Chapter 84: Encounter with the “Library”
[Looking forward to work with you]
“Looking forward to work with you”
Shiki and I finish our greetings once again and clapping sounds.
This place seems to be the Academy’s office where briefings are done. It’s wide and seeing the desks lined up, for a second I thought it was a room for staff members. I didn’t feel the characteristic tension. They explained me the lecture’s contents and the rules in detail and after that, they asked about what plans we have.
Two people were receiving us.
One of them seems to be the same as me, a teacher. Though, I can’t say we are the same huh. He is a full-time teacher and I am a part-time one. I don’t commute to this academy every day and am not lodging in the dormitories. It seems he is teaching fighting techniques like me, but he doesn’t look that strong. Fighting techniques are pointless if you just speak the theory of it, so he must be relatively strong. They told me the contents of the current lectures and the level of the students. I thought they were playing house. But I only thought of it. I obviously restraint myself from saying so. I can’t say that it is troubling to deal with elite(lol).
The other one is an important person in the work place. This one didn’t show a single bit of haughtiness like the male teacher and felt like a lenient person. The staff in the high school I was in, acted frankly around me so I was bewildered at first, but the ones in front of me are polite and on point. Maybe it’s the difference in behavior between being a student and being a teacher. However, they didn’t make questions regarding salary, my store and didn’t look at the documents; they just smoothly replied and that made me feel they had high ability. Finishing the explanations, they wished regards and we answered in equal fit.
“Then, with this I will be going. At first, I will be sending the students from my class in rotation, but later please try gathering students with your own skill, Raidou-sensei. From what I heard, you are a person with high abilities. I am looking forward to it”
“Brait-sensei, thank very much”
It seems the teacher will be leaving now. Shiki and I lower our heads once more and see him off. From what he said, the first times I will be doing my tactics specialized lesson, I will have a certain percent of students from Brait-sensei’s class. He is an attentive person and he introduces students to new teachers in the same area. A reliable person or so they say. It seems the staff are also being helped a lot by him, I can tell that they have a favorable opinion of him in the staff room. I personally think he feels like an unsavory person. People that are too nice don’t bring me good vibes.
From what I heard of the staff-san, a part-time teacher that secures enough students for a class is rare. When comparing a full-time teacher’s lecture, a part-time teacher’s regular number is half of that. 30 people. Is it possible to not gather 30 people in this giant academy? By the way, the theory classes are different from practical skill ones in that as long as the students can enter, it can accept as many as they want. It seems to be because there is a limit to how many students a practical skill teacher is able to take care of. If one isn’t careful when using magic or swords, one can die, so it is expected.
The lecture’s payment depends completely on ratio. In the case of a part-time, the selection of students is quite free. If you want to earn, you will have to try your best to increase your number of students. For one lecture, a part-time teacher gets 10 silver for each student. If a part-time teacher gets 30 people, one time will be 3 gold. It is practically the annual income of a person working in a normal store or a staff in a guild. If you work for numerous times in a week for 1 month, it would turn into an incredible amount of gold. Thinking about the value on my previous world, the payment is quite excessive for a teacher. If a part-timer gets this much, then just how much would a full-time one get?
“And so, Raidou-sensei. About the lecture, is it okay for you to begin next week? There will be around 10 students from Brait-sensei’s class, so we have no issues on our side”
[Next week huh. I don’t mind, but I want to do lectures with the students I choose, so I might bring troubles to Brait-sensei. Also, I am planning on doing lectures for a big amount of people. There’s no problem in that right?]
A while ago I confirmed this and since I was worried about it, I confirm it once more. I am intending to do a class with 10 people, or around the number of people one can line up in a column. Also, I will have Shiki accompany and teach once a week. I only have experience teaching the kids in the neighborhood, I haven’t taught anyone while receiving anything as compensation. At first I will have Shiki do a follow-up and get used to it.
“Yeah, of course. But that is quite unusual. Part-time workers normally frantically gather as many as they can without caring who it is. As expected, a person that is administering a store at the same time really has a different way of thinking”
[Since I am in charge, I want to pay attention to it after all. About the business, as long as I don’t do any activities related to it in Academy grounds, there is no problem right? I am grateful for your hasty replies]
That means there is no problem for Shiki and me to use medicines for free or to show them, and to widen the knowledge of them. Great.
“… Teacher is a lenient person. Also diligent. It’s a bit unexpected. I have heard that you are quite the strong person after all. I was wondering how you would present yourself. To tell you the truth, I hold you in respect. This place gathers the best students around the towns after all. Please train them to your best”
[Okay. Then with this, I will be leaving]
“Ah that’s right. There is a library you can use when you want to search for data, a place inside the Academy one can use to train practical skills, and a reception where one needs to do petitions beforehand to use the field. I will be telling them of your arrival to these places”
Shiki and I along with him, talk about the places as we confirm their location. We certainly need to know both of them. And while at it, I should finish the field application today. The document’s process is relatively complex so I feel like the things I will be asking of Shiki might increase.
In that case, I have to think about the store a bit. As expected, the Forest Onis huh. Arkes are scarce so, yeah, there is also the option of asking Tomoe’s opinion.
Also, the library. I thought it would be a room, but for it to have a building just for it, is quite unexpected. It’s like a university.
Having such a big library, I can really expect a lot from it. It wouldn’t be a bad idea to look at books related to magic. I am sorry for the book loving Shiki, but I will leave the application to him and head to the library.
[Shiki, I will be checking out the library. Head to the reception and after finishing the request, I want you to head there as well]
I order him as we leave to the corridors. Shiki nods. I think he is the number one person who wouldn’t run rampant, so that’s why instead of those other two, I nominated Shiki. I am truly happy. The number one reason is that we are of the same sex though.
Because we are right at the opposite direction of the staff office, Shiki and I turn our back to each other and walk to our objectives.
At any rate, the air that is flowing here is peace itself. When I am here, my sensation of being in another world or in my original world gets fuzzy. Because the subject I am teaching is otherworldly in itself, the strange sensation is even stronger.
In the halls there are students engaging in friendly chat and the bulletin boards have pleasant posters with contents about contact information within the school. The atmosphere resembles that of my sister’s university which I visited in summer. There are a lot more people here though. It may also be because of the season I visited.
“This is literally what a school is” (Makoto)
Before leaving Tsige, there was a time when I thought about my homeland. While on my journey, I was thrown into the battlefield, so it slowly grew fainter though. This place reminds me so much of modern times. Really.
“The choice of lectures is lenient and it feels like I have come to a university with freedom. Oh, this place is the library huh. Incredible. How big” (Makoto)
I do a monologue no one would understand as I arrive at the library. Ah, did they think I am a crazy person? Well, who cares.
Anyways, this place is big. It’s a lot bigger than the municipal library in the town I lived in. This is surprising. In this world there is a library this big huh. This truly shows me that I have lived in a rural area. And the heroes began from a big country’s castle huh. Fuh, how unbearable.
I enter inside.
In the shelves that are taller than a person, one could see books, books, books tightly packed without leaving any gaps. The scene of shelves fully loaded with books lined up left and right, could be called a forest that grows books. At least for me, this is my first time seeing so many books gathered in one place. Incredible. Just, incredible.
That characteristic and pleasant scent. Different from Tsige where one could see snow in places, at Academy Town the days become increasingly hotter. I can tell that I have come to a faraway place.
The library scent I have not smelled in a long time hasn’t changed at all. Also, it is a pleasant air. In this world it seems they don’t know that libraries go well with air conditioning. In this sense, one can feel the difference between science and magic.
There should be quite a lot of persons here, but the reason why it feels so sparse must be because this place is big enough to make me feel that way. Because the number of books is bigger than the amount of people.
“Do you need something?”
I, who was deeply moved, was called out by someone. A calm and mellow voice. A voice that one would be able to feel seductiveness, but the girl itself took away the nature of sensuality in her voice.
When I turn my head to the direction of the voice, there was, as expected, the figure of a woman. She isn’t a student. A librarian, maybe?
[Sorry. This is my first time seeing a library of this degree and unintentionally spaced out. This is a splendid library]
“I see. I am happy to hear your praises. You were standing in the hall but, what business brings you here? If you are looking for a book in specific, I can be of help”
I was talking with writing, and yet she didn’t get fluster for one second and quickly answered. Eh, she wasn’t surprised?
[I don’t have a book in specific, but well, about magic. If there are books about aria language, I want to read them]
I respond to her with the subject I thought of a moment ago.
“Ara, for that Raidou-sama who possesses incredible magic and combat abilities, to look for such simple content. Is your companion Shiki the one reading it?”
!!
As if her words blew me away, I take my distance from her. This woman…
Luckily, because there is a hall just after the entrance, I still had space. I am thankful I was able to open space. It’s not like everyone can do weird teleportation like Sofia after all. I don’t plan to change my tactics of first taking my distance.
I have already completed an invisible barrier. The moment I took a step back, I had already finished its preparation. It’s thanks to the daily tension. After, I will have to learn how to naturally do this.
“Incredible! In that instant you spread out a barrier. It’s like a sleight of hand. To be so skillful even without using aria. It’s just like the stories tell”
[Who are you? Why do you know my name?]
While showing her the writing, I check out the woman.
Her age is, young. It’s just an estimation, but it looks like she is in the first half of her twenties. Her height is close to mine. She doesn’t have any weapons. Doesn’t have strong magic power equipment and I can only feel the presence of a normal person from her. Because of her baggy robe, I don’t know how toned her body is, but she isn’t showing any signs of exerting them. There is no magic aria either.
I can’t tell her build because of her clothes, but there is no doubt she is a woman. Her face, is cute. In this world, this is an easy 100 points. Different from the indigo blue hair from Tomoe, her hair is a light blue. No doubt she is a person I don’t know. She is probably a hyuman though.
“Just like stories tell” is what she said. She knows about me and Shiki. Also, is there a person here who knows about me having incredible magic and combat abilities? The only person I can think of is the one in charge of the test. But is it information that a librarian should know? I don’t want to think that the information regarding the persons taking the test to be leaked so easily.
“Don’t be so on guard please. You are a teacher from this school. I at least should know the name”
Lies. I confirmed in the staff room. Taking into account the part-timers and full-time ones, there is easily a hundred or so. To have the ability to remember all of them is too strange. Moreover, today is the first time I have been here.
I won’t lower my guard. Taking into account the interference of my whole body, I pay careful attention to the changes in magic power flow while checking that woman’s movements.
[As long as you don’t prove to me that you have unnatural memorization ability, I can’t believe you]
“… I was just intending to tease you though. It seems you are the distrustful type huh. Your and your companion’s name as well as that information, I just heard it from other people”
Maybe she was shocked by my cautiousness, she shrugs her shoulders. The one in charge said it? But I don’t like that simple teasing of hers.
“How troublesome. Then let me tell you the name of the person that I heard this information from. You know Ruria from Gotetsu right?”
I heard a name I didn’t expect.
Ruria from Gotetsu. I certainly know. If it’s her, it would be normal to know my and Shiki’s name.
“About your skills, I heard from the one in charge of the test. I don’t know if Raidou-sama knows his name, but he is called Erus. There was a talk of someone gathering three types of balls while we were eating so…”
The woman makes a gesture of holding a cup with her hands and bringing it to her mouth. Is she talking about a meal with alcohol?
Three types of balls. So that’s why she said vague things like incredible magic and combat ability huh. However, I don’t see the connection between her and Ruria.
Is she a regular in Gotetsu? But is Ruria someone that would easily talk about other customers? Her mouth is tight and she doesn’t talk that much with other customers. I have gone a number of times, but I haven’t seen this woman there.
[I know about Ruria. I have been going to Gotetsu lately after all. But I don’t know what reason she would have to talk to you about us]
“Fuh~, Ruria is my sister. She told me about a strange customer and it was about Raidou-sama and Shiki. That Shiki is a nabe lover who could eat cream nabe for his three meals. I was a bit shocked when I heard it”
Cream nabe. Ah, that was really nightmare in a bowl. I wonder how Shiki is able to eat two of those.
Tto. Fumu. If she even knows about the cream nabe, there is no doubt. But sister huh. Now that she mentions it, the color of her hair is the same.
I look at Onee-san once again.
“What is it?”
Maybe she found it suspicious, the Onee-san calls me.
How pitiful. I don’t know the age difference between her sister, but she is totally losing in body development. There won’t be a turning point in the future, so live strong.
“… You seem to have a discomforting expression but, did this clear your suspicions?”
With her eyelids twitching a bit, she fixes her glasses and asks once again. I understand that gesture. When you have glasses, you unconsciously play with it.
[Yeah, the misunderstanding was cleared. I see, so you were her sister. But to suddenly be called by my first name, moreover, by a complete stranger, no matter who it is, they would be surprised]
“It wasn’t to the level where one would get surprised though. But I am sorry for my rudeness. My name is Eva, nice to meet you” (Eva)
[Eva-san, I see. My name is Raidou. You may already know but, I am a part-time teacher. And you, are you a librarian?]
“Yeah. If you have a book you are looking for, please ask without restrain. I am almost always over there” (Eva)
Saying that, Eva-san points out the right hall’s counter. A number of staff members are there. I can tell that they are glancing at my conversation with Eva. We were probably a bit noisy.
[I will be counting on you. Then with this, I will be leaving]
“Is it okay to not look at any books? If I remember correctly, you were looking for a book regarding arias right?” (Eva)
[I will leave that for another time. Then]
“Too bad. I will be waiting” (Eva)
Eva-san smiles and sees me off as I leave the library.
Hah, I was nervous. I didn’t feel like reading a book and just leave outside. I was way too abrupt.
Geez…
(So that was Raidou huh. He is certainly an outrageous user. Maybe he can use it?)
“Eh?”
The moment I finished moving down the stairs in front of the entrance, I suddenly hear a voice and check my surroundings. There’s no one. Even though it was a voice that felt pretty close.
That voice was… the voice of the woman I was talking with not long ago. The voice of Eva-san. No doubt about it.
But even when I turned around, I couldn’t see her figure anywhere. She saw me off and didn’t leave outside so it should be a given. Then what was that just now?
Did Tomoe’s power go crazy again?
But my emotions are not going haywire like that time, so why?
Also, the atmosphere of her voice was quite different. It was a voice that made me feel a penetrating cold.
“Raidou-sama, sorry for the wait”
Shiki’s voice.
When I look, he is using the same route I took to arrive where I am. I see, he already finished the application. It’s Shiki, so he probably hurried. He is even trotting to where I am.
“Shiki, I didn’t wait. Thanks. Then, let’s show our faces in the merchant guild and check out the store” (Makoto)
“Understood” (Shiki)
It is still early to call it evening. While being grateful about being able to use more time on the store than I thought, I leave the campus.