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The Protagonists’ Teacher Wants to Resign – Chapter 16
Career Counseling
A small voice interrupted them.
“Um, wait a moment!”
It was Beatrice.
“I was the one who wanted to come and see it! It’s my first time at the academy, so I was curious… It’s my fault. I’ll accept the punishment.”
Unfortunately for Beatrice, who was desperately trying to defend her friends, none of the adults present—including Lucien—believed her words.
Thanks to the reputation Noel had carefully built up over time.
Lucien sighed as she looked at Beatrice staring at her pleadingly and Noel standing completely still with his eyes fixed on Beatrice.
“Miss Estelle, please tell me what happened.”
As if she had been waiting for this moment, Estelle immediately answered.
“We tried to stop him, but Noel got angry because he lost to the teacher and broke through the wall to get inside. He put the guards to sleep and touched the barrier stone. When the security magic activated, he tried to jump out the window with us, but Bea found a passage.”
A truly excellent summary from the top-ranked student of the first year.
After finishing her testimony with a sullen expression, Estelle crossed her arms as if she finally felt relieved.
“Leaving aside how you found out about it, finding the passage and coming down was the right choice. That area has waves that interfere with mana flow, so you would have been in serious trouble if you had trusted flight magic and jumped.”
Both Estelle and even Beatrice, who had been defending Noel, glared at him at the same time.
Noel raised both hands in surrender, looking slightly guilty.
Lucien had a rough idea of what kind of conversation had taken place above.
“However, causing a security issue is still a serious mistake. Noel, you will stay here. Miss Estelle and Miss Beatrice, follow Teacher Aila over there and write a report explaining what happened.”
Having given up on a defense that had not worked at all, Beatrice carefully asked,
“Am I not going to be punished?”
“You entered the restricted area to stop Noel, and thanks to that, everyone came down safely. You’ll lose some points, but punishment is—”
“If you did something wrong, shouldn’t you receive punishment? I was with Noel and still failed to stop him.”
Lucien stared silently at Beatrice, who stood there like a criminal with her head lowered and her hands clasped together.
‘What on earth did they teach this child at the temple? Since earlier, it’s always been punishment, punishment…’
“Miss Beatrice, breaking school rules doesn’t automatically mean you must be punished. And don’t try to take responsibility for someone else’s actions. Your own share is already enough for someone your age.”
“……”
Lucien hesitated for a moment before adding,
“You did enough, Beatrice.”
And immediately regretted it.
She meant to tell her not to carry unnecessary guilt, not make her cry.
But the girl’s green eyes began to shimmer and grow cloudy.
‘Why does she cry every time I say something?!’
Fortunately, unlike earlier, Beatrice quickly held back her tears.
However, someone’s gaze stabbed into her.
It was Noel—the person who was supposed to be reflecting—yet seemed to have not a single ounce of regret.
“Noel, don’t look at me like that. You and I need to have a private counseling session.”
“Ha, damn it.”
“What did you just say? Did you say you wanted to take extra etiquette classes as well?”
“I’ll just accept punishment.”
“You’re obviously going to be punished, so don’t act like you’re doing me a favor. Your guardian will arrive soon, so wait here.”
Noel’s face turned pale.
Ignoring him, Lucien turned back toward Estelle.
“Miss Estelle, your economics teacher is strict about attendance, so after writing the report, even if you want to rest, I recommend attending class.”
“There’s nothing to rest from. If it weren’t for Bea, I’d probably be resting forever in the afterlife right now because of him.”
“R-right.”
The Imperial Princess, who was said to be cute, lovely, and angelic, had a much sharper tongue than Lucien had expected.
Soon, everyone left, including the guards who had gone to deal with the scene.
Only a teacher who had lost her free period and a student who had to endure a lecture remained.
“Noel, what you did today was extremely dangerous.”
Noel shrugged as if it were nothing.
“You told me to figure it out myself, didn’t you? I just did what you asked.”
‘This little brat, seriously.’
Lucien clenched her fist while maintaining a smiling expression.
“I’m not an idiot. I wasn’t planning on completely disabling it. Besides, even if something went wrong, I could handle monsters around the level of the Dark Forest alone. What do you take me for?”
‘What do I take you for? An arrogant little brat.’
Lucien bit her tongue to stop herself from saying it aloud.
“It’s good to have confidence, but Noel. Most students can’t do what you do. Even you would be in trouble once you leave the protected area beyond the barrier.”
“That’s why I thought everything through—”
“I know. You placed protective magic on Beatrice and Estelle, and you carved defensive magic and alarm magic markers along the route from the North Tower to the academy grounds, didn’t you?”
Noel’s eyes widened.
He looked genuinely surprised.
“You knew that? How?”
“Wasn’t that what you intended by leaving those markings there? That’s why you weren’t immediately taken away and were able to follow me.”
“……”
That was also why Lucien had been able to stop the furious captain of the guards from demanding Noel’s immediate imprisonment and wait until the students came down.
Despite causing all kinds of trouble, this child had stayed just barely within the line and avoided any casualties.
Even though being expelled from the academy would have been the fastest way to lose his registration qualifications with the Magic Tower.
“But Noel, you can’t control everything. You cannot gamble with people’s safety and lives like you did today. Never.”
“I wasn’t gambling. I’ve dealt with monsters in designated areas like Noctua plenty of times! Something like this is nothing in a real battle. The academy’s standards are—”
Lucien sighed.
“Yes, you’re talented. I know that. But you didn’t put a protective spell on yourself.”
“……What?”
“I told you during morning class. You also aren’t allowed to get hurt. It doesn’t matter how much of a genius you are or what you become. You’re still a person, just like everyone else. And people make mistakes. When they get hurt, it hurts. If it’s severe enough, they die.”
Noel blinked as he looked at his homeroom teacher’s changed attitude.
“‘Even if something goes wrong’—there is no such thing as being okay. Someone died protecting the barrier stone you tried to touch today.”
“……”
Noel watched Lucien carefully.
She seemed to be talking about the disaster from ten years ago, but her calm attitude made it difficult to tell.
“I won’t be able to watch that happen again. So if you’re trying to get expelled from the academy because you want to leave the Magic Tower, find another way. I’ll help you.”
……This teacher was definitely somewhat insane.
Noel questioned her.
“Are you serious? You don’t understand what you’re saying. If you do that, you’ll make the entire Magic Tower your enemy.”
“I don’t plan on becoming successful as a mage anyway, so I don’t mind.”
This time, Noel sighed.
This teacher, who had grown up sheltered and knew nothing about how the world of mages worked, clearly did not understand what it meant to turn the Magic Tower into an enemy.
However, Lucien was completely sincere, and she gave her student an important piece of advice regarding his future.
“You need to know who actually has the final authority and act accordingly. The reason you haven’t been expelled until now is because you’ve only been messing with the teachers’ office.”
No matter how many times he damaged the teachers’ office furniture, all it did was make the teachers furious.
“If you break even one flowerpot in the greenhouse beside the dean’s office, you’ll be expelled. It won’t matter if the Tower Master himself—or even the Tower Master’s grandfather—comes.”
Watching his teacher boldly suggest using the dean as a target, Noel became even more troubled.
“Are you sane?”
“Now that I think about it, one won’t be enough. Let’s break two or three more.”
Lucien thought of ‘Pretty’ and ‘Cutie,’ the two plants Dean Aten especially cherished and frequently disappeared into the greenhouse to visit.
It absolutely wasn’t because she held a grudge.
“Don’t say ridiculous things. They wouldn’t fall for such an obvious trick.”
The voice that came from the fourteen-year-old troublemaker carried a deep exhaustion that didn’t seem like something a child his age should have.
Lucien was certain there had to be a complicated story behind him—one that would become exhausting if she got involved.
Why did kids these days all come with such troublesome histories?
Before some unbearable story could come spilling out, Lucien decided to take the initiative.
