Chapter 60: The Presentation

The next day, Sion arrived at the lecture hall with Patrick.

It was the day of Professor Variyes’ morning class.

‘The atmosphere is strange?’

Today, the voices of the students around them, mixed with worry and anxiety, were frequently heard.

“What should we do with our team report?”

“I don’t know. I guess this will be enough.”

“Ah, please… I hope there won’t be any problems.”

“It’s just a weekly assignment, surely he won’t say anything, right?”

“I’m worried about the report.”

Buzzing—

The reason the students were worried was because of the assignment.

Because of Professor Variyes, who had given them three assignments, including a report, over the course of a week.

The students’ faces were full of worry.

Sion wasn’t the only one who heard the students’ voices.

Patrick spoke to Sion with a surprised expression…

“Sion, now that I think about it, we have to write a report too, don’t we?”

“You’re asking late…. I did it all by myself, so buy me a meal later.”

“Huh!? When?”

“I just did it because you guys weren’t doing it.”

“Sion…!”

Patrick had an impressed expression.

Sion chuckled at the sight.

Having written papers for several years, a first-year level report was a piece of cake.

Sion had drawn on his past experience to whip up a report in about an hour.

“Of course, I’ll buy you a meal! What do you want to eat?”

“Well, I heard there’s a delicious fine dining restaurant in the academy shopping district….”

“Give me a break on that one….”

While having a casual conversation with Patrick and waiting for the professor, Sion glanced back from the front row.

It would normally be more than enough time for him to have arrived, but one person was missing.

‘Estroza Perwell… where did she go?’

Estroza Perwell had ended up in the same group as Sion in this class.

Her figure was nowhere to be seen.

The class would start soon…

“Sion, why do you keep looking back? Are you looking for someone?”

“Huh? Ah, it’s nothing.”

“It’s even more suspicious when you say it’s nothing…. Are you perhaps looking for Estroza?”

“….”

“Is that right? Is it a little like that? Affection for someone you dislike?”

“It’s not like that, so be quiet.”

“It is so.”

After silencing Patrick, who tried to tease him at every opportunity, 5 minutes passed.

In the end, Estroza didn’t come, and the professor entered as is.

It was Professor Variyes, a dwarf with statue-like muscles and a former S-class adventurer.

“Bahahahat! Greetings, everyone! I’ll call attendance first and then start the class.”

Variyes called attendance as soon as he came in.

“Sion!”

“Yes.”

“Estroza! …Estroza Perwell?”

Of course, Estroza couldn’t be called to attendance.

Because she didn’t attend in the first place.

Did she just come late or was she absent?

“…Ah, come to think of it, she said she was sick.”

Variyes muttered to himself and wrote something in the attendance book.

‘Sick? Suddenly…?’

She was attending class without any problems even in yesterday afternoon’s class.

But suddenly, she was skipping class because she was sick?

Considering Estroza’s personality, she must have had something up her sleeve, or she was feigning illness.

‘…Or maybe she’s really sick.’

If it was her, who couldn’t properly express her true feelings.

There was a possibility that she couldn’t show it even when she was sick.

…Why does her thought keep lingering in her mind?

“Alright! Attendance is over. I have read the assignments that everyone submitted to the class bulletin board.”

Only after attendance was over and the class started, could Sion shake off his distracting thoughts.

“There were no groups that didn’t do the assignments at all, but the quality varied greatly! Well, I think that’s understandable. You guys are still just fledglings!”

“…….”

“So, on this occasion, we will listen to the presentation of the guy who did the best to show how to do the assignment!”

“……?!”

Sion’s pupils widened.

‘There was no mention of presenting…? A surprise presentation?’

The assignments that Variyes presented this week were 3 things.

Adventurer registration, E-class dungeon quest, and writing a report on the quested dungeon.

If they were presenting here, it would naturally only be the report.

Of course, no one could have imagined that they would present the report, so it was only natural that they wouldn’t be able to prepare for the presentation.

‘I haven’t even experienced a surprise presentation a few times in my previous life’s university….’

Students feel burdened just by preparing and ordering a presentation.

But suddenly asking them to present without any preparation.

It was an outrageous act that would plummet the course evaluation.

“The group that wrote the best report will present and show a demonstration for the other students. That’s more reasonable, bahahahat!”

Sion smiled inwardly as he listened to Variyes’ words.

‘I prepared roughly and survived.’

Sion was the one who wrote the report in the 4th group.

Unlike the other groups, he wrote the report alone, and even that was done roughly in an hour.

There was no way Sion would be called—

“Group 4! You are the group that wrote the most outstanding report. The group leader or the person who will present the report should come forward!”

No sooner had Variyes’ words fallen than the gazes of Patrick and Geibolg turned to Sion.

A look of “what the heck is going on?”

“…I’ll do it.”

“Oho! Good! Come forward, feeble one!”

Creak.

Sion pulled out his chair and got up from his seat.

I wrote the report from beginning to end, so I can’t have someone else do the presentation.

Sion moved listlessly, like a cow being dragged to the slaughterhouse.

He stood on the platform.

There was something like a beam projector next to the platform.

The report written by Sion was displayed on the screen.

-Research on the E-class ‘Skeleton’ Dungeon: Focusing on the Ecology and Prior Research of Skeletons

“Then, I’ll start the presentation.”

With the title emblazoned on the cover.

Sion’s presentation was just beginning.

‘Sion, is he okay…?’

The fourth son of the Hanson baronial family, Patrick Hanson.

He was looking at Sion with worried eyes.

Sion had taken on all the reports, but suddenly he had to do the presentation.

In the first place, there was no mention of a presentation at all, so it was understandable that he was flustered.

An impromptu presentation in a situation where dozens of people were sitting.

No matter how much he wrote the report himself, it was impossible—

“Then, I’ll start the presentation.”

‘…Huh?’

Sion’s eyes changed.

As if he wasn’t nervous at all, he continued the presentation in a voice that was neither too loud nor too soft.

“In the case of our group 4, we took on the E-class skeleton dungeon quest. As the professor has said countless times, what’s important in the dungeon is information. Therefore, our group has collected information about the skeleton and the dungeon through the academy’s library.”

The students’ attention was focused on Sion due to the smooth presentation order that was easy to understand.

As if he was familiar with the gazes, Sion looked at the abstract and grasped the direction of the report.

Then, in the introduction, he revealed the purpose of the research, defined the research method, etc., and defined the various terms that appeared in advance and started.

‘…Is it a report? It’s at the level of a thesis, this?’

Reports and theses are different.

A report is a short level document that ends in 1 page if it’s short, or a few pages at most.

But Sion’s report… was the quality of a graduation thesis that 4th graders would write.

Patrick recalled the conversation he had with Sion.

-Sion, but what should we do with the report? Should we all get together and do it….

-Huh? No. I’ll roughly do it and upload it.

-Roughly do it and upload it?

-If I do it for about an hour, the quality will come out roughly. Don’t worry too much. I’m good at this.

Sion said that and smiled.

To be honest, there was a feeling of worry.

The quality of one person preparing is likely to be lower than several people preparing together.

But Patrick trusted and waited for Sion.

The reason was….

‘It’s the first time. It’s the first time Sion said he was good at something.’

Sion always underestimates his skills.

Even when the results of his spirit affinity came out, when he won the battle of nerves with Professor Ronda Magret, when he won the battle with Estroza, and when he became Professor Horyuju’s disciple.

There was no mention of him being ‘good’ at something, and rather, he belittled himself as a beginner.

If he said he was ‘good’ at something?

The quick-witted Patrick realized that there was a reason for that.

Of course, what he didn’t realize was the report writing skills that he confidently said he was ‘good’ at.

‘…I didn’t know it would be this much.’

Patrick looked at Sion’s face.

Sion was already presenting about halfway through the main text.

His eyes were shining brightly.

‘Maybe Sion… a graduate student might be his aptitude.’

Patrick thought.

A talent loved by professors.

A talent for writing reports well and presenting well.

And… even the various magical talents he has.

Maybe he was a talent born for graduate students?

Thinking that, Patrick began to focus on Sion’s presentation again.

“Then, let’s move on to the next.”

Sion’s presentation had a strange charm that drew the audience’s attention.

“…With that, I’ll end the presentation.”

Only after about 10 minutes had passed.

Sion could bow and return to his seat.

He thought it wasn’t bad for an impromptu presentation.

“Bahahahat! Such coping skills even in a surprise presentation! Everyone, please applaud Sion!!”

Clap clap clap clap clap!

Variyes clapped with a loud voice.

He was so satisfied with the presentation that he smiled showing his gums.

The other students also added applause following him.

It wasn’t a perfunctory applause, but an applause sent with a sincere feeling of admiration.

‘I’m tired because it’s been a long time since I presented. But….’

Smile.

The corners of Sion’s lips slowly rose.

As expected, the applause after the presentation is sweet.

As he sat down with that thought, Patrick tapped him on the shoulder.

“As expected, it’s you, Sion. I believed in you!”

“…Buy me a meal.”

“Of course!”

Thump!

Patrick showed his thumb.

Sion couldn’t help but chuckle again at the eyes that looked at a reliable ally.

“It was a flawless report and presentation. I didn’t think it would be this good, but Sion! There’s something I want to ask you.”

“…A favor?”

“Would you look at this?”

“This is…?”

Step.

Professor Variyes approached Sion.

What he handed over was a round object larger than two fists combined.

The front was black, and the back was white. This was like….

“This is called a video recording device.”

“…A video recording device?”

“Yes. I usually record students’ presentations! But I wanted to use your report and presentation as excellent class materials.”

Hearing that, the back of Sion’s neck felt chilly.

Record the video? And use it as class material?

Could it be…

“Um, could you explain where you’re going to use it?”

“Um? I can educate juniors with video materials when I do the same class… and I have to show it to the professors before that. I need the permission of other professors to use it as video material.”

“……Yes?”

“Um! ‘Yes!’ is a loud answer. Then I’ll keep that in mind. I’ll let you know the details after the review is over.”

“Ah…?”

Step step!

Professor Variyes went back to the podium with the video recording device under his arm.

No… I didn’t answer, I asked…?

“Then let’s continue the class! Today’s class is about the dungeon’s strategy process! If you miss today’s class, you might not be able to do the assignment that you have to do by next week! So focus!”

Even in Professor Variyes’ class that started again.

Sion wasn’t concentrating at all.

Because his head was spinning furiously.

‘You’re going to show my report and presentation video to the professors?’

A report that he had prepared in about an hour.

But even that was recognized as the best in this classroom and even presented.

Even that presentation was… not bad in his own opinion, considering it was done impromptu.

But what kind of reaction would other professors have if they saw that report and presentation video?

‘…Nothing will happen! Um!’

Surely nothing will go wrong with just the report, right?

Nothing will happen. No, it has to be.

…Sion soothed himself like that, but he couldn’t help but feel uneasy in one corner of his heart.