[---]
It took a while, but Damian was soon able to arrive at the golden gates of the academy.
He was already briefed about this, but seeing it in person was really surprising.
Behind the gates, he saw the main campus of Thorfen Academy in all its glory. If he had to describe it briefly, it was a castle made of marble surrounded by a garden that could rival the one at the Imperial castle...
But at the same time, it was clear that the advancements in magical technology had caught up to them, as enormous, advanced-looking facilities were scattered around the academy.
He could only assume these were used for either educational or combat purposes...
Before walking in front of the gate, he checked his pocket watch. He was five minutes early to their meeting time, so it was perfect. He adjusted his tie and fixed his hair before taking a deep breath.
After flipping the switch in his mind, he made his move.
He showed his ID to the guards at the entrance and was granted entry.
And after a bit of walking, he saw a figure waiting in the distance.
She was a tall woman, possibly even taller than Damian. Her brown hair was cut short, and her crimson eyes were gazing at the setting orange sun. He took note of the freckles on her brown skin, but what really caught his attention was the scar on her neck, which she was trying to hide by pulling up the collar of her uniform.
Their gazes met, and she turned to face him.
"You must be Damian Russleborne? My name is Elise. I'm a professor in charge of combat training and physical improvement. It's a pleasure to meet you." Her voice was cold and monotone as she reached out her hand.
"The pleasure is all mine, Professor Elise. You may already know, but I'm Damian, and I'm assigned to teach war history and strategies."
Damian let out a bright smile as he shook her hand. The moment his hand grasped hers, he immediately discerned her strength.
He wasn't certain because of their uniform, but this woman was incredibly jacked. Her body was used to combat, and from the look in her eyes, she was no stranger to battle.
In fact, at this very moment, she was trying to gauge Damian's strength as well, but he was luckily able to suppress and hide his power, masquerading as someone having the same strength as an ordinary professor.
"Hmmm..." Her gaze locked onto his as she let go...
"Apologies for being late, by the way. I got sidetracked a bit. The places on this island are a sight to behold."
"Don't worry, you're just on time."
"That's great... Have you been to the restaurant just across the harbor, Professor Elise? The specials they served there look quite delicious. The steak they serve in particular looks divine. Ahaha! I want to try it sometime..."
"I see. Well, I haven't been there, so I don't really know. Anyway, I was asked by the Head Dean to show you around and bring you to his office."
"Oh, okay, please lead the way."
Damian followed along as she gave him a tour of the place... though "tour" might be a bit of an insult to the word.
"The building over there at the center is where we usually go whenever the Head Dean has an announcement."
"Huh, interesting... I-Is that all it's used for?"
"Probably."
Damian knew fully well that it was used for other events like annual galas and special lectures, but he chose to remain silent and follow along.
"This is one of the training buildings that I often use for my class."
"Ooo, this looks huge. Speaking of which, I've heard they use magically generated simulations to further enhance combat training, right?"
"Dunno. I just beat up the students every time we go there."
"I-I see..."
"And here we have a small garden. It has flowers and stuff. Great place to relax."
"U-Uhuh..."
She continued her little tour around the place, briefly describing the buildings they passed and not adding any further context whatsoever. Damian considered himself a man of few words, but he thought she could at least try to converse a bit more during work...
He tried bouncing from topic to topic, attempting to get a conversation going, but she would just give answers so dry that they would grind the conversation to a complete halt. Awkward folks like her were a dime in a dozen on the battlefield which further solidified his initial assessment that she had once been part of the military...
"Since it's come to this, I might as well touch on it a bit..."
It was risky, but it might be worth the shot...
"Professor Elise, I hope you don't mind me asking, but... were you a soldier before coming here?"
She stopped in her tracks and glanced back at him for a moment before continuing on her pace.
"What made you say that?" she asked with a hint of suspicion.
"Well, just your overall vibes, I suppose? You seem like a person who has been through the battlefield."
He intentionally didn't mention the scar on her neck...
"Hmph, I suppose it's no secret. Your instincts were dead on, Professor Damian. I was a former member of the 27th battalion assigned to the eastern front. Once the war ended, the Head Dean scouted me, and here I am."
"Oh, the eastern front... that's—"
"Since you're teaching history, I suppose you're familiar with it. Yes, it's the longest and deadliest battlefield of the entire war."
"...Yeah..."
It was also where Damian spent the majority of his life after joining the military.
"I'm so sorry. I didn't make you remember any bad memories, did I?"
"Don't worry about it. It's been long since the war ended. I've already moved past it."
"..."
Somehow he doubted that.
"What about you? Were you also a soldier?"
"Ahaha, and what made you say that, Professor Elise? Do I look like a soldier to you?"
The question surprised Damian a bit since he used magic to forcibly make his body appear scrawny. It couldn't have been that. He began to question if she could see through his disguise somehow, but...
"...It's your eyes."
"...My eyes?... What exactly do you mean?"
"A bit hard to explain. You could say it looks like you've seen a lot of death in your life..."
"...I see..."
He couldn't help but chuckle. It seemed that no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't completely hide his talons from someone as sharp as her. Nova would probably be able to do it easily, but he was never as good an actor as she was.
"You're correct... though I was only a military officer assigned to keep tabs on the supply chains. I didn't go through hell like you folks on the front lines..."
It was technically part of his made-up history, so there was no harm in saying it.
"...Really? That's surprising."
"How so?..."
"...You don't seem like those puny creatures who work in the back office."
She left it at that as she stopped in her tracks.
"This is where the Head Dean's office is located."
Both of them went inside and walked to the second floor of the building. At the very end of the hall was his office, and after knocking twice on the twin wooden doors, a deep voice came from the other side.
"Come in..."
The door automatically moved on its own... Damian observed carefully and immediately concluded that it was the work of some sort of magic mechanism.
"Welcome, Professor Damian. Were you surprised by the door? It's only in its prototype stage on the island, so you probably haven't seen it yet on the Imperial mainland. But in a couple of years, I reckon it'll be popular all around the world."
"I can definitely see that happening."
He replied with a smile as he moved in, shook the dean's hand, and sat across from him.
"Regis Albion, nice to meet you. How are you liking the island so far? It's the end of summer, but the place is still bustling."
"It was amazing, thanks for asking. I walked around the main square earlier and passed by that one ice cream shop by the station."
"Ooh, yeah, I've been there before. The vanilla flavor they have is really divine, it's—"
Both of them continued talking about random things as time went on. Unlike Elise, the Head Dean was a good conversationalist. He had plenty of topics to discuss and a lot of insights to share with Damian. Overall, Damian felt he was a charismatic person... He could definitely see how he rose to the position of Head Dean.
But something about their conversation felt... off...
It was as if the dean was trying to make him as comfortable as possible before dropping terrible news. Damian thought of this because the Emperor would often do something similar before sending them on another suicide mission.
"So sorry, I think we've gone off track. Professor Damian—"
"Please, just call me Damian, Head Dean. I feel more comfortable with that."
"Oh, okay. You could also call me Regis if you want. Doesn't really bother me. So, Professor Damian, I think you're already aware of the course you're teaching, no?"
"Ahaha, yes. I did apply to teach war history, after all."
"Haha! Perfect. The full course outline and lessons will be provided to you at a later date, so don't worry about that for now. Other than that... were you aware that all professors at the academy are required to advise a class?"
"Yes, I believe that was stated in our contract."
"Yep, you're right. So, I have the list of your classes here with me... You're quite fortunate, Damian. Not many professors starting off get the opportunity to manage a diamond class."
He gave a bright smile as he handed over the folder.
"...A diamond-ranked class?"
Something felt odd...
A diamond class is basically the cream of the crop for that particular school year. They're mostly made up of prodigies who will become famous in the future. Even if the Emperor embellished his backstory, the dean shouldn't assign such prestige to a newbie like him...
Only when Damian saw the names on the list did he understand immediately... It wasn't a prestige—it was a ticking time bomb.