Chapter 45: A teacher Taliah knows very well.

Chapter 45: Chapter 45: A teacher Taliah knows very well.

"Well, now that the interruption is over..."

Said Ari, who lifted her gaze and began observing the students, so her eyes slowly swept across the classroom until they stopped on someone.

"Oh."

The woman smiled.

"But look who’s here."

She fixed her attention on Taliah, who remained seated beside Draven, completely still.

She had an expression that didn’t seem surprised nor happy, but rather like someone who had just received unpleasant news.

’Looks like she’s not entirely happy...’

Ari immediately stood up from her chair.

"Taliah!"

"..."

"Little Taliah!"

"..."

"It’s been so long since I last saw you!"

Taliah closed her eyes.

"Don’t call me that."

Ari quickly approached our desk.

"But you’ve grown so much!"

"Professor Ari."

"Look at you! You’re a real young lady now!"

"Please, stop."

"And how’s your father? Is Fenrick still just as serious?"

"My father is perfectly fine."

"Wonderful! I’ll have to visit him someday, since it’s been ages since we last drank together."

Ari placed both hands on Taliah’s shoulders.

"And to think I still remember when you could barely hold a sword properly."

Taliah opened her eyes.

"Professor."

"You were so adorable!"

"Professor, we’re in public."

"Especially when you got mad because you couldn’t beat me."

"Professor, please stop."

Ari seemed completely unable to read the warnings.

"Ah! Do you remember that time you started crying because I beat you twenty matches in a row?"

The classroom fell silent and then the murmurs began.

"Taliah Valdegrim cried?"

"The same Taliah who defeated a legendary creature?"

"She lost twenty times in a row?"

Taliah started turning red.

"I WAS SIX!"

Ari burst out laughing.

"I know, I know! But you were so mad."

"Because you were mocking me!"

"I was only trying to motivate you."

"You told me even an armless old man could beat me!"

"..."

Draven had to cover his mouth, at which Taliah immediately turned toward him.

"Draven."

"Yes?"

"Not a word of this."

"I haven’t said anything."

"You’re laughing."

"It’s just..."

"Draven."

"Sorry."

Ari finally seemed to notice Draven’s presence.

"And who are you?"

"Draven Dunvyr, nice to meet you, Professor."

"Dunvyr..."

She repeated the surname for a few seconds and then looked at Taliah.

"Oh."

Her smile widened.

"So this is Draven."

Taliah froze.

"...What?"

"Your father told me about him."

’Fenrick?’

That didn’t sound good.

"He said his daughter had a very special friend."

"FATHER!"

Ari started laughing again.

"And he also mentioned that lately you’ve been spending way too much time talking about him!"

"That’s not true!"

"Oh, really?"

"No!"

"Then I guess Fenrick exaggerated."

"Of course he exaggerated!"

"Strange, he also told me you insisted quite a bit for Draven to stay at your house."

Taliah opened her mouth, closed it, then opened it again.

"...That was because he was recovering from his injuries."

"Sure, sure."

"It’s true!"

"Of course I believe you."

Ari’s expression indicated exactly the opposite.

’I think I should intervene...’

Although he thought that, another thought reached Draven.

’...but it’s pretty entertaining watching her like this.’

Normally, Taliah was the one who ended up embarrassing Draven with her comments and awkward questions.

So seeing her unable to control a conversation felt like an interesting experience.

Besides, she hadn’t asked him where he’d been during the break for several minutes now, and that was a considerable victory.

"So you’re the famous Draven."

Commented Ari while observing him.

"I didn’t know I was famous."

"I heard you defeated a demonic vocier together with Taliah."

"That’s right."

"And that afterward you both ended up hospitalized."

"That’s also true."

Ari tilted her head slightly.

"Interesting."

For the first time since she’d entered the classroom, her expression changed and Draven noticed her eyes focused on his left arm.

The same one he had lost during the confrontation against Greydarn.

"Can you move it normally now?"

Asked Ari.

"For the most part."

"Does it still hurt?"

"Sometimes."

"I understand."

Her reply was much more serious than Draven expected and then she smiled again.

"Well, I suppose I’ll have to make sure you don’t end up losing the other one."

"...I’d prefer to keep it."

"Good decision."

Taliah sighed.

"Professor Ari, can we start the class already?"

"Oh, right."

The woman finally seemed to remember why she was there, so she returned to the front of the classroom, picked up a piece of chalk, and wrote her name on the blackboard.

"As you’ve already heard, I’m Ari and I’ll be in charge of a good portion of your training this year."

A student raised his hand.

"Excuse me, Professor."

"Yes?"

"What subjects will you be teaching?"

"Practical combat, fundamentals of fencing, mana application, and a few other things."

"Magic too?"

"If I can remember how it works."

"..."

"That’s a joke."

No one seemed particularly convinced, but Ari looked at her students.

"What? Were you expecting every teacher to go on for hours about magical theories?"

A young woman timidly raised her hand.

"No, but..."

"But?"

"You don’t seem very..."

The student stopped and Ari smiled.

"Reliable?"

"...That’s it."

"Excellent observation."

The young woman looked bewildered.

"Doesn’t that bother you?"

"Not at all. I wouldn’t trust someone who just walked into a classroom drunk either."

’At least she’s self-aware.’

"However..."

Continued Ari.

"...there’s something you should learn right now."

She set the chalk down on the desk.

"In this world, a person’s appearance doesn’t always reflect their capabilities."

As she spoke, she slightly raised a finger and a small amount of mana appeared around her.

It was so brief that several students didn’t even notice it, but Draven did.

’What was that?’

He had sensed an extremely precise concentration of mana, which wasn’t particularly large and, in fact, seemed like an insignificant amount.

However, the way Ari had controlled it was impressive.

An instant later, the chalk she had just left on the desk slowly rose and began spinning in the air.

"A mage with enormous mana reserves can lose to someone who has barely a fraction of their power."

The chalk split cleanly into two pieces, then into four, and finally into eight, but the fragments continued floating without touching each other.

"And a swordsman who only knows how to use brute force can die to someone physically weaker."

The eight fragments shot out and all of them struck the blackboard, forming a perfectly straight line, yet none of them broke.

The classroom fell silent.

’Incredible.’

She had done all of that without uttering an incantation or showing any difficulty whatsoever.

The control required to execute such a precise demonstration far surpassed what most of the students present could achieve, and probably many teachers as well.

"That’s why..."

Continued Ari.

"...I don’t care all that much who your parents are, how many coins your families have, or how impressive your last names are."

Her gaze swept across the classroom once more.

"The only thing that interests me is whether you truly possess the capabilities needed to study here."

A young man sitting in the front row raised his hand.

"Professor, we all passed the entrance exam."

"I know."

"Then we’ve already demonstrated our capabilities."

"Really?"

The student frowned.

"Of course."

Ari rested both hands on the desk.

"Then tell me something."

"What?"

"If tomorrow they sent you to a dangerous region and a beast tried to kill you, what would you do?"

"I’d use my spells."

"And if they were too slow?"

"I’d use a barrier."

"And if the creature could break it?"

"I’d try to escape."

"And if it was faster than you?"

The student fell silent and Ari nodded.

"Exactly."

Then she straightened up.

"In the entrance exam you had to demonstrate certain skills and that’s all well and good, but passing an exam doesn’t mean you know how to use them properly when your lives depend on it."

Some students began watching her with greater attention and even those who had mocked her upon her arrival seemed interested.

"Many of you have probably spent years training, not to mention that some had excellent masters, others received private tutoring, and a few might belong to families with special techniques."

Ari picked up her bottle.

"But all of that is pretty irrelevant to me if you don’t know how to make the right decisions."

She took a small sip.

’She really doesn’t plan on stopping drinking.’

Taliah seemed to think exactly the same thing, because she brought a hand to her face.

"Professor Ari..."

"Yes, little Taliah?"

"Please stop calling me that."

"I’ll try."

"And put that bottle away."

"You’ve gotten so strict."

Ari set the drink down on the desk and then smiled.

"Well, I suppose it’s time to tell you something important."

The tone of her voice shifted slightly.

"Normally, during the first few weeks, we teachers try to evaluate the level of our new students."

A murmur ran through the classroom.

"However, I’ve always considered it a waste of time to spend so many days watching them perform basic exercises."

’That doesn’t sound good.’

"For that reason, I spoke with the headmistress to organize something different."

Taliah slowly lifted her head and her expression had changed.

"Professor..."

Ari continued speaking.

"A special test."

"What kind of test?"

Asked a student.

"One that will allow us to discover who’s truly prepared."

The woman began walking in front of the blackboard.

"As everyone knows, the Academy of Aster is one of the most prestigious institutions in Valkaen, so our students receive training from experienced teachers and have access to resources that many people will never be able to obtain."

She stopped.

"But it also means we expect quite a bit from you."

A young man raised his hand.

"Will it be a written exam?"

"No, that’s boring."

"A mana evaluation?"

"Not that either."

"Individual combats?"

Ari smiled.

"Something more interesting."

’I definitely don’t like that smile.’

Draven glanced sideways at Taliah, who remained completely serious, confirming that it was probably that test Draven remembered.

"Professor Ari."

Said Taliah.

"Yes?"

"You’re not thinking of doing the same thing you did when you trained me, are you?"

Ari observed her for a few seconds and then let out a small laugh.

"Oh, relax, it won’t be exactly the same..."

Taliah seemed to relax until Ari added.

"...this time there will be a lot more participants."

"..."

"..."

"Professor?"

"Yes?"

"What did the headmistress authorize?"

Ari ignored the question, and instead returned to the desk and picked up a folder she had left there upon arriving.

She opened it and reviewed a few pages.

"Alright, it looks like everyone’s registered."

"Registered for what?"

Asked another student, at which Ari lifted her gaze.

"For your first practical evaluation."

She closed the folder.

"Listen carefully, because I don’t plan on repeating it."

All the students fell silent.

"Before we begin with our normal classes, I want to check whether you truly deserve to be at this academy."

Ari smiled.

"And I’ll warn you about something right now."

She made a brief pause.

"Not everyone will pass."

’...’

Draven observed the woman, then looked at Taliah, and she had an expression of absolute displeasure.

’This drunk hasn’t changed one bit.’