Chapter 185: Dead Poets Society (9)

“Please, I’m begging you. Couldn’t you just cancel the middle school division class?”

“Cancel? That’s absurd. There must be many students waiting for my class; are you telling me to betray their faith?”

Unlike me, who was leisurely drinking tea after class, the atmosphere in the staff room was utterly chaotic. The teachers' movements were like those of rescue workers busily restoring a disaster scene, or perhaps panicked refugees. Amid that chaos, one teacher was earnestly pleading with me. He said to me, tapping on an abacus.

“We’ll give you three times the initially proposed contract deposit. We’ll even pool our faculty salaries to offer you an additional amount.”

“Money isn’t the issue. Do you think I took this job for money? I stood on this podium to spread proper values to the children. That we shouldn’t discriminate against beastfolk and mermaids. That we can love one another. Our love is stronger than hate. Isn’t that beautiful?”

Money wasn't the issue. I had plenty of it in the first place. I didn’t collect luxury goods, nor did I throw parties in my territory, so it was almost a dilemma having nowhere to spend it. Besides, with the official title of High Priest of the Archdeity Church, accepting money to stop teaching was something I couldn't do.

“Th-Then! The, the school uniform! Didn’t you say you needed one?”

The teacher played his trump card. I faltered for a moment, but I had already ordered a school uniform through Matilda’s maid. Spreading my eulogy for beastfolk and mermaids to increase the number of beastfolk and mermaid fetishists among the kingdom’s children of nobility was more important to me. I shook my head and spoke resolutely.

“You’re making me out to be a very strange person. Do I look like someone who would ruin a great cause for a school uniform?”

The teacher’s face hardened. Other teachers began to gather around me, one by one. It seemed those who had been in a momentary panic came to their senses after hearing my exchange with the teacher. Every one of them had a face as pale as a mannequin’s. As I watched them silently, the teacher at the front prostrated himself on the floor and shouted.

“Please, I beg you! Please stop the classes!”

Immediately after, the other teachers began to scream as well.

“If another accident like that happens in the middle school division, we’ll lose our jobs! We’re guys who know nothing but academics, so if we get kicked out of the academy, we’ll have nowhere to go!”

“I graduate this year if I just submit my graduation thesis! Please, I beg you! I would be so grateful if you’d just let it slide this once! We know it's shameless and rude to act this way after calling for a High Priest. Please, I beg you!”

The desperation of graduate students on the verge of graduation was bursting out. I found myself overwhelmed by this gloomy and desperate emotion. Faced with their screams, which conveyed the raw madness of impending graduation and the suffering of a teacher’s life, I couldn’t bring myself to say I’d continue the classes. These bastards, if I had said I was going to teach more, they looked like they’d poison my tea.

“...The academy has club activities, right?”

“Yes!”

“What clubs do the female students mainly join?”

“They often do activities like ballet or swimming!”

“Then prepare five ballet outfits and five swimsuits for me.”

“Ah, th-that is...”

“What’s wrong?”

“Ballet outfits and swimsuits are custom-made, so we can’t procure them. Th-That... if perhaps you want us to bring them even if we have to steal them...”

“Forget it. In that case, let’s just cancel the classes. Instead, I’d appreciate it if you’d be sure to properly calculate the lecture fee, including that for the middle school division.”

“Yes! Thank you!”

I told them not to, because it looked like they might actually steal them. If they did and got caught, it would cause all sorts of problems. Just a short while ago, I was denouncing a sex offender, demanding he be killed. If I got caught ordering them to steal ballet outfits, what on earth would the king think? I wanted to put Sieri in a ballet outfit and fuck her, or have a pool party with Eve in a swimsuit, but I decided to just buy them separately with my own money.

Life is fucking awful.

“By the way, what happened to Teacher Hamilton? Has he woken up since he rolled down the stairs?”

“Ah, he fortunately woke up yesterday evening. Thanks to the High Priest’s excellent healing arts, they say his life is thankfully not in danger. However...”

“However?”

Someone knocked on the door. The teachers, who had been gathered in disarray, were startled by the knocking sound and returned to their respective seats. The door swung open, and a middle-aged man with a thick, jiggling belly appeared. When he cleared his throat, a working teacher handed him a stack of documents. He, too, wore a desperate expression.

“Professor. This is the graduation thesis you mentioned. Will I be able to graduate this year?”

“Oh, thank you. I’ll go back and review it.”

Another teacher rubbed his palms together and let out an awkward laugh.

“Professor! Why are you coughing? Are you unwell? I’ll bring you some ginger tea right away.”

“Haha, it’s fine. You’re really laying it on thick just because we have a guest.”

“I’m sorry! I won’t lay it on thick!”

“Haha, don’t be like that, now. You might be working in our research department after you graduate, so how will you manage if you’re this clueless?”

“I-I’m sorry.”

“Also, I’ve reviewed your thesis, and the content is very interesting. But it has many shortcomings. So I was thinking of making some edits and submitting the paper to this academic society under my name. What do you think? I’m not forcing you. I’m just saying this for your own good, because I think it would be better this way.”

“Ah, that’s... I spent about three years researching...”

“So is that a no? Here I am, telling you this after giving it so much thought. This won’t do. To ignore my sincerity like this. Do you think you know everything just because you’ve studied this field for three years? Huh? It seems you think I’m a joke. I’ll have to reconsider putting you in the research department.”

“Ah... Aah...! I’m sorry! I believe it’s right for it to be published under your name, Professor!”

What is this? This bastard. Am I looking at Satan right now? The teacher, forced to offer his thesis to the professor, was wailing. The professor stroked his beard and let out a hearty laugh. But the sound of his laughter did nothing to cover the shattered atmosphere of the staff room. He offered me a greeting.

“Aah, High Priest Lusius. My apologies for the late introduction. I am Aristo, a professor in the Department of History at the academy’s university division.”

“A pleasure to meet you, Professor Aristo.”

“This isn’t the place to talk. Let’s go to my room for now.”

I followed Aristo toward his room. I could hear words like ‘fucking bastard’ and ‘a bastard I want to tear to shreds’ from behind me, but Aristo seemed unbothered by them. He said.

“Haha, I hope our teachers haven’t caused you any trouble.”

“Trouble? They were such knowledgeable and gentlemanly people that I was amazed by their culture.”

“They’re still lacking, those bastards. I rule over them with the heart of a parent raising a child, but kids these days have no manners and don’t listen.”

“Ruling over people is always like that.”

The university division building was connected to the staff room by a direct passage. On Professor Aristo’s door, his name was adorned in gold. Professor Aristo pointed to his golden nameplate with a proud expression and said.

“This nameplate was made by my students, who voluntarily pooled their money. You should have seen how envious the other professors were when I boasted about it...”

“I see.”

Did he sense the bitterness in my tone? Professor Aristo, who was about to boast more about the nameplate, opened the door. The place was too cluttered to be a professor’s room. It was adorned with fancy valuables and jewels, and high-end wines were stored in a corner of a cupboard. On what was presumably the professor’s seat lay a luxurious fur coat and a cup decorated with jewels.

As soon as Professor Aristo entered the room, he naturally tore up the graduation thesis in his hand and shoved it into the trash can. The action was so natural that for a moment, I couldn’t even register what was wrong.

“What the...”

“Ah, what is it, High Priest? I glanced over the thesis a moment ago, and it was no good. The child still has much to learn, so I think I’ll have to keep him for about another year. Haha.”

“Ah, I see...”

Is this the Demon Realm? Are these kinds of things so commonplace that they can be committed so naturally right in front of me? As I took a seat, Professor Aristo poured wine into the jeweled cup and said.

“One of our faculty members rolled down the stairs recently, didn’t he?”

“Ah, you mean Teacher Hamilton?”

Officially, Teacher Hamilton’s incident was that he rolled down the stairs. But it seemed that people’s mouths weren’t so easily shut, as Professor Aristo appeared to know the real story. There was no other reason for him to bring up the story of falling down the stairs to me.

“Yes. He was a very sincere fellow. It’s a shame such an accident happened.”

“I see. I also find it very regrettable.”

“Hamilton woke up this morning. It seems he lost his memory due to the accident. His memory seems to have reverted to when he had just enrolled in our academy’s graduate school.”

“Sh-Shit...!”

It was too horrifying. Even though I had never been in graduate school, that one phrase sent shivers down my entire body. Professor Aristo, seemingly not understanding my reaction, asked.

“What’s wrong?”

“No. It’s nothing. Please, continue.”

“So, normally, he would be preparing for graduation, but if he doesn’t have any memory of his undergraduate life, then even if he graduates, it’s not really a graduation, is it? So, I’ve decided to postpone Hamilton’s graduation for four years, during which time he will receive my teaching from the very beginning.”

“Ah, I see...”

Wouldn’t it have been better if I had just killed him on the spot? I felt a guilt, as if I had committed a sin greater than murder, raging within my heart. This was a grave sin. I had done nothing less than literally shatter a man’s life.

“So, this is what you might call a case regarding Hamilton, who fell down the stairs... In any case, I wanted to personally offer my thanks.”

The professor held out a small envelope. Even from a glance, it looked heavy, as if it contained a considerable amount of money. I stared blankly at the money, then looked back at Professor Aristo. Professor Aristo winked and said.

“I also wanted to build a bit of a connection with you, High Priest.”

How much force did I use when I smashed Hamilton’s head? I reached out my hand. As if reaching for the envelope of money, my hand moved toward Professor Aristo’s forehead. I put my strength into it and slammed a forehead flick into him.

“Uwaaaargh!”

“Heal.”

The moment Professor Aristo collapsed, I cast Heal. The professor, whose eyes had rolled back, opened them again. He screamed at me, his face pale.

“What are you doing, High Priest!”

“Ah, fuck. He still hasn’t lost his memory.”

I slammed another forehead flick into him.

“Uwaaaargh!”

“Heal!”

“Eugh... uh, eugh... H-High Priest...”

“Ah, fuck. One more time.”

“Uwaaaargh!”

How many times did I do it? I shook the unconscious Professor Aristo awake.

“Wh-Who are you?”

He was speaking like a young man. I asked him.

“Calm down. I am a High Priest of the Archdeity Church. Who are you?”

“I am Muspel Aristo. Oh, I’m twenty-four this year, and, um... I’ve just entered the academy.”

Okay. Time to do a good deed.