I Became an Unknown Professor at the Academy - Chapter 32

Claire adjusted her golden hair, which fell below her shoulders, with a hair tie as she inspected her reflection in the mirror.

“Hmm.”

Satisfied that her appearance was neat and tidy, she put on her beige coat and left the room.

The soft, early morning light filtering through the window gently illuminated her elegant, neatly tied golden hair.

“Good morning, Executor.”
“Hmm.”

Yesol Lee, the head of the Bwiar Temple’s Academy branch, approached Claire with a peculiar smile on her face.

She carefully examined Claire’s attire from top to bottom—the dignified executor’s uniform—and nodded in approval.

“It’s a pleasure to see you wearing such a variety of outfits instead of just the usual uniform and priestess’ robe. I sincerely thank His Holiness for this.”
“… That’s nonsense.”

Claire frowned slightly, but Yesol maintained her enigmatic smile.

Seeing her superior in such outfits brought a sense of joy to her mundane daily life.

She sincerely hoped that Claire, who was stunningly beautiful even to another woman, wouldn’t remain a spinster for life.

It was a shame that someone with such a gorgeous appearance and a violent figure had no dating experience due to her dedication to serving the revered god.

“…… Isn’t it a bit too tight?”
“It’s supposed to be like that.”
“What do you mean by ‘that’?”

Claire’s question earned her a laugh from Yesol.

She couldn’t let go of this newfound pleasure in her otherwise dull daily routine.

Yesol’s mind wandered to what other outfits she could get Claire to wear as she shifted the topic of conversation.

“By the way, Executor…”
“… What is it?”

Claire tugged at her form-fitting turtleneck, drawing her attention to her chest, before looking up. Yesol met her gaze and spoke.

“All the documents and proposals can be sent to you via email. So, I suggest you move your bedroom over there since it’s inconvenient for you to keep coming there early in the morning.”
“…?”

Claire furrowed her brows and tilted her head slightly.

In response to her unspoken question, Yesol smiled and clarified, “To Professor Baek’s residence.”
“W-what…!”

Claire, who rarely lost her composure, was taken aback by the suggestion.

Seeing her superior’s reaction, Yesol felt a sense of satisfaction that would last her through the day without needing breakfast.

“After all, it would be much more efficient, wouldn’t it?”

It would reduce travel time, and she could offer assistance whenever needed.

Not to mention, “More importantly, the rumors are spreading like wildfire.”
“Rumors…?”
“That you and Professor Baek are—”
“Cough, cough!”

Claire’s eyes widened as she coughed, clearly displeased.

Ignoring her superior’s intense glare, Yesol continued, “They’re not baseless rumors. In fact, they’re quite believable.”

A few years ago, Claire had caused a stir within the Academy by conquering the Infinite Labyrinth.

Now, on the first day of Professor Baek’s hands-on training, too many people had witnessed them entering the Infinite Labyrinth together.

That alone was enough to spark all sorts of gossip, but when people saw Claire entering the labyrinth every morning and returning with Professor Baek, the rumors solidified into what seemed like facts, spreading like wildfire through the Academy’s online community.

While most students and faculty members refrained from openly discussing it due to the weight of Claire’s position and her accomplishments, the majority had already concluded that Claire and Professor Baek were a couple.

“It’s a misunderstanding… He and I are not in that kind of relationship.”
“Then why not move your residence and put an end to these rumors?”
“… Nonsense. Now, finish preparing for the prayer.”

Claire cut her off with a short retort and turned away. Yesol bowed politely as she watched her superior leave, a smile still playing on her lips.

As the door closed, she muttered to herself, “Haha. She didn’t tell me to stop the rumors.”

Yesol’s smile widened as she continued with the prayer preparations, feeling refreshed.

**

“Haa.”

Claire left the temple and entered the labyrinth, rubbing her face with her hands.

‘They think we’re lovers… ‘

She had no idea that such a rumor was circulating within the Academy.

It was an unexpected situation that hadn’t crossed her mind.

It was only natural for her, as the assistant professor, to accompany the professor and assist him in his work.

Moreover, she had anticipated that this arrangement would lead to some troublesome incidents.

However, she hadn’t expected the nature of the rumors that emerged on the second day.

The Infinite Labyrinth, still a mysterious realm, had been conquered by another individual. And this person was an unknown professor.

Claire assumed that people would approach her with questions or curiosity about this development.

But to her surprise, not a single person had approached her in the past two days.

‘They must be out of their minds.’

She genuinely believed that they had lost their senses.

There were so many suspicious aspects to her relationship with Professor Baek.

For years, she had completely withdrawn from public life, and now she suddenly reappeared as an assistant professor at the Academy.

Just this fact alone was enough to spark gossip about a possible connection between the Arena Academy and the Bwiar Temple.

But why, of all things, did they jump to the conclusion that they were lovers?

“This is troublesome…”

Before she knew it, she had arrived at the mansion’s front door.

Claire wondered if Professor Baek was aware of these rumors as she opened the door and stepped inside.

She took off her shoes and put on the furry slippers that were always there. Then, she hung her coat on the rack.

Clink.

Following the sound and the fragrant aroma, Claire slowly made her way towards the kitchen.

In the kitchen, she found Professor Baek placing a coffee cup next to a plate of sandwiches that he had prepared for her.

“Good morning, Professor.”

Claire, her mind still occupied by her thoughts, managed a greeting. Professor Baek, who had been facing away, turned to look at her.

“… Professor?”
“Have a seat.”

After a moment of silence, he gestured for her to take a seat across from him.

Claire watched him for a moment before sitting down and quietly taking a bite of her sandwich.

‘… Delicious.’

It wasn’t made with any special ingredients, yet everything he prepared tasted wonderful.

After finishing her light breakfast and taking a sip of coffee, she heard Professor Baek ask, “As I’ve said before, if you have any concerns or requests, don’t hesitate to bring them up. Claire, I’ll do my best to help you with anything within my power.”
“… ”

Hearing his words, Claire put down her coffee cup.

It seemed that her thoughts had inadvertently shown on her face.

“Actually…”

She opened her mouth to speak but then closed it again. Was it even worth mentioning?

It wasn’t true, but since it wasn’t particularly problematic either, it would be ridiculous to publicly deny it.

‘Oh, great one…’

Today, more than ever, Claire wished that Bwiar was more talkative.

On the day Baek Hana had come to have her abilities appraised, the two of them had a conversation, the details of which I didn’t know. However, one thing was certain: they had talked about me.

“If it’s difficult for you to talk about it, you don’t have to.”
“… It’s just that…”

Claire, who had been looking down, raised her head.

**

Claire, who had been looking down, now looked directly at me and spoke again.

“There’s a rumor going around the community that you and I are lovers. Did you… know about it?”

Her blue eyes met mine without flinching.

I nodded in response to her question.

The rumor that Claire and I were lovers had started circulating on the very first day of the hands-on training.

“Didn’t you already know?”
“… I only found out this morning.”
“I see.”

It was unexpected.

As a priestess of Bwiar, Yesol was very sensitive to information, as she needed to keep up with the latest trends.

“Are you upset about it?”
“No, abso—… I mean, not at all…”

Her blue eyes, which had been looking directly at me, slowly lowered. Then she asked, “Are you… upset about it?”

“Not at all.”

I wasn’t the slightest bit upset. In fact, I wanted to ask her what made her think I would be upset.

“… Then.”

Her eyes, which had lowered, now looked up at me with newfound courage.

“I—”
“Claire.”

At the sound of her name, she flinched, her shoulders trembling slightly, and she closed her lips, which had just begun to part.

The question she was about to ask—it would have been very difficult for me to answer at this point.

So I interrupted her and gave her the answer I could give at this moment.

“I didn’t keep you by my side just because it’s convenient and useful. I… trust you.”
“… Tr, trust…?”

I nodded, meeting her gaze, which now held a mix of emotions.

“Trust… In other words, does that mean you think of me as… a little special?”

A little special.

I nodded again.

Finally, the tangle of emotions in her eyes began to unravel.

“… Special.”

Even her usually stiff lips curved into a soft smile.

“I’ll finish up and head to the study.”

I nodded again in response, then got up and walked into the study.

I pushed aside the thick stacks of paper on the desk and stood by the window, gazing up at the gradually brightening sky.

Ever since Bwiar had told me about Claire’s feelings, I had been careful and vigilant, but it had still come to this.

Baek Hana and Claire.

I trusted them both.

However, as their feelings for me grew over time, I was half-convinced that they would become the biggest variables to hinder my plans.

‘Not yet…’

Clink.

Claire finished the dishes and entered the study.

“Is this everything?”
“Yes.”

She put the stacks of paper into a pocket-shaped artifact owned by the temple.

After storing all the papers on the desk, she tightened the cord on the pocket and quietly stood next to me.

“Pro—… Professor…”
“Go ahead.”

Was there something else she wanted to say?

She glanced at me through the window, gauging my reaction, and spoke.

“… Perhaps we should increase the number of participants in the garden…”

The garden. She was referring to the number of students in my class, specifically for Baek Hana’s sake.

‘I’ll have to increase it.’

Initially, I hadn’t planned to increase the number of participants. More students would only mean more hassle.

However, I had expected Baek Hana to sign up for my class, but I hadn’t anticipated that she would fail to do so.

Moreover, I hadn’t expected my class to fill up even before Claire’s presence was revealed.

I had originally intended to make the roster public and let the students fight for spots, but when I saw Nam Soe-hee’s name on the list, I changed my mind.

Through the ring, I had seen that Baek Hana was almost consumed by madness, and I didn’t want to risk deteriorating her relationship with Nam Soe-hee, so I made a decision to protect their bond.

‘I’ll just have to ask Kim Sung-won to handle it.’

In case Baek Hana failed again, I would leave one spot open for her.

“I’ll do that.”
“Thank you.”

A faint smile appeared on Claire’s lips, reflected in the window.