I Became an Academy Counselor - Chapter 22

“Well then, I’ll see you next time, Teacher Ophelia.”

“Please come whenever you’re comfortable. I’ll always be waiting.”

“That’s good. If I’m in good condition, it’ll be easier to defeat you.”

“I doubt it. It’s still too early for that. I’ve already figured out all of Your Highness’s habits.”

“Habits?”

“Think about it slowly. If you realize your own habits, you might be able to beat me.”

This should be enough.

I sent Stella off while dropping plenty of hints.

How she could defeat me.

It’s fine if she thinks it’s a far-fetched idea now.

It’s okay if she thinks there’s no way she has such habits.

No, it might be better if she thinks it’s far-fetched.

For people to grow, realizing things on their own is the best way.

No matter how much I point out the problems, it’s meaningless if they don’t realize it themselves.

Even if others talk about your issues, it just sounds like empty words.

The important thing is to understand on your own.

You need to feel the necessity to change yourself.

Even if I forcibly change her habits, if she doesn’t feel the need, she’ll revert back to her old ways soon enough.

“Is it over?”

“Ah, Leo.”

“To have such a natural conversation with the princess, you’re amazing, Teacher.”

Leo looked at me with sparkling eyes.

Does he think it’s impressive to chat comfortably with the princess?

“This is the academy, after all. As long as you show minimal respect, it’s fine.”

“…Wasn’t that just an empty saying?”

“Not really.”

I understand what Leo wants to say.

Many students think the rule that everyone is equal within the academy regardless of status is just written down without any real meaning.

“But… Everyone just doesn’t say it, but there are differences, right?”

“Yes, but that’s because people are cautious on their own.”

Everyone is equal within the academy.

But what about outside the academy?

You never know what kind of retaliation might come. That kind of thinking is subtly spread.

Leo is probably saying that invisible differences arise from seeing this.

The vast majority of lower-status students can’t stand up to the noble students.

But the nobles have never once forced them to act that way.

There’s a law set by the decree of the old emperor.

The nobles who know the law well have no choice but to obey it, even if they don’t like it.

If they treat someone like a servant just because they’re a commoner and get caught, they’ll be punished to an extent that would be considered excessive.

“Being cautious isn’t a bad thing. Everyone treats Orca cautiously too, even though she’s not a noble, right?”

“T-That’s… because they think she’s dangerous…”

Leo glanced at the bed with the curtain drawn.

…I was wondering why I couldn’t see Orca, it seems she’s sleeping there.

“It’s inevitable that commoners and nobles feel uncomfortable with each other. That’s why it’s fine as long as you maintain proper etiquette.”

“…”

I was certain.

There was a reason Leo was reacting this way.

…It seemed the main quest had begun.

The time when Leo starts to feel uncomfortable with nobles coincides with the start of the main quest.

“Don’t worry too much, Leo. That noble won’t try to harm you.”

“H-How do you know that, Teacher…?”

“The rumors have already spread.”

That’s a lie.

Far from rumors, I hadn’t even heard that anything had happened recently.

Students have started to visit less frequently.

Although Orca comes to the counseling room every day, she’s not related to rumors like this.

So how did I figure it out without even hearing the details?

It’s simple. There was only one reason why he would look at me talking with the princess with that expression.

It has begun. Leo’s main story.

No wonder he stayed in the counseling room for so long today.

He seemed anxious enough to wait outside even while Orca and Stella were playing chess.

It seems he wanted counseling.

“It’s hard to verify the facts just from rumors. Can you explain the situation in detail?”

“Y-Yes…”

***

Leo was attending class as usual.

“So, if you move mana this way, the magic circle becomes like this…”

The class he was attending was a basic lecture on magic.

It wasn’t a lecture Leo, who wanted to become a knight, necessarily needed to take, but Leo applied thinking it would be helpful.

He thought that knowing the basics of magic might help him a little if he ever had to fight a magician.

…Of course, there was also the thought of wanting to get his money’s worth from the expensive tuition at the academy.

He was worried that students might bully him for being a swordsman taking magic classes, but fortunately, that didn’t happen.

Everyone understood Leo and attended classes together.

The problem came from an unexpected place.

During lunchtime after morning classes ended.

A few male students with now-familiar faces approached him.

A noble and his followers.

They claim they’re friends, but everyone knows that’s just an excuse.

“…Allen.”

“It’s Allen Miller. Use my family name.”

“…”

“I’m tired of telling you again, Leo. Go to the cafeteria. I can’t stand it anymore.”

“B-But I don’t have enough money. If you could just wait a week…”

“I’m telling you to solve it now! I’m saying I can’t take it anymore!”

Leo replenishes his lacking energy through meals. With the academy’s harsh schedule and the basic magic lectures he hadn’t originally planned to take, it was only natural that his stamina hit rock bottom quickly. Of course, the amount he ate increased compared to usual…

Soon he ran out of money.

“I’m sorry. But I really don’t have any money.”

“Then at least eat that smelly meat outside the classroom!”

It’s not that he didn’t have emergency funds.

He had saved money by working hard to enter the academy.

Leo had saved emergency funds in case something happened.

The problem might be that the academy was harsher than he thought.

Leo, who was just a commoner, didn’t have much in emergency funds, and his funds, which were much more than other students, disappeared quickly.

It was good that Leo, shocked by the speed, somehow found a part-time job he could do alongside his academy duties.

…If only his salary wasn’t delayed by a month and was coming in all at once next week, this might not have happened.

When the boss apologized and bowed his head, Leo laughed it off saying it was okay.

Leo regretted that he should have received even a little.

“It’s bothering me! Eat outside, outside!”

“But the school rules prohibit consuming anything outside the cafeteria and classroom…”

“Who cares! I told you I can’t concentrate!”

There’s a saying that magicians tend to be quite sensitive, and this is mostly true.

Is it because they’re always dealing with magic circles?

Leo had heard such sayings but thought it wouldn’t have much to do with him, but that wasn’t the case at all.

You had to buy food with meal tickets in the cafeteria. Consuming outside food was prohibited.

But he couldn’t buy meal tickets because he was short on money.

So Leo had no choice but to eat in the classroom…

The problem started here.

Usually, it’s fine. Most people in the classes Leo usually takes aren’t that sensitive.

But the problem was on days when this class, mainly attended by magicians, was in the morning.

They often worked on magic circles during lunchtime, so they had tacitly agreed to be quiet during lunch. But when Leo started to spread food smells at lunchtime, Allen began to get angry, saying he couldn’t concentrate because of the food smell.

“…Alright. I realize you absolutely won’t listen.”

And finally, Allen, unable to contain his anger, exploded today.

“It’s a duel, Leo. If you win, I won’t say anything more about this matter. But if I win, stop attending this class.”

***

“…That’s what happened.”

“I see…”

It didn’t seem like anything had changed.

The outline and the opponent were all as I knew.

The way to solve Chapter 1 was very simple.

Since it happened because Leo was short on meal money, I could lend him some money and tell him to pay it back when he gets his salary.

Or I could cover his meal expenses for a few days and it would be resolved.

If he apologizes and says it won’t happen again, that guy would probably calm down too.

“…I know I did wrong, Teacher. But I had no choice. I had to prepare meals myself because I was short on money.”

“I see.”

“What should I do?”

“What do you mean, what should you do?”

But I didn’t say such things to Leo.

That would certainly be a very simple solution, but it wouldn’t allow Leo to grow.

I’ve heard this saying somewhere before.

Don’t give a fish to a hungry person, give them a fishing rod.

If I solve it for him, Leo won’t grow.

So Leo had to solve it himself.

“You need to put him in his place. If you win, that’s the end of it, right?”

“What? B-But the opponent is a noble…”

“If he loses the duel and then tries to retaliate behind the scenes, it would seriously damage his reputation, so what you’re thinking won’t happen, Leo.”

‘Fight, fight.’

Keep fighting.

Even if you lose, I’ll let you fight until you win.

I smiled at Leo and said:

“So don’t worry and fight.”

TL CORNER:

Hello, if you aren’t in the Darkstar discord. I would like to explain my disappearance last week. A lot of things had happen and I had to go on a short hiatus to give time to my family. I know I apologized a lot about disappearing too much, but I hope you understand. I’ll do my best to keep posting daily for you guys. Thank you for reading! – Mhoki