Late Afternoon - Mid Summer (Opposite Hemisphere) : Featherspine, Holy Kingdom

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- Astren Ravenna ~

*gulp-gulp* I took a fast gulp of alcohol as I looked across the table at a tall man with fiery red hair drinking wine straight from the barrel and a younger emerald-haired man lounging with his feet perched on the table.

From the eyes of onlookers, they were nothing more than foreign adventurers with some odd hair colors, but little did they know, those two 'men' were monsters the likes of which they couldn't even fathom. -It's insane to me how even the stronger adventurers don't seem to even notice it...-

I quickly glanced at the bar to see a group of three guys, all stronger than me, casually chatting as if nothing was wrong, somehow not feeling the unfathomably heavy presences just a few meters behind them.

But somehow, such a sight was common. "Haah..."

At first, not seeing anyone reacting at all made me doubt if what I saw and felt at our first meeting was even real; if the massive dragons I met were simply illusions meant to trick me into being fearful, but every now and then, I would be ruthlessly reminded by something that could not be faked.

Strength.

"Brr..." A chill instantly passed down my spine as memories I desperately wanted to forget surfaced again. -Fuck...- Trying to drown it out, I leaned my head back and drank every last drop in my mug. *Clack* But nothing could make me forget. -I wonder if it would have been better to die back then...-

"Haaaah..." *Clack* Finally setting down the half-empty barrel, the crimson-haired man looked at me with an uncaring but curious expression before raising his hand and motioning the waitress to me.

She was a young and cheerful girl, but even her bright smile couldn't lighten my mood. "Miss, would you like another drink?"

I immediately nodded and let her fill it to the brim with more dark-amber-colored alcohol before hastily drinking more. -Ugh...- It was the strongest stuff they had, and it tasted like shit, but without it, I wouldn't have been able to get my mind off my regrets. "Thank you..."

After another moment of heavy drinking, I laid my head on the table with a flushed face, but right after, the green-haired man finally sat up. "You said you were from Deepcross, right?"

I immediately moved my mug to the side to look him in the eyes. "I was.. now, I'm from a field of burning rubble."

Without alcohol, I never could have been able to speak so compulsively, but thankfully he didn't get upset. "You should be proud that you and your father convinced Andras to spare the citizens who evacuated. If you didn't, he most certainly would have executed them all."

For a moment, I wanted to lean over the table and hit him for such a sick joke, but no matter how much I wanted to deny it, I knew he wasn't lying.

Back in Deepcross, after first getting tied in with Katherine and meeting those two monsters, I was reunited with my father, but our reunion turned sour the more we spoke and the more I was exposed to the horrors of the Church's corruption.

At first, when my father told me about the Church's actual plan with the monster wave and Deepcross, I didn't believe it; after all, who would believe that their own nation would decimate its own city and slaughter its own citizens?

But reality was harsh. With the Church saying the gods had returned, they had the perfect excuse to do anything they wished without penalty.

Before I knew it, the outlandish rumors and stories I used to hear about the Church throughout Deepcross gained credibility, and the horror set in.

The more stories and rumors I remembered, the more I questioned what I believed.

Before long, I even started to question the foundation of my beliefs. "Do you believe in the gods, Sir Déntro?" I glanced up at him as I laid my head on the table.

His expression quickly soured. "It depends on what gods you speak of."

Immediately curious about his word choice, I couldn't help but ask, "Are there gods you believe in outside of Asgard?"

He hesitated for a moment before forcefully hiding his sour look. "Of course not. While they may exist, how do I know if they cannot answer prayers?"

-Hmm...- I fell into thought almost immediately. "How do you know if your prayer was answered though? What if it was just a coincidence?"

He quickly shook his head. "Asgard has many vocal gods. Depending on what you ask for, you may even hear their voice. Adonis has even spoken with one of them."

Seeing Sir Déntro point to him, he finally moved his barrel of alcohol to the side. "It was quite a while ago now, but I must admit that it was quite surreal. It was an experience that forced me to rethink everything I knew."

-Rethink everything he knew, huh...- It was no question as to how meeting, let alone speaking with a god, could change one's life; however, the way he phrased it made me ask something that nearly got me killed. "Do dragons have gods as well?"

The crimson dragon instantly froze as he looked me in the eyes with enough bloodlust to suffocate me.

It sobered me up instantaneously. *Fwip-Crackle* Lowering my head as much as I could, I slammed it straight through the table. "Please forgive me!"

The entire tavern had turned dead silent instantly, but before even the slightest noise could break it, a young voice met my ears like the voice of a goddess answering a prayer.

"I hope you haven't forgotten our agreement." It was Katherine.

The bloodlust I felt vanished almost instantly. "I haven't."

Sitting down next to me, she carefully started resituating the cloth around her sword and briefly glanced at him. "In that case, you should be careful."

It was clearly a threat, but he looked past it after clicking his tongue. -She must really be insane...-

As I awkwardly sat back up, I was quite anxious that my head would go flying if I overstepped my bounds again, so I quickly calmed down.

However, after feeling like frost was starting to form in the frigid silence, I worked up the courage to break the ice. "So, how was your 'shopping'?"

Every time we stopped to rest in a town or city, Katherine would routinely go around 'shopping' for information in regards to the person she was looking for.

However, the result was always the same. "There was nothing."

Sir Déntro immediately gave her an annoyed look. "We already told you we would help you look for 'him'. Why are you still bothering to ask around?"

As she finally finished rewrapping the sword, she hugged it and looked at Sir Déntro with a cold glare. "Unless you truly find him, I will continue my own efforts."

He clearly despised her tone, but just like Sir Balatos, he held it in. "Haah... In any case, now that you are back, I believe it's time we get going."

Sir Balatos immediately nodded. "Yes, the Templars should be done resting by now. Shall we get back on the road?"

Seeing them stand up, I did the same and eventually followed them back outside.

Then, once again, the clock started ticking. -7 days to the capital...-

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- Vasilias ~

*FWOOSH-FWOOSH-FWOOSH-Clack* Narrowly dodging several swings, I carefully watched the student's footwork before eventually stopping and catching their claw. *pat-CRACKLE* -To even crack the ground...- It was barely anything, even when compared with some of the other young students, but his stature was so much smaller that he would have had to make up for his lack of weight with technique. -Impressive...-

Finally letting go of his claw, the young boy pulled back and stared at me with an eager sparkle in his eyes.

It was a sight that made me smile right away. "Congratulations on passing."

His smile instantly widened, similar to the other students that I tested. "Th-Thank you for your guidance, Professor Whyte!"

He was a small and shy kid that, while lacking in strength and mana, was quick on the uptake whenever I gave him guidance. -He isn't quite to Krystallo's or even Fterá's level of talent, but he certainly shouldn't be at the bottom of this class.- "You have a lot of potential with how fast you learn. Be sure to make the most of it."

He looked towards his friends in a flash, smiling like a child on their birthday.

-Once they learn something, their shyness and hesitancy completely disappear... Is that from them developing curiosity in themselves?- As I used magic to clean the dust off myself, I changed back to my dragon form. *flash* -I just can't help but wonder why they haven't already been given that spark...- Among all 40 students, Krystallo and Fterá were the only ones taking advantage of their talents. It was like they were being taught wrong rather than just poorly. -Maybe I need to look more closely at all the combat professors...-

Glancing over at Evodiá, I saw her happily interacting with the students and decided not to say anything. -Someone as innocent as her wouldn't be on the Holy Kingdom's side, anyway... Maybe she is just bad at spotting peoples' talents...-

Finally confirming that was the last student I needed to test, I walked back to the sidelines and was immediately met with several students.

They were all extremely eager. "Professor Whyte, Professor Whyte! Are you going to teach any of our other classes?"

At the academy, classes were assigned at the beginning of each grade and would share the same schedule for both one-year-long semesters.

That meant I was to watch over this class for the whole day. "Maybe. It all depends on what your professors decide."

They immediately looked around before nodding at each other and scattering back to the sidelines. -What is that all about?-

Looking over at Krystallo, I expected to see her confused as well, but she just wore a smug smile. -What could they possibly be scheming?-

Little did I know, they were all agreeing to make it their mission to make me teach every single class.

After finally wrapping up the combat assessments, there was a short break between classes that I used to meet back up with the headmaster and discuss a new plan. While we didn't exactly see eye to eye earlier in the day, he came around after watching some of the assessments.

In short, I would still act as a professor and would attend the history professor's class, but rather than making a scene, I would do my own investigation to try and get as many names as possible to let us clean the rats in one go. -But it definitely won't be that clean or straightforward...-

Essentially, the headmaster told me to come up with a plan and do it myself while he would have a few of his most trusted professors and assistants do similar investigations.

It was what we both agreed would be the best course of action, and while an investigation entailed that I would remain as an intern professor for a few more days, I somehow didn't mind it so far.

-Teaching isn't as bad as I thought...- Both calculations and 'life studies' were fields I was extremely adept in, and having come from Earth, I was able to give some good tips and tricks that helped the students and even the professors immensely.

I also couldn't deny that part of why I enjoyed it so much was seeing Krystallo's sky-high pride whenever she answered one of my questions. -The students are starting to look at her like a saint.-

But eventually, my favorite subject rolled around.

Looking up at the door, I read 'Rune and Magic Theory'. -Oh! This one should be fun.-

Finally opening the door and walking inside, Krystallo darted to her seat, and I was met with an older man looking at me from behind the desk.

"Ah, you must be the new professor the students have been gossiping about." He looked like a gentle old man, but the moment I came through the door, I was met with a wave of aura. *vwooom*

But rather than being directed at me, he focused it on two people hidden in the crowd in the hallway, quickly forcing them to leave.

They were two people who had followed me between every class but always kept their distance.

-Hoh?- Looking back at the man wearing a gentle smile, I smiled as well. -He's not so simple...-

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Quick Clarification: The age range of students is typically 14-16 to 34-36, with the 'years' (grade levels) being divided into 2 year sections. (Think of 2 semesters, each 1 year long.)

This is a detail I couldn't really work in, so I will leave it here.

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