Abandoned by my Childhood Friend, I Became a War Hero chapter 17

17 – Exhausted feeling

I publicly punished in the office, and since it was break time, there were many other instructors in the office.

That’s why I couldn’t help but notice that Instructor Lilya was constantly looking at me from the seat next to me.

She watched Osnia as she left the office, then spoke to me with a bright smile as if the work was over.

“You worked hard. Instructor Graham. You must have been very embarrassed after the fight from the first class. You handled it very well.”

“No big deal.”

“Ah, you are humble. It was to the extent that no one would have thought that it was my first appointment. I thought I would help you, but you did a good job on your own?”

I fell into thought for a while at Instructor Lilya’s words.

Did I do well?

Oznia could have made the use of her magic a big deal, but I didn’t. Because I thought that was right.

I don’t know what other instructors do, but this was my method. So I just did what I thought was right, and I thought it was not something to be praised by anyone.

I just nodded my head in silence as it was difficult to accept compliments innocently and it didn’t suit me to be humble.

Then, a middle-aged male instructor sitting across from me spoke in a voice that was uncomfortable to listen to.

“Instructor Lilya. Don’t you think it’s wrong that the fight broke out between the students in the first place?”

“Yes? Well….”

“If you’re an instructor at the Filion Imperial Academy, it’s only natural that you should be at the level of preventing problems in advance, rather than dealing with them well. Saying that you handled it well just because you gave some punishment is a bit… That’s right.”

What is it?

It was not difficult to find out that it was a pointless quarrel. If it’s a dispute, it was because I was sick of it in the army.

The instructor in charge of Diamond White’s first year. I don’t remember her name, but I remember her last name was Acheron.

Thanks to Instructor Acheron, who suddenly intervened in the conversation and was only talking about himself, Lyria’s expression was blurred. ‘Oh, this person… Just looking at his expression, I could clearly see what he thought.

Instructor Acheron said, stroking her mustache with her buttery face.

“If it were me, I would have taken good care of the students so that no fights would break out. We Diamond White students would have had no problems from the start.”

“But Instructor Graham, today is the first class. I think she can do better in the future. How much did I tremble in front of the students at first?”

“Instructor Lilya, of course. Aren’t you one of the talented people who graduated early from our Fillion Academy in 3 years? The excellence of Instructor Lilya and other instructors has been verified, but I wonder if Instructor Ion is the same….”

“What do you mean?”

I just openly asked about the way he spoke in circles like an aristocrat. In my experience, if you just listen to these words, they will stretch endlessly.

I looked straight at Instructor Acheron. He flinched at my gaze for a moment, then cleared his throat briefly and looked away.

“As far as I know, Instructor Ion doesn’t have any formal training… Right?”

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“Yes.”

“Then have you ever had a tutor called and trained? I’m not talking about anyone, but a decent tutor from an aristocratic family.”

“No.”

“So you’re saying that career is everything in the military?”

“Yes.”

“Huh….”

Instructor Acheron’s thin eyes narrowed as he sneered. Just looking at it, it was a look that made me feel complacent.

“Instructor Lilya. Other instructors will adapt if given time, but didn’t Instructor Ion learn nothing at all? I don’t know who to teach this to.”

“As far as I know there is no law that says you have to go through formal education to teach students. Instructor Acheron.”

“Even so, isn’t there such a thing as Fillion Academy’s level? As far as I know, I heard that Instructor Ion’s rank is Captain. Hmm… Captain. Well, the promotion is quite fast compared to his age, but is that really enough… As an instructor, I am a little worried.”

Instructor Acheron looked at me with worry in her mouth and a completely unconcerned sneer in her eyes. You didn’t even look at me a while ago, so after hearing about my career, you feel more confident.

I could have been promoted further if I wanted to. It was because Marquis Karlstein had invited me over and over again.

But I wanted to pick up a weapon and fight on the battlefield myself. It’s because a field officer can’t fight alongside a soldier on the front line. I could have done it if I wanted to, but if I did, I was sure to see it very strangely around me.

If you wear a rank insignia higher than necessary and run around the battlefield alone without any subordinates, rumors will spread in some way. I didn’t want to stand out like that, and I didn’t have any particular desire for promotion, so a captain who could operate alone was suitable for me.

And I didn’t feel the need to explain it to Instructor Acheron.

Instructor Acheron’s sneer grew thicker, as if he had judged that I had nothing to say because he was just listening.

“For example, in the case of me, I graduated from Filion Imperial Graduate School and have a PhD. Besides, what about the family? Acheron is a renowned count of the Empire, and my brother served honorably as a high-ranking officer in the Imperial Army during the last great war. I was born and raised in such a prestigious family since childhood-”

I don’t know why Instructor Acheron felt bad for me. But the answer is simple. Just ignore it.

I was appointed to the position of instructor directly by Chancellor Heinkel. With just that fact alone, Instructor Acheron couldn’t do anything anyway. Questioning my appointment as an instructor is the same as questioning President Heinkel’s eyes.

I can spread dirty rumors behind my back, but it’s just a rumor. That much has no effect on me.

Anyway, it’s Acheron.

It’s a familiar name for some reason. It’s vague as if he’s thinking of something. It’s not such an important memory, but it’s a name I’ve heard somewhere.

I remembered.

“Oh, you were killed by that goblin?”

“My older brother- What, what? What? Goblin?”

Akeron’s expression immediately turned pale at the three letters “Goblin”.

There were a lot of nobles in the Imperial Army who didn’t have the ability to show off, and Colonel Acheron was just such a case. He was even a man with no ability but a big dream, so he led his soldiers to advance in order to make a contribution in the early days of the Great War, but was isolated as if it were natural.

When I arrived to rescue the isolated unit, only the unit on the brink of annihilation remained, but the commander was nowhere to be seen. When his life was in danger, he decided to live alone and threw the soldiers away as a sacrifice to buy time.

As if he had lived on the run, Colonel Acheron was found murdered by goblins a few days later. It was because the goblin den was where they hid to avoid his body.

As a goblin’s plaything, he was murdered after all sorts of torture, and his corpse, left naked outside the burrow, was too ugly to be the end of an Imperial Army officer.

Marquis Karlstein burst out laughing, saying, “It’s an idiotic death.” He heard that in his family he tried to cover up the fact somehow….

“What are you talking about! Are you a goblin? Oh, my older brother fought his demons and died heroically Oh! Uh, uh, where is that? Nonsense? Rumors?!”

I only said one word, Goblin, but Instructor Acheron jumped up in fright. With his corpse-pale complexion, he made every excuse like a pricked man.

Other instructors who saw it whispered to each other.

“A goblin. What do you mean?”

“Wasn’t Colonel Acheron killed by demons? Could it be?”

“No! I mean no! What, on what grounds are you talking nonsense like this… ! Instructor Ion! Say something!”

“I have class soon. Excuse me.”

I pretended not to hear him and stood up.

Instructor Lirya followed me behind me as I exited the office.

“Instructor Graham!”

I deliberately slowed down. I had to shorten my stride considerably to keep pace with her short legs.

Still, Instructor Lilya walked down the aisle almost as if she was running to catch up with me.

“Heh… Hey, it’s gone too far. Is it because her legs are long?”

“Do you have any business with me?”

“Um, I just want to walk with you?”

There was no specific reason for refusal, so I nodded calmly.

We walked down the aisle side by side.

Instructor Lilya looked at me and carefully opened her mouth.

“Don’t pay too much attention to what Instructor Acheron said.”

“I don’t care.”

“Really? But… Instructor Graham doesn’t seem to care about that. Aren’t you the type who doesn’t give in to outside pressure and silently does what he has to do?”

I don’t know what type it was, but Instructor Lilya nodded her head alone, as if she understood it on her own.

“Why is Instructor Acheron like that?”

“Um… Maybe it’s because Instructor Graham is the homeroom teacher for the Opal Black class.”

“For that reason?”

“If Opal Black hadn’t been established, the princess, no, Elisabeth would have been assigned to the Diamond White class. She was deprived of her honor to become the princess’ teacher right in front of her eyes… What would you not have thought of that way?”

I see.

Among the freshmen this year, there are a lot of big players. Not only the princess, but also the granddaughter of the commander-in-chief of the imperial army and the son of the imperial chancellor. Teaching them directly seemed to be treated as a great honor as a noble.

If I didn’t have the Opal Black class, I would have been assigned to Diamond White. But since you can’t directly argue with the president, did you pick a fight with me?

The establishment of a new class was not only of interest to students. The same goes for the instructor.

I had a tired feeling that something like this would happen more often in the future.

“So what is a goblin after all?”

“No comment.”

And Instructor Acheron seemed to be plagued by bad rumors for the time being.

***

After all the classes for the day are over.

In the middle of the night, Oznia came to visit me.