Sparse trees and greeneries, large open spaces, and unpaved grounds. Apart from the buildings on the sides, those were the only things one would easily notice as they stroll in the training grounds.
In such a wide training ground, several people sprawled motionless on the ground while some were sitting or standing silently, not uttering a single word as they took to heart the defeat they had just suffered.
"Ugh... What happened..." ［Julius］
Julius, the second prince, held his forehead with his right arm as he slowly regained consciousness. His whole body was still sore and aching from the strikes he suffered from the golem.
As for the golem who caused him such intense pain, Grey had already canceled its summoning, thus it has turned back to mana and vanished into thin air. It had a short life, not that it was considered a living thing anyway.
Julius was the last to wake up amongst his classmates. Even when Grey had already casted recovery magic on them and their wounds had already healed, some of their body parts were still sore, making moving a little painful.
"It seems like all of you have woken up." ［Grey］
"Wait... who are you again...?" ［Julius］
"Your Highness, he's our new instructor, Instructor Grey." ［Amelia］
Julius tried hard to recall who the young man before him was, but it was to no avail. Thankfully, the kind girl with the detection-type ability helped him out. She was called Amelia.
Having been beaten so badly, the students of the Royal Academy have accepted Grey to be their new instructors. While their pride was hurt, they couldn't deny the fact that it was because of their own weakness. They didn't hold Grey accountable.
"Ah, right... Wait! Then that means..." ［Julius］
"Yes... We lost..." ［Amelia］
"I see..." ［Julius］
Although Julius responded calmly, his frustration was still showing as clear as day as he clenched his fist. It was his first time losing to someone his age, not to mention so one-sidedly. He was frustrated at his own weakness.
"Since you've all lost the match, just like what we agreed to, I'm going to become the new instructor of your class, and you'll have to follow my instructions obediently. No one's against this, right?" ［Grey］
Answering Grey's question, all the students nodded in silence with traces of dejection present in their eyes. They have no other choice but to acknowledge Grey's strength and swallow their pride.
Even when they only fought the summoned creature and not Grey himself, it was common sense that the summoner must at least have a sufficient amount of mana and mana quality. It meant that the summoner must at least be at the level of the summoned creature.
Not to mention the fact that Grey didn't even tire out when he summoned the golem, everyone in the class had assumed that Grey was at least a D-ranker. Someone whom they will never be able to beat with their current selves.
"Looks like everything here is fine. I'll be going back to my office now." ［Arnelius］
"Ah, yes... Thank you for the help, headmaster." ［Grey］
"It was my pleasure, Instructor Grey. I'll be in my office finishing some paperwork. You're always welcome when you need something." ［Arnelius］
The Headmaster took a final glance at the alpha class students before turning around and waving his hand goodbye. He headed back to his office where a ton of work was waiting for him.
As for Grey, he looked at the students' status screens for a quick while and thought of the best way to teach them, or rather, he was thinking what monsters he should summon for them to fight against.
"Alright. Now that I'm your instructor, we'll be doing things differently. Rather than lessons, we'll be having practical training everyday until my contract is finished. Does anyone have a question?" ［Grey］
"Umm... Instructor, what do you mean by practical training...?" ［Amelia］
Amelia asked as she raised her right hand shyly, still a little afraid of Grey and still traumatized about what she just experienced. And in response to her question, a big smile appeared on Grey's face.
"You'll be fighting summoned creatures day after day, of course." ［Grey］
When Grey said those words, all the students' jaws dropped to the ground like an anvil falling from the sky. They were extremely shocked to the point that some even fainted just from hearing his words.
"Wait, Instructor, does that mean we're going to fight a golem, everyday?!"
"Instructor, we're going to die from that!"
"Instructor, please have mercy on us!"
A non-stop barrage of complaints and cries were directed to Grey from all directions, with the students' faces half scared and half begging. Some even have tears forming at the corner of their eyes.
Even the second prince who was royalty was frozen the moment he heard Grey's words, or rather than saying he was frozen, it was more like his mind ran into an error as he tried to process what Grey had just said.
To Grey, it felt like he was a father who was on the receiving end of his children's tantrum. Except in his case, there were ten children and all of them were parts of noble households.
...
Silence, there was only silence throughout the large classroom as Yuna arranged her things on the desk. Ever since she fired a high-level spell on the training grounds, the students have become a lot more quiet and obedient.
After arranging her things and fixing the desk a little bit, Yuna then grabbed a clean piece of paper and a pen she saw in the desk's drawer and started writing things down. She was designing a plan to teach her students.
Yuna's quiet scribbling was the only subtle sound which reverberated throughout the classroom as she continued to write down her plan and schedule. During the entire time, not a single student dared to utter a word.
Yuna used the schedule of activities the Headmaster gave her and Grey as the basis on her training plan, only pitching in a few things here and there, making it similar to how she and Grey trained Eliza before.
'Hmm... This should be it...' ［Yuna］
As she put down the pen, Yuna reviewed the contents of her plan, making sure that everything was written down correctly. And when she was sure of it, she then looked towards the students, making them just a little.
"Umm... Who here is the class representative?" ［Yuna］
"T-That would be me, Instructor" ［???］
Answering Yuna's question, a beautiful blonde girl sitting right next to Elise raised her right hand shyly, with it trembling a little bit. She was one one the second year's strongest, Elaine von Geldoria.
"Umm... Elaine von Geldoria, right...?" ［Yuna］
"Y-Yes, that would be me." ［Elaine］
"Mmm... I've been wanting to ask this, but... are you perhaps Sir Gustav's daughter?" ［Yuna］
Faced by an unexpected question, Elaine was frozen a little bit to the point where her trembling stopped a little and her expression became one which was obviously puzzled as to why Yuna asked her with such question.
"A-Ah, y-yes... I am Lt. Commander Geldoria's eldest daughter." ［Elaine］
"I knew it! So that means you're Elise and Liz's cousin, right?!" ［Yuna］
"Y-Yes...?" ［Elaine］
An even more puzzled expression loomed over Elaine's face as she witnessed Yuna's expressionless face bloomed into an excited state. She looked nothing like what she was before. It was as if she was a different person.
"You know, I've heard stories about you from Sir Gustav. He never really mentioned your name so I didn't easily identify that it was you he was talking about. He even talked about the time when...." ［Yuna］
As Yuna continued to ramble on her own, not only Elaine's, all the other student's faces also became dumbfounded in her change of attitude. If she looked like a cold demoness before, now she looks like a bright angel. A very large contrast.
For a few minutes, Yuna rambled on her own about the stories of Gustav and Eliza to the whole class. While no one really understood her, the tension within the classroom quickly disappeared as they witnessed Yuna's true personality.
The very first one to get relaxed was Elise who already had a chance to interact with Yuna yesterday. After seeing Yuna cheerfully telling stories, she became comfortable and realized she was still the same friend she made yesterday.
Though Elise was a little bewildered at the fact that her friend had become their class' instructor, she couldn't really blame the academy after witnessing her capabilities. Yuna was more than qualified.
Elise had already expected that Yuna was powerful after hearing that she guarded her little sister, Eliza, for quite a while. She had expected her to be at E-rank, but oh boy, how far off her assumptions were.
"Ah! Sorry, I kept on rambling! I totally forgot that we still have classes." ［Yuna］
Yuna only stopped rambling when she realized how much time had passed. Her adorable reaction when she realized it was the icing on the cake. Because of it, the class had become totally relaxed.
"Ah, right, Cadet Geldoria, what monsters could you fight against right now?" ［Yuna］
"Umm... Everyone here should be able to fight against orcs with relative ease. If we were to push ourselves, we would be on equal grounds with ogres." ［Elaine］
While she was a little puzzled with Yuna's question, Elaine still answered it with the best of her abilities, not skipping over any detail. She wasn't the class representative for nothing.
"Alright, then let's head to the training grounds!" ［Yuna］
"""Huh?""" """"Eh?""""
Dumbfounded expressions plastered on their faces, all the students voiced out a response full of confusion as they failed to understand Yuna's intentions. As for Yuna, she was gleaning with excitement.
Without saying a single word to the students, Yuna brought them to the wide training ground she just froze a while ago. Thanks to Grey, there wasn't any ice or coldness present on it.
"Alright, this should be good." ［Yuna］
"Umm... Instructor, what are we doing here...?" ［Elaine］
"Training!" ［Yuna］
When Yuna said those words, everyone in class suddenly jolted as if they instinctively felt a looming danger approaching them. One way or another, they all felt something bad was gonna happen.
"W... What kind of training...?" ［Elaine］
Elaine asked nervously and Yuna beamed a bright smile to them as a response. Moments later, screams of fear, pain, and confusion filled the training grounds. It was the very definition of pandemonium.
The students ran around and brandished their weapons as they struggled for their dear lives. Yuna had summoned Ogres, F-rank monsters, for each of the students to "train" against.
While such a chaotic scene was going on, Yuna was just sitting in a nearby shade, cheering for them happily with a bright smile on her face, not even pitching in when one of the students got knocked unconscious.
As for Elise and Elaine who were amongst the top three best in their year...
"Kyaa～!! Help meee～!!" ［Elise］
"Mama～!" ［Elaine］
... they were having the time of their lives as they screamed to the top of their lungs. It was an experience they were never going to forget throughout their entire lives.
...
A few hours has passed since Grey crushed his class with a single golem, and lunch time has finally arrived. It also meant that he'll be having lunch in the Royal Academy's cafeteria. Something he looked forward to.
Grey was very excited at the thought of eating in the cafeteria as it has been almost a decade since he had done so. He was feeling nostalgic as he reminisced about the times he and his high school and college friends had lunch in the cafeteria together.
But as much as Grey wanted to enjoy the nostalgic atmosphere, there was one thing which bothered him. And that thing was the fact that two of his students were following behind him. It was Julius and Amelia.
"Umm... Cadet Julius, Cadet Amelia, may I ask for the reason as to why you're following me around?" ［Grey］
"We just want to have lunch with you, no other reason." ［Julius］
"Ah, I see..." ［Grey］
Grey nodded to Julius' response, but in reality, he wanted to retaliate about what kind of answer it was. It was something which didn't answer the question at all. In short, it was an insanely useless answer!
Although he wanted to retaliate, he couldn't as the two's identity was that of a prince and a noble's daughter. His rank was higher than them but really didn't feel like exposing it to the public.
Just right after Grey gave up on the topic, he saw Yuna and Elise at the corner of his eyes, and another lady he does not know, lining up at the counter to buy their lunch. The other lady was, of course, Elaine.
"Oh, Grey!" ［Yuna］
The very moment Yuna noticed Grey's approach, she immediately waved her hand energetically towards his direction. Elise also did the same, although not even close as energetic as Yuna's waving.
"New friends of yours?" ［Yuna］
"Well, sort of. They're my students. This is His Highness, Cadet Julius, and Cadet Amelia. Cadet Julius, Cadet Amelia, this is Yuna, my partner." ［Grey］
"My name is Yuna, it's a pleasure to meet you." ［Yuna］
"I am Julius von Helvor Alfrione, the pleasure is mine." ［Julius］
"And I'm Amelia von Redlocke, it's also a pleasure." ［Amelia］
After introducing themselves, they quickly became acquainted with each other. The ones with Yuna also bowed their heads in order to greet Julius. After all, he was still the second prince of the kingdom.
"Oh, right, Grey. This is Elaine, Sir Gustav's daughter." ［Yuna］
"Nice to meet you, I'm Elaine von Geldoria." ［Elaine］
"As Yuna had said, the name's Grey. I'll be in your care." ［Grey］
"Agh... All these introductions are making me dizzy. How about we get lunch first? I'm already starving." ［Julius］
Following Julius' suggestion, all six of them lined up at the lunch counter and bought themselves some lunch. They then found themselves a large table and sat there together with one another.
"Wow～ Instructor Grey, Miss Yuna, can you really finish all of that?" ［Amelia］
Amelia asked traces of surprise in her voice after seeing how much food Grey and Yuna bought from the counter. It wasn't really that much, but it wasn't the normal amount either. It made them stand out a little.
Speaking of standing out, they once became the center of attention again, especially with a handsome prince and three more beautiful ladies accompanying them. But unlike them, Julius wasn't bothered by it, rather, he was used to that kind of attention.
"Don't worry about us, we can finish this without a problem!" ［Yuna］
"I... I see..." ［Amelia］
Or so Amelia said, but she still looked concerned about Grey and Yuna. She found it hard to believe how someone like Yuna who has a slim and delicate figure could eat such a large amount of food.
"Oh, by the way, Miss Yuna. I haven't seen you here before. Assuming that you're Instructor Grey's partner, are you perhaps the new instructor for the alpha class of year 2?" ［Julius］
"Ah, yes. It's my first day today." ［Yuna］
"Ugh... Just what the heck is happening...? Just why are we having new instructors our age...?" ［Julius］
Yuna answered calmly as she started digging in on her food, not even bothered that Julius was a prince. Julius on the other hand was having a headache as he tried to understand what was going on.
Unlike before when she showed respect to Julius as a prince, Yuna now treated Julius casually. The reason was simple. It was because Yuna was now focused on the food rather than Julius.
"Oh, right. Elise, how did your class go? Yuna wasn't being too harsh on you, was she?" ［Grey］
When Grey asked that question, Elise and Elaine's faces turned pale and their eyes instantly became lifeless. Elaine was even trembling just by remembering what just happened this morning.
As for Yuna who was the cause of their current state, the moment Grey looked at her, Yuna's eyes immediately went swimming towards another direction, obviously guilty about it.
"On behalf of Yuna, I apologize if she ever did something unreasonable." ［Grey］
"Ah, it's alright. She just made all of us fight ogres, that's all..." ［Elise］
"Yeah, we weren't screaming all the time at all..." ［Elaine］
"Ah, I... I see..." ［Grey］
Elise and Elaine said they were alright but their eyes and faces were not on the same page with them. It was clearly an unfortunate experience for them that they surely won't forget even if they tried to.
While Grey wanted to scold Yuna a litt, he really couldn't do so since he also did the same thing to his class. Not to mention that he was softhearted when it comes to his girlfriend. It was impossible for him.
All Grey could do was ease their hearts a little and cheer them up. A token of apology of some sorts. It was also the perfect time since all of them were having lunch at the moment.
"Grey, what are you retrieving?" ［Yuna］
"It's pudding." ［Grey］
The moment Yuna heard Grey's words, her ears immediately perked up and her eyes lit up with expectations. Seeing her reaction, the others also became curious as they anticipated what Grey was taking out.
After retrieving the pudding, Grey then gave everyone a cup of it which they examined with eyes full of curiosity. Well everyone, all except for Yuna. She looked very excited.
"What is this?" ［Julius］
"It's a cold dessert called 'pudding'. Consider it as a token of apology for what Yuna and I did earlier this morning." ［Grey］
"Pudding, huh..." ［Julius］
Seeing Grey and Yuna feed a spoonful of pudding to themselves, the others followed suit and fed themselves with a spoonful of pudding as well. Their reactions were something Grey and Yuna were familiar with.
"Whoa! So delicious!" ［Julius］
"It's so sweet!" ［Elise］
"It melts in my mouth～" ［Amelia］
"So soft～" ［Elaine］
Everyone's mood was quickly lifted up as soon as they ate their cups of pudding. Although it was supposed to be for dessert, since Grey took it out too early, everyone enjoyed it before they even had their meal.
"Grey, seconds!" ［Yuna］
There was a particular someone who managed to finish her cup in just a matter of seconds as if she was being chased by someone. That particular someone was none other than Grey's beloved girlfriend, Yuna.
"Hey, Yuna, I just gave you one, didn't I?" ［Grey］
"But it's just too good! I can't stop myself!" ［Yuna］
"Haah... Really, what am I going to do with you... Finish your meal first, I'll give you another one after you're done eating." ［Grey］
"Yaay～! You're the best, Grey!" ［Yuna］
A smile beaming brightly on her face, Yuna hummed happily as she ate her lunch with a very delighted expression. While her hands moved quickly, she still minded her manners and ate with grace.
It wasn't just Yuna who was wearing a delightful expression, everyone sitting along the cafeteria table was the same. Though such happiness won't last long after they experience their afternoon training, but that's a story for another day.
CHAPTER 80 END