262. After the party (1)
“Nice to meet you all. My name is Jenon Bright, who is Professor Kevin’s personal employee. We will greet you formally.”
After going to the party with Jane, Oliver returned to work at the Tower, and greeted him politely in a fitness room in the Elemental School Tower.
The person I greeted was a student taking Kevin’s ＜Basic Battle of Magic＞ class, and the number was about thirty.
They each looked at Oliver with a frown.
Shock, denial, irritability, anger, humiliation, and other emotions shine through.
It wasn’t incomprehensible.
Even though their fighting abilities were so low that they couldn’t keep up with Kevin’s class, they were still full-time students of Matop.
However, it was not strange to take it as a humiliation that Oliver, who was not a magician, let alone belonged to the tower, was guiding them instead of Kevin.
‘Because all the people in the tower have strong self-esteem.’
Oliver glanced at the students.
Even after a considerable amount of time had passed since they said hello, they did not show any response.
It’s like the shock hasn’t gone away yet.
‘Well, I also accepted it after much deliberation.’
To exaggerate a bit, Oliver spent the weekend contemplating whether to accept Kevin’s offer or not.
Being able to interact formally with Matop students is a bigger advantage than I thought, but it also had its drawbacks.
‘Even if it’s a matter of increasing work, it can attract some attention.’
Taken from n̲o̲b̲l̲e̲m̲t̲l̲.̲c̲o̲m̲
Nevertheless, Oliver accepted Kevin’s offer after much deliberation.It was risky, but at best it didn’t seem right to throw away the opportunity to try something new.
‘Still, I’m very lucky. I said that if you don’t feel well, you can leave. I must do my best in my work.’
Oliver focused on his eyes, thinking about how to help these people, with the expectation of a new experience.
As the warlock’s vision gradually grew stronger, he could see not only the students’ superficial emotions, but also deeper emotions.
By analogy, would it be like looking at the roots beyond the flowers and stems?
Some students lost their motivation because they were so angry at the sudden situation, while others were not interested.
At least the last one was the best.
It’s not a positive emotion, but whatever it was, I didn’t give up and burned my will.
‘The problem is how to persuade me to be with them… Can you explain it as an auxiliary role that helps you to increase your basic stamina and control your magical power?’
Oliver, who had never tried this kind of persuasion, was thinking about the best way to do it, and someone offered a helping hand.
One of the students asked a question.
“That… Mr. Zenon.”
Oliver turned his head in the direction of the sound to check the student’s face.
It was a familiar face.
Oliver also followed Kevin and knew the faces and brief identities of every student.
“Ah, your name is……. Are you Felix? Of the Gaia Small School?”
“Yes······. you’re right.”
“Yes, what are you going to say?”
Oliver asked with a little anticipation.
I don’t know Felix very well, but I’ve seen how hard he usually attends classes.
After hesitating for a while, he opened his mouth.
“Can I be honest with you?”
“of course. Rather, I would like to ask.”
“Honestly, it is very difficult to accept this situation right now. It makes me angry.”
Sincerity.
Oliver asked happily.
“Why?”
“······We admit that we here are not competent enough to follow Professor Kevin’s class, but still, we are full-time students of Magic Tower, and we are wizards. On the other hand, Mr. Zenon… No. Of course, I’ve heard rumors that they’ve done great things in the tower recently and caught train robbers, but that’s hard to accept.”
When Felix finished speaking, all the students around him shone with feelings of agreement and satisfaction.
So did Oliver.
“Thank you so much for being honest.”
“Yes?”
“Honestly, I said thank you for telling me . . . First of all, let me point out one thing. I do not intend to presume to teach you instead of the professor. I’m just going to help you a little with the training the professor gave you. Don’t think of me as teaching, but as an assistant to you.”
Oliver said, mixing the truth with the lies.
Although it was Oliver’s role to help Kevin carry out the training he ordered, he had the right to exercise his discretion and change the amount and manner of training.
‘If you want to work, you have to have this degree of discretion.’
Kevin said so. However, Oliver was obsolete and did not immediately mention this fact.
Oliver’s goal was to interact with students, not presumptuously.
‘Those who really need help can think about it then…’
Just as he was about to be satisfied that Oliver had persuaded him well, another student raised his hand.
“Can I ask you something?”
“Oh, say yes.”
“At the end of the day, we’re going to have to do some basic training, then, we can do it ourselves, there’s no need for Mr. Zenon, right?”
“It’s true, but the professor told me to help out, check the amount of training, and write a report related to it……. It’s not that the professor doesn’t care about you. It’s just a lack of time.”
“What is the training content specifically?”
“The main content is to develop the basic stamina necessary for magic battle, and to systematize and master the flow of magic and magic.”
“Are you competent enough to have Zenon help you with such a thing and record it on behalf of the professor?”
The speaking student lit up doubts about Oliver and a number of negative emotions.
It was a universal feeling that the person involved in the tower had from outsiders.
Fundamental distrust and contempt.
Oliver asked for confirmation.
“Can I ask you a question too?”
“What do you mean?”
“Could you please answer me if I can’t trust myself or if I can’t trust my skills? In the former case, I will report it to the professor and find another way, and in the latter case, I will convince you.”
Perhaps it was unexpected, not only the student who just said it, but also the other students showed a look of bewilderment.
He hesitated and answered.
“I hope you are not misunderstood. It’s not that I don’t trust the professor’s staff… It’s just a question of whether someone who isn’t a wizard can help us properly.”
“It’s the latter.”
Oliver confirmed. There was no sign of displeasure in his voice. Rather, he even welcomed the current situation.
I found a way to persuade him.
Oliver took out a magic potion from his arms and drank it, then rummaged through the magic bag in the corner and took out the tonfa.
It was made of steel with the property of conducting magic, and it was requested by Kevin as a teaching aid.
The student asked a question that he did not know.
“now······. What are you doing?”
“I want to prove it.”
“Yes?”
“It’s proof. Even though I’m agnostic and I’m not a magician, I can help with basic training. Can anyone please come out one by one?”
Oliver spoke as usual, with tonfas in both hands.
So it was even worse.
When none of the students were willing to move, Oliver spoke again.
“I don’t have time, can you come out sooner?”
***
“Have the students ever upset you?”
When I returned from the ＜Magic Battle Basics＞ class, Kevin asked at once.
“no. Rather, they were good students.”
“really?”
“Yes, you actively talked to the doctor and persuaded me, because it was a big help.”
“Are you talking about being beaten with a tonfa by persuasion?”
“It’s not about beating fans, it’s about daring.”
Oliver said proudly. Because it was a real fight.
So that we can believe in Oliver’s skills.
When I told this, Kevin was absurd but didn’t say anything.
“Oh, did I make a mistake? There is also a train case, so I did it because it wouldn’t be a problem to show off my skills a little…”
“No, no problem.”
Kevin shook his head.
“In the beginning, the class itself is that kind of class, so if it’s not serious, everyone will tolerate it to some extent.”
“That’s nice.”
“But it shouldn’t be cut anywhere or if there is a disability.”
“··································································································· Of course we know that.”
“I’m glad you know… I thought I was going to get angry because I hit students like you are not.”
“I am sorry if I misunderstood you. I think the best way to show off your skills is to compete in person. Thanks to that, I agreed to take care of basic physical training and mana control.”
“It’s so, so believable.”
“thank you······. By the way, I’m sorry, can I ask what’s going on? professor.”
“Why do you ask such a question?”
“What? You seem to be feeling a little unwell. Also, I think I have more questions.”
“Well······. May I ask? Could it have anything to do with your privacy?”
“If it’s something I can answer, I’ll answer it, and if it’s difficult, I ask for your understanding.”
“Good…. Then, ask. Did you go to the investment party held at Sapphire last Friday?”
“Yes. How did you know?”
“I heard rumors.”
“Rumors?”
“Yeah, the rumor that Derek of Red Hill, a prestigious school of the Matop Agni Small School, came back from a party held at Sapphire after being humiliated by a warlock.”
oh······. Oliver snorted. I forgot for a moment because I met Edith and had a lot of things to do with the book of the devil.
“By the way, are you an asshole?”
“It means the greatest disgrace among disgrace.”
“No, I wasn’t asking what the word meant, I was asking why Mr. Derek was embarrassed. He was great.”
Oliver said with sincerity.
The level of use of magic, combat posture, attitude, etc. It has achieved remarkable achievements that cannot be compared with the past.
Emotions were still there, but he controlled them with patience and reason, and constantly looked for means to take down his opponents by using various attack methods.
This is a passage that shows how much effort Derek has put in.
But you’re an asshole. Oliver could not agree.
“It may be so by your standards, but people have a narrower view than you think. So I can only see what’s in front of me right now. What most people have seen is the ghastly appearance of being unable to move a single step against the warlock.”
“One step? ······ah.”
Oliver groaned again. It looked like he hadn’t moved even a single step.
“Is that serious?”
“Well, you must have been so shocked that you missed class.”
Oliver tilted his head slightly. because I didn’t understand.
“Is that enough?”
“Usually, I would say that I’m too harsh, but to be honest, it’s quite painful. Disgrace is fatal to a Matop student, and such disgrace in front of outsiders is even more fatal.”
“If you fight, you can lose, isn’t it? It was just a friendly match.”
“It may be for you, but not for the tower and party guests. There are many things that represent Landa, but if I can pick them all, the one that I will never leave out is the horse tower.”
“I know that.”
“It is not simply because of knowledge and financial resources that the tower is always selected. Because before that there is power. As proof of that, everyone in the tower says that even the average solver can’t hit them. Do you even know that?”
Oliver nodded.
After becoming a solver, I have heard many stories like that, and I have also heard and seen how wizards, even wizards from the tower, are treated.
However, there were parts that were difficult to understand.
“professor. Dare, I’m not trying to be ostentatious, but Dave the solver is a well-known solver in his own way, so wouldn’t that be a problem?”
“If you are just an ordinary student, that excuse may work, but if you belong to the Red Hill family, the story is different. It is not an absolute prestigious family, but a family with its own history and name. But, that’s not the case if the members there lost at a party with a warlock, and even Randa’s riches.”
Oliver was surprised by the tighter conditions than expected, but he quickly regained his composure.
I’ve seen such stories several times in the journals of Blitz Wizard and Adri.
Even so, the feeling that it actually happened was a little different.
“More than anything else, the timing wasn’t good. Apparently, this happened during the new thermal power plant investment that the Red Hill family is preparing for. Rumors have spread that, let alone new investments, people who have promised to invest are withdrawing their funds.”
Hoo… Oliver was surprised.
It wasn’t my intention, but it seemed that Derek was in a more difficult situation than he thought because of him.
“Will Derek be kicked out of the family?”
“Well? Because I don’t want to mess around with other people’s chores. But it won’t be easy to get kicked out.”
“Is that so?”
“Oh, he’s very talented. Even though it is a collateral, it is enough to receive the expectations of the family……”
“Ah, that’s good.”
“okay?”
“Yes, I was doing my job, but I’m sorry if I take too much damage.”
Kevin stopped talking and looked at Oliver.
“What else did I say?”
“No, I’m too lazy. It would be better to start worrying about you.”
“Are you worried about me?”
“Yeah, you probably didn’t mean to do that, but as a result, you put shame on the Red Hill family as well as the Horse Tower. Wizards are proud of themselves.”
Oliver understood right away.
“Are you saying you’re going to retaliate from the tower?”
“I just want to keep the possibilities open. These days, even matops are sensitive to their authority. It’s the city’s security bureau, a warlock, and a crime-firm fighter crew. First of all, be careful. Building your reputation in Landa is like building blocks high. If you do, you will fall.”
“I know what you mean. We will be careful.”
“Yeah, that’s the point of my words. Cultivate the habit of being careful inside and outside the tower. Because this city doesn’t just swallow the weak… Just get out.”
Kevin pulled out the papers and said to Oliver.
Oliver, the professor’s personal employee, tried to leave the professor’s lab, saying hello to Kevin.
The moment he grabbed the doorknob, Oliver suddenly wondered.
Last Friday, Derek, Yareli, and several other students attended an investment party, what professor Kevin might have been up to.
Obviously, he must have said that he also had personal affairs.
Oliver stopped and asked.
“professor. May I ask you something?”
“Say it.”
Kevin said as he filled out the paperwork. It really looked like a sword.
“Where did you go last Friday, Professor?”
“I had a meeting with a Royal Army officer and people from the arms industry. Because of my research.”
Kevin said as he continued his work. like it’s nothing.