Chapter 31
It's just Insole, but why is it already so exhausting?
[It's because kids at this age are full of energy.]
'Of course, you're right. But I think it's also because they see me as the same age and look down on me.'
[Master's leadership is the best in the world. Surely that can't be the case?]
'Don't jinx it.'
Anyway, the most urgent thing right now is to make the kids listen to me.
I’ve already prepared something for that.
"Everyone, pay attention."
I got the attention of the kids who were sitting down, engrossed in some local broadcast.
"First of all, today, I’m the substitute for the homeroom professor. In other words, I’m the acting homeroom professor for the day."
"Who doesn’t know that?"
Some engineering student interjected.
Of course, I didn’t let it slide.
"Hey, engineering student, minus one point."
"My name isn’t engineering student...!"
"Engineering student, minus two points."
"...."
Whether it’s Korea or a fantasy world, unless you’re some extreme troublemaker, no student can ignore point deductions.
Why do you even bother provoking me?
[By the way, did you have the authority to evaluate them?]
'I don’t know? Probably not?'
But so what? As long as it shuts up someone I don’t like, it’s fine.
And I never said these points would affect their academy grades, so it’s not a lie.
You know, it could just be like a personal score in my mind, right?
[As expected of Master! It sounds like a scam, but the fact that it’s not is the key point!]
'Exactly! Right now, even the law can’t touch me! That’s the limit of this country’s judiciary!'
Looking around at the kids who had quieted down after the point deduction incident, I felt satisfied.
"Why is everyone so tense? Is it because of the point deductions? If that’s the case, don’t worry."
As I spoke, I pulled out a small box from my dimensional storage that fit perfectly in my palm.
"If you participate diligently and actively in today’s class, I’ll give you bonus points, and depending on your points, there will be additional rewards."
Then, a black-haired kid quietly raised his hand.
"Ragnar, I have a question."
"Go ahead."
"What’s that box? It just looks like a regular box for a reward."
"I was just about to explain. Since you asked in a good manner, I’ll give you this box."
I handed the box to the black-haired kid.
"What’s this?"
"Try channeling mana into it."
"Like this? Whoa?!"
As the black-haired kid channeled mana into the box, it opened with a flash of bronze light, revealing its contents.
"It’s candy…."
The black-haired kid picked up the candy, looking slightly disappointed, and popped it into his mouth.
"As you can see, when you open the box, an item comes out. Right now, it’s the lowest-grade item, bronze...
"But above that, there are silver, gold, and gaming colors!"
"But what's a gaming color?"
"Anyway, it's better than gold!"
"Whoa!"
The small box is a random box I made while creating the UGS box. It's a one-time use item, but it's equipped with subspace technology, making it impossible to check what's inside before opening it. When opened, an effect corresponding to the item's grade is displayed. Of course, I personally put each item inside the box.
"Charon was unlucky and got a candy of the same grade, but if you're lucky, you might find precious metals, parts, or even the latest magical tools like the newest tablet from the Levantesia workshop!"
"Tablet? Did you say tablet?!"
"Whoooa!"
"As expected of the class rep! Your generosity is on another level!"
The kids went wild at my explanation. Everyone loves a random box before opening it! Of course, the probabilities are set at a very reasonable distribution: Copper (90%), Silver (9.9%), Gold (0.099%), and Gaming Color (0.001%). Naturally, there's no probability display since it's not legally required.
[Wow… This is a probability even the N Clan wouldn't dare to use…]
'You think the N Clan is a joke?! They have 0% probabilities too! This is actually quite fair.'
[Human greed knows no bounds…]
'I don't make the same mistakes!'
The effect of the random box was as good as expected. Look at those sparkling eyes. With this, controlling the kids during the outdoor class shouldn't be a problem. Still, just in case, I'll seal the deal.
"In addition to the points I mentioned earlier, if we successfully complete the outdoor class, I'll give each of you one of these random boxes!"
"Yeeees!!"
"Is the class rep a god?!"
"Such audacity to even surpass the homeroom teacher!"
Good. With this, they shouldn't cause any trouble. Now, onto the next task.
"Alright. Let's focus again."
"Focus!!"
The kids' eyes turned to me with a level of enthusiasm that was on a whole different level. Then, L made a pointless comment from the side.
"Doesn't this kind of attention bother you?"
"Bother me? What are you talking about?"
"Never mind."
I was aiming for this from the start, so why would it bother me? I basked in their admiring gazes.
[Isn't it more like a gaze of greed than admiration?]
'What's wrong with greed?!'
Professors usually hand out hamburgers to students around the end of the semester for course evaluations anyway.
'And ultimately, the most important evaluation comes from other professors.'
Whether I succeed or fail in this class will determine my (temporary) position as a professor. I'll make sure the kids listen to me, even if I have to bribe them, and I'll prevent any incidents, even if I have to use physical force (?) if necessary.
Anyway, as I moved with the students, I continued to prepare for the upcoming...
I began a general explanation of the upcoming task.
"The purpose of this outdoor class is due to the increasing threat of monsters that have been frequently appearing in the empire recently. You all probably know that. This is related to that, but are there any of you interested in weapon crafting or field engineering? If you’ve ever thought about it, raise your hand."
Exactly 16 students raised their hands.
'Great. These guys are all potential lab slaves for my research lab.'
[While teaching, you’re naturally filtering out potential grad students! Master, your skills are truly impressive!]
I let the AI’s backhanded compliment (?) slide and continued speaking.
"Anyway, this outdoor class is happening because of the monster threat, but I’m sure many of you are wondering why engineers like us have to do something like dungeon exploration."
As I subtly touched on a point where the students might have complaints, sharp reactions immediately surfaced.
"That’s right! Engineers like us shouldn’t have to be on the frontlines!"
"The battlefield is scary, monsters are scary."
As expected, there seems to be a lot of dissatisfaction with this class. However, not all students feel this way.
"As the homeroom teacher mentioned, just because we’re in the rear doesn’t mean we’ll never encounter monsters."
"Right, this class isn’t extremely dangerous, and experiencing monsters firsthand now isn’t a bad idea."
Some students have a pretty open mindset.
Since the students have basically said their piece, I decided to steer the conversation in a different direction.
"All of your opinions are valid. It’s dangerous, but it’s definitely something we need to experience."
I agreed with the students’ opinions, paused for a moment, and then continued.
"But here’s the thing. What’s important is that whether it’s the unmanned department or the magic department, they are all our potential customers!"
[As expected, Master! It’s all about the money!!]
'Shut up! You’re the one who costs the most money!'
"Money? Money is important, but…"
"Why are we suddenly talking about money? What does dungeon exploration have to do with money?"
At my words, the students, including the AI who always spouts nonsense, voiced their opinions. Most of them were negative, so it seems they’re all doing well enough to get by. Spoiled brats!
"To address each of your points, the importance of money can’t be overstated, no matter how many times I say it. From materials to parts to manpower, you need money to do anything. I don’t know how much you’ve personally experienced it, but magical engineering is a field that requires a significant amount of resources."
Right now, the academy provides so much support that it might not feel real, but someday they’ll thank me for this advice.
"And why go into dungeons? Do I really need to say it twice? Building relationships with potential customers, observing what kinds of magical tools are needed firsthand, and on top of that, since dungeons are still largely unknown, you can obtain rare byproducts and technologies that aren’t easily accessible. In fact, I want to ask: is there any reason *not* to go?"
"That alone doesn't explain the relationship between dungeons and money, does it?"
"You don't seem to understand. As I mentioned earlier, magic engineering costs money. And dungeons have plenty of things that can turn into money. If I summarize it like this, will you get it now?"
The kids fell silent at my words.
They still looked a bit confused, but it seemed like most of them understood. These kids are mostly pure engineering geeks, so their knowledge and interest are heavily skewed toward engineering, but they're not fools. A simple explanation was enough for them to grasp it well.
Seeing them absorb and understand the knowledge made me feel a sense of pride. It reminded me of the old days.
[Oh! Are you feeling the blood of an educator boiling within you?!]
'That's right. This is how you build up knowledge so that when I recruit them as grad students later, they'll be well-trained.'
[Grad students are not slaves!]
'That's right. Grad students are not slaves.'
[Huh? I didn't expect you to agree with that.]
'I did some research on the countries around the Empire.'
[That's surprising? You've never shown interest in anything outside the Empire before.]
'Well, I don't just stick to one thing.
Anyway, I found out that there are still quite a few places where slavery exists.'
[Indeed, according to the data I've seen, it does exist.]
'Right. But after looking into it, I realized that they're treated better than grad students.'
[....]
'Treating them like slaves is actually a more respectful term than I thought.'
[Ah, what exactly are grad students?]
'Less than slaves.'
[Ugh!]
The AI cried out at the reality of grad students.
Seeing this situation, I had a very human rights-oriented thought that grad students should at least be treated like slaves.
Well, that aside, since there's still some time, I should continue the lesson.
"The biggest commonality and issue with all dungeons lies in their initial appearance. Since no one knows when or where they will appear, excessive personnel need to be deployed for security. Incidents like the recent train terrorism by the cult or the academy intrusion are things that would normally be unimaginable, but they happened because of the gaps in security caused by the unpredictability of dungeons. This is a problem that could be solved if we knew the timing and location of dungeon appearances, and that's why the role of magic engineers is absolutely essential."
After briefly explaining the dangers of dungeons, I opened my mouth to continue with an explanation about the types of dungeons.
"The current monster situation is inseparable from dungeons..."
"Help me! Raniel!!"
Just as I was about to continue the lesson, the door to the next room burst open, and Linia appeared.
"What is it?"
I frowned as Linia suddenly rushed toward me in the middle of class.
"No time to explain! Hide me!!"
Whether I frowned or not, Linia looked extremely frantic, hopping around in front of me. It seemed like something was definitely going on.
Could it be another terrorist attack?
"Miss Linia! You are a talent befitting the righteous faction!"
Following Linia, a group of knights clad in full plate armor appeared from the next room.
"What nonsense! Linia is a talent suited for our unorthodox faction!"
Then, a muscular man and woman, both over 2 meters tall, appeared behind them.
"Miss Linia is a talent suited for the demonic faction. *Cough*."
Led by the top-ranked first-year martial arts student I had seen before, a group dressed in neat, modern Earth-style clothing appeared.
What was that guy's name again? Something that reminded me of ice cream.
Anyway, since I recognized one of them, I turned to him and asked.
"Explain what's going on. Baskin Robbins."
*Cough*, "Not a single letter of my name matches that. Laniel Leventesia."
Was I wrong? Anyway, the name isn't important.
"These hypocritical righteous faction bastards!"
"Look who's talking, you unorthodox faction idiots who only care about appearances!!"
"The legitimacy of martial arts has always come from the demonic faction! This is even written in the ancient murals of the Empire!"
Why are these martial arts guys fighting here instead of in their own room?!
My head was already starting to hurt just thinking about how to deal with this mess.
