"Come on! I can walk on my own!"
Theo's cries went unheard as the red-haired girl — Celeste, a lower-class cultivation teacher at the academy as his memory suggested — kept a firm hold on his wrist while dragging him along.
"As if!" she spat, frustration overflowing in her voice. "I'm not falling for that!"
At this point, Theo had to put all of his attention into matching the woman's tempo unless he wanted to end up dragged on the floor for real.
Still, giving in for the moment didn't mean he was ready to give up!
"What if the students see us?!" Theo cried out again, ready to unleash the heaviest possible artillery.
Right now, so soon after whatever actually happened to him, he had yet to take full control over his own memories.
Most of the information was there, right in his head, but…
Rather than something he knew by heart, most of the stuff he had to actively think about to recall any details of.
It was the same as the difference between knowing the answer and knowing where to find it. And while both would ultimately lead to the same outcome, no one could ever deny that actually knowing stuff simply made one's answer… a whole lot faster!
"Then you will suffer the consequences of your own actions!" the female instructor replied, her voice filled with a distant sense of satisfaction, as if she was more than happy to put on a display for all the students of her humiliating Theo. "I know I can't do anything about you working here," she stated, not even bothering to turn her head to look Theo's way.
Or so Theo thought, only for Celeste to actually twist her head and give him a triumphant, satisfied smile.
"But I'm as happy as the heavens are divine to make you enjoy all the perks of being a useless bum!"
A quick check of his memories allowed Theo to quickly figure out just what was actually going on.
Apparently, he wasn't just a nepotistic insert at this place.
No.
In the academy where might made right, a place where not even the teachers were free from the rule of the strong… he was merely a third son of the duke, here not to teach despite his role as an instructor, not to research despite working at the cathedral of alchemy.
No again.
In the opinion of everyone around him, and the opinion of his own, changed self, Theo was at this academy for no other purpose but wasting its resources, infuriating everyone around him, and most importantly — staying out of his father's way!
"That's not what I meant, though," Theo said after sorting through his own memories. "What will happen if the students see us walking hand by hand and assume it's because we are…"
Celeste's step wavered, nearly making her stumble right before she froze for but half of a second… only to then let go of Theo's arm as if it was made out of acid.
"Ugh…" she made a weird noise, her eyes alternating between Theo and her own hand, her face a mix of disgust, annoyance… and fear?
'Fear?'
To a degree, Theo could understand the disgust, could understand the annoyance. But fear?
'Would she really get screwed if… oh.'
In a place where strength and ability were valued above everything else, even an association with someone of Theo's reputation could be dangerous.
And while having the academy's headmaster himself order Theo to partake in Celeste's lesson was a proper excuse, since when had reason or logic ever carried weight when clashing with rumors?
"That's why, how about we make a deal?" Theo finally spoke out again, reaching out with his hand — but not to offer it to the woman or to grab her own hand. He merely did it as a gesture of a salesman presenting his product. "I'm starving, I'm bored, and as you've likely guessed, I don't really care about your lesson."
By now, Theo recalled enough details about his own situation to finally piece the whole picture together.
Being the wage parasite of the academy that he was, his connection to the duke made it nigh impossible for the academy to do anything with him. Or so that was Theo's belief all the way to the point where the academy headmaster finally decided to make a move.
And the academy director's decision was simple.
Theo was to participate in the lessons conducted by the leading teacher from each of the main academy courses before he would be given a week to learn from what he observed. Once that time passed, however, a selection of students would be assigned to his class where, along with the academy staff, Theo's future would be decided.
In theory, this was Theo's last chance to salvage his job. An opportunity given by the academy to its weakest link.
In reality, though?
"Give me some food and a book on alchemy to read and I promise, I won't give you any trouble. Be it now or during your lesson."
'They just want an excuse to get rid of me,' Theo thought as he held his hand out, patiently waiting for Celeste to calculate her response. 'After all, I'm pretty much getting personal coaching from the academy's star teachers. If even that isn't enough to make my lessons gain any value…'
Theo nearly shook his head in a bout of helplessness over his past self. Thankfully, he managed to hold himself back and remain motionless, still waiting for the fellow teacher to respond.
"Fine."
In the end, Theo's offer proved to be too convenient for Celeste to ignore. And as if to prove her genuine wish to make the deal, she then reached into her bag and pulled out a huge sandwich — one that appeared as if someone meticulously stuffed all sorts of different ingredients into the emptied-out middle of a bread loaf.
"I would rather go hungry for a day," Celeste stated as she stuffed her own dinner into Theo's hand, "than have you mess up with my lesson. As for an alchemy book, I don't have any on me, but you should be able to find something in the class. And now," she squinted her eyes for a second before turning on her heel and moving ahead, "move it!"
'Just like I thought.'
For how bothersome it was to recall any specific details of his current past, Theo felt glad he did his due diligence over the topic of the academy's instructors.
The reason why the academy wanted to get rid of Theo was exactly the same as why their star teachers would be offered luxurious treatment to make them stay.
The more students wanted to follow their teacher, the greater their wages and prestige would get. And with the students all coming from the very upper echelons of society, if they left the academy with words of praise for their teacher, their future — alongside the academy's prestige and thus ability to attract even more investment — would only grow further.
Theo was simply on the flip side of this equation, ending up with no more than the absolute minimum necessary for him to live relatively worry-free in the academy, all the while his negative press continued to reinforce upon itself year after year.
For someone like Celeste, having her lesson messed up with was a direct threat to her livelihood and the future of her career. And even if Theo never actually had any plans to bother her… given the situation he was in, he had no other choice but to take advantage of his current reputation.
'Even if I really need food and information right now, this doesn't make me feel any better about what I just did,' Theo thought, looking down on the huge sandwich in his hand.
Judging by the size of this snack and then the size of the woman that gave it up… it was likely all the food she had prepared for her day.
Then again…
'It's better to be a villain for a day than to have my nanites get out of control here,' Theo thought as he picked up the pace and followed after Celeste while already taking a bite out of the bread.
And as he swallowed…
'Damn…' he thought, nearly freezing when the rich taste filled his mouth while the process of actually eating finally calmed down the criticality of his nanites to the point he could stop worrying about them. 'How can a simple sandwich be so delicious?'