Chapter 22: Sion Takes the Stage

A Curious Consultation with Professor Lunia

Thud, thud, thud! Professor Lunia sprinted ahead, not even glancing back.

Before long, the students behind them were completely out of sight.

“Um… Professor, how far are we going exactly?” Sion asked hesitantly.

“Huff… Huff… I think this is far enough,” Lunia finally replied, stopping abruptly and catching her breath.

“Yes, ma’am.”

Lunia turned to Sion, her breathing uneven, and looked at him with an expression that was both anxious and determined.

Sion couldn’t help but feel uneasy—and curious—about her actions.

Why in the world did she say something like that?

The memory of her words, and the subsequent scene, still left him baffled.

“I-I need to go to the restroom… with S-Sion!”

“…What?! What does that even mean?”

“Come on, hurry…!”

Now, standing in the middle of the forest, the absurdity of that exchange echoed in his mind.

Needing to use the restroom was understandable—people had basic needs, after all.

But why, why, did she insist on dragging him along?

It might have made some sense if they were of the same gender, but Lunia was a woman and Sion was a man.

Even in this medieval fantasy world, going to the restroom together like that was unthinkable.

And when they were also in a professor-student relationship? That made it all the more outrageous.

“Professor, may I ask why you brought me all the way out here?” Sion asked cautiously.

“Haa… Well, S-Sion, I’ll explain…,” Lunia stammered, her expression shifting to something more serious.

Her eyes locked onto his with an intensity he hadn’t seen before.

“I tried following the advice you gave me… but the students aren’t paying attention to my lessons at all!”

“…Excuse me?”

“What should I do…?”

Lunia waved her arms in a panic, her worried expression making Sion momentarily speechless.

Wait, so…

“Are you telling me you brought me here because…?”

“Yes! I-I wanted to ask you what’s wrong! You know everything, don’t you, Sion?”

Sion froze for a moment, processing the situation. He closed his eyes briefly to collect his thoughts.

Lunia had taken his advice to heart, trying to become the kind of professor students wanted.

Yet, her efforts hadn’t been enough, so she had brought him here to figure out why.

Even after piecing it together, the situation didn’t make much sense.

“Why… did you mention the restroom?” he asked, bewildered.

“I-I couldn’t think of another excuse to get you outside… I’m sorry…”

“Couldn’t you have just talked to me after class?”

“But if I waited until then, I’d be wasting your time later! You already helped me so much last week—I didn’t want to be a burden again…”

Sion pressed his fingers to his temples, taking a deep breath.

Her entire way of thinking seemed fundamentally different from most people’s.

Where should he even begin explaining this?

“Step by step isn’t going to cut it. There’s no time.”

Glancing back, he noticed that they had come far enough for the other students to look like tiny dots in the distance.

Some of them were already sneaking curious glances their way.

A male student and a female professor leaving hand-in-hand for the restroom—then not returning after a long time?

This could easily escalate into a scandal, not just at Byzantium Academy but throughout the entire empire.

Direct and blunt it is.

“You want to know why the students aren’t paying attention?” Sion asked.

“Y-yes…”

“Well… it’s because your teaching is terrible.”

“Wha—Sion?!”

Lunia’s eyes widened in shock, her gaze fixed on Sion’s face.

But this wasn’t the time to worry about her feelings.

Time was short, and his reputation was also at stake. Being clear and fast was crucial.

He couldn’t afford to soften the blow.

“You stutter a lot, which weakens your delivery. Your voice is too quiet, so it’s hard for students to hear you—especially with the sounds of the forest, like rustling leaves and birdsong. And your explanations lack logical structure, making them difficult to follow.”

“P-please, wait a second…”

Lunia suddenly doubled over, clutching her chest as she gripped Sion’s wrist tightly.

At close range, he noticed her watery eyes trembling.

“T-that hurts so much…”

“Are you feeling unwell?”

“N-no, it’s not that. I mean your words… They hurt so much…”

“But they’re true.”

“…Ugh…”

Lunia let out a pained groan, clutching at her chest.

It was clearly hard for her to hear such blunt criticism, especially from a student.

Sion felt a twinge of guilt, just a tiny one, seeing her like that.

But he steeled himself.

“Bitter medicine is good for the body.”

Sugarcoating things might sound nice, but sometimes a strong dose was necessary.

“Improving your teaching skills isn’t something that can be fixed immediately. It requires effort and time.”

“Th-then… Does that mean my students won’t focus on my lessons for now…?”

“…That’s likely.”

“Nooo… I want to be a professor who helps my students…”

Lunia’s face crumpled as if she were on the verge of tears.

Improving her teaching skills was a long-term solution, not an instant fix.

Meanwhile, she would have to continue giving unsatisfactory lessons for weeks.

“That must really bother her.”

Sion could tell how much she cared about her students.

She had listened to advice from someone much younger, put that advice into practice, and even sought him out again for help.

Her effort and sincerity were undeniable.

He wanted to help her.

She deserved to see her hard work pay off.

“I notice you’re holding something. Is that today’s lesson plan?” Sion asked.

“H-huh? Y-yes, it is…”

“Could you let me see it for a moment?”

“Sure… here.”

Lunia handed over a stack of papers.

Flipping through them, Sion saw her notes for today’s lecture.

Her handwriting is… horrendous.

It was almost unreadable, beyond even the most generous interpretation of “messy.”

A Lecture Like No Other

Fortunately, the handwriting wasn’t completely illegible.

The content itself wasn’t difficult, likely because it was meant for first-year students.

“Um… Sion? What exactly are you doing right now…?”

“In my hometown, we have a saying: ‘It’s better to show something once than explain it a hundred times.’”

“W-what?”

“So I’m going to show you.”

Sion flashed her a confident smile.

If she was a professor, she might already know this.

Some graduate students occasionally taught lectures in place of their professors.

Though it wasn’t exactly common.

Typically, teaching assistants handled administrative tasks like attendance and exam monitoring.

Rarely, if ever, did they take over a professor’s entire lecture.

After all, lectures were supposed to be the professor’s responsibility.

Unfortunately, Sion’s own academic experiences hadn’t always followed the norm.

“I’ll give it a try. The lecture.”

“W-wait, what?!”

This was the moment when his past experiences finally came in handy.

“When are they coming back?”

Patrick mumbled, staring at the distant forest where Sion and Lunia had disappeared.

It had already been over five minutes since they left, supposedly for the restroom.

Meanwhile, the students were busy gossiping among themselves.

“Why did Professor Lunia take him to the restroom, anyway?”

“Maybe they’re, you know… in that kind of relationship?”

“Didn’t I tell you to stop reading romance novels?”

“I mean, it’s nice not having class right now. They could just not come back, honestly.”

“To be fair, her lessons aren’t exactly the best…”

With no professor to supervise them and the class being held outdoors, small groups of students chatted openly.

Even in the world’s top academy, twenty-year-olds were still just young adults.

Must be nice to be that carefree…

Patrick scratched the back of his head, watching the scene unfold.

As the fourth son of a baron’s family, he received little support from his family.

His academy tuition had been cobbled together with great effort, supplemented by money he’d earned from hunting.

Naturally, his life differed from the pampered lifestyles of other noble heirs.

Many nobles viewed him as barely human—more like a talking monkey—and Patrick found it difficult to endure their scornful gazes.

“Hmm, five minutes have passed already. If it’s taking this long, it’s likely not just a restroom trip,” Gae Bolg remarked matter-of-factly.

“Do you actually believe they went to the restroom together, Gae Bolg?”

“Well, didn’t they say so?”

“…Forget it.”

Gae Bolg chuckled heartily, his outlook surprisingly egalitarian for a royal.

It was a rare quality among nobles, one Sion also shared.

Patrick reflected for a moment.

His original goal of building connections with high-ranking nobles was long abandoned.

Instead, he’d decided to focus on forming genuine friendships.

And with Sion, who brimmed with magical talent, and Gae Bolg, a prince of the Rodenburg Kingdom, he already had more than enough.

As he smiled at the thought, movement in the forest caught his eye.

At last, Sion and Professor Lunia emerged from the bushes.

Strangely, the dynamic between them seemed reversed.

While Lunia had led Sion into the forest earlier, now it was Sion walking confidently in front.

…Something’s different about him.

Having spent considerable time with Sion, Patrick immediately noticed the change.

Gone was the timid, withdrawn demeanor.

Now, Sion stood tall and self-assured as he approached the group of students.

The other students, still immersed in their conversations, didn’t immediately notice him.

Clap, clap!

Sion smacked a sheet of paper against his palm to grab their attention.

“Please quiet down, everyone.”

The chatter ceased as all eyes turned toward him.

Although the students’ gazes were sharp with curiosity, Sion remained composed.

“I apologize for the interruption earlier. Last week, after forming a contract with my spirit, I had the chance to discuss various topics with Professor Lunia. It was an enlightening conversation, wasn’t it, Professor?”

“Huh? Oh, y-yes, it was, Sion…”

Lunia flinched as Sion placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

“I also expressed a desire to lead the next lecture, and the professor kindly agreed. As a result, I’ll be conducting today’s class. Are there any objections?”

Sion scanned the room as he finished speaking.

In the past, the students might have ignored him or even mocked his suggestion.

But this time, no one dared to challenge him.

Or rather, they couldn’t.

“Very well. I’ll take your silence as agreement. Professor Lunia, please take a seat. Let’s begin today’s lecture on the types of spirits.”

Sion’s voice was clear and confident, his words articulated perfectly.

Even the most arrogant noble students held their breath, captivated by the strange aura he exuded.

In the newfound silence, Sion stepped forward and began teaching in place of Lunia.

The atmosphere shifted as the lecture unfolded. This was no ordinary lesson.