of Duke Melachine. Solomon's cousin on his mother's side. Luckily, Solomon's well-natured behavior came from that mother, so Duke Melachine himself was apparently a man as kind as Solomon himself, even if a lot more ruthless due to him being a leader of a huge merchant company.

It seemed like that fact rose to the heads of these two children. Eiro let out a deep sigh as the two were talking. A loud sigh. One loud enough to momentarily interrupt Richard and Avelina. They turned their heads toward Eiro with deep frowns. They knew that they had to respect him as their teacher, but they also knew that Eiro himself was technically a commoner right now.

With those conflicting emotions, they stared at him, "Is something the issue there, Mister..?" 

"Hm? Sorry, I just got annoyed by that condescending speech of yours. Go ahead, continue." Eiro replied, still seated on his chair. He crossed his legs and waved his hand forward a bit to tell them to continue. A few of the students laughed, one of them being Arc of course, while Richard and Avelina stood there, angered by this man's words.

They couldn't obviously show it though, so they simply continued. Kristoph could voice his concerns, though, and quickly whispered into his colleagues ear, "Eiro, please. Act professionally."

"Kristoph, they're adults. If they act like that, I'm going to voice my complaints." Eiro said bluntly, not caring for Kristoph's opinion in this. For the next half-year, Eiro was an educator. And as an educator, it was his responsibility to educate these children on correct behavior.

Kristoph understood what Eiro meant, and although he still didn't fully agree with it, he figured that what Eiro said wasn��t too bad for now.

And since their speech was over now anyway, it was time to head outside. Kristoph led the students, and Eiro walked in the back to make sure nobody stayed behind or snuck off. And then once they reached the arena, Kristoph brought out training weapons for the students. The only issue was that they were incredibly generic swords. The same shape, same weight, same size. For every single student.

"Don't we have other weapons we can give them, at least?" Eiro asked Kristoph, but he just shook his head, "Of course not. This might be the first time for some of them even holding something like that. Throughout the first year, they'll know what sort of weapon would be best for them. See, the intermediate students already have their own wooden weapons, shaped in the way that would be best for them."

"...Do they get to choose these things themselves?"

"Of course. We're not here to deny anyone's wishes."

"Yes, but we're here to guide them and make them stronger so that they know how to fight. Some of these students are using completely wrong weapons." Eiro pointed out, and the teacher right next to him just stared back at him, "Listen, it's good that you have your own opinions on these matters, but I've been a Teacher at this school for the past 15 years. I think I know what would be best for these students." 

"Right. Sorry about that, then. Didn't want to insult you."

"Don't worry about it. Now, get ready for our spar, please. These suits should be specially made to allow us to fight freely." Kristoph explained, and Eiro slowly nodded his head.

He took off his jacket and rolled up the sleeves of his shirt. And of course, the vest that Eiro was wearing were actually his wings that Bavet did a great job at hiding, so they were extremely flexible. He could keep them on without worries. Same with the belt that he was wearing.

The only other things that he had to get rid off were the shoes and the gloves that came with the suit. They didn't fit right, and would just annoy Eiro in a fight. Of course, part of Eiro's character right now, on top of the rainbow hair, what would make him unique was his light blue wooden hand that he could use as a staff. So Bavet wasn't hiding it by layering something like skin on top of it.

The moment they saw Eiro's wooden hand, some of the students laughed, calling him a cripple who would be unable to teach them anything. But Eiro ignored them. 

It was just Arc that didn't.