第５８２堀：悪だくみとお勉強 (Part1)
**Chapter 582: Scheming and Studying**
**Side: Yuki**
"Geez... I thought I was being summoned for a call, but it’s this."
The voice echoed through the room. The person speaking was the great hero of Ranks, the Hero Taiki.
"Skip the 'gee,' and give me an answer."
I demanded a response to the topic we had just discussed.
"No, wait, am I allowed to refuse?"
"You’re free to try."
"Huh!?"
Taiki-kun looked surprised at my reply.
"Well, the result will be a 'yes' or a 'yes' regardless."
"Then what’s the point of refusing...?"
"Every time you refuse, the terms of employment will just get stricter."
"Aren't you just tightening the noose around your own neck!?"
After that customary exchange, we got down to the serious talk.
"So, this time it’s the academy that Kagura attends in the New Continent, right? I understand why we need to scout it out, but why as faculty members?"
"That’s likely their consideration. If we were students, they’d probably put restrictions on what information we could access."
"Well, that’s true."
"To them, they want to use the highest academy of the magic superpower, Haiden, to host the summit. It would be a problem if we were just wandering around as guests until the summit was ready."
"Ah, I see. It’s a problem if people unrelated to the school hang around forever. So, that’s why we’re teachers."
"Exactly. We had already discussed technical exchanges regarding magic, so in that sense, being temporary faculty is the best position. A few of us will be stationed there, and the rest will be observers. You know, like a maid accompanying her master?"
"Is having maids at that academy a standard thing, too?"
"Well, that academy gathers talented people from all over the continent. I suppose it’s necessary."
"And what about the summit at the academy?"
"Look, it’s about the briefing for the recent incident in Haiden. They’re struggling with the location. It’s a hassle to go out of our way, for one. Plus, since promising talent from various countries is gathered there, they make for sufficient witnesses. And the location itself is the magic academy, which you could say was at the center of the trouble. If we invite the dignitaries there and explain it, it’ll be settled in one fell swoop, right?"
"I see. But you said the students haven't been sent home, right? Won't that make them wary?"
"That’s where we, and the two Highnesses from Findar, go in first."
"Ah. So you’re going to appeal that it’s safe."
"While we’re at it, if we—as temporary, visiting professors—give a demonstration, the other countries will trust Weed in an instant."
"So it’s also for promotional purposes."
"Honestly, I don't want to hold the summit in the Haiden royal capital. Setting aside us and the Findar group, if the Haire Church—which is rumored to be behind the Assembly of Wisdom—moves, the other countries’ representatives could be taken out in one go."
"Ah, come to think of it, that’s right. Is it impossible to gather in Haiden?"
"Conversely, Findar is also impossible. The Haire Church is there, too. Furthermore, you could say Findar was the source of the monster incident."
"So that’s why you chose an academy where the church doesn't exist and students are the main demographic?"
"If there’s any movement, we’ll know immediately. In a way, it’s in a similar position to the Lancer Magic Academy on the If Continent. That place is neutral to a fault."
In that case, should I bring Popuri along for a short time? Since she runs a school of magic herself, she might notice things from a perspective I’d miss, which could be surprisingly interesting.
"So, I’m the representative for the Rogali Continent, excluding Weed?"
"That’s it. And Eger is the representative for the If Continent. You wouldn't turn down such an honorable task, would you?"
Well, in reality, I can’t exactly drag the five great powers of Rogali into this. I’m busy coordinating with the If Continent right now, and safety isn't guaranteed yet. I figured Taiki-kun, who can handle things on his own, and Eger would be enough.
"But even as you say that, the real issue is something else, isn't it?"
"Of course. Just like last time. It’s a school—a dangerous place. We’ve both been burned before, haven't we?"
That’s right. School trouble is something that must be avoided at all costs!! I don't mean to speak ill of my wives, but it’s a fact that I’m in trouble if they just keep increasing without restraint. As an expert, I have to do my best to prevent that.
"But, setting aside students, I don't really know much about the position of a teacher. Isn't that just stuff for shoujo manga?"
"Well, your job is on the line, after all. Romance between teachers and students seems to be something that happens even in Japan. You know, the kind of thing you just don't know about because it can't be done openly."
"I suppose so. For a school, having a teacher lay a hand on a student is terrible for their reputation."
"Guh."
"Oh? What’s wrong?"
"No, those words just pierced my chest."
"Huh? Did you lay a hand on a student?"
"Vilia and Hiiro..."
"Ah, you mean you got them involved, right? But that’s different from 'laying a hand' on them."
"Maybe. But the guilt doesn't go away."
"Saying 'it couldn't be helped' is probably useless, though. Well, neither of them dislikes it, and they say they’re happy to help you, Yuki-san, so I don't think it’s a problem. Oh, and if you do lay a hand on them, I’ll call you a scumbag. But you’ve already done that with Aslin-chan and others, so isn't it a bit late?"
"Shut up! Anyway, we’re getting off track. The school problem."
"Like I said, I don't know anything about teacher tropes. And you’ll get notifications from Kagura and the Haiden side, right? There won't be any trouble like the time at Lancer Magic Academy where the communication didn't arrive, right? Kagura will guide you personally."
"I suppose."
"If a problem occurs, won't it be Kagura? With you and Kagura being so close..."
"I’ll leave that role to you, Taiki-kun. Besides, Amanda and Eoid are coming too. I’ll leave Kagura to them."
"I see. So you have countermeasures for that side, too."
"Kagura has been running left and right, getting busier and busier with the academy inspection and the summit talks, just when things in Haiden finally settled down. She seems pretty tired, so I’ve quietly told Amanda and Eoid to look after her."
"Hoho. So the relationship between Kagura, Eoid, and Amanda is already quite close, then."
"Yeah, yeah. They’re probably much closer than we are, since we’re only seeing each other for work."
" "Heh heh heh..." "
We both chuckled. If we’ve played our cards this well, we shouldn't have to worry about Kagura.
"Then, if we just act like normal teachers and focus on gathering information and adjusting for the summit, there shouldn't be any problems. We can just escape by saying we have work to do if the students try to get too involved."
"Yeah, that’s the way to go."
"Even if there are students who don't listen to the lectures, we can just ignore them and keep teaching. We’re temporary faculty, so our evaluations aren't tied to the students' academic progress anyway."
"I don't think that’ll be an issue. It’s the highest academy of magic, so it’s full of people who actually want to learn. Plus, it’s under orders from the Haiden higher-ups and Kagura is attached to us. Kagura will handle it before we even have to worry."
"That’s true. Then, I guess we don't have to worry that much this time, do we?"
"I was anxious until we talked about it. But now that we have, it doesn't seem like such a big deal."
"I was surprised, too. This time, the foundation is solid. We don't even need to dig up the opponent's weaknesses. Everything is ready from the start."
The situation is different from last time. Talking to Taiki-kun made me realize that. It’s amazing how things become clear when you put them into words. Discussion really is important.